Archive for the ‘Features’ Category

5 Things We Want From John Cena’s WWE Retirement Tour

John Cena made a surprise appearance at last month’s Money in the Bank 2024 to announce his retirement. Cena is not an ordinary character and his retirement plan is fittingly unusual.

The 16-time World Champion is going out in a big way and has announced the John Cena WWE retirement tour spanning January-December 2025. He’s planning to make around 40 appearances next year and is still driven to a World Champion. Legends such as Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle have done big retirement angles, but Cena simply wants to wrestle in front of his fans all around the world before he calls it a career.

With those loose parameters, here are 5 things we want to see out of John Cena’s final year with WWE.

1. John Cena Should Put Over Cody Rhodes

John Cena and Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes is a bona fide superstar, and by most metrics the biggest babyface WWE has built since John Cena. Moreover, while the two had some forgettable matches against each other during The American Nightmare’s first WWE run, the matchup still feels fresh, given fans are now looking at a totally different version of Rhodes as a credible main event act.

Rhodes vs. Cena feels like a dream match, and given that one of each man’s greatest strengths is their promo skills, there’s every opportunity to make this feel like a match for the ages. Most importantly, though, Rhodes has, since returning to WWE, beaten Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, and AJ Styles. There’s every indicator that The Rock may well put him over, and an encounter with Randy Orton is heavily rumored. Cena is one of a small handful of truly meaningful stars whom Rhodes can still beat for the first time, and in so doing close the door on the past generation of WWE stars.

2. John Cena Should Avoid Long Feuds

John Cena

Long-term storytelling has its merits as WWE has demonstrated with Cody Rhodes vs. The Bloodline, CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre, and Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan to name a few. However, there when time is a limited resource, there can also be a sense that a wrestler is squandering his time when he faces the same opponent over and over again.

As a key example, it was great to see Edge back in a WWE ring from 2020 to 2023. As good as Seth Rollins and Finn Balor each were, though, it was still hard not to feel like the company burned daylight by having The Rated R Superstar feud for so long with these particular rivals when there was a slate of fresher programs he never got to.

Hopefully, John Cena will have some rich storylines to sink his teeth into. Just the same, when he only has one year left, it would be a shame to see him linger too long on just one opponent.

3. John Cena Should Win The World Heavyweight Championship

WWE World Heavyweight Championship

One of the biggest question marks surrounding John Cena’s last year is whether he’ll break his tie with Ric Flair and win a record seventeenth world championship. There’s a case to be made in either direction.

On one hand, Cena certainly doesn’t need another world title for credibility, other talents would benefit more, and there’s a certain lame-duck quality to a champ fans know plans to retire inside a year.

On the other hand, it’s rare that there’s an opportunity to make history on this level, and Cena is one of the strikingly few legitimate franchise players WWE’s had who would make sense to accomplish this specific feat. While it wouldn’t be wise to mess with a WWE Championship picture that involves Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, and The Rock, there is more leeway to squeeze in one last, brief title reign for Cena with the World Heavyweight Championship.

4. John Cena Should Put Over Uncle Howdy

Uncle Howdy
WWE

WWE’s handling of Bray Wyatt was all over the place, but one of this greatest accomplishments was beating John Cena at WrestleMania. Cena won their first feud—including their first ‘Mania match in 2014. Wyatt beat Cena in a polarizing and unforgettable Firefly Fun House match at WrestleMania 36, though, that, in many ways, was the perfect testament to Wyatt’s legacy in WWE.

One of the best ways to pay homage to the late Wyatt and give his brother, Uncle Howdy, a concrete push, would be for Cena to do the honors for this family once more. There’s a variety of ways to do this, but one relatively low stakes proposition that would befit the legacy they’re following in would be to stage one more Firefly Fun House match—or work a comparable gimmick—before Cena moves on.

5. John Cena Should Avoid Wasting Too Much Time On Nostalgia Feuds

John Cena and Randy Orton

From the post-Money in the Bank press conference alone, questions arose about John Cena wrestling The Rock one more time or feuding with CM Punk one more time. There is a certain appeal to revisiting these iconic matchups that fans never thought they’d have the chance to see again–particularly for a setting like WrestleMania 41. On the other hand, there’s also a point at which it’s better to move on to new things.

While one-off matches with Punk, Rock, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, The Miz, or Roman Reigns could be enjoyable nods to their histories together, these are also all matches fans have seen at least twice in high-profile, fully realized situations. With a fresher slate of prospective opponents like Cody Rhodes, Gunther, Drew McIntyre, Bron Breakker, LA Knight, Logan Paul, and quite few others awaiting him, it would be better for Cena to focus his retirement tour on matchups that haven’t already been over-exposed.

5 Takeaways from WWE Money In The Bank 2024

The WWE Universe is still reeling from the excitement and controversy surrounding WWE Money in the Bank 2024. MITB has become a top 5 Premium Live Event in WWE’s calendar year, as it usually comprises noteworthy matches with significant implications for the rest of the year. This is especially true for the event’s namesake matches.

The sold-out crowd in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena witnessed moments that will go down in history. While the show was mostly enjoyable for fans, this year’s event may have raised more questions than answers. With this in mind, let’s dive into this author’s 5 Takeaways from Money In The Bank 2024.


5) Making Tiffany Stratton Mrs. Money In The Bank Was An Excellent Decision

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Tiffany Stratton has been a standout in the women’s division since she was called up this past February, with the WWE Universe having high expectations for the 25-year-old following a strong 3-year stint in NXT.

The former NXT Women’s Champion has shown strong in-ring skills and is a compelling presence on the microphone. Now, Stratton is poised to take the next big step in her WWE career, especially now that she’s armed with a MITB briefcase. One that she’s promised to make pink!

Despite a slow and clunky start, the Women’s Money In The Bank match proved, by many accounts, to be the match of the evening. Each of the six women involved had moments to shine and put on potentially the best Women’s MITB match to date. One of the match’s biggest stars was its eventual winner, Tiffany Stratton, who showcased her athleticism, craftiness, and opportunistic flair during the bout.

Stratton is undoubtedly the best choice to win the briefcase. Both in terms of character and ability, Stratton is an ideal Money In The Bank holder.

WWE ultimately decided against going with the safest pick, such as former 2x women’s champion Naomi, or going to an unsuspecting dark horse in Chelsea Green. Instead, the brass used the women’s briefcase to elevate a young and rising star, who truly hasn’t even reached their peak yet.


4) Bron Breakker Lost Clean To Sami Zayn

Breakker

Bron Breakker could not ask any more of WWE when it comes to their presentation of the recent NXT call up over the last month. Fans have witnessed Breakker become WWE’s modern-day Goldberg, decimating his opposition with a mixture of raw power and inhuman speed inside and outside the ring.

On the June 17th edition of Monday Night RAW, Breakker made his presence known to Sami Zayn, making it clear that Zayn’s Intercontinental Championship was in his crosshairs and he wasn’t planning on missing his mark. While Zayn proved he could outsmart Breaker on the final RAW before the PLE, much of the WWE Universe was convinced that the second-generation star would brutalize The Liberator and walk out of Money In The Bank with his first taste of main roster gold.

Instead, fans were surprised that WWE opted to have Zayn come out as the victor in a fairly standard title defense for the seasoned veteran. Zayn’s strongest character attribute is being “the underdog” in nearly every match he’s in, yet somehow finding a way to “survive”. However, this time, the bout would end after Zayn hit one Halueva Kick and without Zayn being forced to kick out of one of Bron Breakker’s infamously ferocious spears.

This decision leaves some fans scratching their heads, shocked that WWE would have Breakker lose so decisively. Especially as he’s being painted as a completely unstoppable monster, one that even RAW General Manager Adam Pearce has trouble controlling. On the other hand, having an up-and-coming star lose to the reigning Intercontinental Champion, especially one that defeated the likes of Gunther at WrestleMania, isn’t so outrageous.

However, WWE could have had Sami Zayn win in another fashion, which would have ensured he walked out as champion and protected Breakker a bit more. For example, Zayn could successfully execute a quick roll-up to win; the story would be that Zayn used both Breakker’s momentum and impatience against him.

The question now becomes where does Breakker go from here. Successfully “tamed ” by Zaym, Breakker’s aura has taken a bit of a hit. WWE should be very careful about their next moves with Bron Breakker, as the company cannot afford for the former NXT Champion to be nothing more than a flash in the pan.


3) Fans Not Happy WWE Burned the Men’s MITB Contract Within Hours

Drew McIntyre Wins money in the Bank

Drew McIntyre walked into Money In the Bank with two goals: win Money In The Bank and walk out as World Heavyweight Champion. Welp, in the words of Bon Jovi, he was “halfway there”.

The Scottish Psychopath made his intentions clear in the weeks leading up to Money In The Bank on WWE TV, and he did all he could to put his arch-rival CM Punk out of commission and out of sight so he could focus solely on winning his first ever Money In The Bank contract. However, McIntyre’s efforts would ultimately be in vain.

McIntyre’s MITB’s eventual cash-in two matches later would be thwarted by The Second City Saint, with the Archer of Infamy retaining his championship and leadership status with The Judgement Day. Punk’s action not only cost McIntyre dearly but also his old rival Seth Rollins, as The Visionary can now no longer fight for the World Championship until Priest loses it.

McIntyre’s desire for quick results by cashing in MITB the same night he won it was not unprecedented. His decision to do this marked the sixth time in WWE history that a same-night cash-in occurred, following in the footsteps of names such as Kane, Dean Ambrose, and Alexa Bliss. Ironically, it was also the sixth time in WWE history that the briefcase holder could not secure a win.

However, McIntyre now holds his unique statistic in WWE history: the only superstar to win the MITB and lose their cash-in on the same night. A factoid that The Scottish Psychopath would most likely prefer not to be mentioned at his future WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

McIntyre’s decision to win and lose MITB was undoubtedly the most controversial and universally panned decision by WWE at Money In The Bank. While most within the WWE Universe were happy to see McIntyre get a meaningful win, everyone could see the writing on the wall and knew that McIntyre’s time as Mr. Money In The Bank was going to be short-lived. While it’s understandable why WWE Creative went in that direction of Punk costing McIntyre yet again, did McIntyre need to win the case for that to happen? This author would argue no.

At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, WWE’s use of the MITB briefcase as a plot device for McIntyre and Punk’s ongoing feud cheapened the entire match. WWE could have had Punk cost McIntyre during the Men’s MITB match and would have had the same effect, while also giving the briefcase to someone else who could eventually benefit from winning it.

The WWE Universe seemed to echo these sentiments throughout the rest of the Money In the Bank PLE, with fans on social media noting that the clunky failed cash-in felt rushed, predictable, and a waste of time.

Effectively, WWE has made Drew McIntyre the most reasonable heel in the company. While McIntyre injured CM Punk, and trolling him about it for months on end was just pure villainy, Punk has now cost McIntyre the World Championship in various ways on countless occasions. One could argue that Punk’s gone well beyond the scope of vengeance and is now becoming more of the heel than McIntyre. When two men finally meet inside the squared circle, some predicting as soon as SummerSlam, it may be hard for WWE to justify having Punk win.


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2) WWE Firmly Establishes Solo Sikoa as the Tribal Chief and Jacob Fatu as a dangerous force

One of WWE’s biggest objectives at Money In The Bank 2024 was to establish Solo Sikoa as the biggest threat to Cody Rhodes’ championship reign, and they accomplished that in spades.

In the last few weeks, Sikoa’s tenure as self-proclaimed Tribal Chief in the absence of Roman Reigns has taken a distinct turn. The young star was adamant about asserting his claim to the Bloodline throne, making it clear that he wasn’t just a temporary placeholder but the rightful heir. Things escalated even further in the past two weeks, as Solo both excommunicated The Wise Man Paul Heyman and directly called out his cousin Reigns.

This new and potentially more ruthless version of The Bloodline would face its biggest test at Money In The Bank, as it took on Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and his allies Randy Orton and Kevin Owens.

The bout went just about exactly the way one would expect, with Rhodes’ crew constantly having to account for The Bloodline’s number advantage and propensity to take out WWE officials. In the end, the intense bout would come to a shocking end, with Solo Sikoa taking out and pinning The American Nightmare to secure his team’s win. This marks Rhodes’ first pinfall loss since winning the championship at WrestleMania 40.

The image of Sikoa standing tall above a battered Rhodes will certainly etched into the minds of the WWE Universe leading into SummerSlam, with many asking if Cody Rhodes has once again found himself in front of a Samoan brick wall.

Some viewers, including this author, noticed the resemblance of WWE’s booking of MITB 2024 to the previous year. At last year’s event in London, England, the WWE Universe saw its first glimpse of a Bloodline implosion as Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, and The Usos competed in a Bloodline Civil War tag team match. When the final bell rang, Jey Uso was pinning Roman Reigns (Regins’ first pinfall loss since 2019), setting up the two for Tribal Combat at SummerSlam that year.

WWE has taken a similar approach with Cody Rhodes and Solo Sikoa, employing a tag team match at Money In The Bank to solidify Sikoa as a legitimate challenger to the champion. While some may perceive this as an unoriginal booking, it could be argued that utilizing a proven formula isn’t necessarily a negative strategy.

Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline is strong and has tangible success to point to, as it’s certainly shaken the snide comments of “Bloodline Light.”


1) John Cena’s (Last) Time is Now

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If you missed Money In The Bank and this is the first time you’re learning that the 16-time World Champion is set to retire from WWE from article, we apologize, but it’s sadly true. One of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time is finally ready to call it a career, as Cena detailed to the WWE Universe how and when his final run will take place.

When news of John Cena’s presence in Toronto ahead of Money In The Bank spread online, many assumed that the Leader of the CeNation would find himself in the main event of the show, teaming with Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens to help try and even the odds against The Bloodline—a group led by the man who sent Cena packing Crown Jewel last November.

However, WWE fans were shocked to see Cena randomly introduced by the event’s host, Trish Stratus, wearing new ring gear and a new version of his iconic “Never Give Up” towel. Only this time, the phrasing was just a bit different, and by a bit, we mean a LOT different. The revamped towel read “The Last Time Is Now,” and his shirt included the phrases “farewell tour” and “after this, you can’t see me.”

To call the moment shocking would be not just the understatement of the year, but of the century. While Cena has been hinting that his time as an active competitor inside the ring was coming close to an end, no one predicted that his retirement announcement would come in this fashion.

Possibly the most unsurprising element of John Cena’s announcement is how meticulously and methodically planned out his final run seems to be. Short of listing out dates, events, and planned opponents, Cena gave fans a clear road map for what he plans to do for the final stint of his WWE in-ring career.

Cena revealed that he plans to work 30 to 40 dates in 2025 from January through December, starting with the first edition of Monday Night RAW on Netflix. Furthermore, he announced that WrestleMania 41 would be his final WrestleMania appearance as an active competitor. However, it clearly distinguished between his final WrestleMania match and his final match. Making a point to firmly state that these two moments are mutually exclusive.

He would detail even more of his plans for his farewell tour in a lengthy post-event Press Conference, fielding an endless wave of questions regarding dream opponents, aspirations, and specific goals for 2025.

While he hasn’t been a main stay in WWE for sometime, the wrestling world will certainly feel like a different place after John Cena calls it a career for good. Cena has already stated that once he retires he would never be physical inside a WWE ring again, noting that the only time fans will see him is when he’s wearing a suit.

Simply put, there are no words to accurately describe John Cena’s impact on the professional wrestling industry over the past two decades. From cutting down his enemies with nothing more than clever rhymes to being one of the top Make-A-Wish granters in history, John Cena’s name will be carved in stone as one of the greatest to ever step between the ropes. While the WWE Universe’s feelings toward Cena were tumultuous at times, fans always respected the Massachusetts native’s work ethic and love of the game. John Cena’s remarkable journey from rookie to role model has left an unforgettable mark on wrestling history, one that will never be duplicated and one that solidifies him at the top of the list of all-time greats.

Only time will tell what comes next for John Cena. However, as the 47-year-old said during the Money In The Bank Press Conference, “the roster is loaded,” and there is a never-ending list of people Cena would like to face off before he rides out into the sunset.

The True Tribal Chief: Jacob Fatu Is The Future Of WWE

September 3, 2022. A bevy of wrestlers, both independent and of the TNA ilk filter in and out of a conference room at The Hyatt Regency in Schaumburg, IL. A live stream of WWE Clash At The Castle plays on a projector. Conrad Thompson is there. As is David Crockett. As is Jeff Jarrett. As is Road Dogg. As is Jacob Fatu.

It’s main event time. Drew McIntyre looks to make music against Roman Reigns and Glasgow is the Scotsman’s soundtrack. Everyone, mark and mat expert alike are glued to the action, but an explosion of emotion comes from the right side of the room when Solo Sikoa debuts, infamously costing Drew his shot at WWE gold and adding another inning to The Bloodline story. That energy burst came from Fatu, elated for his cousin. His Uce.

Now that kinship is full circle. Jacob Fatu is in WWE and it’s been a long time coming. The son of The Tonga Kid is getting that chance to shine under Paul Levesque’s watch and we are all in store for something special.

The Samoan Dynasty Epitomized In Jacob Fatu

‘The Samoan Werewolf’ made a debut that would make Lon Chaney Jr. blush as he tore top babyfaces apart protecting Solo Sikoa on SmackDown. This further adds to the chaotic and violent element that Wiseman Paul Heyman has been so fearful of, but behind the scenes Roman’s main counsel has to be grinning like a butcher’s dog at Fatu’s limitless ceiling. Fatu carries the pure presence of Umaga, the cool factor of a “Main Event” Jey Uso, and the pro wrestling acumen of Afa and Sika. He’s got the x-factor to the extreme and will elevate anyone who works with him.

Fatu had the opportunity to show his versatility against an array of talent in Major League Wrestling, most notably feuding with Alex Hammerstone over that World Title gold. He was really put in that top position starting off as the head soldier in CONTRA Unit, dominant as Brock Lesnar was during that same time with no one taking the title off him until he clashed with Hammerstone. Anyone that fell to his wrath were lucky if they literally weren’t body-bagged by his Sentai Death Squad insurgents, but it was a great way to position a monster of many talents. 

WATCH: Jacob Fatu vs. Alex Hammerstone At MLW Fightland (Full Match)

Fatu’s menace made his eventual babyface all the more meaningful. After his loss to Hammerstone, fans got to see the human side of the San Fran Samoan. Instead of shying away from it, Fatu and MLW embraced Jacob’s troubled past, diving in deep to what made the monster tick. The peeling back of the page put Fatu in an even better spot of connecting with fans. Aside from Cody Rhodes, there may not be one person better at it.

Connection With Legacy & With Fans

Jacob Fatu is as real as a real one comes. Back in 2022, Fatu was in the aforementioned Shaumburg (a suburban purgatory outside of Chicago) for Josh Shernoff’s Premier Wrestling Showcase, a tournament highlighting a who’s who of indie names. Fatu didn’t win, but the fans sure did. The event was paired in tandem with Conrad Thompson’s AdFreeShows’ Top Guy Weekend while also being the same weekend of the infamous All Out 2022. Fatu went out of his way to make himself apart of the festivities in the surrounding area. Instead of partying with the boys, Fatu partied with the fans. He invited them to do whatever he was doing, made them feel included and apart of something special.

Fatu didn’t just respect the fans that weekend, but the legacy of the business as well. In addition to Jeff Jarrett being in the building, so was his father, the late Jerry Jarrett. Fatu had me track down Jerry to make sure he got his photo taken with the Memphis legend. Jerry was grateful and Jacob was beaming. There was no cooler moment to witness seeing two names in the business, separated by several generations make that unique connection – one that will never happen again.

Jacob Fatu With Jerry Jarrett

Schaumburg, IL, September 2002. Jacob Fatu stands with the late great Jerry Jarrett. (Photo Credit: Dominic DeAngelo)

From a locker room perspective, Fatu is one to lead by example. He never rah-rahed the troops, but he didn’t need to. Everything he did seemed effortless yet always full of passion and energy. His sense of humor kept the busy environment light-hearted and fun to be around. He should fit right in with what WWE is aiming to cultivate. 

Something that will always stand out too is Fatu’s instinct within the ropes. During a match in Philadelphia, Fatu appeared to legitimately hurt his leg doing a move, but worked the whole bout nonetheless. It wasn’t until after the fact where everyone discovered he just did that to sell the match even further. It’s in his blood.

When it’s all said and done, that “Head Of The Table” designation in WWE could very well go to Jacob Fatu. And he’s earned it.

WWE Draft 2024: Summarizing The Updated Rosters for Raw & SmackDown

It doesn’t take a Mel Kiper to tell you Triple H didn’t want any major shake-ups on his roster and to many, the WWE Draft had to feel a bit underwhelming. Aside from a few NXT call-ups and two stars on the rise jumping ship, the Draft was more about retaining than rearranging. However, there will absolutely be a benefit to both the brand and the stars that did move and it’s worth dabbling into the details.

WWE Raw

RAW did indeed stay the course for Mondays as they retained their main stars in Seth Rollins, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre and Jey Uso, but they did create some interesting ripples in adding several factions.

WWE RAW GM Adam Pearce also kept hold of all of The Judgment Day while adding LWO and The Final Testament. The latter may be the set of stars to greatly benefit from the move as Karrion Kross along with Scarlet initially established themselves as stars in NXT. However, Kross was horribly repackaged in his first main roster call-up during the Vince McMahon era and both were later released.

Kross and Scarlet packed a punch in their return via SmackDown. Despite that, the duo found themselves lost in the shuffle once again before forming The Final Testament with AOP and Paul Ellering. The group remained around the midcard as they ultimately lost to The Pride at WrestleMania 40 in a Philadelphia Street Fight.

Now being on Mondays, it’s a different day and different platform for The Final Testament and they could eventually have some interesting adversaries on the brand, including Priest and The Judgment Day, but with a “Wyatt 6” burgeoning in the wings, Kross and his crew can finally find themselves in a deserved top spot.

We already got to witness Ilja Dragunov in action and he already set himself apart from many on the main roster as he took out Ricochet in the first round of The King Of The Ring tournament. He’ll undoubtedly be a major player on Mondays as he’s capable of being a force, but has also shown the ability to fight from underneath. Lyra Valkyria was another name to be embedded in the brand as she defeated Dakota Kai and got the badge of approval from Becky Lynch earlier in the night.

With RAW on its way to Netflix in 2025, a lucha legend like the aforementioned Mysterio will be an invaluable addition to the brand, but they also acquired a top rising star in Bron Breakker. There’s been early teases of Breakker’s first feud being with Sheamus and he’s a name that’s carved through the crop down in NXT. Probably the biggest backing has come from recent WWE Hall Of Famer Paul Heyman as ‘The Wiseman’ has been an unofficial advocate for the son of Rick Steiner.

As far as the tag division is concerned, RAW lost a key team in #DIY, but they found a dark horse pick in New Catch Republic, but perhaps one of the low-key greatest moves may be Raw roping in social media standout Dijak, who rejuvenated his identity back down in NXT.

WWE SmackDown

SmackDown was the show to get a big time boost from the stipulation that none of the champions can jump ship as they hold onto the business’ biggest babyface in Cody Rhodes. Anything can change before 2025 turns, but if Cody keeps grounded on SmackDown, Netflix will be without ‘The American Nightmare’ and that’s huge for USA Network when SmackDown makes the move over.

Like RAW, SmackDown kept its biggest names with The Bloodline, Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, AJ Styles, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. Roman Reigns remains a wild card, but with Solo Sikoa staking his claim for the family, it’s likely we’ll have a major confrontation as 2024 carries on.

As far as rising talent, it’s clear Triple H is well-aware of the limitless ceiling of Carmelo Hayes. Not only was he a top pick for SmackDown, but Carmelo was immediately put into the fire going up against Rhodes in the main event.

The women’s division has Bayley, Cargill, Belair, and Tiffany Stratton, but did acquire a new dominant name in Nia Jax. Initially, the show would seem like they’d have an uphill battle by losing Damage CTRL, but Piper Niven, Chelsea Green, Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae can certainly fill those spots.

That being said, some stars may see new horizons on SmackDown with one name being Shinsuke Nakamura. While he was an excellent heel on RAW, Nakamura was consistently made to lose on the brand as he helped build Cody Rhodes for WrestleMania.

Baron Corbin could get some new beginnings on the blue brand as he found revitalization down in NXT, particularly his teaming with Bron Breakker. It will be intriguing to see if SmackDown makes use of him as a heel or babyface, but he’s got some understated potential to be a player down the line for SmackDown.

Who ‘Won’ the 2024 WWE Draft?

Was there really a winner of the WWE Draft? It depends on how one frames it. If you’re going from acquisitions, WWE RAW stood out by securing surefire future star names like Breakker and Dragunov, but also got superstar support with Rey Mysterio.

However, if you look at who won by retaining talent, SmackDown undoubtedly got the edge by keeping hold of Rhodes, Stratton, The Bloodline and Orton. It’s telling for for what the tone may be as WWE programming makes its way to new channels in 2025.

Despite the fresh match-ups in the men’s, women’s and tag divisions on Raw and SmackDown, the general consensus is that this year’s WWE Draft was underwhelming. That said, 

Now Is The Time For A Cody Rhodes-Arn Anderson Reunion

There’s a long tradition of managers in wrestling. Indeed, there’s no shortage of old school fans who are nostalgic for the days when people like Bobby Heenan, Sherri Martel, Slick, Mr. Fuji, and Jimmy Hart were a staple part of WWE’s presentation. In earlier eras, the likes of Freddie Blassie, Lou Albano, and Arnold Skaaland were a major part of the show. 

While Paul Heyman has carried the torch for managers who have a steady and important role, it has nonetheless felt as though managing is a lost art in pro wrestling and particularly WWE. That may well change, though, and the idea of Arn Anderson returning to WWE to rekindle his partnership with Cody Rhodes has a lot of appeal to it.

Arn Anderson Is Done With AEW

Arn and Brock Anderson

On the most recent edition of his podcast, ARN, Arn Anderson discussed wrapping up with AEW. His contract ended May 31, and he indicated that he wants to focus on help his son Brock develop.

Where Arn will help Brock remains unclear. The youngster quietly parted ways with AEW in the fall. It’s not certain WWE would be interested in him, but if there were the potential to bring both men into the fold, it has the makings of a win-win-win scenario.

Cody Rhodes Has Stated He Wants “A Classic Wrestling Manager”

Apr 7, 2024; Philadelphia, PA, USA; WWE Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes during Wrestlemania XL Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Cody Rhodes joined Busted Open Radio earlier this month and, in the context of discussing how Logan Paul’s entourage had outnumbered him, he brought up his interest in having “a classic wrestling manager to join me on this title reign.” While some early conjecture on social media speculated about Brandi Rhodes joining him on the road, that doesn’t necessarily fit the classic or old school feel The American Nightmare seems to be grasping for.

Arn Anderson could fit that bill, as he fits a certain old school mold of men ranging from Bobby Heenan to Harley Race as in-ring performers who transitioned to managing champions. The Enforcer is many years past the point he can physically go in the ring, but his work in AEW demonstrated he can still be a potent contributor on the mic.

Cody Rhodes And Arn Anderson Have History

Arn Anderson and Cody Rhodes

Arn Anderson’s most memorable on-screen efforts in AEW came when he backed up Cody Rhodes. While there’s a case to be made that neither man’s AEW run realized its full potential, they had their moments, including a noteworthy promo in which Double-A heatedly called on Rhodes to stand up for himself and show more fire.

Rhodes has already realized a great deal of his vision with his WWE return, thriving as a top babyface and “finishing the story” when he took the WWE Championship off Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. Perhaps he could realize his full vision with Anderson as well, working in concert with each other. 

Moreover, it’s easy to imagine Anderson revisiting something like his glock promo to light a fire under The American Nightmare in the dog days of his title reign, either between major feuds or after he’s suffered some major setback.

Arn Anderson Has Proven He Can Play The Victim To A Vicious Heel

Arn Anderson

Arn Anderson was part of the WWE team for quite some time after his in-ring career. The most memorable thing he did on-screen with the company, though, may well have been backing up Ric Flair against The Undertaker heading into WrestleMania 18.

The Dead Man targeted Anderson for a brutal, bloody assault to play mind games with The Nature Boy. Moreover, this sub-angle led to Anderson interjecting himself in the ‘Mania match to hit a spinebuster to a huge pop, before The Undertaker choked him out.

With Cody Rhodes seemingly destined to return to feuding with The Bloodline, there’s lots of potential for The Enforcer to revive that victim role as a guy old school fans are invested in and who knows wrestling psychology enough to sell well, even if he has severe limitations to what he can do in a wrestling ring. In particular, it’s easy to imagine a mixed callback of The Rock choosing to make Anderson bleed in the build to WrestleMania 41 to get at Rhodes in a new way before the two of them have their one-on-one showdown.

Cody Rhodes pairing up with Arn Anderson once again, and particularly under the creative direction of Triple H—who has demonstrated a respect for and analogous wrestling aesthetic to both—has all the potential in the world. If The Enforcer is interested, hopefully we’ll see this pairing happen on WWE television before long.

Solo Sikoa And The New Bloodline Are The Key To Getting Cody Rhodes Back On Track As WWE Champion

Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns may well go down as one of the greatest feuds of the modern era. Few, if any, rivalries in recent years have captured quite the same emotional investment as this program, rooted in strong in-ring and mic work alike from both principal players. Perhaps the most important ingredient to the program’s success was each man’s backstory.

Even going into the first WrestleMania main event between the two, The Tribal Chief was riding a historic wave of momentum as a long-reigning, dominant champion—a dynamic that had only intensified going into WrestleMania 40. Meanwhile, The American Nightmare embraced a story of redemption both for his own unconventional career path and for his family.

Indeed, the story set such a high bar that the title reign Rhodes has embarked on since has felt a bit anticlimactic for not living up to how it got started. The key challenger to get this run back on track is none other than Solo Sikoa.

There Hasn’t Been Drama To Any Cody Rhodes Title Defenses Thus Far

One can’t fault AJ Styles or Logan Paul as challengers to Cody Rhodes. Both men are skilled performers who more than carried their ends of excellent WWE Championship PLE matches against The American Nightmare. However, there’s also an undeniable truth: no one thought Styles or Paul had a legitimate chance of taking the title off Rhodes.

Indeed, WWE has found itself in a confounding situation of a great main event face coming off an incredibly dramatic story with no sense he’s in any jeopardy of losing his title right away. As credible as Styles is as an all-time great in-ring worker, it’s hard to imagine him winning a world title in WWE again unless a string of injuries to other top stars make the company “break glass in case of an emergency.” Meanwhile, Paul is well-established as an upper mid-card player, but it’s hard to imagine him carrying the top prize in the business anytime soon.

WWE may well have made the right call in feeding Rhodes challengers who aren’t believable but could give him very good matches while fans wouldn’t believe he’s dropping the title anyway. That will have to change soon, though, for this title reign not to feel flat.

The New Bloodline Has Heat

The new Bloodline, running under Solo Sikoa’s leadership, has been a provocative part of WWE programming since WrestleMania. The faction and its defining family are over with the WWE audience. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa are fresh faces who’ve added intrigue to faction, and insiders make it seem like only a matter of time before Jacob Fatu joins the mix.

With Sikoa declaring himself the leader in the absence of Roman Reigns, there’s also intrigue around what will happen when The Tribal Chief does return, or what things will look like when The Rock is back on WWE television. All of that sets up buzz around the Bloodline again, without over-exposing them too dramatically (including going so far as to leave the group off the King and Queen of the Ring PLE altogether).

A time will come sooner than later when Sikoa will be ready to take his rightful place as a bona fide main eventer. Cody Rhodes will be waiting.

Solo Sikoa Is Well Protected

Yes, Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa has happened before. It occurred on numerous house shows and in dark matches, and even once on Raw as The American Nightmare got ready to challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. Nonetheless, their issue feels far from played out, as the two haven’t collided on a PLE before, and their one televised bout was long enough ago not to be fresh on fans’ minds.

Moreover, Sikoa feels ready to main event. His televised losses have been few, far between, and only at the hands of top-tier talents. He also has a decisive victory over John Cena to still hang his hat on. All of this means that it would only take a small push rather than rehabilitation to position him as a credible challenger for the WWE Championship.

Cody Rhodes Vs. Solo Sikoa Can Be A Gateway To Bigger Things

It’s possible for WWE to position Solo Sikoa as a legitimate challenger to Cody Rhodes. Moreover, even in the likely case Rhodes survives that challenge and walks away champion, there’s every potential for WWE to keep a compelling story going.

With The Rock and Roman Reigns each waiting in the wings, The American Nightmare’s continued war with The Bloodline could naturally segue to one of these much bigger matches. While some fans feel Rhodes vs. Reigns is played out, it’s still a bankable main event rematch for WWE to stage at some point. From there, Rhodes vs. The Rock feels like the masterplan—the dream bout that a general consensus of fans has prognosticated to headline WrestleMania 41 and a match that can naturally follow from Rock showing up to backup or perhaps avenge his kin, Sikoa.

Cody Rhodes has made every scenario thrown at him since his WWE return work for him, and the smart money is on his title reign turning out to be very good. The right challenger will really spark something, though, and Solo Sikoa is a prime candidate for that spot. 

Jon Moxley’s Surprise Debut At Double Or Nothing 2019 Marked AEW’s Greatest Free Agent Signing

Double Or Nothing 2024 marks the completion of the first five years of AEW history. There are certain names that have grown synonymous with the brand. There’s Tony Khan as an executive. There’s Chris Jericho as the legend who lent his credibility from day one and was the promotion’s first world champion. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks have been marquee stars and executives, while MJF is widely heralded as AEW’s top “homegrown” star.

Another talent whom it’s difficult to imagine AEW without is Jon Moxley and, indeed, it’s hard to remember a time when it was positively shocking to see Mox show up on the brand. He made his surprise debut at the end of the company’s very first PPV, Double or Nothing 2019.

Jon Moxley Signing With AEW Made A Statement

The original AEW roster consisted of a mix of veteran talents who’d been better established in WWE like Chris Jericho and Dustin Rhodes, stars who’d made their name in Japan or in ROH like Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, and relatively fresh faces to a mainstream American audience, like MJF, Sammy Guevara, and the Lucha Brothers. Wrestlers like PAC and arguably even Cody Rhodes (at the time) were undeniably talented, but nonetheless, carried a bit of a stink around “not cutting it” in WWE at more than a mid-card level.

Jon Moxley was different. Long before Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, or Mercedes Mone made their way into an AEW ring, Mox was quite arguably the first main event-level talent to consciously choose AEW in his prime. In doing so, Moxley cast his vote that AEW was a legitimate choice for a marquee talent and immediately enhanced the promotion’s standing in the eyes of casual fans.

Jon Moxley Has Proven His Value To AEW Time And Again

More than a big signing, Jon Moxley has become part of the foundation of AEW. He was just the second man to win the AEW World Championship and the first man to ever win that title three times. That status underscores two points around Moxley: that he was a credible champ and that he has gamely filled whatever role was needed of him, including twice picking up the slack when CM Punk got hurt while champion.

Moreover, Moxley has been a key part of The Blackpool Combat Club’s feuds and been a staple upper card talent to work with major names on their way into the company like Bryan Danielson and Konosuke Takeshita, not to mention rising stars like MJF and Orange Cassidy.

The Other Top Free Agent Signings In AEW History

It’s a bold claim to say Jon Moxley was AEW’s biggest free agent signing. After all, fellow former world champs from WWE like Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Adam Copeland, Christian Cage, and Mercedes Money have also found their way onto the roster. Stars like Sweve Strickland, Samoa Joe, Claudio Castagnoli, and Toni Storm have also contributed at a high level.

A lot of the aforementioned names quite arguably peaked pre-AEW, though, or have been valuable but not quite as high-profile or longstanding parts of the roster. There’s a chance Mone might supersede Moxley in the long-term, if she can succeed at elevating the women’s division, up to and including securing the first AEW PPV main event spot for female talents. There’s a lot that would have to happen to make that possibility a reality, though–including her staying healthy and sticking around for the long haul.

Indeed, one of the few talents who truly looks like he might one day surpass Mox’s impact, quality of performance, and length of tenure with AEW may well be Will Ospreay. He was one of the best wrestlers in the world when he signed with AEW—including that WWE purportedly made overtures to sign him. Moreover, he just turned 31, and particularly by modern standards, there’s every reason to suspect he has over a decade of top shelf performances ahead of him. All that said, Ospreay only started full-time with AEW this year, so there’s a long road ahead before anyone could seriously suggest he’s meant more to the company than Mox.

It’s telling that Jon Moxley is such a bedrock performer for AEW now, Moreover, it’s telling how open he has been about his past unhappiness in WWE. While Mercedes Mone has already openly discussed an eventual return to WWE, and it seems likely talents like Ricky Starks will eventually make their way over there, all indications are that Mox is on team AEW for good. He’s a defining AEW talent and the company’s best signing.

A Return To Royalty: WWE’s King & Queen Of The Ring Tournaments

Introduced in 1985, The King of the Ring was a staple of WWE programming for over 15 years. The tournament and the event didn’t just deliver many iconic matches. It provided the opportunity for WWE to turn participants into generational Superstars.

The birth of “Austin 3:16”, Brett Hart’s back-to-back wins, Triple H’s vindication (albeit a year late), and many more incredible tournament matches were made possible by this event. After the 2002 edition of the tournament, the fan-favorite event was sunlit. However, after over 20 years, WWE will host its King & Queen of the Ring PLE in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 

From The Ashes, Royalty Returns

While the King of the Ring tournament did continue in various forms after 2002, it never quite recaptured the same magic. While the WWE Universe was treated to fun reigns from the likes of Booker T and William Regal, these were the exceptions rather than the rule. The reward for winning King of the Ring became nothing more than bragging rights, and over time, along with weaker barracks and underhyped tournaments, the King of the Ring theme lost its luster. 

Things changed in 2021, with WWE bringing back the tournament and introducing the women’s version of the contest called “The Queens Crown.” The 2021 King of the Ring and Queens Crown finals would take place at that year’s Crown Jewel event; this marked the first time since 2006 that the tournament finals were held on a major PLE. While imperfect, this 2021 iteration was certainly a step in the right direction. 

During Night 2 of WrestleMania 40, WWE announced the long-awaited King & Queen of The Ring PLE date. WWE had originally planned for the event the previous year. However, the company ultimately decided to revive Night of Champions instead. 

While the initial rounds would take place on Monday Night RAW and SmackDown, the Finals would culminate at the event’s namesake PLE. The first time WWE has done so since 2002. This is not just in any venue but inside the Jeddah Superdome, which instantly propels the importance of each tournament. 


2024 King & Queen Tournaments: 

The brackets also saw a massive upgrade in overall quality, consisting of a strong mix of young up-and-coming talent and established stars. This combination created a fun tournament, notably because of the tournament’s unpredictability. 

Fans saw multiple potential outcomes to the King & Queen of the Ring tournaments for the first time in years. Off the bat, Superstars Gunther, Tiffany Straton, LA Knight, Jade Cargill, Iyo Sky, and Carmelo Hayes were flagged by fans as tournament favorites.

Unfortunately, during the initial round of the tournament, several Superstars in both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments were replaced due to various medical reasons:

On May 23rd, WWE’s CCO Triple H announced that the winners of each tournament would receive a championship match. This again helps set this year’s tournament apart from others that came before it. 

Despite these changes and substitutions, each tournament’s  16 participants, all had their opportunities to shine, even if their time in the tournament was short-lived. While every match had its highlights, there were certainly several that stood out above the rest. 

1) Gunther vs Sheamus (Round 1) – This match was the first time these two had shared the same ring since WrestleMania 39, but as expected, their chemistry was incredible. The match was an intense and hard-hitting affair and even included an additional layer of story with The Celtic Warrior battling self-doubt. As expected, the bout was a certified BANGER. 

In the end, Gunther defeats Sheamus and, eventually, finds his way into the finals of the tournament. 

2) Ilja Dragunov vs Ricochet (Round 1) – Here, we found one of the many matches where the WWE Universe was sincerely unsure of what direction WWE would go in. Illja Dragunov had just been called up to the main roster and was coming fresh off a historic NXT Championship reign. However, Ricochet was the newly-crowded WWE Speed Champion and had just begun to gain momentum on his own. 

The high-flying style of Ricochet beautifully clashed with Dragunov’s stiff ground-and-pound approach. The Mad Dragon would emerge the victor, but the duo’s match certainly had everyone on Monday Night RAW talking. 

3) Bianca Belair vs Tiffany Stratton (Quarterfinals) – Following some social media controversy from earlier in the week, Tiffany Stratton looked to put the past behind her as she squared off against Bianca Belair on the May 17th edition of SmackDown. The two women are widely considered some of WWE’s most talented female stars, setting up for an interesting bout, to say the least.  

In the end, Belair’s raw power was too much for Stratton. However, the exciting match had the WWE Universe buzzing. “Tiffy Time” is truly getting closer and closer!

4) Iyo Sky vs Lyra Valkeryia (Semifinals) – Iyo Sky had just been WWE Women’s Champion going into WrestleMania 40, with the Genius of the Sky proving that she belonged in the main event seen as the face of Damage CTRL. It seemed only fitting that WWE would want to push her to the finals of the Queen of the Ring tournament, however she would find a major roadblock in recent NXT call-up, Lyra Valkeryia. 

Many WWE fans considered their match to be the best women’s match in the tournament, with the two giving it all they had. In the end, Valkeryia would secure the surprise win. Leaving Iyo Sky shocked that she allowed the NXT stand out to best her.

Fun fact: Lyra Valkeryia and Iyo Sky’s match time was a little under 20 minutes, more time than EVERY match in the 2021 Queen’s Crown tournament combined. 

 5) Jey Uso vs Ilja Dragunov (Quarterfinals) – This bout between Jey Uso and Ilja Dragunov certainly came with lively debate amongst the WWE Universe. It was one of several scenarios where fans were sincerely split on who should win. Truly a Yeet or No Yeet conundrum

Based on the tournament’s bracket layout, fans noted that there was an opportunity for WWE to have Dragunov clash with Gunther. The Mad Dragon’s sworn enemy since the days of NXT UK and a match that the WWE Universe has been begging to see on the main roster since the moment Dragunov arrived. 

However, no one could deny the unmatched wave of momentum that Jey Uso had been riding. Even in defeat by World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest at WWE Backlash, fans only remained high on Main Event Jey Uso. 

Would WWE give Jey Uso a much-needed win following his setback in France? Or would they seize the opportunity to push Ilja Dragonuv? 

Ultimately, WWE decided to save a clash between The Mad Dragon and The Ring General for a bigger moment. Instead, giving Jey Uso one of the most impressive single wins in his entire career. The match was phenomenal, with the fans on the edge of their seats for every move and pinfall attempt. 


Our New King and Queen of the WWE Realm:

After two excellent matches at Saturday’s King & Queen of The
Ring, we now have our 2024 King and Queen of the Ring: Nia Jax and Gunther! 

In a true David vs Goliath match-up, finalists Lyra Valkyria and Nia Jax went one-on-one to decide who the 2nd Queen of the Ring in WWE history would be. The story of the match was what you would expect: Jax used her strength to brutalize Valkeryia, while Valkeyria’s resilience and speed were showcased. In the match’s final moments, Valkeriya made a fatal mistake, allowing herself to get stuck in a corner. Thus allowing Jax the opportunity to hit her Annihilator, with the ring vet picking up the 1,2,3 moments later.

While Nia Jax is far from being “beloved” by the WWE Universe, her dominance since returning full-time in September 2023 cannot be denied. Picking up victories against some of the biggest names in WWE, including Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Raquel Rodrigez, and Jade Cargill. It was a cool moment to see Triple H crown Jax as Queen, with Michael Cole reminding everyone how much Jax had gone through over the past several years. 

In the co-main event, a significant match in the history of the King of the Ring unfolded, featuring the future Hall of Famer Randy Orton against WWE’s rising star Gunther. 

The match itself was everything fans of both men could ask for, with Chops and RKO’s coming in from every direction possible. Ultimately, Gunther’s vicious assault on Randy Orton’s back and knee was too much for The Viper to overcome, with The Ring General becoming the KING General in a nearly 30-minute classic. 

The match did have some slight controversy, as fans online noted that Randy Orton’s shoulder was definitely up during the roll-up pinfall. Whether this leads to any additional storyline developments down the road is not clear at this time. 

Overall, Gunther and Nia Jax were the correct choices for the PLE. Now, both will get to reign as King and Queen, eagerly awaiting their guaranteed upcoming championship matches at Summer Slam in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Way Too Early 2025 Predictions

Following two epic and memorable tournaments, the WWE Universe is already thinking about the future Kings and Queens that may rise. 

In WWE, a year into the future might as well be millions of lightyears away, as change is as common in WWE as dropkicks. However, given everything we know about the current state of WWE, we can make some educated guesses on potential favorites.

As WWE did this year, one should think of a good mix of rising stars, established names, and fresh new arrivals. The picks above check all those boxes, with Flair, Belair, and Rollins serving as the well-established names who are more than deserving of royal recognition, 

The Montez Ford pick may seem surprising to some, but it’s made with sound reason. WWE has shown a clear interest in making Ford a bigger star, well beyond his role as one-half of The Street Profits. The multi-time tag team champion oozes with both in-ring talent and charisma, even getting his own show on HULU with real-life wife Bianca Belair. The King of the Ring tournament could be perfect for Ford to have his breakout moment. 

Carmelo Hayes and Tiffany Stratton represent the future. The two are young blue chip stocks with tons of upside potential. Fresh out of NXT, they are ready-made for the WWE main roster. Seeing either of them with a crown on their head one day would surprise no one. 

5 Years Later: A Look Back At Double Or Nothing 2019, AEW’s First PPV

Time flies and as hard as it might be for long-term fans to reconcile it, the sixth AEW Double or Nothing goes down this Memorial Day weekend. Back in 2019, this was an AEW launch event, a full season ahead of AEW Dynamite debuting on TNT. Once again, the event emanates from Las Vegas, the natural home for a show called Double or Nothing, though this will mark the PPV’s first return to the MGM Grand Garden Arena. (Double or Nothing did also occur at Daily’s Place for two years due to the pandemic.)

The Double or Nothing name paid homage to All In as a precursor to AEW. For that event, Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and then-unknown business partner Tony Khan—facilitated an all-time great indie event that drew 10,000 fans to the Sears Centre in Chicago. The affair was framed as a direct response to Dave Meltzer’s claim that no promotion outside WWE could draw 10,000 fans to a North American wrestling show anytime soon.

So it is that fans can now look back at five years of AEW history when they consider the original Double or Nothing.

The Biggest Free Agent Signing In AEW History

Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho

Double or Nothing 2019 drew a very positive reception from fans and critics, but there’s little question that the most iconic part of the show happened after the final bell had run. Immediately after the main event, Jon Moxley made his surprise debut.

While Mox can be a polarizing figure among fans, his debut nonetheless made a major statement. It was possible for fans at the time to dismiss talents like Chris Jericho as over the hill, Cody Rhodes as a WWE also-ran (a take that has aged quite poorly), and talents like MJF as up and comers who hadn’t yet proven themselves. Moxley, however, was a major name who was in his prime, including having reigned as WWE Champion less than three years earlier and having main evented WWE PPVs as part of The Shield earlier in 2019.

Moxley signing with AEW was a genuine surprise and further legitimized the company as a major player. The surprise debut is even more momentous in hindsight. Moxley would go on to be come the first and to date only three- time AEW Champion. Moreover, he has been a vital figure, sliding into the title picture whenever the company needs him, including twice picking up the torch when CM Punk got hurt.

Chris Jericho Took A Step Toward Putting The AEW Championship On The Map

Chris Jericho at the AEW Double or Nothing Rally

At the launch of AEW, there were three men who immediately factored into the world title scene. Hangman Page won a Casino Battle Royale at the top of Double or Nothing to make him one of the two men who’d vie to become the first champion at All Out 2019. On the other end of things stood Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho.

Page was a promising, fresh talent for a lot of American fans and he would wind up champion a couple years down the road. Omega and Jericho were the favorites, though, which is why they garnered the main event nod at Double or Nothing 2019.

Omega had cemented his place in the conversation of the best in-ring workers in the world in New Japan. Jericho was already a bona fide legend as a multi-time world champion in WWE, a WrestleMania main eventer, and certainly the biggest name in AEW going into their first PPV.

Like Page, Omega would find himself a long-reigning AEW champ. Jericho was the right call to win the first AEW PPV main event, though, en route to becoming the first AEW World Champion. It’s come into fashion to hate on Jericho nowadays, and there’s little question he has lost a step in the 2020s. Just the same, he was precisely the credible figure the company needed to immediately legitimize its top title and by extension the whole brand.

The Young Bucks And Lucha Bros. Had A Barnburner

Before AEW had established its own tag team championship, the original Double or Nothing featured an AAA World Tag Team Title match between The Young Bucks and Lucha Bros. It was an early chapter in what would become a defining rivalry for the company’s tag team and later trios division.

This match itself was well-received, but the teams would go on to even more memorable collisions that included a ladder match at All Out 2019 and an absolute classic of a steel cage match at All Out 2021. Down the road, Nick and Matt Jackson would team up with Kenny Omega as The Elite against The Lucha Bros and PAC under the Death Triangle banner to war over the Trios Championship.

The Rhodes Brothers Stole The Show

In the year 2024, Cody Rhodes reigns as WWE Champion. Indeed, his win over Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 40 seems to have all but cemented The American Nightmare’s place as the top star in the business today.

Five years ago, Rhodes was less sure footed, but was coming off a noteworthy run on the indies and in Japan to arrive as a founding father of AEW. As such, it’s telling that his match with his older brother Dustin positively stole the show at the first AEW PPV.

The Rhodes brothers tore the house down in a hard-hitting twenty-two-minute match that garnered no lesser praise than winning Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Match of the Year Award. The match was a testament to the combination of emotional storytelling and commitment to match quality many came to associate with early AEW. On top of that, it may well have been a harbinger of just how big a star Cody would wind up being.

It’s always difficult to contextualize a wrestling show as its happening. The more years pass by, the more wrestling historians will come to understand and think differently about the original Double or Nothing. Nonetheless, at five years, the show holds up as an incredible launch for the AEW brand, rife with strong in-ring performances and statements about where this company and the wrestling business on the whole were headed.

Vince McMahon Is Still Sports-Entertaining, Just Add a Cane and Massive Legal & PR Teams

Vince McMahon may no longer have a wrestling company, but it hasn’t stopped him from doing what he loves most, put on a bad show.

Give him a cane, he’s not quite Fred Astaire, though.

Add an ill-fitting golf shirt, a thinner trembling physique, McMahon can be viewed in a recently released smartphone video weakly maneuvering the steps into a building. An unknown woman holding the door, the video is short, but it’s enough to portray McMahon as a beat up and harmless grandpa and not the Genetic Jackhammer, one of the countless nicknames he gave himself when he was running WWE.

It would be more convincing if this act hadn’t occurred before. 

In 1993, a much younger McMahon was in federal court for steroids. This period is easy to identify in video and photos, not because of courthouse or judges in the background, but because McMahon was wearing a neck brace to court.

The brace was similar to Tony Khan’s, who did it as an old-fashioned sell after he was attacked by The Elite. He spent the next several days all over ESPN and NFL Network explaining the angle while he was in the Jacksonville Jaguars draft room.

It’s even less convincing after Harvey Weinstein’s recent schtick. After having his New York sex assault convictions overturned last week (he’s still convicted in California), was recorded on video trying to slowly use a walker in a corridor in an ill-fitting suit. Sweating, shaking, his hair a mess, Weinstein looked remarkably similar to McMahon.

It doesn’t help when the Grant investigation was announced, McMahon announced he was leaving to have spinal surgery done. What a coincidence. 

Still sports entertaining, after all these years, McMahon’s show with the cane – like his performance with the neck brace years ago – is standard Vince fare. He no longer has a wrestling company, but he has the best law firm and the best PR firm money can buy and the world’s largest stage ahead – the US justice system. His new co-stars are going to weave his story any way that benefits him, the truth be damned, because that’s what lawyers and crisis management PR firms do, especially if that client is a billionaire and he’s paying you millions.

Meet your new cast – Jessica Taub Rosenberg, his lead attorney and co-chair of the firm that recently handed WWE a loss in civil court to MLW. She has attacked McMahon accuser Janel Grant on a regular basis in motions she’s filed or in interviews and statements.

First came a “love letter” to the New York Post, one in which Grant wrote in the opening paragraph it took “24 drafts” and has around five to six quotations on its first page lifted from Google searches. 

As a passionate declaration of love, it was more of a fifth grader working to get a late assignment done before lunch ends.

Rosenberg said the letter was proof that McMahon did nothing to Grant. She’s angry at him for ending their affair and she’s still madly in love with him. That this is coming from an attorney is mind blowing, but that’s the case they’re making. Love letters were also given to Epstein and Weinstein, and it didn’t make them less guilty of sex assault.

Weeks later, NBC News stepped in. While it gets into the nuts and bolts of the court story, it paints McMahon flying the world in his private jet, in search of orphaned puppies and kittens to give to friends, who still keep in touch – like Donald Trump, John Cena and The Rock.

The same McMahon whose stories about “sneezing” and how sees it as an act of weakness. I can’t imagine the pain of carrying puppies and kittens up the steps into a private plane with a cane when you can barely walk a couple steps into a building. Some jerk might be sneezing around you, too. 

The latest character in this drama – or the latest announced – is Michael Sitrick, the PR ace whose firm is considered the best media crisis company around. If you need a media crisis company, it’s not because you rescued orphaned puppies and kittens. If you need Sitrick’s, you’re either rich or have major problems. 

Sitrick’s acknowledgement page on his firm’s website is one to behold. He has more nicknames than a McMahon villain and he seems to relish them. 

– “One of the most accomplished practitioners of the dark arts of public relations.”

– “The Winston Wolf of Public Relations”

– “The Wizard of Spin”

– The Flack for When You’re Under Attack.”

– “The spin doctor’s spin doctor”

– And my favorite, the “Ninja Master of the Dark Art of Spin”

Winston Wolf was a character in the Quintin Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction, who helped cover up an accidental murder committed by Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta in the backseat of their car.

Spin is another word for lying, whether one is a wizard or has their doctorate.

According to the New York Times, his list of clients feature Weinstein, Chris Brown, Halle Berry and dozens of massive corporations as well as Jeffrey Epstein. He’s also working pro bono for murdered journalist Daniel Pearl’s foundation.

He unfortunately found himself as part of the story earlier this year Hours before Epstein’s court documents were to be released in January, Sitrick’s own computers were stolen and his office burglarized, according to a story in LA Mag.

“It has to be a coincidence,” Sitrick said.

The New York Times said Sitrick is often hired by the legal team of clients, meaning he’s part of the litigation process, but that also grants him attorney-client privilege.

If you want entertainment, here it is, just remember whose expense it’s from. McMahon, his law firm and his PR firm don’t want this quietly to go through court, they want to make this a show. And they’re building the ultimate antagonist, Janel Grant.

It appears they want to push her into dropping her case or taking an easy settlement. But it also sends a message to other possible victims out there if they come forward.  

Rosenberg has taken character shots at Grant since she started representing McMahon. Whether it’s in the New York Post’s article on the love letter she wrote, the motion she filed for private arbitration or a response to the recent change of heart by John Laurinaitis, who called himself an unwilling victim of McMahon until last week.

Laurinaitis’s attorney released a statement saying he was joining McMahon on an arbitration motion to force Grant to negotiate with them in the terms of the NDA she signed, then denied all of the allegations in the complaint.

This came months after his attorney said he was in fact a victim, going as far as to say WWE management knew about the Ashley Massaro incident, something the company denied for years.

Immediately after Laurinaitis announced he wasn’t a victim and none of this happened after all, Rosenberg was quick to put out a statement.

“In January 2024, Ms. Grant, a 43-year-old with a law degree, who was in love with Mr. McMahon and devastated by their break-up, filed an outrageous and false lawsuit to ruin Mr. McMahon’s career and reputation,” Rosenberg said. “Now, her false allegations are slowly unraveling. Today, Mr. Laurinaitis’ attorney confirmed his client will corroborate Mr. McMahon’s account and expose the lies within the Complaint. Despite their intense efforts, Ms. Grant’s attorneys won’t be able to suppress the truth from coming out.”

Rosenberg has plenty to say about Grant, but little to say about her allegations, the text messages in the complaint, and the times and dates that are laid out. The locations, the various corporate officers noted and the video recordings of the alleged assaults that happened in offices and meeting rooms. The fact she has a law deg
ree doesn’t mean she can’t be forced into signing a bad NDA, or you’re somehow incapable of being in bad financial straights and mental health. It doesn’t mean you can’t be sexually assaulted.

This is a precursor in case the main event comes down. A federal criminal grand jury has been convened since last summer in Southern District of New York,

Allegations WSJ said feds are looking into – like rape and sex trafficking – similar to what Grant has accused McMahon in her civil complaint. She hasn’t said a word about McMahon’s phone, who WSJ reported was taken by the feds as evidence, including other communications.

The entire showbiz promotion around McMahon’s defense shows the difference between how justice works for most people in this country and how it works for the rich and powerful.

A world where defense lawyers – bogged down in cases – keep out of media even if their clients are getting slimed and their reputations ruined before they go to trial, simply because they don’t have the time to deal with it. Ninety-nine percent of us couldn’t pay for a public relations intern, let alone a Sitrick.

It shows how justice worked for Massaro or Rita Chatterton, who accused McMahon of assault in 1992, was sued by McMahon for the accusation, only to get a million dollar payoff years later around the time of WWE’s board was investigating Grant’s accusations. 

It’s also a bizarre twist on law, that an NDA is somehow has supremacy in court over the Speaking Out Act or allegations of sex abuse. 

It shows how justice worked for a young woman at a Boca Raton tanning salon, whose story matches elements of Grant’s, Chatterton’s and others, where McMahon got off on a technicality and escaped an assault charge.

It means the millions in payoffs WWE had to disclose to the SEC are figments of everyone’s imagination.

Despite the sideshow that’s unfolding before us, truth and fact still matter in a court room. The same court, where a federal grand jury is convening about McMahon, recently convicted a former president.

What McMahon, Rosenberg or Sitrick say about Grant won’t make a difference in court. They can look into her motivations, her background, her character – that’s fair game. But at the end McMahon has to answer to the complaint. If he’s indicted, he’s going to answer to federal criminal charges, not an ex-employee. This is the reality, not the sideshow, and no matter what is thrown out there in the coming months, that won’t change. 

Jinder Mahal: A Look Back At One Of The Weirdest WWE Careers Of All Time

Perhaps the biggest name from the most recent wave of WWE releases was Jinder Mahal. After all, The Modern Day Maharaja is a former WWE Champion who earlier this year has a confrontation on Raw with The Rock. 

This isn’t the first time Mahal has been released by WWE and, if history has taught us anything, it may well not be the last. Indeed, for as polarizing as Mahal has been, particularly in his second WWE tenure, the one point fans must have consensus on is that he’s had one of the bizarre WWE career trajectories of all-time.

Mid-Card Act

The early stages of Jinder Mahal’s WWE career saw him work as a quintessential mid-card heel. Sure, he had moments, like debuting in high profile fashion opposite The Great Khali and enjoying an NXT winning streak. For the most part, though, Mahal was lost in the shuffle, not a jobber, but never making much progress on the roster either.

There are those perennial mid-card acts whom fans know are capable of much more. Indeed, the 2019 KofiMania run was predicated on Kofi Kingston being such a talented and well-respected performer that fans were itching to cheer him all the way to winning a world title at WrestleMania when his chance arrived. Mahal, however, seemed to find his spot in the WWE Universe as a reasonable talent who got some air time, but hardly anyone exactly clamored for more of.

3MB and First Release

While Jinder Mahal didn’t exactly seem main event bound in the early stages of his WWE career, it seemed as though WWE abandoned all hope in him when he was assigned to the 3MB faction.

As a One-Man Band, Heath Slater charismatically thrived—losing more than he won, but nonetheless earning a warm response from the WWE audience as a comedic heel. Drew McIntyre felt out of the place with the group for having too much talent and too much of a serious edge to belong in this kind of role.

Playing a supporting role to a mid-card act was a fair fit for Mahal’s limited skills, but he nonetheless never seemed all that at home in this faction either, and it wasn’t exactly a shock when WWE released him.

Return and WWE Title Reign

Jinder Mahal (Photo credit: WWE.com)

After two years away, Jinder Mahal returned to WWE. While his in-ring abilities and mic game hadn’t shown much progress, it is a credit to The Modern Day Maharaja that he’d amassed an impressive physique—jacked and ripped in ways he’d never appeared in his first WWE run.

Mahal returned to a mid-card role player spot, but in spring 2017, the most unlikely turn of all occurred. Mahal took the WWE Championship off Randy Orton. He’d go on to reign for the half the year, including beating back challenges from Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura before even surviving a Money in the Bank cash-in by Baron Corbin. Along the way, there’s a case to be made Mahal even came along on the mic a bit, though the poor quality of his matches remained the defining characteristic of the title reign.

Then, just as suddenly as the title reign had begun, it came to an end on an episode of SmackDown, pretaped from Manchester. AJ Styles immediately reinstated a degree of credibility to the title, then he soundly defeated Mahal when he got his rematch.

Vanishing Act and Second Release

Jinder Mahal’s release, return, and mercurial rise were followed by a steep fall from grace. Though he won the United States Championship at WrestleMania 34, that would end up being about his last moment in the sun. He’d drop the title to Jeff Hardy in short order then be on and off TV for extended stretches. A program with his former stablemate Drew McIntyre marked another peak, though by 2021, it was difficult to take The Maharaja that seriously against a main eventer.

Mahal transitioned, in part, to a managerial role, backing Veer and Sanga. This may have been the best role for Mahal, where he could cash in on his heat and improved promo skills without having to get in the ring. This team struggled to stay relevant, though.

Mahal showed up to some fanfare on the first Raw of 2024, first seeming to be the returning former world champion Triple H had touted making an appearance on that episode. The Rock arrived moments later, and a confrontation between the two was easily The Maharaja’s biggest moment in the last five years of his WWE career. Unfortunately for him, it would also be his last big moment in WWE.

Jinder Mahal’s WWE Legacy

(via WWE)

Jinder Mahal left WWE with one of the most unusual legacies of all time. He was a world champion and had a pocket of supporters. He also spent extended stretches of his career in the lower card or off TV altogether. Moreover, he had a lot of heat on him. Some of that owed to his talents as a heel. There was also a great deal resentment from fans, though, for the main event push he garnered while so many talents like Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Rusev never got that kind of opportunity, despite, by most metrics, having considerably more upside.

Mahal’s colleagues speak highly of him, though, which may be the best testament to why he got the big breaks he did. Moreover, it’s hard not to feel poorly for a star who reached his heights and then saw his career fall off so severely.

WWE let Jinder Mahal go in April 2024. As a former world champion and memorable character, there’s every possibility fans will see him go into the WWE Hall of Fame someday. Heck, if history is any indicator, no one should count him out, either, for another big run in the WWE ring in the next few years.

5 WWE Draft Picks That Totally Changed The Landscape

Coming out of the first night of the 2024 WWE Draft, the biggest point of criticism from fans was the paucity of changes. From main event acts to the mid-card, the roster remained mostly stable from a handful of lower key changes.

WWE has used drafts to make major changes in the past, though, including main event talents totally shaking up the landscape both for arriving on a new show and departing from the other. Looking back, there were specific picks that truly changed the game for WWE.

Triple H (2008)

In 2004, WWE teased Triple H switching brands when he was drafted from Raw to SmackDown, but by the time Draft proceedings were over, he was back where he’d started. However, in 2008, they really did pull the trigger on moving one of the stars most synonymous with Raw to the blue brand.

By 2008, The Game was a de facto main eventer wherever he went. The move set up him up for fresh feuds with talents including Edge, The Great Khali and Kozlov. Most importantly of all, it set a course for a series of matches between Triple H, as an established main eventer to work big time matches with Jeff Hardy and ultimately put over The Charismatic Enigma as World Heavyweight Champion by year’s end.

John Cena (2005)

John Cena and Batista established themselves as the top babyfaces of their generations when they each won their first world titles at WrestleMania 21. A few months later, though, WWE moved Cena to Raw and in so doing, firmly established him as the new face of the company.

While Cena had been popular and had risen to the top on SmackDown, it was a new era for him on Raw. On Monday nights, Cena faced his first substantive backlash as some fans rejected him opposite Chris Jericho and all the more so Kurt Angle, before the heat grew overwhelming against him opposite Triple H and then RVD. In weathering this storm—remaining at the top of the card, proving himself as a capable big match performer, and becoming an institution, the former Dr. of Thuganomics shored up his spot in history as one of wrestling’s biggest stars.

Finn Balor (2016)

There’s a very uneven history of what happens when WWE calls up a major star from NXT. Finn Balor arrived via the 2016 Draft at the dawn of a new era of split brands, and in the lead up to crowning the inaugural Universal Champion. The company got behind Balor and made him feel like a very big deal right out of the gate.

While it’s not clear if WWE meant to truly make Balor the face of Monday nights in the long term, it is telling that his first main roster PLE match saw him beat no lesser competition than Seth Rollins and walk out world champion. Unfortunately, fans will never know the full scope of what the company had planned given Balor got injured in that same match and has never really managed to get back that much momentum again.

Batista (2005)

John Cena moving to Raw in the 2005 may have been the biggest move in WWE Draft history. The counterpart to the new top babyface and WWE Champion arriving on Monday nights, though, was Batista becoming the new top babyface of SmackDown as World Heavyweight Champion.

After trouncing Triple H in their headline feud, The Animal was due for a fresh slate of opponents and found them on the blue brand, defending the title against Eddie Guerrero, JBL, The Great Khali, and Edge. 

Perhaps most importantly, the move to SmackDown set up Batista to feud with The Undertaker. While The Animal was never known for five-star matches, he had undeniable chemistry with The Dead Man, and the two collaborated for some of the best matches of Batista’s career in particular. Moreover, Batista was right at home as the top star of the brand warfare angle surrounding Survivor Series 2005.

Roman Reigns (2019)

Photo: WWE.com

The 2019 WWE Draft moved Roman Reigns to SmackDown. To some fans at the time, this felt like a demotion, though five years later, it feels absolutely silly to think about the move in that light.

Yes, The Big Dog found himself locked in an interminably long feud with Baron Corbin. After that program and a hiatus at the onset of COVID, though, it was time for The Tribal Chief to rise. Reigns redefined his career with a heel turn that immediately paid dividends in the form of a world title reign stretching well over three-and-a-half years. Reigns finally realized his potential as the definitive face of WWE and did so while the blue brand aired on FOX.

It always takes some time to understand the full ramifications of a WWE roster change. When marquee talents are involved, though, it’s worth paying attention. Indeed, some Draft picks went a long way toward redefining WWE, and there will surely be more in the years ahead.

Wrestling’s 10 Best Podcast Episodes

My radio career began on The Wrestling Guys, the No. 1 show in Dayton, with an audience around the country. I was a stuttering kid when I first appeared as a guest and later as a co-host. 

A year later I added Chairshots Radio and after a stint on FM radio in Rhode Island, we moved it all online, recording through a speaker phone to a cassette before recording that into a microphone into a computer and uploading the file after a few hours. 

Things have changed in some ways – its much easier to do a podcast now – and some things haven’t. Put reporters, hosts, personalities and reporters on air in 2000 or 2024, and they make news. 

The Wrestling Guys and Chairshots had so many big interviews and made so much news, I would submit show reports to every wrestling website on the net. Jake Roberts blasting the director of the Beyond the Mat documentary, Bill Goldberg threatening to beat up Hulk Hogan for calling him soft on Larry King (Goldberg had wrestled for months on a torn ACL as WCW champion, finally had surgery. I’d say he wasn’t soft). 

Years later and former wrestlers and personalities dominate, with some major website and news podcasts around. All have their ups (Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, Bryan and Dave, Garrett Gonzalez) and their downs (the hate AEW side gig, the content creators and wannabe influencers). But the best episodes are remarkable for different reasons. 

I made this list based on my own opinion and with an imperfect amount of knowledge of the total wrestling podcast universe, but here’s my shot. 

10. Wrestling Observer Radio – Chris Benoit

WOR’s first show after the Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide is a summation of the horrors of the pro wrestling in the 2000s – that any given morning you are going to get a phone call, and it could be someone you’re friends with has died. 

When Benoit killed his wife and son, the details were thin for the first few hours. WWE aired its mistaken tribute show and people were coming to grips with what happened. Just as wrestling reporters, many of whom knew Benoit or had talked to him, were coming to grips with a story that was too terrible to imagine. 

Alvarez, a friend of Benoit, is dealing with this bomb dropped on him, the shock an the horror of the crime while Meltzer walks through it as a journalist whose heavily emotionally invested in what was the biggest story of its time. It’s not an easy listen, but the way Alvarez and Meltzer handle themselves on air wasn’t just a master class in professionalism during a horrific event, but two friends trying to deal with the reality and horror what happened. I’m not sure how they made it through it. 

9. Talk is Jericho – Remembering Terry Funk

Chris Jericho’s wrestling podcast is no longer a wrestling podcast, and hasn’t been one for years. He has celebrities on regularly. The episode where he and his band, Fozzy, break down Van Halen albums 1984 and 5150 is a must listen for any rock music fan. From any weak he could be interviewing an AEW up and coming talent, horror movie director Eli Roth, one of the Trumps or a Ghostbuster. 

Jericho has worn the influences of his career on his sleeve, and his episode following the death of Terry Funk is an all-timer. With Dave Meltzer as a guest, Funk played a major part in both of their careers. To Meltzer, Funks was more than a mentor and to Jericho he was more than an inspiration. It’s a magical episode when the wrestling podcast world took a second to remember one of its foundations. 

Whether it was rock star frontmen, or childhood heroes like Nick Bockwinkel, Jericho has always been up front about who is influences are at different points of his career and when he re-emerged in a shock in New Japan as a crazed gaijin, reminiscent of Terry Funk and Stan Hansen, Jericho reveled in it. Of all of Jericho’s re-inventions the last 10 years, this was his best. Beating up Red Shoes and putting then Young Lion Shota Umino in the Lion Tamer. Running rampant through fans in the crowd, attacking journalists he remembered from his days in Japan in the 1990s – it was a blast to watch. 

Listening to Dave and Jericho discuss Funk with wonder and relevance was joyful, sad and a reminder of what we had and what we lost. 

8. The Jim Cornette Experience – Vince Russo buries TNA to its own network

Jim Cornette is one of the greatest managers in the history of pro wrestling. He took that gift of gab to podcasting and his Experience podcast with Brian Last continues to be one of the popular on the internet. 

Cornette is at his best when he has a deserving target, and boy, is Russo deserving. Cornette’s emotional speech during an episode of Dark Side of the Ring, getting into why he can’t forgive Russo for his lack of respect for the business and how, when wrestling isn’t taken seriously, people get hurt or even killed – it’s the high mark of the series. It puts into perspective all of the tragedies and controversies the show has aired. He’s shared this point of view a few times during episodes on Owen Hart and the Brawl for All fiasco.

Nothing was more on target than Russo, still pushing his anti-wrestling ideas of pro wrestling on his own podcast, let out that he called the Discovery network and said if they didn’t hire him to take over TNA when it moved to one of its networks, it would go out of business. 

Give Cornette true righteous fury and a deserving target and it’s a joyful dismemberment. Russo can’t be ripped enough. Especially after he put the employees of an entire company at risk. Outside the murderers and rapists, it’s one of the most irresponsible acts by any pro wrestling personality ever. 

Cornette begins by going into the history of Russo in WWE, WCW, TNA and his start, throwing more fire with each line and each well deserved. Cornette has spent thousands of hours talking about Russo, but this episode is different. As he recalls different parts of Russo’s career and the ultimate sin of throwing his ego around at the risk of people’s jobs, Cornette is almost shocked at the own memories of what has led to this. You can hear the disbelief in his voice as he ramps up the curse words and the emotion, and recalls what Russo has done, it’s pure righteous anger and well deserved. 

7. The Stone Cold Podcast – Dean Ambrose

Steve Austin was a much different person when he began his podcast than he was during his day as WWE’s biggest star. Austin carried the company for years, only to get unceremoniously duped in booking, then criticized for “taking his ball and going home” because he knew bad booking when he saw it. 

Austin was more or less laid back, until an episode with Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley (who shall be referred to now as Mox). Austin had scene a lot of potential in Ambrose, who at this point hadn’t won a world title and seemed stuck in WWE’s mid-card while his former Shield stablemates were trading titles in the main event. 

Mox described working the indies and using the internet, using YouTube and other formats to cut promos on upcoming matches. In one example, he cut a promo on Austin as an example, which got Austin’s eyes to turn from curious to burning. It’s a magic moment, and it shows how good Mox is at pulling the competitor out of the people in the room. 

Austin was asking question after question about why Mox  wasn’t reaching his potential, and Mox did his best to be politically correct while explaining WWE’s 50/50 style of booking for all those not named McMahon. 

In the end, Moxley proved
himself right, even over serial carnie Paul Heyman, who ripped Moxley for his unhappiness with how his WrestleMania match with Brock Lesnar went during a live appearance. While everyone in WWE couldn’t stop making excuses, Moxley left and became the first wrestler to hold the three biggest world titles in wrestling. 

6. The Art of Wrestling: CM Punk

The most famous wrestling podcast ever, it’s sad looking back. This episode ruined a long friendship between Punk and Colt Cabana, one that had consequences later when the two were working in AEW. 

Punk had never told his story after leaving WWE in 2014. Wrestlers had told of the rough life and politics in WWE – Tom Zenk was among the first in 2000 – and the stories were always rough listens for WWE fans. Punk let it loose and was later sued by a WWE doctor as a result. Despite WWE’s long-play “spend you to death” legal stragegy, Punk and Cabana one, but it didn’t patch up their relationship. 

Punk’s story is like Punk – a must listen, funny at times, but he leaves no stone unturned. He doesn’t like Triple H, and he may have killed a couple careers while he was at it. Most horrific was Punk describing his health in the company while working a full schedule and dealing with the neglect of his health by the company. 

Cabana and Punk were both innovative and important wrestlers in the still unfolding history of the contemporary era of the sport. Cabana was one of the first with a regular podcast and found ways to make cash and a full living as an independent wrestler. Punk was the first and only indie rebel to reach the top of WWE. 

5. Wrestling Observer: The Piper Bounty 

During an episode of Wrestling Observer Live, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez talked about Roddy Piper. Piper is from the Pacific Northwest, like Alvarez – an accomplished radio and podcast host, pro wrestler and martial artist who has somehow mastered the art of defying aging. 

While WOL and WOR are the pinnacle in wrestling news podcasts, the personalities of Alvarez and Meltzer make it a must listen every week. The two have very different personalities, and their chemistry can revert up and against each other at any moment. Such was the case when Meltzer revealed that Piper had once put a bounty on Alvarez, which was to be collected by John “The Barbarian” Nord.

A Mt. Rushmore level pro wrestling legend putting a bounty on a star pro wrestling media member and radio host – that’s an insane revelation in and of itself. But what made this a legendary episode – Alvarez was not aware of the bounty until Meltzer told the story live on the show.

Alvarez: “What? Piper put a bounty out on me!”

Dave: “(Laughing) What was so great about this was …” 

Meltzer begins sharing the details of the story while Alvarez is in shock. At one point, Alvarez shares that Piper had pulled him into a room, turned out the lights, put a lighter to his face and told Alvarez to inform Dave that he was going to burn down his house.

Alvarez goes through a series of questions that anyone would have – why didn’t Dave tell him when this happened? Listen and find out.

4. Wrestlenomics – Ashley Massaro

The wave of news that came forward after Janel Grant sued Vince McMahon in federal court brought back the story of Ashley Massaro, who died by suicide in 2019. She claimed she had been sexually assaulted at a military medical center while WWE was doing one of its For The Troops shows overseas. The company told Massaro to not report the incident, in fear it would hurt the company’s contract with the military.

Reporting from Vice News revealed three different military investigative agenies looked into Massaro’s claims in 2020 after they became public. 

Brandon Thurston and John Pollock are in new territory reading into a Navy NCIS report, digging through military terms, multiple witnesses and an investigation looking into a crime that allegedly occurred years earlier. They do so with detail, a fine tooth and touch of seriousness that matches their work in their other reporting. Their talent and eye for detail comes through in an episode every wrestling fan should listen to if they want to know the darker workings of the pro wrestling industry. 

3. The Lapsed Fan: The Lamentable Tragedy of World Class

Twenty-three episodes, spread across two to three hours an episode, Jack Encarnacio and JP Sarro’s seminal work was studied by Holt McCallany, who told Garrett Gonzalez he listened to the series while studying to play Fritz Von Erich in The Iron Claw movie. 

The series is a seminal work of pro wrestling journalism. It’s one of the finest series I’ve listened to in any medium of radio or podcasting. As someone who worked as a researched on a PBS Frontline documentary, this is a remarkable work of journalism even as Enccarnacio and Sarro keep it light and keep the fans in themselves at the mic alongside the heavy research. 

Taken after the name of a magazine article, the first episode begins with a reading of the opening of Moby Dick, with Fritz substituted as the ship’s obsessed Captain and Chris Von Erich as his Starbuck. It’s literary, it’s funny, it’s beyond deep, it’s a must listen and it’s an amazing example of the form put to its full potential. 

2. Talk Is Jericho: Triple H

If there was one episode of Talk Is Jericho fans wanted to hear, it was his interview of Triple H.

In a special two-parter, the two went over their history in WWE together, which was more often than not pretty rocky. At this point the two respected each other and had a friendly business relationship (which has probably died since Jericho went to New Japan then AEW), and they recalled Jericho’s early and controversial days in WWE during the Attitude Era, most of which had nothing to do with Jericho. 

Hearing them joke about Jericho’s “nuclear” heat with DX is funny 14 years after it happened (the interview took place in 2014), but it was serious business in the early 2000 and despite the laughter the edge is there. It’s a remarkable interview because of the subject matter and the two rivals talking about it. It’s something rarely seen in any form of interviewing or podcasting and it’s an enjoyable and entertaining listen. 

1. Celebrating Jay – aka The Great Fowler

Only one podcast has had both WWE and AEW talent in the contemporary era, and that’s when stars from both companies got together to raise funds for The Great Fowler. Jay is now four years into the six-months he was told he had to live following a massive cardiac event. 

Jay was popular on the Figure Four/Wrestling Observer network. Wrestlers, company owners referred to him as the man who kept kicking out on The Grim Reaper. 

What makes Jay remarkable can’t be just summed up in his will to live and his positive view of social media and life (which is amazingly remarkable in itself), but also the “pay it forward” approach he’s taken to hot spots like Twitter. It hasn’t always been pretty, many of the worst have attacked Fowler, who often lives on donations to make ends meet and to stay off the street. But his positive attitude is infectious and his all-real personality has ingratiated himself to thousands of fans and some of the biggest talent in the world, including Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and Edge. 

He could have walked off and did nothing else, but he’s used his own c
onnections to become his own one-man Make-A-Wish, connecting wrestlers with fans who are suffering terminal illness and other issues. Jay’s paid it forward for years and God bless him, we’ll have him paying it forward for decades more. 

5 Compelling Challengers For Cody Rhodes In 2024

Cody Rhodes won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40 in one of the most satisfying triumphs in company history. While The American Nightmare and his fans can bask in the glow of that victory for a little longer, the question looms as to whom he’ll defend his title against.

WWE started to answer that question with a number one contender’s tournament that started on the April 12 edition of SmackDown. One has to assume that the first challenger won’t take the title off Rhodes, though. In fact, if Triple H’s booking has taught us anything, it’s that very long title reigns are not just possible, but likely. So who should try to take the belt off Rhodes in the months ahead? The good news for WWE and its fans is that there are quite a few compelling options.

Sheamus

Sheamus-Monday Night Raw April 18

There are a small handful of veterans on the WWE roster who may not be probable world champions in the immediate future, but who nonetheless will always be with a few weeks’ push of feeling credible in a main event spot. Fresh off a return to action, Sheamus is very much a part of that list.

After some time away, there’s a good opportunity to press the reset button Sheamus. Though early hints have him factoring into the Intercontinental Championship picture, he could quickly enough win a number one contender’s battle royal, tournament, or gauntlet to be repositioned for a good, heated feud with good matches against Cody Rhodes.

Gunther

While Gunther lost a major match at WrestleMania 40, he had one of those rare title reigns that was so remarkable it totally overshadows the way in which the reign ended. Gunther reigned as Intercontinental Champion for over 600 days, turning in more than his share of excellent matches along the way. There’s no question he’s credible now as a main event talent.

Gunther vs. Cody Rhodes is a natural rivalry if only for the patriotic underpinnings of Rhodes’s persona opposite Gunther’s ties to Austria. The safe money is on Gunther in one world title picture or another come Bash in Berlin this summer. While it would be a safer choice for him win the World Heavyweight Championship, there’s little question that Gunther vs. Cody Rhodes is about as big a match as WWE can book for that particular event.

Randy Orton

There’s a long history between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes that includes The Viper mentoring a younger Rhodes, as well as the two clashing on no lesser stage than that of WrestleMania 26.

Orton and Rhodes have been positioned as allies since the former Superstar returned this past November, but there’s no shortage of history around him turning on his friends in storylines. Moreover, Orton has always been a natural heel and he’d pose one of the most credible challengers The American Nightmare could possibly have.

Bron Breakker

Bron Breakker had a long, celebrated run in NXT, most of which he spent at or around the top of the card. During that time, he established himself as a powerhouse wrestler who can work face or heel, has a reasonable charisma, and can carry his end of a very good match.

While there’s no shortage of fresh veteran opponents for Cody Rhodes in WWE, there is something to be said for taking on a young stud as well. Breakker has been mowing his way through squash matches on SmackDown and there’s a good case for keeping him strong for a brief run going up against The American Nightmare while both acts are hot.

Bobby Lashley

It surprised quite a few fans when WWE finally pulled the trigger on Bobby Lashley as a world champion in 2021. He’s had his ups and downs since then, but coming off a WrestleMania triumph and heading up his own faction once again, it’s not much stretch at all to envision him returning to the main event spotlight this year.

Bobby Lashley vs. Cody Rhodes is as an especially compelling matchup for the ways in which these two have just missed each other a couple times over between the timing of when each man arrived, left, or returned to WWE. Particularly as a heel, Lashley can always pose a credible threat. For Rhodes, efforts like his feud with Brock Lesnar demonstrated just how good he can be when he’s playing the underdog against a monster heel.

Looking Back At The Insane 2005 WWE Draft

When WWE announced its 2024 Draft, it was only natural for longtime fans to think back noteworthy Drafts from the past. A number of these events have felt forced—a contrived way to move a talent, a faction, or even a rivalry from one show to another—or, even worse, an uneventful Draft in which nothing meaningful changed at all.

When it comes to momentous drafts, none can compare to the one WWE conducted in 2005. Indeed, this Draft had a major impact on three signature stars from the famous OVW developmental class of 2002. These men would go on to main event WrestleManias for years to come. That’s not to mention the Draft positioning one other intended main eventer for a huge run that didn’t quite materialize.

John Cena Becomes The Face Of WWE

When did John Cena become the face of WWE? There are a number of points in history fans could point to. The groundwork was there when he turned babyface in late 2003 and got an overwhelmingly positive response from fans. The road grew even clearer when he beat The Big Show for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 20. Cena realized a lot of his potential at WrestleMania 21, when he won his first world title, besting JBL.

Each of these preceding turns in Cena’s story pushed him toward the top. However, in late 2003 to early 2004, Brock Lesnar still appeared to be the top dog among the new generation of WWE Superstars, with Randy Orton and Batista on par with, if not higher in the pecking order than Cena. Talents like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, and Eddie Guerrero were all clearly a step ahead of The Dr. of Thuganomics too. From there, even at WrestleMania 21, Batista also won his first world title and got the main event nod in the process, with his match against Triple H headlining over Cena vs. JBL.

Indeed, there’s a real case to be made that it wasn’t until WWE drafted Cena to the Raw brand that he definitively stepped into the spotlight, becoming not only a world champion, but the world champion of the A-Show. In the months to follow it was undeniable WWE had positioned him as “the guy,” and accordingly he’d main event the next two WrestleManias.

Batista Finds The Right Fit

After John Cena moved to Raw, it was only fitting that Batista moved to SmackDown, becoming the top babyface of the number two brand. Particularly in hindsight, it’s clear Cena was the more complete performer—better on the mic, ultimately a better big match performer, better at connecting with fans, and it didn’t hurt that he was eight years younger.

Still, the move wasn’t a simple demotion for Batista. On the contrary,  the blue brand was a straight up better fit for The Animal in 2005. He had feuded exhaustively with Triple H and it was time to move on to fresh opponents. On SmackDown, Batista moved on to excellent feuds opposite the likes of The Undertaker, Edge, and Booker T besides holding things down as the face of SmackDown when brand warfare was the name of the game for Survivor Series that year.

Randy Orton Gets Away From Evolution And Charts A Course Forward

Randy Orton had a tumultuous 2003. A feud with Mick Foley helped him realize his potential as a main eventer and he won his first world title at SummerSlam. Triple H and Evolution turning on The Viper offered an iconic Raw moment, but Orton would quickly flounder as a top babyface. He lost his feud with Triple H in pretty decisive fashion, and only started to get his mojo back when he feuded with The Undertaker and returned to heel form going into WrestleMania 20.

The best choice for Orton’s WWE future was to stay heel, but also stay away from Triple H, not to mention not having to compete with Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho for a top spot. Moving to SmackDown was, particularly in hindsight, huge for cementing Orton as a main eventer as he had time to grow on the lower profile show, got to continue his issue with The Undertaker, and was back in a world title mix by WrestleMania 22.

Muhammad Hassan Gets Into Position

Muhammad Hassan drew huge heat upon his arrival on the WWE main roster. While John Cena was cemented as the face of Raw and, by extension, the whole company, WWE primed Hassan for a run as a heel world champion.

Indeed, all indications were that WWE meant for Hassan to enter the World Heavyweight Championship picture by SummerSlam 2005 after feuding with and presumably getting the best of The Undertaker in the lead up. Real life got in the way, with WWE booking Hassan to lead what looked like a terrorist attack on The Dead Man that coincided with a real life terrorist attack in London. It was a bad look for the character and company, which compelled WWE to pull the plug on the Hassan gimmick altogether in short order. Nonetheless, it further bespeaks the weight of the 2005 Draft that it was also intended result in minting yet another new main eventer.

WWE Drafts always generate some buzz and open up new storytelling possibilities. None has ever compared to the radical changes imposed by the 2005 Draft, though, which completely changed the game at the time and had ripple effects for years to follow.

Becky Lynch Was The Right Choice To Carry The Women’s World Championship Forward

WWE fans had just come out of the glow of WrestleMania season when reality hit hard. Rhea Ripley revealed she was injured and had to vacate her Women’s World Championship. A battle royal followed and there were a number of intriguing possibilities for who would capture what’s quite arguably the top prize in women’s wrestling. Lynch wound up winning the title in a move that drew a polarizing response from the audience. Some argued that The Man as champion was played out or that, at the least, there were more appealing choices like Liv Morgan or perhaps even Chelsea Green. However, at the end of the day, Lynch was the right choice for the time being.

Becky Lynch Is A Credible Champion

Becky Lynch

When a champion drops a title without losing a match, there’s an immediate credibility gap for the new champ to fill. As Ric Flair famously said, “To be the man, you have to beat the man.” Without the credibility of beating the champion, there’s a risk of the champ to follow actually devaluing the title and by extension the whole division.

Particularly given her fun performance in the battle royal to crown a new Women’s World Champion, it would have been enjoyable to see Chelsea Green walk out with the belt. Regardless of her experience, talent, and charisma, though, Green simply hasn’t been established as a credible world champion in WWE thus far. She has a lot of the tools to get there one day, with the right push. Hot shotting the title onto her, though, would have the potential of feeling like a setback for the championship itself.

Becky Lynch was a viable WrestleMania challenger for Rhea Ripley earlier this month. More than that, she carries with her a resume that includes eight previous title reigns in WWE, a Royal Rumble victory, and being the first woman to ever win a WrestleMania main event. There’s no doubting Lynch is a worthy champion, and though she did lose to The Eradicator, she at worst represents a small step backward for the title’s prestige.

Becky Lynch Hasn’t Been A World Champion In Over Two Years

(via WWE)

One of the complaints that quickly arose on social media about Becky Lynch’s new title reign was that fans are tired of her as champ and it was time to feature other talents. There is some validity there, that The Man has spent the last five years in a high profile role with WWE.

However, the argument Lynch has spent too much time as champion falls flat given the last time she won a world title was at SummerSlam 2021 and she lost that belt going into WrestleMania 38. Moreover, since that point—when she dropped her title clean to Bianca Belair—she went on to put over The EST again, not to mention losing matches to Nia Jax, Rhea Ripley, and Lyra Valkyria to name a few.

In short, while Lynch reigning as champion isn’t new, it also isn’t played out in the sense that we’ve seen a lot of it the last couple years, nor is it fair to suggest she isn’t willing put over other talents strongly.

It Will Mean More For The Next Champion To Beat Becky Lynch Than To Have Won A Battle Royal

There’s a long tradition of battle royals crowning new champions, but the uncomfortable truth around these scenarios is that it’s actually one of the least decisive ways of winning a title. After all, a traditional championship win involves pinning the title holder or making her submit. Otherwise, a tournament win at least includes beating a multiple opponents one-on-one, while a Ladder Match is inherently grueling.

Battle royals are typically contested under over-the-top-rope rules which largely amount to hanging around the match until its late stages, then happening knock someone out of the ring. While there’s certainly a case that a performer like Liv Morgan would’ve done just fine winning the Women’s World Championship from the battle royal, it’s hard to deny she’d be better off launching a new reign by beating Becky Lynch at Money in the Bank, SummerSlam, or another major PLE.

That’s true of Morgan, who already has a substantial following and world title under belt, and would be all the more true for up-and-coming challengers whom The Man has all the potential in the world to elevate in the months ahead. 

My First Visit to the ECW Arena

Growing up as a young pro wrestling fan in the 1990s, I was lucky to have experienced a magical time when WCW Nitro and WWE Raw were running hot and heavy. I also discovered another renegade, rough-around-the-edges (in the best possible way) company called ECW.

I somehow came across it on a local station that also aired Memphis’ USWA and late at night on Sunshine Network in South Florida.  The atmosphere you could liken to a rowdy rock show or college rager. Beers and blood flowed on the regular. Characters were more grounded and gritty. The show’s biting video packages and overall presentation were accompanied by a killer soundtrack. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was introduced to the likes of Alice & Chains, The Offspring, and Pantera through ECW.

Since ECW produced a more adult-oriented product, it was no surprise that when it ran the War Memorial Auditorium in South Florida I remember you had to be a certain age or be with an adult of 18 and over to attend. Now this could have been what my parents told me, but I do also vaguely recall that being a rule. 

Anyway, since I was a younger teen at the time, I was bummed that I couldn’t find anyone to take me when they were in town. So now decades later, I think about how cool it would have been to go to an ECW event, let alone at the world-famous ECW Arena.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when WrestleMania 40 invaded Philadelphia. With it came your usual cornucopia of shows including at the 2300 Arena. Yes, the beloved ECW Arena. This was my chance to be in, as they say in Hamilton, “the room where it happens.” With the schedule jam-packed, the only opportunity I had to experience the venue in its glory was the Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow.

Pulling up to S Swanson Street, you see the big 2300 Arena signage and immediately get goosebumps. Of course, I had to get my photo in front of the building just like Paul Walter Hauser did. He was marking ou as well, and you can’t blame him. 

The award-winning actor would headline the show in a bloody street fight against Sami Callihan. More on that later. Walking into the building, you see the time and care the owners put into updating the place while still respecting the ECW history in the past.

It was certainly surreal to see the banners celebrating the legends, past show posters, and the mural in the men’s bathroom in person. While there is no way you can recapture that lightning in the bottle of ECW, I think there were elements throughout the card that gave you the feeling you were transported back in the day.

Nostalgia could be felt seeing the likes of Rob Van Dam, The Full Blooded Italians, Masato Tanaka, Bill Alfonso, ring announcer Stephen DeAngelis and Jim Molineaux. However, the real icing on the extreme cake was the surprise during the Hauser and Callihan final match with an appearance from THE Sandman! Between the lights going out with the sounds of Metallica beginning to play and his iconic entrance, it was one of those moments that reminds you why you became a fan. What a moment in time.

You could say I finished my own story in a sense with another legendary spot off the bucket list. Insert ECW chant. Gone but never forgotten. 

Tony Khan Can Be The Leader AEW Needs By Getting Out Of His Own Way

Countless clichés spring to mind after witnessing AEW Dynamite, but perhaps the most apt is, “those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”  Wednesday night felt like a page taken from the AOL/Time Warner playbook. 

Despite potential ratings boosts, Tony Khan’s decision to air the altercation between Jack Perry and CM Punk likely did more harm than good—not just to AEW, but to all his employees. Comparatively, this “fight” seemed less intense than typical scuffles in South Philly diners during WrestleMania weekend. This decision casts doubt on Khan’s confidence in the high-profile stars he has under contract, such as Swerve Strickland, Adam Copeland, Samoa Joe, Will Ospreay, and Okada. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.

It felt particularly petty and mean-spirited for AEW to announce the airing of this footage during WrestleMania, contradicting the optimism that marked the company’s early days. It seemed like an admission of defeat: “We have nothing left but footage of a wrestler who’s no longer with us.” In reality, AEW has plenty to offer; however, Khan often leaves projects unfinished, forgets them, and metaphorically unplugs the microwave.

Regardless of who was featured on Dynamite, nothing could overshadow the impact of the notorious security camera footage. While it contributed nothing to advancing any current narratives, except perhaps the story CM Punk told on the “MMA Hour,” it diverted focus from active wrestlers to those no longer with the company. As a result, fans chanted for WWE “Superstars” instead of AEW’s Ricky Starks, Wardlow, or Thunder Rosa. Cody Rhodes, during WrestleMania week, did a far better job of promoting AEW than anyone else, expressing pride in the collective effort to launch the company.

This begs the question: Does Khan truly aspire to make AEW the top pro wrestling promotion, or is he more driven by personal vendettas against former stars? 

The events of Wednesday suggest the latter. Although Khan likely has good intentions, it’s crucial for him to reassess and prioritize his goals. Khan has undoubtedly contributed positively to pro wrestling, but he has also demonstrated a consistent inability (or unwillingness) to avoid self-sabotage.

AEW is treading water. Ironically, the company needs a decisive leader to reach the next level. The best apology Khan could offer his roster would be to appoint an experienced figure to fill this role.

Indeed, actions speak louder than words.

AEW Misfired With the CM Punk All In Footage, But It Doesn’t Rank Among Wrestling’s Worst Ratings Stunts

All Elite Wrestling decided to fight back against the tirade from paid-off podcasters, bots, online bullies, and louts, including its serial one-man internet narrative, CM Punk. 

Punk spilled his own version of the All In brawl on fanboy Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour podcast last week. Tony Khan’s mismanagement of Punk and the controversies surrounding him have derailed AEW creatively, namely, in how Punk is always used as a hammer to bludgeon the company.

AEW has its problems, but it also faces a constant barrage from former wrestling personalities on Legends contracts or angry and jealous old-timers who feel Khan owes them a job. Wrestlers make more than they ever have once they reach the top levels. It wasn’t long ago that a regular talent on Raw would make $60,000 a year depending on who they were and the contract they signed. Still, WWE’s payroll makes up way less than 10% of its total expenses, a number that in most companies is around 50% or more. 

Under this environment, AEW owner Tony Khan decided to fight back by airing backstage footage of CM Punk’s confrontation and choking of Jack Perry during the Wembley All In PPV. Most notable was that Punk’s story was largely straightforward, and while Punk was really angry at Khan and was dragged off by Chris Hero and Jerry Lynn, Khan’s life didn’t appear to be in danger in the footage he chose to air.

Some have taken aim at Perry for not defending himself more forcefully and getting tossed around by Punk, but considering he was standing right in front of the owner of the company when this happened, that criticism doesn’t hold much water.

People are seeing this through the eyes they choose—whether they like Punk or not and how they view workplace confrontations. What I know is, most people would be fired for what Punk did, whether it was backstage at a wrestling company or somewhere else.

The Young Bucks, who were tasked with using this incident to fuel their fourth matchup with FTR, seemed to sum it up best as a “high school scrap.” When they attacked PAC later in the show, they were met with a CM Punk chant. After spending nearly two years trying to distance themselves from the fog of All Out, including reinventing themselves and staking a claim to being the best heel act in wrestling, that had to sting.

The Bucks and FTR deserve better. So does everyone else backstage, and that’s not limited to the wrestlers.

Viewership data hasn’t been released for the ratings stunt as of this writing, but is there a number that would justify this decision? CM Punk is the one who reopened this wound and shone a light back on the backstage dysfunction AEW has tried so desperately to move on from since last summer.

Tony Khan still has the power to command attention and shift the industry’s attention back to his company. However, it’s not in a way that draws money or improves the company’s perception with fans.

All that said, longtime viewers have seen far worse. Here are 10 incidents that may have seemed like a good idea to somebody at the time, but backfired spectacularly.

10. WCW Spoil’s Mick Foley’s WWF title win

Mick Foley, who wrestled as Cactus Jack in WCW for years, was always a reliable and hated heel, even as the company struggled during the early ’90s. Foley was versatile; he could wrestle, brawl, and he sacrificed countless cartilage, blood, and even an ear for the company.

By 1999, Foley had joined the WWF, which had finally rebounded after being dominated by WCW for two years. Steve Austin and The Rock emerged as historic draws, with Foley right behind them as a massive, drawing babyface. Vince McMahon initially didn’t see Foley as much of a factor, but his Mankind character was creepy and fit well within the WWF, especially in matches against the Undertaker and other top babyfaces.

Recognizing their need for greater star power, the WWF began presenting Foley differently, portraying his journey into wrestling with a more three-dimensional character development. This led to a feud with The Rock and a World title match on Raw that was pre-taped.

On orders from Eric Bischoff, who couldn’t believe fans would accept Foley as a credible champion, Bischoff repeated a tactic WCW had used before.

“That’ll put butts in the seats,” Tony Schiavone said sarcastically, relaying Raw’s spoilers on Bischoff’s directive. When 9 p.m. arrived and Raw aired during Nitro’s second hour, hundreds of thousands of Nitro viewers switched to Raw to witness Foley winning the WWF title.

Despite its steady decline, Nitro was still a ratings, buys, and crowds powerhouse in 1999. The spoiler reveal demonstrated that Bischoff and WCW were out of touch and perceived as mean-spirited.

9. Dusty Rhodes bloody angle with the Road Warriors

By 1988, Crockett Promotions was floundering. Magnum TA’s career had abruptly ended two years earlier, and emerging talents like Lex Luger and Sting hadn’t yet reached the stature needed to assume top babyface roles within the company.

In a desperate move, Dusty Rhodes resorted to a strategy that had previously served him well—creating a formidable heel group by having them brutally attack him. This time, it involved the Road Warriors, one of the world’s most popular tag teams. They betrayed their six-man tag team partner, Dusty Rhodes, by using a spike from their shoulder pads to jab into Rhodes’ eye. The footage was blurred on TBS, which only made the incident appear more gruesome, and this controversial angle—which violated several TBS guidelines—resulted in Rhodes being dismissed as the booker. It was intended to be more than just a ratings stunt, yet that’s essentially what it became. After a feud with the Midnight Express and capturing the NWA tag titles for the first time, the Warriors’ newfound infamy couldn’t deter the fans’ adoration, rendering the whole effort futile.

8. Road Warrior Hawk pushed off the Titan Tron

Fans who grew up in the late ’90s often remember the Attitude Era fondly, despite it being rife with ratings stunts designed to boost Raw in its weekly competition against Nitro. Many of these stunts were in poor taste and would be unthinkable for today’s broadcasts.

The Road Warriors returned to WWE in 1996 after leaving WCW. Vince McMahon attempted to recreate or modernize the Legion of Doom (LOD) with different appearances and names. For a time, Sunny managed them, and Darren “Puke” Drozdov was added as a third member. It seemed McMahon was more focused on undermining the Road Warriors’ legacy than leveraging their draw power. This was evident in various gimmicks, such as assigning them a doll as a manager during their earlier stint in the company or exploiting Hawk’s real-life struggles with alcoholism in a storyline.

A particularly disturbing storyline featured Hawk climbing to the top of the TitanTron, threatening to jump off, only to be pushed by his envious partner, Drozdov. While some WWF fans defended the angle, long-time supporters of the Road Warriors were appalled by their treatment, and wrestling journalists expressed their disgust. Unfortunately, this was just a glimpse of the extreme measures taken during this era.

7. Jerry Lawler gets ran over with a car

Memphis wrestling was notorious for its wild angles, eccentric characters, and sometimes stretching the bounds of believability to their limits.

In a particularly controversial episode, the program crossed a line with the Memphis Police Department during a feud involving Jerry Lawler and Eddie and Doug Gilbert. The Gilberts, in a storyline, spotted Lawler in the parking lot outside the studio and ran him over with a car. This episode aired live, including the shocking angle, leading to dozens of phone calls to the police from concerned viewers reporting the Gilberts’ actions and complaints directed at the TV studio.

As a result of the uproar and police involvement, a remorseful Lawler was compelled to appear on television to assure the audience that he was, in fa
ct, unharmed and not as severely injured as the storyline suggested.

6. The 1st time Stephanie McMahon was forcibly married on Raw

Stephanie McMahon entered her early 20s and began to feature regularly on WWF TV. Initially portrayed as a damsel in distress, her character evolved following a heel turn, where her screechy, unnerving voice and tendency to overshadow anyone she shared the screen with became her defining traits.

Her storyline involvement with Test, her first on-air boyfriend, was fraught with difficulties. Notably, they encountered the Undertaker and his group of lower-card wrestlers, along with a “symbol” that resembled a cross. This symbol, previously used in a storyline to crucify Steve Austin, became a prop in a plot to tie Stephanie to it and force her into a marriage with the Undertaker inside the ring.

The narrative reached a climax when, after numerous babyfaces attempted to save Stephanie, Steve Austin made a dramatic entrance. He incapacitated several of the Undertaker’s minions with chair shots before ultimately confronting the Undertaker himself and rescuing Stephanie. This act marked one of Austin’s first definitive babyface moments on Raw TV. Despite the problematic elements of forced marriage, misogyny, religious insensitivity, and overall moral degradation, this storyline inadvertently served to further elevate Austin’s popularity in 1998—a time when his character was already experiencing significant momentum.

5. The 2nd Time Stephanie McMahon was forcibly married on Raw

During the peak of the Attitude Era, WWE intensified its edgy content with moments like women flashing crowds and cameras—antics often orchestrated by DX members Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Despite the influx of fitness models on its roster, Stephanie McMahon, being the boss’s daughter, remained the focal female character.

Her storyline saw a second coerced marriage while she was “engaged” to Test, even as Triple H was publicly in a relationship with Joanie ‘Chyna” Laurer. In a plot twist that took place in Vegas, Triple H, leading the heel faction DX at the time, took an unconscious Stephanie through a drive-thru chapel in Vegas, marrying her by mimicking her voice for consent.

It was later revealed that Stephanie was complicit in the entire scheme, having turned heel as part of her nefarious plan. Around this period, Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Stephanie began their real-life relationship, even as Triple H was still involved with Chyna.

This storyline marked a controversial point in WWE programming, initiating the era of the McMahon family as prominent figures on WWF TV. Stephanie, despite often being sexualized in storylines, typically emerged victorious, regardless of her character’s moral alignment. Her personal decisions, such as getting breast implants or participating in sexually humiliating angles, were purportedly leveraged against other female talents, suggesting that if Stephanie was willing to engage in such storylines, they had no ground to refuse. These two forced marriage angles signaled the start of a problematic period for women in WWE, reflecting broader issues within the industry’s portrayal of female characters.

4. Katie Vick

Why resort to actual wrestling to fuel a feud when you can opt for a tasteless alternative? This was the approach taken during Triple H’s feud with Kane, the masked storyline brother of the Undertaker.

The storyline took a macabre turn when it was disclosed that Kane had a childhood girlfriend named Katie Vick, who had tragically died. WWE produced a particularly distasteful pre-taped segment set in a funeral home, where Triple H simulated sex with Vick, represented by a mannequin, inside a coffin. The depiction of Triple H’s actions was so graphic that it culminated in the mannequin’s “brains” spilling out.

This angle was hyped as a significant reveal, yet it ultimately left fans feeling bewildered and repulsed. It is frequently cited as one of the most deplorable storylines in wrestling history, emblematic of a stunt and tease that devolved into utter folly.

3. Pillman’s Got a Gun

Brian Pillman’s career took a dramatic turn after a car accident severely damaged his leg, nearly costing him his life. Despite a challenging recovery following painful ankle surgery, Pillman’s “Loose Cannon” persona garnered widespread interest, ultimately leading him to sign a lucrative contract with the WWF.

As Pillman’s ankle struggled to heal, necessitating further surgery, the WWF creatively paired him with the rising star Steve Austin to maintain his on-screen presence. In a storyline developed to accommodate Pillman’s need for time off, Austin was scripted to re-injure Pillman’s ankle with a chair attack.

The storyline escalated with Austin vowing to confront Pillman at his home in Walton, Kentucky. In a highly controversial segment, Pillman was shown waiting for Austin with a 9mm handgun, threatening to shoot Austin should he show up.

When “Stone Cold” Steve Austin did appear, attacking two Heartland Wrestling Association wrestlers outside Pillman’s home as part of the staged angle, the situation inside the house reached a boiling point. As Austin broke through the door, scattering glass, the broadcast cut to Pillman’s wife screaming and a furious Pillman firing shots.

The storyline was met with widespread criticism for its disturbing content and lack of taste. The disbelief that Austin would actually be shot, coupled with the angle’s poor reception, led the USA Network to demand an on-air apology from Vince McMahon the following week.

2. WWE’s Live Sex Celebration

Long before he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Edge (Adam Copeland) sought out to establish himself as a prominent heel known as the ‘Rated R Superstar’ was on the With Amy “Lita” Dumas by his side as a top women’s wrestler and manager. Their on-screen partnership was intertwined with real-life drama, notably Lita’s relationship issues with Matt Hardy, which WWE exploited for storyline purposes. This approach led to severe crowd backlash against Lita, fueling heat for both her and Edge. Their storyline reached a controversial peak at the 2006 Elimination Chamber, where Edge, having promised live sex in the ring on Raw if he won the WWE title, emerged victorious.

Following through, the next night on Raw featured the couple undressing to near nudity under a bed cover in the ring, an act that was interrupted before its conclusion. The segment was widely criticized for its explicit nature and discomforting implications.

Years after the event, Dumas shared on her Twitch stream that she had been coerced into participating in the angle by Vince McMahon. Despite the segment being presented as a tease meant to be interrupted, Lita was deeply uncomfortable with the extent of what was planned. When she expressed her reluctance, she was threatened with termination if she did not comply. This situation also upset Edge and John Cena, both of whom voiced concerns to McMahon about forcing Dumas into an angle she was uncomfortable with.

Despite these objections, McMahon insisted on proceeding with the segment. Dumas, feeling compelled, participated in the angle but left the company several months later. In a final act of disparagement, WWE had a character auction off her “leftover belongings” on-air, a move seen as an attempt to shame her character further. This episode remains a stark example of the wrestling industry’s past mishandling of personal boundaries and consent.

1. The Melanie Pillman Raw interview

The WWF disclosed the tragic news that Brian Pillman had been found dead in his Minnesota hotel room before a PPV in October 1997. In an immediate follow-up, the next night on Raw featured an on-air interview with Melanie Pillman, who was visibly in shock and grieving over the sudden loss of her husband. Vince McMahon conducted the interview, during which the TV crew insinuated it might be an elaborate hoax in the vein of an Andy Kaufman-esque stunt, supposedly masterminded by Pillman
.

Melanie Pillman, overwhelmed by her husband’s death, was portrayed as a deeply distraught and emotional widow. Given her state, it’s plausible she wasn’t in the best position to make a decision about appearing on TV. Nevertheless, McMahon, recognizing an opportunity, chose to use the death of Pillman as a ratings ploy. This incident starkly revealed McMahon’s mentality and the WWF’s operational ethos, casting a harsh light on the company’s regard for its personnel.

5 WWE Wrestlers Who Headlined ‘Big 4’ PPV’s But Never Had A Singles Match At WrestleMania

There are certain tangible milestones a WWE Superstar can hit like winning titles or winning an annual match like a Money in the Bank ladder match. There other accomplishments that are bit fuzzier—ones that not everyone keeps tabs on or that aren’t as easy to notice, but that nonetheless are noteworthy once someone draws attention to them.

Main eventing a PLE is one such milestone, and all the more so main eventing a Big Four event, given the longstanding tradition and name recognition around such shows as the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, or Survivor Series. Moreover, having a singles match at all at WrestleMania is a resume-worthy item, as opposed to getting lost in the shuffle of a battle royal, a ladder match with an six-man-plus field, or ten-person tag team bout.

Interestingly, there are those talents who were big enough names to main event a Big Four PLE while never getting a singles spotlight at WrestleMania.

Wade Barrett

Wade Barrett had a huge impact on WWE in 2010, leading The Nexus into a spotlight angle over the summer and still dominated much of Raw programming into the fall. Indeed Barrett was the front man for The Nexus’s seven-on-seven main event at SummerSlam 2010, including being the last man eliminated by no lesser opponent than John Cena. From there, Barrett had a one-on-one Big Four PLE main event at Survivor Series, where he challenged Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.

For all these successes—not to mention garnering multiple other pushes during his tenure—Barrett never got a singles match at WrestleMania. He came into WrestleMania 31 as the Intercontinental Championship but lost his title to Daniel Bryan in a seven-man ladder match. Otherwise, Barrett appeared as part of an eight-man tag team, leading The Corre into battle at WrestleMania 27. His closest call was probably at WrestleMania 29 where he had a singles match with The Miz, but was relegated to the pre-show.

Brian Lee

The name Brian Lee may not ring too many bells with WWE fans, but he had a very respectable career in major indie promotions in the 1990s, not to mention two noteworthy stints with WWE. Lee portrayed the character of Chainz—a part of Crush’s Disciples of Apocalypse faction during the Attitude Era. More important to his resume, though, he played a faux Undertaker, backed by Ted Dibiase to work a one-on-one SummerSlam main event against the real Undertaker in 1994.

The choice for Undertaker vs. Undertaker to main event over Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart in a steel cage world title match hasn’t aged very well. Nonetheless, the bout was a spectacle and marked an auspicious return for The Dead Man in an era when he was in the early stages of his WrestleMania undefeated streak. As for Lee, his only WrestleMania match would come at WrestleMania 15, quietly teaming with Bradshaw as one of fifteen tag teams in the opening battle royal.

Zeus

Zeus

Zeus had a brief, memorable run with WWE. He only worked three televised matches, but two out of three were PLE main events, and one of those PLEs was SummerSlam. At that show, the actor teamed with Randy Savage to oppose Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake.

Despite some accounts that Zeus was actually considered to headline WrestleMania 6 against Hogan, cooler heads prevailed and the character didn’t stick around past the promotion of the No Holds Barred movie. His last match was at the PLE by the same name, teaming with Savage again for one more losing effort against Hogan and Beefcake.

Ludvig Borga

WWE featured Ludvig Borga as a monster heel character in 1993, focusing on his Finnish background. Between his strong push and the emphasis on Lex Luger as the patriotic top babyface, the writing was on the wall that Luger would take the WWE Championship off Yokozuna, and Borga would be one of his top challengers in the months to follow.

Plans changed. Though Borga was the last heel standing for this team in the main event of Survivor Series 1993, that performance was less a sign of things to come than the beginning of the end. Luger’s momentum stalled out and he never was crowned champion in WWE. Meanwhile, Borga got injured in early 1994. That, combined with shifting creative and a purported bad attitude backstage meant he never did end up working a WrestleMania match.

R-Truth

(via WWE)

R-Truth has become an institution in WWE. Amidst his early tag team work, his upper mid-card babyface run, and his most recent stretch as a comedic character, he also had a noteworthy run as a paranoid heel opposite John Cena.

Truth actually main evented two Big Four PLEs as part of a seven-man team fighting The Nexus at SummerSlam 2010 and again in a tag team with The Miz against Cena and The Rock at Survivor Series 2011. Truth never really felt like a main event fixture, but for his length of tenure and the respect fans and peers have for him, it is a surprise that he never got a singles match at WrestleMania. To Truth’s credit, he has worked five ‘Mania matches to date, but they were two battle royals, a seven-man ladder match, and a twelve-man tag team bout. (Incidentally, he’s lined up for a twelve-man ladder match this year.) The match for which he drew the brightest spotlight saw him team with John Morrison to challenge ShoMiz for the tag titles at WrestleMania 26.

The Curse Of Beating John Cena

In the world of professional wrestling, one of the most meaningful ways to push a rising star is for him or her to defeat an established star. That’s especially true when the established star is a former world champion, or better yet a main event fixture.

On paper, beating John Cena should be huge for someone’s career. After all, Cena is a sixteen-time world champion, was the face of WWE for a decade-plus, and is one of those rare wrestlers to successfully crossover to Hollywood and arguably be even a bigger mainstream celebrity now than when he worked full time for WWE.

However, counterintuitively, beating Cena has actually not meant career progress for most of the men who’ve pinned him on TV within the past five years.

Solo Sikoa Has Taken A Backseat Since Decimating John Cena

In the build to Crown Jewel 2023, one point of drama was John Cena emphasizing he hadn’t won a singles match in years. Many fans took this storytelling as a sign Cena was going to get a big win again, but that wasn’t in the cards.

Solo Sikoa didn’t only defeat Cena. In repeatedly bludgeoning Cena with the Samoan Spike, Sikoa positively decimated the former champ, leaving him unable to defend himself in the ring. The youngest member of The Bloodline had already existed in the main event orbit. Many fans read this particular victory as a sign he was in line for a major push, perhaps replacing Roman Reigns as a top heel or turning face to challenge his cousin.

Instead, Sikoa has stalled out. Rather than the Cena match being a launching pad, there’s a subtle truth that that was actually Sikoa’s first ever WWE PLE singles match and his last to date. While he has remained featured as a top sidekick to The Tribal Chief and a proxy for him on house shows, Sikoa hasn’t seen his own career advance nearly a full half-year off the biggest win of his career.

Austin Theory Is In A Weaker Position Than He Was A Year Ago

It’s one thing to beat John Cena one-on-one in a televised match. It’s another to do it at WrestleMania.

Austin Theory accomplished that unlikely feat at WrestleMania 39, pinning Cena in a win that wasn’t entirely clean, but also wasn’t that dirty. This wasn’t a victory that pushed Theory to the main event. Though he’s flirted with that picture here and there, most of that was before the Cena match. Theory wasn’t getting established as a dominant secondary champ the way Gunther has been either. Theory dropped the United States Championship four months later after a largely uneventful remainder of his reign.

One year later, Theory barely earned his way into a twelve-man ladder match with his better-featured tag team partner Grayson Waller. Theory is still only in his mid-20s, so there’s plenty of time for him rise up. Nonetheless, Theory remains at this point the only man to have defeated Cena at WrestleMania who was not a world champion before, after, or at that time.

Bray Wyatt’s Career Trajectory Can’t Be Fairly Assessed Due To Tragedy

Bray Wyatt holds perhaps the most unusual victory over John Cena in having defeated him in a Firefly Fun House Match at WrestleMania 36 (after enjoying some success against Cena in their earlier feud as well).

To be fair, Wyatt did enjoy some successes after his last victory over Cena, including winning a world title. However, it’s worth acknowledging that that third world title reign was the shortest of Wyatt’s career, only lasting one week. 

The following WrestleMania would be the last one at which Wyatt worked a match—losing a confusing, disappointing bout to Randy Orton. Wyatt would be on and off television for the year to follow between health and creative issues, including winding up released from the company for a period of months. Finally, after missing significant TV time, the wrestling world was shocked to learn of Wyatt’s passing.

It would be silly to associate winning a match over Cena with the real-life tragedy of losing a human being—let alone such a creative artist and a father. Nonetheless, it stands that Wyatt was on the list of men who didn’t enjoy appreciable career growth from beating the sixteen-time world champion.

Roman Reigns Is The Exception That Proves The Rule

The only man to defeat John Cena in a one-on-one televised match in the last five years and prosper was Roman Reigns. Indeed, Reigns beating Cena at SummerSlam 2021 made a statement as it cemented that WWE meant to go the distance with his title reign, and that Reigns had firmly supplanted Cena as “the guy” in WWE.

Every rule has its exception, but all the more so, one might argue that beating Cena wasn’t all that monumental to The Tribal Chief’s success. Beating Cena was undoubtedly the biggest win of Austin Theory’s career and the same is true for Solo Sikoa. The Firefly Fun House match, so uniquely tailored to Bray Wyatt’s character, could be perceived as the biggest win of his run.

For Reigns, there’s a very reasonable case that the visual of him pinning Edge and Daniel Bryan at the same time at WrestleMania 37, pinning Drew McIntyre in front of a UK stadium crowd, successfully defending against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39, or any of the times he survived Brock Lesnar were the highlights of this title reign, let alone of his career. As such, The Head of the Table may have withstood the curse of beating John Cena if only because the win wasn’t such a big deal for him in the first place.

Like most patterns in wrestling, the curse of beating John Cena probably doesn’t mean much. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting anomaly to track, and fans will have to wait and see if it continues or something shifts the next time Cena’s back in the WWE mix.

Austin 3:16: Why Stone Cold’s Iconic KOTR Victory Speech Remains The Greatest Wrestling Promo Ever

March 16 or 3:16 has been an unofficial holiday among pro wrestling fans for years on account of its association with Stone Cold Steve Austin. 

The word “legend” gets thrown around wrestling circles pretty liberally. Austin is a class of his own, though. He’s the only three-time Royal Rumble winner, a four-time WrestleMania main event winner, and a six-time world champion. Perhaps most importantly, Austin is on an extremely short list of performers who can genuinely argue he was the hottest act wrestling has ever known.

Austin never had haters or doubters like Roman Reigns or John Cena. In contrast to Hulk Hogan, his work as the top babyface in wrestling has aged well for its match quality. While guys like The Undertaker had longer runs at or around the top, they never burned nearly as bright as The Rattlesnake at his peak.

One of the biggest launching pads for Austin’s time on top came when he won the 1996 King of the Ring tournament and, all the more so, when the victory speech to follow arrived as the single greatest promo in wrestling history.

The Austin 3:16 Promo Was A Unique Fit For Stone Cold’s Character

Not just any wrestler can cut any promo. Yes, good talkers are capable of turning lemons into lemonade and making subpar suggestions from the WWE writing team into entertaining, even memorable monologues. The best of the best promos always have a connection to the person delivering it, though, the way CM Punk’s Pipebomb could only have come from The Straight Edge Superstar or the way only The Rock could verbally shred countless opponents on the stick in his unique style.

Austin 3 :16 was the ultimate example of a great wrestling personality channeling everything about himself and his character to make a moment. The victory speech perfectly captured the piss and vinegar of Stone Cold Steve Austin before he was a babyface, before had arrived as a top name, but when he was hungry, a little bitter, and had finally put the pieces together to realize his potential.

The Austin 3:16 Promo Was A Unique Fit For Stone Cold’s Opponent

The phrasing of “Austin 3:16” was a direct knock on Jake Roberts, whose babyface persona in 1996 leaned into both the character and the real person having embraced religion and drawn inspiration from scripture.

Yes, there have been great wrestling promos focused on the man delivering the words at hand. Some of the very best promos, however, like Dusty Rhodes talking about “Hard Times” up against the machine that was Ric Flair and The Four Horsemen or Vince McMahon becoming the heel mastermind Mr. McMahon before our eyes when he declared ‘Bret screwed Bret’ had as much to do with the speaker’s enemy as they did the with person holding the mic. So it was that Austin 3;16 was so good not in spite of, but because it so cuttingly took down Jake Roberts.

The Austin 3:16 Promo Rejected Convention

‘King’ Baron Corbin

Even in 1996, there was a tradition of heels winning the King of the Ring tournament and embracing their version of how a king might behave. Owen Hart did this masterfully in 1994, while Mabel did just OK with it in 1995. Years before them, wrestlers including Randy Savage and Haku had put their own spins on the gimmick. Years later Booker T would use a royal gimmick to reinvent himself and reach new heights, while Baron Corbin would bore fans to tears as King Corbin.

Steve Austin easily could have fit in with this line of arrogant heels who put on airs, maybe a little comedic, but also wearing the gravitas that comes with a crown in the wrestling world. Instead, in delivering a foul-mouthed, heated promo, he embraced the push of winning a major tournament while rejecting the tacky trappings of a king gimmick. Stone Cold would remain Stone Cold, and with this big win on his resume, he was geared up for a run at the top of the card.

The Austin 3:16 Promo Launched A Legendary Run

Obviously, Steve Austin was a respected worker to be signed to WWE in the first place and he’d made some inroads with management and the fans to justify winning the King of the Ring tournament in 1996. Austin was a backup choice as king, though, as Triple H infamously lost the opportunity as punishment for his role in the Curtain Call incident.

Austin delivering the victory speech he did cemented his place as more than someone WWE was trying in a featured spot, but rather someone who had truly captured the imagination of WWE fans. Stone Cold wouldn’t shoot straight to the top (case in point, the following month’s PPV saw him work a forgettable mid-card match with Marc Mero, and he didn’t make it onto the main card for SummerSlam two months later). However, Austin had a concrete accolade to point to and this promo launched arguably the most successful wrestling t-shirt of all time, further highlighting that the fans wanted what Austin was selling.

By late 1996, Austin would be feuding with Bret Hart in a long program that was instrumental in launching him into the stratosphere. This feud included one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time in 1997. Fast forward a year later, and The Bionic Redneck would win his first world title, unseating Shawn Michaels in the ‘Mania main event.

Austin 3:16 Embodied The Attitude Era

The face of WWE in different eras is often instrumental in defining that era. Bruno Sammartino was a dominant babyface when he put the brand on the map. Hulk Hogan was a superhero who appealed to kids. John Cena returned WWE to a sense of family-friendly entertainment with a reliable star who always showed up and never got himself into trouble.

Stone Cold Steve Austin was the foul-mouthed antihero who was not only willing but eager to go up against wrestling tradition embodied by Bret Hart, then corporate powers that be represented by Vince McMahon and his Corporation. 

The Austin 3:16 promo encapsulated the character and its ethos. While there’s some debate about when the Attitude Era truly started, the earliest point that has any widespread traction is the Austin winning King of the Ring. This night signaled Stone Cold’s chaotic style was no flash in the pan, but rather emblematic of where WWE and the business on the whole were headed for the next five-years-plus—one of the hottest periods in pro wrestling history.

The choice for the greatest wrestling promo of all time will always be subjective. Nonetheless, it stands that Stone Cold Steve Austin’s King of the Ring victory speech is one of the most memorable, game-changing, era-defining pieces of business on the mic wrestling has ever seen. To this day, Austin remains on the short list of the greatest wrestling stars of all time. His signature promo is an indelible part of that legacy.

Paul Heyman Shouldn’t Just Be Inducted Into The WWE Hall Of Fame, He Should Headline The Class Of 2024

Paul Heyman was the first name announced as an inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024. This was a completely non-controversial choice among the wrestling community. Even if one were to only consider his on-screen work as a manager, his efforts have been worthy of recognition.

Heyman’s career spanned a number of territories, leading to an important run at the head of The Dangerous Alliance that dominated WCW programming in 1992. From there, he served as the manager, consultant, or wise man to no fewer than three long-reigning world champions in WWE (in addition to briefer stints managing others).

Heyman was a key color commentator in the late stages of the Attitude Era as well, particularly during the Invasion angle, and then an on-screen authority figure.

On top of the work fans have seen firsthand, though, there are Heyman’s behind-the-scenes work, which include major contributions during multiple eras of WWE programming. Perhaps most importantly of all, though, he’s the evil genius most widely credited with masterminding ECW when it caught fire in the 1990s.

For all of the aforementioned reasons and more, Heyman should become the first non-wrestler WWE Hall of Fame inductee to go on last, officially headlining the Class of 2024.

The 2024 WWE Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony Will Occur In Philadelphia

Paul Heyman was born and got his start in pro wrestling in New York. His first claims to national fame came in the south or in the Midwest with the AWA, depending on which promotions one most paid attention to.

However, when it comes to the heart of Heyman’s contributions to the wrestling business, it all comes back to Philadelphia. In the Cit of Brotherly Love, Heyman was the driving creative force behind Eastern Championship Wrestling’s reinvention as Extreme Championship Wrestling. More than a simple rebrand, Heyman tapped into the wrestling atmosphere. He recognized the limitations of the family friendly products WWE and WCW produced at the time and capitalized on an opportunity, promoting an edgier, more adult style.

Indeed, the general consensus is that the more realistic presentation WCW embraced in the Monday Night War and the Attitude Era that elevated WWE to such heights were directly influenced by ECW’s success. In addition to pushing a different style of wrestling, there were the individual stars Heyman cultivated. Some, like Mike Awesome, Raven, and The Sandman peaked in ECW as Heyman hid their weaknesses, capitalized on their strengths, and put the right creative behind them. Other acts like The Dudley Boyz, Taz, and Eddie Guerrero would become foundational contributors for bigger promotions for years to come—talents in whom Heyman recognized profound potential who might not have wound up on the radar of bigger companies had Heyman not spotlighted them first.

All of these successes were born out of a bingo hall in Philly. Hardcore mirrors the gritty spirit of the city and the city remains inextricably linked to the ECW legacy. As such, Heyman is quite arguably the wrestling legend most synonymous with Philadelphia and a perfect choice to headline during a WrestleMania weekend staged there.

Paul Heyman Is Part Of The Current WWE Main Event Picture

One of the struggles of the WWE Hall of Fame is that, in presenting the induction ceremony is a live event held in a reasonably sized arena, broadcasted live. There’s a pressure not to simply induct worthy names, but induct draws—names modern fans will recognize and be excited about. Main eventers tend to have staying power, such that even fans who weren’t watching their primes stil know the names and have at least some familiarity with their work. Mid-card acts, tag teams, and managers have a tougher go of it.

In 2023, Rey Mysterio headlined the Hall of Fame class. In addition to having had a lengthy, legendary career the luchador benefited from still being a part of the active roster, embroiled in a hot father-son feud at the time. This dynamic meant everyone who might attend a Hall of Fame induction ceremony—even children who weren’t yet born for either of Mysterio’s world title wins—were still familiar with him.

Paul Heyman has been active in wrestling since since the 1980s, meaning he truly spans generations of fans. But perhaps most importantly for his status as a Hall of Fame draw, he has been heavily embroiled in The Bloodline’s main event storyline that has dominated nearly four years of WWE programming. That’s in addition to standing in the corner of top champions like Brock Lesnar and CM Punk off and on for the preceding two decades. Thus, Heyman is that rare manager whose main event level credentials are beyond reproach.

Paul Heyman Could Deliver One Of The Greatest WWE Hall Of Fame Induction Speeches Ever

One of the awkward realities of WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremonies is that not all speeches are created equally. Regardless of star power, some talents are simply better talkers than others. Meanwhile, there are those talents who clearly take the induction seriously and craft speeches perfectly tailored to the moment, in contrast to those who take a more cavalier approach.

A big part of Paul Heyman’s legacy in wrestling is being an all-time great promo guy. He’s a brilliant wrestling mind with a real sense of history too, all of which is a recipe for a genuinely special induction speech. Rather than someone else being forced to follow the speech of the night, the most straightforward answer is to let Heyman close out the evening.

In the end, whether Paul Heyman goes on first, last, or somewhere in between for his WWE Hall of Fame induction, the bottom line is that after WrestleMania 40 weekend he’ll be a bona fide Hall of Famer. Few men—and particularly few men who were never proper wrestlers—were ever more worthy of this particular brand of recognition. There’s also a small sense of poeticism to Heyman being featured here as a sort of antithesis to Vince McMahon’s style and aesthetic. Heyman headlining may well further establish the launch of a new era in WWE.

The 5 Best Choices To Challenge Gunther At WrestleMania 40

Coming out of Elimination Chamber, most of the top title matches for WrestleMania 40 appear settled. Fans already knew Cody Rhodes would challenge Roman Reigns and learned Drew McIntyre would challenge Seth Rollins. Bayley vs. Iyo Sky has built nicely on SmackDown, while Becky Lynch made good on the teases that she’ll go after Rhea Ripley. Even the United States Championship picture appeared to crystallized when WWE set the wheels in motion for Logan Paul vs. Randy Orton during the men’s Elimination Chamber match.

Intercontinental Champion Gunther is all but assured to work a high-profile match at WrestleMania, if only for the combination of his talent and how well WWE has pushed him and this reign. Gunther surpassed The Honky Tonk Man for the longest single reign with the title months ago, and more recently this single reign has positioned him as the longest cumulative reigning IC champ ever.

The question remains whom Gunther will face at ‘Mania, particularly as a number of pundits have speculated the title might changes hands on this auspicious occasion. 

Ahead of the Gauntlet Match on tonight’s WWE Raw to determine who will in fact battle Gunther at Wrestlemania, here are five Superstars we’d like to see in that spot:

Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn had a stare down with Gunther on Monday Night Raw and certainly is well-positioned as a prospective challenger for the Intercontinental Championship. Indeed, Zayn is on a very short list of men who don’t yet have a match for WrestleMania, is a credible threat to The Ring General, and is also a fresh opponent who hasn’t yet challenged for the belt during this reign. All that’s not to mention that Zayn vs. Gunther would all but guarantee a strong match.

There are those fans who are underwhelmed with this idea on the premise that they’re still holding out hope Zayn’s big push from 2023 could culminate in a world title reign. Besides that, he is already a four-time former Intercontinental Champion. Nonetheless, dethroning Gunther would, in and of itself be a major milestone that would have to be considered among Zayn’s biggest career accomplishments to date.

Damian Priest

The Raw after Elimination Chamber also saw WWE tease a confrontation between Damian Priest and Gunther as Judgment Day confronted the Intercontinental Champion. Explicit references to Senor Money in the Bank cashing in on Gunther arose, introducing possibilities for Priest challenging formally at WrestleMania or else stealing the title via cash-in after Gunther works someone else.

Priest vs. Gunther has potential has a clash between two big men who can go in the ring. Though some fans are lukewarm on Money in the Bank being used to challenge for secondary titles, Priest cashing in could also be seen as a way of elevating the Intercontinental Championship. That’s not to mention that if any secondary champion ever warranted a challenger taking advantage of a cash-in, it would have to be Gunther, and this would be a way to protect The Ring General while he transitions out of the IC title picture.

Andrade

Andrade has had one of the more confounding careers in American pro wrestling. He was a breakout star for CMLL, then had and up and down run in NXT before hitting his stride and arriving as NXT Champion. It looked like he’d be big deal when he moved up to the main roster, but he promptly found himself lost in the mid-card shuffle. Even more frustrating, Andrade’s run with AEW yielded similar results as he never quite seemed to find his spot. It’s telling that his most memorable accomplishment in his three years away from WWE may well have been teaming up with his father in law to headline the Ric Flair’s Last Match indie event.

If Andrade were to challenge Gunther, and especially if he were to take the Intercontinental Championship off him, it would be a nice testament that this WWE tenure really is going to be different for Andrade. His in-ring abilities are not in question. If WWE were to afford him this WrestleMania match, there’s every chance Andrade would make the most of the opportunity.

Ilja Dragunov

Gunther hasn’t suffered many losses under the WWE banner. Quite arguably the biggest loss of his WWE career to date came in developmental when Ilja Dragunov was the man to “pull the sword from the stone” and end Gunther’s 800+ day reign as NXT UK Champion.

There would be some poeticism to Dragunov—now the reigning NXT Champion—being the one to end Gunther’s next marathon title reign as well. No less important, Dragunov and Gunther have a proven track record as truly great opponents for one another. Dragunov making his main roster debut at WrestleMania in a show-stealing match in which he beats Gunther could do wonders for the Russian Superstar’s career.

John Cena

There’s no guarantee at all that John Cena will work WrestleMania 40. Indeed, between his busy acting schedule and not appearing on WWE television since his loss to Solo Sikoa at Crown Jewel this fall, it looks like the odds are Cena is sitting out ‘Mania this year. If he does appear, the smart money is on a surprise promo, altercation, or impromptu match more so than a full-fledged ‘Mania program and major bout.

Cena notoriously remains in great shape, though, and he’s the kind of legend who can readily be slotted into any title picture at the drop of a dime. Moreover, there is a ready made story to be told of Cena chasing the biggest title that’s eluded him throughout his WWE career, the Intercontinental Championship. Cena also marks an ideal opponent for Gunther. If Gunther were to lose, there’s little shame in him dropping a match to the guy WWE has pushed as “the greatest of all time.” Meanwhile, if Gunther were to win, this is one of the few one-on-one victories–shy of a world title win–that would undeniably elevate him at this point.

In the end, fans will probably find out the identity of Gunther’s WrestleMania challenger in the near future. The possibilities outlined here, not to mention the prospect of a Triple Threat or a multi-man ladder match offer all manner of interesting possibilities and every opportunity for Gunther to deliver another memorable performance on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

5 Prospective Roles For Sting’s Future In AEW

The consensus reaction to AEW Revolution was that it was one of the best shows in the history of the promotion. There’s no question the event’s biggest draw and perhaps most satisfying component was Sting’s last match, a fun spectacle that saw him team up with Darby Allin one last time to successfully defend the Tag Team Championship against The Young Bucks.

Fans were in for a surprise in the post-show media scrum when Sting openly discussed his future with AEW. His comments included that he and Tony Khan had discussed some possibilities, but that he was explicitly not interested in the roles of an on-air manager or a behind-the-scenes trainer or agent. While it’s possible The Icon really will ride off into the sunset or only make the most sporadic appearances, there are some interesting spots he could conceivably still fil for the company.

Sting As A Broadcaster

Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross and Excalibur

One of the most obvious routes for Sting to continue his career in wrestling without working matches would be as a broadcaster. AEW has a track record of casting former wrestlers in commentary roles, including Excalibur, Taz, Mark Henry, and Nigel McGuinness.

Sting doesn’t have much experience on commentary, but he does have a big personality and the credibility only a major star brings to the table. It’s unlikely he’d want to commit to this role full time at this stage of life, but having The Icon work PPVs, Battle of the Belts specials, or occasional TV matches to lend them a slightly different aura has a lot of potential if Sting is interested.

Sting As An Authority figure

AEW has mostly avoided the trap of being overly dependent on on-air authority figures. Nonetheless, The Young Bucks have started to flex their real life EVP status more in kayfabe in recent months, hinting at the potential for this element of wrestling storytelling to take a more prominent role.

By virtue of his longevity and legendary status in wrestling, there’s no question Sting would be credible as an authority figure. Additionally, AEW might benefit from casting a babyface in this role to take the place of Tony Khan, whom fans have grown tired of hearing issue “major announcements” over and over. Khan could reserve his own on-air presence for truly huge news while The Stinger could be strike a balance of being an understated authority and more welcome face to announce significant matches or news.

Sting As An Ambassador

There was a longstanding narrative that Vince McMahon sought to have someone serve as “The Babe Ruth of WWE.” Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart were among the figures purportedly pitched the idea, with The Hitman more specifically getting this overture when he signed his infamous twenty-year deal with WWE in the 1990s, which presumably would have carried well past his days in the ring.

The idea of this position is to be an ambassador for the company, showing up on TV here and there, but more so going out in the community to build good will with his public appearances, help market the company, and lend an extra air of gravitas for the product for having such a legend attached to them in retirement. It’s likely Sting will fill this role to some degree in years to come, as long as he remains on good terms with Tony Khan and AEW, but formalizing the relationship could really benefit the company.

Sting As A Panelist

The presentation of pro wrestling has evolved to feel more and more like legitimate sports on a number of levels and that includes WWE leaning into hosting panel discussions, most notably before PLE events. AEW has dabbled in this arena as well, but Sting represents a particularly appealing cornerstone of this kind of enterprise for this company.

Yes, Sting made his name in WCW and worked with TNA for an extended stretch in addition to getting the most eyes on him in WWE during his 2015-2016 run. He also had a substantial AEW career, though, including him choosing to end his in-ring career in their ring. That makes Sting someone the company can present as not only a venerable figure, but someone whom AEW can claim as their own.

Sting As A Creative Consultant

Can Sting and Darby Allin win gold before Sting retires?

Sting had a long career that spanned decades and major promotions. In addition to his talent and connection with the fans, a defining element of what allowed him to succeed in wrestling for so long was an ability to reinvent himself. More than going with the flow of a promoter’s whims, Sting leaned into distinctive versions of himself.

Most notably Surfer Sting was one of the most over babyface characters in all of wrestling. As the man beneath the gimmick transitioned out of his physical prime, he somehow found even greater success in his Crow gimmick, a darker character that fit the edgier times of the Monday Night War. Combining these presentations with lower-key successes like his Wolfpac variant or the Joker-inspired character he took on in TNA, Sting demonstrated an ability to adapt at a level few wrestlers have ever matched.

This creativity, character work, and mind for the business bespeak some real potential for Sting to thrive as a creative consultant with AEW. He has articulated that he doesn’t want to train talent or help them map out matches but more of a part-time, big picture role helping to shape the direction of the company could be an invaluable complement to Tony Khan. Khan clearly has passion and has demonstrated some good instincts, but many feel has been exposed for his inexperience telling stories in wrestling.

In the end, Sting is in an enviable position. He’s popular with fans, well-respected by his colleagues, and in all likelihood has the money to retire comfortably. As such, there’s no need for him to do anything he doesn’t want to do, and it will be interesting to see if he and AEW arrive a good arrangement for him to remain a part of the company in the days ahead.