Ric Flair debuts for AEW

Ric Flair, the 74-year-old former world champion, finally made his All Elite Wrestling debut this past week on Dynamite as the surprise guest for String, the legendary grappler that announced he will hang up his boots next March at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view.

When Sting surfaced in the Khan-owned organization nearly four years ago, it was a shocking arrival, as many assumed that he was completely retired after a serious neck injury that he suffered in a match with Seth Rollins a few years earlier. Despite being 64, amazingly, Sting can still go and has done well in the scenarios he was booked for. The variety of tag matches in recent memory allow him to play the greatest hits and be Sting without putting him in a situation that might hinder his mystic. He's not running the ropes the way he was in 1997 and he doesn't have to, he can hit a Stinger splash and it's a successful segment.

That said, there's obviously an end to everyone's in-ring career so it makes sense for Sting to target his final match, especially after he had a memorable run in All Elite.

Given his massive legacy, a tenure that spans decades, and an influence across generations, it makes sense for Sting to get a retirement tour so to speak, both as recognition for his accomplishments and to generate business.

I understand why Flair was brought in to AEW for this angle, especially because Sting's career will always be linked with "The Nature Boy" in some form or fashion since the famous match at the first Clash of The Champions put him on the map, and there were several other key bouts in the real-life Steve Borden's career that saw Flair as his opponent, including the final match in Nitro history.

The concerning part is that this storyline should theoretically keep Flair on All Elite programming for at least the next six months, and as much as I hate to say it, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Ric Flair eventually wrestled for AEW. It's too easy and Flair has too much of an ego to miss the chance to get back in the ring, even if most promoters wouldn't take the risk of booking a match for someone of Flair's age with his health problems. Keep in mind, Flair was more or less confirmed to be on his way to All Elite a few years ago before the episode of The Dark Side of the Ring episode about the infamous flight from England aired and the backlash of the allegations against Flair created too much negative PR to sign him to a contract.

As recently as a few weeks ago, Flair made headlines for comments he made about wanting to wrestle again. Unfortunately, Tony Khan showed more often than not that he can't tell his favorite wrestlers no or that he'd rather be their friend than their boss. So, I don't think it would be unreasonable to think that Flair might eventually try to push for another opportunity to get into the ring, and Tony Khan is probably too much of a super fan to turn down the chance to promote a Ric Flair match, especially because it's well-known that he was a Nitro fan. In fact, taking into account that he desperately attempted to recreate the Shane McMahon moment on Nitro when he bought Ring Of Honor, I wouldn't be entirely shocked if Tony tried to book Flair vs. Sting for Sting's retirement match to be able to promote a rematch of the final bout in Nitro history.

I hope I'm wrong, but I think it's a matter of time before Flair at least gets physically involved at ringside. Keep in mind, when Conrad Thompson, Flair's son-in-law, promoted "Ric Flair's Last Match"  last year the former NWA champion returned to the ring for the Jim Crockett Promotions banner in a tag match alongside his other son-in-law, Andrade against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. Afterwards, Flair bragged about making a few hundred thousand dollars for his payoff at the event, but the performance was a combination of concerning and embarrassing. Make no mistake about it, Flair is an absolute legend and arguably the greatest in-ring performer of all time, but he passed out twice during the match, claiming he was dehydrated, and was slumped on the apron, unable to stand at certain points during the contest.

Quite simply, it's just too risky to put Flair back in the ring for a match or probably any type of physical involvement, given that he has a pacemaker. It would be completely irresponsible for any organization to allow him to get involved, but that doesn't mean it won't happen, especially with Tony's fandom as a priority. Assuming, All Elite is smart enough to avoid that, you have to ask, what does Flair really bring to the table at this point?

I don't mean this as an insult, but rather a realistic evaluation of what the 74-year-old Flair truly adds to the television show. The fans have seen his promos and routine for decades, and in some ways, when he made comebacks previously, it was almost somewhat disappointing because it was sad to see him tarnish his legacy. Haven't we seen enough of the strutting and wooing? Perhaps because it's very obvious that Flair didn't want to truly retire, the segments seem more like an aging grappler that can't hang up the boots rather than an elder statesman embracing his legacy. When Flair is on the mic, you can tell he thinks he's still the same guy he was 40 years ago, and he has even said he thinks he could still wrestle today. A senior citizen trying to act like he did in his prime is often sad, not entertaining so I'm not sure Flair on Dynamite just for the promos is a wise decision.

Don't get me wrong, Ric Flair at ringside for Sting's final match makes sense and would be a nice gesture, but I just don't think there's a productive reason to have Flair around for six months. While it honestly wouldn't be Flair's intention, putting Ric on television on a weekly basis might allow him to overshadow Sting during the retirement tour. If Flair takes a bump on the floor or blades at his age, the story will be what Flair is doing at 74, not Sting's final run on television.

Unfortunately, Ric Flair, who nearly died from alcoholism several years ago, readily admits that he still drinks today. Restraint isn't exactly The Nature Boy's strong suite, and it's doubtful that he will be content just standing at ringside for the next six months. It goes without saying that Flair always needs the payday so it's good that he will get the chance to earn some cash, but hopefully Tony Khan is smart enough to keep him from doing anything to risk his health because nobody wants to see anything tragic happen, and the company certainly doesn't need the negative PR after the CM Punk debacle a few months ago.

What's the status of Raw?

After this week's three-hour episode of Raw, a few different aspects of the product were reinforced, both positive and negative, depending on what angles were on course as opposed to those that seem to just tread water to buy time. That's not necessarily a knock, either, but rather to point out that a few portions of the show are clearly on autopilot until the proper stage is there for the payoff.

Some might say that WWE is in a hot period right now, but given that Raw, the flagship show of the company, sometimes dips under two million viewers, I have to disagree. To put it in perspective, during the dying days of WCW, Thunder, the B-show of the Turner organization, still garnered a 2.6 in the ratings, simply because the sport was actually in a boom period at the time. So, no sports entertainment is not reaching another peak, especially given that much of WWE's success in recent years was based on the climate of the television business, not the popularity of the product. In fact, during the initial Brock Lesnar title run after he broke the streak at Wrestlemania when he was rarely on television, and the ill-fated Roman Reigns super baby face push that completely flopped, viewership declined every year for several years in a row.

A more accurate description, at least in my view, is that WWE isn't in a boom period, but rather what they are presenting receives very positive feedback from its audience. The number of fans watching isn't anywhere near a hot period, but given the quality content, the fans that are still regular viewers are willing to invest both time and money into the current product. That's not a back-handed compliment to WWE management either, they have record-setting profit, completed a blockbuster merger worth $21.9 billion, and their fan base is satisfied enough to pay very steep ticket prices for the signature pay-per-view events on the calendar.

For a comparison, just a few years ago, WWE brass had to bring Stone Cold out of retirement to try to move more tickets for the two-night Wrestlemania at the massive AT&T stadium. On the flip side, there are already more than 40,000 tickets sold for each night of Wrestlemania in Philadelphia next year.

Ironically, the success already achieved more or less puts some angles in a holding pattern to give them the payoff at the big stages like The Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, etc. Given that there were some resolutions with the strike in Hollywood, The Rock's potential availability for WM in 2024 still seems to be undetermined. Obviously, if management can ink Dwayne Johnson to another match, it's too good of a proposition to pass up, especially when you take into account the major main stream press it would get and the casual fans that would tune in for it, which all translates to a boost for the TKO stock.

However, if there's not a possibility, the natural option appears to be that Cody Rhodes gets a rematch against Roman Reigns, a return bout that would be a year in the making and could add another layer to the storyline. I have to be honest, when Cody didn't win the title this year at WM, I didn't think it was realistically possible to maintain his momentum, but the Brock Lesnar feud kept him strong as one of the top performers in the company. That being said, the set up for his match with Damian Priest at Crown Jewel was such a retread of the Lesnar feud that it's obvious that the office is just trying to keep both of them busy until their individual angles have the chance to unfold. Brock injured Cody's arm to stack the odds against the baby face as he tried to slay the monster, which makes sense, but the leg injury on Raw was a completely recycled concept that probably didn't add that much in the grand scheme of things. More than anything, it's noticeable that the office wants to keep as much distance as possible between Rhodes and Reigns until the time is right if the WM rematch is eventual booked. At the same time, Priest has the MITB contract and it looks like management wants to keep the audience guessing as to when he might cash-in for a title shot.

Speaking of the eventual cash-in, the Seth Rollins involvement on the show was almost moot. Unfortunately, when the premise of the championship was the consolation prize title, there's just not a lot of steam or investment behind what the character does on the show. Don't get me wrong, Rollins is a tremendous performer, but as I've said before, I don't think the character makes sense at all. Sure, the song is over, but is the character really over? More than anything, Seth seems like a placeholder champion until the belt can be used to elevate a performer and thus give the belt more of a purpose that provides an opportunity for progress on the brand. It goes without saying that Damian Priest could be used for that role with the MITB contract, and it might be a way to add something more to the title than "the belt that was created because Roman Reigns works a limited about of shows" on Raw. In a similar fashion to Rollins as champion, Drew McIntyre almost appears to be typecast as a placeholder challenger so to speak, as far as when there needs to be a credible challenger, Drew is usually the choice, but  it's doubtful that there are plans for McIntyre to get another run as champion. For whatever reason, despite the fact that he was guy during the bulk of the pandemic era, it almost seems like the office has a "been there, done that" mindset in terms of Drew as the champion. Make no mistake about it, Drew is one of the best performers on the roster, but he can only be put in the challenger role so many times before the audience knows that there's not a chance that he will win the belt.

As a result of those dynamics, the entire Rollins/McIntyre angle seems moot, especially until the possible Damien Priest cash-in for the MITB contract.

On the other end of the spectrum, the women's division, often the most consistent aspect of WWE programming, is one of the strong points of the Monday night show. Rhea Ripley is such a top-notch performer and given her age, assuming she can avoid any major injuries, WWE brass has a major star on the roster for at least the next decade. The set up for the match at Crown Jewel was more of a way to push Rhea's character than to stall for a bigger angle on the horizon. Along with that, Becky Lynch has done very well as the NXT Women's champion and added a lot of star power to the brand. Overall, the women's division is one of the main reasons to tune into Raw, based on the quality of the in-ring action and the dynamic characters in the division.

As much as I don't understand why Logan Paul is famous or why anyone cares what he did on Youtube, he undoubtedly the athletic ability to excel in the WWE. I'm not sure his audience will truly translate to regular WWE viewers, as his previous appearances on television didn't necessarily spike the numbers, but the company's investment in him might be purely for the publicity from his involvement in WWE events. For example, the Saudi government pays hefty cash for American star power as a part of its propaganda campaign, and booking Logan Paul for a match against Rey Mysterio at Crown Jewel gives the Saudis what they are paying for. Again, I don't think he will boost weekly ratings, but he did very well with the promo and the set up for the Mysterio match.

It was said for more than a decade, but a three-hour weekly show is often a tedious viewing experience, and the fact that the numbers almost always dip in the third hour demonstrates that, but the macro view of WWE, especially for aspects beyond just the in-ring product, look very optimistic for the organization. Sure, there's some stalling for the angles with Cody, Reigns, and Rollins, but there's enough potential for very compelling content on the horizon that the audience looks to be willing to see how the storylines unfold. Cody vs. Roman, Jimmy vs. Jey at Wrestlemania, and the potential Damien Priest cash-in intriguing possibilities. Plus, the company is on track to sell nearly 100,000 tickets combined for a two-night Wrestlemania event so that will secure the stock price for the TKO group next year.

The return of TNA

The cliche that anything can happen in the pro wrestling business was often used as a marketing tagline, but in the scripted world of sports entertainment, truth is usually stranger than fiction, an aspect of the sport that underscores just how unique the genre is.

The peaks and valleys of the company that Jeff Jarrett started with his dad, the legendary Memphis promoter, Jerry Jarrett on a shoestring budget in 2002 would be too lengthy to attempt to recount in full, but even a brief synopsis illustrates how astonishing it is that the company still exists in any form more than two decades later. From the infamous Jay Hassman debacle when he fabricated pay-per-view reports that exaggerated the amount of buys in the early weeks to the Health South scandal that almost saw the company collapse within three months, the Nashville-based group survived. Panda Energy coming to the rescue with the "peak" of the organization for a few years after their Spike TV debut in 2005, which saw an all-star roster on one of the main stream cable networks are all aspects of the very complex story of Total Nonstop Action. AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, Abyss, and many others provided an alternative to the WWE at a time when the sports entertainment landscape had been scorched after the purchase of WCW. The Hulk Hogan era that ultimately spent the company into so much debt that Bob Carter finally decided to stop funding Dixie's vanity project, and the subsequent attempt she made to try to hustle Billy Corgan tainted the TNA brand.

The sum total of TNA Wrestling, as much as it provided a platform for several stars that would go on to bigger success elsewhere, was a tax lien and lawsuits. Amazingly, Anthem Entertainment, the parent company of The Fight Network, bought the organization, settling the Corgan lawsuit and keeping the promotion on the air for their channel. From a purely Canadian perspective, Anthem made a smart move, as Impact was one of The Fight Network's highest-rated shows and they were more or less the only potential buyer after the organization had so much negative publicity. Anthem didn't have to spend a hefty amount of cash, but had ownership of one of their popular commodities.

That being said, it's standing among the industry overall, particularly in the United States was minimal. After the Impact show was cancelled from Spike TV in 2014 when network executives found out that Dixie still secretly employed Vince Russo, the Impact television show was moved to Pop TV for a year before it landed on Destination America for another year, with ice fishing from Poland as lead-in programming. Knowing how tainted the TNA brand was prior to the 2016 purchase, Anthem knew they had to change the name to attempt to rejuvenate the company.

I have to be honest, I'm not sure Impact Wrestling was the right decision for the name change, simply because the name of the television show was obviously so closely associated with TNA. In fact, Anthem probably would've been better suited to start a completely new organization because again, retaining the championships and the history of TNA further associated it with the letters of the previous regime.

Those decisions are probably why fans still considered and often referred to Impact Wrestling as TNA.

Still, it was very surprising that at the conclusion of this past weekend's Bound for Glory event, a pay-per-view that was lost in the shuffle of a shows that included a UFC PPV and a three-hour block of AEW programming with Collision and a Battle of the Belts special, it was announced that TNA will officially return in 2024.

Yes, anything can happen in pro wrestling, as TNA, the letters that many thought would collapse numerous times over the year, will be back in January, but will it actually make a difference?

In truth, I'm not sure the name of the company translates to all that much. Anthem is smart enough to know what they have and what they don't have. Impact is a Canadian product that happens to run some of its TV tapings and pay-per-views in America. There's nothing wrong with that either. The small scale events are usual only set up for a few hundred fans, and as far as optics go, it's better have a full crowd in a small building then a smaller crowd in a venue that looks mostly empty, Keep in mind, Anthem purchased TNA to keep it on The Fight Network in Canada, their purchase of the Axis network was purely expanded distribution, not a primary goal. Basically, if Impact is profitable for Anthem then it's a successful project, regardless of its standing among the industry.

The reason I mentioned that the name of the group has minimal "impact" is rather simply, TNA will have the same hurdles as the organization did previously in the current crowded wrestling landscape. The WWE just merged with the UFC to form a $21.9 billion corporation, and Tony Khan has spent major cash not only to launch All Elite Wrestling, but to sign an almost comical amount of talent to contracts. Where does that realistically put TNA? Again, the problem for the Anthem-owned group will remain the same, Impact usually has a solid and entertaining product, but it's cannon fodder in the grand scheme of things. Yes, Impact has good matches, but given the style of the modern era, you're going to find good matches in WWE and AEW on a regular basis. In a vacuum, Impact is solid and successful in what it brings to the table, but it's on such a smaller scale that it can't make a dent in the overall industry. For example, when Edge exited WWE, he wasn't going to show up in TNA because Anthem isn't going to realistically compete with the money that Tony Khan was going to offer. Essentially, the major events within the business are going to happen in WWE or AEW, Impact has some very talented performers, but doesn't have the star power to truly be a difference maker in the direction of the industry.

That's not to say that Anthem should throw a ridiculous amount of money into TNA, as there are many pieces of the puzzle that would have to fit together for the company to compete for a portion of the market share. The bottom line is, what does TNA bring to the table that you can't already watch on a bigger and more important stage in WWE or AEW? In many ways, Anthem is in the TNA business, not exactly the pro wrestling business, and there's nothing wrong with that. While the company isn't going to take a slice of traditional market share, it can serve its audience. It's extremely important to remember that revenue and profit are the barometer for success. If TNA is a profitable niche for Anthem then it's a successful venture for the company.

What's the status of Wardlow?

Wardlow, a performer that had many touting him as one of the future major stars of All Elite Wrestling upon its launch in 2019, recently returned to television after an unexplained few months on the sidelines. Make no mistake about it, the upside of Wardlow is still there, as he has all the physical gifts of a prospective main event talent, but more than four years into his tenure at AEW and the argument could be made that he's more or less in the same position he was before Dynamite debuted on TNT.

Sure, he's a three-time TNT champion, but you must ask yourself, how much progress was truly made in the time that he was a part of the roster?

Don't get me wrong, that's not a knock on him, but rather the management or lack thereof with his persona on television. As we know, he was initially paired with MJF as a bodyguard, and given his size and presence, that role served a dual purpose. It added something to Friedman as the sleazy heel that had the hired bodyguard do his dirty work, and it helped establish Wardlow as a dominate character on All Elite programming. Plus, with someone that has the size, speed, and agility of Wardlow, it makes sense to pace his involvement on the shows for him to develop as much as possible as a TV performer to be able to maximize his theoretically run as a main event star.

Even though it was somewhat of a retread of the Chris Jericho feud with the weekly hurdles to get an eventual match with MJF, the Friedman/Wardlow showdown was built well. Wardlow established the power bomb symphony gimmick and it was something that became anticipated by the crowd. The bottom line is, everyone knew that Wardlow was paired with MJF so that he would eventually turn baby face, and the fans were ready to see Friedman get power bombed out of his shoes. In the modern era, the concept of long-term storytelling is often overlooked or missed completely when the opportunity is there, but MJF/Wardlow had more than a two-year build up behind it. Simply put , in an era with monthly pay-per-views, the featured angles for next month as usually the focus, not the major payoff down the road that could really propel a talent. All Elite had a rare chance to use the long-term angle to elevate Wardlow to the next level in the company.

Instead, MJF no-showed an afternoon autograph signing the day before Double or Nothing last year and the story became if Friedman would show up at all or if he was willing to do business in the midst of a contract dispute with Tony Khan. Make no mistake about it, MJF knew exactly what he was doing when he decided to imply the threat of a walk out before a key match at a pay-per-view. Some might still claim that it was a work, but there wasn't a major payoff for it at the time, and if anything, it was the first indication of a major management problem that surfaced multiple times with different stories around different talent since that time. In fact, in retrospect, the argument could be made that the whole debacle set a negative precedent, as sometimes if a talent causes enough of a hassle then they get what they asked for instead of working toward a compromise. A side note, it's still somewhat surprising that Khan trusted Friedman enough to put the belt on him after such a public dispute, especially when, if his interviews with media outlets are accurate, MJF's contract expires at the start of next year. Will MJF be willing to drop the title before the "bidding war of 2024" in a few months? Clearly, MJF got the hefty contract that he wanted because he showed up and took the power bomb as scheduled, but the damage was done in terms of the chance to push Wardlow.

The story was if Friedman, one of those that the company was going to be built around, was going to go on a real-life strike for a new contract, not if a scripted angle was going to elevate Wardlow's character. The MJF walk out overshadowed what should've been a key victory in the career path of Wardlow. He won the TNT title not long after that, but dropped it to Samoa Joe a few months later. He added two more title reigns this year, but they were rather brief and undistinguished. Furthermore, he was paired with the legendary Arn Anderson, which was a way to try to rejuvenate his run in All Elite, and it worked to some extent until Wardlow abruptly disappeared from television more than three months ago.

When he resurfaced recently, Arn isn't anywhere to be found so the sum total of the Double A association was moot, especially given Wardlow's current direction. Don't get me wrong, I understand what they are going for with the referee stoppages in the past two weeks. Wardlow is a laser-focused wrecking machine that hits the ring, knocks out his opponent, and leaves from ringside. It's a scenario that gets the point across quickly and impactful, while spotlighting his strengths and camouflaging any potential weakness. The major problem is, that's a booking strategy for a new project, not someone with a four-year tenure in the organization and three championship reigns.

Essentially, Wardlow is back at square one because he's doing the same gimmick that he was doing with the power bomb symphony almost two years ago, and that was based on the feud with MJF, not an extended run. For example, if he's going to reach the main event potential, he must be able to work a main event match, you can't conclude a pay-per-view with a one-sided referee stoppage so what exactly is being accomplished with the retread of the power bomb gimmick?

The bottom line is, from a character prospective, Wardlow was not only completely stagnant, he made almost no progress in the grand scheme of things because he's back to squashing enhancement talent again. The talent and the ability of Wardlow the athlete is still there, but the mismanagement of the Wardlow character is a direct result of the lack of booking skills of Tony Khan. Again, Wardlow has all the gifts that you can ask for with a prototype for a main event guy, and after four years on the roster, he's still squashing Griff Garrison instead of in the main event scene.

It's somewhat of a harsh reality, but it would be wise for Wardlow to at least consider his options for WWE when his All Elite contract expires, considering that WWE management made Jade Cargill a bigger star in two weeks than AEW did in two years. If Wardlow eventually makes the jump to WWE, he will probably have a bright future in the company.

What's the status of Vince McMahon?

In early-2000, AOL officially merged with Time Warner, a move, like all mergers, that took a few years to get through all the hurdles of the corporate regulations to be declared a done deal. As we know from the slew of modern podcasts that cover the boom period of the late-90s, the corporate merger shifted the power within the Turner organization a few years before it received the official stamp. Essentially, Ted Turner, the media mogul that vowed to keep pro wrestling on his networks since the genre was such a key part of his TBS expansion in the 80s, didn't have the power to protect it. Just over a year after the merger was official complete, Turner executive Jamie Kellner infamously cancelled WCW programming from the Turner channels, and the company was sold to Vince McMahon for pennies on the dollar in March of 2001.

More than two decades later, in some ways, history might repeat itself.

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that Endeavor CEO, Ari Emanuel made the decision to downsize Vince McMahon's power within the WWE structure, giving full creative control to  Triple H, who was theoretically the head of creative since McMahon's brief "retirement" last year. The move came after Emanuel recently cited McMahon as a possible reason the TKO stock dropped. While Vince was named the head of WWE after the merger, which was officially completed last month, Emanuel is the only one with more power in the corporate structure than the emperor of sports entertainment. For the first time in more than four decades, Vince McMahon has a boss that he has to answer to and the decision was made to install Triple H in a more prominent position that reduces Vince's impact on the product.

Given the often sleazy corporate world and the jaded nature of the pro wrestling business, there are a few possibilities to what this decision actually translates to, and depending on what that is, it might have a major effect on the company going forward.

On one hand, this could all be a smokescreen to pay lip service to the shareholders. The stock price dropped more than 20% since the new conglomerate went public last month so the corporation at least has to give the impression that it made changes to boost the price that shares will trade for on Wall Street. It's at least possible that this could all be a work and that Vince will still have decision-making power for the major portions of the creative direction of the organization. Plus, this isn't the first time we've heard that Vince was away from creative before his finger prints were back on the scripts and his influence was seen on WWE programming. Plus, Vince strong-armed his away back into power late last year so he obviously wasn't content with just the billions of dollars he made from the WWE empire, but rather wants the power that goes along with it. All things considered, it wouldn't be too surprising if Vince still made the big picture decisions behind closed doors, especially when the format on the weekly shows is almost cannon fodder in the grand scheme of things.

On the other hand, this might be a legitimate shift in power, and Vince will find himself in a similar spot as his old rival Ted Turner. Vince might get the lavish office and the title on the door, but his role might be minimized in an attempt to prevent him from damaging the public image of the TKO group. Granted, the notion that Vince is too far behind the times and that his sports entertainment philosophy was antiquated isn't anything new, and there might be some validity to that argument, but Emanuel isn't concerned with pro wrestling philosophy. He runs a billion dollar corporation, he doesn't care if Johnny Gargano gets a push on Raw. However, Emanuel's priority is to maximize the value of the brands under the Endeavor banner, and as important as it is to leverage the drawing power of the organization, it can be just as important to avoid the pitfalls that can damage the public image of the corporation.

Keep in mind, prior to the official merger of the WWE and the UFC to form the TKO group, Vince was served with a search warrant and a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission based on the hush money payments he made over several years to keep affairs and misconduct allegations quiet.

As I wrote at the time, the government doesn't spend the time and the money to use subpoenas and search warrants unless they are reasonably sure they can secure some type of legal action from it. The district attorney doesn't want an expensive and highly-publicized search warrant to result in something that doesn't justifies that cost, especially if they want to maintain their position. It's important to remember that not only did it appear that Vince used company money at the time, an amount that he had to pay back along with the cost of an investigation conducted by a firm hired by the previous WWE Board of Directors prior to the merger, but also the fact that the entire scenario was kept from the public. It's possible that if shareholders knew what he was doing as the boss of WWE that they might've opted not to invest in the stock. If it was still a privately-held organization then all of the non-disclosure agreements would be considered personal agreements, but investors weren't aware that Vince spent millions of dollars to keep his affairs quiet. Remember, the SEC was put in place to protect investors from being deceived when they purchase stock in a company, which is why the WWE had to have quarterly earnings reports so that shareholders were aware of the business the company had done.

The biggest potential issue of this move away from McMahon might be that Endeavor is trying to distance itself from him in case the SEC finds something that could result in legal action. If Vince is deemed responsible for any type of violations, it obviously won't be wise business for TKO stock if he was still involved in WWE.

Right now, I'd say that this is all a precautionary measure from Endeavor, specifically to make sure that any negative PR from Vince has a minimal impact on the TKO stock price. Again, Ari Emanuel isn't a wrestling guy and ultimately isn't concerned with the weekly format of Raw or Smackdown. If Triple H has a direction that can increase viewership for WWE programming remains to be seen. It's a completely different matter, but for several years, particularly during Brock Lesnar's originally title run after he returned and was rarely on television, the booking of the shows often told the audience that they could skip weeks of television without actually missing anything important in the storylines. If that dynamic could shift or if WWE has the star power to make the weekly shows "must watch" again is also a different situation because of the amount of entertainment options in the modern era. I don't think Triple H with full creative control is necessarily going to generate a major change in the direction of the company, mostly because the organization already has record-setting profits so there's no reason to take a different path.

However, it will be interesting to see if this is finally the situation that takes Vince McMahon away from the WWE empire. It's very ironic that taking the company public is what made him a billionaire, but it might also be the reason that isn't the king of sports entertainment in the future.

AEW vs. NXT

On the heels of the Tuesday night ratings clash, a sample size that proves nothing that isn't already apparent in the grand scheme of things, the tribalism among the often-jaded sports entertainment fan base is even more obvious than usual. It's the flip side of the diehard and passionate audience that invest in the characters of professional wrestling, the fans that will remember legends of the past with the proper appreciation for their contributions will be the same demographic that will spew pettiness on social media. In truth, either extreme, as is usually the case with most things, is misguided. There are those that have been programmed for the past few decades to believe that anything without the WWE logo is subpar pro wrestling, a narrative that the company created through its spin of the history of the industry in countless documentaries over the years. At the same time, there are those that will automatically be contrarian because they assume that it proves their "knowledge" so anything the WWE does is labeled as underwhelming in an attempt to avoid giving credit to the corporate machine.

It might not be as polarizing as a Meltzer report, as bias as he can sometimes before, or dodge as much criticism as a Bischoff podcast clip, but the entire AEW/WWE competition is apples to oranges.

The two groups might be in a similar genre, but their goals within that context are completely different. The easiest way to say it is that All Elite attempts to sell professional wrestling to that specific demographic, while the WWE tries to sell sports entertainment to the casual fan base. There's nothing wrong with that either, and theoretically, that's a very wise strategy for the Khan-owned organization. Nobody has or ever will produce a better sports entertainment show than the state-of-the-art WWE crew. That's not a knock on any other group either, but rather to point out that the WWE has over forty years of production to draw from to be able to present their shows exactly how they want to the public. The lighting, the video packages, the camera work, and several other aspects are carefully designed to garner the signature WWE style.

It would be unfair to expect a group with only a few years of television behind them to be comparable to decades of experience, and that's why its smart for All Elite to try to establish its own presentation rather than something that resembles WWE-lite, especially since that was one of the many mistakes that doomed TNA to mediocrity.

Furthermore, the extended existence of the WWE and the cache that goes along with that are also something that an upstart organization can't have because by definition, it takes years to establish that type of brand awareness. Again, that's not a jab, but rather to point out that it really is an apples to oranges comparison. The brand of Wrestlemania sells tens of thousands of tickets every year before a card is announced because of the history and the prestige of the event, but again there's a track record of almost 40 years that established the name value of the pay-per-view. It's unfair to attempt to evaluate AEW by that standard since the company has existed an exponentially shorter amount of time than the  WWE.

The big picture goals for both organizations are different, even if there's some common ground. Yes, the modern era brings with it a focus on television rights fees and ad revenue, which is a dynamic that emerged after the expansion of media distribution in recent years. With so many options competing for viewers online and through traditional platforms, advertisers attempt to make sure that their products get in front of the target demographic so they are willing to pay for commercials on shows that have a consistent and steady audience. When an advertiser decides to buy ads for Raw, they know roughly how many viewers on any given week will see their products and then there's the opportunity to sell to those potential customers. That's why those steady and consistent numbers, even if they are lower than in the past, are valuable to networks and sponsors because it's a safe investment.

That being said, WWE is a part of a $21.9 billion corporate merger with the UFC, and that's a scale that is completely different than a traditional pro wrestling company. Tony Khan must look to book a solid television show to secure those previously mentioned consistent ratings to continue to get paid hefty cash for another TV deal with WB Discovery, and it looks like the network approves of the ratings that the AEW shows bring their channels. As of now with All Elite pay-per-views still being traditionally distributed, the other major piece of the puzzle for Khan is to book PPVs that the diehard fan base will pay $50 to watch. Reportedly, the PPV number have done well and are profitable.

On the flip side, the TKO group will look to keep the stock price strong, which a completely different situation, as its designed to serve the shareholders, not necessarily the fan base. It was a difficult balancing act for WWE brass in the past, but with the additional media muscle of the UFC, it's much easier for the corporation to work for both purposes as far as Wall Street and the paying audience.

That's the biggest divide between AEW and WWE, one is a pro wrestling group that is trying to secure a television deal, move tickets, and sell pay-per-views. The other is a sports entertainment conglomerate that uses its brand awareness, media properties, and extensive resources to secure massive TV rights, corporate sponsorships, and a strong stock price.

Yes, the WWE has the dominate market share, and yes, AEW is the secondary company, but that doesn't mean that All Elite can't be successful. I've said this several times, but revenue and profitability are the true barometer of success. The concept of head-to-head competition between WWE and AEW is almost laughable because again, it's apples to oranges. As much as Tony Khan wants to try to recreate WCW-level competition, it's not realistic. The goal for All Elite should be profit, not competition to Vince McMahon.

That's why Tony Khan's recent tweets are so foolish and misguided. Tony replied to fans that criticized the product and then tweeted about the "booker of the year" award from The Wrestling Observer. Does winning the "booker of the year" from Dave Meltzer actually sell any tickets or pay-per-views? If not, it shouldn't be on Khan's list of priorities. Quite frankly, Khan should be more concerned with what sells tickets and pay-per-views, not what impressive Meltzer. That's not even meant as a knock against the editor of The Observer; but rather to point out how narrow-minded Khan appears to be. Clearly, Khan wants to be comparable to Triple H or another members of WWE management. Would Triple H argue with a random troll on Twitter?

What's the status of NXT?

Title Tuesday, All Elite Wrestling's chance to go head-to-head with NXT for the first time in a few years, brings with it questions about not only competition in the industry, but also the status of the NXT brand as a whole. Make no mistake about it, the developmental brand was originally put on television to attempt to snuff out Dynamite before the prospect of an alternative product could get off the ground. As we know, WWE brass took the initial concept seriously, as they offered inflated contracts to talent just to keep them away from All Elite, and of course, released a lot of those same performers after not only the pandemic shut the world down, but also when it became clear that the Tony Khan-owned project wasn't nearly the threat that it looked to be on paper before the launch. Don't get me wrong, the office was right to attempt to shrink the free agent market before a new venture started because a billionaire with enough funding to start a national promotion with a weekly live touring schedule could theoretically have the resources to make a dent in the WWE market share. As we know, for a slew of reasons, All Elite didn't get close to the 1.4 million viewers it had for the debut edition of Dynamite again and as the story of AEW has unfolded over the past four years, the organization is more of a niche product than competition for WWE, especially after the TKO merger.

Still, the WWE didn't get to the point where it could be a part of such a massive merger without being a dominate business entity. After they signed away Cody Rhodes a few years ago, and more recently, made Jade Cargill seem like a bigger star in two weeks than AEW did in two years, the Tuesday head-to-head ratings clash is another opportunity for the WWE machine to make a definitive statement about its status as the king of sports entertainment.

Paul Heyman will be in the corner of Bron Breakker, and the possibilities of such a highly-touted prospect to be paired with Heyman has a much bigger payoff than just a one-off ratings win. John Cena, truly one of the greatest of all time, will be in the other corner for Carmelo Hayes. Cody Rhodes was advertised to make an announcement, and Asuka wrestle on the show. Plus, Becky Lynch is scheduled for the show, while she still works Raw regularly. It goes without saying the WWE wants to send a message that Edge can make the jump to collect the big payday (as he should) but it won't be comparable to the massive star power that the publicly-traded corporation can offer casual fans.

I don't think it would be a surprise if NXT beats Dynamite in the ratings, but aside from an ego boost to WWE brass, a one-week ratings win doesn't translate to all that much. The WWE will continue its run of record-setting profitability the next few years, and AEW will hopefully continue to be a profitable niche product.

The bigger story might be, what exactly does all of this mean for the NXT brand?

I have to be honest, while I understand that NXT was put on USA network to attempt to chip away at Dynamite viewership, the concept of a developmental brand on national television is still completely counterproductive. In some respects, when the show was still on the WWE Network, with a smaller audience than the television programming, it served its purpose, as the goal wasn't ratings, and the existence of the show was a perk, not a selling point of network subscriptions. The live pay-per-views and the extensive video library were what generated subscribers when the streaming service launched in 2014. If a developmental talent made mistakes on a smaller scale, it was simply a part of the process and didn't expose them to a main stream audience. Furthermore, if a talent was given television time and eventual fizzled out, the investment from the company was minimal since it wasn't on the main roster.

Now, more often than not, NXT looks to be an attempt at a third brand, but still lacks the key components to solidify that status. Again, in theory, the developmental brand on national TV risks exposing the mistakes of younger talent, which puts them in a tough spot. Furthermore, national television is based on ratings and ad revenue so the overall goal can't be just how to get the talent ready for the main roster, but rather how to book the show to make it a successful television venture.

However, the biggest hurdle for the concept of a third brand for the main roster might simply be the dynamics of supply and demand. At a time when there are more entertainment options than there were  in any era previously, is there a demand for more WWE programming? Raw is three hours, Smackdown is two hours, and when there's a pay-per-view scheduled it's roughly three and a half hours. The five hours of main roster weekly content is arguably too much, as Raw usually has a dip in the ratings in the third hour. Is there really a demand for seven hours of main roster TV if NXT is added to the line-up?

I don't think so, but with the new upcoming television deals, it would be wise for management to try to boost NXT's numbers as an added incentive when they negotiate a new contract for Raw. They had Dominik Mysterio work NXT in recent months and the addition of Becky Lynch gives the show a boost of legitimate star power. The fact that more established stars are involved, it might be an attempt to reconstruct the basis of the brand.

That being said, outside of the supply and demand aspect of WWE programming, the other problem that goes along with a scenario to try to boost the NXT brand is that for years, performers that were very successful on the developmental show didn't translate to the main roster. It become clear that the storylines and the stars of NXT were secondary in the grand scheme of things. The office would have to establish that success in NXT has some level of impact on Raw or Smackdown.

Finally, in terms of individual career paths, the developmental brand, especially since it was put on television almost unintentionally hindered the progress of stars that were already polished pros. Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe are just two examples of guys that spent a few years of their careers on the developmental brand when they already had the ability to be a draw on the main roster. Right now, the argument could be made that Bron Breakker is potentially wasting years of the prime of his career on a smaller scale when he could be a major star if he was given the chance to shine on the main roster.

Again, "Title Tuesday" is just a one-off in terms of a ratings competition, but the bigger story could be that it might provide a blue print for WWE management if they attempt to boost NXT as a third brand instead of the developmental system.

Fast Lane review

Just a week after Wrestle Dream and a few days ahead of Tuesday night's head-to-head clash, WWE presented Fast Lane on pay-per-view. A quick glance at the card shows an event that had star power, but it was almost more of a sizzle than substance show on paper, given that this show on the calendar looked more to be a placeholder until Survivor Series, the trademark event of the fall than the peak of any of the specific storylines. With just five scheduled bouts for the show, despite the addition of John Cena to the line-up, this had an atmosphere of a secondary show. Furthermore, after the broadcast went off the air, it appeared that management might've missed a key opportunity, depending on where the direction of the Raw brand goes, particularly when you can expect more of an emphasis on the Monday night show since it has yet to sign a new TV deal for next year.

The show opened with the tag team title match and this was a very solid segment. These are four top-notch workers that are arguably at or close to the prime of their careers. Granted, Finn Balor had an extensive career before the WWE and was very accomplished, but he's still one of the most polished performers on the roster. This contest had a lot of action that built well toward the conclusion and had a level of drama that added a lot to the narrative. Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes won the belts, which originally made me think this decision might've been made to set up the surprise cash-in for Damien Priest at the end of the show, but that wasn't the case. At this point, the shift might be that this tag team run could be used as a dual purpose so to speak to give Jey something meaningful to do away from The Bloodline so he doesn't hit a skid and maintain the momentum he had after the feud with Roman Reigns. At the same time, this could give Cody an important purpose on the show while management determines if The Rock is going to be available for Wrestlemania next year with the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike for the film industry. The only concern is if the office can keep Rhodes in the spotlight long enough for there to eventually be the championship payoff without it seeming like they are just stalling until the other pieces of the puzzle are put into place.

The six man tag wasn't exactly a variety booking as far as two tag matches in a row, but it served the greater purpose to set the stage for the return of Carlito, who originally resurfaced earlier this year at Backlash for a thunderous reaction. The action in the match was fine, but this was a segment that was more about the story than the in-ring portion of the contest, and that's nothing wrong with that. It should be noted that The Street Profits have done very well with the heel turn to join Bobby Lashley. They are a very talented team, but it was definitely a good decision to evolve their characters to give them a fresh run on Smackdown. The Carlito return was very well done, as it maximized the moment and then when to the finish to get the biggest reaction to the finish as possible. It will be interesting to see where this goes and how far up the ladder the LWO can climb as far as a priority for the office. Reportedly, the faction was brought back to help establish new Hispanic stars, which is very wise in theory, but something that hasn't always generated result in terms of application for WWE. It goes without say that pure lucha libre is a completely different style and wouldn't fully translate to the WWE audience, as it's not something that caters to the casual fan. However, that's not to say that specific aspects of lucha, and more specifically, Latino stars can't be a major draw for the company. The talent is there, it's simply a matter of if or how the machine would put its resources behind the next group of Mexican stars. Rey Mysterio is such a legend that it almost seemed like for years the office was comfortable with him as a choice of the Hispanic star on the roster and didn't see the need to develop another luchador to a main event level. The argument could be made that Alberto Del Rio had the talent, but management eventually regulated him to the mid-card before his own unwise personal decisions more or less ruined his career. Sin Cara was a disaster because he wasn't smart enough to realize he was hired by the WWE and not another lucha organization. WWE brass made their share of mistakes with how it presented lucha stars as well. Anyone remember that when Rey initially won the world championship that he more or less lost every match? They booked a legitimate lucha legend, Psychosis in the absolutely embarrassing Mexicools gimmick.

As mentioned, the next group of Hispanic stars could be a major draw for the company, an aspect that was really underscored by how well Bad Bunny did in his few WWE appearances, as well as being a major merchandise seller for the organization. How or if management truly gets behind the LWO remains to be seen. The addition of Carlito adds a lot to the faction though, and given the fact that he's in the best shape of his career, he could have an even better run now than he did years ago. One of the criticisms of Carlito earlier in his career was that he didn't take his work as seriously as he should've, but it appears that he evolved as he got older, and it will be very interesting to see what he accomplishes with a fresh run in WWE. Santos Escobar is very talented, but at almost 40, he might not be the long-term answer for the next top Hispanic star. He can still play an important role in the overall presentation, but if I had to guess, I'd say that Dragon Lee, who is more than a decade younger, has the potential to be the next top Mexican star in the WWE.

The Women's title match was probably the best match on the show, and even though I've said it regularly before, it still applies, the female division is arguably the most consistent aspect of WWE programming. There are definitely too many triple threat matches on pay-per-view and it often seems like a booking crutch, but this bout was still a quality segment. The athletes used the three-way aspect really well, and it wasn't a scenario where someone was constantly put on the sidelines so that the remaining two competitors could work a traditional match. The action was crisp and smooth. Quite simply, Asuka, Iyo, and Charlotte are top-notch performers. The finish of the moonsault with the figure eight spot for Iyo to retain was a great conclusion, and this match showcased each performer throughout the segment.

John Cena and LA Knight vs. The Bloodline was a segment that was designed to be more sizzle than substance, which was the right move. There wasn't anything subpar in the contest, but it was very obvious that this was booked as a way to showcase LA Knight and then for him to get an endorsement from the legend, John Cena. Taking into account Knight's surge in popularity, this all makes sense, but the question is, was this the ceiling for LA Knight? Was the spotlight to team with Cena against the most dominate faction in recent years the payoff for him? I'm not trying to be overly critical, but rather just skeptical about where Knight can go within the current WWE landscape. As I said earlier, Roman Reigns seems to be slotted for an eventual feud against The Rock, assuming that the Hollywood schedule allows it. Seth Rollins is a baby face champion on Raw, and regardless of the missed opportunity for a cash-in on this pay-per-view, it still looks like Damien Priest might be penciled in as the next world champion on Raw so where does all of this leave LA Knight? I'm not saying he shouldn't get the push, I'm just not sure what the goal is in terms of a storyline Cena and Knight got the win for an entertaining segment.

The main event had its moments because of the gimmicks involved, and both guys put in the effort to make this a solid bout, but this title match had the same problem that the Seth Rollins/Shinsuke Nakamura from Payback had, nobody in the building thought there was a chance that Rollins was going to drop the championship. In fact, while there was decent action, there wasn't a point during the last man standing match that it seemed like it might be a scenario where Nakamura would win and the lack of crowd reaction was an indication of it. As I said last month, Nakamura, as talented as he is, was cast as a secondary character on the shows for the past several years so this feud was more or less only booked because Rollins needed an opponent, not that Nakamura is viewed as a credible challenger. When the result is obvious, the segment is rather one-dimensional and the nearly 30-minute bout became somewhat tedious before the finish.

Overall, Fast Lane was more or less a paint-by-numbers approach to a secondary pay-per-view. Outside of the tag title switch, which is using the tag division to keep Cody and Uso busy, there wasn't anything on the show that had a major impact on the direction of the product. The action was fine and there were some entertaining segments, but again, this event seemed like a placeholder until Survivor Series next month.

Edge signed for AEW

After much speculation, Adam Copeland, formerly Edge of WWE fame, debuted for All Elite Wrestling at the conclusion of the Wrestle Dream pay-per-view this past weekend. The former WWE champion was on the shelf for nine years after it was thought that a very serious neck injury ended his career, but he resurfaced in a very memorable moment at The Royal Rumble in 2020. Over the course of nearly four years, minus eight or nine months on the sidelines for a triceps injury, Edge had a very solid run for a comeback to WWE. He wasn't cast as a main event guy, but worked near the top of the card and in a featured spot for most of his tenure. When his WWE deal was almost finished, he had a 25th anniversary celebration in his hometown of Toronto last month, prompting rumors that it might be a way for him to retire on his own terms.

As with anything, the rumor mill swirled about the possibility of Copeland making the jump to the Khan-owned organization, especially with the number of WWE veterans that landed there to sign high-priced contracts in the latter stages of their careers. The online gossip gained enough traction that Edge addressed the topic online, claiming that he had an offer from WWE and was considering the options for his career.

I don't doubt that Copeland had some tough decisions to make, and it's also doubtful that it was a longstanding plan for him to sign with AEW. In some ways, the WWE is a safer choice, as it's familiar and they've used him reasonably well, especially given his age. He knows he will make solid money under the newly-created TKO banner and with the addition of Fanatics to handle WWE's merchandise, there are added incentives for the brand awareness and exposure that the WWE offers. Plus, the jump to another organization always has some risks associated with it, as far as if the performances there will measure up against the already established legacy. Let's be honest, nobody wants to remember Ric Flair in TNA.

At the same time, the decision-making process is two-fold. At almost 50, Edge had to decide what he wanted to do in his career, and along the same lines, the WWE office had to determine what they had planned for him in the future. In some respects, Edge did everything he could do in WWE, and in a similar fashion, management did everything they could do with him. They've already told the comeback story and he went on to add to that with matches against Finn Balor, including at this year's Wrestlemania. Despite the extensive time away because of the neck injuries, Edge worked as a main eventer for years so after the comeback run with a fresh coat of paint, there simply isn't a lot of new ground left for him to cover, unless he wanted to attempt to reinvent himself, but that would've been hit or miss, depending on if the office would want to run with such a concept.

According to The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, Edge was offered a $3 million contract when he re-signed with WWE in 2020 and had the benefit of a limited schedule. At that time, it was worth the company putting up that type of cash because it gave them the chance to draw based on the return to the ring. Again, that story has been told so there are different circumstances now. Not that the WWE offered Edge peanuts, but in some ways, the WWE doesn't necessarily need Edge so they didn't have to attempt to outbid Tony Khan. When you take the current roster into account, it's not imperative that they have a nearly 50-year-old veteran on the shows, outside of someone with the star power of The Rock or John Cena.

Don't get me wrong, that's not a jab at Copeland, because while the WWE doesn't need him on the roster, he doesn't need the WWE to continue his career. Granted, the future of an organization isn't going to be built around him, but all indications are that Edge still has enough left in his tank to be a difference-maker for a company, and the WWE probably just wasn't the place for him to excel in that type of role.

On the flip side, All Elite Wrestling immediately makes Copeland a bigger fish in a small pond, and that's not a negative. This is where the existence of a second national promotion is so important, as it allows the performers the chance to make the most of their careers, and the fans to get a better overall product. Copeland will be a featured performer that will attempt to make a noticeable difference in AEW instead of being typecast in a secondary role for the WWE. It's not that one is the right answer and one is the wrong answer, but rather a different organization can present different opportunities.

Right now, it's a win-win for everyone involved, as this gives All Elite a major star that can help be the foundation of either Collision or Dynamite, which is a key aspect of the signing since the ratings of the Saturday night show have slipped considerably since its debut in June. It also gives Copeland another big money contract later in his career.

If this all translates to better business for AEW is a completely different matter.

According to the post-PPV press conference, Copeland is scheduled to be a regular on AEW television so it doesn't appear that this will be a TNA scenario where a performer uses their star power to leverage a schedule that is beneficial to them, but not the company. Remember when TNA ran out of contracted appearances for Rob Van Dam so he had to be abruptly written off the show after an attack from Abyss?

The fact that Copeland seems to be there with his working boots on rather than to coast along for an easy paycheck gives him a chance to add a new chapter to his career, and will give AEW a chance to maximize his star power. The concern with this being is that Tony Khan has a track record of signing talent fresh from WWE television and then their impact gets minimized through booking pitfalls. When Bryan Danielson arrived in All Elite, he was probably the best heel in the business, but not long after that he was more or less lost in the shuffle of The Blackpool Combat Club. It wasn't until more recently, almost two years after his debut, that Danielson is really regaining a lot of momentum when he was given the chance to shine with some stellar in-ring performances. The same could be said for Adam Cole, who arrived with a lot of momentum from NXT, but wasn't used in a main event role until earlier this year.

Unfortunately, there's a laundry list of performers that Tony promoted as a "game changer" that fizzled out within a few weeks. Let's be clear, there's not an individual signing that will suddenly generate a major shift in AEW business, but rather the right decisions being made consistently on a regular basis. The feud with Christian is a natural starting point for Copeland, but beyond that, his involvement in the shows will have to include important segments to maximize the star power he brings to the table. Copeland can't be lost in a promo segment with five wrestlers on the mic. He can't be used in attempted comedy segments with secondary wrestlers. He can't be booked in a segment with Orange Cassidy just because Tony wants to see Edge put the sun glasses on, but instead used for compelling matches that the fans will want to watch. In theory, there's a lot of new ground for Copeland to cover and a slew of matches that could be considered a draw on pay-per-view if they have the right presentation. Edge vs. Kenny Omega, Christian, or Will Ospreay could all be bouts that are used as a selling point for a pay-per-view.

The career of Don Arner

The live entertainment genre is one of the most unique in the entire industry, as the performers work for a paying audience and capture the memorable moments as they happen. There's no safety net for a director to yell cut or for the artists on stage to get another take to erase a mishap. The unfiltered nature of the live performance is one of the reasons that the audience flocks to the box office. There's a performance that is unique to that time and place, rather than the copy and paste nature of a taped production.

As we know, throughout the history of live entertainment, the demands on the performers, regardless of the field, can be grueling. Professional wrestling, the sports that originated from the carnival circuit, is a venture all its own, but still shares common themes with other live projects. Perhaps, the most common thread that the grappling arts shares with other entertainment is that valuable interaction with the paying customers, as it makes those in attendance not just a viewer, but also a participant in the event they paid to see on stage.

Given the nature of the eccentric personas that gravitate toward each avenue, the comedy field actually shares some space with sports entertainment, as much of the direction of the performance is dictated by the reaction of the audience.

Sam Kinision ranting and raving on stage had some similarities to Brian Pillman ranting in the the ring on the mic.

For Pittsburgh native, Don Arner, he might currently shine under the bright lights of the stage, but his performance roots were in the ring. Not surprisingly, it was that same live event experience mentioned earlier that initially hooked Arner on the glitz and glamor of sports entertainment. Before the Penguins glided on the ice at PPG Paints Arena, Mario Lemieux captained the hockey squad to Stanley Cups at The Pittsburgh Civic Arena, the name that locals maintained even after Mellon Bank bought the naming rights to the building before it was demolished in favor of the new venue. For Arner, he sat in those famous Civic Arena seats next to his great grandmother for Summer Slam 1995, which featured the highly-anticipated ladder rematch between Shawn Micheals and Razor Ramon based on their famous clash from a year prior.

The adrenaline rush from the audience stuck with Don throughout his youth, and pro wrestling became a favorite hobby of his that his shared with his cousin, the grappler that is currently one of the standout stars of the Pittsburgh independent scene, Ganon Jones Jr., who is primarily known as one half of The Mane Event tag team with Duke Davis. Originally from New Kensington, PA, the two cousins found a training center in the next town over in McKeesport, the home base of the now-defunct Pro Wrestling Express organization.

Arner looks back fondly at his introduction to show business.

"Now that I look back on training  years later, it was a great experience for me and also a really huge building period in my life. I’m glad it wasn’t the old school stretch you out to see if you want to quit your dream approach. Ganon Jones Jr. and I were blessed with great trainers at the time we decided to pursue it together. Credit to Scotty Gash, Crusher Hanson, Chris LeRusso, and Quinn Magnum," Don explained.

After Arner completed the tedious process of landing on the dirt-stained canvas repeatedly to learn the safety aspects of the sport, as well as the techniques of the maneuvers, he broke into the industry the same way any other rookie does, he began to hone his craft on the smaller circuit at sparsely-attended events.

Within just a few years, Don found himself as a pro wrestling persona, with a noticeable level of charisma and Alex Wright-inspired dance moves, Arner gained local notoriety for his ability to entertain audiences. However, he didn't realize that his break in sports entertainment would happen much sooner than he expected. When the Tough Enough concept was rebooted by World Wrestling Entertainment, this time taking auditions through social media submissions, Don submitted a video more to get a laugh out of his local pals than to get noticed by anyone at The Performance Center. Arner was surprised when he realized his comedy bit for the social media tryout was not only seen, but opened the door for a major chance to be a part of the reality show.  

"One night I come home from work to check my email and I have an E-mail from NBC, the parent company of the USA network. The casting agents were interested in interviewing me for consideration, that’s when I had to wake up and realize what I got myself into by joking around. I couldn’t waste this opportunity because there are guys who are seriously pushing themselves to get on the show. The next thing I know, I’m flying down to Orlando. It was great to say I got a taste of the grass on the other side, but with it being a reality show , it was little bitter than what it should of been. Reality TV is more fiction than what I thought, that overshadowed the experience of just a normal tryout. They already had it scripted down to who they wanted as finalist before it started, but I gave it my all either way, and they liked me enough to invite me back to a real tryout that following September," Arner said.

When the follow-up tryout didn't garner a WWE contract, Don found himself at a crossroad, he began working small open mic spots throughout comedy clubs around the steel city, including a competition that shaped his next path in the entertainment world.

"I entered the biggest comedy competition in Pittsburgh at the Improv, I took off running in that competition and ended up as a finalist. I even gained my first paid bookings after each round in the competition because people in the crowd would come up to me afterwards and say, 'hey man , you killed it here’s $30' to do a small set in their hole-in-the wall bars," Don remarked.

After four and a half years in the ring, Don had enough of the bumps and bruises for meager pay and late-night gas station food of the independent wrestling scene. He found comedy as a way to still be an entertainer without the toll on his body and better financial circumstances  on the stage. Still, he considers his time as a pro wrestler important to his journey into comedy and a valuable experience for how to entertain an audience.

"There are huge similarities in both wrestling and standup comedy, the only difference is one allows you to keep your cartilage in your spine for the rest of your life while paying you way more money. It’s the same exact psychology, especially learning how to do promos in wrestling. Comedy, like wrestling, is its own unique art style that as a performer you can really get your creativity out there in a more appreciative way than any other form of performance art. If anybody wants to dip their toe into comedy, you start like you would wrestling, you go digging locally for all the small clubs," Arner commented.

In the more than seven years since Arner hung up the boots and picked up the mic, he quite literally worked coast-to-coast, performing all around the steel city and even traveling to appear on stage at Hollywood comedy festivals. Most recently, he agreed to be a regular for The Arcade Comedy Theater in Pittsburgh, and plans to continue to attempt to pursue comedy as an eventual full-time career.

"My goal is to eventually quit my day job and be able to pay all my bills with comedy. Hopefully, it can lead me into other avenues for comedy such as radio, podcasting, TV shows, or even acting while still working on the standup game. Other goals are to go on a tour and hopefully put together my own comedy special that even if I do it independently, I can put it out of independent platforms like Amazon, Google, and even Spotify," Arner concluded.

Wrestle Dream review

Wrestle Dream, All Elite Wrestling's tribute event to Antonio Inoki, is in the books. Inoki was the founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling and there was a New Japan spin on the show, but the whole concept, at least from AEW, still seemed rather random. Regardless, the event had ten matches on the main card and ran four hours, which made for a rather tedious viewing experience at times, but that is usually the case with AEW pay-per-views, as Tony Khan often books to get as many wrestlers on the card as possible instead of a more concise line-up that focuses on quality matches.

As we know, Adam Cole suffered a legitimate ankle injury that requires surgery, putting him on the shelf for an extended period of time. As pointless as the ROH tag title reign was before, the uselessness of the entire concept was underscored at Wrestle Dream. MJF is the All Elite Wrestling world champion and he was booked in the opening match for meaningless tag titles. How exactly does that scenario present Friedman as a star? If anything, it made MJF's involvement on the show forgettable, especially after a four-hour pay-per-view. What exactly is the payoff to any of this, especially when you take into account Cole's injury? Furthermore, even if there is a payoff, is it worth tanking MJF's title reign? I understand that this segment was more about the story of the contest than the in-ring action, which is fine, but again, what's the point? Vincent and Dutch are solid performers, but it's impossible for them not to be seen as a Bray Wyatt ripoff so nothing was accomplished in this segment. MJF is still half of the ROH tag team champions and that means what in the grand scheme of things? The biggest takeaway from all of this was that this was a misuse of the world champion on a pay-per-view and it actually took away some of the prestige of the title.

Eddie Kingston beat Katsuyori Shibata to retain the ROH and NJPW Strong titles. Outside of the New Japan involvement, there wasn't much logic or build up for this match. These two were a tag team about a month ago and then they were randomly booked for a bout on short notice. The match itself was decent, with the physical striking you'd expect, but had some clunky exchanges early on when the mat work wasn't Kingston's strong suite. Shibata's status still seems somewhat odd, as he hasn't wrestled a match for New Japan in almost two years so maybe he's not cleared to compete there? In truth, I honestly don't think Shibata should continue to wrestle after the serious nature of his injury several years ago, and it was a little concerning anytime he took any type of strike to the head. If anything, it makes sense for him to continue to work as a coach at the LA Dojo, but it doesn't seem worth the risk for him to continue to compete in the ring. Kingston retained both belts after a 10-minute match, but this seemed more like a TV match than something on pay-per-view.

The TBS title match had a similar presentation, as it just never got into second gear or something beyond a Dynamite match. Julia Hart has done really well as a character and seems to have potential, but at least as of right now, her inexperience showed in the ring. Kris Statlander is a solid in-ring worker and for the vast majority of this bout, she kept the train on the tracks. I wouldn't necessarily say that Statlander had to  work around Julia to have a good match, but she was definitely the ring general throughout the contest. Statlander retained, which was the right decision, because while this isn't meant as an insult, this segment proved that Julia will need more experience before she's ready to work on pay-per-view in a championship role.

The four-way tag team match to determine the number one contenders for the AEW tag team titles had a lot of action, but it was mostly a mess. This was a prime example of how matches in All Elite become a free-for-all with no rules and disintegrate into the same basic match. Rey Fenix left the contest earlier and as of now, there's no confirmation on if it was an injury or why he exited from ringside. There was also an example of how Tony Khan tries to get as many wrestlers on the show rather than booking a better match that might have to leave a few guys in catering for the night. The Gunns have done extremely well in recent months and maybe it would've served them better to have a competitive standard tag match against The Young Bucks than to have four more wrestlers booked with the majority of the participants getting lost in the shuffle. Did this event really need Hook and Orange Cassidy as a team?

I think The FTR/Bucks card was overplayed, but I'm not disputing the finish. If that was the way that Tony wanted to go, that's fine, but there was definitely a more productive way to get there than a 15-minute spot fest where none of the tag rules are used and the entire presentation lacks logic. If the rules aren't enforced and nobody gets disqualified anyway, why would any of the teams start the match on the apron?

I wasn't sure what it was, but Swerve Strickland vs. Adam Page just didn't seem to matter one way or the other. The match had good action and they are both good in-ring performers, but I was trying to figure out why the segment seemed like cannon fodder. Unfortunately, it goes back to a key aspect that is often missing or mishandled in the Tony Khan playbook, the presentation of the angle. Strickland is a great athlete, but AEW has an entire roster of great athletes that work a similar style. Swerve, through no fault of his own, was dragged down by some horrendous segments and booking patterns. The infamous Rick Ross segment that went completely off the rails, the lame kidnapping angle with Billy Gunn, and the drek that was the Keith Lee feud minimized Swerve's importance to the product. Plus, the Mogul Affiliates are a stable of completely secondary wrestlers. Is anyone clamoring to see more Brian Cage matches on television? Are the Gates of Agony a featured team? Does Parker Boudreaux still have a job? Remember that tattoo guy that disappeared faster than Jimmy Hoffa?

On the other side of the coin, Adam Page still hasn't been able to shed the whiny baby face stigma that he had during the majority of his AEW title reign, and it's surprising when you take into account how far his stock has fallen with the span of AEW's four-year existence. When the company launched, Page looked to be the young star that would carry the company into the future, and there was an argument to be made that he could be the first AEW champion. A combination of the silly booking with The Dark Order that was counter productive to a main event character and the previously mentioned whiny promos, put Adam Page in a lower mid-card spot now. It's really puzzling because the crowd was really behind the blue collar character, but he lost a lot of momentum over the past few years. Obviously, his title reign wasn't booked well, especially when his first title defense against Bryan Danielson was a draw in 2021 and even his television time was minimum when he was champion, but this goes beyond that since Page hasn't reestablished himself at all in the past two years. Swerve got the win, but it didn't seem like anything was really at stake or the victory would boost his status in the company.

Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta was a really good match and probably the best Yuta match I've seen. If there's a criticism of Wheeler, he more or less has zero expression or intensity when it really counts. He can do all the moves, but didn't look to have the "glue" of the small details that put together a complete performance. However, that wasn't the case here and he did very well. This segment was an example that not everything needs to be booked as some twenty-minute epic segment, which is a pitfall that happened later in the show. This went about ten minutes, showcased both wrestlers, and was an entertaining bout so it was mission accomplished. That being said, Starks getting the win was the right call and he has the potential to be a main event guy. Starks can go in the ring and he's great on the mic so hopefully, there are plans for him to continue to elevate his status in the next few months.

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. was a bout that fans talked about for years and to a diehard audience, it's definitely a dream match. That said, the only reason it was booked is because Tony Khan wanted to see it, and in this scenario, there's nothing wrong with that. This was a rare case where the one-off bout that caters to a niche demographic was worth booking because even if some fans aren't completely familiar with Sabre, the quality of this contest gave the fans their money's worth. It was technical, physical, and checked all the boxes for a match that had lofty expectations. There was a scary moment when it looked like Sabre might've legitimately broke his ankle after a dragon screw leg whip, but he continued the contest. Danielson got the victory after he landed a running knee, which was somewhat surprising since American Dragon always seems to be willing to do the favor for his opponents, but it was definitely the right call for him to win. Sabre can win the rematch in Japan, but right now, All Elite needs Danielson as strong as possible, especially because the organization needs a truly centerpiece for Collision.

The six man tag went almost 25 minutes and this was the point where the show started to drag. It was after 11 PM and despite the nature of the grudge match, there wasn't enough at stake for this segment to remain compelling more than three hours into the show. Furthermore, this was another example of Tony shoehorning more names onto the show when there was probably better use of most, if not all of the athletes involved in this contest. Will Ospreay is one of the best workers in the entire industry, is a six man tag the best way to showcase him? Konosuke Takeshita is one of the best young talents on the roster and should be considered a potential top guy for the company in the future, was a six man tag the best use of his talent? Sure, there was a lot of action and a lot of spots, but does that automatically translate to a great match? The four-way tag match had a lot of spots too, and this six man tag more or less recycled that concept with the free-for-all format with no rules enforced or logic behind most of the spots during the match. The Don Callis stable got the victory, but I'm not sure it makes a difference in the big picture.

This is the place on the card where Tony Khan had a familiar booking pitfall that was seen often in early AEW PPVs before it tapered off more recently. Not every match needs twenty minutes and it's almost a lazy booking troupe to attempt to make it easier to format the broadcast to give specific bouts the same time frame rather than considering how much time the segment should get based on the circumstances of the match. FTR vs. Aussie Open was a very good tag match, and FTR maintains their spot as the best tag team in the business. I think more must be done to truly establish Aussie Open within AEW as opposed to just guest stars from New Japan. If Aussie Open are going to be full-time with All Elite, there should be more explanation of their background instead of Tony just assuming the audience knows them from their New Japan stint. As solid as this tag match was, it was the third match in a row that went over twenty minutes, and I really don't think it or even the six man tag prior to this needed that much time on the broadcast. There was either very little thought of very little effort put into the pace of the card when the show was formatted. In a vacuum, this was a very entertaining bout, but almost three and a half hours into the event, it was a tedious viewing experience.

When Christian was slotted for the main event spot, it more or less confirmed the rumors that Edge signed with the company based on their extensive history. Christian is one of the smartest workers in the industry, and in some ways, he's far ahead of the majority of the current AEW roster. I'm not sure if there was a miscommunication, but after a suplex spot to the floor, Darby called for Christian to do the move again and eventually, Christian slammed Allin very awkwardly on the steps. Considering that Allin called for the move again, maybe he was insistence on taking the dangerous bump, but it was completely foolish. If Darby thinks that these car crash bumps are some type of "badge of honor," he's totally misguided and truly doesn't understand the business. There isn't a way to  take a bump on the edge of the steps safely and Darby is almost asking for an injury. If a performer is on the sidelines then they can't draw money for the company. If a wrestler can't be a draw for the organization, why should a promoter invest the time and money to establish them as a star? Don't get me wrong, the effort is there, but Darby is too narrow-minded to be a major star in pro wrestling. The ridiculous and unwise bumps will end his career before he get the chance to draw major money. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but I don't think it would be a smart business decision for Tony Khan to invest more TV time or a promotional push for Allin, especially when he seems more concerned with climbing Mt. Everest than working for AEW.

Nick Wayne turned heel to cost Allin the match so Christian retained the title. It will be interesting to see how Wayne develops as he works alongside the veteran performer. Overall, there wasn't necessarily anything subpar on the card, but rather a few aspects that were mishandled or misplaced. Bryan Danielson/Zack Sabre Jr. was the main selling point of his card, albeit to a niche audience, but if viewers ordered the show for the technical classic then they got their money's worth for the pay-per-view.