Newman wins IWGP championship

New Japan Pro Wrestling history was made last weekend at the Sakura Genesis event at Sumo Hall in front of a reported 6,000 fans when Callum Newman, the winner of the New Japan Cup to secure a title shot, beat Yota Tsuji to become the youngest IWGP Heavyweight champion in the NJPW record books.

At 23, Newman broke into the sport during his teenage years so he has a skewed level of experience compared to most his age, but after he debuted in the organization just two and a half years ago, this was a very surprising decision made by the Japanese office. That's not to say that it was the wrong decision, or that it will be a hindrance toward the overall direction of the company, but rather to point out that it creates questions as to what the motivation was behind it, as well as what impact that deciding factor will have going forward.

Will Ospreay was there during Newman's post-match comments, implying that he was seeking help from his former United Empire stablemate in his ongoing feud with the death riders in AEW. Considering that Newman was somewhat of a protege of Ospreay's after the British youngster started in the sport because of his fandom of Ospreay, it would theoretically make sense for Newman to be recruited to assist his mentor. There was actually recent speculation that Newman might be the next one to make his way to AEW because of the time that he spent as a part of the Ospreay faction, but then Newman announced that he inked a new deal with the Japanese league a few months ago, which might be one of the reasons why management decided to put him over for the championship.

The story here is less about the in-ring work, because we know that New Japan has an emphasis and high standard on that aspect of the organization, and more to do with the fact that this could be a pivotal time for the Japanese group, as far as its ability to remain a key player in the industry on a global basis.

The main event bout between Tsuji and Newman was tremendous, as it blended the work rate style mentioned earlier with a level of drama that tilted back and fourth before the conclusion. Newman used a low blow to set up the finish so perhaps that was designed to keep Tsuji strong for a rematch later on. Callum Newman is very good bell-to-bell, he can deliver quality matches and has a track record of doing so, but the brass tacks is simple, does he have the name value or the status to carry the company as the heavyweight champion? Yes, I understand that one of the reason that Kazuchika Okada originally got over as strong as he did and had such a legendary run as champion was because of the "shock" victory to move him into the main event conversation, but Okada was touted for his potential before that happened. Furthermore, Okada is arguably a generational talent so it would be unfair to make those comparisons to Newman anyway. That said, this title switch definitely wasn't something that most would've seen coming, and it's somewhat shocking, not because Newman isn't a solid performer, but rather that it was such an unexpected decision, based on Tsuji's built up journey to the championship after winning the G1 tournament to get a shot at the title at the Tokyo Dome just three months ago.

That's one of the key aspects of this story, where does this leave Tsuji? At 32, he's in the prime of his career so it's not nearly as though his time at the top of the card is over, but did management fumble their best chance to cement him to the strongest degree as one of the money-drawing main event guys? Sure, the office can book him to win the title again down the road, but will it make the same impression? As far as impressions, will this relatively quick title change give the impression that Tsuji couldn't get over as the top guy on the roster?

I have to say, I think the office, even unintentionally, chopped Tsuji down at the knees. He looks like a star, he can go in the ring, and as I said prior, he had a path to the title that the audience was invested in when he defeated Konosuke Takeshita for the belt at Wrestle Kingdom in January. Dropping the title this quickly, specifically when the organization usually books longer title reigns to give the belt cache, makes it seem like he couldn't step up into the role as champion in a completely effective manner.

As far as Newman as champion, there could be, and hopefully there is, a bigger picture that will unfold in the grand scheme of things. As of right now, Newman just isn't a guy that most fans will associate with the IWGP heavyweight championship or the main event position, but it's possible that was by design. Not only will Newman have to step up his presentation to carry himself as the champion but, his title run must be booked in a way that spotlights that as well. This could be a specific effort toward building the future of the company. However, the same argument could've been made for Tsuji's title victory. The worst case scenario might be that the office is going to throw as much at the wall to see what sticks to try to catch lightning in a bottle to jump start the organization since the roster is so thin after the slew of exits from talent that went to AEW.

The best case scenario, and hopefully this might be where they're going, Newman as champion might be used as a way to get more involvement from All Elite to essentially bolster the New Japan cards. Takeshita was on the Sakura Genesis show, and during the post-match segment of the main event, Gabe Kidd, who was just announced as signing with All Elite officially last month, challenged Newman for the championship. Let's be honest here, New Japan simply can't compete with a billionaire's money, and for whatever reason, Tony Khan wants to sign most of the talent that gets praised in the Wrestling Observer newsletter, regardless of if he has a spot for them or not. Tony should be smart enough to know that for stability of the overall business, it's important that New Japan stays a true commodity so hopefully, he will send more talent their way to at the very least, keep the brand on solid ground in the future. Japan can be a place where talent either gets discovered or has the opportunity to reinvent themselves. If Newman as IWGP champion gets Ospreay back on the card for key events in Japan, maybe there's more business to be done beyond the spotlight of the youngest champion in the history of the company.

The biggest hurdle for the company in general is the lack of depth to the roster. That's not to say that the current crop of guys don't have talent, but rather to point out that the departures were at such a rapid pace that it's not realistic to expect them to be replenished just as fast. If there's a long-term plan in place for Newman then that's great, but if he was picked because the office didn't think that Tsuji had met expectations as champion then it could lead to a status of total indifference within the organization since there wasn't a firm direction. Newman's potential involvement on All Elite programming could be a way for him to look like a bigger star in Japan since he would international exposure. At the same time, it could be an indirect audition for Tony Khan to see how he works in front of an All Elite audience to possibly sign him when his NJPW deal expires, which is basically what the Forbidden Door pay-per-views were before Tony signed almost every top guy in New Japan. Either way, it will be interesting to see if Newman's run as champion will be successful since it will probably be a reflection of the company itself, specifically because it might be the most defining narrative of the year for the promotion.

McAfee turns heel

I wrote an article earlier this week, asking if the Cody Rhodes/Stephanie McMahon segment on Raw was potentially a way to test the waters to open the door to an eventual return to the company of Vince McMahon after there were implied references to him in the promo. Given the latest filing of the Janel Grant lawsuit a few days later, that might be doubtful since her legal team added more evidence to support the argument that the case should go to a jury trial. Among the latest claims, Grant said that CEO, Nick Khan knew about her relationship with McMahon, and there were more distributing details filed about Brock Lesnar's alleged involvement. So, at least at this point, TKO brass might be hesitant to bring the former boss back into the fold as it might put an extra spotlight on the latest accusations.

Still, after last night's episode of Smackdown, you'd have to wonder if Vince had some type of influence on the product, because I hadn't seen booking quite that unproductive since the last time he was in charge.

For years, the emperor of sports entertainment landed a lot more often than he missed, which is how he built his dad's territorial promotion in a global, publicly-traded corporation. That simply wasn't the case in his latter tenure as the head of the company. Storylines were disjointed and changed direction often so the audience couldn't truly get behind any specific narrative. If an angle didn't propel immediately, McMahon would default to old troupes that were cliche and stale.

Vince is gone, but his philosophy, at least recently with the sluggish ticket sales for Wrestlemania that put the number of seats sold at a 30% decline compared to last year in the same building, has been seen on WWE programming as the overall direction shifted just two weeks before the event. Also earlier this week, I covered the notion that the office enlisted the help of John Cena as the host of the event a mere four months after he retired to try to spark some extra interest in the show. As I wrote previously, much like the angle booked on Smackdown, the efforts to spur ticket sales were too little too late. Cena at the event, or the few different discounts on tickets were used way too late in the game to make a difference since the traveling fans would've had to realistically make those plans much earlier than weeks before the opening bell.

The angle on the opening segment of Smackdown was more proof that the company is grasping at straws to draw some type of interest for live attendance.

A few weeks ago, when Randy Orton took a mystery phone call, it was designed to create some intrude ahead of the WM 42 main event, which makes sense, as the organization still has to sell the $30 ESPN subscription aside from the live event tickets. Of course, the payoff for any situation like this is key, and part of the problem with the mystery aspect is that it has to live up to the hype or it's unproductive. Was it Chris Jericho? Was it Bob Orton? Was it Vince McMahon? It was advertised ahead of time that Orton would reveal the caller on this week's episode of Smackdown so it's clear that management wanted to get eyes on this segment.

When Pat McAfee hit the ring, it took a second to realize who it was, and he hit Cody Rhodes with a low blow to align himself with Orton. I have to be honest, while McAfee is a great guy by all accounts, this was completely underwhelming. Granted, his announcing style isn't my cup of tea, but I can understand why he's there and that he has a following from a specific demographic. That said, the less than part-time announcer turning heel adds nothing to the storyline and doesn't carry much weight in the grand scheme of things. The WWE championship, theoretically the top prize in the company with more than 50 years of lineage, not to mention the top position in the organization, is on the line. But man, things must be getting serious now, Pat McAFee is involved. After the segment aired, the former NFL kicker posted on social media that if Orton loses at WM, he won't appear on WWE programming again. Considering that McAfee is understandably already not on the WWE shows because of much more lucrative gigs for ESPN, why does it matter if his involvement in WWE is at stake for the WM match?

I asked recently if WWE brass devalued Cody Rhodes with the path that was booked for him to get to WM 42, but regardless of if the set up hindered his status or not, this segment certainly swept the rug out from under him. Essentially, McAfee buried the current product, which isn't exactly the best way to sell that same product to the audience. McAfee basically blamed Cody for the rather underwhelming content of the broadcasts, citing the low ratings from the previous week. If this was designed to be some type of reverse psychology, it definitely didn't work. The four-hour pay-per-views with only four matches might be the much bigger issue than what any individual performer does on the PPVs. Along the same lines, the fact that the costs involved with following the product have increased across the board, while the shows have delivered less actual content has a lot to do with why the current product is so bland. In many respects, the shows leave the impression that they are on autopilot, which is very similar to the presentation the product had for a few years prior to the launch of AEW. The company is very secure with their media rights deals so it's easy to put the product on cruise control so to speak and collect the cash.

From a corporate perspective, the status quo is mission accomplished because those massive media rights deals, as well as the Saudi agreement, are guaranteed money. The stability and ensured revenue in the future sre exactly what investors look for when they buy stock on Wall Street. Sure, it makes the shareholders overjoyed with the guaranteed return on investment, but for the fan base, the status quo often translates to stale or cliche programming.

Ironically, years ago when the product was the subject of the same type of criticism, Baron Corbin, who was an authority figure on Raw at the time, was blamed for the subpar shows. The bottom line is, it's never a good thing to bury the current product on your own show because it's basically telling the fans that they are foolish for paying to watch it.

As I said, McAfee's announcing style is too over-the-top for me, but the reason that he garnered a following within the WWE fan base was that his enthusiasm was authentic and organic. The guy had the time of his life in WWE and the fans could appreciate it. On the other end of the spectrum, the heel turn was more or less the opposite of that, as he sounded as though he was playing the "bad guy" with a very forced and phony portrayal. More specifically, McAfee cited the attitude era fans, as if Orton is going to serve a starving demographic from more than 25 years ago. As I wrote in an article last week to cover the quarter century mark of when Vince bought WCW for pennies on the dollar, the vast majority of the Attitude era was very much of a time and place, which is why it doesn't hold up in hindsight. It's understandable why some fans look back on the Monday night war with rose-colored glasses because the main event scene was so strong, but there's a significant portion of the product that was absolute drek, especially in retrospect.

The reference to the Attitude is top-tier desperate because nothing reinforces the notion that the current product is underwhelming than using "the glory days" to try to sell a current show.

Aside from the fact that most of the Attitude era doesn't hold up if it's viewed today, framing Randy Orton as the guy to bring it back was is just silly. Orton debuted in the WWE after WCW already closed. Furthermore, and this might be the biggest point from this particular portion of the promo, catering to the supposed Attitude era demographic is a lost cause. Only a fraction of those fans still follow the product today. The rest of that audience either followed the next trend after pro wrestling exited the pop culture conversation, stopped watching after WCW folded, or only vaguely follow anything from the business today. At the peak of the Attitude era, there were roughly 10 million viewers of pro wrestling on any given Monday. Now, that number is closer to two million fans so the target audience is simply different today. There's not a demand for a return to the Attitude era, and even if it was attempted, it wouldn't get over in 2026.

This segment more or less chopped Cody down at the knees because the heel actually had a point, the product has been underwhelming recently so it's rather easy for the audience to associate Cody with that dissatisfaction. It was already going to be difficult to get a Wrestlemania crowd to boo Orton because of the cache he has at this point in his career, as well as how over the RKO is, but this segment more or less cements a situation where the fans turn on Cody at Wrestlemania, which doesn't make sense since he's the fighting champion as the baby face. They are setting the stage for him to became the New York Yankees of the company where he gets heat simply for being the top guy that they once clamored for. If that happens then it takes away much of his shine as the top guy, and the only remedy would be a heel turn, a move that would be counterproductive to his overall position as the representative of the organization.

It's somewhat mind-boggling that they are booking Cody Rhodes into a corner like this, but at this point, Randy Orton must win the championship at WM. If Cody wins, you're telling the audience that they would theoretically continue to get the same bland programming they have now. Again, the problem with that portion of the promo is that the heel was right so it lends credibility to the notion that Cody is the caption of a skewed ship. Maybe all of this is moot because management can still paper the house to have a full stadium by showtime, and I said discussed before, the bigger picture is the most profitable Wrestlemania in history in Saudi Arabia next year, but it still seems like this is such a counterproductive way to book Cody Rhodes when the office finally had the guy that could take the John Cena spot as far as the representative for the company.

Jericho returns to AEW

Yesterday, I penned an article about the WWE playing the John Cena card as the host to try to boost Wrestlemania ticket sales, and explained that not nearly enough time had passed for his appearance to truly make an impact or move the needle. I explained a few different examples from different eras based on the Jim Cornette philosophy, "how can we miss you if you won't go away?" to illustrate when it can or can't be effective.

One of the examples I used was Cody Rhodes' ambitious exit from the WWE in 2016, his role in the launch of All Elite Wrestling, and ultimately how that time away allowed him to not only reinvent himself, but also build up the demand for him to become the top guy that he is today. I also mentioned that with rumors of Chris Jericho's possible return to WWE that the eight years away from the organization created an anticipation for a final Y2J run on the big stage before he hung up his boots.

Despite it being April Fool's Day, which you can't really count anymore because the entire world is a joke, the notion that Chris Jericho would be back in AEW circulated online just a few hours before Dynamite was set to broadcast live from his original hometown of Winnipeg. Sire, it made sense on the most superficial level as somewhat of a "homecoming," but since he had been kept off of television for a year, it looked like it was another case of Tony Khan paying someone to stay home to avoid giving them any exposure before they left the company, which is what happened with a slew of other talents before they arrived in the WWE.

Chris Jericho did, in fact, return to the company in the opening segment of the television show last night, but there are still more questions than answers surrounding his status going forward.

Jericho proclaimed that he was "home" in AEW, implying that he will be there for the long haul, and at 55, it's reasonable to assume that would translate to eventually retiring from in-ring competition at some point under the All Elite banner. As fitting as it would be for him to have his career conclude in WWE because of the nearly two decade run that he had there, Jericho has always tried to think outside of the box, in terms of avoiding being typecast by the corporation. Ironically, that's what prompted him to work for New Japan in 2018 and eventually ink a deal to be on the ground floor at the start of AEW. That's why while it seems like an almost automatic decision for him to choose a WWE return with a Hall of Fame induction and all of the merchandise that goes along with it, there's still a very valid argument to be made that he should retire as an AEW star.

By 2018, Jericho was being regulated to a background figure within the WWE landscape, as he had done more or less everything that he could do there, and the office saw him as a part-time legend to make cameo appearances. Jericho thought, and he was proven to be correct, that he had more to offer to the pro wrestling industry as a whole than a rather limited range of options in the WWE. Jericho was instrumental in All Elite Wrestling getting off the ground, not only because of his star power, but also the sense of optimism that he brought to the table around the new venture. Of course, the entire point of trying to launch a company on a national level is to try to reach the biggest demographic possible and thus maximize potential revenue. If that was Tony Khan's true goal with all of this is a different discussion for a different time, but the point being, for any new promotion, the office is asking the fans to invest in the product through ticket sales, merchandise and pay-per-view orders. The audience isn't going to be nearly as willing to do that if they think that the project might fizzle out rather quickly. Was there really a demand for Wrestling Society X t-shirts?

When Chris Jericho put the future of his career toward the efforts of All Elite Wrestling, it gave the fans a sense of confidence in the potential of the project to get off the ground because they knew that Jericho wouldn't risk being so closely associated with a venture if there was a major chance that it would fail. Make no mistake about it, Jericho's legacy would be looked at differently if AEW folded with him as the top star for the new venture. It can't be understated how important that vote of confidence was for the perception of the company when it started in 2019.

Jericho's peaks and valleys in the organization were discussed in the previous article so there's no need to rehash all of that here, but what exactly does he do in AEW now?

The promo that he cut on television was very general and didn't provide any indication on the direction that he will take going forward. It was reported online that he recently filed for the trademark of "the cornerstone," which some speculated might be related to his possible WWE return, but given that the company usually owns as many monikers as it can, maybe that should've been the clue that he was staying with AEW.

As I said in the prior write-up, I think Jericho has done more or less everything he can do in AEW so I'm really not sure who he works with or what storyline he could reasonable be used for in 2026. He started at the top of the card, as he should've, but with even the Ring Of Honor title reign out of the way, there's not too much meat left on the bone for him in the role as the established legend in the promotion. At 55 and a legitimate legend, it's not as though Jericho can work the opening match with Serpentico. No disrespect to Serpentico, of course.

However, what Jericho is booked for in this new chapter in AEW might actually depend on his true status with the company.

There were rumors that Jericho's AEW contract was frozen when he took time off to tour with Fozzy. If that was the case, depending on how much time he has left on the deal, this might be a short-term run with a basic angle. If his agreement with the promotion expired at the end of 2025 as the rumor mill suggested and he signed a new contract to more or less decide that he will spend the rest of his in-ring career in the company, the way to book him could be exponentially more complicated. Again, you don't want to use his cache as a star in a way that doesn't progress the narrative of the shows, but at the same time, there's not much new territory for him to cover in AEW. Obviously, it remains to be seen how Jericho is used, but given the prior criticism about how his tenure plateaued before the hiatus, the decision on what to book for him should be made very carefully, as it could determine if the final chapter of his career as an active wrestler is yet another tenure that he kept himself relevant or if it gets panned by the audience.

Assuming that Jericho opted to sign a new deal to retire with AEW, you have to ask yourself what was the motivate behind it? It could be as simple as Tony Khan didn't want to lose another top star to WWE, even if Jericho's impact on AEW in more recent years has been minimal. Tony might've offered him such a hefty amount of cash that Jericho couldn't turn it down. The pomp and circumstance of the WWE Hall of Fame induction is a great way for the performers to get recognition and appreciation, but the WWE HOF status doesn't pay the bills. Benjamin Franklin wields more power in the real world than the WWE HOF plaque. If it was just a matter of money then it was an easy situation. At the same time, Jericho has made a career of  trying to stay ahead of the curve and differentiate himself, what does he do if he returns to the WWE? The reaction to the initial comeback would be a historic moment, but what about the actual direction? The prospect of Gunther choking Jericho out in his final match isn't exactly the best option, not because he shouldn't put Gunther over, but rather that it would make him just another name on the list.

It remains to be seen how the situation unfolds and only time will tell if the return to AEW was the right move for Jericho, but the biggest takeaway from this scenario might be that while All Elite doesn't have nearly the same momentum now as it did in the early years of the company, it's still a major factor in the industry.

John Cena hosts Wrestlemania

"How can we miss you if you won't go away?" -Jim Cornette

The Louisville slugger has often used that phrase to describe either the anticipation for a return, or on the other end of the spectrum, the notion that a performer overstayed their welcome with a particular run or gimmick. It's a very simple, but also a very accurate equation that applies on at least a semi-regular basis to the pro wrestling industry. At any given time, the business is either evolving toward something new or using its current cache, which by definition has a limited run. If anything stays for too long, in the vast majority of cases, it will become overexposed or stale. The ability to adapt keeps you ahead of the curve, and in the process, some very memorable moments can be created.

For example, Hulk Hogan was the golden goose of the 1980s, but even the top drawing card in the history of the business up until that point had a shelf life. By 1995, the audience had seen the ear-cupping routine and the leg drops. The switch to the New World Order was one of the biggest moments in the history of the sport and it gave The Hulkster another big run on top in WCW. Hulk as a heel would've been unthinkable less than a year before that when he was shilling Pastamania and the Thunder Mixer, as tacky as each of those ventures were. But, what did the heel turn ultimately set the stage for? Eventually, when enough time passed, the fans wanted to see the Hogan that they fondly remembered with the red and yellow from the glory days. How could the audience miss the all-American Hulkster if he didn't go away for a while? That's why when he returned to the WWF after almost a decade in 2002, it didn't take long for the fans to want to see him as a heroic baby face again. It had been eight years since he was waving the flag and posing while "Real American" blared in the background. What's old is new again is more or less a staple of entertainment. Without the eight years as a villain, the audience wouldn't have demanded a final run with the championship in the main event scene, which is why Hulk worked the main event scene with what was left of the Attitude era throughout 2002.

The reason there is a payoff for returns in wrestling is because the time away is what creates the anticipation.

In a different way, Cody Rhodes was away from the WWE for six years, and aside from reinventing himself as The American Nightmare, being instrumental in the launch of AEW, and proving the WWE office wrong when they typecast him as a secondary comedy character, his time outside of the company ultimately built anticipation for his return. Would Stardust have gotten the thunderous reaction at Wrestlemania 38?

As an example of how time away can lead to overall longevity, Chris Jericho kept himself ahead of the curve because for most of his career, he didn't overstay his welcome. When his WWE career plateaued in 2005, he left for two and a half years to tour with Fozzy. When he came back, it rejuvenated his career and ultimately led to some of his best work as a main event guy. Without that hiatus, the narrative of Jericho's career could've been very different. In fact, the current Jericho situation is proof of how time away can build up demand and thus put a fresh coat of paint on a performer. Jericho's work in AEW was originally very solid and key to getting the company off the ground, but the initial formula for the Inner Circle that got over as a way to spotlight younger talent became more about Jericho using a stable to try to stay relevant in the years that followed. It led to diminishing returns and his run fell flat. The Inner Circle was more successful than the Jericho Appreciation Society, and the society was more over than The Learning Tree faction. That's not a knock on Jericho, it's just to point out that his time in All Elite Wrestling ran its course. He hasn't been on AEW programming in a year and rumors still persist that a WWE return is on the table when his All Elite deal expires. Jericho did more or less everything he can do in All Elite and had garnered some resentment from the audience when it was perceived that his later efforts in the company were more self-serving than contributing toward the efforts to establish younger talent for the future. That's not to say that was Jericho's intention, but perception is often reality, at least from the fans' perspective. If Jericho resurfaces in AEW, it will be looked at as an eye-rolling retread, but if he shows up at Wrestlemania this year, it will be a historic moment after eight years outside of the organization. Again, how can we miss you if you won't go away?

There's no doubt that returns can translate to box office, but is the latest WWE comeback going to move tickets?

It was announced this week that John Cena will return to the company for the first time in all of four months to be the host of Wrestlemania. As I wrote in an article last week about the 25% off sale the WWE ran on tickets a mere two weeks after the larger 31.6% discount, the corporation realized that they overpriced tickets too late and there are way too many other factors that become more expensive overall than the discount on tickets since it's much closet to the event. The increase in flight costs and hotel reservations are significantly more expensive now than they were before either the 31% or 25% off sales. The discount doesn't cover the difference so if cost was the deterrent before, it's going to remain the biggest hurl to moving tickets.

As much as a bonafide legend as John Cena is, he hasn't been gone anywhere near long enough that putting him back on screen is going to make a difference in the numbers. The WWE just had a year with Cena as the focus of the retirement tour, with the emotional farewell. You can still order the farewell merchandise on WWE Shop, it's not as though fans have had enough time to fondly reflect on their favorite Cena moments, it's still a current topic. Furthermore, if he was going to retire at Wrestlemania or was gone from the ring for several years and was going to wrestle again, it might be a different story. But, is John Cena cutting a promo for the first time in four months really something that fans will be motivated to pay hundreds of dollars to see in the building?

This isn't Steve Austin coming back after 19 years with no official retirement at Wreslemania 38 to have a match against Kevin Owens when the company had to do something to sell tickets in Dallas. As flat as it was, this isn't The Ultimate Warrior's comeback in 1996 when there was at least some intrigue to what the guy was doing since he abruptly left the WWF a few years earlier. This is just a promo, and it's a sign that management is desperate to get fans in the building, as there's still a 30% decline in tickets sold last year in the same venue less than three weeks before the pay-per-view.

Will Vince McMahon return to WWE?

For a few decades, it would've been unthinkable that Vince McMahon wouldn't be involved in the WWE. The emperor of sports entertainment had taken his father's well-respected north eastern territory and within a handful of years had broken the majority of the rules of the old guard to propel it into a national promotion. He changed the perception of not only what pro wrestling was, but also what it could be. Granted, it's debatable if that was an overall positive or negative, but that's a different discussion for another time. A few decades after Vince's expansion, his sports entertainment juggernaut was so massive that those from the prior generation that might've scoffed at his attempts to cross the regional lines of the territory system of a bygone era wouldn't have thought success on such such a level was possible in the industry.  As incredible as the old school business was, when kayfabe invoked legitimate emotion from the audience, the modern WWE was on a completely different scale. The promoters of their specific territories looked to draw a good house, whereas Vince became a billionaire by putting his wrestling company on the stock market.

So, it wasn't a stretch to think that the grim reaper might be the only one that could've taken Vince McMahon away from WWE, and given Vince's sheer defiance of anything that opposed him, even the reaper's odds were questionable.

That's why it was so shocking when the Wall Street Journal story initially broken in June of 2022 that Vince had paid off several women over the course of several years to keep quiet about affairs and misconduct allegations. These accusations ranged from consensual affairs to clams of assault. The story has been well-documented and discussed at length so there's no need to rehash some of the deviant details of the allegations, but for a guy that was so meticulous with every aspect of his sports entertainment production, it was almost unbelievable that he threw around an estimated $19 million to cover up his affairs with the notion that money was all that he needed to essentially buy his way out of any responsibility. If proven to be true, and there's evidence to support the claims against him, Vince's behavior was horrendous and careless, which is the exact opposite of how he carefully crafted for sports entertainment product. Again, this was a guy that beat Uncle Sam in court in 1994, partially because he was smart enough to never put himself in a position where he could be directly or indirectly tied to his roster taking steroids. It just didn't make sense that he would leave a paper trail of non-disclosure agreements, but it appears that being a billionaire made him think that the almighty dollar could cover up almost anything. We know the lengthy story about his "retirement" before his return and the way that he strong-armed his way back onto the WWE board to set up the eventual sale to Endeavor that created the TKO corporation after the merger with the UFC. More recently, a lawsuit about the merger went into the discovery phase last month, claiming that there were text messages exchanged that prove that McMahon had prearranged the sale to Endeavor because the conglomerate agreed to keep him in the position as the head of WWE. Of course, this would be a violation of the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission since it was be evidence that McMahon didn't act in the best interest of the stockholders if he didn't legitimately take offers from other potential buyers. As I wrote previously, this will probably be nothing more than a relatively small payout to investors, given that such a massive amount of money that has been made for those same shareholders since the merger with the value of the stock, especially after the WWE and UFC media rights deals respectively.

However, the bigger point is, Vince could've been working hand-in-hand with Endeavor long before the merger was officially on the table. Furthermore, there were reports that Vince was a key figure in getting the UFC deal done with Saudi Arabia since he worked with the country for several years prior to that through the WWE events held there.

The Janel Grant lawsuit that ultimately exiled Vince from the company was filed in January of 2024 before it was dropped by the Justice Department the following year a few months after Trump took office for his second term. The donations to the orange villain's campaign really paid off. With the criminal charges dropped, the ongoing legal proceedings were initially to determine if the lawsuit would be heard by a jury, which would make it a part of the public record, or if it would go to arbitration based on the original non-disclosure agreement. After several months of legal jargon, it was decided that the lawsuit would go to arbitration later this year, which would keep the details away from the public.

However, the initial filing was public, which is why it caused enough negative press that Vince had to resign in disgrace. It also mentioned a former UFC and WWE champion, with Brock Lesnar as the only one on the roster with those accomplishments. As a result of Lesnar being named in the lawsuit, he was gone from the WWE for two years before he resurfaced at Summer Slam last August. As we've seen on recent WWE programming, he's scheduled to compete against Oba Femi in a few weeks at Wrestlemania.

Grant made her first public comments about the allegations against McMahon at a conference to help other assault victims in Connecticut last month. Since the criminal charges were dropped after Trump took office, and the lawsuit is going to arbitration, the entire case more or less becomes about the amount of money that Janel Grant would be willing to settle for. If Vince should be held responsible criminally for any of the claims made against him by any of the women is more or less irrelevant because the Justice Department dropped the charges against him. Those that signed NDAs that didn't go public with their story will continue to get paid as scheduled to stay quiet. Janel Grant will probably have to decide on a number to get paid to settle the case.

So, is it possible that Vince McMahon could make a comeback to the WWE?

Taking into account that all that is left from the Janel Grant accusations is the arbitration later this year, Brock was brought back into the fold last year, and the previously mentioned arrangements that McMahon might've had with Endeavor years ago, it's not necessarily out of the question that Vince struts down to the ring again. Sure, it's completely sleazy and with his track record of accusations made by female talent, the argument could be made that it wouldn't be safe for the female wrestlers or office staff to be around him, but pro wrestling hasn't been known for its ethics or moral standards.

I could be wrong, and truthfully, I hope I'm wrong, but I think the Cody Rhodes/Stephanie McMahon segment on Raw could've been a way for the company to "test the waters" to to speak with implied references to Vince on the show.

Of course, the main point was that Cody made reference to Stephanie's father in the promo, and even at the conclusion of the segment, it seemed to be used as a cliffhanger with more to unfold ahead of Wrestlemania. There was also the fact that Stephanie was introduced simply as McMahon, instead of McMahon-Helmsley. There was also the phone call that Randy Orton made on WWE programming, could it end up being Vince on the phone?

The storyline more or less writes itself in terms of why Vince would get involved. Randy Orton is a guy that was built by the WWE system, but Cody opted to walk away from the company, only to return six years later to prove Vince wrong when he became the top guy after that. As notorious as his reputation is now, it would undoubtedly be a memorable moment if Vince returned at Wrestlemania to assist Randy Orton in winning the WWE championship. How a McMahon comeback would affect the creative process or the structure of the company would depend on how much responsibility the TKO executives would give him, and it's completely possible that they would want him to be strictly an on-screen performer. The fact that the WWE fan base would bow to Vince as if he was the Second Coming is one of the most reasons why the majority of the general public looks down on pro wrestling. All things considered, I'd say it's at least possible that Vince will be back into the fold of WWE, especially because of how unpredictable the past few years were with his exile and the merger that formed the TKO corporation.

The legacy of the Attitude era

This week marks 25 years since Vince McMahon bought World Championship Wrestling for pennies on the dollar, a transaction that altered the course of the industry forever and thus the ripple effect can still be seen today. The Monday night wars have been covered ad nauseam, but there's also a reason why there was so much meat on the bone and an entire plethora of podcasts are dedicated to that span of five or so years in the business. Even the series of events that led to the events that eventually led to the Attitude era are covered in granular detail through the slew of video podcasts available today.

We all know that the steroid trial of the early-90s put a series of events in motion that led to Hulk Hogan distancing himself from the WWF, and when his acting career didn't take off, he was more than willing to take Eric Bischoff's offer for one of the most lucrative contracts in the history of the business. In conjunction with that, we know that Vince's youth movement of "the new generation" in an attempt to rehab the image of his company put Macho Man at the announce desk at the age of 42 so he also made the jump to WCW by the end of 1994. Of course, the slum of the industry during that time put pressure on the WWF to survive some lean years, while the Turner side of things looked to just get to a place where the wrestling project didn't lose money every year the way that it had for the majority of the time since the media mogul bought Jim Crockett Promotions in late-1988. Hulk and Randy Savage had made big money during their tenures atop Vince McMahon's sports entertainment empire, but that simply wasn't the case, comparatively speaking, for the new generation crew. Bret Hart, Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, Diesel, and a myriad of other performers were regulated to smaller venues, as some of the early episodes of Monday Night Raw were taped in high school gyms. That's a long way away from when the Rock N' Wrestling era was thriving a decade earlier, and the WWF ran sometimes two or three towns a night. Typical "B-towns" because a part of the first loop because the business had tumbled in both reputation and gravitas since the days of Cyndi Lauper and Mr. T with celebrity cameos.

Between the steroid scandal and the accusations of misconduct that followed it, sports entertainment was dubbed low brow, reducing itself to the lowest cliches and criticisms of the genre, hence why a line-up of cartoonish gimmicks were used to try to rebrand the WWF. Still, the time it took to truly rebuild the presentation of the organization of technicians like Bret Hart and over-the-top showman like Shawn Micheals to replace the steroid line-up that were gassed to the gills like The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk undoubtedly had an impact on the revenue of the business. The general public had to be sold the new generation, they weren't just going to accept it over night, especially all the distrust from the audience after the previous mentioned scandals.

It didn't take Scott Hall or Kevin Nash long to realize that chasing the big bucks in the WWF was going to take time in the ring that they might not have, especially Nash, who started in the business after a series of knee injuries derailed his aspirations for a basketball career. The jump that The Outsiders made to World Championship Wrestling in 1996 was one of the most important decisions in the history of the business, as without the New World Order as the fuel of the engine, albeit for a relatively short period of time, there simply wouldn't have been an Attitude era from the WWF in response to it.

This is why competition will always be key in the industry, and maybe why it's so frustrating to watch All Elite Wrestling fumble key opportunities today.

WCW had the NWO with a reality-based presentation, and at the time, it was something that wasn't seen often on pro wrestling programming. We know that Vince countered with Steve Austin, DX. and pushing the envelope further than WCW could go under Turner's infamous standards and practices. When Mike Tyson was banned from boxing for more than a year after he snacked on Evander Holyfield's ear in June of 1997, he was the special guest referee for Wrestlemania the following year. Tyson was literally too uncontrollable to be on boxing pay-per-view, but fans could certainly pay to watch him on a WWF PPV.

One of the reasons the ratings war is so fondly remembered, and sometimes seen through rose-colored glasses in hindsight, is that in many ways, sports entertainment was like the wild west for a period of time. Much like society itself when Howard Stern had twenty million daily listeners, Marylin Manson sold five million albums, and Jerry Springer had pay-per-view specials, pro wrestling became edgier. Anything could happen on any given week and there truly was a "can't miss" aspect to pro wrestling television.

Plus, Extreme Championship Wrestling not only revolutionized the presentation of the business in America, it provided much of the push that the industry needed to get out of the slum mentioned prior of the early-90s. ECW was described as the Napster of the pro wrestling business, as it changed how everything was done, but it was, by nature, never made to last.

Speaking of not being made to last, as WWF and WCW did everything they could to try to win the ratings competition each week, they missed the forest through the trees in some respects. They were an attempt to threw everything possible at the wall each week and burn through angles at a rapid pace. Anything to keep the audience from changing the channel to the competitor. The major problem with the hot shot approach, specifically for an extended period of time with crash TV on a regular basis is that there will be an equally as long, if not exponentially longer, down period to after it. History proved that to be the case, as the business as a whole arguably never recovered from the closure of WCW in 2001. As much as ECW was some of the most fun in wrestling history, as it was just cool to be along for the wild ride, as I said, it wasn't every going to last. That's the double edge sword of the extreme formula, but as the same time, it was very much a time and place as far as its fit within the pro wrestling landscape of the 90s.

The industry could've marched forward without ECW since most of its stars were picked up by the other two national groups anyway, but when Turner folded WCW, that was also the end of the foundation of the Jim Crockett era as well. It would be exponentially more difficult for another commodity to be competitive if it had to start from scratch. Again, history proved this to be correct when the closest entity to a competitor was almost two decades later when a billionaire family with an extensive business portfolio funded the launch of All Elite Wrestling.

However, outside of the dollars and cents of the business side of what the final week of the Monday Night war meant in 2001, it's somewhat of a reflection from those that followed it in real time a quarter century ago. While the vast majority of WWF programming from that era doesn't hold up today if you watch it in retrospect, which is probably why WCW actually does in 2026 since it often took a different approach, the Attitude era is so revived by those that saw it as it happened because it was simply an exciting time to be a fan. As mentioned, some of the Russo drench for the WWF and then WCW looks terrible in hindsight, but the peaks of that era are some of the most memorable moments in the history of the industry. Bill Goldberg's meteoric rise, Mankind finally winning the WWF title in 1999, the NWO's initial run, Sting finally beating Hogan to save WCW in 1997, the stellar lucha talent, chanting ECW, the talent jumping to other organizations on any given week because of contract disputes, and a lot of great memories.

The biggest takeaway from the 25-year mark of the end of the Attitude era with the purchase of WCW is that it was a simpler time. Social media hadn't ruined society yet, reality stars weren't in the White House, and somehow everything seemed a little easier when the most debated topic was what wrestling company had a better show that week instead of how many lives or how much money war is going to cost the country.

What's the status of Wrestlemania 42?

Is it too late to hit the panic button for TKO?

I've written a few different articles since the start of the year about the rather sluggish Wrestlemania ticket sales and the takeaways from that situation. I pondered and threw my two cents into the matter by explaining that I think the executives that tout record-setting profits in the conference calls for stockholders might've finally hit the tipping point where the causal, and even a portion of the most diehard demographic were essentially priced out of WWE events. Sure, you're going to get the niche of the "green shirt guy" that has the cash to travel around and purchase those astronomical seats in the front row, and if he can do that, God bless him, but running in a stadium is a much different equation. When the cheapest ticket in the building is $350 for each night of a two-night presentation, management expected fans to be willing to pay that, as well as all of the costs associated with traveling to Las Vegas.

Under normal circumstances, the economic impact of hosting one of these WWE spectacles is massive, which is why cities bid for the ability to secure the sports entertainment conglomerate's signature pay-per-views. Plane tickets, hotel reservations, rental cars, uber rides, restaurant spending, and any other way that brings money into the location that usually isn't there is why the WWE can garner those site fees. Keep in mind, Las Vegas, which has seen a downturn in tourism in recent years, outbid New Orleans, the location originally announced for Wrestlemania 42, to bring the show back for a second year after the numbers it brought in for Easter weekend last year.

The fact that the same location  two years in a row might've been a contributing factor to the lower ticket sales is a different discussion. The point being that these cities pay a few million dollars for a site fee because there's an expectation, as well as a proven track record, of fans that will travel to the major events.

As I wrote before, from a storyline perspective, it might be as simple as the fan base was very invested in Cody Rhodes' two-year journey to the championship, and they already saw the peak of the current era when he won the title so there will probably be a natural dip in momentum that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the talent of the performers. Cody, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Randy Orton, and Drew  McIntyre are top guys. But, there are natural peaks and valleys to everything. I think in  many ways, the John Cena retirement tour bought the office an extra year of a top drawing card, which is fine because such a milestone should be used to draw as much money as possible before Cena hung up his boots, but the point is, the current decline probably has a lot more to do with the natural progression of Cody's title win two years ago and this decrease in the numbers would've happened last year as a reflection of that if Cena wasn't the centerpiece of the promotion for the retirement tour.

This goes back to the peaks and valleys mentioned, the ability for TKO to be able to increase ticket prices exponentially over a relatively short period of time was based on the demand of a specific storyline, not something that could've been sustainable as a reset of metrics so to speak for the sports entertainment market. This isn't the UFC, it's a different demographic with a different level of disposable income and a different set of expectations for their ticket purchases. It seems rather naive that TKO CEO, Mark Shapiro assumed that a corporate paint-by-numbers approach would automatically be successfully applied to the sports entertainment business since it worked for the UFC. The MMA demographic is the 18-34 year old male audience. That group typically has a different level of disposable income than a family of four. As much as sports entertainment has evolved over the years, the draw of pro wrestling was based on the ability of a family to attend the show, which is why the fandom for the genre is passed down through generations. That's just not the case with mixed marital arts, partially because the sports has only existed in its current form for just over thirty years.

I say that to say this, the WWE office realized that they overpriced WM 42 tickets, which is why they had a 31.6% off sale on all tickets less than two weeks ago for the date on the calendar associated with Stone Cold's iconic catchphrase. The bottom line is (no pun intended), TKO wouldn't have a 30% off sale if tickets were moving well, or if there wasn't a problem getting them sold a month before the show. Remember, TKO didn't run that sale out of the kindness of their greedy, corporate hearts to make things more affordable for the traditional fan base. If that was a concern, we wouldn't be discussing the domino effect of the overpriced tickets and the organization's scattering attempt to remedy the issue.

As of this writing, just above and just below 40,000 tickets are sold for Saturday and Sunday respectively. The problem is, the same event at the same venue sold an average of 60,000 tickets for both nights last year. Depending of the set up of the stage, Allegiant Stadium can range anywhere from 65,000-70,000 seats for the event. Don't get me wrong, the ability to sell 40,000 tickets for both nights is an accomplishment, but a Wrestlemania event that is more than a third empty is obviously below expectations. Besides the tickets being overpriced, the fact that fans have to literally pay double the price to attend the two-night event also doesn't help the situation. I understand that they want to maximize the revenue from the fans that travel for the shows, and it's also an added selling point to get fans to make the trip when they can attend two shows, but at the current price point, the two-night format might be more of a deterrent than anything else.

With three weeks until the event, The Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez reported that TKO has another sale, not just on Wrestlemania tickets, but also tickets for the full line-up of WWE shows being held that week, including Raw, Smackdown, and the Hall of Fame. Again, there wouldn't be another sale two weeks after the initial sale if the 31.6% discount was effective. Furthermore, it indicates that the vast majority of the fans that have already bought WM tickets made the decision to spend their cash on the signature show without the extra events, which is proof of how even the fans willing to spend the cash to travel there will budget to specific shows. Given that more than 30% off didn't move enough tickets to eliminate attendance concerns, it's doubtful that a 25% off sale will make a major difference.

I'd say that WWE management made adjustments to ticket prices too late, which is why I wrote last month that if tickets were going to move, fans would've already had to make plans to attend with plane tickets and hotel reservations. Taking into account that the cost of flights generally increase closer to the departure, as well as fuel costs from the conflict with Iran, it's doubtful that fans will spend significantly more cash to travel to WM because there's a partial discount on the ticket price for the show. This might sound trivial, but in the midst of the partial government shutdown when wait times at airports have been atrocious because of the staff shortage of TSA workers that weren't getting paid, some people might be hesitant to volunteer to deal with the dumpster fire of the check-in process at the airport to travel for the show. Reportedly, Trump signed an executive order that will get the TSA workers paid, as they should be, and presumably back to a full staff, but if Congress is still gridlocked when they return from their two weeks of vacation (since they've done such a wonderful job so far), it's possible that TSA workers getting paid could become an issue again if a budget deal isn't reached in Congress.

So, is it time for TKO to panic?

No, not really. As I wrote before, much of the concern of the sluggish ticket sales for WM 42 is moot because WWE already has the most profitable WM in the history of the company secured next year when the Saudi government pays at least $100 million to import WM 43 to the country. With the conflict in the middle east, who knows if it will be safe for the performers or the fans, but attendance for that event is also irrelevant because the Saudis bought the show. The Saudi money will keep the stock price stable, and they have a few billion dollars guaranteed for their media rights deals so the sluggish WM 42 sales are minimal in the grand scheme of things. However, the biggest takeaway of this entire scenario for TKO should be that they've hit the limit for what domestic fans will realistically pay for the product.