Should CM Punk win the NXT title?

When NXT was set to go head-to-head with AEW's Blood and Guts episode of Dynamite, WWE brass knew it was an opportunity to take away a portion of the audience from one of its competitor's specials. All Elite is a competitor in the sense that it's in the same business and are generally trying to target a similar demographic, but make no mistake about it, Tony Khan isn't going to surpass TKO by any metric. The star ratings don't count unless they start to include a cash prize. Still, one of the many reasons that WWE maintains its grip on the market share as much as it does is partially because it doesn't leave the door open for competition to expand its audience. When Vince McMahon coasted on his monopoly throughout the 2010s, there was enough dissatisfaction within the industry that there became a demand for an alternative, leading to the formation to All Elite Wrestling in the first place.

In many ways, the WWE office allowed Tony Khan to trip over himself, and the argument could be made that he put a ceiling on his national product with the way that he tailors the presentation to a die hard demographic rather than offering something different to the general wrestling fan. The Blood and Guts matches, specifically the women's segment, was proof that Tony has no regard for any other audience than the most die hard fans that will watch professional wrestling under almost any circumstance. We've seen it time and time again, the Meltzer scale is how Tony judges his results, not ratings, revenue, or pay-per-view buys. If you want to debate that, when CM Punk was still on the roster, Dynamite drew an average of around a million viewers. The show garnered 620,000 viewers last week, nearly a 40% decline from four year ago. The lower the viewership, the lower the ad revenue, and with less of an audience to market toward, there's less of a reason for sponsors to be involved.

It's ironic that the NXT/Dynamite competition was the story this week, specifically because there was a time when Dynamite had a health lead in the numbers, albeit against a developmental show. In fact, NXT was moved to Tuesdays in an effort to improve its numbers. CM Punk was the reason that Dynamite often had the better night on cable for Dynamite, but was the prime source of competition when he challenged for the NXT championship against Grayson Waller.

Waller and Punk have chirped at each other in the past, and with Punk as the true contrarian that he is (often hypocritical as well), it is on brand for him to do something outside of the box to challenge for the developmental brand's championship. Granted, the notion that a developmental show would be on national television is an oxymoron, but it garners decent enough numbers to land a broadcast television deal, and if nothing else, it gives the performers valuable experience, even if the content of the shows are absolutely useless in the grand scheme of things. There's a very clear line to let the audience know that what happens in NXT has more or less zero effect on the main roster, and if someone arrives to Raw or Smackdown with a level of hype, the vast majority of the time, it has nothing to do with anything they did on the developmental show.

In this particular case, it gave Grayson Waller, who was absolutely dead in the water as a character when he was paired with Austin Theory a few years ago, a chance to completely rejuvenate his career. Again, it's not as though any major business or anything of major substance is going to be done in NXT, but it basically allows for a "trial run" so to speak on how a new direction for a performer might get over on the main roster. Waller defeated Punk, with an assist from Kevin Owens ahead of the Owens/Punk bout scheduled for Smackdown on Friday. That gives Waller something to boast about, and potentially a direction for him in the future if he gets called back up to Smackdown, while adding another layer to the match in a few days. Of course, this interference gave an excuse for Waller to retain, but was also a way to keep Punk strong.

Still, the whole scenario makes you wonder, should Punk win the NXT championship?

Obviously, Punk doesn't need the belt, nor does the brand need him as champion on a long-term basis since it would dilute the mission statement, but again, Punk has always prided himself on going against the grain, and it would definitely be a way to add some variety into the WWE landscape during the almost unavoidable lull in momentum between Survivor Series and The Royal Rumble, the start of Wrestlemania season.

Punk already worked an event under the AAA banner when the Mexican brand was brought to Chicago to oppose the All Out pay-per-view in September. I don't see any reason not to throw a wrinkle into the fabric of NXT, with the championship being brought to Raw or Smackdown for a limited amount of time, as it spotlights the brand, as well as gives the audience something unique before the cards get dealt for the previously mentioned Wrestlemania season. The other aspect of this is that while Punk is a jerk, he's a talented jerk with a dedicated fan base. Even Punk's most outspoken critics, and there's a lot of that criticism that phony Phil deserves, will acknowledge that his comeback stint with the company has been stellar. Sure, it's okay to collect the Saudi blood money as long as it goes in his pocket, and it even bought the Saudi government an apology when he was there, but the bottom line is, CM Punk moves the needle, putting him in a rare category in the modern era of the workers that have the ability to do so.

That cache is at a level of stardom that CM Punk is as over as he's going to be, and regardless of what he does from now until the time he hangs up his boots, he will maintain that level of star power, another rare tier to be included in for the sports entertainment industry. It's somewhat similar to John Cena, as far as, Punk doesn't have to win another match or another championship for the rest of his career, he will always have that popularity. He's a cemented superstar with nothing left to prove, even if there's still business he can do as an in-ring workers. Because of that, if he would hypothetically win the NXT championship at some point, it would do zero damage to his position in the company, but would be a major boost for the performer that would defeat him for the championship. I don't see the office running with the angle of such an established main roster star working NXT television in such a role, but I'd still say that it would be something worth considering, as it would provide some meat on the bone so to speak for the brand with some entertaining television on a limited basis, particularly with Cruz Montana seemingly moved to Raw after his surprise debut as a part of the 946 stable this past week.

What's the status of AIW?

We've seen how the economy, the combination of inflation and the increased fuel costs, have put the boots to professional wrestling, even at the biggest levels. Wrestlemania, the biggest event on the calendar, had sluggish attendance mere weeks ahead of showtime, a result of the ridiculous ticket prices, and the fact that energy costs prompted a spike in the cost of flights. Obviously, the insane admission to get into the building for two nights was the primary factor, but  when oil prices skyrocketed and plane tickets increased to reflect that, it certainly discouraged any last-minute travel plans. Between the costs of event and plane tickets, a portion of the usual traveling audience was simply priced out of the event.

It goes without saying that such a scenario, the increase in gas prices as a result of the ongoing war with Iran, has a domino effect that goes well beyond the scope of professional wrestling. Of course, when the average consumers has to pay more at the pump, it takes a chunk of their disposable income away since it simply costs more to conduct their usual weekly routine. It becomes an exponentially bigger issue with the increase in the cost of diesel fuel since the trickle down effect impacts almost every form of goods and services to some degree. When it costs more to get the delivery truck from point A to point B, the cost of the cargo will increase to cover the difference. Fruit, meat, furniture, and appliances are all subject to such an up charge. When there's a general increase across the board, specifically with the terrible amount of inflation even before the increase in energy costs, it necessitates other services to become more expensive to compensate for that since the dollar doesn't go as far as it did previously.

The hair stylist, the plumber, the contractor, tattoo artist, and the judo instructor have to increase their prices so that those wages can keep pace with the typical cost-of-living of the modern era. Sure, consumers can wait for their next tattoo or to sign up for MMA lessons as a unique form of exercise, but the essential services like getting the pipes cleared or a wall finished in the house put more of a dent in the usual household budget. The same can be said for appliances, you can do without Hulk Hogan's Thunder Mixer, but if the dryer finally taps out, the cost of the replacement, especially an unexpected expense, is a hit to the bottom line as well.

As we know, the WWE continues to make record-setting profits under the TKO banner, specifically from their lucrative media rights deal, which was possible because of the evolving media landscape. TKO's international expansion of the product is another layer of the revenue and profit based on the amount of media muscle since the merger with the UFC. I penned an article last week about the potential or lack thereof for sports entertainment to be a part of mainstream pop culture the way that it was in the late-90s, and I mentioned that one of the biggest hurdles for that to take place today was that there are endless options that compete for viewers now, making it much more difficult to secure that type of portion of the general public again. Every network, streaming platform, Youtube video, and podcast look to get a piece of the pie. In short, there are more forms of media that compete for that portion of the shrinking amount of disposable income.

Professional wrestling, particularly WWE and AEW in the modern era, competes against those other options for a portion of the general public, which is the target audience for a national television show. Independent wrestling is mostly a niche demographic that has to compete with all of those general entertainment options, as well as try to secure a portion of wrestling fans since there's only a specific demographic of the sports entertainment audience that would be willing to spend money on the indies.

Basically, the average Roman Reigns fan either doesn't know or doesn't care about the semi-national, or local independent groups from their area. In some ways and on a much smaller scale, the existence of the independents, if for no other reason than by proxy, is the closest thing to a replacement for the territory system that folded by the late-80s, as far as a way for talent to get experience in front of a paying audience to try to make it to the next level. Granted, the vast majority of independent pro wrestlers use their in-ring careers as a side gig while they work a regular full-time job before they try to land a contract, but again, the focus of the independents is usually a wrestler trying to get enough experience to get to a position to make a full-time living in the business. In the most traditional sense, workers could make a full-time living in each territory back in the regional heyday, but that's simply not possible for most on the independents today.

In the mid-2010s, there was enough discontent with the WWE as more or less a monopoly in the industry that there was enough of a demand for an alternative that there was a crop of independent company that did enough business for a generation of wrestlers to be able to make a full-time living. Ring of Honor drew some of its biggest crowds with the core of what became the All Elite roster, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla was a cult favorite. Tony Khan saw a prove of concept with the success of the original All In event and as we know, invested a few hundred million dollars to get the product a TV deal and on pay-per-view. To stock his roster, even before it became as bloated as it is now, he signed a myriad of independent names to full-time contract. Since the launch of All Elite Wrestling in 2019, independent cards have less talent to draw fans and have an overall smaller impact.

In more recent years, Game Changer Wrestling had a buzz around it, but we've seen how that can be inconsistent, which has less to do with the product itself and more with who's available at any given time. Rickey Shane Page and Nick Gage had a lengthy feud, but there was only so much that could be done with it before the group had to find something fresh. Matt Cardona helped GCW tremendously, and the promotion helped him completely reinvent himself to ultimately get re-signed to WWE. But, with Cardona re-signed, it took at least some of the steam away from the brand. Shotzi Blackheart is someone that the promotion is putting stock into now, which makes sense since she was someone that had a level of popularity when she was released by the WWE. Still, there's a lot of plates for GCW to spin, especially because Shotzi just signed with TNA so Game Changer constantly has to try to stay ahead of the curve to give the fans in their touring cities a reason to buy tickets. Again, it's exponentially more difficult for an independent to do that in the midst of the economic crunch.

In many respects, GCW has a difficult balancing act because it has to avoid some of the pitfalls of ECW, or ROH when it was still independently-owned prior to the sell to Sinclair Broadcasting in 2011. GCW can't allow itself to get stuck in a position where it's too big to be small and too small to be big. If Game Changer is big enough to be a platform where wrestlers can make a name for themselves to get notice, but too small to keep them on a truly long-term basis, it's difficult to stay afloat because of the need to continuously find something new to draw fans as mentioned earlier. It's not a coincidence that we've seen the WWE occasional loan talent to Game Changer for its major shows, because even the TKO corporation knows the value of a place for talent to get experience prior to landing within the WWE system.

Without the independents, there wouldn't be a place for talent to get experience in front of a paying audience, or to make a name for themselves, allowing them to get on the WWE radar in the first place. There's only so many NIL athletes that the WWE can recruit, or only so many New Japan guys that Tony can sign to wrestle on Dynamite.

That's why it's disappointing and somewhat concerning that two independent leagues announced earlier this week that they will be going on a hiatus until at least the spring of 2027. Produce, a league that launched with the notion to bring together a stacked line-up of the major independent names left on the scene, ran amount half a dozen events since it started in June,. Almost immediately, Produce became the subject of controversy when  some of the talent booked opted to step away from the organization, citing differences with management. On the surface, it sounds like the proprietor of Produce might've been in over their head as far as running a promotion. It's definitely not a good sign when the group is going on hiatus just a few months after it started, but a flash in the pan wouldn't be too surprising in the wrestling business. The more concerning announcement came from Absolute Intense Wrestling, the Cleveland-based organization that was a part of the indies that became one of the places to watch during that mid-2010s era. Kevin Owens, Eddie Kingston, Brian Myers, Ethan Page, and others were regulars helped expand the promotion's following. AIW didn't have the attendance or the budget of something like PWG, but did very good business for a project in the mid west. Speaking of PWG, it was the top independent promotion for several years, but more or less quietly shutdown because a huge portion of its roster, as well as the style was imported to AEW. When Sinclair put ROH on hiatus after the pandemic, they eventually sold it to Tony Khan, but for all intents and purposes, the original group shut down after the Sinclair hiatus.

AIW is a group that has more than twenty years of history behind it, and their next event on black Friday will feature former WWF and UFC star, Ken Shamrock. Hopefully, AIW will be back since it was undoubtedly a place for talent to be discovered. GCW seems to be stable, but even with the expanded distribution through modern technology, the footprint of the group is probably smaller than the original run of ROH, which probably has more to do with the death match style that is a niche within a niche as far as potential audience. So often, and rightfully so in many cases, the narrative of the pro wrestling industry is focused on the national companies because those are where the biggest events take place, but make no mistake about is, independent wrestling is a key piece of the puzzle for the industry.

What's next for The Hurt Syndicate?

Is The Hurt Syndicate still in business?

After less than a dozen television appearances this year, and most recently working the pre-show of All In London in August, The Hurt Syndicate made its return to AEW this week, winning a three-on-two handicapped match on Collision.

The stable's comeback to the organization reignited speculation that the reason that they haven't been featured on TV too often this year, and in a smaller role when they were booked, was based on the notion that they won't lose to certain members of the roster, which MVP, manager for the faction, has completely denied online.

That being said, regardless of the reason, there's no doubt that the package of the former WWE champion, Bobby Lashley, and the stellar Shelton Benjamin has been underutilized in the Khan-owned organization. You could make the same case for their tenure as a group in the WWE, despite the fact that Lashley was used in a main event role for a relatively brief period of time.

The Hurt Syndicate, a slight spinoff of the name of the faction in WWE, has been under the AEW umbrella for just over two years, but in the grand scheme of things, they have very little to show for their stint in the organization.

As we know, Lashley returned to the WWE in 2018 after several years away from the promotion and he was initially involved in some absolute drek, including when he was tasked with singing on the mic and the horrendous angle with Rusev. The bottom line is, Lashley is an incredible athlete and a genetic wonder with how he seemingly hasn't aged for at least the past 15 years, but he simply isn't someone that can cut consistently solid promos on the mic so it made sense that he was eventually paired with MVP to act as a mouthpiece for him.

He had a six-month run with the WWE championship and then a shorter reign that only lasted a few weeks, but despite the push in 2021, he wasn't kept around the main event picture for any truly extended period of time. It makes you wonder if his tenure at the top of the card was based more on getting another credible opponent for Brock Lesnar at the time than anything else. The Hurt Business as a stable enhanced Lashley's presence as a superstar, and it gave a firm direction for Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander as well.

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the office slowly dismantled the faction so there wasn't really a payoff or direction for any of them to take from there. MVP claimed later that the group was dissolved to make room for The Bloodline, but who knows if that has merit or is pure speculation? One thing is for sure, when Shelton Benjamin got released during a round of cuts to the roster in September of  2023, it was clear that the office didn't have any major plans for any members of The Hurt Business. Yes, management tried to re-create the group with The Street Profits the following year, but those efforts were minimal and usually half-hearted attempts to spotlight them. The writing was more or less on the wall that WWE brass didn't see Lashley as the top guy that he was just a few years before so he left when his contract expired in August 2024.

He debuted in AEW the following month with MVP and was eventually joined by Shelton Benjamin to form the previously mentioned Hurt Syndicate. They had the tag belts for just over six months last year, but they weren't a part of a featured storyline during that time.

For them to end up on the pre-show of a stadium event seems like a misuse of their talent and name value, but that's a part of the structure or lack thereof in the promotion. The puzzling part of all of this is that with their ages, it's not as though The Hurt Syndicate have time to spare in terms of their in-ring careers. Granted, with the shape that Lashley and Benjamin are in, it might be possible that they could wrestle at 60, but what are the odds of that realistically being what they decide to do?

I wouldn't be completely shocked if MVP or the group itself spoke up about being resistant to putting some of the roster over, mostly because we've seen it happen before with former WWE stars such as Malakai Black and Rusev, but at the same time, it's equally as possible that Tony Khan more or less forget about them so they got lost in the shuffle since we've seen that happen with numerous talent as well. Still, it's somewhat odd that their television appearances have been so sparse this year, and one bout on Collision definitely can't be taken as an indication that they will be back in the fold on a regular basis.

I will say that it's interesting to note that The Hurt Syndicate haven't worked with The Young Bucks or any of the Elite stable that founded the organization in  2019. The reality is, Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin look like,  carry themselves like, and work like bigger stars than the majority of the All Elite roster. That's not a knock on the extremely talented guys that are there, but rather to point out that the line-up became so homogenized since Tony signed countless wrestlers with the high spot style that it makes The Hurt Syndicate standout even more. The amount of attempted comedy spots that the promotion does is other aspect that unintentionally spotlights Bobby and Shelton as more credible stars than some of the other wrestlers there.

If The Young Bucks wanted to work as baby faces, which it looks like is their current goal since they were booked for the TLC tribute match on pay-per-view recently, wouldn't it suit them well if Lashley tossed them around the ring? Matt and Nick Jackson working a feud against the no-nonsense Hurt Syndicate automatically puts them in the underdog role to give the audience a chance to rally behind them. Considering The Bucks' track record with CM Punk behind the scenes, and FTR on-screen, is it possible that they don't want to be mad to look secondary to another WWE tag team? Keep in mind, while The Bucks vs. FTR eventually happened, it wasn't what many thought it would or could be when FTR originally arrived in the promotion.

Aside from The Young Bucks, it's possible that The Hurt Syndicate isn't against putting others over, but maybe they just aren't willing to do anything foolish in the process. If this is their last major run with a national organization, it might be a situation where they don't want something illogically associated with the latter stages of their careers. On the flip side, if this is a scenario where Tony Khan doesn't have anything for them to do then you can't blame them for staying home to collect the check.

That's where there's a point within the whole process that instead of trying to get something meaningful scripted for your characters that it just becomes easier to get paid from the billionaire to stay home. If Tony Khan doesn't see the value in using Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin on his show, despite the name recognition that they have, you can't blame the talent for deciding to take the cash not to wrestle Unless, there's a major part of the story that hasn't come to light yet, and that's a possibility, it seems like a waste of talent and money for The Hurt Syndicate not to be a fixture of the tag team division before they retire. When you take into account that Ric Flair has been under contract to All Elite Wrestling for years and gets paid to do nothing, it's at least possible that the same thing happened with The Hurt Syndicate for the majority of their AEW career.

Could pro wrestling be mainstream?

Earlier this week, the HBO Sports documentary, "Slash and Burn," the 40-minute chronicle of former Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback, Kordell Stewart, premiered on the HBO Max streaming service. In truth, when I saw that the runtime was relatively short, I tapered any expectations that there would be much substance to the production. Given that the basis for the documentary itself was the rumor of a fictitious arrest for public sexual activity that was said to have happened during his playing time in the Iron City, more time would've been needed to truly examine the domino effect that it had on his career, as well as the perception the rumors created during his time in the league. Maybe HBO is going with the shorter format (more on that in a second) to separate itself from other platforms? Usually, the streaming market will unnecessarily give topics a six-episode docuseries to pad the amount of hours watched on the service to look better for advertisers when a tight 90-minute presentation would've made for an exponentially better viewing experience.

In this case, Slash and Burn, a title taken from the fact that Stewart played both QR and wide receiver at different points during his seven-year tenure in Pittsburgh, only vaguely scratched the surface of what was there, which was more puzzling when you take into account that, as mentioned, the production was intended to clear up assumptions about his career or personal life. All things considered, you really don't know more about the former NFL player after the documentary than you did before. Stewart has kept the vast majority of his personal life private and did so here too. He denied the rumors in 1998 and did so again almost three decades later. As far as new ground, stellar Pittsburgh sports reporter, Bob Pompeani had a cameo, confirming that inquires were made at the time, but there was no arrest record for Stewart. While there was, and still is today, some prejudice around the notion of an African American QB in the NFL, I sincerely don't think that was the case for Kordell Stewart during his time playing for the Steelers. Don't get me wrong, the fact that prejudice still exists in society is nauseating, but the reality is, Pittsburgh is a city that revers its sports icons. Many of those icons, including numerous Steelers Hall of Famers, are black. "Mean" Joe, Franco, Mel Blount, John Stallworth, and other prolific black athletes walk on water in the steel city. The reality is, Stewart was dynamic for the time, as far as his mobility, but he was a rather mediocre quarterback that had one good season in 2001. Winning is the only thing that matters to the Steeler nation, not race or orientation, which isn't to say that the circumstances of the false rumors didn't have an impact on Stewart throughout the rest of the league.   

Since the runtime was short, after the conclusion of the Stewart piece, the streaming service automatically jumped to the next sports documentary, the recently released "Miller Night Football," another 40-minute show that covered Dennis Miller's two seasons in the broadcast booth for Monday Night Football. On this subject, 40 minutes was more than enough to cover the comedian's time as an NFL analyst, despite no prior football experience.

It was interesting to hear about how shifts in management can impact the direction of a production and the decisions made. It was intriguing to hear the network executive's side of when the sluggish ratings for Monday Night Football, once the premiere time slot for the league, were partially contributed to the rise in popularity of pro wrestling during that era. As we know, the Monday night war, the competition between WWF and WCW, brought in a record-setting audience. At its peak, the boom period had a combined 10 million viewers watching the pro wrestling shows each Monday.

It goes without saying, with that many viewers watching Steve Austin or Bill Goldberg, programming that was tailored to the 18-34 year-old demographic, there were simply less people watching Monday Night Football than there were in a previous generation, hence why the out-of-the-box concept to bring Miller into the fold materialized in 2000. Bringing someone from outside of sports was considered a drastic move, but there was no doubt that sports entertainment had taken a chuck of the audience. In 1998, the NFL moved the program to start at 8 PM, with the notion that it could get a head start to the wrestling programs and a competitive game might retain the audience. While the MNF broadcasts are currently set for 8:15 PM, the time change in the 90s, nor bringing in Dennis Miller in 2000, helped the sluggish ratings. Viewers decided to watch Stone Cold stun Vince instead of watch Stewart throw interceptions.

Ironically, the flop of the XFL and the consolidation of the entire wrestling business not long after Miller was canned gave the NFL its audience back. We've already discussed the advancement of technology and it goes without saying that the ability to broadcast more games in more regions has truly nationalize the sport over the past 25 years. Fans don't just watch the home team anymore, they watch the stars as well, a benefit based on how skewed the league is towards the offense in the modern era. That wasn't the case when lineal television was the main option for viewers more than a quarter century ago and thus it became easier for pro wrestling to get ahold of the typical football demographic. 

In fact, the argument could be made that the distribution of the league has gone too far in the other direction, as every platform tries to secure itself a lucrative piece of the NFL pie. ESPN, NBC, CBS and Amazon Prime are only a few of the networks or streaming services that have the rights to some type of NFL games this season. Furthermore, there are nine games scheduled to be played outside of the United States this season.

Of course, NFL teams are worth billions of dollars and the league itself it worth billions of dollars. The NFL is more valuable today than any other time in history. That's why it's almost unfathomable that there was a time that pro wrestling was consistently drawing better numbers than the NFL.

Still, it prompted the question, could professional wrestling ever be truly mainstream again?

The easy and unfortunately accurate answer is, no. I don't see a way that sports entertainment could ever catch lightning in a bottle to that degree. There are numerous reasons for why a boom period couldn't take place again, but a few of the core explanations that underscore the scope of the scenario.

First and foremost, competition is what fueled the surge in popularity throughout the Monday night war. If the NWO didn't put Vince McMahon on the ropes, he wouldn't have been nearly as willing to push the envelope with Steve Austin as the top guy. The fact there were two shows gave more of a variety within the genre to draw more viewers. Sure, toward the end of the war, WCW had some awful drek, but even Thunder during its dying days had a bigger number than Smackdown does now. For there to be competition, there must be someone with the funding to be a competitive player in the industry. As Tony Khan has proven, you can have all the money in the world, but if you don't use it correctly, there will be options in the business, but not necessarily competition. Timing is a huge part of the equation as well, the Rock N' Wrestling era was the right product at the right time, as was the Attitude era. That must happen organically, you can't plan or time it. There are so many moving parts in those type of situations that it's a matter of the right pieces of the puzzle falling into place at the right time. That's why the trajectory of All Elite Wrestling is so frustrating, because there was a brief window of a few years where the project could've really gotten off the ground, but it settled into a mostly niche product. And no, the Wednesday night "competition" between NXT and Dynamite for a few years wasn't remotely the same thing as Raw/Nitro, considering that it was WWE's developmental show.

Outside of the players of the industry, the perception of the business itself might be in a place where it won't be in a position to truly be mainstream again. Keep in mind, the last boom period was ended 25 years ago, you can't file that under pro wrestling being cyclical, which is a misnomer anyway. Since the last boom period, more of the business has been exposed in more ways than it ever had previously. Granted, by the late-90s, the audience knew pro wrestling was entertainment, but there was enough of a shield around the performers in terms of what the audience saw that there was enough of a mystic that the fans could still believe in the characters. Fans knew that Steve Austin wasn't causing mayhem at the grocery store, but they believed in him as the gritty Texan that clawed his way to the top of the business against the odds. That's because it was essentially an amplified version of the man behind the persona. The fans could tell that there was some real-life animosity between Bret Hart and Shawn Micheals in 1997 so it was very easy to be emotionally invested in the result of the feud.

There have been so many documentaries, including Unreal on Netflix, that explain that most of the drama on-screen today in manufactured that it makes it difficult to truly believe in today's performers the way that fans were emotionally invested in the previous generation. Without that emotional investment, pro wrestling becomes interchangeable with any other form of entertainment. It doesn't help the situation that the WWE promotes the brand ahead of individual stars today. Yes, it gives the company more promotional power, but the audience believes in their favorite wrestlers, not corporations. How many times has the audience chanted the initials "WWE?" during a show?

As far as being interchangeable with any other form of entertainment, the amount of endless entertainment options probably prevent sports entertainment from being able to capture enough of an audience to go mainstream again. Remember, Monday Night Football's decline was concerning because that was dubbed the premium game on the line-up at a time when the majority of games had regional availability. There are more national games now than in the late-90s. In 2026, professional wrestling is competing with every network, streaming platform, podcast, and Youtube video for viewership. It was exponentially easier to capture an audience when the comparatively limited number of television channels were the other options besides pro wrestling.

So, TKO will continue to capitalize on the climate of the evolving media landscape through the massive rights deals, and continue to expand international since there's more money on live events there than there usually is domestically, but the totality of the status of the industry, as well as the direction of society, will probably prevent sports entertainment from going mainstream again.

The career of Sam Beale

In 2020, the entire world was shuttered amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and live entertainment, including professional wrestling, took a major hit, as venues were closed when the industry, as well as the rest of society, found itself in unprecedented territory. Some of the biggest events on the pro wrestling calendar were reduced to empty buildings and a static environment. It goes without saying that independent wrestling, a much more grassroots operation without the safety net of big time media rights contracts or corporate sponsorships, struggled with required expenses, but no live events to generate revenue. When a promoter has a lease on a venue, the rent is due when the rent is due. As a result, promoter across the country had to think outside of the box to get a product to the fans in a safe manner. Through the advancements of technology, there were live streams of limited capacity shows, and closed set tapings, similar to what some of the national groups produced to satisfy those previously mentioned lucrative television contracts.

The Pittsburgh region has an extensive and storied history, often incorporating many talents from around the tri-state area. In order to keep the scene moving forward through the uncharted waters of the pandemic, many of the steel city stalwarts came together for the Fight Underground project, a dojo-style series of bouts that allowed the fans to watch fresh content from home, with a strict safety protocol for those involved in the closed set tapings.

In retrospect, most of us from the tri-state area tried to make the best of a tough situation. It was far from ideal, but on a chilly Saturday morning in October, I sat alongside Pittsburgh legend, Paul Atlas to call the action for a combination of new faces and familiar grapplers.

One of the bright spots of that otherwise dreary October day was when I saw Sam Beale, an athletic over-the-top youngster that immediately stood out for his outlandish attitude, as well as his crisp in-ring skills. With his trademark crocs, fanny pack, and flowing curly locks, if you saw the guy, you knew he had to be somebody, even if you didn't initially see him in the ring.

The ironic part of this is that the real-life 28-year-old behind the persona is much more balanced and structured than the overbearing character that he portrays in the ring. In fact, when the native of the Buckeye state began to pursue higher at the University of Toledo just a few years before I saw him at the Fight Underground tapings, his aspirations of the squared circle actually influenced his direction outside of it.

"At first I went to be a teacher but decided it wasn’t for me so while I was deciding my next degree I wanted it to align with my wrestling career best I could, so I chose communications. At the time I thought it would improve my mic skills so that’s what helped make that decision. It helped in so many other ways. It taught me how to be a true professional in all aspects of the business. Resume building, communication skills, and how to manage a business structure are so much more that what I thought it would help with," Sam remarked.

When he broke into the business a decade ago, he treated his education of the squared circle the same way that he approached his studies of higher education at the university. It wasn't uncommon for him to literally hit the canvas during the weekend before he figuratively hit the books Monday morning. That philosophy instilled a sense of true professionalism from his earliest developments as a sports entertainer.  

"As compared to wrestling training, it was very similar in the idea that you will get out the same amount as you put into it. The amount of effort and work you put into your studies will determine your grade. Similar with wrestling, the amount of work you put in when no one is watching will have a big factor in your success in the business," he explained.

While he was near the completion of his degree in Toledo, Beale did the same thing that any young wrestler does in their earliest years, he hustled for any chance he could to hone his craft in front of a paying audience. Late-night gas station food and sometimes meager compensation were the tradeoff for the valuable in-ring experience that it provided. There were times that the house was packed, other times that those events were sparsely attended, but the goal was always the same, to learn as much as possible in the process. Beale zigzagged his way around the north east and the mid west to polish his skills. He didn't know it at the time, but sometimes the finer points of the performance open the door for big opportunities. 

"I ended up working with TNA in a student vs. teacher angle. It was when my trainer, Trey Miguel returned to TNA during COVID for a storyline with Sami Callahan. Sami brainwashed one of Trey's students to come to TNA and confront him. I had a 10-second match where I clubbed Trey from behind and then quickly lost. That one club to the back impressed D'Lo Brown, and turned into working with the company for a year.. It was an incredible run and that taught me at a very young age how to work TV," Sam explained.

That 10 seconds into the ring turned into a one-year contract to work on television with some of the most accomplished performers in the business. In that regard, the grappler that touts the greatness of his perm had a dividing line between the two chapters of his career so far. He spent the first five years as a pro learning his way, and he has spent the five years since taking the lessons he learned in the television environment to take his performance to the next level. After spending virtually his entire adult life as a pro wrestler, Sam cites that ability that the sport to impact those beyond just the bout in the ring, both for the fans and the performances themselves.

"My career highlight so far has been creating lifelong memories for fans each and every-time I go out there. I take a lot of pride in being able to emotionally connect with fans and really give them their money's worth. They work all week to spend their hard-earned money to enjoy professional wrestling and escape their realities. So, being able to be their escape from the real world truly means the world to me," he commented.

Speaking of the realities of life, Sam Beale the professional wrestler can be many things, depending on the assignment that night. Menacing villain, the heel that might slip on the banana peel before his precious perm connects with the canvas, or the fun-loving baby face that can get the crowd to rally him to victory. However, after the final bell sounds, his boots are unlaced, and his tattered wrist tape hits the floor, Sam Beale is a family man. He trades the bumps and bruises of the mat for Bluey and Blippi on Youtube. A unique balancing act for sure, but Sam cites his family as more rewarding than any championship he's ever held.

"It’s the most challenging thing I have ever had to navigate. First and foremost, I would not be able to be the wrestler I am without my wife. She is owed everything, all the sacrifices she has given for me to be gone and chase this crazy dream means the world to me. My dad once told me behind every true champion is an even better women. Family will always be first in my eyes. It’s so important for me to chase my dreams, not only for me, but for my kids. I want to show them that they can be whatever they want to be if they work hard at it and never give up," Beale said.

Sam has a full calendar, working as an independent pro wrestler, while balancing the responsibilities of family and full-time work outside of the business. But, after ten years, he has no intention of slowing down, and adds new organizations to his accomplished resume on a regular basis. In fact, in just a few weeks, he's scheduled to make his debut for the West Virginia-based Victory Championship Wrestling group when he competes against Andrew Palace, one of the stalwarts of the Pittsburgh area, in an anticipated bout on November 6th at the Bishop Donahue building. After a decade as a pro, Beale has a routine for his travel across different states on any given weekend, but he has aspirations to eventually fill up his passport as well.

 "Every year I make a list of things I want to accomplish for the year. One of those big ones for next year is to wrestle overseas, whether it’s Japan, England, or France. I want to go across the pond and bring my 'permfection' with me. I also would love to make wrestling my only source of income. These will all happen and I will enjoy the journey to them along the way," Beale concluded.

VHS Memoirs Volume 40

This month marks 26 years since the ECW Anarchy Rulz 2000 pay-per-view that was held in St. Paul, Minnesota, a fitting location for the coronation of Jerry Lynn as the world champion in the main event, which was obviously the major selling point for this show. That being said, as much as Lynn was underrated and deserved the spot as the top guy, especially in ECW where he excelled as one of the company's most valuable performers, the scaled-down production of the broadcast really underscored how much the promotion was on shaky ground. The organization was three months away from its final official show on pay-per-view, another event that Lynn worked in the main event opposite Rob Van Dam, and the ill-fated TNN deal finished up the week after Anarchy Rulz. So, Jerry Lynn became the champion of a promotion that lost its national television deal the following week. That's not a knock on Lynn, though. It's quite the opposite since Lynn, Steve Corino, or any of the other guys that were given prominent roles to fill the void after others left weren't going to be able to save ECW from the collapse.

The flawed business deals and misguided decisions were more than any of the roster were going to be able to overcome to keep the doors open. Still, there was an estimated 4,500 fans in attendance for this show, displaying the dichotomy that was the extreme project. It was a sinking ship in terms of business, but still maintained its popularity, proving that the roster wasn't going to be able to overcome the terrible business decisions made in the office.

In truth, the fact that Anarchy Rulz drew the house that it did is a testament to the brand loyalty that the promotion had. The line-up had solid talent, but the majority of it was comprised of younger guys that were looking to make a name for themselves, the bulk of the ECW star power had simply gone elsewhere by this point.

The opening bout was an example of the young talent on the card, as Joey Matthews, who found bigger notoriety years later in the WWE as Joey Mercury, and Christian York squared off against the combination of Danny Doring and Road Kill. This was a basic tag match that only went about six minutes, but it was a solid opener with good action to kickoff the PPV. This had a few highlights of dives and innovative tag moves, but nothing too spectacular, which it probably wasn't designed for anyway since it was only given a few minutes anyway. Road Kill and Danny Doring got the win before Johnny Swinger and Simon Diamond attacked during the post-match segment. Since Swinger and Simon only posed afterward, I'm guessing this was added just to shoehorn a few more guys on the broadcast.

There was the set up for Cyrus, known today as the real-life Don Callis in All Elite Wrestling, against Joel Gertner. To be honest, the Cyrus/Gertner stuff was probably meant to be a staple of PPVs with their inevitable confrontation that often too place in the opening segment, but it got repetitive and counterproductive by this point in the year. Before the two announcers could fight it out, there was a series of interruptions, including EZ Money's group and eventually the Extreme Commissioner, Spike Dudley, who was given the role to stay on television while he healed from a broken leg. Spike introduced Kid Kash to challenge EZ Money, setting up a rather easy pairing (no pun intended) for this PPV since this was an aerial bout that proved to be solid prior to this. This match was basically very similar to the contest that they took around the circuit for the house show loop and television tapings, but that's not meant as a criticism. This had fast-paced technical maneuvers, and Kash hit a wild double spring board dive to the floor. There was interference to basically given Julio Dinero and Chris Hamrick a chance to get their spots onto the show, which isn't a negative. In a lot of ways, Dinero and especially Hamrick were victims of circumstances, as they were solid workers that finally got the chance to get a full-time spot with a national organization less than six months before not only the company folded, but the entire industry consolidated. EZ Money went for a top rope power bomb, but Kash countered with a hurricanrana for the win.

Post-match, the heels attacked Kash, prompting Spike to attempt to make the save but then the villains attacked his injured leg before The Sandman, who isn't booked for a match on the card, showed up to rescue the extreme commissioner. With the foes dispatched, based on the pre-match stipulation, since Kash won it gave Gertner a one-on-one contest against Cryus. This wasn't exactly Flair vs. Steamboat, but it wasn't supposed to be. After an assist from The Sandman, Gertner got the victory in about two minutes. The baby faces celebrated to end the segment.

Next up was The Baldies vs. Balls Mahoney and Chilly Willy for what was essentially the brawl of the evening. Balls immediately bloodied Tony DeVito with a fork and they fought through the crowd back toward a staging area where the announce desk was set up. DeVito did an impressive moonsault off the stage onto Mahoney. Angel gave Chilly Willy a nasty power bomb onto the chairs. Back in the ring, Balls hit DeVito with a brutal unprotected chair shot to the head that looks much different in 2026 than it did at the time this show took place. Angel used the staple gun on Mahoney to get him to bleed. After three unprotected chair shots to Mahoney and Chilly Willy, The Baldies got the victory.

CW Anderson vs. Steve Corino to determine the number one contender for the world title was next on the card. This was much more of the "work rate" match in terms of in-ring content, as the two traded reversals and counters. At the same time, this also exposed the lack of star power, while spotlighting the potential, of the roster in 2000. CW was a solid worker that didn't get the credit he deserved, nor the opportunity for most of his career. Again, it was a matter of timing, Anderson gets a spot in a national group and then it goes out of business while the market is flooded with an entire roster of WCW wrestlers that had more TV experience to take to the WWF at the time. The point being, Corino was being given a direct push and worked up to those expectations as the eventual champion, but to be paired with CW in a number one contender bout when Anderson never had a path toward the championship almost underscores that the office only had a handful of legitimate main eventers left in the company by late-2000. When was CW Anderson ever presented as a guy that might main event a pay-per-view? It's not about the talent, but rather the perception of his status in the organization at the time. I understand that Corino's push to the world champion was based on his willingness to sacrifice and literally bleed for the belt, but the blood from both wrestlers really wasn't needed here, especially since they already established entertaining technical wrestling before this. The blood in two matches in a row was overkill and an example of how not everything from ECW holds up in retrospect. Simon and Swinger were back to attempt to interfere, but Jack Victory cut them off, allowing for Corino to hit his finisher to get the win. This was a decent match, but the blood added nothing and the brawl toward the finish was actually a partial downgrade to the overall quality of the segment.

The FBI vs. The Unholy Alliance tag team title match was a fun segment. It was a lot of wild action where tags were disregarded, but it was kept short enough that it didn't get excessive. At one point when Tony Mamaluke was upside down in the corner, and The Sinister Minister shot a fireball at him with the same flash paper gun that would legitimately land him in the hospital when it malfunctioned prior to the November to Remember pay-per-view. The real-life James Mitchell put too much flash paper into the cartridge, forcing the flash paper to explode and it took a piece of Mitchell's finger with it. Guido was bleeding, which was more overkill and an example of how blood was used as an attempted substitute for star power. This was another example of blood that subtracted rather than added to the overall presentation. After some interference from Big Sal, the FBI hit an odd double team move to get the win.

The biggest takeaway from the ECW TV title match was that Rob Van Dam was the biggest star on the show. As much as Van Dam defined the TV title, and this match was based on the fact that he fortified it due to injury before Rhino's reign as champion, I think it's fair to say that had ECW survived, Van Dam would've been a lengthy world champion. This segment had some brawling in the crowd, something that was repetitive by this point in the night before it got back to the ring for several of the trademark RVD spot. This went just over 10 minutes and was kept tight enough that it served as a solid co-main event without taking anything away from the Jerry Lynn/Justin Credible bout that was going to close the show. Speaking of Justin Credible, he interfered with a Singapore cane shot to allow crocked referee Danny Daniels to get involved in the match. Rhino hit a gore through a table and a pile driver before Daniels used a fast count to declare Rhino the winner.

The main event had twenty minutes, a decision that clearly spotlighted it as the top match on the show. There's a lesson for Tony Khan in there somewhere. The bout started with some decent technical wrestling, but surprisingly, they almost lost the crowd in the middle of the segment. Maybe it was because the more savvy ECW crowd knew that there was no way that Lynn wasn't leaving as champion, but during holds in the center of the ring to try to get the crowd to rally behind the challenge, the fans were mostly quiet. It actually look Credible getting on the mic to antagonize the fans to get a reaction. Thankfully, as the typical ECW chaos unfolded toward the finish, including a ref bump that wiped out HC Loc that brought back Danny Daniels, the fans were invested toward the conclusion. When it looked like Danny Daniels was going to use another fast count, he was interrupted by the music of New Jack, who did great in his role on this show. New Jack pummeled the crocked official, and caught a series of Singapore cane shots. But, that allowed Lynn to recover and land the pile driver. prompting HC Loc to dive in for the dramatic three count to award the title to Lynn. 

Should Crown Jewel be canceled?

Last month, I penned an article questioning if Crown Jewel, the WWE's next Saudi Arabia event, should be postponed after there were attacks from Yemen forces at the Saudi International Airport. Within the past few weeks, the instability in the region has continued, including the ongoing American conflict with Iran, and more violence in Saudi Arabia, prompting the United States government to order that non-essential diplomats leave the country because of threats in the area.

In that context, it really puts into prospective how insignificant a pro wrestling pay-per-view is in the grand scheme of things. The United States government is officially acknowledging that the region is too dangerous for the Americans that work on behalf of the government. How exactly is it going to be considered safe for an entertainment company?

As we know, WWE is only one of the western acts that is imported to the country for  Riyadh season, a two-month celebrated that is basically propaganda material to try to reshape the image of the country that is paid for with oil money. Keep in mind, Riyadh season was started in 2019, not too long after the Sports Authority started to invest billions of dollars into its PR campaign. However, a few of the various sporting events were already canceled or postponed in recent weeks after the previously mentioned attacks at the airport, which led to a few of the airlines suspending certain flights to due the threats.

While the festival technically started earlier this week, the major kickoff for the celebration is next weekend's Saul "Canelo" Alvarez bout against Christian Mbilli for the WBC Super Middleweight championship. Canelo has stated that he still wants to fight, and when you take into account that he gets paid $100 million for each of his contests in the country, it's a little easier to see why he's willing to take any potential risks with the travel.

Reportedly, the WWE is getting roughly half of that number for Crown Jewel. That's the price for a risk to the roster, the production crew, and the office staff that will presumably be in Riyadh in two weeks. Anything for the almighty dollar, right?

As I wrote last month, the greed and bloodshed in the name of capitalism throughout history is often disgusting, but at the same time, capitalism is also the reason that many of the modern conveniences exist so it's basically the price to pay for the perks of modern society. The faux outrage of many that will cite the sins of capitalism will only go as far until they are individually inconvenienced. They don't mind using the iPhones that are made in China by workers that are paid next to nothing to order Door Dash that is delivered by someone that had to pick up a side gig since they can't make ends meet with their regular 40-hour per week full-time job. At the same time, on the other end of the spectrum, those that are opposed to any type of socialized medicine will be the first to set up a GoFundMe if they suffer a personal medical emergency.

In short, capitalism isn't perfect, but money is what makes the world go around, and when it comes to corporate America, even lives at risk are still worth an eight-figure payday. Still, there has to be a logical limit at some point, right?

TKO CEO, Ari Emanuel said on Fox News earlier this week that the WWE pay-per-view is still scheduled as planned, but that executives are "monitoring" the situation? There are already missile and drone attacks in Saudi Arabia, what exactly would have to happen for TKO to truly consider the possible cancellation of the event? Remember, Ari Emanuel secured a raise last year when he was paid $67 million between cash and stock. It's quite literally in his personal interest to pad the profit margin, and from purely a business perspective, he'd rather dodge questions about the safety of the roster than have to explain to the stockholders why the corporation doesn't have the extra $50 million at the next conference call.

That's the biggest development within this entire story, there are now specific warnings for Americans to leave Saudi Arabia, it's not merely a tourist advisory, the US government is on the record with noting that it's not deemed safe for government employees to work there. This isn't just a suggestion the way that it was when concerns began last month, it's a clear notice to Americans in the region. Despite that, Ari Emanuel is also on the record downplaying the possible safety risks.

The bottom line is, there's technically always some level of risks for any large-scale gathering anywhere in the world, hence why there's building security, but the overwhelming majority of the time, the possible risk is obscurely low. Tens of thousands of people shuffle in and out of packed NFL stadiums every week, and 99% of the time a local yokel that drank too much might be the most of a disturbance that takes place. Obviously, that's not the case for Saudi Arabia right now. In fact, even when protocols are in place for higher security when there aren't any known threats sometimes aren't enough. There certainly wasn't in Dealey Plaza decades ago.

That's the main problem, there are direct threats and safety issues with no way to truly ensure safety, mostly because of the simplified methods of attacks. Will the Saudi government be able to prevent drone attacks at the stadium? If that question has to be asked, isn't that enough of a reason to postpone it until the conflict is resolved?

It goes without saying that a stadium full of fans and some of the Saudi government officials that are usually in attendance for these WWE shows with American entertainers as the centerpiece could be a target for those that have hostility toward either Saudi Arabia or the United States.

It's ironic that Ari Emanuel is at least publicly the decision maker for if the show will take place as planned, but will Ari be in attendance at Crown Jewel? If not, why should the roster take any risks that their boss isn't willing to take? One of the perks for the suits in the previously mentioned corporate America is that the executives are isolated from such things, but it's yet another example of the disconnect between the fully corporate WWE under the TKO banner compared to the pro wrestling troupes that we knew for decades prior to the merger. Say what you want about Vince McMahon, he certainly deserves it for the reported deviant behavior that he was involved with in his personal life, but from a professional perspective, if the roster was going into a war zone, Vince was going to be there too.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, there will be another $40 million to add to the profit margin in the future so in theory there's no reason for Crown Jewel to take place in two weeks, but that doesn't matter because TKO isn't going to pass up the chance to make that money right now, even if it's a rather insignificant amount in the big picture. Unfortunately, this is either going to be much ado about nothing if the show happens without incident, or it will be horrendous if an incident takes place since it could be a potential tragedy, Given the circumstances, there's not much of a middle ground as far as a disruption that wouldn't be a possible disaster for the company. Taking all of that into account, will there be anything entertaining about this pay-per-view? Is it a fun viewing experience for the fans knowing the risks that some of their favorite wrestlers took to be there? If not then this show is for TKO more than anything else because they put cash ahead of the safety of the talent.