UFC 329

Nearly five years to the day in the same venue, the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Conor McGregor will step back into the octagon, a return to MMA that some pundits thought might never happen. His opponent, former UFC Featherweight champion, Max Holloway looks to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Charles Oliveira this past March.

This is actually a rematch from more than a decade ago when McGregor beat Holloway via unanimous decision at a Fight Night event in August of 2013. However, these two talented strikers took very different career paths since the last time they shared the cage.

The brash Irishman skyrocketed in popularity with a meteoric rise in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, serving as the top drawing card for the organization, and management seemingly went out of their way to put the promotional machine behind him. Conor was flashy, charismatic, and he could punch. That combination catered to the lowest common denominator of sports fans so it was very easy for the casual demographic to follow his career. That's not a knock on McGregor either, the fight is business is as much, if not more so, the entertainment business. There's no doubt that Conor drew money, even if the promotional tactics were outlandish on his part, and there were obtuse efforts from UFC management. For example, Conor was shoehorned into being a double champion after he initial beat Chad Mendes for the interim UFC Featherweight title and then defeated the legendary Jose Aldo to claim the undisputed belt for the unification bout in 2015. A year later, despite not competing in the 155 LBS division before, Conor was granted a title shot against Eddie Alvarez, winning via TKO in the second round. The fact that he split a pair of contests against Nate Diaz, losing via submission before he avenged the defeat with a majority decision, earlier in the year was conveniently overlooked.

 Again, the fight business is still the entertainment business, and the visual of Conor posing with both titles on top of the octagon was a way to draw more money down the road.

The problem is, Conor took all that promotional hype from the UFC and went to boxing to fight Floyd Mayweather in a 10-round circus for $100 million. It was the ultimate money grab, and it was clear that Floyd allowed the MMA fighter to survive a few extra rounds before the referee stopped the contest about a minute into the last round. Despite how blatant of a sideshow that it was, you can't argue with results, as the spectacle become the second-highest selling pay-per-view with more than 4.3 million buys, just behind the top spot of the Mayweather/Pacquiao super fight that garnered an estimated 4.6 million buys.

With Conor away from the UFC to make exponentially more cash as a boxer, the featherweight and lightweight divisions were put on ice, leaving many competitors in that weight class without the chance to make a name for themselves. Eventually, Conor was stripped of the featherweight and lightweight titles in 2016 and 2018 respectively because he didn't defend them.

After two years away from MMA, Conor returned to the UFC in late-2018 for the highly-anticipated grudge match with  Khabib Nurmagomedov. Khabib retained the lightweight belt after he choked McGregor out in the fourth round of the one-sided bout. The infamous post-fight brawl between the corners followed it. Conor was away for more than a year before he knocked out a tough, but aging Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds in the first round, giving the impression that he was back to top form. A year later, he was defeated by Dustin Poirier in the second round before their rematch six months later.

It was in July of 2021 when Conor threw a leg kick in the closing moments of the opening round, snapping his leg, and as he collapsed to the canvas, the bout was  stopped immediately. This is the same tibia and fibula injury that altered the careers of both former middleweight king, Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman. The gruesome injury prompted speculation about Conor's future in the sport, especially given the track record of the other fighters that tried to make a comeback from it previously.

Unfortunately, Conor McGregor made news outside of MMA for all the wrong reasons within the past five years. You know it's not a good thing when someone as high profile as he is got into enough legal trouble that all the details of each incident would be too lengthy to discuss in one article. The most serious of the legal troubles was the 2024 court case that found him liable for the sexual assault of a female in 2018 in his native country of Ireland. Criminal charges weren't filed because the prosecution cited lack of evidence. When the victim won the civil case and was awarded $250,000, McGregor appealed, but the court still ruled in favor of the victim. There was another lawsuit filed against him in early-2025, stemming from an alleged sexual assault at an NBA finals game in 2023, but it was dismissed last year.

The Dublin decision that was upheld by the court did major damage to his reputation in his home country, as he lost numerous sponsorships and endorsements, but that negative publicity didn't really translate to his status in the United States. It was no coincidence that his return to the UFC was announced during the MVP MMA event on Netflix, but that probably isn't the only reason that McGregor finally accepted a number for the comeback to the organization. As we know, Conor lives a very lavish lifestyle to keep up his image, and he lost a lot of his outside revenue because of the negative publicity of the sexual assault case so after five years away, he can always use another big payday. That's not to say that he's broke, but obviously, he can't leave major money on the table either.

For Max Holloway, he took a different direction since he fought McGregor in 2013. Holloway had to grind his way through the featherweight division, winning the belt in 2017. Sure, he eventually lost the championship and failed to regain it when he got a few title shots against different opponents, but he always fought top competition. With a record of 27-9. Holloway's championship pursuit was a mixed bag, but he was always a solid contender against the best of the division. Furthermore, and this might be the bigger point, specifically in this bout against McGregor this weekend, Holloway always provided entertaining fights. If he won or lost was almost secondary because the fans knew they were going to get their money's worth when he was on the card.

The UFC under card is decent, with the popular Paddy Pimblett in the co-main event spot, but for all intents and purposes, this is going to sell based on the return of Conor McGregor. Reportedly, tickets sold out in minutes when they weren't on sale at the end of May, and there are staggering prices on the secondary market for the event. Keep in mind, Paramount paid a massive amount of money for the rights to the UFC pay-per-views so this could be a key event for their subscription service.

Clearly, despite the negative press, there's still a demand for Conor McGregor in America, if not in Dublin. The question is, what Conor McGregor will the public get when he steps into the cage this weekend after such an extended hiatus?

Make no mistake about it, Max Holloway isn't a tomato can that will be brought in to give Conor a tune-up fight so to speak. Holloway is more well-rounded and has better cardio than the former two-division champion. The issue is, Conor was one-dimensional when he was five years younger before he had to recover from such a devastating injury. Conor can punch, and he found a lot of success with that philosophy, but there's a reason that four of his six career loses were via submission. Yes, Holloway is willing to stand and trade punches, which is partially why he was chosen as the opponent, but there's no doubt that he will have the grappling advantage if the fight goes to the ground.

The determining factor in this fight will simple, has Conor fully recovered from the leg injury to the point that he can return to his original form as a dangerous striker? Will he have the same movement that he had five years ago to set up the sharp strikes that won him championships prior to this? Quite simply, I'd guess the answer is no, not necessarily because McGregor hasn't taken the steps to prepare for a comeback, but rather the history of the injury itself. The harsh reality is that neither the previously mentioned Anderson Silva or Chris Weidman were the same fighters after they suffered the same injury. Silva had one victory in his last seven fights in the UFC. Weidman fought three times after he returned from the broken leg, winning one of those bouts before he retired. McGregor's best chance is going to be in the opening round so he will have one, or at best, two rounds to secure the victory. If it goes any further than that, Holloway will be able to get the victory after Conor's cardio declines, which is why I will pick Max Holloway to get the win. It's going to be very interesting to see what happens because the result of this fight could be pivotal in the career of Conor McGregor in the future.

What's next for Jay White?

After more than 15 months on the sidelines to recover from a seriously broken hand and shoulder surgery, Jay White made his surprise return to All Elite Wrestling at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view last weekend, confront fellow New Japan alumni, David Finlay and Clark Connors during their AEW tag title match against Adam Copeland and Christian.

In many ways, Jay White was a pro wrestling prodigy, starting in the New Japan dojo system when he was just 19, and stayed ahead of the curve the majority of his career. The two-time IWGP Heavyweight champion, reigns where he was much more suited to the role the second time around in 2022 as compared to the initial run in 2019, checks all the boxes for a top-tier performer, while still with the best years of his career theoretically ahead of him.

The sum of White’s career, at least to this point, should serve as an example as to why a variety of experience is key to the development of a well-rounded performer. As we know, not long after his time training in Japan, he was sent on an excursion to learn how to work in front of different audiences for different promotions with different styles, including Ring Of Honor when it was still under the Sinclair Broadcasting banner in 2016. Keep in mind, when he debuted in the sport in 2013, he originally learned the British style within the UK, but within just three years he had trained in Japan and began wrestling in the United States.

This isn’t a knock on the multi-million dollar WWE Performance Center, they have some of the best coaches in the entire world there to teach the next generation, but there’s still a valid argument to be made for the valuable experience of wrestling different opponents in front of crowds to truly hone the craft, as opposed to the bubble of the WWE system.

By the time he returned to New Japan in late-2017, he adopted the “Switchblade” persona that suited his fast-paced, crisp style and gave him something to work with from a character perspective, especially as a heel. Eventually, he was used as a leader of the Bullet Club, which became a position that was used to move competitors up the ladder based on the cache that the faction had. Again, it worked well with the Switchblade character. New Japan developed and pushed a main event talent with Jay White.

Since Jay White was booked to work the main event of the Tokyo Dome tells you that he was a valued member of the NJPW roster, but the harsh reality is, as we saw with several other guys around the same time period, New Japan simply can’t compete with Tony Khan’s money. The same can be said about the Japanese league being unable to compete with the corporate money of the WWE. It’s not a knock on New Japan, their historical cache and influence on the industry is well known, but it’s simply a matter of revenue. The fact that New Japan was sold for $22.6 million a few months ago, and that’s only roughly half the amount that the WWE gets paid to bring one show to Saudi Arabia, it puts the differences of the scale into focus from purely a business perspective.

So, when Jay White was offered a full-time contract from All Elite Wrestling in 2023, it probably would’ve been irresponsible for him not to take it. Keep in mind, as ludicrous as it is, pro wrestlers are still deemed independent contractors, there are no pension or retirement plans when they hung up their boots. In the vast majority of cases, making the most money possible for as long as possible must be a propriety for the financial security it provides, especially because of the high risk of injury in the profession.

I have to be honest, when Jay White landed as a full-time talent in All Elite, I thought he’d be given a much more important spot than where he was within his first year under the AEW banner. I understand that Will Ospreay is a flashier performer, but when it comes to bell-to-bell skills, I’d say that Jay White is on a similar level, and I thought he would’ve been booked for a role within the same fashion as Ospreay in terms of being a spotlighted performer. That’s why I think it would be fair to categorize Jay White as being somewhat underutilized during his tenure so far in the Khan-owned organization, despite the hurdles of injury.

However, those injuries did him no favors as far as building momentum since a foot injury in mid-2024 put him on the shelf for a few months before the major absence after the shoulder injury last year.

The silver lining here can be that the extended time away allows for a fresh start, but if there’s a ceiling to how much progress he will make remains to be seen. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that White’s return should disrupt any of the current plans for Will Ospreay to presumably win the world title at Wembley Stadium at the end of August, but he should be a factor in the big picture going forward. This is one of the many problems of such a bloated roster, when there are so many guys under contract without the television time to justify it, there will undoubtedly be those that aren’t given the chance to reach their full potential. Given the possible upside of Jay White and that he already proved to be a main event talent in New Japan, he should be someone that Tony has plans for, both in the short-term and the long-term of AEW.

At 33, Jay White is really only now entering the prime of his career, which is why it’s important for him not to flounder upon his return to the company. The downside for the case to be made for a push for him, if there is one, would be that if he gets hurt again, he might get labeled as injury prone. With the time added for the injury, there’s online speculation that his contract could run through 2027, which would be enough time to see what Khan has planned for him. That could be the biggest question mark of this entire situation, even more so than what or if Tony Khan has plans for him, is Jay White truly 100% healthy that he will get back to top form? As much as New Japan was the place where he made his name, the modern Japanese style is risky, if not reckless so it’s at least possible that he has more of a toll on his body from his run in Japan.

As far as what’s next, I hope the Bang Bang Gang stable is only there to enhance the presentation for him to seem like a bigger star for a bigger role in the promotion as opposed to a retread of where he was more than a year ago. On one hand, if the money is right, White might be content to take the cash to work a lighter schedule and hang out in catering if he’s underutilized. On the other hand, specifically given the Khan track record of missing the boat on guys like Penta and Danhausen, I could see Jay White being a major addition to NXT in a few years, or even going directly to the main roster if there’s not something worthwhile for him to do in All Elite.

Sheamus exits WWE

A few months ago, there was the annual purge of talent from the WWE roster, those that were either directionless on the shows, projects that didn't pan out, or longtime performers that had a contract that was deemed unworthy of their current value. In truth, as harsh as cuts are when someone loses their dream job and the financial security those goes with it, it's simply a part of the business. The performers that got released in April originally got their opportunity to land a WWE contract because someone else was released before them to make room on the roster. As noted, sometimes getting fired is the best thing that can happen for a career because it allows wrestlers to start fresh elsewhere or reinvent themselves. Settling for the ability to collect a paycheck while you hang out in catering every week certainly isn't the way to maximize their market value, which is why it's important for wrestlers not to stay in that type of scenario too long before they get typecast as interchangeable third-tier performers that don't translate elsewhere. Has anyone seen No Way Jose recently?

However, when the New Day, one of the most popular acts and beloved tag teams of the modern era, left the company, it sent a similar message that seems to be a trend since the WWE/UFC merger, nobody is safe from the corporate philosophy. Reportedly, The New Day, who were in a more secondary role at the time, but had the skills and the cache to be plugged into any situation where they would've been needed, were asked to restructure their contracts to take a significant pay cut to remain a part of WWE. That means that the billion dollar conglomerate wanted to change the terms of the deal that they had already agreed to just to pad the profit margin.

It doesn't exactly create a sense of enthusiasm for fans to pay to follow the product when corporate greed is the biggest narrative around TKO.

According to Fightful Select, another WWE veteran is set to depart the company based on a lower contract offer to re-sign with the organization. Sheamus, a former WWE champion that racked up a lot of accolades over the past two decades under the WWE banner, is expected to leave the promotion when his contract expires relatively soon. Reportedly, Sheamus was offered a much lower number to sign an extension, but declined. With his current deal almost expired, instead of being released, the contract will be allowed to run out. If that's the case then the duration of the remainder of the contract is less than 90 days, which would be the standard no-compete clause when someone is cut from the roster. If his agreement with the company is going to end in less than 90 days, the no-compete clause would be moot so allowing the contract to expire is the logical option.

Of course, you can cite his lengthy list of accomplishments since he debuted on the main roster in 2009 just two years after he inked a developmental deal. He won the WWE championship, the King Of The Ring, The Royal Rumble, and the tag team titles. Granted, some phases of his career were more successful than others, specifically based on when it looked like the writing team didn't know what to do with him or his momentum stalled as an act on the shows, but as mentioned, when a guy is getting paid by the WWE for almost 20 years, there's undoubtedly a value to his performance. Ironically, it wasn't until more recent years, and maybe this had more to do with the evolution of the product in terms of the willingness to give the workers more time in the ring to get into second gear on bigger stages rather than the Vince McMahon philosophy of  troupes from a previous generation, but Sheamus did the best in-ring work of his career at an older age. Sure, he's not a high spot guy that is going to throw 38 super kicks and kick out 46 times as a substitute for compelling drama during the course of a contest, but the bottom line is, Sheamus can go bell-to-bell, which is what he became known for in the past few years.

Again, we can parse details on the peaks and valleys of his WWE tenure. He was pushed strong from the start, but that momentum waned over time. His King of The Ring victory actually left him in a position where he was less over than he was before that and the goofy outfit didn't do him any favors either. He and Claudio worked well as a tag team, but it should be kept in mind that the duo were put together as a team because the office had nothing else for them to do. In a similar fashion,  The League of Nations faction was short-lived and didn't do anything to help anyone's career. At a time when Vince continued the Roman Reigns baby face super push despite the fan rejection, Sheamus was given the belt solely for the purpose to lose it back to Roman with the thought that someone that was as interchangeable as Sheamus at the time would get Reigns over for beating him so that at least a star was champion again. It wasn't heel heat, Sheamus was presented as the guy that nobody wanted to see because his status at that point was minimal, and it was another example of a character that Vince sacrificed in his quest to get Roman over strong as a baby face. That's not meant as a knock on Sheamus, but rather to point out that his tenure with the company survived those less than ideal periods of his career when his stock was lower. If anything, it's a nod to his talent since he completely rewrote the narrative of his career with a series of stellar matches in recent years.

Speaking of recent years, Sheamus has been out of action with a shoulder injury since November of last year. Before that he suffered a serious neck injury that required surgery in 2023 that put him on the sidelines for a year. At 48, Sheamus is at the latter portion of his in-ring career, and has spent nearly two of the past three years on the sidelines with serious injuries. From strictly a business perspective, there's no reason for TKO to offer him a new contract at the same amount of cash that he was paid prior. A 48-year-old with a bad neck isn't a wise investment to make a return on that contract in the future. That being said, of course there's a valid argument that the performers that have worked for the company for such an extended period of time should be able to retire with a solid contract as a recognition of their contributions to the business, but that's an old school troupe that doesn't apply to the TKO corporation. How much of a raise did those TKO executives get last year?

As for Sheamus, he deserves a better conclusion to his career than his contract expiring while he's still recovering from a shoulder injury so hopefully, there will be a Hall of Fame induction for him sometime within the next decade to give him the proper credit for his WWE run. When he's healthy, there will be options for him to get in the ring again, but I'm not sure that he should. Given his history of injuries, particularly the neck injury from just a few years ago, if Sheamus is financially secure, it would probably be best for him to use his exit from the WWE as a retirement from the sport since he doesn't have anything left to prove in his career.

The career of Brain Anthony

"Hold On" by Wilson Phillips was at the top of the charts, gas was $1.16 a gallon, Home Alone was a smash hit at the box office, and George H.W. Bush was in the White House.

The year was 1990, and a 17-year-old kid was thrown into the deep waters of the professional wrestling business, which was at the tail end of the era when the methods of the in-ring mayhem were still protected to some degree through a veil of secrecy to present the narrative of the sport as legitimate as possible. In short, professional wrestling schools were a relatively new concept, and outside of Larry Sharpe's Monster Factory, known for breaking in a young Bam Bam Bigelow a few years earlier, it simply wasn't something that was widely advertised. True to its secret heritage, you had to know someone that knew someone to be able to find a ring set up somewhere to literally learn the ropes.

Today, the majority of training schools have a "if your check clears, you can be a pro wrestler, too" mentality because trainers, reputable and otherwise, need students through the door to keep the lights on. That simply wasn't the case more than three decades ago, a time when sending a VHS tape and some photos in the mail was the primary way to try to get an opportunity somewhere.

Thankfully, that sheepish 17-year-old that was just trying to stay out of the way as a manager at the time has tried to stay ahead of the curve in the modern age of technology. But, still, all these years later as a 35-year veteran of the sport, Brain Anthony remains a throwback.

"I graduated in June 1990 and had my first match in September. My original trainer was Shawn Patrick. At the time, I had been already been working when I was discovered by Dominic. I had gotten booked on a show by Dr. Sam Siegel. The match was myself and TC Reynolds against Lord Zoltan and Sabu. Dominic happened to be on the show. After the match, he approached Dr. Seigel and asked if it would be okay if he trained me. 'I can do something with that kid' were his words. Of course, I was super pumped, it was truly an honor," Brian commented.

TC Reynolds, the late Tom Buzanoski outside of the ring, was a staple of the tri-state area for decades. Lord Zoltan's tenure stretches back to the mid-70s and he shared a ring with names like Andre The Giant and Paul Orndorff at the WWF's famous Allentown TV tapings. Sabu's wild and revolutionary career speaks for itself. Clearly, the rookie was going to standout in this tag team contest, but he didn't look out of place. In fact, it was his potential that caught the eye of the previously mentioned Dominic.

The place that the youngster was invited to hone his craft was a training location that you might've read about before. That publication happened to be Mick Foley's 1999 New York Times #1 Best-Seller, Have A Nice Day, and the Dominic that spotted a young Brian Anthony was Dominic Denucci, a former WWWF Tag Team champion in the 1970s, as well as an international star for Jim Barrett's Australia-based World Championship Wrestling group as far back as the early-60s. Almost a decade before millions of fans read about Mick Foley's six-hour drives from Cortland, New York to the Freedom, Pennsylvania, a small town about 25 miles north of Pittsburgh, to train with Denucci each weekend, Brain Anthony found himself standing outside the small building where Foley slept in his car to be able to attend lessons five years earlier.

"Breaking in at that time was way different. They put you through the ringers. I remember Dom’s place was in the basement of an old church. The was ceiling was so low that you couldn’t do anything off the top rope, and three sides of the ring touched the wall. So, there was not much we could do except wrestle.   Dom would put us in there and say, 'You got five minutes. No punches, no kicks, and stay in the middle of the ring.' If we started to put a match together, he would immediately stop us and tell us to call it in the ring, which is unheard of today. Guys just can’t do it now and even if they do try , it still never makes sense," Brian explained.

Before cell phones, the internet, or DVDs, opportunities could be difficult to find, especially because the fresh-faced Brian Anthony began his career at a time when the concept of the independents still wasn't fully-formed. When snail mail was still the standard of how to get a highlight tape into the right hands, it wasn't uncommon for Brian to jump into a car to travel several states away just for the chance to get to perform in front of a paying audience, gaining valuable experience that would benefit him greatly later on.

"The indies have changed so much over the years. When I broke in, you were jumping in cars with four or five people that you may or may not have even known and driving for hours across states to work a show. There wasn’t much consistency in work, gimmicks, or anything. As the years passed, I feel the car rides have diminished a lot. Everyone seems to want to just travel alone or just with a few friends.  Man, that is a shame because these car rides were where you learned the craft. Again, I was a young kid so I had the opportunity to learn from some true vets. While it was a business back then it has evolved into such a business now. You are pretty much a brand now," Anthony said.

The late-night drives and the willingness to put in the time for those key reps for a crowd paid off. By the mid-1990s, "Bad Boy" Brian Anthony was one of the polished prime athletes of the western Pennsylvania scene. He checked all the boxes for the look and in-ring skills of a worthy pro, and his position within Pittsburgh circles reflected that. At a time when television was the only major distribution channel for professional Wrestling, Anthony was a featured star for the now-defunct Pro Wrestling Express group. PWX had wild popularity for a handful of years in the late-90s because their television show aired on the same channel that broadcasted WWF's Shotgun Saturday Night and ECW's Hardcore TV during a weekend block of programming. PWX was known at the time for drawing hundreds of fans to the now-demolished Eastland Mall in North Versailles, and Brian Anthony was a stable of that era.

Taking into account not only lessons from the previously mentioned Denucci, but also his position as a drawing card for the promotion, Anthony became one of the trainers at PWX's wrestling school, where he instilled knowledge to some of the most important and influential grapplers of the Pittsburgh circuit that went on to have stellar careers of their own. In some respects, you could say that Anthony was one of the trainers of the trainers of the stars that eventually broke out from the area onto the national level.

"As a trainer, I have a pretty good list. I was instrumental in training Brandon K, Quinn Magnum, Todd Thompson, and helped a lot of other guys develop just by working with them consistently. whether in matches or at training. I think the most important thing as a trainer is teaching students to respect the business and those that came before, as well as teaching the fundamentals. I don’t feel there are a lot of schools teaching psychology and calling it in the ring anymore, everything looks like a choreographed match," Brian remarked.

Over the course of the next decade, Brian Anthony excelled both inside and outside of his home turf. It wasn't uncommon for Anthony to be one of those chosen to represent the area at various National Wrestling Alliance events, or working with the famous Samoan wrestling dynasty that had connections locally through their promotion in Allentown. Anthony found himself on the radar of the national promotions as well, working a dark match at a WWF television taping in Buffalo New York in 1999, working with ECW, and was even offered a WCW developmental deal by Les Thatcher, which Anthony cites family reasons for declining.

 "The NWA World’s title angle I did was fun, I got to be the "real “ NWA World’s Heavyweight champion for a bit. It's too bad politics soured that. I would say becoming a regular member of the Samoan family and an active member of Afa's roster since I got to work with guys like Batista, Snitsky, Samu, and so many others. Being an active member of the ECW locker room,  I made so many friends there. So, I guess I’ve been a Paul Heyman guy," Brian said.

Despite all of those accomplishments, Brian Anthony is arguably most well-known in the steel city history books for his time as a part of the villainous tag team, The Wrong Crowd. Alongside Paul Atlas, the duo were edgy, controversial, and had veteran experience that allowed them to work with several different teams over the course of several years during different stints as a unit. The initial run of The Wrong Crowd in the late-90s brought a spotlight to the two grapplers around Pittsburgh, whereas their work as a team in later years was within the national scope. Atlas, who is a former NWA National champion, was known for his ability to push the envelope on the mic, and did so when he and Anthony won the NWA North American Tag Team championship in the mid-2000s. With their manager Curtis Stevenson at ringside, The Wrong Crowd, true to their old school nature, wanted to defend the championships against any team that the NWA wanted to put in front of them. Anthony and Atlas went as far as to call out then-NWA president Bob Trobich for lack of competition.

"The Wrong Crowd meant a lot to my career. It was something I came up with to reinvent our career.  Paul and I had been in PWX for awhile as singles and then as a tag team, but with completely different gimmicks. At one point, we had some new bookers come in and basically said they didn’t know what to do with us. One night, I was reading the autobiography of Brian Bosworth of Oklahoma and he was talking about the Sooners linebackers. He went on to describe them as 'the ones your mother warned you about,The Wrong Crowd.' It really was the gimmick that put me on another level,  we started to get national attention. We were doing things no one on the indies were doing as far as entrances and stuff," Anthony explained.

Eventually, Brain Anthony slowed down his wrestling schedule, as he balanced a career outside of wrestling and a family with his pursuit of the sport. However, in more recent years, Brian returned to his role as a trainer and looks to take the next step through modern technology, offering online coaching for rookie grapplers that just started their path in the squared circle.

"This is why I am opening this coaching. I think the indy scene in general lacks honest, old school coaching. Psychology was drilled into me from some of the best. The likes of Joey Mercury, Nova, Afa, and so many others. I think the Indy scene needs to get back to this, Anthony concluded.

Brian Anthony looks to take aspiring grapplers under his wing, the same way that Dominic Denucci did all those years ago. Despite using modern technology for these latest venture, there's no doubt that Brain Anthony remains a throwback.

What's next for Big Bill?

One of the many reasons that competition and options are so important in business, especially the pro wrestling business, is that opportunity is provided. The fans get variety, and a way that becomes possible is that performers get the chance to develop their careers across the spectrum of the industry, and in the process, have the chance to work to their fullest potential. It's a drastic example, but keep in mind, there was a time that the WWE office only saw Cody Rhodes as a secondary comedy character with a spinoff gimmick of his brother's more successful persona. Cody could've coasted on his last name and made a decent living as a lower mid-carder in WWE for the rest of his career, but he opted to leave the company in 2016. At the time, the indies had a level of buzz, but that was partially because Impact Wrestling, where Cody had a cup of coffee, was so under the radar on Pop TV. Sure, Cody made the leap to Ring Of Honor and drew the biggest crowds for the Sinclair-owned organization of that era, and used New Japan as a platform to fully expand the next chapter of his career, but it was ultimately the launch of All Elite Wrestling, the biggest potential competition to WWE since the closure of WCW two decades earlier, that allowed him to completely rejuvenate his career.

The bottom line is, without the existence of All Elite Wrestling as a platform for Rhodes, he wouldn't have developed the American Nightmare persona that eventually made him the top guy in the WWE that he is today.

Those goals are lofty, and only a rare tier of worker is going to reach that level, but the point is, the chance to reinvent yourself on a smaller scale can lead to the ability to present the best version of the performer on a bigger stage.

According to Fightful Select, another former WWE wrestler is on their way back to the company after years of rebuilding their career outside of the scope of the publicly-traded, global corporation.

Big Bill, once known for his run as a tag team with Enzo Amore, is said to be slated for a return to the WWE eight years after his rocky exit. The real-life William Morrissey was only in the sport for two years before he signed a developmental deal in 2011 so for all intents and purposes, he was almost a total product of that early developmental system of Florida Championship Wrestling, the predecessor to the Performance Center. After spending about three years in NXT, which was put in place of FCW by that time, the act of Enzo and Cass was called up to Raw in 2016.

In short, the presentation was extremely popular for a relatively short amount of time. Despite being under the WWE umbrella for five years, Big Cass still looked to be a puppy with big paws so to speak. Sure, he could do the basic move set that was asked of him, but it looked very robotic and rehearsed. If I had to guess, I'd say that's one of the unintended possible pitfalls when a talent only works within the WWE system, they aren't quite as adaptable since they don't have a variety of experience. Big Cass could do the Enzo and Cass routine, but hadn't developed as an overall performer. When Enzo was quite literally all talk and so clumsy in the ring that Pac decided he'd rather quit his job than work with him a few years later, the original package of Enzo and Cass was all sizzle and no substance so it ran its course rather quickly.

In 2018, Morrissey was fired for behavior issues after an intoxication incident while on tour with the company. At the time, things looked bleak and he could've been on his way to becoming another precautionary tale of the pro wrestling business. There was also a bizarre incident at an independent show a few years later where he was intoxicated and got into some type of altercation, but details weren't fully reported. Again, things didn't look good for the career prospects of Morrissey, and his stock in the business was minimal at best.

When he reemerged in Impact Wrestling in 2021, it was reported that he dealt with addiction and mental health issues within the previous few years, but looked to rebound with fresh start as a healthy performer. That notion was reflected in the fact that he was in the best shape of his career when he showed up at the closed set tapings of Impact during the pandemic. He looked solid during his stint in promotion, as he wasn't asked to do too much, but was given enough to showcase himself. In truth, the year that he spent in Impact was probably just a trial run to see if he had made enough progress to turn his life around for either of the bigger promotions to offer him a contract.

Despite Tony Khan signing such a bloated roster for the vast majority of the existence of All Elite Wrestling, I was still somewhat surprised when Big Bill showed up there in mid-2022, mostly because the promotion isn't tailored to a big man style. That being said, Big Bill did well there and had clearly progressed in the ring, as his performances looked more natural and crisp. His tag team title run with Ricky Starks is probably what he was most known for within the past four years.

I understand that the Chris Jericho association had helped spotlight other talent prior, including the original Inner Circle faction after the launch of the promotion, but by the time "The Learning Tree" gimmick was used, Jericho himself was struggling to find traction so it just didn't truly do anything for Bill or Bryan Keith. In fact, Jericho had to take a year away from the company to allow himself to return with a fresh start, but during that time the team of Bill and Keith were left rather directionless.

For most of the past year, Big Bill has been off the radar of All Elite Wrestling so it definitely makes sense for him to make the jump to WWE if a deal was offered. It's a somewhat odd dynamic because after four years on the roster, I'm not sure Big Bill meant all that much within the landscape of AEW, and to be fair, very few are given the chance to be on an individual basis, but his tenure in the company certainly benefited his career since it allowed him to showcase that he became a more well-rounded performer.

That could ultimately set the stage for the real-life Morrissey to be yet another guy that left AEW as potentially underutilized to became a bigger star in the WWE. Granted, Alister Black ended up being a flop when he went back to WWE, and Andrade more or less wasn't given much to do before he exited so there are exceptions, but if  Morrissey is going to get over to a bigger level in WWE, this would probably be his best chance to do it. At 39, he's at the latter stage of his career, but it wouldn't be unrealistic for him to have a five or six year run if he gets over.

There has been some chatter online that Enzo might also be on his way back to the WWE to reform a team with Cass. I have to be honest, if  Morrissey has any chance of getting over at this point in his career, he should be kept as far away from Enzo as possible. Aside from Enzo being aloof and insufferable in interviews, putting Cass back in the same scenario where he was before he left WWE would basically neutralize the progress that he made as a performer outside of the company. It remains to be see if Morrissey will be successful in the WWE if he returns, but it would undoubtedly be a tremendous comeback story for his career.

Forbidden Door review

On the same day that Total Nonstop Action presented their Slammiversary pay-per-view, All Elite Wrestling run their Forbidden Door event, a co-promoted show with New Japan Pro Wrestling. In what was probably unavoidable given the current status of the Japanese league, this was probably the weakest build to this specific event since it started as an annual tradition a few years ago. The bottom line is, the Forbidden Door PPV often became an unintentional audition for New Japan talent in front of an AEW audience, and it didn't take long for Tony Khan to sign away almost every top star that NJPW had. Hopefully, the acquisition by Cyber Fight, the parent company of DDT, NOAH, and Tokyo Joshi Pro, will be able to bolster New Japan, but right now, the company is low on true star power and the line-up reflected that.

Don't get me wrong the clash between two different organization's best wrestlers can be a money-drawing concept. The problem is, if it becomes a yearly event, you eventually run out of "dream matches" to fuel the theme of the show. With a nine-match card, you knew that this broadcast was going to stretch over the four-hour mark, which simply isn't an ideal viewing experience on a Sunday night. You shouldn't have to kick yourself Monday morning for spending $50 on a wrestling pay-per-view that ran until after midnight. However, it's even more of an issue when the broadcast ran until almost 1 AM on the east coast.

Overall, this pay-per-view, similar to almost every AEW PPV, was a mixed bag. It gave you the quality action you expected, some of it was overkill, and some of it could've been saved for television so that the viewers could attempt to get to sleep by a decent hour. It sounds trivial, but only the most diehard demographic of wrestling fans are going to be thrilled to get to bed after midnight, and that's often the portion of the audience that the brand caters to, but the goal should theoretically be to get a bigger audience to spend $50 for these pay-per-views.

The opening three-way tag team match was a fun segment and it gave the viewers the fireworks show that they anticipated for this type of contest. This is the portion of the card that you can put the objective to progress the storylines aside for 15 minutes and let these guys thrill the audience with the high spots and dives. There's nothing wrong with that either, this type of contest has a place on the card, it just gets repetitive, tedious, and yields diminishing returns when it's overdone during the course of a specific PPV. The Young Bucks received some rightful criticism in recent years when their heel runs fell woefully flat, but they can still deliver spectacular bouts when that's what a segment is designed for. They got the win after they hit the Meltzer driver on Titan to get the pin.

As I said, there's a limited amount of "dream matches" that can be touted for a yearly event, and while Kenny Omega and Zack Sabre Jr. have wrestled before, since Sabre Jr. is one of the few key New Japan guys that Tony didn't sign, this bout had a level of anticipation around it. They gave the viewers a little bit of everything, starting of with some slick technical exchanges before they decided to exchange strikes and then took the series of big bumps that you'd expect from a New Japan main event. The problem is, this segment went over 25 minutes and it was only the second match of the night. They did the dramatic back and fourth sequences over an extended period of time, but when Omega finally landed the one-winged angel to get the victory, there was still almost four hours left of the show. This didn't need to be presented as an epic New Japan war of attrition, the overall show would've been better off if they kept it to a tight 15 minutes.   

As far as matches that could've been saved for Dynamite, specifically with the format of this event, the Jon Moxley/Bandido match appeared to be shoehorned onto the line-up just to get each of them on the pay-per-view. I understand that Moxley is a known star for his time in WWE, and Bandido is a tremendous performer, but again, when a show is going to run as long as this one did, a match that offers nothing toward the AEW vs/ New Japan package can be saved for a different time. It was somewhat of an odd match on paper because of the styles clash, but the match itself was fine. That said, they more or less repeated the structure of the contest that the audience just saw when they opened with technical exchanges, threw strikes, and went with the bigger spots toward the conclusion. The problem is, the result was already rendered rather pointless, as Bandido, despite being the Ring Of Honor champion, isn't necessarily seen in the same light as Moxley, particularly after he recently reformed the team with Brody King so it was obvious that Moxley was going to retain. We're going to see all the high spots and bumps throughout the rest of the card so if a segment doesn't progress something within the scope of the product, the argument could be made that it wasn't needed for this pay-per-view. I understand the tradition of tearing the mask to bleed in lucha libre, but the Moxley/Bandido match wasn't something that justified that. It wasn't a long-term blood feud or anything that needed blood in the segment, especially when there was a steel cage match later. As expected, Moxley got the win to retain the title with the submission.

In a similar fashion, Pac is on AEW programming so sporadic that it's difficult to realistically believe that he would capture the New Japan Global championship to possibly work a full schedule there.Shota Umino is a solid in-ring worker, but nothing too spectacular, and his main event push for the Tokyo Dome a few years ago garnered mixed reviews. This was another match that was fine in terms of the performance, as Pac's athleticism is almost impressive, but there just wasn't enough meat on the bone for this contest to have any major intrigue. Umino isn't a star and doesn't have the cache for his bouts to carry that type of importance to them, especially in front of an American crowd. For a one-off match, this was another segment that didn't need to go 20 minutes, which is roughly the same amount of time given to the previous contest. The power bomb over the top rope through a table wasn't needed either. This was another situation where this was structured as if it was going to be a main event, but there was still more than three hours of the show left.

Thekla vs. Starlight Kid was directly related to the premise of the pay-per-view, and Tony Khan did a decent job of building up Thekla's heel tactics in Japan for this segment to have the proper context. This was a very entertaining match and gave the crowd what they'd expect from a solid Joshi segment. I'd say that Starlight Kid might be a good addition to the AEW women's roster, but I have zero faith that she wouldn't eventually get lost in the shuffle of the witness protection plan of ROH so it's better that she stays in Japan. Thekla retained the AEW Women's title after she used a curb stomp to get the win.

The AEW Tag Team title match was fine, but at this point in the card, it was a situation where the length of the show impacted the viewing experience. There simply wasn't much to say about this bout other than it was solid segment. Jay White's return from injury was the biggest takeaway from it. Adam Copeland and Christian retained.

The Owen Hart Tournament women's final was somewhat underwhelming, as it was clunky and disjointed at certain points of the segment. At one point, Maya's hair extensions were loose, similar to the recent Jade Cargill situation, and she left the ring for a few minutes to fix it, which stalled any momentum the segment could've had. Furthermore, and this was almost unavoidable, there wasn't a point in this match where it looked like there was a realistic chance that Maya World was going to win. This isn't a jab at her at all, but she's still relatively unknown and new to most of the AEW audience so she's not seen, nor was she previously presented to be a contender on the level of Mercedes Mone. Sure, the argument could be made that the majority of Mone's All Elite career underachieved, but with the amount of money she's being paid, it only makes sense to put her in a featured spot at Wembley Stadium in August. It wasn't for a lack of effort, but this match never got into second gear because nobody believed that the upset was even remotely possible. This went 25 minutes and probably should've been given half that amount of time since it became tedious. Mone won via submission.

The cage match was the car crash segment that it was expected to be, which is fine since they didn't jump the shark nearly as much as they usually do for this type of bouts. Blood, tables, thumbtacks, and dives off the cage should've been the crescendo to the show, but the Owen Hart tournament men's final was after this. The stipulation of this match was that if Mark Briscoe's team won, he will get a title shot on television this week. The baby faces won so Briscoe vs. MJF will be on Dynamite, but this 30-minute car crash on pay-per-view was used to set up a predictable result for a television match.

The main event was more or less all of AEW's bad habits. This didn't start until almost 12:30 and after four and a half hours, this pay-per-view became a chore to watch rather than entertainment. This overdid everything in this segment after everything was already done earlier in the night. The ridiculous amount of blood added nothing, especially because Owen Hart was a technical wrestling legend so this match didn't represent the concept. The attempted dramatic pauses in the action missed the mark and didn't get over the theatrical presentation that they thought it would. The pace was rather slow, plodding, and almost unnecessary. But hey, Meltzer will give it six stars so it was successful, right? Don't get me wrong, the execution of the maneuvers was impressive, but that's not the issue. It was the wrong type of match for the tournament, with the wrong amount of time given, and at the wrong spot on the card. Ospreay got the win to get a title shot at Wembley Stadium. At some point, these five-hour pay-per-views because a reason for viewers to skip them rather than be literally invested in the broadcast through PPV orders. There's no booking logic for how to build a card, it's not about the overall presentation, the approach are individual matches in a vacuum, which hinders the overall event. 

Night of Champions review

Yesterday afternoon, the WWE presented one of its very lucrative Saudi Arabia shows, Night of Champions, and despite being what many would consider a "bridge" type of event as the company builds toward the first ever two-night Summer Slam pay-per-view in August, it definitely wasn't a filler or fluff broadcast. In fact, the Night of Champions event was worthwhile because it shifted pieces of the puzzle in place for a bigger payoff down the road at the previously mentioned Summer Slam PPV.

The event opened with Oba Femi vs. Jey Uso in the men's King Of The Ring finals. While the WWE simply isn't going to capture the historical cache that the concept once held because of its extended hiatus years ago and the number of marquee shows on the calendar, this still served its overall purpose. This was a showcase match for Oba, and it should've been. Regardless of the few top rope splashes that Uso landed during the seven-minute contest, there just wasn't a believable moment where it looked like he was going to actually win the match. In this specific case, that's fine because it reinforces how much steam and momentum that Femi has behind him as he gets the steady push toward the main event picture.

To say that anyone is a "can't miss" main eventer would be misguided since we've seen WWE management miss the boat on main event potential before when it would've been thought unthinkable that a talent wasn't destined for the main event. Anyone remember when Mr. Kennedy was poised to cash in the Money In The Bank contract to win the world title in 2007? How did Damien Sandow not get a chance to work in the main event scene?  But, It's fair to say that Oba Femi looks to check all the boxes of what WWE looks for in a top guy. If he can truly work at the main event level in terms of promos, psychology, and selling remains to be seen, but at the very least, the office is putting the machine behind a possible money-drawing star in the future. That notion becomes even more important when you take into account the rapid number of retirements of the top-tier of WWE, including the rumored exit of Brock Lesnar at Summer Slam. Oba got the victory to become the King Of the Ring and will get a title shot in August. All things considered, this outcome could've influenced the result of the WWE title match later in the night.

In a similar way, the result of the women's Queen of the Ring final wasn't as obvious, but still almost a sure thing that impacted the overall course of the match. With Liv Morgan already a champion, it was doubtful that she would be put in a scenario where she would challenge for another championship, as it wouldn't be a unification match, and one performer with both belts defeats the purpose of their individual existence. So, the spots where Iyo Sky was put in jeopardy with the potentially injured knee didn't fully sell themselves to the audience as a possible turning point in the contest. That being said, this segment delivered good action and was an entertaining bout. Iyo Sky won with a moonsault from the top rope to get the win and advance to Summer Slam for a title shot.

The steel cage match between Bron Breakker and Seth Rollins had some questions marks around it, mostly because much of the direction of the vision stable is still up in the air, with Logan Paul injured, and Bronson Reed still on the sidelines. The announce team framed this as the conclusion to the feud, and given how this match was structured, this looked to be designed as the payoff, not just another chapter, which is why I'm not sure I agree with the booking of the winner. This was a very solid performance from both competitors, and it was another example that Bron Breakker should be someone that the company builds around going forward. He's ahead of the curve as far as the quality of his performance compared to his experience level. The suplex from the top of the cage through the table was probably the biggest spot of the match and a piece of the table clipped Breakker in the side of the head, giving him a nasty hard way cut. However, the visual of the intense grappler with blood staining one side of his face was effective. Eventually, Bron missed a spear to send himself flying through a table in the corner, and Seth nailed a stomp from the ropes to get the pin fall. I have to be honest, if this is the end of the storyline, I think it would've made much more sense to allow Breakker the deciding win of the feud. This is actually meant as a compliment to Rollins, he's such a consistent quality performer that a loss doesn't really change his status in the organization, whereas a definitive win for Breakker could've been used to add to his credibility as a rising star in the company.

Maybe it was because it followed the cage match, or maybe it was because it resembled a television match more than something you'd expect to see on pay-per-view, but the US title bout was underwhelming. For whatever reason, it just didn't get into second gear and didn't develop a pace to build any drama. The crowd was mostly quiet for it and didn't see two invested in who left the build as the US champion. The abrupt finish was a jumping knee from Trick Williams to retain the belt. Trick looks and works like a star. I can't quite figure out the reason behind it, but Ricky Starks just hasn't connected with the audience at all since he started on the main roster. Maybe its his size, or that he was a big fish in a small pond in NXT, but he almost looks out of place on the main roster, and this match could be cited as an example of it.

Unfortunately, the Women's US title match wasn't an improvement. I'm not sure if they got lost or something got changed on the fly, but you could tell that Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill were either trying to call spots or getting instructions from the referee. The bout was clunky and tedious. The run-ins didn't do the segment any favors, and despite only being given about seven minutes, this contest probably went a few minutes too long. After an assist from Charlotte, Tiffany retained the title.

As far as the performance, the WWE title match was brilliantly done. These three are top-notch and delivered a performance that had a big fight atmosphere. This bout built organic drama as the advantage tilted back and fourth toward the conclusion. The finish with the sudden victory roll for the three count worked well and added to the "shock value" of the moment. To be honest, I thought that Sami Zayn was only added to this contest to do something different since Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther has been seen before in Saudi Arabia, and perhaps that was the original intention. I'm not sure anyone would've guessed that Sami would walk out with the title, especially when he was randomly added to the bout just two weeks ago.

That being said, while I'm all for Sami getting a title reign, the way it was done serves up a conflicting narrative that might hinder its overall purpose. Keep in mind, Zayn just turned heel during his recent feud with Trick Williams in April. The narrative of this title win was almost somewhat of a wholesome presentation that a guy that worked hard for a decade finally wins the championship, but the character that is cast in the role is a bitter heel. The bigger problem is that Sami actually is that tremendous worker that always gives it 100% and the audience recognizes it so it's almost as though the office diluted a story that writes itself for a murkier, almost middle of the road type of persona that doesn't represent the best version of Sami Zayn during a title run.

Prior to this victory, I'd say that Zayn's heel persona was lukewarm at best because nothing major or definitive happened to kick it off when he was feuding with Trick Williams. Regardless of the conflicting narrative, this will be a short title reign, specifically because the story of Sami Zayn as WWE champion was the chase, not the run with the belt. Given that Oba Femi is in line for a title shot, I'd have to guess that the belt was put on Sami to give Oba someone to beat on at least one of the nights of Summer Slam. Either way, this sparks some intrigue around the title picture, which has been rather flat since Wrestlemania a few months ago.