What's next for Jaida Parker?

The Attitude era, especially in retrospect, was such a catch-22 for the pro wrestling industry. On one hand, the competition within the business fueled the engine that propelled the genre into pop culture, a position that it hadn't been for almost a decade by that point, and a spot that didn't seem obtainable just a few years earlier when a laundry list of cartoonish gimmicks were featured in an attempt to reshape the image of the sport after the steroid scandal of the early-90s.

Yes, competition, as it is within any business, is the key. Eric Bischoff recruited former WWF stars to Nitro, and that along with the combination of a stellar under card of cruiser weight talent took Nitro to the position of the highest rated show on cable television in 1997. With Vince McMahon on the ropes for the first time in his life (certainly not the last as we've seen in the past few years), he refused to do the job for Uncle Sam, but media mogul, Ted Turner's "pro rasslin" took a firm lead ahead of the third generation promoter.

As a result, Vince pushed the envelope to keep pace with Turner's product, and ultimately, took the on-screen drama further than Time Warner's Standards and Practices department would allow so the tide turned in Raw's favor. When Mike Tyson was banned from boxing for legitimately biting off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear in 1997, the WWF had a scripted place for him on the USA network in 1998. Stone Cold and Iron Mike getting into a scuffle on live television was one of the most memorable moments in the history of the sport. You couldn't see Tyson on boxing pay-per-view for nearly two years, but he had a place at Wrestlemania in 1998. Vince ponying up the cash to land the controversial former heavyweight champion wouldn't have been on the table unless the New World Order put pressure on McMahon.

That's the upside of competition, it pushes each promotion to offer the best that they have or they get left in the dust.

On the other hand, when the WWF and WCW traded punches every week in an attempt to get the better of the ratings war, there was too much of a focus on a single week rather than the big picture. The hotshot approach burned the candle at both ends, and you can only do that for so long until it fizzles out. The competition of the late-90s produced some of the best pro wrestling television of all time. The flip side of that is that in hindsight, some of it was absolute drek that doesn't hold up today. More importantly, the opportunity cost for the moments of that era was that the hotshot approach always eventually leads to a down period just as long, if not longer than the initial hot streak. The casualties of the Monday night war saw WCW go from its previously mentioned spot at the top of the cable charts in 1997 to out of business three years later. ECW was too big to be small and too small to be big so it crumbled until the pressure of the industry. The WWF won the war, but eventually the WWE floundered through years of stale content and a state of complacency.

That's not to say that the hotshot approach can't be an effective booking tactic, it can, when done in a careful manner.

While the Attitude era overdid it with that philosophy, one of the trademarks of that era, because the office tried to prevent the audience from channel surfing, was that many of the narratives of a bigger picture played out within the context of a specific episode. By nature, that necessitates a faster pace to the program since all of the dots have to be connected for the payoff before the show goes off the air.

That's why the Jaida Parker angle from last week on Raw might be a segment that management should take note of going forward.

As we know, the Bloodline angle had a lot of steam to it a few years ago, but the storyline ran its course and got to the point of being very tedious. The fact that Jacob Fatu vs. Roman Reigns was a carbon copy of Jey Uso vs. Reigns from years earlier is proof that the writing team is trying to stretch out the storyline when there simply isn't anything left to be done. The majority of The Bloodline faction has a "been there, done that" atmosphere to the segments, mostly because they have been there and done that within the WWE landscape.

The only way to add some type of variety to the faction was to bring in some new faces, but not through additions to the group, we've already seen Samoans added and subtracted across WWE programming so to throw someone new into the faction without a firm purpose would see them flounder. That's why it's best for Zilla Fatu, the son of the late Umaga, to get a chance to establish himself in NXT. The other option is to add new performers for The Bloodline to work with, which is why the Royce Keys faction was brought to Raw. Sure, it was a very deliberate maneuver since Keys had been off the radar for the most part so the group was more or less shoehorned onto the scene, but considering the circumstances of The Bloodline desperately needing something new to work with, it's understandable. Plus, Keys and his crew were given credibility and made to look legitimate so it gives the audience a reason to stay tuned for the storyline as it evolves going forward.

Jaida, who was rumored to be involved with Jey Uso in real life, showed up at the beginning of Raw, claiming that she was there to talk to the General Manager, Adam Pearce. The tension between The Bloodline and the Keys group boiled until a confrontation at the end of the show when there was a brawl between the two stables. The stunt double in place of Jacob Fatu took a tremendous bump on the hood of the car as it jolted into view. Parker gets out of the car and looks concerned until it was revealed that she was aligned with Keys all along.

Ironically, this was literally a case of crash TV, but the point is, there are rarely times in the modern era that a specific edition of WWE television is directly episodic within the span of one broadcast. Yes, I understand that you can't throw everything against the wall every week, that's the lesson to take away from the Attitude era, but in this scenario, it worked very well to build to the reveal at the end of the night and it leaves somewhat of a cliffhanger for next week, which is also a rarity in the modern era.

If I had to guess, I'd say that the copy and paste format of most of the modern WWE programming is an unintentional pitfall of the sheer amount of content that the company produces each week. The WWE is a well-oiled machine that churns out countless hours of programming to collect the massive amount of cash from the media rights deals. It's much easier to stack segments on a run sheet each week and then rinse and repeat to keep everything steady. The difference is that a decade ago, you could skip Raw for weeks without actually missing anything of importance, but thankfully, the week-to-week programming is more focused toward progressing the narrative now. Still, it will be interesting to see if the Jaida Parker segment opens the door for a more fast-paced show in the next week months.

What's the status of MLW?

I have to be honest, when I heard that Major League Wrestling, the group that scored a $20 million anti-trust lawsuit victory against WWE a few years ago, was not only going to be on the Tubi streaming platform with their Fusion program, but also plan a return to live pay-per-view in November, it was a little surprising. Considering how rock solid WWE's slick legal team usually is, the fact that the company had to shell out millions of dollars, it more or less proved that WWE did in fact interfere with the MLW TV deal for the Reelz channel several years ago.

I'm still not sure why any of the suites would've put the organization in any legal jeopardy,because it's not as though MLW was going to topple the global, publicly-traded corporation if their original television contract would've ran its course unobstructed on Reelz. That said, if you can win $20 million from Vince McMahon, as the settlement was before Vince was exiled in disgrace for misconduct allegations, it wouldn't be unreasonable to take that cash and moderately retire. Trust me, if I land even a few million dollars, I'm going to quietly disappear to the middle of in Montana to continue writing about the sport without any reference or notice. As much as I love the heritage of western Pennsylvania, it would be much easier to avoid the family members that I don't want to see at the holidays, or the general nonsense of modern society if I could slip away like DB Cooper.

It goes without saying that MLW boss, Court Bauer is much more of an entrepreneur than that.

The reason that I was surprised with the Tubi deal and the announcement of an upcoming pay-per-view in Chicago was mostly because of how much of the media landscape is still influx. The dust isn't close to being settled in terms of what properties end up under specific banners, or who will own certain assets in the future. As an example, we've seen how the proposed Warner Brothers Discovery merger with Paramount was held up with lawsuits from almost a dozen states until a recent settlement was reached, allowing negotiations to continue before the deal is finalized. The buyout of WBD comes just four years after Warner Brothers and Discovery merged, signaling a further consolidation of media properties, as the advancement of technology influences not only the distribution of content, but also the amount of potential content that viewers have available to them at any given time.

It goes without saying that these moving parts of conglomerates and production companies have an impact far beyond the scope of just professional wrestling, but the reality is that those decisions can, and often have, had an effect on the sports entertainment industry.

As know, cord-cutting and streaming in general are becoming more commonplace as live channels are continuing to be included in a variety of streaming packages. The fact that the number of streaming services and their total costs have begun to hover around the same price of a traditional cable package is a different situation entirely. The fact is, with the consolidation of more assets under fewer corporations could eventually give those platforms enough ownership of content, as well as its distribution, to be able to continue to raise the price of streaming options.

The point being, it's still a developing scenario that could change swiftly and drastically in the future.

As an example from the WBD merger with Paramount, depending on the fine print as far as what assets Paramount might leave on the table, such as CNN, to get the deal approved, it's possible that all of the content on HBO Max, which includes the Discovery content as well from the 2022 merger, could end up on Paramount+ in the relatively near future. That gives Paramount thousands of hours of content that can be added to their streaming platform, a notion that the corporation can use to possibly increase the price of a Paramount+ subscription.

We've seen this type of combination before, even when it's with in-house programming. Disney bought 20th Century Fox in 2019 and acquired the rights to Hulu in the process. Since Disney already owned ESPN, as the streaming landscape evolved, the corporation offered a bundle of Disney+, the option for live channels similar to cable through Hulu Live, and the ESPN+ platform. Of course, those purchases and the ability to bundle content allows for Disney to increase the price of the bundle package.

You can expect Paramount to do something similar when the details are finalized with the WBD merger.

While Tubi is owned by the Fox corporation, it's important to note that Tubi is a free platform that is driven by ads. Tubi being one of the well-known free options is very important for Major League Wrestling, because in short, they don't have to compete with the price of Netflix to watch Raw or the cost of an ESPN subscription for pay-per-views. One of the biggest topics of discussion after the majority of WWE content went behind a paywall was that the total cost to follow the product was getting too expensive for the average fan, especially in the current economic uncertainty.

Essentially, a free wrestling program within the modern landscape certainly makes it easier for the promotion to potentially expand its fan base, which is the entire point of getting on the new platform. The bigger the viewership, the more potentially revenue that can be made through ticket sales, commercials, and PPV buys.

That being said, from strictly a pro wrestling perspective, MLW finds itself in somewhat of a tricky spot. There's more pro wrestling content available now than any other time in history so securing a portion of the market share is a difficult task. That's not a knock on MLW, but rather to point out that with the endless amount of entertainment options today, it's more difficult for any pro wrestling commodity to generate a sustained following than in the past. Every television network, Youtube video, and podcast are trying to get their piece of the pie.

It goes without saying that MLW isn't looking to compete with WWE or AEW, and truth be told, they shouldn't be. Major League Wrestling looks to offer an alternative to the corporate wrestling of WWE, and the nonstop car crash style of AEW. Profitability and revenue are the true barometer of success. MLW should look to find itself a profitable niche, taking the bits and pieces of those overlooked within the competition of the industry, and allowing those aspects to shine to their fullest potential. A prime example is that Killer Kross, who garnered a cult following before his WWE contract expired in August of last year, is the current MLW Heavyweight champion. For those that thought that Kross was underutilized and underappreciated in WWE, they can watch him get the opportunity to have a main event role in MLW. Some of the same can be said for Shotzi Blackhart, who was released from the WWE, but had notable popularity even after she went back to the independent circuit. She was the MLW Women's champion until she dropped the title last month. Mistico is a guy that is wrestling literally around the world so his involvement in MLW is a good advertisement for the brand. I'm not sure the same can be said for Austin Aries or Matt Riddle, but they are at least recognizable names so it's worth taking the chance.

One of the pitfalls that MLW will have to avoid, and they've already dodged it in some ways with the marathon tapings for the Fusion program that put several months of episodes in the can, is the predicament of being too small to be big, and too big to be small in terms of the scope of the promotion. That scenario is ultimately what caused ECW to crumble, and led to Ring Of Honor being sold to Sinclair in 2011. Thankfully, with the advancements in technology mentioned earlier, MLW still has to be careful, but has a better chance at an expansion that doesn't eventually become a detriment to the organization.

It's tough to compete with the billionaire that is Tony Khan, and the billionaire corporation of TKO so MLW has branded themselves as a specialty project in some ways, giving the audience something different than they are going to find elsewhere. Yes, that's a moving target that can be more difficult at times, but the point is, giving underutilized talent, such as Kross and Shotzi, the chance to shine could be a unique selling point. It's good to see that Bauer seems aware of his position in the industry, offering early-bird pricing for the MLW pay-per-view of $9.99, with an increase of $19.99 after that and then $24.99 the day of the event. It goes without saying that there's a lot of competition for the PPV dollar in the industry between WWE, AEW, and the occasional TNA pay-per-views so making the Saturday Night Super Fight show more affordable is another strong selling point.

Of course, it will be interesting to see how the November 7th event unfolds in Chicago, especially after there were already two signature shows from WWE and AEW in the city last week, but the MLW website already lists the show as sold out. More than just the live attendance, it will be intriguing to see what takes place at the show, and how it might enhance the company's status in the industry. Furthermore, if the pay-per-view buys are solid, it could provide a key metric that proves that MLW could find that previously mentioned profitable niche on an even bigger scale. Between the Tubi deal and the potential PPV success, this could be a win-win scenario for both those on the roster and the organization. 

What's the status of Big Cass?

When reports surfaced that Big Bill was on his way out of All Elite Wrestling in the middle of this past summer, I wrote that the rumors of his impending return to WWE made sense, as it was the next logical step after he spent time in both TNA and AEW to rejuvenate his career. He was cut from the company eight years earlier and had to deal with substance and mental health issues before he could get his career back on track. Thankfully, he cleaned up his life, and when vignettes began airing for his comeback to Raw before he made his official return to television at the beginning of August, it looked like TKO was getting the best version of Big Cass of his entire wrestling career. 

No pun intended, but when Cass was a tag team with Enzo more than a decade earlier, he was a puppy with big paws in some respects. He wasn't a guy that had previous TV experience or a long-term independent career, he was mostly a product of the WWE system. Understandably, there was a learning curve. Obviously, Cass had the size that WWE looks for and he was an athletic big man, which is key to success in most scenarios in the modern era, but the argument could be made that he didn't have the "glue" to the overall performance.

In many ways, regardless of what happens with his current WWE run, Bill Morrissey is a success story. He was a guy that could've easily become another cautionary tale in the pro wrestling business that has already had way too many tragedies throughout its history. However, Morrissey cleaned himself up and made his way back to the national level of sports entertainment for the past several years, which isn't an easy task with the crowded current landscape of the business.

As much as Morrissey was able to stand out from the pack, it's just as difficult, and in some cases, even more difficult to avoid getting lost in the shuffle.

It goes without saying that TKO is a corporate machine that will run full-steam ahead in pursuit of the almighty dollar, nothing else matters, even if some of those tactics eventually have a detrimental effect on the product or the fan base. Despite being back in the fold less than two months, there's chatter online that the bloom is off the rose when it comes to Big Cass' status within the WWE, and based on some of the recent results on television, there might be some credibility to that notion.

At 40, and considering that this is the best version of him so far, if the WWE is going to promote Cass as a big deal, the time is now. That isn't to say that he's past his prime in any fashion, but rather that if they want a legitimate star that they can push for the next 5-8 years, they have to run with him now. Of course, when Cass initially returned, he did the typical monster segments where he steamrolled the smaller guys on the roster. That approach can be effective, as it's one of the reasons that Bronson Reed got over when he returned to the company a few years ago. Obviously, the talent being pushed needs to have the skills to sustain the momentum long-term, as Reed did, but the argument could be made that there hasn't been enough of a sample size to make that determination for Cass.

When a performer comes into the promotion with a bully push, if they are defeated rather quickly then the narrative is basically over. That might be example what happened to Cass. Je'von Evans beat Big Cass in their rematch two weeks ago on Raw after their original bout in August so what else is there to do? David conquered Goliath, and it only took a few weeks for it to happen. This past week on Raw, Dragon Lee, another smaller high-flyer, beat Cass, prompting questions about what direction, if any, Cass has going forward.

Right now, it looks like Cass might've been the flavor of the month so to speak, and it lasted about as long as the flavor of the nifty zebra gum from back in the day.

I could see this going one of two way for the real-life Morrissey, either these losses are going to be used as the catalyst to set up a bigger story in the big picture, or the office actually has already lost faith in him so his run is going to be labeled as plateaued so he will spend the duration of his tenure in the lower card of the line-up. At least TKO has quality catering at TV tapings.

How Cass is used, if at all, on television in the next few weeks will be critical to the perception of him by the audience either as a threat or an afterthought. The issue is that Cass might've been literally a big fish in a smaller pond in TNA and AEW. It's much easier to spotlight a big man when the majority of the roster is of a smaller stature based on the "work rate" style than it is with the big man philosophy that still dominates most of the WWE mindset. On a roster with Oba Femi, Bronson Reed, and Roman Reigns, Cass' lack of charisma or overall presence might be more noticeable.

That being said, I'd still say that Cass made the right move, because if he would've stayed in AEW any longer, he would've lost momentum or the impression that he made through his work there. Ultimately, the WWE is still the biggest sports entertainment company in the world, and for the vast majority of talent in the business, it will offer the biggest exposure, and often the biggest money possible. At the very least, Cass had to take a chance to return, especially with the global expansion under TKO.

With the recent defeats, there was some speculation if WWE would bring Enzo back to the organization to reform the tag team as somewhat of a default to what got over years ago, but that wouldn't help Cass' chances, as it would basically prove that he didn't make nearly as much progress as originally thought if he needed a retread from a decade ago to try to get over with the audience again. More importantly, Enzo has proven himself to be completely aloof at almost every aspect of sports entertainment.

It remains to be seen if Cass' comeback fizzled out this quickly or not. All things considered, if I had to guess, as I mentioned earlier, the fact that he was booked to lose two matches so close together on television, particularly to Dragon Lee, who hasn't been a priority too often, is probably an indication that the office, for whatever reason, doesn't want to invest more much stock into the Cass return. Still, if that is the case, I don't think management gave Cass nearly enough time to reestablish himself as a commodity on Raw, but as unfair as it might be, the reality is that there are younger, more well-rounded prospects like Oba Femi and Bron Breakker already on the roster.

Super Indy 25

A quarter century ago, Super Hentai, a veteran with nearly three decades of experience under his belt by 2026, was hoisted onto the shoulders of his fellow competitors after he made it through three rounds of matches to win the first-ever Super Indy tournament. He defeated Orion, CM Punk, and Christopher Daniels in the same night to claim the trophy.

The eight competitors that assembled the field that night in Monroeville, Pennsylvania didn't know it at the time, but the one-night tournament format, a dramatic test of endurance and skill, would not only become one of the most storied events in the history of Pittsburgh, but also one of the most prestigious tournaments anywhere on the independent circuit in the decades that followed.

"Being a participant in the first Super Indy elevated my career to a whole new level. Being considered to be worthy enough of being in the same category with guys like CM Punk, Christopher Daniels, and Chris Hero is something I will forever be grateful for. I’ve seen the tournament evolve into something that I would consider to be one of the most prestigious tournaments in professional wrestling. I can list so many people that have graced IWC with their presence over the course of the last two decades and all of them are household names," remarked CJ Sensation, senior official and backstage organizer for the promotion. 

It's certainly apropos that Super Hentai, the grappling stalwart that won the inaugural Super Indy, will make his return to the tournament when the International Wrestling Cartel, one of the longest-running independent leagues in the country, presents Super Indy 25 at Marx's Court Time, the home base for the organization for the past twenty years, this Saturday in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania.

The concept of the tournament was designed to crown a Super Indy champion, a title that is put up for grabs each year, with the current champion sometimes defending it throughout the night, or the anticipation of a new titleholder based on who made it through the grueling format. Super Indy became synonymous for bringing some of the best talent in the business to the area for memorable nights of action that fans still talk about years later.

AJ Styles, Chris Sabin, Petey Williams, Matt Sydal, Adam Cole, Larry Sweeney, Colt Cabana, Joaquin Wilde, and Claudio Castagnoli are just some of the numerous national names that competed alongside stellar local talent such as Glenn Spectre, Gory, and Troy Lords.

More than just the participants of the tournament, Super Indy remains such a staple on the Pittsburgh calendar because of the memorable moments that it provided. Low Ki smashing his way through the field until John McChesney refused to wilt under the pressure in the final round, scoring a flash pin on the original Ring Of Honor champion to claim a victory that sent the fans in attendance jumping from their seats in 2005. Local favorite, Jimmy DeMarco went toe-to-toe with Necro Butcher in a violent street fight in 2009. Josh Alexander put on an absolute clinic with technical specialist, Jonathan Gresham in 2016.

"I think Super Indy has always evolved with the times and with the state of independent wrestling. Under the three different owners, there have really been three different versions of the tournament. In the early years, there weren’t many platforms for fans to discover the rare independent wrestlers. So, Super Indy was one of those places where you could see someone you may not have known much about before. The middle years, to me, probably reflected the true essence of what Super Indy became by showcasing talent that you would eventually see on a national platform. Today, independent wrestling is completely different. Fans have access to wrestlers from all over the world, so there are fewer unknown names and more established talent or wrestlers who have already been discovered. Super Indy has changed along with that, but the idea of bringing together great outside talent, alongside standout local talent, and giving them a stage to show what they can do, has remained the same," explained Jason Fosnaught, who works as a backstage producer for IWC today, but broke into the sport years ago in the organization as Orion.

With such a milestone of the 25th anniversary of the tournament, the 2026 edition will be no exception to the standard set with the previous track record, as some of the brightest young talent on the independents today will serve as a compliment to the major star power that will be hosted by the IWC, creating the compelling dynamics of opportunity for the next generation to compete against those national names.

Major headlines were made when Nic Nemeth, a former WWE and current TNA world champion, was announced as a participant in this year's field. The former Dolph Ziggler had an accomplished amateur background at the nearby Kent State University, and while the glitz of the television cameras have captured his star power for several years, the Super Indy tournament can give him a chance to showcase his tremendous mat skills. Another former WWE star, Tyler Breeze was also announced for the tournament when he will meet Nemeth in first round action. Breeze, a former NXT tag team champion, was deemed vastly underrated for most of his television career so again, the platform of Super Indy allows him to spotlight his skills.

"Calling my first Super Indy is a literal dream. The Super Indy tournament is so historic in not just Pittsburgh wrestling, but independent wrestling. The names that have gone through this tournament are legendary. As someone is just over a year in this business being able to say that I called a tournament with the TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth, Breeze, Super Hentai, and so many other greats that are on TV is a true honor," said Austin Cairns, one of the top play-by-play commentators in the area today.

The previously mentioned Super Hentai drew Canadian standout Shimbashi, who was actually born the same year that Hentai won the original Super Indy tournament. Dubbed "The Canadian Dragon," Shimbashi is a dynamic athlete that has already turned heads on both sides of the boarder. The five-year pro is only beginning to enter the prime of his career, and IWC could discover a gem if the youngster makes a name for himself in the steel city in one night if he wins the Super Indy championship. On the flip side, what a story it would be if Hentai wins the tournament again 25 years after he won the initial tournament?

While Shimbashi will make his IWC debut in the tournament, on the other end of the spectrum, another Canadian that is very familiar with the organization is slated to compete in the first round as well. Greektown Wrestling's Channing Decker, a multi-time IWC tag team champion over the span of many years, will squared off with the current Super Indy champion, Zach Nystrom. A seven-year pro, Nystrom spent the first portion of his career as a successful tag team competitor, but within more recent years, he has really come into his own, leading to his title win a few months ago. Considering that Nystrom is regarded as one of the best of the current crop of Pittsburgh talent, it seems like a run throughout the tournament to keep the belt around his waist could be exactly what he needs to cemented himself as potentially the best singles wrestler in the region.

In a prime example of the variety of the Super Indy format, it will be a battle of the big men to close out the opening round when Bill Collier, known as Agent Zero in TNA and one of the longest reigning IWC heavyweight champions in the history of the organization, will step into the ring with Sam Holloway, a talented youngster from the Buckeye state that many pundits have predicted a very bright future for in the industry.

A few non-tournament matches will bring together the rest of an all-star cast for a series of tag team contests. An eight-man tag will see Elijah Dean, NWA star Spencer Slade, the dynamic Austin Blaze, and former IWC champion Jami Jameson compete against the combination of the current IWC heavyweight champion Duke Davis, former titleholder Andrew Palace, Wes Barkley, and Felix Koz. The IWC Tag Team titles will be on the line in a ladder match when longtime radio personality and the founder of the International Wrestling Cartel, Bubba The Bulldog and his partner, Bulk Nasty defend the belts against The Dead Presidents, the combination of Storm Wrestling Academy alumni, RC Dupree and his stablemate, Johnny Mahalo, a two-year pro that learned the ropes under the IWC banner at the Iron City Wrestling Academy. The Dead Presidents are a mysterious rouge group that have targeted many throughout the promotion in the past several months, will the faction play a role at Super Indy?

"We’ve got TV talent, we’ve got our first Super Indy champion, we’ve got some of the best young contracted talent in the business, the longest-reigning heavyweight champion in IWC history, and guys looking to win their first championship in IWC. There are so many different stories and so many different paths this tournament can take that I think anything really is the best way to describe what fans should expect from Super Indy 25,” commented Fosnaught.

One thing is for sure, when Super Indy celebrates it's silver anniversary, it will be a memorable night in the history books, as the tournament has been such a defining event that has shaped the direction of the Pittsburgh scene for the past 25 years.

Pac passed away

The word disbelief is sometimes used as a figurative term, but I can honestly say that I'm literally stunned and can't believe the news that All Elite Wrestling star, Pac passed away at the age of just 40 yesterday, less than 24 hours after he worked the opening match of the All Out pay-per-view in Chicago against Andrade.

As of this writing in the early hours of Monday morning, no cause of death for the real-life Benjamin Satterley has been announced. Although, All Elite Wrestling officially confirmed his passing on social media around 9:30 PM Sunday night.

Obviously, more news on the circumstances of this sudden and unexpected passing will come to light in the next few days, but if I had to guess I'd say that there had to be something specifically health-related rather than an accident. For example, when Jay Briscoe tragically died at the age of just 38 a few years ago in a car accident, the initial reports noted the wreck as the reason for his death.

Anyone that dies at a young age without any diagnosed illness is shocking, but for a top-tier athlete, one of the most graceful performers of the current generation, to pass away a day after a match on live pay-per-view is truly unbelievable. How can someone of that statue, in that type of physical condition, and able to soar through the air on television be gone the following day?

I write a few thousand words about professional wrestling a week between the few different articles to cover the happenings of the industry. As a commentator for the independent scene in Pittsburgh, I usually call about a dozen hours of live wrestling a month with events usually three of the four weekends a month. But, I sincerely don't know what to say at this point.

As we know, Andy "The Butcher" Williams died suddenly at an Enjoy Wrestling event in Pittsburgh earlier this month at the age of 48, a death that the professional wrestling world is still reeling from so for another active wrestler to pass away less than a day after a bout just a few weeks later is almost unfathomable. I don't mean to sound repetitive, but the notion that Pac, who didn't appear to suffer any major injuries during the bout against Andrade on Saturday, died in the prime of his life just doesn't make any sense. In a form of ironic sadness, Pac posted a picture of himself and The Butcher shaking hands backstage in recognition of Williams' passing just a few weeks ago.

Sure, I could write extensively about his in-ring career, breaking into the sport during his teenage years as a standout of the ill-fated 1PW project in his native country of England before he made a name for himself in Dragon Gate in Japan, but all of that seems so hollow in the big picture. I could list the titles that he won in NXT, WWE, and AEW, but again that all seems superficial when you take into account that his life was cut short when he clearly had much more to contribute to his craft, especially because he was already working for the second biggest group in the United States.

Maybe it was because of his background as a native of the UK or his smaller statue, but Pac carried some of that Dynamite Kid in-ring explosiveness with him. The main difference was that Tom Billington worked as a kamikaze, whereas Pac was graceful through the air.

His footprint on the modern era is important in a few different ways. We saw how impactful the talent that went through the NXT system has been over the past several years. Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and a handful of others learned the WWE playbook through their tenures on the developmental brand before they became stars on the main roster.. As a former NXT champion during the brand's early days, Adrian Neville was one of the key pieces of the puzzle for how the concept got off the ground. Keep in mind, outside of Ohio Valley Wrestling, and a brief period of time with Les Thatcher's Heartland Wrestling Association, the developmental programs for the WWE were a mixed bag over the past three decades. It was difficult to miss the mark on developing talent when guys like Neville, Rollins, and Claudio were among the early cornerstones of the project.

After he debuted on the main roster in 2015, despite the progress made in NXT, Pac was a victim of circumstances in some ways since Vince McMahon wasn't going to invest too much stock into someone of his size, especially when Vince had gotten rather lackadaisical in his philosophy to default to Brock Lesnar as a booking crutch for a major portion of the mid-2010s. That's basically the same reason that the cruiser weight division was doomed, the WWE at least at that time, wasn't going to spotlight a smaller weight class. That's why it wasn't surprising that Neville was underutilized as the Cruiser weight champion. By the end of 2017, frustrated with his assignment to work with Enzo Amore, who was more or less the complete opposite of him in terms of in-ring ability, the real-life Satterley walked out of a Raw taping, opting to stay home instead of working with Enzo on television. Satterley's WWE contract was frozen in early-2018 and he wasn't granted a release until that August.

After a return to Dragon Gate, Pac signed a deal with All Elite Wrestling and had worked with the company more or less since its inception. For whatever reason, there were stretches of time when Pac randomly disappeared from television without explanation. Similar to what I wrote about The Butcher's passing earlier this month, who was or wasn't underutilized for a scripted show seems so secondary within the scope of the current circumstances. As far as Pac's All Elite career, when he was there, he was such a solid pro that you simply aren't going to find a subpar Pac match. Yes, there were some stints that should've been given more importance or spotlighted in a better fashion, but from strictly a performance standpoint, Pac was always a dependable worker. Maybe that will be one of the major pieces of his legacy, aside from the amazing aerial skills, he was always a guy that you could count on for a solid match. Names like Brad Armstrong and Bobby Eaton are in that category as well.

Of course, tributes from peers and fans have rightfully flooded social media. During an era when everyone is trying to get clicks online for websites or videos on Youtube, nobody had anything negative to say about Pac during his more than twenty years as a pro wrestler. The notion from those that knew him seems to be that Pac was a superb pro wrestler, but  Ben Satterley was an even better person. The legendary Bill Dundee passed away on the same day as The Butcher earlier this month, and as I wrote about the Memphis star, since he was 82, he lived a long and accomplished life so it was more of a celebration of life rather than mourning a death. Unfortunately, for Pac to pass away in the prime of his life, there's only a tremendous level of grief around the news of his death. Hopefully, as time goes on, that grief can slowly be replaced with fondness for the performer and the person that Ben Satterley was.

I'm not religious, but if it's possible, it would be wonderful if Pac gets a chance to shake hands with Andy Williams again today. My sincere condolences to Satterley's friends and family at this difficult time.  

All Out review

I wrote last week about the lack of hype or sizzle for All Out, mostly wondering if Jon Moxley was the right choice for Will Ospreay's first title defense after he claimed the world title in his home country at Wembley Stadium last month. After such a peak moment, it's almost unavoidable that there would be an unintentional decline in anticipation since the start of a fresh title run necessitates a reshuffle of the main event scene to allow for the champion to have opponents to work with. Still, I'm not sure if Moxley, who had the belt on a few different occasions, including for the drek that was the original Death Riders angle last year, was an opponent that was truly going to bring a spotlight to Ospreay in the main event picture of a pay-per-view. In theory, this was Ospreay's first chance to be the A-side of a pay-per-view main event, a PPV that drew less fans into the building in Chicago than the When Worlds Collide house show held at the same time.

The lack of buzz around the main event seeped through the rest of the card, as most of the matches looked fine on paper, but to say that anything was deemed "must see" would be misguided. I'm sure this is going to sound repetitive since I have to mention it for almost every AEW PPV review, but it's a continuous aspect of the product so it's a point of discussion, the amount of overkill on these shows remains a hinderence to the overall presentation.

The show opened with Andrade vs. Pac for the National title, which is another meaningless prop since Tony Khan gives away belts the way that Oprah gave away cars in Chicago. This is meant as a compliment, not a criticism, but while everything they did was solid, I still thought a match-up with two athletes of this caliber was going to deliver more in terms of the level of in-ring work. It was almost as if this contest was structured to have bursts of action and then deliberate moments that moved at a snail's pace, comparatively speaking. That's why instead of the copy and paste format of roughly 20 minutes for each title match, a flaw that Tony booked throughout this line-up again, the Andrade/Pac bout probably could've been given a little more than half of that time and kicked off the event at a much better pace.Andrade retained the championship.

The headlines from the Darby Allin/Steven Borden vs. Kyle Fletcher/Kevin Knight tag match are obvious, Borden was legitimately knocked out during an ill-advised springboard spot gone wrong so the match was rightfully stopped. Again, it should be noted that the springboard toward each other was illogical, and while I'm not sure what it was supposed to be if it had been performed correctly, I know for sure that it's not a spot that an inexperienced performer should attempt. That was actually the narrative of the segment before it was stopped, it's painfully clear that Steven Border is too inexperienced to be on this stage so his opponents more or less had to carry him to make him look good. That's not even a knock on the second generation Borden, he has an extensive athletic background that lends itself to making the transition to professional wrestling, he's just being put in a very tough situation. He has only been wrestling less than a year, it's unfair to expect him to be ready for live pay-per-view. Yes. I understand that as Sting's son that there would technically be a place for him in All Elite Wrestling, and of course, there's a natural storyline for him to work with as a second generation wrestler, but the reality is that outside of Kurt Angle, an Olympic Gold medalist, there are very few that would be up to the task of working on live television with less than a year experience. Furthermore, and again, this isn't meant as a jab at Borden, but both Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher are too talented with too much potential at this point in their careers to be booked for a segment that assigns them the task of making the rookie performer look decent in the ring. The horse has left the barn so to speak since Steven Borden was already put on television, but I have to say that I think it would've been a lot more productive if he could've worked the independent scene for a year or two to gauge his progress before he was put on AEW television.

Thankfully, it was noted that Borden was taken to the hospital and it appears that he's going to be okay after the scary moment. That said, the combination of such a concerning stoppage, along with the fact that it seemed like most in the building didn't know who Dani Luna was, more or less tanked the next segment. I'd argue that Persephone isn't over enough to get a reaction from the crowd, and I'm honestly wondering if Tony Khan signed her to a contract simply because she's a champion in CMLL. It was well-known that Dani Luna was on her way to AEW after she finished up with Total Nonstop Action recently, but it appeared that nobody thought she'd be the one to answer the open challenge. If you wanted to know the lack of effectiveness of TNA's platform on AMC, this might be an example of it, as the crowd was relatively quiet for Dani Luna and the majority of this segment. The pace of the bout was clunky, and besides a German suplex spot on the apron, there wasn't much of a response from the audience. Persephone retained the TBS championship, but this segment was forgettable, especially on a show that went over four hours.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Tommaso Ciampa was given the standard twenty minutes, but it was actually a match that justified the time it was given. Unfortunately, at this point in Okada's career, despite his stellar legacy as one of the best in-ring workers of his generation, you never know if he's going to mail it in or get into second gear. It was the latter here, and the argument could be made that this was the best match of the night. Everything they did was crisp and smooth, it was a good representation of what the selling point of All Elite should be when you subtract the counterproductive nonsense that eventually litters almost every major show. A lot of the bouts in the company, specifically on pay-per-view are just a series of spots without rhyme or reason, but Okada vs. Ciampa had the "glue" for everything to come together to allow for a pace that emphasized the narrative of the action. Without that glue, the viewing experience boils down to endless moves and risky bumps without any compelling drama. You can only watch the some car crash spots so many times until it becomes tedious. In short, there should be more of what Okada and Ciampa did here, and less of some of the pitfalls that took place later in the night. Okada retained the belt.

Ironically, a prime example of useless overkill and meaningless risks was the next bout on the card. The AEW Women's Tag Team Title match was a mid-card feud, which is fine, that was somehow given the opportunity to dilute the effectiveness of a bigger bout at the end of the event. Quite simply, this storyline didn't justify the tables, barbed wire, thumbtacks or blood that was used in this segment. It took away from the tag team ladder match that served as the co-main event, which was a lot more important, particularly because it's probably the last ladder match that Adam Copeland and Christian will work in their storied careers. This women's match was chaos just for the sake of chaos, and taking into account that two other matches had blood on this event, there was no reason for it here. Again, this mid-card feud didn't need any of this, and in truth, these four athletes are talented enough in the ring that they could've had a better match without all the gimmicks. The Brawling Birds retained the titles.

The Trios title match was next, and while there was a lot of athleticism, I found this segment to be rather moot in the grand scheme of things. It was fine, but it was unnecessary since I don't think it truly added anything to the show. The trios division is based in lucha libre because it suits that style, and beyond The Elite trio of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, the trios titles haven't served a purpose in the company. This 25-minute six man tag was more or less just an exhibition, and considering that the broadcast went almost four and a half hours, it would've been nice if this was saved for television so the pay-per-view could've went off the air before midnight. Swerve and The New Level retained, but it can't be understated how much the Trios titles have zero cache in terms of importance.

Thekla defeated Willow Nightingale to become the number one contender for the AEW Women's championship. This bout went about 12 minutes and didn't overstay its welcome, which is something that Tony Khan should utilize more often. This was a solid match, but it will probably be unintentionally lost in the shuffle based on its position on the card.

I was skeptical about the tag title ladder match, but this delivered in a big way and will be one of the more memorable bouts in AEW history in the future. It goes without say that there was AEW's way of booking Edge and Christian in another TLC match to capitalize on their history around the stipulation, but they were smart enough not to try to be a carbon copy of the original series from 25 years ago. This was all action and delivered the expectations of All Elite chaos without getting too ridiculous. The set up for spots throughout the segment made sense, and there was compelling drama, specifically toward the conclusion of the contest when each team tried to reach for the belts. Basically, this was a gimmick match, not a furniture contest, which was the key to the presentation. The bump that Stokely took from the ladder to the floor looked brutal as he overshot one of the tables and only caught the second one so it looked like the top half of his body hit the floor without anything to absorb the impact. Christian looked like he got a hard way cut on his face, and Dax Hardwood bladed. The co-main event of a gimmick match is where blood makes sense, which is why it wasn't need in the women's tag match earlier in the night. The ladder match was a fireworks show will at least some level of common sense, which is why it stood out in terms of quality. The Young Bucks eventually got the belts to win the titles.

The main event went over thirty minutes, and it was a quality performance in terms of what they did. The problem was that this didn't need to be and quite frankly, shouldn't have been an attempt to do another thirty-minute New Japan style bout the way that Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega did in London. The narrative was forced, with nothing organic, even if everything was well done in execution. These two were too concerned with working a carbon copy of All in with the phony attempts at drama instead of a spontaneous sequence that built drama around who was going to be the champion at the end of the match. Just as he did in London, Ospreay was bleeding, but it didn't really add anything to the bout since there wasn't a point where it looked like the champion was in jeopardy. Moxley's slow and plodding pace at different points didn't help the situation. The focus was on the flimsy storyline where Ospreay joined the Death Riders, not the championship, which hindered the segment. The series of run-ins toward the finish worked, if for no other reason than it picked up the pace of the segment. Eventually, Ospreay hit the elbow strike to retain the championship. 

Syx debut for TNA

Within the past few weeks, there was chatter online that the TNA/WWE working agreement could be coming to a conclusion, taking NXT talent off the table for the Anthem-owned league. Some speculate that the crossover is scheduled to end because TNA, with its new network of AMC this year, didn't take enough of a market share away from All Elite Wrestling, but I really doubt that was the case. All things considered, TNA didn't have the star power or the work rate to compete with All Elite Wrestling, and that shouldn't have been the goal anyway since establishing itself on a bigger platform as a viable commodity is exponentially more important. If the WWE wanted to hammer All Elite Wrestling, they would do it the way they are going it this weekend, running a stacked house show in the same city that AEW is running a pay-per-view to take a portion of their potential attendance away, specifically with CM Punk in the main event in his hometown. The irony is certainly there, considering the way that Punk exited AEW three years ago.

Granted, TNA's crossover with WWE had an indirect effect on All Elite, as it constricted the potential talent pool that Tony Khan could choose from, but let's be honest, the AEW roster is bloated enough already. I understand that it's a lot more provocative to assume that WWE wanted to use a smaller league to try to hinder AEW's business, but the reality is, the ability for WWE to recruit directly from TNA's roster, as it did with Joe Hendry and Mike Santana, and the chance for NXT guys to get valuable experience before they were moved to the main roster, with Trick Williams as an example, were much more realistic reasons for WWE to form a partnership. Plus, it became a key shield for the TKO corporation after WWE had to pay Major League Wrestling $20 million dollars in an anti-trust lawsuit a few years ago.

The reality is, unless TKO was going to eventually buy TNA, which wouldn't help any anti-trust accusations in the future, and they already have the NXT brand to develop talent, the working agreement was eventually going to finish up. Some pundits already put a negative spin on this story, with the notion that TNA is suddenly helpless, but again, the reality is that without the initial NXT crossover, there's no way that TNA would've landed the AMC deal to give the company their biggest platform in more than a decade.

The fact that TNA hasn't truly capitalized on the bigger stage is a different discussion for a different time.

Right now, Nic Nemeth is a solid world champion for the promotion, even if the former Dolph Ziggler is theoretically past his peak in terms of star power or the ability to move the needle. The Hardys can still go, but are obviously past their physical prime, which isn't a knock, they've been wrestling more than thirty years. However, the Hardys' enduring popularity are what make them so valuable to TNA, they can move the needle, which is why their autograph lines are always noted to be so long at conventions or after the TNA TV tapings.

That's why it made sense for TNA's newest arrivals to make their surprise debut on Impact last night in a segment with The Hardys since it's something that will get viewers for the segment. For the past several weeks, there were mysterious attacks on Impact, and during an in-ring confrontation, it was revealed that the former Wyatt Sicks members, Joseph Sawyer and Samuel Shaw, were the ones behind the sneak attacks. During the segment, "Syx" was on the video screen, a reference to their former Wyatt stable, and there's also the implication that the rest of the group will eventually be there.

I have to be honest, while I think that Sawyer and Shaw are definitely underrated as overall performers, my first impression of this is that it could be much ado about nothing. We've literally seen this story before and the concept was woefully underutilized in the WWE. Remember that major attack on Raw to kickoff the Wyatt Sicks angle and then the group eventually disappeared from television for an extended period of time because the writing team didn't have anything for them to do?

Basically, the same problems that prevented the group from getting over in WWE could put a ceiling on their level of success in TNA.

It goes without saying that the Wyatt Sicks was a wonderful tribute to the memory of the real-life Windham Rotunda, but in terms of a pro wrestling stable, it would be one-dimensional if all it was going to be was a Bray Wyatt tribute act. What are these characters going to do on their own to progress their individual narratives? Ultimately, the WWE never focused on that, and for whatever reason, only booked the group to feud against other stables to that immediately limit their options. Hopefully, if the "Syx" faction targets the entire company in TNA, that opens the door for many possibilities for them, including individual rivalries.

The fact that Bray's real-life brother, Bo Dallas was rarely booked in matches didn't do him any favors, and it almost put him in a no-win situation, as he was essentially cast as a secondary replacement for his brother. Outside of the fact that they are two different types of performers, it's an unfair benchmark to put Uncle Howdy up against since Bray's life was cut short, leaving questions about what he could've achieved later in his life.

The upside of this is that it's a fresh start with more flexibility for everyone involved. Assuming the rest of the group will be there, it allows for Bo Dallas to present his own version of that type of character that can stand on its own. Bo Dallas is a very talented guy, he doesn't need a tribute gimmick to be successful. Sawyer already branched out with his current tenure in Game Changer Wrestling, and it looks like they are setting up for more of the former Wyatt members to show up there, which is another way for them to put their own stamp on the basis of the gimmick. In some ways, Sawyer and the rest of the faction could use GCW as a platform to test new aspects of the characters, and if they work well then they could import them to TNA. More importantly, it gives Sawyer the opportunity to progress his character on an individual basis instead of being a background figure the way he was for the majority of the Wyatt Sicks tenure in WWE.

It was well-known that the most successful portion of the Wyatt Sicks faction during their time in WWE was that they sold a lot of merchandise, even when they weren't featured on television. It would be wise for TNA to try to capitalize on that since besides The Hardys, you don't see much TNA merchandise worn by fans. As much as I have my doubts about importing a WWE stable into TNA, at the very least, I want to see where it goes, but will keep my expectations low. As mentioned, The Hardys are there, Nic Nemeth is the champion, and the former Zoey Sky made her debut. While star power is definitely important to get viewers, there's always a risk of putting too many WWE castaways on the show. Are another half a dozen former WWE names going to move the needle for TNA? Again, the potential is there for some compelling angles, but at the same time, there's also the chance that Syx will be a retread of a failed WWE group with a lower budget and less overall depth on the roster.