What's the status of WWE?

"Cash Rules Everything Around Me" -Wu Tang Clan

For as long as there has been any level of wide distribution, there has been the debate between the art and the commercialism of media. Sure, pop culture is a form of success, but the sizzle of trends fade, and the true substance of the entertainment industry stands the test of time. Carlos Mencia had a cable show at one time before he was exposed as a hack, whereas George Carling was a comic prophet that still remains relevant today nearly two decades after his death. A slew of bubble gum pop groups have to wait until their music becomes old enough to draw a nostalgic crowd to get a second run of live performances. Neil Young's music has endured for over half a century. God bless Tom Green and the crew that produced Road Trip in 2000, but the raunchy comedy isn't exactly held in the same regard as Casablanca.

Some will cite revenue as the only true barometer of success, and they might have a point, but the counter to that is that the substance of an art form can draw more money over the course of time than a trend that draws big in the moment.

Professional wrestling is no different, and the debate between sizzle over substance has existed almost as long as the business itself.

The world knew the WWF in the 80s because of the Rock N' Wrestling connection, but diehard fans knew that bell-to-bell, the pyro and ballyhoo of New York couldn't hold a candle to Jim Crockett Promotions. The Hulkster was going to go through his immensely popular routine and drop the leg with a very family sequence of maneuvers to polish off a very similar cast of opponents. Ric Flair was one of the hardest working guys in the business and was going to be able to work with anyone. Flair was the iron man of the ring when the one-hour draw wasn't uncommon. At the same time, Vince McMahon's business plan and marketing approach were top-notch compared to the Carolina-based organization. Vince knew how to package and sell his product to the widest audience possible, and as a result made enough money to cherry-pick enough of the regional stars that he was able to continue to expand his promotion from the north east to a national platform. The action figures, t-shirts, magazines, cartoons, and ice cream bars put the WWF in another league, enhancing the public perception of the brand. On the flip side, Crockett offered a limited amount of merchandise and the distribution was minimal, especially compared to the WWF.

Don't get me wrong, Dusty, The Road Warriors, The Four Horseman, The Rock N' Roll Express, The Midnight Express, and Magnum TA were a part of a legendary roster. The argument could be made, depending on what someone looks for in their wrestling, that the NWA had a much better in-ring product than the WWF in its heyday, but the business plan of the WWF was far superior. As we know, Crockett spent itself into debt and was forced to sell to Ted Turner in late-1988 to keep pro wrestling on TBS.

At that phase of the industry, sizzle won over substance.

As mentioned, the debate more or less has always been, and probably always will be a part of the discussion of pro wrestling. The under card of WCW in the late-90s was stellar, but Steve Austin vs. Vince or The Rock in the main event slots ultimately tilted the tide of the wrestling war of that era. Even today, when the WWE is touting record-setting revenue, there are some fans that insist the match that got seven stars in front of a much smaller crowd was better. There's not necessarily a right or wrong answer, it merely depends on perspective.

However, there could definitely be a point where the commercialism, especially of corporate pro wrestling jumps the shark, souring even the most dedicated fans in the process. TKO and the suites that run the global, publicly-traded conglomerate might be tip-toeing on the fine line where they attempt to squeeze every dime out of the product to the point that it actually costs them a portion of the audience in the process of their attempts to appease stockholders.

It goes without saying that Wrestlemania 42 was a prime example of this, both before and after the event. After the weekend wrapped up, The Las Vegas Review Journal reported that there was an estimated 19,000 fans less in town this year compared to last year for the sports entertainment spectacle. It's not shocking when you take into account that just two weeks before the pay-per-view, there was a 30% decrease in the amount of tickets sold compared to 2025. It remains to be seen how much WWE did or didn't paper the house to get fans into the building. While still being deemed a success, partially because of how much Las Vegas needs anything possible to boost its sluggish tourism numbers in recent years, the decline in the amount of fans the PPV brought to the city is undoubtedly a reflection of the astronomical ticket prices, as well as WWE's attempts to remedy the situation way too late in the game. By the time the 31% and then 25% discounts were put into place, the costs of everything else, including plane tickets and hotel reservations, already increased beyond what the ticket sale could cover.

Despite the money made, this should be a message to WWE brass that they priced out a portion of their fan base, but based on TKO CEO, Mark Shapiro's recent comments, the corporation doesn't seem be concerned with alienating its core audience, but rather expects to draw for a wider demographic instead.

I could be wrong, but professional wrestling is such a unique genre that it's not as simple as some executive proclaiming that a paint-by-numbers approach will translate to the sports entertainment industry. The bottom line is, the WWE isn't the UFC. Yes, there was always some crossover because of the male demographic, but the ticket scale, fan base, and promotional strategies are completely different. A top name in MMA might fight twice a year, particular since Zuffa sold the organization in 2016. The WWE has to market its main event talent for pay-per-views every month. In many ways, it's an apples to oranges scenario, despite still being in the produce section.

That might be why TKO jumped the shark with the amount of ads, commercials and sponsorships that littered the Wrestlemania broadcast to the point that it was almost as if viewers were watching infomercials with a side of wrestling, as opposed to the event being served as the main course.

Don't get me wrong, advertisers and commercial revenue are ultimately how Vince won the wrestling war and became the undisputed king of sports entertainment, but even McMahon, as deviant as he might be in his personal life, held the sanctity ring in such regard that he wouldn't reduce the professional presentation of his shows to live action billboards. As we've discussed since the merger with UFC a year and a half ago, the traditional troupes of the pro wrestling business have no cache with the Endeavor business executives. Still, as cliche as some of those troupes might've been, there was often a reason McMahon kept them in place over the years.

Vince famously refused to have an logos or sponsorships on the canvas since he saw it as a cluttered look to what should be a clean presentation. This is one of the few things that TKO has done with the sole intention of squeezing every dime possible from the live events, but the logos on the mat actually give the product somewhat of a more modern look since those type of advertisements have been used in boxing and the UFC for years. However, and this is the much bigger point, TKO goes a step too far when they slap logos on literally anything at ringside to the point where, again, it looks like the fans are watching an infomercial that happens to have pro wrestling going on around it, which is just silly. Slim Jim and pro wrestling are a perfect tag team, which is why iconic Macho Man still has a role in their promotional material that is blended with the current roster, but the Slim Jim stickers on the tables under the ring to be used in spots during matches is a step too far. Nothing takes the spontaneity out of the performance or takes the audience out of the moment more than if the product placement has to take center stage.

Furthermore, the amount of commercials, specifically on a platform behind a paywall, is insane. There was a time that one of the major selling points of a premium platform was that part of what you were paying for was the ability to avoid commercials. When you pay for access to such a service, particularly with the way that TKO has commercialized almost every aspect of the presentation, it almost has a "give us your money" narrative rather than enjoy the show you paid for since the audience is constantly being sold something at any given more during the broadcast. The nearly 45 minutes of downtime between the end of the previous match and the start of the main event on night one of Wrestlemania could've ruined the overall viewing experience.

With the way viewers are bombarded with a sales pitch not only during the matches, but even between the segments with the seemingly endless commercials, it really kills a lot of the enthusiasm for the show itself. When Adam Weitsman, who became a billionaire through crypto, which is more of a work than sports entertainment, was randomly at the announce desk with Michael Cole and Wade Barrett for the Jade Cargill/Rhea Ripley match on night two of Wrestlemania, it completely jumped the shark to a level that unbelievable ludicrous. TKO is worth tens of billions of dollars, do they really need this guy's cash to allow him to make an illogical cameo? If an appearance on Wrestlemania literally has a price to it, doesn't that take away from the star power of the performers? You either have to be a top notch performer, or be willing to spend the cash without any of that ability to be a part of Wrestlemania. Ironically, Weitsman pled guilty to 86 felon counts of bank fraud in 2004 so maybe he isn't completely out of place in the wrestling business after all.

It goes without saying that advertisements and sponsorships are an important part of the business model of WWE, and there's nothing wrong with that. But there's a different between maximizing those revenue streams and commercializing to such a degree that it ruins the viewing experience. I really don't expect the causal fans to continue to follow or invest into the product on a long term basis if this is the new TKO formula. Maybe that's why TKO continues to look for more of a global reach rather than an attempt to reestablish the domestic fan base? The reason being, especially in the domestic market, there are so many entertainment options through modern technology that eventually only the most diehard fans are going to be willing to sit through 30 minutes of commercials between matches.

I'm just speculating, but the waves of ads might be by design as a way to inflate the value of the company before an eventual sale to Saudi Arabia. Keep in mind, the corporate suites have no alliances with the history of the business, the WWE is just another commodity in their portfolio so I wouldn't be completely shocked if they were willing to sell the pro wrestling portion of TKO for the right price since it would boil down to a successful return on investment. Obviously, it depends on how the business trends continue over the next decade, but the Netflix deal ensures major profit, in addition to the ESPN deal and the TV contract that keeps Smackdown on the USA network. Taking into account that he Saudis have spent a few hundred million on importing the WWE brand to their country and that number will eventual top the billion dollar mark by the end of the current deal, it's not impossible that at some point it would became the more efficient financial move to buy the company outright than to continue to purchase a few individual events per year. Remember, Saudi Arabia has already spent billions of dollars in an effort to bring a myriad of western entertainment acts to the region so it's not out of the question that they could make TKO a serious offer to buy the WWE at some point in the future.

The Hulk Hogan documentary

The anticipated four-part documentary series on Netflix titled, "Real American" that chronicled the career, as well as featured the final interview of Hulk Hogan's life, premiered on the streaming platform today. Given that WWE, including Lee Fitting, current WWE executive producer, and Triple H, were involved in the project, I was skeptical about what narrative the production was going to try to present, especially with the theoretical value of the Hogan brand at this point.

First, it should be noted that I don't think this documentary needed four episodes, which isn't a knock on Hulk, but rather the tendency for content providers to stretch subject matter simply to extend the runtime as much as possible because of how much of a premium is placed on original content within the media landscaped, as each platform tries to maintain subscribers over the long haul. That being said, this production did very well of telling the story of the life of Terry Bollea, and the career of Hulk Hogan without regurgitating used footage or a carbon copy of stories that were already covered ad nauseam. That was one of the glaring issues of the long-form Vince McMahon documentary that was produced by Netflix in September of 2024. The six-episode presentation was essentially a retelling of WWE history rather than an examination of the life of the kingpin of sports entertainment, with only a few blurbs that gave an insight into the mind of McMahon, despite the five hours of footage that made the cut for the documentary.

Thankfully, this Hogan presentation gave new information, and covered most of the important points of his career without getting too deep into the weeds with topics that are cliches in 2026.

One of the most interesting portions was in the first episode when Bollea revealed details about his family background, including the lack of apparent affection from his parents. His ex-wife, Linda claimed that Bollea was an unplanned child, leading to a lack of compassion during his childhood. I'm not Sigmund Freud, but maybe this early lack of acceptance led to Terry Bollea's insecurities later in life? The segment provides at least a possible peak into the mindset of why a guy that was a cemented star still had to insist that he beat everyone without rarely putting anyone else over. On the other end of the spectrum, Brock Lesnar is an example of a guy that was always willing to do business and was confident enough that he knew his star power wouldn't fade. At the same time, it might be a scenario that isn't anywhere near as provocative as some deep-seeded search for acceptance based on experience earlier in life. It could've just as easily been a situation where Hulk was an egomaniac that was from an era that he learned to get over at all costs, even the existence of the promotion. Still, the potential explanation was very interesting, as it was a look at the man behind the sports entertainment persona.

Along the same lines, while it was briefly mentioned previously that Bollea had a brother that was a biker, this documentary reveals that Allan Bollea was estranged from the family for a portion of years before he reconnected with Hogan prior to his death via an overdose when Hulk was on the road with the WWF. Hogan was visibly shaken when he discussed the death of his brother. It didn't take much to figure out long before this documentary was produced that Linda Hogan is nothing more than a useless gold digger that wanted a complimentary trip on easy street in her life, and this feature proves it. In fact, she talks about her insistence that she be taken care of, which is what prompted Bollea to originally propose to her in the 80s. Furthermore, most of the home movie footage that was shown was of Linda talking about the expensive things that were purchased or the lavish home that the family lived in at the time. There will be viewers that watch this presentation that will want to claim that is somehow absolves Hulk Hogan of his sins because Terry Bollea tries to separate himself from the on-screen character, as if his complicated life shouldn't have an impact on the perception of the legacy of Hulk Hogan, but that seems like a flimsy excuse to avoid responsibility for the rightfully criticism during his career. That being said, nobody will defend Linda, especially after the statements she made on Netflix. Plus, she looks like she had more botox in her face than the amount of juice that The Hulkster ever did during career.

As the series progresses, the documentary offers the broad strokes of his wrestling career, which was the right decision when you take into account how extensive the details of each of his runs were over the course of different tenures in either WWF or WCW. This gave enough detail about the peaks and valleys of what worked and what didn't for the average person to get the point without getting too granular with details that the causal fan wouldn't connect with in terms of what they think of when it comes to the Hogan legacy. As much as I'm not a fan of Hulk Hogan the character or Terry Bollea the person, I can honestly say that I think it was truly critical to include the criticism from others in the business when this feature covered his wrestling career. 

If the purpose of this documentary was to reshape Hulk's image, and in many ways that looks to be the objective, it was key to include the good, the bad, and the ugly as a way to give the audience a full picture of Terry Bollea. Hulk Hogan wasn't completely good, but with giving the whole story, or at least as close to it as possible, it allows for the notion to be considered that Hulk wasn't all bad either. Yes, Bret Hart had a point that Hulk shouldn't have taken the title back at Wrestlemania 9, and yes, David Shoemaker had a point that it appeared that Hogan was trying to cling to being relevant in 1993, but the full scope allows the audience to see how Bollea evolved over time. On the other side of the coin, the impact of Hulkamania in the 80s and then the NWO a decade later can't be denied. The sincerity of Hulk Hogan or Terry Bollea will probably always be debated, but I don't think anyone is going to question his impact on the industry.

It also must be taken into account that some specific details were either glossy over or excluded, which was probably by design to soften Hulk's image. For example, when Hulk's run in the early-2000s was reviwed, his incredible match with The Rock was highlighted, but his rocky exit in 2003 when he couldn't agree on a creative direction was skipped over. When it was mentioned that Shawn Michaels intentionally over sold during their 2005 bout, nobody said anything about the notion that Hulk only agreed to the match if he was going to win. Furthermore, while his 2006 match with Randy Orton was featured, it was conveniently forgotten that in the build up to the Summer Slam bout that Hulk claimed to have a knee injury until the finish was changed so he could beat the younger star. In the same way, the sex tape leak and the racist remarks he made were reviewed, but the segment was kept relatively short, and there weren't any direct quotes of what he actually said.

The bottom line is, the accomplishments of the Hulk Hogan character don't give Terry Bollea a pass for the ignore, racist remarks that he made during a difficult time in his life. Again, that's not to say that Bollea is just a terrible person or that he didn't learn from the mistakes, but claiming that the character and the real-life person should be totally different isn't an excuse. Terry Bollea cashed a lot of real checks based on the scripting of the hero as the Hulk Hogan character. More specifically, pro wrestlers aren't actors, and it might not be fair, but when you agree to work as the character of the American hero and enjoy the perks that go along with it, there's a responsibility of the real-life representation. Don't get me wrong, the fact that The Hulkster was a hero to those that needed it and that the impact of the character was overwhelmingly positive are truly good things, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the racist controversy also had a real-life impact.

The biggest issue of why the criticism hung over Bollea's head is that he tried to move past the entire debacle rather than ever truly address it, and even in the documentary, at least from what was shown, he tried to take a very quick approach to the comments he made about that time in his life. It's disappointing, but much like his sincerity will be debated, there probably won't ever be a definitive answer about how Terry Bollea truly felt about the remarks that he made. Maybe he was truly sorry, it's definitely possible, but given his extensive track record for ludicrous claims, such as working 400 days a year, almost everything he said has to be taken with a grain of salt, which is very unfortunate. There will probably always be a portion of Hulk's legacy that will be seen as unresolved.

It was almost depressing to hear the details of Bollea being broke after his divorce and how it forced him back into the ring when his body was clearly in shambles. It was shocking to hear how much fentanyl Hulk claims that he had to take at one point to deal with the amount of pain he was in when he wrestled during the ill-fated TNA run. Keep in mind, Hulk Hogan made millions of dollars a year for several years prior to that, but still ended up with nothing so he basically had to start over when he signed with TNA.

His endorsement of Donald Trump was covered, and surprisingly, the orange blob even did an interview for the documentary. I found it very pretentious for Bollea to say that he doesn't agree with everything Trump says, but was then shown in a clip at the Republican National Convention, claiming that Trump was his hero. It goes without saying that picking a side with politics, which are more of a work than pro wrestling, will divide the audience. At the same time, Hogan is a smart businessman, and politics can be very profitable, which is why he launched Real American Beer to target the MAGA base.

There are numerous reasons to criticize Hulk Hogan. The fact that he was an egomaniac in the pro wrestling business, the real-life racist comments that he made, or the representation of his political endorsement.

However, the portion of the final episode that discusses his sudden passing last year was unbelievable sad. Jimmy Hart is an absolute gem, and seeing him cry at the lost of his best friend is heart-wrenching. The same can be said for Hogan's friends like Eric Bischoff and Jim Duggan. The public image is well-known, both positive and negative, but the one thing is for sure, Terry Bollea had a very close impact on his friends. In the same way, Hulk had a very personal impact on the fans that he inspired. That might be the biggest takeaway from the entire Netflix documentary, it covered both sides of the coin so it's mostly going to depend on the perspective of the viewer to determine the narrative of Hulk Hogan's legacy. Was he a super hero or a fraud? It goes without saying that the life of Terry Bollea and the legacy of Hulk Hogan are very complicated. Considering how complicated life can be for anyone, maybe the best thing that can be said is that it was undoubtedly a positive aspect that the Hulk Hogan character had a positive impact on many of the fans of his the heyday of his career.

CM Punk is right

Professional wrestling has never been known for it's ethics or moral standards. Maybe the business is true to its origins on the carnival circuit so deception or underhandedness is baked into the fabric of the industry. Maybe it's because most pro wrestling operations, at least on a lower level, are usually a cash business, and there will always be shady characters that try to circle around any cash business to find a loophole to grab a piece of the pie. It might simply be a part of any live entertainment industry, as we've seen similar pitfalls throughout the entertainment platform from the grueling demands of the schedule.

Sports entertainment offers hope, inspiration, and thrills. On the other end of the spectrum, the business, sometimes even knowingly, has promoted murders, drug addicts, and con artists. I'm not sure what that says about the fans that idolize some of those people. Given how obnoxious the general public is, specifically with the advancement of technology with smart phones that will undoubtedly cause the downfall of society, I wasn't surprised when there were a series of stories that made the rounds online of wrestlers getting mobbed at the hotels by overzealous wrestling fans. With Wrestlemania 42 being held in Las Vegas and the talent hotel being in a casino, it was more difficult to restrict access to areas like the parking lot or lobby. A video of Randy Orton surfaced where he seemed to handle the situation as gracefully as he could as people swarmed him for any type of interaction.

The major news that made headlines on a few mainstream media outlets, including TMZ, is an incident where Bayely was seen hugging AJ Lee as a fan was recording their interaction on his phone. As the phone got closer to the two female grapplers, Bayely can be heard asking the fan to back up before CM Punk smacked the phone out of the guy's hand. Hotel security and longtime friend, Ace Steele stepped in to defuse the situation before Punk left the lobby.

Now, I have been and will continue to be the first person to point out that I think CM Punk is a self-absorbed, insincere jerk, albeit a very talented jerk, but he was absolutely right in this situation. Phony Phil was okay with the Saudi money as long as it was going in his pocket, he's disingenuous, not a martyr, not matter how much he wants to try to push that narrative. That being said, I completely agree with the action he took and it was probably the only way to resolve the situation.

There are many things that make me shake my head about what type of mutants stalk pro wrestlers at the airport, or in this case at their hotels. What kind of empty life do these yo-yos have that they can spent hours at the food court to wait for wrestlers to go to baggage claim. Is it really that important to get 15 Pop Funkos signed? As far as the Las Vegas situation, let's look at this from purely an objective standpoint before we even consider the common courtesy of the scenario. As we know, TKO has monetized the WWE brand to a nauseating degree, to the point that it makes you wonder if it could backfire and sour some fans on the product, but the point is, for the right price, fans can get access to the stars. I'm still not sure how some crypto yokel got to sit at the announce table during a bout at Wrestlemania, particularly because crypto is more of a work than pro wrestling, but the point is, On Location, the organization that handles a lot of the premium experiences for WWE. charges thousands of dollars for those perks. In short, if fans truly want to meet the stars in a normal manner, they can purchase tickets to do so at the Wrestlemania week events. Yes, the pricing is often outrageous, but the point being, it's not as simple as a talent signing an autograph in the lobby, as the wrestlers rarely do free promotional appearances now since there are so many other ways for the company to push the product, but rather if Randy Orton is willing to reward the stalker in the lobby at 1 AM with a free autograph, what does that say for the fans that paid for the signature through the proper channels?

I'd like to make this portion completely clear, if you happen to bump into LA Knight at a gas station and want to say hello, there's really no harm done because a chance meeting doesn't cross any personal lines. It's much different when autograph leeches have to research what flights are leaving from where or following a talent to their hotel. The situation is simple, would any of the people that think they are entitled to record or follow wrestlers around be fine with it if someone else recorded them while they were at their jobs?

I don't want to hear any counterpoint about it being in public so technically the fans have the right to record or approach talent. Just because something would be allowed in the most technically of interpretations, that doesn't make it polite or dismiss the notion of common courtesy not to invade someone else's personal space. Just because these borderline stalkers are allowed to camp out in a lobby to ask for autographs doesn't mean that they should.

As far as the guy that got his phone smacked, he got what he deserved. If this eventually costs CM Punk an iPhone so be it, the "fan" needed a reality check. Based on the video, it looks like this guy was a fully functional adult that thought he was entitled to record two females so he got put in check. Unless there was some type of cognitive impairment, and there doesn't look like there was, nor would there be a way for any of the talent to determine that when the lobby was mobbed with fans, there was no excuse for this "fan" to get closer to the female talent with his phone. Again, Punk was in the right, and the yo-yo recording got what he deserved. Supposedly, TMZ got anonymous comments from the fan in the video and he claimed that he wanted an apology from CM Punk, which is absolutely ridiculous. If anything, I'd guess the "outrage" from the fan is nothing more than an attempt to get something free from the WWE. 

I say this because the incidents like this are becoming more frequent, and we've seen how they can escalate to a dangerous level, such as with the Sonya Deville situation a few years ago. I sincerely hope that I'm wrong, but unless there's a major effort to enforce boundaries between fans and the talent going forward, it's very possible that a scenario like this could also became dangerous. What happens when a drunk fan thinks they can harass a female performer or wants to play tough guy to try to fight a wrestler? Keep in mind, in the social media age, they are always morons looking for their 15 minutes of fame with a viral clip.

It goes without saying that fans shouldn't stalk wrestlers at the airport or follow them to their hotels, but somehow it still has to be said. Fandom shouldn't void common courtesy or common sense. We've seen wonderful clips of interactions with fans at the arena or in the parking lot before a show, which is fine because it's a place where fans can reasonable expect to see the wrestlers, and the wrestlers know that fans are going to be there. It allows the talent to decide if they have time or want an interaction with the fans, whereas finding them away from the arena puts them in a situation where they don't have a choice for an interaction. Part of the reason that it was wonderful to see the video of Bray Wyatt come into the parking lot of the arena  to take a picture with a fan is that you saw how he took an extra minute to make someone's day. John Cena stopping to shake a young fan's hand in the arena is heartwarming because that brief interaction showed that Cena knew how much it would mean to the youngster. Rhea Ripley meeting fans that dressed up like her is so cool because you can see how much she appreciates the fans support. However, the biggest difference is that the setting of the arena or a meet and greet are places that don't invade the performers' personal time. Again, I seriously wonder what type of people think its okay or fun to stalk pro wrestling, but considering these are the same fans that would bow to Vince McMahon if he returned to television, it's not too surprising that they ignore common courtesy around the roster.

Wrestlemania 42 night 2 review

After the mixed reviews on night one, I was wondering how Wrestlemania Sunday would unfold, particularly if any of the seemingly unresolved business would find a resolution before the weekend was finished. That's one of the many hurdles created when the company decided to expand the presentation to a two-night format. Yes, you can essentially double the live gate, but you're also tasked with selling twice as many tickets, which as we've seen this year, isn't automatic just because you slap the Wrestlemania logo onto a show. Furthermore, when there are two nights, you have to theoretically live something on the table for Sunday. Yes, Wrestlemania is supposed to be the pay off, and in many ways, it's conflicting purposes to have to use a Wrestlemania event to build to something the next day, but again, that's the reality of a two-night format.

I'm not trying to pick a safe option with indifference on this, but I can actually see both sides of the argument on the mixed reviews of Wrestlemania Saturday. On one hand, and this might be a side effect of the shorter attention span of modern society, it seems as though some fans have unrealistic expectations of what they think Wrestlemania will be, with a noticeable amount of grumbling each year. Fans are so used to seeing the promotional highlights over the past few decades that they somehow don't realize that even Wrestlemania has to have a mid card that will pace the show. Dino Bravo vs. Ronnie Garvin in a three-minute bathroom break match was on the same line-up as the memorable main event when the Mega Powers exploded at Wrestlemania 5 over three decades ago. Everyone remembers the stellar Bret vs. Owen bout and the iconic ladder match from 1994, but not many people talk about the rather pointless 35-second Earthquake vs. Adam Bomb match. Some fans have the misguided notion that unless Andre The Giant comes down from heaven to make a cameo that the event is underwhelming. On the other hand, when the ticket prices are insane, and you're asking the audience to pay $30 for the ESPN app after the pay-per-views were a fraction of the price for more than a decade on other platforms, viewers are going to have higher expectations.

I'm not saying there's a right or wrong answer, but rather to point out, in the social media age, there's always going to be at least a portion of the audience with a noticeable level of criticism.

The show opened with the anticipated Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi bout, and while it wasn't a squash match, it was definitely one-sided. Oba beat Brock in under five minutes and was showcased as a major star in the process. It goes without saying that Femi will have to continue to develop as a performer, as far as selling, timing, etc. but as far as a promotional push, the office put him over about as strong as someone can be in 2026. Keep in mind, Lesnar has the cache of being pushed as one of the most dominate guys in the history of the company since he stepped back into the pro wrestling world in 2012, and that credibility was used to shine Femi. Oba nailed the power bomb and got a definitive victory over the former WWE and UFC heavyweight champion. Post-match, we might've seen why Brock gave all he could to put over his opponent, as he took off his gloves and boots, signaling his apparent retirement from sports entertainment. At 48, Lesnar was undoubtedly near the end of his career, and the WWE had to find ways to refresh him at times because of how dominate that he was used prior, but I have to say, I was surprised that this looked like a legitimate retirement. I'm not sure there's anything left for Brock to do, as far as new ground to cover, but he still could've drawn money on a semi-regular basis as well. Again, given the way he was pushed and promoted throughout the 2010s, he has the name value to be plugged into a scenario when needed. Lesnar's legacy is complicated, not only for the way he abruptly left the business a year and a half into his tenure on WWE television before he found a level of successful in the UFC and then eventually returned to the WWE after eight years away from the company, but also the accusations of the Janel Grant lawsuit. What Brock did or didn't know about Grant being an unwilling participant in the Vince McMahon affair are questions that the public doesn't have the answer to so it's difficult to have any guesses about who Lesnar is outside of the ring. However, he was undoubtedly a top drawing card for WWE more or less his entire career, putting him in a very rare category.  

Obviously, very few wrestlers stay retired, but when I saw Lesnar get emotional as he left his boots in the ring, and the equally emotional embrace with Paul Heyman, it certainly looked like he has finished his pro wrestling career. The only reason for Brock to "break character" so to speak with such emotion would be if he's actually hanging up his boots. As I said, Oba will have to continue to develop, but considering that he's 27, the WWE could have a potential main event star for more than a decade by the time he's ready for the main event scene in a few years. 

The ladder match was the car crash segment and it was great stuff. It was wild, entertaining, and exactly what the office was looking for when they put a portion of the broadcast on the ESPN network. As I said about the simulcast yesterday, I'm not sure the "preview" on either night prompted more subscriptions to the ESPN app, but I can see the reasoning behind it. Rey Mysterio getting launched over the ropes as he and Rusev crashed through the ladder was worrisome. Don't get me wrong, Rey is one of my favorite performers of all time, and he's one of the nicest wrestlers I've ever met. I say this because with the recent injuries that he had, as well as the extensive history of injuries, I sincerely think he should consider retirement so that he can get the recognition that he deserves rather than an injury putting an end to his career. Je'Von Evans hanging onto the belt when the ladder was taken from underneath him was an example of the risk/reward ratio that often becomes a topic in the sport. His tumble to the canvas looked nasty but thankfully, he was okay. However, it should be noted that he took that risk at the biggest event on the calendar. The destroy onto the ladder from Penta to JD McDonagh looked brutal. Eventually, Penta was able to get the belt to retain it.

The more abbreviated time given to each match was effective in some places, but hindered the segment during other portions of the show. The IC championship match was an example of something that could've been given another five minutes or so to really get to the next level in terms of match quality. These two put together a solid match, but they didn't get a chance to get into second gear with only seven minutes to work with. The counters and sequences were excellent, but it seemed rushed with the abrupt ending. The Sami Zayn character was booked into a corner since he got the heat for the office's decision to have Carmelo Hayes drop the title ahead of Wrestlemania. At this point, Sami will probably have to turn heel to rejuvenate his status on Smackdown. That being said, putting the title on Trick Williams was still the right decision. Sami is a top notch worker and at this point in his career, he doesn't need a championship. There are so many different aspects to developing a money-drawing star so Trick or anyone else will have to see how their career evolve over time, but as of right now, it looks like Williams, at the very least, has the potential to be a major contributor to the organization in the future. He has the look, the mic skills, and the athleticism to became one of the guys that will have to move up the ranks to replenish the roster as more of the aging legends step away from the business.

The street fight between Dominik Mysterio and Finn Balor was very well done. Again, they only had 10 minutes for this segment so it was still somewhat rushed as far as the set up for different spots, but everything they did worked. More than anything, you can see how Dominik has evolved into the role of a WWE star, as he looked more natural in the ring a few years ago, and kept pace with the longtime veteran, Balor. It was what you'd expect from a WWE street fight so it wasn't anything over the top, but as mentioned, everything was solid. Finn Balor got the victory with a double stomp through a table.

The WWE Women's championship match saw Rhea Ripley win the title after Iyo Sky made the save from the interference of the heels that were trying to assist Jade Cargill. However, the result was secondary, as this was probably the best match of Cargill's career. Given that Jade looks like and carries herself like a total star, she wasn't going to be brought into the WWE as a secondary figure when she made the jump from All Elite Wrestling a few years ago. Still, the experience gap was noticeable and after she was written off of television for a while to polish her skills at the Performance Center, there was some speculation that she might not have the in-ring skills to make the transition to the biggest stage of the WWE. That's not a knock on her athleticism, but rather to point out the reality of the situation. She was put on AEW television when she was still very new to the sport and usually only worked very short matches during the three years she was under contract there. To make the jump to the WWE, where the scripting rightly shielded her weaknesses at first through tag team match, she was going to have to evolve as a performer, and based on the bout at Wrestlemania, she has done that. The series of counters that they did prior to the finish built some draw before Ripley got the pin. Jade looked like she was on par with one of the top female stars as her opponent so Cargill deserves credit for the performance. A side note, Ripley mentioned publicly that she's dealing with an eating disorder so all the best to her to make a complete recovery. She's a true star, and by all accounts is very kind to fans during meet and greets so hopefully she can continue to be as healthy as possible.

The main event was something that I wasn't really invested in one way or the other in terms of the result. CM Punk is a disingenuous jerk, albeit a talented jerk, and Roman Reigns held the title for more than four years so I don't think enough time has passed that he would need another time run. That said, this was a brilliant WWE style main event that built organic drama as the advantage tilted back and fourth. At the biggest stage, this is the type of performance that you want from the main event guys. Furthermore, as much as CM Punk was pigeon-holed as a guy that was just a rung underneath the main event of Wrestlemania for the majority of his career by management, he proved the office wrong with this performance. CM Punk is a bonafide star at the top level and even at 47, he can still work to the main event caliber. As I said, I don't think Roman needed the belt again, especially after such an extended run that concluded just two years ago, but again, his performance was tremendous in this bout. Roman nailed Punk with the spear to win the championship. 

Wrestlemania 42 night 1 review

After months of criticism about the ticket prices and weeks of scrambling to spur more interest from the general public, potentially to the overall detriment of the show, Wrestlemania 42 kicked off from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the second year in a row that the venue hosted the sports entertainment spectacle. I have to be honest, with how disjointed the narratives across the board have been recently, I expected a quality show in terms of bell-to-bell action, but wasn't sure how or if the pay-per-view would have the sizzle expected from a WM event. Based on the initial feedback after the broadcast went off the air last night, there were mixed reviews of the showcase of the immortals.

The six man tag was the opener and was included in the free portion of the broadcast on the ESPN cable network before the rest of the PPV event was exclusively on the app. I understand why they put IShowSpeed and Logan Paul in this spot, as with the mainstream distribution of the ESPN network, it can theoretically sell the show before the switch puts the rest of the event behind the paywall. I had no idea who IShowSpeed was before he showed up on WWE television a few years ago, but I still don't think this segment came off as intended. The match was only about five minutes, and the aftermath was wonky and forced. Sure, the office wanted the moment of the video game streamer jumping through the table to get some traction online, but the whole thing was clunky, as the baby faces randomly decided to work with him after weeks of a rivalry on television. It was a narrative that looked forced and the argument could be made that the post-match stuff took too long. In some ways, this seemed like sometime designed specifically for the preshow that was instead used as the kickoff segment. The baby face team got the win, but there's not much to say about the match itself. Tomorrow night, the clash between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi, potentially the bout with the best build, will also be included on the cable network before the remainder of the show is on the ESPN app. While I understand the reasoning behind this and it's a worthwhile strategy, I'm not sure if a "preview" so to speak will be enough to truly move the needle in terms of how many people will be prompted to pay $30 for the app this month if they weren't already subscribed. I mention this because that's where the scrambled build made the show a more difficult sell to casual viewers that weren't already invested enough to pay to watch the event. The conflicting narratives on television make the lowest common denominator, which is the easiest way to sell to the mainstream audience, a lot murkier. Keep in mind, when the show is getting publicity on ESPN, you're trying to cater to the most casual audience, and you can't sell to that demographic without a narrative that is easy to connect with as far as the selling point of the show.

The argument can be made, despite the flimsy attempts, Wrestlemania doesn't offer enough meat on the bone for the general public to spend $30 to watch the weekend of events if they weren't already subscribed for it.

Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu was next, and without criticizing the six man tag too much, this was essentially the opener of the event. I was wondering if an unsanctioned match with gimmicks to start the show would be diminish things for later in the night, but it was done wisely to avoid that, which is something Tony Khan should take note of. More than anything else, and this isn't surprising, this segment proved that Drew and Fatu are worthy of a storyline that wasn't thrown together when the writing team simply didn't have anything else for them. This bout had natural peaks and valleys that built well and kept the contest compelling as they built toward the finish. Drew is a tremendous performer, especially with how crisp and smooth everything he does in the ring is, including the dive to the outside, and much of the same can be said for Fatu. The bump through the table to the outside looked brutal. Despite the short build up, I hope there's more to this rivalry in the future because while the initial premise was superficial, these two worked very well together and they both looked like stars in the process. Fatu got the victory after a moonsault through a table.

The term "Wrestlemania moment" has become a marketing cliche rather than an organic observation, but there's no doubt that Paige's return to the ring after several years away from the WWE was a true WM moment. The reaction from the crowd and the legitimate emotional on the British grappler's face after the title win are going to be memorable moments in hindsight. The match itself was a little clunky, which was probably unavoidable with so many wrestlers in the ring at once, but the action was solid, and as I said, the return and the finish when Paige won a portion of the tag belts are what will be remembered so it was mission accomplished. It should be noted that it's wonderful that the real-life Saraya was able to not only be re-signed by the company, but was healthy enough to be medically cleared to compete. To be honest, when I read earlier this week that Paige had re-signed, I assumed that if she would appear on television, it would be in a non-wrestling role, at least at first. I didn't think she'd be in the ring, especially as soon as Wrestlemania since she was benched years ago after a serious neck injury. It's well-documented that Paige went through a lot of personal struggles between past drug issues and dealing with the personal videos that were leaked online years ago. It's great to see a successful comeback, as pro wrestling already has too many Dark Side of The Ring stories. Obviously, it will be interesting to see how this develops, mostly if Paige can stay healthy, because if she does, it's possible that the current run could eventually be the best work of her career. It also must be noted that Saraya was under contract to All Elite Wrestling for a few years, but the sum total of that tenure was minimal, which says more about the booking, or lack thereof than Paige's skills in the ring.

The Women's Intercontinental title match was solid, and AJ Lee and Becky Lynch worked well together, but this one seemed like it was cut a little short so it didn't get a chance to get into second gear. Don't get me wrong, it was refreshing that the majority of the matches on the card didn't overstay their welcome and the time given to each segment was kept tight for a better pace of the show, but this match was one that could've used the extra two or three minutes. The submission attempts by AJ Lee worked well, as it was believable that it could've been the conclusion, and the finish with the exposed turnbuckle protected the baby face, but allowed Becky Lynch to regain the championship. The sequences they did with the series of counters were very solid so this is another feud that could reasonable continue since these two worked well together. Credit to AJ Lee for being out of the ring for more than a decade and getting back into the mix almost seamlessly for a Wrestlemania match.

Very similar to Drew/Fatu, the Seth Rollins vs. Gunther match was thrown together on relatively short notice when the writing team didn't have anything for either of them, possibly because it wasn't known if Seth would be medical cleared in time, but it also delivered a quality performance, just without the gimmicks used in the unsanctioned match. The back and fourth sequences were very well done and both performers shined. This was solid bell-to-bell action, and considering that this was one of the longer matches on the show, it was one of the tent poles as far as the overall presentation. Rollins is undoubtedly injury prone, which is unfortunate, but when he's healthy, the guy can go in the ring and probably doesn't get enough credit for how solid he is inside in the ring ropes, mostly because his progress was derailed several times with injuries over the years. Bron Breakker making his return to cost Seth the match sets up for a good feud, at least on paper, going forward. Gunther got the win via submission.

The Women's World title match was fine, but seemed a little rushed. Everything they did was solid, but similar to Becky/AJ Lee, for whatever reason, this one just didn't seem to get into second gear. The outside interference gave Stephanie Vaquer a safety net so to speak, and the defeat doesn't really hinder her status, but in truth, I expected more from this segment. Liv getting the win made sense since she won The Royal Rumble earlier this year as a part of her comeback from injury, but the follow-up will be key as far as who she works with after this.

The main event was confusing, conflicting, and could overly skew the perspective of the entire show. If Randy Orton was too injured to compete, management probably would've put someone else in that spot, but I think they leaned into the notion that he was hurt as a crutch to give an excuse for him not to have to do anything that might actually risk a more serious injury.It was somewhat of an attempt at reverse psychology, but it missed the mark. If anything, it put Cody Rhodes in a terrible position as the baby face. Randy Orton was the vicious heel that turned on Cody with a low blow and made him bleed several weeks ago on Smackdown. Somehow, the structure of this segment made Orton look sympathetic, as he struggled to get through the contest as a wounded athlete. If the idea was to make it seem like Cody got revenge by making Orton bleed, it didn't translate. As I wrote a few weeks ago, the scripting of the Cody character actually devalued his star power with the way he lost in key matches, but still ended up in the main event of WM. The same could be said for how his persona was scripted here, as he had the advantage more or less the entire time. The match was slow, tedious, and at times, even boring, which is obviously the opposite of what you look for in the main event of WM. There was no pace and ultimately, no drama. Jelly Roll randomly showing up to drop an elbow through a table was a forced attempt to bring some sizzle to the segment, but it added nothing. 

Orton dropping Pat McAfee with the RKO was completely illogical and was just odd, especially based on the fact that McAfee's purpose, as pointless as it was when he showed up a few weeks ago, was to promote Orton. Cody got the victory, but this could end up being a stain on his or Orton's career. I'd say that it will affect Orton's track record more because while he's embraced as an elder statesman of sorts by the modern fans, the reality is that Orton is a great performer that showhow often had underwhelming matches, especially on the biggest stage. The WM 25 match against Triple H is remembered for all the wrong reasons. Cody won the match, but Orton attacked him and left him in a heap in the ring so the baby face champion was pummeled to end the night, which is about as flat of a conclusion as there can be to a major pay-per-view. Unless, there's some extraordinary follow up to the end of the Rhodes/Orton segment tonight, and there's not necessarily a reason that there would be, this match will probably be known as one of the most underwhelming main events in Wrestlemania history.

Darby Allin wins the AEW title

I was very surprised when Darby Allin, who defeated Andrade at the Dynasty pay-per-view to become the number one contender, beat Maxwell Jacob Friedman on this week's episode of Dynamite to capture the AEW world championship. In truth, I thought the set up for the contest was simply to give the randomly titled episode of Dynamite a championship bout, which is fine, but I definitely didn't think it would have any impact on the landscape of the organization.

As with most things that Tony Khan books, it will probably be either feast or famine, depending on your perspective.

One of the valid criticisms of the promotion since its inception is the notion that "if you try to get everyone over, nobody gets over." Way too often, there would be top guys that would work 50/50 matches with preliminary talent, with the premise that it helps put a spotlight on others that could work their way up the card, which is true, but there's an art to doing that. Letting a young baby face get a rally to show off some impressive moves, or courage as a character before they get chopped down is understandable, but there's no reason, for example, that someone like Blake Christian had a top star like Will Ospreay in any jeopardy when they had Ospreay's first match back on television when he returned from injury. That's not a knock on Blake Christian the athlete, we're talking about the perception of his character as a secondary figure on the show. There's no reason that he would get anything close to a near far on someone the level of Ospreay. Again, there's a fine line between allowing the under card to be spotlighted for their strengths and a competitive match that actually hinders the perception of the bigger star. More importantly, when an under card talent is allowed to look competitive with a bigger star, there should be a plan or follow up to make it mean something in the grand scheme of things, but when is the last time we saw Blake Christian on television after that match with Ospreay?

The main event scene has been very similar to that but in a slightly more nuanced manner because of the level of talent involved.

Jon Moxley's title run as a heel with the death riders stable was more or less universally panned for the rambling promos, verbose presentation, and matches that were mostly the same. However, at the very least, the extended title reign set up for a baby face to get more over when they dethroned him. Adam Page, as devalued as he was between the heel and baby face switches over the years, as well as the whiny promos, was the one to finally defeat Moxley for the belt. If nothing else, Page got a boost by proxy because the audience wouldn't have to sit through the death riders drek anymore. Hangman had the title for a few months before Maxwell Jacob Friedman returned to television two weeks before the Worlds End pay-per-view and cut one of the better promos of his entire AEW career. With two weeks of build up, MJF won the four way match to win the title at the end of 2025. Now, less than four months later, Darby Allin wins the belt with virtually no build up. You could make the argument that Page's title reign was cut short by MJF's return, or that this switch to Darby put the breaks on what should've been a renewed title run for MJF, but the bottom line is, was Adam Page more over after his title reign? Is MJF is a bigger position for the company than he was three months ago? If not, you have to question how productive the main event scene has been during the past eight months?

On the surface, the main event musical chairs suggests either Tony can't decide on a firm direction for who should be the top star in the company, or there isn't a long-term plan so he's flying by the seat of his pants on a weekly basis.

Something that All Elite Wrestling has lacked for the majority of its existence at this point, and it's a direct result of the inconsistency across the board, who is the true representative of the brand? Just in the modern era, the WWE had John Cena, Roman Reigns, and now Cody. Sure, All Elite only has a seven-year sample size compared to a 25-year range for the WWE,but it's a concept that can be seen through more or less any successful group in the history of the business. In the early-90s, as directionless as WCW was with a revolving door of figureheads and horrendous production value, despite being owned by a television network, even through the dimly-lit arena and mostly drek on the rest of the card, there was no doubt that Sting was the franchise player. More than anyone else, AJ Styles was the MVP of TNA, if you wanted to point to one guy that represented what the promotion was trying to sell to the audience, Styles was it. In a more drastic example, Steve Austin was WWF Attitude. By all accounts Tony Khan is a great guy, which is legitimately wonderful because he cares about his roster and the business needs more people like him in that regard, but when was the last time someone truly evolved to a bigger level in AEW? We've seen the debuts where the spotlight is on a talent for a moment before they disappear into the witness protection program. The same applies to the main event scene, there must be a consistent effort to promote someone toward the position as the representative of the brand that AEW is trying to sell its audience. This is where booking goes beyond just how many stars Dave Meltzer gives the latest pay-per-view main event.

Speaking of The Wrestling Observer newsletter, as I've written on several occasions before, besides the fact that the star system shouldn't have nearly as much cache unless it comes with a cash prize, All Elite Wrestling should market its product to a wider demographic. The entire point of being on national television is to try to draw revenue on a national basis. Otherwise, it would be a lot cheaper to run independent shows. There's nothing wrong with pushing the envelope, the business doesn't need TL Hopper and Duke "The Dumpster" gimmicks again (no disrespect to Tony Anthony), but there's a reason ECW folded. There's also a reason that death matches on the American independent scene draw hundreds, not thousands of fans. That's not meant as a knock on a promotion like Game Changer Wrestling either, but rather to point out there's a reason that certain styles have a niche, not a national audience.

On the surface, Darby has a very marketable look, a character that the audience can connect with, and he can go in the ring. But, his style, depending on where he goes from here, might actually limit how over he can become as the champion. Based on the background that we know, but something that isn't promoted on television enough is that Darby had a rough upbringing and survived a car accident when he was younger that took the life of his uncle. His hometown is announced as Seattle so the title win in Everett was close enough to a hometown victory. 

Between the face paint and the background, Darby Allin could be the "never say die" baby face instead of the careless crash test dummy.

It's pro wrestling 101, but it still applies, baby faces have admirable traits, and that's why the fans can connect with them. Honor, skill, and courage are easy concepts for the public to understand. Darby Allin endured poverty, but he didn't quit. He's an underdog, but he doesn't quit. He's known for taking punishment, but he doesn't quit. It's not a direct comparison since it's two different levels, but there's a reason why Austin in the sharpshooter set him up for the biggest run in the history of the business. Make no mistake about it, this title reign can reignite Darby in a much more progressive direction than we've seen previously, but the persona will have to get the spotlight, not the bumps. His character will have to be the priority for this title run to make a difference. Obviously, the risk/reward ratio is backwards, and Darby can't draw money if he's on the injured list, but more specifically, the spots where he gets thrown through glass or set on fire is counterproductive to drawing the biggest audience possible. There's simply a portion of the fans that won't watch something like that and will be soured on the product.

It goes without saying that it remains to be seen how this unfolds, and given the title runs of Page and MJF prior to this, I'm not optimistic. If I had to guess, I'd say that Darby is being used as a placeholder until the build to Wembley Stadium later this year. That being said, Darby has the potential to be a money-drawing champion for the company, specifically if management properly markets the face paint and the persona. The potential pitfall is, where does Allin go from here? I understand the shock win, but when a character stars at the top of the ranks, the only place to go is back down the ladder so the next few weeks, particularly ahead of the build for the Double or Nothing pay-per-view, could be key to determine if he will be a successful champion for the company.

Did WWE sell Wrestlemania?

Considering that it's April 15th, make sure you send all of your files to Mike Rotunda. After that, we are just a few days away from Wrestlemania 42, the biggest event on the sports entertainment calendar, or it is?

I've covered the ticket sale debacle as the story unfolded over the past few months, and the harsh reality is that TKO initially priced out a huge portion of the fan base and then tried to course correct too late. The 25% or 31% wasn't going to make a dent in the total costs when you factor in the travel expenses, which is why neither sale truly moved the needle. But, as I also said, they will paper the house so that it's full by the time the bell rings on Saturday, and it's moot in the grand scheme of things because the scheduled payoff of more than $100 million from Saudi Arabia next year for Wrestlemania 43 is the big picture for the TKO corporation.

That's the business side of the equation, but what about creative? Sure, there are big expectations for the Wrestlemania brand, sometimes unrealistic expectations, but when the cheapest ticket to get into the building is $350 per night then management has to deliver on the pryo and ballyhoo worthy of the historic value that WM brings to the table. As we head into the homestretch of the build to WM 42, depending on your point of view, the scripting of the program either added a layer of intensity or reeked of desperation. We heard the rumors as far back as Survivor Series last November that another Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns bout was penciled in for Las Vegas this year, with the conclusion of the War Games match seeming to hint at that direction. Since that time, the direction of the main event scene, both for Raw and Smackdown was shuffled on a few different occasions, suggesting indecisiveness, not spontaneity. The rumor mill was that the Rhodes/Reigns bout was scrapped because the audience had already seen it twice within the past three years, and given the two-year storyline between those two title matches, I'd say it was the right call to choose different opponents since another contest between the two would've been a retread. At one point, it looked like Cody/Drew was the decided match-up for WM, based on Drew's inference at different pay-per-views. Cody lost at The Royal Rumble, lost at The Elimination Chamber, and then won the belt back on a random episode of Smackdown. The speculated motive was that there was already a series of matches between Rhodes and Drew McIntyre last year so the fourth or fifth bout in a relatively short period of time wouldn't be strong enough to main event one of the nights of WM 42. That would be correct, but should also be a lesson about why a performer the caliber of Drew shouldn't have been thrown into random PPV matches just because Cody needed an opponent last year. The bigger issue was, as I've written at previously, the scripting that shoehorned Rhodes back into the main event picture actually devalued his star power. Cody is a top-tier talent and should be the representative of the company, he checks all the boxes for a global, publicly-traded corporation, but the way his character was scripted took away a lot of his shine. In some respects, he was able to lose his way to the main event of the show. He randomly lost the title to Drew on an episode of Smackdown in January, but there wasn't a journey for him to regain the championship. Instead, he was given opportunities until he won it back.

When the office shifted gears towards Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes, which is why Cody beat Drew abruptly, the heel turn from Orton was needed to provide some sizzle to a rather flat main event scene at the time. That being said, the entire Pat McAfee involvement is bizarre and counterproductive, which bled over into the CM Punk/Roman Reigns storyline as well. Trying to refer back to the Attitude era was a total miss, and while I get the attempt to lean into the reserve psychology aspect of the criticism of the ticket prices, it's also publicly admitting that the company overvalued the product. The WWE literally had a product, the biggest event of the year, that the audience wasn't buying compared to last year.

The worked shoot stuff between Roman/CM Punk and then Cody/McAfee almost seems like management is trying to use the same strategy to sell two different feuds. Depending on how the matches are booked this weekend, it could be a repetitive presentation. That was the biggest takeaway from Raw's final confrontation between Roman Reigns and CM Punk, it was basically the exact same set up and promo that they've done the past several weeks. The storyline almost appears one-dimensional when there's much more to draw from with their shared history. The more promos that Pat McAfee cuts on Smackdown, the more obvious it is that he was added into the mix as a late-minute desperate attempt to get some mainstream press for the event. There wasn't a need or a purpose for him to be involved in the storyline so he doesn't have anything to add other than to repeat that Randy Orton is going to save the business without any logic behind it so again, it comes off as very one-dimensional.

I'm somewhat surprised that Cody/Orton is scheduled for Saturday since you'd assume that the top position in the company would close out the weekend, but that might be by design. Keep in mind, the ESPN subscription is $30, and with gas prices over $4 a gallon thanks to the orange villain's conflict in Iran to distract from the Epstein files, it's not an automatic purchase that casual fans will pay for Wrestlemania, especially since this is the first WM event since the switch to ESPN with the price increase that went along with it. There continues to be rumors that Vince McMahon might peak his head back into the WWE landscape, particularly because of how closely he worked with the Saudis over the years, and it's possible that something newsworthy is going to be booked for night one in an attempt to get more fans to subscribe for the Sunday show.

Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu should be a quality bout, and it's a segment that I'm looking forward to, but it's a match-up based on the fact that the writing team didn't seem to have anything else for them to do. The same could be said for Seth Rollins/Gunther, it should be a very good bout, but it doesn't seem like a major match because there wasn't much build up for it. The same can be said for the rest of the card, there should be quality performances based on the talent involved, but everything from the top damn has seemed either scrambled or less than ideal in terms of the build. Stephanie Vaquer/Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley/Jade Cargill have some hype around them, but you can't really say the same for AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch, which had the potential to be the biggest women's match on the card when the feud started a few months ago. Ironically, the match with the best build is one that will be shown for free on ESPN, with it being Brock :Lesnar vs. Oba Femi. It's no coincidence that the bout with the most direct and steady angle is the one that had the best build ahead of bell time. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have Paul Heyman, still the best talker in the industry to sell the importance to the audience. Still, this was an angle that was two monsters that were going to clash, the writing team just told you what time it was, they didn't try to build the watch in the process, which is what happened with the detours, particularly with the Cody/Orton storyline.

If I had to guess, I'd say that this weekend's Wrestlemania events will deliver a quality show on each night, but aside from the fact that ticket prices were astronomical, the argument could be made that outside of Brock/Oba, and potentially Roman/Punk, there wasn't truly anything "must see" on the card as far as the perception of its important from the build up of the pay-per-view.