The career of Sam Beale

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

VHS Memoirs Volume 40

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Should Crown Jewel be canceled?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What's the status of AEW?

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article to discuss the comments that podcast czar, Conrad Thompson made on the Ariel Helwani show about Roman Reigns being the most overhyped champion in wrestling history. As I said at the time, calling him overhyped might not be entirely accurate, but there's no doubt that he benefited from the current climate of the industry. As with most things in sports entertainment, some of it is a matter of perspective. Some viewers saw the slow, plodding pace of the 30-minute main event at Summer Slam this year and thought they were watching some epic drama unfold in front on them. Others saw it for what it was, a forced attempt to manufacture drama that wasn't there and thus provide very little substance to back up the sizzle. But, the entire point of the industry is to draw money, and Roman Reigns is one of the few guys that actually moves the needle, albeit to a lesser degree than the top guys of a previous generation so that provides some unbiased prospective on the subject.

The art of pro wrestling is probably why it survived the peaks and valleys of the business, it was the "glue" that held it together because the quality performances can't be denied, but the metric of money drawn is how to truly gauge success of individual eras.

That's why All Elite Wrestling is such a dichotomy of the pro wrestling industry.

Conrad mentioned in the same interview that WWE produces sports entertainment for the shareholders, whereas AEW produces content for the fans. That's not a ground-breaking statement, as it was something that was covered before, but the ramifications of those philosophies are a discussion of their own.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, for as much grief as the writing team sometimes rightfully gets in the WWE, it's an extremely difficult task to serve that many masters on the same show. They have to satisfy the networks, the streaming partners, the fans, the sponsors, and the investors. The global, publicly-traded corporate machine might seem complacent as times, but when the office finds a formula that checks all of those boxes, it's tough to stray away from it. That's one of the tradeoffs of corporate wrestling, you get the spectacle, but you aren't going to get anything too edgy that might sour networks or sponsorships. It's important to keep in mind that the slightest miscalculation could throw off the balances of all those categories that TKO has to serve with its product.

As of this writing, the TKO stock is worth $177 per share, and the overall value of the company is listed at $33.6 billion, a nearly 50% increase from the 21.4 billion the corporation was worth when the WWE officially merged with the UFC to form TKO just over three years ago.

We can parse detail on if the strategies to get them to that point will ultimately erode the audience in the future, but the bottom line is, TKO generates revenue and makes a hefty profit between the two commodities that it has under its umbrella. It can't be understated how important that amount of media muscle is and market share that goes along with it.

However, Conrad is right, the WWE produces content for investors, and the reason that's not a earth-shattering statement is that the company has a legal obligation to work in the best interest of the stockholders. The amount of lawsuits based on the stock, and the millions of dollars that company had to pay as a result of them are proof of that. Of course, when billions of dollars are made in the process, getting sued for tens of millions is merely the cost of doing business, it's the American way. Anything for more profit and then pay for the penalties to go away, right?

That's why All Elite Wrestling is an anomaly.

For the first time in the history of the industry, a promoter doesn't have to be concerned with the bottom line. The Khan family is worth an estimated $15 billions between the various assets that they own, including the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tony's father, Shad originally made his fortune with a patent for bumpers in the automotive industry, and as a result, the family more or less makes a few billion dollars from the totality of their investments each year. In short, funding for All Elite Wrestling won't run dry any time soon, and as long as the 44-year-old Tony wants to be a promoter then the organization will continue to exist.

The problem is, Tony's biggest qualification to be the second-biggest promoter in the United States is solely that his family had the money to fund it for him. Don't get me wrong, Tony's intentions are noble and he's unanimously praised as a great guy that cares about his roster, but from purely a business standpoint, what was Tony's experience in the wrestling business besides being a really big fan? Sure, he's a longtime subscriber to The Wrestling Observer newsletter so he knew bits and pieces of the behind-the-scenes dealings, but he hadn't actually worked in the business before he landed a national television show on TNT.

I've often written that it would've been much cheaper and probably more profitable if Tony decided to run independent cards.

Since All Elite will exist regardless of revenue or profit, Khan isn't bound by realistic options, he can ignore the rules to book the exact product that he wants to watch. Granted, it's one of the perks of the job, but by nature, the basis for what draws The Wrestler Observer audience isn't suited for national television. If it was, that type of work rate content would've become mainstream in the United States years ago instead of the niche that it has always been.

That isn't a knock on Tony Khan, but rather to point out that signing a large portion of the New Japan roster just because Dave Meltzer praised them doesn't mean that they automatically had a role on American television. The argument could be made that in most cases those acquisitions didn't truly help AEW's business, but it certainly hindered New Japan's revenue over the past several years. As talented as many of the Japanese workers were over the years, there's a reason that WWE didn't try to sign a dozen of Japan's best years ago. There probably wouldn't be a spot in the company for all of them, which is a waste of resources, and there would be no reason to take away from the Japanese leagues since keeping the doors open long term also allowed for the development of talent in the future.

Will Ospreay has been the exception to the New Japan rule so to speak for AEW. Okada is hit or miss depending on who he's working with. David Finlay and Clark Connors would be better off being bigger fish in a smaller pond than they are lost in the All Elite shuffle. The same could be said for Gabe Kidd if he decides to make the jump on a full-time basis. Shibata couldn't get cleared by New Japan and his impact in AEW is minimal. There are countless guys that are under contract, but are essentially in the witness protection program of Ring Of Honor, or they are simply paid to stay home. Why is Keith Lee still on the payroll? Has anyone seen Kip Sabain lately? Why in the wide world of sports is Anthony Ogogo still getting paid?

If the bottom line mattered, there would be some effort at efficiency, or at the very least, Tony wouldn't give away contracts the way that Oprah gives away cars.  

Aside from the numbers, the sheer amount of overkill that pollutes the vast majority of the product, which doesn't endear itself to sponsors or advertisers, created an overall negative effect on the industry. Putting syringes through someone's mouth, risky bumps, and literally setting people on fire with a flamethrower does nothing for the industry, except encourage stunts that lead to more injuries, and ultimately limit the audience for the product. The younger and older demographics aren't going to buy tickets or order the pay-per-views for grotesque stunts. Obviously, AEW can be geared toward a specific male demographic, but there's a different between that and completely souring a potential expansion of the audience. In theory, bringing in a guy like Edge could get a portion of the WWE audience to sample the All Elite product, but when they see someone using a staple gun with actual staples in their opponent's chest, how does that build an audience? Furthermore, why bring someone from the WWE into the company until the product will offer something to the audience that might follow their career to AEW? Something as simple as shows that aren't four and a half hours long would be helpful to expand the fan base. When watching a wrestling pay-per-view becomes a chore, you know that the broadcast went too long.

Again, if profit mattered, I doubt there would be the bloodbath segments that cater to the most niche demographic of fans. It goes without saying that the entire point of being on national television is to draw the biggest audience possible, but All Elite simply isn't tailored for that. Even major wrestling fans don't want to watch four and a half hours of a marathon show.

At the end of the day, the reason that Tony Khan can make those decisions is that his family doesn't depend on the success of All Elite Wrestling for financial security. AEW might be the second-largest pro wrestling group in the United States, but it's just another portion of the Khan family portfolio.

The silver lining in all of this, and perhaps this is more important than the prosperity of pro wrestling since WWE will provide that tent pole, since Tony Khan doesn't need the profits from AEW to pay his bills, he often goes out of his way to do more for his roster than most promoters have in the past or probably would in the future. More than once Tony Khan has given someone a job, especially some of the aging legends, that provided them with financial security in their latter years. Tony Khan doesn't make the business decisions to be anywhere near as success as he could've been when AEW launched, but he's a boss that cares about the people that work for him, and outside of the harsh reality of business, that might be more important in the grand scheme of things. 

What's the status of Too Cold Scorpio?

Too Cold Scorpio was one of the most innovative and influential high-flyers in the history of pro wrestling. At a time when VHS tapes were  still the standard media format, Scorpio was one of the most graceful aerial workers in the world, despite the fact that his technique wasn't quite as smooth as the generations that followed him, simply because he was still a heavyweight that soared through the air.

Too Cold Scorpio was smooth and graceful in the ring. The real-life Charles Scaggs had a rockier road outside of it.

In mid-2024, Scaggs was arrested after he stabbed a man several times at a large convenient store where he worked security in Jackson County, Missouri. Reportedly, the confrontation started when the customer at the store attempted to light a cigarette inside the building before Scaggs asked him to put it out. Scaggs claimed that the man tackled him, and during the scuffle, Scaggs stabbed the man several times with a knife that he had in his pocket, citing self defense. As there often are within the American court system, there were delays, but a trial date was eventually set for this past August. On the day that the legal proceedings were set to start, Scaggs changed his original plea of not guilty, and decided to plead guilty to second degree assault and armed criminal action. A sentencing date was scheduled and Scaggs was supposed to remain free until that hearing this month, but his bail was revoked in mid-September when he admitted to having a gun, which was a violation of his bail so he was set to jail.

Last week, he was sentenced to six years in prison for the felony assault. However, PWInsider's Mike Johnson reported that Scaggs will be entered into a 120-day program that could see the sentence converted to supervision. Scaggs will have to complete the program and the court will then have to agree that the completion showed that probation for the remainder of the sentence would be suitable. This is where the context of the entire situation makes a major difference. Obviously, a knife isn't a part of a security guard uniform, and based on reports, the confrontation was taken outside before the actual fight took place so there wasn't an attempt at de escalation. I'm not saying the other guy handle it well, but the bottom line is, Scorpio had to be the aggressor to be charged with felon assault. Furthermore, it's tough to cite self defense when the other guy was stabbed several times and had to be taken to the hospital. That also isn't to say that the real-life Scaggs is a menace to society either, he was involved in a heated confrontation that was clearly taken too far. In fact, I actually had the chance to meet Scorpio at an autograph signing with fellow ECW alumni, Rhino a few years ago at a collectible store near Pittsburgh, and they were both very polite. Some of Scorpio's personal problems during his career were well-documented over the years, but you don't have too much negatively said about it. However, that doesn't take away from the seriousness of this latest legal development.

In short, the 60-year-old former pro wrestler should be very careful and grateful that he could have a chance to spend some of his latter years on probation rather than in jail until the age of almost 67.

It's unfortunate that a combination of timing and addiction issues kept Too Cold Scorpio from reaching his full potential or getting the credit for it, especially in hindsight. The real-life Scaggs broke into the sport in the late-80s, training in the New Japan dojo before he worked matches there in 1991. He worked as a foreign Jr. heavyweight in his younger days, and arguably left the promotion a few years too soon before the Super J Cup era of the mid-90s that showcased more light heavyweight wrestlers in Japan. New Japan always had a clear difference between the Jr. heavyweight and the main event division, but Too Cold Scorpio moved onto WCW before the light heavyweights were given more of a spotlight. The issue of timing was a recurring theme in his career because his biggest exposure in the United States at that point was when he signed on with WCW in 1992. The entire company was influx at the time, as a revolving door of figureheads didn't know what direction to take the organization. Scorpio was only there about a year and a half, but his athleticism stood out, particularly because this was before the introduction of many of the lucha libre stars in the years that followed. His WCW Tag Team title run with Marcus Alexander Bagwell was relatively brief and forgettable, which had more to do with the status of the company than the talent of the team.

By 1994, he landed in ECW and was one of the stand out performers there as well. The fledgling company was relatively new and quite simply didn't have many workers on the roster that had the television experience that Too Cold Scorpio did. That's probably one of the reasons that for the next two years, Scorpio was a major fixture for ECW, winning the TV and tag titles. But, this was before the promotion landed on pay-per-view or had a national television deal so the exposure still had a somewhat limited scope.

He debuted for the WWF at the Survivor Series in 1996 with the Flash Funk gimmick. Taking into account the platform and the investment in the character with the dancers and the entrance, I think the office originally planned to put the promotional machine before the persona. However, it was still somewhat of a cartoonish gimmick at a time when the organization planned to completely shift gears to keep pace with WCW, the Ted Turner group that launched its own Monday Night show in 1995 and had taken the lead. The more edgy Attitude era didn't really have a place for the Flash Funk character so it fizzled within a year or so. As a reflection of that, he was renamed to Scorpio, a nod to his earlier career and was added to the JOB squad, the tongue-in-cheek group of lower mid-card talent that were usually booked for the secondary shows.

By 1999, Scaggs left the WWF to deal with drug problems. In a Kayfabe Commentaries interview, he explained that he used crack cocaine during the latter portion of his WWF run. He made a few cameos in ECW that year, but largely disappeared from the American wrestling scene for several years after that. When he cleaned up, he resurfaced in Mitsuharu Misawa's newly-launched Pro Wrestling NOAH group, a spinoff from All Japan, in 2000. Scorpio had a career resurgence in the Japanese league, working more of a physical style, but still incorporating the aerial maneuvers that he was known for. Another foreigner reignited his career in NOAH when Vader, who left the WWF a few years earlier due to weight issues, formed a notable tag team with Scorpio, winning the GHC Tag Team championship in the early-2000s.

The five years that Scorpio spent in Japan got him noticed and he signed a WWE developmental deal in 2006 to work as the Flash Funk character again. He was released by 2007, but continued to work on the independent scene for several years after that until he more or less quietly retired from any full-time wrestling. He worked a handful of matches in recent years for various groups.

Essentially, there was a reason that Scorpio always had a job somewhere, he was that talented, but he just wasn't at the right place at the right time to truly get the big time exposure for the more casual fans to get the chance to see how truly spectacular he was in the ring. One of the many reasons that this legal situation is so disappointing is that there are underrated guys from his era that are finally getting the credit they deserve now through the myriad of retro projects in the industry. There's undoubtedly a place for a Flash Funk legends figure from Mattel and at least one, if not both of his major career gimmicks to be included in a WWE 2K video game, but it's difficult for someone in prison, potentially for the next several years, to get signed by a publicly-traded company such as TKO for a merchandise deal.

What's the status of Wardlow?

Where in the world was Wardlow?

At one point, it would've been easier to find the AEW wrestler if he was wearing the trademark stripped Waldo hat before he returned to television just three weeks ago.

The impressive athlete was with All Elite Wrestling from day one, as vignettes for his arrival aired during the first pay-per-view. He seemed to check all the boxes for a potential major league pro wrestler. He had size, speed, and agility. He had the in-ring athleticism to be able to work the emerging All Elite style, but had a look that made him stand out from the majority of the rest of the roster that initially consisted of mostly cruiser weight wrestlers in 2019. Wardlow had more mainstream marketing potential than some of the independent names that originally joined the company at the launch, but weren't re-signed after those deals expired. Credit for the effort from someone like Marko Stunt, but it goes without saying that Wardlow would be more noticeable to the casual fan.

For whatever reason, the combination of timing, injuries, and mismanagement has kept Wardlow in the same place now as he was seven years ago, a guy that looks to have main event potential. The problem is, after those seven years, and more importantly the continuous stop and then start pushes, the window to sell Wardlow as a credible main event star might be closed for him in the organization. The audience can only be sold the same narrative so many times when it falls through that they aren't going to buy the concept again.

Don't get me wrong, I wrote a few years ago that the best thing Wardlow can do is get away from All Elite to try to make the most of his career in the WWE. He has some similarities to Bron Breakker in terms of raw talent, but has been completely mismanaged in terms of his development as a character and in-ring opportunities. Wardlow is much more naturally gifted as far as his aptitude for sports entertainment than Bill Goldberg was back in the day, but with the way that Tony Khan missed the boat on Wardlow, it's reminiscent, to a lesser degree, of the way that Goldberg wasn't developed beyond the basic squash match in WCW. It goes without saying that the biggest difference is that at least the former Atlanta Falcon had a meteoric, albeit brief run on top, whereas Wardlow can't get passed the mid-card.

As we know, Wardlow was the body guard for Maxwell Jacobs Friedman for the first few years of his time in the company, with the notion that it was a way to build up an eventual baby face turn to move him up the ladder. As we also know, when there were rumors that MJF threatened to walk out of the company after he missed a scheduled autograph signing before the Double or Nothing pay-per-view in 2022 due to contractual disagreements, the focus completely shifted to what was going on behind the scenes rather than what happened in the ring, which was a trend for a few years in the organization. As a result, Wardlow won the match by using a series of power bombs and looked  strong in the process, but he was a complete afterthought. The narrative of that chapter of Wardlow's career was if MJF had quit the company, not his progress up the card.

By 2023, Wardlow had won the TNT championship on a few occasions and had even been managed by Arn Anderson for a brief period of time. The issue was that the reigns with the TNT title were short and disjointed. The random title switches at the time did nothing to provide any solid direction for him, but rather appeared to put a ceiling on his possible trajectory in AEW. His momentum more or less completely halted when he was off of television for a few months, and Arn left the company after his contract expired. I said it at the time, and I'll say it again here, it says something about the lack of direction and leadership in the promotion when someone like Arn Anderson would rather stay home than collect a paycheck from a wrestling company, particularly because he's essentially a lifer of the business.

It didn't do Wardlow any favors when he was revealed as one of the henchmen in the failed devil mask reveal since it was considered one of the more underwhelming angles in the history of the company. Furthermore, it was another example of him running in place in terms of his position in the promotion since he was a member of a faction again, the same way he was a few years earlier with MJF's short-lived Pinnacle group.

Outside less than half a dozen matches at the beginning of 2024, we've barely seen Wardlow in All Elite Wrestling in the past three years. It was said that he suffered a knee injury in 2024, but it wasn't disclosed if it was serious or not. When he reemerged the following year, he was back for one surprise appearence when he attacked Swerve Strickland at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view and torn his pectoral muscle in the process. There was some speculation that he suffered the injury when he was filming a season of American Gladiators that was released earlier this year on Amazon Prime. If that was the case, why did Tony Khan allow one of his contracted talents to work on that show, but didn't bring him back to AEW television when the knee injury healed up?

Regardless of how it happened, the torn pec kept him on the shelf for another year until a video was shown during the All Out pay-per-view to indicate his return and then he had his comeback match during the Pac tribute episode of Dynamite as a part of the Don Callis family.

How ironic is it that Wardlow finds himself in another faction, the same role that he had years ago?

At this point, the argument could be made that maybe Wardlow is too injury prone to truly invest major stock into as a big time player, but that wasn't the case when he was allowed to flounder years ago so either way, there's a case to be made that All Elite missed the boat on him. As I said before, I'm not sure if the All Elite audience would be receptive to another potential push for him, but it also still seems like a waste of his talent if he's just another wrestler in the Callis stable. Who knows, maybe Wardlow is paid very well so he's content with his position in the industry? If that's the case, good for him, the entire point of the business is to make as much money as possible, but again, his current status must be considered underwhelming compared to the expectations many had for him early in his AEW career.

Considering that he was brought back to television, that suggests that Wardlow still has a decent amount of time left on his All Elite contract. If he didn't, Tony would've let him stay home and collect the paycheck until he re-signed or the deal expired. At 38, Wardlow still has several years of his theoretical prime left, but given the track record, there's no indication that he's going to be given an opportunity to be a bigger star in AEW so he should probably at least consider a jump to WWE if a contract is offered in the future.

Wrestle Dream review

All Elite Wrestling was back on pay-per-view just three weeks after All Out with Wrestle Dream, a show that I wrote about last week, citing the lack of a proper build, which was more or less impossible, given the short amount of time they had to promote it on television. I asked if it was worth putting this show on pay-per-view or if it would be counterproductive in the grand scheme of things? After the show went off the air after midnight on the east coast, because it's not an AEW pay-per-view unless it goes over the four-hour mark, I'm still not sure there's a solid answer to that question. Generally speaking, Wrestle Dream had the usual mixed bag of what you get from the promotion. There was some quality, some overkill, and some completely unnecessary segments.

Mercedes Mone beat Thekla at the 15-minute mark to retain the AEW Women's championship. This was a solid bout, it was well-wrestled and well-paced to maximize the time that they were given. It had enough time to get into second gear, but didn't overstay its welcome, which wasn't the case for some of the other matches later in the night. I have to be honest, this was another example, similar to some of her other matches earlier this year, where Mercedes finally looks like the quality worker that she claimed to be upon her arrival in the organization a few years ago. For whatever reason, maybe it was past injuries or truly getting her footing in a new promotion, Mercedes was a lot more sizzle than substance for the first few years of her All Elite tenure. Thankfully, she seemed to have turned the corner on that, and this was another quality bout. As much as the women's division was directionless at several points in All Elite history, something that was a problem with the entire company at times, the division has really found itself in recent months between Willow Nightingale's contributions, as well as the previously mentioned Thekla and Mone. Even Marina Shafir, who was once a caricature of a pro wrestler, has found herself this year to be a positive addition to the division. Despite Thekla doing the job here, I don't think she loses any momentum as a character, simply because she always maximizes her minutes so to speak, which is a very valuable skill. As I said, this match didn't overstay its welcome, it got in the ring, did business, and got out of there while there was still steam behind it. More matches on this card should've used that approach.

While I'm guessing that Tony Khan used the cut and paste approach for how to format the line-up, another bout that was also given 15-minutes and got out of there before it was stale was the Chris Jericho vs. Nick Wayne bout. We've said many times that Jericho is in a league of his own in many ways, and while The Learning Tree stable was ultimately a miss that set the stage for Jericho's extended absence as somewhat of a reboot, this current run is definitely more productive. Part of the issue before was that there's only so much even Jericho could do, and before that hiatus, for the first time in his career, the audience seemed to have a level of "Jericho fatigue" so to speak. That's not a knock on him either, but rather to point out that there's only so much new territory that you can cover after more than 35 years in the game. The match itself was structured to favor Jericho's strengths, which is should've been, considering that at 55, he's not going to trade high spots with someone more than half of his age. Nick Wayne took some brutal bumps in this segment and made Jericho look good in the process. Ultimately, Wayne used heel tactics to win the bout, which made sense since a Jericho victory does nothing for his status, he's always going to be over as a legendary star, whereas this gives Wayne more to work with as he develops his heel persona down the road. If Tony Khan properly follows up on Wayne's victory is anyone's guess.

The AEW Tag Team championship match was the 20-minute dazzling spot fest that we thought it was going to be. The athleticism was incredible, and even though it was basically a thrown together tag bout with Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight as challengers to give The Young Bucks a pair to work with, everyone shined in this segment. The tag rules were ignored, which is irritating, but if there was going to be a fireworks segment on the show with numerous high spots in a row, this delivered. This was a thrilling contest that could represent the positives of this type of style for the All Elite brand. The problem is, this format was duplicated a few other times on the show, and the overkill led to a rather tedious viewing experience later in the night. Sometimes endless moves are better summarized in a two-minute highlight package than 20 or 25 minutes for a match on PPV. The biggest issue is that once you see this type of non-stop style on the card, another else that replicates it is just a retread so there's no actual drama. You know the pin fall attempts aren't going to be the finish ten minutes into the contest because everything is given more time than that so it's not a false finish since nobody believes it's possible that it could be the conclusion. However, this tag match should've been the designated car crash segment on the show because it was very well done. The Young Bucks retained.

Speaking of diminishing returns, the next match on the card, the four-way bout for the TBS championship, was a prime example of that. After the audience just saw a tag bout that ignored the rules so it turned into a free-for-all, this four-way match was essentially the same thing. There was a lot of action, but no drama since it was basically each performer waiting their turn to do their planned spot. It wasn't a subpar segment, it was just very tame in comparison to the 20-minute spot fest the viewers just watched. Persephone retained the belt.

Andrade El Ídolo vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the National title had it's moment of superb pro wrestling, but ultimately missed the mark when some of the attempts at comedy during the segment caused a conflicting narrative that hindered the presentation. A championship is on the line, and Ciampa decides to beat up Andrade's pants, allowing the champion time to recovery. It just makes Ciampa look completely foolish and almost sends the message that the match nor the belt are important. Furthermore, is Ciampa a heel or a baby face? He was a heel during the feud with Jericho, and seems to work in the ring as a heel, but was taking pictures with his family at ringside. Clearly, Tony Khan wants to push Andrade, which is an interesting choice since there was a time that he specifically wanted to leave the company before his return to WWE fizzled out. That being said, if Andrade is the choice to push a Latino star further up the card, especially with the company's partnership with CMLL, he's a stellar athlete that brings a lot of talent to the table. Andrade retained the championship.

The Trios title match, despite the title change to the team of Adam Page, Brody King, and Bandido, could've been saved for television. It was another 25 minutes of a free-for-all with endless moves without logic or a pace to the contest. This was a lesser version of the tag team title match from earlier. There isn't much to say beyond that since it was an exhibition of maneuvers, not a match with drama toward the finish.

Jon Moxley retained the Continental title against Mark Davis, another match that went almost 25 minutes. The in-ring work was fine, but it went so slow and deliberate that after 11 PM, this just become a chore to watch rather than an entertaining viewing experience. I know that much seem too negative, but in short, if this bout wasn't on the card, it wouldn't have made a difference in the overall quality of the show.

The main event could've been in danger of being too convoluted, and after several multi-man matches on the same show with a similar match structure of no tags, this bout could've been very stale, but the quality of the performers made it work. I still think the rules are too complicated for most of the audience, at least the crowd in the building, to truly follow, but the set up for this championship match was very well done. The eliminations from the first round kept things unpredictable so there was a reason to stay invested in the entire match rather than just the last few minutes. Ospreay winning the deciding fall with just seconds to spare was done in a more organic manner than something that seemed too staged or phony. Samoa Joe looked like an absolute monster in this contest and continues to prove why he's such a solid commodity for the promotion. This gimmick match was kept simple and with the way it was presented, they probably got the most out of it, which should be a lesson to simplify more of the product. This was at risk of being a train wreck, but it was very well done, and Ospreay looked like more of a main event star after the conclusion of the show.