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. 

What's the status of Wrestle Dream?

This weekend, All Elite Wrestling is back on pay-per-view for Wrestle Dream and the event will take place at the Addition Financial Arena in Tampa. This show will be three weeks after the All Out event in Chicago, and the situation more or less provides reasoning why Tony Khan might've been misguided with the decision to continue to add pay-per-views to the line-up. It's important to keep in mind that monthly PPVs only became the standard within the industry when the business was at a peak with the competition between WWF and WCW in the late-90s . There were different eras when monthly pay-per-views were almost counterproductive to the booking process, mainly in the early-2000s when the "brand exclusive" pay-per-views of Raw and Smackdown exposed a complete lack of depth, especially in terms of star power compared to just a few years earlier during the previously mentioned peak. The Smackdown Tag Team champions of Rene Dupree and Kenzo Suzuki aren't exactly in the same conversation as the Legion of Doom or The Midnight Express.

Wrestle Dream is almost somewhat of a lame duck pay-per-view, mostly because its relying on a random gimmick match as a substitute for a compelling world title bout. Yes, I understand that three weeks isn't enough time to build to an intriguing main event contest, but that would be a reason not to run the pay-per-view this month in the first place. Furthermore, several matches were added to the card on this week's episode of Dynamite so three days undoubtedly isn't enough time to properly promote them with technically less than one edition of television to tell the audience that it will take place on the show.

Some of the matches that are scheduled, such as Mark Davis vs.Jon Moxley for the Continental championship are too random to really have any cache. Don't get me wrong, both of those guys can work so you're probably going to get a solid match from it, but it's a television match that was added to take up space on the PPV. The four-way for the TBS title is another thrown together match to piece together an already disjointed card. There's some history to the Chris Jericho vs. Nick Wayne match, but does anyone need to see it on pay-per-view?

I say that Wrestle Dream is a lame duck show because it doesn't have the sizzle or importance of a show that seems like it will mean anything in the grand scheme of things. Sure, Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher vs. The Young Bucks will be a dazzling spot fest, but does it mean anything in the big picture? The tag titles were just defended in an  AEW version of a TLC match a few weeks ago. Even with the athleticism of these four competitors, their bout is going to seem tame compared to the car crash tag bout that is still fresh in the audience's mind, especially after Adam Copeland revealed on television this week that Christian suffered broken ribs in the ladder match. The bottom line is, anything on Wrestle Dream will seem less than anything that took place at All Out because there was simply not enough time to generate anything that will be deemed "must see" since the storyline build isn't there.

Along those lines, as I said, the gimmick of the main event is a cover for the fact that Tony Khan didn't have another credible challenger lined up, which again, is another reason Wrestle Dream didn't need to be scheduled in 2026. Throwing seven challengers into a match for the championship isn't stacked, it's a booking crutch for not having anything better to sell to the fans on short notice. Taking into account the convoluted rules and the amount of wrestlers involved, is there any way that this doesn't devolve into a sloppy marathon match that will go too long and not mean anything in the long run when Ospreay retains the championship?

I'm not talking about the match quality, although some of that might be hit or miss by Saturday, with the caliber of talent that Tony Khan has on the roster, you know that there will be work rate on an AEW PPV. The point is, was any of this truly sold to the audience?

In short, the answer is no. Keep in mind, Tony Khan might book for the star ratings, but tickets sold and revenue are the numbers that matter on the national level in the pro wrestling business. Reportedly, there are just under 5,000 tickets sold for Wrestle Dream, with a maximum capacity of just over 8,000 seats for the  venue, but the set up is expected to be around 5,300 seats by showtime. Remember, that means if the demand was there, the company could move up to 3,000 more tickets, but will downside to disguise any empty sections of the arena.

The live attendance numbers are based on the fact that matches were being made literally this week, which reminds me of when Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight were individually booked in world title matches on short notice in very similar situations to this. That pattern, with Fletcher last year, and Kevin Knight this year shows a pattern that Tony hasn't noticed the potential pitfalls of a log-jammed pay-per-view schedule. Of course, the economic crunch might also be a factor in the tickets sold so far, especially when you take into account that after the outlandish Ticket Master fees, regardless of the base price, there simply isn't a "cheap wrestling ticket" in 2026 for the national groups. After that, you have to add parking and maybe a $6 Coca Cola, and you can see why some fans opt to stay home.

That brings the other part of the capitalist equation, is there enough meat on the bone for this to realistically sell on pay-per-view? Yes, I understand that there's a core demographic of die hard fans that will order any PPV promoted by AEW just based on the initials, but I think that when you run PPVs three weeks apart, you're chipping into even that group of fans. Spending $100 on pro wrestling in the span of three weeks is a tough task for most consumers. I could be wrong, but I'd guess that lower ticket sales for the show might be a trend that spills over into a lower buy rate for the pay-per-view.

If that ends up being the case, I'd say that it will be the result of a combination of rather lackluster promotional efforts, namely the build or lack there on television, and the current economic situation. Tony can't do much out the latter, but the former points out a serious flaw in his booking philosophy. Of course, we could say that considering that since All Elite is more of a vanity project than a business venture, any criticism or praise for the organization is moot since money is no object since the results ultimately don't matter but then there wouldn't be much discussion about the company. Even if it was an unintended side effect of Tony's aspirations to be a promoter, the fact is, that with the Khan family's money involved, All Elite Wrestling is still a player in the industry, albeit to a much lesser degree than it could've been when the organization was launched more than seven years ago.

What's next for Max Caster?

"Americans have a lot of trouble dealing with reality, Americans have a lot of trouble dealing with the truth so they invent a soft language to protect themselves from it." -George Carlin, HBO special Doin' It Again, 1990

The late revolutionary comedian broke barriers for free speech and made audiences think while he did it. As troubled as he was in his younger days when the excess of the 80s impacted him the way that it affected many in the entertainment field during that era, Carlin's comedic record served as intelligent and thought-provoking. In the midst of all that, including highlighting the seven words that you can't say on television, George forgot to pay his taxes. Reportedly, it took him almost twenty years to clear the tab with Uncle Sam. Even with a misstep, Carlin provided a lesson for fellow independent contractors.

Since his death in 2008, Carlin's genius found new life through his Nostradamus-type observations that arguably apply even more today than when he originally performed them decades ago. George is right, American society has gotten soft, probably because of the increased access to social media where everyone has a platform to pretend to be informed, educated, or simply believes that the rest of the world is entitled to their drek. Everyone has a right to their opinion, but most lack the knowledge to credibly express it. The individual social media pages provide individual spotlight and as a result, the vast majority of social media content is self-serving rather than proclamations of an educated viewpoint or moral compass.

Along with that, there's a large section of social media where those that are professionally offended in order to seek validation only do so because they look for social media cache for themselves rather than any type of code to stand up against the things that they claim to be offended about. A code of honor or moral decency shouldn't be flexible depending on how many social media reactions that it gets. What's right today, at least on the most basic level, remains the right thing to do, regardless of the resistance or acceptance to it. Everyone that can ask Google Gemini something suddenly claims an alphabet soup of illness or disabilities, with the notion that they want to be told how "brave" they are, or "how much of a warrior they are." The reality is for those cream puffs that an actual diagnosis of illness or disability brings with it a harsh reality that isn't something anyone going through those things wants to have highlighted on social media. Courage is commended by others, not validation sought by individuals.

Regardless, the circumstances of the modern age are the entertainers today walk more of a fine line now than ever before, both through social media and the technology itself that makes it possible. Everyone has a smart phone to be able to record everything. One negative interaction, even if the complete story isn't captured, can go viral, creating a possible negative narrative about a celebrity. You might've seen someone flip out at the airport because autograph stalkers, but did the camera catch the initial decline before things got heated?

Of course, there are more obvious situations, which should make them much easier to avoid. Max Caster, who saw his All Elite Wrestling deal expire just a few weeks ago, was the surprise opponent for Moose at TNA's Bound For Glory pay-per-view last weekend. During his entrance, Caster did his usual rap routine where he insults his opponents and during that brief mic spot, he made reference to the recent attacks at the Saudi International Airport in Riyadh. According to The Wrestling Observer website, the line was "unscripted and unapproved." The following day, a statement was posted on TNA's social media pages, apologizing for the remarks, and noted that Max Caster will no longer be wrestling for the promotion.

Caster's logic or lack thereof for the reference is wrong on a few different levels. First of all, while his character lends itself to controversy, the attack had just happened the previous day, and there was literally no upside to trying to make light of an incident where people were killed less than 24 hours before. It goes without saying that the line had nothing to do with wrestling or Moose so what was it supposed to add? Finally, it was Caster's debut in TNA, isn't it common sense to clear everything before you walk to the ring on live pay-per-view to avoid something like this? The whole thing was ill-thought, if it was thought out at all, and undoubtedly ill-timed since there are still attacks going on in the region now.

Caster took to  Instagram to issue an apology to TNA boss, Carlos Silva and those in the company that lobbied for him to get the spot at the pay-per-view. He claimed that his intention wasn't to offend, but to entertain. He went on to say that if someone is offended, that's their right. I don't think this is a situation where viewers were necessarily outraged by mocking comments of conflicts on the other side of the world, but rather how low brow it came across, which is anything but entertainment value.

The bigger issue is the optics of the situation. TNA is a company that is trying to solidify itself as a player in the industry again. As we know, Saudi Arabia spends billions of dollars on entertainment acts, are advertisers or networks going to want to be associated with something like the line that Caster said on pay-per-view? Keep in mind, TNA still has a working agreement with WWE, a global, publicly-traded corporation that makes more money for Saudi events than any of the other shows they run. Why would TNA risk souring that working relationship for Max Caster to be able to stay on the roster?

This isn't a situation where a soft audience wants to claim faux outrage so that they can seem righteous on social media, it's common sense based on the many moving parts of the business world where serious money decisions are made.

If this was a one-off, you might be able to chalk it up to Caster making a mistake, but keep in mind, he was suspended for a period of time by Tony Khan for a line that he said on the mic about Simone Biles in 2021. The Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez said during a discussion of the situation that Caster supposedly had a reputation for going off script to say what he wanted prior to this latest incident. If that's actually the case, Caster's options for where to go next might be sparse, if they aren't already. Again, there's a portion of society that will manufacture outrage any chance they get so it's not wise to provide them or any other demographic with actually material to fuel that outrage, especially in the business world. In hindsight, Caster's hypothetical tendency to go off script might've been the reason that he was off of AEW television for nearly two years before his deal expired, while his former tag partner, Anthony Bowens was kept around in various roles until his contract was finished.

Where Caster goes from here is anyone's guess. If AEW was willing to pay him to stay home, Tony isn't going to re-sign him, at least not any time soon. He lasted literally one day working for TNA so we can assume that door is shut. Taking into account WWE's previously mentioned business dealings with Saudi Arabia, they will have no interest in him. Even phony Phil had to apologize to Saudi, and Caster doesn't have nearly the star power of CM Punk. If I had to guess, I'd say that he will either land in Major League Wrestling, or Game Changer Wrestling, where he might be able to get away with the more controversial lines, or both. Don't get me wrong, when it was reported that The Acclaimed were set to leave AEW, I wrote an article that discussed that there was a time when they were one of the most over acts in the organization. Max Caster had the talent to work for a national promotion, he just doesn't have the mindset to be successful on that level.

2PW October 23rd event

Every year, hundreds of fans and luminaries of the professional wrestling business come together to celebrate the spectacle of the squared circle. For 60 years, the Cauliflower Alley Club, a nonprofit organization that helps former grapplers in need, hosts its annual reunion to spotlight the titans of the industry, as well as raise money in accordance with its mission statement.

The 60th anniversary of the CAC reunion this past August was no different. The legendary Bret "The Hitman" Hart was in attendance with his niece, WWE superstar, Nattie Neidhart to be honored with the Art Abrams/Lou Thez Lifetime Achievement award. The Canadian technician and seven-time world champion wasn't the only honoree of the prestigious award. The czar of the classic pro wrestling magazines, Bill Apter was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement award, recognizing his more than fifty years in the business as a writer, photographer, and editor of the printed pages that were key to the territorial days of the sport. A protege of Stanley Weston, who published boxing magazines as far back as the 1950s, Apter is considered by many to be a gem of the industry from the golden era. Despite being at the age of 80, Bill still has an energetic zest for life, and his appreciation for the CAC honor was apparent when he requested that the audience at the Plaza Hotel and Casino be the inductors for the award.

One of the highest honors given by the CAC is the Iron Mike Mazurki Award, named after the legendary grappler and one of the original co-founders of the club itself back in 1968. The award is based on excellent and longstanding contributions to the sport. In the past, names such as Steve Austin, Tully Blanchard, Ted DiBiase, Mick Foley, Trish Stratus, Sgt. Slaughter, Larry Hennig, Baron Von Raschke, Ivan Koloff, and CM Punk received the honor. This year, arguably the greatest performer to ever lace up a pair of boots, Ric Flair was scheduled to receive the award. Flair cited health issues and declined to make the trip to Las Vegas, but the legendary Jerry "The King" Lawler was added as a last-minute replacement to be there in person to accept the award on Flair's behalf. Flair spoke to the crowd via a Zoom call to express his appreciation for the acknowledgement.

One of the many reasons that professional wrestling has thrived during the peaks, as well as survived the valleys of the industry is the notion of tradition is woven through the fabric of the canvas. The past is recognized for its contributions that paved a future for the current generation, a crop of talent that set the foundation for the next generation. The six decades of the CAC are a reflection of that.

As with any form of live entertainment, the grueling schedule takes a toll on the performers. Pro wrestling was no different, especially during previous eras when the athletes often didn't have the benefit of world class medical teams that could travel with them. Taping up an injury and getting to the ring to give the fans their money''s worth is noble, but the talent paid a price for it. In acknowledgement of that dedication to answer the bell on any given night, the CAC's Benevolent Fund is used to assist former grapplers in need, especially with medical or other necessary expenses after they hung up their boots. Each year, the Benevolent Fund distributes tens of thousands of dollars in assistance, often quietly out of respect to the privacy of the recipients to help them through hard times. So far, CAC has raised over $81,000 in 2026 for its Benevolent Fund.

Of course, the ability to provide this critical help to former pro wrestlers is only possible through the generous efforts of those that volunteer their time and energy to run the organization, including Club President, B. Brian Blair, as well as the membership of those in the club itself. Auctions, fundraising efforts, and donations throughout the year serve as a key addition to the funds generated through the annual reunion.

One such example is a local league in the western Pennsylvania area, a region known almost as much for its wrestling as the steel it once produced. Prospect Pro Wrestling was founded more than eight years ago, and after a nearly eight-month hiatus to reset its operations, the organization has grown exponentially since its relaunch last year. The mission statement was always to provide a platform for young talent, but founder Marshall Gambino, a tag team specialist for more than two decades on the Pittsburgh circuit, understood that without the past, there wouldn't be a future to build toward. With 2PW thriving at its new home base at The Elements venue in Irwin, Pennsylvania since last year, Marshall wanted to get his organization involved with the noble goals of the CAC.

So, this past August with more than 400 guests in attendance at the reunion, Marshall and the rest of the 2PW management, including former NWA North American Tag Team champion, Paul Atlas stood on stage to present a $10,000 check to Brian Blair as a donation to the Benevolent Fund on behalf of Prospect Pro Wrestling.

"Our involvement with the Cauliflower Alley Club was out of wanting to give back to the wrestling community and support an organization that has done so much for people within the industry we love so much. What started as an opportunity to help turned into something very special for 2PW, ultimately allowing us to donate $10,000 to the CAC Benevolent Fund.  Presenting that check in Las Vegas to Brian and the CAC Executive Board was honestly one of the most meaningful moments I’ve experienced as the owner and promoter of 2PW.  To stand there representing our company and everyone who helped make that donation possible was something I am extremely proud of," said Marshall.

"Being on stage to present 2PW’s $10,000 donation to Brian Blair was honestly a moment I’ll never forget. There are moments in wrestling where you realize what we do is about so much more than what happens between the ropes, and this was one of those moments. To stand there representing 2PW and knowing that our company, our fans, our sponsors, our talent, and everyone who has supported us was able to come together and make a meaningful contribution was incredibly humbling. It was an honor to be part of something that could make a real difference for Brian and the entire executive board at the CAC. As the marketing director, I’m constantly focused on promoting our shows, building relationships, and helping 2PW continue to grow - but moments like this remind me why all of the work matters," added Emily Doyle.

"On behalf of the Cauliflower Alley Club Executive Board and our entire membership, I extend our heartfelt thanks to Prospect Pro Wrestling for its generous $10,000 donation presented during our 2026 CAC Reunion in Las Vegas," Brian Blair said in a CAC social media statement after the reunion.

Back on the home front, Prospect Pro is gearing up for its next live event, a Halloween-themed presentation, at the Elements building on October 23rd. Along with that, the management team have continued to expand their event schedule, both in Irwin and across the region, as well as continue to increase brand awareness through its myriad of sponsors.

"Things have progressed incredibly well for 2PW since the relaunch.  When we brought the shows to Irwin last year, we had a vision for what we wanted 2PW to become but honestly, what we’ve experienced has exceeded my expectations.  Since the relaunch, we’ve had sold out events, broken attendance records, built an incredible group of sponsors and community partners, expanded our relationships within the wrestling industry, and had the opportunity to take 2PW to some very unique venues, including the 911th Airlift Wing in Pittsburgh in mid-September.  All of those moments are special, but what means the most to me is seeing the continued support for 2PW and watching the company grow with every event," explained Emily.

The management team has another stacked card for the fans at The Elements building. Pittsburgh icon, Super Hentai will challenge Jason Tyler for the Anarchy championship, with special guest referee, Jami Jameson assigned the contest. Matt Byers will square off against Jack Issac. A seven-man battle royal will determine the next challenger for the Top Prospect championship. In another bout to determine a future challenger, Phil Archer, Some Guy Named John, and Santana Diamondz will compete in triple threat action to decide the number one contender for the previously mentioned Anarchy championship. Two of the top tag teams on the Pittsburgh scene will collide with The Troublemakers vs. The Runway. In the main event, two steel city stalwarts, Gory and Andrew Palace will battle it out in a casket match. 

"Since the relaunch, the overall business plan for 2PW has continued to evolve as we have grown and learned what works best for our audience, having changed venues and locations. We’ve put a stronger emphasis on building the brand, creating meaningful partnerships, improving the overall fan experience, and making sure each event has its own identity while still fitting into the bigger picture for 2PW. When it comes to marketing individual events, we try to approach each one a little differently.  For something like our Halloween event, we lean into the theme and create a campaign that gives fans a reason to be excited beyond just the matches themselves.  We utilize social media, community outreach, partnerships, and our existing audience to build awareness and momentum leading up to the event.  The goal is always to make each show feel like something people don’t want to miss," concluded Marshall. 

What's the status of TNA?

Total Nonstop Action is a paradox of professional wrestling.

This past weekend's Bound For Glory pay-per-view, the biggest event on the Anthem-owned organization's calendar was proof of that, but all things considered, the dichotomy of TNA has been very much a part of nearly its entire existence. From the time that the upstart league launched in Nashville, against the odds, it has survived in contradictory fashion. When Jay Hassman fabricated the earliest PPV numbers, the NWA-TNA product should've been dead in the water within three weeks. When Hulk Hogan worked Dixie Carter for major money and then walked out the door so that nothing was left to re-sign AJ Styles or Samoa Joe, the group lost some of their best in-ring assets. When it was revealed that Dixie Cater lied to Spike TV about Vince Russo working for the company so the network canceled Impact, it should've been the end of the road. When Dixie tried to swindle Billy Corgan out of six figures to pay for her to play TV star, the house of cards should've collapsed. When the state of Tennessee had a tax lien against the promotion, it was almost unbelievable that Anthem saved the day to keep the show on their network in Canada with the acquisition of the brand. Even since Anthem purchased Impact Wrestling a decade ago before the rebrand, by all rights, there's no way that a wrestling show that had such small crowds should've justified any type of television deal. It's just as wild that the company landed back on mainstream cable earlier this year, its biggest stage since the Spike TV cancellation in 2014.

But, through it all, Total Nonstop Action survived, and the quality is still there, as we've seen even today, talent make the jump to bigger platforms to excel  based on the valuable TV experience that they gained under the TNA banner.

In some ways, it's very commendable that TNA somehow kept its doors open. Jim Crockett couldn't do that, Verne Gagne couldn't do that, Championship Wrestling from Florida couldn't do that, ECW couldn't do that, and the hard-nosed Bill Watts knew when to sell to be able to cash out before the dominoes fell on Mid-South. Furthermore, it's not a negative that more guys are able to make a full-time living in pro wrestling, both working for TNA itself, as well as the doors that working there can open down the road.

Make no mistake about it, the pro wrestling business is better off with TNA rather than without it, the pipeline of talent that made their name there is proof of that.

That being said, they are more or less stuck in the middle of the road in terms of their cache, or lack thereof within the industry. Let's be honest here, the brand landing on AMC was much more sizzle than substance, the numbers show that. The fact that Tommy Dreamer was removed from his position on the creative team is evidence of that. The reality is, Impact didn't propel to the next level after mainstream cable audience had access to the show. Granted, AMC isn't known for being a "wrestling network," but the bottom line is that if fans wanted to watch the show, they would've since it was more accessible in 2026 than it was for more than a decade. Impact usually averages around 200,000 viewers, ranking it well below any of the other major wrestling TV shows on cable. The show simply doesn't have enough of an audience or a market share to have a direct "impact" on the rest of the industry in terms of what's booked for the product.

The reason for this, as I mentioned earlier, is that TNA is more or less middle of the road in what they bring to the table, which isn't to say that the effort isn't there, it is, but rather to point out why there's a level of indifference around the brand. TNA has solid in-ring work, Eddie Edwards, one of the more underrated talents on the roster, had a good match against Ricky Sosa to open the show at Bound For Glory. Everything they did was crisp and smooth. The X-Division bout where newly-minted Hall of Famer, Amazing Red won the championship was a very entertaining contest. The problem is, that TNA doesn't have the work rate to draw the All Elite Wrestling audience since AEW, positively or negatively, took the original X-Division style a step further. The matches are solid, but if a fan specifically wants to watch that style, they are usually going to watch All Elite.

Zoey Serrano and Shayna Baszler beat Allie and Kiera Hogan to win the Knockouts Tag Team titles. Shayna is a solid addition to any roster, but her and Zoey were both cut from the WWE. That becomes a problem as well, with the amount of talent that Tony Khan signs, there's not much left on the free agent market, as far as performers with television experience that can start on Impact immediately. The other side of the coin is that the line-up starts to look secondary because it's basically the wrestlers that other companies didn't consider valuable enough to keep on the roster. Indi Hartwell, who won the Knockouts title, wouldn't be working for TNA if she didn't get cut from WWE. The same could be said for Max Caster, who became a free agent after his AEW contract expired recently so he was the one who answered Moose's open challenge. Reportedly, TNA already cut ties with Caster because of a line that he said on the mic that referenced the attacks on the Saudi airport. According to The Wrestling Observer site, the line was "unscripted and unapproved."

There are usually only two exceptions for when a talent leaves a bigger group when they don't look secondary upon their arrival to a smaller league. If they were underutilized, the fans see it as an opportunity to excel, or when a performer left on their own to pursue a better option for their individual career. There's a reason that Mike Santana and Kazarian had notable runs when they rejoined the promotion. Syx beat The Hardys in a falls count anywhere match when Erik Rowan debuted to assist them for the win. It remains to be seen what category the former Wyatt stable will be in TNA.

The totality of that scenario is simple, TNA has names on the roster that wrestling fans have seen before, but outside of The Hardys, and possibly Nic Nemeth, the company doesn't have legitimate star power that will move the needle. That's not a knock on the roster either since it's much more difficult to draw today than it was in previous generations because pro wrestling has to compete with every form of expanded entertainment options for consumer dollars. The WWE is the biggest sports entertainment company in the world by a relatively large margin, particularly after the merger with the UFC a few years ago, and there are only a select few guys in the WWE that are legitimate difference makers in terms of the numbers.

If the more causal fans want the star power and the spectacle, they will watch WWE. That's ultimately why TNA finds itself in such a niche situation. They don't have the work rate to draw in a piece of the All Elite audience, and they don't have the star power to catch the attention of WWE fans. Leon Slater defeated Nic Nemeth to capture the world championship in the main event at Bound For Glory. Slater is a tremendous high-flyer and will have a very bright future ahead of him, but does he sell tickets as the world champion? When an ESPN+ subscription is $30 a month to watch the WWE pay-per-views, and it's $50 to order an AEW PPV on traditional pay-per-view, it becomes a tough sell when it costs $39.99 for a TNA pay-per-view.

With how unpredictable the pro wrestling business is, and quite frankly how unbelievable some of TNA's history is, you can't rule anything out as far as where the company could go, but at least for right now, it looks like the company will remain either a bridge to bigger opportunities or a safety net if someone gets released from another organization.   

MITB review

Last night, Money In The Bank took place in New Orleans, and depending on the status of Crown Jewel, which could be in doubt after an attack on the Saudi Arabia International Airport this weekend, this PPV might be the last stop before Survivor Series, the traditional fall spectacular on the pay-per-view calendar. Theoretically, things could settle down within the next three weeks, but the United States issued another travel warning for US citizens after the attack at the Saudi airport, and at this point, it seems foolish for the TKO corporation to take the risk. The $40 million will still be there for the next earnings call if the show is postponed to a safer time. It's a sad reality of the cruel world that we live in, but a stadium full of fans and presumably at least some of the high-ranking Saudi government officials with American celebrities as the focal point could undoubtedly become a target for attacks.

Obviously, only WWE executives know the odds of the event taking place as planned, but if it's in doubt at all, you have to wonder if that influenced the booking decisions for Money in The Bank?

The show opened with the world heavyweight title match, and I have to be honest, I was very surprised when I saw that Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight kicked off the show. Usually, with two ladder matches on the card, the office book ends the event with one to open and then one to close the broadcast. If I had to guess, I'd say the reason to put Roman/Knight on first was to avoid the chatter from the crowd of a cash-in after the contest.

The match went over 25 minutes, and while this was significantly better than the Roman/Seth Rollins attempted epic main event that fell woefully short of that mark at Summer Slam, it still started very slow. The difference was that Reigns/Rollins was a snail's pace the entire 30 minutes it was given on the broadcast, whereas the contest with LA Knight shifted into second gear in the latter stages to allow for some tremendous drama. The near falls on Roman didn't look too contrived, but rather natural enough that the maneuvers didn't telegraph if that was actually the finish or not. LA Knight appears to be a much more credible threat to the championship in the ring than he did in the build up to this bout. I don't think they needed to break the announce table during the first match since it takes away from the gimmicks later in the night, but given the circumstances, it appeared that they were going the extra mile to sell the notion that Knight might capture the belt. Roman retained with the usual superman punch and spear combination.

The women's  MITB match will be known for its car crash spots, some of which were very dangerous. In particular, Tiffany Stratton attempted to do a dive with the ladder set up sideways outside of the ring and came up short, hitting the back of her head on the floor. Tiffany was booked to win the bout and did so as planned, but I'm honestly wondering, if she wasn't scheduled to go over, would the office have sent word to get her out of the match? I'm not criticizing the effort, because everyone in the match worked hard to make it something memorable, but Tiffany racking her head on the floor was scary. Another concerning spot was when Lola Vice and Jacy Jayne took a bump on the ladder bridge and then tumbled to the floor. Outside of the bumps, everyone had their chance to shine in this segment, and the next generation of the women's division looks like it will continue the quality that the female segments have been known for the past several years. Roxanne Perez and Sol Ruca might be the next two major stars of the division, depending on if you consider Tiffany a mainstay yet or not. That's actually why I thought it was somewhat puzzling that she won the MITB contract again, Stratton was already moved up the ranks previously so she probably didn't need the contract.

Oba Femi vs. Bronson Reed was a really good modern big man match. Their agility was impressive and they kept the action moving based on their athleticism rather than settling into the generic big man sequences. Don't get me wrong, there's a time and place for the classic big man spots, but when you have athletes like this two, there's no reason to resort to that. The two biggest takeaways from this segment, at least in my opinion, wasn't so much that they put Oba over as strong as they did with him surviving the interference and the brass knuckles, we knew that was the objective, but rather the work itself. Bronson Reed's body transformation will allow him to do the best work of his career and he probably added several years to his career as well. By comparison, while Vader is without question a legendary super heavyweight, there's no doubt that his career was ultimately cut short because of the weight he gained during the latter years. Along with that, the fact that Oba showed that he can sell and work a match with more peaks and valleys than a segment where it's mostly one-dimensional to rightly showcase him is proof that he has true potential as a main event guy that will be able to work longer matches in the main event picture/ As mentioned, Oba got the win after attempted interference from The Vision.

The triple threat match for the Women's championship was solid, but the crowd was relatively quiet for the majority of the segment. It was probably an unavoidable situation after what the fans already saw, but these were polished pros that actually worked with the gimmick of the match. The sunset flip power bomb to the floor Liv Morgan landed on Becky Lynch was brutal. One of the criticisms I have of this segment, somewhat similar to the Roman/Knight bout, was that using a table, even to set up the finish wasn't necessary here. Becky took a nasty spill onto the table that didn't break, allowing Liv to eventually get the pin on Stephanie Vaquer to claim the title. With the relatively quick title change, this reveals that Vaquer winning the title in Chile was basically just for local crowd, which was fine since it was about the moment, but management seems to have bigger plans for Liv Morgan. All things considered, Stephanie Vaquer doesn't really need the championship at the moment since she's already over based on her dynamic in-ring performance.

The main event went over thirty minutes and I'd say that it went about 10 minutes too long, mostly because there was so might chaos to set up spots that trying to get the briefcase almost became an afterthought. There's a reason that these types of matches usually don't get penciled in for a half an hour, because after a certain peak, the pace becomes very stagnant or flat. I get what they were trying to do with the ambulance spot since they wanted the clip for social media, but the whole thing looked silly, especially with the roof being made of wood for the spot where Je'Von Evans got sent through it from the top of the ladder. That being said, Penta got the victory and it looks like this might set up for a memorable cash-in so it was mission accomplished in terms of progress for the product.