What's the status of AEW?

As 2019 nears its conclusion, it's standard to review the past year of the wrestling industry, especially considering that much of the landscape changed with not only the announcement of the launch of All Elite Wrestling at the start of the year, but also the Double or Nothing pay-per-view in May and their debut on TNT in October. While the product isn't perfect, there are many bright spots for the company to build on in the future, and of course some flaws to fix.

One of the overwhelming positives that AEW brought to the sports entertainment industry as a whole is the buzz that came along with the announcement of the organization. It truly had the vibe of a new era for the industry, something that hasn't been seen since the heyday of WCW. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle for All Elite, regardless of if it was an initial make or break aspect to the launch or not, was the signing of Chris Jericho, who brings a name value to fans that might not know anything else about the AEW brand. At 49, Jericho could've easily inked another WWE deal to collect a hefty pay check and coast to retirement or he had the option to assume AEW would be a mega payday and mail in his performances, but he took the opportunity to create a fresh chapter in his career. It was said many times, but Jericho's ability to remain relevant as the industry evolves is truly remarkable and in some aspects, it puts him in a league of his own.

More specifically, the past two years of his career with the surprise appearances in New Japan and his work in AEW, there are very few that have a resume that can compare to Jericho's accomplishments. As mentioned, he could've used AEW as more or less a paid vacation from WWE, which is something countless performers did with TNA, but he maximized his ability to work outside of the WWE bubble. Obviously, the Inner Circle was formed to add to his presence as champion, but at the same time, you can tell that he's using the platform to help establish the younger talent in the group, which is the smart move because it can theoretically give more longevity to the AEW project. Make no mistake about it, when the novelty of something new wears off, there must be substance if the company is truly going to get off the ground, and Jericho knows how important that is for an upstart group. If All Elite becomes a long-term competitor in the industry, a lot of that credit would go to Jericho, an aspect that adds another layer to his legacy.

With Jericho as such a stellar heel, the argument could be made that Cody was possibly the best baby face of 2019, especially after the incredible promo he cut prior to the title match against Jericho at Full Gear last month. In fact, the "undeniable"promo might be remembered as one of the most emotional and all-time best promos in history, very similar to Dusty's "hard times" interview. I've written about it several times, but this segment is a prime example of why pro wrestling is most successful when it's based on the organic and spontaneous emotional investment from the crowd. The audience could identify with Cody and wanted to see him with the championship. That emotional investment is ultimately what sells tickets and draws money in the wrestling business. The only potential downside of the Full Gear bout is, did management rush the match with Jericho simply to make sure there was a main event with enough star power on the show? The stipulation was that Cody can't challenge for the title again, and considering that he's still the most over baby face in the company, it might lead to a letdown if there isn't eventually a way for him to win the championship.

Much the same way that the association with Jericho put a spotlight on talented athletes that just need the change to get noticed so that their talent can shine through with the Inner Circle, Cody has used most of his run on TNT to feature younger talent. MJF's potential has been touted for the past few years and All Elite is a national platform for him so it provides a stage for him to become a star to an audience other than the diehard wrestling fans that follow the independent scene. MJF unquestionably has the in-ring ability and on the mic skills, but he obviously needs a baby face to work with to make the most of the TNT platform. Cody's role within AEW makes MJF a well-suited antagonist for him so it makes sense for their feud to be a major angle within the organization. One of the main reasons MJF is such an effective heel is that he does what most heels in 2019 don't, he actually acts like a heel. He doesn't sacrifice his credibility for social media and he's one of the few current heels in the industry that can get legitimate heat from the crowd.

Another bright spot for the group is the tag team division, which is probably the strongest aspect of the product. The Young Bucks and the Lucha Brothers are money. I've talked about Pentagon's potential to be a major star before and hopefully next year will see him get a chance to work in the world title picture. Fenix is an amazing athlete and he could also have more to accomplish outside of the tag division. On the flip side, The Young Bucks are corner stones of the division and they fit so naturally as a tag team, they wouldn't necessarily have to wrestle outside of the division to remain fresh. The series of stellar tag matches from most of the teams on the roster have been highlights of the Dynamite show. One of the few negatives about the AEW tag team format is the lack of actual tags and as a result, many of the matches can seem formulaic and repetitive.

There are very few wrestling shows that are flawless and Dynamite has its share of mishaps as well. Usually, it's nothing too terrible, but considering that the company is still in the phase where some fans are just discovering it, it's important to make a solid first impression to the audience. A major hurdle for any upstart group is the ability to introduce or establish new talent. Unfortunately, there's still a portion of the roster that are lost in the shuffle of the rest of the show. Even though AEW Dark on Youtube gives members of the roster some type of exposure, it's definitely not a substitute for actual TV time because the fans that watch the extra hour of AEW Dark are the diehard fans that are already familiar with the roster. The ability to introduce new competitors to a main stream audience on TNT is a completely different situation. Sometimes certain segments or matches on Dynamite seem somewhat flat because there are wrestlers that haven't been booked on television too often in the three-month tenure of the show. Along with that, the argument could be made that there are actually too many wrestlers on the roster and it could dilute the process of establishing them on TV. It's nothing against them as wrestlers, but why exactly are The Butcher and The Blade signed to AEW? The generic names don't help them, and The Dark Order already has a similar type of presentation so what exactly do they bring to the table that another team already on the roster couldn't be used for in the storyline?

Speaking of The Dark Order and confusing gimmicks, it's somewhat disappointing that they floundered for the majority of AEW's first year in existence because up until recently, nothing about them was explained. The recruitment angle and the vignettes have worked well in the past few weeks, but it took months for them to became a part of the gimmick. Again, the first impression matters and it remains to be seen if those earlier mishaps will prevent the team from getting over in the future. Another confusing gimmick and something that almost copies the Dark Order gimmick is Awesome Kong's storyline with Brandi Rhodes. It's a somewhat conflicting angle because it's well-known that she's married to Cody, one of the most popular baby faces in the company and there wasn't anything specific that happened that seemingly had her turn heel on the rest of the women's division. She basically just introduced Kong and became a heel from it. At 42, Kong is probably at the latter stage of her career so you have to wonder, does it make sense to use her for an angle that will have her run through most of the division.?The hair cut angle must have opponents for her to add to the collection, but there's almost a cult aspect to it, which appears to be a copy of the Dark Order gimmick.

The women's division itself has been a problem for AEW and it might be the weakest part of the show. I don't know if it's the booking or a lack of overall experience from most on the roster, but outside of Rhio and Hikaru Shida, most of the AEW women's division has been subpar. Brit Baker has potential, but her inexperience shows through so the quality of her matches often depends on her opponent. Kris Statlander has done well, but is still new to the audience so time will tell if she becomes more established on the AEW. Penelope Ford, Leva Bates, and a few others aren't really anywhere near the same level as the previously mentioned Riho or Shida in terms of in-ring skills so the division lacks depth. With the head-to-head competition of NXT, there will be a natural comparison of each show and the NXT women's roster is one of the best aspects of the brand. Io Shirai is one of the best wrestlers in the business on any roster. Candice LeRae, Shayna Baszler, and
Rhea Ripley are solid staples of the division.

All that being said, any "fans" that are somewhat hoping for the AEW project to flop are extremely misguided. If All Elite doesn't get off the ground then the industry hits another plateau without options for the competitors or the fans. It's ironic that the same "fans" that hope for an AEW shut down are the same fans that complain about every WWE pay-per-view on social media. The competition from AEW has already pushed NXT to a different level and if they continue to establish the brand it would be beneficial for the industry.

What's next for Marty Scurll?

When the overlooked UK scene finally got the notoriety it deserved a few years ago, groups like Progress, Revolution Pro, ICW, and others made headlines for jam-packed crowds in venues across Europe. Names like Mark Andrews, Pete Dunne, Zack Sabre Jr. and others had the chance to travel to the United States to put their names on an international level. The European influence from the UK boom in recent years can be seen literally around the globe, as Andrews, Dunne, Walter, and several other stellar athletes are under a flexible contract with NXT UK while they can still compete at certain WWE-approved independent shows. At the same time, Zack Sabre Jr. is considered one of the best technical wrestlers on the New Japan roster, an organization known for its tremendous in-ring action.

The European scene has undoubtedly had a notable influence on the current wrestling landscape, but another English grappler could have a profound impact on the industry next year.

"The Villain" Marty Scurll started his career during his teenage years in 2005 and spent nearly a decade honing his craft around the UK circuit before the previously mentioned UK boom period and his villain persona got him noticed, not only around Britain, but in the United States as well. He actually had a brief stint in Impact Wrestling in 2012 as "Party Marty," but a few years later he found himself as the umbrella-wielding  heel. In 2015, his performances in PWG gained him momentum in America and he inked a deal with Ring Of Honor the following year. He eventually become associated with The Bullet Club's elite stable in New Japan in 2017 and he was one of the most popular stars in Ring Of Honor when the group surged in popularity the past few years with the help of the stars that become the core of All Elite Wrestling this year.

Speaking of All Elite Wrestling, as is well-documented, the exodus from ROH of the Elite stable of Cody, The Young Bucks, Adam Page, and Kenny Omega after the Final Battle pay-per-view last year was the beginning of the AEW project that is on TNT today while Ring Of Honor is still looking to truly replenish its roster. Don't get me wrong, ROH has a very talented roster, but reestablishing new stars as a draw isn't an easy process, especially when there's a lot of hype around the start of All Elite Wrestling with the NXT competition on Wednesday. The difference between the previously mentioned Scurll and his Elite stablemates is that his ROH contract had an extra year on it so he contractually couldn't make the jump to AEW at the start of this year.

Ironically, Final Battle this past weekend saw The Villain conclude his run with ROH in similar fashion as the others in 2018. During Ring Of Honor's Madison Square Garden event with New Japan this past April, Scurll was involved in a ladder match for the ROH championship, but with the speculation of his eventual exit to join AEW, the decision was made for Matt Taven to win the belt. Taven is a solid in-ring competitor, but Scurll was arguably the most popular star on the ROH roster so perhaps a six month title run would've been a better choice than a somewhat disappointing conclusion to the title match at the event.

Considering the rumors of Scurll's future nearly a year before his ROH deal expired, the news of his exit from the company has prompted speculation about where he could sign next, mostly because the Wednesday night ratings competition gives free agents the ability to field offers from different organizations. Obviously, AEW is what most assume will be his eventual landing spot, but given the current climate of the industry, he would have to at least listen to the WWE offer.

Just a day after his final ROH match, he made a surprise appearance at the NWA pay-per-view and it seems as though he will be the next to challenge Nick Aldis for the heavyweight title, a rematch from the NWA 70 event earlier this year. Despite the possible title match, I would guess that The Villain's run in the NWA is rather short and will only be a placeholder until the stage is set for a debut with either AEW or WWE. The NWA brand has provided a unique product for fans, but considering its limited distribution right now, it's doubtful they would offer Scurll a full-time deal that would be comparative to the money he could make if he signed with the other organizations.

So, where does the Villain go next?

As mentioned, many will logically assume that he will join his stablemates in AEW, which would provide them with a solid boost to the roster and help continue the momentum that the organization is trying to build on TNT. However, considering that Vince McMahon went as far as to showcase the NXT talent very strong at Survivor Series to put them in a better position for the ratings battle against the Dynamite show, it's very possible that signing Marty Scurll away from All Elite will be a priority for WWE. As is usually the case in these situations, it might be as simple as economics if the WWE is willing to offer him enough money to sign with NXT. The bottom line is, if the WWE makes Scurll an offer he can't refuse then he will take the cash. At the same time, the amount it would take for him to ink a deal is something only he knows so if nothing else, he obviously has leverage with negotiations. At 31, Scurll is in the prime of his career and has the charisma and the in-ring skills to be a major star so he has the chance to sign a contract for the most money of his career.

All things considered, All Elite seems like a more natural fit for him because of the history he has with the core of the roster. As far as angles, he could join the Elite crew in its battle against the Inner Circle or turn heel for being left behind when the Elite stable left to form the promotion. On the NXT side, he could immediately become a major fixture on television, especially considering that Finn Balor was added to the brand to bring more star power to the shows. While its possible that Marty could get lost in the shuffle of the countless hours of WWE television, and AEW's biggest hurdle might be the pace of the program as far as the introduction of new competitors, I will guess that he will eventually sign an All Elite contract. The biggest reason being that there's a lot already set up for him to do on Dynamite, but he would have to find a place on the NXT brand. As repetitive as it might sound, this is why competition benefits everyone because the NXT product was pushed to a different level and it gives Marty Scurll a chance to make the best money possible for his next contract.

The career of Johnny Patch

"Climb the ladder, kid! Make yourself famous!"

The legendary Jim Ross shouted that line into his headset during a memorable title match on a 2002 edition of Raw when Jeff Hardy, still known as primarily a tag team specialist at the time, inched his way toward the Undisputed title rung by rung in a bout against The Undertaker. While Hardy wasn't victorious on that particular night, his performance that elicited such a passionate response from Jim Ross opened the eyes of the wrestling world to the potential he had as a main event star. Hardy's dedication and drive to make a name for himself in the sports entertainment industry is what inspired JR's memorable call. It also inspired a young fan that was glued to the television set that Monday night.

Over a decade and a half later, with social media such a force in society, an aspiring grappler still in his rookie year of wrestling took a chance to make himself famous. An incredible coast-to-coast shooting star drop kick went viral with more than 65,000 views online and had the independent wrestling world buzzing on Twitter. The young athlete that gracefully soared through the air on that clip was steel city standout, Johnny Patch, the same youngster that was memorized by Hardy's performance on Raw years ago.

However, his road to going coast-to-coast in a cage match didn't start on the top rope, but rather on the canvas of a training school in a converted storage facility. Involved in sports and a diehard wrestling fan throughout his youth, Patch began his search for an introduction into the industry through the Pittsburgh scene, which often features nearly weekly events run by various groups throughout the area. He knew his background in football, baseball, and snowboarding would be helpful skills to have for the journey into sports entertainment, but he had to find a place to learn the ropes. After some research, he found the International Wrestling Cartel, one of the most well-known independent groups in the area and an organization that showcased several notable stars throughout its history. Run under the direction of longtime promoter Norm Connors, the company's ownership changed a few times to its current organizer, Justin Plummer. The decorated history of IWC includes matches from Corey Graves, Johnny Gargano, Elias, DJ Z, and many others that have transitioned to a national platform. With names like Brit Baker and Elias as alumni of the training center, Patch decided it was the place for him to learn the ropes, but he also realized the importance of the fundamentals of the genre.

"Biggest lesson learned. Mouth shut, ears open. Take in as much as you can and be humble about it. Another important lesson was, 'No you're not jumping off the top rope until you learn the important things in wrestling.' I trained for a full year and was not permitted to go to the top rope until the eighth month," Patch explained.

Another wise learn the aspiring grappler learned was the bright lights that beamed through his screen while he admired the athletic ability of Rob Van Dam, who is another athlete that he cites as an inspiration, was that the harsh reality of the industry was anything but glamours. In fact, as earlier as his first time to step into a ring put his dedication and passion to pursue this path to the test. Working mostly 12 hour night shifts, Patch found himself on his way home around noon with enough time to sleep for a few hours before he was back on the road for an hour commute to the training center for a few hours of lessons that night, a process that he repeated for the entire duration of his training process.

"I was exhausted for a year straight, and my trainers made sure to push me and not take it easy by any means. They made it clear nobody is forcing me to be there and it's all about how bad I wanted it," Patch commented.

After nearly 12 months of commutes home in the sunlight following the night shift to the drive to the ring to tediously practice the craft of professional wrestling, the dedication to accomplish his goal paid off, as Johnny Patch was scheduled for his debut bout at IWC's Proving Ground event in September of last year. With international star, Johnathan Gresham in the main event against independent standout Gory, Patch was very surprised when he learned that his opponent was another international star, DJ Z, who made IWC his home promotion before he worked for Impact Wrestling and appeared on 205 Live.

"I had no clue and no idea what was in store for me. I didn't find out until they posted the match graphic. An entire year of physically, mentally, and emotionally killing my body paid off. DJ Z was dream match that I was hoping one day that I'll have a chance to face him. Never in a million years would I have thought I'd be across from him in the ring on the night of my Professional Wrestling debut.  I'm grateful that he was the first man I worked with in the squared circle. I am even more grateful for Justin and Jenny Plummer giving me the chance to show how hard I worked over the course of that year. They could've put me in a battle royal and told me have a nice day," Patch said.

With his boots laced and an enthusiasm to chase any opportunities in front of him, Patch spent the better part of the past year looking for the chance to perform for different crowds in different areas, lodging miles in the car to work ring crew of independent cards just to show his face to promoters. Always with his gear in tow, Patch recognized the value and necessity to expand horizons in the industry.

"You have to travel you have to put in the hours and get out there. Staying in the same 50 or 100 mile radius won't help you expand your career. I've met some of the greatest people traveling to different cities. From Cleveland to Rochester all the way to Raleigh. Some of my best friends I've met have been from traveling to different cities. I recently debuted for AIW and it took me a very long time to get this opportunity, he explained.

Throughout his formative months under the IWC banner, Patch made an immediate impression with his athleticism and natural poise in the ring. Just a few months into his career, he showed skills that exceed his experience level. This past August, the previously mentioned coast-to-coast shooting star drop kick brought him notoriety as something more than just an IWC rookie, a reaction he didn't anticipate at the time.

"I had the idea already and I wanted to see if it was physically possible to try. I would tell a few people about what I wanted to do and they would look at me like I was stupid. I owe a lot of what I can do in the ring to snowboarding because in that extreme sport, balance and body control are key. For the social media, I was not expecting that. I hoped I'd get a few retweets and a pretty cool clip for the highlight tape. My phone stopped working I was getting so many notifications" he said.

Just a few months ago, Patch reached another level in his career, winning the IWC Super Indy title from international star Josh Alexander. The belt, one of the staples of the promotion, was held by such names as AJ Styles, Chris Sabin, Low Ki, and several other well-known athletes during its extensive history. Despite the early success, Patch knows there's much work to be done ahead of him, but he also has lofty goals to keep him looking forward.

"I want to partcipate and win the Super Indy Tournament. Enter into CZW Tournament of Death and Best of the Super Jrs. Match with Will Osperay. Travel to Japan and Mexico to train and wrestle," he said.

The 25-year-old Johnny Patch remains focused to make a name for himself and certainly appears to have the drive and ability to do it. If he becomes an international name remains to be seen, but his story is a shining example of what can be accomplished if an athlete is dedicated to be successful.

NWO announced for hall of fame

Last week, Batista was announced as the main headliner for next year's WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Despite only eight years as a full-time wrestler on WWE TV, with a few brief returns after that, Batista undoubtedly earned a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame, as he was one of the most popular stars in the organization in the mid-2000s. Ironically, Batista's best work was probably done during the latter stages of his career as a heel. Even more ironic than that, he was once told by trainers at the WCW Power Plant that he had no chance to make it in sports entertainment. Despite a later start than most to the industry, Batista played a notable role in the post-Attitude Era of the business, winning the world heavyweight championship on several occasions.

But, the actual HOF ceremony, once considered one of the highlights of the wrestling calendar, has lacked somewhat in recent years, specifically when certain mid-card talents went on for over 40 minutes about their mostly average careers. No disrespect intended, but the extended Hillbilly Jim speech from a few years ago saw the entire show grind to a halt. Perhaps this scenario occurs because WWE brass inducted too many major names at the same time, and the depth for more than just a headliner isn't there. I've always thought that inducting stables after individuals were already inducted was repetitive and unnecessary. However, it was announced that the New World Order, including Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Syxx will be inducted as a group next year. Considering that all four of them have already been inducted, the move is nothing more than a reason to try to shoehorn some extra star power on the show to try to sell more tickets, but the impact that the NWO had is certainly worth the discussion.

When Eric Bischoff took over Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling as Executive Vice President of the organization in 1994, he had an uphill climb, both because of the climate of the industry and the shaky structure that WCW itself had at the time. After Turner bought Jim Crockett Promotions after the group collapsed, the name was changed to World Championship Wrestling to reflect its status as a national product on the TBS network. After the purchase in 1988, the Turner league didn't have much direction as a wrestling commodity and a revolving door of figure heads were tasked with running the beleaguered company. Former Pizza Hut executive Jim Herd infamously had the job, which yielded results such as a tag team named the Ding Dongs, a pair that would ring a bell during their entrance. Further proving that he should've continued cooking bread sticks, Herd also didn't think that Ric Flair, one of the greatest champions of all-time, could draw money in the early-90s. The rift between Herd and Flair is actually what led to Flair's two-year run in the WWF while WCW floundered in mediocrity. Around the same time that Flair was WWF champion, Bill Watts, former owner of Mid-South Wrestling before it was sold to Jim Crockett in the late-80s took over the job from Herd. Watts lasted roughly a year before he got himself fired and the job was briefly taken by Ole Anderson, who quit the position in late-93.

When Bischoff took over in 1994, the wrestling business was still in a slump from the steroid scandal that caused a lot of negative press for the industry a few years earlier, and WCW had almost zero momentum as a company. A former third-tier announcer in Verne Gagne's AWA before it folded, Bischoff had previously experience in the sales department and took a more simplistic approach to the struggling wrestling brand. Considering that there wasn't enough buzz around the promotion to draw decent numbers on the road, he scaled back house show events to mostly a few overseas tours a year, as it was a market that didn't get live events as often as the United States. Along with that, he moved the WCW TV tapings to Disney studios so that it would be easier to get a crowd to be in attendance for the television product.

Bischoff also knew that he needed a spark, something that would get more viewers to watch the shows, and in some ways, remove the stains of the Herd/Watts era. The previously mentioned steroid scandal shook the foundation of the WWF, and as a result, Hulk Hogan, the company's top star for the prior decade, distanced himself from the sports entertainment empire. When his film career didn't take off with titles like Mr. Nanny, and the TV series Thunder in Paradise lasted just one season, Hogan opted to listen when Bischoff pitched a possible return to the ring. A contract that would make him the highest paid performer on the roster and a limited schedule was enough to get Hogan to sign a deal with Turner in 1994.

Bischoff's next step was to attempt to put himself on the same level as the WWF, which saw Ted Turner use his umbrella of networks to put WCW Nitro in prime time on TNT in head-to-head competition with Monday Night Raw in 1995. Along with the use of the networks under the Turner banner, Bischoff was able to invest money into the organization for the first time since he took over and slashed the budget. He knew that he needed star power to get viewers to sample the product, and Ted Turner's funding made it possible for him to offer better contracts to talent. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, the pair known as Diesel and Razor Ramon respectively, were two of the WWF's most popular acts in the era. They worked through the lean years of the early 90s when business was down, and Bischoff's offer of a guaranteed contract  gave them the chance at financial security for the first time in their careers.

In a transition that couldn't have been planned any better than it naturally happened, Hall's WWF deal expired just a few weeks before Nash's contract, allowing them to walk onto Nitro directly after their peak run in the WWF. As is usually the situation in pro wrestling, their debuts needed a major angle to accomplish them to TNT, and Bischoff borrowed from the UWFi invasion angle that he saw in New Japan prior to that. Hall and Nash were presented as WWF talent that had invaded the rival group with the claim that a third man was there to join them. Keep in mind, this was at a time when cartoonish gimmicks were common place in the WWF so fans took notice of the reality-based angles on Nitro.

In another situation that couldn't have been planned better than how it organically happened, Hulk's typical routine of cupping his ear and hulking up before he pinned an endless line-up of goons had become stale to the viewing audience. They had seen Hogan's song and dance regularly for the past decade, and his tacky persona seemed foolish in the mid-90s. The crowd had enough of the red and yellow parade, as boos accompanied most of his run in 1995. It was at Bash At The Beach the following year that the entire wrestling world was shocked when Hulk Hogan, the classic hero of the 80s, turned heel, joining The Outsiders in their crusade against WCW. Fans pelted the ring with trash as the villainous trio claimed dominance against the organization.

Hulk Hogan as a villain hadn't happened since the early 80s, and just a few years prior to Bash At The Beach, it wasn't even thought possible. Hulk as a heel had the fans buzzing about Nitro and the Outsiders provided a sizzle that made Nitro "must watch" programming for fans. Since just three wrestlers wouldn't logically keep an entire roster away, more names were added to the group, mostly other former WWF talent, including Syxx, Ted Dibiase, and others. At one point, Nitro had fans on their edge of their seats, as you never knew who might betrayed WCW next to jump ship to the New World Order faction. All of this along with the stellar cruiser weight division gave Nitro the ratings win over Raw for 83 weeks in a row, a time frame that is still discussed today.

Make no mistake about it, the reality and sizzle that the NWO brought to Nitro is the main reason that the ratings tilted toward WCW. As heroes like Sting, Diamond Dallas Page, and eventually Goldberg challenged the heel stable, it fueled much of the company's momentum in the late-90s. While Sting was already an established star, the argument could be made that he reached his peak as a draw during his feud with the NWO. Unquestionably, DDP and Goldberg became money-drawing stars because of the fan support they had against the New World Order.

Unfortunately, when the NWO expanded, it became bloated with wrestlers that simply had nothing else to do on the show and the entire concept became extremely diluted. Instead of an elite group of stars, mid-carders like VK Wallstreet, Virgil, Buff Bagwell, and others lowered the standard of the stable. As much as the success of WCW as a whole in the late-90s was built around the direction of the NWO stable, the argument could be made that the peak of the NWO angle was probably the peak of the entire organization in that era. After Bill Goldberg, the former Atlanta Falcon, stormed onto the scene in late-1997, his incredible intensity made for a tremendous presentation as short matches showcased his strengths without exposing his weaknesses. The Goldberg playbook was simple, but it was effective and within a year, he was one of the most popular stars in the industry. Hollywood Hogan's extended title reign had always been protected by the NWO until Goldberg finally claimed the championship in front of more than 40,000 fans at the Georgia Dome on Nitro in July of 1998.

At the end of the year, Kevin Nash ended Goldberg's winning streak after Scott Hall zapped him with a taser.  While that defeat garnered much criticism, the infamous "finger poke of doom" that saw Nash basically hand the title back to Hogan in early-1999 was probably the turning point in the Monday Night wars. Fans saw that one way or another Hogan would be champion again and after such a dominate reign before the prospect of more Hogan title matches soured many fans on the product. Soon, the NWO split into different factions itself, which could've been used as a way to sell a confrontation on pay-per-view before the conclusion of the angle. However, the group continued in several different forms and names like Stevie Ray and Horace Hogan were involved in matches for leadership of certain factions. Again, this entire concept was diluted when the angle got stale after the viewing audience had seen the group have such a dominate role on TV for more than two years.

As is often seen in these scenarios, the meteoric rise of the New World Order angle fell just as fast at a time when the company was in disarray behind the scenes. Four years after the Hogan heel turn, the Bash of the Beach pay-per-view saw his exit from WCW after the infamous shoot promo from Vince Russo, who wrote WCW into nearly $60 million in debt in 2000. Hall left WCW because of personal problems in early 2000, and only Nash remained as one of the top stars prior to when Vince McMahon bought the company in 2001. Despite the fast decline, the New World Order was pivotal to the success of not only WCW, but was also important in the start of the Attiude era in the WWF, which saw the boom period for a peak in the industry.

Ryse Wrestling celebrates this weekend

As my roller bag bumps along the pavement of the uneven parking lot, I approach the venue where pro wrestling is literally on the marquee, a converted cinema that hosts Ryse Wrestling in Lemont Furnace, PA. With my suit, energy drinks, and trusty comb in tow, I prepare for the night's action, a showcase of some of the brightest talent around Pittsburgh, an area with an extensive history of sports entertainment, and a mixture of stellar talent from surrounding states. After the nearly 12 years I've spent in the wrestling business, 11 of those as a play-by-play announcer, I've seen many different sides of this crazy industry. During the past year and a half since my start with Ryse Wrestling, I've seen an overwhelming sense of positivity and optimism around the organization, an aspect that rejuvenated my batteries for the business.

This Saturday, Ryse Wrestling celebrates a special milestone with its third anniversary event, a culmination of countless hours of work put in by those in front of and behind the curtain. The Ryse project was launched in 2016 by veteran grappler, Brandon K, one of the most respected and accomplished  figures in the history of the independent scene in the steel city. Brandon has shared the ring with many well-known stars, including Olympic gold medalist and Pittsburgh native, Kurt Angle, who trained alongside Brandon to keep his skills sharp prior to his debut on WWE TV. With over twenty years of in-ring experience, Brandon K knew that his time as a active wrestler was limited, but wanted to continue in the industry that he has a lifelong passion for, which sparked the concept of a promotion where young lions could make a new for themselves, as well as a place where aspiring hopefuls can learn their craft with a training academy run in conjunction with live events.

“I’m understanding that my wrestling career is in its twilight but I’m not ready to walk away from something that I’ve done passionately for 22 years now. Promoting would be the next natural step. I want to create a place that’s fun for the fans and the wrestlers alike. Hopefully, a place that stays out of the mud that has engulfed indy wrestling around here and keeps its focus on moving forward creating a wonderful product,” Brandon explained.

As mentioned, the enthusiasm for the promotion can be seen at all levels and brings a team effort atmosphere, as Brandon's wife, Kristie is often seen in the front lobby greeting fans as the co-owner of the group. Even Brandon's parents, who have cheered him on since the formative stages of his career as far back as 1997, get a chance to be involved in the group. The very polite Mrs. Clements manages the concession stand, serving fans Coca Cola, several types of snacks, and of course a theater staple, fresh popcorn.

As fans enter through the lobby, framed posters of past events decorate the walls and tables line the walls with merchandise. This highlights one of the most reward aspects of the live events, both for fans and the talent. The fans get a chance to meet some of the stellar athletes they support from the audience, with photo-ops and autographs a regular occurrence inside the building known to Pittsburgh fans as the Stronghold. Inside the theater, rows of chairs line the venue while the big screen plays highlight clips as a preview for that night's event. However, the detailed planning and scheduling that goes into each event, as well as the promotional side of it behind the scenes, is just as critical to success as the quality product that Ryse delivers in the ring.

"When I first started I knew that the job would be the exhausting. What I wanted to build was to be the exact person I wanted or needed when I was just talent in the locker room. You start out with a lofty idea of how you can change things or do things better. What hits you much later on is that the only people that understand the pressures and responsibility are those that have done the job before. The most difficult thing is the pressure you put on yourself. Every empty seat feels like your responsibility. Lance Storm once said 'you can make any excuse you want why people aren’t watching, if the booking is good enough they will show up.' I live by that," said Marcus Mann, the Ryse Event Coordinator that spent his first five years in the business as a manager at ringside with the goal to learn every facet of the industry that he could.

Over the course of the past three years, Ryse Wrestling has been a place for truly talented athletes from around the tri-state area and beyond to discover themselves, prompting them to excel to new levels as performers. Matt Conard, the current Ryse Grand Champion, is scheduled to defend his title against Tony Johnson this Saturday in the third anniversary feature presentation on the card. Both grapplers spent their early years honing their craft in West Virginia rings before Brandon K's group gave them the opportunity to truly run with their talents, which propelled both to "must watch" status among the Pittsburgh scene. Lee Moriarty, who is almost unanimously considered the next breakout star from the steel city, is a former Ryse champion himself and continues to earn praise for his tremendous bouts that bring a mixture of several different styles into the squared circle. Derek Direction, who has made a name for himself in Absolute Intense Wrestling, has also been a standout performer in the organization, and one of several AIW talents to make the trip to Ryse. One of the most popular pairs in the company is The Mane Event, two incredible athletes, Ganon Jones Jr. and Duke Davis. While they are widely regarded as the best tag team in Pittsburgh, winning several tag titles previously and challenging for the Ryse tag titles this weekend, they recently made news on the industry's biggest stage, as they were invited for a tryout at the WWE Performance Center just last weekend. Undoubtedly, Ryse Wrestling has become a place for talents to grow and a promotion that strives to give the fans their money's worth for every live event.

"It’s a special place that deserves all the celebration," Duke Davis commented.

As much as Ryse is built on the youth of the industry, a few carefully selected veterans provide a foundation that allows for guidance and advice for younger talent. For example, when I find myself in front of the mic at the commentary table just off to the right of the entrance way, I'm thankful to have the chance to broadcast for the great indywrestling.us crew (A tremendous production company that films and distributes content for many groups in the area) with Pittsburgh legend, Paul Atlas, a grappler that trained with Dominic DeNucci prior to a 25-year in-ring career. As I call the action and dodge an occasional flying wrestler, which somehow is an occupational hazard in this industry, Atlas adds his decades of knowledge to the broadcast.

"In my near twenty years, I've never experienced a locker room like Ryse. There's always someone there watching, learning, and evolving. You have an amazing mix of talent that you won't see together anywhere else," said BC Steele, a performer known as the best manager in Pittsburgh.

With fresh talent and new match-ups always a part of the agenda in the organization, Ryse management looks to expand and add to its portfolio as the group transforms from an upstart promotion to a solid part of the fabric of Pittsburgh wrestling in 2020.

"As far as rewarding, it’s been watching a lot of talent break down walls, either personally or professionally. One of the big changes is the locker room has grown in their characters. While everyone works as hard as possible on their in ring craft, over time they have really developed a way to connect with the crowd. It has helped grow the brand into new territory for 2020. Next year we will see the company grow in new directions," Marcus Mann said.

This Saturday will be the collaborative efforts of many, both in front of an behind the curtain to present a great event for the fans in attendance. Aside from its dedication to deliver a quality product for its fans, the Ryse organization is a shining example of what can be built with a team effort and a sense of enthusiasm from those involved, an aspect that isn't often seen within the industry. 

The TLC pay-per-view

This Sunday is the TLC pay-per-view, but most of the card is still unknown and there's very little build up to the event. The reason for this is probably because management stacked the deck for the Survivor Series in an effort to put a spotlight on NXT in the Wednesday night ratings competition, putting most of the angles on Raw and Smackdown on pause for the majority of last month. While throwing stipulations on the show simply because a gimmick pay-per-view is scheduled doesn't provide much substance, the actual angles bring less than that to the table. In fact, there's not really a selling point at all for the TLC event as far as subscribers to the WWE Network.

However, that's also the reason that the TLC event doesn't have to have a selling point and it doesn't matter that it's basically a show of almost no importance.

While the premise of pay-per-view was always to give the audience a reason to want to pay to watch the show, the entire concept of the streaming service, and more importantly, the $10 a month for it was a total game changer in the distribution of professional wrestling content.

A decade ago, the writing team was tasked with booking a show that the audience thought was worth $40 to pay to watch it. So, the match-ups had to be presented as important and the results had to seem like they had an impact on the direction of the product. For example, a key title switch could be an indication of the next chapter of the shows. When every WWE pay-per-view and thousands of hours of on-demand content were reduced to just the $10 for a subscription, the entire paradigm on how to sell a show shifted. The lower price indirectly lowered the level of quality that was previously demanded for a pay-per-view show. Furthermore, if a particular PPV flopped, subscribers could still get their money's worth with the on-demand content so the quality of current content wasn't the only aspect of the network to generate or retain subscribers. Even if this year's Stomping Grounds show was a total flop, subscribers could continue their subscription to have easy access to several years of classic events. The Monday Night Wars were considered one of the peaks of the history of the entire industry, and the streaming service gives fans a chance to watch every week of that era in the order that it happened.

Another aspect to all of this is how the access to thousands of hours of content on the digital platform at such a low price make it more difficult for other companies to sell their product. The biggest example of this right now is the fact that All Elite Wrestling pay-per-views are $50 to order and that dynamic puts the pressure on the organization to truly deliver a stellar show. Even with the unique aspects of the AEW product to promote, it's still a tough sell to get fans to spend that type of money on one show when access to literally almost every pay-per-view in the history of the sport in the United States is only $10 a month because of the video libraries that WWE bought prior to the launch of the network.

Still, the bigger problem appears to be within the WWE system that the lowered standard for pay-per-view because of the lower price indirectly led to a certain level of mediocrity and complacency for the product. This weekend's pay-per-view doesn't have most of the card announced or any hype for it so what's the difference? Is the TLC show really going to be the specific reason that someone decides to subscribe or cancel the network? The answer to that is, it's very doubtful, and that's why such a lack luster show doesn't matter. Next month's Royal Rumble is the major priority because it's the kickoff to Wrestlemania season, which is usually a boost to the stock price so management will make sure to have the numbers to tout its success to shareholders during the next conference call.

The fact that TLC will have no major consequence on the direction of the product is just cannon fodder of the WWE schedule, as it produces countless hours of television, most of which is also seen as inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. But, there's a trend among that WWE landscape that the 50/50 booking, the illogical angles, and repetitive narratives that almost nothing matters as far as the results of matches or the conclusion of angles. Keep in mind, the Universal title match at this year's Wrestlemania of Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins was literally the same angle for Summer Slam just a few months later.

Perhaps, that's the reason ratings have been sluggish this year because the viewing audience could skip a few weeks of television and still be familiar with the majority of the repetitive narratives on the show. The bottom line is, when is the last time the WWE product was truly "must watch" TV? When you consider that the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin and other legends garner some of the best ratings of the year, that shows that there's an audience that would watch wrestling, just not most of the current product. It's possible that the WWE machine has become such a global entity that the quality of weekly programming isn't seen as important as it was before, but the noticeable decline in ratings over the past few years suggests that management should cater to its fan base instead of strictly to the stockholders.

Don't get me wrong, the WWE roster has arguably the best in-ring talent in the history of the company, but the presentation of those competitors is the key to making stars. Aside from Brock Lesnar, who on the current roster can really boost numbers? Furthermore, how many legitimate money-drawing stars are there on the roster right now? One of the reasons Brock can move the needle is because he's booked as a legitimate star. How many times has a competitor with potential to be a major star had their progress hindered with lame booking? Dean Ambrose is probably the best example of this from the modern era. He has all the skills to be a top star and the WWE brass wasted his potential with lame attempts at comedy segments.

The few matches that are announced for TLC are nothing spectacular, but as mentioned, the show is basically just a placeholder between the Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble. Maybe the decline in importance of most of the WWE product is moot because as mentioned before, the major TV contracts secure record-setting revenue for the next five years for the company, but that philosophy might be one of the main reasons for the decline of the audience.

Alberto Patron vs. Tito Ortiz

Tonight, Combate Americas, the Mexican-based mixed martial arts promotion, will use the advancements of streaming technology to further expand its product with its first-ever pay-per-view event on the FITE app. Founded in 2011, the group has held dozens of shows and garnered solid numbers among the Hispanic audience, with television deals in both the native country and in the United States, as well as the announcement of additional programming brought to AXS last month. The Combate Americas project catered to its audience to find its own niche, proving that not every MMA promotion has to attempt to challenge the UFC as the world wide leader of the sport to be successful. The nature of the company is tailored to its primary audience, which is fine, but the entire point of the pay-per-view business is to be able to generate revenue on a wider basis so will the product translate to a more mainstream audience at a premium price?

The $30 price tag for the event will see former WWE World Heavyweight champion, Alberto El Patron return to the cage for the first time in nine years to challenge former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz. The under card is comprised of fighters only known to either the most diehard fan base of the sport or the domestic Latino audience so as far as the actual pay-per-view, the Patron/Ortiz bout is more or less the only selling point.

As mentioned, Patron, who was initially the president of the MMA group following his release from WWE, competed in MMA in the early 2000s after he made a name for himself as a part of a wrestling family in lucha libre. Over a span of roughly nine years, he garnered a rather average 9-5 record, putting his combat career at a rather undistinguished level. His most famous bout as a fighter was his debut for Pride, the 2003 contest that saw him fight the legendary Mirko Crocop while wearing his trademark lucha libre mask. It goes without saying that the bout was an uneven match-up, considering Alberto's experience level and the results reflected it, as one of Crocop's dangerous head kicks clipped Alberto just 45 seconds into the first round, sending him crashing to the canvas for the KO defeat.

Ironically, much of Patron's legitimate background is based in amateur wrestling so at least in theory, this FITE bout isn't just a sideshow fight to see a pro wrestling in an MMA fight. That being said, the other side of the coin is how this fight sells and the potential it has to generate pay-per-view buys. While the argument could certainly be made that Alberto Del Rio should've had a better run in the WWE and his talents weren't used to their full potential while he was there, the fact remains that he has been away from the spotlight in the United States for several years. After four years on the WWE main roster, he saw his push and status vary at times and it appeared that management never fully let him run with the role of a top star. In 2014, he was released after he slapped a social media employee for making a disparaging joke about Hispanic heritage. While the employee probably deserved the slap, the incident saw Del Rio leave the company for a year before a return in late-2015. However, while the run started off with a memorable return on pay-per-view against John Cena, he eventually got lost in the shuffle again and requested his release just a year later.

Following his departure from WWE, he had a controversial relationship with Paige, which saw police called for domestic violence incidents. Patron worked for Impact Wrestling for two stints, but the domestic violence press led to his initial release before he was fired during his second run for no-showing an event in 2018. This took place at a time when Impact's future was in doubt so it didn't provide him much main stream exposure.

For Tito Ortiz, he has a name in the history of the sport because of his run as one of the only marketable stars during an era when the visibility of the sport was almost non-existent before the Zuffa group brought the UFC into prominence through the Ultimate Fighter reality show. At 44, it's remarkable that Ortiz still has a career, considering that he had just one win in the final eight years of his UFC run before he rejuvenated his career under the Bellator banner with a record of 3-1 after a three-year stint in the organization. Tito's most recent appearance in the cage was the Golden Boy Promotions debacle just over a year ago when he KO'ed Chuck Liddell in the first round of a trilogy fight. Many expressed concern for Liddell's safety and thought he shouldn't have been allowed to fight. Despite Oscar De La Hoya's claim of more MMA events for his promotional group, the event flopped, drawing a dismal 25,000 PPV buys.

As far as the Combate Americas bout, there probably won't be a slug fest, with Tito using his wrestling background to try to put Patron on the mat. If anything, the majority of the contest might take place in the clinch since Alberto could try to use his own amateur skills to control the fight. As mentioned, the 42-year-old Patron hasn't fought in MMA since 2010 so there's no realistic way to determine what he might try to use as a game plan for this bout. Ortiz is more or less using this platform as a way to get another payday in the latter stages of his career so he won't take many chances.

The bottom line is how the fight sells and if he can generate revenue. Despite being an MMA bout, the weigh-ins yesterday resembled more of a pro wrestling angle when Tito walked to the scale with a Trump flag and wearing a red hat. Ortiz used a villainous persona throughout much of his career so the attempt to get heat from the mostly Mexican fan base is probably nothing more than him attempting to sell the fight. The problem is, the weigh-ins looked sparsely attended, which isn't a good sign for a card that costs $30 to watch online. Tito's heel tactics won't be effective if nobody is there to notice them. Let's be honest here, Tito hasn't truly been relevant for years and his 20-12-1 record shows that his prime was over a decade ago. On paper, this fight is a former WWE star that hasn't been on major TV in the US is almost five years challenging an aging UFC fighter  that is merely fighting for another paycheck so what's really at stake? I will pick Patron to get the win because he has less miles on his body than his opponent. While I don't think this fight will be a major draw, it's possible that it will sell in Mexico so it will be interesting to see what the actual buy rate will be for the show. Either way, it's very possible that this event is just an attempt at a money grab because this specific bout doesn't have the ability to really boost the profile of Combate Americas as a company.

Will there be an AEW/New Japan deal?

When Kenny Omega, the Winnipeg native that spent much of his formative years under the DDT banner in Japan, defeated Okada to capture the IWGP Heavyweight championship in June 2018, it was the culmination of a series that began a year and a half earlier. The epic Okada-Omega showdown that brought an entirely new spotlight to Kenny Omega at the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom in 2017 was the beginning of a four-match series that saw the two stellar athletes trade victories as well as wrestle to a 60-minute draw during the 18-month span of their rivalry in New Japan. When Omega finally claimed the belt in an exhausting 2-out-of-3 falls bout last June, he cemented himself as one of the biggest stars around the globe as one of the few foreigners to win the championship in the extensive history of NJPW.

While the win could've been the start of his status as the top performer in Japan, his claim to the title was actually the beginning of the end of his New Japan career. At the same time that The Bullet Club boosted the New Japan profile internationally, the stable used their social media presence to establish themselves as legitimate money-drawing stars in the United States outside of the WWE banner, something that is rarely seen because of the sport entertainment empire's dominate share of the market of the industry in America. As Cody, The Young Bucks, Omega, and Adam Page used the Japanese platform to further establish themselves, they took that buzz and became a major draw for Ring Of Honor, which allowed them to expand their popularity in the domestic market as well. Their tremendous in-ring ability and social media popularity allowed them to gain a major following among the audience. That core group tested the waters last September, running their own independent show, All In on pay-per-view, which sold out the 10,000 venue in Chicago in 15 minutes. The live attendance put it among the biggest draws in America for a non-WWE event in the past two decades. The pay-per-view buy rate of roughly 100,000 also put it among the biggest non-WWE shows of that time span. Clearly, the Elite had something that garnered a demand and drew money in the process. The success of All In was pivotal to the series of events that unfolded after it and set the stage for much of the current wrestling landscape. Tony Khan was impressed and agreed to launch the professional wrestling company, which was announced at the start of this year. For the first time since the Attitude Era, there was a group with the buzz and the funding to potentially establish itself as a national competitor to Vince McMahon. Obviously, how that develops remains to be seen, but it undoubtedly had a ripple effect of the rest of the industry.

Through the association of the Bullet club and Elite stable, Omega was linked to The Young Bucks, but would the IWGP champion depart from a prominent spot in one of the biggest promotion in the world for an upstart group in America?

Ultimately, Omega chose to follow his Elite stablemates and signed a deal with AEW and was also named one of the vice presidents of the organization. Leaving New Japan saw him drop the IWGP belt to the legendary Hiroshi Tanahashi at this year's Tokyo Dome event. Jay White briefly won the title in February for a short reign before he was defeated by Okada. For a run that had over a year and a half of build up behind it, Omega's six-month stint as champion was somewhat underwhelming. While his matches were always solid, the relatively short run didn't really give him the stage for memorable title defenses that could define his time as champion. Perhaps, New Japan brass saw his possible exit and didn't want to invest too much into him if he was leaving, which makes sense. Either way, while his run in New Japan took his career to a completely different level, it almost seemed like he had more to do there prior to his AEW deal. Since he left, there was speculation that management wasn't happy about his decision and there were rumored plans about his role in the expansion into the US, which was seen recently with the American subsidiary company. Make no mistake about it, when Kenny Omega inked an All Elite contract, New Japan had one of their biggest stars leave the organization.

A similar situation occurred for Ring Of Honor when Cody, The Young Bucks, and Adam Page, some of the league's most popular acts, didn't re-sign because of the formation of AEW. Since the Elite departure, ROH saw a dip on basically every level and the Kelly Klein controversy a few weeks ago prompted questions about the stability of the organization. Despite the solid roster, ROH appears to still be on shaky ground, even though the Sinclair-owned group could've theoretically offered the Elite stable the money to sign a new deal, which would've prevented the launch of AEW. Keep in mind, Sinclair Broadcasting is worth a few hundred million dollars so the question is not about its revenue to keep ROH competitive, but rather how much they want to invest in the wrestling company.

One of the many aspects that made the previously mentioned All In event standout was that it booked stars from several different companies on the same card, which was possible because of the independent status of the show.  A few of the many great bouts on the show included Okada/Scurll and Omega/Pentagon. Naturally, when AEW was an official project, questions surfaced about potential working agreements that might book matches not thought possible before, which was the basis of Chris Jericho's initial New Japan run last year.

However, the discontent about Omega's exit as well as New Japan's partnership with ROH, including this past April's Madison Square Garden event appeared to be potential roadblocks for any type of AEW/NJPW collaboration. In truth, Omega probably made the correct decision to leave New Japan because even as one of the top stars there, Okada was rightfully still going to remain the top priority for the company. At 32, Okada is in the prime of his career and the company invested several years in him to allow for him to get a run as the top draw for them while he delivers consistently solid matches. Hypothetically, even if Omega was the foundation of the American subsidiary, it will still be second to Okada because New Japan must focus of the domestic market as the first priority from a business prospective. Plus, the New Japan schedule and style can be grueling, especially with the addition of more events through the American group so it's possible that AEW was a better option for him to add years to his career.

 In a recent interview with Fox Sports, Harold Meij, the CEO of New Japan, mentioned that the Japanese league would consider working with AEW if it could be beneficial to both brands. With the New Japan subsidiary in the US, that could theoretically be seen as competition to Ring Of Honor's live schedule so that might effect the status of their working agreement next year. If there's not a continued NJPW/ROH deal, it might bring the All Elite option to the table. As far as mutually beneficial, booking Okada for an AEW pay-per-view match could be a unique selling point, which is needed for a show with a $50 price tag in an era when the WWE Network offers thousands of hours of content for $10 a month. At the same time, a Kenny Omega return to New Japan could help boost their business for specific events as well. If it's done right on a limited basis, the two groups could exchange talent in a way that doesn't conflict with their respective live event schedule. I would say that the best decision would be for the two sides to agree to a deal, as the New Japan talent could help AEW get off the ground in the United States while the return of former NJPW stars could help add depth to the Japanese events to boost ticket sales. Ironically, Chris Jericho is scheduled to work at the Tokyo Dome this year in a match with the previously mentioned Tanahashi so that might a way for a deal to be discussed. Either way, the next few months could prove to be extremely interesting if AEW could bring New Japan talent to the company, especially for the AEW/NXT ratings competition.

A Bronx Tale

When I saw the chance to write about a film here, I was thrilled because much like the drama that unfolds in other forms of entertainment, movies can have such a deep layer of meaning beyond just the run time on-screen. I was introduced to "A Bronx Tale" in my middle school years when my dad put a copy that he taped from HBO into the VCR, one of my home recorded movies we watched together at the time.

Formulated from Chazz Palminteri's one-man stage show show that began its run off-broadway in 1989, the film is a semi-autobiographical account of Palminteri's childhood in the Bronx in the 1960s. My dad, who grew up in Braddock, Pennsylvania, a steel town just outside of Pittsburgh, around the same era often drew comparisons to the environment that beamed through the television. The late Grandma LaMotta was full-blooded Italian and her recipes are still made today through my dad's cooking skills, as he slices bread and reminds me to stir the sauce, something fans of another De Niro film, Goodfellas, can appreciate.

Speaking of the legendary De Niro, he not only played a powerful role opposite of  Palminteri's gangster character, Sonny, but was also critical to getting the film made. After Chazz garnered rave reviews for his ability to play several different parts during the course of the stage show, he received offers from studios for the rights to the story. He insisted on writing the screenplay and to play the previously mentioned Sonny, the neighborhood mob leader that served as an intriguing and complex fixture of the narrative. When studios still persisted for only the rights and the ability to cast their own star, Chazz walked, leaving considerable money on the table to stay true to his vision of what he thought the New York saga should be. Shortly afterwards, De Niro attended the stage show and was impressed with Palminteri's performance, offering him the chance to write the screen play for the production that De Niro himself would direct.

The 1993 release chronicles the youth of Calogero, a young boy that innocently pals around his Bronx neighborhood and idolizes the Yankee's Mickey Mantle. As Calogero sits on the front steps of his apartment building, an argument breaks out over what appears to be a parking spot. After someone gets cracked with a baseball bat, Sonny halts the incident with the shot to the aggressor's head. The Mickey Mantle fan always admired Sonny's magnetic presence from afar, but it wasn't until those gun shots rang out in the streets that he locked eyes with the Mafia boss. The cold, calculating stare only relinquishes Calogero from its grasp when Lorenzo, the boy's father played by De Niro, scoops him from the cement steps to hustle him up to their apartment to avoid any connection to the murder.

Moments later, the police arrive and claim that those on the street saw the boy witness the crime and ask him to identify the shooter. As Calogero looks into the eyes of the line-up of wise guys, even he knows that the code of those Bronx streets is never to rat. After the offices begrudgingly dismiss him, The young boy asks his father if he did a good thing, and Lorenzo replies, "yeah, you did a good thing for a bad man," a subtle nod to a theme that plays out during the narrative between the balance of morality and legality. Following the save, Sonny's crew offers Lorenzo, the name and occupation based on Palminteri's real-life father, a job dropping off numbers on his bus route. The $250 a week was an hefty sum in that era, but the upstanding Lorenzo politely declines because he doesn't want to  put his legitimate job as a city bus driver in jeopardy. Calogero often rode on that same bus route with his father, who delivered one of the iconic lines of the film in the form of advice to his son, "the saddest thing in life is wasted talent."

Still, Calogero's silence gained him favor with the charismatic boss, and Sonny sends one of his crew to fetch him as he worked on his bicycle from the safety of his stoop. Just down the street, he finds himself inside the neighborhood bar where the mafia crew hangs out. After Sonny formally introduces himself, the young boy asked him if he really shot the man in the street over a parking space. The powerful figure replied in an almost caring tone, "when you get older, you'll understand," another central theme in the film. This is also the scene where Calogero gets his first street lesson, as Sonny asked if he was a Yankee fan and the young boy explains his admiration for the previously mentioned Mickey Mantle. Sonny's harsh, but realistic response was, "Is Mickey Mantle going to pay your rent? Mickey Mantle don't care about you, why should you care about him? Nobody cares, nobody cares"

As time goes on, Sonny takes the boy under his wing, allowing him to serve coffee at their club and earn generous tips for it. In one of the scenes that shows the complex side of Sonny, after Calogero goes on a roll when invited to throw dice, the mafia leader tells him to get home because it was getting late and gives him a portion of the winnings. He also gave him the nickname Cee, another subtle element of foreshadowing of an eventual conflict. When the blue collar Lorenzo, who works long hours on his bus route to provide for his family, discovers Cee's cash and finds out where it was from, he attempted to return the money before an argument ensued with Sonny at the mafia club. The two men wouldn't speak again for eight years.

The next scene finds Lillo Brancato Jr. as Cee eight years older, now in high school, emulating the style of the mafia boss that schooled him on the ways of the streets during the time that passed. Cee's childhood friends became a few of the neighborhood hoodlums that Sonny eventually warned him about. Lorenzo still dutifully keeps his bus route and invited his son along when he spotted him sitting on the sidewalk with his crew of friends. Cee, not wanted to be embarrassed by his dad, begrudgingly accepts the invitation to join him for a few stops. As Lorenzo's jazz blared from his radio on the bus, Cee was memorized by Jane, a beautiful African American girl played by Taral Hicks. Her bright smile, beaming eyes, and glowing complexion are contrasted with the racial tension of the era as Cee's inner thoughts can be heard, "she was tall, she was beautiful, and she was classy, but she was black, and that was a no-no in my neighborhood"

As Cee exits the bus and his father continues the route, the mafia crew are waiting for him on the corner. Lorenzo and Sonny exchange tense nods of acknowledgement as the hard-working bus driver disapproves of his son's association with the mob leader. Eventually, Cee runs into Jane outside their school and offers to walk her home. On the few blocks they travel from the school, they make plans to see a movie the next day. As the approach Webster avenue, the black section of the Bronx, there's another reminder of the racial divide of the time. Jane finishes the final block herself, but agrees to their plans for the movies. When Cee catches up to his hoodlum neighborhood friends later that day, they jump a few black kids riding their bikes through the white section. Cee tries to disguise one of the victims and doesn't actually throw any punches. Following the brawl in the streets, Cee seeks advice from Sonny, who inexplicably drives backwards for blocks while delivering this life lesson. As he peers over his shoulder to continue his reverse travel, Sonny has a rather causal response to the revelation that Jane is black. When Cee expresses discontent with what his childhood friends might say, Sonny explains that half of them will end up dead or in jail anyway. The mafia kingpin goes on to explain that how the two care about each other is all that matters, and passes on the knowledge of "the door test." He tells Cee he can borrow his car to pick up Jane.

With Sonny's assurance, Cee plans to meet up with Jane as scheduled, but not before Sonny catches those same neighborhood friends attempting to buy guns from a neighborhood lowlife. Sonny smacks a few of them around and gives Cee a verbal warning about guns not making a tough guy. The next day as Cee carefully shaves his chin, he asked Lorenzo what he thought about going out with black girls and claims he was asking for a friend. Lorenzo replies with precautionary advice before telling his son to be careful, a small gesture that lets the audience know that the father knew the son meant this advice for himself. The movie night never got started as the planned meeting spot became a place of confrontation as one of the kids jumped in the white neighborhood was Jane's brother, Willie. Cee attempted to explain that he tried to help, but Jane storms off, and Cee delivers Sonny's car back before he disappointingly shuffles back to his apartment.

Lorenzo saw his son behind the wheel of the mob leader's car and confronts him about it before an argument ensues. Lorenzo reiterates that Sonny can't trust anyone, something that the naive teenage vehemently disagrees with. As Cee goes to seek refuge in the bar, Sonny snatches him outside the club and slams him against a wall, demanding to know where he took the car. It was revealed that a bomb was planted on the engine, but didn't detonate as designed. Cee tearfully proclaims his innocence and says that Sonny was like a father to him. The kingpin relinquishes his leather jacket and the distraught youngster shuffles down the street where his friends are now in a car and invite him for the ride. Lorenzo witnessed the confrontation and demands to know what happened to his son. Sonny's goons hold Lorenzo back and the mob leader delivers one punch to the stomach, sending the blue collar bus driver to the pavement.

Inside the car, Cee's friends plan further retaliation on the black section of the Bronx with a dozen molotov cocktails ready. As Jimi Hendrix's "Along the Watchtower" accompanies the ride, again the viewing audience can hear Cee's inner thoughts as he reflects upon the advice that Sonny and his father gave him, advice from two different men with a common theme of his best interest in mind. As Cee is conflicted about how to get out of the situation, another car cuts off the youngsters and Sonny appears, demanding that Cee get out of the car. Sonny issues a final warning to the hoodlums to stay away from his protege. On the ride back to the club, Cee asked Sonny if he even thought that he and Jane could've inadvertently been killed by the car bomb. Sonny acknowledges that he knows Cee didn't set it up, but the teenager is betrayed by his mentor's lack of trust and refuses to follow him into the club. Instead, he catches up with Jane, who went to his house to reveal that her brother admitted that he did actually try to shield him from the previous attack. As they walk down the street, Cee and Jane share a kiss, a sign of  the beginning of their relationship.

Suddenly, Cee realizes that her brother might be in danger from the planned molotov attack and hurried to the record store of the black section. When they arrived, they discover that the hoodlums' plan backfired and the car exploded, killing everyone inside. Sonny's earlier interception had saved Cee's life. He makes peace with Willie and tells Jane he has to go find Sonny. Cee runs all the way to the club, where a massive party is going on. As Cee makes his way through the crowded bar, Sonny is smiling and waved him through. Cee notices someone isn't smiling and it was that man that shoots Sonny in the back of the head, as the club erupts in chaos. It's revealed that the man that shot Sonny was the son of the man he killed eight years earlier in front of Cee's house during the apparent parking space dispute.

Sonny's funeral scene is what can be expected of most mob funerals, lavish floral arrangements and his contemporaries causally talking as if the departed wasn't even in the room. An ironic "nobody cares" aspect to the scene. Eventually, Cee finds himself alone in the funeral home after the others have left. He tells Sonny how his life was saved and his plans to start a relationship with Jane. A cameo from the legendary Joe Pesci takes place as he enters the viewing room in a suit. During their brief exchange, he tells Cee that he will look over the neighborhood for a while and points to a scar on his head, a reminder that he was the other man involved in the baseball bat incident that began Cee's entire association with Sonny. After Pesci's character exits, Lorenzo emerges in the funeral parlor to pay respects to the man that saved Cee. The teenager apologizes to his father if he ever made him feel overlooked and the two resolve the earlier apartment dispute. Lorenzo speaks to Sonny in the casket and said that he never hated him, but rather mad that he made his son grow up so fast. After Lorenzo thanks Sonny for saving his kid's life, Cee tells Sonny, "nobody cares? you were wrong about that one. See you around" before he uses Sonny's famous three-finger hand gesture. As Lorenzo and his son leave the funeral home, the father says, "Come on, Cee let's go home," an acknowledgement of acceptance for his son as more than just the young kid on the front steps. The film encompasses many different contrasts as it traces the path of the Bronx youth. Lorenzo and Sonny, the racial divides and then eventually the common aspects seen within each of them. 

Palminteri's stage show continues today in the form of a full-cast musical and is currently touring various cities. De Niro paired up with director Martin Scorsese and fellow screen legend Al Pacino again to get the previously mentioned Pesci to emerge from retirement for this year's "The Irishman," an epic saga produced by Netflix with a limited run in theaters before wide distribution on the streaming service. In an ironic incident of life intimating art, Lillo Brancato Jr., who appeared in half a dozen episodes of the second season of The Sopranos, saw his seemingly promising career derailed following a series of unwise decisions. The allure of show business led him into drug problems and that eventually saw him arrested for drug possession in 2005. Later that year, during an attempted burglary, Brancato Jr. and an accomplice tried to break into a house when an off-duty police officer tried to stop them. The criminal with Brancato Jr. shot the officer, who later died. The accomplice was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole. Brancato Jr. was convicted of first-degree attempted burglary and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but received parole in 2013. Lorenzo was right, the saddest thing in life is wasted talent.

The Survivor Series

Tonight's Survivor Series event, the pay-per-view with the most history behind it, second only to Wrestlemania. The fall tradition was originally based around Thanksgiving, which was a staple of the pro wrestling calendar in the 80s. Much like Wrestlemania around the mid-point of the year and Summer Slam after that Survivor Series was considered the top show of the fall. The original selling point for the pay-per-view in the 80s was the tag matches that were assembled to represent all-star teams, but even as the concept evolved to allow for more continuity with the format, the traditional five-on-five tag was a fun match for the show.

Unfortunately, the 2019 edition brings with it mostly indifference as a product that didn't have a clear direction for most of the year appears to be even more disjointed than usual ahead of this weekend's events. First, I find the entire concept of "brand superiority" to be somewhat silly and illogical because it's tough to sell the importance of a particular brand as the winner when it's all under the same umbrella, which is part of the reason the original brand extension flopped. Are the fans really supposed to be sold on the fact that the brand that wins will make any difference in the narrative going forward? In theory, what is truly at stake with these matches?

Speaking of the brands, what was the point of the draft just last month if the next major angle was going to bring stars for every brand on each show? How exactly is anyone supposed to be considered "brand exclusive" when that was only actually followed for a few weeks? Remember how nonsensical things were with the wild card rule a few months ago?

When All Elite Wrestling was scheduled to debut on TNT, Vince McMahon wisely counted on Wednesday nights, moving NXT from the streaming WWE Network to USA, which put a similar style head-to-head with Dynamite. While this is an example of how competition fuels the industry, WWE brass might've jumped the shark when they shoehorned the NXT brand into the Survivor Series equation as an attempt to get those particular stars more main stream exposure to boost viewers on USA. An advertisement on Raw or Smackdown makes sense because it lets the biggest WWE audience know about the show, but this current angle with three brands has only further muddied the waters of already diluted programming.

The actual card is overbooked and too convoluted with three triple threat matches and two traditional Survivor Series tag matches. Won't the third triple threat match on the card become too repetitive? Along with that, the existing feuds were more or less paused to book these tag matches, and the brand t-shirts during confrontations make the competitors look like brawling softball teams, it doesn't emphasize some intense rivalry.

I'd rather not write something that sounds too negative, but in my opinion, the entire concept of brand vs. brand is lazy booking used as an excuse for a pay-per-view because the product has almost nothing truly compelling about it right now. Seth Rollins is presented as a whiny baby face and his tweets don't do anything to help that perception. Bray Wyatt was arguably the most over performer on the roster until the historically terrible finish at the HIAC pay-per-view and then the title win was at a Saudi Arabia show nobody watched. Even as the Universal champion, how much momentum does The Fiend have right now? Daniel Bryan's status as a heel or a baby face wasn't established in recent weeks on Smackdown.

As far as a storyline, Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio has the most behind it and in theory, could be the best match on the show in terms of in-ring action, but after the one-dimensional monster push that Brock had, do you think Vince McMahon is really going to book Rey to win the title? Again, what's at stake at one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year?

This is where the 50/50 booking and illogical storylines come back to bite the booking team. Most of the product has become repetitive and stale to the point where the audience knows that the results don't really matter because there's either going to be a rematch the next night on Raw or eventually the same angle will be recycled. All of this is an illustration of what happens when the results don't matter, and that's the perception that very few on the roster are over with the audience. The WWE brand and its stock holders get the push and the publicity. The individual stars are booked like interchangeable parts in the WWE machine so there's a level of mediocrity in terms of the star power on the roster. If the stars were booked  as important and the results of the matches had a direct impact on the direction of the product then the events that feature the stars would have a better selling point to try to get the audience to want to watch the to see the results.

The Survivor Series will probably be close to four hours because similar to the brand vs. brand concept being used as a crutch for lazy booking, WWE brass books longer shows to attempt to present them as "major events." The translation of that is these marathon shows eventually drag at some point and there probably be a better quality presentation if the shows were kept at a more reasonable format. Adam Cole vs. Pete Dunne is scheduled for the NXT championship after Cole took an insane bump at the conclusion of the War Games match. Perhaps, Cole/Dunne won't steal the show at Survivor Series because of the physical toll of the matches yesterday, but the NXT format provides an interesting example. Granted, the in-ring product is apples to oranges compared to Raw or Smackdown because it's marketed toward a different demographic. However, the fact that NXT delivered a quality show within two and a half hours is proof that a four-hour show is required for a memorable event.

As mentioned previously, the biggest reason for the lack of hype for the Survivor Series is probably that nothing is really at stake. If Raw wins the traditional team match, what's the difference? How does that change or progress the product compared to a Smackdown win? It's disappointing and somewhat surprising that the WWE has three brands and dozens of wrestlers on the roster, but only a portion of them are over enough with the audience to make a different in the perception of an event because of the structure of the product.

The Jim Cornette controversy

When Billy Corgan, widely-regarded  as one of the best musical talents of his generation and known as the front man for the Smashing Pumpkins, purchased the rights to the National Wrestling Alliance, I didn't know what it could actually be used for. Since Ted Turner bought Jim Crockett Promotions, the major promoter of the NWA name, in 1988 and later changed the name of the organization to World Championship Wrestling, the actual NWA more or less floundered around with a few independent promoters claiming they were a part of the National Wrestling Alliance since that time. It was often disappointing to see small cards with 50 people in attendance attempt to associate themselves with the initials that were once the most powerful in the industry. Even TNA's use of the title belt didn't necessarily represent a new age for the organization, but rather a way to get a new project noticed in 2002 before they dropped it in exchange for their own championship roughly five years later.

So, I was skeptical about what could actually be done with anything named NWA as far as a product in 2019. However, I was very happy to see that Corgan and former WWE writer, Dave Lagana had found their own niche in the current crowded wrestling landscape, producing NWA Power, a roughly 45-minute show posted on Youtube that has garnered stellar reviews. The format blends the throwback of the traditional studio show with the modern technology of the internet to present a unique presentation to the audience. With Nick Aldis as heavyweight champion and underrated performers like Eddie Kingston on the roster, a compelling product has made an impact in a relatively short time with an upcoming pay-per-view and another set of tapings next month. If the project gets off the ground on a bigger scale remains to be seen, but it's certainly a solid start and a lot more than anyone else probably could've done with the NWA.

Along with the old school elements that decorate the program, the controversial and legendary manager, Jim Cornette worked as a commentator for the show. Cornette, who made much of his legacy under the JCP banner, is known as one of the most insightful minds of the history of professional wrestling, including an absolutely astonishing memorabilia room in his house with items from several decades.

Unfortunately, the former manager of the Midnight Express has become just as known, if not more well known in recent years for his outrageous podcast sound bytes or profanity-laced tweets than his fast-paced prose in promos or swing the racket at ringside.

His hatred for perennial goof Vince Russo and the nonsensical booking that tanked WCW in 2000 is well-documented. While it's understandable that most would agree that Russo's "Judy Bagwell on a pole" match helped bankrupt a multi-million dollar company, Cornette's boarder-line obsessive hatred of Russo seemed unhealthy in recent years. While that internet feud raged in some form or fashion since the two worked together in the WWF in the late-90s, The Louisville slugger remains a lightening rod online for his divisive opinions on the modern industry.

On the surface, the NWA position appeared to be a perfect fit for him, as it was as old school as a modern product could get and the environment allowed him to fully utilize his  legendary verbal skills. However, similar to many of his other recent comments, Cornette put himself amid more controversy when he blurted out a rather tasteless joke that sounded very racist during the Nick Aldis/Trevor Murdoch match during this week's edition of the NWA Power show.

Part of Jim Cornette's usual response to these types of incidents is that people are just too sensitive and misinterpret the things he says as too literal. Does Cornette's misspoken "joke" automatically mean that he's a hateful racist? No, but he made a reference to fried chicken and Ethiopia, a country in Africa so it's obvious why this remark would be considered racist. In fact, that's really the only logical way that particular remark could be interpreted so what exactly did Cornette expect the reaction to be? At best, Cornette made a really dumb reference and an even dumber decision when he thought the statement would somehow be effective in a wrestling show.

The online backlash is only the most recent toward the former manager, as he made an insensitive reference to suicide (something he had done before on Twitter about Kurt Cobain) toward Progress ring announcer, Jim Smallman on social media earlier this month, and the NWA issued an apology for that. The National Wrestling Alliance also posted an apology for Cornette's Ethiopia comments and announced his resignation from the organization, a story that was picked up by different media news outlets, including TMZ.

This is all just days after he made headlines for his claim that All Elite Wrestling ring announcer Justin Roberts looks like he should be registered to be around kids, implying that Roberts looked like a predator. Cornette brushed it off on his podcast, and while the comment was probably just another jab toward AEW because of Cornette's hatred for most of the AEW roster, Justin Roberts, who Cornette mentioned he has no animosity toward, didn't deserve those comments.

The bigger point here is that Jim Cornette, with all the knowledge and insight that he could contribute to the business, has basically made himself unemployable to any major wrestling company. His famous temper saw him depart ROH years ago, his beef with Russo (fairly or unfairly) led to his release in TNA. His stint with MLW earlier this year was brief and he later had criticism toward some of the performers on that roster. Obviously, his most recent comments along with other things he said in the past probably also put him off the list for WWE because it's a publicly traded company.

Is the entire sports entertainment world wrong or has Jim Cornette at least occasionally taken things too far?

In many ways, it takes effort to get ousted from nearly every major company of the modern era. Some have claimed that Cornette's rants are all a work to carter to his audience and generate sells through his website, including a graphic novel that sold very well recently. It's very possible that the "anger old man yelling at the clouds" routine is just a gimmick, but even then, is it worth it?

Jim Cornette has become more well-known for his hatred of almost everything modern than he is for his legendary career. His podcast is fueled by "wait until Cornette vents about this" than the tremendous knowledge he has about the history of the industry. I hate to say it, but I think the "Cornette rants" have finally jumped the shark and tarnished some of his legacy with the continuous controversial comments. I want to make it very clear, I respect everything that Jim Cornette has done in the wrestling industry and still think he's one of the brightest minds of the sport, but at some point, it needs to be said that things have gone too far. About a year and a half ago, I had a very polite e mail exchange with him when I asked about his collectibles site, and mentioned to him that I met Big Bossman, who he worked with in the 80s, when I was younger after one of the surgeries that I had. Cornette thanked me for telling him and said he always enjoyed remembering him.

So no, this isn't the typical Cornette rebuttal, but more to point out that the NWA incident is probably the last major platform that he will have and on some level that's sad. I guess, it's mostly because he has so much insight to offer to professional wrestling. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of Joey Ryan either, but if he can make a living with his gimmick, good for him, that's capitalism. I don't hold a personal grudge against him, I just choose not to watch most of his matches. Cornette's disdain for anyone that doesn't agree with his philosophy about the sport is almost illogical when he takes it to such an extreme level. Again, maybe this is all designed to play to his audience and it brings him a nice income in his later years so he doesn't have to travel or hustle autographs at card shows like other characters from the 80s.

I know this article might be met with venom from Cornette or his fan base, but that's honestly not the intention here. However, if Cornette declares I should be boiled in oil then that would put me in decent company with names like Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks etc. Do I think Jim Cornette is a racist? No, but when a remark makes media outlets and overshadows what the NWA has built in the past few months, perhaps even the verbal Mozart should consider what he says before he delivers one of his trademark rants. Granted, Jim Cornette shouldn't care or be concerned with anything I write in this article, but he also has the knowledge to be a much more influential force than just a renegade podcast on Youtube.

Jim Cornette rightfully said for years that Vince Russo was a clown show so  it's somewhat ironic that Cornette has become a TMZ headline.