The Royal Rumble

 Are you ready to Rumble?

Unfortunately, this Sunday's pay-per-view looks less like the "most exciting 60 minutes in sports entertainment," an old tagline from the event, and more like the horrendous David Arquette film from twenty years ago.

The topic among most fans for the majority of the pandemic era is the lack of compelling television on Raw, while Smackdown has its moment, a status that might provide some insight into a "road to Wrestlemania" that has no clear path at this point. As we saw during the main event segment on Raw this past week, the Randy Orton/Fiend storyline with Alexa Bliss continues to resemble a B-movie Sci-fi film and is just too hokey for anything useful to booked from it. It's the type of angle that makes you look silly for watching it, which would explain the decline in viewership. It's ironic that retaining viewers in the third hour has been an obstacle for the company since the addition of an extra hour a decade ago, but somehow the most cringe worthy aspects of the product get scheduled for the conclusion of the show.

Usually, The Royal Rumble starts a buzz toward what might be on the horizon for WM, a two-night event this year, and who might be scheduled to challenge for the championship. A lack of direction and a rather flat build up keeps most of this a mystery ahead of the broadcast. As I wrote when the initial angle was done on Raw to set up the Goldberg/Drew McIntyre angle, I think management has overplayed the Goldberg hand and the nostalgia pop is a stale retread. One of the reasons the 2016 comeback worked was because it was spontaneous and the fans wanted to see Goldberg have a better conclusion in the WWE than getting booed out of the building in 2004. It was booked perfectly, as it maximized what he could do and didn't expose his weaknesses. They emptied the playbook for the final match in the series at WM 33 and the storyline was very successful. Four years later, the fans have arguably seen too much of Goldberg in the ring, the prime example being the terrible Saudi match with The Undertaker, which is the risk of overexposing a limited performer. The bottom line is, is there a demand for more Goldberg in any capacity, especially when a quick squash match against The Miz would yield much better results?

That being said, the result of Goldberg/Drew could have a domino effect on where the office goes for the WWE title match at WM and thus who could win the Rumble for the title shot.

We've discussed before that the previously canceled Goldberg/Roman Reigns match was being hinted at as recently as last month so that would appear to still be on the table. It's possible that they book a title vs. title bout if Goldberg beats McIntyre, but that more or less finishes Drew's run as a top star, particularly if he loses to a 54-year-old part-timer. That's not meant as a jab against Goldberg, the real-life athlete seems like a good guy that wants to use his celebrity to be a good example, which is very admirable, but at the same time, if the writing team can't build an opponent for Drew from the very talented current roster, what does that say about the star power on the brand?

If the bigger picture is to book the title vs. title match and then put Roman over as the ultimate champion in the company then there's an argument to be made for that because the organization is clearly invested in the successful future of Reigns, who has done the best work of his career in recent months alongside Paul Heyman on Smackdown.

However, if Goldberg is being brought back just to lose a short match to Drew then it again goes back to the fact that the office couldn't manufacture a challenger for him. Basically, if Drew wins, he beats an aging part-timer, and if he loses, I'm not sure how management maintains his credibility as a top star so the scenario itself has big risk with low reward as far as the perception of the audience. Besides all of that, Goldberg hasn't worked a match in almost a year so if the quality is subpar, it doesn't do Drew's reign as champion any favors either.

On the blue brand, we know that Kevin Owens won't win the Universal title, which is fine, but the previous matches against Roman have been solid so at least there's the match quality aspect. Assuming WWE brass doesn't book the title vs. title match with Goldberg for WM 37, Smackdown might be the show that has a winner emerge from the Rumble to challenge Reigns. More recently, Shinsuke Nakamura is getting a renewed baby face push on the show with the return of his original theme music and the sudden spotlight put on him after he seemingly got lost in the shuffle the past two years might be an indication that he might be penciled in for a main event match against Reigns. Make no mistake about it, Nakamura is a top-tier performer, but the WWE missed their opportunity to make him a main event star when he won The Rumble in 2018, and lost against AJ Styles to turn heel immediately after the match. This decision halted any momentum he had as a baby face and as talented as he is, it appears that he performed down to the level of where he was booked on the card, as he hasn't had many standout performances since 2018. If Nakamura wins this year's Rumble, it's another example of a cycled concept within the WWE landscape and won't have nearly the anticipation of the original Rumble win. If management wasn't going to book him to win the championship when he actually had some hype around him, it's very doubtful a title victory would even be a consideration at this point in his career.

Another option would be Daniel Bryan, who has delivered some very solid performances on television and is still one of the most over characters on the show. Bryan has the in-ring ability and the persona to always be in the conversation as the underdog challenger because he's simply that good of a performer. If Daniel Bryan wins, it gives the writing team a storyline to work with ahead of WM, but again, it's somewhat of a recycled concept because his original push was associated The Rumble match.

All that being said, I think Nakamura or Bryan are the two with the best chance to be scheduled to win the Rumble match, mostly because they are the only two competitors outside of the title picture that have any buzz prior to the pay-per-view. In my opinion, this scenario speaks volumes about how stagnant the product is during the pandemic era. Yes, Edge announced that he will return for the Rumble match, but there's literally a "been there done that" aspect to that situation. More importantly, is Edge vs. Roman a bigger enough match for WM 37? As mentioned, the product has been stagnant for most of the pandemic era and there hasn't been enough progress made for the company to build any hype around any particular star in the past year because even the Royal Rumble doesn't seem like a major event.

The WWE/NBC deal

Vince McMahon is still the king of sports entertainment.

In a giant announcement this week, WWE and NBC Universal announced that the WWE Network, the pro wrestling streaming service launched nearly seven years ago, will be integrated into the NBC Peacock streaming service in March. While rumors swirled the past few years about the WWE potentially selling the pay-per-view rights to an outside service, similar to what UFC did with its PPV events, this deal essentially makes NBC the exclusive distributor for the entire WWE Network in the United States. Similar to the massive $1.4 billion contract that was inked by USA to keep Raw on the network in 2019, this streaming contract is essentially a rights fee for the network. Reportedly, the agreement is worth $1 billion over the next five years, a hefty addition to the already record-setting revenue that the pair of USA and Fox TV contracts guaranteed for the company.

McMahon rightfully has his critics and the product within the past year has been lackluster at best, but he was able to cash-in on the market share of his pro wrestling empire

Similar to how the company landed the previously mentioned mega TV deals more so because of the landscape of the TV industry with the demand of live sports that can avoid the DVR trend than the demand for sports entertainment, this deal for the Network is based more on the emerging competition for streaming dollars than the popularity of the WWE itself. Some might scoff at that since ratings have been sluggish, but those diehard fans in the "wrestling bubble" might not realize the fact that the WWE product brings a generally steady and consistent number over an extended period of time, which are the top priority in the TV business. For example, how many TV shows can draw millions of viewers on a regular basis for over two decades? Outside of The Simpsons, there are very few shows that have the longevity of WWE programming. Granted, the nature of the show is a continuous and evolving genre, but that's one of the reasons professional wrestling, despite often being categorized as "low brow" entertainment, has remained a major staple of USA.

As I wrote in an article last week, the WWE Network could've faced pressure as the competition among streaming platforms continues, but this NBC announcement makes all of that moot. It can't be understated how much of a game changer this is for the WWE, both from a marketing and financial prospective. After its launch in 2014, the WWE pushed the Network almost as much as they pushed the floundering baby face Roman Reigns character at the time in an attempt to get the service off the ground. The new platform yielded mixed results during its tenure, generating a solid revenue stream for the organization with a usual average of 1.1 million subscribers, but it wasn't such a major success that it financially made the concept of traditional pay-per-view obsolete by comparison. I'd guess WWE brass expected more than just over a million paid customers for such an extensive library of content in the United States.

Along those lines, as I've discussed prior, one of the unintended effects of the $10 price tag of the network is that the writing team wasn't forced to "sell" a show at the same level of the traditional $40 cost of an event. If the quality of the show seemed worth $10 then the standard for what's considered "PPV quality" is lowered. With this deal, there literally isn't any pressure on the company to "sell" the network to the fan base. Instead, they took the guaranteed cash and have none of the pressure associated with  trying to maintain the subscriber number. It's money in the bank and more importantly, more guaranteed profit for the promotion over the next five years.

For NBC, the logistics of the deal itself might not make sense based on the current WWE subscribers, but there's a bigger picture for the media conglomerate. As mentioned, the streaming market is finding its audience and there are several platforms that look to get a piece of the pie. As much as some might cite "cord cutting" or the impending end of traditional television, standard TV will still continue to exist because it generates major ad revenue and that marketing strategy still moves products. That being said, the draw to the streaming aspect of media is based on the flexibility it gives users and the accessibility of the content. It's less about the content itself and more about how viewers consume content. For example, live sports will still be a primarily ad genre because of the nature of a live game. On the flip side, the ability to binge watch new series is a staple of the streaming platforms.

The umbrella of NBC as a whole spans across film, television, and internet. Under the Comcast banner, there are several networks and countless entities at its disposal. That being said, NBC is in the content business and thus in competition with the numerous other networks that try to secure viewers, as well as the entertainment dollar. For example, Disney offers its bundle package with ESPN+ and consumers only have a specific "streaming budget." Despite the ratings decline, Raw is still the staple of USA network and original programming is the biggest commodity for cable networks. The smaller channels under the NBC banner usually run older series that had a following in prior years.

The news that NBC Sports Network will shut down by the end of the year makes more sense now because it appears that NBC will essentially consolidate its content, which cuts the costs of running multiple networks. The addition of NHL and Nascar to the USA line-up will bring sports fans to the channel and obviously, there's the opportunity to advertise the WWE Network to the demographic. Basically, the WWE Network is just a piece of a much bigger puzzle of NBC's plan to attempt to provide more well-rounded content and thus get a piece of the pie as the distribution of media evolves within the next few years. Granted, it remains to be seen if this WWE deal is profitable for NBC, but Peacock already has an estimated 22 million subscribers so again, in the grand scheme of things, the WWE content is just a piece of the puzzle for the overall Peacock package.

Ironically, the price will be lower or even free in some scenarios for viewers of the network. An ad-supported version of the network will be $4.99 a month, while an ad-free subscription is available for the usual $9.99 a month. A portion of Comcast subscribers will already have access to the $4.99 version included in their cable package. Again, from the big picture, even those that don't use Comcast cable or internet service can subscribe to the streaming platform so the network is indirectly a way for Comcast to generate revenue from consumers that don't use their other services. On the flip side, for those that might consider another internet or cable provider, the Peacock platform as a whole might be another way to retain those customers, especially as cable companies look to reduce reasons for "cord cutting" in the modern era.

Economically, the numbers might work well for Peacock if they can use the added subscribers to boost their ad revenue, especially because even the included version of the WWE Network will have an ad-supported platform. However, the bottom line is, Vince McMahon just secured another billion dollars for his organization. For a comparison, Smackdown was on the air for twenty years before the show garnered the billion dollar contract for a rights fee, and in just seven years, The WWE Network with only a million subscribers signed a deal for the same amount of money. The company has a $1.4 billion contract for Raw on USA, the $1 billion contract for Smackdown on Fox, and the deal for the additional $1 billion for the Network on Peacock. The WWE product might be stable, but from a business perspective, it's extremely successful.

Ric Flair on Raw

In recent weeks, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, one of the most legendary performers and arguably the greatest of all time, returned to WWE television on a regular basis, something that was booked previously in the past few years at various times when he worked with his daughter, Charlotte. Usually, Ric Flair on a TV show is a good thing, but the booking of the Lacey Evans angle is very questionable and might be the absolute wrong way to book a legendary figure.

First, it should be noted that there are two ways to book someone the level of Ric Flair in a non-wrestling role. You can either used him sparingly so that the nostalgia pop doesn't get repetitive and lose its luster or you install him as a fixture on the program in a specific role to utilize the status of the elder statesman of the sport, similar to how Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard are used in AEW. They are presented in a way that doesn't expose them as former wrestlers that are past their prime, and maximizes their presence as legends in the industry.

The on-and-off fashion that WWE put Flair on TV in recent years has him stuck somewhere in the middle. He's there often enough that the fans don't have to clamor to see him again since he's already there on a semi-regular basis, but he's not there often enough to be a fixture in a long-term angle that would help him lend credibility to the rest of the roster. For a comparison, the rare occasion that Steve Austin is advertised for Raw is a major draw because there's an anticipation to see him. On the flip side, if he was booked as the general manager or a similar role, the audience could tune in to see what he will do next. Anything between that is somewhat of a middle of the road and that's where Flair was positioned in recent years.

Again, if management wants to make Flair a regular character, there are definitely benefits to that, but considering he's not an active wrestler and has the status of a bonafide legend, they must be careful how he is presented. Most importantly, the fans respect Flair's accomplishments over the past forty years so nobody wants to see him continually embarrassed on television, which is exactly what WWE does to the majority of the legends that appear on the show. There's a fine line between getting heat on a legend, such as the Batista attack on Flair to set up the Triple H match at Wrestlemania a few years ago that worked very well, and embarrassing them as a shell of themselves, something that was booked for the Raw legends show earlier this month with the Randy Orton promos.

The Flair/Lacey angle is a complete contradiction toward the narrative WWE promoted previously and thus won't be effective, which would be minimal at best if it were successful. Make no mistake about it, Ric Flair will be the "Nature Boy" forever, but at 72 years old, is the audience supposed to believe that the 30-year-old Lacey Evans, who is four years younger than Charlotte, is enamored with him? The visual is ridiculous and makes both of them look silly. Furthermore, the office has been all over the place with the career path of Evans and can't seem to decide what version of her they want to present to the audience.

She started on the main roster as "the sassy southern belle" as a heel and her performances in the ring, including a short-term feud with Becky Lynch were so horrendous that she eventually disappeared from television for a brief time. After that, she was cast as the wholesome baby face with a highlight on her military service and her role as a mom. Without any solid explanation or motivation, she's now portrayed as a shady heel that wants to link herself with a 72-year-old Flair. The script has flipped so often for Lacey that management hasn't given enough time for any of the characters to be established. Granted, she was too limited in the ring to be brought to the main roster, but that's management's mistake. If I had to guess, I'd say that the office still wants to make her a priority because the corporate agenda would make it look good on conference calls for sponsors if someone with her background becomes a recognizable star for the organization.

Don't get me wrong, it makes sense for a corporate group to want to promote the former marine and mom, especially with the emphasize on women's empowerment, but how does the angle with Flair promote any of that? More importantly, is she the "sassy southern belle," the wholesome mom, or the sleazy woman that wants to exploit Flair? She's behind the curve in terms of in-ring ability, but that isn't necessarily her fault and how her character is a revolving door of contradictions.

Finally, the most simplistic aspect of why this Flair/Lacey angle is doomed is, with all the reasons mentioned prior, who wants to boo Ric Flair? At some point, a legend, even the heels, is over because the respect factor among the audience. Similar to the way that the audience knows about the real-life background of Lacey Evans, mostly because it was promoted on WWE programming, fans know more about the story of Ric Flair in recent years, including his life-threatening health scare. The tremendous ESPN 30 for 30 documentary put an emphasis on the positive and the negative of the real life of Flair. The main stream public heard the tale of how he was in the hospital with only a 20% chance to survive from heart problems. Thankfully, The Nature Boy kicked out and everyone is happy to see he recovered. How are fans really going to be mad at Flair? Keep in mind, he's actually more of a pop culture icon now than he was during his active wrestling days so the booking of this angle is going against the grain of the perception of Flair in the modern era.

The biggest question is, if there's a pay off to all of this, will it be worth it? How is casting Flair as a slimey heel at this point in his career going to be effective? Is Lacey going to somehow emerge as the top heel in the women's division after this, and if so, how does that gel with the wholesome background the corporate side wants to promote? Charlotte is a star, but booking her to be involved in something so silly only hinders her status within the organization.

One of the most common discussions today is the lack of legitimate star power on the WWE roster, but a major piece of the puzzle of what made wrestlers stars in the previous era was there was an investment in the characters from management and thus it gave the audience the chance to make the emotional investment. The way to keep the investment of TV time on track to make a star is to know how to see the character to the audience, but without a solid direction to sell to the audience, there's not a way for the fans to make that emotional investment into the character. If Stone Cold turned heel three months after he beat Shawn Micheals for the title, would that have been a successful narrative for the company? It's very possible that it's difficult for management to sell new stars to the audience because they haven't decided what characters they want to present to the audience.

VHS memoirs volume 12

When I started this concept of a series of more personal articles and went with the title "VHS Memoirs" as a reference because many of the events took place when the VCR was the standard media format. For that original column, I reviewed my experience of watching the Royal Rumble 1994, when five-year-old Jim tried to tell anyone that would listen that Lex Luger's boots hit the floor first, making Bret Hart the winner. Young Jim went as far as to re-enact the moment with the classic Hasbro figures and blue wrestling ring that were placed in front of the television to prove the point. As we know, both Bret and Lex would be declared co-winners. Eventually, Bret Hart beat Yokozuna at Wrestlemania 10 and during a family gathering for the event, little Jim rejoiced that Bret was finally the champion.

Yesterday marked 21 years since the 2000 edition of the Rumble, and during this broadcast from Madison Square Garden, I was in elementary school, but was allowed to stay awake later than usual to watch the show with my older cousins, while my dad made his trademark rigatonis recipe. I always find it interesting to re-watch these events for this review because its a neat comparison to when I first watched it live on pay-per-view. It should be noted that I didn't have internet access until 2001 so despite the well-known rumors of Tazz's WWF arrival, I wasn't aware of the possibility that he would show up at the Rumble. Instead, all I knew at the time was that he finished with ECW and was later puzzled as to why he was still in the horrendous Hardcore Revolution video game and had an ECW action figure.

The show opened with his famous debut at MSG and while Tazz's career didn't get off the ground in the WWF for a combination of reasons, the surprise arrive at the Rumble was a legitimate moment in pro wrestling history. The match itself was rather simplistic, but used the buzz of the surprise well to showcase Tazz for his first impression on a new audience. Considering that he was the first wrestler to beat Angle after a winning streak that was promoted on TV, I think management saw potential in Tazz and didn't intend to water him down after he signed a contract. Instead, Tazz's style just didn't translate to the WWF's playbook, which isn't necessarily his fault because the office knew what they were getting when they offered the former ECW champion a deal. It was mentioned on a few podcast in recent years that some of management weren't thrilled with his suplexes because they looked dangerous, but perhaps it was more alarming because most of the roster at the time didn't use that style. For Angle, the defeat actually made sense because if an undefeated streak is too lengthy then it can create a letdown when someone finally loses a match since there's not many places to go after it. Angle went on to win the WWF title before the end of the year, and it was the start of a remarkable run of stellar matches in the next few years during his original run in the company.

The Hardys vs. The Dudleys in a tables match was wild and included some risky bumps, including Bubba's plunge off the taxi that was a part of the set through a table. All things considered, this is a great match that sometimes gets forgotten about because of the absolutely insane TLC matches that happened in during the tag division within the next few years. A side note, some of the chair shots that happened in this bout were cringe worthy in retrospect, but hopefully, it will be a cautionary tale for some of the risks of the modern era. At the same time, the series of tag bouts throughout 2000 and the following year made new stars, which was key for the company, considering that most of 1999 coasted on the success of 1998, but 2000 introduced a series of new stars to the WWF audience.

The New Age Outlaws defeated The APA in a match that went about two minutes and this seems to be one of the unavoidable scenarios of some short under card contests because of the Royal Rumble match was scheduled for nearly an hour of the broadcast. Another shorter bout on the card was the triple threat IC title match. In hindsight, it's rather odd to see how this match was booked because while Chyna was a star, most of that wasn't based on her in-ring skills. Chris Jericho discussed this storyline in his books and wasn't thrilled with the results either. If anything, it shows the ups and downs of the Attitude era, as Jericho went from an incredible debut for a promo with The Rock nearly six earlier to a rather forgettable mid-card match at the Rumble.

Speaking of star-making performances, I think it's fair to say that regardless of his previous main event appearances, Triple H was made a legitimate main event star after this great match against Cactus Jack. The match was a textbook lesson in wrestling psychology and it built well to the finish of the match. The drama and the action told a story that emphasized Mick Foley as the baby face that the crowd rallied behind and Triple H as the vicious heel. The pedigree on the thumbtacks was a crazy spot and a memorable finish to the match.

The actual Royal Rumble match was more or less the standard battle royal so there's not too much to discuss about it, aside from the brutal bump Taka took when he was eliminated. It's ironic that The Rock won the match, but in true Attitude Era booking, it was a moot decision because the main event of Wrestlemania 2000 was eventually booked as a four-way match so other competitors that didn't win the Rumble had a title shot.

Overall, it was a really solid pay-per-view, specially because of the Tazz debut, the tables match, and the WWF title match. Another interesting aspect of the review of these events with the retrospective of the era is the context of these shows and how the dynamic of the industry shifted. Keep in mind, there was competition for the pay-per-view dollar, as aside from The Rumble, WCW presented Sold Out, and ECW promoted Guilty as Charged the same month. WCW booked a mess of a card with a dozen matches, mostly short bouts with subpar quality. In some ways, it summed up the rest of the year in the organization, as WCW lost $60 million dollars in 2000 with Vince Russo as the head writer for the Turner organization. The Sold Out main event had Benoit beat Sid Vicious for the WCW title before The Radicalz made the jump to the WWF the following week. ECW booked a fun show for Guilty as Charged, an event that I wrote about for a previous edition of The VHS memoirs, but the main event of Mike Awesome vs. Spike was another example of a contest that summed up the state of the company. With many of the organization's top stars leaving for bigger money in the WWF or WCW, the promotional tactics of ECW shifted from violence using compelling characters to an almost one-dimensional presentation of a stunt show. The main event of Awesome vs. Spike was built around table bumps, not any type of psychology. Again, in retrospect, it's interesting to see the direction each company took during the year.

UFC 257

 Never underestimate a fighter that has nothing to lose.

In the finale of a three-event week at UFC's "Fight Island" Dustin Poirier was booked as the B-side of the main event of UFC 257 against media kingpin, Conor McGregor. Most sports books had the Irishman a nearly 3-to-1 favorite in a rematch of the original McGregor/Poirier bout from 2014, which he won via TKO in the first round.

But, in the more than six years since that initial meeting, both are different fighters and took very different paths to get there. McGregor, a former two-division champion, made himself the top draw in the sport with a combination of dynamic striking and brash charisma. On the flip side, Poirier continued to fight contenders and even won an interim 155 LBS belt when he won a decision over Max Holloway in 2019 before he was defeated by Khabib Nurmagomedov in the unification bout later that year.

Speaking of Khabib, the now-retired undefeated Russian provided the background for this event, as he was in attendance on Fight Island to discuss his future with UFC President, Dana White. Khabib's father passed away from COVID last year, and after Nurmagomedov successfully defended his title against  Justin Gaethje this past October, he announced his retirement with an unblemished record of 29-0. Dana White, being the true promoter he is, didn't want to pass up the chance to sign a rematch of Khabib/Conor, an event that became the highest-drawing pay-per-view in MMA history with a 1.4 million buy rate. Of course, the infamous bus incident is what helped generate that number, and the wild post-fight brawl between the two corners would surely hype another major draw for the rematch.

In many ways, Dustin Poirier became an after thought, as the focus shifted on if Conor could win in a dynamic enough fashion to entice Khabib to ink another contract, instead of if McGregor could defeat his actual opponent at UFC 257. Truthfully, Poirier didn't have anything to lose because he was going to make a big payday to headline the pay-per-view and even if he was defeated, it's the result that most fans expected so a loss wouldn't have diminished his status within the UFC. He was always in the conversation because he had victories against solid competition, but the only top-tier challenger that he beat was the previously mentioned Holloway bout. Ahead of this clash with Conor, he defeated Dan Hooker via decision in mid-2020, but lost to Khabib prior to that so he didn't really have a lot of momentum before the fight. Conor's most recent performance was a devastating knockout win against Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds on the first round, which renewed the hype around him after the one-sided loss to Nurmagomedov in October 2018.

Again, the focus was on Conor and Khabib, not the competition against Poirier. The opening round saw a brief takedown from Poirier, who is primarily known as a striker, and the two exchanged punches and kicks during the majority of the round, with McGregor landing more shots and probably winning the round on points. However, Poirier landed a series of calf kicks during some of the exchanges and looked to continue that trend in the second round. For whatever reason, Conor tried to throw more kicks than usual and unintentionally left himself vulnerable to more leg kicks from Poirier. Nearly the half way point of the second round, the calf kicks took their toll and McGregor didn't have the mobility to avoid the punches of his opponent. Poirier landed half a dozen unanswered punches, including a right hook that sent McGregor to the canvas before he landed a few more punches before the referee stopped the fight.

When the referee stepped in to stop the fight, it simultaneously stopped any discussion of a Conor/Khabib rematch. Keep in mind, Nurmagomedov their first meeting, and unless McGregor looks dangerous, what's the selling point of potentially another one-sided defeat, especially when the price tag of UFC events was recently increased on the ESPN+ streaming service? It's simplistic, but it's a reality of the fight game, the UFC is in the entertainment business as much, if not more so than they are in the fight business so this Poirer fight was a chance to showcase Conor before an eventual Khabib rematch.

To be fair, even if Conor won, it wasn't automatic that Nurmagomedov would've considered the bout. Khabib has a rather simple lifestyle and already made his money so if a bigger payday isn't a motivation for him then Dana White doesn't have much leverage in negotiations. Furthermore, it might be a situation where Khabib wouldn't want to sign a contract that would also bring McGregor another major payday because of the legitimate hostility between them.

Now, I'd say the narrative shifts to a potential trilogy fight between McGregor and Poirier to see who wins the series. That being said, Conor must have a good  performance in that bout because another loss could hinder much of his star power. Don't get me wrong, Conor McGregor is a dynamic athlete and a tremendous striker, but he isn't as well-rounded as most of the other top names in the organization. His lack of ground skills was exposed in the Khabib fight, and 4 of his 5 defeats are via submission. Granted, the general public isn't going to look at a lack of submission skills are a reason not to tune in, but at some point, too many defeats to have some of the shine wear off of his star power. McGregor hadn't found in a year before this UFC 257 pay-per-view and it's possible that ring rust was a factor, but all things considered, he made more headlines outside of the octagon than he did inside of the cage the past few years so it might be a scenario where McGregor's career has become more sizzle than substance unless he can deliver a solid performance for his next fight. That being said, you have to give Dustin Poirier credit because most didn't give him a chance and he won with a KO in the second round of the fight.

Junkyard Shop figure

 Among the wrestling fandom, there was an influx of new merchandise added to shelves for fans when sports entertainment baron, Vince McMahon took his north east company national in the mid-80s. The popularity from the "Rock N' Wrestling" connection and its association with MTV made the squared circle a part of the pop culture landscape. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper generated jeers as Madison Square Garden's top villain, Andre The Giant personified the term legend with his mythical presence, and the remaining cast of characters left an impression that is still remembered today.

With his wrestling league in the main stream conversation, McMahon, being the true businessman he is, merchandised the product as much as he possibly could, slapping the WWF logo on lunch boxes, pencils, ice cream bars, and party hats. Aside from creating more brand awareness, this new venture allowed for an important revenue stream that would ultimately help give him the edge against the competition of their era. Most organizations sold $1 programs of a particular nights card and perhaps a few photos in the arena. McMahon took his line-up to retail stores and changed the perception of the industry.

Despite the slew of products that expanded considerable when the business was in an upswing, (remember WWF beanie babies in the late-90s?) perhaps the most enduring product made popular by the boom of the 80s in America was the action figures, a chance for collectors to hunt down replicas of their favorite stars or to re-create the action of the larger-than-life stars that beamed through their television screens. The figure genre has a league all its own in terms of its history, with different production companies manufacturing different styles of figures for different wrestling leagues over time. The LJN line, known as some of the earliest figures released remain a part of the conversation because regardless of their lack of mobility, highlight such an iconic time for the industry.

Many assume because of LJN's reputation for being the earliest line to hit retail stores that they might be the oldest series to be released. However, the ultra-rare "Popy" series landed in Japan in 1981, a time when professional wrestling often aired in prime time and was wildly popular. The set, including names like Terry Funk, Abdullah The Butcher, Stan Hansen, and others, is considered the rarest series in existence, with online listings at easiest a few hundred dollars for just one figure within the line-up. The bright box art and simplistic design gives the set a classic look that maintains its value today.

One of the focuses of the original Popy production was the "gaijin" or foreign wrestlers in Japan, and includes many of those that made their legacy within the sports entertainment world in Japan. However, there was one exception, Bruiser Brody, who reached iconic status in the country as one of its most popular performers. The wild caveman was amazingly agile and was as believable as anyone when his trademark furry boots steps onto the canvas. As mentioned, the Popy line had Abdullah the Butcher, one of Brody's longest rivals, and Stan Hansen, his tag team partner for a very memorable run. But, Bruiser Brody, who was only released in action figure form officially under the Jakks Classic Superstar line several years ago, didn't have many other figures.

A diehard fan from Sydney, Australia of all places, wanted to fix this glaring omission and set out to do just that. Adam and his wife, Portia launched "Junkyard Shop" an online store dedicated to the sale of hard-to-find figures. Becoming a fan during the previously mentioned boom of the late-90s, Adam became obsessed with research of the history of the sport and stumbled upon the existence of the variety of action figures that were made previously. 

"I started watching wrestling in the late-90s, Mankind’s chase for the belt in late 1998 captured my attention, and I was a fan from then on. A desire to delve into the back catalogue is what turned me to the figures. All of the Coliseum Videos of the mid-90s were readily available at the local video shop and of course, they had the ads for the Hasbros. Fast forward and I started to collect this awesome line," Adam explained.

The Australian consumed as much professional wrestling as he could for nearly a decade before a trip to Japan to see the sport live there proved to be a life-changing experience for him.

I bought an articulated Jushin Liger at the NJPW shop. It sat on display, but my collecting started a few years later when trying to get the Hasbros. We searched high and wide for them; and happened upon some in Japan, and some Chara Pros. We had no idea how vast and inclusive the line would prove to be. Further research, buying, selling, and the finding out more about the many lines released in Japan, our collection now covers a lot of those lines," he explained.

Hours of research lead him to the discover of the Popy line-up mentioned prior, and after he added the rare series to his collection, Adam noticed that the production of those figures ended abruptly with no series two ever issued in Japan. He also saw that the two other Japanese Brody figures made by CharaPto and Medicom were simply too expensive for most fans to afford. Through his online sales of various figures, Adam saw a trend for those that wanted to Japanese style Bruiser Brody figure.

Ironically, Bruiser Brody's wife, Barbra Goodish, a wonderful lady that has done a remarkable job to represent his legacy is from the same hometown of Adam's wife in Dunedin, New Zealand. They had talked to Mrs. Goodish in the past and stayed in touch with her so when the idea for a newly-produced Brody figure was developed, they reached out to her to discuss the product. Sadly, those discussed revealed that Mrs. Goodish hadn't received any royalties from the sale of the Chara Pro or Medicom figures that were released several years ago.

"We could right a wrong in that respect," Adam said enthusiastically.

With the fully endorsement of the Goodish family, Adam and Portia set out to design a "Series 2" Popy Brody action figure, but the new territory was a completely new experience for them as Junkyard Shop was founded on selling and shipping figures. The design process was an entirely new project. 

"In terms of the actual manufacturing, it’s an interesting, but eye-opening process. It starts with reference drawings and images with prototypes, molding, and the final product. It can test the patience when you are only working on one at a time," he explained.

Even with a production company handling the direct manufacturing of the product, the processing of all the orders go through Adam and Portia directly. It's not uncommon for Adam to bring shipping boxes into the living room while Portia prints labels in the kitchen. 

"Thankfully our figures are pre-packaged, but the rest of it is very much representative of JSD as a whole, it’s Portia and I the whole way. The printing of labels, stamping logos on boxes, and packing orders are all done by the two of us," Adam said.

The official launch of the Brusier Brody Popy-inspired figure last month was well-received, both for the traditional version and the silver variant at an affordable price. Junkyard Shop looks to continue the production of the Bruiser Brody series two figure and explore the addition of future releases while they continue to sell vintage figures.

Mark Henry vs. Ryback

 With the orange villain getting his future endeavored notice this week, social media has a chance to calm down and focus on memes of Bernie Sanders looking like he's ready for a hot chocolate and a nap. As is often the case, professional wrestling provided a new feud on social media, with an unexpected clash of WWE Hall of Famer, Mark Henry's exchange of words with former WWE star, Ryback made headlines.

Since Ryback left the company on rocky terms in 2016, including a dispute about the ownership of trademarks and intellectual property, I haven't discussed him much in this column, not as a knock against him, but rather that he only worked about a dozen matches on the independent scene so he wasn't really in the conversation of the industry. Outside of that, he became known for outlandish claims and rather odd business decision, but nothing directly relevant toward the pro wrestling business.

He made news almost five years ago when he left the WWE because he thought that since professional wrestling was a scripted sport that pay should be equal across the board. By that logic, Duane Gill should've made the same for his Survivor Series cameo in 1998 as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Nothing against Gillberg, but it's fairly obvious why Austin was paid more than most on the card because he was one of the biggest draws for the company. Fast forward nearly two decades, Ryback wasn't drawing Brock Lesnar money so there's no legitimate argument that he should've had the same contract. Considering that Ryback was under contract in some form or fashion to the WWE for over 12 years and the sum total of that run was a brief period of big popularity, the company didn't exactly get a return on its investment, especially when you take into account the numerous times that Ryback was injured or flopped under various gimmicks.

Ryback claims that he turned down millions of dollars to re-sign with the organization in 2016, which seems to contradict his complaints about fair compensation. Obviously, he wants to treat sports entertainment as purely a business, which is absolutely understandable, but from that perspective, how smart is it to turn down a multi-million dollar deal from the biggest sports entertainment company in the world? Furthermore, where, especially in 2016 when he left, was Ryback going to get a better offer? The fact that he hasn't wrestled full-time or anything close to it since his WWE departure more or less sums up the demand for Ryback on the pro wrestling market.

As mentioned, Ryback continues to have disputes over trademarks associated with his WWE persona and went as far as changing his legal name to "Ryback," which is the same path The Ultimate Warrior took to attempt to skate around the copyright. Ryback using the Ultimate Warrior as an example for common sense might tell you all you need to know about Ryback. After his WWE exit, Ryback started his own supplements company and the joke writes itself.

As you can tell, I don't have much favorable to say about Ryan Reeves, not for his thoughts of a title belt being a prop, but with how he handled the situation with Mark Henry, including a series of tweets that insulted the former power lifting champion before he deleted them. One of the main keys to social media, it's never a good look to delete tweets during a dispute because it eliminates almost all credibility from that person's side of story. Clearly, Ryback didn't stand by his comments if he deleted the social media posts. In one of many now-deleted tweets, he went as far as claiming that the WWE encouraged Mark Henry to defame him. Listen, the WWE has its problems, which can be seen by its recent ratings, but is Ryback enough of a priority that someone is going to ask Mark Henry to mention him?

Mark Henry is one of the most respected and well-thought of performers of his generation. In fact, it would be difficult to find one of his peers that would have something negative to say about him. Can the same be said for Ryback? During the famous CM Punk podcast appearance, he specifically mentioned that Ryback was dangerous in the ring, and it was reported that Dolph Ziggler suffered a concussion during a match with him. During Henry's rebuttal of Ryback's comments, he mentioned that Ryback had a reputation for being dangerous, which seems to be accurate based on the prior examples. For Ryback to make threats or imply he wants to fight Mark Henry is ridiculous.

Looking at the career paths tells the story. Mark Henry was signed to a big contract based on his Olympic lifting background, and struggled as times, as he was booked on television without much experience in sports entertainment. Still, he evolved as an athlete and his heel run in 2011 was probably the best work of his career, as he had a tremendous run as a main event performer in that era. On the flip side, Ryback had a WWE contract for over a decade and floundered for the majority of that time. It wasn't until the writing team gave him Bill Goldberg's gimmick and a catchphrase that he generated a measurable level of popularity. It's ironic that he took the legal route of the Ultimate Warrior because similar to the former Jim Hellwig, he was all sizzle and no substance. After Ryback was booked for something beyond the two-minute squash matches, his limited skills yielded no longevity as a character.

I actually had the chance to meet Mark Henry at a local comic con in Pittsburgh a few years ago and he was very polite so I would guess that his reputation as a gentleman among his peers is correct. Booker T recently gave his thoughts on the Twitter feud, and Ryback issued an apology to backpedal from his previous remarks. I'd guess this is more because Ryback realizes that the wrestling fan base are very loyal to the accomplishments of the prior generation and doesn't want to sour his remaining fans. Quite frankly, Ryback has put a lot of blame on others for his failures in the WWE, but he had a chance for 12 years so maybe he should at least consider the possibility that he's responsible for his own failures. Finally, Mark Henry is in the Hall of Fame and a broadcaster on Sirus XM, while Ryback's latest accomplishment is another goofy tweet so who had a better career?  

The WWE Network

 As I was scrolling through Twitter to celebrate the departure of the orange villain yesterday, I saw an LA Times article tweeted by the great Jim Valley, an associate of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that recently made it back home after a five-month hospital stay after a life-threatening illness. Thankfully, now-dubbed, "The King of Recovery," Jim Valley kicked out of the illness at 2.9 and looks to make a full comeback in 2021. Aside from being very happy to see Valley's progress, it was very interesting to see the LA Times piece about streaming services and the struggle of even the biggest platforms to keep subscribers on a continuous basis. Using the major players like Disney+ and Netflix as examples, the article cited a survey that found that nearly half of those polled had cancelled at least one of their streaming services within the past six months. The question was asked and some examples were given as to how these platforms will keep their subscribers, especially with the addition of free, ad-based services like Tubi and others.

The WWE Network wasn't mentioned, probably because services like Disney+ and Netflix have a much broader audience and the subscriber numbers aren't really comparable. Still, the shifting tide of the streaming trends definitely has an impact on the WWE business model. Maybe I'm too much of an old soul, but I've always thought that giving so much content away within one service almost unintentionally lowers the value of each individual commodity. One of the major selling points of any product is the buzz or mystic around it, and too often, the potential buzz for an event can simply get lost in the shuffle of countless titles in the library. Granted, from a consumer prospective, more content for your money is better, but the reality is that there's only a certain amount of content viewers will watch before they simply don't have time to sit in front of the screen. Viewers prioritize the few main shows they want to watch and other entities, regardless of the quality might be skipped just because of time restrictions.

The LA Times write-up highlights this by explaining that a tread among major services shows that people will subscribe to watch a new film or show upon its release and then eventually cancel the service. Essentially, the catalog of classic content or newer content released around the same time doesn't retain viewers beyond the shows that prompted their initial subscription. Again, there's only so much time that a person has to sit in front of the screen, and after they've watched the specific series that was the reason for their subscription, they might not have the time to dive into another series.

Where this effects the WWE is two-fold because there are more streaming options now than in years prior and thus more competition for the entertainment dollar. Another aspect is that the WWE brand might experience a similar effect among subscribers that cancel. When the company launched The Network almost seven years ago, it was a game-changer in many respects because it basically eliminated the cable companies' cut of pay-per-view revenue, offering the live broadcast with its subscription that included a vast library of classic content. Again, I still think that offering access to so much classic content at once indirectly lowered the value of that footage. The quality of a pay-per-view card on the Network didn't have the same standard of what would've been considered a PPV worthy card during the traditional pay-per-view era. Don't get me wrong, for diehard wrestling fans, it's a great concept, but consider this, if the Network didn't exist and full-episodes of The Monday Night War were put on-sale, similar to the Wrestlemania or Royal Rumble anthologies, years of content would've sold for more than $10 each.

Theoretically, such a stock of content is supposed to keep fans busy indefinitely, but some of the same hurdles of other streaming services can get in the way of that process. For example, there are always the other streaming services or the endless amount of free content on TV and online. Aside from the limited amount of time someone can spend watching content, there's also a limit to how much wrestling someone is going to watch at a given time. Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and AEW provide hours of weekly content so regardless of the $10 price tag for a subscription, when does someone find the time to be able to watch enough of the network to justify the subscription?

Keep in mind, the WWE markets to the causal fan, not necessarily diehard pro wrestling fans. Even so, it's a niche group that will dig through the archives to find the absolute gems of some of the territories. There are a group of former wrestling fans from the 90s that might subscribe for a certain among of time to watch Nitro again, but is that same demographic really going to look for Ted Dibiase's bloody bout against Ric Flair in Mid-South in the 80s?

Different from Disney+ or Netflix, one show, outside of Wrestlemania probably won't generate a major amount of subscriptions at once for the WWE Network. On the flip side, if Disney releases a movie in a particular month that people want to see, especially with the COVID restrictions of movie theaters, it can be a draw for a subscription. While one film can be a hit in itself, the WWE product as a whole is continuous so it takes consistency within the product to generate subscription numbers.

Obviously, there's a demographic of diehard fans that will stay subscribed on a regular basis to enjoy JYD, Magnum TA, and Greg Valentine matches. Okay, maybe not Greg Valentine bouts, but that group of fans, by nature is a niche. It's a harsh reality, but there's a current generation of the WWE audience that doesn't have any emotional connection to the boom period of the 90s, and the sluggish ratings during the pandemic suggest that the core group of WWE fans has eroded in recent years.

On the other hand, considering that their mega TV deals with USA and Fox will generate record-setting revenue for the next few years and any other revenue source is just extra profit based on the profit already being made from the TV contracts, perhaps this discussion is moot. Still, for a company that works almost exclusively for its stock price, it makes sense that the impact on streaming numbers across the board will reach the WWE network on some level, and the optics wouldn't be good for the next conference call if there's a noticeable dip in subscribers. With roughly 1.5 million subscribers, there's no necessarily much of a margin for a decline, but this speaks to the greater point that management must find a formula to generate some hype around its product because the dynamics of the streaming industry, especially after WWE put a major amount of emphasis on the network since its launch could have a domino effect on its business model.

The career of Derek Direction

In 2014, at a small independent card in an even smaller town just outside of Cleveland, Ohio, an aspiring rookie laced up his newly-bought wrestling shoes as he prepared for his first match ever that night. As he peered through the curtain at the bouts before his scheduled debut, he felt an overwhelming anxiety, knowing that he was mere minutes away from stepping into the ring in front of a paying audience. Despite the fact that the wait for his contest was only two matches, the dread felt as though it took hours for him to hear the opening bell.

Would you believe that same panicked hopeful is now one of the loudest, crudest, and brashest grapplers on the independent circuit today?

Derek Dillinger, a 30-year-old athlete that combines a dynamic in-ring style with a flare for the dramatics, can rile up an audience like few on the independents today. With a Ford Coppola-inspired persona and athleticism that blends many throwback elements of the sport, promoters have taken notice of the grappler that dubbed himself a director in recent years, which lead to him zigzagging across the mid-west to make a name for himself. When he bounds through the curtain quite literally into the spotlight of professional wrestling, Derek hits his stage, a platform he didn't know would become second nature to him when he stood nervously backstage before he pro debut six years ago.

But, in an example of life imitating art, his upbringing, as well as his journey into sports entertainment didn't showcase any glitz or glamour.

From a working class family, Derek had a rather humble home life. In order to provide for the family, his father worked several hours of overtime, leaving very little time to spend with his loved ones during the week. Still, he made sure to squeeze into whatever time he could with Derek, and the two bonded over professional wrestling, watching the Monday Night wars together while channel surfing or putting clunky VHS tapes into the VCR to watch bootlegged ECW shows.

"Every week, my dad and I would spend quality time watching WWF and WCW on TV before he introduced me to ECW. Every two weeks, we would go to watch independent wrestling at Cleveland All Pro Wrestling. Once my Dad introduced me to ECW, I knew I was in love with pro wrestling," Derek explained.

Those Cleveland All Pro events, promoted by the late JT Lightening, who is considered by many to be the godfather of the Cleveland independent scene, provided a peek into the sport that was close to home for the aspiring wrestler. Through the connection with JT, Derek planned to begin to learn the ropes, but Lightening tragically passed away from cancer before the lessons began. Instead, Derek found long-time Ohio veteran, Rickey Shane Page, who went on to international travels and is the current Game Changer Wrestling Champion, to teach him the sport. Despite getting an introduction to the over-the-top world of sports entertainment, Dillinger found that some real-life obstacles made the maneuvers difficult to learn.

"The thought process was super hard, I’m dyslexic. I have ADD, I don’t know the difference from my left and right and at the time I was in terrible shape. I’m really critical on myself but the main part of training was ears open and mouth shut," he explained.

Rickey Shane Page, who logged hundreds of miles on the road before he landed the break that made him one of the most well-known names on the independents, appreciated Derek's tenacity and refusal to give up despite the hurdles that the learning disorders put in front on him. As the only student at the time, Derek showed up every week and put himself through the tedious process of learning the ways of the ring safely. What he didn't know was that the fees he paid for training just barely covered the rent of the facility so Rickey didn't profit from his role as the trainer, dedicating his time because he saw the potential in the student.

"I later found out, despite being the only student at the time. My tuition went toward paying rent for the facility and Rick trained me for free. I can’t thank Rick enough for that. Training with RSP was great. I can’t thank Rick enough for helping me lay the foundation for my pro wrestling career," Derek commented.

After he debuted in his previously mentioned first match, Dillinger still wanted to consume as much knowledge as he possibly could, and with Rickey often in different states during his own travels, Derek paired up with another long-time Ohio standout, Matt Justice to teach him another diverse aspects of the sport.

"Sitting under his learning tree was a completely different style of wrestling than I learned from Rickey. Matt is full of so much knowledge and has a coach mentality and knows exactly how to push your buttons to bring you to your full potential. Matt gave me a lot of psychology stuff at the time I didn’t know I would need. When I think back everything he did made so much sense. Training with Matt was probably the toughest training I endured," Derek remarked.

Dillinger didn't realize quite how tough this regiment would be until he showed up one winter morning to see Justice had set up his ring inside the garage. As snow fell outside, Derek fell on the cold canvas inside, as Justice didn't have a heating system in the makeshift training center. Derek cites his passion for sports entertainment for the reason he made the hour commute to the frigid squared circle twice a week.

After he got the basics, Dillinger looked to expand his in-ring persona, finding inspiration within his fandom and real-life hobbies to generate a unique performance when he stepped into the ring ropes.

"I have a degree in Visual Communication and Graphic Design. I also took a couple of film classes that changed my life. I am a huge fan of 80's movies and more importantly 80's horror movies. The more gritty and gore the video has, I love it. If you watch any of my short videos I release, they all include stuff I love. Whether it’s movie clips, rap music, or the clothes I wear," he said.

As his career progressed the past few years and he found himself as a performer, Derek Dillinger's skills got him noticed, both inside and outside of his hometown. He began a mainstay for Absolute Intense Wrestling, one of the longest-running and most well-known organizations in his hometown. He also made an impression on Ryse Wrestling, the Pittsburgh-based group that is considered the fastest-rising promotion in the steel city with its mixture of talented prospects and established veterans.

 “I’ve been so grateful to be able to work for Absolute Intense Wrestling. John Thorne is the best. Thorne has given me so many opportunities to work with so many of the ECW Legends, as well as some of the biggest names on the current indy scene. With that being said, I think one of my favorite highlights is working with Tracy Smothers in one of his last matches.," Derek said.

"I think everyone gets that booking is a pressure gig, but for everyone the pressure is different. I’ve know Derek since he broke in. Derek was a guy I’ve advocated for everywhere I’ve ever been. Derek is incredibly passionate about wrestling, I know few that take it as seriously and to heart as Derek does. To me, he’s a prototype of who you’d want on a card, he’s versatile, he draw attention and sells tickets," added Marcus Mann, one of the main organizers of Ryse.

When Derek isn't posing in the spotlight alongside The Production, one of AIW's most prominent factions, he can be found as a member of The Grind House in Ryse with Shirley Doe, one of the most respected veterans of the Pittsburgh area. The villainous duo have been known to generate jeers from the crowd and chaos in the ring during most Ryse's events. Considered one of the wisest minds of his generation, Doe saw the potential in Derek very early in Ryse's existence. 

"He’s not just the best wrestling in Pittsburgh he’s the best kept secret in the indies. He’s the person I’ve seen the most of myself in in so many ways and that’s why I’ve always sought him hour for at least five years now before anyone even knew who he was," Doe explained.

Derek finds that juggling real-life responsibilities and chasing pro wrestling stardom can be a tough balancing act. To maximize his time, he cites a recent switch from work as a radiology tech to the insurance industry as a move that gives him more flexibility to travel as new wrestling opportunities arrive. Despite the change, he believes he made the right move, as it's further dedication to his ultimate goal as a professional wrestler, making it big with a full-time contract with a national organization. Where Derek Dillinger lands next remains to be seen, but his story speaks volumes to personal growth and pride in accomplishments, as he achieved his goal of being a professional wrestling, a status he thought was unobtainable when he first saw the larger-than-life figures beamed through his television screen.

VHS Memoirs volume 11

I'm sure at some point in the future an in-depth look at TNA Wrestling's turbulent journey, a path that took it from weekly pay-per-view under legendary promoter, Jerry Jarrett and his son, Jeff to a promotion that collapsed after its opportunity to run on national TV under Dixie Carter, will be written to chronicle a history of the organization. Despite my usual self-loathing and pessimistic view point, I wouldn't punish myself with that level of drudgery of a project. Instead, I hope this article will be more entertaining than some of TNA's more notorious moments, and it will detail a trip during an era when most still thought the group had the potential to get off the group, which was before their infamous stint on Monday night under the direction of Hulk Hogan before it was sold to Anthem Entertainment to rescue it from bankruptcy.

By mid-2009, the company was still stocked with many of the talent that garnered some hype for it and those that would ultimately reach bigger exposure elsewhere. Lockdown, an all cage match event, was created by Dusty Rhodes, who worked for the Nashville-based group early in its existence before he eventually took a job within the WWE developmental system until his passing in 2015. Every match inside of the cage had its critics, claiming it took away from the stipulation, which might be true, but it still become a staple of the TNA calendar, even if just for its unique presentation.

The event also provided the narrative for Mick Foley's fourth autobiographical release, "Countdown to Lockdown," a memoir that chronicled his rocky exit from the WWE the prior year, as well as his arrival in TNA. Mick, a bonafide legend for everything he had done in his career previously, would later require several surgeries to repair the damage from his risky career, and thankfully, seems to be doing better today. However, at the time, his run in TNA was viewed by most pundits as his last big run as an in-ring wrestler so there was a level of curiosity if Foley could boost the position of the company. At this particular pay-per-view, Foley was scheduled to clash with a former foe, Sting, who he competed against years earlier during one of his stints in WCW. At 50, this TNA run was seen as definitely the icon's last run on television, because while he made headlines with his surprising WWE debut a few years later, in 2009 the general consensus was that if Sting was going to ink a WWE contract, he would've done it already. Plus, he took a big money deal to work for TNA so it appeared he would retire under that banner.

Around the time that Sting was cashing those mega checks from Dixie, and Mick was penning early pages of what became his fourth wrestling book, I was in college for the Communications degree that I earned a few years later. On the Saturday before the pay-per-view, one of my wrestling pals, Joe Folino called me and explained that he was able to get four free tickets to the event, which was being held at Temple University in Philadelphia, roughly a five-hour drive from Western, PA. He landed these tickets from an outdoor website, which all these years later is still puzzling, considering that I'm not sure how fishing techniques have anything to do with professional wrestling. Joe's family has been friends with my family for years, but both of his brothers couldn't make the trip on such short notice so he asked if I would tag along so he didn't have to make the trip alone. While Joe has a family of his own today, over a decade ago, he had considerably less responsibility so an impromptu trip across the state didn't seem too odd. I had been skeptical about the TNA product at times, but knowing that Sting was in the latter stages of his career, and that I hadn't got the chance to see him wrestle in person before, I figured it was worth the journey for the chance to see him live before he hung up the boots.

On just a few hours sleep, I prepared to make the trip to Philly, despite the fact that I had class the next day, but hey, my homework was done and there were free tickets to a pay-per-view. Joe being the older, wiser wrestling fan was tasked with being the driver, while I had to make sure to shuffle a solid rotation of classic wrestling themes on his MP3 player for the road. Our rendition of the the Fabulous Rougeaus' "All American Boys" song probably could've won us an award at a karaoke contest somewhere. About two hours into this road trip to pro wrestling prosperity, just as we proclaimed, "from Montreal to Memphis!" we saw another wrestling-related reference. It wasn't The Big Bossman, but the red and blue lights halted this adventure faster than a ratings drop during a Disco Inferno promo. A very nice state trooper informed Joe that hs was speeding (allegedly) and would be given a $167 ticket. I'm no Clarence Mason, but I don't think the defense of being overly enthusiastic while jammin' Rougeaus song would've helped his case. Ironically, knowing that his pocket would be lighter after the trip, Joe's foot became lighter as well and we made the rest of the journey at the suggested speed until we arrived in Philadelphia.

When we parked and got to the venue, I saw what looked to be workers from the building with tickets in their hand. This along with the fact that Joe was able to get free tickets on less than 24 hours notice was an  indication that this pay-per-view probably didn't sell well. I'm going to try not to criticize too much of the Dixie Carter marketing strategy because that's one of the most discussed aspects of her tenure as the owner of the organization, but it speaks volumes about TNA's inability to advertise the product when they couldn't sell a hardcore pay-per-view in Philadelphia. When we navigated through the hall ways of the arena and found our seats, I saw why tickets were so easy to obtain. Aside from the floor seats and people scattered throughout some sections of the camera side, the ENTIRE other half of the venue was empty. I'm not sure how the production managed to shoot the show without revealing just how sparse the audience was, but they deserve credit because it was somewhat shocking to see such low attendance for a promotion that had national TV exposure for almost five years.

The show itself was fun, even if not every match delivered an epic performance. Something that should probably be forgotten completely is Danny Bonaduce's two-minute exhibition against Eric Young. I'm guessing Vince Russo pitched, "Partridge family, bro" at a production meeting. In the actual pay-per-view opener, Suicide,who I think was being portrayed by Christopher Daniels in 2009, did an insane dive from the top of the cage that was very impressive to see in-person as the TV cameras didn't quite sum up the height of the dive. The rest of the card went from average to entertaining with nothing blatantly terrible. The Lethal Lockdown match, including the spot on top of the roof of the cage was wild.

Before I tackle the main event, I must point out a few comical side notes during the under card. At one point, there was a family sitting a few seats down from us, and one of their kids asked us, "Is this Smackdown?" We told the youngster this was TNA, a different wrestling group. Her response of, "Where's John Cena?" confirmed that this particular family took the offer to get free wrestling tickets because it was professional wrestling, but clearly had no idea what show they were watching. But, they didn't lack enthusiasm, as for the majority of the night, instead of cheering for wrestlers she didn't know, the young girl yelled, "Hit him with a stick!" regardless of who was in the ring. Finally, when a kendo stick was later used, she seemed ecstatic that some type of stick had been used on the wrestling show that she didn't know the name of.

As the lights dimmed for the main event and The Icon's music hit, I got chills, as getting to see Sting live was imminent . Even at Sting's age, the charisma, the face paint, and the howl were electric. Still, Mick Foley is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time (I actually showed him one of my leg surgery scars at an indy show when I was 14 and he said I was hardcore, but that's another article for another time) and I wanted to see him win the championship so that he would have a better conclusion to his career than being yelled at in the headset by Vince McMahon on Smackdown. The match itself was really entertaining. I wouldn't necessarily put it up there with the bouts from either wrestler's prime of their career, but it was certainly a solid bout that had a historic atmosphere to it.

So, the hardcore legend claims the title and that's the finish of the story, right? Would that really be an appropriate conclusion to the swerves this article has taken so far?

With the rush of the main event keeping us alert for the dive back to Western, PA in the middle of the night, we departed Temple University just minutes after the pay-per-view went off the air so I could get home in time to go to Greater Allegheny University for class the next day. Not surprisingly, interstate roads at 1 AM can all start to look the same and as Joe checked the GPS to make sure we were still on course, he noticed that the signal was temporarily lost in the location we were traveling. I'm not sure how this is possible, but the screen literally said, "Nowhere, PA" so we can say were in the middle of nowhere during the trip home. When the GPS was back on track and with about two hours left in the journey, we stopped at the only place we saw with lights on and wanted to get food and fuel for the rest of the drive back. Roy Rogers isn't a chain that exists in the Pittsburgh area, but Joe told me, it's a chicken place so I walked up to the counter, but before I could order, a rather sad-looking fellow that appeared to be bored to tears working the night shift simply said, "No chicken." His answer later revealed that Roy Rogers, an establishment that was built for orders of chicken, had run out of all of its chicken. The only good thing of stumbling upon this rest stop at such a late/early hour was that the coffee stand had just got in fresh baked goods for the next day so I bought half a dozen danishes to share with Joe and a red bull to hopefully keep me awake.

After being in the middle of nowhere and finding no chicken in that well-known destination, we finally made it back to Pittsburgh at around 6:15 AM. I got home close to 7 AM and thanked Joe again for letting me tag along before he went back to his house to catch a few hours of sleep before work. I had class at 10 AM so I got a little less than two hours of sleep before the 15-minute commute to Greater Allegheny, where I also had a night class at 6:15 PM so it was a full day of classes. With as ridiculously expensive as college is, I never just randomly didn't go to class because you pay for the credits whether you're in the seat or not. So, I made sure to be there for the start of the 10 AM class. By the time, I shuffled into the night class, a biology class that I actually got a 90%  in, I probably resembled the zombie that The Sandman caned on the Sci-Fi channel. Mrs. Mitchell, a very nice lady that taught the class and knew I was a wrestling fan, asked if I was tired. I confirmed that yes, I was very tired, but had seen Mick Foley at a pay-per-view in Philly the night before. She replied with, "Foley from WWF wrestling?" At this point, I was too exhausted from cage matches, Roy Rogers, and the educational process so I said "yeah" and got ready to take notes for the next two hours and fifteen minutes.

Hard to Kill review

This past weekend, Impact Wrestling kicked off its 2021 pay-per-view scheduled with "Hard to Kill," an event that generated some buzz in recent weeks because of the addition of Kenny Omega to team with The Good Brothers in a six man tag team main event that featured both the All Elite Wrestling and Impact champion. Still, as I've mentioned in the past, in the era of $10 streaming services, it becomes that much more difficult to sell a broadcast at the traditional price.

So, did this Impact pay-per-view reach that standard and more importantly, how will the results affect the future of the promotion?

Usually, I wouldn't discuss pre-show matches, simply because they are usually throw together bouts added without much rhyme or reason, but it should be mentioned that Brian Myers, who recently just inked a new deal with the organization, and Josh Alexander delivered a very solid bout. It would be great to see a potential rematch on a bigger stage than just a countdown show or either of these athletes used in a more prominent role within the company. Since Alexander's work rate was well-known because of his work on the independent scene and the tag team of The North, most are aware that he can go bell-to-bell. Where he goes in the next few months remains to be seen because of Ethan Page's exit from the company, but one thing is for sure, Josh Alexander is a tremendous asset to any organization. As far as a company that will probably need to restock and replenish its roster within the next few months, Josh Alexander should be a name that has main event potential. On the flip side, Myers was typecast as a WWE mid-card prior to his release from the promotion during the pandemic roster cuts, but he proved in this bout that he's much more than just an interchangeable wrestler on the list of talent booked for the WWE main event show. I'm not sure if Myers will necessarily be the guy to put this version of Impact on the map, but he's definitely capable of a bigger role than what he had during the majority of his career in WWE.

The pay-per-view card opened with Crazy Steve and Rosemary vs. Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb. While this wasn't anything terrible, it wasn't anything spectacular either. Crazy Steve and Rosemary have portrayed their characters well during their Impact tenure, but this was basically just an average TV match, which saw Crazy Steve and Rosemary get the win.

The six man tag team hardcore match had its moments, but it was more or less an average brawl. With so many multi-person matches on the card, it seemed like some of these matches were booked more to get as many people as possible on the show than the potential match quality. That being said, there were a few bright spots that again go back to the potential of bigger roles for some on the roster. It's good to see that Cody Deaner and Jake dropped the hillbilly personas, considering that it appears that they have skills in the ring and didn't need an over-the-top gimmick to get a spot on TV. If nothing else, an evolution of their characters allows them to progress in the company. Similar to how Josh Alexander has untapped main event potential, I think the same can be said for Joe Doering. His accomplishments in Japan are well-documented, but if that translates to something beyond just Eric Young's sidekick is still up in the air. In my opinion, Doering has the agility and more importantly, the believable to be a top guy for Impact Wrestling. Don't get me wrong, Eric Young deserves a lot of credit for everything he's accomplished in his career, he took whatever he was given and made the best of it, and was totally underutilized in WWE, but hopefully, at some point in the future the focus transitions from Young to Doering, with perhaps Eric Young as the manager to cut promos.

The knockouts tag team title match was okay, but it was another bout on the card that was more of an average TV match than a major pay-per-view contest. Next, Matt Cardona debuted against Ace Austin for a match that went about three minutes and ended in a lackluster DQ. I'm not sure what the logic was behind this finish, particularly because it's not exactly the best way to debut Cardona, and when you consider that it only went a few minutes the entire segment seemed rather pointless. That being said, Cardona, who got over earlier in his career despite WWE management trying to ignore the reaction, could be a solid signing for Impact. After the previously mentioned pandemic releases, Cardona surfaced in All Elite Wrestling for a series of matches, but reportedly didn't sign a long-term deal. It was implied that Cardona was now a part of Impact Wrestling so maybe this is another new chapter for him. Granted, it's possible this is another AEW/Impact working agreement since he's not involved in anything major on Dynamite at the moment, but it's still a good opportunity for Impact to get some recognizable names on their TV show.

The X-Division title match and the Knockouts title bout were more or less in the same category. The matches were fine and there wasn't anything wrong with them, but there wasn't anything specifically great that you should go out of your way to see from either of these contest. At this point in the show, particularly by the delivery of these matches, you get the impression that this event is going to be mostly glorified TV matches and nothing stands out as "PPV quality." I think one of the reasons for that is there were ten matches shoehorned onto the broadcast and thus most matches had roughly the same amount of time as they would for a typical episode of Impact. Perhaps, those time restrictions only allowed for the structure of the contests to be something usually seen on television. That being said, Rohit has done very well in his role, and if Chris Bey continues to evolve his skills, he's another athlete the company could try to push as a featured star in the future.

The Ethan Page segment was absolutely horrendous, and from what he's posted on Twitter since it aired, the final product wasn't what was originally supposed to be presented. Page implied that the skit was intentionally made to look bad because he was leaving the promotion and the segment was a goofy way to write him out of the show, which is very possible. Ethan Page is a talented performer and has more of an upside than most of what we've seen him have the chance to do in Impact, with The North tag team as the exception. He has gotten in great shape in recent months, and if he's going to finally sign a WWE contract, this would probably be the time to do it.

The Eddie Edwards/Sami Callihan barbed wire match was a little goofy because the name implied that it was going to be a no-rope barbed wire match, something that I assumed was going to be taped a head of time and then edited into the live broadcast to avoid the delay of the set up of the barbed wire. Instead, there was a collection of barbed wire weapons and barbed wire boards. This was an entertaining match and both wrestlers deserve credit for their efforts, but without the no-rope aspect to add another layer to the feud, some of this presentation seemed like a retread of previous matches. Eddie Edwards got the win so hopefully, these two are booked for something new going forward, as they can both be extremely valuable competitors for Impact.

The main event was a very good match, and in some ways, this pay-per-view was a one-match show. While there are several that wrestled on this event that have the potential to have a much bigger role in Impact in the future, the wrestling and the star power of those in the main event, particularly Kenny Omega, were a level above the rest of the card. Moose really shined in this environment, and management from either company should consider an Omega/Moose match at some point in the future. The most discussed result from this pay-per-view was that Omega pinned Rich Swan, and unless there are plans for Omega to win the Impact title as well, which would make sense with the belt collector gimmick then I'm not sure what the logic would be to have the champion pinned in a six man tag, especially when Sabin or Moose could've taken the pin. Assuming Omega does eventually capture the Impact title, obviously, it would continue to put a spotlight on the promotion, but you have to wonder how the company eventually gets some shine from this working agreement as well. Granted, in crossover angles, the bigger group usually has more leverage in the booking, and right now this working agreement is beneficial to everyone, but it must be carefully booked or Impact might unintentionally be made to look subpar. While it's very unique to have the AEW champion in the main event of an Impact pay-per-view, it indirectly exposed some of the lack of depth on the roster compared to the rest of the show. Hopefully, the extra exposure that this angle garnered for Impact can be used to establish some stars because there's definitely talent on the roster.

The status of Rhea Ripley

Just a few weeks away from the Royal Rumble, usually the official start of Wrestlemania season, the sports entertainment rumor mill suggest that an NXT star could be on their way to the main roster, but will this be a positive move?

According to PWInsider's Mike Johnson, one of the most reliable sources for pro wrestling news, former NXT Women's champion, Rhea Ripley is scheduled to make her official main roster debut soon. Last week, she lost a Last Woman Standing match against Raquel Gonzalez, prompting a lot of speculation that it was a way to write her off of NXT before she makes her way to Raw or Smackdown.

Recently, I penned an article and explained that I think WWE management must make the process of building new money-drawing stars a priority. Instead, they booked the 54-year-old Bill Goldberg to challenge Drew McIntyre for the championship. However, I mentioned that Adam Cole and Rhea Ripley should be brought to Raw and made the top stars in their respective divisions on the brand. So, obviously I think Ripley should have a bigger role among the WWE landscape and could be much more of an asset than a big fish in the small pond of the third-tier brand. That's not meant as a jab against NXT, but to point out that it's the WWE TV brand with the lowest viewership so Raw and Smackdown offer much more exposure to the general public.

That being said, considering not only the general track record of NXT call-ups, but even Rhea herself, there's no guarantee that a move to the main roster is a step forward. The theories behind the reason are numerous, but one thing is for sure, the buzz from NXT is rarely transferred successfully to the main roster.

The countless talents that lose their steam on the main roster tell the story, but Ripley's involvement on the main brands last year is a direct example. The storyline was more about pushing Charlotte Flair to the NXT Women's championship, a spin off of her success on Raw and Smackdown, than anything else. The sum total of Rhea's involvement would've made her interchangeable with more or less any other female on the NXT roster. The title match at WM 36 was completely designed to push Charlotte, not her opponent, regardless of who it might've been in April of last year. Don't get me wrong, the second generation Flair is a tremendous athlete and already a well established star in WWE, but that is actually the problem with this scenario. There was an opportunity cost for this angle and the argument could be made that it did more to hinder Ripley's progress than to further cement Charlotte. Let's keep in mind, WM is theoretically a platform where stars can be made because of the extensive historical value of the event. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin became the top guy when he beat Shawn Michaels. Drew McIntyre enhanced his status when he defeated Brock Lesnar. Where was Rhea's moment? More importantly, was Charlotte a bigger star because she won the NXT title at this point in her career?

At 24, Rhea Ripley is ahead of the curve for many of the same age, and in order to maximize her potential, both now and long-term, management should run with her as soon as they can on the biggest stage possible. Making Rhea a bigger star now, especially at this age, is how they truly build stars for the future. The same can be said for Adam Cole, who has WM main event potential and could provide the company with a top-tier star for at least the next decade. It's possible that the office has Rhea as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble, but if that's the path they take then she should win it. If she shows up in a match with thirty other wrestlers and get eliminated, she's more or less lost in the shuffle from the start of her tenure on the main roster. If she wins the Rumble and goes to WM, it remains to be seen if they can recapture the momentum that she had last year, but it's probably management's best best to solidify her as a new star on WWE TV. I want to reiterate that none of this is a jab against or a criticism of Charlotte, she is very talented, but she's already so well-booked that she didn't need the win last year. If Rhea Ripley makes her way to Raw, she could be presented like a major commodity and work with Asuka, who is such an MVP of the company. As often as we hear Triple H and the rest of WWE brass talk about the future, this is an example that they should truly invest in the future and present Ripley as a major star.

Another note is that Damien Priest, formerly known as Punishment Martinez before he inked a WWE deal a few years ago, might also be sent to the main roster soon. I'd guess he is definitely going to debut in the Rumble because the match has been used for that in the past. However, Priest is on the other end of the spectrum in many ways than the previously mentioned Ripley. The 38-year-old Martinez is closer to the end of his career than he is to his rookie year. That's not to say that he doesn't have the time to make an impact on the big stage, but rather than management can't flounder his stint on the main roster. That being said, I'm honestly not sure if or how Priest will translate to the main roster. If I had to guess, I'd say he will make a strong impression upon his debut and then be used on the mid-card a few weeks later. I wouldn't be surprised if Priest was used similar to Bobby Roode in terms of being under the radar for the majority of his WWE tenure despite the skills he brings to the table.

One thing is for sure, the introduction of new characters to the WWE landscape will be challenging for the same reason that the progress of the product has been difficult the past year. As much as the thunder dome improved the atmosphere of WWE programming, it's still very difficult to present star power in the environment. As frustrating as it is, COVID will still have a major impact on pro wrestling this and it will be interesting to see how the industry continues to adjust to the pandemic in the next few months.

The status of Jay White

Last week, Jay White, the New Zealand export, challenged the newly-crowned Kota Ibushi for the IWGP championship at night two of the Wrestle Kingdom event, the biggest show on the New Japan calendar. After a very solid match, White was defeated and cut a promo to claim he was going to "quit" the promotion. This further fueled rumblings that WWE could make an effort to sign the talented grappler, but conflicting reports leave that speculation up in the air.

So, will Jay White ink a WWE deal, and more specifically, would it be a wise move for him at this stage of his career?

Known as "The Switchblade," White more or less learned from scratch under the NJPW system, starting his career in England in 2013, but made the transition to young lion status with the Japanese group less than a year and a half later. His journey is a rather remarkable one and speaks volumes to the high level of training provided in the dojo, as in just a few years time, he went from a preliminary wrestler to one of the best young talents in the industry, as well as one of the main stars among a stellar roster. He spent a few years on excursion, a Japanese wrestling tradition that sends talented prospects to learn other styles in different countries, working with Ring Of Honor in the United States. It must be mentioned the track record that this process has because many of Japan's biggest stars learned valuable skills when they were sent to other organizations before they returned to the home promotion much more polished. It also might be an indication of a potential flaw within the WWE developmental system, which focuses on one specific sports entertainment philosophy.

In late 2017, White returned to New Japan under the previously mentioned Switchblade persona, an indication that he would become a more featured wrestler under the NJPW banner, and in some ways, that particular push was similar to what Kenny Omega received when he debuted for the organization as "The Cleaner." While White doesn't have the resume of Omega, another similarity between the two is that White also excelled with the opportunities he was given upon his return, including the eventual reveal as the new leader of the Bullet Club. Granted, the faction doesn't have the status now that it did a few years ago before various members were signed elsewhere, but it gave White the platform to continue to evolve as a heel, an aspect that puts him among the best workers of today.

Quite simply, Jay White can go in the ring and he can still work as a heel that can get legitimate heat, which is a tough scenario to balance, but it shows how well-rounded of a performer he is and his potential to continue to polish his skill set.

But, what we're talking about here has more to do with the impact of a Jay White arrival or exit, not necessarily the bell-to-bell action.

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that when AEW was in the planning stages, management approached White about a potential contract, but White told them he had just signed a seven-year deal with New Japan. If that's actually the case, White would have nearly five more years left on his deal, making the entire discussion of a potential jump to WWE moot. I would be surprised if the Japanese league inked him to a seven-year deal, simply because it's rare that foreign wrestlers are signed to such a long term contract, but perhaps the mass exodus that eventually formed All Elite prompted Japanese management to look for extended contracts to maintain the depth of the promotion.

Just for the discussion, if White was even eligible to sign a WWE deal, it's still not automatic that he would put pen to paper, especially considering how some NJPW alumni were used by the sports entertainment empire. The argument could be made that the WWE has the best roster in its history in terms of in-ring talent, but at the very same time, the counter argument could be made that its near an all-time low as far as legitimate star power. The WWE brand, mostly based on its success in the past, is what sells today to an audience that continues to be eroded by the presentation of the product. It's a harsh reality, but the current roster doesn't have anyone outside of maybe Roman Reigns that truly moves the numbers. That's not a jab against the roster, but rather the structure of the promotion.

Does Jay White want to tread in those waters and risk getting lost in the shuffle?

Nakamura was one of the biggest signings from New Japan when he arrived in WWE and looked to be on his way to being the first Japanese WWE champion. (Antonio Inoki actually had a short reign as WWF champion during one of Bob Backlund's tours of Japan, but the one-week reign isn't officially recognized) Nakamura has the charisma that translates beyond any perceived language barrier and the skills to be a main event star. When Nakamura won the Rumble in 2018, I was very surprised because I didn't expect WWE brass to take a chance on a potential champion that spoke limited English. As silly as that might sound as a reason not to maximize Nakamura's potential for the organization, it's not surprising because the basis of the WWE business model is to market to the lowest common denominator. That's not necessarily a negative, depending on the context of a specific situation since the company targets the general public, not specifically diehard pro wrestling fans. That being said, the office missed the boat on him, and his skills would've translated. Instead, they didn't use the WM match against AJ Styles to solidify him as a main event talent and elevate him to the next level in WWE. He lost the match on the biggest stage possible to make him a bigger star in America and was booked to turn heel at the peak of the momentum he had as a baby face. Finn Balor is another NJPW export that has been booked with mixed results by WWE. I know the injury derailed his initial WWE Universal title win, but he's obviously a top-tier talent and was jobbing to Baron Corbin on the mid-card before he returned to NXT to rejuvenate his career. Plus, let's not forget the lengthy list of NXT talents that were mishandled, misused, or completely fumbled upon their arrival on the main roster.

At 28, White is still in the formative years in his career and probably has much more to accomplish in terms of the "art" of the sport. For example, both Finn and Nakamura already had several years where their in-ring work cemented their status as tremendous workers. After the legacy of those in-ring presentations were accomplished, it was time to cash-in and make the most money possible under the WWE umbrella. Keep in mind, the ability to make as much money as possible before retirement must be a priority at some point in an accomplished performer's career. Right now, Jay White still has much to offer in terms of in-ring work that could build him an accomplished legacy before he hangs up the boots so I would say it's very doubtful he signs a WWE deal at this point in his career.