What's the status of Malakai Black?

One of the intriguing aspects of the competition of the pro wrestling industry since the launch of All Elite Wrestling, which is the first comparative competition in the business since WCW folded, is that it gives the talent more options, both for their career trajectory and the money that can be made. As much passion and determination that are shown that can legitimately be an inspiration, it's important to remember that pro wrestling, especially on a national level, is a business. Revenue and profit are what are the ultimate measures of success. To put it in perspective, outside of a few rare exceptions, nobody chose to go to TNA over WWE in the 2000s because the bigger platform and the better money was made under contract to Vince McMahon. When WWE wasn't an option or when talent were released, they often became a flavor of the month in TNA, as there was a point in time when a cast of former WWE stars became a regular portion of Impact programming with who was the next released star to debut. Instead of that, the dynamic of the business is completely different because now, talent are choosing between All Elite or WWE. With Triple H taking over the company in recent months, there was yet another shift, with some of the guys that were released during the pandemic "budget cuts" either being brought back or those in AEW interested in a potential return to WWE.

It creates a fun dynamic and keeps each product fresh, but it also creates questions about the contracts signed and how each situation should be handled, both by the talent and the promotion.

First, it should be noted that the "grappling" for leverage on contracts in pro wrestling has existed as long as the sport has drawn fans to the box office. In many cases, the promoter inherently has the advantage because of the capital and the platform an organization has, but that's not always the case, which is why it can be such a debated issue. There really are two very harsh sides of the coin on this situation. On one hand, pro wrestlers are independent contractors, and there's no pension plan or retirement fund waiting for them when they hang up their boots. How in the wide world of sports pro wrestlers are still classified as independent contractors is a different debate for a different time, but the bottom line is, pro wrestlers have a specific time frame to maximize their earnings and the ability to make the most money possible is what can offer financial security after they retire from the ring. So, from what perspective, you can't blame the talent for using every card they can play to make more money because the promoter isn't going to pay the mortgage after their contract expires.

At the same time, if a wrestler is too difficult to do business with, it can significantly damage the promotion's ability to draw the money that everyone wants to make for their piece of the pie. Ultimately, the willingness to do business is what draws the money so there's a fine line between when a talent wants their fair share and when they prevent a bigger draw at the box office. WCW is a prime example of how those with the "that don't work for me brother" mindset helped the company fall off a cliff before it went out of business.

There are different viewpoints on how contracts should be handled and there are valid points on each side of the debate. The Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez made a very good point on the Wrestling Observer Live program that when a wrestler signs a multi-year contract, they know what they're getting into and that they made a commitment to work for a company for the length of the contract. Granted, we know that the company can terminate the deal at any time, and while that might not be considered fair, the talent knows the terms of the contract before they sign it.

Alvarez made a perfectly reasonable argument that when you sign a deal, you should be held to those terms, otherwise what's the point of a contract? The counter point to that is, you can't force someone to show up if they simply refuse to work there, and you have to weigh the pros and cons of keeping someone under contract that doesn't want to be there. In some ways, it's better for the company to give someone their walking papers if they don't want to be there. I'm not sure there's a definitive right or wrong answer so prehaps, it's best handled on a case-by-case basis.

Recently, two names from The House of Black faction, Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews, were rumored to have requested their release from AEW. Both were featured stars in NXT during the Triple H regime of the brand, which led to speculation that the pair wanted to leave All Elite to return to WWE. The Wresting Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that Malakai signed a five-year deal with Tony Khan, which would mean that he still has several years left on his contract. Reportedly, Matthews signed a three-year contract. At least on the surface, it appears that Black's possible exit is what led to Matthews requesting a release as well. Granted, it doesn't make sense to continue the stable if the leader leaves the company, but that doesn't mean that Brody King isn't still a valuable asset. It was very interesting that Malakai went on Instagram live, disputing almost everything Meltzer reported on the situation. Black said that his contract wasn't for five years and that he wasn't released from his AEW deal, but rather requested time off to deal with personal issues. It could all be a smoke screen, but is another reminder that more often than not, internet speculation should be taken with a grain of salt.

Despite it being a complex scenario, my two cents on this is rather simplistic. Assuming Malakai Black is actually still under contract to AEW and didn't request his release, the speculation of his status is moot. Buddy Matthews is a talented in-ring performer, but his level of star power doesn't justify the hassle of a contract dispute so if he wants to leave, grant his release. Even if Buddy Matthews returns to the WWE, his impact would be minimal, especially with the amount of recent returns. That's basically why the requests for a release might be handled on an individual basis. If a promoter is going to invest the TV time and the promotional dollars into a talent, particularly for a major angle that will build to a pay-per-view, there must be some level of assurance that talent is going to do business. This is why the MJF controversy from a few months ago might've sent a terrible precedent since it lets the roster know that if they aren't happy they can get what they want if they simply refuse to show up for the events.

The return of Bray Wyatt

After fans could scan a code with their phone on Raw that led to a teaser video of White Rabbit for an implied reveal this Friday on Smackdown, many on social media speculated that it could be the return of Bray Wyatt, who was released due to "budget cuts" related to the pandemic.

The numerous ways that WWE brass misused and mismanaged the career of Bray Wyatt, including burning him alive on pay-per-view before he showed up as a burned marshmallow, have been well-documented so there's no reason to rehash all the details. However, I think it's worth mentioning that I'm not sure there's any other wrestler in history that the WWE has missed the boat on as big or as many times as Bray Wyatt. That's not to say he would've necessarily been the biggest star of all time, but rather that he could've been a very big star, but management completely fumbled it several times throughout his WWE tenure. In many ways, it's a small miracle that Bray has any steam left as a pro wrestling character because usually all it takes is one major botch in the direction of someone's career for their star power to be stained. Lex Luger was never the same star in the WWF after the DQ win at Summer Slam 1993, and it took a jump to WCW to rejuvenate his status. Bill Goldberg never recovered from the way the streak was handled and was booked secondary to Triple H during his original WWE stint. It took twelve years for him to regain the aura he had in his prime. Being burned alive, the infamous cell match with Seth Rollins, the horrendous swamp fight, getting squashed by Goldberg, not beating John Cena at Wrestlemania 30, being used to attempt to get Roman Reigns over during the failed baby face push, and the way the burnt marshmallow was written off of television a few months before his release were all ways that subpar booking damaged Bray's career. Again, it's a small miracle fans still want to see the character after how silly he was made to look and beaten into powder at marquee events.

But, a new regime could theoretically give Bray Wyatt a fresh start so is it possible that he's the white rabbit?

 All things considered, if I had to guess, I'd say that yes, Bray is the surprise for Smackdown. The cryptic reveal is something that would fit with his persona and would be a way to create as much distance as possible between the current Bray and the previously mentioned burnt marshmallow. The only downside is that the timing doesn't lend itself to any major pay-per-views so you not going to get a surprise Wyatt return in the Royal Rumble or an automatic set up for a Wrestlemania match.

By nature, pro wrestling can be a genre where the preposterous can seem posterous. It's a fine line and it's easy to jump the shark. Everyone knew The Undertaker couldn't summon lightning bolts in reality, but it was done in such a way that the audience could give that a pass and get lost in the spectacle of the moment. For example, Matt Hardy teleporting on screen is obviously not actually possible, but fans see pyro at wrestling shows on a regular basis so they know it can come from somewhere in the arena when The Undertaker hits a pose. In a similar fashion, if Bray pops up on Smackdown, it would be best for the presentation to completely omit any of the subpar portrayal of the character from the tenure last year. The Fiend, the burnt marshmallow, or any reference to it should be completely avoided.

It speaks volumes to his ability as a performer that the audience still reacts with this level of anticipation for a potential Bray Wyatt return. Make no mistake about it, Wyatt has all the tools of a major star. He has the in-ring work, the mic skills, and the charisma to draw money. Quite simply, Wyatt has an "it" factor that can't be taught, regardless of how many former athletes from other sports get put through the assembly line at the Performance Center.

If the White Rabbit reveal isn't Bray Wyatt then whoever it is will probably have more of an uphill climb to get over with the audience because of the expectations of the teaser videos. However, not knowing for sure and some mystery ahead of when Smackdown is on the air is part of the fun. For example, some fans might've had some idea of Chris Jericho's WWE debut, but when the surprise is still there, it creates more of a memorable moment. If the videos are for Bray Wyatt then I'd say that his fresh character should resemble some of the aspects of what made the original character popular. Evolve beyond the origins of the swamps of the initial NXT vignettes, but give him the Jim Jones type persona and allow for the type of run the original Bray Wyatt character should've had several years ago.

As with anything, the success of a Bray Wyatt return to WWE will depend on if management has meaningful angles for him beyond just the debut pop since we know that's easy. The character must have a purpose and importance that will allow Wyatt to continue to progress throughout a new stint in the company. Sure, I'm guessing the money to re-sign with the organization is very good, but if Bray is going to return only to spin his wheels with counterproductive booking then the intrigue of the return is moot point for his career.

AEW Grand Slam

All Elite Wrestling Grand Slam, the event held at Arthur Ashe stadium is in the books and very similar to the show last year, Grand Slam appeared to be a pivotal night for the organization going forward. In some ways, it was a new chapter for the company after all the turmoil and publicity of the now-infamous All Out media scrum. How the results of Grand Slam continue to unfold remain to be seen.

The show opened with Claudio vs. Chris Jericho for the Ring Of Honor world title. It was a very solid contest, and underscored the longevity of Jericho, as he went step-for-step with Claudio throughout the bout. A cheap shot allowed Jericho to win the belt, which I'm guessing was a decision strictly made to attempt to secure a television deal for ROH. Tony Khan did a recent interview with Barstool and mentioned that he discussed a potential ROH deal with Turner executives. I have to say, I think the entire philosophy is flawed. I know I've said it before, but it will continue to be relevant as long as the status of ROH is up in the air. While the history of Ring Of Honor was very influential and AEW probably wouldn't exist without it, the bottom line is, ROH was a brand that lost all of its momentum after The Elite left to launch AEW. The company was sold because it couldn't draw enough to sustain itself in the crowded wrestling landscape. If there was money to be made with the current ROH brand then it wouldn't have been sold in the first place. In my opinion, the most valuable asset and rightfully worth the purchase is the extensive video library. In an age where there's big money in streaming networks, the purchase gives Tony Khan the foundation of a platform. There are hundreds of full-length events and television episodes in the archives that feature many of the stars that either Khan has under contract or are major stars in the WWE,. The ability to monetize that footage could be a major revenue stream. Other than that, the attempt to involve ROH on AEW programming only dilutes the All Elite brand. There are so many belts that it's comical. Again, the ROH product couldn't sustain itself and it was sold so it goes without saying that the resources of Tony Khan should be behind All Elite because that's the brand that has the best chance to be competitive in the industry. Using the time, energy, and resources for ROH takes away from building AEW.

As far as getting Ring Of Honor back on television, Tony Khan needs to focus on booking Dynamite to be the best show possible on a weekly basis, and again, other projects will inherently take away from that. Plus, you have to ask, do fans really want to watch another hour of wrestling every week? The numbers for Rampage suggest that there isn't the demand an extra hour of programming. Jericho winning the ROH title is a neat Easter egg, but in some ways, it's similar to when the Dudleys won the WCW tag belts after the WWF purchase, there will probably be an asterisk to it because fans know that Jericho wouldn't have worked for the original ROH.

The Women's title match was fine and Toni Storm retained. The whole Thunder Rosa story is bizarre because there are conflicting reports about if she's legitimately injured or was sent home because she was difficult to work with. In many cases, you have to take internet speculation with a grain of salt, but just for the sake of discussion, if Rosa was difficult to deal with to the point that she had to take time off then it's best for Tony Khan to release her. Don't get me wrong, Thunder Rosa is very talented, but if the CM Punk debacle taught Tony anything, it should be that you have to put the company ahead of any individual star.

Saraya, the former Paige, made her surprise AEW debut and it generated an incredible response from the crowd. All things considered, this is great for the 30-year-old athlete that thought her career was over from a serious neck injury. Paige went through a lot of turbulence personally with the injuries, substance issues, and other problems so it's wonderful to see her happy and healthy now. Assuming she's medically cleared, this is a great addition for the women's division since Saraya immediately became the biggest star in the division.

The All-Atlantic title match was good, and the athleticism was incredible. That said, the title is nothing more than a prop so there wasn't the prestige of a championship bout. The great Jim Valley, the king of recovery, summarized the Orange Cassidy situation perfectly on social media. Cassidy is  very popular, but his gimmick doesn't lend itself to competing with the top stars so he has a lot of defeats on his record. You can only book him to lose so many times before it diminishes his popularity so there's definitely a booking predicament with him, and I'm not sure what the answer is for how to properly book the character.

The Acclaimed are a textbook example of what AEW should build around, wrestlers that get over organically with the audience. Swerve and Keith Lee are very talented, but were basically a throw together team. As I said when Swerve was originally signed, he can go in the ring, but he doesn't bring anything to the table that isn't already on the roster. Keith Lee is a unique athlete, but his weight fluctuates and it seems to effect his work. The Acclaimed are over and that draws money so it was the right decision to book the title switch.

The main event was very good and it was an example of the high quality pro wrestling that AEW can bring to the table. That said, despite being one of the biggest stars in the company, Jon Moxley should only be a transitional champion right now. He won the substitute version of the world title and then lost to CM Punk so he doesn't really have the momentum of the world champion behind him at this point. While it might be obvious, sometimes the simplest answer is the right answer. MJF should be the next AEW champion, but I'm not sure how they will handle his character after that because he was getting a baby face reaction from the crowd so it will be interesting to see if Tony Khan will try to keep him heel after he wins the championship.

Logan Paul vs. Roman Reigns

During a press conference last weekend, it was announced that Youtube and social media star, Logan Paul, who worked a few matches in the WWE previously, will challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal championship on November 5th in Saudi Arabia. We've already discussed previously that yes, the Saudi shows are for the blood money, and yes, the WWE is more than willing to be a part of the Saudi government's propaganda campaign to attempt to steer the country's image away from its political and social injustices. Despite what you might hear at the press conferences or the next shareholder meeting, the deal with the Saudis is about the cash, not social progress in the country. As such, the government has offered to invest a few billion dollars into a variety of sports and entertainment acts. The WWE, pro golfers, boxers, and music acts are offered more money to go to Saudi Arabia than any promoter in the United States could realistically offer because the funding is through the country's oil industry. These WWE Saudi shows are the most profitable venture of the year for the company, guaranteeing the organization even more money than Wrestlemania. Tiger Woods was reportedly offered somewhere in the neighborhood of $700-800 million to attempt to get him to sign onto the LIV league.

It's a harsh reality, but cash is king. In the business world, money is the top priority.

Still, while the Saudis get the star power and main stream act they want for the next propaganda project, the decision to book Logan Paul against Reigns speaks volumes about a few different aspects of the company.

As mentioned, from strictly a business perspective, Crown Jewel is already a success because the Saudi government is getting what they paid for so it keeps that business agreement strong, and of course, WWE will have its most profitable show of the year in November.

In a vacuum, the Saudi show is a win-win for everyone. However, outside of that, it's a microcosm of WWE's bigger problems. Regardless of if it was the 50/50 booking, the Vince McMahon philosophy, or any other reason, the WWE spent the past several years boosting its major shows with nostalgia acts from the past. When this year's Wrestlemania needed a main event for night one, Steve Austin was called out of retirement for the first time in 19 years. John Cena is still the last main stream star the company made and that was over 15 years ago. Taking nothing away from Roman, he's doing the best work of his career and he's the top star of the WWE, but his name isn't well-known among the general public. People that don't watch wrestling know the name John Cena, but wouldn't automatically know the name Roman Reigns. The type of star power the Saudis pay massive cash for goes beyond WWE because they ultimately aren't paying for a WWE show, they are going for main stream publicity more than anything else.

As far as nostalgia, the WWE as a whole used the star power of the past as a substitute for a compelling product. Goldberg, Sting, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and others were given the chance to shine again because it's much easier to recycle a formula you know works than to risk anything with a new star. The problem is that, by nature, nostalgia is a limited concept, and that's exactly what happened to these Saudi shows. The government got Goldberg, Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, and Shawn Micheals, Essentially, the WWE ran out of main stream acts and the current roster doesn't have anyone to compare to that level of star power. Again, 50/50 booking or any other reason doesn't matter, the bottom line is, WWE management doesn't have the ace up their sleeve to cash-in on the most profitable show of the year.

So, the office booked Logan Paul against Roman Reigns because for whatever reason, Logan Paul is more well known to the general public than the rest of the current WWE roster. Granted, I'm only a few years older than Logan Paul, and maybe I'm just an old soul, but I will never understand those that are "famous for being famous." I don't care if Logan Paul went to get a coffee or got hit by lightning. The Kardashians are one of the reasons for the downfall of society. Still, the government is paying for main stream publicity and Paul brings that to the table. However, it underscores the fact that there aren't any legitimate main stream stars on the current roster. When a guy with two matches is a bigger deal to an outside entity than anyone that is on the show weekly, there's definitely a problem. Sure, the WWE draw draws and will make the most money in the history of the company in the next few years because of the television deals, but similar to when the company ran out of part-timers for Saudi Arabia, how are they going land a similar TV deal next time when it's clear that the majority of the company aren't viewed as major stars by the general public?

As far as the actual match, unless Roman Reigns destroys Paul within two minutes, what does that say about the rest of the roster? Reigns steamrolled everyone so what does it says about all the top names he beat if Logan Paul has a competitive match with him? If the guy with only two matches can be competitive with the world champion, how difficult is the sport supposed to be? If it's implied that anyone can get in the ring, doesn't that further dilute the star power of the current roster?

The argument could be made that with the type of money the Saudis show bring in that any criticism is moot, and depending on your perspective, that might be true, but at some point those decisions could eventually hinder the rest of the product. For example, when will the company truly made its next generation of major stars?

VHS Memoirs volume 29

Today marks 28 years since Fall Brawl 1994, a broadcast that took place in the midst of another transitional period for the organization. After being in flux for the majority of its existence under the Turner banner, WCW at least had a clear vision under Eric Bischoff, who knew the company needed star power and a presentation that took it out of the dimly-lit arenas that the promotion was known for before that. It still puzzles me that a broadcast company owned the wrestling division, but went nearly five years with subpar production value. Fall Brawl was somewhat of a bridge between that gritty early- 90s era and the period that Nitro went head-to-head with Raw. Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon’s golden goose for the previous decade, signed with Ted Turner in May 1994 and was the key piece of the puzzle that came together over the next few years with the addition of names like Macho Man, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and others. Landing Hogan let the stars of the industry that the Turner organization was willing to invest in the wrestling project, which meant big paydays for the competitors that listened to Bischoff’s pitch.

By Fall Brawl, Hogan was already at the top of the card, setting up a cage match against Ric Flair for the championship in a rather odd segment on this show, where they literally argued on the phone for almost ten minutes, for Halloween Havoc. On the flip side, Cactus Jack, who made a splash on the national scene in the previous few years, was on his way out of the company after this pay per view. Along the same lines, the booking of Steve Austin made it clear that his tenure was limited.

The show opened with Steven Regal against Johnny B. badd and was a solid way to kick off the PPV. Nothing against Marc Mero, but this was a showcase bout where the heel really shined the baby face, with Regal making his opponent look like a million dollars. There’s a reason why the British grappler is so well regarded, and he made Johnny B. Badd look like a star in this contest. To his credit, Mero played his role very well and was the best choice to play the Johnny B. Badd persona. As we know he never quite found his groove outside of the gimmick presentation, which is probably the reason why his success was limited during his WWF run. Still this was good start to the show, and Badd got the victory to claim the WCW Television championship.

Next was Cactus Jack vs Kevin Sullivan in a loser leaves WCW match, and as mentioned this was the way Cactus was written out of the company. Somehow, six months after losing an ear in Germany, WCW management not only didn’t use it to push him, but also didn’t see the downside of letting Cactus onto the free agent market. Granted, it's easy to criticize Bischoff's lack of plans for Mick Foley, but it's important to take the context of the time period into consideration. Keep in mind, this was at a time when Bischoff specifically wanted to shine the WCW presentation with the Disney tapings and improved production value of the shows in an attempt to create the perception that the Turner brand was on the same level as the WWF at the time. Cactus' wild style was legendary, but it didn't necessarily fit with the more polished image that Bischoff wanted to represent the WCW product. That said, I'm not sure if Mick wanted to prove a point with this bout or considered it an audition for another major company, but he didn't mail in this performance. This was a really entertaining brawl, and Cactus took some absolutely brutal bumps on the concrete, including a slam from the middle rope to the floor. Jack collided with Dave Sullivan on the apron and that allowed Kevin Sullivan to get the win. This is definitely a match worth going out of your way to watch on this pay-per-view.

"Stunning" Steve Austin was scheduled to challenge the legendary Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat for the United States championship, but the injury that eventually forced Steamboat to retire led to him vacating the title. Austin celebrated as if he was the new champion until "Hacksaw " Jim Duggan made his way to the ring to compete. Nick Bockwinkel, who did a great job as a figurehead in WCW was very well spoken and looked like someone of authority, informed Austin that he would have to wrestle Duggan to win the title. "Hacksaw" landed some of his trademark clotheslines and punches, defeating Austin in about 25 seconds to win the belt. "Stunning" Steve floundered for about another six months before he was released from his contract while he was on the sidelines with an arm injury. There's really not too much to say about the actual segment and other than the surprise title switch, there wasn't much substance to it as far as a pay-per-view contest.

Pretty Wonderful, the team of Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma, defended their WCW Tag Team titles against Stars and Stripes, the combination of The Patriot and Marcus Bagwell. Very similar to the other Pretty Wonderful PPV bouts of this time, this was a good tag bout that helped pace the card. It wasn't anything too spectacular, but had the entertainment value of crisp and fast-paced wrestling. One of the biggest takeaways here was just how good The Patriot was, despite how brief he time in the spotlight ultimately was during his in-ring career. Del Wilkes was very agile for his size and he took a gimmick that might've been seen as completely generic and made it his own. The mask was so cool, and he had a level of charisma that connected with the audience during matches. The villains attacked Bagwell outside of the ring and used that opportunity to get the win to retain the titles.

The number one contender's match for the WCW World Championship was a rather odd bout, with Vader against Sting and The Guardian Angel, the renamed Big Bossman, in a triangle match. It wasn't the typical triple threat match, though as a coin flip determined that The Guardian Angel and Vader started the bout and the winner advanced to wrestle Sting after that. The segment went out 25 minutes and the bulk of the contest was Sting and Vader, which included the fast-paced action that you'd expect from their feud based on their history. Bossman's time in the ring was rather brief, but it should be noted that The Guardian Angel gimmick was a little out of place since the actual Guardian Angels weren't as well known at this time. Originally known as "The Boss" until a legal letter from WWF prompted the name change, Ray Traylor was a quality talent, which is why he always had a job somewhere throughout his career. A masked man, who was eventually revealed to be Ed Leslie a few months later when he main evented Starrcade against Hogan, nailed Sting with a lead pipe to assist Vader for the win.

The main event was War Games, the bout that became the staple of the Fall Brawl pay-per-view in the years that followed. Dusty Rhodes cut one of the most memorable and emotional promos in the ring with his son Dustin ahead of this event. Dusty and Dustin were joined by The Nasty Boys to challenge The Stud Stable of Arn Anderson, who turned heel against Dustin in a prior tag match, Terry Funk, Bunkhouse Buck, and Colonel Parker. It goes without saying that these teams were made for War Games and while there was too much action to review, this was a fun match that provides an entertaining conclusion to the event. Similar to the Cactus/Sullivan bout, the main event is another match that you should take the time to watch on this show. Of course, the heels got the advantage to start the bout, but eventually Colonel Parker submits in the figure four so the baby face team gets the win.

Onita vs. Moxley

Within the past several weeks, the narrative around All Elite Wrestling was a mixed bag, as the top star and company of the company went rouge, throwing the entire organization under the bus at the now-infamous All Out media scrum. The locker room brawl that followed resulted in suspensions for CM Punk, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Ace Steel, and a few others. Supposedly, possible legal consequences could be pending as well, which makes the fact that Punk suffered yet another injury almost secondary. The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that the former AEW champion had surgery to repair a torn triceps, putting him on the shelf for about eight months. That might be a moot point, considering that Punk's official status with the company is still unknown.

Some pundits cited this debacle to the fact that Tony Khan gives his roster too much flexibility, and in an ego-driven business the potential for that to backfire is always there.

Depending on your perspective, the ability for contracted AEW talent to take outside gigs is one of the perks of the organization. The stars of TBS get the chance to make some extra dough and have the advantage of a higher booking rate based on the television exposure. Plus, being a known star from television doesn't hurt merch sales at indy shows either, especially when the majority of those transactions are in cash.

One side of the coin is that the younger talent, especially if Tony Khan  sees those guys as the future of his organization, get a chance to continue to hone their craft on a smaller scale to eventual become more polished for All Elite programming. It's much easier for wrestlers to make the mistakes to learn the industry on smaller indy shows than potentially being exposed as inexperience on national television. I don't think Brock Anderson is necessarily going to be the future All Elite Wrestling world champion, but for the wrestlers that are projects of The Nightmare Factory or others that are relatively new to the sport, the chance for them to work the small shows is a very useful opportunity. It's probably as close to working the territory system as possible in the modern era.

On the other hand, even for the higher profile indy shows, technically there's a risk every time one of AEW's mainstays step into the ring for another promotion. One injury to one of the main All Elite cast at an indy show could potentially put a major dent in the national promotion. Just as an example, Jon Moxley is the current Game Changer Wrestling champion, but if he suffered an injury at a GCW event, it would impact the industry far beyond just the indies. Still, we've seen guest stars provide intriguing and entertaining television for All Elite, which gives the group something unique to promote to the audience.

That's why it was interesting to read reports that Meltzer recently mentioned that legendary grappler and the founder of Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling, Atsushi Onita wants to do an exploding barbed wire match, a stipulation originally popularized by FMW, against Jon Moxley in All Elite Wrestling.

As we know, the last time AEW attempted this type of gimmick match, it was quite literally a dud when the final explosions were very underwhelming and it led to criticism from the viewing audience. If this type of bout could draw again would be very questionable because fans aren't going to be as willing to pay that $50 price tag knowing that the Kenny Omega/Moxley bout had such a flat conclusion.

Make no mistake about it, as infamous as he is controversial, Onita is only willing to do this type of match specifically for the pay off involved. He launched FMW-E, a spin off of the original promotion, last year, but it failed to pick up any significant momentum. Some of those events were held at actual fruit markets in small towns in Japan. That was just over five years after the start of "Super FMW," another spin off that fizzled rather quickly when it became apparent to audiences that it wouldn't be anything close to the original brand. More recently, Onita did a series of appearances and matches in the United States, wrestling against Bully Ray in Philadelphia, as well as an eight-man tag at Wrestle Con earlier this year. Before that, he worked an exploding ring match against Matt Tremont last October at a minor league baseball stadium, but that event was surrounded in controversy with the amount of tickets sold not covering Onita's payment.

If I had to guess, I'd say that the aging grappler was probably willing to work in America in the last five years because there are only so many times that he can reboot the FMW concept.

If Onita should be booked in AEW is a different matter entirely. Obviously, Tony Khan is aware of his status in Japan, which is why the exploding barbed wire match was booked for Omega/Moxley, and Onita had a cameo on Dynamite to build the PPV match. For the diehard wrestling fans that know the history of FMW, an Onita/Moxley bout would be a dream match on paper, but even the most enthusiastic death match fan knows that it's not a realistic option. At 64, Onita has very limited mobility, which is why he worked mostly tag matches in Japan the past several years. Selling the audience another exploding barbed wire match on pay-per-view would be tough because of how underwhelming the conclusion was to the gimmick in AEW before, but getting a performance that would be PPV worthy might not be possible so it could be another disappointment for the paying audience.

Again, for Onita, it'd be great because he gets a payoff from Tony Khan, but what would essentially be an aging outsider throwing Moxley into the barbed wire because he physically can't take those types of bumps isn't good business for All Elite. Let's hope this rumor stays just a rumor because besides Onita's pocket book, there's not a benefit for this match in AEW.

Danielson vs. Moxley

After some speculating on the collapse of All Elite Wrestling, those misguided fans were proven wrong when the AEW schedule continued as planned with the semi-finals of the world title tournament last night on Dynamite. As expected, it will be Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley at Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe stadium to determine the new champion. I mentioned it in an article last week, but it makes sense to emphasis it again, sometimes the simplest answer is the right answer, and taking the whole media scrum debacle into account, it makes sense to present the biggest star power possible for the championship at the stadium.

From what was revealed last night, MJF has a new faction with the group that helped him win the ladder match at All Out to become the number one contender for the title. On the surface, MJF is such a talented talker that  he doesn't need another person next to him to cut promos, and he's effective enough as a heel to get heat without using a stable, but at least for the moment, it shines an extra spotlight on him, which is a positive for a company that has some of its featured stars still off of television because of pending suspensions. In truth, I'm not sure anyone involved in The Firm is going to get over just by being associated with MJF, mostly because if there's going to be a stable booked around him then it should be designed to get him over. Still, the TV time for Ethan Page, Lee Moriarty, and others is better exposure than being lost in the shuffle on one of the Youtube shows.

MJF spoke mostly about Jon Moxley in the promo on Dynamite so that might be an indication that Moxley will win the championship at Grand Slam and then be challenged by MJF at the next pay-per-view. It might sound sarcastic with how bloated the roster is, but assuming Friedman eventually wins the belt, Tony Khan should have a plan to create some legitimate challengers for him. This is one of the many problems with such a full roster, when you try to get everyone over, the result is usually that the majority of the roster stays at the same level. Sure, AEW has a lot of names it could book against MJF, but would it be considered something that would be main event or pay-per-view worthy? For example, Samoa Joe has spent the majority of his All Elite tenure in the secondary feud with Jay Lethal. Joe vs. MJF would be a solid match on the marquee, but is Samoa Joe currently in the position on television where fans might think there's a possibility that he could win the championship? When you only have four pay-per-views a year and those shows costs $50, you have to create a level of intrigue that will get the fans to place the order for the broadcast. Danielson vs. Friedman would probably be a great feud, especially because of how over Danielson is, but again, if Danielson doesn't win the tournament, would he be considered a credible challenger again not too long after the finals?

As much as Tony Khan might have a background in sports analytics, to reference the earlier theory with the Grand Slam finals, sometimes the simplest answer is the correct answer. Instead of a half dozen championships or convoluting the All Elite brand with continuous references to Ring Of Honor, Khan should look to simplify the formula for the product. Give the most over baby faces wins on television to build momentum and have those stars challenge the heels with the most heat. In this case, if MJF garners the most heat on the roster, book him in a main event angle with the most over baby face on the show. Stability and consistency is the key for All Elite Wrestling, regardless of if or when the EVPs return to the organization.

Still, it seems like a long time since All Elite Wrestling hit a big home run, with the Punk vs. MJF dog collar match probably being the most recent example. Through no fault of his own, Adam Page was booked terribly as champion and his run with the belt more or less flopped. That's not a knock against Page's skills, he deserved better, but he was portrayed as a whiny champion instead of the blue collar competitor. More specifically, there was a promo where Page mentioned his lack of title defenses, which didn't gel with the blue collar character. Plus, the amount of TV time he had during the majority of his title reign was minimal. Furthermore, as nice as it legitimately is that The Dark Order remain a faction and stamp of the legacy of Brodie Lee, the current version of the stable is a comedy act so that didn't really gel with Page's main event push either. Adam Cole's star power was minimized after he arrived with his involvement with The Elite instead of being a featured individual star, and now he's on the sidelines. Even Danielson, who started in All Elite as possibly the best heel in the business at the time, was booked into a stable so the momentum of his initial debut wasn't fully utilized.

The point being, outside of the Revolution pay-per-view in March, the vast majority of the All Elite product seems like so much more could've been done with certain performers at certain points. Why exactly wasn't there an FTR vs. Young Bucks match for the AEW tag titles? FTR had consistently solid matches on television and the one-off ROH pay-per-views, but weren't featured on the All Out card. All things considered, the argument could be made that Danielson, Cole, Eddie Kingston, Adam Page, and FTR should've been used better this year.

That's why MJF eventually winning the title isn't an automatic shift in the right direction for the company. If the heel wins the championship, who challenges him for it? Don't get me wrong, Dynamite has some stellar matches and the level of talent on the roster is obvious, but as I said in an article a few days ago, there's a difference between the ability to have the five star match and being over with the audience. AEW is a national commodity and on that level, the ability to truly be over with the audience is what draws money. The novelty of the new promotion has worn off and now the success of the organization will be measured by how effectively it can utilize the talent on the roster.

What's the status of Dynamite?

Through the dumpster fire that usually is social media, between the CM Punk debate and arguments about literally everything else possible in the world, I saw an interesting graphic as I scrolled through Twitter. It was 27 years ago last week that the Monday night wars officially kicked off as Raw and Nitro went head-to-head. As we know, Lex Luger left the WWF over night to jump ship to WCW when he walked out unannounced on Nitro's debut edition. Erich Bischoff, who took over as Executive Vince President of World Championship Wrestling the year prior after a revolving door of figureheads there  previous few years, was asked by Ted Turner what the organization had to do to compete with Vince McMahon. Reportedly, Bischoff responded that WCW had to go head-to-head with the WWF, and was given a prime time spot on TNT on Monday nights.

Bischoff was smart enough to launch his Monday night show on a week that Raw for preempted by the annual dog show on USA. All these years later, I'm still not sure why a dog pageant was given a prime time spot on Monday nights, especially during a time when pro wrestling set ratings records during that era. Regardless, it gave Bischoff an opening to give the wrestling public an unopposed chance to sample Nitro.

It's interesting to note that when the two shows aired directly against each other for the first time, Nitro defeated Raw in the ratings with a 2.5 and 2.2 respectively.

To put this in context, this wasn't during the boom that the Monday night wars became a short time later. After Nitro made its television debut, The Giant fell off Cobo Hall and the yeti attacked Hulk Hogan. The WWF had an aging Nikolai Volkoff used as a part of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation, and King Kong Bundy was brought back for a short stint to attempt to add some level of star power to a business that had fallen into a slump based on the negative press the industry received a few years earlier. Granted, the stars of the 80s were iconic in their heyday, but the point being, the year that Nitro debuted wasn't exactly a boom period for the business. In fact, if you go back and watch some of those early episodes of Nitro, there are segments that make it almost unbelievable that the same show became the highest rated on cable a little more than a year later. A parade of Dungeon of Doom goons were fed to Hulk Hogan to keep his ego satisfied. Lex was one of the most over performers on the roster in 1997, but just a few months after his memorable Nitro debut, he was somehow booked as a member of the Dungeon of Doom alongside names like The Zodiac and The Shark on Nitro.

But it’s important to remember that the  evolution of media and its distribution played a role in all of that as well.

Some lessons for today can be learned from the Monday night wars, both what to do and what pitfalls to avoid. If WWE attempted to recreate the 90s today, it would flop because much of that success was based on the climate of society at the time. Howard Stern had 20 million listeners daily, Marylin Manson sold five million albums, and Jerry Springer had pay-per-view specials. Aside from contemporary programming, the distribution of media is another major factor. One of the main reasons the WWE landed those major TV deals that will generate record-setting profits is because networks are willing to pay big money for live programming to attention to skate around the use of DVR viewing. The advancements in technology that shifted the paradigm of media toward more on-demand consumption of media had a ripple effect across the board because it impacts the avenues of distribution to consumers, both for the content, as well as the ad revenue associated with it.

In some ways, the sports entertainment business is still adjusting to this relatively new media landscape. On one hand, the on-demand concept allowed for the WWE Network set up the foundation for Peacock deal. On the other hand, the countless entertainment options that were made available by those same technological advancements translates to more competition for viewers.

It’s somewhat of a double-edge sword because the level of competition, along with how exposed the business became, it makes you wonder if there’s a ceiling to where the genre can realistically go from here?

Raw, with it's new philosophy under the Triple H regime, saw a slight increase to just over two million viewers in recent weeks, which is an improvement since the majority of the pandemic era garnered numbers under the two million mark. All Elite Wrestling, regardless of the addition of CM Punk, Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson, and several other former WWE stars, still generates an average of roughly a million viewers for Dynamite.

Is this really the barometer for professional wrestling now?

One of the biggest takeaways from all of this is that being over is much more important than how many stars a match gets. Sure, pro wrestling is subjective so there's theoretically not a right or wrong answer, but from strictly a business perspective, less people are watching pro wrestling now than any of time in history. Sure, the WWE is making the most profit of all time, but the climate of the television business, not the popularity of sports entertainment made that possible. What happens when WWE brass has to negotiate its next TV deal with the sluggish ratings as its track record? After the Discovery merger, how can Tony Khan ask for an increase in broadcast fees when AEW programming is more or less stagnant in the ratings?

No, the sky isn't falling and the business isn't doomed, but the genre is almost in danger of becoming strictly a niche product that can't draw the general public. As far as how exposed the industry is now, this is somewhat uncharted territory because even during the boom period of the Attitude era when the audience knew it was show business, at least the tricks of the trade weren't revealed. There wasn't such easy access to the stars with social media or several documentaries that discussed the behind-the-scenes aspects of the industry. The Steve Austin shows on the WWE Network are great for purists, but does the casual fan have to hear all the inside scoops on Sami Zayn's Wrestlemania match? There's a reason that the nostalgia acts are more popular than the current roster because much of that era still had the aura of larger-than-life star power.

During the infamous All Out media scrum, Tony Khan compared himself to Jim Crockett because WWE ran an NXT show on the same day as the AEW pay-per-view. The comparison is laughable, and as mentioned in an article last week, the whole media scrum debacle should be a harsh lesson for Tony to put business ahead of being friends with the roster. By most metrics, the business has improved since 1995, with better athletes and more quality matches. However, the one true measure of success, the amount of fans watching the product that are willing to pay to watch it puts the current shows behind the shows 27 years ago. Could you imagine the reaction if Dynamite drew the same 2.2 that Raw did during its defeat during that first head-to-head competition? It would be major news because the business has consolidated itself as far as options and the amount of viewers it can draw. Again to put it in perspective, during the dying days of WCW, with just the aftermath of the hot period from a few years earlier, Nitro managed to get a 2.6 in 2000. When is the last time that Raw drew a 2.6?

We see so much debate about how many five star matches a particular wrestler had, but nobody stops to think of it from outside of the wrestling bubble. Why are so fewer fans watching today? Perhaps, the best show is the one that can draw on a national level with the most viewers because from a business perspective, you need those viewers to generate the most money possible. Will Ospreay is one of the most talented athletes of his generation and he's a major star to the New Japan audience because of the style that is popular there, but the harsh reality is that the vast majority of the TBS audience had no idea who he or Aussie Open were, especially since Aussie Open haven't had nearly the same amount of exposure as Ospreay. That's not to take away from anyone's talent, but rather to point out that the six man tag spot fest on Dynamite a few weeks ago didn't do anything to boost the numbers.

The bottom line is, being over with the general public is the most important aspect for both the WWE and AEW because the ability to draw the causal fans is what allows a company to make the most money possible. The next time there's a debate about who has more five star matches, some of those that argue about it for consider what the actual goal is of the pro wrestling business.

AEW titles vacated

After a turbulent few days, the wrestling world was watching last night's edition of Dynamite, specifically to see how All Elite Wrestling would address the controversial comments made by CM Punk at the post-show media scrum and the locker room brawl that happened afterwards. Prior to the broadcast, it was announced on social media that Tony Khan would address the status of the AEW championships, and The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer tweeted that those involved in the fight were officially suspended.

For those that thought it might've been the beginning of the end of the company, mostly because that's the narrative they wanted to run with more than anything else, it was misguided to think that a backstage skirmish would doom the promotion. On the other hand, it was critical that the situation be addressed in an appropriate and quick manner if the company was going to continue to exist in a meaningful way. The difference being, TNA existed as a group that spun its wheels for years with simply being there, but reached a point where its contributions to the status of the industry were marginal at best. This was very clear during its stints on Pop TV and Destination America.

Tony Khan was at a critical point where he had to decide if he was going to be friends with the wrestlers or be their boss. Both is possible, but business is business, and the aftermath of all of this was really going to determine if Khan treated this project like a business or a vanity project.

The way that Khan addressed the situation with a recorded statement, announcing that the titles were vacated without mentioning any names or particulars was exactly the way to handle it. It was concise and deescalated the situation. Furthermore, he did his job as a promoter and hyped his product with the news that the new world champion would be crowned at Grand Slam in two weeks. The setting of a stadium for a new champion works well and provides good optics for the organization.

Death Triangle beat Best Friends to be crowned the new trios champions, but as I said previously, I still don't think the trios belt are necessary so the bout to determine new champions was mostly a technicality. Granted, the backstage fight between the world champion and the EVPs  should obviously be the top priority, but that doesn't overlook the fact that the product still has its flaws. Pac is also the All-Atlantic champion, but does it really matter? Don't get me wrong, Death Triangle is a great team and they had the entertaining spot fest that you'd expect from the six man tag, but that doesn't make the title anything more than a prop.

Aside from the suspensions and potential legal issues that were caused by the fight, Dave Meltzer also reported that CM Punk suffered another injury during the All Out main event last weekend. Supposedly, Punk suffered a torn triceps that will require surgery, putting him on the sidelines for another eight months. This adds a completely different aspect to this entire scenario. Punk won the championship in May before he had to get surgery to repair his foot, which kept him out of action for three months. He worked one full match and now he will be on the shelf for another eight months. So far, he spent a quarter of his tenure in All Elite on the injured list. If CM Punk can actually work with the rest of the roster is a completely different matter, if Tony Khan can realistically invest more time into an injury prone athlete is also a question to consider going forward.

Assuming CM Punk stays on the roster, he will be 44 when he returns to the ring. Under the best circumstances, even if everyone involved in the backstage fight makes peace, will Punk realistically be able to work those thirty-minute pay-per-view main events? As I said in a column earlier this week, I don't think CM Punk is worth the hassle to keep on the roster since the numbers remained stagnate since he arrived, but taking into account the number of injuries he had, it might be best for him not to attempt another return to the ring anyway.

As far as the world title tournament, Bryan Danielson vs. Adam Page was a great match that reinforced the in-ring quality of the All Elite product. Theoretically, the tournament could be used to elevate a younger star, but under these circumstances, the easiest answer is probably the right answer. Danielson vs. Jon Moxley brings the biggest star power possible and stability to the main event scene.

Furthermore, as much as any of the current Ring Of Honor titles are just props, the Daniel Garcia vs. Wheeler Yuta match was a main event on Dynamite that proved that All Elite isn't just built around The Bucks and Omega or CM Punk, there's a capable roster of younger talent that has the potential to become the stars of the future. On a night where Tony Khan needed a positive show to deliver for the company, Dynamite accomplished that in a major way, with Danielson, Moxley, Yuta, and Garcia being key pieces to the puzzle.

As far as where any of this goes next, I'm really hoping, at least for the sake of the wrestling business, that Tony Khan uses this whole debacle as a learning experience for what pitfalls to avoid in the future. His passion for professional wrestling is admirable, he didn't need to invest into the industry. He's already from a billionaire family, and instead of the stress of producing live television every week, he could've bought an island and drank ice tea. That said, the reality of being a promoter can be very harsh, especially in the ego-driven wrestling business. Being friends with the roster and being their boss is possible, but very difficult. Tony had to learn the hard way that business is business and in certain situations being the boss has be the role before being friends with the roster. If anything good can come from any of this, maybe eight months away from AEW will make it easier for Punk to mend fences if he decides to return to the company. Another interesting aspect to all of this is that some of the talent that hasn't had a chance to truly shine might get more of the spotlight and elevate their status in the company.

CM Punk vs. The Elite

The aftermath of the explosive CM Punk media scrum following last weekend's All Out pay-per-view continues with new details emerging about the locker room fight between the world champion and the EVPs he spoke about during the press conference. As I said in an article I wrote about the media scrum incident, I took most of those reports of a fight with a grain of salt because incidents like this, especially in the pro wrestling business tend to get blown out of proportion rather quickly. A verbal argument is reported as a fight, and an actual fight might be covered like it was a total brawl so you shouldn't put too much stock into initial reports.

However, enough sources, including PWinsider's Mike Johnson have confirmed that there was a legitimate brawl after the Punk comments. Details of exactly what happened are still being debated, but from what was confirmed thus far, Punk threw a punch at Matt Jackson, and Ace Steel threw a chair at Nick Jackson. Ace also grabbed Kenny Omega's hair and bit him. This might be another note to take with a grain of salt, but The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer claimed that those involved aren't talking because there are potential legal issues stemming from the fight. If that is true, All Elite Wrestling as a company might have a much bigger problem than what's scripted for this week's episode of Dynamite.

With the confirmation that there was a physical confrontation between them, including when Chris Jericho quietly informed Tony Khan of the incident after his portion of the press conference, the biggest question surrounding AEW is, how should Tony Khan handle any of this?

Listen, as we've discussed, it's an ego-driven industry and wrestlers have disagreed with each other as long as the business has existed. The common theme, especially before guaranteed money, was that everyone found a compromise to be able to make the money that was on the table. It's 2022 and with the age of social media, disagreements and especially physical confrontations can't be sweep under the rug. Even the most casual fans will hear something about a backstage fight, and the ripple effect of that can affect the perception of a star on screen. Nobody, except a very niche group of fans, knew that Vader got knocked out by Paul Orndorff before he left WCW in 1995 so when he debuted in the WWF a few months later, he still had the aura of a monster.

Make no mistake about it, Tony Khan doesn't have an easy decision going forward.

As I said before, this might be a situation where Khan has to decide who is more valuable to the All Elite brand. In theory, Punk is the bigger star and the more valuable commodity, but as I also mentioned in an article recently, from a numbers perspective, one could argue that his contributions to the company are moot because Dynamite still draws roughly the same one million viewers now as it did before he arrived. The company has a diehard fan base that is willing to travel to shows and had already sold out pay-per-views before Punk signed with the company. At the same time, as spectacular as the athleticism is, the argument could be made that The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega work a style that will only draw a niche audience. That being said, regardless of some of the rightfully criticism of the AEW booking or how The Elite present themselves in the company, they are a group that the core AEW fan base is dedicated to following. I'm not sure the organization retains that core if The Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Adam Page were sent away in favor of CM Punk. Sure, the argument could be made that none of those guys might draw the causal fan to All Elite, but so far Punk hasn't either.

Tony Khan is a billionaire, and I'm not so who am I to tell him anything, but if All Elite is going to have a meaningful future in the industry, I'd suggest that his actions are swift. Keep in mind, the recent Discovery merger could impact the network's perception of the wrestling project, particularly when they have to negotiate a new television deal in a few years. One of the featured stars of Khan's company becoming a TMZ headline for an assault isn't good for anyone. As much as I think Ace Steel didn't get the credit he deserved as a wrestler and was a wise mind to have as a producer, he should be gone from the company. You simply can't work as a producer if you threw a chair at someone and bit someone else. If this was 1985 then this could go unnoticed, but the story is public and something must be done in response to it. If Punk wants to walk out because of the dismissal of Ace, so be it.

If Punk should stay is another matter that should be addressed. Clearly, Punk thinks he's the biggest star in the company, but as I said, he hasn't brought more casual fans to AEW, the television ratings prove that. The bottom line is, is CM Punk that much more valuable to the company than someone like Bryan Danielson or Jon Moxlely? Would arenas suddenly be empty if Danielson was the champion instead?

If Punk actually threw the first punch then he should be out the door. Let him drop the title to Danielson or MJF as soon as possible and wish him well in the future. The reason I say this isn't an attempt to dismiss the star power that Punk brings to the table, but rather the precedent that will be set if he's allowed to continue to work there. Where's the line drawn? What if someone takes liberties during a match? Obviously, Punk thought he was bullet proof enough to bury the structure of the company during the press conference so what exactly does Punk have to do to be given his walking papers? Furthermore, how can Tony suspend anyone for anything similar in the future if Punk doesn't have any consequences for throwing the first punch? He asked if anyone has a problem with him to find him and someone did so assuming he threw the first punch, I'm not sure how much blame for the actual fight can be put on The Elite.

In short, I don't think even CM Punk is worth this hassle or negative publicity. How many people are talking about the pay-per-view or the MJF/Punk match in the future? CM Punk isn't a martyr for pro wrestling. The same narrative that he was difficult to deal with in WWE followed him to AEW. Phil Brooks is the common denominator in the stories of problems with management. Unless this is all resolved and each group is somehow willing to work together to attempt to get something productive accomplish from this whole debacle, and it doesn't look like that's possible then Punk did more to harm the perception of All Elite than help the company as champion. Why should CM Punk be released? The answer is, because CM Punk cares about CM Punk, and to some level that's understandable, but there's a track record that shows that he's difficult to do business with regardless of the company. At some point, Tony Khan has  actually be a wrestling promoter and make the best move for AEW.

CM Punk press conference

 Be care what you wish for because you just might get it.

The old adage might be cliche, but it's also usually true. Nothing provides a better example for that in the current climate of the pro wrestling industry than the events that took place in Chicago. No, not the All Out pay-per-view, which featured the return of MJF to the company, but rather CM Punk's post-show media scrum. Punk, who was on the shelf for three months because of a very badly injured foot that required extensive surgery, reclaimed the AEW world championship in front of his hometown crowd. Instead of discussing what it was like to be back in the ring and presumably on the path to take the company into 2023, Punk went on a tirade. The world champion of the promotion buried the majority of the company, including The Elite, the faction that the launch of the organization was built around. The real-life Phil Brooks ranted about his former best friend Colt Cabana, who was quietly taken off of AEW programming before he was signed to a contract to work for Ring Of Honor, even though the status of that Khan project seems to be unknown. The rumor mill suggested that Punk, who was involved in a bitter lawsuit with Cabana, stemming from another lawsuit that was filed after Punk appeared on the Cabana podcast several years ago to speak on his walk out of WWE, used his position to get Colt sent home from television tapings. Nothing was confirmed and nobody from All Elite actually commented on Cabana's status.

CM Punk went as far to suggest that the EVPs of the company, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega were responsible for getting the story picked up by the wrestling press a few months ago. He also addressed when he went off-script a few weeks ago to bury Adam Page and explained that it was in response to when Page made reference to Cabana in a promo ahead of the match they had at Double or Nothing when Punk initially won the championship.

There are several things that this reveals about not only CM Punk's current status in the company, but also the state of the company itself.

First of all, very similar to what I wrote in an article last week, it might be tough for some fans to admit, but prehaps Triple H was right about CM Punk. Punk won the world championship in his hometown, how much more spotlight could the company put on him? But, instead of discussing any of that, he decided to bury the structure of the company and many of it's featured performers for almost thirty minutes. Obviously, Punk has a grudge against the dirt sheets that reported that he might've been the guy to get Colt sent him, and clearly the "reporter" that originally mentioned Cabana was trying to bait Punk into a rant. Why exactly would CM Punk be willing to play into that? He could've brushed it off instead of giving the "journalist" exactly what he wanted. If anything, Punk actually lent credibility to the possibility that he got Cabana sent home even if it isn't true because it's clear that Phil Brooks has hostility toward Scott Colton. Maybe Brooks is justified in that hostility, but what does it accomplish to give the dirt sheets more content on the subject?

Punk claimed that the EVPs "couldn't manage a Target," another statement that validated some of the rumors that there was discontent backstage. It might be true, but what good does it do to make any of this public? Punk claimed that he wanted to sell tickets and draw money for AEW. How did anything he said at the press conference do anything to help draw money for AEW? "Hey guys, you know all those wrestlers that you paid to watch before I got here? None of them are good and they don't have the best interest of the company in mind." Furthermore, if the implication is that the structure of the company is in disarray, why should the fans have faith in the promotion of want to invest in it?

All of this sounded like CM Punk putting himself about everybody else on the roster.

Considering the popularity of Kenny Omega and Adam Page to the AEW core audience, how exactly is Punk going to draw money when he buried both of them? Keep in mind, Punk also expressed that he wasn't thrilled to work with MJF, who is the next challenger for the title so what exactly would make Punk happy? It wasn't as though anyone was clamoring for that big Colt Cabana return before Punk specifically mentioned his name and the details of their hostility would be too inside baseball for a national audience to get any of the references. Perhaps, CM Punk was annoyed that there was an MJF chant to conclude the event in Chicago.

During the course of the media scrum, Punk said he was "hurt and tired" which is exactly what he said about his WWE exit so he went to the "woe is me" narrative as far as being a martyr for pro wrestling.

Ultimately, Tony Khan wanted CM Punk and he got CM Punk. When Punk got exactly what he wanted exactly the way he wanted it, he was all smiles after Double or Nothing because all of the spotlight was on him. When the night concluded with a pop for MJF, Punk decides to bury the company at the press conference. Punk also said if anyone had a problem with him, they could find him, and there was a rumor of some type of altercation after the media scrum, but I take that with a grain of salt. The only thing I will say about it is that before Punk challenges the world in front of a mic, he should probably consider what happened the last time he was in an unscripted fight.

Tony Khan looked like he just received some bad news about his dog (and I wouldn't blame him) during the entire segment. Khan is passionate about pro wrestling and didn't have to invest any cash into the industry so his efforts are admirable, but he was too naive and unfortunately, he learned a tough lesson about the pro wrestling business. All things considered, I think CM Punk's tenure in AEW has done more harm than good for the perception of the company, specifically based on this rant. I'm just guessing, but I think on some level, Khan is going to have to decide if The Elite or CM Punk is more valuable to his company. The problem is, CM Punk is the AEW world champion and has a history of walking out of a company so what if he doesn't agree to eventually drop the title?

It's very ironic that CM Punk claimed that he wanted to sell tickets and draw money for AEW because his rant has more fans talking about the free press conference after the show than the pay-per-view.

Clash at the castle review

Just over thirty years after Bret Hart and The British Bulldog put on a classic at Wembley Stadium for the main event of Summer Slam, WWE brass followed a somewhat similar formula when Drew McIntyre was booked for the main event of a live pay-per-view at a stadium at Cardiff. As I mentioned in a column two weeks ago, because of the time difference it wasn't usually feasible for the WWE to run live pay-per-views overseas, but the expanded technology of streaming on Peacock, including the ability to replay the broadcast on-demand, made it a more realistic option.

Clearly, the demand for a live pay-per-view is strong in the UK, as over 60,000 fans were in attendance. Granted, some of that is because of the rare trips made to Europe with the extensive transportation and expense that is involved with a live event there, but a packed stadium is still an accomplishment. That said, particularly in the aftermath, you have to ask, did management make the right call?

The show opened with the women's tag bout of Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Io Sky vs. Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka. More than anything, this match proved just how valuable the division is and how much talent is included on the female roster. This contest was all action and outside of a slight mishap mid-match everything was very well done. This was a solid way to start the event and the talent on display showed that the WWE probably has the best women's division in the world. The options that management has to mix and match rivalries going forward gives the division the potential to be quite possibly the top draw for the organization. Bayley's faction got the win when Belair was pinned, which was somewhat surprising, but that might be a way to set up a feud for the championship.

Gunther vs. Sheamus was one of the most physical matches in recent memory and arguably the best match on the show. Gunther's offense looked brutal and in an organization where you could say that everything is overproduced to look a little too glamorous, Gunther is the most believable wrestler on the roster. This match looked like a fight, not a choreographed sequence of moves. They attempted to beat each other to the punch rather than just waiting for their opponent to throw the next strike, and small details like that are what truly make the difference that bring a sense of realism to the contest. Sheamus sold like a pro and made Gunther look like a monster. Speaking of Sheamus, it seems like sometimes he gets somewhat overlooked because he was given silly gimmicks or got lost in the shuffle over the years, including when he and Cesaro made The Bar a very good team despite being throwing together when the writing team didn't have anything better for either of them. However, Sheamus can go in the ring and it's rare that you will see a subpar match from him. He almost quietly put together a very impressive resume over the past decade or so. Gunter got the win to retain the IC title, which was the right decision, but prehaps the bigger story is that for the first time in years, the championship seems to have some level of importance in the company.

Liv Morgan defeated Shayna Baszler to retain the Smackdown Women's champion. The match was fine, but it was more of a TV match than something from a major pay-per-view. There wasn't really any point in the match where it looked like Baszler might actually win the title. Liv Morgan has done well, but the narrative of her character should really start to evolve to something beyond the under dog that wasn't supposed to win as a way to give her credibility as an established champion.

Rey Mysterio and Edge vs. The Judgment Day was very entertaining and the crowd followed everything. The much bigger takeaway was Dominik's heel turn after the match. Sure, Rey and Edge got the win for the baby face pop from the crowd, which is fine, but Dominik made himself more than just someone that's in the background because he's Rey's son with the way he portrayed the heel turn. The expressions and the body language showed that there's more to him as a performer than just a generic baby face. I'm sure sure how far up the card Dominik will make it long term, but it should be interesting to see how his heel persona develops on Raw.

Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle was a very good match. Both of these guys are some of the key players on Raw for a reason, and particularly Rollins continues to prove he's such a well-rounded performer, despite some of the silly booking at times. Rollins got the victory, which was needed, considering that he hasn't won a major pay-per-view match recently. That said, I think there's more left for this feud so it's tough to determine how successful it will be for either of them on Raw right now.

As far as the in-ring action, the main event was great and it showed why both Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre are such polished stars in the industry. This had the drama and the atmosphere of a stadium main event. The crowd followed the action as it tilted back and fourth and it made you wonder if Drew was actually going to be the competitor to dethrone Roman. The Austin Theory spot was clever since it gave viewers the impression that prehaps that's how they could get around Roman dropping the title if the contest became a triple threat and then Theory was pinned for an unsuccessful cash-in attempt for the conclusion of  the event. However, the finish is where things went wrong. As I said before, I think the office booked themselves into a corner because they put the hometown guy in the main event in a stadium against Roman Reigns for the championship. For that crowd at that show it would've been the right move to book Drew to win the title. But, for the bigger picture, Cody Rhodes has the story that's worth the feud where he finally beats Roman to win the belt in honor of his dad. The narrative of Drew winning in his hometown was reinforced because much of the build up of the match was compared to Bulldog's previously mentioned victory. The fact that Drew lost in his hometown on such a big stage is not only somewhat of a letdown, but it more or less cements him as just an upper mid-card star, not a main event talent. Don't get me wrong, in the grand scheme of things, it's the right call to wait for Cody to defeat Reigns, but that's the reason not to book Drew against Roman in the first place.

As an alternative, Drew vs. Gunther for the IC title would've been a suitable main event for Cardiff, it could've been another way to use the Summer Slam history, and Drew could've won to send the crowd home happy. I honestly don't think a defeat would've hindered Gunther, and it might've actually elevated his status to main event a stadium show. Instead, to send the crowd home happy, Tyson Fury and Drew sang American Pie in the ring. I understand that Fury is a major star in the UK,. selling out stadiums himself for title defenses as the heavyweight champion in boxing, but Drew just lost a chance at the Undisputed championship in his hometown, why would he want to sing? Overall, Clash at the Castle was a very solid pay-per-view with a very underwhelming conclusion.

Braun Strowman returns

As we've seen in recent months, there continues to be a turn over of talent, both with debuts and exits, in the industry, an aspect that became more relevant when Triple H took over the creative direction of WWE just over a month ago following the "retirement" of Vince McMahon. Johnny Gargano, Dexter Lumis, Hit Row, and others have resurfaced since the new regime started. That concept itself isn't necessarily ground-breaking, as it happened in any company as far back as the territory system, with a new booker that will bring in his team to shift the direction of a promotion. Jeff Jarrett, who was rehired to work in the live events division after being released due to "budget cuts" during the pandemic, was released again after just three months in the organization in favor of Triple H's longtime friend, Road Dogg. That's not to say that Jarrett didn't do a decent job in the role, he's promoted events the majority of his life, but rather that Triple H wants to make sure he has the team on the same page for a new era of the company.

Talent, similar to any commodity in the wrestling business, is used very much the same way. Triple H wants to get the right players in the right roles for the plan he has going forward, which only makes sense. It's trendy to knock Vince these days, but personal indiscretions aside, his vision for what the WWE should be in 2022 is different than the presentation that Triple H wants to bring to the table, which is completely fine. The point being, the returns or exits are less about trying to make a statement and more about trying to implement a strategy. For example, Io Sky, one of the most talented in-ring performers in the company, was rumored to be on her way out of the organization after her deal expired because she was relegated to the secondary NXT brand. I think it's almost unanimous that she has much for to offer and has the potential to be a very marketable star. Clearly, Triple H wanted to make sure she remained under the WWE umbrella so she made her main roster debut alongside Bayley and Dakota Kai.

With that in mind, the free agent market is starting to have an impact on both sides of the fence of pro wrestling in the United States. The Triple H regime made it a priority to replenish the roster after the cuts of the pandemic era, which opens the door for All Elite talent to explore their options as well. With so many releases during the past two years, the exchange of talent more or less went only one way, considering that Tony Khan seemed like he offered a deal to anyone that was a former WWE star to get the artificial debut pop. Those that were typecast as secondary talent under Vince McMahon might give more consideration to the WWE now, especially the competitors that were showcased during the Triple H era of NXT.

One such talent was Bobby Fish, a former Ring Of Honor grappler that inked a WWE deal in 2017. As a mainstay of the NXT brand, Fish was used well there as a part of the Undisputed Era stable and remained in the organization until he was released last year. Just two months later, he made his AEW debut and it was announced that he signed a deal with the promotion. Considering that his former stablemates, Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly, also joined the company, it made sense when the trio reunited as a faction in AEW. However, since that time the momentum that the Undisputed Era had under the NXT banner wasn't recaptured in All Elite. One could question the lack of effective booking for Adam Cole as the leader of the group so it wasn't a surprise that Fish, and to some extent O'Reilly were underutilized in recent months. Speaking of which, Fish was booked very sporadically by the organization, wrestling just over a dozen matches this year with the majority of them on the Youtube shows. It was confirmed that Fish's contract won't be renewed and considering that he wasn't being used for anything productive, that's probably the best decision for everyone involved. It goes without saying that Khan misused him as a member of the faction in AEW, which speaks to the bigger issues of how underutilized Adam Cole continues to be in the company. As far as Fish's next move, he's a great utility worker, which is meant as a compliment, but he's almost 46 so he's clearly in the latter stages of his career. I wouldn't be shocked if he re-signed a deal to return to NXT since the brand could definitely use depth to its roster, but I wouldn't be surprised if he simply retires either.

Speaking of potential exits for All Elite Wrestling, the rumor mill suggested that Malakai Black asked for his release, but was denied. I take the story with a grain of salt, but it does bring the lack of proper use of the entire House of Black stable into the discussion. So far, for the vast majority of his tenure there, as well as Brody King and Buddy Matthews, Malakai Black has been spinning his wheels in AEW. The guy can go in the ring, has a unique charisma, and the entrance enhances the entire presentation. But none of that was used as effectively as it could be with the stable being secondary among the All Elite landscape. It might be the obvious answer, but it's also the correct answer. This is one of the many problems created when there are too many wrestlers on the roster. I don't expect Malakai Black to leave the company, but Tony Khan is missing the boat on the House of Black stable.

Of course, when there are too many wrestlers on the roster, the right move is to sign someone else to a contract. W. Morrissey, the former Big Cass, rejuvenated his career during his stint in Impact. However, he was quite literally a big fish in a small pond. While it's great that Morrissey cleaned up his life and got himself in great shape, outside of being tall, I'm not sure he brings anything to the table that someone else doesn't already in AEW. That's not to say he doesn't have a place in wrestling somewhere, but I don't necessarily think anyone was thinking he was a "must sign" for Tony Khan prior to Dynamite. All things considered, and this is more of a statement about the booking than anything else, I think Morrissey will get lost in the shuffle within a few weeks. And, as far as how to book a monster, Tony should work on the Wardlow project before he signed another big man to the roster.

It was confirmed by PWinsider's Mike Johnson, the most accurate reporter of news in the sport, that Braun Strowman is confirmed to return to the WWE next Monday on Raw. It's difficult to believe now, but about five years ago, the argument could've been made that Braun was over enough to main event Wrestlemania, but that was in the midst of the Roman Reigns baby face push that flopped. Braun eventually won the championship, but his presentation was very diminished with some absolutely ridiculous booking, including the infamous "swamp fight" against Bray Wyatt. Considering that Braun isn't exactly the most versatile worker and hasn't endeared himself to fans online, I'm not sure if even the new regime can reignite his prior status after he returns to the company.

The Punk vs. Moxley rematch

CM Punk often portrays himself as a martyr for professional wrestling, a notion that was reinforced in his hometown of Chicago on last night's edition of Dynamite when a tearful Punk told the fans in attendance that he loves the sport of professional wrestling and he loves them. The underrated "Crazy" Ace Steele, the trainer of CM Punk, showed up and made a passionate claim that Punk should remember who is he.

Isn't it ironic that CM Punk can stick to the script when the narrative is that he's the hometown hero that will get to reclaim the championship in Chicago?

First, we all know that by nature, the carny pro wrestling industry is based on deception and working the audience to believe in the presentation. That was point of the sport until the vast majority of the business was exposed, but the premise remains the same. The ability to sell a narrative to draw money is the key to success. As we've seen throughout the history of the industry political agendas and egos have toppled companies before with WCW and TNA as the top most known examples.

When the politics played on-screen start to effect the business a promotion can generate or the effectiveness of the organization to draw money in the future, there's a critical problem in the business model.

Make no mistake about it, CM Punk is quite possibly the biggest star on the All Elite roster and one of the competitors that can get fans that don't usually watch the product to tune into the show. You can see how much of a polished pro Punk is because there's a vast difference when his segments are compared to other wrestlers on the same show with less television experience. That said, CM Punk isn't a sympathetic figure and he's no martyr for professional wrestling. It's tough to sell the downtrodden baby face narrative for the pay-per-view when the same guy went off-script to bury Adam Page just two weeks ago. If CM Punk is such a proponent for the prosperity of the sport, why did he attempt to damage the drawing power of one of the young wrestlers that was supposed to be the future of the company before he got there? Keep in mind, it was Adam Page vs. Chris Jericho at the first All Elite Wrestling pay-per-view to determine the inaugural world champion a few years ago. When you take into account the rumors of hostility behind the scenes toward Punk, some of which was confirmed during interviews or comments posted on social media by other competitors in the company, the whole "woe is me" narrative just doesn't jive with the direction CM Punk has taken in his recent All Elite tenure.

In fact, considering that the speculation that Punk is difficult to work with followed him to AEW, as tough as it might be for some to admit, maybe Triple H had a point about him a decade ago. Punk appears to be content when the spotlight is on him, but when it's not the stories of him being difficult to deal with start to surface. Furthermore, it was also ironic that Ace Steele,who was referred to as Punk's best friend, was a key part of the promo that led to the set up for the rematch at All Out. Does anyone want to ask Colt Cabana how CM Punk treats his best friends? There are so many contraindications with this narrative that the underdog with a shot at the championship in his hometown just sounds too phony if Punk is in that role.

The other side of the equation is that Jon Moxley more or less has to lose to the championship to Punk in Chicago so unless MJF will be brought back into the fold to interfere, there's no productive way for the broadcast to end without Punk posing with the championship. So, Punk buried Adam Page in a promo ahead of the pay-per-view and then Jon Moxley will be an afterthought when he drops the title to him. Punk gets to have all the spotlight on Punk, and that gels with the real-life narrative that Punk is about Punk. Don't get me wrong, it's often an ego-driven industry, and on some levels when you consider that there's no pension plan or health care for independent contractors after they retire, you can understand why performers have to make it a priority to maximize their ability to make the most money possible, but at the same time, the chance to earn that cash is based on the agreement that everyone will do business to draw the money in the first place. As far as MJF's potential involvement, and that's just a total guess, I think the majority of the heat around that controversy has fizzled because there was no mention of him for the past few months. Even if MJF is the wild card in this scenario, what are the circumstances that would maximize his impact? Does he cost Punk the title to set up another match between the two? Will there be an angle that concludes with him winning the championship? The follow-up of something like that is key, which is why Wardlow is significant less important on the show now than he was prior to the match with MJF as an example of an angle that looked to have the potential to push a competitor before it fell flat.

This might sound too pessimistic, but even after the "emotional" Punk promo, is there really a buzz around the rematch? As I said prior to when the title match was on Dyanmite, once the match was in the ring on free television, it wouldn't have quite the same draw on pay-per-view. However, the much bigger problem to attempt to sell the match on a $50 PPV is that the nature of the original contest was such a letdown that it doesn't create much anticipation for the rematch. After a one-side bout that went about three minutes last week, does anyone think they must see another CM Punk/Jon Moxley match? I understand the logic that Tony Khan is going for with the angle, but again, the narrative of "woeful underdog" CM Punk doesn't gel with what he's done on television or the rumors of drama backstage.

Finally, while nobody expected CM Punk to go through the grind of a pro wrestling schedule for free, he's not working for table scrapes either. Punk seems to be passionate about the sport, at least when it revolves around him, but keep in mind, he walked in the door of AEW because he could be one of the highest paid talents on the roster.

Punk was more than willing to follow the script when the narrative was about CM Punk. As far as if Punk has done good business for AEW or if he's there for the prosperity of pro wrestling, here's something to take into account, All Elite Wrestling has boosted CM Punk's bank account, but Dynamite still averages the same one million viewers now as it did before he arrived last year.