What's the status of Jade Cargill?

Jade Cargill, a fitness star with a collegiate sports background, debuted in All Elite Wrestling in November of 2020, not only was that her AEW arrival, but her professional wrestling debut as well. She didn't get the chance to work on the independent scene to hone her craft or polish her presentation. However, she had such a charismatic presence and the look of a star that many understandably assumed that she had major potential to be a drawing card for the organization.

Unfortunately, after more than two years in the organization and a lengthy undefeated streak, her status still hasn't changed much. Despite the push, Cargill is still a project rather than a finished product.

Don't get me wrong, that's not a jab at her skills, but rather an evaluation of where she stands now, nearly three months since her disappearance from television after she dropped the TBS title to Kris Statlander at Double or Nothing in May. It's less about Jade as a performer and more about how she was used in All Elite. You have to ask, should she have been put on television with literally no experience? In some ways, it was almost unfair to expect her to flourish under those circumstances, especially because her first exposure on AEW TV was the horrendous promo segment with Brandi Rhodes that was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Granted, she did very well given her lack of experience, but at the same time, at some point the level of expectations must extend beyond that for a talent to draw major money for an organization.

The way that Jade was booked initially with short one-sided matches was smart because it let her strong points shine, but didn't expose her inexperience. The flip side is, you can only do that for so long if you want a talent to progress to become a more versatile performer. It might've been a case of management didn't want to risk exposing any weaknesses she might've had or she simply wasn't ready for it, but for whatever reason, the playbook for Jade more or less remained the same throughout her entire AEW tenure. She always worked short television matches and even her pay-per-view bouts were only six or seven minutes. Maybe Tony Khan was too cautious, but Cargill just wasn't booked in any scenario where she could've been presented as a star the company wanted to showcase rather than a rookie they were looking to protect.

After she began an extended winning streak, there were naturally some comparisons to Bill Goldberg because he was another rookie that went on an undefeated streak in his prime, but beyond that, it was almost an unfair comparison. Goldberg went on a hot streak when the business was at a boom, and the eliminate of the industry was partially responsible for the stellar run he had at the top of WCW. The state of the business, with an extra spotlight put on the sport, allowed him to make the most of his incredible intensity and charismatic presentation. On the other end of the spectrum, Jade started in the sport during the pandemic when the crowd was stocked with extras from the Youtube shows.

As mentioned, despite the one-year title reign with the TBS championship that was more or less created for her and the 60-0 record prior to Double or Nothing, Jade still isn't necessarily a major star, mostly because she was kept in the same place, as far as the type of matches she was booked for. If that push didn't get her to the next level, what else can she do in AEW?

Make no mistake about it, getting her to drop the championship in an impromptu scenario was definitely the right call since it was done in a way that didn't diminish her status, and it gave the Statlander a boost for her return to television, but without any follow-up, was there truly a payoff for the undefeated streak? In the time since the title switch, Jade hasn't been on TV, and Statlander is more or less stagnant in a women's division that doesn't seem to have a solid direction.

This is why the report from The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer that Cargill's AEW status is unknown creates questions about her future in the sport.

Obviously, you have to take anything Meltzer says with a grain of salt, as that's the nature of internet rumors, but there might be something to the reports, considering that Jade hasn't been on television since she dropped the title. There are several possible reasons, but given the way she was used and the limited progress it yielded, I wouldn't be surprised if she exits the company. Keep in mind, Jade started when the organization was based at Daley's Place in Jacksonville for the pandemic tapings so there was a very limited schedule with limited travel. With the addition of Collision to the All Elite line-up, it's possible that Jade might not want to travel on a weekly basis. Another possibility is that she might've become disenfranchised with the sports entertainment business, which would be understandable, given the often political and carny nature of the industry.

She might simply be taking time off and then all of the speculation was moot.

If that is the case, it would almost be as though she'd return to AEW in a less prominent spot based on the limited role she had previously and that she wouldn't be the TBS champion. Hopefully, an injury didn't put her on the sidelines because the longer she's out of action, the more it could limit her progress.

Of course, any time there are rumors of a possible exit from an organization, there will be speculation of a jump to the other company. I have to say, I think if Jade Cargill signed a WWE deal, she would work very well within that system. Bianca Belair, Bayley, Iyo Sky, Asuka, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte are just some of the names that could be good opponents for her in the future. With AEW being a newer organization, there aren't nearly as many veterans and prehaps that was part of the reason that Jade made less progress because she worked with other athletes that had a similar level of experience that she did in the ring.

The bottom line is, Jade didn't really have major matches in AEW since the formula for her remained the same. At 31, she still has prime years ahead of her, but again, given her lack of progress as far as a solidified spot on the card and options outside of the wrestling business, it's very possible that she might just put the sport behind her. It's a very puzzling situation because Jade Cargill has a lot of talent and still has the potential to be a star, but was stagnant for the vast majority of her AEW tenure, which says a lot about the booking of the product.

What's the status of Wembley stadium?

Just a week after the Blood and Guts episode, AEW Dynamite followed up with a rather disjointed edition of television, a semi-regular problem for the organization, which is further emphasized when the promotion is a month away from its biggest show in All Elite history, the Wembley stadium event that has already sold more than 65,000 tickets.

Granted, the tickets are sold in the UK so the show is already a success from a financial perspective. That being said, the pressure to deliver and make a definitive statement about AEW’s status within the industry is still there.

All things considered, nothing that has taken place on television within the past few weeks has given any indication that Wembley stadium will be the conclusion of any long-term angles within the company. Without the payoff of a long-term storyline, the stadium event might boil down to a one-off super show so to speak, as far as the results won’t have a major impact on the direction of the organization. If that ends up being the case, the accomplishment of selling tens of thousands of tickets will be successful within a vacuum, but won't boost the overall perception of the company. Keep in mind, a huge part of the ticket sales so far are the novelty of AEW's first event in England, but if this isn't more than a glorified house show then it could hinder business in the European market in the future.

Right now, especially after the conclusion of The Elite/Blackpool Combat Club feud with the cage match last week, there aren't really any current angles of substances left for the Wembley card. That gives Tony Khan roughly four weeks to book not only something impactful, but something that can get the fans invested beyond just the setting of a stadium. The booking becomes exponentially more difficult when you take into account that just a week after the stadium show, the All Out pay-per-view must have matches that justify the $50 price tag to order the event. 

That’s not to take away from the stellar accomplishment of more than 65,000 tickets being sold, but it’s important to remember that a portion of that draw is the novelty of AEW’s first live event in England. It’s a rather unique equation when you take into account, the very successful ticket, sales overseas, but programming that often lacks direction or seemingly a long-term goal for most storylines.

This week's edition of Dynamite was a prime example of that.

It’s not a ground-breaking revelation that the bloated roster of the organization lead to attempts to try to shoehorn as much talent on screen or to try to get as many talents over as possible. The biggest problem with that being, when you try to get everyone over then usually nobody gets over. Quite simply, there must be a focus on core talent and what their overall direction is. Too often, the format of the shows are taken in too many directions and that tends to lead to a lack of overall progress. The booking of Orange Cassidy vs. AR Fox this week was a typical example of how disjointed the overall direction continues to be on a weekly basis. AR Fox was a signing that was showcased for a few weeks initially, but then faded into obscurity of the YouTube shows. Suddenly, he was mentioned in an interview segment last week and then booked for an International title match for this week. This is not to take away from his talent as an athlete, but he’s a secondary wrestler within the All Elite landscape, and thus there’s really no reason for the audience to be invested in his involvement, especially because there wasn’t any period of time to truly familiarize the audience with him. He attacked Cassidy after he lost the match and then looked regretful. I understand what they were trying to accomplish with this segment, but it missed the mark. The AR Fox run-in during the main event segment flopped in a similar fashion. Again, this isn’t a knock on AR Fox as an athlete but as a character, there’s really no logic to him being involved with the main stars of the program because he was just a random wrestler on the roster a week earlier. 

Along the same lines, Swerve Strickland is a tremendous athlete, but with the way that he has been booked, it’s tough to consider his involvement on Dynamite important because his character has either lacked direction or used in a lackluster fashion for the majority of his AEW tenure. Aside from the fact that his feud with Keith Lee was paused for months at a time before it randomly return to television, Strickland's initial heel turn was rather flat. Similar to many others, a lack of consistent television time afterword didn’t really emphasize his status as a prominent performer within the organization. He was also a part of the atrocious Rick Ross segment that is memorable for all the wrong reasons. You have to ask, what is Swerve’s character and why should the audience be invested in it? Sure, he’s a tremendous athlete, but he works a similar style to many already on the roster and with a nondescript heel persona, it doesn't make him stand out. I could be wrong, but I honestly don’t see what Strickland brings to the table that AEW already doesn’t have on its roster. To be fair, it could be that the Mogul Affiliates have been rather pointless as a stable and lost in the shuffle of Tony Khan‘s booking process. Is there really any difference between the Mogul Affiliates and the QT marshall stable? 

Aside from shoehorning, the AR Fox heel turn onto the program, the lame angle of Adam Cole and MJF, as a tag team continued and also still made them both look subpar in the process. Cole looks like a total doofus if he trust the supposed top heel in the company. It's a drastic example, but would The Rock or Stone Cold fall for something like that and do a dance routine with the villain? Cole being presented as a naive dork is the absolute opposite of how he should look before he challenges for the world championship. MJF looks like a yuppie instead of a dangerous heel and this storyline has done zero to help his title reign. The whole "LOL wrestling" stuff probably doesn't have a place on the card for a national promotion, but if it does, it's certainly not for the world title storyline.

Finally, the Britt Baker vs. Taya Valkyrie match was a total mess. There were some botches and the pace was very clunky. I'm not sure if these two just had an off night or if they just didn't gel for this particular match, but the AEW Women's division is completely hit or miss in terms of in-ring quality. Given the amount of talent that Tony Khan signed to the roster, you'd think that All Elite might have the best female division in the industry, but that hasn't been the case since the company started. On the flip side, the WWE women's division is probably the most consistent division as far as quality and star power in the entire business.

The biggest takeaway from all of this is that, more often than not, episodes of Dynamite have a slapstick approach that doesn't seem to have the bigger picture as a priority. Instead of where an angle is going to build up a pay-per-view, Tony Khan seems like he only books for the next segment. The bottom line is, Wembley Stadium is the biggest show in AEW history, but has anything be booked to actually hype the event?

Tod Gordon book

Professional wrestling, the spectacle that blends the athleticism of sport and the drama of theater, remains a staple of the American entertainment industry. A genre that originated from the carnival circuit, sports entertainment often finds itself in the "truth is stranger than fiction" category. Perhaps, that's because the narrative that unfolded in front of camera was sometimes tame compared to the drama behind the curtain. It certainly takes some very unique individuals to work in this very unique field.

One of the ways that pro wrestling kept fans heading to the box office was that the sport was usually contemporary, a reflection of the times, and when it wasn't, there was a dose of adrenaline ready to push the business in a new direction. Sure, Bruno battled the foreign menaces as a reflection of cold war tensions, and Rock N' Wrestling formed a very successful tag team with the newly-created MTV in the 80s, but the steroid scandals of the early-90s forced Vince McMahon, the emperor of sports entertainment, to soften his product to attempt to rehab the image of his organization. World Championship Wrestling, a Ted Turner purchase after Jim Crockett Promotions unknowingly spent itself into bankruptcy, had a revolving door of figureheads that, at that time looked to follow the cartoonish blue print of Stamford.

Plumbers, trash collectors, Ding Dongs, and Dynamic Dudes littered the landscape of an industry that had Roddy Piper scorching foes on the mic, while Ric Flair often sported crimson in his trademark bleach-blond hair en route to winning championships just a few years earlier.

What happened next is one of the most covered and arguably over analyzed aspects of the history of the industry. Extreme Championship Wrestling, the renegade organization that was based in South Philadelphia, changed the presentation of the entire industry forever. It was fast-paced, hard-hitting, and violent. It had a rabid fan base that elevated the expectations of the audience. There were intriguing characters, storylines that had the audience invested, and a cutting-edge product that pushed the envelope. It was no surprise that the two big leagues of the WWF and WCW borrowed liberally from the extreme playbook, both for concepts and talent, in the Monday night war that generated record-setting television ratings during the era.

Since ECW was so impactful, and the rise was just as fast as the fall, everyone offered an opinion on the era of extreme. There were authorized DVDs, unauthorized DVDs, the official story in print, the unofficial story in print, and was the subject of more podcast clips than The Sandman usually had beers on the way to the ring.

So, the story of Extreme Championship Wrestling was told, or was it?

It's often said that the victors write the history books. When the slug fest of the 90s wrestling boom ended, just like the 80s in the previous generation, there were casualties of the wrestling war. The same way the regional territories evaporated, WCW was sold to Vince McMahon for pennies on the dollar just two months after ECW filed for bankruptcy, crumbling under the pressure of the industry. McMahon bought the rights to ECW and its video library out of bankruptcy court by 2003. As mentioned, a slew of projects told the narrative of the extreme organization, with the Stamford spin, of course.

Before he was the wise man for the tribal chief, Paul Heyman was showcased through the WWE narrative as the mad scientist behind the wrestling revolution that was ECW, but if Paul Heyman was the architect of extreme, Tod Gordon, who originally started the group, laid the foundation of what became hardcore in America.

Gordon, who exited ECW in late-1997, will finally tell his side of the story of not only how the company was actually founded, but his role in the organization, an aspect of the narrative that was often glossed over previously. Tod teamed up with Sean Oliver, one of the co-founders of the Kayfabe Commentaries production series, to put pen to paper for the newly-released autobiography, "Tod is God," a literary look at his role in the company that left such a foot print on the industry that the three letters are still chanted in arenas today.

When I caught up with Tod via phone to discuss the publication, he was relaxing at home on a Saturday afternoon after his usual routine during the week, the same routine that he has done for nearly four decades, working in his jewelry store in the heart of Philadelphia.

"I get up early in the morning, put on the suit and tie to go to the store, and work. Work hard, play hard," Gordon said.

Like so many in the north east, Tod fell in love with the blue collar style of the WWWF. Bruno, Kowalski, and Albano were just a few of the grapplers that fueled his fandom of the squared circle. Also like many, by the early-90s Tod was just as disenfranchised as many others and looked to provide some type of alternative, at least on a local level, to the  silliness that found its way on national television.

"I was sick of what I was seeing on TV at the time. WWF had become all cartoons, they even had a Saturday morning cartoon. The pig farmer, the dumpster, and Papa Shango. It took all the believability and the enjoyment out of wrestling. I watched as a kid, I believed what I saw. I believed Bruno was beating this guy, I believed everything I saw. I wanted to go back to that era, and the only way to do that was to start my own company and put on those kind of shows. Every show I put on from the day I started until the day I stopped, I put on the kind of show that I wanted to see," Tod explained.

Gordon spent two or three hours at a time a few times a week on Zoom with Sean Oliver, telling the stories of how he became involved the pro wrestling game. Oliver, who worked in film, television, voice-acting, and directing during his career, also penned half a dozen books before he took on the life story of one of the engineers of extreme.

"Sean told me 'you have to do a book, you have to do a book.' and after I did two DVDs with him, we become friendly and got along really well. We'd be on the phone and I'd tell him a story, and he'd say 'you gotta put that in the book.' He did a fantastic job putting it all together, it felt like I was just talking to a friend," Gordon said.

Throughout the pages of "Tod is God," readers will not only hear the details of how Missy Hyatt found herself on top of a jewelry case in Tod's store, but also how that meeting led to his involvement in Joel Goodhart's short-lived Tri-State Wrestling Alliance. More specifically, as you turn the pages, you will uncover the details of how Eastern Championship Wrestling was eventually founded from the ashes of the Tri-State organization.

What started as a side project in front of 80 people at a sports bar soon grew into a touring organization, as within two years the upstart league branched out to other towns based on the television show that ran at 6 PM every Tuesday night on Sports Channel Philadelphia. On top of his full-time work at the jewelry store,  Tod took on the promotional and funding side of ECW, duties that saw him close up shop on Friday afternoons to be picked up by The Sandman, Bill Alfonso, and Too Cold Scorpio to go on the road for that weekend's loop of events. Tod still keeps in touch with that same group of friends today, talking to each of them at least once a week.

"It was like making the switch between Clark Kent and Superman, just two completely different worlds," Tod remarked as to the comparison between his two very unique professions.

After Tod arrived to places like Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, he often ran around dingy venues to coordinate the lights, sound, and structure of the show that night, finding himself drenched in sweat since the buildings had no air conditioning before he went to the ring himself for his on-screen role as the commissioner of the organization. However, through the humidity, jam-packed schedule, and office work, a particular night stood out to him as an indication that the product that was famous for its bingo hall home base had a major impact on the sport.   

"The time I knew we had something big going was the three way dance with Funk, Sabu, and Shane Douglas. It was the first three-way dance done in wrestling, nobody had ever done that before. After the show, Paul and I pulled up to the hotel, and there were hundreds of fans outside chanting 'thank you Paul, thank you Tod.' We looked at each other said we thought we had something hot here. I know that was something that was important and something that was going to grow," Tod remarked.

Naturally, with the impression that the product made on the fans, there was an opportunity to grow, and different from the media deals of today, pay-per-view was still king as the biggest revenue stream possible in pro wrestling. However, to market and advertise the product on a level that made pay-per-view possible, expenses to get ECW television added to key channels like the MSG network in New York, and The Sunshine Network in Florida added a heavy financial weight on the grassroots organization, a financial burden that was ultimately shouldered by Tod.

"The debt was overwhelming us. Getting on pay-per-view, you have to put up $250,000 and then you don't get the money from that until six or eight weeks later, but then you have to put up another $250,000 for the next pay-per-view before that. That had to come from me, that was my money," Gordon explained.

By late-1997, Tod knew that to keep the company afloat, outside investors or new partners would be needed to bridge the gap between the expenses of pay-per-view and the eventual revenue from cable provides that those broadcast generated, but Gordon cites Paul Heyman's resistance to that as one of the reasons that he decided it was time to step away from the industry, especially given the increased expenses and added pressure as the organization tried to go toe-to-toe with the multi-million dollar companies of WWF and WCW during the Monday night wars of the era. 

"The locker room was fractured at that point. I just couldn't do what I was being asked to do. The reason I got along with the boys so well was that I never lied to the wrestlers," Gordon said of the tension behind the scenes prior to his exit from the organization.

In the nearly three decades since Tod turned over his stake in ECW to Paul Heyman, the infamous "mole" story made the rounds in pro wrestling lure. The narrative suggested that Gordon looked to take a core group of ECW talent to WCW for a quick payoff to leave the group he founded behind. With Sean Oliver clacking away at the keyboard, Tod tells his side of the story of his extreme exit in the autobiography, shedding light on new details that have never been uncovered before. Gordon looks to clear up the misnomers around of how he left, and also the revelation of plans that were made for a possible return.

"The untruths have been exposed, it took thirty years, nobody knew what it was. Hopefully, through the book, people can finally understand what happened," Tod said.

After dabbling with a few pro wrestling ventures in the early-2000s, Gordon left the industry behind. These days, instead of promoting barbed wire and violence, his greatest joy is being a grandfather. Still, the publication of "Tod is God," a moniker that was originally chanted by those diehard fans that packed those dingy building because of a shared passion for pro wrestling, gave him the chance to reflect on the profound impact that he had on the industry that brought him such joy since his youth. Despite the ups and downs, it's still a journey that Tod Gordon looks back on fondly.

"The memories just came flooding back it was overwhelming, Tt's so humbling that thirty years later that people still chant ECW, that's mind-blowing," Gordon concluded.

Blood and Guts review

Last night, Blood and Guts, the war games style cage match, returned to All Elite Wrestling television with The Blackpool Combat Club against The Golden Elite, notably with the addition of former IWGP heavyweight champion, Kota Ibushi on the team for his long-awaited debut with the organization.

In many ways, the episode summed up a lot of what is right and a lot of what is wrong with the company.

With the second hour given to the cage match, the main angle that was presented in the first hour was the originally nondescript eliminator tag tournament, which will see the odd couple of Adam Cole and MJF square off against FTR for the championship. Don't get me wrong, I understand what the point of the angle is supposed to be, the world champion gets paired with his potential challenger and the two partners can't get along. The major problem with this storyline, an aspect that I think has damaged MJF's reign as champion, and Adam Cole's credibility as a challenger for the championship, is the presentation that makes two athletes that are theoretically two of the top stars on the roster look like a lame comedy act.

The tag tournament final had Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia against the Cole/MJF combination. Granted, the finish was predictable because the overall narrative looks to lead to the eventual Cole vs. Friedman bout for the world title, but it was a tag contest that had four quality workers. Garcia isn't nearly as complete as the other three competitors and still seems to lack overall direction with his character, despite the sports entertainment persona, but he can go in the ring. Generally speaking, you're not going to get many complaints about the in-ring work of any of this talent.

However, the presentation is key and at least at this point, it hasn't fully utilized the talent involved in this angle.

Last week on Collision, a show that only garnered 579,000 viewers, FTR had an absolutely tremendous two out of three falls match against Jay White and Juice Robinson that went almost an hour. While it's extremely disappointing that the broadcast drew Rampage-level numbers, and that's probably where the ratings are going to settle, the level of in-ring work was top notch. FTR is undoubtedly still the best tag team in the business, and with the full acknowledgement of how well both the Usos and the combination of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have done this year, the tag division in AEW has shined extremely bright in 2023. Jay White and Juice Robinson are top notch performers, and their series with FTR is such a statement about the quality of AEW programming from purely a work rate perspective.

That being said, FTR will come off of such a stellar tag match to be challenged by a comedy duo, and regardless of how you look at it, it's a step down. That's not a knock at the skills of Cole or Friedman, but as assessment of how they are portrayed on television. If they won throughout the tournament because of their ability, albeit in the midst of their personal grudge, that's a completely different scenario. The tacky backstage vignettes and segments where they are gleefully exchanging matching ring gear are completely counterproductive to the goal of the original concept. This doesn't set the stage for an eventual clash for the world title, it just makes both of them look like dorks before they get there. I understand that some, especially those within the wrestling bubble might attempt to justify this with the whole "LOL it's wrestling," as if everyone, including the audience is supposed to be in on the joke, but that's a Vince Russo theory that put more companies out of business than made promotions profitable.

About a month ago, these two traded personal jabs on the mic, with MJF criticizing Cole's noticeably thinner physique, while Cole implied that Friedman was on steroids. Why exactly would they cheerfully make an entrance together with matching gear? Why did they have to crowbar in a lame double clothesline spot that made everyone in the match look silly? Adam Cole is a guy that still has all the tools to be a top guy so why is his character being booked to look completely aloof? MJF is supposed to be the most lowlife heel in pro wrestling, why would Cole trust him? Furthermore, Friedman prides himself on pushing the envelope or "shocking" the audience. Even if those attempts often sound desperate, the routine of parading around like a yuppie during this angle dilutes any type of serious heat that he attempted to get previously.

Quite simply, the world champion and the angle based on the title can't be effective if it's booked as a comedy angle, and it's very doubtful that the eventual MJF/Cole match will be able to sell the audience on a potential title switch since this tag angle has done zero to establish Adam Cole as a threat to the championship.

Speaking of talent being misplaced, the Blood and Guts main event was another example of it.

Don't get me wrong, the match was wild and had memorable moments, but the argument could be made that they will be memorable for the wrong reasons. As I've written about before, I'm a fan of hardcore wrestling and enjoyed ECW, even if some of the product doesn't hold up today. Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling is still my favorite Japanese organization because it was such a wild spectacle. So, I'm not dismissing the cage match just because of the style. However, at this point, the deathmatches and the blood have been so overdone in AEW that it doesn't have nearly the same impact. More importantly, it seems like only a matter of time before a major injury happens during one of these contests. Hopefully, Kenny Omega is fine, but he appeared to hurt his knee at one point during the segment, and considering that he finally returned to the ring last August after nearly a year on the sidelines, is it really a wise move to put him in this match?

As far as the gimmick matches being overused, what exactly is there left to do? Sure, the broken glass was a work, but the bed of nails did damage to Omega's back. After the thumbtacks, broken glass, nails, tables, chairs, ladders, and barbed wire that has been seen in AEW in just the past few months, (don't forget the Omega/Moxley cage match from earlier this year and Anarchy in the Arena) what exactly can be done to settle a feud? A standard cage match looks tame by comparison, and even barbed wire doesn't have nearly the same impact it would've had in AEW a few years ago. Is fire the next step to pop the crowd for a big match? Cody Rhodes scorched his back when he attempted it.

The structure of the match was illogical, as the babyfaces had a five-on-three advantage when Pac and Konosuke Takeshita left before the conclusion. Shouldn't the baby face team have to earn the victory? Kota Ibushi, who only worked two matches in the past two years, looks like he put on a noticeable amount of weight since the last time he wrestled and looked to have a lot of ring rust. Plus, hardcore matches aren't usually the style he works so it wasn't a situation that showcased what he can bring to the table.

The biggest takeaway from the Blood and Guts episode of Dynamite is that it highlighted one of the biggest criticisms of the AEW product, there's a lot of stellar talent that often gets booked in a way that actually hinders their skills. MJF has the ability to be the best heel in the business, but looked like a comedy yuppie instead. Adam Cole should be in the position to be a threat to the world championship, but he's presented as a dork. The gimmick matches are overused to the point that the risk probably isn't worth the reward. There's undoubtedly a lot of talent on the roster, but the presentation often misses the mark, which speaks to the lack of proper booking of the AEW product.

The booking of Raw

More than 11 years ago, Raw went to three hours, a move that would've seemed preposterous prior to that, especially considering the damage that a third hour did to Nitro in 1999. But, money talks and for a portion of its thirty-year existence, the Monday night show had a three-hour format.

This isn't anything ground-breaking as many people have said it, but not only is three hours weekly too long, I still doubt that any promotion could book a compelling three-hour show on a regular basis. However, the USA network wanted a third hour of a consistent number, albeit a number that almost always decreases throughout the broadcast so they were willing to pay the WWE enough money to ass the extra hour to the program. I'm not sure if even the heyday of the Attitude era could've kept a strong third hour number, considering that in the 90s, Stone Cold Steve Austin wasn't overexposed so the audience anticipated his appearances. If a performer is on multiple segments of a show, the less any individual segment can stand out.

This week's edition of Raw was a prime example of how to maximize the assets of a broadcast.

Despite the complete disappointment of the finish at Wrestlemania, Cody Rhodes remains extremely popular, a presentation that was enhanced in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. As we know, professional wrestling, as much as some get caught up in the debate about star ratings, is based on drama and the emotional investment from it. When the audience believes in the baby face, there's a connection with the crowd that draws money. It's a drastic example, but again to go back to the late-90s, the fans believed in Stone Cold Steve Austin and were willing to pay to see him battle Vince McMahon. It didn't matter if Austin was chasing the title or defending it, the audience was willing to pay to rally him to victory because they could identify with the character, a persona that was largely based on the real-life Steve Austin. That goes to the next piece of the puzzle as far as how that emotional investment is made into the characters, and it's the level of authenticity. Too often, especially in the modern era, way too many performers use social media to break the fourth wall so to speak. You can't expect the fans to believe that The Miz is a jerk on television if the fact that he's actually a nice guy in real life can be seen on social media five minutes before Raw goes on the air. By all accounts, Mike Mizanin is a great guy, but the audience doesn't need to know that about a heel in sports entertainment, and the fact that revealing it is done so causal hinders his on-screen presentation. 

That's why the opening segment of Raw this week was done so well. Cody Rhodes as the main event baby face that gives 100% for the audience in his quest to win the world championship is a believable narrative. Given Cody's family history, there's an authenticity to his journey that the audience can recognize, which is why he connected with the WWE fans upon his return to the company. The real-life Cody Rhodes wants to obtain the biggest fame possible for his family legacy. That makes it very easy for the fans to emotional invest into his journey for the WWE title.

On the flip side, Brock Lesnar is a former NCAA and UFC champion that has legitimately hurt his opponents in competition. He rearranged Frank Mir's face in the octagon and split Randy Orton's head open at Summer Slam several years ago. Brock actually is a guy that lives in the woods, avoids people, and just wants to make the most money possible. Lesnar is a believable wrecking machine so that authenticity allows for his persona to have credibility with the audience. Make no mistake about it, if the WWE pays Brock's hefty price tag, he will lose to Gillberg. It's not about the recognition or fame of sports entertainment, and in truth, there's nothing wrong with that. The pro wrestling business is about getting paid as much as possible, especially considering that there's no retirement fund for wrestlers after they hang up the boots.

That being said, that dynamic creates a natural rivalry, and given that the loss at Wrestlemania was such a massive disappointment, this type of feud was probably the only storyline that could keep Rhodes strong as a contender. Granted, Cody isn't working for free, but the narrative almost writes itself in terms of the natural conflict. Cody is there for the love of the sport, while Brock only shows up for a payday. Lesnar, despite being a monster, planned a sneak attack against Cody, the respectful baby face that requested a fair fight. Brock attacked Cody in front of his mom and his family. It's simple, but effective storytelling that sets the stage for their match at Summer Slam. The courageous baby face wants a measure of revenge against the villain that forced his family to watch the beat down.

The segment opened the show so it gave viewers a reason to tune in at the start of the program instead of channel surfing or scroll on their phone. Brock and Cody, two of the biggest stars in the company, were there to kickoff the show. In a similar fashion, The Judgment Day, a stable that has done stellar work in recent months, and the tag champions, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, were used for the main event segment, which gave viewers a reason to watch the usually declining third hour to see the main event tag match. The same premise of authenticity and believablity, even if it's on a smaller scale, applies to the talent in the main event segment. Sami is the lovable baby face the crowd wasn't to see be successful, Owens is a gritty baby face that won't back down from a fight, Dominik is a shady heel, and Rhea Ripley is a villain that almost looks like she has a devious plan. In reality, there are talented performers that play their roles well, but within the sports entertainment narrative, that translates to effectiveness as far as giving the audience a reason to watch the third hour.

The point being, the WWE roster has the talent, but often Raw is put on autopilot so to speak. While the show had the tag team titles on the line in the main event, most episodes of Raw have many segments that are just cannon fodder that are used to fill the time slot. This week's edition had the sizzle of the Cody/Brock confrontation and then the substance of the Gunther/Riddle bout to provide the in-ring action. The problem is, for as much as this week was solid, there's no indication that there will be anything to maintain that next week. That speaks to a lack of overall direction within the organization, as far as what the long-term plan is for the angles. For example, Cody and Brock did a money segment this week to set up the match at Summer Slam, but what's truly the payoff? What's the goal for Cody Rhodes? A victory against Roman Reigns is still the only way that he completes the narrative that he started when he returned to the company, but the argument could be made that Jey Uso might be a better choice at this point. If the plan is for Cody to eventually dethrone Seth Rollins or even Damien Priest after the MITB cash-in for the title then it's still a letdown because Cody didn't accomplish the goal. If he wins the consolation prize championship, its a very flat conclusion and then there's really no momentum on Raw. Perhaps, that's why the show is inconsistent because there are only a few key stars that are booked well on a regular basis so the star power is rather limited on the roster. Sure, Seth Rollins is a tremendous in-ring worker, but given the way his character was booked prior to the title win, is he really a major star? Is Seth Rollins' star power on the same level as Roman, Brock, or Cody? Maybe the hefty amount of guaranteed money that the TV deals bring doesn't allow for the push toward compelling weekly TV, which is why WWE seems to focus more on the major stadium shows, but the bottom line is, less viewers are watching the product now than any other time in history. Granted, the climate of the television business and the evolution of media allowed for WWE to cash in since the company provides consistent live content, but there's a reason that it's rare for Raw to garner more than two million viewers in recent months.

This creates a lot of questions how when the company negotiates its next television deals, and that might've been one of the main factors as to why Vince McMahon was willing to sell ownership of the organization. The negotiations for WWE and UFC programming are a much easier sell to networks than just the WWE product that has generated sluggish ratings since before the pandemic.

However, the biggest takeaway from the scenario seen on this week's Raw should be that the talent is there, just not always the proper presentation, which speaks more to the Vince McMahon booking philosophy than the talent on the roster.

Will AEW be on a streaming service?

The rumor mill made the rounds with fresh speculation about All Elite Wrestling's upcoming television negotiations, particularly because of the addition of Collision to its weekly line-up, and speculation of expanded AEW programming under the Warner Brother Discovery umbrella since the corporation completed a merger earlier this year. Reportedly, Discovery requested that the networks under the Turner banner get exclusive rights to All Elite content, which is why the more or less pointless Youtube shows were quietly concluded a few months ago. In the grand scheme of things, the request for some exclusivity doesn't mean all that much, especially because that's part of what Discovery is paying for with its rights fee deal, but it could provide an indication of the possible expansion of All Elite content.

The scuttlebutt online suggested that prehaps WB Discovery would look for monthly All Elite Wrestling pay-per-views to put on the newly-created Max, the former HBO Max, platform to help fuel subscribers to the streaming service.

While the initial thought for fans might be that this change would give them more PPVs at a cheaper price, the dynamics of such a move, both for the pro wrestling side and the economics of such a deal, aren't quite that simple.

As we've seen with the success of Netflix the past several years, the concept of using internet technology to bring consumers bulk content at a subscription price, can be profitable if the amount of overall subscribers at the lower price exceeds the amount of revenue that could've been made if shows were sold individually at a higher price. It essentially took the buying in bulk concept from wholesale stores like Sam's Club with boxes of 128 pizza rolls and 48 rolls of toilet paper, and applied it to media distribution.

The major difference is, there's generally a fixed cost with the manufacturing of those 48 rolls of toilet paper so distributors know what they can price a bulk order at to yield a specific profit.

The media business is a much different genre, and production costs can vary depending on what type of content is being filmed. For example, a season of The Mandalorian might be more or less expensive than the previous season, depending how if the narrative of the story is set in different locations or if a production stays on schedule and budget. On the flip side, it's much cheaper to produce a pro wrestling show because the location is usually set within one venue and it's a live production so they aren't multiple takes if someone botches a body slam.

The problem, which we've seen from the slew of streaming options that flooded the market in more recent years, is that the cost of more expensive content to produce is put on a streaming service for the same price as content that might've been considerably less expensive to produce. Regardless of it something took months or weeks to film, it's more or less equal in terms of value to the audience because it's all under the same subscription price. We saw that within the sports entertainment genre when Wrestlemania, an event that was priced at $50 to order on pay-per-view years ago, was reduced to a $4.99 value after it was included on Peacock. I understand the goal is to get many more subscribers at the cheaper price to generate more revenue overall, but the point is, the bulk pricing model does lower the perceived value of content.

That's essentially why there was such a consolidation of streaming options more recently, and why others have struggled to stay profitable. The nature of the plarform necessitates that the amount of subscribers are maintained for a certain amount of time that it will cover the costs of productions, while there's a batch of new content to ensure those subscriptions continue each month. The biggest pitfall, something that was seen across the board among the streaming landscape, is that customers have the option to cherry pick the content they want to watch so they only subscribe during certain months, which brings an uncertain amount of revenue over a specific period of time. Similar to the traditional movie industry, if a film flops, there are massive losses for studios, and there are undoubtedly mega losses for streaming platforms if it can't maintain its subscriber base.

The best current example of this is entertainment powerhouse Disney, which lost such a staggering amount of money on its Disney+ streaming platform over the past few years that former CEO Bob Chapek was given his walking papers in November of last year in favor of the previous CEO, Bob Iger, who retired from the role a few years prior. Iger, who agreed to return in the executive spot for two years to help find his next successor, made headlines just days ago when he announced that the media conglomerate that owns several networks would consider selling some of its media properties. Many analysts cited that the nearly $800 million loss and a loss of four million Disney+ subscribers in the third quarter prompted some sale discussions. The ripple effect saw the firing of many of the longest-tenured hosts at ESPN, a network Disney owns, just a few weeks ago to cut costs of its more expensive contracts.

Perhaps, the corporation bought too many media properties too quickly at higher price than the revenue that can be generated from them, but the point being, if Disney is losing hundreds of millions of dollars on streaming services then it's undoubtedly a cautionary tale for any other company that wants to invest into streaming platforms.

As mentioned, the Warner Brothers Discovery merger brought more content to the Max service, which is why the HBO portion was dropped, as the simple title actually represented that more content from the Discovery side was added. Of course, the foundation of the platform is the legacy content from HBO with shows like The Sopranos, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, and other series being included in their entirety. While subscribers to the HBO channels through their cable provider get access to Max included, the ability for Max to be its own service allows for customers to subscribe to the platform, even if they don't subscribe to the HBO channels.

When HBO discontinued its boxing series in 2018 after the sport was a pillar on the channel for years, a void was left around HBO Sports, which only has its occasional "Real Sports" talk sport and the "Hard Knocks" NFL documentary series for about six weeks before each season as its sports properties. The economics of the boxing business, which was more or less ruined by the political red tape of the sport, made it unprofitable for the network to maintain its boxing contract. So, after four decades and some of the most historic fights in boxing history, HBO concluded its association with the sport.

However, this is where All Elite Wrestling might be used to fill the streaming sports void for WB Discovery.

Professional wrestling actually has a history on HBO, as Madison Square Garden cards, the premiere events of the era, were aired on the channel throughout the 1970s. The biggest wrestling shows were one of selling points for the network after it originally launched. If All Elite Wrestling can be an answer for Max more than fifty years later is a different discussion. Quite simply, AEW usually runs four main pay-per-views a year that costs $50 for fans to order. The current price of a Max subscription is $9.99, and the typical AEW buyrate is around 140,000 buys. After there's the usual split with distributors, AEW nets a specific profit for each pay-per-view. Basically, WB Discovery would have to offer the company enough cash that it would make economic sense for them to take the guaranteed money instead of selling individual pay-per-views over the course of the year. Granted, it would also have to be a number that would make sense for Discovery as well, as far as the AEW content would have to generate a specific amount of subscribers and revenue for there to be a profit for them.

If that number is realistic and the potential for sustained profit is realistic remains to be seen, but All Elite Wrestling on the Max platform would definitely serve a purpose for Discovery. First and most importantly, AEW has a core fan base that is willing to spend money on the product so there's a market for premium All Elite content. Almost just as important is that AEW on Max for pay-per-views would give the platform continuous content, which gives fans a reason to continue to subscribe to the service and thus ensures revenue for Discovery.

If the numbers would make sense is still a question mark, and there's no guarantee for success. Keep in mind, the WWE Network usually averaged about 1.5 million subscribers, depending on if one of the major pay-per-views were on the schedule. The network seemed to be okay as a business venture, but wasn't the major success that many initially expected. The majority of the WWE TV audience didn't want to pay for more programming. If the Network was a major success then the company wouldn't have signed a rights deal with Peacock.

All Elite Wrestling has five hours of weekly programming on television, is there really a demand for more of the product, especially given the declining Collision ratings? Furthermore, given Tony Khan's E-fed style of booking with random gimmick matches on television, would the pressure of monthly pay-per-view cards add to the quality of the promotion?

The diehard AEW fans might scoff at this, but I actually don't think monthly pay-per-views would benefit the product. Remember, monthly pay-per-views only became a staple of the industry during the competition of WWF and WCW in the 90s. Since that time, there hasn't necessarily been a scenario where there was the demand for monthly PPVs, and truthfully, one of the more refreshing aspects of the AEW product is that the quarterly shows are what allow each pay-per-view to be a special event. There seems to be way too many potential pitfalls, both for Discovery from an economic standpoint if they offer guaranteed money for monthly pay-per-views, and for AEW there's the risk of oversaturating the market. With the exception of the most diehard fans, people are only going to watch a certain amount of pro wrestling content, and if a certain monthly pay-per-view seems to have a lackluster line-up then the event isn't a "must see" show.

However, the biggest potential pitfall is that once AEW puts pay-per-views on a streaming service for $9.99, it would be very difficult to try to sell them for the traditional $50 price tag at any point in the future. Again, the bulk business model unintentionally lowers the value of individual commodities. Right now, those $50 pay-per-view events with the steady 140,000 buyrate are a part of one of the company's most profitable revenue streams so there seems to be no reason to put that in jeopardy with a streaming deal.

What's next for Brian Pillman Jr?

Second generation star, Brian Pillman Jr. was reportedly spotted at the WWE Performance Center just days after it was announced that his All Elite Wrestling contract expired. The 29-year-old grappler had been a part of the All Elite roster more or less since the inception of the organization, but all things considered, was probably underutilized.

This creates an interesting scenario as many of the original AEW contracts expire, as far as how many of those that were under the radar can be scouted as diamonds in the rough so to speak and be recruited to WWE? More specifically, did AEW show the blue print on how to showcase Pillman, but fail to follow up on it, and now WWE can present it in the right way?

First and most importantly, All Elite Wrestling pieced together its initial roster with a lot of talent that had a following on the independent scene. It goes without saying that some of those wrestlers made the transition to television successfully, while others couldn't, which isn't necessarily a knock on them or the company. While it's great when talent get a chance to land a major contract, some competitors just aren't on the level of national TV, which isn't to say they don't have talent, but rather to point out that not everyone is suited to work on TNT. Marko Stunt, God bless him, just isn't a guy that had the skills to be on national television. He wasn't the second coming of Rey Mysterio, and comparisons at the time to justify his appearances on national TV were unfair to him because Rey is such a legendary worker that very few are comparable. There were certainly many that were signed to All Elite contracts that just didn't have the ability for national television, and as bloated as the roster still is, most of the glaring examples were allowed to remain on the payroll until their contracts expired.

On the flip side, Pillman Jr. was an athlete that seemed to have all the skills to make a name of himself, but was truly never given the chance or the platform to move up the card. Training under the underrated legend Lance Storm in 2017, Pillman broke into the business the following year and similar to many from Storm's school, looked much more polished than most rookies. Pillman Jr. had a stint in MLW before he inked an AEW contract.

Unfortunately, with a few brief exceptions, Pillman Jr. was regulated to the Youtube shows for the vast majority of his All Elite tenure. He formed a team with Griff Garrison, who was another youngster that looked to have some potential, but just wasn't quite ready for a national organization yet. Pillman seemed to be somewhat ahead of Griff in terms of in-ring work, but to be fair to Garrison, during their two years as The Varsity Blonds, he rarely got major exposure. The team only had a handful of TV appearances during its entire run. The Blonds had Julia Hart added as a valet, but the team more or less unofficially dissolved when Garrison suffered an injury that required surgery late last year.

Pillman worked less than a dozen AEW matches this year, most of those on a house show loop. Clearly, AEW didn't have plans for Pillman and it seems like he more or less got lost in the shuffle with so many wrestlers under contract to the organization. In truth, there isn't much of a reason for him to stay under an AEW deal, particularly if he has the chance to be a main star in the industry. In many ways, similar to many others, Pillman Jr. was more or less spinning his wheels in the company.

The last and really only time that Pillman was truly spotlighted in All Elite Wrestling was nearly two years ago when he worked a short angle with MJF when the promotion held Dynamite tapings in his hometown of Cincinnati. The wonderful Aunt Linda was at ringside, and after the Dark Side of The Ring episode about his father, there was an opportunity for Pillman Jr. to be showcased as more than just a Youtube wrestler. Instead, the company used it as a one-off and after the taping in Cincinnati, there wasn't really anything else booked for him in terms of a storyline.

This isn't to say that Brian Pillman Jr. is going to main event Wrestlemania, but he can go in the ring, has the look, and a backstory that can be used to make a star. In many ways, the story writes itself. The youngster follows in his father's footsteps more than two decades after his dad's passing to honor the family legacy.

In some respects, All Elite Wrestling gave NXT a blue print for how to make Pillman Jr. a star. Let Aunt Linda have a seat in the front row, allow the state-of-the-art WWE production team put together a video package that tells the story of the Pillman legacy, and then the second generation star can impress with his skills in the ring.

The biggest takeaway from Pillman's exit from All Elite Wrestling isn't necessarily that he's the next Stone Cold, but rather that Tony Khan missed the boat on a young talented athlete that the WWE can capitalize on in the future. For all of the rightfully criticisms of the Vince McMahon booking philosophy, the company knows how to showcase second generation stars. At 29, Pillman is only just about to enter his theoretical prime, and if AEW didn't see anything else in him beyond dark matches, especially after four years under contract, it makes sense to try to land somewhere else. Too often, even in the WWE system in the past, several talented performers spent a bulk of the prime of their career in a stagnant position.

If Pillman is going to be a star in the industry, at least any time soon, he couldn't remain just a name on the roster in AEW.

That being said, and this is the bigger story of this example, you have to wonder how many talents that were discovered in All Elite but weren't fully utilized will eventually be offered WWE deal? The most obvious example is Wardlow, who hasn't had any type of consistent booking since he finally pinned MJF. The other prospect and the one that I think has the bigger upside is Powerhouse Hobbs. Similar to the way that Wardlow wasn't truly given the chance to run as TNT champion, the same can be said for Hobbs. Make no mistake about it, Powerhouse Hobbs has all the tools to be a major star. The short association he had with QT Marshal in a comedy stable was a complete waste of time.

Tony Khan undoubtedly has a passion for professional wrestling and his willingness to fund a company allowed for a spark in the industry, but the charts and graphs that he cites in interviews are not the tools of a booker. At best, Tony can be described as a matchmaker, as he puts names on paper against each other, often with unnecessary gimmick matches that only payoff in E-fed booking online. The job of a booker requires much more depth than that, as far as the logic and the goal of storylines. Furthermore, a booker knows how to maximize its talent, something that Paul Heyman did very well in ECW. The bottom line is, if Tony Khan doesn't do a better job of fully utilizing the roster, even if that involves cutting names from it, Pillman Jr. might not be the only former AEW competitor that has a better run in the WWE.

Ngannou vs. Fury

The fight business, as much as it is about competition, is still the entertainment business.

Earlier this week, it was announced that WBC Heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury will clash with former UFC  Heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou on October 28 in Saudi Arabia. On the heels of the very controversial LIV/PGA merger, the oil money once again bought more propaganda material for the country with the novelty of the UFC's most powerful puncher in a boxing match against the current era's dominate heavyweight champion.

But, this isn't necessarily a blatant sideshow fight.

Ngannou, who successfully defended his UFC Heavyweight championship in January of 2022 via unanimous decision against Ciryl Gane, couldn't reach an agreement with the UFC for a new contract after more than a year of red tape so he was stripped of the belt earlier this year, making him a free agent. According to reports, the Cameroon native wanted health insurance, the ability to secure his own sponsors, and bigger paydays for his fights inside the octagon. It's doubtful that the UFC will offer health insurance to its fighters, and the Rebook deal that pays the athletes a minimum fee prevents outside sponsorships so the only common ground the two sides might've found was an increase in compensation for his fights. The debate over pay has existed between promoters and fighters as long as the fight business has existed so it's nothing new. That said, the options within the modern era allow fighters more negotiating power than in the past.

Purists from both sides of the boxing and MMA aisle have already scoffed at the event, which is to be expected as neither of those parties are getting their usual piece of the pie. Boxing mainstays like Las Vegas or New York don't get the economic benefits of hosting a major card in their city. The UFC, which is still under the hefty ESPN deal that pays the organization a guaranteed fee, doesn't get to tout the success of a massive gate for a heavyweight title fight or brag about pay-per-view numbers.

But, Francis Ngannou, who grew up in extreme poverty, working a a salt mine in his home country during his youth, is set to make the biggest payday of his career. That's not only a remarkable story, but the narrative of how these two heavyweights will share a ring is a major selling point. Tyson Fury struggled with mental health problems and addiction before he cleaned his life up to reclaim the heavyweight championship. Ngannou was homeless and living on the streets in Paris, but ascended to the top of mixed martial arts with incredible punching power.

Now, they will both make staggering money in Saudi Arabia and if they can get that deal then good for them, that's capitalism.

The UFC and the WWE are set to complete their merger later this year, with the new corporation estimated to be worth $21.9 billion after all the paper work is completed. Clearly, Ngannou thought that he could make some extra cash from the UFC without any damage to the company's bottom line, and he was right, but obviously, the organization didn't want to set a precedent so they allowed the reigning champion to exit. It didn't take long for company favorite, Jon Jones, who despite never fighting at heavyweight before and a laundry list of legal issues, to get a shot at the vacated title. Jones, who beat  Ciryl Gane via submission in March, is scheduled to defend the title against former champion, Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November.

Instead, Ngannou signed with the Professional Fighters League and the PFL reportedly offered him very favorable terms for the contract, including the ability to accept the fight with Tyson Fury. The WBC champion defeated Derek Chisora via TKO last December. The 34-year-old Fury has discussed retirement before so prehaps this "super fight" is a way for him to cash out before he hangs up the gloves.

It's ironic that the controversial Conor McGregor, who still hasn't applied for the USADA testing pool to be eligible to fight in the UFC, more or less put together a blue print for MMA fighters to make the massive paydays. Make your name in the UFC then take that promotional push and exposure to boxing to make the biggest money possible. Make no mistake about it, the UFC could pay its roster more, but given boxing has more of an international following because of its extended history, promoters have more flexibility to offer the paydays that the UFC simply won't. Keep in mind, the UFC has only been around thirty years and about half of that time is when the sport was in the main stream, while boxing has been around for decades so it makes sense that it's the more established sport.

The UFC promoted Conor McGregor as its top star and then he took that fame and made $100 million to fight Floyd Mayweather. While I don't expect the payouts for Ngannou/Fury to be quite that hefty, the concept is the same. The former UFC heavyweight champion will fight the current WBC champion. and as mentioned, this isn't quite the novelty that some critics will claim.

The margin of error is naturally much thinner with heavyweights. The fact that Ngannou was measured as the UFC's most powerful puncher is where the intrigue is in this boxing match. Make no mistake about it, Floyd/Conor set pay-per-view records because of the spectacle, nobody expected McGregor to get the better of Mayweather in a striking exchange. The paying audience knew that at best, the Irishman had a puncher's chance, but the spectacle of the two athletes in the ring would be worth the entertainment value. On the flip side, if Ngannou connects with a punch, he undoubtedly has the power to drop Tyson Fury. While Fury has a granite chin, the selling point is that while he should be able to win a boxing match rather easily, the legitimate threat of a KO punch from the MMA fighter will be there throughout the fight.

Again, Tyson Fury should be able to win striking exchanges with the former UFC champion easily, but assuming this two are there to fight rather than participate in a lucrative sparring session, there's a reason for fans to tune into the contest. Can the eccentric and iron-chinned Tyson Fury take a right hook from the most powerful puncher in the UFC? That legitimate question is what prevents this from being a sideshow, assuming the two fighters aren't there just for an exhibition. Floyd Mayweather "boxing" John Gotti III last month was such a circus that most people didn't know it took place until after it happened because the press had no reason to cover it except for the post-fight brawl. The nature of sideshow fights yield diminishing returns, and Floyd's track record of exhibitions proves that. Conor/Mayweather set pay-per-view records five years ago, Floyd/Gotti III wasn't even on the radar.

In terms of competition, there's not much on the line for Ngannou or Fury. Since the MMA fighter isn't ranked in the WBC, the belt can't be on the line, and if Tyson Fury wins, it was expected. However, the Saudi government is looking for publicity, not profit so they were able to offer each fighter more money than they were going to get elsewhere. This isn't a Youtube star masquerading as an athlete, while an aging legend agrees to be in the ring for a massive payoff. There are two top notch heavyweights from different sports that will compete in a bout that will bring them major cash. The UFC didn't want to pay Ngannou his asking price so he went elsewhere to land that type of money and you can't blame him for that.

As mentioned, UFC management and boxing brass might balk at this match-up because neither side is making money from it, but the Saudi government gets publicity and the two fighters get some of the biggest payoffs of their careers so it's a win-win for everyone.

Kota Ibushi announced for AEW

During last night's edition of Dynamite, the final members of both teams for next week's Blood and Guts, the War Games-style cage match, were announced. The long-speculated announcement that Kota Ibushi, former IWGP heavyweight champion, will join The Elite, was made, while Pac's return will see him added to the Blackpool Combat Club team.

Ibushi, who originally made his name in the over-the-top DDT promotion in Japan, is close friends with Kenny Omega, who worked for the Japanese league early in his career. Perhaps, the pinnacle of Kota's career was when he captured the IWGP Heavyweight championship at Wrestle Kingdom in 2021, dethroning Tetsuya Naito after a dangerous main event. At one point, he claimed that he signed a "lifetime contract" with NJPW and expressed that he would finish his career under that banner. His reign would be rather short, as he dropped the title to Will Ospreay a few months later and then suffered a serious shoulder injury in August of that year. The injury prompted a fierce debate between Ibushi and the New Japan office, apparently over how the injury was handled as far as the time off he was given, or at least that was the general consensus at the time with rough translation.

Either way, one of the major stars of NJPW exited the company after more than a year on the sidelines, which fueled speculation about where he might end up next.

Since he suffered the shoulder injury in August of 2021, Ibushi wrestled only two matches, which were both this past March for Game Changer Wrestling during Wrestlemania weekend. Right now, I don't see his debut in All Elite Wrestling as nearly the major announcement it would've been before the injury. Make no mistake about it, Kota is one of the most dynamic workers of his generation, with a style that combinations graceful aerial maneuvers with car crash bumps. At the same time, Ibushi, regardless of if Tony Khan would admit it or not, is still a niche name in the United States, especially to the vast majority of the TBS audience that probably heard his name for the first time ever during the segment that he was announced to join The Elite last night. Already a name that only diehard fans will know, his impact is further minimized when you take into account that he was on the shelf for such an extended period of time and a lot has happened within the past two years in the industry. The point being, Kota Ibushi hasn't been a topic of conversation, at least on a major scale, in at least over a year.

His upcoming debut just doesn't seem quite as monumental as it would've been if he had done anything beyond just two independent shows during one of the busiest weekends of the year on the wrestling calendar

That being said, this doesn't mean that Kota Ibushi is already a flop in All Elite Wrestling.

Instead, there are just some key questions that might be an indication of his success. First and most importantly, how healthy the Japanese grappler is will be a major factor. At 41, Kota keeps himself in tremendous shape and could theoretically have several more years as a top performer left in his career. At the same time, how much the shoulder injury affects him in the ring going forward, and specifically if he can avoid any further injury is just as big of a factor in the success he could have in AEW. Remember, Kota Ibushi worked a very dangerous style for several years and it caught up with him, the same way the toll of the high impact style put Kenny Omega on the shelf for several months. The former tag team partners have a lot in common with their in-ring presentation, as well as the price they paid for it, with extended absences from the ring to repair the damage.

Assuming Kota is and can stay healthy, I think it's more than possible for All Elite to properly introduce him to the American audience and add another star to the roster. Talent is talent, and Konosuke Takeshita, who also worked for DDT prior to his AEW debut, is proof that the right presentation can dissolve any perceived language barrier. Of course, Takeshita, especially at this point, has the bigger upside because he's younger and doesn't have the list of injuries, but the point is, Kota Ibushi is such a unique athlete that he can make a similar impression on the national TV audience.

It will be interesting to see if this is a one-off deal or if Kota will be on the roster full-time, particularly because that might be the subject of political red tape, given Ibushi's rocky exit from New Japan, and AEW's working agreement with the Japanese league. On the flip side, maybe this will help mend fences between Ibushi and New Japan? One thing is for sure, he was booked in a major spot for his AEW debut so hopefully, Tony Khan signed him to at least a semi-regular deal so that the spotlight is maximized for each team.

Speaking of which, Pac was announced for the other team, and while he did the best work of his career in All Elite Wrestling, he appears for the company so infrequently that the "return of Pac" has lost any sizzle it might've had. Reportedly, Pac, who hasn't worked for AEW since March, still lives in his native country of England so he is only booked for short stints in America. As much of a stellar athlete as Pac is, without consistency, which is a problem that is seen often with the bloated roster, his usefulness to the organization is minimal if he only appears a few times a year. It's difficult to expect the audience to invest in a character that simply isn't on the show. I'm not sure what type of deal Pac has with AEW, but unless this Blood and Guts appearance brings him back to the organization full-time, it might not be worth the investment to keep him under contract.

Back to Ibushi, the bottom line is, it completely depends on his health and what he brings to the table at this point in his career. It's not just a matter of his health now, but also if he can continue to perform at a major league level without any further injuries. Given his limited exposure in the United States, I'm not sure the announcement of his involvement was as big of a deal to the TV audience as it was to Tony Khan, but as mentioned, if Ibushi has healed up from the shoulder injury, there's a huge upside for him in All Elite Wrestling. The precise high-flying style with the wild bumps make him a unique commodity. Ironically, that same dynamic might limit his success if the history of injuries doesn't allow him to get back to the top form that made him a name in Japan.

Droz passed away

Former NFL football player and WWE grappler, Darren Drozdov passed away last week at the age of just 54. Originally, I wasn't going to write this column to cover his death, simply because his story is so tragic, and I thought it'd be better to allow his peers to share their much happier personal memories of him.

But, as I listened to a clip of the Jim Cornette podcast of the Louisville slugger's thoughts on Drozdov, I realized that not discussing him, and more specifically, the key life lessons that can be taken from his tale of perseverance, it would be a disservice to him.

Ironically, the man known as "Droz" was prehaps most remembered, at least within the sports entertainment world, for the infamous clip in the Beyond The Mat documentary where WWF kingpin, Vince McMahon provided a mock commentary call of "he's gonna puke! he's gonna puke! he's gonna puke!" in reference to Droz's ability to vomit at will. The 2000 film release was after the injury that not only altered Drozdov's career, but also the rest of his life.

Before he was spewing into a trash can in Vince's office on film, Droz played defensive tackle for the University of Maryland before he competed for three seasons in the National Football League, with stints on the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos in the early-90s. When he accidentally vomited on the football on live television during a Monday night game, that eventually gave McMahon the concept for a possible wrestling character.

All things considered, Drozdov made progress rather quickly in the pro wrestling business because of his athlete background. In total,his wrestling career from start to finish was just two years. After he learned the ropes under legendary trainer, Dr. Tom Prichard, Droz had a brief stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling as a part of the working agreement between the Philadelphia-based organization and the WWF.

After his debut in late-1997 for ECW, working preliminary matches on house shows, Droz made his WWF television debut in mid-1998. With the wild hair cut, piercings, and tattoos, Droz appeared to be tailor-made for the Attitude era. In six months, Droz went from his first pro bout to working on one of the highest-rated shows on cable television during the boom period of the late-90s.

Initially booked as the third member of LOD 2000, Drozdov was put in a rather tough spot to start his WWF career. Regardless of who it was or how much talent they might have, the audience just wasn't going to accept a "replacement Road Warrior" in any situation. The same thing could be said for when the WWE tried to shoehorn John Heidenreich into a similar role in the mid-2000s. The Vince Russo writing didn't do Droz any favors when he was involved in the terrible titan tron incident with Hawk for an angle that was booked to exploit Hawk's real-life substance problems.

Thankfully, by 1999 Droz was paired with Prince Albert, who works as the head coach at the WWE Performance Center, Matt Bloom. Albert had similar piercings so he and Droz were a solid mid-card tag team. Unfortunately, how far Droz could've went in the WWF was cut short. On October 10,1999 during a match with D'Lo Brown at a Smackdown taping, a botched power bomb left Darren Drozdov paralyzed at the age of 30.

It would've been very easy for Darren Drozdov to give up on life and accept the perceived limitations that were placed on him. Instead, Droz showed admirable and remarkable courage throughout the rest of his life. He regained the use of his arms through countless hours of therapy and stayed as active as possible. In the years that followed the injury, Droz wrote columns for the WWF website and magazine, as well as was a guest of the WWF's Byte This audio show. An outdoor enthusiast, Drozdov even had a custom-made wheelchair that resembled a small tank so that he could continue to hunt and fish.

Most importantly, in the face of overwhelmingly gloomy odds, Droz was determined to continue to live a productive life. That's an amount of remarkable toughness that very few would have given the circumstances. Droz also said several times over the years that the injury was an accident and that he doesn't blame anyone for it.

The WWE covered the costs for his extensive medical care so he was able to have very good treatment, as well as nurses to help him. In a 2007 shoot interview, Drozdov remained positive and had the determination to continue to live his life. He even appeared in an episode of Dark Side of The Ring about the Brawl For All, and the previously mentioned custom wheelchair showed him being able to get around his property.

UFC 290

Tomorrow night, The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada as a part of its signature International Fight Week, which will be headlined by UFC 290, a pay-per-view event with two championship bouts at the top of the card. With the recent news that the organization's top star, Conor McGregor didn't apply to the USADA testing pool and thus wouldn't be eligible to fight this year against the other Ultimate Fighter reality show coach, Micheal Chandler, the company needs a solid showing for it's major pay-per-view event this week, especially when you take into account the negative publicity of the recent accusations against McGregor after he attended game four of the NBA finals.

The main event will be a Featherweight title unification bout between longtime champion,  Alexander Volkanovski and interim titleholder, Yair Rodríguez. Ironically, this unification contest was set up at UFC 284 earlier this year when Volkanovski, who dominated the competition at 145 LBS, looked to move up to challenge Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev for the title. Volkanovski lost via unanimous decision, but if he had won the 155 LBS belt, an interim Featherweight champion was decided in the co-main event in case Volkanovski had to defend each championship. Rodríguez beat Josh Emmett via submission in the second round to claim the interim belt.

Volkanovski didn't become a double champion in February, but with an MMA record of 25-2, with his only UFC defeat to the previously mentioned Makhachev, he has defeated more or less all of the top competition in the featherweight division. Max Holloway, Jose Aldo, Brian Ortega, and Jung Chan-Sung are just a few of the names that he beat inside the octagon. There's undoubtedly an argument to be made that Volkanovski might be the greatest featherweight of all time. Yair Rodríguez fought some of the same competition, but those bouts yielded mixed results. For example, he defeated Brian Ortega and Jung Chan-Sung, but lost to Max Holloway.

Quite simply, while anything can happen in MMA and that's one of the reasons the sport is so intriguing, Volkanovski is the more well-rounded fighter so I'd guess that he will get the win to claim the unified championship. The main reason is, Volkanovski has punching power and was able to successfully grapple with the champion of the bigger weight class when he fought Makhachev. I think this will be a very entertaining main event and that Volkanovski will get the win on the score cards.

Speaking of entertaining fights, the co-main event for the Flyweight championship looks like it should be an all action bout. Brandon Moreno will defend his title against Alexandre Pantoja, who actually beat him via decision in 2018. Moreno's most recent bout this past January was the trilogy fight against Deiveson Figueiredo that ended via doctor stoppage after the third round. Moreno won the rubber match of a very competitive and entertaining series of fights.

The Mexican style of fighting is often referred to in boxing because of the exciting fighting style of names like Julio César Chávez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and Canelo Alvarez. Those are just some of the names that associated Hispanic heritage with  an all-action approach to the fight game. Mixed martial arts is still relatively new to the main stream sports landscape, but make no mistake about it, Moreno brings the Mexican style to the octagon.

How Alexandre Pantoja handles that aggressive fight style might determine the story of the fight at UFC 290.

It's no surprise that the Brazilian is very skilled at submissions and that might be the key to the contest. One of the many reasons that jiu-jitsu is such an effective skill set is that it can be used for both offense and defense. If  Moreno is too aggressive, Pantoja could land a submission or at the very least, use the ground skills to avoid any major damage from Moreno's strikes. Pantoja is on a three-fight win streak ahead of this co-main event, with the last two of those via submission so it's very possible he will look for another submission victory against the champion.

All things considered, this is a very evenly-matched fight and it could be the best fight of the pay-per-view. It's very tough to be a winner, but I think Moreno will get the win. However, that's more of a guess than anything since both athletes have a similar skill set.

That being said, from purely a business perspective, you have to ask, how will this pay-per-view sell?

Former champion, Robert Whittaker is on the card and is always known for his entertaining bouts, but even with two championship bouts on the pay-per-view, I'm not sure if this card will prompt fans, especially the casual fans, to spend $80 to watch it. Last month, Amanda Nunes, who many consider the greatest female fighter of all time, retired as a double champion to spend time with her family. At 35, Nunes probably had a few more years left in her prime, but she made good money and if she can retire from the sport without any major injuries then it's mission accomplished. However, for the UFC, one of their top drawing cards just stepped away from competition so it becomes more difficult to sell PPVs. Don't get me wrong, from a fight quality perspective, the UFC 290 card delivers what should be quality action for diehard fight fans, but with the way that management have catered to a select few competitors, such as Jon Jones and Conor McGregor, I'm not sure the promotional machine truly got behind fighters in other divisions. For example, Volkanovski might be the best Featherweight of all time, depending on how you measure Jose Aldo in his prime, but most casual fans probably only know the featherweight division because it was one of the titles McGregor held when he was double champion with belts that he was stripped of since he didn't defend them.

On paper, UFC 290 has the line-up of quality fights that should give the fans their money's worth, but it will be interesting to see if there's enough name value for the fans to order the pay-per-view.

MLW lawsuit

By nature of the business that originated from the carnival circuit, professional wrestling often finds itself in the "truth is stranger than fiction" category, particularly when the unique brand that is sports entertainment finds itself subject to the logic of the real business world.

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that WWE legal ace, Jerry McDevitt has stepped away from the current antitrust lawsuit that Court Bauer and Major Legal Wrestling filed against the organization last year, citing that he planned to retire before the case would conclude. McDevitt, who represented the company since the late-80s, is one of the most important figures in the history of the company, even if most fans wouldn't recognize him. The primarily example was the steroid trial of the early-90s, and as flimsy as the case against the emperor of sports entertainment might've been in retrospect, the media coverage at the time gave the impression that Vince McMahon might be dethroned from his WWF kingdom. Of course, his actual fall from grace would come many years later with the sexual misconduct scandal, but as we know, Vince not only remained telfon, he's back in charge of WWE and cashed out at the same time with the Endeavor merger. McDevitt made sure McMahon didn't do the job to Uncle Sam in the early-90s and has guided him through rough legal waters since that time. Quite simply, without the legal czar's counseling, it's very possible the WWE would look very different today.

That being said, McDevitt's exit from the MLW case has very little to do with its merit or lack thereof.

The attorney is 74 years old, and while McMahon is determined to outlive us all and run the show at Wrestlemania 70, McDevitt probably just didn't want to be involved with the court proceedings that are expected to take longer than he plans to continue practicing law. So, I don't find his exit from the WWE's legal team, or the fact that the company hired a new firm to take over the case to be an indication of anything. If McDevitt isn't going to be there to lead the legal team, it makes sense for the organization to go with a new firm, the same firm that Meltzer reported is also handling the legal aspect of the Endeavor merger so it's still an "in-house" legal defense.

When MLW originally filed the lawsuit against the WWE in January of last year, I didn't think much of it, and truthfully still don't. Initially launched in 2002, Major League Wrestling was among an alphabet soup of organizations that tried to promote itself as an alternative product or as a replacement for ECW, running at the world famous bingo hall in Philadelphia. Very similar to most other projects among the post-Attitude era landscape, MLW looked more like a vanity project than anything that would reach a level beyond an independent group with a budget. The group folded in 2004. Its founder, Court Bauer went on to work as a writer for WWE in the mid-2000s before he relaunched Major League Wrestling in 2017. Keep in mind, this was when Impact Wrestling was on the brink of collapse and had to be rescued by Anthem to stay afloat after the Dixie Carter debacle with NWA owner, Billy Corgan.

This time, MLW took a different approach with the use of many independent stars, some of those who went onto bigger stages in the years that followed. Still, MLW was and continues to be more or less a niche indy product with more of a budget than more independent shows, which isn't meant as a knock, but rather a comparison to its place among the industry. Jacob Fatu is an extremely talented athlete that looked to be destined for national television with either AEW or WWE, but reportedly, a criminal record kept him off their radar. Alex Hammerstone is a tremendous performer and is definitely skilled enough to be on national TV. The influx of lucha libre over the years was also a highlight for the company. In many ways, Major league Wrestling has the Ring Of Honor spot before the Sinclair purchase in 2011. They aren't big enough to necessarily make a dent in the national scene, but have a big enough platform to get their stars noticed, which again, isn't meant as a jab. The shows have good production, a good announce team, and offer something different, albeit to a niche demographic, in a crowded wrestling landscape.

As I said, I didn't originally cover the MLW lawsuit, as I didn't expect it to be anything major, but McDevitt's retirement brought it back into the headlines.

Will Vince McMahon be a ruthless promoter and squash the competition if he can? Absolutely, but he's too smart and the WWE is too big, especially after the Endeavor merger to let anything be interpenetrated as an antitrust maneuver. MLW's initially claim was that when the company was set to sign a deal with streaming platform Tubi, which is owned by Fox, the deal was canceled because WWE Smackdown airs on the Fox network. First and most importantly, it's very doubtful that WWE saw MLW has a threat to its market share, simply because the group wasn't running on a scale big enough to make a difference. Major League Wrestling doesn't have the revenue or the resources to sign major names or run major arenas. Don't get me wrong, MLW does well for its level, but it's not even a full-time touring company. All Elite Wrestling is the closet entity that the WWE has to competition, and a  major reason for that is that its funded by a billionaire family. Secondly, Tubi is a free streaming platform and while it's a known app, it's not as though it provides anything close to main stream exposure so why exactly would the WWE want to prevent it from being on the streaming service?

There were also claims that MLW was going to ink a deal with Vice, but the network, which recently filed for bankruptcy so it might be moot, was told that Vince McMahon would be upset if the channel aired the Major League Wrestling shows. Again, Vice TV, which airs the Dark Side of The Ring series, is a relatively small network so even if MLW aired on the channel, it doesn't have the TV clearance to be a threat to WWE.

Finally, earlier this year, MLW signed a 10-week deal with the Reelz network, another relatively small channel to air their shows. Around the same time, Reelz signed a contract to put its content on Peacock, the streaming service for  the WWE Network. Reelz aired the ten MLW episodes that were contracted for and opted not to renew the deal. From a legal prospective, the contract was completed as signed. Granted, anything is possible, but I would be very surprised if the WWE went after MLW specifically, if for not other reason than it's not necessary. If truth, if McMahon wanted to disrupt MLW's business, the WWE could offer Jacob Fatu and Hammerstone hefty contracts that were too good to turn down and then MLW doesn't have its top two stars on the roster.

The return of Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre, former WWE champion, made a surprise return to the company last weekend at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view to a thunderous response from the crowd in London. While his comeback to the organization would've received an ovation anywhere, it made sense to bring him back in the UK for a "hometown" type of reaction.

The return to WWE programming came after there was speculation that Drew might let his WWE deal expire, with the option to explore other opportunities, namely with All Elite Wrestling as the organization prepares for its own major event in England, Wembley Stadium with over 60,000 fans expected in August.

I wanted to write a column specifically about the comeback of Drew McIntyre, as his WWE career had its share of peaks and valleys. At 38, he is still in his prime, but the one narrative that has followed his WWE tenure, which started when he originally signed to a deal in 2007 is, he just wasn't at the right place at the right time. When he was dubbed "The Chosen One" by Vince McMahon at just 22 years old, he wasn't ready for that spot, and to be fair to him, very few probably would've been able to handle that pressure at such a young age. The infamous 3MB years could've typecast him as a comedy act, but not only did he make the best of it, he completely rejuvenated his career after he was released in 2014.

His exit from the WWE was necessary, as it put distance between him and the 3MB gimmick. When he toured the indies and had a tenure in Impact, he reinvented himself for when he signed with the WWE in 2017.

He had a successful stint in NXT, winning the championship and working some stellar matches for the brand. However, similar to many that were called up to the main roster, he almost floundered on Raw as a mid-card heel, and some switches between heel and baby face over the years didn't put him in a firm direction.

Drew was always known as a guy that seemed to have all the tools and developed them throughout his career, but just hadn't reached the top level. If you go back to 2019, he was spinning his wheels as a part of a mid-card tag team and didn't seem to have much momentum at all. Finally, more because it seemed like the office needed to decide who was going to get a push that year, McIntyre won the 2020 Royal Rumble to get a shot at the championship at Wrestlemania.

However, everything and everyone was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

As random as the decision to finally push Drew to the main event scene was for the Rumble in 2020, at least he was going to get a chance to work as a main event competitor in WWE. The opportunity wasn't ideal since the office did nothing to indicate that they had big plans for him with the way he was booked the previous year, but the point being, at least he was going to get a chance to be a top guy. As we know, COVID-19 shuttered the entire world and it was quite literally unprecedented times for sports entertainment. For the first time ever, Wrestlemania was taped in front of no fans because of the health risks associated with the pandemic. Drew was put in an impossible situation, he had the biggest moment of his career, winning the WWE championship from Brock Lesnar, in an empty building to literally no reaction. You have to give McIntyre credit, he was the pandemic era champion and did the best he could with it, as the environment of WWE tapings evolved with the Thunder Dome concept and the addition of piped in crowd noise to give the broadcasts some type of atmosphere instead of just a static presentation.

During the latter stages of the pandemic, Roman Reigns finally turned heel and not only did the best work of his career,  but that story continues today as a part of the best storyline the WWE has done in at least the past 3-4 years. Management had several years of time, money, and promotional push invested in Roman Reigns for him to get to the top spot in the company so it made sense for them to fully spotlight the success.

But, what about Drew?

It's unfair, but the bottom line is, Drew got the biggest push of his career at a time when the state of the product was in survival mode, not in the position to make new stars. Granted, the WWE wasn't in danger of folding or anything like that, but the primary objective, as it should've been, was to keep the roster health and just get the shows on the air, especially when its biggest revenue source was the TV contract. Unfortunately, Drew was a placeholder champion, even if he's much more skilled than that.

Since that time, McIntyre continues to be a solid performer and you'd be hard-pressed to find a subpar Drew McIntyre match, but it's clear the focus of the office, as it probably should be, is on the storylines that involve Roman Reigns. Truth be told, Drew's time as a main event guy, might've come to a conclusion. Even after the pandemic more or less concluded so that fans could be brought back into arenas, nothing made a bigger statement about how the office viewed Drew post-pandemic than when he worked a four-minute match against Jinder Mahal at Summer Slam in 2021.

Don't get me wrong, management knows that Drew is a commodity, which is why he challenged Roman Reigns for the championship in a really good match at Clash at the Castle last September, but it's clear that they don't have main event plans for him. So, you can't blame him for at least considering other options when there appears to be a ceiling on the amount of success he can achieve in the WWE.

So, why did Drew opt to re-sign with WWE?

The answer is simple, and should be the top priority in the business, he got paid big money to remain a part of the WWE. This is where the existence of All Elite Wrestling is so critical for the health of the industry, regardless of what the critics might say. Before the launch of AEW, a talent often had to take what the WWE offered or consider if the smaller platform of TNA, which was more or less the witness protection program during the post-Spike TV years before Anthem bought it, was worth it. Now, if a WWE talent wants to work elsewhere, they have the option of prime time national television for at least comparable money, which completely shifts the dynamics of the industry.

If the office still sees Drew as a guy that can be on the same level as Roman Reigns remains to be seen, but they certainly know his value as a performer, which is why they definitely didn't want another one of their stars to make the jump to AEW, particularly when the setting of Wembley stadium would provide a memorable moment for a theoretical Drew Galloway debut.

The good news is, Drew McIntyre might finally be at the right place at the right time, with the right opponent. Gunther is a top notch worker and made the IC title relevant for the first time in several years. Proof of the credibility brought to the IC belt was the stellar triple threat match for the championship at Wrestlemania. In some ways, it's a throwback to when the IC title was considered the "worker's championship" with names like Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect in the early-90s.  It's very possible with Gunter, Drew, Sheamus, and others that there could be a division that adds another dynamic to the show. Given McIntyre's involvement at Raw, it appears there will be a Gunter/Drew feud for the belt, which was spotlighted in the main event segment.