CM Punk vs. Jack Perry

All Elite Wrestling has a serious management problem.

Once again, instead of the success of a major pay-per-view being in the headlines, the narrative around AEW is based on the backstage chaos. During the first half of the event, instead of viewers ready for the main event of the Wembley Stadium show, fans flocked to social media to get updates on yet another backstage fight that involved CM Punk.

This time, the real-life Phil Brooks got into an altercation with Jack Perry, who worked a pre-show match against Hook. In the weeks prior to All In, a story surfaced online of a behind the scenes disagreement between Perry and Punk at a Collision, CM Punk's personal show to play the top star, taping where Punk refused to let Jungle Boy use real glass for a segment. During the pre-show bout, Perry arrived in a car that was parked in the entrance way and then the two grapplers brawled toward the vehicle. At one point, Perry looked into the camera and said, "it's real glass, cry me a river" as a jab at Punk.

What happened next depends on what account of the incident that you read, with some saying that Perry approached Punk before Brooks went through the curtain for his match with Samoa Joe. That side of the story claims that Perry tried to get physical with Punk, who put him in a choke hold before security broke it up. Another version claims that Punk confronted Perry and then threw a punch. Regardless of who initiated the fight, it's confirmed that the incident happened, which Tony Khan mentioned briefly in the post-PPV press conference. Bryan Alvarez reported that Perry was immediately escorted from the building by security, and Punk was also eventually asked to leave the venue. More news was revealed since the show went off the air as Sports Illustrated reported that both Jack Perry and CM Punk were suspended, pending an investigation of the altercation.

If this is true, it would probably rule Punk off of this weekend's All Out show, the pay-per-view scheduled for his hometown of Chicago.

There are a few different ways to look at this scenario, but it's difficult to ignore that CM Punk is the common denominator of much of the backstage drama within the organization. Ironically, I penned an article just two weeks ago and explained why I didn't think CM Punk was worth the hassle that he brings to the company after he buried Adam Page on the mic during a post-show promo following a Collision taping. The Punk/Elite drama dominated much of the news cycle that surrounded AEW following the infamous All Out brawl last year, and Punk went out of his way to put the drama back in the headlines after it looked like the tension finally settled between the two sides.

It didn't take long for CM Punk to provide another reason why the baggage he brings to the table eclipsed his level of star power.

That being said, this whole debacle is a glaring example of the continuous mismanagement of the organization. I've praised Tony Khan for his efforts to spark the industry, but at some point, it must be recognized that many of the issues that plague AEW boil down to the fact that Tony Khan seemingly would rather be a wrestler's friend than their boss. Don't get me wrong, there are going to be issues between talent and promoters as long as the wrestling business exists, but there's also a reason that many successful promoters were criticized by disgruntled talent. That's just a part of the nature of the industry, tough decisions have to be made and you can't keep everyone  happy all the time. Paul Roma probably thought it would've been a great idea to beat Hulk Hogan for the WWF championship, but Vince McMahon had other plans.

It's still a rather murky situation, but does CM Punk essentially run Collision? Is he now a part of AEW management? If he is, who thought that would be a good idea, and more specifically, other than his ego, what qualifies Phil Brooks to run a weekly national television show? Apparently, Punk had the power to veto Jungle Boy's angle with glass so it appears that he has some type of office role. Given the previous fight backstage, should Punk have that type of power over other talent? Now, don't get me wrong, the notion to use glass for a television taping is ridiculous, and someone should've overruled Perry, but should it have been Punk? Furthermore, who booked the car for Perry to use at the pay-per-view? Was this Tony's way of appeasing Jack Perry?

As far as what happens next, unless Tony Khan takes a direct stance on the issue, nothing will be resolved and the track record of backstage fights suggests that another incident would happen in the future. It sounds simplistic, but the talent must be willing to work together to draw money. They don't have to send each other Christmas cards every year, but the common goal of drawing money so that everyone can continue to make a full-time living in the industry must be the priority. That's how professionals work, and more often than not, that hasn't been the case in AEW. CM Punk seemed content to continue to be one of the highest paid wrestlers on the roster when he took cheap shots at the company on social media when he was still on the sidelines earlier this year.

That's also another major problem, CM Punk claims he wants to settle things, but those things only stay settled until CM Punk decides they're not settled. He got a chance to throw cheap shots on the mic at The Elite when he returned for the debut episode of Collision, but then buried Adam Page in the post-show promo a few weeks ago. It's extremely ironic that Punk's original rant that started all of this was his claim that wrestling is a business, but he certainly isn't doing business if he's suspended from the All Out pay-per-view. Will his absence sell more tickets or PPV buys?

Clearly, CM Punk was under the impression that another backstage fight would have minimal consequence or he just didn't care what the potential consequences would be. Either way, it's obvious that doing business for AEW isn't a matter of importance to him.

This all speaks to the ineptitude of Tony Khan as a pro wrestling boss. Make no mistake about it, by all accounts, Tony Khan is a great guy that actually cares about his roster, but that doesn't automatically make him suited to be the boss of a company. There wasn't really any decisive action taken after the All Out incident last year, particularly because The Elite were kept on Dynamite and then CM Punk was given his own show. Again, if the talent can't work together to draw money then the problem wasn't addressed, it was avoided to attempt to keep everyone happy. At the very least, if Punk and The Elite didn't want to work with each other, Tony could've said that he expects them to be professionals and at least be in the same building for weekly television without incident. That's not an unrealistic expectation, and Tony could've released any of those involved if they refused to show up for work or couldn't be in the same venue without another fight.

But, Khan didn't draw the line in the sand, and as far as CM Punk goes, the situation is almost back to square one.

At this point, if Phil Brooks continues to work for AEW, what message does that send to the rest of the roster? If Jack Perry started the fight and Brooks was defending himself then Perry should be fired. Some type of statement of actual management must be made or the story of AEW will probably always be an organization that had a lot of potential in front of the camera, but wasn't run properly behind the scenes to truly continue to expand as an organization.

If there's not a zero tolerance policy for backstage fights going forward, I honestly think it proves that Tony Khan won't be an effective pro wrestling boss. He has absolutely done a lot of great things for the industry, but again, if the talent are fighting behind the curtain then they aren't drawing money in the ring.

If Jack Perry gets his walking papers, it's very doubtful that it will have a major impact on the standing of the organization. He plateaued as a performer, and after the infamous convention appearance earlier this year when he appeared completely aloof and indifferent to pro wrestling, the majority of the AEW fan base soured on him. It's really disappointing because it looked like Perry had the potential to be a major star, but the harsh reality is, he's probably expendable on the AEW roster.

The other side of the coin is CM Punk, and I have to say that I honestly believe that he would have a major issue any place he worked. He couldn't get along with management in WWE, and the majority of his AEW stint he had several disagreements. The common denominator is Phil Brooks, and as I've said before, Punk is about Punk, not the prosperity of pro wrestling so Tony Khan should be very careful, not only how he handles this situation, but if Punk should have any power in the company in the future.

All In review

All In, the major pay-per-view held at Wembley Stadium in front of a record-setting crowd of over 80,000 fans, is in the books. While the reaction after the show went off the air varied, depending on the perspective, the question that many have considered is, did the pay-per-view live up to the hype? Furthermore, what does this mean for not only the future of the company, but also how were the pieces put in place to lead to next weekend's All Out event in Chicago?

Usually, I don't review the pre-show matches to prevent these reviews from being too lengthy, but given that MJF and Adam Cole vs. Aussie Open was a bout that was booked to add to the narrative of the main event, I wanted to discuss a few points out it. I know this is probably too negative to start this column, but I must say that while I get what the point was supposed to be with the opponents winning tag titles, I don't think it accomplished enough for the storyline to justify putting the main event stars on the show that early. Keep in mind, there's supposed to be an aura around the main event, and after you saw MJF earlier, the signature entrance later in the night didn't have the level of mystic it would've had otherwise. Along with that, the ROH tag titles, similar to the other ROH belts represented on this event, were meaningless so it didn't truly add anything to the friendship angle of the main event. Claudio is the ROH World champion and took the pin in Stadium Stampede, and Samoa Joe is the ROH TV champion, but was pinned in the opener of the pay-per-view so do the tag belts have any value to add to a storyline already based on the All Elite World championship?

As mentioned, Samoa Joe lost in the bout that kicked off the PPV. As far as the in-ring action, this contest was solid, but the narrative or lack thereof was rather confusing for the majority of the segment. The last we knew, Joe was a heel, and Punk seemed to play to the crowd when he walked to the ring, which would imply that Punk is the baby face. However, throughout the match, Punk hit some trademark John Cena offense and then landed a Hogan leg drop before he put his hand to his ear in the Hulkster pose. It appeared that Punk was trying to antagonize the audience, especially given Hogan's standing with the AEW fan base so after the conclusion of the match, I'm not sure where this puts Punk on the All Elite landscape. As far as the "real world champion" gimmick, I understand it's a throwback to the Ric Flair angle in the WWF in the early-90s, but I don't think this segment was seen with the level of importance of a title match, even if that was the intention. If anything, putting the championship on the line more or less gave away the finish since the only logical conclusion to this storyline would be an eventual unification bout with MJF to play off of the masterpiece of a dog collar match from a few years ago.

I'm sure anyone reading this column has already heard of the story of yet another backstage fight in AEW that involved Punk, this time with Jack Perry just minutes before he went to the ring to work with Samoa Joe. I'd like to discuss that specific situation in it's own column to keep the focus on the actual pay-per-view for this article.

The six man tag between The Golden Elite and the Don Callis crew was fine, but very close to what I expected took place, with the notion that you would've had a better quality match from most of these workers in a different combination. Jay White and Juice Robinson are a tremendous tag team, putting them against Adam Page and Kenny Omega might've stole the show in a standard tag match. Konosuke Takeshita is a superb talent and has the ability to be a top guy for the company. The heel persona works well and he looks like a movie villain with the leather jacket added to his attire. The biggest takeaway from the Takeshita heel turn is that he knows how to have the body language of a heel to really present the persona well. Thankfully, it looks like Omega/Takeshita will put on the card for All Out, but I just have to think that there was better use of him in a stadium show than a six man tag with little at stake. Kota Ibushi was one of the best high flyers of his generation and the argument could be made that he already had a Hall of Fame career for his work in Japan, but similar to his Blood and Guts performance, he's just not the same worker since the shoulder injury that put him on the shelf. That's not to knock his very accomplished career, but rather to point out that Tony Khan should be very careful before he invest too much money or time into him since it appears that the Japanese grappler is past his prime. Takeshita used a roll up on Omega to get the cheap victory, presumably to set up their All Out match.

I have to be honest, the tag team title match was one of the matches that I was looking forward to the most on this show, and unfortunately, I expected more from this segment. There wasn't anything wrong with the match, but it just seemed like it never got into the second gear, despite getting almost 20 minutes on the pay-per-view. I was surprised that FTR retained the belt, and it will be interesting to see what the next move is for both teams, especially with Cash's current legal situation. Perhaps, expectations for the FTR/Young Bucks feud were too high or Tony waited too long to book the rubber match, but when you take into account how talented both teams are, I would've guessed that their series of matches would've been more memorable.

The Stadium Stampede match was fun for what it was, even if there was too much comedy at certain points when since it's supposed to be a dangerous match. By nature, this match was somewhat of a challenge for the production team, as there was too much going on at any one time and the camera missed a few key spots, but that was almost unavoidable. You have to give credit to Trent in this segment because he took some brutal bumps, and outside of being typecast in a comedy tag team, make no mistake about it, Trent can go in the ring. Another challenge with the circumstances of the bout is that it's much more difficult to work a Stadium Stampede match with actual fans in attendance since there are only so many places that the wrestlers could safely fight through the building to make sure fans aren't in danger. It's always nice to see Sue make a cameo on AEW programming, but it was out of place in this segment and took away from some of the danger of the bout. Sue gives away cookies just minutes before Jon Moxley uses a barbed wire bat so it was a conflicting narrative. Speaking of which, I understand what the point was of the Taipei gimmick with the glass on the fist for the finish, but it was just too convoluted and almost looked silly with Orange Cassidy's hand wrapped in duck tape. As mentioned previously, Cassidy got the pin on Claudio for the win.

The Women's title four-way match was very solid. As difficult as four-way matches can be, these athletes made it work, and they went to the finish at the right time with about ten minutes as enough to keep a fast paced match that had action that built to the finish. It was great to see Saraya win the title in her hometown and have her family there for the celebration. I'm not sure it if was necessarily the best move for the women's division as a whole, considering that she hasn't been in top form in the ring or on the mic so far in her AEW tenure, but in a vacuum, this was the right decision, especially since the women's division was more or less in disarray for the past few months anyway. Perhaps, this can be a fresh start for everyone involved since The Outcasts' run as a stable was rather lackluster. Toni Storm probably made the most progress of the trio during the stable's existence so it's possible that Storm/Saraya would be a decent feud to start the title reign.

The tag team casket match was very entertaining. It's amazing that Sting is still in the ring at his age, but somehow he's still a quality performer at 64, which speaks volumes to his talent. The bumps that Darby Allin took in this segment, including an attempted coffin drop from the top rope to the floor on the lid of the casket, were ridiculous. I hope I'm wrong, but this car crash style has to been taking years off of his career, and that might put a ceiling on how far he can move up the card or how much Tony would be willing to invest in him in the future. Sting and Darby got the win.

As much as FTR/The Young Bucks fell short of my expectations, Chris Jericho vs, Will Ospreay was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. In truth, and some of this surfaced toward the conclusion of the bout, I thought it was too much of a styles clash between the two grapplers. Jericho is an absolute legend and in some ways, he's in a league of his own in the industry, but at 52, it would be unrealistic to expect him to keep up with Ospreay. Granted, Jericho in 1997 would've went step-for-step with Ospreay, but Jericho has understandably shown his age within the past year or so. Thankfully, instead of Jericho trading high spots with Ospreay, they worked a stiff match that suited the Fozzy front man better. Credit to both athletes, there were some brutal strike exchanges throughout this match and the physicality added a lot to the narrative. Early in the contest, there was a scary moment when Ospreay did a dive to the floor and it looks like his knee clipped Jericho in the head. Toward the finish, Jericho went for a spring board diamond cutter, a version of one of Ospreay's signature moves, and it look like he always spiked himself on his head.

Jericho already has more than thirty years of wrestling that took a toll on his body so let's hope these matches are rare for him at this point in his career. As entertaining as this one was, the finish, which saw Ospreay get the victory was somewhat puzzling, unless he intends to sign a deal with AEW after his New Japan contract expires at the end of the year. Don't get me wrong, it makes sense to give Ospreay the victory in England, but to my knowledge, he was the first one to kick out of the Judas Effect, which is theoretically a major boost. Jericho put him over and that gives Ospreay major cache and it would make the most sense to use that credibility to establish him in AEW, not just for him to take the accomplishment back to Japan. That being said, I think Ospreay would be better off in New Japan since it's a platform for him to shine and he can remain a bigger fish in a smaller pond in terms of the global scope, as well as a way to avoid getting lost in the shuffle like so many have in AEW. However, I don't think this finish is booked, particularly with the kick out of the Judas Effect, unless Ospreay was on his way to AEW.

The six man tag was decent and mostly a basic match, which isn't a negative since it was a way to pace the card. The House of Black did a nice tribute to Bray Wyatt with a lantern during their entrance, and The Acclaimed won the Trios title. I'm not sure the victory means all that much in the grand scheme of things when you take into account that the belts were more or less only created for The Elite so I'm not sure this win will boost The Acclaim's status in the company.

I've written extensively about why I'm not a fan of the current MJF/Adam Cole storyline or any of the goofy skits they've done on television so I'm not going to retread all of that. Quite simply, this match wasn't for me, I still think the entire angle makes MJF look like a yuppie, and Adam Cole look like a doofus, an aspect that was reinforced when nothing actually happened at the conclusion of the broadcast. MJF based his entire career of being the most vile heel in the business and this whole angle takes away from that, especially when there's not a swerve for him to take a cheap shot at Cole to retain the championship. Cole looks like a doofus in the skits and then naive that he trusted the heel with such a devious reputation. The lame attempts at comedy skits on television in recent weeks were cringe worthy. The whole "LOL wrestling" stuff isn't for me, and more often than not, those type of angles make it embarrassing to be a wrestling fan. Don't get me wrong, these two are great performers, but none of those skills were spotlighted in this scenario. Professional wrestling is built on conflict, but this entire storyline is the opposite of that. It's a drastic example, but Stone Cold and The Rock are the two biggest stars in the history of the business, did they go to get ice cream together on television before they worked the main event of Wrestlemania? John Cena vs. The Rock set records, was that feud based on friendship? The MJF/Cole match was fine, but I wasn't impressed with any of it.

The predicament that Tony Khan finds himself in is that he decided to run two pay-per-views in the span of a week, which is a very difficult situation, especially when you consider that the historic nature of the Wembley show was enough of a selling point, but there's not enough time to truly build another pay-per-view main event for All Out. With the PPV being held in Chicago, there are rumors that a Punk title defense might headline the show, and that might work for the live audience, but I don't think it will be enough to get fans to spend another $50 on a pay-per-view a week later.

Bray Wyatt passed away

I'm absolutely stunned at the news that broke late yesterday afternoon that Windham Rotunda, known to wrestling fans around the globe as Bray Wyatt, passed away suddenly at the age of just 36. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that he was given permission to reveal that the grappler had a bout with COVID earlier this year and it worsened an existing heart issue. Sapp added that a heart attack led to Rotunda's death. 

Along with the rest of the wrestling world, I'm still reeling from the death of the beloved Terry Funk, who passed just two days earlier at the age of 79. The shock from Terry's passing was almost ironic, because despite his advanced age, health issues from more than five decades in the ring, and news in recent years that he moved into an assisted living facility, it's still surprising that Terry Funk was moral? Barbed wire, explosions, and flying steel chairs couldn't stop Funk so even at 79, it wasn't unrealistic to expect Terry to pose with his trademark left hand ready to throw another punch at 104. Thankfully, Terry lived a full life and had an impact on generations. Sadly, Windham Rotunda's passing is at the other end of the spectrum, it's not expressing grief through celebration as many did with Terry, but grief through absolute sadness. Windham didn't get a chance to live a full life, but left in the prime of it. He didn't get a chance to fully leave his footprint on the world of sports entertainment, and as influencial as it would've been, that mark on pro wrestling seems moot compared to what his absence will mean to his family.

Even as I type this, the whole thing just seems surreal. He was rumored to be back on WWE television soon and now he's gone?

Less than two weeks ago, I penned an article about the status of Bray Wyatt, the performer that became a top merchandise seller despite the fact that he wasn't always booked to shined, and detailed how the scripting of his characters didn't do him any favors. I concluded that article with the notion that given the money he made and the recent health scare, prehaps retirement was the best option for him.

The fact that Bray Wyatt didn't get the push or the scripting he deserves seems rather hollow after the news that the real-life Windham Rotunda passed away.

I praised his talent and his ability as a performer, citing when he should've had those signature wins, and more specifically, when the office shouldn't have booked him into a corner. The start and then stop of a push of any specific persona didn't allow him to truly make the most of his potential. But that seems insignificance without Windham Rotunda, the real-life father of four to be around for his family.

That's not to minimize or discard what he did in the ring, but rather to point out the scope of this tragic news.

In a business where egos can run wild or grudges can be held, social media was flooded with touching tributes by those that knew the man behind the mask of "The Fiend" and even prior to this, I'm not sure any of his peers had anything negative to say about him, which is rare for the sports entertainment business.

In the aftermath of his death, a message that Rotunda shared online several months ago about how a multitude of things can be possible within pro wrestling has resurfaced online.The portion that stood out to me was that "wrestling is hope."

I'm not a religious person, I don't believe that everything happens for a reason or that there's some grand plans. Obviously, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, but instead I believe that there's a random order of what happens and then we can do the best possible to try to make sense of the pieces of the puzzle in life. In this case, prehaps the death of Windham Rotunda can be a reminder to us all that even if we know to appreciate the ones we care about, maybe take just that extra moment to let someone know how important they are to you. Clearly, the performer Bray Wyatt had a major impact on millions of fans that he entertained around the globe, and his unique presentation gave them hope, while  Windham Rotunda made an impression on his peers that knew him behind the scenes.

"Wrestling is hope" is a term with just three words, but it makes such a powerful statement. Too often, as it usually the case with any form of live entertainment, the focus gets put on the negative of professional wrestling. By nature, it's a tough way to make a living and there are casualties from it. Vice's Dark Side of The Ring produced a few dozen episodes on such topics. But, the other side of the coin is that the tenacity, entertainment, and presentation of the narrative of sports entertainment can be an inspiration. The baby face refused to quit when the odds were stacked against him, the thrill of the three count can provide a distraction from the harsh reality of real life, and these real-life super heroes can actually meet the fans to express their gratitude for the support.

There was a video posted online of when Bray went back outside of an arena to meet a youngster that was waiting for him. Not only to Wyatt come up to the railing to shake his hand, Bray disconnected the barrier so the little dude could get a proper picture next to him. Superman can't fly off the page, Batman can't swing through the screen, but pro wrestlers can interact with their audience. Bray Wyatt went out of his way to make a young fan's day, and that says a lot about the character of Windham Rotunda.

The WWE Shop website has posted that the net proceeds from all Bray Wyatt merchandise sold will go directly to his family, and as of this writing, there are only a few items left in stock so it goes without saying that the fans want to support his memory.

Bray Wyatt passed away, but his legacy won't be forgotten. Windham said that "wrestling is hope" and his career definitely inspired it.

Terry Funk passed away

I can't quite find the words to express the sadness I felt when I read the news that Terry Funk passed away at the age of 79 yesterday afternoon. One of the most beloved figures in the history of the industry, news of Terry's death prompted dozens of tributes from peers and fans online. I don't mind telling you, when I confirmed the news that Terry passed, I wept.

Despite his advanced age, over fifty years of wrestling that took a toll on his body, and health issues that required him to receive medical care in an assisted living center in more recent years, it was still a legitimate surprise to hear that Terry died. He was almost too mythical to be mortal, and he was such a pillar of the industry that it seemed difficult to imagine the business without Terry involved in some form or fashion. Just a few months ago, when Funk celebrated his birthday, well wishes poured in on social media, as The Funker posed with a wrestling belt and a ring birthday cake, complete with Funk action figure.

In some ways, it's similar to when Bruno Sammartino passed, it was someone that was too epic to be gone. Bruno did it with power and feats of strength. Funk did it with chairs, barbed wire, and anything that he could get his hands on. The term "larger than life" is often used to describe those in the over-the-top world of sports entertainment, and the aura that Terry had was a textbook example of that. He seemed invincible, as barbed wire, explosions, and any opponent in the ring wasn't enough to stop Funk in over fifty years.

To attempt to tell the full story of the masterpiece of a career that Terry Funk painted on the canvas of the squared circle with any one article, DVD, book, or documentary would be a tough task. He accomplished that much and had that much of an influence on the sport. Instead, I'd like to discuss some key points of his career that illustrate the scope of the impact that he had on the sport.

Breaking into the sport as a part of a famous wrestling family in the 1960s, Terry joined his legendary father, Dory Sr. and his older brother, Dory Jr. in the family business, based in the Amarillo territory. Within a few years, The Funks obtained mythical status in Japan, working as headliners for Giant Baba's All Japan group throughout the 1970s. The Japanese crowds went wild and the Funk name was iconic there. They both had success in the United States as well, being the only brother duo to win the NWA World Heavyweight championship. Terry won the belt from Jack Brisco in 1975 and held it for more than a year before he dropped it to Harley Race. The Funk/Briscos feud between the pair of brothers headlined several cards throughout the 1970s.

As much as Terry was known to modern audiences as the aging hardcore legend, while still wild throughout the duration of his career, the first half of his tenure as a performer was as a traditional style wrestler. Funk could trade maneuvers with Harley or Brisco, as well as trade bloody punches with Bruiser Brody and The Sheik. As stellar as his earlier career was, his later years are more well known, simply because video tape was more widely used throughout the industry after the expansion of television and pay-per-view. Even in his mid-40s when he clashed with Ric Flair for a memorable series of matches in 1989, Funk was still in top form. Funk didn't act crazy, he made fans believe he actually was crazy. Terry Funk didn't play a character, he became the character.

It should be pointed out that Funk's first retirement in 1983 for All Japan didn't last long, and he surfaced for a brief, but memorable run in the WWF in 1985. Before his previously mentioned rivalry with Flair, he worked in Hollywood, appearing in such films as "Over The Top" and "Roadhouse" before  he returned to the ring. It's comical to consider that he retired again in 1997 before his success in ECW earlier that year prompted an offer from the WWF where he had a run as Chainsaw Charlie.

Speaking of ECW, it goes without saying that Terry's presence there, especially in the early days of the organization, helped give the company a much-needed boost of credibility. Many fans look back fondly at ECW in retrospect with the knowledge of the impact the renegade group made on the business, but before that, there was no guarantee that the concept would get off the ground. Quite simply, without the name value that Funk brought to the group, which let fans know it wasn't going to be a one-off type of product, ECW might not have been as successful as it was. Keep in mind, ECW's first pay-per-view, which was the test to see if it could be more than just a northeast promotion, was based on Funk's quest for the championship when he was 53 years old. It was a wholesome and hardcore narrative to see Funk emotional at ringside after he won the title.

He provided a similar boost for Onita's FMW promotion in Japan, where the upstart league drew over 30,000 fans to see Funk vs. Onita in an exploding ring match in the early-90s. Terry Funk had an impact around the globe.

Even after a short run in WCW during the Turner organization's latter days, Terry Funk maintained his legendary status, which says a lot about his ability as a performer. Funk was one of the very few that could make people believe that he was dangerous and you honestly weren't sure what was going to happen when he was in the ring. Again, Terry Funk didn't play a character, he became the character. In a sport where everyone thinks they know everything, Terry could make anyone believe he was the wild Texan ready to fight. The audience might think everything else on a show was entertainment, but Funk projected a sense of legitimate danger.

In a business where almost everything is stolen, borrowed, or recycled, Terry was an original. Furthermore, he had so much passion and dedication to his craft. You never saw a match where Terry mailed in a performance, regardless of if he was on national TV or an independent card. Funk was also one of the smartest in the history of the business, as he stayed ahead of the curve his entire career. Funk also knew that he had to help make the next generation stars so that he had someone to work either as he evolved his career. They are several top-notch performers that credit Funk for his influence on their careers.

It must also be said that in an ego-driven business like pro wrestling, it's very rare that you will find someone that nobody has anything negative to say about them. Bobby Eaton, Jerry Lynn, and Jim Duggan are a few of those names, but Terry is also unanimously praised.

If I had to guess, I think that what made Terry so beloved to fans and peers, is that he was genuine. Terry legitimately wanted to make the younger talent bigger stars and did the work to help make it happen. He wanted to give the fans their money's worth and sacrificed his body for it. Finally, it was clear that Funk appreciated the fans and his peers as much as they appreciated him.

I actually had the chance to meet Terry at a random independent show in 2013. The event itself was nothing spectacular as it had a myriad of weekend warriors on the card, with the bigger names there to draw the audience. It was such a thrill to meet Terry and he was really polite. It was almost surreal to meet him in person since he's one of my favorite wrestlers of all time and had such iconic status. I look completely ridiculous in the picture taken with him because I was so pumped to get the chance to meet the legendary grappler.

He was one of a kind in the pro wrestling industry and they will never be another Terry Funk in the sport. He had a dedication and passion that very few have, and his influence had an impact on generations. Terry Funk passed away, but legends never die.

Will Edge sign for AEW?

Next weekend, All Elite Wrestling will present All In on pay-per-view in front of a record-setting crowd of more than 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, the same venue that famously hosted Bret Hart/British Bulldog over thirty years ago. It's a major accomplishment and the success that the company had for its first trip to England is undeniable. I have to be honest, as I wrote at the time, when the UK stadium show was first announced, I was doubtful that Tony Khan could draw 80,000 fans, but I'm happy to be wrong about it, as the ticket sales give an indication of what AEW can accomplish as a brand, which is better for the entire sports entertainment industry.

While All In gives an indication of what AEW could be, it's not exactly proof of what it is.

The organization is a week away from its biggest show in its rather brief history. but a cloud of negativity looms over the promotion. The narrative within AEW over the past week was again the dissension behind the scenes, which is completely counterproductive. Yes, the tickets are sold and Wembley is already a financial success, but this is still a key event for All Elite, as far as its perception and potential for the future. As mentioned, England is fresh territory for the group, and Tony maximized the ability to draw on the novelty of the chance to see AEW live, which was a very smart business decision. It's not just a pay-per-view, it's a chance for those in the building to be a part of history with the attendance record.

The execution of the card will determine if this is a one-off or a step to a new level for the company.

As we saw on Dynamite this past week, much of the booking to set up the card was shoehorned into one episode instead of built over the course of several weeks. Sure, this week's television could be used to try to hype the matches, but at this point, the card is scheduled and will mostly have to stand on its own, another edition of Dynamite, especially given the lack of extended build prior to this, isn't going to be a determining factor into the pay-per-view buys.

I know some will think this is too critical, but generally speaking, the build up or lack thereof was completely subpar. This is a rather common theme for AEW PPVs, the hype ahead of an event is rather lukewarm and then the in-ring action usually delivers on the actual broadcast. If I had to pinpoint a specific reason for this, it's that, despite winning "Booker of the Year" from The Wrestling Observer, Tony Khan is more of a matchmaker than an actual wrestling booker. He can put names on paper for the matches he wants to see in the ring, which is what he did when he booked E-feds online, and sometimes that yields solid results, but more often than not the slapstick booking of All Elite television is the difference between booking in theory as opposed to booking in application to the product.

Truthfully, outside of the tag title match and Stadium Stampede, nothing looks to be "must see" on the All In card. Instead, it appears to be as many multi-person matches as possible to jam as many names as possible onto the show in an attempt to substitute for compelling booking that would've made key matches important.

The four-way match for the Women's title falls into that category, as it puts more names on the card, but are those performers booked in a scenario that will allow them to have the best match possible? Initially, many expected the Will Ospreay/Kenny Omega rubber match to take place at Wembley, given the rave reviews the first two bouts received and the setting of a stadium could add to the atmosphere. Instead, there was a flimsy reason for why Ospreay is involved with the Chris Jericho/Don Callis feud. Don't get me wrong, Callis is pure entertainment and was a hidden gem in the wrestling business for years so it's great to see him get regular TV time, but quite frankly, there's better use of Ospreay than a late addition to Callis/Jericho for such a major show. Jericho is an absolute legend and is savvy enough as an in-ring worker to make everything he does count, but at 52, is Ospreay the best opponent for him? Along the same lines, Omega is booked in a six man tag with not much at stake. Plus, Kota Ibushi added to the contest didn't really accomplish anything because of his subpar performance from Blood and Guts last month. Ibushi is an incredible athlete, but after two years on the sidelines from a shoulder injury, he looked like he gained weight and didn't have nearly the mobility he had prior so there was also better use for Omega on this card, too.

AR Fox went from wrestling on Youtube to booked against Sting in the span of just a few weeks. That's not a jab against Fox, but rather his presentation. He doesn't have the status to be seen as someone that is on a level to be in the ring with Sting. CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe would've been a mega match for Wembley if it wasn't already booked on Collision less than two months ago. When you take into account their length history, the first match they have in AEW is when you can use the background for the extra spotlight. Now, it's just a retread from a TV match. I've already written extensively about how foolish I think the Adam Cole/MJF storyline is so without being repetitive, I don't see the angle as something that justifies the main event of a stadium show. Adam Cole looks like a dork for trusting the heel, and MJF looks like a yuppie instead of dangerous. That's not to take anything away from the top notch talent they both have in the ring.

Despite all that, All In should sell well on pay-per-view, mostly because viewers will want to see the visual of 80,000 fans at an AEW event and the crowd reaction. The big problem with this is that Tony Khan expects fans to pay another $50 for All Out on pay-per-view just a week later, which means that the company would theoretically have one week to sell another PPV to the audience.

I must say, I think that putting two pay-per-views on the schedule within the span of a week is foolish. You can't realistically expect fans to spend $100 on pro wrestling shows in such a short time frame, especially in the modern era. I don't think the company will be able draw comparable numbers for both shows, which has more to do with the economics than the quality. Make no mistake, despite the subpar build, I think All In will still deliver an event that will garner positive feedback. It's just difficult to expect fans to spend that type of money, specifically in the current economy.

If there's a way for AEW to get fans to buy both shows, they will need something major to bridge between both events. The rumor mill claims that Edge might ink a deal with Tony Khan and if that's the case, he might be the answer for the organization. Edge's WWE contract expired this past Friday so he's a free agent without a non-compete clause. He can make a surprise appearance at Wembley and announce a match for All Out. Again, Wembley is going to sell on pay-per-view because of the historic circumstances, but All Out will need something that will give the fans a reason to spend another $50 a week later. Granted, Edge is near the conclusion of his in-ring career, but there are some key matches that could draw big for AEW. Edge vs. Kenny Omega, Adam Page, and Christian are all options for the company.

Some might scoff at the notion that a nearly 50-year-old WWE star is the answer for AEW, but if Tony Khan is going to prove that this is more than a vanity project then All Elite will have to deliver some major league stuff for these two events. If the organization can be successful with both pay-per-views, it gives an indication that the promotion can still continue to expand its audience. If either event falls flat, it might prove that All Elite has a ceiling or is more of a niche product than a mainstream company.

Lacey Evans released

Lacey Evans was released from WWE, a puzzling conclusion to a puzzling for years for her on the sports entertainment landscape. Evans, a real-life former marine, inked a developmental deal in 2016, but despite several attempts to push her, it never quite panned out.

In many ways, the sum total of Evans' WWE career was the difference between a concept in theory and a concept in application.

First, it should be mentioned that WWE brass, as much as they looked to utilize her military service into a good PR spin, did her absolutely no favors with how her character was randomly switched from baby face to heel with little to no explanation multiple times in the span of just a few years. Evans turned heel or baby face almost as many times as The Big Show, which indicated that again, as much as the office wanted that traditional All-American hero to promote to its corporate sponsors, there seemed to be no direction for where they wanted the character to go or to accomplish. That makes it very difficult for the fans to invest in a character, and that's why none of her stints in the company gained any traction or really had a chance to get off the ground.

That being said, Lacey Evans, while athletic, never looked like she was going to be the next Lou Thez or Dynamite Kid in the ring. She wasn't going to get a match rated 38 stars on a fictional scale that Dave Meltzer uses to cover for some of AEW's own booking blunders. Still, given Evans' background, it made sense for the WWE to want to invest in her. Again, she wasn't going to have the caliber of matches of a Trish, Bianca, Becky, or Bayley, but a real-life marine on the roster is great for the sponsors. From a PR perspective, Lacey could speak on female empowerment and based on her military service, a good representative for the organization at events.

The problem is two-fold, as far as the company never got behind her long enough for any particular gimmick to get over, and eventually the bell has to ring and there wasn't any indication that she was ready for national television.

There are two prime examples of this that show how the office, and Lacey herself, missed the mark at key points during her WWE tenure. In 2019, "The Sassy Southern Belle" gimmick, while cringe worthy, received a lot of television time and the argument could be made that it generated heat with the audience. The biggest hurdle was during her feud with Becky Lynch, who reached a level as one of the most over performers in the organization at the time, Evans just wasn't up to par in the ring. During a pay-per-view match for the Women's title, Lynch looked visibly frustrated when Evans botched a few spots. In 2021, when the office was going to try to get behind her again, Lacey was booked to feud with the most featured female grappler at that point, Charlotte. The storyline was based around Evans being pregnant by Charlotte's famous elderly father, Ric Flair. Taking into account that Ric was more than twice Lacey's age, the angle was not only gross, but outlandishly ridiculous. It had Vince McMahon's fingerprints all over it, and the audience didn't buy it. Thankfully for everyone involved, the angle was dropped when Lacey became pregnant in real life and she went on leave for about a year from the organization.

When she was ready to return to action in April of last year, a series of vignettes aired on WWE programming that highlighted her military service, positioning her as the All-American baby face again. It might've been generic, but given the failed experiments with her in a heel role previously, prehaps a straightforward gimmick would be more successful. For whatever reason, despite the impression that was given by the video packages, promoting the patriotic grappler, Evans emerged on television as a heel. It was such an odd contrast and there was a disconnect for the audience. Somehow, management took a very simplistic gimmick with a very plain narrative and diluted it to the point that it wasn't going to get over with the crowd.

An undisclosed injury put her on the shelf in late-2022 and she made some extremely ignorant comments about Autism on social media. Her Alex Jones type of conspiracy theory rightfully received backlash online and it was an indication that despite her background, maybe PR wasn't going to be a place for her to shine either.

Finally, she was repackaged again with a Sgt. Slaughter gimmick at the start of 2023, but only worked a handful of TV matches so far this year. If this was supposed to be an attempt to rejuvenate her career, it wasn't given a realistic chance with the total lack of television time to try to get it over with the audience.

At 33, Lacey Evans could theoretically explore her options elsewhere, but I doubt she will continue her pro wrestling career. It was reported that she plans to open a cafe in her hometown. Granted, anyone with a former WWE contract is seemingly offered an Impact deal if they want to continue to wrestle so that would probably be the most logical choice, but the odds are still against it. Lacey was a WWE project, and without that machine behind her, she doesn't have the cache or in-ring skills to make a major impact outside of the WWE scope. The reason she failed after a considerable amount of television time is a reflection of the WWE office and the mismanagement of her push. She was brought to the main roster because it was great PR to put a former marine on television, not because she was ready for the stage of national television. She didn't have the in-ring skills to compete with a Women's division that arguably has the most depth of any division in the company. The fact that she was booked for the terrible angle with Ric Flair didn't do her any favors either. If Lacey could've been successful if she was given the proper time to evolve as a performer is a moot point, but the bottom line is, her lack of success was mostly based on the decisions of the management of the company.

CM Punk vs. Adam Page

 CM Punk is still CM Punk.

The former AEW and WWE champion made headlines again for more backstage drama following comments he made after Collision went off the air this past weekend, insulting Adam Page, while patting himself on the back for being a merchandise seller. This was just two months after Collision, a television show that was essentially created for Punk to have a place to play the top star that he never quite achieved in the WWE, debuted on TNT, which saw Punk again credit himself as he took a jab at The Young Bucks in his first promo since his return from a triceps injury that required surgery.

Most thought that it was Punk's way of getting his receipt after The Elite mocked the backstage brawl in immature fashion for their return to TV several months earlier. However, CM Punk is still CM Punk.

Despite being given his own show and now his own championship, which he spray painted in the most cutting edge segment since the New World Order did it more than 25 years ago, Punk dragged the baggage of last year's backstage drama into the headlines again. Outside of the fact that it was more proof that Punk is there to stroke his own ego, not to benefit the pro wrestling industry as he claimed when he originally inked an AEW contract, it's an indication of a much bigger problem within the company.

The infamous press conference and subsequent brawl from last year at All Out  was well-documented so let's assuming anyone reading this is up to speed on the particulars of that situation. Clearly, Punk wanted to make it known to the fans, customers that the company might want to eventually pay to see Adam Page in a featured spot, as well as management that he is more important than Hangman to the organization. 

Given Punk's political posturing and list of injuries, that point is debatable.

In the aftermath that saw the controversy that was stirred up again, it was reported by The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer that Page was actually supposed to be booked to film a segment backstage at Collision for upcoming AEW programming, but was told not to go to the building because Punk didn't want him there. Bryan Alvarez followed up the initial report, claiming that Page isn't the only one that CM Punk can prevent from attending tapings for the company that they work for. Alvarez added that  Ryan Nemeth, who Punk confronted at the debut taping of Collision about a tweet in response to an ESPN interview that Punk did to promote the launch of the Saturday show, was also sent home. Alvarez added that Matt Hardy and Christopher Daniels, both friends of The Young Bucks, are also persona non grata on the Saturday show.

Nemeth is probably a great guy, but the harsh reality is, he's known more for being Dolph Ziggler's brother than anything else so as insignificant as it might be in the grand scheme of things, if sending him home appeases one of the highest paid wrestlers on the roster than it's not worth the hassle for anyone to argue on Nemeth's behalf. That said, the fact that Christopher Daniels, who is supposedly the head of talent relations isn't allowed at Collision tapings is ludicrous. Perhaps, it doesn't matter to him as long as he keeps getting a check from Tony Khan, but how exactly is Daniels going to do his job? In 2023, Matt Hardy is mostly cannon fodder, as he's past his prime and tows the company line to get a pay check, but should Phil Brooks have the power to dictate who gets to show up to work?

Phil Brooks is playing Hogan-level politics within AEW.

CM Punk might not think so, but the reality of the situation is that he's not as big of a star as John Cena, Steve Austin, or The Rock. He doesn't have the star power to justify his own show, his own championship, or his own roster. The numbers have more or less remained stagnant for the organization, which highlights the fact that the core AEW fan base is willing to spend money on the product regardless of his involvement. Punk's presence, even after his debut with the organization in 2021, didn't cause some major shift in the industry.

As much praise as Tony Khan deserves for providing a spark to the industry with his decision to fund a wrestling project when it would've been much easier for him to buy an island to drink ice tea, the middle school drama of the CM Punk/Elite fiasco lends credibility to some of the criticism that this is more of a vanity project for Tony than a business venture. Khan is a diehard wrestling fan, and there are some positives to that, but at the same time, more often than not, you get the impression that he might've started All Elite as an opportunity to be friends with the wrestlers, not their boss.

As sad as it might sound, the vast majority of those that might claim to be friends with Tony will only do so as long as he's paying them. That's not a knock on the roster, but a harsh reminder that the wrestling business is often a shark tank. The TNA roster had nice things to say about Dixie Carter as long as she could sign checks for them, but when Bob Carter stopped funding Dixie's ability to be a TV star, you don't hear nearly as many compliments about how TNA was run in its heyday.

In a similar fashion, if Tony allows CM Punk to decide who's going to be allowed to show up to the building then it's a textbook scenario where the inmates run the asylum, which is directly from the WCW playbook, and we all know how that story concluded.

At a time when the focus of All Elite Wrestling should be on the record-breaking crowd they will have for Wembley Stadium, the narrative of the organization is about the backstage drama again. CM Punk made sure that he put the focus on himself, not the biggest show in the history of the company. Bryan Alvarez reiterated that Punk's comments weren't a work, and that The Elite have no interest in working with Punk. The fact that they should be their difference aside to draw the most money possible is irrelevant, because by all accounts, The Elite refuse to work with him.

The bottom line is, Tony Khan can't fracture his organization just to be friends with everyone on the roster. From the way it looks, if all of the drawing power of the company is going to be put to the best use possible, Tony will eventually have to choose between CM Punk or The Elite. Granted, there are some rightful criticisms of The Elite, but as is always the case with Phil Brooks, CM Punk is about CM Punk. Since The Elite just re-signed with the company, prehaps Punk will only be on the roster until his current deal expires, but either way, I truly don't think star power of CM Punk is worth the hassle of Phil Brooks for the company.

What's next for Bray Wyatt?

The rumor mill suggests that Bray Wyatt could be on his way back to WWE television after another extended absence, but it seems fair to ask, should he return to the company at this point in his career?

The Wrestling Observer reported that Wyatt could be medically cleared as soon as next month, which was a follow-up to the story originally published by Fightful Select that the grappler dealt with not only a career-threatening, but a life-threatening illness. Obviously, it goes without saying that Bray's health is exponentially more important than professional wrestling so he shouldn't even consider a return if there would be any risk to his health, especially given the serious circumstances that put him on the sidelines.

Assuming he will be completely medically cleared, I'm still skeptical that he should return to the WWE, as I'm not sure if there's really anything else that can realistically be done with him after the lack of a continuous spotlight to truly establish him.

The tale of Bray Wyatt is a rather odd narrative. On the surface, the guy can go in the ring, can cut compelling promos, and had a beliveable persona during most of his WWE run. By most accounts, he had the potential to be a huge star for the company. However, for different reasons at different times, the execution of the performances just didn't pan out. Early in his career, when it looked like the WWE was going to run with him, the push suddenly stopped and Wyatt was left in a middle of the road position. Since he could cut solid promos and make others look good in the ring, he was often put in a role where the payoff was for others to shine, not him. An example of the former and the latter would be, in 2014 when John Cena was bullet proof and a win at Wrestlemania could've cemented Wyatt, Cena got the victory then the following year when Roman Reigns was in the midst of flopping as a babyface because of the way the office booked him, Wyatt was brought in to do the job to attempt to get Roman over.

I know some fans got behind The Fiend, and Bray probably did the best he could with it, but it was just too goofy more often than not, which is a reflection on the office, not the skills of Wyatt. The infamous HIAC match against Seth Rollins was so illogical and cringy worthy  that it more or less ruined the Fiend character, as well as hindered Rollins' reign as a baby face champion.

Keep in mind, Wyatt had to be repackaged as The Fiend because the original character had been beaten into powder. As talented as he was, Bray Wyatt was booked as a glorified jobber since he never won any important matches or feuds. Unfortunately, even after Wyatt won the title from Rollins in Saudi Arabia in late-2019, the stain of the goofy cell match they had previously didn't exactly jump start his title reign. Before it could really gain any traction, The Fiend abruptly dropped the title to Bill Goldberg in early-2020 just a month before the pandemic shut the world down. As a prime example of the start and then stop with the character, The Fiend wins the title, but then he gets beat by the aging legend that is a part-timer that already had the nostalgia run a few years earlier.

The ridiculous sci-fi stuff that The Fiend did with Alexa Bliss throughout the pandemic era was just subpar television. Granted, you can stretch the limits of logic within professional wrestling, but keep in mind, the sport is supposed to be based in reality. The edited special effects on-screen were so silly, it made you want to change the channel, not be invested in the character. The horrendous "swamp fight" against Braun Strowman is the type of stuff that makes it embarrassing to be a wrestling fan.

Finally, The Fiend was quite literally burned alive on pay-per-view. Granted, the mannequin that was used was really lame, but the point is, the angle suggested that Wyatt was burned on live television. Not only was this too outlandish for sports entertainment, it more or less wrote the character out of the company. Sure, they had Wyatt return as a burnt marshmallow, but when a character reaches that point, there's really nothing you can do with them. Proof of that was Randy Orton beat The Fiend in a five-minute match at Wrestlemania 37 and then Bray was released a few months later.

Reportedly, Bray made a few million dollars on his WWE contract and was cut from the roster as a budget decision. He was away from the spotlight for more than a year before he made an epic return at Extreme Rules last year, and somehow WWE brass had another chance to run with the Bray Wyatt persona. Wyatt subsequently did promos on television for a few months, with the mention of Uncle Howdy, who was rumored to be his real-life brother, Bo Dallas, but very little progress was made from a character perspective. It became rather aimless promos on television without a point or direction. There were reports that some of this might've been pitched by Wyatt, but if his latest persona was an attempt to do something outside of the box, it missed the mark. Sometimes, certain gimmicks haven't been done in pro wrestling before because they wouldn't get over, and that seems to be the sum total of the most recent Wyatt experiment.

At The Royal Rumble at the start of the year, Wyatt had the absolutely silly Mountain Dew match with LA Knight. The production was goofy and it made everyone look lame. Furthermore, Wyatt's post-match shenanigans, which saw him put on a different mask before Uncle Howdy jumped from a platform as fire randomly surrounded him was completely nonsensical. Again, it was a situation where it would be embarrassing to be a wrestling fan if you had to explain to someone that wasn't a fan what they just saw on TV.

At 36, Bray theoretically still has at least a few prime years of his career left, but at this point, how many times can the office repackage or reintroduce him?

Wyatt has been absent from the company since February and there's not exactly a clamoring for his return. The epic Bray Wyatt return is a recycled concept. Don't get me wrong, I think Bray Wyatt is an extremely talented performer that was more often than not booked in scenarios that hindered, not helped his career, but the bottom line is, there just doesn't seem like there's anything left for him to do in the WWE. That's not to say that he should jump to All Elite Wrestling either, because if there's a way to rejuvenate his career, he would have to abandon all the sci-fi aspects of his persona that he used during his WWE tenure.

A completely different presentation would probably be needed to spark his career, but who knows if he would want to do that?

Considering the health scare he just had and the money he made, not only on his contract, but as one of the top merchandise sellers for the company, I think it would be wise for Bray Wyatt to consider retirement. Again, nothing that management has done with him suggest that he will be any more of a star than he was previously so is it worth the toll on his body or any potential risk to his health to return to the WWE?

IWC Caged Fury

Yesterday afternoon, while I was about half way through an article on the status of WWE star, Bray Wyatt's impending return (look for that sometime tomorrow), I received a text from the great Pat Maclaughlin, my wrestling pal that sometimes gets mentioned in this column for reviews of All Elite Wrestling live events. Pat, despite his aging status has been a true friend and mentor for several years, offering advice since he's older and wiser. So, I always look forward to getting the chance to hang out with him since it's always a fun experience. Maclaughlin is a father of four, and I'm convinced that he's secretly building his own pro wrestling stable, but that's pure speculation.

After a few days spent watching his three youngest kids, Mac was given the green light by the boss of the house, Mrs. Maclaughlin, to check out some of the local wrestling action so he asked if I'd like to tag along to see the International Wrestling Cartel's Caged Fury event, the organization's annual cage match card that has been a staple of the Pittsburgh wrestling calendar for many years. Since I'm often announcing events for other local organizations or covering the mainstream shows, I rarely get a chance to watch the local scene as purely a spectator, something that gives you a completely different viewpoint since you don't have the pressure of the performance as the matches unfold.

For those that might be unaware, Norm Connors, the godfather of the Pittsburgh independent scene, was one of the founding members of the IWC group along with Bubba The Bulldog, a local radio DJ for the past few decades. Norm was there for the upstart league's first event at the tiny Emerald Room in McKees Rocks in 2001, and promoted the brand for nearly a decade, bringing in names like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, CM Punk, and many others during its heyday.

After almost 10 years as the IWC promoter, and I would guess to preserve his sanity, Norm sold his interest in the promotion to Chuck Roberts, who worked as a ring announcer for the organization. After a five-year stint as the head of IWC, Roberts looked to move onto other ventures so Justin Plummer, originally a backstage correspondent, bought the company in 2014. By all indications, Plummer will soon reach his own 10-year milestone with IWC, making him the longest-tenured owner of the organization.

Just as the pitter-patter of rain on the windshield started, Maclaughlin and I began the quick ride to Marx's Court Time in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, as serve thunderstorms were expected for Western, PA that night. A quick side note that might sound trivial, I want to mentioned that the venue is very nice, and while I hadn't been there in several years, there were new additions that made it a good building for professional wrestling. It was a stark contrast to some places within the indy scene where the venues look like something from the Saw franchise.

As we entered the building, I had a chance to talk to Nick Lendl, a ring announcer and broadcaster for the organization. Nick is a great guy that had success in Pittsburgh and outside of it,doing some work for Ring Of Honor and All Elite Wrestling in the past. All things considered, I wouldn't be surprised if Nick lands a full-time gig somewhere nationally, he has the talent. Maclaughlin had the chance to catch up with M-Dogg Matt Cross before bell time since he was an acquaintance from years earlier. It must be said that even after almost 25 years in the ring, M-Dogg can still go.

The show started promptly at 7 PM, which is always good and a sign of professionalism from organizers. The event opened with a very touching tribute to Kevin Kareis, a longtime IWC fan that recently passed away. Kevin was known for his smile and positivity so it was very classy for the company to recognize him.

To parse details on each match would be too lengthy, but I'm going to attempt to highlight a few things and encourage those who haven't seen it to check it out online.

One of the most interesting aspects of the indy circuit is that you get the chance to see athletes before they potentially develop into major stars, and it's always neat to get a peek at that potential. Several youngsters on the IWC roster showed glimpses of that potential throughout the night. Anthony Young, Anthony Catena, Matthew Jaeger, and others showed that they have promising careers ahead of them. 

Spencer Slade beat Flip Gordon to retain the High Stakes belt under specific rules. I don't really see anything special about Flip, as he has a very generic presentation and doesn't do anything in the ring that you can't see others perform elsewhere. Spencer is on the other end of the spectrum with seemingly all of the tools to be in the big leagues, Slade looks like he belongs on national television.

As the night progressed, there was an intermission to allow for the cage to be set up, and there were three cage matches scheduled. Cole Karter was originally advertised, and I'm not sure if I missed something, but he wasn't at the event. Instead, Ganon Jones Jr., a tremendous athlete that looks like someone that was built from the ground up to be a pro wrestler, squared off with Andrew Palace, one of the mainstays of the Pittsburgh area that has been a consistent quality in-ring competitor for several years. These two had a very solid, fast-paced match with a conclusion that allowed the villainous owner Justin Plummer's associates to assist Palace for the victory. Isaiah Broner challenged Bill Collier for the IWC Heavyweight title, and this was a physical bout that saw Collier retain. Collier is a guy that probably should've been offered a national deal at some point in the mid-2000s, he's an agile big man that provides quality action.

The main event saw Jock Samson, a charismatic country brawler from the Buckeye state, put his career on the line against the previously mentioned Justin Plummer. The argument could be made that the heel owner storyline is passé, but it worked in this segment. The crowd was behind Jock, and Plummer generated animosity from the audience. The performance allowed for this segment to be more organic instead of a recycled concept. The narrative was simple, but effective. Plummer had interference that put hurdles in Jock's way and the momentum tilted toward the conclusion of the bout. Jock is a prime example of what can be accomplished with storytelling inside the ring ropes, and he's a great performer. Plummer was lacerated after he hit the steel cage so you have to give the guy credit, he was quite literally willing to bleed for his company.

Just as it looked like the odds might overcome the fiery fan favorite, Duke Davis, the tag team partner of the previously mentioned Ganon Jones, made his return to IWC to make the save for Samson. Duke's family suffered a tragedy earlier this year and he had to step away from the professional wrestling industry. Despite his massive frame and intense look inside the ring ropes, Duke is one of the kindest people I've met in wrestling. I've known Duke since he started training to be a wrestler several years ago in a smaller organizations and announced some of his first matches. He was always so polite and humble even after he gained notoriety as a member of The Mane Event tag team.

The crowd erupted and it was one of the loudest reactions I've ever heard on the local scene. In true "Meta Human" fashion, Davis ripped the door off the cage and cleaned house. After Duke dispatched of the goons, Jock climbed to the top rope and dropped an elbow to put Plummer through a table. Jock got the victory and celebrated with the crowd.

What's the status of Vince McMahon?

Uncle Sam wants a rematch.

During WWE's most recent quarterly conference call, it was revealed that Vince McMahon, who underwent spinal surgery last month, was served with a search warrant, as well as a subpoena from a federal grand jury, just days prior to the procedure that put him on extended medical leave.

It was a rather surprising headline, as many thought that McMahon's sexual misconduct scandal, which saw reports that he paid millions of dollars to women to sign non-disclosure agreements to keep his affairs from going public, was resolved, especially since he strong-armed his way back onto the WWE Boards of Directors after a brief "retirement" from the company that he bought from his father more than four decades ago.

The allegations, which included many consensual affairs, also involved very serious claims of coercion against female talent for affairs in exchange for job security, brought a wave of negative press for the publicly-traded corporation.

In true carny fashion, the scandal was more or less sweep under the rug by the end of last year when Vince put himself back on the WWE board and then the massive Endeavor merger, which will put the sports entertainment organization and the Ultimate Fighting Championship under the same banner, took over the headlines when it was announced this past April. Just this past week, the new corporation revealed it will be named TKO Group Holdings and is expected to go public on the stock market later this year, with the initial value of the newly-formed company estimated to be around $21 billion.

I wrote at the time of the original announcement that the historic deal will more or less cement WWE's standing as the king of sports entertainment, as no group now or in the future could realistically challenge that type of media muscle. Without rehashing every detail, in an era when content is such a key factor in rights fees contracts, and advertisers look to spend big money to get their products in front of the right demographic to sift through the clogged media landscape, the TKO group will be a conglomerate that will have all the bases covered. The softer WWE product of the more modern era will cater to the younger and older demographics, while the UFC can draw the valuable 18-34 demographic. If one organization hits a skid, the other can pick up the slack until things are even again. Furthermore, as the streaming business compresses after it was flooded with options, the Endeavor merger is in a position to secure itself a decent piece of the pie, as well as maintain solid profits for its next TV deal, albeit at possibly a lower rate based on the climate of the industry. Keep in mind, networks are still willing to pay a premium for live programming since it's considered more DVR proof than other shows so advertisers are willing to spend more cash to market their product.

However, could this latest round of legal grappling against McMahon impact the potential merger?

There's a lot of legal jargon around all of this, but the bottom line is, the Securities and Exchange Commission is a government agency that is basically tasked with protecting stockholders and investors from misleading or false business practices. In short, if someone buys stock in a company, the SEC makes sure that all relevant information is available and accurate so that the potential shareholder knows what they are putting their money into when they decide to invest in an organization. That's why the quarterly conference calls are such an important part of the WWE business model because it lets the current stockholders know the status of the corporation so they can decide if they want to retain their stock in the future, as well as a way to introduce new investors to the company when the successful numbers are touted with record-setting profits.

As mentioned, why this search warrant and subpoena were served now is the biggest part of this story, along with the possible ramifications. Federal investigations are expensive and given that the current political climate resembles a Royal Rumble, an agency isn't going to spend that type of money unless they are reasonably confident that it will uncover something that they can prosecute in court. It's a safe bet that the SEC thinks Vince is responsible for some type of wrongdoing if they are going to spend the tax dollars to continue to investigate it, especially after it looked like the story faded from the headlines.

But, this isn't the first time that the emperor of sports entertainment squared off with the United States legal system.

As we know, the infamous steroid scandal of the ealry-90s led to the 1994 trial where Vince beat the distribution charges, and in retrospect, many cite that the government's case was rather flimsy. Sure, McMahon knew that the vast majority of his roster used steroids, but he was too smart to ever be directly involved in anything. The government's claim that wrestlers could more or less walk into Vince's office to get their supply of steroids with a cup of coffee was almost laughable.

The rematch thirty years later might be a different story.

Keep in mind, despite being a billionaire for most of the past twenty years, McMahon paid for the settlements with the women that accused him of misconduct with company money. Vince has since paid back almost $17 million to the company after the Wall Street Journal published the story last year, which prompted an investigation from the WWE Board of Directors. Ironically, the business move that made him a billionaire, putting the WWE on the stock market, might also be the biggest hurdle for him in this entire scenario. As sleazy as the affairs were and Vince using cash to keep them quiet, if the WWE was still a private company, how the boss uses the money is moot. The non-disclosure agreements would simply be private transactions between him and the females he was involved with at the time. Assuming there were consensual affairs or someone was willing to take a payoff to sign a non-disclosure agreement that would prevent any legal responsibility, the misconduct scandal would only be negative publicity for Vince's personal actions.

The fact that the company is public makes it a completely different situation. Vince is responsible to the stockholders, and given that he paid for his personal affairs with company money that was based off of the stakeholders investment in the organization, it's very possible that there could be an SEC violation for misuse of WWE funds. Furthermore, the case might be made that McMahon mislead investors when he paid off accusers since his actions as the chairman might've impacted a stockholder's decision to invest in the company, especially if the negative PR from his actions could've theoretically impacted the revenue of the organization.

Thankfully, for WWE brass, they can more or less put the company on autopilot in terms of the on-screen presentation. While the pandemic era eroded a portion of the audience, the core fan base will continue to spend money on the product and tune into the show. That consistency has value, especially given the previously mentioned climate of the TV business. Roman Reigns is the top guy and has at least another seven or eight years left in his career. The company is stocked with solid talent for the rest of the card that is a draw with the WWE audience so as long as management follows the standard formula, there will continue to be stable business.

Reportedly, Fox declined the most recent offer to re-sign for the rights to WWE Smackdown since the network has lost money on the hefty deal that was originally inked in 2019. With the merger on the horizon, there shouldn't be too much concern when the current TV deals expire next year, as Endeavor will have the leverage to offer both WWE and UFC programming to networks. If the current McMahon investigate stalls the merger, it could cause a major problem for the sports entertainment group when they attempt to secure a new TV deal.

The biggest question mark will be if any potential SEC violations prevent the merger or McMahon's role in it. Don't expect to see Vince wearing the orange jump suit since he'd probably buy the Supreme Court before that happens, but it's possible that he could be disqualified from any further involvement with the merger. Granted, he will still make millions of dollars since he's still the majority shareholder of stock, but he clearly wanted the power to run the company, not just the cash, which is why he forced his way back onto the WWE Board of Directors before the merger was announced in April.

Summer Slam review

Summer Slam is in the books with many newsworthy happenings on the card, providing a glimpse into the future direction of the WWE. I actually had the chance to attend the pay-per-view and made the trip to Ford Field in Detroit to be there live so I'd like to write this review from that perspective to hopefully give a different view than the usual PPV reviews.

First and most importantly, I have to thank the great Mike Sorg, video producer for many independent cards on the Pittsburgh scene where I do commentary (you can find Sorg's work on indywrestling.us), Missy Sorg, and camera man Rob Brown. The trio secured the tickets and when a spot was open, Rob was nice enough to offer me the chance to go with him to the event. We departed western Pennsylvania early Saturday morning to ensure that we'd make the four and a half hour drive with plenty of time to spare for the show. Ironically, the drive to Michigan was relatively easy and the time passed quickly, as Rob shared interesting tidbits about his camera career, working on film and television, and I ranted about how even two decades later it's still stunning how WCW went off a cliff in 2000.

We arrived in the motor city in the early afternoon and the stadium was very impressive from across the street. Rob found a place to park and I secured our spot in line at Gate G with a few other fans. I have to say, one of the coolest parts of the entire experience was getting the chance to talk to fans from different states and even Canada. There's a lot of "red meat" by nature in the wrestling business, and the Dark Side of the Ring series has made literally a few dozen episodes about it, but the other side of the coin in that the same sport can bring people from completely different backgrounds together for the common thread of sports entertainment. A side note, it's somewhat disturbing that the fans that carry around the $300 replica belts are the same people that don't use $3 deodorant when they are in public. 

After the gates were opened, thankfully being there early paid off, as we found our seats relatively quickly. Rob reported that his search for merchandise outside the building previously was a human Royal Rumble with huge crowds of fans around the stadium so it was good to find our seats to be prepared for the show. The massive building was also an impressive sight, and our lower level seats right about the floor provided a good view of the ring. The set up for the entrance was somewhat odd and we actually didn't see the athletes until they were about half way down the extended walkway.

Surprisingly, there wasn't a dark match or anything for a pre-show, but as the seats began to get packed ahead of the start of the broadcast, it was almost surreal to see that many people in the venue. There was only part of the end zone on one side of the building tarped off for production equipment so The Wrestling Observer reports of 45,000 fans in attendance is probably accurate.

The show opened with Ricochet/Logan Paul, and as much as I'm not in the demographic and don't care about what he does, the Youtube star had major heat with the crowd. The match itself had its moments with some athletic stuff, even if it looked overly choreographed at certain points. This didn't have nearly as much drama as some of Logan's prior WWE bouts, but that was more of a reflection of its place on the card and the structure of the match. Logan Paul does well, but since his still a novice performer, he has to be put in scenarios that play to his strengths, and since his audience hasn't exactly jumped on the WWE bandwagon, I'm honestly not sure if his involvement truly yields that much of a difference in terms of viewers or exposure for the product. Either way, this was a solid way to start the pay-per-view, and Ricochet's athletic ability is very impressive, as he gracefully soared from the top rope for an attempted dive. The finish was a little bizarre because the live audience didn't see the random guy that gave Logan the brass knuckles, but as mentioned, it was a solid segment. A win for Logan makes sense and a victory over a mid-card talent gives him some steam, especially since he hadn't actually won a WWE match yet.

I was surprised that Brock Lesanr vs. Cody Rhodes was second on the card, but given the lengthy broadcast, I'm assuming that wanted to stagger the major matches throughout the event to pace the show. I must mention that the video package for this segment was brilliant stuff and one of the better vignettes of the past few years. Considering this was the rubber match, it was given the amount of time to develop and was different than the five-minute fireworks match that was sometimes used for the Brock formula prior to this. This was a physical and hard-hitting match that told a simple, but very effective narrative. Brock is quite literally promoted as a beast, and Cody had to slay the monster. Watching Cody sail through the air for the German suplexes is a wild visual. The energy and the reaction in the building throughout this contest was really great. It was an instance where being there live added to the presentation of the match. The crowd erupted for Cody's victory, and while the supposedly unscripted show of respect post-match seemed a little off given the fact that the angle was based on Lesnar breaking Cody's arm and beating him up in front of his family on Raw, it was still a cool moment for Brock to endorse Rhodes. The biggest takeaway here is that Cody Rhodes is still the most over baby face in the company, and while I'm still skeptical that the loss against Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania was the right call, there's no doubt that Rhodes still has a tremendous amount of momentum. If that hype can go through potentially Wrestlemania of next year remains to be seen, but Cody is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in the company.

There's not much to say about the Slim Jim battle royal since its main purpose was just to get the sponsorship money, but it was great to see the late, great Macho Man still make cameos in the commercials. As expected, LA Knight got a great reaction when he won, but I'm not sure winning the sponsorship battle royal means all that much or does anything for his status in WWE. Don't get me wrong, he's a very talented and entertaining guy, even if he borrows liberally from The Rock or Stone Cold, but I'm not sure that a major LA Knight push fits into the current WWE landscape. That's not to say that he doesn't have the ability to be a featured star, but rather that Damien Priest looks to have big plans on Raw, and The Bloodline angle will continue on Smackdown so how far up the card can LA Knight go right now?

Unfortunately, the next segment was where the card hit the wall. Ronda Rousey, who lost all of her luster to the WWE audience through her semi-constant whining long ago, challenged Shayna Bazler to an MMA rules match. The live audience couldn't hear the referee's instructions, but even outside of the rules not being clearly explained, the structure of the match was poorly-designed and the concept was not executed properly. The entire segment was flat when a knockdown, which would usually prompt more action to attempt to finish the fight, led to the ref checking on the competitor instead. I've said it many times, worked MMA doesn't get over because the inherent nature of mixed martial arts is to prevent your opponent's offense, where as in sports entertainment you have to cooperate with an opponent for maneuvers. Anytime there's an occasion where someone had a clear opportunity to throw a punch, but didn't since it's not the planned finish, is why worked MMA looks silly. The pacing was clunky and the leg lock spot managed to make an entire stadium seem quiet. There were "boring" chants and despite being only seven minutes, this segment dragged. Again, the concept was a total miss, but the fact that Ronda isn't over at all didn't help the situation. Maybe it was her whining during interviews or her criticism of the fans when she wasn't give a Steve Austin reception from the audience, but the sum total of the Ronda WWE run has to be considered a flop so I'm not sure the win does much for Shayna Bazler after this. Reportedly, this was scheduled to be Ronda's final appearance with the company, and all this considered, there's really no reason for her to continue to wrestle either.

The IC title match was next, but with as much as the sloppy MMA contest drained the audience, the crowd didn't really react to the bout until about the half way point. The contest was solid, but I have to be honest, I expected more from this match. Gunther retaining was the right call since it makes sense for him to break Honky Tonk Man's record. Gunter is such an impressive athlete and he has a mystic about him that very few have in the modern era. That combination allowed him to bring a level of prestige to the IC title that hasn't existed in several years. As for Drew McIntyre, he's in a tough spot because he had the biggest push of his career when the world shut down, and at this point, the audience has more or less seen the McIntyre playbook. Make no mistake about it, he has the skills to be a top guy, but similar to the LA Knight situation with all the other moving parts within the WWE landscape, is there really a place for McIntyre other than the mid-card right now? Perhaps, a heel turn could freshen him up, but from a character perspective, Drew is almost in a "been there, done that" scenario.

The World Heavyweight title match was more or less what you'd expect from a Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor match. Everything was crisp and smooth. These two are top notch pros in the ring. That being said, this was also more or less the same Rollins/Balor match that booked for Money in The Bank so there's really no reason for there to be a third bout. However, the potential cash-in with the Damien Priest appearance was great  drama and the crowd reacted to everything in the latter portion of the match as the narrative tilted back and fourth with who might win and if Priest was going to cash in to win the championship. Credit to Seth Rollins, the character is ridiculous, and I think the song is more over than the persona, but he's one of the best in-ring workers on the roster. Still, he was given a consolation prize championship, and management put him in a really tough spot to try to make the best of it. It's very possible that if Priest wins the title, he could elevate it's standing as being the champion would theoretically elevate his status on Raw.

I've written about it several times and it's something I will continue to mention when it consistently remains relevant, outside of Wrestlemania, I still don't think there's any reason for a pay-per-view to be four hours long. Summer Slam actually went about four hours and 15 minutes and it was just too long of a show. With such an extended pay-per-view, I think it's probably unavoidable for there to be a point where the broadcast dragged. It was 11 PM when the Women's title match was in the ring, and even with the women's division as arguably the most consistent quality of WWE programming, the first half of the bout was more or less just cannon fodder. Bianca's selling of the injury looked legitimate and it was well done. It added another level of drama toward the conclusion of the segment. Speaking of being well done, the cash in for Iyo Sky was absolutely tremendous. The crowd went crazy and the fans erupted when she won the title. It might've been the biggest reaction of the entire event and it was a great moment for Iyo since she's one of the most talented athletes on the entire roster.

The atmosphere for the main event was electric. I don't think anyone in the building honestly believed that Jey Uso was going to win the title, but the crowd was invested in the action of the match. The only downside was that this contest went about forty minutes and could've probably accomplished the same goal in about half that time. Again, it was almost midnight and it became somewhat tedious, especially when the result was obvious so the intrigue was just how they would get to the finish. The Jimmy heel turn was predictable, but very well done, and it gives the angle, which is one of the best storylines the WWE has done in several years, a solid reason to continue throughout the rest of the year. It's a fine line that management has to walk to keep the angle interesting and justify the TV time its given without putting it on the shows just because it did well previously, but so far they've kept it solid without it getting stable so it's been a really storyline for the company.

Overall, it was a really fun experience and it was worth the trip. The ride back was a little rough as without the anticipation of pay-per-view action in front of 45,000 fans to look forward to like we had on the way to the show, the two hour mark in the middle of Toledo at almost 4 AM was a challenge. But, it's all worth it for the prosperity of pro wrestling, right?

Rob Van Dam debuts for AEW

After Jack Perry's much needed heel turn a few weeks ago, he got into a confrontation with ECW legend and All Elite coach, Jerry Lynn, one of the truly solid workers in the history of the industry. Lynn wasn't necessarily the best on the mic or the biggest star during his heyday, but he was great in the ring, which was ironically why he probably didn't get a bigger push toward the top of the card, outside of the latter stages of ECW. In my ways, Jerry Lynn was the perfect utility worker, and that's meant as a total compliment. He could work a safe match with an inexperienced wrestler or have a quality pay-per-view main event match, depending on what was needed on any given night. Again, he won't be mentioned in the same conversation with Steve Austin or Ric Flair, but make no mistake about it, there's absolutely a reason that Lynn kept a job in the sports entertainment industry.

Since those that know some of the finer points of the business appreciate all the things that Lynn brought to the table, even when the big leagues didn't, it made sense to use him in this spot for the AEW audience.

That said, even as safe as Lynn was inside the ring, the toll of a fast-paced style over the course of a 25-year career prompted his retirement a decade ago. Now 60, Jerry Lynn certainly isn't going to make an in-ring comeback. However, during a segment this past week on Dynamite, he introduced a fellow ECW alumni that will challenge Jack Perry for the FTW title, a belt that originated in Extreme Championship Wrestling more than two decades ago.

Rob Van Dam, former WWE champion and Hall of Famer, made his way to the ring to confront Perry. It was later announced that Van Dam, who worked select independent shows in recent years, will have a match against Jungle Boy next week on Dynamite.

While they was some speculation online that this bout might take place at All In, if it was going to happen, Dynamite is definitely a better venue. At the same time, you have to ask if the match should take place at all?

At 52, Rob Van Dam is still in great shape, but in the past few years, he spoke in-depth about serious concussions, including in the documentary "Headstrong" that aired on Vice TV, where he spoke about significant memory issues. With the rightful extra spotlight that is placed on head trauma in sports today, you have to ask, is it safe for Rob Van Dam to be in the ring? Obviously, his health is the most important aspect of the situation, but another side of it is, if Van Dam suffers a major injury on live television, it brings negative publicity to AEW that wouldn't be there if the same thing happens to him on an independent show.

Granted, this is probably a one-off appearance, but is the risk worth the reward? Is beating RVD in 2023 going to do that much to get Jack Perry over as a heel that Van Dam's health might be at risk in an AEW ring?

Keep in mind, Rob Van Dam is absolutely one of the best athletes of his generation and his style had an influence that can still be seen today, but his prime was more than 15 years ago so I'm not sure how much cache a victory over him brings a heel. Some of it was based on his own mistakes, but still the argument could be made that the WWE underutilized RVD during the vast majority of his tenure in the company.

As we know, he made his way to TNA under the Hogan regime for the ill-fated Monday night experiment. If you watch anything from his three-year stint in TNA, you can clearly see that Van Dam mailed in his performances and looked to put the least amount possible into his matches to avoid injury rather than an attempt to have solid matches. He even acknowledged during interviews in the years after his original TNA run that he was just there for the paycheck.

He made a rather brief return to WWE in 2013 and spent about a year there until he finished up with the company before he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021. The conclusion of his last WWE run in 2014 was more or less the conclusion of the major portion of his career. Anything else in the last decade was basically cannon fodder.

The concern for concussions for Van Dam extends beyond just the well-documented problems he had that were featured in the Vice TV production. When Van Dam got divorced from his first wife, Sonia, who was occasionally mentioned in ECW broadcasts, in 2017, one of the revelations from the proceedings was that Van Dam cited his inability to pay the requested amount of alimony because he couldn't pass a WWE concussion test so his earnings wouldn't be comparable to the prime of his career. Who knows if that was just a legal strategy to avoid being fleeced in the divorce filing, but he hasn't competed for the WWE in almost ten years so it's possible he didn't pass the medical tests to re-sign to wrestle for the company.

RVD did return to Impact for about a year and a half before he left again toward the end of 2020, but being featured in the organization at that particular point offered about as much as exposure as the witness protection program.

The problem with this scenario is that Rob Van Dam probably got the call to work for All Elite because Tony Khan was a big ECW fan, not because his involvement is the best business move. We saw the same thing when Sabu was brought in for an appearance at Double or Nothing, and his attempt to dive through a table could've been disastrous. It was concerning to see Sabu struggle to get to the top rope and then more or less fall, not dive through the table. Given the level of punishment that he went through in his career and the extensive injuries he had, Sabu just shouldn't have been put in a situation where he goes through a table.

If Van Dam gets his bell rung on Dynamite, it's a bad look for everyone involved. But, hey, Tony Khan got to have RVD walk to the ring with his old ECW theme music so it was worth it, right?

Don't get me wrong, anyone that has read what I've written about AEW for any length of time knows that I've praised Tony's willingness to fund a pro wrestling project when he didn't have to provide a spark to the industry. However, and this is the biggest problem with the presentation of the company on a regular basis, passion and fandom for the sport aren't enough to be successful from a business prospective. Again, don't get me wrong, AEW has done something right to sell 75,000 tickets for Wembley stadium and the other success the company had, but if the right decisions aren't made at the right time, it limits how successful the organization can be in the future.

The prime example of this is the random no DQ match that took place this week between Pentagon, Trent, and Jon Moxley. It was a gimmick match for no other reason than an excuse for more barbed wire and thumbtacks to be used on the show just two weeks after the Blood and Guts match. The overuse of weapons does nothing except to limit their effectiveness and then there's essentially nothing left to do. There are only same many weapons and bumps before injuries start to pile up, which happened previously in AEW.

The similarities are that Tony Khan brought in RVD because he's a big fan of ECW, and the extreme organization also overdid the gimmicks in its latter years when the company didn't have the compelling angles it had prior. Da Baldies and Chilly Willy, God bless them, weren't exactly household names in 2000 so the infamous flaming tables match was booked for the November to Remember pay-per-view.

Before Tony Khan booked Rob Van Dam for a match in AEW or allowed another match with barbed wire and thumbtacks on his television show, he should consider that as great an ECW was, it eventually went out of business.