Beastman debuts for GCW

The cliche claims that "there's no business like show business," but within that live entertainment industry, professional wrestling might be the most unique form of the genre.

Nothing encapsulates that paradigm quite like the weekend that 19-year pro, Wes Fetty, known in the squared circle as The Beastman, had just a few weeks ago.

A native of the small town of McMechen, West Virginia, Wes competed often in the western Pennsylvania region, eventually moving to a suburb just outside of Pittsburgh after he met and married his tag team partner in life, Anna Fetty. Anna, who is a registered nurse with several years of experience in the medical field, is certainly on the opposite end of the spectrum of her other half, the monstrous caveman that causes mayhem on the canvas.

The couple live in a relatively quiet neighborhood with a fence around their front year, and numerous mementos that decorate the walls of their living room, a spot where Wes has hosted friends for wrestling viewing get-togethers.

It's an ironic dichotomy when the mammoth 350-LBS grappler packs his bags for the weekend, complete with furry boots, entrance attire, and his trademark bone at the dining room table on a Friday afternoon, while Anna checks the mail that was just delivered.

On this particular Friday in mid-March, Fetty had to spend a few hours on the road, heading toward his old stomping grounds of West Virginia for a Pro Wrestling Conquest event, a card that show him compete in a wild four-way bout. He arrived home around 2 AM with enough time to unpack and then repack his gear bag before he caught some sleep in his living room recliner to attempt to recharge for the next day.

As a resident of Pittsburgh and an enthusiast for the history of the business, Wes looked forward to the next day's happenings, as a special tribute event to the legendary Bruno Sammartino was held in Ross Township, where the Italian strongman made his home after he originally immigrated to America from his native Abruzzi, Italy.

With the legendary Stan Hansen, who was the tag partner of the legendary, late Bruiser Brody, a major influence for Fetty, in attendance to honor his old rivalry Bruno, Wes got to bring another aspect of his ability to the table. With more than 400 fans in attendance, along with well-known magazine editor Bill Apter that Saturday night, Fetty had the chance to show his character skills to an audience that was there to experience a throwback presentation of the golden era. The massive neanderthal stomped his way around ringside to thrill the fans in attendance with his unpredictable nature.

Less than 24 hours after he tailored his performance to the old school Studio Wrestling style of the bygone era of Pittsburgh with old timers like Hansen and Apter looking on, Wes found himself covered in shards of glass, surrounded by dozens of broken light tubes.

In a true example of how versatile he is as a performer, the character-driven portrayal at the card to celebrate the classic period of Bruno, was traded in for the hard-hitting death match style of Game Changer Wrestling, the largest independent group in the United States.

Once again, after he honored the iconic Sammartino, Wes repeated the previous night's process of switching out yet another set of gear, this time a pair of long tights because of his scheduled death match, and got about six hours of sleep before he was back on the road early Sunday morning. The circumstances that brought him to the ring of broken glass mentioned earlier were a six-hour trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey, a stronghold for the GCW brand that tours around the country, and an international reputation that Fetty established last year.

In July, Wes achieved his dream, something that was the culmination of his entire career as a pro wrestler, a journey that he has been on his entire adult life, he was offered the chance to compete in Japan, a country within a storied legacy that stretches back decades. The agile wild man was inspired by Brody, and had the chance to walk the same hallways as he did when he wrestled in Korakuen Hall, regarded by many historians as the Japanese Madison Square Garden. As a part of a tour for the Big Japan Pro Wrestling, a group with a thirty-year history itself, organization during the summer, Fetty celebrated his birthday in true death match style on the night of July 17th, with crimson on his face while he munched on a miniature cake given to him by his peers.

The month that he stayed for Big Japan, known for its status as the top death match organization in the world for the majority of its existence, impressed BJW officials enough to invite him to compete in the Big Japan Death Match Grand Prix, a tournament held on New Year's Eve, a signature occasion for pro wrestling events in the country. Through thee rounds of the tournament, the combination of unbelievable agility for a super heavyweight, including dives from the top rope, and a fierce in-ring persona, The Beastman made an undeniable impression on the spotlighted platform of the tournament.

"When I got there after 12 hours on the plane, I know the level of competition there so I was focused on my one match with Shlak, he's not a guy that you can look passed so when I walked into Korakuen, I took it as one match. It was a lot to go through three matches because this was being watched all over Japan, and being their big show of the year, every match had to have the mindset of the main event. After the first round match, it was easier because my body adjusted to what was going on, my adrenaline was up with all the light tubes, barbed wire, and the crowd," Fetty commented.

Fetty is scheduled for his third tour with the promotion this summer, with a three-month stint for Big Japan as his next international excursion.

Besides Japan, Wes' passport has been collecting a lot of stamps, as along with zigzagging around many different states in America on any given weekend, he also works Canadian gigs on a regular basis, with aspirations of seeing as many places around the world as possible in a pair of wrestling boots.

"The travel is part of the preparation, because knowing that you have to go all day, traveling five or six hours to wrestle for 10 or 15 minutes before you get back or staying at a hotel, it's more mentally that you have to be prepared for it. At this point in my career, I feel like I'm going to stay physically ready, you just have to mentally stay ready, like if you have another show the next day, each match you have to be ready to go. Sometimes, the biggest thing is when you get home and the adrenaline falls off, it's very tiring. You become used to being in a car for five hours at a time," Fetty explained.

As the premiere independent group in the United States, especially with its focus on death match wrestling, GCW keeps its eye on the international circuit as well. The Big Japan officials weren't the only ones that took notice of The Beastman's performance in the Grand Prix on New Year's eve, as Game Changer organizers were impressed with his skills as well, offering him an invitation to Atlantic City to challenge independent icon, Matt Tremont for the promotion's Ultraviolent Championship in the main event on that particular Sunday afternoon.

"Matt Tremont is synonyms with death match wrestling, I'm wrestled Tremont before, but this was one of the biggest matches of my career. Coming off of the death match Tournament in Japan, not really being known as a death match guy, to be propelled into the Ultraviolent title match at GCW at The Showboat, it was time to deliver. This match was more physical and I felt like I had a lot to prove going into that match. I always believe that you have to show the people that you can hang with the best, and Tremont is the guy of death match wrestling, it was an awesome experience to work with Tremont at GCW," Fetty commented.

“It’s a credit to his dedication to the craft that Wes even has the opportunity to do this, but it speaks volumes to his willingness to improve and become a key player, not only on the national independent scene, but internationally. GCW is arguably the largest and most successful independent companies in the US currently.  For The Beastman to get the exposure at that level speaks volumes about his talent and ability, and I have to think that this just might be the spark for him to really skyrocket," added Declan Finnegan, a member of the Victory Championship Wrestling broadcast team, the organization based in Fetty's hometown of McMechen

When the final bell sounded, The massive grappler came up just a bit short in his quest for GCW gold, but post-match, he earned the publicly endorsement from Tremont, prompting the crowd to chant, "husk!" as a sign of their approval. Fetty's plans for the rest of his wild 2025 so far are simple, he wanted to go as far as pro wrestling will take him and experience as much as possible through this unique career path.

When asked about his plans and aspirations for the future, Fetty simply replied, "worldwide."

What's the status of Paige?

Earlier this week, just hours before it was confirmed by the performer herself, I penned an article about the latest round of potential free agents that were on the pro wrestling market. I mentioned that the grappler known previously as Paige said on Booker T's podcast that she would consider a return to the WWE so it was more or less confirmation that she was on her way out of AEW. Saraya announced on her newly-launched podcast that she made her exit from All Elite Wrestling, concluding a three-year stint with the company that saw her make a comeback to the ring after a very serious neck injury was thought to have ended her career several years ago.

All things considered, this wasn't and shouldn't have been surprising at all. Besides the appearance on Booker T's program, Saraya hasn't been a part of the AEW line-up in nearly six-months, and outside of her hometown win at the original Wembley Stadium event in 2023, she hadn't been given anything of importance to do in the company for the majority of her tenure there. Prior to the announcement, it was speculated that her contract expired later this year, but not only had the duration of the deal concluded, but she didn't have a no-compete clause since the agreement had finished without any renewal. Taking into account that she hadn't been on television in nearly six months, I'd guess that both sides just let the contract run out rather than trying to negotiate an early release from the deal. The Outcast stable faded into obscurity and Saraya really didn't have a direction in the organization after that. Granted, this isn't anything new, as we've seen the same thing happen with many performers, regardless of where they worked prior to their arrival in All Elite, but the fact remains that outside of the shock of her return to the ring after it was assumed her career was over, Saraya's run in the promotion was rather uneventful.

Despite that, the story of the former Paige is still undoubtedly a success story.

From a pro wrestling family, the British competitor broke into the sport in her early teenage years and was such a natural in the squared circle that she was offered a WWE developmental deal when she was just 18, which was prior to the start of the NXT brand. Three years later, she made her surprise debut on Raw, beating AJ Lee for the Divas championship in her first match on the main roster.

She had a unique look, a unique charisma, and sharper skills than most competitors her age because of the ability to start in the sport at such a young age since she was from a wrestling family. Without question, Paige had the talent to be a star and looked to be on track be one of the featured performers on the women's division at a time when the office was just starting to give the female division more of a chance to showcase their ability.

Unfortunately, her story almost ended in tragedy.

She originally suffered a serious neck injury in 2016 that required surgery to repair the damage, putting her on the shelf for several months. Around this time, she was suspended on two different occasions for violating the WWE Wellness policy. When she returned to action, her comeback was short-lived, as she was injured at a house show in late-2017, which ultimately forced her into retirement. At 25, her career was seemingly over. She had an unhealthy relationship with former WWE star Alberto Del Rio, involving domestic disputes, and there were rumors of drug issues as well. Several years ago, as a part of the celebrity leaks online, explicit photos of Saraya and a sex tape involving former WWE star, Brad Maddox and Xavier Woods surfaced on the internet. She later revealed that she considered suicide after the private material surfaced online. She also revealed years later that she had battled drug addiction previously, but was able to overcome those hurdles to maintain a healthy life style.

She avoided many pitfalls that could've made her just another cautionary tale of the pro wrestling business so an underwhelming run in All Elite Wrestling isn't the worst case scenario for where she could be in 2025.

After she laced up her boots again to sign a deal with Tony Khan's company, she explained that she had undergone another neck surgery in 2019, which is probably what allowed her to be medically cleared to compete again.

That being said, I don't think that will automatically translate to an in-ring return to the WWE.

Sure, Saraya was cleared in some form or fashion to return to professional wrestling, but the WWE protocols could be stricter or the company simply might opt not to put her back in the ring because of her history of neck injuries. Yes, I understand that others, including Edge and even Steve Austin have competed after it was thought that their careers were over, but the former Paige is only 32, and at some point, especially given the bullets that she already dodged, both personally and professionally, it might not be worth it to step in a WWE ring again as far as the potential risk for another injury. Obviously, this is just speculation, but I think it's a valid point to be made that it's very possible that the WWE office wouldn't want to see her risk another injury.

After she was forced into retirement, she was named the Smackdown General Manager in 2018. Through the pandemic, she stayed under contract to the WWE until mid-2022 when she announced her exit from the organization. Since she already worked in a non-wrestling role for the company, it's possible that she could be brought back in a similar fashion, but it's almost as though it would be a "been there, done that" type of situation. Furthermore, since she wrestled for All Elite Wrestling, if she returned to the WWE, the audience might expect her to compete in-ring for WWE again.

Hypothetically speaking, if she was was cleared by the WWE doctors to wrestle again, she'd probably fit into the current female division extremely well because of her years of experience and the quality of opponents that  she would have to work with on the roster.

On the other hand, in conjunction with her new podcast, she also just released a new autobiography so she definitely has enough outside projects to keep her busy. Those ventures alone might be an indication that she's not looking to return to the WWE machine immediately, especially because she has plans for a book tour to promote the autobiography, and while possible, the WWE road schedule, as reduced as it might be compared to the touring of the past, doesn't necessarily lend itself to the availability to host a new podcast on a regular basis. It goes without saying that an association with WWE helps book sales, but there were successful publications outside of the scope of WWE so it's not a requirement to be involved with the company to sell the autobiography.

It remains to be seen what the former Paige does next or if she's still interested in wrestling at all. She might opt to work a few lucrative independent events since it's a way to maximize her in-ring appearances without the commitment or toll on the body of a full-time contract. If I had to guess, I'd say that Saraya will probably decide to pursue other opportunities outside of the pro wrestling business since it's not worth the risk of another injury.

What's the status of Josh Alexander?

It's a common concept in the modern landscape of the professional wrestling industry, especially since the launch of All Elite Wrestling in 2019, the notion of the free agent market continues to be a shifting dynamic in the business, particularly with its impact on talent, as well as the fans.

It must be said that there are undoubtedly positives and negatives to the bidding war to secure talent on both sides of the fence within the industry in the United States. Tony Khan has offered a comical amount of contracts, seemingly signing talent to his roster just to get them under a deal without a specific plan for them on his show. In somewhat of a response or perhaps a strategic maneuver to further its reach within the business, the WWE has recruited former All Elite talent, often making them bigger stars in a relatively short period of time as compared to a few years under the Tony Khan banner. Another aspect is the newly-launched WWE ID program, which takes a very minimal investment from the company, simply for the ability to have the right of first refusal if the talent are offered a deal elsewhere. If the developmental system sees someone with potential, they can put them on the radar to see how they progress on the independent circuit, and if  a few of those competitors make it to the main roster as even a mid-card star, the program would be more than worth it. Plus, it essentially freezes AEW out of the recruitment of that talent, and in a worst case scenario, if the WWE office doesn't think a talent has made enough progress to stay in the system, the organization can allow them to exit the deal to sign with another promotion.

The point being that WWE has created an opportunity for the organization to have first pick at the young talent on the independent scene, which is such a key as far as a way to dictate the overall development of the industry. Sure, it's on a more fundamental level since, by nature, the ID program is designed for talent that don't have the experience to be ready for main roster television, but it's still a critical step in terms of the overall building blocks of the genre. Along with that, there's the TNA working agreement that allows for them to cherry-pick wrestlers that have found themselves in a smaller pond and present a more polished package to the main stream stage of the WWE. For example, Drew McIntyre needed a place to reinvent himself after he was typecast as a comedy character before his WWE release years ago. In a similar fashion, Cody Rhodes needed to be able to discover himself as the American Nightmare gimmick outside of the WWE bubble. Both of them, particularly Cody with his current role, are two of the biggest stars in the WWE today as a result of the opportunity to rejuvenate their careers.

So, TNA can be a platform for talent to get the critical television experience, as well as a way for former WWE talent, with The Hardys being the prime example currently, to extend their run as stars during the latter portion of their careers.

Of course, the WWE has its own developmental territory within the Performance Center and the NXT brand so the development of talent can take place on multiple fronts at different stages of a wrestler's career path.

The combination of the ID program, the TNA working agreement, and the Performance Center are basically a way of expanding the WWE's overall reach within the business. As a result of that, there are naturally less resources and options for All Elite Wrestling.

That's why the latest round of potential free agents to hit the market could be somewhat of a reflection of the shifting dynamics of the business as a whole. 

According to a report from Tokyo Sports,  Mina Shirakawa is set to depart Stardom, prompting speculation that she will ink a deal with All Elite. The signing in itself wouldn't be too surprising since Shirakawa has appeared on All Elite programming before, with her most recent appearance in December of last year, but this scenario speaks to how the competition in the United States continues to have an affect on the Japanese scene, as several top talent from the country were offered lucrative deals, particularly within the past eight or nine years, to relocate to America. As far back as 2016, the WWE saw the popularity of the Bullet Club in New Japan, bringing in AJ Styles, who was more or less immediately booked at the top of the card in the Japanese league after his exit from TNA, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson as a team, as well as  Shinsuke Nakamura. Injuries derailed Kenta's career in the WWE and he never truly had a chance to show his skills, but there was a time when he was a top-tier worker for Pro Wrestling NOAH several years ago. It should also be noted that both Asuka and Iyo Sky were among the top workers in Japan when they were offered WWE contracts. The laundry list of talent that Tony Khan has signed away from New Japan is almost every top guy that the company had, aside from Hiroshi Tanahashi, who is set to retire after this year, and Tetsuya Naito, one of the most popular on the NJPW roster, but a grappler that has taken too much of a toll on his body from years of a risky style to consider a jump to the United States at this point in his career.

The problem is, while the Japanese scene was key in the cultivation of talent that went on to a bigger platform and make bigger money in the United States, the sheer amount of talent signed away has left much of the wrestling scene in the country without depth in terms of money-drawing stars. With Stardom under the umbrella of NJPW, the organization will remain stable, but Mina Shirakawa takes another popular star off the roster. If  Shirakawa has a major run in All Elite is truly 50/50 because it's possible that she gets a level of spotlight based on her previous association with Mariah May and Toni Storm, but it's also equally as possible that she gets lost in the shuffle.

Speaking of Mariah May, Fightful Select recently reported that her contract with the company could expire later this year, with some speculation that she might be able to explore her options with a possible offer from WWE if she chooses to test the free agent market. Of course, this is a part of the rumor mill so most of it has to be taken with a grain of salt. However, it's somewhat of a catch-22 as May has undoubtedly increased her stock as a heel with her recent feud with Toni Storm, but at the same rate, it's tough to have faith in any true talent development from a Tony Khan booking style. If I had to guess, I'd say that the speculation will be a moot point, as Mariah May will probably be one of the talents that Tony will be overpay to keep her on the roster, similar to when he re-signed Swerve Strickland last year.

On the other end of the spectrum. Saraya, the former Paige in WWE, recently said on Booker T's podcast that she would be open for a return to the WWE. Considering that she's still under contract to AEW until September of this year and she's willing to say this publicly, I'd guess that it's more or less a foregone conclusion that she's leaving All Elite. In another recent interview, she noted that one of the reason that she signed with All Elite was to help her brother get an opportunity in a major organization. He was recently released from the company. I think it goes without say that minus a brief title run,  Saraya's tenure in the promotion hasn't rejuvenated her career the way she hoped. With her history of serious neck injuries, it remains to be seen if a return to the WWE would be possible. Still, it's another example of how money is no object for Tony when he had a former WWE star that you'd think was getting paid at least decent money under contract for the past few years and she's nowhere to be found on television.

Finally, there are reports that Josh Alexander, who finished up with TNA a few months ago, has decided to sign an AEW contract. Of course, the risk of being lost in the shuffle and forgotten about is always going to be a concern with the Tony Khan product. That's not meant as a knock, but rather a realistic assessment of the company. That being said, according to The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, AEW offered him a better deal. Given that Alexander has been one of the better workers anywhere in the industry for the past several years and simply hasn't gotten the opportunity to showcase his skills on a bigger stage than TNA, it makes sense that he took the best money possible, especially because he hasn't had the chance to sign a major contract yet. This was a situation where you'd think that Alexander would have a natural transition to WWE given their working relationship with TNA, but if Tony wants to offer more cash then you can't blame Alexander for taking the better contract. However, this is where the concept of the ID program is key, as the right of first refusal is a way to prevent Khan from outbidding for potential prospects in the future. I have to be honest, I have no idea how Josh Alexander will used in All Elite Wrestling. As mentioned, Tony's booking is unpredictable, as far as who is spotlighted and who is completely forgotten about, but if nothing else, it's good to see Alexander finally get a major money contract in his career.

Copeland vs. Moxley

Tony Khan is exactly what he says he is.

Usually, with a pro wrestling promoter, regardless of if it's a national businessman trying to retain the intellectual property of a character that he pushed on his television show when the talent portraying the in-ring persona leaves the organization, or a nickel-and-dime carny local yokel trying to make a few extra bucks selling misspelled 8X10s, you have to take almost everything they say with a grain of salt.

However, Tony Khan, for both the positive and the negative, is often exactly who he claims to be.

He's more or less unanimously praised as a genuinely great guy that legitimately cares about his roster, which is extremely rare for the often cut-throat pro wrestling business, where the strike of the pencil could theoretically give an opportunity to make or break at career. While a narcissistic yo-yo like Elon Musk pads his bank account through the government awarded to him by his equally narcissistic orange villain of a buddy, Tony Khan often goes above and beyond to do what the general consensus would suggest is the right thing to do, even when he doesn't have to. He doesn't bring it up in any of those marathon post-PPV press conferences where he enjoys the chance to sit next to his favorite wrestlers, but there are numerous examples of when Tony helped talent and their families. It's very common that any time there are fundraising efforts for legends of the industry with medical emergencies that Tony will make a donation. Chris Jericho often does the same thing as well. When Jay Briscoe tragically passed away a few years ago, it was reported that Khan quietly took care of the families medical expenses, and it wouldn't surprise me if Jay Briscoe's contract is still being paid today as a way to help his family. Plus, and this is probably something considered more of a smaller detail compared to when Khan has helped during tragedies, but it's also known that Khan offers fair, and sometimes even overpays talent to sign with his organization, proving them a level of financial stability through their work for his company.

Granted, none of that automatically makes him a successful booker or promoter, and the slip in AEW ratings over the past few years proves that, but it undoubtedly makes his a noble human being.

That being said, Tony is still exactly who he said he was when he infamously claimed that he, "books for the sickos." After this week's edition of Dynamite, there's very little doubt about that notion.

When I saw that the Adam Copeland/Jon Moxley rematch for the AEW World championship was placed on the line-up before the main event segment of Kris Statlander/Megan Bayne contest, it was an immediate giveaway that the title wasn't going to change hands. You simply don't have the world title switch in a street fight in the middle of the show, and that placement is often done to avoid souring the crowd with a wonky finish to end the night. Instead, after Bayne beat Statlander, who unfortunately, is getting saddled with the "good hand" label so she's often put in a position to make others look good as opposed to getting a chance to shine herself, the crowd was sent home happy when fan favorite, Toni Storm made a challenge  for the Dynasty pay-per-view in two weeks.

Of course, this meant that the street fight would be marred with interference from the Moxley stable, which is reaching an NWO-level of match interference, and we all know how well that scenarios worked after the fans knew there would inevitably be weekly run-ins to dilute the importance of a match.

Up until a point, the match was rather tame by All Elite standards, considering that tables and chairs are often used without rhyme or reason even if the segment isn't a gimmick match. Why exactly are the rules in place if there's no reason to follow them? Furthermore, if there's not an explanation about why the rules can be ignored, why should the audience care when a gimmick match is announced?

The point that the Moxley/Copeland bout either jumped the shark or hit a new low, depending on your perspective, was when the spiked 2X4 was introduced into the match. It's a weapon that Copeland has used to attempt to even up the odds against the Moxley faction before so its appearance wasn't the surprising part, but rather when he put it on the canvas to suplex Moxley onto the spiked weapon. In a grotesque display, the nails in the 2X4 were legitimately stuck in Moxley's back. After Wheeler Yuta ran in, he and the referee attempted to dislodge the nails from the champion's back, but you could see the skin being pulled as the nailed remained stuck in his flesh, prompting the production crew to cut to a wide shot. Eventually, the nails were taken out of his back and he was bleeding from the puncture wounds when he choked Copeland out to retain the belt.

This was definitely a match for the sickos, and the fact that Tony Khan continues to book this type of stuff after the argument could be made that the company already went too far at the Revolution pay-per-view, speaks volumes to how truly misguided his vision of pro wrestling is for a national organization.

Granted, they probably weren't expecting Moxley to be impaled by the nails, but these type of scenarios should at least be considered before they're allowed to be a part of a segment on TBS. That's the biggest faux pas of this whole situation, the segment had very little, if any, upside and numerous pitfalls as far as the television show. First and most importantly, this is national TV, not an independent show in front of 200 fans in a parking lot where an old K-Mart used to be. If the counter argument to this was that there's an audience for this type of stuff somewhere, it's the most niche demographic of the most diehard group of fans. Quite frankly, someone getting literally impaled by nails is a good way to sour TBS executives and even more of the viewing audience. This might be a shocking revelation to the "sickos" that Tony books for, but the vast majority of pro wrestling fans, even the diehard audience that follows the sport internationally, don't want to see the over-the-top gory. It's not compelling or dramatic, it's just gross.

Moxley legitimately getting nails stuck in his back risks souring the network, potential sponsors, and companies that might not want to buy ad time during the Dynamite broadcasts. The reasons that independent groups can get away with doing the gory stunts are very simple, they don't have to work within the parameters of a television network, most of the time they don't have sponsors to sour on the product, and even with the modern technology to have live streams of events, organizations don't buy commercial time on independent shows.

It's gotten to the point where All Elite Wrestling is literally doing independent death match wrestling on TBS, and there's just not a way to even suggest that it's compatible. Will the arenas suddenly be sold out because of this match? Considering that AEW has done more of this type of stuff within the past two and and a half years, the same time span when their attendance and ratings declined, what exactly was the upside of the Copeland/Moxley match?  Game Changer Wrestling is the biggest independent group in the United States, but there's a reason that they don't run arenas or have a TV deal.

It sounds trivial, but it should still be noted that pro wrestling is supposed to be a work, with at least the originally intended goal, to be that nobody actually gets hurt during a match. The reason being, if a performer gets injured and is on the sidelines, they can't draw money in the ring for the company. Maybe that's why this was allowed to happen, because as we know, money is no object to Tony Khan so the ability to draw money is completely secondary, which is why AEW is probably always going to be a vanity project.

What's next for Jeff Cobb?

The free agent rumor mill continues, this time with speculation that New Japan star, Jeff Cobb could potentially be in talks with the WWE, according to a report from Fightful Select. Cobb, a former Olympian in amateur wrestling, represented Guam in the 2004 summer games, but finished with an undistinguished stint on the amateur mat.

However, even though he broke into the pro ranks in 2009 at a later age than most, it only took him a few years in sports entertainment before he got noticed by the more prominent organizations. He signed with Lucha Underground in 2015, working for the promotion almost until it folded in 2019. During his stint on the lucha show, he began to work many of the more well-known groups on the independent circuit, and had a few appearances in Ring Of Honor before the group was eventually sold to Tony Khan.

He found his biggest success when he signed with New Japan in 2017 and during the past eight years has been one of the most consistent performers for the organization. Truth be told, Cobb is more or less tailor-made for success in New Japan as a big agile powerhouse foreigner.

Cobb had a few appearances on All Elite Wrestling programming, but that was during the crossover with New Japan built around their Forbidden Door events during the past few years. Again, truth be told, unless Cobb is offered an amount of money that he simply couldn't realistically say no to, which is possible with Tony Khan, it seems like AEW wouldn't be the place for him, especially given the track record of how NJPW talent was used there, aside from those that were a part of the core group at the initial launch.

You can't blame the performers, because making the most money possible is the entire point of the pro wrestling business, both for the talent and for promoters, but at the same time, Tony Khan has cherry-picked almost every top guy that New Japan had since he started his wrestling project to supplement his already bloated roster. The problem is, All Elite didn't become the American platform for some of the best in-ring workers in the world, which if done correctly could've truly made AEW standout as the alternative national promotion in the United States, but rather a place where the majority of those acquisitions either got lost in the shuffle or settled for mediocrity.

Aside from Will Ospreay, and until recently Kyle Fletcher, Jay White, Lance Archer, Katsuyori Shibata, Kazuchika Okada, Juice Robinson, and others have fallen into either of those two categories.

Because of that, I don't think it would be unrealistic to expect that if Cobb inked an All Elite contract, he'd be spotlighted for a few weeks before he possibly ended up in the witness protection program of the Ring Of Honor project on the Honor Club streaming service with its almost zero exposure. Granted, names like Juice and Mark Davis had injuries at certain points, but the common theme throughout the vast majority of the roster, regardless of where they worked previously, is inconsistent television exposure. There are truly only a handful of talents that get any type of consistent television exposure, with it being almost comical how many talents, despite their legitimate skills, disappear for months at a time without any rhyme or reason. The 32-year-old Jay White is in the prime of his career, and has already proved that he's a legitimate main event talent, but more often than not, he's a secondary figure within the landscape of AEW. Okada mailing it in to a Booker T in TNA level is a different discussion for a different time.

As mentioned, it's always possible that Cobb gets an offer too good to turn down when his NJPW deal expires, but if it's comparable money, All Elite Wrestling might not be the place for him to increase his value as a commodity in the industry.

Could Jeff Cobb be successful in the WWE?

On the surface, absolutely, he checks all the boxes for what the WWE looks for in terms of physical skills to promote a superstar. He has size, agility, and power, which might be simplified in the WWE as far as the presentation, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't be very successful with the WWE machine behind it. Sure, Cobb isn't known for his promos, but New Japan isn't built on mic work so it's not as thought he doesn't have a chance to be solid for promos in the WWE. In some ways, I think the way that Bronson Reed was being portrayed before his serious injury from the dive off the top of the cage at Survivor Series could be somewhat of a template for Cobb to be highlighted successfully. It might be as simple as allowing Cobb to use his power and size to be presented as a credible monster within the scope of WWE. For example, the splash from the top rope for Bronson Reed is a simple maneuver, but it was presented as a major spot on television, and if the time is taken to establish something, it's possible to get even the most basic concepts put over as legitimately important aspects of the program. It's a unique commodity for an athlete the size of Reed to have the agility to dive from the top rope so why not maximize the impact of its importance on the show? In a similar fashion, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Cobb's "tour of the islands" spinning slam could be pushed as a unique maneuver that could help establish his character to the WWE audience.

Sure, it's rather simple, but if it's effective then that's the measure of success as far as establishing a new talent for the audience.

Obviously, it goes without saying that only Cobb knows what's next for him, and he's scheduled for next month's Windy City Riot event for New Japan in Chicago so at least for now, Cobb will remain under the NJPW banner. That being said, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to see him eventually end up in the WWE. It's a puzzling situation in some ways because a guy with that level of talent should be on the WWE radar, but at the same time, it still seems like there's more for him to do in New Japan, specifically a run with the IWGP Heavyweight championship. As I said, Cobb is the prototype for the powerhouse foreigner that can excel in New Japan, similar to Giant Bernard, who was previously known as A-Train, and Scott Norton the generation before that. At a time when New Japan still finds its roster very thin from the previously mentioned departures to All Elite, elevating Cobb to the main event scene might boost the depth of the organization.

If I had to guess, I'd say that Cobb will eventually surface in WWE, but that could also be determined by the amount of time he has left on his current Japanese deal. At 42, Cobb definitely still has at least a few more prime years of his career left, but at the same time, he would have to arrive in the WWE system sooner rather than later to be able to realistically maximize his run there. I'd also say that it could be equally as possible that he remains with New Japan for the rest of his career, assuming that can continue to offer him decent money, and he might actually be better off in the Japanese organization, as he's a bigger fish in a smaller pond at the moment so he might have a bigger overall run in New Japan than he would if he shifted his path to a WWE career.

The career of Lex Luger

Last week, Lex Luger was announced for induction into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, an achievement that many thought might not happen because of his rocky exit from the organization when he jumped ship to WCW with no notice to appear on the first live episode of Nitro. Furthermore, there was also speculation in the past that Lex might not even live long enough to see such a celebration of his career, given several years of drug issues, as well as a stroke that left him partially paralyzed in 2007.

The tale of Luger's career in the ring is almost as complex as his real life outside of it.

A former football player, the real-life Larry Pfohl started his wrestling career in the Florida territory in late-1985 under the direction of Hiro Matsuda, the trainer credited with breaking Hulk Hogan into the industry. With legendary promoter Eddie Graham's death at the start of that year, the once.vibrant Florida circuit was on borrowed time, particularly with the WWF's ongoing national expansion that had started in early-1984. Given Vince McMahon Sr's friendship with Graham for decades earlier, the WWF under the second generation McMahon didn't run Florida until CWF officially folded as a sign of respect for the late promoter. Because of that, there were three editions of "super shows" so to speak, entitled "Battle of The Belts," a moniker that was used in recent years for All Elite Wrestling as a nod to the history of the business. The WWF's wait to run Florida was probably what kept the CWF office open long enough to run Battle of the Belts for three years, which actually provided a key opportunity for the rookie Luger. With just a year of experience, Lex challenged "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, wrestling to a 60-minute draw, while being showcased as a promising young talent in the process.

The notion of being thrown into a big spot, perhaps before he had the chance to gain the proper experience to truly be ready for that spot is something that followed Lex throughout much of his career.

The bodybuilder was a puppy with big paws so to speak, as he was a novice in terms of in-ring experience, but his impressive physique made him a commodity for promoters so when CWF folded a few months after his hour-draw with Flair, he was offered work with Jim Crockett Promotions, the Carolina-based group that emerged as the national competition for the WWF at the time when many of the regional groups shut down simply because they couldn't compete with McMahon's national expansion so the territory system that was thriving for decades prior evaporated in the span of just a few years.

JCP wasn't immune to the strain of competition on its business as the organization still ran out of the same small office with the same limited staff that it had for almost four decades previously at a time when the company was touring on a national basis, albeit mostly the southern areas of the country in an effort to keep pace with McMahon. Ironically, 1986 was the promotion's highest-grossing year, but ambitious spending, including the $9 million deal to buy the Mid-South territory from Bill Watts in mid-1987, and using private jets to transport the top talent to the increased number of live cards the promotion ran in a larger geographical area, led to the company near bankruptcy by late-1988.

Similar to the closure of Florida that shifted Lex's career very early on after his debut, the sale of Crockett Promotions to Ted Turner, who bought the company to keep wrestling on his network, not too long after he arrived eventually had an impact as well.

Throughout the first few years of Turner's ownership, Luger was prominently featured, often in the US title picture. In 1990, when Sting suffered a legitimate knee injury that sidelined his scheduled feud with Ric Flair for the world title, Lex was plugged into that spot, again with less than four years experience. Luger's look was undeniable, and one of Flair's calling cards, specifically during this era of his career, was that he made both Sting and Luger shine during his respective rivalries with him. Lex didn't capture the belt in 1990, as that was slated for Sting when he returned to action, but the following year, it looked like Luger might be in line for the world belt when he was scheduled to compete against Flair again.

However, the match-up never took place, as Flair left the Turner organization after a dispute with former Pizza Hut executive, Jim Herd, who was one of the revolving door of figureheads that were brought into run the wrestling project during this time. Without Flair, who went on to have a two-year stint in the WWF before he returned to Turner, Lex was left as the lame duck challenger. He beat Barry Windham at The Great American Bash pay-per-view in 1991 to essentially take the role of the lame duck champion. Flair's trademark motto, "to be the man, you gotta beat the man" summed up the state of WCW at that point. Sure, Lex was the world champion, but regardless of who the titleholder was, chants of "we want Flair" echoed in the building during WCW broadcasts.

Truth be told, Lex was put in a no-win situation, as anyone that was in the position to have to follow Flair, arguably the greatest in-ring performer of all time, would be in a tough spot, but under those circumstances, where Flair was stripped of the belt with little to no explanation to the audience, his successor was doomed to face criticism, particularly because there wasn't a "pass the torch" moment to cement a new champion.

The fact that the Turner organization bought JCP to keep wrestling on the air was admirable, but within the three years since its purchase, the media conglomerate couldn't find a capable boss to run the wrestling venture, with the previously mentioned figures that cycled through the WCW offices, including the hard-nosed Bill Watts for a cup of coffee. The lack of structure eventually led to Lex Luger's exit from the organization, and while he couldn't sign with the WWF immediately because of his Turner contract, he inked a deal with the newly-created World Bodybuilding Federation in 1992 to serve as a place holder until his WCW agreement expired.

Unfortunately, in mid-1992, Lex was involved in the infamous motorcycle accident that required a steel plate to be used to repair serious damage to his forearm, with the plate later used as a part of his character in the WWF. Luger didn't recover until early-1993 when he made his WWF debut as a narcissistic heel. The WBF had flopped and folded by the time that Lex was healed from the wreck so he was a full-time WWF star. Hulk Hogan, who was marred in controversy at the time because of the steroid scandal and Vince McMahon's federal trial, distracted himself from the company, opting to leave not long after he dropped the WWF title to Yokozuna at that year's King of the Ring.

McMahon needed another all-American baby face, and despite being a heel for only about three months, the office decided to shoehorn Lex into the role with the start of the Lex Express, culminating with Luger body slamming the massive champion on the fourth of July to hype their scheduled bout for the belt at Summer Slam. Similar to the way that he was rushed into the WCW title picture in 1991 to cover for Flair's departure, he was propelled into the position to have to follow Hogan, which is another tough spot to be in, specifically for a character that was obviously being shoehorned into the main event scene. The character wasn't organic or authentic, and the fans knew it. The fact that the Summer Slam bout finished with a DQ more or less sent the message that the company wasn't truly behind their replacement for the Hulkster. Bret Hart winning the WWF title at Wrestlemania the following year reinforced that notion.

All things considered, a jump to WCW was probably the only way that Luger would've been able to jump start his career since he was clearly labeled as a secondary baby face in the WWF. That's not to say that Lex should've gotten the spot that Bret had, but rather to point out that the scenario didn't provide anything else for him to do as a top guy in the WWF. He had a push to the main event scene and failed, which is why he was relegated to the tag division with The British Bulldog in 1995.

His jump to Nitro was historic, but even with a fresh start in WCW, he was still initially mismanaged as a part of the Dungeon of Doom. However, after the arrival of The Outsiders in 1996, Lex was elevated as one of the top guys in the promotion to combat the heel faction. By 1997, he was one of the most popular performers on the roster, a position that was strengthened by his ability to be one of the forces to help WCW. His 1997 title win over Hogan on Nitro received a massive reaction from the crowd, and was arguably the peak of his career. He was a bonafide star and one of the most popular names at a time when pro wrestling was in a major boom period.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Hogan won the title back less than a week later at the Road Wild pay-per-view. Lex never got a chance to see how far this popular phase of his career could've taken him and the argument could be made that his star power saw a steady decline over the next three years before WCW folded.

Speaking of which, by the time that Vince bought WCW in early-2001, Lex was more or less finished with his in-ring career, with only a handful of appearances, including a TNA cameo in 2003. A few months before that TNA match, Lex. who had spiraled out of control with drug and alcohol addiction, was arrested twice. During a drug binge, Luger was involved in a domestic incident with his girlfriend at the time, Elizabeth Hulette, known to fans as Ms. Elizabeth. 

Sadly, Ms. Elizabeth passed away from an accidental drug overdose in May 2003. Some have blamed Luger for her death, and Lex actually mentioned in a recent interview that he wasn't a good influence on her. That being said, I think it's unfair to blame him for her death, as unfortunately, she made some unwise decisions and those were her choices to make, not something that Luger can be held responsible for. That being said, the whole thing is terribly tragic, as Ms. Elizabeth truly was one of the most well-known figures in the history of the industry and truly defined the term, "the first lady of the WWF" as far as her graceful on-screen presence.

Following Elizabeth's death, Luger faded from the headlines until the previously mentioned stroke in 2007 that revealed that he was confined to a wheelchair. I have to be honest, given how grim the reports were about his health in the years after the stroke, I wouldn't have been surprised if he passed away years ago. It wasn't until more recently through the convention circuit and podcasts that it was revealed that despite use of a wheelchair, that Lex had turned his life around, crediting the change in his life to his religion. I'm not religious in any way, shape, or form, but if that's what allowed Luger to find peace in his life then good for him.

I think that's why I wanted to pen this article, in an effort to put Lex's career in the proper context. He was often rushed into a top spot or had to follow a much bigger star throughout his career, but when he was given the chance with the proper level of experience, such as he was in 1997, he shined as a major star. Furthermore, and this is probably the much bigger point than any scripted wrestling accomplishments, the sports entertainment industry has far too many cautionary tales of true talent lost too soon, and not nearly enough redemption stories. It should be said that it takes a truly solid human being to admit when they were wrong and to try to make the best of themselves going forward. By all accounts, it seems like Lex Luger has done that, which is very commendable.

I actually had the chance to meet Lex at Wrestle Con when I went to Summer Slam on the road trip to Cleveland with my wrestling pal, the great Pat Maclaughlin. I wasn't sure what to expect, especially given Luger's complex history, as even he acknowledges now that he wasn't a nice guy during much of his life. Thankfully, I can honestly say that during the few minutes that I talked to him, Luger was very polite and gracious. I actually told him that it was great that he was doing so well after his health challenges, and he said thank you several times so it was very nice to see that he seemed to legitimately found a level of peace in his life.

Aside from the Hall of Fame announce, Lex has spent 2025 working with Diamond Dallas Page to use Page's yoga program in an effort to help him walk again. Was Lex Luger perfect? Absolutely not. Was Lex the best wrestler of all time? No, he wasn't. Was he a major star that should get the recognition? Yes, he should. Is it great to see that he turned his life around? Definitely.

As I said, pro wrestling has too many cautionary tales of drugs, steroids, early deaths, but not nearly enough redemption stories. Wouldn't it be quite the redemption story if Lex Luger could walk across the stage to accept his Hall of Fame induction this year?

AEW Revolution review

Last year, Revolution was highlighted by the retirement match of the icon, Sting, who had a 40-year career, and while the car crash aspects of his final bout weren't needed, the general consensus was that it was a successful show and the buy rate for the pay-per-view reflected that, as it drew one of the better PPV numbers of 2024 for the company.

This year, All Elite Wrestling's Revolution event underscored the main notion usually associated with the product, the structure or lack thereof will often see one step forward and then two steps back. There's a reason that viewership has declined 40% in the past two and a half years, and no amount of star ratings are going to provide the solution. In fact, one event or even a series of events within themselves are going to be the key to an upswing for the organization, but rather a consistent effort toward quality and logic that builds the overall perception of the promotion over the course of time.

There was undoubtedly a lack of consistency and quality control during this pay-pay-view.

One of the issues that will probably always be there for any Tony Khan-produced card is the lack of a measured approach to the line-up, mostly because tailoring the time given to an individual segment would require booking, not just matches on the page. The opening three matches on the card were all given about 20 minutes, while the middle of the card were given about 10 minutes, and the last three bouts were given thirty minutes each. That copy and paste approach doesn't take into account if the match-ups or specific storylines truly justified that amount of time, What if one of the first three matches would've peaked earlier than one of the others and instead of that twenty-minute mark, which saw a drag toward the conclusion, 15 minutes would've been much for suitable?

It sounds trivial, but a lack of precision created a flat point when matches went an extra few minutes too long. Furthermore, the absolute disregard for any logic as far as how much you can throw at the audience, or the effectiveness of something if was already seen earlier in the night was ridiculous at certain points of the show.

The show opened with MJF/Adam Page, two guys that were a part of the company at its inception, and also two performers that the argument could be made were less over after they were AEW champion than they were prior because of the subpar booking of each reign. Much like Page's baby face character at the moment, this feud with MJF was lukewarm at best, and even MJF, who was supposed to be future of the company, has cooled off considerably. Aside from the fact that he wasn't on television as often in recent months because of the Happy Gilmore movie, he was beaten down by the Undisputed Kingdom, a faction that worked the pre-show before Revolution, at the last pay-per-view. Yes, I understand that the premise of the angle was that MJF attacked Christopher Daniels, but with as many baby face and heel switches as Page had in the past year, it's a tough sell to get the audience to rally behind him.

The match was solid for what it was, but on a four-hour pay-per-view, they were kicking out of finishing moves and at one point, MJF landed a tombstone on a chair on the outside of the ring. Sure, Friedman is smart enough to be in the opener of most of his PPV appearances so he doesn't have to follow a stunt show, but at the same time, this contest went to the floor when neither the match or the angle justified those types of bumps. Page got the victory, but it's doubtful that, just as mentioned earlier, one match or angle, in this case for Hangman specifically, is going to be the major upswing in his AEW career.

Next up was Mercedes Mone defending the TBS title against Momo Watanabe. In a similar fashion to the first match, the was a solid in-ring performance, but this was an example of something that went too long and was hindered in its quality in the process. It's important to point that Watanabe is a good performer, but very little was done to truly introduce her to the audience, and if this is a one-off match for the PPV, wouldn't the TV time have been better used to establish someone under a full-time contract?

Also similar to the opening match, this bout had bumps on the floor and on the apron, which only hampers the effectiveness of some of the more dangerous bumps later in the night. The audience can only watch so many car crash spots before it becomes routine. Mercedes retained the title, and the match was decent, but this was presented in a slapstick manner rather than anything the audience should've been invested in as far as the result. If there were plans for Watanabe and she got the "shocking" win, maybe there could've been some substance to the contest, but in terms of importance, it didn't have the ingredients to truly have anything at stake, especially when it was fairly obvious that Mercedes wasn't dropping the belt.

Ricochet vs. Swerve Strickland was the third match in a row to get assigned twenty minutes, and ironically, or unironically depending on your perspective, it's yet another bout that the same thing can be said that was mentioned for the first two matches on the card. It was a solid segment, but it had a reverse hurricanrana on the apron and then a vertabreaker on the announce table in the third match of a nine match card. At this point, what bumps hasn't the audience already seen? There was also a death valley driver on the floor that looked nasty. There was only another three hours of the show, which again, means every dangerous bump after this was less important than it would've been otherwise. Swerve got the win to become the number one contender for the AEW world championship. If he has the momentum to be a credible challenger, especially after he was somewhat lost in the shuffle after the Adam Page feud, remains to be seen.

The next portion of the card was the matches that were given about 10 minutes, and while the copy/paste approach shouldn't be used like this on a pay-per-view, the next set of bouts were much more digestible, simply because with only 10 minutes, nothing dragged and there wasn't enough time for any of them to jump the shark in terms of bumps or high spots. I want to make this clear, the first three bouts weren't lackluster, and in a vacuum, they were very solid, but in the context of a full pay-per-view, particularly after the Swerve/Ricochet contest, where they kicked out of finishers and took bumps on the floor, apron, and announce tables, it was too much of a car crash to the point that it diluted the rest of the card.

Kazuchika Okada beat Brody King to retain the Continental title, and even though the result was obvious since there wasn't much steam behind this storyline, this was still very well done, mostly because Brody King was given the chance to look like a strong contender against the more established champion. That said, I'm not sure what's next for either of them, but I will still say that Okada should be in something more important than a spot in the middle of the card. There's not much to say about the tag title match, other than it was a dominate win for the champions. The Out Runners are an entertaining comedy duo, but there was no reason, or any point during the segment, that it looked like they had any chance to win the titles.

The AEW Women's title match was the definition of overkill, and a prime example of how the company takes one step forward and then two steps back. As I've written previously, the Toni Storm/Mariah May feud was well done, specifically because it established May as a legitimate heel within the All Elite landscape. She went from a secondary lackey to a star for the company, which should be the goal in terms of making new money-drawing stars for the future. There's no doubt that a grudge match is justified for the payoff. That being said, this bout went too far in almost every aspect. First, Toni put Mariah through a table off the stage in the first two minutes of the match. In theory, that should be the conclusion of the segment, not the kickoff to the contest. Furthermore, while it's great to see women's wrestling get the spotlight in deserves, and females can definitely and have been the main event of major pay-per-views, there's just something unsettling about seeing Storm and May bleeding everywhere. I don't mean that in any type of misogynistic way at all, but rather to point out that there will be a portion of the audience that doesn't want to see females bleeding on the show. Let's be honest here, Toni Storm and Mariah May are much prettier than Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher so it's much easier to watch Abby and Brody bleed than the ladies.

Toni Storm bled buckets, and don't get me wrong, both women put in a tremendous effort, but regardless of if this was the female division or not, the argument could be made that the amount of blood was too gory for a national promotion. Keep in mind, this isn't an independent show in a parking lot in front of 200 fans, it's the second largest pro wrestling group in the United States. It's very possible that something this gory could sour some of the audience on the product. Toni Storm retained the belt, but instead of a satisfying payoff to a storyline that had legitimate progress for the company, it will probably be known as a polarizing segment.

The final third of the card was those thirty-minute matches that were mentioned earlier, and this is where the lack of restraint so to speak previously led to diminishing returns as the latter portion of the card unfolded. Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita was an incredible display of fast-paced, hard-hitting action. This was top-notch quality, and it would've meant a lot more and stood out a lot more if Ricochet/Swerve wasn't a lesser version of it about an hour prior to it. Just like the bout that Swerve won, Omega/Takeshita had the high spots, the bumps on the floor, and the bumps on the table. The thirty-minute edition was better, but you can only show the audience so much of he same stuff until it becomes just a homogenized presentation that blends together rather than stands out. Following a good series of counters, Omega got the pin to win the International championship, but unfortunately, this probably got lost in the shuffle rather than being known as something memorable.

Very similar to the Women's title match, the Will Ospreay/Kyle Fletcher cage match was a longer version of a blood bath segment. The effort was there, but there's no reason a match like the women's title should be booked on the same card as the cage match if there's going to be both competitors bleeding in both matches. It's simply just a matter of diminishing returns. It was also similar in that there's a case to be made that the cage match was too gory and could sour some of the audience. More specifically, tasting an opponent's blood is just disgusting and there's no point or entertainment value from it. The Spanish fly off of the top of the cage was insane, but of course, it wasn't the finish, they had to be another series of moves before Ospreay got the win to devalue the legitimate risk of the bump from the top of the cage.

By the time the main event was in the ring, there were so many car crashes and repetitive bumps that the pay-per-view became an exhausting viewing experience. Jon Moxley and Adam Copeland were in a no-win situation because the audience had already seen everything and short of setting someone on fire, there probably wasn't a realistic chance that they were going to get a crowd reaction during this match. So, the audience was quiet throughout the majority of the segment. Ultimately, the match was rather meticulous and didn't develop any type of anticipation or drama toward the conclusion.

Prior to the finish, Christian Cage cashed in his title shot, and with the way this was done, I got the impression that Tony Khan didn't have any plan for what to do with Cage, and instead needed a way write the title shot off of the show. If Christian being the one that was choked out to allow Moxley to get the victory was done as a way to continue the Copeland feud, I'm dreading the rematch. Edge was a tremendous star, but I just don't see the upside of building the main event scene around a 51-year-old former WWE guy with a history of neck injuries when the company has Ospreay, Takeshita, and Okada on the roster.

What's the status of John Cena?

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

For as much as it's said, and rightfully so, that the professional wrestling business evolves, the fundamentals and the foundation of the genre remain. Regardless of how it's packaged and presented, the basic premise and concepts are still there, because that's what allows sports entertainment to continue throughout the decades. Sure, there are peaks and valleys within any business venture, new Coke flopped, but Coca Cola Classic is still the top soft drink in the world for a reason. The same applies to why professional wrestling has never just disappeared, despite when it fades from tends or pop culture. You often hear the term "wrestling psychology" as far as how the booking of an angle or match is designed to draw an audience, which is the entire point of the business.

The reason wrestling psychology continues to work is because it's simply based on human psychology, which is why the fans can identify and connect with the characters. They are baby faces and heels in real life the same way there are heroes and villains in the ring. Ukraine might be the underdog with the odds stacked against them, but they refuse to tap out to Putin. The Patriots had spy game and deflate gate to tilt the odds in their favor the same way that a heel goes for the foreign object or pulls the trunks to get the advantage for the victory.

Of course, as the presentation of the sport evolves, so do some of the narratives.

Last weekend, when everyone thought that John Cena, the real-life super hero, that never strayed away from his responsibilities as a true champion and inspired hope for others, was going to retire as baby face that never compromised his values, he "sold out" to the final boss, The Rock. 

Naturally, this has drawn comparisons to when Hulk Hogan turned heel, joining The Outsiders to form the New World Order nearly thirty years ago. Some have speculated that perhaps Cena turning his back on the fans was more shocking than even when the Hulkster became a heel?

Ironically, about two decades after starting the NWO, the world found out just how much of an actual villain Hulk Hogan is.

It goes without saying that it depends on your perspective, the videos of the youngsters nearly in tears on social media because Cena stabbed Cody in the back didn't see the Hogan switch in real time so that will skew the view point. In some ways, trying to make a comparison is apples to oranges because it's a completely different era with how exposed the business is today, and the access to the stars through social media. However, as discussed earlier, the building blocks remain the same so there's still some level of comparison to be made.

First, the circumstances of each heel turn should be taken into consideration, as it could impact how each was viewed by the audience at the time. It's important to remember that by mid-1996, Hulkamania was still running wild in WCW, but had done so for more than a decade. The audience soured on Hogan because his message of say you prayers and take your vitamins was tacky by the mid-90s, particularly since society had started to embrace an edgier culture in the latter portion of the decade. The Hulkster was stale and the fans grew tired of his cliche routine of running through an endless goon squad in the Turner organization.

Make no mistake about it, Hulk Hogan turned heel in an effort to rejuvenate his career, as the crowd had already started booing him out of the building the year prior.

On the flip side, the John Cena heel turn was done to jolt the fan base and flip the script to add an unpredictable dynamic to his final run before he hangs up his boots. Given the nature of his tenure of never compromising his responsibilities as a role model, even those that jeered him at his peak, can appreciate his work ethic in retrospect, which is why the audience would've been completely content for him to retire without heel turn requested for so many years. To use a cringe worthy, but modern term to sum it up, the fans can recognize everything he did for the industry and how he went above and beyond the call of duty as a role model so the final year was a chance for the wrestling world to "give him his flowers" so to speak.

Sure, some will cite that Cena was booed relentlessly by the older fans during his heyday, and they are correct, but there's a stark difference between the Cena hostility of his era compared to the rejection of Hulk Hogan prior to the NWO. John Cena was a polarizing character, but not rejected by the audience. The bottom line is, regardless of if the fans paid to see Cena win or paid to see him lose, they paid to see him, which is the entire point of the business. There's a reason that The Rock/John Cena bouts at Wrestlemania set the traditional WWE pay-per-view record before the switch to the streaming business model.

As far as if the Cena turn was more or less shocking than when Hulk made the switch, I think the fact that Hogan turned for a new chapter in his career, whereas Cena became a heel to cover some new ground before he retires, and could potentially maximizes the business the final run does is a factor in the discussion. By definition, we won't know how the Cena heel run will evolve over time or the amount of mileage that the company could truly garner from it since this stint is only designed to get him to his last match, not a new portion of his career. So, we don't know if he could make a comeback as a baby face to be as popular as he was before. Was this heel turn so unforgivable that the fans wouldn't fully embrace Cena again?

On the other end of the spectrum, we know that Hulk's turn in the short term was a major boost in business for WCW, and in some respects, revolutionized the presentation of the industry, as it completely changed the conventional approach to the business. At the same time, we know that the "don't work for me, brother" was one of the major reasons that WCW collapsed because Hulk simply wasn't going to allow a baby face to truly conquer the top spot in the organization, which is another reason that despite a fresh presentation, the fundamentals mentioned earlier still apply.

However, after the stain of the failure of WCW faded away, the fans still wanted a chance to see the red and yellow one more time, which is why Hulk had a successful run as undisputed champion in 2002. The fact that he refused to put Shawn Micheals over in 2005 or Randy Orton the following year when he was promoting his reality show speaks volumes to his lack of perspective, as well as his ridiculous ego.

The fans wanted to see Hulk Hogan as a baby face again until they heard Terry Bollea turn heel in real life with several disgusting racial slurs several years ago, which has tainted his legacy even today.

That being said, in terms of scripted heel turns, as much as fans are rightfully caught up in the shock of the moment of John Cena as a villain, I still have to say Hulk Hogan as a heel was the more shocking moment when put into a comparable context. That's not to say that Hulk's performance was exponentially better when he dropped the leg on Macho Man to join the Outsiders, or that Cena's switch to a villain was lesser when he hit Cody with a low blow at the conclusion of the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Instead, it's simply a matter of the precedent that was set prior to the pay-per-view last week. When Hulk made the switch in 1996, nobody thought it was even remotely possible that Hulk would be another other than the all-American baby face since that was the foundation of the WWF's national expansion more than a decade earlier.

With the John Cena heel turn, by nature it can't be quite as shocking because the premise of a top baby face becoming a "bad guy" isn't nearly as unheard of as it was in a previous generation. The fans have seen Hogan and even Stone Cold Steve Austin turn heel so while shocking, a heel Cena before wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility.

It's a different aspect of the scenario, but it should be noted that I think the payoff of the heel turn of John Cena will be exponentially more beneficial in the grand scheme of things that what the Hogan turn brought to the table. Ironically, as much as The Hulkster as a "bad guy" boosted WCW business for a few years, the unwillingness of Hogan to allow another performer to truly take the top spot in the company is ultimately one of the many reasons that the company folded. As I wrote in the article last week about the finish to the pay-per-view, as much as Cody was putting in the work to be able to be successful in the "John Cena" spot, in terms of being a representative for the company, nobody was truly going to be able to ascend to that position in Cena was still in the spot so this heel turn can quite literally allow Cody to take the place as the top guy in the company.

Elimination Chamber review

The next major piece of the puzzle was put in place ahead of Wrestlemania and one of the most memorable moments in the history of the business took place in the process. Usually, when something that becomes etched in the minds of fans happens, it will naturally take a while for the segment to gain its true perspective in hindsight, but given the evolution of the industry and thus the previous examples that can be cited for their eventually ripple effect, there are rare occasions when you know you're watching something historic in real time.

The conclusion of the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view was one of those moments and it undoubtedly starts a level of anticipation for the biggest event of the year.

The show, which drew nearly 40,000 fans in Toronto, opened with the women's chamber match, and while these type of gimmick contests tend to be a little disjointed by nature, this segment was well done with solid action throughout it. Jade Cargill made her surprise return, attacking Naomi and taking her out of the match before it could get started, implying that Naomi was the one behind the backstage assault that wrote Jade out of the show for a few months. Considering that Bianca Belair went on to win the match, which would slot her against Rhea Ripley for Wrestlemania, I'd guess that they will be some type of revelation that Bianca was actually the one behind the attack on Cargill. I could be wrong, but I just can't see management slating a baby face vs. baby face match for a championship at this year's Wrestlemania. Assuming there is a Belair heel turn in the works, if she beats Ripley for the belt, there's a built in storyline for Jade to chase the title as a way to get revenge for the attack that put her on the sidelines.

The Trish Stratus and Tiffany Stratton vs. Nia Jax and Candice LeRae match was fine for what it was, but there's not much to say about it. It was a basic 10-minute tag match that gave the hometown baby face a victory so it was mission accomplished.

Prior to the pay-per-view, I wondered why the office wanted to pick up another chapter of Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens, not because of a lack of quality, their matches have always been solid, but rather that it was a retread of something that the audience has already seen several times before. However, it became clear during the course of the segment that this match wasn't being used as a way to spring board a new chapter, but rather as a payoff of sorts to their history as rivals to set up for the bigger stage of Wrestlemania with something fresh. Bringing the lights down was a unique presentation to emphasize the unsanctioned gimmick, and between the table bumps and the barbed wire spots, these two delivered a contest that justified a payoff bout. These two are simply high quality performers that make the most of the opportunity that they've given, and this segment was an example of it. The action, the selling, and the psychology were great stuff that allowed for a very entertaining contest.

 After Owens got the victory, Randy Orton, who KO put on the shelf with the pile driver several months ago, returned to make the save for Zayn. By all indications, this will be the plan for Owens' match at Wrestlemania, which makes sense since the office always has a prime spot for Orton on the card.

The men's Elimination Chamber was set to be the main event, with the implication that The Rock/Cody Rhodes confrontation would be afterwards since it hadn't taken place yet. This match, regardless of the gimmick, was exactly why the WWE is so good at their specific playbook, as this segment had all the ingredients of a stellar match without any of the high spots or risky bumps that often cater to the diehard demographic. It built very well and the structure of  the match used the star power involved very effectively. The peaks and valleys of the action allowed for the drama to really crescendo prior to the finish of the match. Keep in mind, the performers didn't have to use high spots to get a reaction, they used their star power, the booking of the match, and ring psychology to maximize the effectiveness of the conclusion of the match.

Truth be told, if you polled the audience, in the building or those watching on Peacock, they probably would've said that either Cena or Punk would be the odds on favorite to get the spot at Wrestlemania, Cena because of the retirement tour, and Punk because of his stated goal of working the main event of the show so the ending sequence used that to add an extra layer of drama.

As we know, after Cena won the match to secure the spot to challenge Cody for the WWE championship, Rhodes made his way down to the ring to congratulate him on the win. Of course, The Rock was next to enter the arena, and the promised confrontation between him and Cody took place.

I don't think anyone prior to the pay-per-view would've ever guessed that John Cena was going to turn heel at any point before he retired, for all the reasons that he didn't turn heel at the peak of his career. The only thing that tipped me off to it in a small way was that I noticed that Cena was still in the ring after Cody refused The Rock's offer, which was only a red flag because there are patterns within the history of wrestling for these types of segments. The brief suspicion that something was up wasn't enough of a warning, though as the heel turn, particularly with the blank face that Cena made during the hug with Cody, was still a very shocking moment.

This segment underscores why the WWE is so solid when it comes to sports entertainment because the camera work was absolutely perfect. They got the shot of Cena with the villainous look, which lets the audience know that he and The Rock had it planned the entire time and then the camera got the "cut" sign from The Rock before the camera switched back to Cena's response before the low blow.

It's often said that professional wrestling is about the moments, and there's no doubt that the John Cena heel turn will be one of the most memorable moments in the history of the industry.

Some might wonder why the office waited until his final run to turn Cena heel, but all things considered, this is really the only time that it would've truly made sense, both from a storyline and business prospective. When he was the ultimate baby face, one of the admirable traits of that character is that despite the hostility and the hurdles, the true baby face never gives up or compromises their values. With this being his last run, the office doesn't have to take into account how a heel turn will effect his persona in the future or his very lucrative merchandise sales. The argument could be made that if Cena would've turned heel in the middle of his career that he wouldn't have quite been able to recapture the same level of popularity he had as a baby face after he would become a "good guy" again so management waited until his retirement run to present him as a villain.

Furthermore, and this is potentially the biggest piece of the entire puzzle, if Cody Rhodes, or anyone else for that matter, is truly going to ascend to the "John Cena spot" as far as being the top baby face that works as the total representative of the company, the bottom line is, Cena can't be in that spot. This wasn't just Cena turning heel, this was John Cena vacating that position as the top baby face of the era to allow Cody to make the transition  into that position. There can't be comparisons to John Cena if Cena is on the opposing side. The way that it was done and the drama of the moment maximized the entire scenario. In the grand scheme of things, this sets up to eventually solidify Cody even more in that previous "John Cena spot" in the future, especially if Cena wins the belt at Wrestlemania.

It's well known that John Cena is going to retire at the end of the year so Rhodes could spend the second half of 2025 trying to recapture the title "for the fans" before Cena leaves with the championship. The bottom line is, the conclusion of this storyline could be a way for John Cena to truly pass the torch to Cody Rhodes as the top star in the company.

What's next for the Hardys?

Last week, The Hardy Boys, one of the most popular tag teams in the history of the industry, made their return to WWE television with their surprise appearance on the NXT program. The concept itself isn't exactly too surprising since the partnership with Total Nonstop Action that was announced last year had mentioned a crossover with talent on the NXT brand, but the appearance has prompted questions about if a full-fledged Hardys return could be in the cards for the iconic duo?

As we know, the Hardys, both individually and collectively, had rough patches during their careers, both inside and outside of the ring. Thankfully, Matt cleaned his life up several years ago, and while Jeff had some slips over the years, it appears that he's in a good place now. It should be noted, and this is one of the many complex issues that go along with stars that struggle with substances, Jeff is unanimously praised as a great guy, and you don't hear anyone say anything negative about him as a person, which is extremely rare for the pro wrestling business. Unfortunately, the only person that Jeff hurt over the years was himself, and despite some very unwise driving choices, you never get the impression that he wanted to put anyone at risk, but rather had a disregard for himself.

It's definitely frustrating to see someone with so much talent, who undoubtedly achieved a lot, still fall short of their true potential. Again, it's great to see Jeff in a better place today and hopefully, he can stay on the right path toward the latter stages of his in-ring career.

The last time we saw the Hardys return to the WWE fold, and there was a lot of water under the bridge before that, too much water to paddle through in this article without it becoming too lengthy for readers, was in 2017 when they made a shocking return at Wrestlemania. It was truly one of the most memorable moments of the modern era and the reaction that they received from the stadium crowd was incredible. The reason that the return was so surprising was that in the social media age, when everyone thinks they know everything, the comeback was kept secret, and not just by those in the office, but rather the circumstances at the time allowed for an organic reveal. At a time when Ring Of Honor was drawing some of the best crowds in its history with basically what became the foundation for the eventual launch of All Elite Wrestling, the Hardys worked a ladder match against The Young Bucks at an ROH event the night before Wrestlemania. The  usual approach would be that an arriving talent wouldn't work such a match even remotely close to their return to the WWE because a fluke injury on a much smaller stage could ruin the chance for a moment on global television.

When the Hardys worked a ladder match and didn't mail it in the night before, nobody thought it was possible that they'd risk the injury and thus the possibility of a fresh run in the WWE so when their music hit, it was a major moment, which ultimately elevated their level of star power.

That being said, the Hardys have somehow had a 30-year career, despite the immense amount of risks they took for the bulk of their careers, including the revolutionary series of ladder matches in the early-2000s, and the majority of those three decades were spent under the WWE banner. There were debuts, firings, re-hirings, releases, comebacks, and returns along the way for the team in terms of their involvement with WWE.

Their 2017 tenure probably didn't sustain itself as much as they would've probably initially hoped for, but again, considering everything that they had already accomplished, a nostalgia run was going to have limited options. Sure, Matt was eventually repackaged as the "Woken" gimmick, a spinoff of the broken gimmick that became a cult favorite years earlier in TNA, and was also paired with Bray Wyatt for a period of time as a tag team, but the harsh reality is that the WWE is constantly in the mode of building for the future, and quite simply, a tag team from the late-90s wasn't going to have as much priority from management in the modern era, especially when the tag team division is still secondary in the company.

After Jeff suffered a shoulder injury that put him on the shelf for about six months, it wasn't surprising that Matt wanted to test the waters of All Elite Wrestling when he signed with the organization in early-2020, particularly because of the enthusiasm that there was around an alternative product at the time. Despite a few scary moments, including when Matt suffered a concussion from a fall to the concentrate and then when he got hard way cut by a flying chair from Sammy Guevara, Matt was able to build some momentum again in the new promotion.

Similar to Matt in the latter portion of his WWE tenure, Jeff Hardy fizzled out toward the end of his run, which resulted in his release in late-2021. This wasn't so much a knock against Jeff's talent or popularity, but again, the WWE priority is often designed to build toward the future, and there just wasn't much for the aging star to do among the WWE landscape. So, he joined Matt in All Elite Wrestling in early-2022 for another reunion as a tag team. Unfortunately, the reason for why this stint didn't get off the ground was two-fold, as far as the specifics of All Elite Wrestling. As trivial as it might sound, it just wasn't long enough since the previous Hardy Boys reunion for there to be a level of anticipation for the fans to want to see them as a team again. Instead, it was a stale retread of something that was used several times prior in several other companies. The second and much bigger issue is that The Hardys couldn't avoid the pitfall that the vast majority of the talent that get signed to the company endure after they ink a contract, they get spotlighted for a few weeks until Tony gets distracted with the next acquisition to the organization.

Despite their popularity, and theoretically a chance to use their star power to sell tickets for television tapings, The Hardy Boys were completely lost in the shuffle and were forced to settle into a secondary role for the duration of their run in AEW. Obviously, it didn't help matters when just a few months into his All Elite stint, Jeff was arrested for DUI again in June 2022, which led to his suspension from the company. At that point, you can't really blame Tony for not investing TV time or promotional dollars into The Hardys because Jeff was still a liability and if you can't count on a star to be in condition to perform then it's too much of a risk for a national promotion to invest stock in their position on the card.

As mentioned, Jeff seems to be on the right path since that time, and the Hardys as a team have done well since they resurfaced in TNA in mid-2024. Granted, they are big fish in a relatively smaller pond, but there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it makes the most of their star power and allows the organization to get a boost in the process so it's a win-win situation. For example, with a TNA event, the Hardys are more or less the biggest stars on the show, which has been very valuable for the company with their expanded touring schedule. The Hardys help sell tickets in those mid-size venues, and it's often reported that the post-show meet and greet lines for the team are impressive as an example of how popular they still are today. 

On the flip side, with John Cena, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and Seth Rollins on the roster, The Hardys would be just another name on the card at a WWE show, which is probably why they were brought back to NXT, as it was a smaller platform that gave them the opportunity to maximize their star power.

Ultimately, that's why that outside of the well-deserved WWE Hall Of Fame induction, there's not really anything left for the Hardys to do in the WWE, and they have a much bigger impact in TNA. Plus, at 50 and 47 respectively, Matt and Jeff have to be end the conclusion of their in-ring careers so it's doubtful that it would be wise for them to attempt to work the even reduced WWE schedule that their is today when there's considerably less travel involved with TNA because of the promotion's TV taping schedule. However, it should be noted that the eventual HOF induction will bring with it a new line of WWE merchandise and another renewed spotlight on the Hardy's legacy.

What's the status of Vince McMahon?

Sometimes, the world, especially in the modern society seems like the alternative timeline from 1985 in Back to the Future. Eccentric rocket man, Elon Musk is running wild like a Hogan comeback in his prime, slashing government programs and attempting a buyout of the CIA. Trump, in true heel fashion, paints the Russians, who invaded Ukraine three years ago, as the baby face, during the peace talks to hopefully end the conflict.

Is Vince Russo booking this?

In the midst of all the other nonsense, Linda McMahon, the head of the Small Business Administration during Trump's first term, was confirmed as the head of the Department of Education. Math scores are going to go through the roof now. Along with that and not surprisingly, the Department of Justice dropped the investigation into Vince McMahon, who was accused of possible human trafficking and misrepresentations of company funds related to nondisclosure agreements that were used to buy the silence of several women that he had affairs with over the years. At the time, he used company money to pay those settlements without informing the company or the shareholders of the publicly-traded corporation, which was being invested by the Securities and Exchange Commission as a potential violation. After McMahon donated millions to Trump's campaign effort for his first stint in office, and Linda worked extensively as a part of a Republican Super Pac in recent years to try to ensure his re-election, both were rewarded for their efforts.

The criminal case against Vince was dropped, and Linda got another spot in Trump's cabinet.

Still, the civil lawsuit, the filing that prompted the original bombshell reports from the Wall Street Journal a few years ago, is still going through the legal process, as the federal government asked that the lawsuit pause while their department worked through the criminal investigation. With the criminal probe dropped, the legal grappling of if the case will be handled in arbitration or go to a jury trial is the current standing of the proceedings.

Outside of the fact that Vince will skate away from any criminal charges because of his friendship with Trump, the status of Vince McMahon remains the same, he was exiled from his pro wrestling empire in disgrace after the revelations of numerous affairs and several million dollars were paid to cover them up. Furthermore, John Laurinaitis, a former WWE executive during McMahon's tenure as the boss, was also involved in the lawsuit, as well as Brock Lesnar, who was officially named in a recent amended filing after the Department of Justice dropped the investigation.

The bottom line is, Vince McMahon is persona non grata within the WWE, and the TKO corporation, the merger that resulted when the company was joined with the UFC under the Endeavor banner, has taken very direct steps to completely distance itself from the former kingpin of sports entertainment. It's not a coincidence that Triple H is spotlighted as prominently as he is as the figurehead of the WWE, and all things considered, he should be.

Usually, such a notion would be dismissed as  wild internet clickbait, but with everything that has happened within the McMahon orbit within just a few months, is it possible that Vince could be angling to start a new sports entertainment company?

The rumor picked up steam when podcast czar, Conrad Thompson mentioned on Eric Bischoff's podcast, 83 Weeks that he heard a few rumblings that the former WWE owner could be in the process of trying to pitch a project to Fox, the network that hosted the Super Bowl this year that McMahon was in attendance for, with photos of him alongside The Undertaker and Shane McMahon surfacing online after the game.

There were reports online that in the time since he was dismissed from WWE that he was making plans to launch a production company, with some of the former WWE staff, including his longtime executive producer, Kevin Dunn, on the list of those that he recruited for new projects. Initially, it was reported that this was a non-wrestling venture, which would seem like a way for him to attempt to salvage some type of reputation in show business before the end of his career in the public eye.

All things considered, I just can't believe that Vince McMahon would attempt to start another pro wrestling promotion, particularly because a start up, by definition, would be in a secondary position to the TKO corporation. Vince simply doesn't settle for second place, and his knows the financial and media muscle behind the merger between his former company and the UFC, as he still made billions of dollars from the transaction.

Sure, Vince has billions of dollars in capital to invest if he wanted to start a new project, but would he really be able to secure any talent if he had a hypothetical television deal? It's well known that the top-tier stars from WWE are mostly under long-term contracts because of the existence of All Elite Wrestling so who exactly would be on the Vince McMahon roster? Furthermore, the success under the Triple H regime, specifically with him being spotlighted as the new head of the company, proves that the WWE fan base, which is the most casual demographic of wrestling fans, have accepted and in some ways, endorsed Triple H in the role. The vast majority of the WWE fan base is loyal to the brand itself, not Vince McMahon.

It should be noted that Vince will be 80 this year, and while it's entirely possible that he sold his soul for immortality, just in case he didn't, you have to wonder, does he realistically have enough time left as a full-time promoter to truly attempt to launch a new project? Is the guy going to be 92 in the office until 2 AM formatting his next version of Wrestlemania? Vince has said himself in many interviews in the past that he intends to "die in the chair" in terms of working in some form or fashion as long as he's alive so maybe that's what this new project is? He has billions of dollars so cash is just numbers on a page to him, perhaps, this possible new promotion is just a way to keep him occupied for the rest of his life?

Based on the vile evidence that was revealed in the previously mentioned lawsuit, it's fair to say that Vince McMahon isn't a normal guy, he's not someone that is going to be content with sitting on an island drinking ice tea in his golden years. Ironically, his eccentric nature as a ruthless businessman that took him to the top of the sports entertainment industry is probably also what led to his meteoric downfall.

So, on the surface, no, I don't think Vince McMahon will secure a deal on the Fox network for another pro wrestling project, and even if he attempted it, it's doubtful that he would truly be able to secure the top talented needed to get such an organization off the ground. There's too many big names signed for big money under long-term contracts for there to be anything even close to a perspective talent pool for something on that potential scale. Furthermore, given the evidence already revealed in the lawsuit, it's doubtful that fans would be willing to support or invest their cash through ticket sales or merchandise with another Vince McMahon project. That being said, given the events of the past few years, and particularly the past few months, it's not completely impossible for Vince McMahon to try to start a new wrestling company either.