What's next for the Wyatt stable?

The Wyatt Sicks are back, for now.

Last week on Smackdown, the faction that was dormant for nearly six month reemerged at the end of the show to attack the rest of the tag team division, implying that they would be a part of the brand going forward.

The problem is, this was essentially where they started on Raw less than a year ago with an impactful debut before the steam of the stable fizzled out quickly because of a lack of direction or teams to work with on the show.

As the edition of Smackdown went off the air, Nikki Cross, a talented performer that has done the best with whatever she was given during his WWE tenure, brought a birthday cake to the center of the ring where the group gathered. Uncle Howdy, portrayed by Bray Wyatt's real-life brother, paid tribute to his late sibling when he blew out the candles in honor of Windham Rotunda's birthday.

Don't get me wrong, as I've written in the past, it's a wonderful tribute to Bray Wyatt, and the lack of progress with the faction isn't meant as a knock on the notion to always keep Bray's work remembered in some form or fashion, but at the same time, a tribute gimmick by nature is limited in what can be done with it.

Proof of that is that the Wyatt Sicks debuted on Raw last year and then spent half of that time completely off the radar because management hasn't truly figured out how to book or market the stable. This isn't to say it's not possible, but how does a gimmick specifically designed to honor a performer that passed away become incorporated into the landscape of WWE programming to be used to create compelling television?

There's a fine line between the continuation of a concept and a tribute act.

I'm not sure WWE brass has found a way to truly make the Wyatt Sicks a concept inspired by Bray, but still something that can stand on its own. Obviously, the fact that the gimmick is being used to honor someone that has passed will make them a baby face stable, but their presentation has been rather ambiguous, including their debut last year when the scene backstage was any staff member in sight was down while sparks flew from different parts of the building. Was randomly attacking the rest of the tag division a baby face move?

The biggest issue, at least for the first six months that the Wyatts were on television, was that they were only paired to work with other factions so there simply weren't many options. Along with that, and this becomes key toward the development of the group as a whole, none of the individual characters were spotlighted to establish them as anything beyond just members of the stable. Dexter Lumis has done well in the past with what he was given to do, his performances were solid even if some of the booking was cringe worthy. But, what has been done to establish him on an individual level with his role in the Wyatt Sicks? The same could be said for Joe Gacy, that's not to say that he should be in the main event of Wrestlemania, but what does the WWE audience truly know about him? His NXT run was in front of a much smaller audience so what has he done on the main roster to explain his association with the group? We've discussed Nikki Cross, she's always worked with whatever she was given to do, but what exactly led her to the Wyatt Sicks beyond that management needed enough wrestlers to represent the characters from the Firefly Fun House?

I wrote an article last year about Bo Dallas' role in the company after the faction initially disappeared from television and mentioned that maybe he was being miscast? Bo Dallas is definitely a solid performer, but he's not Bray Wyatt. That's not meant as a jab against either of them, but rather to point out that what worked for Bray won't automatically work for his brother just because the gimmick itself is a sincerely wonderful tribute. More specifically, while there's no doubt that Bray was an incredible performer, it's important to keep in mind that the majority of  character work later in his WWE tenure didn't get over. If that was just the way he was booked, and there's an argument to be made that it was, or if the concepts were too out-of-the-box for professional wrestling is almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. The point being WWE brass doesn't have a good track record of promoting or presenting the Wyatt gimmick in a successful manner. Remember, they used Bray as a glorified enhancement talent to get other competitors over to the point that he had to be repackaged as The Fiend. After Bray got the Fiend gimmick over, he was booked to be set on fire and looked like a burnt marshmallow more than a menacing monster.

The bottom line is, the WWE released Bray Wyatt in 2021 and he spent a year outside of the company to ultimately build anticipation for a very memorable return the following year at Extreme Rules so there was a point in time that management didn't mind if he explored the free agent market. With the previously mentioned track record that the writing team has with the Wyatt gimmick, should there really be optimism to have five careers involved with it?

There were rumors that Alexa Bliss could be involved with the group, but her momentum declined when she had a hiatus from WWE programming not long after her surprise return at the Royal Rumble earlier this year. All things considered, it seems like there are just too many red flags working against the odds of this stable to be successful on any long-term basis unless the office wants to keep them as an occasional wild card when needed, but again, there are five wrestlers that have already spent six months on the sidelines for the next move from the office.

Sure, there's a chance that the WWE has a plan in place for the Wyatt Sicks going forward, but the fact that they didn't have anything for the group to do for almost six months suggests that the return on Smackdown last week was more of a spur of  the moment decision with a plan to get them back on WWE programming, but not what to do with them going forward. I'm still not sure that Bo Dallas is truly the guy that can successfully portray Uncle Howdy, and I'm not saying anyone else should either, but to point out again that a gimmick that worked for his brother doesn't automatically work for him. The harsh reality is that with as unique as Bray Wyatt was as a performer and as unique of person as the real-life Windham Rotunda was, it's possible that he was the only one that could truly portray the leader of the Wyatt group. While not nearly as successful because his life was tragically cut short so suddenly two years ago, given the nature of the character, Bray Wyatt had some comparisons to The Undertaker. It's almost unfair to make the comparison because there will only ever be one Undertaker and it's more or less unanimously agreed upon that nobody else could've done the character the way that Mark Calaway did to make it work to such a legendary degree, but maybe in a similar fashion Windham Rotunda is the only performer that could've portrayed a successful Wyatt character.

Double or Nothing review

All Elite Wrestling hit its six year milestone when it presented Double or Nothing on pay-per-view in its traditional slot of Memorial Day weekend. In many ways, the four and a half hour card was basically what you'd expect from the promotion on PPV, which is a positive or a negative, depending on your perspective. I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but the time matches were given, the overbooking, the lack of logic, and some great wrestling are all still a part of the process for a Tony Khan presentation. If that should continuously be the case, especially after six year is debatable.

One thing I know for sure is that based on the course that the company is on now, specifically with the Death Riders angle that nobody considers "must see" television, and the ratings that have declined 40% from where they were three years ago, there wasn't anything about this event that looked to be a major change in the overall direction of the organization.

So, while Double or Nothing was the benchmark of six years of existence, it wasn't any type of landmark event that will garner any historical significance in retrospect.

The opening match saw Mercedes Mone beat Jamie Hayter to win the Women's Owen Hart tournament Cup, setting up for Mone vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship in July. This will be a common theme for this event so my apologies in advance if this column gets unintentionally repetitive going forward, but as a whole, Double or Nothing appeared to be merely a bridge to get to All In at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington, Texas in July more than anything that truly had to be seen on its own. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand and agree that the promotion should build to its biggest event of the summer as much as possible in an effort to maximize ticket sales and PPV orders, but that was done at the expense of this event being able to stand on its own merit. Throughout the night, you got the impression that "the big PPV" is in July so why exactly does the audience have to pay $50 for this event?

As far as the match itself, I'm not sure what happened, but to say that they weren't on the same page would be an understatement. These two weren't reading the same book or discussing the same topic. From the opening moments of the bout, this match was sloppy, clunky, and had absolutely no pace to build to the conclusion. There were several botches, including a leg lock spot where the two tried to figure out what the other was going to do next and looked like fish out of water in the process. The crowd was mostly quiet as they tried to get back on track with very sloppy technical exchanges on the mat. Hayter also slipped on the outside when she attempted a flimsy clothesline, and the combination of all of the mistimed sequences led to a very flat presentation. You know when the broadcast team tries to cover such mishaps that the match went off the rails. Part of the many issues with this match is that very similar to other Tony Khan pay-per-view formats, because this was one of the main matches on the card, it was given twenty minutes. This should've went maybe half of that given all the mistakes in the ring, and I don't think it would've been too drastic to call an audible to end it early. At one point, Hayter landed an excellent lariat during a very solid sequence, and if that would've been the finish then this match might've been able to escape criticism with a solid conclusion. However, it's obvious that Mercedes doesn't want to lose since she hasn't done the job in AEW yet so  she won with a clunky roll up to win the tournament.

I'm not sure who is more to blame for how much this went off the rails, but the former Sasha Banks was supposed to be a major acquisition for the promotion last year and has fallen woefully short of those expectations. Outside of her match with Momo Watanabe at Revolution a few months ago, how many good matches has Mone had? How many stellar promos has she done on television? It's disappointing, but Mone is coasting by for a hefty paycheck based on her WWE tenure and an overinflated ego.

Speaking of twenty minute matches, somehow FTR vs. Daniel Garcia and Nigel McGuinness went a few minutes passed that mark. The match itself was fine, these guys, even Nigel, who hasn't wrestled full-time in almost 15 years, are solid in-ring workers. But, what was the point? As I wrote in an article about the build up to this event, what exactly are they trying to accomplish with this? Nigel isn't going to get back in the ring on a regular basis near the age of 50, nor should he, and outside of a random one-off paring, how does this help Garcia, who is in the same position now as he was before he won the TNT title? Furthermore, despite being terribly under the radar in terms of exposure and status within the company, FTR are probably still the best tag team in the business so how aren't they in a more prominent position? I could be wrong, but more than anything, this appeared to be a situation where the segment was booked just to get a few more names on the card. Along with that, there just wasn't any reason for this to go over twenty minutes or even close to that, specifically because it could've trimmed down on what became a tedious viewing experience later in the night.

Just two weeks after Micheal Cole did a spot during the Pat McAfee/Gunther match, Tony Schiavone was involved when Nigel, who is typically a commentator, was injured on the outside. The spot just made it look like All Elite was trying to do a weak imitation of what the WWE just had on pay-per-view. FTR got the win when Garcia was unconscious in the sharpshooter. I don't know what's next for Nigel, Garcia still doesn't have any direction, and FTR are still extremely underutilized.

It was an hour into the show and only two matches had taken place. Now, we know why the company shills energy drinks during the broadcast.

I said on many occasions that Tony Khan, much like his E-fed booking on the internet during his youth, is a good matchmaker, not a booker. Hence why I've often pointed out that if you watch certain AEW PPV matches in a vacuum, there's some great wrestling. When you put it into the context of a four-hour event, it will usually be illogical, counterproductive, or both.

The Mark Briscoe/Ricochet stretcher match was a prime example of this. They are both very solid in-ring workers, and I'd say that Briscoe should've had a lot bigger opportunities prior to this, but he was pigeon-holed into a secondary role. Ricochet was so cringe worthy as a baby face that they had to turn him heel, and he has probably done better in the role than most would've expected. That being said, this match was at the wrong place at the wrong time and became a hindrance to the overall presentation. It should be noted that this was a rather lukewarm mid-card feud, not some long-term rivalry with an extensive history behind it. During the course of the match, Briscoe bled buckets, and not only does this storyline not justify that type of blood, the amount that he bled took away from the small amount of blood that Powerhouse Hobbs had during the Anarchy in the Arena segment. Again, the guy worked hard and put in the effort to give the fans something in this segment, but was this the right angle and the right place on the card for a bloodbath? The argument could be made that blood wasn't necessary at all, but the bigger issue is that it was yet another example of a car crash just for the sake of a car crash. Briscoe bleeds buckets because why not? Sure, it won't be used to boost his position in the organization, but that amount of crimson might get a few extra stars in The Wrestling Observer, right? Ricochet got the victory after he threw Mark Briscoe in the ambulance.

Thankfully, the tag team title match was exactly what it was supposed to be and it isn't a coincidence that it involved the former WWE stars. As we know, more often than not, there are conflicting narratives that hurt the overall status of many stars or angles within the organization. For example, instead of being a serious heel that is one of the top guys, MJF is doing lame comedy segments on television to try to join the Hurt Syndicate. He had a cameo on pay-per-view last month and got to stand outside the ring this month so that will definitely maximize his star power. Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin are accomplished veterans that have characters that are portrayed as no-nonsense competitors. They don't do anything on television to take away from that persona. In a similar fashion, the dominate tag champions should be able to defeat Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara. That's not a knock on either of their talent, but rather a reflection of each team's position in the organization. It wasn't a squash match and it shouldn't have been, but ten minutes for the Hurt Syndicate to retain the titles make sense. The lesson here is, not every match has to been a 50/50 Tokyo Dome classic, because when you try to get everyone over, nobody gets over. This match was designed to reinforce the Hurt Syndicate and it accomplished that.

 Kazuchika Okada defeated Mike Bailey to retain the Continental championship. This match was very solid, as it went about 15 minutes, which was a good way to pace the card and it delivered the type of action that you'd expect from the brand while avoiding some of the usual pitfalls of most AEW bouts on pay-per-view. Bailey is an incredible athlete, and while it remains to be seen how much he can evolve that style to different opponents, he's still a very valuable asset to the promotion. Bailey got the chance to bring his aerial skills to the table, and  Okada still looked like a strong champion because he beat Bailey with rainmaker clothesline. That should be the biggest takeaway from this contest, they didn't kick out of 38 finishers to make the conclusion predictable, but rather allowed for a more natural drama to build for the finish.

The AEW Women's World title match was a combination of solid wrestling and theatrics. Mina Shirakawa is still relatively new to All Elite programming, and as mentioned earlier, this seemed like just a bridge to get to the All In show in July. There's not much to say about it because with Toni's popularity with the timeless character, it wouldn't make sense for her to drop the title.

The Anarchy in the Arena match was almost 40 minutes of a continuous car crash, and when you try to do something like that for an extended period of time, there are going to be unavoidable flat points. This had many of the usual bad habits of AEW shoehorned into one segment, with a random exploding table with no explanation other than Tony thought it would look really cool, and thumb tacks on the shoes from Swerve, which has become completely stable with how many times it was done on All Elite programming. It would be a waste of time to attempt to parse details on the match because none of those moments were anything more than a disposable portion of the stunt show. This was another situation where the results of the match were moot because the bigger picture is Moxley defending the title in July so did it really impact the direction of the product that the baby face team won?

The six man tag match was just there to pace the card, which is fine except for the fact that it was almost four hours into the show. The Don Callis stable beat Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, and Kyle O'Reilly. However, the action of the match or even the result are secondary for this segment. Look at the amount of talent in this match and consider where they are on the AEW landscape. Kyle Fletcher was booked to go step-for-step with Will Ospreay, Takeshita proved to be one of the top workers in the company, and Josh Alexander just debuted with the promotion last month. That's not to mention the potential that Cole had before injury and booking fumbles minimized his star power. These guys are in the 10-minute six man tag that will be forgotten about after the show goes off the air. This is a major example of how such a bloated roster leads to truly underutilized talent.

I mentioned earlier about how it would've been helpful to trim a few minutes off of a few of the matches and the conclusion of the pay-per-view explained why it might've been a wise decision. Ospreay and Adam Page are top great performers, but as far as a viewing experience, it's going to be an uphill climb when the match that eventually went over 35 minutes didn't get into the ring until almost midnight. The match itself was on brand for All Elite Wrestling, both the positive and the negative. It had incredible wrestling, reckless bumps, including a styles clash to the floor from the apron where it looked like Page got spiked on his head, and good drama toward the conclusion. There was also a scary moment when the announce table collapsed and it looked like Ospreay almost fell on his head. This was an AEW main event, it had fast-paced action and hard-hitting wrestling, which delivered a quality bout for the audience.

That being said, I have absolutely no idea why Adam Page won the match to challenge Moxley at All In for the championship. Ironically, the video package for Paige's entrance summarized the reasons why he isn't nearly over enough to be cast in the role of the savior of the company. Technically, it goes back to his original title reign when he went to a draw with Bryan Danielson in his first title defense because nothing is more indifferent than a draw. Furthermore, the whiny promos as a baby face didn't do him any favors. Finally, the bizarre switch between heel and baby face during the Swerve feud last year was another example of complete indifference, and the notion of indifference to a character is the opposite of drawing money. How can the audience invest in Adam Page when he's a whiny baby face? How can they invest in him as a hero or a villain if the narrative continuously switched during the course of a storyline? 

I'm not taking anything away from his talent in the ring, but as a character, is Hangman Page truly over with the audience? Can anyone give an accurate description of what his character is supposed to be? More often than not, Page sounds aloof in promos, is that the guy that the fans are supposed to invest in to beat Jon Moxley? On the other hand, Will Ospreay is the in-ring representation of the AEW style and the crowd is behind him. It's questionable if Page is over with the fans at all, and Ospreay seems like the most over performer in the company so I really don't understand the decision to book Page/Moxley at the next pay-per-view.

What's the status of Wrestlemania?

Where in the world is Wrestlemania 42 going to be?

After it was announced a few months ago that the "showcase of the immortals" would be hosted in New Orleans, a location where the show was held before, headlines were made this week when it was reported by PWInsider's Mike Johnson that the two-night event would instead be held in Las Vegas again.

Mike Johnson is the most accurate reporter of insider news in the industry so when I saw that he was credited with the headlines, I knew that there had to be some type of credibility to the story. However, it's definitely a very surprising move, and one that quite frankly wouldn't have been made during the Vince McMahon era. The reason being is simple, once something is public, and The Rock announced that WM 42 would be held in New Orleans on an episode of Smackdown, there's an expectation to deliver to the audience.

It goes without saying that Vince's fall from grace and his alleged deviant behavior are disgusting, but from strictly a business standpoint, he always got the match in the ring. Even if he had to fire The Ultimate Warrior right after he came back through the curtain at Summer Slam, McMahon got the advertised match in the ring. The fans got what they paid for and what was advertised. As sleazy as the pro wrestling business is, one of the many reasons that the WWE survived the peaks and valleys of the industry, including all the scandals, is that if something was advertised, it was going to happen.

This is the premiere entertainment business of a publicly-traded corporation, not an independent event where the aging star from the 80s decided to no-show.

Granted, the reports that have made the rounds this week suggest that New Orleans is going to be take care of to make up for the "false start" so to speak. The city will get the UFC 318 pay-per-view in July, one of the staples of the calendar for the MMA organization, and the Money in the Bank pay-per-view next year, with the addition of a Wrestlemania event held there in the future. 

Being able to offer that type of package to cities is one of the many advantages of the TKO merger.

At the end of the day, the fans aren't going to mutiny if the event isn't held in Louisiana, specifically because the entire appeal of the show is based on the fact that fans are willing to travel for it so from the fan point of view, the particulars of the destination aren't nearly as important as the substance of the event itself.

The biggest part of this story, regardless of where Wrestlemania 42 takes place, is that it proves that TKO will go where the money is, even if they have to cancel or make up for the switch later, which could be an indication of business maneuvers in the future. From purely a dollars-and-cents perspective, you can't blame TKO if they got a better offer for a site fee from Las Vegas to bring the Wrestlemania brand there again. Keep in mind, TKO is on the stock market, and very similar to the WWE stock before the merger, the corporation serves its stockholders before its fan base. The reasoning isn't nearly as sinister as it sounds, though. The only reason any company goes public is to get investors to put money into the organization with stock purchases so with more cash the company can try to expand and thus the shareholders get a return on their investment. The best case scenario is that it's a win-win situation for everyone since the company would make more money overall and the investors make a profit for being willing to buy stock in the organization. TKO quite literally has a legal responsibility to do what's best for the stockholders, which is why Vince was in hot water for misappropriation of funds from the scandal that he used company money to pay to get affairs quiet through non-disclosure agreements. The Securities and Exchange Commission protects investors from being mislead with how their money is used by corporations, which is why the investigation of McMahon didn't go away until the orange villain took office.

If TKO is on the stock market, and being on Wall Street is one of the reasons the corporation is worth billions of dollars, they are always going to look to maximize revenue, regardless if it shuns old school pro wrestling philosophy.

In a situation where Vince wouldn't change course once something is publicly announced, Nick Khan is slick enough in the sports world to know that most of the time contracts are red tape that can be worked around. The replacement deal with New Orleans will theoretically have a bigger upside for the city in the long run, and TKO gets to generate bigger revenue next year with another Wrestlemania in Las Vegas.

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that the scheduled dates for the event would be April 18th and 19th, which won't be Easter weekend next year. According to Meltzer, the WWE has put in a reservation for Allegiant Stadium, the same venue from this year, for that weekend. Meltzer also reported that there's a concert booked around the same time frame, which could be problematic for the set up of the sports entertainment spectacular, but as with anything else, money talks so similar to the way that New Orleans accepted a deal to move WM 42, I wouldn't be surprised if the logistics are worked out with the concert promoters to allow the WWE enough time for the Wrestlemania set up.

Since the show has been exclusively in stadiums for nearly twenty years, the location is usually an anticipated part of the announcement of the event, if for no other reason than to be a footnote in the history boots about when the show took place. Ric Flair had his last WWE match in Orlando, Steve Austin returned to the ring in Dallas, and Daniel Bryan finally won the title at the miracle on Bourbon Street.

But, as mentioned, the destination itself is almost moot for the fans, it just determines where they travel, the business decisions behind the switch back to Las Vegas is the revealing part of the situation.

It can't be understated how valuable marquee events are for cities in terms of their economic impact. The airfare, hotels, restaurants, and local spending are a part of big business in the grand scheme of things. When you hear about the record-setting revenue at the post-PPV press conferences, it doesn't mean anything to the viewers at home, but the local officials that run for office every few years get to boast about the local economy during their political term. With Saudi Arabia taking more major boxing bouts away from the traditional spot like Las Vegas, the city will look to compensate for that in some form or fashion. Clearly, the economic impact on the city this year was impressive enough that officials were willing to offer TKO more money in site fees than New Orleans to bring it back next year.

The message that was sent with these headlines is simple, Wrestlemania will go to the highest bidder.

The Observer's Bryan Alvarez noted that since nothing is officially announced yet, it's possible that Wrestlemania 42 could be taken to either London, Mexico, or Saudi Arabia. To be completely honest, and I'm not saying this to give a fluff answer, I think it's only a matter of time before Wrestlemania is eventually held in each of those locations at some point within the next five or six years. The motivation behind it is simple, London has been hinted at for the past few years, and it would be a notch on TKO's belt to break the attendance record for Wembley Stadium. The biggest piece of that puzzle is actually Peacock because the streaming platform is only five dollars a month and the technology allows for viewers to start watching the event at any time so the restrictions of the time zone differences aren't a factor the way that they were for traditional pay-per-view.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, the WWE's purchase of AAA was basically a way for the company to buy a foothold in Mexico after trying to truly monetize the Hispanic market for years. Obviously, it remains to be seen if management is going to allow the lucha libre project to truly flourish as its own commodity, but it goes without saying that a Wrestlemania event in Mexico would be a major statement about the company's global expansion.

As sleazy as it would be for the Saudis to use oil money to turn Wrestlemania into a propaganda event, the fact that they could offer literally hundreds of millions of dollars for the event makes it a rather easy decision for management. Since Saudi Arabia is getting The Royal Rumble next year, it's doubtful that they would also get Wrestlemania 42, but it wouldn't be surprising at all for the event to be held there within the next for years.

It will be interesting to see how the situation continues to evolve, specifically how the major cash and corporate aspects effect the direction of the company in the future. While it's doubtful that it will be a direct impact on the on-screen programming, some of the business decisions could eventually have an effect on the perception of the organization, which might have an eventually impact on the business side of the company.

Pittburgh wrestling combine

When Chris LeRusso started in the pro wrestling business in 2003, he was an 18-year-old kid wearing karate pants, idolizing Rob Van Dam. He learned the ropes under the direction of longtime pro and accomplished trainer, Ken Downs, known in the squared circle as Kato.

Downs gave LeRusso a solid foundation of skills, and the ambitious rookie set out to try to make his way in the sports entertainment world.

More than 22 years after the kid that was barely out of high school when he had his first pro bout, LeRusso will see things come full circle in some regards, as he has assembled a team of coaches for the Pittsburgh Pro Wrestling Camp and Combine, a seven-hour training session on Saturday May 31 at Ryse Wrestling's Training academy, The Stronghold, in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Ryse Wrestling was founded by 25-year pro, Jason Clements, known in the squared circle as Brandon K, in 2016. As a trainer, Clements has trained AEW's Lee Moriarty and Lady Frost, and NXT's Thea Hail. Ryse's live events are held in a converted Sears building at the Uniontown Mall, with the training center a few spaces over in the same complex.

"The concept came while I was reflecting on the ROH tryout camps that took place in the 2010s. I don’t think it can be overstated what an impact those camps had on not only the careers of certain wrestlers, but on independent wrestling as whole. Even people who did not get opportunities with ROH left those camps with an insane amount of knowledge to take back to their schools and home companies. Those camps did so much good and I wanted to do something similar, albeit on a smaller scale," LeRusso explained.

It's easy for weekend warriors that wrestled for a few years before they fizzled out or found their next hobby of throwing darts at the local pub to claim that they were just one opportunity way from the big time. Much different from that, LeRusso quite literally put his money where his mouth is, investing in himself by furthering his pro wrestling education with his attendance at many Ring Of Honor training camps. As a result of his efforts, Chris LeRusso worked a series of matches under the Ring Of Honor banner over the span of a few years, including on television during the Sinclair Broadcasting era. In 2017, he impressed ROH officials enough to earn a spot in the Top Prospects tournament. In addition to his work in ROH, LeRusso was a stalwart of the Pittsburgh scene in some form or fashion for more than 15 years. He wrestled for virtually every major promotion, and held a variety of responsibilities behind the scenes during different points.. He spent time as a trainer at the International Wrestling Cartel's Iron City Wrestling Academy, and worked as the matchmaker for Ryse Wrestling for a few years as well. More recently, he has worked with younger talent at 880, an upstart league that provides a platform for newcomers to test themselves as they pursue an avenue as a pro wrestler. It's fair to say that Chris LeRusso has made an impression on the region through his efforts in different roles in the industry. Some local yokels that have a cup of coffee in the business won't even spring for a proper pair of boots, but LeRusso wanted much more than that, he wanted to make the most of his chance to be a professional wrestler and jumped at the opportunity to learn from some of the most experienced figures in the industry, which is something he hopes to provide for others through the Pittsburgh Combine.

"Kevin Kelly has been a coach, mentor, and friend for many years. I saw how much his knowledge and expertise helped me and I wanted the next generation in Pittsburgh to benefit from that," LeRusso explained.

Kevin Kelly, who worked for the WWF during the peak years of the Attitude era, is one of the coaches that LeRusso recruited for the Pittsburgh camp. Kevin Kelly also announced for ROH for several years, as well as a very successful tenure as the voice of the English broadcasts of New Japan Pro Wrestling events on the company's New Japan World streaming service. Among the myriad of experience that LeRusso assembled for the training session is Pittsburgh cornerstone, "Big League" John McChesney, and longtime pro of both the national and independent scene, Colin Delaney

"John McChesney is undoubtedly one of the best ever; full stop. His expertise as a performer and promoter also gives him a unique perspective. Colin , who was actually an opponent of mine at ROH, was someone who I learned so much from just being in the ring with, I wanted to make sure others had a chance to learn from him," Chris commented.

With the combine being held at Ryse Wrestling's Stronghold Academy, Chris was excited to be able to bring in one of the school's coaches for his camp, Glenn Spectre, a serious professional with international experience as the first "gaijin" or foreigner to win the DDT tag team titles in Japan. Along with multiple tours of Japan, Spectre is a staple of the independent circuit with several years of experience behind him. On May 31, the participants of the Pittsburgh Combine will get the chance to learn from a seasoned grappler that has shared the ring with many different types of opponents, including Kota Ibushi and the late Brodie Lee.

"Glenn is a fantastic coach here in town and has international experience, and a teaching technique that brings out the best in people. I felt the combination of knowledge was such that it would be almost impossible to come away from this group and not learn something," LeRusso remarked.

“I’ve trained wrestlers using the seminar format before, but our intention for the Combine is to elevate the seminar to something more that will be one part training, one part evaluation, and one part action plan. Our goal is to improve the career prospects for all the participants,” added Spectre.

The seven-hour training session is designed to give participants a full evaluation of every aspect of their game, and coverage of every facet of professional wrestling. From in-ring fundamentals to promos to working on television, the curriculum in place looks to provide a valuable learning experience for those that choose to invest in themselves to become more well-rounded performers.

"Getting into the business the past couple of years at the announce desk the way I have, you get to see a lot of new performers and of course, a lot of those veterans, too. You can tell when you see the guys that take the time to hone their craft and learn from the ground up, their performances reflect the training that they put into their careers. On any given card, you know who makes their training a priority," said Declan Finnegan, color commentator for Victory Championship Wrestling, an independent league based in McMechen, West Virginia.

Aside from the Pittsburgh Pro Wrestling Camp and Combine, Chris LeRusso also launched Avalon Training and Entertainment, a service that will offer consulting and coaching to individual performers and pro wrestling companies. The Avalon Training venture is just the latest in the nearly quarter century of experience that LeRusso has in the industry, which he plans to use to guide the next generation at the Pittsburgh Combine.

"I hope that everyone leaves the camp better, smarter, and more confident. The idea is not that this one camp will get you to your goals in pro wrestling, but that this camp can help you find the path to your goals and encourage wrestlers to starting taking steps on that path," LeRusso concluded.

What's next for Will Ospreay?

Double or Nothing, one of All Elite Wrestling's signature pay-per-views, is this weekend, with one more episode of Collision left to sell the show to the audience. The fact that Collision is bumped from its usually time slot this week more or less neutralizes any extra promotional efforts to spur fans to order the show. Now, maybe this is a rather moot point since the core AEW audience that's willing to pay for their PPVs usually has a base of around 100,000 orders, with some increases, depending on the specifics of the card. On one hand, the consistency is very important, especially in terms of generating revenue. On the other hand, a ceiling or plateau in revenue, particular with the decreased TV viewership doesn't send a good message about the status of the organization.

The ironic part of all of this is that six year ago, Double or Nothing was the official kickoff of the concept of All Elite Wrestling. The audience was stuck with a stagnant industry for years after Dixie Carter's TNA almost collapsed, and Vince McMahon was so unchallenged in his role as the king of sports entertainment that he was afforded the luxury of shoehorning Roman Reigns into the John Cena spot regardless of how universally panned the baby face super push was at the time.

The bottom line was, if pro wrestling fans were going to watch the sport in America, they were going to watch WWE. It's an unfortunate ripple effect of the purchase of World Championship Wrestling two decades earlier, there weren't any other mainstream options for consumers, and despite some solid, albeit inconsistent efforts from TNA up until that point, an organization that tried to get off the ground in an industry where the competition is a publicly-traded corporation, ultimately imploded under the pressure to try to get a legitimate piece of the pie.

As much as All Elite Wrestling was a startup group six years ago for the first ever Double or Nothing pay-per-view, it was in a much better starting position than that collection of alphabet soup leagues that tried to make a splash on the national scene in the twenty years since WCW folded.

All Elite wasn't simply trying to survive with a shoestring budget to stay afloat long enough to generate some hype for the product. The billionaire Khan family put enough money on the table to launch a national project. Along with that, Tony was going to offer comparable money and sometimes even more than that to secure talent, which is something TNA was rarely in the position to do. It's a much different dynamic and sends a much different message about the product when a talent chooses to sign with AEW, as compared to inking a contract simply because they were looking for a job after they were cut from the WWE roster. As we know with Jeff Jarrett's attempt at the original Global Force Wrestling venture, a television deal for a pro wrestling series is a difficult sell to networks, especially when the WWE is unanimously recognized as the top sports entertainment program. It's tough to sell a network on the prospects to host the secondary league. Instead, Tony Khan already had proof of the concept with the initial All In event from the year prior, and his family's ties to networks through its ownership of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL franchise, allowed him to secure a television deal for the promotion. Furthermore, TNA was started at a time when many of the former WCW alumni were just beaten into powder less than a year earlier on WWF programming, and after the collapses of two national groups, WCW and ECW, in the span of just a few months, it was going to be difficult to sell former WCW talent and an alternative product to either networks or the fans. As mentioned, there was a growing animosity about how Vince McMahon treated his customers, they were going to embrace his vision of sports entertainment or pick a different hobby. Through that disdain that the fans had for the WWE product in 2018, the indy circuit and the Japanese scene garnered a portion of those disenfranchised fans. Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega, collectively known as The Elite faction, organically got over at the same time. The circumstances of the business were right, the talent that had spontaneously generated a following were free agents, and Tony Khan had the funding for a new company.

The point being, the first Double or Nothing had a chance to propel the original concept to establish a true alternative organization.

Everything from mismanagement, immature talent, booking flaws, underwhelming angles, and a clear decision to place vanity over profit caused the AEW concept to fall woefully short of its potential or expectations.

Sure, you can parse details on each of those portions individually, but generally speaking, Double or Nothing will be the historical starting point of Tony Khan's promotion, and it's not surprising that the card that he booked for this weekend represents many of the reasons that his vanity project didn't materialize the way that many thought it would in 2019.

The biggest criticism of the All Elite on-screen product is that most of the time, the matches are thrown together with very little rhyme or reason. There are a few of them on the Double or Nothing card that more or less make those bouts skippable in the grand scheme of things.

I've said the same thing for years when the WWE pay-per-view calendar was littered with gimmick events that necessitated gimmick matches for no other reason than the fact that it was the name of the show. Thankfully, the current regime seems to have gotten away from most of that. For example, Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk was a feud that justified a HIAC match, but for several years before that, the stipulation was wasted on matches that didn't need it, which hindered the effectiveness of the gimmicks. Anarchy in the Arena is such a specific stipulation that it's rather difficult to find a way to logically book it each May because the nature of the match suggest faction feuds, but the justification for The Young Bucks aligning themselves with The Death Riders, more or less just to be able to book this stipulation, is flimsy at best. Furthermore, not that the majority of the audience would look forward to another Moxley title defense for this current reign, but it's usually a weaker dynamic for a pay-per-view if the belt isn't defended.

Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara have been in Ring Of Honor purgatory for a year, is anyone going to consider them legitimate contenders for the tag titles against The Hurt Syndicate? In a similar fashion, is there really any reason Nigel McGuinness is going to get back in the ring for a random tag match with Daniel Garcia against FTR? Unless Nigel is planning a full-fledged return at almost 50, which he shouldn't, how exactly does this get anyone over? If it's a one-off, Garcia has nowhere to go from here either way, and if FTR lose to a throw together team, it makes them look irrelevant. This is a slapstick booking decision where nobody truly gets over, which is a good example of why the vast majority of the AEW talent usually stay in the same position in the company.

Mark Briscoe vs. Ricochet should be a solid match, but given Tony's track record, is there any indication that either one of these guys is going to move up the card? The same can be said for the Kazuchika Okada/Mike Bailey match. Sure, Dave Meltzer might give it 87 stars, but does the result truly matter in the big picture? Bailey is a tremendous athlete and a unique commodity, but if he's only booked for these "dream match" scenarios without any progress or purpose, he will be stuck in the same rut that Konosuke Takeshita was in for a few years, great matches without any status in the company. I guess, in theory, this might set the stage for Okada/Kenny Omega at All In Texas, but with the way that Okada has coasted the majority of his All Elite tenure, it's doubtful that the bout will recapture the type that it had six or seven years ago.

Speaking of woefully underwhelming since their arrival in AEW, Mercedes Mone has yet to be the "game changer" that many thought she would be. With the exception of his last pay-per-view bout, she hasn't delivered in the ring or on the mic. Jamie Hayter is a solid opponent, and the argument could be made that she might be the better choice to win the Women's Owen Hart tournament final, but I wouldn't bet that she's willing to do the job on pay-per-view. So, she will win the tournament to get a title shot at All In, but her tenure has been so bland that it doesn't make a major difference either way.

Will Ospreay vs. Adam Page is slotted to be the main event, with the winner not only getting the Owen Cup, but also a shot at the title in July. The easy choice is Ospreay, specifically because Page is still the whiny baby face that has been directionless for almost two years. The problem with this is, even if Ospreay wins at Double or Nothing and eventually dethrones Moxley, I don't know if it will truly be a coronation for him as the world champion. The entire Moxley storyline has been so tedious, pointless, and quite frankly, boring that this isn't a situation where the audience wants to see the heel lose, but rather just the end of a monotonous angle. Where does Ospreay go from there? The much bigger issue of if Moxley will drop the title is the fact that Tony Khan probably doesn't have any plan for the follow-up on Ospreay's title victory.

That's where the entire situation goes full circle, when All Elite Wrestling officially launched at Double or Nothing in 2019, would anyone have guessed that Moxley would eventually be the boring champion that the fans just wanted to see the title reign end? Would anyone have guessed that the company that sold out events in minutes would be forced to run small venues so that it didn't look empty on television? Did anyone guess that there would be a 40% decline in television viewership? In some ways, the 2025 edition of Double or Nothing is a benchmark for the decline, not the success of All Elite Wrestling. At the same time, very similar to how the dip in TV numbers doesn't really affect the pay-per-view buy rates, the overall decline of the impact of AEW over the course of the past six years doesn't really affect Tony Khan's vanity project either.

Sabu passed away

I'm still shocked as I write this, and after I saw the news online there remains a level of disbelief that Sabu, who competed in his retirement match during Wrestlemania weekend less than a month ago, passed away last week as a result of a heart attack at the age of 60. This might sound trivial, but in some respects, this reminds me of the disbelief that I felt when Terry Funk passed in 2023, and when Bruno Sammartino died in 2018. We're all human, but much like Bruno and Funk, Sabu was in a truly larger-than-life category. Bruno was too mythical to be mortal, Terry's heart was going to fuel him forever, and Sabu was indestructible. It's a harsh reminder of how fragile life can be, even for icons of the industry. Again, similar to Bruno and Funk, it's difficult to imagine a pro wrestling business without Sabu.

It goes without saying that the real-life Terry Brunk, the nephew of the original Sheik, Ed Farhat, not only influenced generations of performers, but also changed the game of the professional wrestling. I could recount the numerous details of his rise in popularity throughout the 90s as a cult favorite of the die hard fans that would trade VHS tapes to see the obscure matches from Japan, but his impact on the sport was so much bigger than just a series of matches or a run in a particular organization.

In many ways, in terms of innovation and changing the perception of what was possible in sports entertainment, Sabu did in the 90s what the Dynamite Kid did for the industry in the 80s.

Sure, it was in a completely different manner, but the fact remains that there are a few key performers that have such a massive influence on the direction of the sport that there's a definitive line between the business before their prime and the business afterwards. I think it's fair to say from the ripple effect that his career had, there was undoubtedly a difference in pro wrestling before and after the prime years of Sabu's career.

Extreme Championship Wrestling is often rightfully described as the Napster of sports entertainment for the way that it was never designed to last, but changed everything in the process, very similar to how the file sharing service altered the direction of the music industry, setting a path for how songs are distributed today. There's no question that ECW revolutionized the sport because of the collective effort of countless names. Tod Gordon invested in the original concept, putting the money up to not only get the group on more television networks to increase its reach, but also fronted the cash to get the organization on pay-per-view at a time when it was the biggest revenue stream possible in the industry. Paul Heyman was eccentric enough to be willing to push the envelope when other companies wouldn't dare to test the limits. Tommy Dreamer put his body and his own personal cash on the line to try to keep the company afloat. That's not to mention how many guys destroyed their bodies in an effort to solidify themselves as stars.

That being said, I don't think it's unfair to say that without Sabu, ECW probably wouldn't have been able to get off the ground to the level that it did. Sabu was a unique commodity and allowed the company to bring something to the table that the other major leagues weren't going to do at the time. Granted, ECW was probably the only place in the United States in the late-90s that Sabu was going to flourish so it was a win-win scenario, but the fact remains that Sabu embodied much of the brand that become so popular during that era.

That's the other side of the coin, it's an unfortunate tradeoff that Sabu made to snub the status quo, he made unwise business decisions in an effort to stay true to his vision. On some level that's admirable, never to sacrifice the art form for the cash, but he also developed a reputation for being difficult to work with, which isn't something worthy of praise. It sounds simplistic, but not every match for every night in every promotion could be a highlight reel of destruction for the Sabu segment just because that's how he would prefer his matches to be booked. Specifically in the major leagues, there's an entire card to present to a national audience, that can't be disregarded just so Sabu was happy with his match that night.

In some respects, that added to the legitimate aura that the real life Terry Brunk already had. You knew the business was a work, but much like his uncle, Sabu still had a mystic around him. It added to his lure, but hurt him from a business perspective. Was Sabu going to show up? Was he going to be in the mood to actually work a match? It was a throwback aspect to his persona that isn't seen in pro wrestling today.

That's ultimately why Sabu didn't get the initial recognition or the compensation to have some type of financial security during the latter stages of his life. For as much as he went out of his way to protect his persona, you'd like it would be obvious to Sabu, someone that learned from The Sheik, that drawing money is the entire point of the business. At times, it seems like Sabu went out of his way not to be in a position to make the most money possible just to stay within his comfort zone as a performer.

There's an interview clip on Youtube where Brunk talks about the money he made for his appearance in a WWE video game, explaining that the $400,000 for made that year for his WWE contract was the most that he made for a year in the business. As we know, Sabu only lasted that year because he didn't like the way that he was used in the WWE or that management wanted him to cut promos. The argument could be made that his character shouldn't do promos anyway, but the bottom line is, the WWE playbook at the time was well-known so it came with the territory of a contract. There was a mutual parting of the ways when he wanted to quit the company and management planned to release him. However, if Sabu could've simply worked within the system for a few more years, he might've had enough of a financial safety net that he wouldn't have had to work a barbed wire match at 60 just to get one last big payoff.

Sabu never compromised his vision, even when he probably should've, which says a lot about his dedication to the industry.

It's almost too obvious to mention the unbelievable amount of punishment that Brunk was willing to put himself through, again to say true to his ideology of the squared circle. While his business decisions over the years were questionable, his passion for the sport certainly wasn't. That might be the lasting legacy of Sabu, he was a guy that changed the perception of what sports entertainment could be in the United States, specifically because he never took a night off. He reinforced his trailblazing style because he never mailed in a performance, you were going to get his innovative maneuvers and and wild character every time you saw him in the ring. Ultimately, that's what cemented his legacy as one of the performers that changed the presentation of the sport.

The career of Dr. Tom Prichard

Last month during a brisk April morning, I found myself in the passenger seat alongside longtime pro and co-head trainer of the Stronghold Academy, Ryse Wrestling's school for aspiring hopefuls, Dean Radford. There was some overcast in the sky around 9:45 AM, which isn't surprising with the notorious Western Pennsylvania weather being slightly chilly when it's supposed to technically be spring. Despite the bleak conditions outside, we were both energetic that morning, as Dean turned into the battle royal of cars that circled the Pittsburgh International Airport.

Similar to the countdown siren for the next participant of the Royal Rumble, Dean navigated the combination of traffic and people scurrying to the curb with their luggage to get the call to pick up Ryse's guest that evening, the legendary Dr. Tom Prichard. He was known as many things during the decades that he spent in the squared circle, he was a Heavenly Body, a Body Donna, a villain, an occasional baby face, and a tag team champion. However, after a lifetime in the sport, Dr. Tom is probably known most as a teacher. He's the guy that showed The Rock, Kurt Angle, Mark Henry, and countless others the ropes from their earliest days in a wrestling ring. Before there was an official developmental territory or a multi-million dollar Performance Center, Dr. Tom helped mold the stars of the future in the warehouse of the WWF TV studio in the late-90s.

One of the mission statements when 25-yeat veteran, Jason Clements founded Ryse Wrestling in 2016 was to allow the next generation of the business to get a solid start in the sport with its training center as a key piece of the puzzle for the success of the organization. Throughout its nearly eight-year history, Clements has emphasized his commitment to quality training and opportunities for the students that entrust him with their wrestling education. So, the organization, based out of the blue collar location of Uniontown, jumped at the chance to bring Dr. Tom to their facility to teach the students and youngsters of the area.

It was somewhat ironic that as I quickly jumped out of the passenger side before we pulled up to the automatic doors of the busy airport to allow Dr. Tom the front seat, I realized that this would be a reunion of sorts. Years before I started on the local Pittsburgh scene as a commentator, I bought tickets for events where Dean won championships. One of those shows was November 1, 2003 for a Norm Connors card promoted in West Mifflin, PA and earlier that day, Radford attended a seminar with Dr. Tom before Prichard watched the show that night. During intermission, despite being just 14 at the time, but still knowing Prichard's extensive accomplishments, I had the audacity to ask the former grappler that trained some of the biggest stars in the history of the sport, if I ever had a chance to do anything in wrestling. He was very gracious and with his autograph inscribed, "Never give up!" As young Jim walked back to his seat in the third row, I was over the moon, writing about the experience for an assignment in English class the following week. I got a 90% on that paper.

So, 22 years after Dean attended a seminar in his formative years of wrestling, and I asked if it there could be a role in pro wrestling for me, Dr. Tom was holding a seminar at the training school where Dean teaches the next generation, and would be the guest of honor at the live event that night where I was one of the commentators on the broadcast.

"It is as like time repeated itself for me, hearing Dr. Tom at 65 years old do the drills and speak to all the young talent at the Stronghold Training Center. That took me back over twenty years ago Dr. Tom was my very first seminar as a professional wrestler, and it just made me realize how great he still is," said Dean Radford.

Ryse's school is located in the same Uniontown Mall complex where the live events are held. Their training space with event posters and banners of former students, including All Elite Wrestling's Lee Moriarty and NXT's Thea Hail that line the walls, also includes a weight room. The old storefront was transformed into a training facility, the same way that an old Sears building a few spaces over was designed as a wrestling arena with an entrance way, video wall, and concession stand.

More than 30 students were there that afternoon, eager to learn from Dr. Tom, who still remains active as a coach today. Located in Knoxville, Tennessee, the old stomping groups of Smokey Mountain Wrestling where he won tag gold with the late Jimmy Del Ray more than thirty years ago, Prichard chose a new tag team partner when he launched his own school in 2019, as he joined forces with the mayor of the city, Kane. The Jacobs-Prichard Wrestling Academy runs a 12-week course with a critical focus on the basics and fundamentals of the sport. The sessions are five days a week with a specific design not just on weekly progress throughout for its students, but also daily goals as well to ensure that students can steadily learn with a true understanding of the core principals of the squared circle.

"Knoxville is kind of a unique town. Tennessee is a unique place for wrestling, but Knoxville especially has wrestling fans, good wrestling fans. They still want to cheer and boo. They want to like the good guys and boo the bad guys and stuff like that. We were running Glenn's campaign, doing his campaign stuff. We were having lunch and he said, 'you know, we're both in Knoxville, we should open a school' It just sort of came up and we decided to start to do it," Prichard explained via phone.

Of course, one of the many reasons that Radford and Clements looked forward to Prichard's arrival that afternoon was not only his vast knowledge working as trainer for the WWE for more than 12 years during two different tenures with the organization, but also the chance for him to bring his JPWA curriculum to their students.

As I sat in a chair to observe the seminar for this write-up, I saw Dr. Tom pair the students together to work holds on various body parts for five minutes each before switching maneuvers, as a way to not only work on technique, but the key ingredient of selling as well. In total, the students worked through 12 different intervals, and I'm not sure if they realized it in the moment, but the reality set in at the conclusion of the drill when Dr. Tom said, "congratulations, you just did an hour." Those that wanted to learn from one of the most notable trainers in the world found themselves dripping sweat onto the canvas and reaching for water before Dr. Tom assigned them the primary cardio drill on the afternoon.

"They're called satans, I didn't name them that, someone else did,"

That was the explanation that Prichard gave for the cardio drill that consisted of several sets of 10 of a variety of different in-ring exercises. From hitting the ropes 10 times, 10 pushups, 10 sit-ups, and a few other variations of 10, these students found out exactly why this drill was given that particular name. I diligently watched as some students eagerly slide in the ring to take their turn at this imposing routine, and I saw a few others that conveniently took a walk or went to the restroom rather than even attempt it.

"The man is a walking book of knowledge, and there were some at the seminar who just couldn't hang with his in-ring workouts. The biggest thing to take away is this guy was and is the only measuring stick, and if you couldn't hang with his drills it's time to step up your game," added Dean Radford

The rest of the four-hour session consisted of Dr. Tom critiquing promos and matches from the participants, offering specific advice for each student in an effort to allow them to make the slight adjustments needed to truly polish their performance. The attention to detail and his ability to offer advice with everything from in-ring mechanics to character presentation stood out as one of the biggest lessons that the students could take away from the seminar.

"I had the privilege to participate in the Dr. Tom Prichard seminar recently at The Stronghold Academy. Dr. Tom is world renowned as a performer and his ability to teach. He is full of wrestling knowledge that myself and the students of the seminar were able to tap into. Stuff like working the TV style of wrestling, calling a match, working a body part, and getting your character across to the crowd. I can't thank Dr. Tom enough for all his help," commented Johnny Norris, a powerful athlete that is regarded as one of the most popular grapplers on the Pittsburgh scene today.

"I just think he's a really genuine person. Aside from being a really great trainer, giving a great seminar, what resonated the most about him for me was that he genuinely cares about people. He wants to get to know people on a deeper level and he asks really great questions about how we got involved with wrestling. He really cares to know our motivation and things like that," added Kristy Clements, co-owner of Ryse Wrestling.

After watching Prichard deliver his Yoda-like advice to the students, I wondered to myself, "how does he stay so passionate about wrestling more than 45 years after he laced up his boots for his first pro bout?"

The almost half century that he has in the ring only tells half of his story.

Before he was Dr. Tom the wrestler, he was the toddler that fell in love with the squared circle at just 4 years old. Moving to Houston, Texas when he was 10 proved to provide a ripple effect that would shape the rest of his life. He was at ringside in the Houston Coliseum with a press pass to take photos for different magazines at the age of 12. By the time he was 15, he worked in the Houston office under the direction of one of the most legendary and powerful promoters in the industry at the time, Paul Boesch.

"Paul was awesome. He was a great promoter, he was a great civic leader, and he was a great man," Dr. Tom said.

It wasn't a bad gig for the youngster either, as he was paid $75 a week as Boesch's assistant before he started there full-time after he graduated high school. The job had an opening because the promoter's previous assistant pursued a career in the ring of his own, and it's a name that longtime fans might be very familiar with, "Gorgeous" Gino Hernandez.

Originally told he was too small for a career inside the ring, Prichard still had the notion of being a pro in the back of his mind. When he wasn't shuffling papers in the office, he worked out with notable grapplers like Mark Lewin. Finally in 1979, he had his first match with El Satanico II in Bryan, Texas.

"It was awesome, I was scared. I was nervous, but it was awesome. Man, It was a dream come true," Dr. Tom said of his first pro bout.

Maybe his first opponent is the one who named that cardio drill?

That first match in Bryan, Texas set Tom on a path that saw him work literally all over the map. He worked for Bill Watts in Mid South, and at just 20, he found himself working the Los Angeles territory. He was able to zigzag from one side of the country to the other because while he enjoyed the scenery on the west coast, he cites Pensacola as one of the places where he learned the most.

"Every time I got to come into LA to work the Olympic Auditorium, I got to see the Hollywood sign. It was great," he recalled.

As the regional territories consolidated under the weight of the WWF's national expansion in the late-80s, Dr. Tom didn't sweat it much, as he knew that he'd always have a place to go. When the racket-welding manager Jim Cornette started the previously mentioned Smokey Mountain group in the early-90s, it eventually opened the door for Prichard to work for the WWF, leading to his well-known role as a trainer by the late-90s. By the time he was 36, injuries from almost twenty years in the ring caught up with him and it was a logical transition for Prichard to take the role as a trainer when he was offered the chance to develop talent at a time when such a program was a newer concept.

"Well, WCW had the Power Plant, and Vince wanted something inside the company like that so I was just fortunate that he chose me to do that. It was an easy transformation for me," Prichard remarked.

So, after 45 years, which will be honored with a special award for him at this year's Cauliflower Alley Club, what keeps Dr. Tom so dedicated to the business?

"It's the entire industry, it's the wrestling business. It's something that a lot of people think they can do and not everyone can. So, I enjoy doing it, I enjoy watching it, I enjoy seeing people learn, and I enjoy seeing people be successful," Prichard commented.

When I asked if there was ever a time over the past 45 years that he thought that he would do something else, Dr. Tom simply said, "no, it was always wrestling."

Backlash review

Following the criticism of the conclusion of the second night of Wrestlemania last month, the WWE was back on pay-per-view to present Backlash, an event held in St. Louis, Missouri, a region know for its extensive pro wrestling history through the territory that was under the direction of legendary promoter, Sam Muchnick. As we know, St. Louis is the hometown of Randy Orton, and before John Cena exits the sport, it made too much sense not to use their storied rivalry as a selling point for a major show. The crowd was energetic throughout the entire night, which definitely helped improve the perception and overall presentation of certain portions of the pay-per-view.

The show opened with the four-way bout for the US title, and while it was more or less obvious that Jacob Fatu wasn't going to drop the belt just a month after winning it at Wrestlemania, this segment still delivered. This was action packed and everyone had a chance to shine at some point in the contest. The choke slam from Damien Priest to Drew McIntyre through the table on the outside of the ring looked brutal. Despite the solid action, I'd say the biggest takeaway from this particular segment is it highlighted the true depth that WWE has on its current roster. LA Knight is still popular, Drew is still one of the best overall workers in the entire company, Damien Priest always delivers a quality performance, and Fatu has the potential to be a major star. The bottom line is, all of these guys can go bell-to-bell and the quality of this segment proved it.

Former New Japan star, Jeff Cobb made his official WWE debut when he assisted Fatu with the victory to retain the championship, aligning himself with Solo Sikoa. I was somewhat surprised that Cobb was put in a stable with Solo, but that's not to say that it was the wrong move, just not something that I would've guessed when it was initially reported that he planned to sign a WWE contract. That being said, given the rising popularity of Fatu because of how impressive he is in the ring and how his character has connected with the audience, it looks like the seeds could be planted for an eventual Cobb/Fatu feud, particularly based on Fatu's reaction. It sounds almost trivial, but the addition of Cobb to the roster underscores how many quality performers are currently under the WWE banner. Of course, anything can happen, but it wouldn't be shocking if Cobb has a very successful tenure in the WWE.

Becky Lynch  vs. Lyra Valkyrie was a very solid match, and it was clear that the objective was to elevate the status of Valkyria, which was accomplished during this segment. The in-ring work was well done, but more than that, the way that Valkyria presented put her on a similar level to the bigger star. The structure of the contest added consistent drama before the conclusion, specifically when it looked like the turn buckle spot was going to allow Becky to steal the win, but Valkyria was able to get the roll up for the victory. Given the consistent quality of the women's division right now, it might be difficult for someone to break through to find a top spot in the division so only time will tell if Lyra can truly become established as a star on her own, but this was definitely a strong push to help her get there. A side note, at one point, it looked like when Becky tried to work an eye poke, it seemed like Lyra legitimately got caught with a strike to be face, as she was holding her nose during the pin fall. The post-match attack sets up for the feud to continue, which makes sense because it will allow Becky's star power to elevate her status in the future.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta for the Intercontinental title was a fun match. There's not much to say about it outside of the fact that it was a 10-minute sprint that allowed for some entertaining lucha action, and more importantly, Dominik continues to evolve in his role. Chad Gable did a run-in to cause enough interference for Dominik to retain the belt. Considering that Rey Mysterio was injured and couldn't compete against Gable at Wrestlemania, it will be interesting to see if the focus of the Gable feud shifts, especially if Rey is sidelined for an extended period of time.

I understand what they were going for with Pat McAfee vs. Gunther, and it wasn't anything terrible, but it just seemed like it missed the mark for the narrative that they tried to target with this segment. While McAfee is too over the top in my opinion as an announcer, his immense popularity with the WWE audience is undeniable. That being said, some of his fire up spots just looked hokey rather than anything the crowd could truly rally behind. His selling was also a little wonky at times, and the overall presentation was clunky. I'm not sure someone of Gunther's caliber with his level of authenticity and believabilty should be put in a situation where there were some clumsy exchanges. Speaking of exchanges, I honestly don't think that regardless of McAfee's background as a former punter in the NFL, he shouldn't realistically be able to exchange forearms with the former world champion. Again, it dilutes the rare authenticity that Gunther brings to the table.

I understand that there were only five matches on the card, and trust me, I was more thrilled than Meltzer during a Tokyo Dome main event that this pay-per-view finished with the traditional runtime of two hours and 45 minutes, but I'd still say that the time given for the Gunther/McAfee segment should've been cut in half with another match added to the card. Gunther got the win, but I'm not sure that this segment did anything to benefit his character or his position on Raw.

As mentioned, the main event used the history between John Cena and Randy Orton to get a final main event between the two aging grapplers. With both of them being in the pro wrestling business for 25 years, the vast of it on a full-time basis, it wouldn't be realistic to expect them to work the same match that they did 15 years ago. So, it's understandable that this segment had all the smoke and mirrors of an overbooked main event as a way to camouflage that they are both much older than they were when the rivalry initially started. I'd still say that this match went a little too long and I'm not sure if even the history behind the feud justified a 30-minute segment to close the show. Between the extra time here and the few minutes that could've been trimmed off Gunther/McAfee, it definitely would've been possible to add another match to the card to help pace the show.

Don't get me wrong, there wasn't anything necessarily subpar about the main event, but they relied on kicking out of multiple finishers as somewhat of a substitute for building the drama in a more organic and compelling fashion. Furthermore, and this was probably the biggest issue, with the way that this stoyline is set up, it's going to be extremely difficult to create a moment where it looks like there's a realistic chance that Cena is going to lose the championship any time before the final match of his career. It's an unavoidable aspect of the nature of the angle, and truthfully, there might not have been a way for this match to get to a point where it appeared that Cena might actually drop the title. Cena retained the championship and it will be interesting to see who his opponent will be at the next pay-per-view.

Canelo vs. Scull

Professional boxing has been bought and paid for.

Of course, that's not breaking news since there were suggestions of that notion over the years and even occasional Senate hearings on the matter. However, make no mistake about it, pro boxing, one of the staples of American sports history, was purchased by big money, which will essentially eliminate the top fights from the United States in the future.

In some ways, this is almost a fitting status for the sport, and more specifically, its promoters that allowed political red tape to destroy the opportunities for major fights from being signed in the mid-2000s. Floyd Mayweather's glorified exhibitions, a lack of regular distribution, and a lackluster heavyweight division disenfranchised the American public with boxing.

There was a reason that a sideshow fight like 60-year-old Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul had the chance to get draw a major crowd and mainstream notoriety.

The bottom line is, if the best fighters within each weight class had the chance to compete against each other, which was the case for boxing when the sport drew its biggest money, there would still be an audience for it today.

There was no better example of how professional boxing was bought and sold than last weekend's Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. William Scull fight, a super middleweight bout held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as a part of Riyadh season.

This was the first bout of a four-fight contract that Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez signed with the Saudi government, a deal worth an estimated $400 million for him to compete in the country. While the pound-for-pound discussion can be a debate, there's no doubt that Alvarez is the top star in the sport.

Perhaps, that's why it's so disappointing for him to fight as a part of a propaganda tour, a Saudi government strategy that has seen the country spend billions of dollars in oil money to import outside sports and entertainment acts to the country to attempt to seem more modern, despite continued criticism around human rights violations. As we know, the WWE's most profitable events over the past several years were the Saudi events because the government is willing to pay $40 million for the company to run events in the region. The Royal Rumble is scheduled to be there next year. For the Canelo fight, the in-door venue seemed to have a smaller crowd given the restrictions of the building for one of the trademarks of Canelo's career, fighting on Cinco De Mayo weekend. Just four years ago, when he fought Billy Joe Saunders on the same weekend, the fight drew over 70,000 fans at AT&T Stadium.

His opponent, Cuban fighter, William Scull was actually selected as a mandatory opponent by the IBF in 2022, but Alvarez declined the bout, causing him to be stripped of the IBF Super Middleweight title, which means nothing in the grand scheme of things because of the alphabet soup collection of belts and sanctioning organizations that are just looking to get their piece of the pie rather than promote competition.

The reason Canelo declined the fight three years ago was that Scull was a complete unknown and thus the fight wouldn't generate the same amount of revenue as a known contender. Three years later, Scull was still unknown, but the difference was that since the Saudis were paying Alvarez a guaranteed $100 million for the bout, the opponent didn't impact the economics either way.

During the introductions, I saw exactly why Scull was unknown and why this fight wouldn't be competitive. The eight-year pro had an undefeated record of 23-0 with just nine knockouts and the rest of his victories via decision. With only nine KOs, Scull wouldn't have the power to hurt Canelo or slow down his push forward style. Furthermore, Scull went to distance more often than not, which would allow Alvarez to grind down his opponent with his signature body punches.

In short, there was nothing about this contest that would suggest that Scull any realistic chance to even be competitive, let alone win the bout. He didn't have the power, the experience, or the skill to be anywhere near any of the top level fighters in the sport.

The one thing that Scull did have when he went to the ring in Riyadh was cardio. I'm not sure he has any business trying to be an elite boxer, but he should enter a triathlon because he was on his bicycle to backpedal and run for more or less the entire 12-round fight. This fight became visual NyQuil, as Canelo would press forward, Scull would back up, Alvarez would cut part of the ring off, and then Scull would ran away rather than exchange any punches. Scull's jabs were thrown without any intention of landing, and the lopsided stats showed that Canelo was exponentially more accurate, landing more punches than Scull, despite throwing far less during the course of the contest.

It became clear in the first few rounds that Scull wasn't there to win, but rather just to collect the $3 million purse from the Saudis and get a moral victory to be able to claim that he went the distance with boxing's top star. It might sound trivial, but Scull just wouldn't attempt to exchange any punches or even throw any serious punches so Alvarez would land a ripping body shot before Scull would scurry away. In some ways, there was nothing Canelo could realistically do to attempt to push the fight, as he was controlling the pace and landing more efficiently, but unless he was willing to fight foolishly with wild hooks, which a professional of his caliber isn't going to do, how was he supposed to fight Scull?

It's not Canelo's responsibility to fight foolishly and risk a potential fluke punch from his opponent landing just to try to get to the point where Scull was willing to actually fight. At one point in the ninth round, even the referee tried to tell Scull to fight rather than run. Alvarez won a unanimous decision. One judge had the bout a much closer 115-113 for Alvarez, and I'm not sure what fight that guy was watching, but given the total lack of action, I wouldn't be surprised if he fell asleep at ringside. Alvarez won every round, but the contest was so lackluster and boring that there weren't really any winners in this fight.

Post-fight, plans for Canelo's next signature of his career, fighting on Mexican independence day in September, were announced. Terrance Crawford, who many consider the pound-for-pound best fighter in the sport, will be Alvarez's next opponent.

In theory, the best pound-for-pound fighter against the biggest star in boxing should be a massive deal, but can anyone realistically be excited for Canelo's next bout after this snooze fest? That's not to say that it was Canelo's fault, but he was the A-side of pay-per-view that cost $59.99 and it was a total flop. Could the fans realistically be excited to pay another $59.99 in a few months for any boxing pay-per-view? Don't get me wrong, Crawford is a brilliant undefeated fighter, and the Canelo/Crawford fight should be a classic, but a comically boring bout with Scull jogging for 36 minutes doesn't help the sport.

The bigger issue is that such a mega fight won't be held in a historic location like Las Vegas or Madison Square Garden. It won't be at a stadium in Texas or maybe a stadium in the UK in front of the wildly enthusiastic European fans. It's going to be in front of a relatively small crowd because the Saudis have taken several times to attempt to monopolize certain entertainment acts from North America. Quite simply, they can offer more money than anyone else can realistically bring to the table because the Saudis don't promote these events to make a profit, it's simply a propaganda campaign. As I've written since the WWE inked a deal to bring events to Saudi Arabia, there's just something sleazy about oil money being used to try to spin the narrative for a country that has rightfully been criticized for human rights violations. But, they important the WWE, the UFC, they have the LIV, a pro golf league that had enough money behind it that it almost merged with the PGA before the deal collapsed, and they were able to add Canelo to the list of boxers that compete in the country.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing Alvarez or any other individual athlete for taking the money on the table, these are numbers that it's almost impossible to refuse, but let's be clear, the TKO corporation doesn't have to take the Saudi money, they just want to pad the profit margin. Sure, it's strictly business, but it's undoubtedly the propaganda business.

The career of The Sniper

Professional wrestling is more of a spectacle now than it has ever been before, simply because the advancements of modern technology allow events to air live to any point around the globe with an internet connection. There was a time when fans had to drive to certain movie theaters or arena locations on a Sunday afternoon to watch the first Wrestlemania. Now, "the showcase of the immortals" is a two-night event that cities bid to pay a site fee for just for the chance for the publicly-traded TKO corporation to bring the signature event to their location. And, you can watch it on something as over-the-top as the most modern smart TV or something as convenient as your smart phone.

That's certainly a far stretch from buying a paper ticket to watch Matt Bourne and Ricky Steamboat open the show on a movie screen.

Make no mistake about it, with the globalization of the product through the same technology that makes access to content so easy, sports entertainment has fetched massive money from revenue streams that weren't even invented at the time Hulk and Mr. T took the ring for the main event in 1985. The Netflix deal for WWE's flagship Monday night Raw show generated a staggering $5 billion for a 10-year deal. That's not to mention the TV contract for Smackdown on USA, merchandising that more or less always expands on a regular basis through various licensing opportunities, sponsorships, and of course, the live event tickets that will probably require a mortgage application if you want to attend an event in person.

Make no mistake about it, from a financial perspective, which is the point of the sports entertainment industry on the national scene, the squared circle is big business.

However, not every tale of the grappling arts can truly be defined by dollars and cents.

You've heard the cliche that money can't buy everything, and there's a strong argument to be made that a stack of Benjamins can't hold a candle to the value of friends and family.

One such example of that is Terry "The Sniper" Hackett, a 30-year pro that credits the pro wrestling genre as a way to bond with his family and a path that forged friendships that lasted for decades. 

Hackett broke into the business at the long since demolished Eastland Mall, a surprising location that hosted the now-defunct Pro Wrestling Express cards that gained wild popularity in the late-90s in the Pittsburgh region known for its love of pro wrestling that spanned back to the heyday of Sammartino. Hackett primarily learned under the direction of the late, Ron Williams, a powerful brute that left a mark still seen across the steel city circuit today. Occasional guests trainers gave him the opportunity to pick the brains of Hall of Famers, "Luscious" Johnny Valiant and Walter "Killer" Kowalski.

"It was tough at first because I never did anything like this before, like running the ropes and taking bumps. But, in the long run it as all worth it for something you loved to do. I learned a lot and it all soaked in.," Hackett said of his earlier memories of stepping into a ring in 1994.

Just eight months later, Terry nervously laced his boots for his professional wrestling debut, a bout held at an independent show in Penn Hills Park in July of 1995 with his trainer as the opponent. Terry didn't know it at the time, but that first match of his pro career started what became a nearly three decade friendship with the grappler known as Ron "The Beast" Williams. Despite his imposing look, sporting a goatee, shaved head, and multiple tattoos, Williams was known as a gentleman outside of the ring. After that initial debut, Terry and Ron worked as a team, aligned with the late manager, Joe Perri as a part of the Gentleman's Club faction, a staple of the late-90s independent scene of western Pennsylvania.

"Not knowing that teaming with The Beast, we would become best friends outside of the ring for thirty years," Hackett remarked.

Nearly two decades to the day after Ron gave Terry his first match, Hackett was a part of Williams' final contest, a tag bout that slotted them on opposing teams on July 25, 2015. Sadly, Williams passed away suddenly at the age of 48 in 2018.

Aside from gaining a best friend, Terry's three decades as a grappler have yielded him some of the best memories of his life. With more than half a dozen organizations on his resume, The Sniper, often a notorious villain clad in cameo, worked the tri-state as a regular for different organizations at different times over the years, with opportunities to work with some of the most well-known names in the sport.

"I started teaming with Nick Crane and later became tag-team champions in MVP. I got to wrestle Bushwhacker Luke in a tag match. He was one of my favorite opponents with The Beast, Doink the Clown, and T-Rantula," Terry commented.

Over the course of his time in the ring, on the road, and learning from those that he had the chance to work with during that same time span, Terry has seen the wrestling business, particularly on the local scene, evolve over the course of time. The sport is quite different today with social media and streaming video than it was when he put on a new pair of boots in 1995.

"It has changed a lot over the years, back then you listened and tried new stuff. Now, there's too much high flying and egos of wrestlers that think they know it all and they don't know squat. But, today there are wrestlers that know what they are doing, in the ring, on the mic, and there are no egos. Today, some wrestlers try too hard to put to much into a match and when you lose the fans, you're done because you may never get them back," Hackett explained.

Despite being a pro for most of his life, Terry still seeks out good professional wrestling, he has a passion for it that just can't be extinguished and it's not uncommon to spot him in attendance at local cards or big arena events on a regular basis.

He views his chance to watch solid wrestling as a special event because he shares his excitement for the sport with his teenage son, Jimmy, which Terry considers one of the highlights of his family.

"The two words that describe it are great and awesome. That's what it is to be able to share my career with my son is the best to me. Jimmy loves wrestling just as much as I do and he one of my biggest fans. we go to all the independent shows around the PA area. The shows that I am on, Jimmy films and take pictures for me, I have the greatest fan anyone could ask for in my son. It has been awesome to have him at all my matches. We also go to all the WWE events that we can go too, I wouldn't change a thing about it," Hackett said.

Just a few months ago, Terry was inducted into the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame with a special ceremony that gave his son the chance to see him honored for his career. KSWA is a group known as a throwback to the golden age of Pittsburgh Studio Wrestling and has run cards in the city for 25 years.

"It was a true honor to be asked and inducted into the KSWA Hall of Fame. It's to know what I have done for this sport of professional wrestling and to be recognized by all my brothers and sister in the ring, the fans, this great promotion. it was an honor. I have done what I love to do for over three decades," Hackett said of the induction.

When asked about attending the matches with his son Jimmy in the future, Terry replied with a smile, "here's to another three decades."