With the real-life conflict in Iran, the news can be depressed and frustrating. Sometimes, the pro wrestling industry can be as well, but the consequences are obviously on a much less serious scale so instead of ranting and raving about the orange blob's latest attempts to distract from the Epstein files, let's discuss the cold war of professional wrestling.
Given Wrestlemania's sluggish ticket sales, despite being the biggest event on the sports entertainment calendar, cold might be the word used to describe the industry as a whole, but different from the elected officials in the United States, let's compromise and call the current state of the business lukewarm at best. I've written a few columns over the past few months that detailed the evolving story of how the WWE reacted to the numbers as we get closer to this weekend's sports entertainment spectacle. Sure, the Saudi money is the big picture, and worse case scenario, they can paper the house so in the grand scheme of things, most of the concerns around sales are moot. The guaranteed revenue from the media rights deals, and the most profitable Wrestlemania in history next year, are going to keep the stock price strong. It's a harsh reality, but a global, publicly-traded company serves its investors first, not the audience. One way or another the stadium will look full by the time the pryo and ballyhoo begins Saturday night.
Still, as the corporate machine built the Wrestlemania brand into not only a destination event, but also a week of festivities to justify the fans' trip to different locations each year, the rest of the industry followed suit, slicing relatively small pieces of the pie from the massive influx of fans in the particular city each year. True to the carny origins of the business, there will always be a slew of grifters that run alphabet soup organizations that try to pick up crumbles with the notion that "we ran Maina week, brother." The reality is that the groups that run events on the outer most periphery of Wrestlemania week are not players in the industry. Setting a ring up in Bob's Beepers parking lot thirty miles away from the stadium has zero impact on the industry.
However, there are a select few shows that generate revenue and can provide narratives within the business based on their showcases around Wrestlemania week. In some ways, that adds to the cache of just how big the spectacle of the actual event is. The pro wrestling world is focused on the happenings of Las Vegas this weekend. Obviously, Game Changer Wrestling is probably the most notable, with Josh Barnett's Blood Sport event standing out because of its unique format, and Joey Janela's Spring Break. Outside of the GCW banner, Wrestle Con, the convention run by the Highspots website, usually does very well with the meet and greets of the convention itself, while the series of live events booked around it typically has some fun matches because of the amount of talent that are already there for the autograph signings.
TNA President, Carlos Silva was the subject of discussion online after he made the call to cancel Moose from the Maple Leaf Pro event, Scott D'Amore's organization, as well as cancelling Leon Slater's bout against AEW star, Ricochet. Furthermore, the AEW World champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman was scheduled to compete against TNA talent, Nic Nemeth at the Create-A-Pro event, a group run by TNA star, Brain Myers, before that bout was also canceled. MJF and Nemeth will both still appear at the show at the beginning of next month, but the match itself won't happen. Reportedly, Silva explained that the changes were made because of "partner conflicts," which is basically a PR way of saying that the WWE doesn't want TNA talent wrestling AEW talent since TKO has a partnership with the Anthem-owned company.
In truth, none of this matters in the grand scheme of things. Sure, it would've been something unique for the fans, but it's on such a smaller scale, especially compared to the business that WWE does, it wouldn't have impacted the numbers or the perception of any company if the bouts took place as scheduled. No harm, no foul in this situation. While D'Amore's MLP league recently secured a television deal in Canada, it's very much, as it should be, strictly a Canadian project. If the former TNA executive can find a niche running consistently north of the boarder, a market that doesn't get as many major live events as the United States since WWE and TNA are domestic to America, then good for him. Maple Leaf Pro will succeed or fail in a vacuum, which isn't a criticism, but rather to point out that they are strategically limited to Canada. Yes, I know that Anthem is based in Canada, but with the AMC deal at the start of the year, TNA will tour the United States most of the time. As we know, there was a recent collaboration between Ring Of Honor, the AEW spinoff project, and MLP just a few weeks ago. Still, Moose appearing on the Maple Leaf show wasn't going to make or break the event. It's not as though Moose's participation was going to change the goals or the realistic expectations of the venture going forward. The Ricochet/Leon Slater match falls in the same category, there are a few dozen matches happening that weekend, even if it's a dazzling spot fest that the live crowd and minimal online audience to enjoy, it's not as though Leon Slater is going to be in position to main event Wrestlemania next year if he beats Ricochet at the Wrestle Con event.
The MJF/Nic Nemeth situation is a little murkier, but still nothing earth-shattering. Nemeth revealed in a previous interview that his last WWE contract was a hefty deal more or less to keep him away from AEW more than anything. The office didn't have different plans for him, and probably didn't want to risk putting too much stock into him, as talented as he is, because of his history of injuries. You can't blame the former Dolph Ziggler for taking the cash for an easy schedule, especially because making the most money possible is the entire point of the business. Keep in mind, there's no pension or retirement plan for independent contractors. At 45, Nemeth isn't going to make another run anywhere, he already had a fun stint in New Japan a few years ago, and his tenure in TNA is probably just a way for him to continue to make some solid cash until he hangs up his boots. Should Nemeth have gotten more opportunities in his prime? Maybe, but it's tough to say because another major injury could've derailed the time and promotional push the WWE machine put behind him. Instead, he was typecast as a good hand in WWE, fairly or unfairly, but was still paid a hefty sum to stay under WWE contract. In TNA, it's a smaller pond where he can have a bigger impact, but again, it's not as though Nemeth is going to go on a major run that would change the direction of the business at this point in his career. Since Friedman is the AEW world champion, he would go over if the match happened, but does it really matter? It's a one-off on an independent show, it doesn't have the cache of something nationally televised. It simply wouldn't have affected anything if MJF beat Nemeth at a Create-A-Pro event.
So, why would the WWE put the brakes on these matches, especially given the relatively limited scope?
The answer is simple, it's a way for the WWE to put All Elite Wrestling in a secondary position in the business. Tony Khan might be from a billionaire family, but TKO calls the shots. It's a reminder, albeit a somewhat petty reminder, that the WWE dictates the direction of the business. When TKO tells Carlos Silva to cancel TNA talent from working with AEW wrestlers, it gets done because the WWE wants to reinforces the narrative about the amount of power that the brand wields in the industry.
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