What's the status of Big Cass?

When reports surfaced that Big Bill was on his way out of All Elite Wrestling in the middle of this past summer, I wrote that the rumors of his impending return to WWE made sense, as it was the next logical step after he spent time in both TNA and AEW to rejuvenate his career. He was cut from the company eight years earlier and had to deal with substance and mental health issues before he could get his career back on track. Thankfully, he cleaned up his life, and when vignettes began airing for his comeback to Raw before he made his official return to television at the beginning of August, it looked like TKO was getting the best version of Big Cass of his entire wrestling career. 

No pun intended, but when Cass was a tag team with Enzo more than a decade earlier, he was a puppy with big paws in some respects. He wasn't a guy that had previous TV experience or a long-term independent career, he was mostly a product of the WWE system. Understandably, there was a learning curve. Obviously, Cass had the size that WWE looks for and he was an athletic big man, which is key to success in most scenarios in the modern era, but the argument could be made that he didn't have the "glue" to the overall performance.

In many ways, regardless of what happens with his current WWE run, Bill Morrissey is a success story. He was a guy that could've easily become another cautionary tale in the pro wrestling business that has already had way too many tragedies throughout its history. However, Morrissey cleaned himself up and made his way back to the national level of sports entertainment for the past several years, which isn't an easy task with the crowded current landscape of the business.

As much as Morrissey was able to stand out from the pack, it's just as difficult, and in some cases, even more difficult to avoid getting lost in the shuffle.

It goes without saying that TKO is a corporate machine that will run full-steam ahead in pursuit of the almighty dollar, nothing else matters, even if some of those tactics eventually have a detrimental effect on the product or the fan base. Despite being back in the fold less than two months, there's chatter online that the bloom is off the rose when it comes to Big Cass' status within the WWE, and based on some of the recent results on television, there might be some credibility to that notion.

At 40, and considering that this is the best version of him so far, if the WWE is going to promote Cass as a big deal, the time is now. That isn't to say that he's past his prime in any fashion, but rather that if they want a legitimate star that they can push for the next 5-8 years, they have to run with him now. Of course, when Cass initially returned, he did the typical monster segments where he steamrolled the smaller guys on the roster. That approach can be effective, as it's one of the reasons that Bronson Reed got over when he returned to the company a few years ago. Obviously, the talent being pushed needs to have the skills to sustain the momentum long-term, as Reed did, but the argument could be made that there hasn't been enough of a sample size to make that determination for Cass.

When a performer comes into the promotion with a bully push, if they are defeated rather quickly then the narrative is basically over. That might be example what happened to Cass. Je'von Evans beat Big Cass in their rematch two weeks ago on Raw after their original bout in August so what else is there to do? David conquered Goliath, and it only took a few weeks for it to happen. This past week on Raw, Dragon Lee, another smaller high-flyer, beat Cass, prompting questions about what direction, if any, Cass has going forward.

Right now, it looks like Cass might've been the flavor of the month so to speak, and it lasted about as long as the flavor of the nifty zebra gum from back in the day.

I could see this going one of two way for the real-life Morrissey, either these losses are going to be used as the catalyst to set up a bigger story in the big picture, or the office actually has already lost faith in him so his run is going to be labeled as plateaued so he will spend the duration of his tenure in the lower card of the line-up. At least TKO has quality catering at TV tapings.

How Cass is used, if at all, on television in the next few weeks will be critical to the perception of him by the audience either as a threat or an afterthought. The issue is that Cass might've been literally a big fish in a smaller pond in TNA and AEW. It's much easier to spotlight a big man when the majority of the roster is of a smaller stature based on the "work rate" style than it is with the big man philosophy that still dominates most of the WWE mindset. On a roster with Oba Femi, Bronson Reed, and Roman Reigns, Cass' lack of charisma or overall presence might be more noticeable.

That being said, I'd still say that Cass made the right move, because if he would've stayed in AEW any longer, he would've lost momentum or the impression that he made through his work there. Ultimately, the WWE is still the biggest sports entertainment company in the world, and for the vast majority of talent in the business, it will offer the biggest exposure, and often the biggest money possible. At the very least, Cass had to take a chance to return, especially with the global expansion under TKO.

With the recent defeats, there was some speculation if WWE would bring Enzo back to the organization to reform the tag team as somewhat of a default to what got over years ago, but that wouldn't help Cass' chances, as it would basically prove that he didn't make nearly as much progress as originally thought if he needed a retread from a decade ago to try to get over with the audience again. More importantly, Enzo has proven himself to be completely aloof at almost every aspect of sports entertainment.

It remains to be seen if Cass' comeback fizzled out this quickly or not. All things considered, if I had to guess, as I mentioned earlier, the fact that he was booked to lose two matches so close together on television, particularly to Dragon Lee, who hasn't been a priority too often, is probably an indication that the office, for whatever reason, doesn't want to invest more much stock into the Cass return. Still, if that is the case, I don't think management gave Cass nearly enough time to reestablish himself as a commodity on Raw, but as unfair as it might be, the reality is that there are younger, more well-rounded prospects like Oba Femi and Bron Breakker already on the roster.

Super Indy 25

A quarter century ago, Super Hentai, a veteran with nearly three decades of experience under his belt by 2026, was hoisted onto the shoulders of his fellow competitors after he made it through three rounds of matches to win the first-ever Super Indy tournament. He defeated Orion, CM Punk, and Christopher Daniels in the same night to claim the trophy.

The eight competitors that assembled the field that night in Monroeville, Pennsylvania didn't know it at the time, but the one-night tournament format, a dramatic test of endurance and skill, would not only become one of the most storied events in the history of Pittsburgh, but also one of the most prestigious tournaments anywhere on the independent circuit in the decades that followed.

"Being a participant in the first Super Indy elevated my career to a whole new level. Being considered to be worthy enough of being in the same category with guys like CM Punk, Christopher Daniels, and Chris Hero is something I will forever be grateful for. I’ve seen the tournament evolve into something that I would consider to be one of the most prestigious tournaments in professional wrestling. I can list so many people that have graced IWC with their presence over the course of the last two decades and all of them are household names," remarked CJ Sensation, senior official and backstage organizer for the promotion. 

It's certainly apropos that Super Hentai, the grappling stalwart that won the inaugural Super Indy, will make his return to the tournament when the International Wrestling Cartel, one of the longest-running independent leagues in the country, presents Super Indy 25 at Marx's Court Time, the home base for the organization for the past twenty years, this Saturday in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania.

The concept of the tournament was designed to crown a Super Indy champion, a title that is put up for grabs each year, with the current champion sometimes defending it throughout the night, or the anticipation of a new titleholder based on who made it through the grueling format. Super Indy became synonymous for bringing some of the best talent in the business to the area for memorable nights of action that fans still talk about years later.

AJ Styles, Chris Sabin, Petey Williams, Matt Sydal, Adam Cole, Larry Sweeney, Colt Cabana, Joaquin Wilde, and Claudio Castagnoli are just some of the numerous national names that competed alongside stellar local talent such as Glenn Spectre, Gory, and Troy Lords.

More than just the participants of the tournament, Super Indy remains such a staple on the Pittsburgh calendar because of the memorable moments that it provided. Low Ki smashing his way through the field until John McChesney refused to wilt under the pressure in the final round, scoring a flash pin on the original Ring Of Honor champion to claim a victory that sent the fans in attendance jumping from their seats in 2005. Local favorite, Jimmy DeMarco went toe-to-toe with Necro Butcher in a violent street fight in 2009. Josh Alexander put on an absolute clinic with technical specialist, Jonathan Gresham in 2016.

"I think Super Indy has always evolved with the times and with the state of independent wrestling. Under the three different owners, there have really been three different versions of the tournament. In the early years, there weren’t many platforms for fans to discover the rare independent wrestlers. So, Super Indy was one of those places where you could see someone you may not have known much about before. The middle years, to me, probably reflected the true essence of what Super Indy became by showcasing talent that you would eventually see on a national platform. Today, independent wrestling is completely different. Fans have access to wrestlers from all over the world, so there are fewer unknown names and more established talent or wrestlers who have already been discovered. Super Indy has changed along with that, but the idea of bringing together great outside talent, alongside standout local talent, and giving them a stage to show what they can do, has remained the same," explained Jason Fosnaught, who works as a backstage producer for IWC today, but broke into the sport years ago in the organization as Orion.

With such a milestone of the 25th anniversary of the tournament, the 2026 edition will be no exception to the standard set with the previous track record, as some of the brightest young talent on the independents today will serve as a compliment to the major star power that will be hosted by the IWC, creating the compelling dynamics of opportunity for the next generation to compete against those national names.

Major headlines were made when Nic Nemeth, a former WWE and current TNA world champion, was announced as a participant in this year's field. The former Dolph Ziggler had an accomplished amateur background at the nearby Kent State University, and while the glitz of the television cameras have captured his star power for several years, the Super Indy tournament can give him a chance to showcase his tremendous mat skills. Another former WWE star, Tyler Breeze was also announced for the tournament when he will meet Nemeth in first round action. Breeze, a former NXT tag team champion, was deemed vastly underrated for most of his television career so again, the platform of Super Indy allows him to spotlight his skills.

"Calling my first Super Indy is a literal dream. The Super Indy tournament is so historic in not just Pittsburgh wrestling, but independent wrestling. The names that have gone through this tournament are legendary. As someone is just over a year in this business being able to say that I called a tournament with the TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth, Breeze, Super Hentai, and so many other greats that are on TV is a true honor," said Austin Cairns, one of the top play-by-play commentators in the area today.

The previously mentioned Super Hentai drew Canadian standout Shimbashi, who was actually born the same year that Hentai won the original Super Indy tournament. Dubbed "The Canadian Dragon," Shimbashi is a dynamic athlete that has already turned heads on both sides of the boarder. The five-year pro is only beginning to enter the prime of his career, and IWC could discover a gem if the youngster makes a name for himself in the steel city in one night if he wins the Super Indy championship. On the flip side, what a story it would be if Hentai wins the tournament again 25 years after he won the initial tournament?

While Shimbashi will make his IWC debut in the tournament, on the other end of the spectrum, another Canadian that is very familiar with the organization is slated to compete in the first round as well. Greektown Wrestling's Channing Decker, a multi-time IWC tag team champion over the span of many years, will squared off with the current Super Indy champion, Zach Nystrom. A seven-year pro, Nystrom spent the first portion of his career as a successful tag team competitor, but within more recent years, he has really come into his own, leading to his title win a few months ago. Considering that Nystrom is regarded as one of the best of the current crop of Pittsburgh talent, it seems like a run throughout the tournament to keep the belt around his waist could be exactly what he needs to cemented himself as potentially the best singles wrestler in the region.

In a prime example of the variety of the Super Indy format, it will be a battle of the big men to close out the opening round when Bill Collier, known as Agent Zero in TNA and one of the longest reigning IWC heavyweight champions in the history of the organization, will step into the ring with Sam Holloway, a talented youngster from the Buckeye state that many pundits have predicted a very bright future for in the industry.

A few non-tournament matches will bring together the rest of an all-star cast for a series of tag team contests. An eight-man tag will see Elijah Dean, NWA star Spencer Slade, the dynamic Austin Blaze, and former IWC champion Jami Jameson compete against the combination of the current IWC heavyweight champion Duke Davis, former titleholder Andrew Palace, Wes Barkley, and Felix Koz. The IWC Tag Team titles will be on the line in a ladder match when longtime radio personality and the founder of the International Wrestling Cartel, Bubba The Bulldog and his partner, Bulk Nasty defend the belts against The Dead Presidents, the combination of Storm Wrestling Academy alumni, RC Dupree and his stablemate, Johnny Mahalo, a two-year pro that learned the ropes under the IWC banner at the Iron City Wrestling Academy. The Dead Presidents are a mysterious rouge group that have targeted many throughout the promotion in the past several months, will the faction play a role at Super Indy?

"We’ve got TV talent, we’ve got our first Super Indy champion, we’ve got some of the best young contracted talent in the business, the longest-reigning heavyweight champion in IWC history, and guys looking to win their first championship in IWC. There are so many different stories and so many different paths this tournament can take that I think anything really is the best way to describe what fans should expect from Super Indy 25,” commented Fosnaught.

One thing is for sure, when Super Indy celebrates it's silver anniversary, it will be a memorable night in the history books, as the tournament has been such a defining event that has shaped the direction of the Pittsburgh scene for the past 25 years.

Pac passed away

The word disbelief is sometimes used as a figurative term, but I can honestly say that I'm literally stunned and can't believe the news that All Elite Wrestling star, Pac passed away at the age of just 40 yesterday, less than 24 hours after he worked the opening match of the All Out pay-per-view in Chicago against Andrade.

As of this writing in the early hours of Monday morning, no cause of death for the real-life Benjamin Satterley has been announced. Although, All Elite Wrestling officially confirmed his passing on social media around 9:30 PM Sunday night.

Obviously, more news on the circumstances of this sudden and unexpected passing will come to light in the next few days, but if I had to guess I'd say that there had to be something specifically health-related rather than an accident. For example, when Jay Briscoe tragically died at the age of just 38 a few years ago in a car accident, the initial reports noted the wreck as the reason for his death.

Anyone that dies at a young age without any diagnosed illness is shocking, but for a top-tier athlete, one of the most graceful performers of the current generation, to pass away a day after a match on live pay-per-view is truly unbelievable. How can someone of that statue, in that type of physical condition, and able to soar through the air on television be gone the following day?

I write a few thousand words about professional wrestling a week between the few different articles to cover the happenings of the industry. As a commentator for the independent scene in Pittsburgh, I usually call about a dozen hours of live wrestling a month with events usually three of the four weekends a month. But, I sincerely don't know what to say at this point.

As we know, Andy "The Butcher" Williams died suddenly at an Enjoy Wrestling event in Pittsburgh earlier this month at the age of 48, a death that the professional wrestling world is still reeling from so for another active wrestler to pass away less than a day after a bout just a few weeks later is almost unfathomable. I don't mean to sound repetitive, but the notion that Pac, who didn't appear to suffer any major injuries during the bout against Andrade on Saturday, died in the prime of his life just doesn't make any sense. In a form of ironic sadness, Pac posted a picture of himself and The Butcher shaking hands backstage in recognition of Williams' passing just a few weeks ago.

Sure, I could write extensively about his in-ring career, breaking into the sport during his teenage years as a standout of the ill-fated 1PW project in his native country of England before he made a name for himself in Dragon Gate in Japan, but all of that seems so hollow in the big picture. I could list the titles that he won in NXT, WWE, and AEW, but again that all seems superficial when you take into account that his life was cut short when he clearly had much more to contribute to his craft, especially because he was already working for the second biggest group in the United States.

Maybe it was because of his background as a native of the UK or his smaller statue, but Pac carried some of that Dynamite Kid in-ring explosiveness with him. The main difference was that Tom Billington worked as a kamikaze, whereas Pac was graceful through the air.

His footprint on the modern era is important in a few different ways. We saw how impactful the talent that went through the NXT system has been over the past several years. Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and a handful of others learned the WWE playbook through their tenures on the developmental brand before they became stars on the main roster.. As a former NXT champion during the brand's early days, Adrian Neville was one of the key pieces of the puzzle for how the concept got off the ground. Keep in mind, outside of Ohio Valley Wrestling, and a brief period of time with Les Thatcher's Heartland Wrestling Association, the developmental programs for the WWE were a mixed bag over the past three decades. It was difficult to miss the mark on developing talent when guys like Neville, Rollins, and Claudio were among the early cornerstones of the project.

After he debuted on the main roster in 2015, despite the progress made in NXT, Pac was a victim of circumstances in some ways since Vince McMahon wasn't going to invest too much stock into someone of his size, especially when Vince had gotten rather lackadaisical in his philosophy to default to Brock Lesnar as a booking crutch for a major portion of the mid-2010s. That's basically the same reason that the cruiser weight division was doomed, the WWE at least at that time, wasn't going to spotlight a smaller weight class. That's why it wasn't surprising that Neville was underutilized as the Cruiser weight champion. By the end of 2017, frustrated with his assignment to work with Enzo Amore, who was more or less the complete opposite of him in terms of in-ring ability, the real-life Satterley walked out of a Raw taping, opting to stay home instead of working with Enzo on television. Satterley's WWE contract was frozen in early-2018 and he wasn't granted a release until that August.

After a return to Dragon Gate, Pac signed a deal with All Elite Wrestling and had worked with the company more or less since its inception. For whatever reason, there were stretches of time when Pac randomly disappeared from television without explanation. Similar to what I wrote about The Butcher's passing earlier this month, who was or wasn't underutilized for a scripted show seems so secondary within the scope of the current circumstances. As far as Pac's All Elite career, when he was there, he was such a solid pro that you simply aren't going to find a subpar Pac match. Yes, there were some stints that should've been given more importance or spotlighted in a better fashion, but from strictly a performance standpoint, Pac was always a dependable worker. Maybe that will be one of the major pieces of his legacy, aside from the amazing aerial skills, he was always a guy that you could count on for a solid match. Names like Brad Armstrong and Bobby Eaton are in that category as well.

Of course, tributes from peers and fans have rightfully flooded social media. During an era when everyone is trying to get clicks online for websites or videos on Youtube, nobody had anything negative to say about Pac during his more than twenty years as a pro wrestler. The notion from those that knew him seems to be that Pac was a superb pro wrestler, but  Ben Satterley was an even better person. The legendary Bill Dundee passed away on the same day as The Butcher earlier this month, and as I wrote about the Memphis star, since he was 82, he lived a long and accomplished life so it was more of a celebration of life rather than mourning a death. Unfortunately, for Pac to pass away in the prime of his life, there's only a tremendous level of grief around the news of his death. Hopefully, as time goes on, that grief can slowly be replaced with fondness for the performer and the person that Ben Satterley was.

I'm not religious, but if it's possible, it would be wonderful if Pac gets a chance to shake hands with Andy Williams again today. My sincere condolences to Satterley's friends and family at this difficult time.  

All Out review

I wrote last week about the lack of hype or sizzle for All Out, mostly wondering if Jon Moxley was the right choice for Will Ospreay's first title defense after he claimed the world title in his home country at Wembley Stadium last month. After such a peak moment, it's almost unavoidable that there would be an unintentional decline in anticipation since the start of a fresh title run necessitates a reshuffle of the main event scene to allow for the champion to have opponents to work with. Still, I'm not sure if Moxley, who had the belt on a few different occasions, including for the drek that was the original Death Riders angle last year, was an opponent that was truly going to bring a spotlight to Ospreay in the main event picture of a pay-per-view. In theory, this was Ospreay's first chance to be the A-side of a pay-per-view main event, a PPV that drew less fans into the building in Chicago than the When Worlds Collide house show held at the same time.

The lack of buzz around the main event seeped through the rest of the card, as most of the matches looked fine on paper, but to say that anything was deemed "must see" would be misguided. I'm sure this is going to sound repetitive since I have to mention it for almost every AEW PPV review, but it's a continuous aspect of the product so it's a point of discussion, the amount of overkill on these shows remains a hinderence to the overall presentation.

The show opened with Andrade vs. Pac for the National title, which is another meaningless prop since Tony Khan gives away belts the way that Oprah gave away cars in Chicago. This is meant as a compliment, not a criticism, but while everything they did was solid, I still thought a match-up with two athletes of this caliber was going to deliver more in terms of the level of in-ring work. It was almost as if this contest was structured to have bursts of action and then deliberate moments that moved at a snail's pace, comparatively speaking. That's why instead of the copy and paste format of roughly 20 minutes for each title match, a flaw that Tony booked throughout this line-up again, the Andrade/Pac bout probably could've been given a little more than half of that time and kicked off the event at a much better pace.Andrade retained the championship.

The headlines from the Darby Allin/Steven Borden vs. Kyle Fletcher/Kevin Knight tag match are obvious, Borden was legitimately knocked out during an ill-advised springboard spot gone wrong so the match was rightfully stopped. Again, it should be noted that the springboard toward each other was illogical, and while I'm not sure what it was supposed to be if it had been performed correctly, I know for sure that it's not a spot that an inexperienced performer should attempt. That was actually the narrative of the segment before it was stopped, it's painfully clear that Steven Border is too inexperienced to be on this stage so his opponents more or less had to carry him to make him look good. That's not even a knock on the second generation Borden, he has an extensive athletic background that lends itself to making the transition to professional wrestling, he's just being put in a very tough situation. He has only been wrestling less than a year, it's unfair to expect him to be ready for live pay-per-view. Yes. I understand that as Sting's son that there would technically be a place for him in All Elite Wrestling, and of course, there's a natural storyline for him to work with as a second generation wrestler, but the reality is that outside of Kurt Angle, an Olympic Gold medalist, there are very few that would be up to the task of working on live television with less than a year experience. Furthermore, and again, this isn't meant as a jab at Borden, but both Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher are too talented with too much potential at this point in their careers to be booked for a segment that assigns them the task of making the rookie performer look decent in the ring. The horse has left the barn so to speak since Steven Borden was already put on television, but I have to say that I think it would've been a lot more productive if he could've worked the independent scene for a year or two to gauge his progress before he was put on AEW television.

Thankfully, it was noted that Borden was taken to the hospital and it appears that he's going to be okay after the scary moment. That said, the combination of such a concerning stoppage, along with the fact that it seemed like most in the building didn't know who Dani Luna was, more or less tanked the next segment. I'd argue that Persephone isn't over enough to get a reaction from the crowd, and I'm honestly wondering if Tony Khan signed her to a contract simply because she's a champion in CMLL. It was well-known that Dani Luna was on her way to AEW after she finished up with Total Nonstop Action recently, but it appeared that nobody thought she'd be the one to answer the open challenge. If you wanted to know the lack of effectiveness of TNA's platform on AMC, this might be an example of it, as the crowd was relatively quiet for Dani Luna and the majority of this segment. The pace of the bout was clunky, and besides a German suplex spot on the apron, there wasn't much of a response from the audience. Persephone retained the TBS championship, but this segment was forgettable, especially on a show that went over four hours.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Tommaso Ciampa was given the standard twenty minutes, but it was actually a match that justified the time it was given. Unfortunately, at this point in Okada's career, despite his stellar legacy as one of the best in-ring workers of his generation, you never know if he's going to mail it in or get into second gear. It was the latter here, and the argument could be made that this was the best match of the night. Everything they did was crisp and smooth, it was a good representation of what the selling point of All Elite should be when you subtract the counterproductive nonsense that eventually litters almost every major show. A lot of the bouts in the company, specifically on pay-per-view are just a series of spots without rhyme or reason, but Okada vs. Ciampa had the "glue" for everything to come together to allow for a pace that emphasized the narrative of the action. Without that glue, the viewing experience boils down to endless moves and risky bumps without any compelling drama. You can only watch the some car crash spots so many times until it becomes tedious. In short, there should be more of what Okada and Ciampa did here, and less of some of the pitfalls that took place later in the night. Okada retained the belt.

Ironically, a prime example of useless overkill and meaningless risks was the next bout on the card. The AEW Women's Tag Team Title match was a mid-card feud, which is fine, that was somehow given the opportunity to dilute the effectiveness of a bigger bout at the end of the event. Quite simply, this storyline didn't justify the tables, barbed wire, thumbtacks or blood that was used in this segment. It took away from the tag team ladder match that served as the co-main event, which was a lot more important, particularly because it's probably the last ladder match that Adam Copeland and Christian will work in their storied careers. This women's match was chaos just for the sake of chaos, and taking into account that two other matches had blood on this event, there was no reason for it here. Again, this mid-card feud didn't need any of this, and in truth, these four athletes are talented enough in the ring that they could've had a better match without all the gimmicks. The Brawling Birds retained the titles.

The Trios title match was next, and while there was a lot of athleticism, I found this segment to be rather moot in the grand scheme of things. It was fine, but it was unnecessary since I don't think it truly added anything to the show. The trios division is based in lucha libre because it suits that style, and beyond The Elite trio of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, the trios titles haven't served a purpose in the company. This 25-minute six man tag was more or less just an exhibition, and considering that the broadcast went almost four and a half hours, it would've been nice if this was saved for television so the pay-per-view could've went off the air before midnight. Swerve and The New Level retained, but it can't be understated how much the Trios titles have zero cache in terms of importance.

Thekla defeated Willow Nightingale to become the number one contender for the AEW Women's championship. This bout went about 12 minutes and didn't overstay its welcome, which is something that Tony Khan should utilize more often. This was a solid match, but it will probably be unintentionally lost in the shuffle based on its position on the card.

I was skeptical about the tag title ladder match, but this delivered in a big way and will be one of the more memorable bouts in AEW history in the future. It goes without say that there was AEW's way of booking Edge and Christian in another TLC match to capitalize on their history around the stipulation, but they were smart enough not to try to be a carbon copy of the original series from 25 years ago. This was all action and delivered the expectations of All Elite chaos without getting too ridiculous. The set up for spots throughout the segment made sense, and there was compelling drama, specifically toward the conclusion of the contest when each team tried to reach for the belts. Basically, this was a gimmick match, not a furniture contest, which was the key to the presentation. The bump that Stokely took from the ladder to the floor looked brutal as he overshot one of the tables and only caught the second one so it looked like the top half of his body hit the floor without anything to absorb the impact. Christian looked like he got a hard way cut on his face, and Dax Hardwood bladed. The co-main event of a gimmick match is where blood makes sense, which is why it wasn't need in the women's tag match earlier in the night. The ladder match was a fireworks show will at least some level of common sense, which is why it stood out in terms of quality. The Young Bucks eventually got the belts to win the titles.

The main event went over thirty minutes, and it was a quality performance in terms of what they did. The problem was that this didn't need to be and quite frankly, shouldn't have been an attempt to do another thirty-minute New Japan style bout the way that Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega did in London. The narrative was forced, with nothing organic, even if everything was well done in execution. These two were too concerned with working a carbon copy of All in with the phony attempts at drama instead of a spontaneous sequence that built drama around who was going to be the champion at the end of the match. Just as he did in London, Ospreay was bleeding, but it didn't really add anything to the bout since there wasn't a point where it looked like the champion was in jeopardy. Moxley's slow and plodding pace at different points didn't help the situation. The focus was on the flimsy storyline where Ospreay joined the Death Riders, not the championship, which hindered the segment. The series of run-ins toward the finish worked, if for no other reason than it picked up the pace of the segment. Eventually, Ospreay hit the elbow strike to retain the championship. 

Syx debut for TNA

Within the past few weeks, there was chatter online that the TNA/WWE working agreement could be coming to a conclusion, taking NXT talent off the table for the Anthem-owned league. Some speculate that the crossover is scheduled to end because TNA, with its new network of AMC this year, didn't take enough of a market share away from All Elite Wrestling, but I really doubt that was the case. All things considered, TNA didn't have the star power or the work rate to compete with All Elite Wrestling, and that shouldn't have been the goal anyway since establishing itself on a bigger platform as a viable commodity is exponentially more important. If the WWE wanted to hammer All Elite Wrestling, they would do it the way they are going it this weekend, running a stacked house show in the same city that AEW is running a pay-per-view to take a portion of their potential attendance away, specifically with CM Punk in the main event in his hometown. The irony is certainly there, considering the way that Punk exited AEW three years ago.

Granted, TNA's crossover with WWE had an indirect effect on All Elite, as it constricted the potential talent pool that Tony Khan could choose from, but let's be honest, the AEW roster is bloated enough already. I understand that it's a lot more provocative to assume that WWE wanted to use a smaller league to try to hinder AEW's business, but the reality is, the ability for WWE to recruit directly from TNA's roster, as it did with Joe Hendry and Mike Santana, and the chance for NXT guys to get valuable experience before they were moved to the main roster, with Trick Williams as an example, were much more realistic reasons for WWE to form a partnership. Plus, it became a key shield for the TKO corporation after WWE had to pay Major League Wrestling $20 million dollars in an anti-trust lawsuit a few years ago.

The reality is, unless TKO was going to eventually buy TNA, which wouldn't help any anti-trust accusations in the future, and they already have the NXT brand to develop talent, the working agreement was eventually going to finish up. Some pundits already put a negative spin on this story, with the notion that TNA is suddenly helpless, but again, the reality is that without the initial NXT crossover, there's no way that TNA would've landed the AMC deal to give the company their biggest platform in more than a decade.

The fact that TNA hasn't truly capitalized on the bigger stage is a different discussion for a different time.

Right now, Nic Nemeth is a solid world champion for the promotion, even if the former Dolph Ziggler is theoretically past his peak in terms of star power or the ability to move the needle. The Hardys can still go, but are obviously past their physical prime, which isn't a knock, they've been wrestling more than thirty years. However, the Hardys' enduring popularity are what make them so valuable to TNA, they can move the needle, which is why their autograph lines are always noted to be so long at conventions or after the TNA TV tapings.

That's why it made sense for TNA's newest arrivals to make their surprise debut on Impact last night in a segment with The Hardys since it's something that will get viewers for the segment. For the past several weeks, there were mysterious attacks on Impact, and during an in-ring confrontation, it was revealed that the former Wyatt Sicks members, Joseph Sawyer and Samuel Shaw, were the ones behind the sneak attacks. During the segment, "Syx" was on the video screen, a reference to their former Wyatt stable, and there's also the implication that the rest of the group will eventually be there.

I have to be honest, while I think that Sawyer and Shaw are definitely underrated as overall performers, my first impression of this is that it could be much ado about nothing. We've literally seen this story before and the concept was woefully underutilized in the WWE. Remember that major attack on Raw to kickoff the Wyatt Sicks angle and then the group eventually disappeared from television for an extended period of time because the writing team didn't have anything for them to do?

Basically, the same problems that prevented the group from getting over in WWE could put a ceiling on their level of success in TNA.

It goes without saying that the Wyatt Sicks was a wonderful tribute to the memory of the real-life Windham Rotunda, but in terms of a pro wrestling stable, it would be one-dimensional if all it was going to be was a Bray Wyatt tribute act. What are these characters going to do on their own to progress their individual narratives? Ultimately, the WWE never focused on that, and for whatever reason, only booked the group to feud against other stables to that immediately limit their options. Hopefully, if the "Syx" faction targets the entire company in TNA, that opens the door for many possibilities for them, including individual rivalries.

The fact that Bray's real-life brother, Bo Dallas was rarely booked in matches didn't do him any favors, and it almost put him in a no-win situation, as he was essentially cast as a secondary replacement for his brother. Outside of the fact that they are two different types of performers, it's an unfair benchmark to put Uncle Howdy up against since Bray's life was cut short, leaving questions about what he could've achieved later in his life.

The upside of this is that it's a fresh start with more flexibility for everyone involved. Assuming the rest of the group will be there, it allows for Bo Dallas to present his own version of that type of character that can stand on its own. Bo Dallas is a very talented guy, he doesn't need a tribute gimmick to be successful. Sawyer already branched out with his current tenure in Game Changer Wrestling, and it looks like they are setting up for more of the former Wyatt members to show up there, which is another way for them to put their own stamp on the basis of the gimmick. In some ways, Sawyer and the rest of the faction could use GCW as a platform to test new aspects of the characters, and if they work well then they could import them to TNA. More importantly, it gives Sawyer the opportunity to progress his character on an individual basis instead of being a background figure the way he was for the majority of the Wyatt Sicks tenure in WWE.

It was well-known that the most successful portion of the Wyatt Sicks faction during their time in WWE was that they sold a lot of merchandise, even when they weren't featured on television. It would be wise for TNA to try to capitalize on that since besides The Hardys, you don't see much TNA merchandise worn by fans. As much as I have my doubts about importing a WWE stable into TNA, at the very least, I want to see where it goes, but will keep my expectations low. As mentioned, The Hardys are there, Nic Nemeth is the champion, and the former Zoey Sky made her debut. While star power is definitely important to get viewers, there's always a risk of putting too many WWE castaways on the show. Are another half a dozen former WWE names going to move the needle for TNA? Again, the potential is there for some compelling angles, but at the same time, there's also the chance that Syx will be a retread of a failed WWE group with a lower budget and less overall depth on the roster. 

Should Crown Jewel be postponed?

We've seen how much the landscape of the WWE changed under the direction of TKO, following the merger with the UFC a few years ago. Vince McMahon, the emperor of sports entertainment, was exiled in disgrace, prompting Triple H to be moved into the seat at the head of the table for the direction of the pro wrestling portion of the conglomerate. Of course, we've heard that chatter about how TKO executives will occasionally weigh in with their opinions on WWE creative, infamously inserting Pat McAfee into last year's main event storyline for an angle that flopped so bad that McAfee stepped away from the business entirely. It was a ham-handed attempt to manufacture buzz when the reality was that the insane ticket prices were the reason behind sluggish sales. McAfee was a victim of circumstances, the guy did what he was asked to do, it's not his fault that the premise was completely flawed.

However, the effects of corporate ownership are a different discussion for a different time.

The point is that TKO is totally focused on generating as much revenue as possible, regardless of if it could have a detrimental effect on the fan base or the product on a long term basis. That's not exclusive to sports entertainment, that's often the meat grinder mentality of corporate America, there will be casualties in pursuit of the cash.

But, that brings up the question, where do we draw the line?

Sure, we've seen people lose their life savings in the stock market, the local small businesses get steamrolled by the big box stores, independently-owned restaurants are forced to shut their doors after years in existence, and citizens forced into bankruptcy if the insurance company denies coverage after a medical emergency. At the end of the day, that's the other side of the coin of capitalism, it's the price to pay for innovation and the ability to control a portion of the global economy that can often be leveraged in America's favor. As much as there are horrendous aspects to ruthless capitalism, the modern conveniences it provides become much more important to the average American than to boycott on a purist principle. The ability for Amazon to get packages to your house within two days, the fact that you're rarely going to find an iPhone out of stock if you accidentally drop it in the toilet, and the opportunity to pay for almost any modern day convenience is because capitalism is the primary force behind it all.

The pursuit of the almighty dollar makes it possible.

That's why the WWE's deal with Saudi Arabia is very concerning, especially with the conflicts around the global that are much more important than who wins a fictitious championship. Just a few days ago, amid the ongoing conflict between The United States and Iran, Yemen's Houthi forces attacked Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia and the location of many of the WWE events in the country. There's speculation that the attacks on Saudi Arabia could be based on the country's alliance with the United States, particularly when it comes to importing entertainment as we've seen over the past several years, and there's discussion about if Iran's ties with Yemen could've prompted the attacks.

As we know, western sports groups and entertainment acts have been a staple of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's propaganda spin for almost a decade. Boxing, golf, pro wrestling and theme parks were used to in an attempt to reshape the image of the country. The murder of journalist, Jamal Khashoggi was a reminder that not nearly as much had changed from the repressive past of the region, but for tens of millions of dollars, many people are willing to look the other way. Those millions will even buy you an apology from CM Punk because it's okay to take the blood money when it's going into your pocket, right Phil?

Outside of the Liv golf league falling apart earlier this month, the oil money that Saudi is willing to spend has garnered the region at least some level of notoriety to deflect the restrictive narrative of its past. Even though the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terrance Crawford super fight last year was held in Las Vegas, the home base of the UFC, the mixed martial arts portion of TKO, and streamed on Netflix, the WWE's media partner, Saudi was represented in the promotion of the fight since it has Canelo inked to a hefty contract. Of course, as we know, next year's Wrestlemania was already announced for Saudi Arabia, with the rumored number somewhere around $100 million for the rights to import the event, which would make it the most lucrative Wrestlemania in history. There's no doubt that $100 million is an astonishing amount of cash, but to put it in perspective, that number covers one fight for Canelo Alvarez, who inked a four-fight deal with the Saudi government worth $400 in February of last year.

The bottom line is, until the oil well runs dry, and that doesn't look to be anytime within the next several decades, Saudi Arabia is going to spend more money than anyone else to continue to bring events to their region. In theory, the totality of bringing the myriad of entertainment acts there is supposedly designed to spur tourism, but propaganda material is the realistic result.

The concerning part of all of this is that in the aftermath of the Yemen attacks, the United States issued a level 3 travel warning for anyone that would want to travel to Saudi Arabia, which is a technical way of saying that the area is deemed too dangerous for travel so anyone should reconsider their trip there. Some online immediately began to speculate about the status of Wrestlemania since it's the biggest event on the calendar, but I don't think that should be the topic of discussion. The reality is, Wrestlemania is next year, and it's important to keep in mind that an exact date hasn't been announced yet so the WWE has much more flexibility with the concept of WM outside of North America since it's basically a bought show, it's not as though any of the WWE events in the country are known for fans traveling to Saudi Arabia. Wrestlemania 43 will be a local crowd so it doesn't matter when the show is scheduled for, it could be promoted a few months in advance instead of being announced the year prior the way it usually is when it's in the United States.

The much more concerning part of all of this is the notion that the Crown Jewel pay-per-view is scheduled to take place in toughly a month and a half. It's not only entirely possible, but the with the current conflicts in that part of the world, the odds are that it will probably still be continue by the first week of November. Yes, the Saudi events are the most lucrative on the WWE calendar, as it's known that the company gets somewhere around $40 million for each of these shows, but given the travel advisories, shouldn't this be a situation where TKO postpones the event until some of those precautions are lifted? This isn't just speculation because of general instability within the region the way that there was previously, the United States government officially advises against it.

A stadium full of fans with well-known American entertainers in the building is too much of a risk, at least in my opinion. Yes, the Saudi government will have security there since many of the government officials are usually in attendance, but is there truly a way to ensure the safety of the performers when drones and missiles can be used for attacks? As we know, Trump is close with UFC president, Dana White, and has long ties with the WWE, specifically with Linda McMahon as the head of the Department of Education so God forbid there was some type of tragedy in Riyadh, there would be support from the United States, but it's not as though the military is going to escort pro wrestlers to the other side of the world to make sure that nothing happens.

Yes, TKO has proven that they will do anything for the cash, but they already have billions of dollars in guaranteed money from there media rights deals. Even for another $40 million payday for Crown Jewel, will it truly make a difference within the scope of the entire conglomerate? This is a situation where there are too many red flags, and the lives of the performers would be at risk to some level, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if the event remains scheduled as planned since cash will be the determining factor more than anything else for the TKO corporation.

Ospreay vs. Moxley

I've written a lot the past few years since Will Ospreay's arrival to All Elite Wrestling that he should be spotlighted as the franchise guy of the organization, very similar to the same way that AJ Styles was the franchise player for Total Nonstop Action in the early days of the promotion. Ospreay should be the wrestler the represents the All Elite brand, specifically because he's such a graceful high flyer, much the same way that AJ was during his in-ring career, that the British grappler can be the personification of AEW's strong points. The Will Ospreay presentation should be the main selling point of the overall package of All Elite Wrestling.

Granted, some will say that the die has been cast in terms of what AEW is or isn't so the ceiling is already set as far as much how of an audience that the company will garner at any given time, but that's a different discussion.

The point is, Ospreay's coronation as the champion at Wembley Stadium in London, dethroning Kenny Omega for the AEW world title, was a key moment in All Elite history. Despite the laundry list of serious injuries, including a life-threatening bout with diverticulitis, Omega proved with his recent string of bouts that he can still go at a tremendously high level bell-to-bell. That being said, there's no doubt that his career will ultimately be cut short because of the risky style that brought him notoriety more than a decade again. It should theoretically be a cautionary tale for Ospreay as the torch was passed, but I doubt that it's something that the new champion will take into account. Omega burned the candle at both ends with the risky bumps and high impact style, which brought him an international reputation, leading to the best contract of his career working for Tony Khan. The trade off for that was that it was going to take a significant toll on his body at a relatively younger age. Everyone pays the piper.

That's why it's so important for All Elite Wrestling that Will Ospreay has a very strong title reign to cement him as a true focal point of the organization, emphasizing his skills as much as possible so that he can excel in the position as the top guy. Omega's career isn't over, but even at 42, there's no doubt that he's going to be in a more secondary role going forward. Tony Khan isn't going to be able to play the Omega card in an effort to boost numbers nearly as much in the future as he did in the past. Ospreay is younger and healthier, at least for now, than Omega so it's his time to be the flag bearer for All Elite.

Obviously, Will Ospreay can't wrestle himself so he will need solid opponents and compelling storylines to maximize his potential as a draw for the promotion.

This is where things can get more complicated since Tony Khan is a matchmaker, not a booker. That isn't to say that he hasn't done anything right, since Wembley's attendance is proof that he did, but rather to point out that it's much easier to pair great wrestlers together to have a great match than it is to construct a storyline that is intriguing enough to invoke an emotional investment from the audience. The combination of the amount of pro wrestling content available in the modern era and the current economy makes that a tougher task than it was in the past.

That's why Khan's decision to book Ospreay against Jon Moxley in his first title defense at this weekend's All Out pay-per-view is somewhat puzzling.

The entire storyline with Ospreay randomly joining the Death Riders after the stable previous injured him in an effort to get ready for the biggest match of his career in his hometown was odd and convoluted. The baby face trying to win the world championship in his hometown shouldn't need extra motivation since the admirable pursuit of greatness is enough of a baby face trait. If that is the basis for this title match at All Out this weekend, the logic or lack thereof is shaky at best.

The much more questionable portion of this match-up, particularly when it comes to trying to sell the pay-per-view to the viewing audience at the traditional $50 price tag is, does anyone want to see Moxley back in the title picture? Is the prospect of Moxley as the champion again something that the fans will want to pay to watch? Yes, I understand that this is and should be the first of numerous title defenses on pay-per-view for Ospreay, but the entire point of booking a title match on pay-per-view is the possibility of the title changing hands.

The original Death Riders storyline and Moxley's title run during it was illogical drek that didn't have a point and dragged on way too long. It soured a portion of the audience on the concept of Moxley as champion, and given that he had several title reigns already, there's no reason for him to be in the main event picture. If you want to know how effective Moxley's heel run was, consider where Adam Page is now after beating Moxley was supposed to push him back to the top of the card. There was a time when Jon Moxley was the MVP of AEW, carrying the title picture on his back when a series of injuries put some of the main event scene on the shelf, but that was years ago, and as I've discussed since Page beat him for the championship at All In Texas last year, Moxley is overexposed to the audience. The notion of "Moxley fatigue" is a legitimate criticism so again, I'm not sure him challenging for the AEW title sells All Out.

As we know, the WWE is running When Worlds Collide in the same city of Chicago on the same day of the pay-per-view, with a stacked line-up, including an appearance from Oba Femi, and CM Punk in his hometown as a part of the six man tag main event. The Lucha Brothers are also scheduled for a tag match. As of this writing, there's no announced plans to broadcast the event so it's essentially a house show, but there was some speculation that it could eventually surface on the newly-launched Club WWE service.

I understand that the WWE has such a massive portion of the market share, but when When Worlds Collide, a house show, has just over 11,000 tickets sold, and the All Out pay-per-view has just over 9,000 tickets sold, it really puts the scope of the industry into perspective. Chicago is a wrestling city, it has history that goes as far back of the DuMont Network with Wrestling at The Marigold in the 1950s so it's not surprising that the market can support two events on the same day, especially given the history of AEW in Chicago. Still, when the pay-per-view, a premium event by nature, sells less tickets than the house show, at the very least, it creates questions about if Moxley was the right choice to challenge Ospreay in his first title defense. Taking the entire situation into account, it might've been better to immediately book the Ospreay/Omega rematch for All Out since it sold more tickets for Wembley, and the rave reviews of that bout could've been used as a selling point for the pay-per-view this weekend.

What's next for Gable Steveson?

This past weekend, the octagon traveled to the west coast when UFC 331 was hosted at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles with nearly 20,000 fans in attendance, headlined by the rematch of Joshua Van vs .Alexandre Pantoja for the Featherweight championship. Van won the title late last year when a fluke arm injury to Pantoja less than thirty seconds into the first round prompted the referee to stop the fight. The previously undefeated Pantoja lost the belt, but certainly wasn't beaten for the title so there was a level of anticipation among purists, as the match-up was solid of paper, but didn't offer the star power usually associated with a UFC pay-per-view main event.

The UFC 331 card was much of the same way, it was going to offer substance in terms of fight action, but didn't have the sizzle of the big names in the featured slots. Thankfully, the line-up delivered three highlight reel KOs in a row between decisions on the scorecards, with the very entertaining slugfest between  Alonzo Menifield and Iwo Baraniewski as the opener, and then Pantoja vs. Van was an all action main event. After Van won the belt via injury stoppage, he defended the title against Tatsuro Taira via TKO in the fifth round this past May, but there was still unfinished business with Pantoja. Van won a very competitive fight with a unanimous decision on the scorecards, and given the nature of the first contest combined with the quality of this main event, there's a case to be made for a trilogy fight between the two featherweights.

Van and Pantoja went back and fourth, with the advantage tilting throughout 25 minutes, depending on your perspective. There's no specific formula for when or how someone can make themselves a star in mixed martial arts,. but this victory could be a career-defining moment for Joshua Van in the grand scheme of things.

While Van and Pantoja put in a gritty 25 minutes in what could boost their profiles among fight fans, it took just 12 seconds for one of the under card fighters to potentially sour the audience on him as a competitor in the UFC.

Gable Stevenson, former Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling from the 2020 Tokyo games, was knocked out in just 12 seconds, one of the quickest finishes in the history of the UFC, with a vicious right hook from underdog opponent, Sean Sharaf, a heavyweight with a pro record of 4-2 prior to Saturday.

Despite his extensive collegiate and Olympic accomplishments, for whatever reason, the former four-time Big Ten Conference champion has struggled to translate those mat skills to the pro ranks in any form or fashion. As we know, he signed a Next in Line deal with the WWE, inking a contract with the organization in 2021 while he still had a year of eligibility left at the University of Minnesota. His WWE tenure was sporadic and rather underwhelming. Granted, the transition to the scripted world of pro wrestling where cooperation is key rather than the strict competition of the amateur mat is difficult, but with the accolades that he had fresh off of the victory in Tokyo, he either had to make the adjustment on a curved scale so that the office could capitalize of his medal status, or he would have to move onto the next venture. It's a harsh reality, but when you have that type of natural athletic ability, there's simply no reason that the WWE is going to monitor his progress or lack thereof when he's at the Performance Center, a facility with some of the best trainers in the world, the same way that they are going to track the progress of a bodybuilder that started from scratch. The WWE simply didn't have the time to invest years into getting Gable ready for WWE TV when his skills should've made up the difference, and there was no guarantee that everything would eventually click for him as a sports entertainer. Keep in mind, Steveson signed a solid contract since he had other offers on the table at the time when he was fresh off of the Olympic win. He had a few cameos, and and a horrendous match with Baron Corbin in NXT. He was released from the company in 2024, which would've had more to do with his lack of progress at the Performance Center than any individual cameo or match.

Following his WWE exit, he tried to get a spot with the Buffalo Bills, despite not playing football in college because of his commitment to the wrestling program at Minnesota, but was cut by the NFL squad before the start of the season. In 2025, he began a career in mixed martial arts, fighting on the regional circuit as a pro without any prior amateur MMA experience for his first three career bouts. He debuted in the UFC this past July when he finished the virtually unknown Elisha Ellison in the first round. Clearly, UFC management saw the potential to make the former Olympic champion a star, and it makes business sense, when he was back in the octagon just a few months later for UFC 331 on pay-per-view.

Sean Sharaf, who had a UFC record of 0-2 before he stepped into the cage against Steveson this past Saturday, was another virtually unknown opponent, but that's not to say that UFC management was trying to protect Gable, mostly because the margin for error in the heavyweight division is very slim, which was proven by the quick result. Again, Steveson had no amateur fights so the UFC paired him with someone of a comparable experience level. Taking into account that Sharaf was winless in the promotion before this, it's possible that he was fighting for his job. Steveson was the name, and ultimately, the narrative of the bout was based on how he would continue to develop as a fighter after a successful debut.

It's not the knockout loss that will damage Steveson's marketability, everyone knows that it only takes one punch, especially in the heavyweight division, but rather how Steveson handled the defeat. Despite getting knocked out, Gable appeared to be coherent and recovered after the fight was stopped. Instead of staying in the cage while the result was announced to congratulate his opponent, he left the octagon immediately, garnering boos from the crowd.

Rocky proved that you don't have to win the fight to make fans. The audience knows that anyone can get caught with a punch. The lack of humility and grace in defeat does absolutely nothing to make the fans want to see him fight again, specifically because his skills alone won't draw the crowd. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Steveson will get cut from the roster unless he proves to be completely non-competitive in the division on a long-term basis, but given the way that he left the cage because he lost the fight, it doesn't give the UFC hype machine much to work with in terms of promoting his next bout.

I could be wrong, but taking into account that his skills are more or less completely one dimensional, and that at least right now, he's a novice striker at best, I'm guessing this will be a scenario where Steveson is not going to be well-rounded enough to develop into a competitive MMA fighter. Furthermore, he had legal issues and assault accusations made against him in 2019 that weren't pursued by law enforcement due to "lack of evidence" so it's not as though it would be easy for the general public to rally behind him to begin with. The assault allegations weren't proven or unproven so it left somewhat of a gray area in terms of public opinion. Regardless of the viewpoint of that situation, it's much easier to see why the fans wouldn't get behind a sore loser, especially because a lack of heart in the fight game is much more detrimental to fanfare than the loss itself.

As I said, I could see Steveson's UFC tenure eventually fizzling out. He debuted for Real American Freestyle earlier this year, with two wins so far, and all things considered, as long as freestyle wrestling can bring him a decent payday, he should probably stay in that sport since his skill haven't transferred to other genres within the sports industry.

Is TKO complacent?

Is pro wrestling missing the risks?

That sounds like a contradictory question, especially when you consider the reckless stunts and the injury rate of the modern era, but there's a big difference between silly risks in the ring that have an unbalanced risk/reward ratio, and the risks a promoter can take to evolve the presentation of their product. The evolution of the business will be debated as long as the industry exists, there will always be those that proclaim that pro wrestling was better back in their day, and sometimes they might have a point, but the other side of the coin is that some pundits will automatically yield to the past because of a previous successful track record.

Unfortunately, that's one of the booking pitfalls that can lend itself to complacency and a stagnant product. One of the reasons that sports entertainment as a money-drawing commodity has survived the peaks and valleys of the business is that it often evolves with society.

To be clear, this has nothing to do with wrestlers literally setting themselves on fire to try to pop the crowd, but rather the risk of a promoter to bet on a new star to be the next legitimate money-drawing performer on the roster. I pondered this question because I stumbled across a clip on Youtube of The Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez questioning the decision for Penta to do the job in Mexico City instead of winning the title in his native country. While Alvarez slates more toward the modern approach with sports entertainment, he has a much more balanced analysis than Dave Meltzer. who will defend anything All Elite Wrestling does at more or less any cost, presumably because it's well-known that Tony Khan is a longtime subscriber to the newsletter. In short, I'd put more stock in Alvarez's viewpoint since it appears to be less biased. As I wrote in a previous article, while I didn't think that Roman Reigns was going to lose the championship, which is probably why they did the Sami Zayn switch on Smackdown, as a way to give the Hispanic audience something noteworthy from the tour, I thought that it would've been the right move to have Penta win the championship, not so much for the totality of the title run, but for the memorable moment it would've provided. Alvarez had similar comments in a video posted this week, debating if pro wrestling bookers were willing to take calculated risks to add fresh wrinkles to the fabric of the organizations or if they had to stick strictly to the initial plans.

It's a question that stretches far beyond Penta vs. Roman, or any other individual scenario. Alvarez examined the current tends of what took place over the past year, but for this article, I'd like to look toward the future, particularly with how the lack of flexibility could impact the perception of the industry.

It goes without saying that an effective storyline needs a solid conclusion, but it's just as important to factor in the reaction to the angle as it progresses. These are drastic examples, but when Steve Austin propelled himself in popularity, it was critical to push him into the main event spot of Wrestlemania in 1998 to be able to maximize his potential as a money-drawing star for the WWF. There was a specific time and place that the office had to capitalize on his momentum to make the most of it, and clearly, they did since he went on to become the biggest star in the history of the business. Management tried to catch lightning in a bottle again when they brought back The Ultimate Warrior in 1996, but it fell apart within three months so they had to pivot away from the nostalgia act, and more or less the same thing happened in WCW in 1998.

Speaking of which, since WCW folded, the business, primarily an industry with one key organization for the vast majority of that time, has struggled with a stagnant status more than once. Basically, without competition to push them forward, the WWE became too comfortable in the top spot, allowing personal agendas, not business, to dictate the direction of the product. If Nitro was an option in 2011, there's no way Vince McMahon would've allowed the CM Punk negotiations to go down to the eleventh hour before he re-signed prior to winning the title in Chicago. If WCW was still in business in 2014, it wouldn't have been such a struggle to get Bryan Danielson his rightful place in the main event of Wrestlemania after he was undoubtedly the most over wrestler on the roster.

Don't get me wrong, the hotshot approach, which is basically what the Attitude era was for roughly five years, can lead to an even longer down period because it burns through so much material at such a fast pace, but there's definitely a middle ground between crash TV and some of the drek we were subjected to in the late-2010s. The Roman Reigns forced baby face super push was an utter failure for years, generating so much discontent with the audience that it ultimately created the demand for what eventually became All Elite Wrestling. Vince knew that if fans wanted to watch pro wrestling in the United States then they were going to watch WWE. For context, Impact literally had ice fishing as its lead-in programming if anyone could find the channel that aired the show.

Obviously, All Elite Wrestling fell woefully short of expectations of another major competitor for WWE, which is why its first-ever television show seven years ago is still the highest-rated episode of Dynamite of all time. A portion of wrestling fans samples the product and decided it wasn't something for them. That's not to mention the steep decline in viewership after CM Punk left a few years ago. Still, with the billionaire Khan family funding the project, there are at least options for talent and the fans, which is why, despite some of its glaring flaws, the existence of All Elite Wrestling is very important to the overall health of the industry.

The flip side of that, and the contrast is apparent when you take into account the differences of previous eras of the industry, when the WWE was the only major league option, particularly after TNA was canceled from Spike TV, there were several years when the product was essentially exactly the same for years without any movement toward the future. Throughout most of the 2010s and even all the way through to more recent years, the WWE took the paint-by-numbers approach to bring in part-timers from the past that were expotentially more popular in their heyday than any of the full-time roster at that point. The Rock, Batista, and Brock Lesnar were given the top spots, which made the full-time roster look secondary. Vince wasn't going to gamble of putting his chips of a new star because he didn't have to, he could use a part-timer for a "quick fix" so to speak around Wrestlemania each year. The WWF in 1992 looked completely different in 1997, and that looked completely different by 2003. The modern WWE often looks exactly the same in terms of structure and presentation for several years at a time.

With the slew of retirements in recent years, there's more pressure for the office to find the next generation of guys that are going to move the needle, and that's not an easy task for a global, publicly traded corporation. That's not just the main event scene, but rather the overall format of the product that is going to draw money in the future.

Of course, we saw Roman Reigns organically evolve into a major superstar after he was allowed to naturally do so, but as I've written in recent articles, the Bloodline angle is being recycled so there's no doubt that the writing team has to find something fresh for everyone involved. Cody Rhodes is a top guy and does well in the role, but within the past year or so, even Cody hasn't had a firm direction, especially after the lackluster build to Wrestlemania.

That being said, I'm not sure management is going to be too eager to shuffle the deck, mostly because it goes against some of the interests of TKO, which isn't nearly as ominous as it sounds. This is where WWE is in a tough spot because it's a machine that produces live content every week throughout the year with no off season, and signature events that require a card that will sell tickets. That alone is difficult enough, but it becomes even more difficult when you take into account that TKO quite literally has a legal obligation to serve its investors. That's the biggest issue in terms of evolving the product, the WWE has a lot of masters to serve, and the stock price is a major reason why the company is worth billions of dollars. The bottom line is, TKO must serve its investors before it serves its fan base, and when it comes to investment, stability is the key. The status quo and guaranteed money through the media rights deals are what shareholders look for because its a relatively safe investment to yield a solid return on their money. The nature of what works for stock investment for TKO can conflict with the nature of what makes new stars for the WWE. That's why I find it doubtful that the WWE will take any major risks to make new stars until they absolutely have to, but if that will be at the right time and place to make the most of it is a completely different situation.

Ki MMA

Scott Coker, former MMA boss of a few different leagues over past few decades, is back in the MMA business, or at least that's what he claims.

At a media event in New York earlier this week, the 63-year-old executive announced that not only had he secured $60 million in funding for a new MMA project, but that he had aspirations of putting together a truly global organization.

Coker, the former head of Strikeforce and Bellator, currently runs a regional group, Fight Night at The Tech, alongside Gilbert Melendez, but has much grander aspirations with the brand new "Ki MMA," inspired by the Japanese word for energy, promotion. The initial plans call for a 32-man featherweight tournament with events in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia to eventually lead to a world champion to be decided in the finals. There are also plans for "super fights" with major names in the sport to serve as a compliment to the tournament bouts. Outside of a planned launch of early-2027, no roster or dates have been announced for the Ki MMA concept.

I have to be honest, upon hearing of this story, the first thing that I thought was, "how in the wide world of sports did someone put up $60 million for another MMA project?" and then my second thought was that I will wait to see if any of this actually happens before I put too much stock into Coker's vision of a new MMA format.

In truth, this is one of those concept that looks great on paper, but will falter in application. Ideally, from a purist perspective, the best 145 LBS fighters from different continents competing in tournament to crown a literal world champion sounds spectacular, almost as if it was something from a  Jean Claude Van Damme script. 

But, the logistics and reality of the fight game will rain on that MMA parade.

The reality is that the Ultimate Fighting Championship is the undisputed king of mixed martial arts for a reason, a position that was only strengthened through the merger with the WWE to form the TKO corporation, and the massive $7.7 billion Paramount deal that puts the UFC pay-per-views on the streaming service for the next seven years. The once pricey pay-per-views are included in the $7.99 subscription to Paramount+ so more fans will have more access to UFC PPVs than any other time in the history of the organization.

If I had to guess, I'd say that the investors of Coker's new project probably view a media rights payoff as the carrot on the stick so to speak, as far as the long-term goal with the promotion. Assuming that the $60 million of funding is legitimate, and there's no reason to believe that it isn't, at least at this point, it sends the message that this isn't a novelty venture. If these guys are willing to put up serious money like that then this appears that it will a legitimate attempt at the ambitious global strategy.

As mentioned, details were sparse, with no fighters, dates, or locations announced. It was noted that the bouts will take place in a ring rather than the standard cage usually seen in America. With the ring, as well as the Japanese name in the title of the company, it's obvious that Coker wants to re-create a slice of Pride Fighting Championship from its heyday in Japan in the early-2000s. The meteoric rise and fall of Pride is a different discussion for a different time, but Coker borrowed from the Pride playbook in the past, with bouts like Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice or Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie under the Bellator banner.

There's no doubt that the sideshow fights can garner attention, a 60-year-old Mike Tyson getting back in the ring to fight Jake Paul drew more than 65,000 fans at AT&T Stadium in Texas, and brought in such a mega audience for Netflix that the streaming giant almost crashed because of the sheer amount of viewers that tuned in around the world. In some ways, Coker proved that he can get the general public to pay attention to his MMA ventures when he used a similar business model.

The problem is, the novelty wears off and eventually the actual substance of the product will succeed or fail based on its own merit. It's easy to capture the public's attention for one night, and if you're promoting a one-off, you can "steal a house" so to speak in terms of a draw based on superficial content, but there's a reason that none of the sideshow concepts, including some of the groups that Coker was involved with, truly found their audience in the grand scheme of things. Bellator or Strikeforce had cards that the general public paid attention to for the evening, but the UFC was still regarded as the representation of the sport in the United States.

As I said, the concept is fantastic, but assuming that the timeline that was announced is accurate, how are Coker and his investors going to realistically put this together within six months or so?

I'd say that the main reason that I don't put any faith in this company getting off the ground is that it's simply too ambitious. Rome wasn't built in one day, and if you're religious, even God had to rest after he created the earth. It took the UFC a few decades in business, and several years under the ownership of the media powerhouse of  Endeavor to truly expand itself to a global entity. It's a process, not just with building a brand name that can draw in different countries, but also with the ability to properly promote and effectively advertise within foreign markets. For example, Ki MMA might be able to generate ticket sales in Brazil for their South American plans, but how will that concept translate to Europe? If ticket sales are sluggish in London, that could be a net negative to the bottom line. It sounds trivial, but something as elementary as finding the right venues in the right cities could be a hurdle to success with something on a global scale.

Furthermore, and this might be the biggest piece of the puzzle, where is Ki MMA going to find 32 featherweights to stock this tournament? More importantly, how is the organization going to properly promote 32 different fighters around the world? Where's the star power? Again, the bottom line is, while the featherweight division has some very talented fighters, the top talent are under contract to the UFC, There are simply not enough known featherweights for Ki MMA to be able to realistically generate an audience for its product.

Granted, Coker could bring in some legends from the past to be the selling point of these shows, allowing the younger guys in the tournament to theoretically have a platform to make a name for themselves, but how many of those aging legends would be able to safely get back in the ring to compete? Are there really enough of those match-ups to serve as the drawing card for the tournament contests to be held on the same events?

As we've covered, the rights fees are where the big money is right now, as the media landscape continues to evolve, continuing to find its balance between how many streaming options will the market support compared to what will remain staples of traditional television. What distribution will Ki MMA secure? If the group is going to try to run cards in different locations around the world, you'd assume that they would need a streaming deal so that anywhere with an internet connection could potential watch the events. It goes without saying that landing on a mainstream streaming platform instead of just a random place online is going to be key for the success of the project as well.

The bottom line is, while I can appreciate the ambition, there are too many hurdles for Ki MMA to make a dent on a global scale, and with the UFC low on star power currently for a myriad of reasons, it's not as though there's a demand for more MMA among casual sports fans the way there was two decades ago when Coker worked with Strikeforce. The ESPN deal arguably put too much content behind a paywall and the overall UFC eroded as a result. The Paramount contract is part of a rebuilding process to make the sport more accessible to more viewers at a cheaper price. The demand just isn't there for another MMA option. If Coker wants to re-create Pride in some form or fashion, he's somewhat misguided. Pride Fighting Championship was legendary for the impact that it had on mixed martial arts, but it was very much a commodity of its time and place. More specifically, Rizin has more or less been a decent, but lesser version of Pride in Japan for more than a decade. Yes, there are more platforms now Ki MMA to find distribution, but the other side of the coin is that there's also expotentially more competition for viewers across the sports and entertainment industry today. All things considered, there are too many obstacles, particularly on a global scale for Ki MMA to find a profitable portion of the market. 

Sami Zayn wins WWE title

It's been well-documented that WWE has lost some steam over the past year, an almost unavoidable scenario since every peak needs a valley, and the peak of the current era was when Cody Rhodes finally dethroned Roman Reigns for the championship a few years ago. In many ways, TKO bought themselves a safety net of an extra year to keep the drawing power strong through the John Cena retirement tour. It was the smart business move, as the corporation maximized the exit of the last mainstream star that the WWE made for the general public. Make no mistake about it, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Cody Rhodes have all done a solid job in the position as the top guy in the company, but Cena is still the most recent pro wrestler that the average American will recognize. If individual performers can reach that status today with the structure of how the WWE promotes the brand ahead of specific stars is a different discussion for a different time.

So, TKO had a selling point throughout 2025, but there was no doubt that this year saw the momentum slow to some extent, and the product cooled off. The sluggish ticket sales for Wrestlemania, and TKO's insistence of Pat McAfee's random involvement to almost point out the flaws didn't help the situation. McAfee was put in a no-win situation to the point that he stepped away from the business completely after the conclusion of the storyline. At the same time, TKO CEO, Mark Shapiro more or less thumbed his nose at the criticism toward the conglomerate that ticket prices soared while pay-per-view broadcasts were littered with more commercial time than anything else. When audio of Shapiro giving a lecture at a college surfaced online, he acknowledged that TKO's business model would sour some fans, but the goal was to make new fans in the process. If that strategy or lack thereof erodes the overall fan base in the process is definitely a debatable topic.

In many ways, it appeared that TKO tried to convince the audience that they were watching some grand spectacle simply because of the WWE logo, but more often than not, at least within the past year, the content didn't live up to the hype. There was a lot more sizzle than there was substance, leading to some underwhelming viewing experiences. The 30-minute main event between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins at Summer Slam wasn't this epic drama that saw The Shield have a full-circle moment. Instead, it was a slow, boring segment that dragged on way too long, making both athletes look less impressive than they usually are in marquee matches.

The Bloodline angle being recycled doesn't do anyone any favors either. In short, the WWE needed to shuffle the deck, as very few on the roster seem to have purposeful roles on the shows, while most competitors get thrown into a random storyline to keep them busy rather than to progress the overall narrative. The LA Knight title chase literally is a carbon copy from the original Bloodline angle when they had a match at Crown Jewel three years ago.

When Sami Zayn won the WWE championship in a triple threat match against Cody and Gunther this past June, it was somewhat of a surprise, not because Sami isn't championship material, as we've seen he's one of the best in-ring workers in the entire business. but rather the notion that TKO isn't going to venture too far outside of the typical look of a pro wrestler at a time when the WWE continues to look for more mainstream exposure through the ESPN deal. When someone is channel surfacing through the ESPN line-up and finds The Golics simulcast of their ESPN radio show, it's much easier for the casual fan that might remember the Attitude era to identify Roman Reigns as a WWE wrestler from pure aesthetics than to understand the value of a performer the caliber of Sami in the ring if he's sitting at a desk.

When Sami dropped the title to CM Punk on Raw less than two weeks later, it was assumed that he was used as a transitional champion to set up the Punk/Cody bout that was one of the main events at the previously mentioned Summer Slam weekend. In truth, Sami doesn't necessarily need the belt since he makes the best of anything he's involved with, but him unseating Punk on Smackdown in Mexico City adds some variety to the product, if for no other reason than it sends the message to the audience that anything can happen on any given week, even the WWE title changing hands on television. That spontaneity is key to avoiding complacency, especially outside of Royal Rumble season when the pieces of the puzzle start to get put into place for Wrestlemania.

Granted, this might be another short-term run with the belt for Zayn, and maybe it was something booked specifically for Mexico City since it had been several years since the WWE ran TV tapings there, but the intrinsic value is the same, it brings a more organic presentation to the table, which is something TKO has needed for the majority of the year. Furthermore, it gave the Hispanic audience a title change, which might be used as somewhat of a substitute for a noteworthy result in the country if Penta is going to do the job in his match against Roman on Raw tonight.

Obviously, it remains to be seen where things go from here, particularly with Sami as champion, but that's the point of the surprise switch, it avoids the stale or predictable direction. From what we've seen so far, it looks like CM Punk/Kevin Owens is going to be a money feud, and I'm not sure it would need the championship to be a featured match based on the quality of the promos already. Still, the booking of the actual title contest kept CM Punk strong with him getting the visual victory with the submission on Zayn with the interference from Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano before Owens' involvement.

One thing is for sure, regardless if Sami keeps the title for an extended period or not, it's a good thing that the office has added some variety to the product. As much as Johnny Gargano was made to look like a dork for months, maybe this will lead to something more meaningful for him to do in the grand scheme of things. If I had to pinpoint one specific reason that this year was so flat, it was probably because that the current crop of main event guys have more or less already done everything there is to do, which happens much faster now than it did in the past with the two-night format for signature pay-per-views, along with the rest of the expanded calendar. For example, the Bron Breakker/Oba Femi bout could've theoretically been booked for a major pay-per-view, but Sunday Night's Main Event needed some big matches to justify its place on the line-up. I'm not saying that Sami Zayn has to main event Wrestlemania next year, but hopefully, his tenure in the main event scene will be longer than the two weeks he had with the belt prior to this, simply for the chance to booked fresh matches in the next few months.

Zuffa boxing

Could professional boxing have an opportunity to re-establish itself in the United States?

Stretching as far back as the closed-circuit, the predecessor to pay-per-view that was instrumental in the national expansion of pro wrestling years later, era of the sweet science, boxing had a way to monetize itself on a major scale. Basically, the sport was on the forefront of mass distribution, regardless of what the form of media was at the time. The Rumble in The Jungle saw fans flock to those previously mentioned closed-circuit location. When HBO launched as a form of premium television when basic cable was still in its formative stages, the ability to watch live boxing cards, along with movies that had recent theatrical runs, was one of the main selling points for consumers to pay a little extra. As time went on, Mike Tyson became a pay-per-view exclusive, but there was still a portion of his prime that aired on the subscription networks. The same can be said for some of the biggest names in the sport. Furthermore, when technology advanced to the point that customers could order the events directly at home, boxing often generated a few million buys a year between the handful of major bouts that were broadcasted. Oscar De La Hoya, Evander Holyfield, and Lennox Lewis generated four million buys between four pay-per-views that were held in 1999.

As we know, the political red tape, especially as networks expanded and there was more money on the table, almost completely destroyed the sport. For decades, the top fighters clashed in classic battles that made the sport not only as popular as it was, but a part of pop culture in America at different points in time. In the late-90s, there were almost weekly cards on HBO, and ESPN had the Friday Nights series to showcase the up-and-coming fighters as well. The cards every few weeks on the linear HBO channel were used to promote signature pay-per-view events, and it kept the business model strong. At the same time, legendary slug fests such as the Gatti-Ward trilogy maintained the selling point for the subscription channel itself, along with newer dramas like The Sopranos and The Wire.

The bottom line is, when the top fighters competed against each other, the industry of boxing was much healthier. By the mid-2000s, that changed and it became more about promoters that wanted to protect their golden goose rather than draw the biggest money possible. Floyd Mayweather, a masterful defensive technician, was in position to be the top name in the sport, specially after the peak heavyweights of the late-90s had retired, and he secured a career-defining win against the previously mentioned De La Hoya in 2007.

Unfortunately, Floyd became more about protecting his brand than fighting the best competition possible. He fought a 23-year-old Canelo Alvarez before the Mexican superstar had the experience to truly be a threat to his unblemished record. Neither Victor Ortiz nor Robert Guerrero had any business being in the ring with Mayweather, and the same could be said for Andre Berto later in Floyd's career. Marcos Maidana was competitive against him, which was proven by the debatable split decision that Floyd won on the score cards before he won a unanimous decision in the rematch. Essentially, Mayweather's career devolved into glorified exhibitions, Showtime actually lost money on the contract that he had with the network when buy rates didn't cover his hefty guarantee. He strategically fought a diminished Manny Pacquiao five years too late, and the super fight that the public waited years to see was woefully underwhelming. HBO and Showtime, networks that were major distribution channels for the sport, got out of the boxing business almost decade ago when the economics were no longer profitable for their platforms. 

Floyd vs. Conor McGregor was the last money grab of Mayweather's pro boxing career, setting a pay-per-view record for the novelty alone, but the one-sided bout wasn't sold on the competition.

In the past decade, the previously mentioned Canelo Alvarez, Terrence Crawford,  Gennady Golovkin, Tyson Fury, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and a few others provided boxing fans with quality performances, particularly when Alvarez made Cinco De Mayo and Mexican independent day weekends staples of the calendar. However, the majority of those contest didn't capture the attention of the general public, as casual sports fans didn't have boxing on the radar. It didn't help the situation when Saudi Arabia offered expotentially more money, including $100 million per fight to get Alvarez to compete in the country, than other promoters could realistically offer so marquee bouts were held in the middle of the afternoon in the United States without major fanfare.

Without those fights in a primetime spot or the mainstream distribution to make it easily accessible to the general public, the results of major fights become a note online or blurb on Sports Center rather than something sports fans tuned in for. The attention turned to sideshow fights like when the 60-year-old Mike Tyson fought Jake Paul that drew such a massive number that it crashed Netflix. Jake Paul's lack of credibility as a pro boxer was exposed when he lost to the mediocre Tommy Fury in 2023, and when Anthony Joshua broke his jaw when he knocked him out in the sixth round last December. 

I have my doubts, mostly because of the track record that boxing has of self-sabotage for the vast majority of the past 15 years, but a few of the recent cards, and more specifically the potentially of the deals put in place, might be a way for the sport to rebuild itself, at least to some degree among the American market. In July, TNT and DAZN formed a partnership to bring "The Fight" series to both the streaming platform and the linear cable channel, with the concept of monthly fight cards. The debut card, Abdullah Mason vs. Albert Bell, which isn't exactly a match-up with major star power, still drew a reported average of 750,000 viewers. Last week, Andy Ruiz, the heavyweight that gained brief fame for his surprising knockout victory against the previously mentioned Anthony Joshua in 2019, lost a unanimous decision to Damian Knyba for a contest that garnered 678,000 viewers.

Clearly, there's an audience for boxing when fights are accessible and affordable.

UFC boss, Dana White was a longtime critic of the boxing industry, mostly because of the political nature of the sport.He formed Zuffa boxing with the Saudi government, with the most important piece of that puzzle being the cash that the Saudis can afford fighters. The organization started running monthly cards last year, with Canelo vs. Crawford under the Zuffa banner. Last night, Ryan Garcia pummeled Conor Benn, prompting the referee to stop the bout in the second round. It remains to be seen how impactful the Zuffa project will be on a long-term basis, but the fact that the cards are included in the $7.99 Paramount+ subscription.

Again, the fights are easy to find and don't have the outrageous price of traditional pay-per-view.

With the pending merger between Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery, it's possible that all of this could end up under the Zuffa banner, but the point is. there are two entities are currently running live monthly cards, which gives fighters a chance to make a name for themselves and thus become stars in the process. As I said, I really doubt that boxing will avoid the pitfalls that originally diminished the sport, but between the TNT and Zuffa deals, this is the best chance that boxing had to rejuvenate itself in years.