GCW review

As promised, I wanted to write a column about the experience of Game Changer Wrestling live from last weekend, when I attended Summer Slam in Cleveland with the great Pat Maclaughlin. I follow GCW on a regular basis, watching most of their main shows online, but didn't get a chance to see the brand in person. Pat, who got permission from his boss, Mrs. Mac to take a weekend wrestling trip to pro wrestling prosperity, made the suggestion to pick up GCW tickets. So, as I mentioned in the write-up about Summer Slam earlier this week, we departed western Pennsylvania early Friday afternoon to venture into enemy territory that night.

GCW is in somewhat of an odd position on the totem pole of the pro wrestling landscape, as it tours and draws crowds throughout different parts of the country, albeit on a smaller scale, but the brand still manages to draw fans on both coasts. I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to say that Game Changer Wrestling is the top independent group in the United States, especially since PWG has been dormant for more than a year. At the same time, it's still a very indy league and all things considered, I'm not sure how much further up the ladder the group could move in terms of influence or drawing power. In some ways, the Hammerstein event from early-2022 put a ceiling on the company's progress, as the mixed reviews and timing issues almost implied that the stage was too big for the organization.

None of that is meant as a knock, I'm just not sure of the stain power or influence the group will continue to have throughout the rest of 2024. Three years ago, Matt Cardona's foray into death matches got people talking, and beyond just the violence, it was an intriguing scenario. Rickey Shane Page, who is a vastly underrated talent, had a very memorable feud with Nick Gage that again, gave context to the violence. Furthermore, Jon Moxley's involvement in GCW, especially when he clearly wasn't doing it from the money, considering he was All Elite Wrestling champion at the time, was another interesting draw to the product. Cardona is technically still on the injured list, RSP parted ways with Game Changer Wrestling a few years ago, and Moxley was a temporary drawing card for the company, given his schedule.

I'm not really sure GCW has been able to recapture that spark since the Hammerstein show, despite solid events with entertaining wrestling. I'm also not sure if a potential retread of a Cardona/Gage bout, which was theoretically set up at the conclusion of this Cleveland event, will bring a boost with it unless there's some type of swerve to add a new element into the mix, which is possible.

The event was held at the Cleveland Masonic Temple, which made me think of The Simpsons episode with a catchy tune about the existence of the New World Order in Springfield. As I mentioned in the prior write-up, the venue looks rather nondescript on the outside, but after you go through the main entrance, there's a really neat lobby and a cool set up with a stage and balcony seating for what usually runs as a concert hall. Before the show, I didn't see any evidence of the Illuminati, but had the chance to meet Cardona, Matt Hardy, and Maki Ithoh. Everyone was very polite. Cardona, who is almost as famous, if not more famous for his action figure collection than his wrestling, got a laugh when I told him that my young nephew has tried to open some of my signed figures before. Thankfully, I was able to make the save before any of the autographs were destroyed by the toddler. Matt Hardy was impressed with the rare 1 of 500 AEW figure I had for him to sign, and Maki was very thankful that the fans wanted to meet her.

I could write a match-by-match breakdown on the show, but that would be a repetitive read, mostly because, while a very fun night of live wrestling, the presentation of the event itself had some very repetitive moments. Perhaps it was the regulations of the state of Ohio, but for whatever reason, there were nearly a dozen doors used and a myriad of chairs throughout most of the matches, even for the bouts that didn't need either of those gimmicks. Furthermore, the ring crew stuffed the same chairs back under the ring throughout the show so when a chair was going to be used later in the night, it was often already destroyed and it led to a few flat moments when the talent had to search for another chair to set up the spot.

In terms of quality, the show was a mixed bag, but overall, it was a very fun night experience. Sonny Kiss made a surprise appearance to have a short, but solid match against Allie Katch. Sonny's athleticism was very impressive, and I'm not sure if a return to AEW will be in the cards because she would probably just get lost in the shuffle again, but she definitely has the talent to perform on a national stage. The former Reggie of WWE fame, Sidney Akeem beat GCW mainstay, Gringo Loco in a 10-minute lucha sprint that was very entertaining. This wasn't exactly my cup of tea since it had a few of the spots that looked way too choreographed, but again, the pure athleticism and skill were very impressive. Speaking of lucha, there was a six man tag later in the night that was fun, but it was very similar to the standard tag match that opened the show so as the night progressed, the presentation became more homogenized.

Zilla Fatu, the son of the late, great Umaga, beat Ohio standout, Josh Bishop in a very physical match. There were some hard-hitting strike exchanges and some brutal shots to the head with pieces of doors throughout this contest. Zilla is a puppy with big paws so to speak, and while there are no guarantees, especially this early in his career, he definitely looks to have potential for a bright future. The former Jinder Mahal, Raj Dhesi worked a match against GCW favorite, Effy. This segment was fine for what it was, but it wasn't anything too spectacular. This was an example of Dhesi being put through a door that didn't really add anything to the match. It was a DQ finish when the Bollywood Boyz reunionited with Mahal. I'm guessing this segment had more to do with the set up of a future storyline than anything else, which is fine because as mentioned, angles have been rather sparse in GCW. There was a four-way big man bout that was fine, but if it wasn't on the show, it wouldn't have made a major difference.

At one point, Matt Cardona, who is currently the General Manager, trolled the audience, implying that Chelsea Green was going to be a surprise appearence for the company. It was very well done because the diehard GCW fan base knew that Green was in town with the WWE and they bought it. I've never seen Pat more thrilled than in the moment when he thought he would get the chance to see Chelsea in person. Joey Janela was scheduled to compete against a mystery opponent, but couldn't appear on the card. On the flip side, GCW champion, Mance Warner, who is a very good performer that is really evolving in the role, was also scheduled to compete against a mystery opponent. Matt Justice, a former staple of the company, was the competitor to answer the open challenge. While Justice is a wild man that fits the GCW brand, he didn't work for the company is over a year before this so I don't know how invested the live crowd was when they knew that there wasn't a chance that there was going to be a title switch. Speaking of GCW's diehard audience, this is where it came back to bite the group somewhat, as Justice has used Rob Van Dam's ECW theme in the past to pay homage to the company that inspired him, but it was out of sight, out of mind so to speak since Justice had an extended absence from GCW. Again, the fans knew that RVD was in Cleveland for the Wrestle Con convention, and when the music hit, I think most assumed it was going to be the former ECW champion.

The Mance/Justice bout was fine, but this was the point in the show where all the doors and chairs just got rather bland after they were already used numerous times earlier in the night. Mance retained the belt. Blake Christian and Shane Mercer beat Los Macizos in a six-minute tag match. Similar to the big man bout, this tag match was fine, but if it would've been scrapped from the card, there wouldn't have been a major difference in the overall quality of the show. Maki Itoh is very over with the audience, but there's not much to say about the five-minute match against John Wayne Murdoch, as it simply didn't have enough time to get to second gear or build to the conclusion.

Nick Gage has some rightfully critics, but there's absolutely no denying how over he is with the GCW fan base. He got one of the biggest reactions of the night and the audience was legitimately invested in him as the face of the company. That said, he was very limited in what he did in this match, especially without a variety of gimmicks to use to enhance his character. Matt Hardy is in great shape, and given TNA's working relationship with NXT, I wouldn't be too surprised if he resurfaces there. There wasn't much too this match and the finish was somewhat flat when interference from Cardona caused it to be declared a no contest. In a post-match promo, a tag match between Gage and Hardy vs. Cardona and Jimmy Lloyd was set up for an event later this month.

Overall, it was definitely worth attending the show live and the atmosphere adds a lot to the experience. The only downside is, similar to the conflicting nature of GCW's status among the wrestling landscape, the event had a somewhat conflicting presentation. There were a variety of styles booked for the card, but there were a lot of repetitive weapons used throughout those matches.

Summer Slam review

In a true example of how unpredictable and sometimes illogical professional wrestling can be, on just a week's notice, the great Pat Maclaughlin sent me a text and asked if I would want to take the trip from the steel city into enemy territory of Cleveland, Ohio to see Summer Slam live at Browns stadium. After I had the chance to attend Summer slam in Detroit last year with one of my wrestling pals, Rob Brown, who is one of the key members of the Mike Sorg production team that films many of the independent cards that I usually do commentary for around Pittsburgh, I knew that the stadium atmosphere was a very unique experience and didn’t mind venturing into hostile territory to attend Summer Slam live for the second year in a row. On top of that, Wrestle Con was running that weekend, as well as a Game Changer Wrestling show the day before the WWE pay-per-view. I plan to write an article discussing the GCW show later this week.

Since Pat got the green light from the Triple H of the family, Mrs. Mac, we decided that it would be a fun wrestling trip so Friday afternoon, Pat and I departed western Pennsylvania for the two and a half hour journey to Cleveland. All things considered, it was a relatively uneventful ride, except for the fact that I probably talked way too much and ranted about the current state of some of the wrestling business. After we checked in and grab some food, we ventured to the Masonic Temple in Cleveland for GCW. While It was a rather nondescript building on the outside, it was a very neat venue inside as it appeared to be a concert hall when it wasn’t housing mayhem, with balcony seating and stage that led to the ring.

As mentioned, GCW will be an article of its own so let's jump to Saturday morning when we arrived at Wrestle Con at the Cleveland Marriott for the convention. I have to be honest, I didn't know how big the hotel was going to be, but it was impressive that the set up was more than enough to accommodate the albeit somewhat scaled down convention compared to the super show that the High Spots website usually organizes for Wrestlemania season. Despite the fact that another major convention was booked for North Carolina the same weekend, Wrestle Con still had a stacked line-up with over two dozen legends booked to sign autographs and take photos. Thankfully, I had the chance to meet the majority of the stars on the list because to say that this convention was expensive would be somewhat of an understatement. Ron Simmons, Lex Luger, Scott Steiner, Arn Anderson, and Tommy Rich were all very polite. It was a really fun experience to meet them and it was a very cool addition to the weekend.

This might’ve been SummerSlam, but prior to the kickoff, it resembled a human royal rumble as an army of wrestling fans as far as you could see flooded toward Brown stadium. The city had several blocks shut down to traffic so when a Lyft driver appeared not to have any idea how to navigate the situation, Pat called an auditable and we decided to walk with the rest of the wave of fans toward the football venue. Even though walking isn't usually my strong suite, like a true fiery baby face, I made sure I could get to the building to attend the pay-per-view for the prosperity of pro wrestling. Thankfully, we found our particular entrance rather quickly and made it inside the stadium but another battle royal of wrestling fan traffic waited inside the corridors of the stadium. On one hand, it’s somewhat of a claustrophobic experience being sandwiched into the space, but on the other hand, it’s an impressive slight to see just how packed and thus how much of a draw the pay-per-view is on the WWE calendar. Eventually, we found our seats on the upper level of one of the end zones and had a decent overview of the ring, as well as the entrance way. Speaking of which, I must say that one of the most impressive aspects of attending this event live was the visual of the stadium and the spectacle after it got dark and the set illuminated the presentation.

In an effort to provide the perspective of the live attendance and to make sure to note the important details, I actually watched the show on Peacock when I returned home. The chatter online suggested that Rhea Ripley had a legitimate shoulder injury prior to the bout at the PPV, and that appeared to be accurate, as they didn't so much stall with the cat and mouse spots earlier in the opener on the card for the Women's title, but you definitely got the impression that they wanted to physically protect Ripley as much as possible. This match was a lot more smoke and mirrors with the character work sequences, which doesn't always translate in a stadium to the live crowd, than it was in-ring work. There wasn't anything subpar about it, it was just clear that the office looked to minimize the amount of physicality that Ripley had to do for the segment. That said, there was a few portions of the match that somewhat jumped the shark, particularly when Rhea "put her arm back in place" with something from a Mel Gibson spot. In reality, throwing your shoulder against something doesn't put it back into the socket, and the spot has become too cliche to be believable in the modern era. As much as this was a character-based segment, for what they did in the ring, they did it well. It should be noted that the Dominik heel turn got major heat live, and it will probably be one of the memorable moments in Summer Slam history. Sure, it was predictable, but sometimes the simplest answer is the right answer and it worked in this scenario. If there was a downside to this being the opening segment, it more or less made it obvious what was going to happen to the rest of the stable later in the night.

Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn was a little perplexing, as it wasn't exactly a squash match, but it wasn't competitive either. Don't get me wrong, I think Bron winning was the right call, and truth be told, Sami is so over that he doesn't need a title to maintain that status, but for two guys that can go bell-to-bell, this five-minute match was somewhat underwhelming. It never got into second gear because it wasn't given enough time to be a rather one-dimensional presentation. Still, Breakker got the win so it was mission accomplished. It would be unfair to make direct comparisons, but I really think that Bron Breakker is a natural and has the potential to be a main event star in the future.

The US title match between LA Knight and Logan Paul was solid. As much as I don't understand the whole "famous for being famous" gimmick that talentless people often use for social media fame, I will give Logan Paul credit, he has done well in the WWE, especially based on his level of experience. I'm still not sure his involvement necessarily brought a new demographic of fans to the product, but the Prime sponsorship alone is valuable for the TKO corporation. Logan did an impressive springboard moonsault to the outside, but it looked like his leg might've gotten caught under LA Knight on the landing. He also had noticeable swelling around his eye, but even after watching the event again on Peacock, I couldn't figure out where Logan might've had a stiff strike to the eye. The usual interference happened before Knight was able to get the victory to win the US title. I'm not sure how much importance the championship will have going forward, but given Knight's popularity, it's possible that the US belt might get more spotlight.

I'm going to keep my thoughts on the Women's title match relatively short, as it was only about ten minutes, and outside of the Tiffany Stratton run-in, it was more or less a TV match in a stadium. I'm sure Nia Jax is a very nice person outside of her television persona, but the only reason that she probably won the title is because she's related to The Rock, who is on the TKO Board. Keep in mind, before The Rock returned to the organization, Nia was released a few years ago, and despite the fact that she hasn't made any improvements to her in-ring work, she got a push around the same time that Dwayne Johnson returned to the company. The Tiffany cameo got a major reaction as the crowd thought that there might be a cash-in, but the crowd was mostly quiet prior to that during the segment. The problem is, the basis for this storyline was that Nia is reckless and sloppy in the ring, and she actual is during matches. The match wasn't anything spectacular and Nia winning almost hinder the momentum of the show.

From here was the meat of the matter so to speak in terms of the major selling points of the event. CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre was arguably the most intriguing bout the company had for this pay-per-view, as at the very least, it appears that there's legitimate animosity between the two during this feud. It's ironic because that theoretically should be the standard for every storyline, but in the modern era when everything is exposed during documentaries and press conferences, it's rare that an angle can make the fans question if there's actually hatred between the performers on the roster. That said, the match was fine, but it didn't exactly live up to the hype of a grudge match, possibly because there's more planned for this storyline in the future, with rumors of a cell match in October. The other possibility is that since it was Punk's first match back from an injury that he returned early from, the office might've wanted to limit the chance of any further injury. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a subpar contest, but they worked a very safe match that was based on the angle, not the action, which is fine. Still, the continuous involvement of Seth Rollins, who became a focal point of the segment, actually took any from the narrative. The heat between Punk and Drew is more than enough to fuel this storyline, the scripting that shoehorns Rollins into it almost makes it seem like the writing team doesn't have anything better for him to do at the moment so he was used as a third wheel in this angle. That being said, the finish was very well done and Drew was a brilliant heel, as he got the bracelet again after he pinned Punk. Considering that CM Punk cost McIntyre the title three times before this, Drew had to get the win if management wanted to get more mileage from this storyline. In truth, if it's paced right, the argument could be made that this feud could have enough steam to be a featured match at Wrestlemania next year.

The World Heavyweight title match was the best match on the card in terms of in-ring quality, and both performers were elevated during this segment. There was a lot of action with a solid pace and hard-hitting strikes. The authenticity that Gunther brings to the table is something that very few other competitors have in the modern era, and the office is making the most of those skills. Gunther's win was the right decision because it puts him in the main event as the champion for Bash in Berlin later this month. We've seen recently how lucrative the overseas shows have been for the WWE, and putting Gunther in this role for the event in Germany can maximize the revenue generated for the company. The only negative aspect of this was that after the Dominik heel turn, the audience was more or less waiting for the Finn Balor interference so nobody believed that any of the near falls were going to be the finish until there was a Balor appearence. Again, it was predictable, but it was the right call. Gunther has a major upside as champion because of his style and believability, but how Preist is booked going forward will be very important if the office wants to continue to elevate his status during a feud with the remaining members of the Judgment Day stable.

Similar to how the audience wasn't invested into the world heavyweight title match until Balor showed up, the crowd didn't believe anything was going to be the finish until there were a series of run-ins, especially after Arn Anderson implies there would be cameo appearances when he talked to Cody Rhodes backstage before the match. The match was fine, but the audience knows the playbook for The Boodline matches, which might be an indication that management might want to adjust the structure of the segments. The crowd was more or less indifferent to anything that these two did for the first twenty minutes of the match because it became more about waiting for the surprise Roman Reigns return than anything else. That being said, when Roman showed up, it was one of the loudest reactions I've ever heard at a live show and it will probably be remembered as a career-defining moment for him. All things considered, his baby face run might be even more profitable than the historic heel run he had as champion. After Reigns decided to even the odds, Cody retained the championship.

Overall, it was a fun experience. Granted, this pay-per-view was about the angles, not the action, but it's often said that pro wrestling is about the moments and this event definitely had a few very memorable moments for sports entertainment history.

The AEW TV deal

There was much debate and criticism about All Elite Wrestling's product, and specifically, if the AEW programming is too niche for a national television audience. The sluggish ratings, particularly after the exit of CM Punk last year, suggest that at the very least, the direction of the organization hasn't added new fans. Sure, the diehard All Elite audience will argue key demos or sports competition at a certain time of the year, but the bottom line is, less people are watching AEW now than they did previously.

As we know, the TV deals are where the big money is made within the current media landscape, as networks try to stay ahead of the curve of exactly where viewing patterns are going and thus the ad revenue that will follow with it. For the past several years, some have claimed that television would eventually become an antiquated concept, with more viewers opting for streaming services, but when different groups flooded the streaming market, the oversaturation indicated that there was a ceiling to how many platforms can be successful. While television has a smaller market share than in the past, and there's undoubtedly major money to be made from streaming services, TV is still the biggest distribution channel for media in the United States, which is why billions of dollars are offered to secure the rights to the major American sports leagues.

For All Elite Wrestling, their television network, Warner Brothers Discovery is in the midst of key negotiations for the NBA, which might have a domino effect on the pro wrestling league.

According to The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, Discovery just matched an offer for NBA programming after Amazon was willing to pay $1.9 billion a year for an 11-year deal to bring the basketball league to its Prime streaming service. A longtime staple on the Turner networks, contractually the NBA had to give Discovery the chance to match any outside offers before the league could sign with a new platform for its games. Meltzer speculated that the basketball league wants to move its schedule to Amazon to increase the global fan base of the game, and that if the matter goes to court, Discovery might be offered a settlement to allow the NBA to sign a new deal with Amazon.

Of course, that's pure speculation and if Discovery is set on retaining NBA programming, they contractually have the right to match the offer to keep the schedule on their networks. It goes without saying that if almost $2 billion a year is paid to the NBA for the next decade, it's less money in the budget that Discovery can offer All Elite Wrestling for a new television deal since the current contract expires this year.

This is where the key aspects of the contract have less to do with the wrestling content and more to do with the numbers, as well as the potential ad revenue. It's important to keep in mind that the concept of a pro wrestling show, new and often live programming every week, is a valuable asset to television networks. In the TV world, a steady and consistent number is very useful for commercials and sponsorships. Granted, sports entertainment traditionally garnered a lower ad rate because it was seen a low brow entertainment with the stereotype of a lower income demographic, but the point being, consistency is what advertisers are willing to pay for because there's a level of assurances that their products will be in front of viewers.

Regardless of the decline in the numbers, make no mistake about it, even if Discovery re-signs the NBA for a major money deal, All Elite Wrestling isn't in any danger. Tony Khan might be offered slightly less money in the grand scheme of things, but AEW will still have its television network for the next several years. Hypothetically, if WBD didn't offer a new contract, Tony could shop AEW around and would land on a smaller network, but that discussion is moot. The reason being that All Elite isn't in any danger is that WBD executives know that Tony Khan is willing to invest hefty cash into his pro wrestling project. If any of those efforts are productive is a completely different matter, but the point being, Discovery knows that Tony is willing to throw money at free agents so in theory, there's always the potential upside for the AEW product.

Furthermore, and this is the meat of the matter so to speak, even with the decrease in the ratings, Dynamite offers Discovery a somewhat steady number on a weekly basis, which is important for ad revenue. Along with that, there are better ad rates offered for original programming, which AEW brings to the Turner networks for three show every week. In that respect, the renewal of the TV contract is more or less business as usual. Sure, Rampage and Collision are cannon fodder in terms of importance, but from strictly a television perspective, it's more original programming on a weekly basis.

The portion of the situation that could have the biggest impact on AEW as a company, both in terms of the content and the business side, is the potential of a streaming deal that could bring the pay-per-views to the Max platform. I've discussed it in detail before in terms of what the Netflix deal could translate to for WWE, and the overall impact of streaming on the media landscape so I don't want to retread all of that again, but it should be noted that the odds are that a few key streaming platforms will find their share of the streaming market, TV will still have its place, albeit a smaller market share, and a few streaming ventures will flop.

Again, not to be repetitive, but it can't be understated how much the WWE Network concept, regardless of its platform, completely changed the dynamic of content distribution of sports entertainment. Instead of $50 for the pay-per-view, the "value" of Wrestlemania was reduced to the $4.99 subscription fee for Peacock. Yes, the strategy is that the bulk pricing will allow more money to be generated overall from a bigger audience than the prior era when it was based on traditional pay-per-view. However, the key is, that the horse has left the barn so to speak in terms of that price point, and wrestling fans have essentially been conditioned for more than a decade that pay-per-view is included with the subscription.

For all the rightfully criticism that AEW has garnered, they still draw decent numbers on pay-per-view with a buy rate around 100,000-140,000 buys depending on the event, which is a solid number with a $50 price tag in the modern era. The fact that the company still lost $34 million last year is a completely different matter. The point being, Tony Khan has added to the All Elite calendar and continues to get closer to monthly pay-per-view events. The way this would impact the booking of the product is its own discussion, but from strictly a business prospective, it's going to be difficult to sell the audience a $50 pay-per-view every month.

The biggest piece of the puzzle for this new TV contract could be if the pay-per-views are included on the Max platform because the streaming service cost $9.99 a month and it's accessible to anyone with an internet connection, not just customers that subscriber to the traditional HBO channels. Theoretically, it would give AEW more exposure, and it would be an added selling point for the streaming service so it's possible that it could be a win-win situation. If Max isn't part of the deal, the number of fans that are willing to pay $50 a month for the PPVs would probably decline within the next year or so. Overall, it would be a wise move to make because again, for all of the valid criticism the company received, there have also been some incredible matches on pay-per-view so more fans would realistically have access to the events on the streaming platform.

What's the status of Toni Storm?

All Elite Wrestling might've found a formula that works.

The common criticism of All Elite Wrestling, especially after its initial launch and the novelty of a new product worn off, was that the slapstick approach by Tony Khan doesn't fully utilize the talent or the opportunity the company has. We're five years into the All Elite experiment, the organization will flourish or flounder on its own merit. Unfortunately, for nearly half of its existence, the latter was the case more often than not. Those "dream matches" that Khan put on national television without any build up or a way to introduce athletes only known to the most diehard fans didn't generate a boost for the TBS audience.

Many of those problems have and will continue to remain a part of the Tony Khan project, it's just the nature of his E-fed approach to pro wrestling. If Tony wants to see it, regardless of if it makes sense for a national organization in the United States on cable television, he will book it. It's one of the perks of the job, Tony's billionaire family allowed him to start a pro wrestling promotion with enough cash behind it that he can pay for his favorite wrestlers to work the matches that he wants to watch in AEW. That's not even meant as a knock, but rather a realistic evaluation of the product. Ask yourself, when has Tony Khan truly booked for a national television audience? More often than not, he books for himself, which caters to the most diehard demographic of fans. If there were enough of those fans for a national group to be successful, the niche independent leagues would be on a bigger stage instead of being just independent leagues. Khan structures so much of his product around charts, graphs, or minuscule details that only the most diehard fans that dedicate a skewed amount of time to professional wrestling could follow the references, which completely clashes with the mission statement of a national organization.

However, the conclusion of Dynamite  last week was more or less the opposite of the usual Khan booking methods, it was based on emotion, and perhaps that's why it worked so well.

Ironically, it was during the course of the Owen Hart tournament, a booking troupe that Khan enjoys using as much as possible with the Continental Classic, or any other tournament format because it eliminates the logic behind why a match should take place, as it's simply the winners that advance, the women's division had its best angle in at least the past few years.

Mariah May, who was praised by The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer for her work in Stardom in Japan, was cast as Toni Storm's lackey. Usually, that’s where a talent flounders for an extended period of time until any momentum they have completely dissolves, with Wardlow and Takeshita being prime examples of the failure to follow up on talents that the have potential for a bigger role in the company. Wardlow has been on the roster for five years and somehow is still running in place as the heel bodyguard, playing second fiddle to a bigger star. Truth be told, in the role that she has been placed in so far, Mariah May hasn’t had the opportunity to show much more than secondary skills as her premise on the show was to be a sidekick to Toni Storm. If she has the ability to go further than that, remains to be seen, but the angle that took place at the conclusion of Dynamite at least opens the door for that to be a possibility.

Different from the Wardlow and Takeshita, both of whom plateaued because Tony Khan got distracted with his latest signing at the time, Mariah turned on her mentor with a dastardly angle to give the storyline a meaningful purpose going forward. Considering that Toni Storm continued to be booked as a heel, despite the baby face reaction she gets from the crowd because of the gimmick, it made sense to turn Mariah May heel for this storyline. In some ways, it allows for more organic development and spontaneity within the product since the audience ultimately decided that Storm was a baby face.

The way the turn was done stood out because it’s rare that you see women bleeding in professional wrestling, especially in the United States. Don’t get me wrong, I think women can main event a pay-per-view, be presented as the biggest stars in a particular company, be the CEO of a major corporation, or president of the United States, but the visual of a female bleeding can be somewhat unsettling. Look at it this way, Bruiser Brody or Abdullah The Butcher wear scars much better than some of the beautiful female athletes that are some of the biggest stars in the industry today. Perhaps, that’s too much of a traditional mindset, but I could promise that it’s not meant with any misogynistic intent. I think we can all agree that Toni Storm is much prettier than Abdullah the Butcher, right?

Still, the fact that females bleeding is a rare occurrence, even for AEW, gave this angle, a specific level of intensity that often lacks within most AEW storylines, let alone, the often disjointed female division. Granted, All Elite Wrestling uses way too much blood and way too many gimmicks on their programming, which muddies the waters in terms of this particular presentation, but given how popular the "Timeless" character is, there could be some business to be done with this angle. Sure, part of the popularity that Toni has is some of the wackiness that the persona brings to television, but for this storyline, there's also a chance for her to evolve some aspects of her character.

On the flip side, a few months ago, Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue had a pointless hardcore match with barbed wire and thumb tacks on the Rampage, the C-show, and it accomplished absolutely nothing. At least this violence was used to further an angle and had a purpose, Mariah May brutally ambushed her mentor. It elevates Mariah and makes her more than just a sidekick on the show. There was progress for her character and the angle itself, instead of the Willow/Blue example that had dangerous bumps for no reason or purpose in the organization.

However, it's doubtful that Tony Khan sees the different between those two scenarios. One segment had bumps on barbed wire and tacks for a "feud" that most of the fans probably didn't recognize as one or can barely recall that the match even happened on the lowest-rated show of AEW's weekly line-up. The other took one of the more over performers with the All Elite audience and used a heel turn against her to elevate the status of a talent that was deemed to have potential. The Toni Storm/Mariah May storyline has  the ingredients for a successful pro wrestling angle, but again, if Tony recognizes that is a completely different situation.

What's the status of MJF?

Maxwell Jacob Friedman is miscast in All Elite Wrestling.

Last week on Dynamite, a show that garnered a still sluggish 688,000 viewers, which is only a slight increase from the previous week, he turned heel on Daniel Garcia. After initially offering Garcia a match for Wembley Stadium, MJF took out the youngster with a vicious attack, implying that this is either a build for the eventual match in London or it will be used to get heat for an potential showdown with Will Ospreay. It doesn't look like the British grappler will be in the main event picture at All In so a title bout, albeit for a superficial championship, against MJF at the pay-per-view is still a featured spot on the card. There was some speculation that Garcia's contract status was in question, with some rumors claiming that he already inked a new deal, and other chatter that he might let his current contract expire. This isn't to say that Garcia doesn't have talent, but on the surface, it's doubtful that he showed enough, or even had the opportunity to show enough in AEW to realistically expect an offer from WWE so at least for right now, it would probably make sense for him to stay on the All Elite roster.

After the attack on Wednesday, an appearance from MJF was advertised for Collision, seemingly in an effort to give the Saturday broadcast a boost. As I've said before, Collision was more or less labeled as skippable after CM Punk left the company, because too often there wasn't anything of substance that happened on the show. In fact, a viewer could watch just Dynamite and not actual miss anything important to the product so Collision doesn't have the same priority to AEW viewers. As egotistical as Punk's mission to run Saturdays was, at least the audience knew that if they wanted to see CM Punk wrestle, they would have to tune into Collision.

While the MJF promo on the Saturday show didn't have any key information about the next portion of the storyline, it revealed just how miscast Friedman is in the company. Furthermore, it shed some light on the ceiling that the organization probably has going forward, a vanity project that will have its moments with great matches, but nothing truly competitive or an entity that will further impact the direction of the industry. Don't get me wrong, it's great that there are options in the business, both for wrestlers and fans, but the notion that All Elite isn't Tony Khan's E-fed fandom in real life is tough to dispute. Hey, if more wrestlers can make a good living in the business then you can't blame them for taking the money that's offered. More specifically, as I've had to say on a regular basis to go along with the criticism of the All Elite Wrestling product, by all accounts Tony Khan is a very nice guy that genuinely cares about his roster. That legitimately is wonderful, but just because Tony is a great guy, that doesn't qualify him to go from booking on the internet to booking for national television. Let's be honest here, the only reason Tony is the booker of the second largest promotion in the United States is because he's from a billionaire family.

Make no mistake about it, Tony has a passion for the sport, but again, that doesn't automatically mean that he can successfully run a national organization. The content of MJF's promo not only reflected, but almost reinforced that.

Friedman started his promo by replaying a clip from a prior episode og television where he retold a story about when he was a kid in school and the other kids threw quarters at him because he was Jewish. Obviously, any form of antisemitism is completely and totally wrong. There's no place for it in society, and anyone that is prejudice in any form isn't worth the hassle to recognize their ignorance. How does retelling that story, or in this case, replaying the clip get MJF any heat? He's right, and it's a total clash with the ultimate scumbag persona that he's supposedly trying to portray on TV. Anyone that is a victim of antisemitism is a sympathetic figure so including the real-life prejudice doesn't help his status as a heel. Furthermore, MJF claimed that his villainous ways were proven right because when he was trusting of Adam Cole, he was stabbed in the back. Again, the heel is correct in this scenario so why would there be heat for anything that he does after the Cole heel turn? Technically, Friedman would be justified with his actions because he can't trust anyone in the company anyway.

Finally, and this is what really showed the ceiling that AEW as an organization has in the future. In a effort to sound like he was "going too far" again, Friedman mentioned that Will Ospreay was brought into AEW to have good matches, not sell tickets. Once again, the heel is right so where's the heat? Will Ospreay has been scheduled for some of those sparsely-attended events so MJF has a point. After that, MJF name-dropped Dave Meltzer, explaining that Ospreay is there for the newsletter star ratings, while Friedman is there for the television ratings. Again, when you take into account that the 10-week average has seen a significant decrease in the numbers, the heel has a point. Prior to this latest ratings slump, it was thought that 800,000 viewers was the core AEW television audience, but over the course of the past two months, the ratings have often dropped below 700,000 viewers, which is an indication that there was a steady decline in viewership. When you compare the current numbers to the ratings when CM Punk usually bought about a million viewers to the show, there was a 30% decline in the TV audience in the past two years. That's not to say that All Elite is doomed, but rather to point out that the dazzling spot fest on a weekly basis only caters to a niche audience.

This isn't even meant as a knock on Meltzer, as bias as he might be toward All Elite, he found a niche audience and has made a living from the pro wrestling business for the past 40 years. From a historical perspective, he's probably still the best resource for the industry. However, The Wrestling Observer by nature is a niche publication, it was never meant for casual fans so the vast majority of the TBS audience probably had no idea what the reference was when MJF mentioned him on Dynamite.

If the intention of the scripting of the promo was to lean into the criticism of the product and thus make the critics of AEW the heel by proxy, it was a misguided attempt, simply because what MJF said was true. There was a slip in the ratings, regardless of the fact that Tony Khan offered major cash to sign some of the wrestlers that Meltzer often praises in his newsletter. Khan has said himself that he's a diehard fan and that he subscribed to The Wrestling Observer for years. As I've said before, unless The Observer "booker of the year" award has a cash prize with it then it's moot in terms of a national pro wrestling company. I think it's fair to see that too often Tony books for the niche newsletter demographic, but that doesn't serve the television audience, which is the entire point of getting the show on TBS in the first place. If Tony just wanted to book "dream matches," he could've ran independent shows for a lot less money then what his family spent on AEW.

As far as MJF, it looks like he's going back to the previous "shock jock" troupes, which are cheap heat tactics that try to be camouflaged as edgy. If he has to resort to references to suicide or CTE again, it will prove that he's not quite the heel that some might thought he could be for AEW. If he thinks pushing fans in the crowd is pushing the envelope, it will be a rude awakening when some local yokel decides to throw a punch or someone realizes that Tony Khan is from a billionaire family so they could get a quick payoff from a lawsuit. For nearly the past five years, we've heard about how MJF is the future of the business, but after his botched title reign with the silly Adam Cole storyline and the disappointment of the reveal last year, has All Elite fully utilized his talent? A retread of the same tired cliches in promos isn't going to rejuvenate Friedman's status in the company so it will be interesting to see if he makes any progress for this run in the company.

MITB review

Ahead of Summer Slam in just a few weeks, a packed crowd attended the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in Toronto. Despite the lengthy history of the Hart family in Calgary, Toronto has always been a wrestling city as well. The fans in attendance stayed energized throughout the entire broadcast. I know it’s becoming somewhat common place with the continued international events on the WWE calendar, but a riled up audience really can impact the presentation of an event.

The show opened with the men's MITB ladder match, which gave an indication of what was going to unfold later in the night. This segment was exactly what you'd expect it to be, it was a car crash match, but it was done right and there was a lot of action. The leg drop that Andrade did while Chad Gable was on the ladder was a neat spot. Speaking of Gable, he shined in his featured spots. The punch exchange between LA Knight and Jey Uso was fun and it really underscored how much depth is currently on the roster because both guys are more or less considered mid-card talent (and there's nothing wrong with that) but are still very popular with the audience. There were some insane bumps, including when Gable was hanging from where the briefcase was held and fell to the canvas. Eventually, Drew McIntyre got the win to get the MITB contract, but again, taking into account that the previous winner, Damien Priest kept the contract for several months, and the basis of McIntyre's current feud, the office almost tipped their hand as far as the direction of the storyline.

I was very surprised that Sami Zayn beat Bron Breakker to retain the IC belt, mostly because it seemed like a rather easy booking decision to continue to push Breakker up the ladder on Raw. Perhaps, that's why management decided to go the other way with the result so that it wasn't too predictable. Still, sometimes the simplest answer is the right answer, and I think that was the case here. I say this with nothing against Sami, he's one of my favorite performers on the roster and the fact that he can deliver such quality performances on a consistent basis makes him a truly valuable asset to the company. However, Sami is so over with the audience that he has reached the point that he doesn't need a championship to maintain that status. On the flip side, this could've been a key piece of the puzzle for pushing Bron, who has the potential to be a top guy in the future. The match itself was really solid, and Breakker had the chance to show some tremendous athleticism, but he was pinned clean after he was presented in a more dominate fashion on television in the weeks prior to this. Hopefully, there's more to this angle and it will be something that can present Breakker as a force on the Raw brand.

John Cena's surprise cameo was a cool moment. His announcement of a 2025 retirement tour is a very smart business decision, as it's an extra selling point for every event that he works before he hangs up the boots. That could even be a key piece of the puzzle for the switch over to Netflix if he wrestles on television on a semi regular basis. While it maximizes the money that he can draw before he finishes his in-ring career, which is the entire point of the pro wrestling business, from purely a sports entertainment perspective, John Cena deserves a retirement tour and the recognition that goes along with it. Cena is unanimously known as one of the hard-working performers in WWE history, and he has represented himself very well during his career. In many ways, John Cena is the real-life super hero that Hulk Hogan pretended to be on television. You could make the argument that Cena's contributions transcend the pro wrestling business. Undoubtedly, John Cena is one of the biggest stars in the history of the business, and it should be fun to watch this retirement tour in 2025.

The World Heavyweight championship match was entertaining for what it was, Seth Rollins and Damien Priest are polished pros, but similar to what I said earlier, the office tipped their hand. It was made too obvious that Drew McIntyre was going to cash-in the MITB contract, because it was mentioned on commentary as soon as the match started. As I said earlier, it makes sense that they didn't want to have Drew keep the briefcase for an extended period of time after Priest kept it for months, but booking the cash-in the same night as the pay-per-view takes away the spontaneous nature of the stipulation, which is the entire point. Furthermore, since it was obvious that Drew was going to cash-in, it also became clear that CM Punk was probably going to cost him the title again. The reason being, the McIntyre/Punk feud is based on a personal grudge, not a championship so it doesn't need the belt. The finish was very clunky, as it looked like there was some miscommunication and Drew's music was supposed to cut off the pin fall attempt. Priest clearly didn't kick out and it halted a lot of momentum built by the solid action previously. There are two problems with how this was booked. First, Damien Priest, more or less throughout his entire title reign since he won the belt at Wrestlemania, has played second fiddle to the CM Punk/Drew McIntyre feud. With Gunther as the scheduled challenger for Summer Slam, an argument could be made that Priest should be a transitional champion since there's still a lot of hype for Gunther in recent months. The bigger problem might be that unless Punk is very close to being cleared to return to the ring, there's not much more that can be scripted for this storyline. Punk has cost Drew the title three times so there has to be something of substance booked next or the angle could lose its luster in terms of an anticipated match.

The women's MITB ladder match was very well done and there were some wild bumps in this contest. Similar to the other MITB ladder match earlier in the night, this was booked to be a stunt segment and it definitely was with some memorable spots. Lyra Valkyria took some brutal bumps on the ladders, and the spot where Iyo Sky did the falcon arrow on the ladder looked rough. There was a scary moment when Zoey Stark looked like she clipped her head on the ladder when she did a dive into the ring. Chelsea Green took a crazy bump from the top of the ladder through two tables at the conclusion of the match. I understand why Tiffany Stratton was given the win, but taking into account that she's still relatively new, I think Chelsea Green would've been a better choice in terms of what could be done with the MITB stipulation from a storyline perspective.

The main event was basically the six man tag team brawl that you'd expect and it was a fun segment. There was a lot of action and a few more table spots, which were probably over done throughout the show, but  it's one of the troupes of the modern era. More than anything, this segment truly established the new Bloodline as a dominate faction in the WWE, mostly because of how dominate they were made to look in this match and that Solo Sikoa pinned Cody Rhodes to get the win. Sure, the match itself had a paint-by-numbers approach, but it was very effective. There should be a lesson taken from the formation of this new faction within the Bloodline. Granted, Solo is new to the role so naturally, he's not going to have the cache or star power of Roman Reigns, given that the former WWE champion held the title for almost four years, but the new Bloodline are presented as stars. They are portrayed as dangerous and were put on the same level as three of the top baby faces in the company. Specifically, Jacob Fatu is new to the company, but he was immediately put in a spot that let the audience know that he's an important character on the show. The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that Cody vs. Solo is going to be booked for Summer Slam, and that would make sense with the finish that was booked for MITB. I doubt Solo wins the title and would guess that Roman Reigns returns to the company, but in the grand scheme of things, it looks like there are another series of marquee matches that can be booked for the Bloodline angle during the next few months, specifically a potential war games match at Survivor Series.

Forbbiden Door review

This past weekend, All Elite Wrestling presented its annual co-promoted pay-per-view with New Japan Pro Wrestling, The Forbidden Door. As mentioned in recent articles, this was almost an exhibition pay-per-view so to speak because the majority of the match-ups are one-off type scenarios that are placed in vacuum for this event, but have zero impact on the All Elite landscape going forward. Obviously, to promote the event on television, the All Elite programming had to be geared toward these one-off bouts, which by nature doesn't lend itself to an episodic product. The ratings in recent weeks have reflected that the TBS audience isn't particularly drawn to wrestlers that they haven't seen before, won't see again for months, or have no idea who certain performers are.

I understand that Tony Khan values the Booker of the year award from The Wrestling Observer, but until it comes with a cash prize, Khan booking these inside baseball type contests have a domino effect that doesn't fully utilize the valuable national television time on Wednesdays.

A prime example of this domino effect was the opening match on the card, which had an absurd 15 bouts in total, with five contests on the zero hour before the PPV broadcast. Maxwell Jacob Friedman's return to the company last month after an extended absence to heal from several nagging injuries gave the organization a much needed boost in terms of an optimistic viewpoint for the brand. MJF, an athlete in the prime of his career, opted to re-sign with the organization, implying that he saw a bright future for All Elite Wrestling. If Friedman is willing to invest the prime of his career into AEW, it's an indication that the fans can safely invest their dollars into the organization with some level of assurance that they will get their money's worth.

So, MJF gets a major reaction for his return and his next step in his journey back to prominence in AEW is being booked in the opening match at the next pay-per-view against a luchador that the vast majority of the audience has never heard of. Furthermore, what exactly is the basis for this match? Sure, it gets MJF on the card in his hometown, but what's the point? Hechicero isn't going to feud with him, the match-up is a styles clash that impacted the quality of the segment that would've improved if either of these wrestlers had more compatible opponents, and it wasn't as though this win does anything to truly re-establish Friedman in the organization. Don't get me wrong, MJF can go in the ring, but he doesn't exactly compliment the lucha style. The same could be said for Hechicero, he can work the lucha style, but it's almost unfair to put him on this platform with an opponent that can't work to his strengths to showcase lucha libre properly for an American audience. The match itself reflected that type of conflict, as it was more smoke and mirrors with MJF pantomiming signature taunts than anything that showcased his wrestling ability or the lucha skills of his opponent. The early brawling on the outside of the ring seemed like another way to camouflage the fact that these two weren't going to exchange too many maneuvers because of the styles clash. The action was fine, but this was basically a TV match that was scheduled for pay-per-view, and more than anything, it seemed like a missed opportunity to properly showcase the CMLL talent, especially given that several other luchadors were booked for the Zero Hour.

Speaking of TV matches that made it to pay-per-view, The Elite vs. The Acclaimed and Hiroshi Tanahashi was also an example of this. It might sound strange to describe a segment with Okada and Tanahashi as something that didn't live up to its platform, but that was the reality of this segment. Again, the action was fine, but there wasn't anything too memorable or noteworthy about it. If this 12-minute contest was the main event of an episode of Dynamite or even Collision, it wouldn't have been out of place. Tanahashi took the pin to give The Elite the victory, which at this point in his career is completely fine, but the problem with this match was it looked like Kazuchika Okada, one of the major signings from earlier this year, was underutilized again.

Thankfully, the card picked up with Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi in an Owen Hart tournament match. This was a really solid contest that showcased a lot of hard-hitting and fast-paced action, which is what the show needed as far the presentation. This match had a little bit of everything with physical exchanges and very good technical maneuvers before Danielson got the win via submission. This segment went almost 20 minutes and provided some meat on the bone so to speak as far as the viewing experience.

Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa was basically another 10-minute TV match that could've aired on Dynamite rather to be shoehorned onto this bloated PPV card. It was fine for what it was, but with an angle that was rather flimsy and nonsensical, I'd almost say that being involved in something so silly actually takes away from Toni's reign as champion. For as much as Dave Meltzer touted the skills of Mariah May from Stardom upon her arrival in AEW, she was cast as a total lackey. That's not to say that she doesn't have talent, but rather to point out that she hasn't been given any opportunity to show any of it so right now, she's an expendable performer on the show. Toni Storm retained the title.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy was a very good technical bout and gave the card some variety, both in styles and quality. This was definitely a pay-per-view match and the work represented the potential that a co-promoted card like this can have for the niche audience that is familiar with Sabre Jr. That said, from a character prospective, I'm not sure what Orange Cassiady does from here, because he hasn't been involved in anything of particular importance in a while and you could argue that his gimmick has become overexposed on AEW programming. Sabre got the win, which might be an indication that there's a reset on the horizon for Cassidy.

I'm not going to say much about the six man tag that involved Samoa Joe, Shibata, and Hook vs. Chris Jericho, Big Bill, and Jeff Cobb. The reason being is that this will sound repetitive, but this was yet another segment that would've been better suited for television, not pay-per-view. This angle isn't over with the fans, and the biggest takeaway from all of this might be how far Samoa Joe has fallen in terms of importance to AEW in the span of just a few months. The crowd was silent as certain points in this segment. He went from the world champion to a random six man tag for a storyline that the audience has rejected. Other than to get him a spot on the show, why is Shibata involved in any of this? The baby face team got the win. Since Hook pinned Jericho, hopefully this is the conclusion of this storyline.

The ladder match for TNT title was booked to be a car crash segment and that's what it was with some risky bumps throughout the contest. There's not much to say from a narrative perspective, but aside from the danger that goes along with these multiple competitor ladder matches, there is a place for this type of stunt segment on the PPV card. Mark Briscoe using the ladder like Terry Funk was a fun spot. I was surprised to see Lio Rush there because there’s a 50-50 chance that he’s retired at any given time. Takeashita is such a great athlete with so much potential, and unless he was going to win the belt, there was really no reason to put him in this match because he got lost in the shuffle. Jack Perry getting the win was predictable, but it makes sense with the current Elite storyline. As much as Perry had zero value to the company after the CM Punk backstage flight, credit where its due, the current angle has made him more of a heel than I would’ve guessed possible before this. 

Mercedes Mone beat Stephanie Vaquer to win the New Japan Strong Women’s title, which doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but the lucha star gave Mercedes her first very solid match so far in her AEW tenure. If the roster wasn’t so bloated, I would say that Stephanie Vaquer would be a good addition to the organization, but the last thing this company needs is more people under contract, on the payroll, or on the roster. These two had some great technical exchanges that showed a lot of skill throughout the contest, with Mercedes getting the submission for the win. There were a few rocky points toward the conclusion of the match, but overall this was very well done. 

Depending on your perspective, the main event was either a total miss or a home run, based on what you’re looking for from the AEW product. It goes without saying that Ospreay being booked in this spot was unnecessary and counterproductive. In some ways, this almost suggests that the storybook finish of him winning the title in Wembley Stadium is not the direction that Tony is going for this specific storyline. On the flip side, this was the first main event match that made Swerve Strickland look like a world champion rather than a placeholder. IF AEW isn’t going to give Ospreay the moment in London, and Khan is actually going to run with swerve as a long-term champion,  this segment accomplished the goal of making Swerve look like a legitimate top guy. In my opinion, the setting of Wembley is too good to pass up so I think the entire booking of Ospreay a title match before Wembley was a mistake, but at the same time, if they are going to go with Swerve, it’s good to see that they are at least giving him a chance to be successful in the role with this type main event match on pay-per-view. As far as the match itself, everything was crisp and smooth. They are too polished pros and the action showed that. At the same time, this wasn’t exactly a match that had a lot of momentum behind it in terms of the storyline, which has been a continuous problems for the AEW product. I don’t think anyone will question some of the stellat match quality on pay-per-view, but the presentation and progress have been lacking on a regular basis for at least the past two years. There match solidified Swerve, but at the same time, it also implied that Ospreay isn't going to get the memorable moment to win the title in London since the winner of the Owen Hart tournament gets a title shot on pay-per-view.