The new UFC deal

Just a week after the WWE announced a deal with ESPN, expanding the product's reach to yet another platform when it was revealed that the monthly pay-per-views will be broadcast on the network's new streaming platform at the at the start of next year, with the Wrestlepalooza event set to air on ESPN next month, the TKO corporation made a landmark announcement.

This time it was the UFC side of the corporation with the announcement that the MMA league will move its pay-per-views from the ESPN platform to Paramount+, the streaming service under the CBS banner. The massive $7.7 billion deal will give Paramount the rights to UFC content for the duration of a seven-year deal.The major difference and the game changer of the deal is that  the UFC pay-per-views, one of the very few commodities that still sell on traditional pay-per-view with a traditional price tag in the modern era, will be included in the $7.99 per month subscription to the Paramount service at no extra charge, which will be completely different from the previously mentioned ESPN contract. Under the ESPN deal, fans had to subscribe to the ESPN+ service just for the option to pay $79.99 to watch the pay-per-views.

With the exception of All Elite Wrestling, this contract basically brings an end to the PPV era, at least on any regular basis. Sure, there could be a one-off event that someone tries to put on pay-per-view, we know that the cable companies have the slots open and the myriad of streaming services will find a place on their line-up in exchange for a piece of the pie, but outside of All Elite Wrestling, the PPV era, which was once the most lucrative revenue stream in both professional wrestling and mixed martial arts, has come to an end.

If the bulk-pricing model truly solidifies itself as the standard distribution channel for MMA remains to be seen, but when a subscription to Paramount+ will be $7.99 a month to replace the traditional $79.99 per event price tag, the success of the deal will be based on easier access to more viewers.

That's where there are several different layers to this story.

Reportedly, the contract will bring 43 MMA events a year to Paramount, which could include a few events on CBS, the first time that the organization is back on broadcast TV since the Fox deal several years ago before the company inked a contract with ESPN.

Of course, there are different perspectives with everything. For the UFC and the TKO corporation, this is a mega deal with guaranteed revenue for the next seven years, which is exactly what shareholders look for when they buy stock in the company. The more that investors are willing to put into the company, the more money that is made for everyone involved, as well as cementing TKO's position as a media commodity.

This will also shift the paradigm of the presentation of the MMA group, almost flipping the dynamic of how the content can be consumed by the viewing audience. In some ways, what's old is new again. After the UFC surged in popularity in 2005 and eventually inked a deal with Fox to move the organization away from Spike TV, the channel that provided the platform for the original boom period with the initial seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, the promotion had an all-time roster of big stars that fueled it through the 2010s. Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, Anderson Silva, Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey, and others were staples of the company. In retrospect, the Fox deal was the bridge between the Spike era where legends like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture made a name for themselves before they retired, and the future of the sport that will probably be shaped through the fighters that emerge at the top of the card of the Paramount era.

It's ironic that Spike TV, the channel that provided the first truly national exposure for the group, eventually became the Paramount network that signed the organization for what could be the most exposure in its history in the future.   

Still, when the Fox contract concluded in 2018, the UFC was a proven commodity on pay-per-view so ESPN originally paid $1.5 billion for a five-year deal to move the MMA content almost fully behind a paywall as one of the primary selling points of the ESPN+ streaming service. Putting even the fight night cards, events that were a key part of the success the company had previously, behind the subscription service undoubtedly impacted the perception of the roster.

Let's be honest here, the entire point of getting UFC on television after it was initially banned, was that it allowed for the fighters to become marketable stars. It proved that there was a paying audience for mixed martial arts if there was a way for fans to easily access the product. It goes without saying that there was a portion of the casual fans that watched the fight cards on Spike and Fox that was prompted to order the pay-per-views that didn't invest in a subscription service to follow the product. Keep in mind, a monthly subscription service is almost a counterproductive concept for casual fans that watch occasionally, and that dynamic becomes event more complicated when there's such an oversaturation of the streaming market.

The ability to sell pay-per-views to consumers under the current ESPN deal became exponentially more difficult with the notion that fans had to pay for a subscription fee just for the option to pay $79.99 to watch each event. The bottom line is casual fans simply aren't going to pay $80 to watch pay-per-views on a regular basis so the hype around the promotion today is significantly less than it was a decade ago.

Thankfully, the Paramount deal could change that, as this deal will give more fans more access to main cards as pay-per-view events will be the cheapest in the 30-year history of the organization. The $7.99 subscription includes the pay-per-views, the fight night cards, and the rest of the programming on the service. With more access and more exposure to more fans, the current roster has a chance to make themselves stars, which can rebuilt the total amount of star power that the company has on the roster in the future.

If the bulk-pricing model can truly get off the ground for MMA remains to be seen, as it's still relatively uncharted territory, especially with the PPVs included in the subscription price, but if it is successful, it could rejuvenate the UFC product. There are a slew of media entities that are spending literally billions of dollars to try to secure their pie of the streaming pie as the media landscape continues to evolve, and if it will be truly successful will be determined over the course of time with not only the initial amount of subscribers, but also the ability of those platforms to maintain subscribers. It's a less optimistic point of view, but it's possible that the cost of the production of content, particularly with scripted shows, might be too expensive for a subscription model. There's a reason why some streaming platforms, including Paramount and Disney+ have lost money as they tried to expand programming to secure more subscriptions. 

However, live sports might be profitable genre that will give certain streaming services a lead in the competition to secure a portion of the market. A live event is scheduled for a specific time so the production isn't going to have filming delays or go over budget the way that some scripted shows can within the entertainment industry.

While there are several factors of how the streaming dynamics will evolve within the media industry, the bottom line for the TKO corporation is that the combination of this Paramount contract and the ESPN deal makes it one of the biggest media entities in either sports or entertainment. Between the two contracts, TKO will get more than $9 billion for it's media rights. That's not taking into account ticket sales, site fees, or merchandise. The wide array of coverage that the TKO properties have is also another major factor in its standing within the entertainment field. Raw is on Netflix, Smackdown is on USA, NXT is on the CW, the UFC will be on Paramount, there will be some type of content on Peacock until at least early next year, and the WWE pay-per-views will be on ESPN. Each of those deals take away potential TV contracts from All Elite Wrestling is the promotion leaves the Turner networks. There's no doubt that competition is key for the industry, but the sum tonal of the new media contracts is going to make it very difficult for any company to compete with the TKO corporation.

Triplemania review

Lucha libre group, AAA returned to WWE's Youtube channel for its second event broadcasted under the TKO banner, Triplemania in Mexico City this past weekend. As of this writing, the show, which was broadcasted in English and Spanish, garnered a staggering 4.3 million views, making it the most-viewed event in AAA history.

That right there is one of the biggest perks of the purchase by the WWE, the distribution of the product, as well as the ability to merchandise it, are exponentially bigger with the WWE machine behind it. The biggest takeaway from the Triplemania event is that there's undoubtedly an audience for lucha libre beyond just the typical Mexican audience.

At the same time,  while it's a part of the process and not necessarily a total negative, Triplemania also provided examples of where TKO brass will have to bridge the gap so to speak with the cultural differences of lucha libre if they want to truly integrate the Mexican-based genre into the bigger platform of the WWE umbrella. That's absolutely not to say that the office should change the structure of lucha libre, but rather find a way to present the traditional aspects of the sport in Mexico to the wider audience so that each portion of the show will be put into proper context.

The in-ring aspects of the six-match card is almost moot, mostly because the upside of the project is much bigger than any particular show, especially with the amount of money involved with media rights deals in the modern era. Triplemania as an event was less about the in-ring action and more about the prospects of the success, or potential pitfalls of the venture. Assuming the office can get the newer audience up to speed on the landscape of lucha libre and the history of AAA, similar to the way that Mike Tenay did brilliant work in WCW for the lucha bouts, there's the potential for the AAA project to become another valuable entity within the ranks of the TKO corporation.

The opening battle royal was fun, even if it left a few of those gaps mentioned earlier not fully explained. In a scenario that happened a few different times throughout the night, there was a few competitors that weren't booked for the When Worlds Collide show last month that were included on Triplemania that the non-Mexican audience would have no idea who they were or any reference point to truly understand their significance to the sport. Cibernetico, who was actually in the Royal Rumble in 1997 during the original WWF/AAA working agreement, has been one of the well-known names within lucha libre for more than thirty years, but to the majority of the fans that tuned into the event, at least on the English WWE Youtube page, he just looked like an older wrestler that was briefly in the ring. Of course, it's going to take time for the WWE to properly put lucha legends in perspective to fully utilize their status so it's not something that's impossible to get over to a bigger audience, but it's definitely going to take more than monthly events to establish the luminaries to the international audience.

It was good to see Omos back in the ring for Triplemania, mostly because he's undoubtedly a marketable commodity, but not only has the way that the WWE used him, but also how the WWE used giants in general makes it a better option for him to be a part of the AAA project. Keep in mind, the more that the WWE used any giant that they could find, or basically the further they got away from the philosophy that they used for Andre back in the day, the less mystic the giants had in the grand scene of things. The Big Show started off as a major player when he debuted in the WWF in 1999, but when he was shipped down to OVW to lose weight just a few years later, he wasn't protected the way the giants of the past were. Sure, when he would keep himself in shape, he would get a renewed push, but with the decline of his credibility, particularly who he would be booked to sell for, as well as the compromises to the credibility to his character with a series of baby face and heel switches, most of the aura of The Big Show diminished. Similar to how Andre was the benchmark for giants in the WWE in the previous era, when the status of Big Show declined, the dynamic of giants in the organization was less important as well. Keep in mind, The Great Khali had an initial push to the world heavyweight title before he became a comedy character.

When Omos was defeated in less than five minutes by Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania a few years ago, his time as a featured star in the WWE was basically over since it sacrificed his credibility as a force within the company. It goes without saying that when some grapplers are so tall that it affects their mobility, their style might not suite the modern era, but the doesn't take away from the value of the performer under the right circumstances. The sport in Mexico, much like in Japan, still has the aura around giants in pro wrestling since the concept of a giant hasn't been diluted the way that it was in America. This opens the door for Omos to have a fresh run and become an established star in AAA. The spot with Microman was too obvious not to book when you have both performers in the same building. With over 82 million views on social media, it puts a brighter spotlight on Omos than anything he did in WWE previously, and it goes without saying that Microman could be a very marketable star. Omos getting the win makes sense since it puts that previously mentioned spotlight on him.

The Latin America championship match was another example of the disconnect that there was between the narrative in the ring and the international audience. Clearly, there was a lot of drama and cache for what took place based on the reaction of the crowd in the building, but for those that weren't aware of  El Mesías, who wasn't featured on the When Worlds Collide pay-per-view, and the rivalry with the Wagner family, the presentation didn't have the drama that it would've had otherwise. Mesías, who originally made a name for himself working in Puerto Rico as Ricky Banderas, is a journeyman that has competed for several different organizations for nearly three decades, but he's never had a major run in the United States that would've introduced him to American fans. He had a cup of coffee in TNA almost 20 years ago and was featured on MTV for the 2 or 3 weeks that Wrestling Society X was on the air, but the vast majority of the English audience probably had no idea who he was. Dr. Wagner Jr. is an absolute legend in Mexico, but his appearance didn't have the same importance to most of the viewing audience since you'd have to be a diehard fan to be familiar with his accomplishments in Mexico.

The mixed trios match, the tag title match, and the women's triple threat match were fine and an example of how WWE stars can be booked into the mix to bring more viewers to the AAA product, but those bouts were mostly par for the course. That's not meant as a knock either, if matches like this are how the WWE talent are going to be booked in AAA then it's probably going to be a successful formula, particularly because the AAA product isn't being presented as secondary.

The main event was a four-way match that had mostly WWE talent, but Vikingo was victorious so it was another indication that AAA, at least on their own events, are going to be promoted on a similar level as the WWE guys. AJ Styles' appearance had a dual purpose, as it furthers his storyline with Dominik Mysterio on Raw and adds an extra sizzle to Triplemania.

The next AAA event will be held September 12th with Dominik Mysterio vs. Vikingo already announced as the main event. It will be interesting to see if there will be some type of regular program to showcase AAA events, as there were other shows in Mexico that weren't broadcasted on the WWE platform between the When Worlds Collide show and this Triplemania event. Maybe this will be a tailored integration of AAA programming onto the WWE platform, but at some point, if management truly wants to expand the lucha organization to a bigger audience and thus maximize the revenue possible, there will have to be some type of distribution on a regular basis. Considering the recent ESPN contract, it will be interesting to see if  there will be a deal for the lucha content on a different platform.

The return of Axel Law

It's often said that professional wrestling is about the moments.

Maybe too often in the modern era of the social media age, a time when tribalism or the dreaded debate about star ratings take priority over entertainment, sometimes even the most passionate fans can miss the forest through the trees, at least on the national level.

It's not quite as glamorous, as it's not hosted in a stadium or has millions of dollars from the corporate sponsors, but there's something inherently charming about independent wrestling. And, it doesn't require fans to take out a second mortgage to be able to afford tickets.

Just a few weeks ago, there was a prime example of what's so endearing about the independent scene, those that are involved aren't there because of a guaranteed contract or an endorsement deal. Regardless of if they are aspiring rookies looking for that potential big break, or seasoned veterans that give back to the business, the vast majority of independent wrestlers are there for the love of the game.

A prime example of that is Axel Law, a throwback pro from the Pittsburgh scene of the late-90s that saw his career cut short when a broken neck in 2000 and the subsequent fusion surgery to repair it eventually led to the end of his days in the ring.

Axel moved on, relocating to the southern United States and working as a drug enforcement agent for two decades until he retired from the force. But, the fire for the performance still burned inside his heart.

So, when he found himself back at Ryse Wrestling's Stronghold training center a few years ago, he floated the idea of a comeback to the squared circle, mostly so that his son Hunter, who never had the chance to watch him compete, would get to see his dad in the ring.

Law hit the weights and the mat consistently for several months, determined to not only make a comeback, but to do so in the best way possible. He was ready to lace up his boots at least one more time before not only his wrestling dreams, but his life was in danger the night before Thanksgiving last November.

He hit a patch of ice, rolling his truck, and the car accident left the grizzled grappler quite literally in several different pieces. He ruptured his spleen and broke two vertebrae in his back, which were relatively close to the damage that he sustained from the original wrestling injury nearly 25 years prior. He spent five days in the Intensive Care Unit then three months in a recliner after he was sent home from the hospital. He was barely able to get around his home and basic tasks were grueling on a day-to-day basis.

Axel Law was built on grit, and as the recovery process went on, he found that his flame for the ring couldn't be extinguished.

"Once the doctors released me to go back to train, I concentrated on strengthening my back and neck as much as possible. It was not easy at first, standing in a public gym with ten pound dumbbells, but I was locked in, I wasn’t going to stay down. I’ve been down this road before, and I always get back up. Once I started feeling strong in the gym, I slowly started running some light drills at training and rolls.  Running the ropes was really hard at first as the rope rope hits my back directly where it was broken. Day by day, week by week, I kept coming back and slowly doing more each time. I had not planned on coming back after my accident, but now there was a fire in me that I could not contain," he explained.

Axel cites the tight-knit group at the training center as one of the main reasons he was able to work his way from the ICU months earlier back into the squared circle.

"The amount of support that I felt from fellow Stronghold students and trainers was a driving force as well. Brandon K, Dean Radford, Glenn Spectre, Jace Mara,and all the guys and girls at the Stronghold training center all helped me in one way or another. And I will be forever grateful," he commented.

Finally, after months of rehabilitation just to get back to some sense of a normal life when he had to work his way back from a hospital bed to his first cautious steps back in between the ring ropes, the day arrived that Axel Law would make his comeback. At Ryse's annual showcase at the Fayette county fair, he was scheduled to compete against the serious professional and longtime veteran, Glenn Spectre, who made a return to the sport of his own a few years ago after an extended hiatus. Spectre has continued to add to his extensive resume, winning championships in 2025 after he was the first "gaijin" or foreigner to win the DDT tag titles in Japan more than two decades ago. Management selected  Glenn as the opponent because it was rather poetic that Axel returned to the ring against someone from his original era.

"I think I understand Axel’s return more than most. Like me, Axel has a chance to rewrite a chapter in his wrestling story. After observing his toughness and resolve first hand, I wish him nothing but success. He wants it," said Spectre via phone.

"It's how passionate he was and how he was able to get the crowd emotionally invested. He had a no quit mentality, which made him always a pleasure to be around. It was very nice to see him show up at Ryse not long ago," added CJ Sensation, one of Axel's original peers that now works behind the scenes of the Pittsburgh circuit as an organizer and producer.

When the music hit, Axel bounded through the curtain, and his enthusiasm was infectious, as the crowd in attendance responded with their own energy toward the wild man that was there to put on a show for them.  

"Coming through the curtain again was like a dream. The goosebumps I had, when the fans at Ryse accepted me and showed me love is exactly why we do this. Just before I come through the curtain, I always say a prayer thanking God for protecting me another day and giving me the privilege to come out the curtain. When I came through the emotion that y’all saw was not an act, it was all real life," he remarked.

"As far as Glenn Spectre, if I was gonna make a comeback, I was definitely going to test myself. I have so much respect for Glenn both as a worker and trainer, but I told him before the match to not hold back on me. I wanted the test. I feel like Glenn tested me throughout the match," he added.

Throughout the contest, the intensity elevated as the bout tilted back and fourth. At one point, Spectre thought that he might be able to get Axel to reconsider his return and give up. but there was no quit in Axel Law. After a fierce battle, Glenn got the three count, but Axel Law still won the fight, his fight against the adversity of life and the scenario that saw him shattered in literal pieces eight months earlier from the car wreck that brisk November night. Post-match, Spectre got on the house mic and commended his opponent, embracing him as an example of the bond they share through the squared circle.

"What you saw at Fayette County fair was two warriors, with mutual love and respect for each other, get in the ring and give everything we had for the fans of Ryse," said Law.

But, it wasn't until after the bell that Axel Law realized, despite the result of the contest, just how much of a winner he was when he was surprised with a guest to share the ring with him in the post-match celebration, Hunter, his son that inspired the comeback in the first place.

"Glenn and Dean did not tell me anything about bringing him in the ring. It really was surreal to stand in that ring, with my son, with the fans chanting welcome back. I really felt the love in that moment. Part of the reason I do what I do is the love I feel when I come through the curtain. And I’m so grateful to everyone at Ryse for making it a reality," he said.

However, Axel doesn't intend for this to be a one-off scenario. He wants to continue to work as a member of the ring team behind the curtain, as well as at least a semi-regular in front of it. To say that Axel Law is an example of pure toughness would be an understatement.

"I’m not back to be anyone's stepping stone, and I am still as locked in as ever. I will continue to work hard in the gym and on my cardio. I’d like to take this chance to shed some light, I write '22 a day' on my wrist tape because 22 US vets lose their battle with PTSD every single day, and that’s just unacceptable," Axel concluded.

What's next for Karrion Kross?

Professional wrestling blurs the line between reality and the script. Sometimes it can be sleazy, sometimes it's compelling, and sometimes it falls completely flat. By nature, there's usually a piece of the puzzle left missing, with the final fit often designed to draw money.

Depending on the circumstances, it's either thrilling or infuriating. It can be frustrating, but that's a part of the fun, isn't it?

Karrion Kross, the real-life Kevin Keasar, put not only the fans, but also management on notice when he cut a scathing promo on one of the WWE panel shows, venting his frustrations about being left off of the Wrestlemania 41 card that was held in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada in April. Instead, he worked a much smaller, albeit entertaining, Game Changer Wrestling Blood Sport show the day prior.

Within the four months since, the fans rallied behind Kross, investing in his message that he was being underutilized by the powers that be within TKO corporation. After all, if he was given a chance to truly showcase himself, it would theoretically be another way that the audience would get their money's worth at a time when the publicly-traded global corporation touts record-setting profits, partially because of the astronomical ticket prices to live events.

Karrion Kross t-shirts began to sell, at least one metric that proved that there was something to his seemingly unplanned interview segment that put a spark to his career. 

In many respects, the former Killer Kross wasn't give a solid chance within the WWE landscape. Sure, he made a name for himself working in Mexico and later Impact Wrestling, which was at a time when the Impact brand offered as much exposure as the witness protection program. However, Killer Kross was always a big fish in a relatively small pond. Nobody was talking about the events in Mexico in 2017, as that was before the launch of All Elite Wrestling to bring more lucha stars to a bigger platform, as well as sending talent to CMLL on a semi-regular basis, and before the WWE purchase of AAA that has put the biggest spotlight on lucha on a more global scale since the WCW days.

Make no mistake about it, the fans that knew about Killer Kross had to put in the effort to find him in his earlier years, but it was almost a unanimous notion that he had the talent to work on the bigger stage of WWE. The reason that he didn't get the previously mentioned fair chance in the WWE was that he was essentially a victim of circumstances in some ways. He inked a WWE deal in February 2020, just a month before the COVID pandemic shut down the entire world. He was released just a year later when the organization cut dozens of performers to be able to tell shareholders that there were adjusting to the lack of live event revenue during the conference calls.

Just over three years ago, Kross and Scarlett were re-signed by the WWE in 2022, which was another time that the organization was in flux. as  it was less than a month after the initial Vince McMahon allegations were reported by The Wall Street Journal and the emperor of sports entertainment was ousted from his own company. As we know, Vince strong-armed his way back into the promotion before the Janel Grant lawsuit was filed in January of last year and exiled McMahon from the organization again. 

The point being, there was quite literally a shift in power and thus philosophy for what made it on screen for the product. A change in bookers always brings with it a change in who that booker wants to spotlight. Maybe Vince wanted to spotlight Kross more or less than he would've been featured otherwise if Triple H had the reigns when Kross returned. Austin Theory was deemed a pet project for Vince, pinning John Cena at Wrestlemania a few years ago, and once McMahon was given the boot, Theory was regulated to the B-side of a secondary tag team before an injury sidelined him.

With the shift in control a few different times during his fresh start in the company, Karrion Kross never truly had the chance to get his feet under him. He was paired with The Authors of Pain  for a short-lived push and an equally short-lived feud with The Hurt Business last year. The Authors of Pain and Paul Ellering were eventually given their walking papers this past February, and The Hurt Syndicate are now on the AEW roster.

Where did that leave Karrion Kross?

Basically, it left him no where in particular. He didn't wrestle on television for a few months earlier this year until he was on the losing end of a feud with AJ Styles, and was pinned by Sami Zayn in two pay-per-view matches in a row.

The fan support that Kross received this year was generated by him, not the company, and based on how he was booked before his contract expired over the weekend,  it looked like the office wanted to make sure he was framed as secondary before he hit the free agent market.

With his WWE contract expired, that would technically make him available to any wrestling league, AEW included, as soon as this week. Keep in mind, he's not subject to a no-compete clause since he wasn't cut from the roster, his contract just simply wasn't renewed. Along with his official return to the free agent market, Kevin Keasar released a documentary of sorts that chronicled his final months under WWE contract on his Youtube channel. The biggest takeaway from the video release that runs just over an hour is that it spotlights his fan support, and how he made time for the fans to express his appreciation.

But, could this all be by design?

We saw how the office constructed the Seth Rollins ruse to create a very memorable moment with the cash-in at Summer Slam. How injured Rollins was or wasn't before he cashed in to win the WWE championship is irreverent. The point being, the line was blurred and allowed for a level of intrigue before it was used to put Rollins over as the WWE champion. Maybe it was an injury scare and the writing team used it as a part of the script when Rollins wasn't as hurt as initially thought at Saturday Night's Main Event? Maybe the injury spot was planned and he was never injured at all?

We don't know for sure, but that's a part of the fun, isn't it?

Given that the Seth Rollins cash-in went about as well as it could've, it's not impossible that WWE management could lean into something similar for Karrion Kross with the concept of, "No, this is reality" when it's actually all being used to work the audience. Remember that piece the puzzle that is usually missing before the remaining piece is used to draw money? Taking into account the way that Kross was booked to lose continuously before his contract expired, it might be a way to further the narrative that the office didn't see the same value in him that the fans did. On the flip side, it's just as possible that they weren't going to put him over if he wasn't going to be under contract to the company going forward, which makes sense since there's no reason for them to promote someone for another company's show.

On the surface, it seems like his organic fan support would be too easy to capitalize on for management to pass up, but how many times have we had to shake our heads when the office missed the boat on certain talent in the past?

If I had to guess, and I could be totally wrong, I'd say that Karrion Kross will be back in the organization sooner rather than later. There appears to be too much of a push that he and Scarlett are done with WWE, almost as if they want to make it too obvious that they are out the door for there not to be something in the works. Both Kross and Scarlett confirmed their exits and are already claiming to be available for the independent circuit. It's well-known that the WWE ID program put a collection of independent leagues in contact with the WWE so even if Killer Kross starts to pop up on independent shows, it's possible that it could be used to add some credibility to the notion that the office didn't renew his deal.

The power of social media isn't nearly as strong as some might claim it to be, but the influence and the trickle down effect is undeniable. Social media alone can't do it, but it's possible that it could be the spark that starts a groundswell of support for Kross that might lead to his name being chanted on WWE broadcasts. Those circumstance would definitely increase the impact of his return if this is all a work.

Furthermore, it's a little too convenient that there just happened to be a camera there to capture his reaction when he finished the promo on the panel show as he was leaving the set for a documentary that was set to be released after his WWE deal expired. The same camera was there to follow him through the arenas to film his interaction with fans, adding to the narrative that he's a man of the people. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely not saying that he was being phony with his time for the fans. In fact, the reason that he got over on his own is because the fans can tell that he's genuine so those interactions are authentic. It's just a little too convenient that a third party camera was allowed to film backstage at WWE events for a project outside of the WWE umbrella.

The other side of the coin is that the story is legitimate and he's done with the WWE. Unfortunately, without the WWE machine to provide a payoff to this scenario, I'm not sure if Kross can continue to build his momentum. The WWE footprint gets larger with the expansion of assets like AAA and distribution like the new ESPN deal in 2026 so getting a portion of the market to take notice for anything outside of the WWE scope will be more difficult. As I said when I wrote about Kross prior to this, he could technically go to All Elite Wrestling and he would be lost in the shuffle within a matter of weeks. New Japan is an option and he would undoubtedly get a top spot there because the group is extremely thin in terms of star power so maybe that would be the best choice if he's actually gone from WWE, but it goes without saying that he would be back to being a bigger fish in a smaller pond.

I'm skeptical about the whole situation, as it would be counter productive for management to let the contract expire of someone that was selling merchandise, but it might be as simple as they don't see the upside of a possible Karrion Kross push so they don't think it would be worth the investment of TV time and the promotional push for him. 

The WWE/ESPN deal

 Earlier today, a blockbuster announcement was made as ESPN revealed a deal that will bring the marquee WWE premium live events, including Wrestlemania, Summer Slam, The Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Money in The Bank, to a new service that will launch at the start of 2026. At this point, it's unclear if the contract, which will pay the TKO corporation $325 million per year for the next five years, will include the other pay-per-view events or the extensive WWE video library. Netflix, the streaming platform for Raw, will continue to have the rights to the entire WWE product internationally, but the new ESPN deal further diversifies WWE's domestic distribution.

There are several layers of the onion, both for what this means for the pro wrestling industry and the streaming industry as a whole.

As of this writing, it was reported that ESPN's new service will be $29.99 a month for subscribers, but those that already have access to the ESPN channels through their cable providers will have the service included so it's technically not a step backward to fans paying for individual events the way that UFC pay-per-views are purchased through the ESPN+ platform. It remains to be seen if the new ESPN service will affect its streaming platform. Obviously, the newly-announced service that will host WWE events will distribute content as a bulk selling point, which has almost become the standard within the current media landscape so that's another aspect that differs from the past of $30 for traditional pay-per-view. If wrestling fans would be swayed by the other content on the service remains to be seen.

The WWE announcement was made right after ESPN announced a massive deal with the NFL, putting the NFL Network, the Red Zone Channel, and other content under the ESPN banner, while the NFL will have a 10% stake in the network. How ESPN would report on the league, and more specifically, its controversies, remains to be seen. Assuming that the deal is approved by the government and goes into effect, it rumps up the footprint that ESPN will have among the sports media landscape. That's a footprint that for a number of years was slipping, as other media, including podcasts and other networks, took a portion of the audience that wanted sports coverage. At the very least, the addition of the NFL content and the WWE events give ESPN another major selling point to those respective audiences, as well as reasserting itself as a force within the sports media landscape.

The trickle down affect is that it's more than possible that there could be advertisements for upcoming WWE events during NFL broadcasts, and getting even a fraction of that audience to either sample WWE programming or maybe become regular viewers again, could undoubtedly have an impact on not only viewership, but also the perception of the WWE brand. That might actually be one of the bigger points of that entire scenario, the WWE brand will have more cache, both for fans and sponsors, because of its association with ESPN.

It's ironic that there was a point in time several years ago that WWE would've been considered too "taboo" so to speak to be aired on ESPN since its scripted sports entertainment, but the evolution of the WWE and ESPN itself allows the deal to make sense for everyone involved. The WWE gets more mainstream exposure, particularly because, similar to the UFC deal, ESPN have a vested interest in the success of the WWE brand on its service so they will promote the organization. Keep in mind, TKO is getting paid the flat rate of $325 million per year so the amount of subscribers and thus the revenue from the new service will determine how profitable the venture will be for ESPN. Make no mistake about it, the cable channel will push the WWE events as much as possible to make sure the deal will be profitable for them.

On the flip side, this deal allows for a wider possible audience for the ESPN brand. The 18-34 male demographic will always be the cable's main target group, but it's well-known that the WWE audience generally skews toward either the younger audience or an older viewership of over 55 so this deal can add younger kids, more senior citizens, and potentially more of a female audience to ESPN viewership. 

As much as this deal diversifies WWE's media distribution, it can also diversify ESPN's demographics, which could be a way for the network to compensate for the increased amount of sports coverage in the modern era. A youngster might not tune into ESPN to see if Scottie Scheffler made bail in time to tee off, but they will want to watch Jey Usos' next pay-per-view match.

The other side of the equation is a little less optimistic, but it's still a possibility that must be considered for this contract.

What if there isn't enough or a demand from the WWE audience to either subscribe to another service or follow the content to another platform? We've heard for years about cord-cutting, and the supposed doom of traditional television, which I think has been completely blown out of proportion, as television is still the most common way to consume content. Still, there's no doubt that there are less traditional cable subscribers now than in the past so there will be a portion of the WWE fan base that will have to decide if they want to pay $30 a month for access to WWE pay-per-views.

The question is, has there been an oversaturation of WWE content?

The argument could be made  that there's already an oversaturation of WWE programming with at least six and a half hours of original shows each week, as well as the extended pay-per-views. Summer Slam was a staggering seven and a half hours over the course of two days. Let's not forget the new Unreal series on Netflix, and the myriad of online content, such as the WWE Vault Youtube channel. There will eventually be a tipping point where the average viewer just isn't going to watch endless hours of pro wrestling. Considering the amount of programming already on cable and Netflix, will viewers truly want to potentially pay $30 a month for more WWE content? Granted, the new ESPN service will have various shows, but the WWE audience will decide to subscribe or not primarily based on the wrestling shows.

That being said, this deal, at least on the surface, is overwhelming positive for the WWE, particularly for the previously mentioned promotional push from ESPN throughout the next five years. It's rather astonishing that 15 years ago that Smackdown was on the Sci-Fi channel, a secondary network, and now the WWE shows are worth literally billions of dollars. Some of that is based on the evolution of the media landscape, but the brand is definitely stronger today than it was for several years in the past. It will be very interesting to see if the WWE overplays its hand as far as trying to sell too much sizzle without enough substance as far as expensive ticket prices and potentially another cost to watch WWE content or if the new deal adds more fuel to the increased WWE popularity in recent years.

Summer Slam night two review

The second night of Summer Slam took place with some loftier expectations than night one had, and mere minutes after the broadcast went off the air, I'm honestly not sure if the company met them or not. More than anything, the totality of the two-night format gave the impression that the best parts of each night could've been combined into one show for a much tighter and probably better presentation.

I hate to say it because it's a repetitive statement, but night two also had several segments that were stretched out to the point of being tedious just to get the runtime of the show to almost four hours.

The show opened with the triple threat match for the Women's championship, and while it was a very good 15-minute bout, there's not necessarily a lot to say about it since it was yet another example of everything being quality for a featured bout in the women's division. This was action packed and checked all the boxes for a quality segment. Naomi stealing the victory was a very wise decision since it gave her more heat, and as I've written before, both Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are already established so it makes sense to spotlight Naomi. I'd go as far as to say that Ripley and Iyo are such polished pros that they will maintain their status within the division even if they are outside of the title picture for a few months.

The tag team TLC match was exactly what it was advertised to be, especially with the comparisons to the original TLC matches and the introductions of two of the tag teams that were involved in those bouts, The Dudleys and The Hardys. This was the car crash that you'd expect with some wild spots and brutal table bumps. Any ring psychology was minimal here, but that's the nature of the stipulation. The spot where Tommaso Ciampa was hanging from the bracket that held the belts will probably be the most memorable portion of this match. That being said, it makes sense for the Wyatts to retain the belts. Most importantly, after they completely lost any steam that they and basically needed a restart when they resurfaced a few months ago, it's key that the office gives them something of substance to do if the company wants the faction to have any longevity or the group will fizzle out again. Furthermore, it's reported that the Wyatts have done well for merchandise sales so if the organization wants to maximize that revenue stream, the stable has to be showcased as stars.

The Women's Intercontinental title match  was where this card took somewhat of a dip. The action was fine for what it was, but this match went 25 minutes, which was at least ten minutes too long. It was also unintentionally repetitive with the no DQ stipulation, as it was right after the TLC match and used some of the same weapons without being nearly as spectacular as the prior match on the card. This had a slow and plodding pace that might've been  justified by the office as some type of dramatic presentation, but it became a tedious viewing experience. Bayley's involvement didn't add much, and given that the segment wasn't exactly thrilling, it didn't boost  Lyra Valkyria's status either. This is a rare time that a Becky Lynch bout was underwhelming. If I had to guess, there will be another match in the feud, but after this, it's not exactly going to be an anticipated rematch.

Speaking of underwhelming, it's also rare that the word underwhelming would be used to describe a Jacob Fatu segment, especially because he's been absolute money since he debuted in the WWE, but I have to be honest, I expected more than what they delivered in this 10-minute cage match. Everything seemed rushed and blatant rather than a narrative that could unfold organically to allow for the drama to build toward the conclusion. This segment never got into second gear because it wasn't given enough time to do so, as the interference became the narrative more than anything else. More specifically, and this became more apparent later in the night, this card seemed to use gimmick matches as a substitute for compelling drama. The conclusion where Solo Sikoa fell out of the cage to win was very flat.

The Intercontinental title match was fine, but similar to some of the contest from the night before, this was a TV match in a stadium rather than something you'd expect to see on a featured pay-per-view. I understand the narrative based around Eddie Guerrero, which is a nice tribute to the late legend, but there just wasn't enough meat on the bone in terms of bell-to-bell substance in this segment. This was another contest that didn't get into second gear before the finish when Dominik Mysterio retained the title.

I think that I've probably been too negative in this review, but I can only react to what I watched, and outside of the first two matches of the night, similar to night one, the show as a whole was rather underwhelming prior to the main event, putting more pressure on the championship bout to deliver something memorable. I wouldn't go as far as to say that Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena had to save the show, but similar to Saturday, I got the impression that the two-night format spreads the talent too thin to maintain the quality of the event.

That being said, the main event saw John Cena recapture a performance from his prime rather than a retirement run where he looks his age. However, the match was still too long, too tedious, and structured in a fashion that didn't build any major drama. This bout went almost 40 minutes and it was just too long, as the action on screen didn't justify that amount of time it was given on the broadcast. Furthermore, a series of finishes isn't dramatic, it's just a crutch for a lack of a compelling narrative. This contest had a lot of finishers, but didn't truly have any back and fourth action. Along with that, the street fight stipulation is the exact same thing as the women's match earlier in the night, and it was more proof that this card used gimmicks to add a sizzle that the in-ring action didn't have. Maybe I'm being too critical, but I found the pace to be so slow that it seemed like the audience was waiting for some type of interference to set up the finish since it was obvious when they was going to be a kick out.

Similar to how the ending of the cage match was flat, I think the same can be said here. There wasn't a back and fourth exchange to lead to the finish, but instead a rather tedious conclusion for Cody to win the championship back. I'm not sure the match itself provided a good conclusion for Cena's final reign or a boost for the start of Rhodes' second tenure as champion. If this would've went 20 minutes, it might've been a different story, but the actual runtime was nearly double that.

As far as surprises, the return of Brock Lesnar was undoubtedly a surprise, even if it's a retread of the same spot that they company did in 2012. Ironically, the last time that anyone saw Brock in the WWE was at Summer Slam two years ago when he lost to Cody Rhodes. As we know, Brock was named in the Vince McMahon lawsuit earlier this year after it was originally filed in early-2024 by Janel Grant, prompting the organization to distance itself from him. His rumored return to the organization at the Royal Rumble that year was scrapped, and he was removed as a playable character in the video game. At the time of the initially filing, it was only stated that a former UFC and WWE champion was involved, but Lesnar was literally the only performer on the roster that had won the UFC title so it was obvious that he was going to be included in the lawsuit before he was officially named, which is why the company immediately canceled any plans for him.

The fact that Lesnar was brought back while the lawsuit is ongoing could mean a few different things. Obviously, WWE brass thinks enough time has passed that they can promote Lesnar for key upcoming foreign shows without any major backlash from the fan base or sponsors. Secondly, Lesnar being named in the lawsuit might prove that he's a sleazy guy, but he's not a defendant so he isn't the subject of any legal ramifications. If there was even the slightest chance that Lesnar might be the subject of legal action, there's no way that the WWE lawyers would've advised to bring him back to television. Given the nature of the lawsuit and the text messages that appear to prove his involvement with Janel Grant, the reaction that he received at Summer Slam proves that the fans often don't care how shady a performer is if they are a big enough star. If the Hogan scandal happened in his prime, it probably would've been swept under the rug, too. Lesnar appears to have requested a sexual encounter with a WWE employee as a part of the negotiations to re-sign with the company a few years ago.That's disgusting behavior, but the core WWE audience will cheer him and buy his merchandise because the pyro and ballyhoo is more important to them. 

Hey, pro wrestling isn't exactly know for its ethical nature.

Aside from the shock return because of the controversy with the lawsuit, I'm not sure how much demand there is for another John Cena/Brock Lesnar feud in 2025. As mentioned, it's quite literally a "been there, done that" scenario. More specifically, is there truly a demand for another Brock run? I'm not doubting his star power even after the negative publicity, but is there really anything else for him to do? He was used in a featured role for several stints in the span of several years, I think it's a fair question to ask, is there any new ground to cover, especially when his move set became repetitive and stale the last time the audience saw him?

Still, the same way that night one will be remembered for the cash-in at the conclusion of the show, the second night of Summer Slam will be known as the event where Brock Lesnar showed up after everyone thought that he was  persona non grata so maybe it's mission accomplished for the company.

Summer Slam night one review

Summer Slam, the signature event of the season for the WWE, kicked off its two-night presentation at MetLife Stadium. As unnecessary as making this event two nights is, the bottom line is, if they can sell twice as many tickets in a particular location, and get the city that hosts the show to pay a site fee, they are going to maximize the profit, even if it hinders the quality overall. The show had just six matches, but went nearly three and a half hours, which was a major factor because the pace of the show and the matches were designed to stretch as long as possible, even when there wasn’t a need for it in terms of the quality of the show.

An example of this was the opening tag team match of Roman Reigns and Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. Everything from the entrances to the introductions were done at a very deliberate pace. The match itself was fine, but more of a Raw main event than a featured bout at a pay-per-view in a stadium. Granted, it was the first contest of the night so they didn't have to do anything other than play the greatest hits, and they probably shouldn't have done more than that anyway given its position on the card, but it was still somewhat odd that Roman booked for the first match of a major event that was almost forgettable by the time the show went off the air.

Reigns and Uso got the victory, but I'm not sure the results mean all that much in the grand scheme of things, which was another aspect that made this seem like more of a TV main event than anything else. In some ways, it's uncharted waters with how to use someone like Reigns after such an extended title run in the modern era, what else is there to do? I'm not sure what the answer is, but taking into account Roman's extended absences at various points since he dropped the title last year, if the office wants to keep his star power strong, he's going to need a firm direction as a character at some point. The Bloodline angle was very well done, but Roman in particular, has worked with and against almost everyone involved so it's probably the right time for him to go in a different direction. The reason being, Roman appears to be there just to be there rather than to have a purpose, and that scenario could actually diminish the star power he brings to the table.

After the opening tag bout went just over 20 minutes, the women's tag match was somewhat of a flat point, both in terms of importance and performance. As mentioned, Reigns has a certain level of cache just for his involvement, something that can decline if he's not given the direction going forward, but the point is, at least for right now, Roman Reigns still have the mystique of a top guy. It's a natural decrease to go from the longest-reigning champion of the modern era to a pair of thrown together tag teams. Ironically, Charlotte Flair was booked to do so much, partially to artificially get her close to her dad's title record, so early in her career that by this point when she's such a polished pro, it's another situation where you have to wonder, what else is there for her to do?

The tag team with Alexa Bliss is new territory in a sense, but the pair was scheduled for this match just to give both of them on the card. As much as Raquel Rodriguez appeared to make some progress increasing her stock working with Rhea Ripley, she looked like a secondary performer in this segment. I don't know the best way to explain it, but she doesn't present herself in the most effective way, almost as if she's somewhat timid as a performer. Instead of being the powerhouse that she was working with Ripley, she almost shrunk into the role of follow the leader with Charlotte more or less leading the match.

As far as the match itself, it was somewhat clunky and for whatever reason, it just didn't get into second gear. The crowd wasn't that invested in the action either and there were a few quiet moments for spots that were designed to try to get a reaction. It looked like there was a point there they got lost and the referee might've been relaying some information to them. Charolette and Bliss won the titles, and in the long run, this will probably be a successful duo, but for the moment, it was a thrown together tag match that still seemed like it went long even though it was under 15 minutes.

Sami Zayn defeated Karrion Kross in a bout that only went seven or eight minutes. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but there's not too much to say about it either. It was another TV match in a stadium. Since Kross' contract status is still unknown, this might be another example of the office putting Sami over until they know if Kross is going to remain on the roster. It's basically the same thing that I wrote about their bout at the Night of Champions pay-per-view, management doesn't have a reason to push Kross until they know that he will be under a new deal. As far as Kross' future, he might be in a no-win situation, as WWE management didn't put much stock into him until he got himself over as somewhat of a cult favorite, and if he doesn't re-sign to go to All Elite Wrestling, it's almost certain that he would get completely lost in the shuffle in a matter of weeks.

Tiffany Stratton beat Jade Cargill retain the Women's championship in about six minutes, which was about as long as this segment should've been given. This contest was tailored for the circumstances and it was a wise decision, as the office showcased the skills of each competitor without putting them in the ring too long to expose any weaknesses. This was a very good, albeit, very choreographed match and both athletes had a solid performance. Tiffany as a baby face is rather cringe worthy, but her athleticism is a valuable asset and she's young enough that she has enough time to evolve in terms of in-ring quality so there's no reason to rush her into longer segments unless she has an established veteran to work with. Jade's biggest strong points and her most glaring weaknesses remain the same now as they were when she arrived in the WWE. She looks and presents herself like an absolute star. She's also completely unpolished in the ring, and another six-minute PPV match definitely isn't an indication that she's ready for the next level, which might be why she didn't win the championship.

Any celebrity involvement has the possibility to be hit or miss. Thankfully, Jelly Roll's WWE debut was somewhere in the middle at Summer Slam. Some of the spots were very much a novice that hadn't wrestled in front of a crowd before, but there were times that Jelly Roll made what he did work for the situation. It was somewhat of a wonky scenario, as Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre are two of the best workers on the roster, and they had to work within the context of the completely new wrestler of Jelly Roll and a still relatively new Logan Paul. The match was fine and had some memorable moments, but it was also a lot to juggle for the veterans in the match. Logan Paul pinned Jelly Roll, and besides the main stream publicity, it makes sense to  put Logan over if he's going to continue to be a semi-regular competitor on the roster.

Remember when I mentioned that the two-night format might hinder the overall quality?

Prior to the main event, you could see why a weekend of events might spread the roster too thin, as at this point in the show, it wasn't necessarily anything subpar, besides the women's tag match, but there wasn't really anything spectacular either. Outside of the celebrity tag match, most of the card was a TV taping, not a signature pay-per-view. At the very least, this suggest that the two-night format will often have a B-show and that was definitely the case here.

With that being said, there was undoubtedly pressure for the main event to deliver not only quality, but also something memorable. It went over 30 minutes, which was a little too long and they could've easily trimmed a few minutes off while still being able to accomplish the same goal, but this was a very well done segment.

There are a few key lessons that should be taken from the Gunter/CM Punk bout, including how effectiveness is determined by how the talent works with anything involved, not necessarily the biggest bumps or over-the-top gimmicks. When Gunther chopped Punk, it was sold and put over as a brutal aspect of the segment. The narrative of the match was relatively simple, CM Punk was going to try to use technical maneuvers to wear down the bigger champion, and Gunther was going to try to smash Punk with brute force. They didn't need to drop each other on their head or take unprotected chair shots to make the action meaningful and important. Basically, it's a lesson in ring psychology that should be taken into account by some of the other performers of the modern era. Furthermore, the blood was used as a focal point of the match that ultimately led to CM Punk winning the title. Nobody bled buckets on a random TV taping that will be forgotten about in two weeks.

The conclusion of the pay-per-view was somewhat telegraphed, as it was difficult to believe that Seth Rollins was only going to appear on stage, especially with the speculation that he might cash-in the MITB contract, but it was still very well done. As mentioned, this card needed something memorable to truly boost its quality before it went off the air, and the quality main event, as well as the cash-in accomplished that. I'd guess that tomorrow night's event will be the A-side of Summer Slam, but there's no question that night one will be known for the memorable cash-in when Seth Rollins won the title.