What's the status of All Out?

One of the main and rightful criticisms of the All Elite Wrestling product is that it takes things beyond the point of logic for ridiculous and/or dangerous stunts. We've already seen the laundry list of injuries that this approach can cause, with AEW ace, Will Ospreay as the latest example. He can't draw money for the company in the ring when he's going to be on the sidelines for a year with neck surgery. The same can be said for Swerve, he's a popular athlete that can gracefully soar through the air, which is something that the audience is willing to pay to see, but that can't happen until he recovers from knee surgery. Granted, injuries are a part of the game, but there's no reason to completely disregard the risk/reward ratio. The basics of the business can be risky enough, as one wrong step can put someone out of action, but that increases exponentially with many of the stunts of the modern era. However, there's also the structure or lack thereof side of the equation that creates a completely different problem as far as the inability to be able to realistically follow up or build upon anything if the goal was scorched earth. If every pay-per-view main event match is the end of the world, what do you do when the sun rises the next day?

Ultimately, it leads to diminishing returns, a trend that was not surprisingly started to some degree in ECW, as fun as that product was, but was put into overdrive in the current industry.. It might sound cliche or antiquated, but it remains true, if you see a head-to-head collision then a fender bender seems tame by comparison.

AEW has booked more tables than anyone can count, barbed wire, nails stuck in Moxley's back, literally someone set on fire with a flamethrower, and too many risky stunts than could be realistically listed. The obvious result of such a skewed risk/reward ratio is the injury rate, but again, the other side of that is that there's simply not much else to do at some point.

Just a few weeks ago, MJF bled buckets in the world title match before the gory stunt show of the 10-man cage match in the main event. So, now what?

This is a predicament that could've been avoided, but Tony, knowingly or unknowingly booked the product into a corner. Less than four full weeks after Forbidden Door, All Elite Wrestling will be tasked with selling the audience another $50 pay-per-view over the course of just a few episodes of television. At this point, there are two remaining episodes of Dynamite left without an announced main event for the PPV. Is it realistically possible for the company to book a worthwhile world title match?

The answer is probably someone from the Don Callis family, and given enough time, Callis probably could sell a world title main event to the audience, but when you take into account how there are so many members of the faction without the focus on a specific performer, it would put any member of the stable in a rather flimsy position of a challenger for Adam Page. Just my two cents since it's not a possibility based on the amount of stock Tony has seemingly put into Page as the champion, if it was my decision, I'd book  Konosuke Takeshita to beat Page for the championship before he challenged for the IWGP belt next month. Essentially, AEW should run with Takeshita as a top guy before New Japan decides to specifically brand him as their top star.

That being said, the main event is still up in the air so we can only look at the current card 10 days before the event.

Adam Copeland and Christian against FTR should be a solid bout given the amount of experience and talent involved in the segment, but the entire storyline seemed rushed so it doesn't have the cache that it could've had otherwise. Copeland's return to the company from injury was rather lukewarm, Christian's dismissal from his stable was room temperature, and despite still being arguably the best tag team in the business, FTR's status is almost an ice cube. Keep in mind, FTR took the pin last month because The Hurt Syndicate didn't want to drop the titles. Speaking of The Hurt Syndicate, the scheduled six man tag against Ricochet and the Gates of Agony is nothing more than a way to get them on pay-per-view. They might have a point, but it's clear that the lackadaisical presentation of the product doesn't suite The Hurt Syndicate so they simply aren't going to lose to the majority of the roster. This match was booked to give them a win so there's no much substance to it or the storyline itself.

Another example of a bout that lacks substance is Riho challenging Mercedes Mone for the TBS championship. Riho hasn't appeared in AEW in over a year and only had a handful of appearance in the past few years. Are the fans really supposed to believe that she has any chance of winning the championship? Furthermore, why should the fans invest in her as a character when it's obvious that she's only going to be there for a cup of coffee before she disappears for an extended period of time again. Don't forget, this is a part of a $50 pay-per-view, not a TV match that probably wouldn't maintain a rating so is Riho/Mercedes truly a selling point for the show?

The ship sailed on the  MJF vs. Mark Briscoe feud when Friedman move onto the world title feud against Page, and when Briscoe shifted toward the Don Callis faction. To attempt to revisit it now is just a way to do a lesser version of what they could've done months ago that could've had a much more productive payoff. In short, Friedman should be doing something more important than a rehash of an angle that was fumbled initially, and Briscoe continues to be underutilized.

The women's four-way match is an excuse to shoehorn a few more names on the card as a substitute for compelling storytelling. It's a sharp contrast to how well done the Toni Storm/Mariah May angle for earlier this year, and displays a lack of true booking skill because nobody will truly be better off after this four-way, and the stagnant nature of the characters is one of the biggest criticisms of the product.

The Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin coffin match is supposed to be a follow-up of sorts to the 10-man cage match since it had the spot where Moxley put a fork through Darby's ear. This goes back to the original concept of how a fender bender looks rather mundane after a head-to-head collision. What exactly are this guys going to do? Why book them against each other only a few weeks after the gory spots they did at Forbidden Door? It goes without saying that there's going to be some level of comparison between the two bouts so it's either going to be flat after such a gory segment last month or there's going to be a ridiculous risk to try to top the reckless stunt show from last month.

Maybe this is too negative, but I honestly think it's a realistic look at the card and the lack of meat on the bone in terms of importance to the product. The reason that I point this out is that when you're trying to sell a $50 pay-per-view in the modern era, especially during the continued uncertainly of the economy, the slapstick approach isn't a selling point for the audience. To put it in perspective, while some fans will have access to the new WWE pay-per-view model through their cable providers at no extra charge if they have the ESPN channels already, there were already some complaints from those that would have to pay $30 for access to the pay-per-views.

What's next for Chris Jericho?

Usually, the rumor mill about free agents in the modern era revolves around either prospective talent from Japan or the independent circuit, and of course, underutilized talent that look for more opportunities elsewhere. When Will Ospreay and Okada debated their move to an American promotion after their individual runs as the top guy in New Japan, they had interest from WWE, but chose to pursue their careers in AEW. When FTR were being mismanaged during the latter stages of the Vince McMahon era. they jumped ship to work for Tony Khan.

On the flip side, names like Cody Rhodes, Jade Cargill, Andrade, Pentagon, Fenix, and others left AEW to either debut or return in the WWE. It goes without saying that each transaction between both groups has different levels of success, and obviously, that makes a statement about the promotions themselves, but the bigger point is that it's not uncommon in the modern era for talent to shift around, which makes the business exponentially more interesting for the viewing audience.

The majority of the narrative around the transition of talent is that WWE often presents former AEW performers as much bigger stars in one night than they were in a few years under the direction of Tony Khan. That makes as much of a statement about Tony's management of talent as it does his booking style, or lack thereof. Where's Britt Baker? Is Jack Perry still under contract? Is Anthony Ogogo still on the payroll?

The reason the narrative matters is because when a talent signs with an organization, it's an indication that they see it as a productive option for their careers. It sends the message to the paying audience of a level of optimism, as somewhat of a "it's the place to be" notion to the fans, which makes it much easier to sell tickets and pay-per-views. Make no mistake about it, there was a very different dynamic in TNA when every former WWE guy went there just because Vince McMahon didn't want them on his roster, and when Christian Cage opted to go to TNA instead of re-signing a WWE contract because he thought he had better career options in the alternative organization.

There was a time when the story within the industry was that the fresh company of All Elite Wrestling provided a fresh opportunity, both for the talent and the fans. Over the past six years, the script has flipped to some degree, as even some of those that put their stock in the Khan brand in 2019 eventually decided to sell their "investment" of their career in AEW for a run in the WWE.

The biggest example of this is Cody Rhodes, and I really think that his exit was a turning point in the direction of the company. The rocky tenure of CM Punk sent a message as well, prompting many to ask if Tony Khan was a major promoter in the business or just a big fan with a billionaire family to fund his vanity project.

However, as much as Cody's involvement was a key piece of the puzzle of the early success of All Elite Wrestling, it's fair to say that without the involvement of Chris Jericho from the inception, the project might not have been given a chance by many longtime fans. Make no mistake about it, Jericho's involvement gave the venture the level of credibility that it needed for the audience to take a chance on it with their investment into the brand through pay-per-view orders and ticket sales. Keep in mind, since WCW imploded two decades earlier, there were several false starts of some delusional promoter that claimed to have the formula to compete with McMahon.

In many ways, Jericho staked at least some portion of his legacy on the potential of AEW. If the project completely flopped and went under within months of its launch, it would've been a stain on Jericho's level of star power.

That's why the recent reports of speculation about Chris Jericho's future could be another pivotal point in the All Elite history books.

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that Jericho's AEW contract expires at the end of the year, with the notion that a WWE return might be in the cards for him, as some rumors suggest that his comeback is already a topic among those within the WWE office.

All things considered, it shouldn't be too shocking that Jericho will probably conclude his career under the WWE banner, and that's not a knock on Tony Khan either. For years, Y2J was a WWE guy and went as far as to say that he wouldn't work for anyone other than WWE because of his loyalty to the company. Sure, prior to the launch of All Elite, Jericho, similar to many other legends of his era, were being typecast in their roles in WWE by Vince McMahon so it made sense for the guy that was always looking to reinvent himself to work outside of the system that seemingly thought his productive days as a main star were behind him. That same assumption is what led to The Big Show inking a deal with AEW a few years later. While Big Show's history of injuries prevented him from a full-fledged return to the ring, Jericho certainly proved that he had a lot in the tank despite being near 50 when the first episode of Dynamite aired in October of 2019. Jericho was an anchor of the promotion and while it didn't pan out nearly the way that most probably hoped, his association gave a lot of talent that hadn't been on national television before a spotlight to showcase their skills.

That said, it's fair to say and it's also completely understandable that at 55 years ago that Jericho's run in AEW has almost organically began to wind down over the course of the past two years. He unintentionally became overexposed in some ways on AEW programming, which caused some fans to sour on him. Granted, he tried to lean into the criticism with "the learning tree" gimmick, but it was more cringe worthy than a counter point in the situation. This isn't meant as a jab at Y2J, he has accomplished more or less everything there is to do in AEW to the point that he got recycled to Ring Of Honor to give him something different to do. He was the biggest star on the roster, he was the first world champion, he was the leader of a few stables, and he gave the promotion credibility so his All Elite run was very successful.

That being said, everyone involved, probably even those in AEW, will acknowledge that a performer of the caliber of Chris Jericho, who is in a league of his own in many respects, deserves the pyro and ballyhoo of a WWE conclusion to his in-ring career with a WWE Hall of Fame induction. Given his extended history with the organization, it just seems to make sense that Jericho makes a comeback to the promotion that hosted most of his career.

The Jim Cornette adage of, "how can we miss you if you don't go away?" sums up the situation.

Chris Jericho has been away from the WWE audience for seven years so there's going to be at least some level of anticipation for his return. Taking his age into account and the level of cache that he has with the fans, a limited number of in-ring appearances could work well for him, as he doesn't have to do anything too risky or too flashy since the fact that he will be back in a WWE ring will be enough to draw fans. Along with a HOF induction, there will also be new merchandise so there's money to be made for everyone involved.

So, it makes sense for Chris Jericho to go back to the WWE, and if I had to guess, I'd say that he will return to the company early next year. Jericho hasn't been on AEW television for six months and that seems to follow the standard protocol that Tony Khan uses when a performer is going to leave the company. As mentioned, Jericho has been more or less everything there is for him to do in the company, but his potential exit would still create more uncertainty about All Elite Wrestling. Keep in mind, this was the guy that put enough faith in the project to stake his reputation on its success. Without Jericho's veteran presence as somewhat of a tent pole of the organization, will that have an effect on the company in the future?

That's probably the biggest takeaway of this story. Jericho going back to WWE isn't too surprising, but the bigger question is, how will All Elite continue to evolve as a commodity in the industry? At a time when Will Ospreay will be out of action for at least a year, Swerve Strickland is on the sidelines after knee surgery, and Jericho potentially out of the door, how will AEW reshuffle the deck to boost its star power next year?   

The career of George Zavadak

One of the most intriguing narratives within the entertainment field, regardless of the form the genre takes, is the dichotomy of how the performers balance their lives off-screen as compared to the place they hold on-screen. It's so much a part of the fabric of show business that the narrative itself has become a part of some of most ironic stories of the industry.

Peter Parker worked for The Daily Bugle in the afternoon before he clashed with The Green Goblin in the evening as Spider Man, Bruce Wayne was a CEO during the day before Batman battled The Joker, and Clark Kent reported for Metropolis' Daily Planet newspaper when he saved the world as Super Man.

It's no surprise that professional wrestling, an art form where heroes and villains in distinctive outfits, can have a similar dynamic, as seemingly average citizens in the daylight are transformed by the bright lights of the ring when the opening bell sounds for that night's action.

For George Zavadak, he's an average educated guy with a good job, making a solid living, and working on new recipes in the kitchen when he isn't on the clock at the office. A graduate of law school, Zavadak works as a lawyer, shifting through land contracts and researching building codes throughout the counties and townships of western Pennsylvania. It's not uncommon for him to have thick directories on his desk of zoning laws next an to equally gigantic cups of coffee to keep him sharp as he scans the details of each page.

A lawyer, a comfortable paycheck, and an endless work ethic to make the most of his career opportunities seems to check all the boxes for a nice average American existence. However, George's life is anything but average.

Every week, multiple times a week, Zavadak trades in the suit and tie for a stripped shirt to referee the in-ring action as close as his hometown or as far away as several states from home.

"I do a lot of traveling, but I've always tried to not let how far away a possible career making opportunity is dissuade me," George explained.

Nothing exemplified the balancing act between the mundane and the mayhem more than his travels just a few weeks ago when he was invited to officiate at The Gathering of The Juggalos, a four-day festival of a combination of music, pro wrestling, and other events. Over the course of the work week, Zavadak made the five-hour round trip from suburban Pittsburgh to Thronville, Ohio three different times to be able to check-in at the office for his legal duties of the contractual nature before he had legal duties as referee George Ross in front of the notoriously rabid Juggalo crowd throughout the festival.

On August 15th, as he wrapped up the legal filings in the office on a Friday afternoon, he shared the ring former multi-time WWE champion, Nic Nemeth and independent standout, Atticus Cogar to count the Cogar victory that night.

"I do my best to keep as diverse of an offering of companies on my calendar as possible. One night you may see me at Enjoy Wrestling and the next night I may be reffing a deathmatch tournament or be on tour with JCW," he added.

Pittsburgh, Ohio, Michigan, and New Jersey are all on Ross' calendar this month alone, but he already worked his way through just the typical independent circuit. He also had a cup of coffee as a referee on TNA television and has worked with the organization in almost every facet possible over the past few years. It's not uncommon for Ross to drive or fly to TNA events to work as an assistant in any role needed, as he adds even more versatility to his tool belt.

"I've done a little bit of everything for TNA. From extra work to security to selling t-shirts and other assorted merchandise to fans. The biggest moment though had to be making my referee debut at the ECW Arena on last year's July 4th episode. Any time I'm there, I try to study how things are done, and I do my best to carry some of the better operational practices to indie shows to make them better," George said.

In an effort to continue with that versatility and become more well-rounded in as many areas of the business as possible, George became a fixture, both in front of and behind the camera, of 880 Wrestling, an upstart league that began in his hometown before it switched locations to Pittsburgh's south side. The 880 concept was based on an open door policy, welcoming anyone from any background that wanted to try to chase their pro wrestling dreams. Naturally, there are a lot of youngsters that go through the doors of 880, and that allows George to use his seven years of experience to help guide them throughout their early journey in the sport. 

"I got involved when it was a New Kensington project at its beginning, but I've even taken on a bigger role as things keep going forward. It always provides for an interesting Thursday night. I'm a Swiss Army knife at 880 Wrestling. Depending on the night, I could be the iron man ref. I could be the one timing out the show to make sure matches and segments don't run too long. I could be helping agent segments or matches to help come up with finishes. I could be helping set up and tear down the ring for whatever next spot show we have," Ross commented.

Through a tireless work ethic, countless miles on the road, and too many mugs of coffee to count, George Zavadak made himself a staple of the business on his home turf, across the independent scene in different states, and an occasional appearance on the semi-national level, but he stays motivated with "the hustle never ends" mentality to try to reach the biggest peaks possible in the industry.

"I'm still in a bit of a weird spot where I love what I'm doing and I acknowledge how lucky I am to be doing it, but balancing it against wanting to achieve even more and reach the highest possible levels I can in this business. I'm having more fun in wrestling now more than ever. And I'll keep having fun while trying to chase my dream of getting signed somewhere," he remarked.

A reflection of his dedication to the accomplishments of his hometown and his aspirations to make it big on a national level, George cites the useful knowledge that those close to home were willing to share with him, as well as the reason behind his motivation to continue to grind his way through the independent circuit every weekend just for the chance to make the most of every possible opportunity.   

"I have a stated goal of wanting to be held in the same regard as a lot of the great referees that have come through the Steel City. Mark Curtis, Shawn Patrick, Bobby Williams, CJ Sensation, Joe Mandak, Nick Brown, but I want to be known for having done it walking his own path. A lot of people have graciously shared their knowledge with me and I just want to have the kind of career worthy of my teachers at the end of the day," Zavadak concluded.

Clash in Paris review

The WWE returned to the European market last week with a series of broadcasts that culminated in the Clash in Paris pay-per-view, an event that drew 30,000 fans. Granted, one of the reasons that the European tours generally draw very well is that the market doesn't get regular events because of the logistics and travel involved for an American promotion, but it's still an accomplishment to sell that many tickets at the notoriously higher ticket prices of the current era.

Still, this had the potential to be somewhat of a "lame duck" show so to speak, as it's the last pay-per-view exclusively on Peacock before the WWE makes an early move to the new ESPN streaming platform on September 20th, an event that will be headlined by John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar in an effort to counter program AEW All Out.

Generally speaking,  the Clash in Paris event wasn't earth-shattering, but I wouldn't call it a throw away show either, as there were a few key moments that could provide some intriguing insight into the direction of the promotion going forward.

The show opened with Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed, and similar to the Summer Slam PPV, it was still odd to see Roman at the start of the event. Obviously, kicking off the show at this type of event isn't the same as Mike Sharpe jerking the curtain at a TV taping in Poughkeepsie (no disrespect meant to Iron Mike), but Roman was such a staple of the main event picture of WWE events for so long that it's an unfamiliar dynamic to see him elsewhere.

The match itself was essentially what you'd expect from a Roman Reigns bout, it was a basic, well-done segment. It wasn't anything too flashy and there's nothing wrong with that. It was a quality performance and made Bronson Reed look like a bigger star in the process, as he earned a level of credibility for working a solid bout with one of the top guys in the company. Roman got the victory, but the finish was almost moot, as it was the post-match angle that was much more impactful to the direction of the product.

Bron Breakker speared Reigns a few times, and Bronson landed a few splashes from the top rope. The Paul Heyman faction put one of the biggest stars in the modern era on a stretcher to be carted away. That visual alone sends a statement about the future and the potential that Breakker in particular has as an eventual top star. In reality, this was a way to write Reigns out of the show for him to film the Street Fighter movie. It was said on Raw that Roman would be out of action "indefinitely," implying that it could be at least a few months. That being said, while I think that Roman will remain impact as long as he has something to do with Heyman upon his return, it's also possible that his frequent hiatuses from television could lead to diminishing returns. The audience has seen "the big Roman Reigns return" a few times since he dropped the title to Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania a few years ago.

The Wyatt Sicks beat The Street Profits to retain the tag titles, and it should be noted that this was a television bout at best with nothing memorable or noteworthy throughout the segment. In fact, the argument could be made that some of the contest was illogical, as the baby faces used the numbers advantage with interference to get the win. The Street Profits heel turn has more or less left them dead in the water. Granted, the WWE still doesn't put too much spotlight on the tag division, but The Street Profits are completely stagnant. The Wyatts retaining was the right decision, as at least it helps boost merchandise sales.

Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Bella was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Outside of the two glaring botches, the  match was fine for what it was, but the mishaps were so over-the-top that this segment will be known for the Bella kick the missed by a mile, and when Becky didn't come anywhere near the top for a spot where she was supposedly sent head first into the desk. Becky retained the belt, but there's not much else to say about this bout.

The Donnybrook match was really solid, and it was the first time that Rusev looked like a credible star since he returned to the company following Wrestlemania in April. If management stays the course on that remains to be seen, but make no mistake about it, Rusev has the talent to be an asset to the roster if he's given the chance to showcase him. The table spot was wild and the submission finish was very well done. It must be mentioned that Rusev had to get the win here if the office wanted to keep him above water as a performer that the audience should keep on this radar. The artificial debut pop is almost always easy, but given the lack of direction prior to this, you have to wonder if the writing team had a plan for him upon his return or if he was brought back to television simply because they needed something to surprise the crowd for the Raw after Wrestlemania.

The John Cena vs. Logan Paul match had a lot of moves, specifically as a nod to other performers on the roster that Cena worked with previously, and in that aspect, it was an entertaining segment. That being said, there was no reason that this match had to go more than 25 minutes, especially at this point in Cena's career. Cena getting the win after a pair of Attitude Adjustments made sense, as it gave him a chance to take a bow for the European fans.

Up until the main event, with the exception of the stretcher job for Roman Reigns, this show was very paint-by-the-numbers, and there's nothing wrong with that, but you could've almost made the argument that it would've been easier to watch the two-minute highlight video on Raw the next day than to sit through a nearly four-hour pay-per-view on a Sunday afternoon. It can't be understated how it's not a given that the causal fans are willing to sit through extended broadcasts of mostly a B-show.

The four-way match itself was action-packed and the quality of the segment was a reflection of the top-notch performers that were involved in it. However, it becomes a tough sell that it's realistically possible that Seth Rollins would drop the title less than a month after the cash-in at Summer Slam. Because of that, it seems like the crowd knew that nothing of consequence was going to happen until the finish. Speaking of which, not that I'm trying to be too pessimistic, but while some of the overseas crowds are known for their wild enthusiasm, such as Puerto Rico a few years ago and Backlash last year in France, there's a difference between a crowd reaction to the match, and the crowd singing just to try to get noticed by the viewing audience at home. There was definitely some of that on the recent European tour and almost seems counter productive to actually enjoying the show they paid to see, but it's an effect of the social media age.

Becky Lynch interfering to save Seth Rollins' championship adds another layer to his feud with CM Punk, and considering that it's well known that Becky and Seth are married in real-life, it would make sense to add her to the Heyman stable. Taking into account the segment on Raw where Becky slapped Punk and he didn't retaliate, implying that he won't strike a woman, it appears that opens the door for an AJ Lee return. Punk's real-life wife returning to confront Seth's real-life wife is a story that writes itself. That being said, I'm not sure how much cache an AJ Lee return beyond her initial appearance. The reason being is that she was only on the main roster roughly five years before she departed the company in 2015. AJ Lee has been away from the WWE twice as long as she was there, and it's possible that the newer fans are only vaguely familiar with her. That isn't meant as a jab against her skills, as she was one of the most dynamic characters in the entire company during the majority of her tenure and she always maximized her minutes on television, but comparatively speaking she had a relatively short run with a decade away from the company so it remains to be seen how she would work within the current product.

The career of The Matriarchy

"My goal is to continue to break down barriers for the LGTBQ community. I really have been working hard to sign a contract with a major pro wrestling company. I want to do things that the fans never seen."

Professional wrestling, regardless of the form it takes, is based on the ability to emotionally connect with the audience. That connection is what brings fans to the venues, big or small, to see the athletes that they identify with in the ring. The examples are numerous, but we've seen time and time again how those fans find hope, courage, and solace through the avenue of sports entertainment.

Sometimes, the competitors inside the ring ropes find that same level of hope, courage, and solace through the art form that is displayed on the literal canvas.

In a business where everyone borrows, copies, or imitates the past to some degree, The Matriarchy, the tag team of Paris Sahara and Zeke Mercer, along with their manager, Amanda Maslow are an original act.

"I love The Matriarchy. we are the most unique tag team at 880 Wrestling. The two trans tag team with a female manager. We work very well together and bring a different wrestling style," said Paris.

"Sure, we can say I’m one of the few African-American Nonbinary people in wrestling and I add that aspect, but that’s just surface level," added Zeke.

Mercer, a seven-year pro, broke into the sport at the age of just 18, and used their time in the ring as a way of self-expression and healing. With an amateur wrestling background from high school, Zeke brought a combination of natural skill and technique to the pro ranks, making them one of the staples of the Pittsburgh scene.

"I have ADHD and C-PTSD, everyone is aware of how much mental health is very much apart of a wrestlers success or failure. I think my time in the business can be a good example of people having certain diagnosis and be successful in however you want to do with your career. People are more than their diagnosis," explained Zeke.

Working in the mental health services field outside of professional wrestling, Zeke works to help others during the week before they lace up their boots for their own "wrestling therapy" sessions, zigzagging their way around different states on any given weekend to perform for different independent organizations.

"Goals shift and change over the years, in my rookie year I focused on getting better and staying booked. Now it’s much grander than just staying booked. I got my fingers into a little bit of everything and the goal in basic terms is to leave wrestling better than I found it. I like to encourage people to be apart of the wrestling community or even the business side cause you love it, not to make money from it," commented Mercer.

For Paris, she started in the industry just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the entire world, but in the time since the local circuit returned back to regular cards, she had the chance to make a name for herself, blending her athletic background with the lessons with the squared circle. Dynamic in-ring offense and a shining persona made Sahara one of the rising stars of the steel city.

"I learned my first year of wrestling that I need to be in the moment, enjoy every moment, and be present.  Also, take my time in every situation with the way I walk, wrestle and speak. Let the fans take everything in," she remarked.

With their shared background and complimentary skill sets, Zeke and Paris made for a fitting duo.

The perfect platform for this tag team dubbed "The Matriarchy" was 880 Wrestling, an upstart league that was founded in 2023 on its open door policy training center, where anyone that wanted to test themselves in a pursuit of a career of professional wrestling was welcomed to start their journey under the 880 banner. Along with the centerpiece of the training school, 880 Wrestling, a nod to the postal code of its original location of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, hosts weekly live cards on Thursdays that are streamed online through the indywrestling.us platform, as well as featured events on a Friday each month on the south side of Pittsburgh.

"880 Wrestling, I feel like was my saving grace. I was contemplating on giving up on wrestling, but knowing that I can go to 880 every week to wrestle, be accepted by the locker room, and grow as a performer. I'm very grateful for 880, I think it's incredible that it is the only weekly wrestling show in Pittsburgh and we have a lot of fans that love to support us," said Paris.

"The best way to explain 880 is that it’s a passion project, it's DIY wrestling in the sense that everyone involved contributes to 880. The newer class and beyond have all stepped up to help keep 880 as a fun and welcoming environment for both shows and in side the school. 880 is a community at the end of the day," Zeke added.

With 880 Wrestling taking pride in its acceptance and welcoming stage for LGBTQ+ talent, The Matriarchy flourished in their roles as a representative tag team. Mercer as a non-binary competitor, and Paris as a transgender athlete break the mold of expectations or stereotypes. Their pure talent overshadowing any preconceived notions puts them among the most notable tag teams of the Pittsburgh scene as the current 880 tag team champions.

"The idea of Matriarchy is literally what you see on screen today, a new faction that features a unique set of people. Paris Sahara, who I felt didn’t get the opportunities she should’ve gotten from the beginning of her career, is one of the great talents who came before the pandemic and I felt like us a team would be something interesting to watch. The need for the matriarchy is the same reason why most people form teams or make factions, to have success. The representation of a team that consists of young people of color who are gender nonconforming is something you don’t see in most promotions or your TV. Paris and I work well together for the simple fact that we have the same goal and mutual respect for each other and what we bring to the table. As a testament to our unique faction, I’d say everyone in the Pittsburgh area or even further knew of The Matriarchy and saw how different crowds reacted to us," said Zeke Mercer.

So, the wild and over-the-top spectacle of professional wrestling provides Zeke Mercer with a level of stability throughout their own personal struggles of the past, using the squared circle as a way to evolve and grow as not just a performer, but on a personal level outside the ring as well. It also allows Mercer to use their knowledge to help coach the aspiring hopefuls, an aspect that they cite as a very rewarding of their involvement in the sport. Paris Sahara not only found a place of acceptance within the pro wrestling landscape, she found a platform where she can realize the highest level of her potential as an athlete through the promotional efforts and stage of 880 Wrestling.

The Matriarchy break the mold of what professional wrestling can be, opening eyes that talent can excel if given the opportunity and the platform. The Matriarchy brings that talent, acceptance, and representation each time they step into the ring to showcase their skills for the fans in attendance.

The Raja Jackson incident

Professional wrestling is probably getting more mainstream acceptance now than it has at any other time in the history of the sport. Sure, today's product isn't nearly as popular as when the genre drew 10 million weekly viewers during the peak of the Attitude era when Raw and Nitro went head-to-head every Monday, but the notion that sports entertainment would be on ESPN, let alone the network paying 1.5 billion for the broadcast rights, would've been considered laughable in years prior.

Within the landscape of sports entertainment as a whole, Netflix, USA network, the CW, TBS, TNT, Peacock, HBO Max, and ESPN will distribute pro wrestling in some form of fashion by the start of next year. As we've seen, despite the fact that ad rates are generally lower for pro wrestling than other types of shows, there's no shortage of sponsorships, especially in the TKO era when management will seemingly slap logos on anything. Of course, inflation plays a role, as well as the evolution of the media landscape with the improvements in technology, but there's record-setting money being made from pro wrestling today. Pro wrestling isn't just about tickets sold at the box office or the pay-per-view buy rate as it was decades ago, it's based on billions of dollars on the stock market.

However, and maybe its just the nature of the beast of the business that originated on the carnival circuit, unfortunately, professional wrestling will probably always have a sleazy side to it.

Athletic commissions are generally useless, as they often just want to take their piece of the pie with the gate tax on independent shows, but do literally nothing to regulate or help the process of events for smaller groups. This allows shady con artists or completely unqualified local yokels  to buy a ring, rent a building, and call themselves professionals without any quality control.

Unfortunately, independent professional wrestling made headlines for all the wrong reasons this past weekend and it should be a notice for every athletic commission in the country to actually start to do something productive to prevent some of the unprofessional nonsense in exchange for the cash they take from the box office of each event.

Originally, I wasn't going to write an article about the absolutely horrendous incident that happened at the Los Angeles-based  KnokX Pro event over the weekend, as everyone seemed to have an opinion on it, but there were several different accounts about exactly what happened that were posted online.

As information continued to surface, there are only a few things that are clear, this should've never happened and a few careers have been ruined in the process of the unprofessional circus that took place at the KnokX Pro event. I'm only going to base my two cents on the matter on the things that appear to be confirmed, and what I think it should translate to for independent wrestling going forward.

The only thing that I knew about KnokX Pro prior to this was that it was Rikishi's promotion and it was a part of the WWE ID program because of it. KnokX Pro isn't usually a part of the discussion of the independent scene, and there's nothing wrong with that, as it appears that its primary objective is to be a profitable wrestling school, with the live events being used as a platform for their students to gain experience more than anything else. It's much easier to sell prospective students on the chance to pay a few thousand dollars to get trained by Rikishi if they know that they will have a place to hone their craft after they complete the training process.

Somehow, Raja Jackson, the son of former UFC fighter Rampage Jackson, was involved in an attack at the KnokX Pro event. There are several different versions of the story, but there are a few things that are undisputed based on video evidence. Prior to the show, wrestler Syko Stu, real name Stu Smith and US military veteran, hit Raja Jackson with a worked shot with a beer can, apparently with the thought that Raja was there to be a part of the show. Raja wasn't aware of the worked nature of professional wrestling and there was almost an incident at the time before the situation was defused. Raja, who was streaming his involvement on the Kick platform, agreed to be a part of a worked run-in to provide a conclusion to the prior altercation. Raja and Stu were seen on video shaking hands, giving the impression that Smith thought that Raja was going to work with him for the run-in at the event. Raja was sat front row for the show and continued to stream live online when he hopped into the ring for the planned spot.

Raja said on video that he was going to hit Smith, and he did. Raja landed a takedown on Stu, who went along with the spot, thinking that it was simply a part of the worked plan agreed upon previously. Instead, Raja legitimately slammed Smith to the canvas, knocking him out before he landed literally 20 unprotected punches to his face. Fellow wrestler, Doug Malo made the save, but was also punched by Raja while Jackson was restrained by several people in the corner of the ring.

A video surfaced afterwards of Raja outside of the venue where it was very clear that he decided what he was going to do before he entered the ring and there was no doubt that he wanted to hurt Smith. The Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez reported that wrestler, AJ Mana brought Raja to the building and supposedly had some type of issue with Smith so it's possible that Mana wanted their to be a physical confrontation. Mana was on video telling Jackson to "get a receipt," which definitely implies that he wanted to see Smith injured. Following the incident, Mana was fired from his day job and will no longer be a part of the KnokX  Pro organization.

Stu Smith was said to be in stable, but critical condition. A GoFundme was launched online, with several well-known wrestlers donating to the campaign to cover medical expenses. Malo revealed in a podcast appearance that  KnokX  Pro management told its roster not to cooperate with the authorities, and a screenshot was shared online to confirm it. That tells you everything you need to know about how irresponsible the company was in this situation.

If Syko Stu was too overzealous with trying to work an angle with Raja Jackson is irrelevant, the guy didn't deserve to have his life put in jeopardy at a wrestling show. Why was Raja Jackson at the show? Why was he allowed to get into the ring if he wasn't aware that pro wrestling is scripted? Plain and simple, Raja Jackson is a coward, as it's very easy to knock someone out when they are cooperating with you the way that Smith was for the set up to the legitimate slam. Raja, who is a pro MMA fighter with one bout on his record, lost via unanimous decision in 2023. Raja Jackson isn't some tough guy, he's a moron that took advantage of someone that didn't know he was gong to be legitimately attacked.

KnokX Pro was immediately stripped of their WWE ID status, and even though it was said that Rikishi wasn't there, he's still partially responsible for this. It might be unfair, but when you lend your name to a project, you're responsible for finding responsible people to run the show. Reno Anoa'i is said to be the promoter of the live events. Rikishi makes money being a trainer at the training school, and one of the reasons that students are willing to pay thousands of dollars to train there is because of the association with his name.

Not surprisingly, Rampage Jackson has flip-flopped on the situation, initially expressing remorse for Smith before a later video was released where he tried to claim that MMA fighters only have real fights, criticizing the pro wrestlers that have spoken out against Raja's actions. Rampage Jackson isn't known for common sense, but taking into account the series of events that led to this point, it might be a good idea for him to stop talking about any of this on camera until the matter is settled.

So, what now?

The police are said to be investigating the situation, and it should go without saying that Raja Jackson should be arrested and charged for the violent assault on Stu Smith. If Raja Jackson did something like this in an MMA fight, he would be banned from the sport and arrested because the athletic commissions actually regulate MMA. Make no mistake about it, what Raja Jackson did was criminal and should be dealt with by the authorities, not some nickle-and-dime wrestling promoter.

The attack was picked up by several main stream media outlets and it makes the entire industry look terrible, especially independent wrestling, a level of the industry that doesn't have the safety net of corporate sponsors. An incident like this could sour fans from sampling their local independent group, an organization where those ticket sales could make a difference. The importance of independent wrestling can't be understated, as it provided a place for many performers to gain valuable experience before they get a chance on the national scene.

It's obvious that this incident has ruined almost everyone involved, as Stu Smith might have to deal with extensive health problems from the attack, Raja Jackson should probably never to allowed to fight in mixed martial arts again, it's a stain on Rampage Jackson for some of his comments, and KnokX Pro probably won't be able to continue to get students for it's training center.

Forbidden Door review

A few years ago, it was considered a dream match scenario that New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling would form a working agreement to have talent from both companies on the same card. Of course, one of the reasons for this was there was a perceived level of tension between the two leagues after The Elite left the Japanese promotion to form All Elite Wrestling in 2019. As with almost anything else that has a specific degree of novelty to it, as time went on, the concept was somewhat diluted, which was partially the case for the event at the O2 Arena in London. One of the reasons for that is that in years prior, Forbidden Door, intentionally or not, became a test run of sorts for NJPW talent in front of an AEW audience, as Tony Khan signed away nearly every top star from New Japan, including Jay White, Okada, and Will Ospreay. That's not to say that it was done as some type of "talent raid," a term that became popular during the wrestling wars of the 90s, bur rather it was simply a case of Tony Khan being able to offer more money to talent than the Japanese group that had to endure the financial strain of the pandemic with either no live events or limited capacity that impacted revenue. The talent are in the sport to make a living, and Tony Khan gave them the best offer, that's capitalism. If the former New Japan talent are better off under Tony's direction is a completely different matter.

Still, the point being, with New Japan so thin on star power, the Forbidden Door pay-per-view seemed more like a regular pay-per-view with a few guest stars instead of the super card it was originally during the inaugural event a few years ago.

The show opened with the reunion of Adam Copeland and Christian against the returning Kill Switch and Kip Sabian. This started as basically a TV match, but build well and was a fun match by the conclusion of the 15-minute segment. Cope took a stiff boot to the face from Kill Switch, and somehow Kip got a hard way cut with a noticeable amount of blood during the second half of the contest. The only problem with this was that the slapstick nature of Tony's booking style impacted the narrative and thus the crowd reaction to the segment. I think it goes without saying that the reunion of Copeland and his former tag partner was rushed so the audience still reacted to Christian as a heel. Furthermore, Kill Switch, who replaced an injured Nick Wayne after he broke his foot a few weeks ago, got cheered throughout the match. Considering that Christian berated both of his opponents during their time in the stable and wasn't given enough time to evolve from such a solidified heel role, it's not surprising that the crowd responded how it did throughout this match. A side note, this was probably the best Kip Sabain has looked in his career, but when you take into account that he was cast as a fool for the past several years, he will probably continued to be typecast in that role going forward. Copeland and Christian got the victory.

Kyle Fletcher beat Hiromu Takahashi to retain the TNT championship in another 15-minute bout. This segment was something that remained true to the original premise of this event, as it was two solid pros from both groups working a match that you wouldn't see otherwise and it was a very entertaining contest. This was fast-paced, hard-hitting, and allowed both guys to look strong in the process. It was obvious that Takahashi wasn't going to win the championship, but that was almost irrelevant because this was a work rate match.

The TBS title match was a prime example of how misguided Tony's approach can be at certain times. Other than shoehorning more performers onto the card, why was this a four-way match? If there were several weeks of video packages to hype up the arrival of Bozilla then maybe there would be an argument for the youngster to be included in the match, but how did she get a title shot in her debut? It can't be based on her reputation since she has only been wrestling for three years. Don't get me wrong, given her height and presence, she looks to have the potential to become a star after she gets the chance to get enough experience, but how many people actually know who she is and why should they care that she was in the match? The same can be said for Persephone, does anyone know who she is? That's not a knock on her talent or potential, but considering that AEW has several female wrestlers on the roster that are lost in the shuffle, was there any reason to bring in two unknown wrestlers? Has anyone found Britt Baker? The match had its moments so it wasn't subpar or anything, but the whole presentation was disjointed, at least from a narrative perspective. Mercedes Mone retained the belt. Also, as much as Tony Khan might want to try to re-create the famous Ultimo Dragon photo with all the championships, Mercedes tends to be more self-hype than in-ring work more in AEW.

 Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Nigel McGuinness was very entertaining, despite the fact that nobody in the building thought it was even remotely possible that Nigel would win the top prize in New Japan. Taking into account Nigel's age and history of injuries, it was nice to see that they worked a relatively safe technical bout without the stiff strikes often seen in New Japan. Although, Sabre looked to get clipped in the mouth, as he had a small amount of blood on his lip. Obviously, this match-up made sense for London and was another example of a bout that fit the concept of the pay-per-view.

The tag team title match was fine, but definitely a bit odd at the same time. Usually, I take internet rumors with a grain of salt, but there was a story that made the rounds online that The Hurt Syndicate didn't want to lose to specific teams, and given the finish of this match, there's a chance that the reports might be accurate. On one hand, if Tony was a boss, he'd tell the talent that he's paying a lot of money that they can either work the match with the scripted finish or there's the door. Instead, Rusev got paid to stay home for two years, and Aleister Black rarely put anyone over before he returned to WWE. There's a precedent that the talent can say no without any repercussions so at the very least, it's possible that Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin said no. On the other hand, with some of the silliness that happens in AEW, Lashley and Benjamin might have a point if they don't want to be involved in the nonsense. Either way, if someone isn't willing to do business, as misguided as some of the booking decisions might be, it's an indication that they should probably just finish up with the company. Make no mistake about it, there's a reason that The Hurt Syndicate has some of the better quality segments on the shows, but if they don't fit within the structure of AEW, it's better for everyone involved if they depart the organization. 

Furthermore, Brody King and Bandido winning the titles seems like they were a thrown together team simply because there wasn't anything else for them to do. They pinned FTR, and The Hurt Syndicate wasn't even at ringside. With Buddy Matthews on the shelf with an injury, Brody probably would've been better off with a run on his own until they could reform the team. He's popular with the AEW audience so it seems like he has a bigger upside them a random tag team because The Hurt Syndicate didn't want to lose. The same can probably be said for Bandido, he's a lot more marketable than the way the company has used him so far in his run there.

The Okada/Swerve match was a lot better than I expected it to be, mostly because usually Okada mails in most of his performance or works down to the level of his opponent. Swerve is a top-notch athlete, and Okada's performance reflected that. This bout was an AEW style bout without going too over-the-top or using dangerous spots as a substitute for solid in-ring work. Okada got the win after he hit the clothesline, who would've thought that a finisher could be used to end the match?

Post-match, and possibly the bigger story than the result, is that Wardlow, who recently filmed a season of American Gladiators, made his return after almost a year and a half away from the company. In mid-2024, Wardlow suffered a knee injury and wasn't brought back to television after that. All things considered, while Wardlow should be a major star somewhere, there have been way too many starts/stops for him in AEW. We've seen this story before, Wardlow will get some spotlight, get lost in the shuffle, and the best case scenario is he will be a secondary figure. The MJF storyline was suppossed to propell him and then the story was MJF going on strike before the PPV, Arn Anderson was his advisor briefly and it went no where, and he was involved in a few stables. The bottom line is, Wardlow is in the same spot today as he was five years ago. That speaks volumes about the lack of structure and effective booking in the company.

Toni Storm vs. Athena was fine for what it was, they are solid in-ring performers, but this was a segment where the narrative just didn't connect with the viewing audience. Sure, in theory Athena should be a major threat to Storm's title because she's the record-setting champion from Ring Of Honor, but the problem is that virtually nobody watches ROH so her title reign has zero cache within the AEW landscape. Toni Storm retained the belt.

It's ironic, but not surprising that the top two matches on the card were the biggest representation of the total lack of quality control in All Elite Wrestling. The premise of the main event was that the odds were tilted in the heel's favor with multiple ways for MJF to win the championship. On the surface, that makes sense as it gives the baby face champion odds to attempt to overcome to retain the title. The problem is, for a match where a DQ could've been the reason for a title change, the rules were ignored so what was the point? Furthermore, with a 10-man cage match that was going to be a blood bath afterwards, what was the point of MJF bleeding buckets in the match before it? Did the title match really need blood? Did it really add anything? Clearly, this isn't the final bout in the feud so why did they have to use the tables and the blood?

If someone enjoyed this AEW world title match then that's certainly their right to enjoy this type of presentation. Maybe I'm missing something, but this segment and specifically the circumstances around the angle is a prime example of everything that is wrong with the product. The wrong match at the wrong time on the wrong spot on the card. Adam Page retained the championship.

The main event was more of the same, it was a 30-minute car crash that was too ridiculous and arguably too dangerous. The attempted comedy spot with the gummy bears was lame and it took away from the concept of the dangerous match. The spot where Darby Allin and Gabe Kidd fell off the cage through the tables looked dangerous because there almost landed like a lawn dart on the floor. The spot where Jon Moxley literally put a fork through Darby's ear was completely ridiculous and stuff like that is why AEW will remain a niche product. It's dumb from purely a safety perspective, but it's even more foolish when you take into account that the business is supposed to be a work. If someone has to get legitimately mutilated to get a reaction, it's niche independent wrestling, not a national product. The baby face team got the win when Tanahashi got the pin to conclude the pay-per-view.