Zack Ryder returns

Zack Ryder is back in the WWE, but should he be?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a major fan of the real-life Matt Cardona, and his career path of the independents for nearly the past five years should be a case study in pro wrestling marketing. Given Cardona's association with Total Nonstop Action, the smaller league that has a working agreement with WWE, and the fact that he already appeared on NXT programming recently as a part of the NXT/TNA feud, there was already speculation that he might be on his way back to the company at some point. Furthermore, considering that John Cena was one of his earliest supporters when he got himself over with audience in a surge of organic fan support through social media and his original Youtube video series, there was chatter that he might have a spot in the John Cena tournament to determine his last opponent.

So, I was surprised when I got a text from one of my wrestling pals, the great Pat Maclaughlin that the former Intercontinental champion was the mystery opponent on Smackdown, but wasn't totally shocked. However, I was also surprised and somewhat disappointed that he was branded as Zack Ryder upon his return to the organization. Sure, he's not doing the hokey spiked hair type of persona that he did almost 15 years ago, and maybe I'm wrong on this, but in my view, he's completely surpassed the Ryder character.

Taking into account that he initially got beaten into powder when he got himself over before the office scripted it and that the last time he was seen on the main roster, he was in a totally secondary position, the return of Ryder seems like a step backwards, almost a decision that takes away some of the shine of the reputation that he built since he was released from the promotion in 2021.

Some might cite the fact that Cody Rhodes returned with his previous name, but there are a few key differences. The booking that put Cody in a position where he had to leave the WWE to be able to reinvent himself was Stardust, and when he built a spontaneous buzz around himself, it was under the name Cody so in many ways, when he resurfaced as Rhodes at Wrestlemania 38, he was allowed to bring that reinvented persona back with him, including the music.

Obviously, the reasoning for the Ryder name is simple, the WWE has it trademarked already, and with Matt Cardona as his real name, it's very possible that the publicly-traded corporation doesn't want to promote someone's real name when they can avoid it because they know the performer can use it elsewhere. Management has changed, but TKO is still very business savvy for a reason.

Do I think Matt Cardona has a lot to offer the WWE? Absolutely, especially in the modern era when there are so many different platforms that broadcast the product. He's a valuable asset to have on your team from an online and marketing perspective. He's a guy that was smart enough to transcend the squared circle and diversify himself with a slew of merchandise, as well as a successful action figure podcast. In fact, more than a few concepts that the Major Figure Podcast produced influenced the direction Mattel took with its toy lines. When retro figures and bendies were selling independently, Mattel added them to its line-up. The return of the LJN line currently is based on the success of Cardona's Big Rubber Guys that were produced through the podcast. In short, Mattel saw that the independent groups proved that there was a market for those products and thus they were going to get their piece of the pie, albeit with the benefit of mainstream distribution. 

But, as much as Cardona brings to the table from that point of view as far as being somewhat of a spokesman for the Mattel toy lines, which he does to some degree already with Brian Myers and Mark Sterling, the use of the Ryder name neutralizes a lot of that. The reason being is that without the independent run as Matt Cardona, it's doubtful that there would be a demand for a Ryder return in 2025. His prior run proved that he can connect with the audience, but he's evolved passed the "Woo Woo Woo" phase of his career. Trademarks aside, Zack Ryder back in the WWE almost disregards the stellar independent run that Matt Cardona had over the past few years.

In 2021, he grabbed attention as the "WWE guy" that was going to do a death match with Nick Gage in Game Changer Wrestling, and it was so shocking that he actually won that it rejuvenated his career because nobody thought it was going to happen. It prompted fans to wonder what he was going to do next. With Cardona showing up virtually everywhere at some point or another, he built a level of cache as a guy that moved the needle on the independents, which is very difficult to do in the modern era, and fans can appreciate the work ethic. He also showed that he was a versatile performer, not as much in terms of his in-ring work, but the ability to get over as a performer in different scenarios. Working for GCW is much different than working for Ring Of Honor or TNA so being able to juggle that schedule more or less at the same time showed that he was adaptable.

There's already a Zack Ryder t-shirt on WWE Shop, implying that this wasn't just a one-off, but could also be an indication that if Cardona is back in the company full-time that it will probably be under the Ryder moniker. The same music, same t-shirt, and same name put him at risk for being typecast at the same level he was before he was released, which would be selling him short from the start. On one hand, he has much more to offer as Matt Cardona in the WWE, but on the other hand, the entire point of the wrestling business is to make as much money as possible so if TKO offered enough cash for him to be recast as Zack Ryder then it might still be mission accomplished. Still, it seems like it goes without saying that there's money to be made with a Matt Cardona run in the WWE.

It will be extremely interesting to see what happens from here, both in terms of if Cardona lands a full-time contract, and if he does, how he's booked going forward. It should also be noted that he's currently scheduled for a Game Changer Wrestling event next weekend. GCW has been a part of the WWE ID program so there's some type of working agreement in place, which could create some unique possibilities in GCW if Cardona wrestled for both brands. More than anything, at a time when even the WWE audience recognizes untapped potential, similar to the increase in popularity for Karrion Kross during the last few months of his contract, Matt Cardona could be a performer that the WWE fans rally behind since they know at least some of his journey to get back to a prominent spot in the company.

From a broader viewpoint, with reports of Joe Hendry moving to the WWE roster, and potentially Cardona back into the fold, you have to wonder how some talent shifts will affect the pro wrestling landscape, including the independents. As we've seen with the John Cena retirement tour, and the announcement that AJ Styles will hang up the boots sometime next year, it's fair to say that there's a generation of stars within the WWE that could all finish up within a few years of each other, which would necessitate more talent shifts in the future. That's not to say that the company is lower on star power, but rather that the office will look to push fresh talent. At least for right now, the wrestling world will be watching to see what Cardona's next move is particularly within GCW since there's an opportunity to do something unique, but it remains to be seen if he will get a legitimate chance at a fresh run in WWE or if it will ultimately be a retread of his previous run in the company.

The Nixon Newell situation

Professional wrestling is a work. 

Bill Watts, the hard-nosed promoter of Mid-South Wrestling for several years is probably spinning in his grave with how exposed the business is today, and he's not even dead yet. As a traditionalist, it makes me cringe when the industry is so blatantly exposed, mostly because it's been proves, and fairly recently, that you can still work the audience. The public only knows what you allow them, and even if they know something, that doesn't mean they have to know everything. The missing piece of the puzzle creates intrigue and that can still draw money because regardless of the documentaries or the star ratings, the building blocks of the industry remain the same. Sure, the business has evolved, and some of the presentation has to be tailored to that to get a level of believability, but the foundation of the genre hasn't changed since its based on human psychology.

The question of if Seth Rollins was or wasn't actually injured at Saturday Night's Main Event allowed for the memorable cash-in at Summer Slam. Again, the fans know what you allow them to know.

Still, we have to face the facts that the audience, more than ever before, knows that the office makes the decisions. If Roman Reigns was the baby face champion with the super push in 1995, it might not have gotten over depending on how it was done, but there wouldn't have been nearly the amount of rejection that he endured from the audience twenty years later. Unfortunately, Roman took the heat for the crowd's discontent with the office, not with his skill set, which was proven when he eventually became the top guy when he was organically allowed to evolve as a performer in a heel role. He was given the chance to become the top guy as Roman Reigns, not be forced into the spot of the next John Cena.

The point is, if something scripted for the show is subpar, the audience knows that it was the office, not the performer that made that decision. Dolph Ziggler didn't get squashed by Bill Goldberg at Summer Slam years ago because the former WCW champion was a "better wrestler," it was simply the decision that management made for that night. Granted, star power is often measured by successful booking, and that doesn't always include winning, but again, we've reached a point in the evolution of the genre that if someone loses a match, the audience doesn't write them off as a wrestler that doesn't have a future in the business.

That's why the recent story of Nixon Newell, the former Tegan Nox in WWE, and Miranda Alize walking out of an AEW Collision taping because they didn't agree with the booking of their segment is very puzzling.

The story was originally reported by Fightful Select that the real-life couple left the show because they didn't want to lose their schedule match against Tay Conti and Anna Jay. Newell refuted that, posting online that the team didn't want to compete in a match that was only going to be a three-minute segment. The pair lost a very short match on Collision two weeks ago. Since the initial report, Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp has updated the story a few times, with Newell continuing to refute those reports. I take most of what Sean Ross Sapp said with a grain of salt, which has less to do with him and more to do with the nature of pro wrestling reporting. However, PWinsider's Mike Johnson, who I consider the most accurate reporter in the industry, confirmed that while the pair didn't refuse to lose the match, they left because they didn't get the requested amount of time for the segment.

In short, they didn't want to work a basic squash match, and they have the right to refuse to do so, especially because they aren't under contract. That being said, it's also one of the silliest and most narrow-minded decisions that a wrestler can make, especially in the modern era. Keep in mind, we've established that the audience knows that the result is scripted so does a short loss on Collision, the show with the lower amount of viewers on the AEW television line-up, really make a difference in the career of Newell or Alize?

More importantly, who are Newell or Alize to think they should be important enough for an entire show to be rewritten based on what they want to do? Don't get me wrong, Tegan Nox was a decent in-ring performer, but she torn her ACL twice and was more known for being injured during her WWE tenure than anything else. She was also released from the organization twice. This might sound too harsh, but Tegan Nox isn't truly a known name in the industry that has to be protected booking-wise, let alone Nixon Newell, who only independent fans from several years ago would know of.

The Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez mentioned that Newell said on a live stream on Twitch that she only planned to wrestle other year or two so maybe that's why she thought she was too much of a superstar to work a short match on AEW programming? It's ironic that she took such a hard stance with the second biggest pro wrestling company in the United States because she actually posted on Twitter after her WWE release last year that she was finding it very difficult to get booked on the independent circuit. Maybe there simply isn't a demand for Tegan Nox on the indy scene? Maybe her asking price was too expensive? Either way, after someone is cut from the WWE for a second time and then can't get steady work on the independents, it seems rather obvious that they should try to make the most of an appearance with AEW, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Newell might plan to be done with wrestling within a year or so, but she might not have a choice either since her remaining options in the business look to be very limited. With the two being a couple, you have to wonder if Miranda Alize has the same mindset to be done with wrestling relatively soon because she will undoubtedly be associated with the negativity of this story even if she wanted to wrestle after Newell retires.

It goes without saying, or at least it should for any talent that want to make a full-time living as a professional wrestler, there's much more to the career than just when the bell rings and who goes over in the match. Similar to any other job in a capitalist society, is the person reliable? Can the wrestler show up as advertise ready to give their best for the paying audience? Again, similar to any other job, is the person easy to work with? If someone is too difficult to deal with, eventually it's not worth the hassle regardless of how talented they are. Low Ki would be a modern example of this. It might be considered the next level, but if a wrestler can make the media appearances and be a good representative of the company is also extremely important when a promotion decides to put stock in a talent on the roster. John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns are examples of performers that conducted themselves as top guys.

This story will probably fade from the headlines rather quickly, as it's probably the most publicity that either Newell and Alize had in their careers, but it should be considered a lesson in what not to do for talent that want to land a major contract. As mentioned, sports entertainment is a work and if they didn't want to work a three-minute match, they have the right to leave, but they proved how difficult they would be if they were booked in a bigger spot that actually had an impact on the direction of their characters. Should any promoter trust Newell to be booked in a pay-per-view spot? What if eight minutes on PPV isn't enough for her?

The answer is exactly what the promotion did, booked another tag team, Hyan and Maya World in the same spot. They did what was asked of them and probably have a better chance of getting a full-time deal because they were easy to work with and did what the job required for that show. Hopefully, Nixon Newell will be easier to work with in her next career.

Remembering Eddie Guerrero

Today marks twenty years since Eddie Guerrero, a sturdy branch of the famous Guerrero wrestling family tree, passed away. I remember that a decade ago I penned a column about the tenth anniversary of his passing, noting that there was still somewhat of a sombre atmosphere around his legacy. Eddie had endured and overcome so much in his life just a few years prior to his death that it seemed like such an abrupt, unfinished ending to his story. The "sizzle" of Latino Heat didn't seem like it could burn out when Eddie was just 38, or even fade away two decades later. Given his family history and influence on the industry that has emerged since he left the pro wrestling world in 2005, one would've guessed that Eddie would be alongside his longtime friend, Dean Malenko as a producer for All Elite Wrestling, or maybe working as a coach at the WWE Performance Center.

Eddie Guerrero was a lifer in pro wrestling, but nobody would've thought that his tenure in the sport would've been limited to the year of 2005. Eddie was a lifer of the squared circle the way that Malenko, Jericho, Mysterio, and Regal have spent their entire lives involved in the industry in some form or fashion. It seemed like the most successful chapter of his career and his life was just beginning, not ending.

It's cliche, but it's true. Life isn't fair, and Eddie Guerrero passed away at just 38 in a hotel room in Minneapolis, Minnesota, seemingly in the prime of his life.

Even twenty years later, I can still remember exactly where I was when I saw the news of Guerrero's passing on a Sunday night on a Yahoo Sports webpage. In total shock, as fast as dial up internet at the time could get there, I checked a wrestling news site to see if it was true. I called one of my wrestling buddies, still completely in shock that one of the prime WWE stars had passed away.

Eddie's story of addiction and the vices of life  is well documented. If I had to guess, I'd say the years of the party lifestyle and steroids probably contributed to the enlarged heart that caused his death. Those years still took their toll on the body long after Eddie turned his life around. That's why Eddie Guerrero's legacy, including the impact that it still has today, should be considered a true success story. The narrative of the career of Eddie and thus his legacy could've been viewed very differently if he didn't show the courage to kick his addiction. If Eddie had passed away from drugs in 2002 after he was cut from the WWE the previous year, the discussion around his career would've been a disappointing cautionary tale rather than the success story that it is today.

Still, there will always be some traces of sadness around Eddie, he worked so hard to reclaim his stellar reputation as one of the best pure workers in the business, and as he evolved as a performer in the WWE in the latter stages of his career, he checked the entertainment boxes too as a way to prove how truly well-rounded his was in the squared circle. He deserved so much more than just the few years of recognition that he got was he was still alive.

The other side of that coin would be, could you imagine what Eddie could be doing as an elder statesman of the business today?

Sure, as mentioned, it would be a natural fit as a coach or trainer, but it also seems like it would've been a given that he would have a role in running AAA after the WWE purchase earlier this year. Furthermore, Dominik Mysterio and Eddie in the same ring for a promo battle would probably be very compelling television.

Speaking of which, with the WWE acquisition of the lucha libre group, it will hopefully make his legendary run alongside the late, Art Barr as Los Gringos Locos more accessible to more fans than any other time in the history of the sport. Along those same lines, his legacy is cemented in the the annals of the record books of sports entertainment, as his ECW, WCW, and WWE career are easily found on the different WWE streaming platforms.

When it comes to classic Eddie Guerrero moments, one of them was more or less (and probably justly) erased from history. At Wrestlemania 20, the event where Eddie retained his belt in a match against Kurt Angle, his longtime friend, Chris Benoit won a triple threat match in the main event to claim the World Heavyweight championship, an accomplishment that many of his critics, didn't think he could achieve. Benoit wasn't too bland and he wasn't too small, he was the top guy for the biggest pro wrestling company in the world. The pair of real-life best friends embraced in tears as Eddie celebrated Benoit's success as the show went off the air.

With their real-life friendship so well known and the moment at Wrestlemania 20 etched in the minds of so many fans when they reflect on the history of the "showcase of the immortals" when it rolls around each April on the calendar, it's understandable why the careers of Benoit and Guerrero are always linked to some degree. That brings us back to the "what if" Eddie had lived to become a coach or trainer in the modern era. I could be wrong, but I honestly believe that if Eddie didn't pass away that the Benoit tragedy doesn't take place. I understand that is a lot of hypotheticals, but I sincerely think that his best friend's death contributed to Benoit's mindset when he decided to commit murder a year and a half later. If the Benoit tragedy doesn't happen, there's a completely different perspective of the business for several years, but with a scenario that complex, it's a different story for a different time. I've rarely written about Chris Benoit since that horrific weekend of events more than 18 years ago simply because I truly don't think there's much left to say about him. Benoit killed a women and a child before he took his own life. Those real-life actions are far more important than anything he did during a scripted pro wrestling show. It's unforgivable and there's absolutely no excuse for taking the lives of two innocent people. As closely as their careers were associated, it's very apparent why they are viewed so differently in retrospect.

The Guerrero legacy remains celebrated as it should be, and within the past few months, there was news that the family name will continue in the industry. One of Eddie's daughters, Shaul Guerrero spent three and a half years in the WWE developmental system before she left the company. Just recently, it was announced that his daughter, Sherilyn started to train to become a professional wrestler at Booker T's Reality of Wrestling organization.

As I said, when I wrote an article about the anniversary of Eddie's passing ten years ago, there was still a sadness around it, and while time can't fully heal some wounds, things can get easier throughout that time. Over the past decade, it seems like Eddie's legacy is celebrated rather than his death being mourned. 

On November 13, 2005 at the age of just 38 years old, Eddie Guerrero passed away, but legends never die.

The Troublemakers in OVW

By nature, professional wrestling villains are troublemakers. 

In many ways, they are the glue to the narrative of sports entertainment. Without a dragon to slay or odds to overcome, there simply isn't a role for the hero in the story. Could Rocky show his courage and bravery without Drago or Clubber Lang? Would Dorthy's adventure on the yellow brick road through Oz be nearly as dramatic without vanquishing the wicked witch of the west?

Regardless of the genre, the heels or "troublemakers" set the table for the audience to feast on the peaks and valleys of the drama of storytelling.

For Ohio Valley Wrestling, one of the most storied territories in the history of the industry, literally a pair of Troublemakers arrived earlier this year, turning the tag team division of Louisville-based group upside down.

Anchored by longtime veteran and serious professional, "The Big Boss" Glenn Spectre, who brings an old school, no nonsense approach to the ring, the addition of his student "The Natural" Canaan Kristopher, a youngster with all the physical gifts an athlete could ask for, the duo of The Troublemakers collectively check all the boxes of a top-tier tag team.

Ironically, Spectre broke into the sport in 2001, around the same time period that OVW produced one of its most legendary classes with names like Randy Orton, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Shelton Benjamin, Nick Dismore, and others. Also ironically, the grizzled vet of today didn't start his career nearly as gruff, when he originally found international fame as "Wonder Man" Glenn Spectre, a flamboyant superhero persona that eventually proved how versatile he was as a performer in the grand scheme of things compared to the roughneck that he is in the ring now.

In 2004, when his future tag team partner was still a toddler, Glenn Spectre became the first "gaijin" or foreigner to win the DDT Tag Tag titles in Japan, working tours with the group throughout 2005 as well. With the advancements of modern technology, the barrier of international exposure is much lower today compared to the VHS format that promoters in Japan had to use to initial see Spectre's talent before he was offered the chance to work on the other side of the planet. He became a cult favorite on shows that were broadcasted on Samurai TV in the country, which he later had a chance to watch on that same clunky VHS format at the time.

In the years that followed, injuries from wrestling across the independent scene, and the sudden passing of his trainer James "Devil Bhudakahn" Fawcett, prompted Glenn to step away from the industry. As we know, the other side of the spectacle of sports entertainment is the harsh, unforgiving reality of the any genre of live performances. With that in mind, Glenn started a family and launched his own business, Drawbridge Games, a successful venture for more than a decade with a store that specializes in tabletop games.

Still, there was unfinished business for Glenn, and with the memory of his late mentor Fawcett always in his heart, it was training students that brought Spectre back to the squared circle in 2021. He didn't know it at the time, but among his first batch of students, was the previously mentioned Canaan Kristopher, a top athlete that was 6'4 of clay with all the potential a new student could ask for that Spectre could mold into a prospect with true potential through his years of knowledge and extensive experience.

"Well, I came up with his moniker The Natural for a reason, I’ve never seen an athlete take to pro wrestling quite as effortlessly as Canaan. That's not to say that he’s not a hard worker, in fact he’s one of the most dedicated, which is why he’s gone so far so quickly. He is the kind of wrestler who can see a technique demonstrated or a concept implemented and pick it up almost immediately. The rare instances this doesn’t happen, he backs it up with his terrific work ethic," Glenn said of his initial impressions of Kristopher.

 "Taking my time and allowing the crowd to get behind everything I’m doing. Nothing is more important than the story being told, cool move are exciting, but not as important. A clothesline can be just as important as a 450 splash if the story being told is good," Canaan said of lesson he learned from his trainer.

The idea for a tag team was pitched, and when Spectre or Kristopher aren't working as featured singles stars around the tri-state area, their pairing as The Troublemakers is one of the most prominent tag teams in the region as well.

While the Pittsburgh scene, a city that is  known almost as much for its wrestling as the steel it once produced, has a stellar line-up of teams throughout various organizations in the area, The Troublemakers wanted to test themselves against the best teams everywhere they could.

Considering that Glenn's old school style and throwback persona are a nod to pro wrestling history, as well as Canaan's level of potential as an example of what OVW was built on, it seemed like a perfect fit when The Troublemakers arrived at the Davis Arena earlier this year.

The level of organization and production on a completely different level. Going into OVW, I did not have a lot of live TV experience. I had done extra work for WWE and I had done a tons of pre-taped programming for DDT in Japan, but doing weekly TV at production levels similar to the big two is on a whole other level," Glenn explained.

One of OVW's longtime calling cards is its live weekly programming, with the notion that anything can happen. OVW stalwarts like Kal Herro, Big Zo, Donovan Cecil, and Jack Vaughn are just some of the stars that highlight OVW's Thursday night program.

"The level of attention to detail is high and the agents will get deeply involved in getting the match they need out of you for the TV program. I love the environment. For a guy my age and time in to still be learning new things every week is such a blessing Credit to former WWE tag champion, Doug Basham, his feedback helped us get to a whole new level as a team," Spectre added.

For Spectre, the 10-hour round trip from western Pennsylvania to Louisville is a reminder of his early days in the short, and a valuable learning experience for Kristopher as the grind that is required to truly make waves in the industry.

"Canaan is like a little brother. It’s the comfort of knowing wherever you go, someone has your back. We’ve been on the road together for years now so we’ve got our travel habits down, and he knows to just nod along when I tell him the same random wrestling war story for one hundredth time," Spectre remarked.

"Traveling can be really tiring and doesn’t get easier. But, if you travel with the right people, it’s fun and you can learn a lot. More memories are made on the road than in a match," Kristopher added.

Very similar to Spectre himself, Ohio Valley Wrestling as a promotion has seen a resurgence in recent years. It goes without saying that any organization that has any major impact on the sports, especially to the degree that OVW does, will go through different phases as the overall business evolves over the years. After the WWE corporation decided to take its developmental program in-house, Ohio Valley worked with TNA for a period of time, and ownership changed a few times over the years as well. Just over two years ago, a compelling documentary series on Netflix gave viewers a glimpse of the inner workings of how a regional league works to keep the doors open and fans in the seats.

True to its lineage, with the legendary Al Snow as a figurehead and longtime pros like Basham working behind the scenes, OVW is still educating the next generation of talent today the same way that it did when the company launched more than a quarter of a century ago. A throwback to an era from the past, OVW not only brings weekly live cards for the fans of Louisville, it provides valuable experience for the young talent to polish their skills.

"I learned so much from OVW, I learned a completely different style from what I was used to. Working TV is way different and way more strict from most independent promotions. I can definitely say I am a way better wrestler now because of OVW," said Canaan.

After Netflix peeled back the curtain with its documentary series a few years ago, there was a renewed spotlight on Ohio Valley Wrestling and it once again became a place to be for talent that want to make a statement, which is exactly what The Troublemakers have planned to do in the tag team division.

"I hope what everyone hopes, I would love for someone to give us an opportunity to get a contract. I believe Spectre and I have something really great going on and if someone gave us an opportunity we will deliver," Canaan said.

"Winning the OVW Tag Team titles is a great goal for us. I’d like to see the Troublemakers make it all the way to national and international fame. I try to focus on the small goals, which are all pointed towards a larger goal, but I’d like to wrestle as long as I can, make some good money, and be involved professionally in the business in some capacity for the rest of my life," concluded Spectre.

Ridge Holland released

The live entertainment business, as it has been for more than a century, is unforgiving. You're only as good as your last performance, and when the spotlight fades, it fades quickly. Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of truly stellar talent that never got their due, financially or otherwise, during the course of their careers. The Three Stooges should've been paid at a level that reflected their popularity instead of Columbia Pictures using the evolving forms of media as an excuse to refuse to offer them a raise. The way that Don King robbed Mike Tyson was criminal. Countless musicians never got the fair royalties that they deserved while the record companies got the lion's share of sales. 

It's unfair and extremely disappointing, but it's the harsh reality of the entertainment business.

Professional wrestling is no different, and anyone that thinks otherwise simply because TKO gets traded on the stock market is fooling themselves.

Ridge Holland, who was on loan from WWE, suffered a serious leg injury when he worked a TNA TV taping at the end of September, requiring surgery to repair it. The injury is expected to sideline him for roughly six months. Recently, Holland vented on social media when he revealed that he was told that his current WWE contract wouldn't be renewed when it expired in the middle of this month. Holland said that he was "hung out to dry" as he wouldn't be able to work until the injury was healed and wouldn't have the WWE contract as a safety net during that recovery time. He said that his family was in a financial crisis and that he would be unable to pay his mortgage once his contract expires.  He also claimed that he might need neck fusion surgery at some point in the future. However, the company will pay for the leg surgery and the physical therapy to get him healthy again.

In response to his criticism of the organization, the WWE opted to cut him from his contract a week early. This is where the situation get murky and exponentially more complex than just the career status of Ridge Holland.

First and foremost, given that his contract was less than two months from expiring and he hadn't signed a new deal at the time he suffered the injury, there was no guarantee that the office would've offered him a new deal to keep him on the roster. Typically, management ensures that talent that are a priority have a new contract in place before the existing agreement expires. No, I'm not trying to make excuses for the publicly-traded billion dollar corporation, it's just as possible that the decision was made because they didn't want to have to re-sign an injured wrestler, but the point being, it's not as though the injury itself directly took away a fresh contract offer from Holland.

In fact, I would tend to believe that his deal probably wasn't going to be renewed anyway. Let's be honest here, Ridge Holland was a secondary performer at best, which is probably why he was assigned back to NXT after a rather undistinguished run on the main roster. Again, being completely honest, Ridge Holland's WWE tenure will probably be most well-known for when he accidentally dropped Big E on his head, breaking his neck and ending his career.

Based on that incident alone, Holland shouldn't be shocked about how unpredictable and unforgiving the sports entertainment industry is.

Ridge Holland was on the payroll for seven years, and given that he was recycled back to NXT, reportedly taking a pay cut in the process a few years ago, it's easy to understand that management probably didn't view him as a future Wrestlemania main eventer. Realistically, how many great Ridge Holland matches can you name? How about all those compelling Ridge Holland promos? I'm not trying to jab at the guy when he's literally down with an injury, but rather to point out that this situation isn't necessarily the heartless corporation firing a guy that's injured just to save a few pennies in the grand scheme of things.

Where the scenario gets more complex is, what responsibility, if any, does TKO have for injured performers?

This might sound too harsh, but the bottom line is this, if the office saw money to be made with Ridge Holland, they would've already offered him a new deal, even with the injury, to keep him on the roster when he can return to the ring. They are still paying thousands of dollars to cover the cost of his surgery and physical therapy so a new contract wouldn't exactly be considered overspending if they thought he was a marketable commodity for the company. Obviously, it's terrible to get injured at any time, but more than anything, the timing of the injury and the contract expiration is probably coincidental. There was no indication that WWE brass had any major plans for him, and as harsh as it might sound, the decision not to renew his deal probably had more to do with his overall lack of progress than anything else.

However, the other side of the coin is that the man behind the performer finds himself unable to work since he's hurt, and from what he's posted online, he could be in danger of losing his home if he can't pay his mortgage for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the WWE isn't obligated to do anything other than the legal requirements within the contracts that the talent signed, and it's unrealistic to expect the WWE to provide a safety net for every talent that works for the company at some point. If the office didn't see a major upside to keeping him on the roster, how long should he have still had a job? Would a six-month extension be enough until he was ready to return to the ring somewhere else? If that was the case, there would be some level of criticism that the company didn't allow him to show his in-ring ability when he's fully healthy. There's just not going to be a perfect answer to a scenario where someone has to get released from the company. It's always disappointing when wrestlers lose their jobs, but it's a part of the industry, as it makes room for new talent to get signed. It's absolutely terrible that a family could face a financial crisis, but hard-working people lose their jobs sometimes and there's not an expectation for organizations in other industries to keep those workers on the payroll. When a company decides cut the number of employees, those workers are given their notice and have to look elsewhere.

That being said, it's wonderful that the wrestling community, including some performers in the business, have donated to a Gofundme set up for Ridge Holland and his family to get them through this rough patch. Don't get me wrong, I sincerely wish his family the best, but the point of this column is to provide some clarity on the situation. He was a secondary guy that had been on the roster for years without making significant progress so it's possible that his run was near its ending rather than the corporation trying to save a few dollars so they decided not to renew his contract.

While I legitimately wish Ridge Holland the best in his real life, I'm not sure where he goes from here as far as a pro wrestling character. He wasn't over with the fans, his in-ring work wasn't anything too spectacular, and his best chance at success would've been in the WWE based on his look. That's not a knock on the real-life person behind the performer, but rather strictly the chances of success of the in-ring persona going forward. I understand why the fans and his peers will rally behind him now, but that's for his ability to make it through a tough time in real life outside of the ring, not an endorsement that he should main event the next Wrestlemania. There wouldn't realistically be a spot for him in AEW or New Japan, and considering the potential neck surgery in the future, it might be wise for him to consider retirement from the industry.

The possible WBD sale

Nearly a quarter century ago, the dot-com bubble, increased investments based on the projections of money that could be made online as internet access looked to become more of a fixture as a household item, burst. A slew of companies, famously including pets.com, aired Super Bowl commercials that cost seven figures to run during the big game, found themselves out of business the following year. A laundry list of companies thought they were going to cash in on the use of technology to bring more products to consumers as more households got the chance to go online.

As they found out and what become a fascinating economic case study, if the market is oversaturated with too many similar products, the market will only support a limited number. It's a very complex topic with multiple layers, but at the end of the day, it always comes down to supply and demand. Of course, spending is key within an organization as well, an unwise investment, perhaps an million-dollar Super Bowl ad during a year where websites flooded the broadcast, can be just as detrimental to the future of an organization as anything else since it's a direct hit at the bottom line. Revenue and ultimately profit are the barometer for success. You can gross millions, but if you finish a dollar in the red, you're out of business.

The startups found out that consumers were only going to spend a certain amount of cash online, especially when the concept of home delivery, which is almost the standard today, was a relatively new concept at the time. Something as simple as internet awareness and how websites were monitored at that point could've been a potential deterrent for shoppers to use their credit card on a web site.

But, as with any new market with the potential for money to be made, there will be organizations that attempt to get their piece of the pie and then the market will determine how many options will be viable commodities. That's capitalism, and much of that blue print spans across different industries.

Within the past several years, particularly as technology continues to advance, the streaming landscape has been the primary market that has seen an influx of countless groups look to establish themselves as a profitable streaming platform. Similar to the dot-com craze, the streaming market was oversaturated, and also similar to the dot-com surge, the dynamics of streaming services saw some companies shut down, while others were purchased by existing groups.

It's almost tough to keep track of what platforms fall under what banner at any given time, particularly as many of the groups that are acquired by larger organizations have their content added into an existing library. If you're looking for a certain film or TV series, you have to search to find if it's available anywhere, and if it is, do you already have an existing subscription for it? All of that is a really solid argument for why physical media should remain a staple for viewers,but that's a different discussion for a different time.

At one point, it was thought that streaming was going to lead to the death of traditional television, and while there was undoubtedly a shift in media consumption, the notion that TV would somehow completely disappear is misguided. The standard of television is still the easiest way to consume media, and there's more of a case for specific demographics to stick with it when some streaming platforms have become too convoluted. If anything, cable companies and media groups will have to adapt to keep standard television a reasonable option for viewers, which should benefit the consumer.

One of the ways that companies have done that is to merge under one platform, as a way to hopefully generate more revenue overall than dividing smaller pieces of the pie. The Warner Brothers Discovery merger was completed just three and a half years ago. Aside from moving the collection of television networks under one company, it put the content of those channels on the HBO Max streaming service. 

This was important in the world of professional wrestling because All Elite Wrestling, the second-largest pro wrestling group in the world, is a part of the Turner networks with Dynamite on TBS and Collision on TNT. The AOL-Time Warner merger was one of the many reasons that WCW folded so it's understandable that those within the sports entertainment industry would follow the Warner Brothers Discovery transaction to see how it might impact AEW.

Up until this point, there hasn't really be any effect on All Elite Wrestling, outside of the fact that the television shows are streamed on HBO Max and the pay-per-view can be purchased through the service. However, recent news from the Warner Brothers Discovery could have a major impact on the status of AEW in the future, depending on the next steps that the corporation takes from purely a business perspective.

Less than four years after the merger, Warner Brothers Discovery has announced that it's up for sale, citing "unsolicited interest" from multiple corporations. Reportedly, Comcast, Paramount, and Netflix are among potential buyers. Although, it was reported that Paramount's initial offers were declined. The fact that the company is publicly making it know that it's willing to sell implies that they are looking to cash out. Regardless of if that is to make money while they can or escape the debt to finish with some level of overall profit, the point is that the organization wants to step away of the media business.

The situation is a reflection of the media landscape, as several companies have invested millions, and in some cases, billions of dollars to secure the rights to content to be able to not only secure a portion of the streaming market today, but to theoretically set up the revenue source for the future. The numbers are different because of 25 years of inflation, but the business dynamics remain the same, as the online companies that invested millions of dollars to try to secure their piece of the pie from the potential internet sales that were said to be on the horizon. Of course, the streaming business has proved to be exponentially more complicated than the internet sales bubble of more than two decades ago. There are production costs, rights fees, and the necessity to maintain an amount of subscriptions to cover those expenses. That becomes more difficult with the increased competition for the streaming dollar. Plus, there are times when subscribers will cherry-pick certain content for a specific month before they cancel until there's another series that they want to watch, as they have the option to binge watch content to maximize a subscription. For WBD, they lost the rights to NBA games this year, as the league will move to a combination of ABC, ESPN, NBC, and Amazon in the future.

Disney is probably the best example of this, as the entertainment powerhouse, which usually prints money from its variety of revenue sources and ventures, endured massive losses for several years on its streaming service before it finally made a profit this year. It remains to be seen if that trend continues, but the point is, different companies can only absorb that debt for so long until they have to look to offload it, Clearly, Warner Brothers Discovery is looking to get rid of the debt they've had from the previously mentioned merger.

Obviously, if the Warner group is sold to a corporation that has an agreement with WWE, it will undoubtedly have some type of impact on AEW. Does that mean that AEW is going to fold or won't find a landing spot somewhere? No, but it goes without saying that it's very doubtful that if Netflix, Comcast, or Paramount buy Discovery that All Elite Wrestling would continue to broadcast on any of those networks. This is where the diversity of WWE distribution is so important because not only does it give the company itself more exposure, it also realistically limited television networks that would want to make a deal with AEW. With the Paramount deal for the UFC under the TKO banner, even a corporation that isn't directly linked to WWE, but TKO in general is enough to shut the door for All Elite Wrestling. Again, that's not to say that AEW wouldn't find a place to put their show, Dynamite still draws a consistent, albeit lower, number so  there would be offers from other networks.

According to The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, AEW has at least another two years on its current contact with the option for an additional year. With a possible sale at this level, it might take a similar length of time  for the negotiations to actually get to a deal so the immediate impact is moot, and the bigger question might be if the company would be offered a renewal, depending on the WBD ownership. Keep in mind, this has nothing to do with the actual content of the AEW product, as there are much bigger dynamics involved in this scenario than any specific property that airs on the WBD networks. It's purely economics that when any market is oversaturated, it will ultimately condense to a level that the market can support. Ebay and Amazon kept a consistent and steady course throughout the dot-com surge, they didn't over spend or try to kept pace with the trend of the era. As a result, they have such a dominate market share today because they expanded as technology and demand allowed them to generate more revenue.

The streaming market is still evolving and it remains to be seen exactly where the market settles as far as how many options will truly become long-term fixtures of the media landscape. Netflix invested $5 billion for WWE, Paramount spent $7.7 billion for the UFC, and ESPN paid $1.5 billion for the rights to WWE pay-per-views as a part of its new app, a revamp of the original ESPN+ platform. Only time will tell how successful any of those deals are, but the point is, the argument could be made that as different media groups bid to get the rights to content to be able to secure those streaming dollars, it has led to inflated contracts. Will Paramount really see a return on that $7.7 billion investment? How many of the corporations that have paid those hefty contracts will realistically make a profit from the deal? Disney is proof that there's money to be made if corporations can take the debt in the short term to eventually make a profit, but there are no guarantees so at some point, a company has to decide when its done taking on more debt in exchange for content that may or may not yield a profit in the long run.

As mentioned, WBD wants to get out from under that debt, that has to do with the big picture of the media landscape, not the quality or lack thereof of AEW programming, but if a sale actually happens, it could alter the path of All Elite, specifically if the organization would land on a smaller network, as it would minimize it's potential market share of the sports entertainment industry. Corporate mergers and sales from outside of the genre have impacted the pro wrestling business before so it will be very interesting to see the eventually domino effect of a potential WBD sale.

Logan Paul on Raw

When Logan Paul, social media star, or in other words basically famous for just being famous, arrived in the WWE a few years ago, I shook my head. His involvement, despite training with the legendary Shawn Michaels at the Performance Center prior to his in-ring debut, seemed like a rather artificial way for the company to get some publicity in 2022. Keep in mind, at that time, Cody Rhodes had just made his return to the organization at Wrestlemania so there were no guarantees that he would flourish as a main event guy or that his journey to win the championship would be the focal point of the company in the two years that followed. Management knew that they had a commodity with the return of Cody to the promotion, but it's doubtful that anyone would've guessed how the length of his story arc would've been such a key piece of the overall puzzle. You should also remember that in 2022, the organization ran the massive AT&T Stadium for the two-night event, and ticket sales had stalled to the point that they brought 58-year-old Steve Austin out of retirement to main event the first night of the pay-per-view to move most of the remaining tickets.

Austin had been retired longer than his actual in-ring career, but with a venue of that size that has to sell double the amount of tickets over the weekend, management had to go deep into the playbook when they wanted Stone Cold to move the needle at his age. Thankfully, Kevin Owens is a top-notch worker and made sure everything was safe and easy for Austin so the match was a success.

That being said, Logan Paul's introduction to the business was more for him to shill the company to his fan base than any type of entertainment value that he brought to the table at that time. That notion is underscored when you take into account the status of the promotion at the time, this was before The Rock's original involvement garnered some main stream hype a few years later.

However, within the past three years, despite some of the booking that had to be used to camouflage his inexperience, Logan Paul had done consistently well, in terms of in-ring performance. He doesn't have the intangibles of timing, selling, or pacing of a polished worker, but it would be unreasonable to expect him to check those boxes with just a few years of experience. He went from training in a mostly empty building with Shawn Micheals to working on live television so realistically, he's overachieved. The issue became, at least so far, was that Logan Paul, true to his experience level, was making a positive impression with his in-ring work based on pure athleticism, not the finer points of the genre. To this point, that wasn't a major concern, based on his spot on the card, but if he's going to move up the ladder to a position of more prominence, there will undoubtedly have to be more substance to his overall performance.

I'm not sure if Logan Paul will get there, as the only thing that we know for sure is that he's a very athletic guy that can be successful in the spots that are designed to make him as good as possible. That's not a knock on him, but rather to point out that the office has been smart with how they've booked him. Obviously, it remains to be seen if Logan makes the leap from the celebrity that gets booked in an attempt to secure a viral moment that gives the company a temporary boost, or if he's going to be a more integral part of the direction of the brand.

But, based on the segment with Paul Heyman this past week on Raw, it looks like Logan Paul might be a key performer within the landscape of the WWE for the next several months.

With Seth Rollins on the sidelines for at least the next six months, WWE brass needed something to boost its depth of heels on Raw. As I've written previously, Breakker and Reed are projects and rushing them to any particularly spot as a temporary fix might hinder their overall progress, especially in terms of a meaningful angle that could legitimately make either of them a bigger star in the process. In short, there's a reason with running with Bronson or Breakker just because the office has to find a heel to work with CM Punk. In some ways, it would be similar to when Randy Orton won the World Heavyweight title in 2004 at the age of 24 just as a way for the company to move Brock Lesnar out of the history books as the youngest champion in the history of the company since he left the promotion on negative terms earlier that year.

There's no need to put a stumbling block in front of either of them, specifically Bron Breakker so using Logan Paul for the center piece so to speak of the stable fills the void left by Seth's injury.

While I don't think Logan Paul's fan base ever truly crossed over to the WWE, there's undoubtedly a younger demographic within the WWE audience that views him as a star. That Prime sponsorship is a valuable revenue stream, too. Given the fact that Logan Paul become involved in sports entertainment because he made a name for himself on social media, there will always be a novelty or gimmick associated with what he does in the industry so a temporary position to patch a hole on the roster doesn't really affect his overall trajectory. Furthermore, for the majority of the crowd, Logan Paul is an actual heel, not just someone cast in a villain role that they will cheer anyway. Seth Rollins is a tremendous performer, but did he really get heat with the audience when they sing his song every time he makes an entrance?

As far as the segment on Raw, Paul's presentation looked a little forced, almost as it he was trying too hard to act like someone that just turned heel rather than working through it in a more natural way. That's not a criticism, though, but rather to point out that he will have to polish his performances to be more organic instead of looking like an acting session. It goes without saying that Paul Heyman's involvement will be a major asset for the entire angle, as he remains the best talker in the entire industry and has been for the past several years. Heyman's reaction in the segment on Raw really helped to put it over as a major deal, which adds a level of cache to the next chapter for the stable.

Most importantly, this angle gives CM Punk a firm direction as champion. Some might claim that Jey Uso could turn heel to give him an opponent, but taking into account that he's one of the top merchandise sellers for the organization, it might be counter productive to turn him heel right now. The potential Logan Paul/CM Punk feud for the belt gives the baby face champion a heel with heat to work with and odds to overcome with the stable behind Logan Paul so it could be a simple, but effective formula to get the company through the rest of the year.

Of course, it remains to be seen how the office will construct the card for Wrestlemania 42, but the earliest pieces of the puzzle are usually put in place at The Royal Rumble so key decisions are on the horizon for WWE brass. I'm not sure of the answer, but with the brand naturally losing some momentum in recent months, I'd say that they will have to shuffle the deck next year to provide some fresh rivalries. Truth be told, that was probably the case this year as well, but the John Cena retirement tour fueled the promotion through 2025. It might've sounded preposterous a few years ago, but a Logan Paul title reign might be the right move to get the company through The Royal Rumble. CM Punk fighting for the prosperity of pro wrestling to win the title back from the social media star is a story that writes itself for the next few months.