Tag: opinion

WWE’s in no rush to make new top-level stars, and that’s a problem | Opinion

Posted on by Bryan Rose

WWE right now reminds me a lot of when Bob Backlund returned to the company in 1992.

The company continually pushed that the former WWE Champion, 43, was a grizzled veteran and was nearing the end of his career. Heel announcers like Jerry Lawler and Bobby Heenan would constantly berate him for being over the hill. Even when he turned heel and had his memorable run with Bret Hart, a lot of the emphasis was on him being a former world champion ten years prior, a relic from the past angry at the “new generation” of WWE talent.

How much have things changed since 1992? I present to you a chart showing every top male WWE star, and a few that you could argue are just slightly under top level status:

WrestlerAge
Roman Reigns41
CM Punk47
Brock Lesnar48
Seth Rollins40
Cody Rhodes40
Gunther38
LA Knight43
Damian Priest43
Randy Orton46
Drew McIntyre41
Jey Uso40

The average age here is 42.45. In other words, today’s WWE main event scene features a whole bunch of Bob Backlunds.

I can’t remember a time where every big star just feels so…old. Not in terms of in-ring, as everyone listed above is good to great. No one embarrasses themselves, and the top matches are usually good. But on the flipside, I’ve seen Brock Lesnar do the same thing for 14 years. I’ve seen Randy Orton on top. I’ve seen Seth Rollins, CM Punk, and Roman Reigns headline big events for well over a decade now. Key point here? I’ve seen it.

The way WWE structures itself right now makes it hard for anyone over 30 to truly break out and become top level stars. Many wrestlers get featured, some get to headline, but it seems like WWE is far more interested in creating a system where people have to “earn” their spots. They can “get the rub” by getting laid out by The Undertaker. They can be in the same ring as The Rock and get berated, but the chances of a young star getting what is most important — a decisive win over an established star — often feels remote at times. 

To their credit, WWE has been pushing hard the likes of Trick Williams, Oba Femi, and Bron Breakker over the last few months. But even then, they aren’t at the very top. Femi defeated Lesnar at WrestleMania in a quick, convincing match, only to lose just as quickly one month later at Clash in Italy. Breakker got a decisive victory over Rollins at Backlash, but then lost to him this past Monday on Raw. Granted, both were protected on those losses, and one loss isn’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. But you know what protects them even more? Winning. All the time. 

All of this is illustrated more as WWE begins to plant the seeds for SummerSlam. After Roman Reigns defeated Jacob Fatu for the second time at Clash in Italy, he locked eyes with Solo Sikoa, hinting a future feud between the two after spending much of 2024 at each other’s throats. Meanwhile it’s been rumored that Rollins could emerge as the winner of the King of the Ring tournament, setting him up for a match against Reigns. I don’t think I really care too much about revisiting their feud again. The Shield broke up twelve years ago. Can we move on?

One can argue that WWE is doing so well right now they don’t need to change anything. And WWE has such a giant advantage over every other wrestling promotion in the world, there’s no real rush to do anything. But eventually, the wrestlers listed above are going to age out, and the best time to start pushing in a new era of wrestlers is now, while the company is hot. Otherwise, by the time new stars are made, they’re already in their 30s, and soon the cycle will repeat itself. WWE needs to be more pragmatic about who can be a top star before it eventually comes back to haunt them.

TNA has squandered their latest big opportunity | Opinion

Posted on by Bryan Rose

It’s time to talk about TNA.

After years of staying afloat by running their television on parent company-owned AXS TV, the long-struggling company finally got a big break, premiering this past January on AMC. But after months of television, specials, and pay-per-views, one thing is starting to become clear: it’s not visibility that’s keeping the company from further success, it’s their current creative process. The new timeslot on a new network should have been the adrenaline shot that the company needed, but five months later, it doesn’t seem like anyone is talking about TNA, and when they do talk, it usually isn’t anything good.

Since their debut in January, TNA has been doing roughly 200,000 viewers and a 0.05 in the coveted 18-49 demographic. It’s better than what they were doing on AXS, but not much better. And in the time since the AMC debut, the numbers have only been marginally up or marginally down, with no real growth over time. In other words, TNA is in a better spot than they were last year, but there isn’t any evidence to suggest there’s been any meaningful popularity change since the network switch.

Truth is, there simply isn’t anything to get excited about when it comes to TNA right now. The first episode of Impact on AMC was notable for being a complete disaster, but the product in the months since hasn’t exactly been stellar either. One of the big storylines since the move to AMC is the introduction of Daria Rae, who has been appointed as a new authority figure to counter Santino Marella, who was doing just fine as the babyface authority figure. 

Not that the idea of a heel GM is bad, but after WWE spent years doing the same concept over and over ad naseum, I was fine not seeing the concept for a good, long time. When the company finally dropped the concept, it felt like a breath of fresh air. So of course, TNA has not only revived it, but has added virtually nothing new to the idea. This isn’t a knock on Daria Rae, but rather a shot at TNA reviving a concept that has been done to death.

Their big program in the World title scene has Steve Maclin turning heel and go after Santana, which sounds fine on paper. But those watching TNA may remember that Maclin was fired in the Feast or Fired match months ago. Maclin’s response was to turn heel, show up unannounced for weeks, and repeatedly beat up Santana. Instead of being arrested, Maclin was not only rehired but given a World title match. None of that makes any sense. While one could shrug and just go “well it’s wrestling,” I think we can do better than having that kind of mindset when it comes to booking and making things make sense.

TNA’s creative lately has been questionable, but some of their business practices have to be called out as well. A big match between Leon Slater and Ricochet was made for WrestleMania weekend, only for Carlos Silva to pull the match days later, apparently because AEW Collision aired on a Thursday head-to-head with Impact. It didn’t matter that AEW likely didn’t have a choice in a matter, as WBD frequently moves AEW for sports coverage.

When you’re the number three or four promotion in the United States, I think you need to be building goodwill towards fans, not the opposite. Pulling talent for matches already announced for something that seems so petty only disappoints and upsets people who were looking forward to their matches.

I will not advocate for anyone losing their job, but I feel like TNA creative needs to completely rethink where they are going here because copying and pasting WWE ideas from 10 years ago, both in terms of talent and storylines, isn’t going to cut it these days. Embracing change and going with new faces and talent is the best way forward, and always has in professional wrestling. But when your mindset is stuck in the past, things are going to be tough.

I want TNA to be successful as there needs to be more promotions out there for wrestlers to get reps. And it’s hard to stand out when WWE and AEW command so much attention. There’s a path here, but in order for it to work, TNA needs to make a dramatic change for the better in terms of how they tell their stories and who they use to tell them. Otherwise, they’re just going to be in the same place they’re at. And maybe that’s what they want, a promotion and product that simply just exists for the sake of it. It just sucks that after being given such a big opportunity, TNA seems intent on squandering it rather than trying to break out from the pack, as hard as that may be these days.

Two Loves & A Loathing about wrestling | Opinion

Posted on by Jeff Moss

I was playing the game “Two Truths and a Lie” with my kids the other day and was having fun coming up with the most egregious lies I could think of (“Did you know Daddy invented Spider-Man? True story.”) and something started the gears turning in relation to this column. 

There’s a lot about wrestling that I deeply love. The athletics, the ability to tell a story, the pomp and (dare I say) the circumstance, which are all unique in the entertainment landscape. Like any good fan though, there is a bunch of stuff I absolutely can’t stand as well — playing music during run-ins, inconsistent rule enforcements and the obsession with wrestling as a “business,” to name a few. 

I am also pretty tired of reading and writing about complaints within and around the industry. So, on an occasion like this where there’s no one topic bouncing around in my brain for my fingers to convey to you, I thought why not do some quick hits in the form of Two Loves And A Loathing, so that I’m bringing a little bit of positivity while also pointing out something I feel needs improving. So with all that said: 

LOVE: AEW Double or F*cking Nothing

A lot has been said about AEW’s Double or Nothing show this past weekend with WOR’s Dave Metlzer and Bryan Alvarez agreeing that it was one of the best AEW PPVs of all time. I heartily agree and think AEW is entering a really good period at the moment. They are telling great stories and featuring some incredible talents. 

One thing that stuck out to me during the show was the use of profanity, particularly during the opening tag match that saw Christian Cage telling FTR to “go f*ck themselves” and that he “banged [Dax]’s mom.” 

Now, I’m not going to argue that wrestling needs more salty language and mom jokes (well, it does need more mom jokes) but my head snapped up both times I heard Cage tempt the censors. I don’t know if this is a regular thing or it was because it was on PPV that they felt like they could get away with more, or if it was just how it went in the moment, but it weirdly added to the authenticity of the match. 

If I’m getting my hand smashed with a chair while inside a cinderblock on top of some steel stairs, I’m probably not going to say, “No, sir. I decline your invitation to quit” when they stick a mic in my face. I’m going to use swear words and insults that would make Shakespeare blush. It was a little thing amongst a lot that was good about Double or Nothing, but I really liked it.

Loathe: The Promo Parade

Something that bugged me to no end in WWE from five or six years ago was The Promo Parade. This would occur, usually to open the show, when someone would come down to the ring and cut a promo. A few minutes in, someone would interrupt and cut a promo on them. Then someone ELSE would interrupt and cut a promo on THEM. This would get sometimes four or five wrestlers deep and suddenly the first half hour of WWE would be over with nothing accomplished. 

I had hoped I was done with this phenomenon but sadly, when I took over recapping TNA recently (Thursday nights and it’s actually a lot of fun) I discovered that the Promo Parade was alive and well in the place where the Action is Total and Nonstop. 

One of the things that takes me out of suspending my wrestling disbelief is when the show as a show stops making sense. This includes making main event matches on the fly (what were they going to do if Rey Mysterio wasn’t in that night or didn’t want an Intercontinental Title shot?), contract signings and ending shows on talking segments repeatedly. 

The Promo Parade ticks all these boxes at the same time. It makes it look like the show (which is supposed to be a sporting event, I remind you) is unplanned, It takes up TV time setting up matches that could have just been announced and executed. The method may get a PLE plug in there, but at the cost of seeing something that would have made me way more excited to see said event. 

Promos obviously have a place within the show and they are a key part of selling the idea and story of pro wrestling. All I’m saying is we don’t have to do them all at once and at the same time. 

LOVE:  Rey Mysterio as GM of AAA

On this past weekend’s episode of AAA, leading into part one of the two-night Noche de Los Grandes this weekend, WWE Hall of Famer, former World Champion and deadbeat dad Rey Mysterio Jr. was named the promotion’s general manager. 

Does Rey have the chops and history to handle running the AAA ship? Absolutely. Does this mean that he and his no-good son Dominik (the current AAA Mega Champion) will be at odds? Almost certainly. Will this lead to more twists and turns in the Psycho Circus clown drama? I dunno, but I hope so! 

Bringing in someone like Mysterio is a great idea because he has the love and pedigree of lucha libre that make him a natural choice. Lucha Libre can be a little daunting and inaccessible to a casual fan, but Mysterio has the name recognition that will perk up the casual fan’s ears. 

While I’ve noticed a few WWEKO-isms creeping into AAA (Obsession with authority figures, “street fight” type matches and contract signings) I think that making Rey the GM will go a long way to getting people checking out what is arguably the best, most entertaining wing of the WWE empire. 

Next Week: I play checkers with my kids and tell you how the NWO Hollywood vs NWO Wolfpac story should have played out.

WWE will never care about their tag team divisions | Opinion

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Don’t expect WWE to ever care about tag teams.

A report from False Finish this week indicates that WWE is looking to rebuild their tag team division after many either left or were cut in the last month. That’s good, as the tag team divisions right now on both brands are nothing much to talk about right now. But the company has such a terrible track record with tag teams dating back to the turn of the century, should we really expect things to be better this time around?

The peak era of tag team wrestling in WWE was around 2000, with the likes of Edge & Christian, The Dudley Boyz, and The Hardy Boyz keeping the division hot. But after the brand split, tag teams pretty much fell to the wayside. Any new teams were either treated like comedy acts or would always be fodder for the main event stars. In fact, the only time the titles ever meant much was when WWE put them on top stars to further a singles feud. The emphasis would always be on the stars but never the titles, which were just props for the eventual big singles match. If there is one trope WWE has put out time and time again, it’s the infamous “but can they get along??” storyline.

I thought maybe things would change once Triple H took charge of creative in 2022. After all, AEW has outclassed WWE time and time again with tag team wrestling, and surely they weren’t about to let the gap widen, right? Well, recent events seem to indicate WWE’s malaise toward tag team wrestling is an inherent problem within the company. On Raw, The Judgment Day held those titles for a long, long time without a title defense, so much so that it actually became a storyline on television. The Vision currently hold the titles but the only other babyface team besides The Usos right now are The Street Profits, who are already teasing a split after returning just one month ago. Stacked division!

On SmackDown the scene is somehow worse. Most of last year had a bunch of teams trading wins and losses with no real direction. Fraxiom, Motor City Machine Guns, and DIY all constantly fought but somehow managed to go nowhere at the same time. They were pushed aside for the MFTs and the Wyatts, who traded the titles back and forth until mostly everyone involved got cut. Now the titles are around the waists of R-Truth and Damian Priest, a thrown-together team that hardly suggests a serious rebuild. And with the division cleared out, the only other team feuding with them is The Miz & Kit Wilson, who should hardly be taken seriously.

Who are they going to bring in to rebuild? They just cut the Motor City Machine Guns, who are still one of the best tag teams in professional wrestling. What sense does that make? It doesn’t seem reassuring either that one of the teams being bandied about for a potential return are Enzo and Cass, which I am not exactly clamoring for. Cass has potential as a singles wrestler and actually has built a far bigger and better resume than he ever did teaming with Enzo.

Could WWE really make a serious effort to rebuild their tag team division? Sure, anything is possible. But history shows that whenever WWE emphasizes rebuilding the division, the feeling rarely lasts before falling back to their same, familiar tropes. I would like to see a healthy tag team division on both brands, and there’s a wealth of talent out there in WWE and NXT to make it happen. But it’s up to the company itself to prove that this time they mean business.

What is Ring Of Honor supposed to be? | Opinion

Posted on by Bryan Rose

ROH’s first pay-per-view of the year, Supercard of Honor, takes place tonight. As with most ROH shows under Tony Khan, it is bound to be great. After all, when was the last time someone like Bandido had a bad match? One of the best matches of last year was at Death Before Dishonor, where he retained the ROH title over Hechnicero in a bout that got many match of the year votes in the Wrestling Observer Awards.

But the buzz for Supercard of Honor is minimal. In an era where WWE and AEW compete for attention, ROH often feels in the background, with people focusing on CMLL, NJPW, Stardom, or other international promotions for alternatives to the big leagues. The aim for ROH seems to be a place where you can watch a bunch of great wrestling, but these days that’s commonplace everywhere. There isn’t much reason to watch Ring of Honor, which after all these years under Tony Khan still feels like it’s trying to find an identity.

The weekly television isn’t much to talk about. Everyone wrestles well. There is talent there you don’t see on AEW television on a weekly basis, like Jordan Oliver & Alec Price or Lee Moriarty. But a lot of the matches on TV do feature AEW talent, many of whom don’t win on Dynamite or Collision. That makes ROH feel like the C-show, a Velocity or Heat where people may win there, but often are the ones who get pinned on AEW television. AR Fox, for example, defeated Nick Wayne on yesterday’s ROH television show to win the promotion’s TV title. That’s great, AR Fox always delivers. But his last win on AEW television was last year in a multi-man pre-show match before Double or Nothing and has done nothing but lose on Dynamite and Collision. What does that say about ROH’s champions?

Storylines on the brand just seem to kind of come and go, with nothing generating much attention. The one long-term storyline has Billie Starkz, longtime Athena minion, tired of Athena’s antics but never really pulls away for good and somehow they just stick together. This is good for a year-long build culminating in a big match. But they’ve already had the big match against one another, twice! The two headlined BOTH Final Battle 2023 and 2024, with Starkz coming up short each time. And wouldn’t you know it, the two are fighting again just one day before they are both in a Survival of the Fittest match for the ROH Women’s Championship. What’s the end goal here? Will this storyline ever advance?

Despite all of my criticisms, there are recent moves made that I like. They recently moved ROH’s tapings to a studio in Jacksonville, Florida, giving the shows a more individual feel. Great! The company should go in this direction and go further, perhaps go the NXT route and focus more on younger talent they have plans for in the future. Most importantly, the promotion’s champions and talent shouldn’t be going on AEW television to lose. ROH shouldn’t feel like AEW’s C-show; it should feel like its own brand, and treating it more like a developmental brand to focus on younger talent should be the way to go.

When Tony Khan purchased ROH years ago, I liked the idea, as it gave AEW a library to build upon and people got to keep their jobs when it was clear Sinclair Broadcasting was all but done with professional wrestling. But the promotion needs to stop being treated like an afterthought. AEW has a deep enough roster where creating a distinct talent pool isn’t out of the question. There’s great potential for keeping the ROH brand alive, but right now I’m just not seeing it.

Five absent WWE stars who need big comeback storylines | Opinion

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

WWE’s uncertain atmosphere amid recent talent releases and prominent absences has led to questions on their wrestling future. 

WrestleMania 42 took place nearly a month ago and Backlash has already come and gone. Still, many talents have still not resurfaced on WWE TV. 

Here’s a few noticeably absent WWE stars whose returns must outshine their last matches and appearances on TV. 

Randy Orton 

He was heavily anticipated to defeat Cody Rhodes and win his 15th WWE World title at WrestleMania 42. Despite Pat McAfee’s involvement, that didn’t happen. Since then, Orton has not made any televised or public appearances, raising the question on what’s next for the WWE veteran. 

Prior to WrestleMania, Dave Meltzer had reported that Orton was hurting, dealing with undisclosed physical health issues. McAfee’s involvement was to also set up a tag team match with Orton against Rhodes and Jelly Roll at Backlash that never came to be.

There is no update or confirmation on Orton’s return timeline, but whenever it does happen, WWE needs to ensure he accomplishes his long-term goal of a World title.

Drew McIntyre 

Jacob Fatu has already moved on from Drew McIntyre after their WrestleMania collision to focusing on the bigger picture and Roman Reigns’ World Heavyweight title.

Reports indicate that McIntyre’s WWE TV absence is to wrap up filming Highlander, a reboot of the1986 movie, also featuring Henry Cavill. 

McIntyre could continue his callous attitude, unfazed by WWE authority on his return. Pitting him against Rhodes for the WWE Championship again would be monotonous as he needs to assert territorial dominance and could ideally challenge relatively new talent on the SmackDown roster like Trick Williams or another heavy hitter like Ilja Dragunov.

LA Knight

Knight has had a complex WWE run over the past couple of years.

He competed in a six-man tag team match at WrestleMania. Prior to the event, he addressed a bursa flare up that was keeping him away from in-ring action of any kind. While this might explain his ongoing absence, there is always going to be concerns about his WWE future given the current environment.

Knight’s return to WWE should be fueled to win the World Heavyweight Title or Money in the Bank which didn’t happen last year. Either way, he needs a defining run to remind fans and WWE management why he is one of the company’s most organically popular stars today. 

Bayley & Lyra Valkyria

The tag team squared off against Judgment Day on the Raw after Mania but have not made any appearances since.

Bayley’s unfortunate luck in capturing the Women’s Tag Team Titles has been looming since WrestleMania last year, but her partnership with Valkyria still has much potential. 

WWE must ensure their alliance is intact while also keeping both women relevant in the women’s division. This would help their positioning as a babyface tag team and possibly develop Valkyria as a singles competitor under Bayley’s mentorship.

Seven WWE stars who deserve a major push | Opinion 

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

WWE WrestleMania 42 crowned new champions while also setting directions for future storytelling. 

The Raw after Mania saw three new members added to the main roster in Sol Ruca, Ethan Page and Joe Hendry. While the first two competed in their first matches on the brand to showcase their skills, Hendry debuted on Raw live tonight with a live concert.

However, several other talents from the current roster could emerge as the new faces of the company this year if booked effectively. 

Royce Keys

Keys made his SmackDown debut on April 10 against Berto, whom he defeated within minutes. Prior to this, he was competing in dark matches which he later revealed was intentional to familiarize himself with both his new home and new audiences. 

He won the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal on SmackDown before WrestleMania. It’s barely the tip of the iceberg for Keys’ WWE run and with WrestleMania 42 behind them, the page has officially turned over for new talents to make their mark. 

Despite competing in just three matches so far, Keys has the potential to transition from promising newcomer in WWE to top card contender. A gradual boost and development over random surges of top tier matches could help establish him as a dominant force on the roster. 

Je’Von Evans

Evans is already a fan favorite for his energetic approach and in-ring agility. 

During his short time on NXT, Evans faced Randy Orton which displayed his readiness for the main roster, and that also displayed the faith WWE officials in his run.

Evans was officially added to Raw in January and has since competed in marquee matches featuring top names of the industry. He also made his WrestleMania debut competing in the ladder match for the Intercontinental Title.

Carmelo Hayes

Hayes gained fans’ sympathy after losing the United States title in an abrupt manner to Sami Zayn barely a couple of weeks before WrestleMania 42 — a show Hayes didn’t wrestle at. While he seemed to be fairing well, the rushed title loss established himself as champion. The lack of prolonged payoff left fans feeling the title reign was cut short before it could fully develop. 

Regardless of the setback, Hayes has received support from the WWE fanbase. A natural direction to solidify the buzz around him would be to put him against his former NXT ally/foe Trick Williams for the title.

If handled correctly, Williams vs. Hayes on the main roster could evolve into a top tier WWE rivalry in the long run. 

Jordynne Grace

Grace built a rapport with fans when she debuted at the 2024 Royal Rumble while holding the TNA Knockouts Championship at the time.

Earlier this year, she was one of the many stars officially called up to SmackDown. She was briefly in pursuit of the WWE Women’s Championship, feuding with Jade Cargill. It didn’t turn out to be much though as Cargill was already in the plans to face Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania. 

With more consistent exposure and some big wins, Grace could both be positioned as a strong contender and emerge as a top name in the women’s division. 

Finn Balor

Balor’s grit as a competitor was overshadowed by the Judgment Day, but his exit from the group gives him more leeway to prove himself as a strong World title contender again. He already brought back his former entrance theme, The Demon, and his signature look from a decade ago.

Despite losing two World Heavyweight Championship matches to CM Punk, Balor’s resume still remains strong to regain his glory days from nearly a decade ago. 

Also, given how WWE has been riding the nostalgia wave with returns and reviving gimmicks, Balor’s push once again to the top of the roster feels like a natural move, especially considering he was the inaugural Universal Champion at SummerSlam 2016. 

Giulia

Giulia walked into WWE with an extensive career in Stardom and NJPW. However, that momentum was diminished shortly after her main roster move.

She competed in NXT for a year, won the Women’s title, and was also the winner of the Iron Survivor Challenge in 2024. With this groundwork, her main roster transition made sense, but the results haven’t been what even she would probably say she expected.

She has already proven her versatility to stand out on the main roster, so with proper booking and long-term presentation, Giulia could be demonstrated as a dominant opponent in the women’s division. 

Tama Tonga

Last month, Tonga expressed displeasure at Solo Sikoa stealing Uncle Howdy’s lantern amid The MFTs feud with Wyatt Sicks. He has continued to question Sikoa’s leadership on a few occasions and the latter’s patience seems to be wearing thin.

Tonga debuted in WWE in April 2024, attacking Jimmy Uso to secure an alliance with Sikoa. 

He has the capacity to be a strong contender on his own and an exit from the faction could make for deeper storytelling, a developed character arc, and targeting the U.S. Title to kick off a singles run. 

Can Chris Jericho make AEW fans care about him again? | Opinion

Posted on by Josh Nason

Months ago, I would have bet my mortgage that Chris Jericho would be in WWE by now and in fact, I may have said that exact thing on my shuttered podcast or a Sunday episode of Wrestling Observer Live.

Thankfully for myself and my marriage, I didn’t put any money down on that.

I had a column in drafts for the past four months about how Jericho and WWE were the perfect fit for each other at this stage of things. For Jericho, it was a chance to go back where he became fully realized, to have a final run as a part-timer with interesting programs and meaning for whatever he has left in the tank, and to go out to massive recognition and a WWE Hall of Fame induction in a few years from an accepting fanbase.

Alas, that was not to be and I was surprised by that fact as I think most of you reading this probably were when he popped up on AEW Dynamite last week.

Despite the feelings some fans have toward him, Jericho is no dummy. Throughout his career, he has constantly evolved and in doing so, he has had two HOF worthy runs alone, if not three. He branched out into different forms of media and often performed better in those forms than his brethren. From a band to improv to acting to whatever else he is up to, Jericho is always trying new things. I admire that.

But he’s got a pretty big challenge in front of him at 55 years old: making AEW fans truly care about him again.

Part of that surprise of him returning was due to Jericho fatigue, a non-medical disorder that ran through a good portion of the AEW fanbase in 2024 and 2025. I think he and Tony Khan would agree that final go-round with The Learning Tree wasn’t it. He was playing off the internet chatter about him being a succubus for younger talent and not really achieving what was intended: to leave them in a bigger and better spot.

Was this his fault or Khan’s or a combo? Success has a lot of fathers, but failure is an orphan. Regardless, that last few months felt a lot like the forgettable last AEW act of Cody Rhodes with the never-ending inter-Nightmare Factory feud. I’m shuddering as I type that.

After a year away with plenty of chatter and scuttlebutt about him (remember that TNA comment?), Jericho returned in great shape and looks revived. He did the smart thing in that return (no big surprise) in making fans wait for the kickoff to this next chapter of the story, simply saying he was “home” and leaving people guessing.

That attempts to be answered tonight on Dynamite, but I suspect there will be even more to come as the intrigue gets drawn out. I don’t expect him to wrestle at Sunday’s Dynasty, but that next breadcrumb feels like it will be found in Vancouver.

But what could the plan be? Here’s a few thoughts.

One of the reasons I thought Jericho returning for WWE would be smart is there were more fresh matchups there, plus the all-important old rivalries to work from. In AEW, there are opportunities at the upper level as his MJF, Kenny Omega, and Hangman Page feuds are now years old. He’s never wrestled Swerve Strickland or Andrade. He’s only wrestled Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada and Kyle Fletcher once each.

But, do any of those feel like dream matches in 2026? That’s where I’m struggling a bit. I don’t think he is returning for another mid-card run, but a final run at or near the top. He could be inserted into the war against the Don Callis Family (remember the Golden Jets with Omega?) which would seem like a natural fit if he wanted to be a babyface.

The bigger question: are AEW fans ready to accept him at that level again? I’m skeptical of that. A lot has changed in a year and all those guys above, as well as Konosuke Takeshita, are the top tier and have made the World title picture consistently mean something again. There has to be something compelling for fans to want some of those Jericho matches in that mix.

They other option is the midcard that is already too packed with talent trying to break through to have another name dropped in trying to get attention. That would feel too much like the end run in 2025 and I don’t think he came back just to put the

A big challenge lies ahead for both Jericho and Khan to not just make this work, but make it succeed. Tonight will be the first step toward seeing if they can make that happen.

WWE 2K26 review: More improvements, new issues

Posted on by Marc Quill

The Road to WrestleMania is upon us, and it means it’s time for the yearly WWE 2K game to grace fans with its presence. Yes, WWE 2K26 is set to hit the ring for this year’s edition and unlike the actual Road to Mania this year, it’s a game that manages to excite players as usual, but not without its fair share of issues that keep it from being a Hall of Fame-worthy experience.

Look In My Eyes, What Do You See?

WWE 2K26’s in-ring action does remain largely the same from previous years, but new additions include a new debuff that appears when your stamina runs out completely. This meter essentially locks you out of reversing moves, so careful strategizing will be prioritized over spamming moves over and over again. Expanded combat on barricades and the inclusion of corner springboard attacks add to the variety of ways you can dish out pain.

And speaking of “dishing out pain,” WWE 2K26 adds a new bevy of weapons to the chaos, with thumbtacks being the most notable of them. For an added touch, the thumbtacks remain stuck on wrestlers who take bumps on them. These weapons now work in tandem with the reintroduction of weapons physics and even some ragdolling, especially on falls from high distances. This is none more evident in the new Backstage Brawl environment known as The Scrapyard which seemed to be designed with the new physics in mind. This environment features many high ledges where wrestlers can throw each other from great distances to create some truly insane high spots, along with several weapons ready for your use at your disposal. While those high-danger spots are fun to pull off, nothing beats the simple joy of delivering a powerbomb on the side of some steel steps.

There’s four new matches that add to the growing number of match types already present from previous games. Three Stages of Hell, which we recently saw play out on SmackDown early in the year, is basically a more extreme ⅔ falls match where you can pick unique match stipulations per “Stage”. With damage taken retaining through each stage, this match type truly lives up to its hellish namesake.

“I Quit” matches make their return to the franchise with a new mechanic. At various points during the match, you can get the ref to ask your foe to say those two infamous words, triggering a mini game where a wrestler on the verge of quitting has to prevent a meter from draining completely by hitting green markers within a circle. The more damage you take, the tougher it is to avoid the meter from draining. A neat touch is that a few WWE wrestlers have unique lines tied to this match on top from the generic voices heard.

The Inferno match is also back, where the goal is to set your opponent on fire.The ring is surrounded by fire and moves performed will fill a meter that causes the fire to shoot up completely once filled. Then it’s a matter of dragging your opponent to the fire to set them alight for the win. For added chaos, you can freely leave the ring before the fire reaches full Inferno and grab weapons to make these fiery encounters feel even more brutal.

Last and probably least, is the Dumpster Match, which is just literally the previously-introduced Casket Match, but with a dumpster instead of a casket. It’s nice for those that want some variety, but it’s otherwise nothing to write home about.

Presentation-wise, the game truly shines as it feels more like a true-to-life WWE broadcast than ever before. Before matches there’s now a degree of control where you can blast pyro at will or hit a couple of preset taunts. It’s not necessarily game-changing, per se, but does make for some entertaining moments when, say, Seth Rollins’ usual entrance strut is occasionally broken up by him doing a few “crybaby” emotes randomly.

This emphasis on presentation extends to even the start of the matches, where players can choose to shake their opponent’s hands (or deliver a devious cheapshot), engage in a little chain wrestling action, or even just rush them down. It helps make the matches in WWE 2K26 feel even more like their real-life counterparts.

Commentary sees Wade Barrett and Booker T join Michael Cole and Corey Graves to call the action, and I have to say, this commentary quartet is really good in the game. Of the two new additions, Barrett’s commentary is the strongest and you can tell he had a lot of fun recording his lines.

Still, it’s not all perfect when it comes to presentation, as while wrestler models can look really good, some still look a bit off and long hair physics still remains a persistent issue, even with the move to current-gen only for these games.

“Do I Have Everyone’s Attention Now?”

Showcase is front and centre once again, with cover star CM Punk being the focus this year. Players will play through some of Punk’s greatest WWE matches, as well as some fantasy contests that casts Punk in “what if” scenarios. If you’re familiar with the Showcase format, then you’ll know how it works: complete specific objectives before winning the match to unlock arenas and wrestlers – most of which are Punk variations. It’s not exactly what I’d call “fun”, especially if you’re halfway through and you’re asked to hit a certain amount of moves on Punk’s foe for what feels like the 100th time. At the very least, cutscenes between matches that feature Punk’s insights on the particular match you’re about to compete in are well-done.

For those not wanting to go through that busywork, there’s a 20-man gauntlet that can be played instead. This is an alternate way to get all of the Showcase unlockables, but be warned, it’s automatically set to the game’s hardest difficulty, and it’s designed to see if you’ve got what it takes to be called “Best in the World”.

MyRise is back once more and as the title of this year’s edition indicates, it’s all about “The Comeback,” where you take your created male or female wrestler on a journey back to the top after two years away. Story branches throughout this mode allow you to make your wrestler a face or a heel and offers up unique rewards, most of which are earned through so-called “Rise Matches” that you complete to progress to the next part of the story. It’s relatively short compared to previous MyRise stories, but I liked the story and the voice acting, particularly from the main player(s) which was well done.

The Creation Suite, a perennial favorite among fans, has seen the biggest benefit from WWE 2K26 moving to current-gen consoles only. Now with 200 create-a-wrestler slots to play with, as well as the return of body morphing and two-tone hairstyles, plus improved layers, there’s more ways for players to create the wrestler of their dreams as they see fit. Unfortunately, that same level of attention for Create-a-Superstar doesn’t seem to be evident in Create-an-Arena, where the only notable changes are the addition of LED barricades and a large library of ring aprons from past WWE events. 

Universe Mode, the popular sandbox for players to create their own shows and let things play out however they see fit, has definitely seen quite a few improvements. A new “Creation Wizard” allows players to shape their Universe even before the action truly begins, with PLE schedules, rosters, and base champions being able to be set in stone. The WWE Draft now appears as a week-long event in Universe Mode and can also similarly be edited to your heart’s desire. This, on top of additions to the promo system and Money in the Bank cash-ins, make it feel like the developers have listened to those wanting to see tangible change in Universe Mode.

The best new addition to Universe Mode, however, is the “Watch Show” feature, which allows players to experience their Universe’s shows as if they were watching a real WWE program. The broadcast camera angle with cuts to action shots really help to add to how lifelike Watch Show can feel at times.

MyGM is back for more with expanded seasons that can run up to 50 weeks, on top of being able to book an even wider variety of matches in order to prove your superiority as the greatest General Manager in offline, online, and even against the computer.

An Island of Issues

There’s tons to like about WWE 2K26, yes, but as mentioned earlier, it’s not all smooth sailing. A lot of that comes down to modes introduced in this game and WWE 2K25, namely The Island and the Ringside Pass.

For better or worse, The Island makes its return in WWE 2K26 and it’s seen some changes. When you enter The Island, there are now cutscenes as opposed to just dialogue screens. They anchor a story of three warring factions looking to take control of The Island after last year’s events: one led by Punk, another by Rhea Ripley, and the third under Cody Rhodes’ command. Even with that change, a lot of the issues I had with The Island’s introduction in WWE 2K25 persists – namely the fact that a lot of creation items are locked to this mod. The story for The Island is fine, but between the constant lags I experienced and needing to plunk down real-world money to make your Island wrestler better or get all the mode-exclusive cosmetics, I’m still not a fan.

The other “big” monetization pit is MyFaction. Intergender support is new for this go-around, as is a chemistry system that takes into account certain attributes amongst your MyFaction roster to determine the team’s overall chemistry. Quick Swap matches are essentially a wrestling version of fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom, where you can swap in your team members out with a push of a button, complete with a nice teleportation animation. Other than that, your enjoyment of MyFaction will boil down on how much you can tolerate these “Ultimate Team” style of modes in sports games and how much of a grind you’re willing to commit to to get the absolute best cards for your faction without spending real-world money on currency.

Of course, we have to talk about the huge new elephant in the room introduced in WWE 2K26, and that’s the Ringside Pass system. Taking inspiration from Fortnite-style Battlepass mechanics, this replaces the former DLC pack model of previous games. Here, players will have to grind across several modes to earn points to unlock new wrestlers, title belts, and other assorted goodies through various seasons. The first “season” centers on the WWE-owned AAA and some of its stars, with Mr. Iguana and Vikingo included among the unlockables.

The Ringside Pass has understandably gotten a mixed reaction from fans, especially those opposed to a Battlepass format for unlockables. And I have to say, I tend to agree with those reactions, especially considering how big a grind is being asked of players. This seems more designed for the hardcore WWE 2K players who can spend long hours grinding to unlock more and more from the Pass. And even then, the painfully slow rate the RXP bar fills will make this grind a very long one. That’s not even getting into the fact that the game seems like it’s subtly pushing players to buy tier skips to just unlock everything. In short, this Ringside Pass system sets a precedent that may turn away players from future games if it becomes something permanent moving forward.

Final Verdict

Even with that, it’s hard to say that the in-ring experience of WWE 2K26 hasn’t improved from previous years. It seems that Visual Concepts has refined the style of wrestling it has been working on since WWE 2K22 and it shows with what 2K26 offers under the hood. As the only game in town when it comes to major wrestling video games, it’s still clearly the cream of the crop. But the increasing turn towards microtransactions in The Island, MyFaction, and Ringside Pass is still very concerning and could very well threaten the franchise’s overall popularity in the near future.

Pros

  • Nails the little things almost perfectly
  • In-ring action more refined than ever
  • Universe Mode’s freedom even better than ever
  • Presentation at its best, with commentary even better
  • Ragdoll and weapons physics

Cons

  • Showcase Mode still feels like a chore
  • Ringside Pass will be a huge turnoff for casual players
  • Microtransactions have increased
  • Graphics could be better, especially on some wrestler likenesses

Rating: 8/10

WWE 2K26 released on March 6th in early access. A review code was provided by the publisher.

Takeaways & thoughts from a first time ‘WWE: Unreal’ watcher | Opinion

Posted on by Josh Nason

I can’t say I’m much of a reality TV guy these days despite it being such a big part of my formative years. Given there are channels upon channels dedicated to whatever form of reality these shows claim to live in, it’s hard to replicate what early seasons of The Real World or Survivor meant back then when we had such fewer options.

Having written all that, I did spend a portion of last Tuesday and Wednesday watching the second season of WWE: Unreal on Netflix for this very website after never having watched more than social media clips of the first go-round. I heard all the criticisms and comments about that first season, but did my best to go into these five episodes with an open mind.

So having written all that, here were my thoughts. I welcome yours.

Triple H really knows everything, huh?

It’s incredible Paul Levesque just happens to make the right suggestion at the right time when the camera just happens to be rolling and focused on him, and everyone agrees with him (see the multi-cut conversation he had with John Cena regarding R-Truth’s surprise Money in the Bank return and his on the fly idea that Cena immediately went with).

I’m being sarcastic, but c’mon. When does he admit he doesn’t have the answers or screws up? He’s a human being in a creative position. No one bats 1.000. Let’s see that process.

There’s not enough actual conflict.

I understand WWE has a heavy hand in production and doesn’t want to show the warts, but there is nowhere close to enough conflict on Unreal. The closest we got was the LA Knight/Seth Rollins deal from MITB where they didn’t go with the planned ending sequence. While they showed Levesque explaining to Knight why the original plan would have been better, that was it. Did Rollins get talked to as well? If not, why not? What happened? They never bothered showing the why for the what.

A close second was Lyra Valkyria admitting all her blunders in her WrestleMania match with Becky Lynch, complete with her in tears afterward. I thought this was pretty good and came off as honest and not an angle for the show. But, it took until the fifth episode to get to this point.

A few other nominees: the admission that the Cena/Cody Rhodes WrestleMania match didn’t work, and Brian James pushing for Truth (via a Truth request) to shave his head before returning and throwing a minor tantrum when being questioned about it. As I wrote earlier, I’d love to see a segment when Levesque second guesses himself. No one is perfect. Show that.

Everyone seems so damn happy all the time.

Conflict creates interest beyond anything else in reality shows, but Unreal didn’t really have a lot. One reason: everyone comes off as incredibly happy all the time. Everyone loves each other, everything is fine, everything is awesome, no one can do anything wrong, etc. I thought wrestling was supposed to be about backstabbing, jealousy and backstage politics? If Unreal season three featured a daily locker room daily kumbaya session, I wouldn’t be shocked.

And for the whatabouters, I didn’t like the short-lived AEW reality show either and I don’t think I was the only one.

Triple H swears a lot, huh?

I never know if people overcompensate in situations like this, but Levesque drops the f-bomb quite a bit. It reminded me of Cena’s Joe Rogan appearance as compared to his other media interviews leading into his last match. Is it legit or UNREAL?

Is Unreal helping WWE gain any new fans?

In terms of non-wrestling viewers, I’m sure there’s some but I feel like this is WWE fan catnip and for some general wrestling fans as shoulder programming. It also felt like this season was quieter on social media from those who love WWE those who love to hate it.

The idea was to replicate the F1 Need for Speed phenomenon, but this doesn’t feel like it’s succeeding in the same way. It’s a different world, but with some conflict (Khanflict?), could this get some attention like Total Divas used to on E?

Did you know WWE is about moments and telling stories?

If you watched Unreal and didn’t feel like that was drilled in your head, you were looking at your phone too long.

The Penta focus was great.

In a year, WWE did more to make Penta feel like a huge deal than AEW did during his entire run. I know, I know: he’s not having MOTY quality stuff in his new home, but does he need to at this point? This is what a show like Unreal can do and they nailed it here.

We don’t appreciate how big of a production WWE is.

We are completely desensitized to just how much time and effort and manpower it takes to put on WWE events from all angles. It’s more like a theatrical touring group or major rock event vs. a rasslin’ show, and Unreal reminded me of that.

Also, I think I would feel claustrophobic if I was working in the gorilla position and there were that many people hanging out there all the time. Maybe make a ‘chimpanzee’ overflow area or something (dad joke quota met).

Is anything organic?

I’m not sure if this was the case in season one, but I didn’t realize there was that much communication from the back to the referee to the wrestlers. Sure, I assume there’s some as needed but the way Unreal portrayed it, it comes off as every…single…thing is called. Is anything organic allowed in WWE? That mindset would be interesting for them to delve into. These are trained pros so why not let them work like it?

I have John Cena thoughts…

…but I’ll save them for the next drop of episodes this summer where I’m sure all truths will be told, especially about The Rock, Levesque, Travis Scott and WrestleMania.

Bryan Rose’s top ten matches of 2025 | Column

Posted on by Bryan Rose

I have decided on my top 10 matches of 2025!

Voices of Wrestling’s annual match of the year balloting is ending today and I have arrived just in the nick of time with my own top 10 matches of the past year. 2025 was another amazing year in terms of wrestling quality, with ****+ star matches happening on a weekly basis . It’s been that way since 2019 with AEW’s launch, but standards are so high these days it’s harder than ever before to pick 10 matches that stand out among the rest. I think I managed to do so, but each year it becomes more difficult to choose.

Keep in mind while I try to watch everything, some things fall through the cracks, so if you’re questioning why I don’t have match X on here or match Y, well, it’s either because I didn’t see it or it didn’t make the list. Sorry!

Anyway, here are the ten matches I chose for this year’s balloting, in reverse order. After all, gotta keep you on the edge of your seat..

10. IYO SKY vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley – WWE WrestleMania 41 (April 20)

SKY was one of the best wrestlers of the year, male or female, and had a terrific match with Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley on the second night of WrestleMania. The great, heated back-and-forth encounter that saw SKY retain the Women’s World title was the best match of that weekend, edging out the main event of the previous night’s card. Her match with Ripley later in the year at Evolution was also a standout.

9. The Street Profits vs. DIY vs. Motor City Machine Guns – WWE SmackDown (April 25)

In hindsight, why wasn’t this match on the WrestleMania card? It was much better than most of the matches from that weekend. These three teams went out there and had a super memorable ladder match, which is hard to do in an era where AEW and WWE take turns doing a bunch of them every other month. But this was top notch and definitely the best ladder match of the year.

8. Anarchy in the Arena – AEW Double or Nothing (May 25)

This match always appears in my year-end match listings and for a good reason: it lives up to its name! Like every year, the 2025 bout at Double or Nothing can best be described as fun chaos with ten million things going on at once. It takes skill to do a match like this and not have it feel tiresome by the end, so kudos to these men and women who went out there, had fun, and entertained the crowd while doing so. More promotions, by the way, need to pick up on the idea that music during wrestling matches always works. 

7. Kosei Fujita vs. YOH – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors finals (June 1)

This was a fantastic Best of the Super Junior finals. On that night Kosei Fujita looked like the future of the junior heavyweight division, a fresh new face that had the work ethic and charisma to be at the top. Too bad New Japan decided otherwise. At a time where you need to make people NJPW seems tepid to really get behind anyone in the heavyweight division, let alone the junior heavyweight division, and Fujita is a prime example of that mentality. Great match at least…

6. Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW New Beginning (February 11)

Goto finally realizing his dream and defeating Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP World title felt cathartic in a way that really can’t be found in any of the other matches I will list on here. He spent YEARS, decades even, chasing NJPW’s top title. For him to finally win it felt incredible, a feel-good moment that feels increasingly rare in a pro wrestling world filled with heat. If there was one highlight in NJPW this year, it was Goto’s great run with this championship.

5. Kyle Fletcher vs. Speedball Mike Bailey – AEW Dynamite (December 10)

This was absolutely one of the best television matches of the year. Mike Bailey is one of the best signings AEW made in recent memory as he’s able to have a great match with anyone, and since Kyle Fletcher is one of the best young wrestlers in the world, these two had an incredible, heated match on cable television. Fletcher is a top-tier main event level talent, it’s just a question of when AEW will pull the trigger. It should be this year.

4. Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher – AEW Worlds End (December 27)

Fletcher had one hell of a December thanks to the Continental Classic as this match with Moxley ended up being the best match of the tournament, far better than the match Moxley had with Kazuchika Okada later in the night (and that was still good!). Moxley’s heel heat run for the first half of the year did nothing for me but once he dropped the title, the matches got better and he too also shined bright in the tournament.

3, Bandido vs. Hechicero – ROH Death Before Dishonor (August 29)

These two had some tremendous matches in the last year, but this was the best of the bunch. ROH cards usually aren’t hyped much and there’s no real build to any of what they do but last year’s Death Before Dishonor was memorable thanks to these two, who put on an absolute clinic with a hot crowd. Bandido without a doubt was one of the best wrestlers in the world in 2025 and this was a shining example.

2. MJF vs. Mistico – CMLL 92nd Anniversario (September 19)

There were plenty of fantastic matches in 2025, but this stood out the most in terms of drama. Good vs. bad guy wrestling, when done right, is some of the best wrestling in the world. People loved Mistico that night and no one loves being the heel more than MJF. Both played their roles perfectly and we even got to see blood in a CMLL match, which is quite rare.

1. Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd – NJPW Wrestle Dynasty (January 5)

The biggest question going into this match was if Kenny Omega still had something after being on the shelf for all of 2024. The answer was a resounding yes. I’ve never seen anyone look so good after being gone for so long. Maybe this isn’t the Kenny Omega of old but the Omega in this match knew what he wanted to do and everything he did was on point. He helped Kidd be on his level and be a better wrestler coming out of it, that was how good this match was. It did such a great job setting the tone for the year, and while there were plenty of fantastic, incredible matches, this one tops the list.

Claudio Castagnoli should lead AEW’s Death Riders | Opinion

Posted on by Corey Michaels

Image: AEW

The Death Riders were built on the act of betraying a mentor figure. In fact, current leader Jon Moxley pulled the trigger on that, leading his fellow Blackpool Combat Club teammates in excommunicating Bryan Danielson.

It’s about time that fellow senior member Claudio Castagnoli takes that mantle, fittingly usurping the purveyor of paradigm shifts.

I write this not as a denigration of Moxley; far from it. It’s possible that such an angle can steer all parties into new territory. Moreover, Claudio, as the leader of the pack, will have a distinct image change of the group.

Observing the past month of AEW programming, the seeds for Castagnoli stealing the reins have already been sown.

Why a Castagnoli-run Death Riders is plausible

Moxley’s had a rough second quarter of 2025. Losing the AEW World title to Hangman Adam Page at All In Texas was the start. Yet, he still maintained his momentum. His bravado hid all traces of diminishing confidence. A few losses here and there, but the Death Riders remained on top.

Then came WrestleDream. Thanks to interference from Sting to offset the heels, Darby Allin defeated Moxley in a memorable I Quit Match. Since then, Moxley has consistently lost on AEW shows with a recurring story of seeing his shield chip thanks to Kyle O’Reilly and his ankle lock. From late-October to late-November, Moxley exercised every means possible to escape O’Reilly’s unforgiving technical prowess.

A disqualification and a double countout later, O’Reilly had Moxley’s number, ultimately submitting him at November’s men’s Blood & Guts match. Moxley rebounded with Castagnoli on the following Dynamite, but then, Full Gear saw Moxley submit to O’Reilly in a no holds barred match. His promo afterward did carry his usual confidence, but that same confidence was not shared in the eyes of his teammates.

Despite a successful start to the Continental Classic in a triumph over CMLL’s Mascara Dorada, Moxley has since lost to Castagnoli himself and Konosuke Takeshita. Conversely, Castagnoli’s 2025 has seen a marked improvement.

Though he spent the early half in frustration, he recovered and eventually became the soul of the Death Riders; Moxley had simply become the lungs. In trios or tag bouts with either Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, and/or PAC, Castagnoli stewarded his team to wins and began to have a silent winning reputation, with a smattering of losses here and there. He even became the CMLL World Heavyweight Champion.

Coincidentally, he went on a brief winning streak, broken only by Mascara Dorada in his third Continental Classic bout followed by a draw with Takeshita.

Death Riders under Castagnoli’s leadership

Castagnoli has worked excellently with PAC and the younger Garcia and Yuta. They even accompany him to his matches. On the surface, he seems like an older brother who knows how to navigate the world. Thus, their eyes, though hardened and serious, appear loyal and curious. Yuta, PAC, and Garcia seem eager to follow, and in doing so, they wrestle more confidently with the reps they get alongside the towering Swiss athlete.

A second glance at Castagnoli gives off militant vibes as though there’s a numb, yet classy, demeanor. Perhaps it’s the way he looks like Agent 47 from the Hitman video game series, or perhaps it’s the use of classical music. Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” bolster this aura. He may be stoic, but there’s a deadliness beneath.

Not only is it this visage and his presence that entice me to see Castagnoli as the Death Riders commander, but his history. CHIKARA fans will remember his time in the stable Die Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (The Brotherhood of the Cross) where he became a central figure bent on a hostile takeover of the promotion, teased with the quote “A war (is) coming”. 

Often, he has stood in the shadows, in the background and on AEW programming, fans haven’t seen too much of him. Considering this and everything mentioned above, it’s time he steps into this role.

What of Jon Moxley?

The rest of the Death Riders can thrive Claudio Castagnoli just fine and the same as they did with Moxley and Danielson. But the more that things continue as they have, it would make sense in the storyline to have a seismic shift change the group once more. They don’t even have to change the name.

If his twilight in the stable comes by a betrayal, this can leave Moxley in a state where he understands who he is again. He’d be alone, with several of his bridges burned, the embers flickering out long ago. Or, he could remain in the group if the Death Riders so wish, under the direction of Castagnoli.

Moxley would enter this environment as a captain whose crew mutinied against him. Could he repair the fractured relationships with other wrestlers? Can he make peace with enemies? The character Moxley is, he’d be stubborn and scrappy, likely to catch loss after loss, unable to climb up that hill. He didn’t get this far by giving up. Ultimately, though, he’d have to shed the mentality that spawned the Death Riders from Blackpool Combat Club’s ashes to stand a chance.

What’s important to note is that AEW is swimming in a sea of heels. That’s where Moxley comes in; he can be that underdog, yet badass, babyface to challenge this swarm.

In retrospect, the Blackpool Combat Club and Death Riders accomplished their mission by heightening the AEW roster’s potential. In giving AEW’s wrestlers a threat, everyone worked to their full potential. There’s nothing more Moxley can do, but Castagnoli can take the group to another level. To him, there are no limits to the Death Riders as he said in a recent interview with Wrestling Republic.

The Death Riders need to become stricter, meaner. They don’t have a roster to inspire through rage, spirit, or hate anymore. Now, it’s time to take for themselves, not as a band of outlaws, but as a hostile force, a militia of killers. Through this, a relentless approach is needed. Everything must be seized by force.

I am of the mind that Castagnoli is far better than given credit for, but hasn’t had the same time to shine and has done just enough to get by in a still great spot in the company. Were he given this spot, the Swiss wrestler can transform the Death Riders into something soulless like a fascist military seeking a coup to usurp the status quo. Furthermore, he has shown he cares for his teammates, adding an emotional core that would translate well under his authority.

With that in mind, this reinvention of the Death Riders can keep the title scene interesting with multiple shifts in the card. Wrestlers could come out of this better or worse than they started — sink or swim.

As the Don Callis Family faces their own plot developments from in-fighting to championship pursuits, the Death Riders will need something else. They’ll need to stand out. That’s what professional wrestling as a business does: it evolves and reinvents itself for the next generation.

The time is now for WWE’s youth movement to truly begin | Column

Posted on by Corey Michaels

The following is opinion-based and reflects that of the author and not our website.

It’s customary in professional wrestling promotions to start early when elevating young talent. All-Japan Pro Wrestling did so in the 1990s with the Four Pillars of Heaven. New Japan Pro Wrestling has achieved this with three iterations of the Three Musketeers and through the development of Kazuchika Okada. In fact, their Young Lion system is for the sole purpose of priming young talent.

Recently, an image circulated on social media comparing the ages of WWE wrestlers in 2025 to those on the 2000 roster. Most of the wrestlers in the current main event picture are in their late 30s to their late 40s. Juxtaposed with 2000, it’s a considerable gap. For instance, The Rock and Big Show were in their late 20s, whereas the oldest was Steve Austin at 36. The 2000’s oldest are younger than 2025’s youngest, who was Gunther.

From an X post:

Though this is a broad overview, it’s symptomatic of a larger issue with WWE. Since the late 2010s, WWE has been hesitant in creating young stars who could generate money through rivalries and spectacular matches. Despite recent improvements following the regime change this decade, it seems that there are inconsistencies and gaps in what should be a melting pot of generations in WWE’s main roster.

When WWE Got it Right

Every so often, WWE would cultivate newer generations of wrestlers as previous iterations aged out. In the early ’90s, the roster included young Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Undertaker, Razor Ramon and Diesel. In the 2000s, the OVW class of John Cena, Batista, Brock Lesnar, Shelton Benjamin and Randy Orton found its footing. Even in the 2010s, The Shield and Wyatt Family highlighted who WWE wanted in the big picture as its future.

What these eras mean is that WWE understands there’s an importance in fostering later generations, just not when. For example, the Attitude Era only propelled WWE back into a boom period when they needed to move with the most popular stars from Austin to The Rock to Kurt Angle. When WCW forced Vince McMahon’s hand during those iconic 83 weeks, he had to reinvent so many ways in which he operated.

Through the merit of hungry talent competing to be the top dog, WWE prospered, eventually leaving WCW in the dust. Although, there’s a lot that factored into the outcome of the Monday Night Wars. That aside, if WWE could make the New Generation and Ruthless Aggression wrestlers become household names once before, they can do it again. 

In fact, the WWE’s women’s division is an exception to the main roster product. There are already huge young stars. Roxanne Perez, Rhea Ripley, Stephanie Vaquer and Giulia are in their 20s to early 30s while talent beyond that range are still allowed to be in their notable spots. Now, stars are easily made in that division, while others can still hold their spots and help pass the torch when needed.

Pulling the Trigger

For the men’s roster, they haven’t been so lucky. Bron Breakker is already a huge star, but lacks that “umph” which could propel him higher. Following The Vision’s betrayal of Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel, he should have become a huge star instantly. That’s the moment you observe what landed in your lap. You pivot. Deliver something unpredictable that can utterly transform a talent overnight. 

Instead, the following week, he was cost a spot in a battle royal to determine who would face CM Punk for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. That should have been the spot to pull the trigger and instantly have someone feel like a megastar. Not every big plan has to wait until WrestleMania.

Similarly, Carmelo Hayes has toiled uncomfortably long after a grand series of matches against Andrade and a meandering program with The Miz. Back in NXT, Hayes was the top star in the men’s division, probably one of the best since the days of Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole.

The hesitancy to pull the trigger at the right moment will cost WWE dearly when their top talents age out and there are few wrestlers left to fill their spots. 

The Future is Now

CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, LA Knight, Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton will inevitably step away from the squared circle. John Cena and AJ Styles are already wrapping up their time in the limelight with their retirements looming at the time of this writing. Time is running out.

If they want to focus on the main roster, stars like Ilja Dragunov, Ludwig Kaiser and Rey Fenix can get an early start and easily fill those slots. NXT talent can also provide some additional substance to a main roster call-up. They could all readily take the torch passed to them and create an exciting future for WWE while also maintaining depth in the undercard. NXT is there for that reason whether it’s indie darlings traipsing into the Performance Center or new prospects like the NIL recruits.

With current champions CM Punk (World Heavyweight), John Cena (Intercontinental), and AJ Styles (World Tag Team) at a combined 140+ years old, the opportunity for more junior talent is there. Seizing gold from a huge name in the industry can alter a fresh talent’s trajectory rather speedily. That would be almost like if Batista or Orton ended the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak in the 2000s.

The Show Must Go On

It’s not as though fresh blood isn’t at the forefront of some of WWE’s biggest angles. Ripley remains one of the women’s division’s most recognizable stars with Stephanie Vaquer and Dominik Mysterio trailing closely behind, all three in their 20s. Bron Breakker is already in high gear, but is still far from reaching his full current potential. 28-year-old Maxxine Dupri’s year-long visible improvement culminated in her becoming Women’s Intercontinental Champion on last week’s Raw. 

WWE will soon need drawing attractions that aren’t nostalgia pops. It pains me to say that as I must admit that I do genuinely love seeing the wrestlers I grew up watching still performing. But it’s time to paint the picture of the future. Holding back right now runs the risk of wrestlers not getting as over as they would have been the moment the iron should have been struck. 

The audience wants to care. They want to invest. Don’t dangle the keys for too long, and don’t wait for some big PLE. Keep fans on their toes and leave them salivating to tune in before it’s too late.

Whether in a developmental role or jumping from another promotion, the way WWE positions newly-acquired wrestlers matters. For the company, finding out which talent can sink or swim makes all the difference for their bottom line.

As a fan, I’d love to see this type of development. One aspect that I love about AEW is that Tony Khan’s promotion has already created momentum for his young wrestlers. Most of their big stars are in their 20s and early 30s. They got over with the AEW crowds, and some have even won gold.

For a period, WWE almost shared this perspective on talent. After decades of squandering indie darlings and other promising prospects from the previous regime, the Paul Levesque era seemed optimistic in this regard. Instead, the company appears to be resting on its laurels, not bringing that same fiery energy seen from 2022-24. 

I’m not declaring that the company must have young blood at the top of the card at all times, just that WWE needs to invest in fresher faces early to prepare for when their current biggest names step away.

Their time is now.

Column: Why AEW Dynamite and Tony Khan cannot ‘win’ on Tuesday night

Posted on by Jake Skudder

AEW Dynamite will be airing a daily earlier this week for their annual Title Tuesday episode with Collision airing the next night. It’s not the first time they are running on a Tuesday night and it also isn’t the first time that they will be going head-to-head with WWE’s NXT brand but this time , it’s a no-win situation for Tony Khan and company.

NXT has been doing crossover promotion with TNA for the past few months, and it all looks set to come to a head (creatively, at least) this Tuesday. The show was initially named Invasion, playing on the old 2001 PPV imagery and really pushing the idea that TNA could be a threat to NXT, but due to the historical significance of October 7 to Israel and the Hamas attacks, WWE changed the name to Showdown.

The card for Showdown, as of this writing, looks pretty much finalized with both companies putting their biggest talent forward in elimination matches in addition to a winner takes all Tag Team title match between The Hardyz and DarkState.

By contrast, Dynamite (again as of this writing) only has a Mercedes Mone open challenge confirmed for the card in addition to match between Brodido and Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada that may be postponed due to Bandido’s injury and a street fight between The Hurt Syndicate and The Demand.

We saw during the Wednesday Night Wars that both companies were more than willing to try and get ahead of each other in terms of television ratings, but it’s looking this time that Khan may be focusing more on the ongoing television creative week-to-week rather than hotshotting their own version of a supercard together to combat what is going on at The CW.

The problem here is that Khan and AEW are pretty much in a no-win situation and, ironically, it’s almost a complete flip from where NXT was back when AEW started airing on Wednesday nights in 2019.

Why Tony Khan can’t win

Khan and AEW are in a difficult position and when I say that they can’t “win,” I mean from a perception standpoint: AEW can either beat WWE’s third brand by loading up and doing a random one-off card, or they lose outright to WWE’s third brand.

The NXT of 2025 is not like the NXT of 2019 or the years proceeding. Long gone are the days when NXT TakeOver shows would be the highlight of a PPV weekend with the likes of Adam Cole, Sami Zayn, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Johnny Gargano, etc. putting on cards that would rival anything else in the industry.

Now, we’re genuinely seeing a developmental brand where either established names begin to learn the WWE style (Ricky Saints, Ethan Page) or younger names get their reps in on television (Trick Williams, Lola Vice).

So how do you approach this situation if you’re Tony Khan? Do you keep serving the television audience and stay the course with your current storylines, or do you try and counteract what WWE is doing on Tuesday night? From a perception standpoint, AEW simply cannot win either way. They either look flustered by the competition or they just hope that they have enough going creatively to beat a big invasion-esque storyline.

Why WWE and TNA will win

So if Khan and AEW can’t win on Tuesday, does that mean that WWE and TNA will actually win? Yes, it does. TNA is more than likely heading to The CW on Wednesday nights to compete head-to-head with AEW, and it’s a defacto way for WWE to go head-to-head with AEW without an actual branch of the company having to do so.

If TNA ends up beating AEW, that’s great for WWE business. But if they don’t? It’s only TNA will be the excuse. TNA gets a huge push in terms of branding on Tuesday night ahead of their new television deal set to be announced and NXT gets a differential and a big moment on Tuesday when the two brands collide — all without it actually looking like a hotshotted show to compete with Title Tuesday on TBS.

If AEW does better ratings than NXT? Well, it’s AEW’s biggest weekly show so it should be doing better ratings from a perspective standpoint, and WWE can essentially lay the blame at TNA’s door. If NXT vs. TNA beats AEW in the ratings, it’s a genuine perception changer for TNA. At least, that is how they will try to position themselves ahead of a potential Wednesday night move and WWE will get one over on the only real competition left with zero risk.

Triple H was in charge of NXT when AEW were beating them on television weekly and it led to Vince McMahon completely changing how NXT worked as a brand. With Triple H now in charge of creative on the main roster, there has to at least be a part of him that relishes the idea of sticking it to Tony Khan and AEW Dynamite one more time with “his” brand.

It will be nice to (we hope) see the AEW World title again | Opinion

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

The following is opinion-based and reflects that of the author and not the website.

It has been 274 long days, but today, we finally get to see an old friend again after AEW All In: the AEW World title belt.

Trapped in an enhanced briefcase since last October’s WrestleDream, the symbol of everything that those in the company strive and compete for will see sunlight once again. It’s been basically four seasons worth of hiding for our old friend and we are now hours away from seeing it in all its glory.

That is definitely going to happen, right? There’s no way Hangman Page doesn’t come out of Arlington as your AEW World Champion for the second time and have the big moment with fireworks and the AEW good guys including Bryan Danielson and Darby Allin surrounding him, right?

(You nodding in approval.) Ok, good.

Because the opposite – Jon Moxley retaining the title – would be a really bad decision. No offense, Jon, but it’s time.

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I’m sure they are out there, but I don’t feel like there’s a big or vocal fan base for the Death Riders which perhaps was the idea to begin with. Being a heel in 2025 seems to be extremely hard for reasons I’ll write about another day, but Moxley and his crew have pulled off one aspect: no one seems to like them or like seeing them on TV.

At times, this fourth Moxley run has felt like, well, a lot. There was a little intrigue at first when he mentioned this whole movement was about something bigger which some took to wishcast Shane McMahon as the end all, be all behind it. That obviously didn’t happen and the group had a focus on, uh, something which has been disrupting matches and causing chaos just because. There seemed to be a focus on one point of them winning all the AEW titles, but that stopped and ended with the Trios titles. Why? Who knows. (Also, if Moxley hid the World title as a symbolic move, why didn’t they do the same when they won the Trios belts?) 

The remnants of the Blackpool Combat Club weren’t exactly elevated along the way. Claudio Castagnoli feels he’s always going to be Claudio Castagnoli while Wheeler Yuta does have a great opportunity to cash the hated heel checks for a long time. I keep forgetting PAC is part of the group but getting hurt a lot will do that. Gabe Kidd is a convenient fly-in part of the gang when they need him to be.

And then, there is Marina Shafir who has played the Chyna role in beating up men with relative ease but for some reason, has had no storyline interest in wrestling for any titles and also for some reason, only one woman has seemed to have an issue with her in Willow Nightingale. This feels like a situation where Tony Khan isn’t quite sure what to do with her. She has wrestled just three times in AEW and another three times in ROH since Moxley won the title which feels like a missed opportunity if you wanted to make the group really dominant.

The Death Riders as we know them are coming to a long-awaited end. What comes next (a heel Daniel Garcia sending Moxley packing on a vacation?) could be fun, but it can’t be this anymore. It just can’t.

**********

That brings us to that hidden title belt – the idea of which I have despised since I realized it was going to be a thing after Moxley won it. One thing I am a firm believer in is that the World title is the most important thing to a combat sports promotion — the North Star for anyone competing because why wouldn’t it be? If you’re not ultimately gunning for the top title, what’s the point?

AEW has had past issues with their World title not feeling like the most important angle/match on their pay-per-views, something Tony Khan has wisely course corrected in the last six months or so. Regardless of what happens today (outside a combo of a Moxley win and Swerve Strickland & Will Ospreay losing), there’s a sensible mix of top contenders and stories to be told that can result in true World title PPV headlining matches. 

But the only way that happens is with Page winning the title today and removing it from that god damn briefcase. As a wise man once said, cowboy up.