What a whirlwind of a week in the wrestling world. Such a mixed bag of emotions — the highs and lows play tricks on the ol’ noggin. Started off super ticked off with WWE and how they’ve been doing business, to jumping for joy when we got a surprise on NXT, to a 4-hour AEW television show. No wonder we all drink… Anyways, let’s rant, shall we?
• Mariah May arrived in NXT:
Well, that was quick. May’s AEW profile was removed from the company website just a few short days ago, and then she pops up on NXT. HBK isn’t wasting any time here.
While I am sure over the next week or so we will find out Mariah’s WWE name (since the commentators did not once mention her by name), for now, I will still call her Mariah May.
Love her or hate her, Mariah’s story is something straight out of a movie. WWE should really use that heavily at the start of her run, as it’ll not only let the WWE Universe know who she is, but it is the perfect way for the fans to connect with her.
In 2019, May participated in a WWE tryout. Over a grueling three days, she was informed WWE wasn’t interested at this time. For some, that could wipe away all the hopes and dreams they had, but May turned that into motivation.
She mapped out a plan that would lead to her main goal of being a WWE Superstar. May gained experience all over the UK, which landed her in the iconic World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion.
If you know wrestling, then you know how big of a deal Stardom is. It is a major platform to get your name out there while adding more experience to the résumé under one of the toughest promotions out there.
Tony Khan and AEW snagged her as quickly as they could — and rightfully so. May became a main-event-level talent who put in all the work she possibly could and, within a year in AEW, she became the AEW Women’s World Champion.
Still, her main goal and dream was WWE, and guess what… WWE was watching her.
Word got out that May’s contract was up and she was WWE-bound. To all our surprise, it not only happened quickly — she is now officially a WWE Superstar.
I will stop you right there if you’re on the “why is she in NXT and not on the main roster” train. WWE just called up numerous women to Raw and SmackDown, which means:
- NXT needs some star power; and
- Smart move on WWE’s part, as she would get lost in the shuffle with the abundance of female talent on the main roster.
Her time will come, so be patient. When it does, she will go on to have an incredible run with WWE, and her story will be studied for years. The next generation and the ones that follow will learn how to dream big and how to go out there and get it.
She dreamed of being a WWE Superstar and went out there and literally did everything she possibly could to land her dream job. She used the competition as a way to get herself over and worked her ass off, all the while laser-focused on that big dream. And here we are — Mariah May is a WWE Superstar.
• Vaquer on Raw & rumored Grace SmackDown bound:
La Primera is now a member of the Raw brand and hasn’t wasted any time letting the WWE Universe know she is taking over.
Stephanie Vaquer signed with WWE less than a year ago after shocking the wrestling world, as it seemed obvious she was All Elite bound. Khan was slow to sign her, so WWE swooped in and quickly had her put pen to paper.
In that short period of time in NXT, she won the Women’s North American Championship, the NXT Women’s Championship, became the first NXT double champion, headlined numerous NXT events, and was also an entrant in this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble match. It was obvious WWE had big plans for her on the main roster.
Like typical fashion, where call-ups are made the week after every WrestleMania, Vaquer’s call-up that Raw (not officially, might I say) was not only her first Raw appearance but also saw her face the Women’s World Champion Iyo Sky.
Until the official Adam Pearce announcement was made, Vaquer battled the likes of Roxanne Perez and Jordynne Grace before dropping the NXT Women’s title to Jacy Jayne. It was a great way to show the beast that Stephanie is — by going toe-to-toe with Perez and Grace, and then passing the torch, so to speak, to Jayne.
Vaquer immediately showed the world WWE has high hopes for her, as this past Monday on Raw she won a triple threat match, landing her a spot in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match at the upcoming MITB PLE.
Jordynne Grace has been a major hit with the WWE audience right from her surprise Royal Rumble debut two Rumbles ago, so we all knew she was going to be showcased like the natural talent she is. When she finally signed with WWE, it was “said to be a main roster salary,” yet people were confused as to why she started out in NXT. Her television exposure working with TNA already gave her an edge over other outside talent, so the wrestling world was confused.
I knew her NXT run wouldn’t be long — it was just used to keep her name out there, waiting for the WrestleMania season to end before inserting her. If WWE had listened to the fans, she would have just sat in catering because the shows were revolving around Mania. Smart move by WWE for the NXT position.
Word on the street is she is SmackDown bound, which is such a perfect place for her. Her overall package suits the blue brand, as they have the likes of Naomi, Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair, Charlotte, Giulia, etc. The potential feuds for Grace are incredible here and such a smart, strategic move.
It’s only a matter of time before Jordynne is the WWE Women’s Champion — and I say within this season (up to WrestleMania 42). I’m sure I wrote about this before, but if WWE wanted a major marquee Mania matchup, I would go with Jordynne Grace vs. Giulia, with the latter being the Women’s Champion. If not, then crown Giulia champ at Mania 42 and have the year to really build this match up. I promise you, it will go down as one of the absolute best women’s matches in WWE history — and nobody can change my mind.
All I know is, adding Vaquer and Grace, plus the recent addition of Roxanne Perez to the main roster, makes the company’s overall Women’s Division look like it was drawn up as an “All-Star” type roster. Absolutely incredible — with even more on deck down in NXT (i.e., Mariah May). It’s such an exciting time to be a fan of women’s wrestling absolutely dominating the sport.
• R-Truth, Carlito & Valhalla contracts not renewed — and possibly more:
So let me get this straight. WWE decided not to re-sign someone who has been a dedicated, well-beloved figure both backstage and with fans — someone who has been with the company for almost 20 years. Not re-signing a 48/7, 24/7, 7/11, I-95 South European Champion? I understand business and how the wrestling industry operates, but this move I just can’t figure out. This math doesn’t add up. WWE-TKO, show me your work.
Just on overall morale alone, this doesn’t make sense. In any company, morale plays a major factor in great productivity. It has been well known that having Truth in the locker room is exactly what the talent needs. While the road schedule isn’t like it used to be, the locker room is their home away from home — and having his presence alone puts smiles on everyone’s faces.
While he hasn’t been heavily featured, he still plays an important role. He takes on anything thrown his way and hits it out of the park. He can take a dollar bill and transform it into a hundred-dollar bill. Any match, skit, promo, presence — he had the entire audience’s attention. The wrestling world absolutely loved every second R-Truth was featured.
So again, not seeing any value in someone who is loved by literally every single person makes zero sense. Unless WWE plans on using him in more of an ambassador role than on-screen talent, then that somewhat makes things easier to understand — but again, they should have just announced that. Since they didn’t, it’s obvious WWE sees zero value in keeping him on the payroll. Sad. Real sad.
I truly hope Tony Khan snags him and offers him more than he would expect in a salary. He is too incredibly talented to just let go. I hope the AEW roster is pushing Tony to sign Truth as soon as he becomes available — he would make a fantastic addition to any roster.
WWE did the same with Valhalla, a.k.a. Sarah Logan. This one stings because she was never really given the chance to shine.
Logan started her main roster run great, featured as one-third of The Riott Squad, laying the groundwork for what I thought would be a great run in WWE. Wrong…
I can’t, for the life of me, understand how WWE fumbled that one. Not surprising she was released during the COVID budget cuts. She returned at the 2022 Royal Rumble and aligned with her husband and his partner, The War Raiders. Friggin’ Vince. “The Viking Experience.” SMH.
Logan went on to have another child in 2024, and in the midst of planning her return, she — much like Truth — was told her contract wouldn’t be renewed. Whether she was Sarah Logan or Valhalla, I don’t get how Triple H didn’t see a place for her on his roster.
While an AEW run could happen, I’d love for her to sign with TNA, as I think she would be valued the most there.
Carlito is in the same boat. I was taken aback by this one due to the fact he was featured quite often in Judgment Day segments and whatnot. Even if he didn’t say a word, the fact he was there with his group showed his importance.
With WWE continuing to expand globally, I figured WWE would also use Carlito as an ambassador to the Puerto Rican community. WWE is a global enterprise, and to be one, you need talent from all backgrounds who can inspire the next generation of wrestlers.
Puerto Rico has incredible history in the wrestling business, and WWE needs to highlight that.
While Carlito’s current run hasn’t been spectacular, we all know what he is capable of. He’s still in his prime and has a lot of fuel left in the tank. For some reason, Triple H hasn’t fully capitalized on that — and obviously won’t now.
Like I’ve said before, releasing talent who weren’t used to their full potential is a major flaw in how WWE does business. WWE wasted numerous talents who had the potential to be marketing dreams. WWE has its select few who are their golden ones, and the rest are just numbers filling in the gaps. Such a friggin’ shame.
Now people are talking about The Miz. Supposedly, age plays a major factor in WWE’s releasing strategy now as they transition to younger talent. Once R-Truth was told he wouldn’t be re-signed, The Miz was livid. On top of that, he deleted anything wrestling-related on his X account — which has now caused a buzz about him being next.
While The Miz has a plethora of haters, I for one have been a major fan of his for most of his career. Call him whatever you want, but he is an incredible in-your-face, pompous talent who’s a natural at pissing everybody off. He doesn’t get the respect he truly deserves. Heck, a few years back he was red hot.
So… what the heck is going on in WWE? While I’m anti-Vince, he would never have made the decision to release R-Truth, and I couldn’t see him doing that to Miz either. While Vince was a complete douchebag who viewed his talent as minions and thought of women as just sexual eye candy, he had his select few he was ride-or-die for — and Truth was one of them.
I would think Triple H’s opinion would matter, since he manages the talent — but maybe H isn’t all that we thought he was because of his iconic NXT days. If he understood business — not just money, but what’s best for business — he would see that talent like R-Truth should have a contract until he’s 100 years old, and he should have seen where the money lies with Sarah Logan. Heck, a good chunk of the women who were recently released all had the talent to be major players in WWE but were never given the chance.
Hiring wrestlers with no plan is always odd to me. H was very big on Vince needing a solid plan before bringing NXT wrestlers up to the main roster. Well — same goes for him. And he did the exact same thing. Blair Davenport should be a major player on SmackDown right now, but she wasn’t given a chance. That entire list of talent was let go before they could even show their worth.
Again, WWE is in a transitional period, but letting people go who weren’t even given an opportunity — or looking at age as a factor for re-signing — does little for the transition. It’ll end up like it did when WWE went PG. And the only one to blame is Triple H himself.
Ok, time for me to pour a glass of whiskey, pop on some tunes, and veg out. I need to let my brain/brian (it’s my thing I do when I say brain because I’m always nervous I’ll send a message and screw it up — “oh man my brian is killing me”) chill and get ready for a wild weekend of wrasslin’. Until then, let’s sip this whiskey, shall we?
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