It’s crazy to think that in a few short weeks John Cena will have had his last wrestling match of his career. For one, that sucks and makes me feel old, and two, he is going out on his own terms and ending it at the right time. Sad for the fans but great for John himself, especially with where his movie career has taken off.
Anyways, let’s get the show on the road shall we….
• Old school heel gimmicks are truly missed
I understand the business changed and gone are the off-the-wall gimmicks but for me the believability factor in today’s gimmicks is missing. Don’t get me wrong, some of today’s talent have incredible gimmicks, i.e., Jacob Fatu, but nothing beats the old school heels whose sheer looks would cause the fans’ hearts to start racing.
I can still vividly see the Wild Samoans here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, at a house show and damn near pee my pants. They scared the absolute crap out of me and that was just watching them walk down the aisle. Their look and mannerisms didn’t come across as “fake,” and at the time felt as real as real can be.
Talk about gimmick perfection, look at Bruiser Brody heading to the ring swinging his chain and you see the audience run away, literally petrified they were about to be eaten alive. Abdullah the Butcher was just plain ol’ scary. Even today as a 44-year-old these gimmicks are still scary, but being an adult shows me just how utterly perfect they were and how great of a talent these guys and gals were back then.
Sensational Sherri and Luna Vachon were in the same boat, scaring the snot out of a little Nick. While being terrifying, they were the complete package.
I am not saying today’s heels aren’t as good, I find them more talented inside the ring, but today’s heels need to do “heel” things to get the heel heat, whereas the Kamalas and the Demolition had you booing just off their presentation.
The late, great, iconic, in a league of his own Bray Wyatt not only fit the mold of character greatness, but he also stands at the top of the mountain as being the greatest character in wrestling history. Such a throwback character with a modern twist and used today’s technology to put together this perfect character. He mastered everything. The way he’d talk, the way he’d walk, the way he’d move around, just utter perfection.
While Bray is no longer with us, his brother and The Wyatt 6 bring that same level of character-heel masterpiece. They are so good that the audience loves them. They are honouring him exactly how he would want to be honoured, and it is just truly remarkable.
I know what you are thinking, Bray was cheered from the audience. He was, but he wasn’t always. He and The Wyatt Family were creepy, old school characters whose work was so good that the fanbase rallied behind them due to their level of character greatness.
I completely understand that in today’s day and age and how the business evolved that those days are behind us with kayfabe being dead, but I just truly think the characters of today don’t compare to the ones from back in the day. The in-ring work again is superb today. The athleticism is out of this world. Those true heel characters who had the fans trying to get a close look without being noticed, afraid of being caught and what the repercussions could be were beyond heart racing and it was amazing. I compare it to us adults going through a Haunted House. We know the characters inside are just paid employees, yet we are sweating bullets, heart racing, and the slightest sounds have us jumping 3 feet off of the ground and once we get back outside, we go on about how awesome that was.
• WWE, AEW or TNA: Best Women’s Division?
For years WWE treated its women’s division as a sexual joke. Forgoing any talent the ladies had, making them wrestle in their bras and panties for no apparent reason whatsoever. Finally, when talents AJ Lee, Mickie James, Victoria, Lita, etc., started to shift the Vince McMahon mindset on how to use the women’s talent, things would still go from hot to cold, inconsistency at its finest.
WWE didn’t view its women as equal until a decade or so ago. Even then it is still not equal, but that’s for another day. WWE finally is showcasing its Women’s Division in a positive light.
Truthfully, the only reason WWE started to view their female talent as talent and not eye candy was due to TNA and how their female roster was creating so much noise for the performances they were putting on that other companies needed to either get on board or move aside.
Awesome Kong vs. Gail Kim will be studied for years to come. They created magic and started a revolution that forced other companies to take notice. Not only were these two icons stealing the show night after night, but they were the main attraction. These two showed the fans that the women aren’t just as good as the men but have to push even harder for a fraction of the recognition.
They forced Vince McMahon and his son-in-law (running NXT) to get behind the women and allow them to show the audience just how great they are. Truthfully, if TNA didn’t get behind their women there would never have been WWE PLEs headlined by females. Heck, without Kong vs. Kim, there would never have been a women’s match headlining WrestleMania, the Super Bowl of wrestling.
All Elite Wrestling has been around for six years and have built up an incredible Women’s Division. Internet trolls like to say AEW is all ex-WWE stars, but the truth is that WWE was either silly to let these people go or showed their overall creative weakness to not know how to properly showcase many of these stars.
Back on the TNA train, they have continued to have a stacked Women’s Division whose talent can easily go toe to toe with any of the world’s best. I also find that TNA knows how to utilize all their divisions properly, and they have a fraction of TV time that the others do. They 100% maximize their time to the fullest. I mean, WWE took notice and started the NXT–TNA working relationship.
So, who has the best roster of women?
WWE will always aim to have the best of the best but at most times can’t figure out how to use most of the women’s roster. Besides WWE’s go-to with the likes of Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Rhea, etc., they tend to not know how to showcase the rest.
Chelsea Green has maximized every second she can and got herself over. Uber talented yet so underrated in WWE is Candice LeRae. How do you not know how to showcase a talent like LeRae? Just give her proper ring time and take the shackles off and she can go with the best of them.
Same thing with Giulia who I figured would have been strapped with the rocket right out of the gate. Again, why isn’t she in that ring doing what she does best instead of making Giulia the WWE version, a watered-down Giulia?
Michin, Nikki Cross and even Zelina are held back by lack of creative which again shows us how that company operates.
NXT has a solid roster but haven’t showcased Jordynne Grace how I thought they would have. The company has done a remarkable job with the former Mariah May and now finally seem to be able to get behind Zayda, who is an absolute beast like Jordynne. With Grace, I do expect her to be main roster bound after WrestleMania as she is more than ready to be put into the mix of Belair, Cargill and Iyo Sky.
AEW’s division is stacked but again tends to do the WWE thing of not knowing how to use talent. Deonna Purrazzo, Taya Valkyrie, Rachael Ellering and the list goes on. Look at Kamille—what exactly happened to her? She had a solid program started with Mercedes Moné and poof, she’s gone. Such a shame.
Much like WWE, AEW has a handful of women they showcase heavily which I understand. Business is business and those are the draws but how can others not have the chance to be in the position if the opportunities aren’t there? Talents need more than the odd or random match to get over with the audience. As soon as the audience senses the company doesn’t see much in them then they check out. Crickets
Toni Storm is the hottest women’s wrestler today. Her character work has been absolutely brilliant, and it easily matches her in-ring work. She bleeds money, and allowing her to take the gimmick and do what she has is probably the best creative decision the company has ever made.
TNA’s women’s roster is small but packs a serious punch. Indi Hartwell, Jody Threat, Killer Kelly, Rosemary and current Knockouts World Champion Lei Ying Lee can go toe to toe with any of the who’s who of both AEW and WWE’s Women’s Division.
The Masha Slamovich incident was unfortunate and hopefully those wounds can heal because she is such a remarkable talent who seemed to be positioned to make the switch to WWE much like Joe Hendry.
So, for me to say who has the best women’s roster is tough and truthfully all three have their own case as to why theirs is but me trying to think talent, business, the whole nine, I’m going to say All Elite Wrestling.
“Timeless” Toni Storm is the complete package, no ifs, ands or buts. She is the real deal. Mercedes Moné is the belt collector who has like what, 45 belts, and Athena’s incredible run as ROH Women’s World Champion really elevated not only herself but the title itself by making it be prestige. She added importance to the title and that translates over to the audience.
Still unsure if AEW has the best overall roster? Then line them all up and break it down and you will see where my choice came from. I like Rhea Ripley more than Mercedes Moné but from a business perspective Moné has been on fire. From AEW television to independent promotions across the globe, she has been slaying it.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Who in your opinion has the better Women’s Division, WWE, TNA or AEW?
• The Low-Key Legend is coming
I remember hearing about Nattie Neidhart back when she first broke into the business. She has wrestling in her blood and with her natural talent plus family connections she was able to land a lot of eyes on her.
Natalya is exactly the person when you picture a WWE Superstar. Not just in-ring talent but also how they conduct themselves outside of the ring. She is exactly who you want to have at the head of the table.
Almost 20 years in WWE, held both the Divas and Women’s Championships, competed all over the globe, she always laid it all out inside the squared circle. Nattie is also the longest-tenured female in WWE plus set six Guinness Book of World Records. To top that off, Natalya did all this while being tied down with those ever-so-common WWE restraints.
I have always said that if WWE would allow Nattie to be Nattie there is not one person in WWE who would stop her. Her talent far exceeds what the WWE audience has been getting. I personally gave up hope on WWE releasing her from their restraints because they viewed her as just a regular ol’ wrestler.
Since Triple H took over the company (Nick Khan deserves credit here too), talent have been popping up at independent shows across the globe. This past WrestleMania weekend, Natalya was allowed to wrestle for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport and then went on to appear for NWA, ROW, and once again Bloodsport all under “The Low-Key Legend” Nattie Neidhart.
She was removed from everything holding her back and showed the world just how talented and ruthless she is. There was now this incredible buzz surrounding someone who deserves all of her flowers while being a true company person who will do what is needed and do it at her absolute best. No ifs, ands or buts.
Last week WWE released a vignette of Maxxine Dupri training with someone who was later revealed to be Nattie Neidhart. WWE saw what she did on her own and they want a piece of that Nattie pie. They see this version is not only a reinvention of Neidhart but it is a whole different person and this person isn’t here to play any more games.
If WWE holds back on the control aspect and allows Nattie to do what she did on her own, then WWE is about to have a new megastar on their hands. Trust me, you’re going to want to watch this ride she is about to take us all on.
• TNA contracts expiring
When it rains it pours. Fresh off TNA’s AMC television deal, the company has quite a bit of contracts expiring soon and they need to shit or get off the pot because they can’t lose too many key players right after landing this deal. It could hurt their current momentum they’ve got.
While I have been a major TNA fan since its inception, at the time I lived in the Canadian Arctic and could only watch TNA every Saturday morning on French television. I watched them ride that wrestling wave of ups and downs and all in between but right now with the buzz they are on they can’t afford any bumps along the road. If they can’t sign everyone then they have to sign who are the right ones from a business side of things.
Personally, I can see most of them re-sign, minus Santana and Alexander (Jody Threat, Mustafa Ali, AJ Francis, Jake Something, Mike Santana, The Rascalz, Steve Maclin – expiring and Rich Swann, Matt Cardona, The IInspiration and Cedric Alexander – working with no deals).
Rumours are WWE is interested in landing Mike Santana as he’s been a big hit in NXT, and I think he would be a great fit for them. He’s been on NXT television and PLEs, so it makes sense that is the plan. Cedric, if he is not AEW-bound to be with the boys of The Hurt Syndicate, then I wouldn’t see why he wouldn’t re-sign, but my gut says he is going to be All Elite.
I absolutely love The Rascalz and would love to see all four go to WWE in a package deal. Dezmond Xavier, Wes Lee in NXT, and Zachary Wentz, Nash Carter in NXT, were pushed right out of the gate in NXT but that whole Wentz/Kimber Lee situation stopped as they just started flying, so a solid redemption would be nice. Add Trey Miguel and Myron Reed to the mix and WWE has so many avenues to go down with the foursome.
Steve Maclin and AJ Francis came into their own working in TNA so I would hate to take them away just yet. Matt Cardona, as much as I would love to see him back in WWE, I would hate it to be back under the Zack Ryder gimmick. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great gimmick that he got over, but Matt Cardona changed how indie wrestlers work. He went out and changed the game and learned how to market yourself the most profitable way possible and I don’t see HHH giving him free reign on his character and merchandise. If he is going to get a semi-big push then slide back down the card, Cardona should just stay put with TNA and continue to do his indie stuff as well.
If I were WWE, I’d sign Jody Threat ASAP. Her style is what makes her so great to watch. She will beat the pants off you all the while adapting and overcoming her opponent’s style of wrestling. Threat is one of the most confident wrestlers on the market and I think from a business perspective she checks all the boxes. She would be a great fit on either Raw or SmackDown.
At the end of the day, TNA needs to sign who they think will help usher in this new era, especially with the AMC television debut on the horizon. They need to sign great wrestlers who are extremely marketable in all aspects of business, and judging by this list there are a nice chunk of whom I’d hate to see TNA lose.
Nick Whitworth
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