The Pro Wrestling Rant

Is it me, or is there quite an abundance of wrestling news lately? From releases to new signings to new championship wins, I feel like every time I hop online I come across some new piece of information. They say no news is good news, but then what in the hell would I rant about? Come on now.

Alrighty, let’s rant shall we.

• TNA on a contract-releasing frenzy

TNA has fought some decent battles since its inception — from building a consistent roster to landing TV rights to allowing Eric Bischoff to try to recreate the Monday Night Wars, which ended up really hurting the company’s momentum.

Producers Sami Callihan and Tommy Dreamer are no longer part of the team. The rumor is that TNA plans on hiring Road Dogg to help fill a producer role. It’s hard to say how well he’ll do in the role, since the Netflix docuseries WWE: Unreal made him look like he isn’t a good fit for a producer position.

Tessa Blanchard was granted her release, but her leaving had nothing to do with any backstage drama or shakeup — rather, her life is in Mexico, so it only makes sense for her to work full-time with CMLL, who are affiliated with AEW, WWE’s nemesis.

With no hard feelings, Tessa made a choice that better suited her family life. You can’t help but respect that. In America, the fans don’t forget her toxic history, so maybe in Mexico she can get a fresh start, so to speak.

Steve Maclin and guaranteed future TNA Hall of Famer Eric Young were granted their release from the company. Maclin, who had recently re-signed, didn’t like his direction — and obviously the direction the company was going — and figured he should get out of Dodge.

I would like to see Maclin make a return to WWE now that he’s established himself as a major player, especially given how he was used during his first run with the company. There is money to be made with him, so I’m hoping someone in the main office notices that and makes the call to bring him back.

Rumor has it EY is on his way back to WWE. His second run ended before he even made one appearance on television. He chose his morals over WWE money, quickly bouncing as soon as Vince McMahon returned. If he had just waited it out, he would have seen Vinny Mac come and go a few months later. Either way, you must applaud him for standing up for what he believes in.

As per Dave Meltzer, Young will be in a player/coach role in NXT. While I think that’s a perfect fit for him at this stage of his career, I would love to see him have at least one solid main roster storyline before he heads to NXT. I feel like WWE deserves to see what he brings to the table.

Either way, I’m just happy that his relationship with Paul Levesque always remained strong, even through the whole leaving-because-of-Vince situation. Obviously Papa H sees a lot in EY, and not only respects his work but also sees what he can do for the next generation of talent coming through the doors at the Performance Center.

Aiden Prince, Myla Grace, Executive Producer and Head of Creative Ariel Shnerer, and TNA Hall of Famer and legend, Talent Relations and Producer Gail Kim, were also shown the door due to cost-cutting and workforce reduction.

WWE would be wise to bring in Gail Kim (if she wants to, obviously) to help with NXT. Heck, she could easily have a solid backstage role on the main roster if she really wanted it.

Look, releases happen — it’s all part of business. Luckily, most will end up working for another promotion or making a nice chunk of change doing their rounds on the indie scene and at conventions. It’s not like back in the day, when there were only a few places to go work and make a living. Now we’re fortunate enough to have such a wide range of companies across the globe thriving thanks to the ever-growing popularity of independent wrestling.

TNA has recently re-signed Trey Miguel, Tasha Steele, Rich Swann, Allie, and Daria Rae, meaning they’re trying to lock down the ones they view as assets to the team moving forward. I’m sure some soon-to-be ex-WWE talent will make their way over to the company at some point, as they’ll need more star power to fill the gaps left by talents like Santana and Maclin.

• Sheamus leaving WWE

I was floored when I read this. I’m still hoping this is just a rib on all of us who think TKO is nothing but money-hungry pricks. Vince McMahon would never allow an almost 20-year employee to walk out the door without going above and beyond to retain them. As much of a chauvinistic egomaniac as he is, he was very loyal to the ones who were loyal to him. I’m sure he almost had a stroke when he heard Kofi and Woods were leaving.

As loaded as AEW’s roster is, you know darn well Tony Khan will go above and beyond to bring the Celtic Warrior on board. He’s an instant main-event-level talent who could cross over tomorrow and be one of the company’s biggest stars.

HHH must be shaking his head. If I were him, I’d ride out whatever contract he has, then pull a Cody Rhodes and start with a huge indie show before starting his own company. TKO has completely ruined WWE, and it’s damaging everything Trips built on his own. He was set up to fail when his father-in-law gave him the developmental brand, and he turned it into one of WWE’s hottest brands of all time. Now he’s given garbage and told to make a masterpiece out of it, all the while upper management still has their hands in it. Leave him alone and let him do what he does best. If things aren’t working, then jump in — but for God’s sake, leave creative alone.

I went a little off-topic there, but allowing a talent like Sheamus to walk out the door is a tough pill to swallow. I have been a WWE fan since the mid-80s. I have seen the highs and the lows, everything from incredible gimmicks like Kamala and “Macho Man” Randy Savage to childish characters like The Goon and Matt Morgan’s stuttering gimmick. Iconic matches like Hogan vs. Warrior to a waste of space like Vince & Shane McMahon vs. Shawn Michaels & God. I never imagined WWE would become a place where corporate greed has now outweighed any positives they’ve achieved since new ownership.

WWE is losing its place as the business wrestlers aspire to work for. The only ones you can blame are TKO themselves, unless they take the cuffs off creative and let them do what they do best. Until then, you will continue to lose the audience, especially with the over-the-top ticket prices on top of bad creative. Come on — you do not want to realize this after most of the damage has been done, because it might be way too hard to battle back from.

• WWE reportedly expected to sign Hiromu Takahashi, Richard Holliday, Mike Santana, Enzo Amore & Big Cass, Baron Corbin, and Zilla Fatu

Dang, WWE is swinging for the fences with some rumored signings. While I do love new signings, there are still members of the roster who deserve some spotlight too. Either way, these are some great additions if/when they happen.

Takahashi has been rumored since the former EVIL’s NXT arrival, so while the news is fantastic, it isn’t shocking.

Much like Naraku, Hiromu would most likely start off in NXT so he can adapt to the WWE style before making any big moves. I give him six months max before he’s main-roster bound.

His résumé is stacked, and I really hope he can be what Shinsuke Nakamura should have been on the main roster. His talents scream main event, so Triple H should be aware that he all but has a guaranteed main-event-level talent soon to be arriving.

HHH has had his eye on Richard Holliday for a few years now, but timing has been key. Now it seems Holliday has finally put ink to paper.

The indie darling should have no issues acclimating to the WWE way of doing things, and if creative does right by him, he’ll be a huge star for the company.

Former TNA World Champion Mike Santana’s rumored signing is more of an “I saw this coming a mile away.” With WWE’s partnership with TNA, and Santana’s feud with WWE’s Trick Williams for the TNA World Championship, he has shown he’s more than ready for a WWE main roster run.

The fact that he pinned current SmackDown superstar Ricky Saints to pick up the win for Team TNA at the NXT vs. TNA Showdown television special spoke volumes about how they view Santana and that he was on their radar to sign.

While obvious, he is a great signing for WWE.

“My name is Enzo Amore, and I am a certified G, and a bona fide stud. And you can’t teach that! And this right here, this is Big Cass, and he’s seven feet tall, and you can’t teach that! Bada boom, realest guys in the room!”

We all know Enzo and Big Cass are over with the audience, but I think Cass reinventing himself as Big Bill in AEW will help them get showcased on the regular, especially if WWE is using them to help kickstart their tag team division.

Amore is a decent hand, but Cass has the potential to be a major player down the road if WWE wants him to be. Amore could just be his mouthpiece while Cass does the ass-kicking. Hopefully that isn’t anytime soon, as their first run as a team was cut short by Amore’s outside issues.

Zilla Fatu to WWE has been speculated since he made his wrestling debut, especially at the height of the Bloodline storyline.

The son of the late, great Umaga is going to continue the legacy his father started, all the while creating his own along the way.

When people like Paul Heyman speak so highly of someone, you have no choice but to take notice. Zilla has done a great job so far making a name for himself. The main issue will always be the comparison to his father, which can hinder Zilla’s career — through both the fans’ and management’s eyes. He has balanced everything perfectly so far, but will WWE and the WWE fanbase do the same?

Fatu is on the path to being a future main eventer in WWE, and it seems that path is getting closer to reality.

The return of Baron Corbin is also rumored. His current MLW storyline — Major League Wrestling’s management being frustrated with his demands, stripping him of his MLW Tag Team Championship, and “locking him out” of the company — all but confirms his WWE return.

It’s a great storyline to end his MLW run while also leaving the door open for a potential return down the road. I did love his run with Donovan Dijak as The Skyscrapers and would love to see them link back up and tackle the WWE tag division, especially if WWE wants to stack up its tag team division.

All these potential signings bring something different to the table, and all have the potential to be major players in WWE. Let’s just hope they’re all given the chance to truly shine and that WWE doesn’t drop the ball.

• Sami Zayn wins the Undisputed WWE Championship and loses it nine days later

Absolute garbage. All of the blood, sweat, and tears, the injuries, his role in the Bloodline storyline, everything he has done — and he gets rewarded with this for a B.S. nine whole days.

I 100% understand storylines, but there was no need to run a CM Punk–Cody Rhodes storyline involving the Undisputed WWE Championship. That’s where I lost interest in watching this PLE.

This was WWE’s chance to give Zayn the run he has more than earned, and he should have been given the chance to run with it. I’m not sure why WWE or TKO don’t see the value in a Sami Zayn championship run. He’s a great heel and an even better babyface. He has all the tools that scream champion, yet the company views him only as a transitional champion. Screw off, WWE.

I could rant all day about this, but it all boils down to one thing: I absolutely loved seeing Zayn defeat Cody for the title, and I’m more than pissed off about what they did with him as champion.

• Mercedes Moné post: AEW WrestleDream vs. Davina Rose

Quite an interesting post Mercedes Moné made recently, which literally made the IWC explode. If you’re unaware, Davina Rose is the name current WWE superstar and all-but-guaranteed future WWE Hall of Famer Bayley used prior to WWE.

At first I thought it was a gutsy joke, but then, with all this TKO contract negotiation B.S., and realizing that Bayley’s contract is up in late 2026, it started to seem like a real possibility — especially with Moné’s post referencing AEW WrestleDream as the pay-per-view where this would happen, which is in October, also late 2026.

Like I’ve said previously in this rant, AEW’s roster is way too full, but with a talent like Bayley, you have no choice but to want to sign her and push her to the moon. If I were Tony Khan, I would trim some of the women’s division before bringing her in, so she isn’t causing anyone else to be shelved — she should be used to really build the division around.

Losing Bayley should never be a thought inside WWE, but with this being more on the realistic side of things, you can’t help but get excited. This would be the boost she needs at this stage of her career, as she’s pretty much done her thing in WWE. A fresh start would be a win — not only for her, but for whoever she faces, and for AEW as it continues to grow.

TNA could be an option, but with no disrespect, Bayley is a better fit in AEW. TNA could use Bayley’s star power, but I’m certain they couldn’t afford her.

Going forward, with the TKO contract shenanigans, let’s see who else walks away from the company. I could see quite a few doing so easily. Sad, but this is the new WWE.

All I know is one simple post generated so much excitement that you can’t help but get on board. Tony must be loving this new direction WWE is heading in. Bringing in Bayley is up there with some of the WCW–WWF back-and-forth, which, as we all know (for us old folks), drew some serious attention.

Bayley–Davina Rose, let’s gooooo.

• This & That

TNA Knockouts Television Title Tournament —

Smart move to generate some buzz for this new championship. It’s a great way to not only introduce the new title but also elevate the Knockouts division along the way. If they don’t want to play it safe, they need to really use this tournament to build up all the women as credible champions.

I want to see the winner be someone who had to grind to be crowned champion, not a former WWE superstar. This is TNA’s chance to create moments and build a solid roster of women who deserve it.

I say give it to a workhorse — someone you know can go out there week after week and really bring credibility to this new championship. Someone like Indi Hartwell, Elayna Black, or Rosemary would make for a great inaugural champion, but someone like Jody Threat is ideal.

Threat is ready to climb the ladder, and she’s more than ready to be the one to launch the Knockouts Television Championship.

The Great Khali retires —

Love him or hate him, he had your attention. While many dislike his WWE run, I enjoyed it. While he was no in-ring master, he was an attraction. His role was executed perfectly, and Vince got everything he wanted out of the big man.

He truly earned his spot in the WWE Hall of Fame (2021), whether you agree with it or not. You have to see that he played his role perfectly. Look at Andre the Giant — he didn’t move fast, but when he grabbed you, it was over.

I enjoyed his run, but I also knew his limitations and judged him solely on that. So maybe that’s why I was able to understand why he deserved to be in the WWE Hall of Fame instead of questioning the decision.

AAA —

The Undertaker and Lucha Libre teaming up is something I didn’t think could work. I was so wrong — Taker being a producer and creative consultant has been incredible, mind-blowingly so.

AAA’s weekly shows and big events have been amazing to watch. Nothing was really changed once WWE put its hands on things, and it’s been top-notch.

Taker plays a major role in putting on some incredible shows, so much so that it makes you wonder how long until the main roster needs him. Given his work with the Deadman gimmick, I should have known how creative his mind really is, but I’m glad that hadn’t fully registered with me before — I think that’s part of why I’m so shocked at how fantastic he is in his current role.

Kudos to WWE for giving him free rein, as it’s working perfectly. I watch the AAA shows on YouTube weekly and love every ounce of it. Great job.

Well, that’s all for me. Time to grab a coffee and put on this week’s episode of Lucha Libre AAA and watch some fantastic wrestling.

Nick Whitworth