The Pro Wrestling Rant

Welcome to the first edition of the Pro Wrestling Rant, with me, your host, Nick Whitworth!

· Jordynne Graces signs with WWE

Unless you are living under a rock, the news of Grace signing with WWE isn’t shocking news. Instead, it is more of a “finally”. From her surprise appearance in the ’24 Royal Rumble, in which she looked right at home by the way, right up to her NXT appearances we all knew she was headed there as soon as her contract was up.

Typically, new hires start in NXT to adapt to the WWE style (both in-ring and positioning for live shows) but some (Penta) have been exposed to that and can make the jump straight to the main roster. Since Jordynne being with TNA Wrestling, she had the same exposure. Plus the WWE fanbase already knows who she is so a NXT run should be out of the picture.

With her star power I personally would include her in this weekend’s Women’s Royal Rumble match. Call me crazy here* I would have her win it. I would thrust her right into the main event scene and have her capture Raw or Smackdown’s Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania.

I would then build her up for the full 2025 as the unstoppable champion. Then at next year’s Mania, she would be challenged by NXTs own Giulia. Grace vs Giulia can be one of the biggest, most marquee matches in WWE history. *Mic drop*

· Jonathan Gresham’s TNA contract expires

News broke of Gresham’s free agency from his wife, Jordynne Grace. I am hoping this could lead to him signing with WWE. I know he isn’t the typical 6’0+ tall main event talent, his in-ring work alone makes him stand 7’tall. He is the type of talent that can mix it up with any style and make it magical. For me personally, not signing him would be a darn shame.

I would even go as far as to pair him and Grace and a power duo. The money they can make together as an unstoppable force is wild. If left solo and was left with the cuffs off, it doesn’t matter who is thrown at him, he would transform it into magic.

Gresham vs Gable, Gresham vs Balor, Gresham vs Rollins…….

· Josh Alexander’s upcoming free agency

There is no doubt TNA will try hard to lure him back. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if WWE, NJPW and AEW all vied for his talent.

With Ethan Page currently in NXT and his history with Josh, I would be surprised if he went elsewhere. Like I said previously about Grace not needing NXT, Alexander is the same. But….. but there is already a story there.

Creative already has something to work with. Whether they go straight to Page vs Alexander is a wait-and-see moment. Personally, I would start back at the beginning and have The North takeover NXT.

Ethan Page vs Josh Alexander can be a mega-money feud in WWE so I would do some long-term booking here leading to them splitting up on the main roster. Let them dominate the NXT tag division then run wild on the main roster. Then slowly have Page get fed up and turn on Alexander then let Josh show the WWE Universe exactly why he is dubbed The Walking Weapon.

· Does AEW need a NXT?

There has been a lot of chatter from both fans and people in the business that say Tony Khan had brought in a lot of young talent with limited experience then never put any effort into developing them any further.

With AEW not really running Live Events (house shows) where these younger wrestlers can build on their skills, they don’t really have anywhere to grow. I know Tony allows his talents to work Indie shows but many don’t. So how can one gain more experience without putting in the work?

If All Elite Wrestling had their own Performance Centre where they could have wrestlers like Hook (for example) go and learn it would be way more beneficial to the overall company’s growth, than by just having him wrestle once in a blue moon with the same type of matches.

· AEW PC

An AEW PC is an investment and since Mr. Khan knows business he should see the value in the continued growth of his team. If not, their growth is stunted or they become complacent instead of always challenging themselves to improve, improve, improve.

Of course, fans would slam AEW with online hate, but facts are facts and by investing in the company’s growth is one of the biggest factors of growth. A roster always revolves, just like any job. People retire or move on to newer positions and other workers take over their positions.

The same goes for wrestling. A lot of AEW’s big names don’t have a boat-load of in-ring time left so Tony would be insanely smart to start now by having the next generation fully ready for when the time comes.

I would also take one of their numerous live shows and transfer it to a NXT type style of show. A chance for these youngsters to gain consistent experience all the while getting their name out there. Again, it is a win-win situation for all involved and while WWE fans may lay claim that AEW is copying them then they need to realize business is business and you do what is needed for the overall growth of your company.

Burger King-McDonalds, KFC-Popeye’s, etc. Same type of formulas with their own twists, just like AEW-WWE and the same would be for an AEW PC- NXT PC.

Well, that is all for my little pro wrestling rant today. Until next time, keep supporting Pro Wrestling as competition is always needed because challenges and good competition equals fantastic events.

Remember to check back for the next episode of the pro wrestling rant!