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King: Survivor Series 2001 (Team Alliance vs. Team WWE)

Chris King is going back in time and highlighting some of the greatest Survivor Series five-on-five matches in WWE history, starting with The WCW/ECW Alliance vs. Team WWF!

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Chris King is going back in time and highlighting some of the greatest Survivor Series five-on-five matches in WWE history. This week is all about The WCW & ECW Invasion Angle and their highly dramatic Team WWE vs. Team Alliance Winners-Take-All Match.

On the March 26, 2001, episode of Raw, marked the end of the Monday Night Wars between their competition WCW. The Chairman of WWE Vince McMahon announced that for the first-time-ever Raw was airing live on the final episode of WCW Nitro. McMahon arrogantly told the WWE Universe that he would sign the contract but only after Ted Turner comes to WrestleMania X-Seven to hand-deliver it.

While McMahon continued to divulge on his brilliant plans after acquiring his competition and which superstars he was going to fire, his son Shane McMahon walked out onto Nitro and delivered some shocking news.

The Battle Lines Have Been Drawn

On the March 28, 2001, WCW strikes first when during a brawl between Steve Blackman and Perry Saturn WCW superstar Lance Storm ran out and delivered a Superkick to Saturn. Just as quickly as he appeared he exited the arena and jumped right into a limo with none other than Shane McMahon. For weeks, WCW superstars began appearing on WWE programming attacking WWE superstars from behind.

The latest development would take place at the King of the Ring pay-per-view when WCW Heavyweight Champion Booker T emerged out of nowhere and attacked the WWE Champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin executing his Scissors Kick and a thunderous Sidewalk Slam through the announce table.

The following night on Raw, the war waged on in WWE home territory Madison Square Garden. Another WCW superstar appeared this time during a Hardcore Title match with 24/7 rules and stole a WWE title from Rhyno.

The Alliance Takes Over WWE

On the July 9, 2001, episode of Raw, another company emerged after closing its doors: ECW. During a highly-intense tag team match between WWE’s Kane and Chris Jericho vs. WCW’s Lance Storm and Mike Awesome, ECW Original Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam jumped the railing and brutally attacked the WWE superstars. The WWE Universe was shocked when Storm and Awesome decided to join in on the attack.

Moments later, WWE troops The Dudley Boyz, Raven, Rhyno, Justin Credible and Tazz and all of WWE ran down to make the save. Just when it appeared to be over for the beatdown, the superstars in the ring all in unison turned towards Kane and Jericho.

“Feel it, feel this moment for the rest of your life!”-From Paul Heyman to JR

Backstage Shane is coercing his father that now more than ever they put their differences aside and create a WWE/WCW union to battle ECW in a colossal twenty-man main event. Reluctantly Vince obliged and told his son that whatever happens out there is his responsibility. The alliance was short-lived as the WWE superstars and WCW superstars collided and a massive brawl ensued.

The extremists made their way down to the ring to pick the bones and Shane urged his WCW stars to wait until his signal to enter the ring. When they did as both sides appeared to be about to throw down it turned out to be a huge hoax as ECW and WCW superstars began embracing and high-fiving each other.

A few weeks later at the historic Invasion pay-per-view, in a complete all-out war over dominance, The Alliance’s (Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, The Dudley Boyz and Rhyno) battled against WWE’s best ( “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Kane, Chris Jericho, and Kurt Angle).

From start to finish this five-on-five match was so chaotic with superstars brawling all over the ring the official could not maintain control. WWE had everything firmly in place for the victory as Angle locked Booker T in the Ankle Lock.

Then one of the most shocking moments in WWE history occurred when Austin delivered a Stone Cold Stunner to Angle and dragging Booker T on top of his fellow WWE comadre to give The Alliance the win!

Credit: WWE

Their final climactic end to their rivalry would take place on November 18, 2001 at the 15th Annual Survivor Series where Team WWE (WCW Champion The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane, and Big Show) faced The Alliance (WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Booker T, and Shane McMahon) in a massive Five-on-Five Winners-Take-All Match. Whichever team lost would be put out of business.

As The Undertaker made his illustrious entrance riding to the ring on his motorcycle and Limp Bizkit blaring through the arena, JR said “This match is going to be a slobberknocker deluxe” and he was not wrong.

The biggest stories going into the match was that Jericho and The Rock have had personal issues and we’re ready to tear each other apart even though they were on the same team. Vince McMahon also had been stating for weeks that there was a mole on The Alliance that would turn on them.

Credit: WWE

The match began quick and hot with long-time rivals The Rock and Austin going right at each other trading right hands in the corner. “The Texas Rattlesnake” took down “The People’s Champion” with a Lou Thesz Press and The Rock returned the favor. Shane-O Mac interfered to break things up. Now Jericho and RVD entered the match for their respective teams. Lots of high-octane action and great reversals from “The Whole Dam Show.”

The eliminations went as such: 

  • The Big Show was eliminated after an Angle Slam, Scissors Kick, and a Five Star Frog Splash.
  • Shane-OMac was eliminated after a thunderous Chokeslam from Kane, Tombstone Piledriver by Taker, and a Lionsault from Y2J.
  • “The Big Red Machine” was eliminated after a Five Star Frog Splash, a vicious kick from Booker T, and a flying high knee from RVD.
  • The Undertaker came in and cleaned house with a series of clotheslines and Snake Eyes. He delivered a Last Ride to Angle, and Austin hit a Stone Cold Stunner and pulled “The Olympic Gold Medalist” on top of Taker.
  • Booker T was eliminated after The Rock executed a DDT and Irish whipped him into Angle on the ring apron and rolled him up.
  • RVD was eliminated after Jericho executed a double underhook facebuster.

We’re down to Jericho and The Rock vs. Angle and Austin for both teams. That’s when things got chaotic as “The Texas Rattlesnake” began brawling with Rock on the outside of the ring while Angle and Jericho faced off inside.

After some great back-and-forth action, Y2J locked in Angle’s signature Ankle Lock but “The Olympic Gold Medalist” escaped. Austin made the tag and grounded Jericho isolating him from The Rock. Both competitors collided with each other with a double clothesline.

Y2J finally made the tag to “The People’s Champion” and delivered an overhead suplex followed by a Sharpshooter and Angle tapped out. Finally, Austin gets his comeuppance against Team WWE’s Jericho and The Rock. After some great offense from Y2J, Austin blocked a Lionsault that connected with knees up. After a series of roll-ups and pinning combinations Jericho was eliminated by Austin.

Moments later, the WWE Universe was shocked when Y2J dropped his own teammate with a facebuster maneuver reminiscent to The Miz’s Skull Crushing Finale. Austin then slithered his way over to cover his long-time rival for the easy win for Team Alliance but “The People’s Champion” kicked out at 2.9 seconds.

An irate Undertaker came out to confront Jericho for his dastardly attack that almost cost the WWE their jobs.

“The Texas Rattlesnake” began beating the holy hell out of the man that he defeated at WrestleMania X-Seven by cheating. Austin was landing a series of right hands until The Rock answered back “Laying The Smackdown” on his candyass.

The vile Austin then flipped-off  WWE official Earl Hebner who pushed back. The action spilled to the outside as The Rock’s leg hit the announce table. “The People’s Champion” through his rival over the announce table and leaped over himself firing right hands.

Back in the ring, The Rock delivered knife edge chops to Austin. His rival locked in the Sharpshooter forcing The Rock to dig down deep to make it to the ropes. “The Texas Rattlesnake” grabbed his coveted WWE Title to use as a weapon but The Rock dodged and locked in a Sharpshooter of his own.

Credit: WWE

Austin barely made it to the ropes but his rival wasn’t done and dragged him back to the middle of the ring for more punishment.

The two rivals made it to the ropes and Austin delivered a low-blow behind the official’s back. “The Texas Rattlesnake” flipped his rival off and went for the Stunner but it was countered and The Rock delivered one of his own. An exhausted Rock made the cover but Austin kicked out at two. WCW official Nick Patrick pulled Hebner out of the ring and decked him.

In the ring, “The People’s Champion” realized what happened and went for a Rock Bottom to Patrick but Austin blocked it and delivered a Rock Bottom of his own for a long near-fall. An irate Austin decked Patrick and pulled Hebner back into the ring. Austin went for another Stunner but The Rock reversed whipping him into Hebner again.

The end of the match saw “The Texas Rattlesnake” finally successfully executed a Stone Cold Stunner but there was no official so he pulled Hebner. OUT OF NOWHERE Kurt Angle came back down and blasted his teammate with the title which allowed The Rock to execute The Rock Bottom for the dramatic 1.2.3!!!!! Team WWE Wins and The Alliance Is Out Of Business!!!!

Credit: WWE

The reason why I chose this huge Survivor Series match is that it’s one of my personal favorites that had a fantastic 4-5 month buildup. While there are some that claim that The Invasion Angle was not a success I disagree. It provided some captivating television and brought in some new superstars to the WWE. It’s also important to note that eleven months later, Jericho went on to defeat both Austin and The Rock to become the first-ever Undisputed Champion in company history.  Stay tuned for next week’s Survivor Series review!


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Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s 2024 WWE Royal Rumble Reaction

It’s the Royal Rumble! A favorite of many fans, the Rumble kicks off the Road To WrestleMania. Greg DeMarco is here with his live reactions to the event!

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WWE Royal Rumble 2024 Results

It’s the Royal Rumble! A favorite of many fans, the Rumble kicks off the Road To WrestleMania. Greg DeMarco is here with his live reactions to the event!

The WWE Royal Rumble is upon us, and while the Men’s Royal Rumble Match isn’t for the World Heavyweight Championship like I suggested, it’s still the most anticipated event of the year.

Why? The Unknown.

That’s right–in this age of the internet (usually incorrectly) telling us everything it possibly can about what is going to happen in the world of wrestling, the Royal Rumble stands out because despite what we’re told (or, more importantly, what we choose to listen to), the event is always full of fun and surprises.


Check out Steven Mitchell’s 2024 WWE Royal Rumble Results & Review!


Women’s Royal Rumble Match

  • They really are driving home the “main event WrestleMania” point this year–strengthens my thought that women will main event Night 1. Triple H would catch a ton of heat if he keeps women out for the third straight year.
  • NAOMI! Good to see her back, and the emotional response she had.
  • Love Michael Cole calling out Naomi’s time in TNA, and recognizing her as a former Knockouts Champion.
  • Entering #3 doesn’t bode well for Bayley. I honestly don’t think she is gonna win.
  • JORDYNNE GRACE! I saw the reports earlier today. This is a much bigger deal than Mickie James, because Mickie was a returning legend.
  • “TNA HAS A WEAPON!” So glad to have Pat McAfee on the call.
  • Honestly, Jordynne Grace belongs in WWE.

  • Asuka comes in, and they sell the surprise of Bayley. STORYTELLING, people!
  • Something tells me when we get Kairi Sane in there, The Kabuki Warriors will eliminate Bayley.
  • Ivy Nile enters, and I immediately want to see her go toe-to-toe with Jordynne Grace.
  • What if they pulled some crazy sh*t and had Jordynne Grace win???
  • Just step through the ropes next time, Bianca.
  • When I first saw the C4 clock, I thought I would get tired of it But I am already used to it.
  • Here’s Kairi Sane, time to set the plan into motion!
  • This crowd does not appear to like Tegan Nox.
  • Welp, there goes my idea o Asuka and Kairi eliminating Bayley.
  • That was a hell of a way for Jordynne Grace to go out.

  • I think Michael Cole secretly loves to call a Meteora.
  • There’s a reason Maxxine Dupri doesn’t wrestle much.
  • That tandem Code Red was very Young Buckish. And that’s not a compliment.
  • Hair,…gear…this might be the messiest Royal Rumble yet.
  • Ah, here comes the winner, Becky Lynch (I am calling Becky eliminates Bayley to win her second Royal Rumble).
  • LOVE the scoreboard of time in the Rumble for selected wrestlers.

  • R-TRUTH?!?! (Funny story, it was Truth’s spot that Nia Jax took in 2019.)
  • If you push Mia Yim, she’ll take it further than you could imagine.
  • “How is everybody the most athletic person on Earth?” – Pat McAfee
  • Surprising that Roxanne Perez, at #27, is the first NXT entrant. I don’t think we’ll be seeing Tiffany Stratton of Blair Davenport since we only have 3 more to come.
  • Amazing reaction for Jade Cargill. Give her time, she’s definitely going to be a huge star.
  • JUST GIVE HER TIME.
  • Seriously, Nia Jax had to help Jade eliminate her–A LOT.

  • Greg Was Wrong: It is indeed Tiffy Time in the Royal Rumble.
  • Back to Jade–she is insanely over.
  • I know it won’t be, but this should be Tiffany Stratton’s official main roster call-up.
  • Liv Morgan returns at #30, and good for Liv. She nearly went wire-to-wire last year.
  • Liv Morgan: “Thank you!” Pat McAfee: “No problem.”
  • Tiffany Stratton eliminating Roxanne Perez is, to me, an invitation for a match with them on Raw this Monday.
  • Still love the scoreboard as Naomi passes an hour.
  • The camera is catching a lot of in-ring communications right now.
  • And Jade Cargill eliminates my pick to win. Bye Becky.
  • Jade Cargill in the final three of the Royal Rumble (with Liv Morgan and Bayley) is huge for her.
  • Hell of a debut for Jade Cargill.
  • And a huge win for Bayley.

Winner of the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble Match: Bayley (eliminating Liv Morgan to win)

Fatal 4-Way Match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Randy Orton vs AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Roman Reigns (champion, with Paul Heyman)

  • Glad to see AJ Styles got his tights back. Pants AJ Styles (but still with the football gloves) was not working. Not just bring the beard back to your face Allen–the think beard also ain’t working.

  • Pat McAfee campaigning for Roman Reigns to be given at least a 26% chance is amazing.
  • Say what you want about LA Knight, he’s a damn star and totally belongs in this match.
  • Roman completely sandbagged Randy on the table drop. I don’t think it was on purpose, but he definitely didn’t jump.
  • Roman Reigns is very much like Gunther in that he does the simple things SO WELL, like a jumping clothesline. That’s how you do it.
  • Yes, I compared Roman Reigns to Gunther. Don’t @ me, I’m right.

  • RKO City, Bitch.
  • Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand here’s Solo! (At some point, Solo will get tired of saving Roman’s ass.)
  • Solo ’bout to go through that barricade.
  • Solo indeed went through that barricade.

  • Yes, we had the Solo interference mid-match, but honestly in the end Roman won that clean.

Winner, #ANDSTILL your Undisputed WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns

WWE United States Championship: Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul (champion)

  • Kevin Owens wearing Zubaz shorts in the Performance Center fight makes me very happy.
  • Logan Paul talking about a full time run, and now he’s putting on size.
  • Logan’s headband didn’t list very long.
  • I honestly hate it when modern-day wrestlers bust out a crotch chop.
  • If you were watching the Royal Rumble and didn’t know who Logan Paul was, you’d just assume he was a pro wrestler. That says everything you need to know about how good he is at this.
  • ANOTHER crotch chop. Now we’re at 2 too many.

  • Cue the “Better Buckshot Than Hangman” tweets. But they might be right.
  • I love the idea of a Logan Paul, Austin Theory, and Grayson Waller stable.
  • C’mon, there’s NO WAY Ryan Tran could see the knucks on Kevin Owens’ hand given his placement. It’s the little things.
  • Finish here tells me we’ll see KO vs. Logan Paul again. I’d guess on TV, if not in Australia.

Winner by disqualification, #ANDSTILL WWE United States Champion: Logan Paul

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

  • Jey Uso coming at #1 was expected thanks to the internet reports. But I still think Jimmy should be #1 and Jey #2, for the reaction shots on Jimmy.
  • Grayson Waller talking himself to the ring is perfect.
  • “No Yeet!” Grayson is a brilliant performer. I’d make a Roddy Piper comparison here, but y’all would get at mad at me.
  • Good to have Andrade back in WWE. Great reaction for him when the mask came off.

  • SmackDown superstar Carmelo Hayes! I really really really hope Trick is also in this match, just for the chants.
  • Melo pointed to the sign, C’mon, man.
  • Do you send Andrade to Smackdown, or do you send him to Raw and let him do his own thing?
  • Oh goody, Karrion Kross is here. Yay.
  • (Yes, that’s sarcasm you read.)
  • Dominik Mysterio is so good. Give him time, he’s going to be a huge star.

  • The Royal Rumble was a great place for the Apple Spot.
  • Here comes Bob Lashley–please just eliminate Karrion Kross.
  • Lashley wearing the WrestleMania white gear more than 2 months early.
  • Austin Theory still gets his concussion effect entrance, despite it being the Rumble.
  • What if–hear me out now–Finn Balor wins the Royal Rumble to get the shot at Seth Rollins, and Priest uses his briefcase to make that match a triple threat at ‘Mania?
  • I know he didn’t, but it sure looked like Jimmy was swerving while he drives in that interaction with Gunther.
  • Kofi did tell us the Rumble Magic wasn’t happening anymore.
  • Give me Ivar vs Gunther!
  • Bron Breakker is a star. It’s inevitable.
  • Of course Omos would be in the Rumble. Good to see MVP on my TV as well.
  • “I didn’t know humans came that big!” – Pat McAfee
  • I half think Pat McAfee didn’t know he was entering the Rumble.
  • Nice moment for Bron Breakker eliminating Omos. WrestleMania match?
  • R-Truth trying to get Dominik (Tom or Nick?) Mysterio to tag him in is brilliant.
  • DOM MADE THE TAG!!!
  • “And now R-Truth is the legal man.” – thank you Michael Cole.
  • Michael Cole delivers multiple TNA references tonight, along with a Dolph Ziggler reference. God Bless Michael Cole.
  • Imagine for a second that this was CM Punk’s actual WWE return.
  • The reaction to Drew McIntyre’s entrance is a reminder that they don’t actually need him.
  • Sami Zayn enters at #30, also known as “Not The Rock.”

  • In the ring, Drew McIntyre is amazing. Just keep the microphone away from him. (And stop the damn counting!)
  • And there goes my choice for the Men’s Rumble!
  • Love having both Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in the press boxes watching to see who wins.
  • Punk kinda looks like Chris Jericho in there. Seriously.
  • Between Punk and Cody, Cody is the right choice. I really don’t want to watch Punk right now–he needs to hit the cardio, and hard. Given Seth Rollins’ injury and Punk’s conditioning, WWE would be smart to make the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 40 a multi-man match.

Winner of the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble: Cody Rhodes


Overall thoughts on the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble

For at least the second straight year, the Men’s Royal Rumble Match was kinda disappointing. Not the result–that’s fine. But the match itself. It just wasn’t nearly as exciting as the Women’s. Of the four matches, I would place it 4th in terms of enjoyment.

Great moments for both Bayley and Cody Rhodes. Logan Paul continually shows that he deserves to be considered a pro wrestler, not a celebrity who is wrestling. Pat McAfee is a joy on commentary. Jordynne Grace is a WWE Superstar, regardless of what company she is signed to. Bron Breakker is a star.CM Punk is very out of shape. Cody Rhodes is about to become THE guy, and he deserves it.

Overall I give the event a thumbs up, but they have to do something about the Men’s Royal Rumble Match moving forward.


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Opinion

WWE Raw Heads To Netflix: What Does It Mean?

Monumental news drops as WWE RAW is moving to Netflix. Is it truly a game changing move? Greg DeMarco analyzes this shift for the TV wrestling business.

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WWE Logo Metalic

Monumental news drops as WWE RAW is moving to Netflix. Is it truly a game changing move? Greg DeMarco analyzes this shift for the TV wrestling business.

Being a wee little kid in the 80s, I am “lucky enough” to remember having 3 TV channels, and my dad explaining what an 8-track is, how shocked I was when I say a laser disc for the first time, when I bought a 6 CD changer, installed my own car stereo, and all the way up to the fact that I have now been watching WWE pay-per-view/premium live events on the WWE Network and Peacock for 10 years. Hell, in the same month (February 2014) I signed up for the WWE Network, cut the cord to drop cable and got Sling TV. I have since moved onto YouTube TV which is highly recommended.

Over the last two years the NFL has put Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime, simulcast to various streaming services, and less than 2 weeks ago put a playoff game exclusively on streaming when a Wildcard Weekend showdown between the Chiefs and Dolphins was only shown on Peacock.

And now it’s fully permeated into pro wrestling.

WWE and AEW are both in the midst of a very important time on the business side, with all of their TV rights up for grabs. The first domino fell when SmackDown On FOX became SmackDown on USA Network, and soon after we learned that WWE NXT was moving to broadcast television and joining The CW (which is also rebranding, but just to CW).

The AEW suite of programming that includes Collision, Rampage, and their most successful show Dynamite is up for renewal with Warner Bros/Discovery, and Tony Khan has been optimistic about the relationship and potentially an increase in rights fees.

That brings us to Tuesday morning, and the likely groundbreaking WWE announcement that Raw is moving to Netflix, starting in January 2025. Triple H tweeted that they’re changing the game, and TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro (who knows a thing or two about shifts in media consumption) used the word “transformative” in his statement, and I really think he couldn’t be more right.

But what does it all mean?

Wrestling Remains A Strong Media Product

I have been claiming this for over a year now. As many online will cite a decline in TV viewership for both WWE and AEW, the TV product has been a strong value to networks. Even in dropping SmackDown, FOX themselves said they didn’t pump enough resources into the show, and that the advertising return wasn’t what they wanted. That doesn’t mean the product (TV value, we’re not talking about creative here) isn’t strong. It’s so strong that USA Network picked up SmackDown for $280 million per year, giving WWE an increase over the FOX deal. CW is paying $20-$25 million annually for NXT, and now Netflix is paying $500 million for RAW.

Why? Because wrestling isn’t just a strong media product, it’s consistent. And that is key.

Look at this quote from Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria:

“Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”

Now cross reference that with a comment from CW President Dennis Miller from back when the CW/NXT deal was announced:

“We are thrilled to welcome the WWE brand into the CW Sports portfolio as they play an integral role in our mission to bring live sporting events to the network year-round.”

What do those statements have in common? The year-round, 52-week nature of wrestling programming. It’s an unbeatable value for networks. It’s cheaper than a deal with a major sports league, and it’s not finite. Wrestling joins news, talk, and sports talk as the only year-round programming available to networks. And WWE and AEW have shows that essentially always land in the Top 5 after you factor out live sports. You can’t beat it.

What Does This Mean for Netflix?

Don’t get it twisted, this is also a huge leap for Netflix. Prior to the WWE Raw deal, Netflix has only experimented with live events, streaming the live Chris Rock “Selective Outrage” special, and showing The Netflix Cup live (a golf event featuring athletes from their F1 series “Drive To Survive” and their golf series “Full Swing).

WWE is the perfect partner for Netflix as it gets into live programming. It’s sports entertainment: sports like programming (which Netflix has done) that focuses on storytelling (which Netflix has obviously done). And no one does it better than WWE. It’s essentially plug-and-play for Netflix, the perfect solution for their live programming aspirations.

The perfect solution that they were willing to pay $5 billion for.

What Does This Mean for AEW?

The biggest risk to an AEW renewal with Warner Bros Discovery was WBD picking up WWE Raw–and that risk has been eliminated by Netflix. Don’t discount that fact–Netflix did Tony Khan a huge favor by throwing $500 million per at WWE. The path is clear for AEW to remain on the Turner networks.

But at what price?

I know I usually write as if I have all the answers, but I have zero idea either way on this one. WBD no longer has any other options if it wants to keep wrestling (except for TNA, who recently expressed a desire to be on a bigger network), and AEW (at least, Dynamite) is a weekly Top 5 program for them on Wednesdays, on cable.

On the other hand, AEW doesn’t exactly have another network begging for their services. The reason WWE could get a yearly increase for Raw, SmackDown, and NXT is because it was truly a bidding war. Unless Tony Khan gets another network involved, any threat of walking away from a deal doesn’t really hold water.

So if I were a betting man (and who would ever bet on this) I would expect an announcement of a renewal for AEW and WBD relatively soon. We may not know the terms of the deal, I will take a shot in the dark and say that AEW gets a small increase (not the “nearly double” that had been reported last year).

Regardless of the increase (or not), given AEW’s recent attendance challenges, this likely renewal would have to be viewed as a win for the company.


Personally, this is simply an amazing time to be a fan. We’ve seen WWE go from one live TV show per week with Monday Night Raw, through the Monday Night Wars, the addition of SmackDown and later NXT, to being this global juggernaut that is commanding half-a-billion dollars per year for Raw. I also think this makes Raw the flagship once again. All of this comes after Vince McMahon is largely out of power, Triple H has taken over creative (and holds a pretty good success rate so far), and the company was sold to Endeavor, and merged with the UFC as a business entity under the TKO banner.

If you know me, you know I am a huge follower of the business side of the wrestling business. I often care less about WHAT wrestling companies do, but HOW they do it. I have always gravitated towards that, since middle school. And for the past near 24 months, I have been like a kid in a candy store.

The Peacock deal for the WWE Network runs out in 2026, right? The fun never stops!


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