Opinion

DeMarco: Did Age Impact Recent WWE Releases?

Greg DeMarco engages in crack research to identify a trend among those stars WWE did release, and those they didn’t release. Was age a factor?

Published

3 years ago

December 12, 2019

Greg DeMarco

Greg DeMarco engages in crack research to identify a trend among those stars WWE did release, and those they didn’t release. Was age a factor?

I’m, not sure if you heard (you heard, I know), but WWE recently released Luke Harper, Sin Cara, and both members of The Ascension (you might not have known those last two still worked for WWE, though). The first two requested their releases earlier this year, and they were finally granted this week.

pic.twitter.com/J5DvmKaHd7

— . (@LukeHarperWWE) April 16, 2019

Sitting on the outside of that we have Mike Kanellis and The Revival, along with Oney Lorcan. Now we’re taking a (dangerous) leap of faith and assuming The Revival really requested their releases, since they didn’t tell us they did on social media (Kanellis and Lorcan did). But for the purposes of this exercise, we are going to assume that they did, because we need enough names to develop a pattern.

There are many different factors that go into a release being granted, but on the most recent edition of Greg DeMarco Show, myself, Miranda Morales, and Patrick O’Dowd stumbled upon something. Take a look:

Stars Released

Luke Harper – 39 years old
Sin Cara – 42 years old
The Ascension’s Konnor – 39 years old
The Ascension’s Viktor – 39 years old

Stars Not Released

Mike Kanellis – 34 years old
Oney Lorcan – 33 years old
Scott Dawson – 35 years old
Dash Wilder – 32 years old

It doesn’t take an actuary (Google it, it’s basically a genius) to see what I (not an actuary) am seeing here: the stars closer to (or over) 40 were released, and those 35 and under were retained.

WWE booking is cyclical, something it also doesn’t take a genius to figure out. This is especially prevalent in the mid-card, a place everyone on this list essentially lives. To be successful in the WWE mid-card, you need to be able to emotionally handle the booking cycle, always ready to jump in when your number is called, and hope you can make the most of the situation (aka, hope you can “Jinder it”).

This is important because those who are on the older end of the spectrum may not be a viable option to WWE if and when the booking cycle favors them again. Non-coincidentally (at least in my opinion), those folks were also the ones granted their releases. I know it seems blasphemous for me, someone writing about the product online, to say Luke Harper might not be a viable option at some point soon, but he is 39, and that doesn’t help him in terms of having a sustainable run at or near the top of the card. I know we all love to toss out the name AJ Styles (he’s 42, a fact Conrad Thompson reminds us of as much as Jim Ross reminds us that Dr. Britt Baker is a real-life dentist), but that’s the exception to the rule. It’s still an early 30’s WWE.

I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT I HAVE AGREED TO A NEW MULTI YEAR CONTRACT AGREEMENT WITH WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT MAY THE WRESTLING GODS HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOULS

— ONEY LORCAN (@_StarDESTROYER) December 7, 2019

Now Oney Lorcan revealed he’s signed a new multi-year WWE contract, and Mike Kanellis hasn’t hit the “release me” campaign trail recently. The Revival are constantly cycled back into the rotation, proving they are the best tag team in the world at least once a month. Each is younger, and can be a viable option should the booking cycle spin in their favor.

I’m not calling WWE ageist in the least, but I think that–from a business standpoint–they see age as a factor in deciding to give someone their release when requested.

Pro wrestling, along with sports entertainment, is a fun ride. Enjoy it! Follow me on social media @ChairshotGreg and drop me a line at gregdemarco@thechairshot.com.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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Opinion

King’s WrestleMania Rewind: Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka from WrestleMania 34

Chris king is back with one of the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history–Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka!

Published

2 months ago

April 2, 2023

Chris King

WWE WrestleMania 34 Charlotte Flair Asuka

Chris king is back with one of the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history–Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka!

We look back at Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka at WWE WrestleMania 34. ‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ put her unprecedented and historic undefeated streak of 914 days on the line against ‘The Queen’s’ SmackDown Women’s Championship.

For years, this was considered a dream match while Asuka dominated the roster in NXT, while Flair won numerous championships on the main roster on both Raw and SmackDown. The Empress made her long-awaited debut on the September 11th episode of Raw and began to tear through the competition.

Asuka outlasted all twenty-nine other women in the historic first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match to challenge for the title of her choosing. At Fastlane, she made her choice.

The WWE Universe was so excited for this match myself included. Both superstars delivered a fantastic performance on the Grandest Stage of Them All executing counter after counter. Asuka showed off some nasty-looking kicks to her opponent, and Flair hit a thunderous Spanish Fly off the top rope. Flair was seconds away from defeat at the hands of The Empress but she locked in Figure Eight and Asuka was forced to tap out.

I can’t even begin to explain how shocked I was at this outcome, as nearly everyone expected The Empress to continue her undefeated streak and walk away with the women’s title. This controversial decision was the downfall of Asuka’s momentum. She would ultimately win the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the 2018 TLC pay-per-view in the triple-threat ladder match.

Fast forward to this year when Asuka has recently returned with her Japanese-inspired persona Kana. Kana is dangerous and ruthless and is heading into a championship with Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 39. The Empress has regained all her momentum and is highly favored to walk away with the Raw Women’s Championship. Let’s hope that Asuka and Belair can tear the house down and deliver an A+ grade match both women are fully capable of.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

King: Dominik Mysterio Needs To Do This At WrestleMania

Chris King is here with what WWE should do with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania in his long-awaited match against his father Rey Mysterio Jr.

Published

2 months ago

April 1, 2023

Chris King

Chris King is here with what WWE should do with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania in his long-awaited match against his father Rey Mysterio Jr.

On this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Rey Mysterio finally snapped and beat some sense into his disrespectful punk-ass kid Dominik. The member of the Judgement Day came out to push his father again for a match on the Grandest Stage of Them All, this time with his mother and sister at ringside. The ungrateful punk told his mom to “Shut Up,” as a father even I wanted to jump through the screen and whoop his ass.

Back in October of last year, Mysterio made the emotional decision to possibly quit the company but, instead, Triple H persuaded the Lucha libre superstar to move over to SmackDown to avoid his son. This came after Dominik shockingly turned on his father at Clash at the Castle. Mysterio did everything he could to refuse his despicable son’s challenge for Mania but, a man can only be pushed so far. Mysterio will be inducted into the 2023 WWE Hall of Fame and I expect Dominik to embarrass his father during his speech to further this personal feud.

Yes, the WWE Universe hates Dominik and wants to see him get the ever-loving crap kicked out of him but, this feud is missing a special ingredient to capitalize on the biggest heat possible. Throughout this feud, Dominik has made mention of the legendary Eddie Guerrero on several occasions going back to the “iconic” 2005 feud.

I know WWE might not want to go this route but, Dominik MUST come out to Eddie Guerrero’s theme at Mania. The disrespectful punk needs to come out in a lowrider to garner nuclear heat. It doesn’t matter if The Judgement Day comes out and causes interference for Dominik to get the win, all that matters is that both superstars get the biggest payoff of this nearly year-long feud. Just imagine the Roman Reigns heat after he defeated The Undertaker and multiply that by ten. Dominik portrays the perfect heel and he truly is the missing ingredient that The Judgement Day needed to grow and evolve into a top faction.