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Mishal’s Top 5 Most Bizarre WWE Pay-Per-Views

In preparation for a Money In The Corporate Bank pay-per-view, Mishal takes a look at the worst of all time?

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SummerSlam 2004 Randy Orton

It’s almost impossible to keep track of all the WWE & wrestling shows I’ve seen in my almost 2 decades watching wrestling to this point. The business is always active, always evolving & always throwing so much content at you that it’s next to impossible to ever think you’ve seen enough professional wrestling yet.

Considering the number of choices someone like WWE is giving us nowadays, I always find myself watching or wanting to talk about the greatest moments, matches, or things that most people already widely discuss, but what about the oddities? What about the bizarre?

I think at a time like this where there is so much of your day to fill due to all the blank space that I’ve actually had time to sit down and delve into the truly bizarre parts of the wrestling business, in particular, some shows that I’ve come across that are so bizarre I’d need a lot more time to properly talk about them in-depth, but I thought this article would be a solid start.

For this list, I chose to focus more on shows I’ve either seen or ones that have happened within my own time of watching professional wrestling rather than simply put a show on here that I don’t have full knowledge over. Each show here is ‘bizarre’ in its own unique way, whether than be the name, idea, matches, execution, or something totally out of the ordinary that we aren’t used to seeing normally. Here at 5 of the most bizarre WWE shows of all time.

Honorable Mentions:

  • Backlash (2017)
  • D-Generation X: In Your House (1997)
  • Breaking Point (2009)
  • Wrestlemania II (1986)
  • Crown Jewel (2018)

Fatal-4-Way (2010)

WWE’s Fatal-4-Way is a show I’ve never quite understood, not because any of the matches on the card were outright dreadful in any way, but because the idea behind this show is so bizarre to me as a marketable idea. On paper, the very idea around a show based on the Fatal-4-Way match is acceptable enough, however, is it really a match type that’s marketable or actively popular within the wrestling community at all is the real question we need to ask. Unlike matches like Money in the Bank, Elimination Chamber, Hell in a Cell or the Royal Rumble, the idea of a Fatal-4-Way match possessed nothing spectacular about it, not a single selling point to paying customers to sink their teeth into beyond it being a match with four people wrestling in it. There have been countless great ones throughout WWE history, it just isn’t a match fans fawn over to see more of, let alone have a show based around it. While their strategy remains to be a confusing one, it’s a pretty obvious way for the company to test the waters at the time since they were transitioning into a new era of newer stars & a newer fanbase to cater to.

The show itself was nothing to be ashamed of though, in fact, I’d honestly say it was one of the strongest of 2010, a genuinely great show that outshined middling expectations going into it. Both the World title matches delivered the goods in their respective 4-Way matches while furthering the current storylines they were working around, Kofi Kingston & Drew McIntyre put on a stellar opening contest over the Intercontinental Championship, The Hart Dynasty beat The Usos in a fine encounter & Evan Bourne (the now Matt Sydal) pinned Chris Jericho in one of the more underrated PPV matches of that year. During a time where a lot of fans craved newer talent gaining a spotlight, this show did just that and highlighted the newer crop of their roster. It’s honestly a solid card that just seems forgotten because of how random the overall concept of the show was, utilizing a gimmick that doesn’t really have much of an ‘it’ factor to it.

Compared to my other selections, I’d say this was the strongest of the bunch. As odd of an idea as it is on paper, there’s still a lot to admire.

Great Balls of Fire (2017)

What I’d pay to be a fly on the wall of the board room meeting where the creative team & WWE management decided that a show called ‘Great Balls of Fire’ would be a good idea to market towards their audience.

This entire show, the build-up to it, the marketing campaign & even the show’s own hysterical production design all seem like one big rib to the WWE fanbase, the biggest troll that the company has ever delivered. It still amazes me to this very day that a show like this even exists, or was taken seriously at one point, even the fact that I woke up at 1 am to sit through this show baffles me when I reflect on it. WWE is an entertainment juggernaut, amongst the biggest in the entire world right now & I truly understand the need to try to innovate and constantly experiment with new ideas to potentially foster into something larger, but what was the endgame with this show?

As ridiculous as the show’s actual name is, the fact that Jerry Lee Lewis’ classic song of the same name as the show itself was used as the official theme song is extraordinary to me, simply extraordinary.

However, I’ll proudly admit that the show ended up being far above what I expected, in fact, it was a fairly loaded card that even featured a personal dream match of mine finally coming to fruition. Headlined by Brock Lesnar defending his Universal Championship against Samoa Joe, WWE did a pretty solid job in putting together a card that was more than just being represented by a show name so ridiculous you wouldn’t bother investing your time or interest in it. Lesnar vs Joe wasn’t necessarily a spectacular match but did its job in giving fans something on the show to truly take notice of. Alongside the main event, we had Roman Reigns attempt murder in a chaotic Ambulance Match against Braun Strowman, Alexa Bliss defend her title against Sasha Banks in a great little match, The Hardys face Cesaro & Sheamus in a slow-paced but really well executed 30-minute Iron Man Match, Neville battle Akira Tozawa over the Cruiserweight Championship & Big Cass mauled his former partner Enzo Amore in one of that year’s most effective angles up until that point.

It still stands as one of the most bizarre decisions WWE has ever made, but Great Balls of Fire is a show I’d highly recommend checking out if you have the time. At the very least you’ll laugh at how absurd the show looks every time the stage is in the background.

Wrestlemania 2000 (2000)

To this day, Wrestlemania 2000 stands as the only Wrestlemania in history to not feature one basic, straightforward, down the middle singles match on its card.

In the midst of a Hardcore Battle Royal, 4 Tag Team matches, a Triangle Ladder Match & a Fatal-4-Way main event the only thing closely resembling a singles match was a ‘Catfight’, which ranks amongst my least favorite ‘matches’ in Wrestlemania history. The issue with this card is that the overreliance on multip-person bouts can lead to show being far too overcrowded & active, resulting in a lack of storytelling a show as big as Wrestlemania needs to truly be memorable. There was just simply too much happening on this show at stages that exhausted me simply watching it on television, despite this being at one of the peak periods of WWE programming as the Monday Night Wars were still being waged on primetime television.

When looking at the actual card, the only real standout was the Triangle Ladder Match between The Dudleys, The Hardys & Edge and Christian which isn’t just a revolutionary match that changed the way the industry looked at gimmick matches, but the importance of tag team wrestling as an entire concept. It embodies what Wrestlemania is and what it should feel like to watch, on top of having phenomenal storytelling from everyone involved in it, as well as the right men coming out on top. WWE sadly crammed the rest of the card with too much dead weight to really discuss, particularly the remaining tag team contests which did nothing to excite me, although the Hardcore Battle Royal, while an incredible mess, is one of the few bright spots of the show due to how absurd the flow of the match is with its breakneck pacing.

Sadly the ultimate nail in the coffin for me was the show’s main event, a star-studded Fatal-4-Way match between Triple H, The Rock, Mick Foley & Big Show, each with a member of the McMahon family in their corner to battle over the WWE Championship. The match itself had pretty solid action, but as I mentioned earlier shoved far too much into the match itself to really land the ending it went for. Balancing not just the retirement of Mick Foley, the rise of Big Show, a plethora of McMahon family drama that just dragged on at points but it sadly sacrificed all of this in favor of having the company’s biggest star at the time, The Rock capture the WWE Championship in what should have been the conclusion to your biggest show of the calendar year.

Wrestlemania 2000 is a pretty solid example that signifies the importance of one-on-one contests, that allows for breaks in between matches with abundances of talent involved in them. As crazy as a show as this can be, it was just so much to digest at points that it becomes overwhelming to watch, with such an intense focus on the spectacle of Wrestlemania that it’s just absurd at times, especially considering that this show wasn’t even held in a larger venue than what we’re now accustomed to.

With Wrestlemania’s getting seemingly longer by the year & WWE seemingly always wanting to shove the maximum amount of talent possible onto a card, this show should be a bleak reminder that sometimes quantity just doesn’t equal quality.

December to Dismember (2006)

What hasn’t been said about ECW’s December to Dismember that hasn’t already been said by any living, breathing professional wrestling fan?

It’s highly regarded amongst the very worst shows in company history, stands as the show with the lowest buyrate in company history, lead to the creative departure of Paul Heyman, gave us changes to the ECW brand that no fan at the time wanted & put the nail in the coffin for the revival of one of wrestling’s most incredibly unique products back in the day. More than anything, it was a slap in the face to anyone who cherishes the world of Extreme Championship Wrestling, a brand pioneered by echoing the voices of its fans with its rowdy, violent, brutal & over-the-top product that to many was seen as a ‘rebellion’ against the norms we were so used to in the industry.

This show missed the mark on almost every beat. It succeeded at dismantling whatever integrity the ECW brand name had left under the WWE banner & killing what had the potential to be a pretty solid show if creative reigns had actually understood what made a product, a brand like ECW tick in the first place. None of the heart was there, the wrestling was watered down to the very thing it was designed not to be, not a single storytelling beat worked because of how absurd aspects of the product were & it just felt too corporate for the average fan, who craved something authentic considering what ECW represented.

Probably the most insulting thing was that prior to this actual show back in 2006, the company only announced 2 official matches, the opening & main event matches, both of which were fine enough but did nothing to satisfy what WWE marketed this brand as. In terms of highlights, the tag team contest between The Hardys and M&M worked, everything else, however, was just a joke in most people’s eyes, an insult almost. Littered with bizarre ideas that seemed like how someone like a Vince McMahon would interpret the ECW product in modern-day, most of this show was too cringe-worthy to take seriously and was met with either silence or boos from fans depending on where you look at on the show. Even the ‘Extreme’ Elimination Chamber that headlined the show was booked in a manner that was so backward to what ECW is at its core that you’d think whoever was in charge had no knowledge of the product whatsoever, and that may have been the case in reality.

I can probably say it’s a show you can watch to laugh at, however, if you’re an ECW fan like myself, this was such a frustratingly bizarre experience that it’s hard to think the WWE would follow through with something like this at a point in time.

Summerslam (2004)

There is no WWE show that will ever represent the notion of ‘bizarro world’ much like Summerslam 2004 did. Being held in Toronto, Canada this was a show unlike any other I’ve personally ever seen in my life so far, one of the craziest, strangest experiences this industry probably has to offer.

Going into this show there was nothing really controversial or out of the ordinary on the card, it was all pretty standard, well booked & carried a lot of potentially great wrestling to put on display with it being one of the companies ‘Big 4’ in their calendar year. It featured a loaded card headlined by Chris Benoit defending his title against Randy Orton & JBL defending his title against The Undertaker, both matches featuring newly bred main event stars taking on seasoned veterans. And while you’d expect the standard, solid show from a card like this, what played out on live television is something that has to be seen.

On that evening the crowd in Toronto lost their minds entirely. It’s a crowd that I can’t quite explain or understand since not only does what they did make no real sense but not being in the audience, is something I can’t make a fair judgment on myself. Rather than playing into the storylines that the company had built up heading into their summer season, the live crowd hijacked the show and almost every match on the card, particularly within the latter half of the show. The crowd booed whomever the company had built up to be cheered, harassed their hometown hero in Edge during his first title defense in his hometown, heckled referee Earl Hebner to no end, turned on stars halfway through their matches, did a Mexican wave during title matches & never really let the show foster into its own thing. While it did admittedly ruin some of the stories the stars tried to tell, it was ridiculously entertaining to watch as an experience.

Probably the saddest part was that the show did have some highlights outside of the rabid live audience, namely a superb Wrestlemania XX rematch between Eddie Guerrero & Kurt Angle, a really fun Six-Man tag team match, as well as a technically fabulous main event between Chris Benoit & Randy Orton. It was probably the remainder of the card that sinks this shows standing and resulted in what the crowd became since nothing else really stood out in my mind due to some really odd booking decisions, especially everything surrounding a Triple H & Eugene (yes, Eugene, of all people) which went well past its limits in terms of timing. And while the match itself is a bit of a snoozefest to get through, witnessing the crowds dissensions into madness during the WWE Championship match between JBL & Undertaker is one of the funniest things the company has put on to this day.


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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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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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