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The Top 10 Missed Opportunities in WWE History

Rey Ca$h returns with help from friend and frequent collaborator Clive to break down 10 of the biggest missed opportunities in WWE history

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Rey: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, chickens, ducks, scamps, scalliwags, and yes…Jim Cornette fans…I’m back!  I know you guys here my oh so un-radio-esque voice once a week on the Outsider’s Edge, but yes, I was originally and still am a columnist!  Right here…on The Chairshot!  (Insert cheap pop).  But no, I’m not alone.  As has become standard, I’ve started a bit of a collaboration with one of my best friends, Familia member, and Scotland’s most dangerous man…from Social Suplex’s The Ricky and Clive Show…Clive!

Clive: That little caveat right at the end there severely hampered my danger credentials. Especially when Ricky is clearly the heel of the outfit. Nevertheless, thanks for the grand introduction, Reymond. 

Rey: Ricky is the face and I’ll hear nothing else to the contrary!  Still, I have you with me, not Rick, and you’re the accomplished writer among the two of us.  So, let’s say we get down with the gettin’ down, eh?

Clive: Please, let’s. With time on both of our sides, it’s not an OPPORTUNITY we want to MISS…..

Rey: It’s gonna be one of THOSE columns, huh…

 

THE TOP 10 MISSED OPPORTUNITIES IN WWE HISTORY

 

Rey:  So let me explain the premise of this here piece of art that me and my brother Clivert are writing.  When we speak about missed opportunities, we’re talking about moments where WWE dropped the ball on something that could’ve been massive.  It could be a storyline, a match, or quite simply a wrestler’s gimmick.  And we’re trying to keep it current, so miss me with your “Roddy Piper should’ve been world champion” messages.  That may be true, but still.

Clive: This idea was your brainchild, Rance. Birthed from a specific example. But there is one more recent than that. One that, probably through recency anti-bias (is that even a term?), sticks in my craw the most. So, if it’s alright with you, good sir, I’d like to get stuck in while the frustration is fresh in my mind. 

 

Enzo and Cass

 

Rey: So, I know it’s not the most popular thing to talk about these two in the current day and age, but revisionist history aside, you can’t ignore how MASSIVELY huge that these two were in their day.  Enzo and Cass were legitimately one of the biggest acts in the business, and they NEVER won.  A very impressive feat, no doubt.  But the frenetic energy of Enzo, the size and strength of Big Cass, and the catchphrases…my God the catchphrases.  What happened here?

Clive: I think we know the answer to that one. Vince saw Big Cass. Looked him up and down, and said “Goddamit, pal!! Look at you!” Probably something Vince has said when looking at the bigger of a tandem throughout history. 

Rey: So I think about this team, and I think about the most successful tag team in the Attitude Era.  No, not Edge and Christian…not The Hardyz, and not the Dudleys.  The New Age Outlaws.  They were created directly from that template.  And they drew money and ratings.  They sold a TON of merchandise, they got good quarter hour numbers, but Enzo lived the gimmick a BIT too much.  That coupled with Big Cass’s oncoming breakdown and mental health and addiction issues, and they became a never was instead of a legendary act.  Damn shame too.  I still laugh at the “Zero Dimes” line from time to time.

Clive: And what did we get out of it? A severely lackluster heel push for Cass (with awful music to boot), and a Cruiserweight Championship run for Enzo which, if people don’t know by now, was not an enjoyable time for Mr 205 Clive. It’s crazy that their exits from the company happened close to each other, but less than eighteen months after seemingly being at the peak of their infallibility. 

 

Braun Strowman at No Mercy 2017

 

Clive: While we’re on the subject of big guys, let me ask you a question. The kind that marks a milestone in life. The wrestling equivalent of “Where were you when JFK was shot?” Or “What were you doing when you found out Princess Diana died?” Rance, I ask you, what were you doing when Vincent Kennedy McMahon shat the bed and did not strike while the iron was red hot by having Braun Strowman beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at No Mercy 2017?

Rey: Probably writing Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose fan-fic.  But seriously man, you make Braun losing sound like a national conspiracy or something.  Like he lost because of the Illuminati.  All jokes aside, it may not be as memorable as Princess Di or JFK, but it was still pretty damn egregious.  Braun was as sure of a sure thing that comes around to the Fed, and Vince was like “Nah son, I disagree.”

Clive: I just felt that, after that epic display of brutality at Summerslam, all the momentum in the world was on Braun’s side. Bear in mind this was in the heat of my “Fook Brock” face, and I was being worked silly. But by God did I NEED Braun to win that title.

Rey: I was more insulted with Samoa Joe’s loss, but that’s because I felt that Joe deserved it.  But there’s a huge difference between deserve and need, and Braun absolutely NEEDED to win it.  Yes, Brock was in a bit of a rut.  He was still having good matches, but he was in the heat of his Eat, Farm, Squash, Repeat pattern, and unfortunately Braun had to face the biggest loss of that time.  But hey!  We still got WrestleMania 36, right?!

 

Bray Wyatt VS Triple H

 

Rey: The road to WrestleMania 32 may be the most unfortunate, underutilized, misdirected build in Mania history.  Everybody was injured.  Roman Reigns, who finally won the title to cheers in Philadelphia no less, lost the title in the Royal Rumble match to Triple H.  Dean Ambrose, who’ll be talked about later, was at the peak of his popularity and got a shot at Hunter’s WWE Championship.  Bray Wyatt, with Wyatt Family in tow (sans Luke Harper, who was also injured) had beef with Brock Lesnar.  And then, that one fateful episode of Raw, everything pretty much all changed with one staredown.

Clive: I’m going to throw a spanner in the works here, sir. Undoubtedly, this is another instance of something in WWE being teased without any payoff whatsoever. On this occasion, however, I just don’t think it would have worked if there was a program between the two. I appreciate Bray’s penchant for storytelling, I do. But the story he tells just never floats my boat. It would have been a clash of styles, personally. It would have been a face turn of an entire stable, not something you want to handle just for the sake of a Mania program. I know this is supposed to be a collaborative piece, but I didn’t want the readers to leave reading this without a little dissension within the ranks!

Rey: Only 3 missed opportunities in, and you’re already turning on me. For shame, sir! Nonetheless, you make good points. The prospect of the Wyatts as faces would’ve been dicey, and Bray’s stories do end up being too elaborate often, but it still would’ve been an amazing spectacle. The preeminent cult leader preaching down with the machine versus the heir apparent who has the full power of the machine behind him. At least it would’ve been better than Ambrose VS Lesnar.

Clive: It’s just a personal preference with Wyatt, or lack thereof. Personally, there are a finite amount of wrestlers or outfits who could merge well with a reality bending entity like him. And I don’t think Authority Paul is one of them, I’m afraid. Plus, HHH had beef with Mr Reigns dating way back, so that would have muddied the waters. 

 

Dean Ambrose’s 2016

 

Clive: So, one of my favourite Royal Rumbles is 2016’s. So many moments in that much that it could birth a column in itself. But the icing on the cake would have been the potential shock but very welcome win for Dean Ambrose. It was right there, begging to be done. He was on top of the world. He was lost in a swarm of fans after winning the IC Title a month prior. Earlier that night, he was in Last Man Standing match with Kevin Owens that’s still talked about today. Momentum was all up on Ambrose’s shoulders. Evidently, it wasn’t meant to be, due to other Brock Lesnar shaped plans in mind for the Lunatic Fringe. And…well…..sigh….

Rey: So, I have to say that he really made himself relevant during that time, because he went from having no plans to being last eliminated in the Rumble, a banger of a match with Triple H for the title, and the Lesnar match at Mania. Before we acknowledge the bad, we have to acknowledge the good. Lesnar was slated to face Wyatt. Hunter was gonna have tunnel vision towards Roman. By sheer force of will and audience participation, he changed the entire Road to WrestleMania.

Clive: The title match with HHH has to get a special mention. For purists, that might be the best WWE title match in 2016. It’s certainly up there. It’s just the whole Brock thing. It was one of a good few examples where the story has been told that Lesnar is going to be in for the fight of his life, and we get nothing of the sorts. A hugely anticlimactic end to what was a great build. Ambrose was lucky to keep relevant through spring and into the summer when he won the WWE Title. But then along came what was supposed to be a casual shoot the breeze conversation between two antiheroes.

Rey: That’s the irony of the situation.  If we’re looking on paper, Ambrose had a HUGELY successful 2016.  The aforementioned Lesnar and Triple H matches, and then winning MITB, winning the Shield triple threat, and holding the WWE Championship going into the summer and fall.  And no offense is meant here Clive, but sticking to our fickle nature as fans, we see the entire year almost as a bust because of two really sour spots – the Lesnar match and aftermath and his appearance on the Stone Cold Podcast.  Even the Jericho feud gave us Mitch the plant, and the death of the light up jacket.

Clive: You are spot on. It’s weird that people, myself included, thought Ambrose had a WEIRD 2016 when, by all official metrics, it was a career defining year. I guess it all sort of fizzled out towards the end. And as 2017 rolled on, with him falling down the pecking card, that recency bias doesn’t really pain the year prior in a good light. But still. That f”*”**g Lesnar match. *smashes fist off train window*.

 

Booker T VS Triple H at WrestleMania 19

 

Rey: If we’re talking about disappointment…

*Sigh*

I’ve been on record saying that WrestleMania 19 is probably the best Mania WWE’s ever done.  It’s practically perfect.  5 main events, major stories on the midcard, all time memorable moments in the big matches, and it even has the workrate for the diehards.  It’s practically perfect.  Except for the fact that WWE RAN A STORYLINE WHERE A WHITE DUDE SAID THAT THE BLACK DUDE WASN’T WORLD TITLE MATERIAL BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK AND THE BLACK DUDE LOST THE TITLE MATCH.

Clive: I’m all the way there with you. Mania 19 is my favourite PPV, too. FIVE main event worthy matches? All after one other?! Shieeeeeeiit. BUT, the gutterball in what should have been a row of strikes is the booking for this match. This is another example of what’s turning into a theme of mine in this piece. That WWE told us a story for weeks, if not months, and we got a bad director’s cut that should have stayed on the cutting floor. That story was written so controversially, that surely there is only one acceptable outcome at the show of shows, when adversity is overcome a large chunk of the time. But, no, not this time. For HHH to take several seconds between Pedigree and pin attempt just adds insult to insult, in my opinion.

Rey: That’s the unforgivable sin.  I’m a mark for heels, so I love when they win against all odds.  It’s a fun change of pace for me.  So I could have convinced myself that it was ok.  But there were EIGHTEEN seconds between the Pedigree and the pin.  That’s so many seconds, I had to type out eighteen!  That’s a disrespectful amount of time to be down from a move and still not kick out.  And that was the first Pedigree of the night.  So…yeah.  Finishers should finish matches, but not at the detriment of the person taking it.  Just a deplorable set of events.

Clive: It was pretty disgusting. Listen, Booker T went on to have a wonderful WWE career. And HHH has mended some fences along the way. Not only has he given us a “developmental” brand we all know and love, but he had a black man in Adam Cole as the longest reigning champion in NXT history. That has to count for something. But, in a bubble, that Mania match was a disgrace.

 

The Nexus

 

Clive: I’ll hold my hands up here in saying I wasn’t watching wrestling when this all went down. But when I came back to it, and spent countless hours researching what I missed, this raised the eyebrows, for sure. The Summerslam match specifically was a prime example of the hubris I associate with John Cena and still to this day struggle to see past.

Rey: Kinda ironic that we’re talking about Nexus in the midst of this Retribution angle. I think a major component of these missed opportunities is expectations, right? Every one we’ve talked about has stemmed from a fantastic and mesmerizing beginning. Is there any more fantastic and mesmerizing beginning than Nexus’s debut?

Clive: None than I can think of off the top of my head. Even the Invasion angle, which I was a fan of, didn’t have as strong a first impression as that night on Raw when Nexus ripped the ringside area to shreds. But any impetus they had was cut off very quickly during that Summerslam match. And the nonsense they were dealt on subsequent PPVs too just turned what was initially white hot into a dull flame before the year was out. At least you got a solid 6 months before the ECW/WCW alliance fell to shit.

Rey: You know me pretty well man, so you know I’m not the kind of guy to think that an angle is basically over after one bad moment.  But maaaaaaaaannnnnn, Nexus was done after Cena Hogan’d them, weren’t they?  I actually think that they should’ve lost that match, but the egregious manner in which they did is borderline unforgivable, which hilariously enough is the catalyst of your John Cena hatred.  The stable was always going to be short lived because they didn’t have members with enough credibility for it to work.  Bryan was gone night one, Skip Sheffield aka Ryback destroyed his ankle in Hawaii, Michael Tarver was trash, Otunga still can’t do a wristlock, and Slater and Gabriel needed seasoning.  It just wasn’t going to work long term, but Cena made sure it wasn’t going to work at all.

Clive: Oh, my hatred for John Cena started a loooong time before this Summerslam. But that’s another conversation for another day!

 

The WWE Babyface Conundrum

 

Rey: WWE has a lot of booking issues, and we’re going to talk about two of them in these next two sections.  So let’s look at how they book babyfaces.  Faces are hard to to book in 2020 because of a myriad of issues – fickle fans, size and style differentials, promo issues, etc.  Other than Daniel Bryan, who’s maybe been the most perfectly booked babyface of all time, there have been issues with every WWE babyface this side of John Cena.  I can go down the line.  Johnny Gargano, Sami Zayn, Kofi Kingston, Roman Reigns, etc.  What do you think?

Clive: People might call me biased here, so I’ll preface by saying this person isn’t even my favourite Scottish wrestler. But I’ll be damned if Drew McIntyre isn’t being presented as the best babyface world champion in a long time. Kofi was a close second. But he was CONTINUOUSLY fighting from underneath. Drew has looked STRONG and convincing throughout his reign. Perhaps though, as you’ve just alluded to, it’s because he is being presented how a strong poster boy for the company should be. In contrast to those mentioned above, at least. I wonder if it’s a societal issue. TV shows have evolved into the preferred option over cinema. Part of that is probably down to streaming services. But a lot of it is also down to the “protagonists” of the shows having a very shaky moral compass. Despite their many flaws, we root for these people. I believe that behaviour has transferred over to wrestling; we want the bad guys to win. So, when the good guys are simply fighting the good fight, it comes across as stale. Uninteresting, maybe. We’re always waiting to see which morally compromised wrestler is next, and what they’re going to do. It’s a shame, really, because these faces aren’t necessarily doing anything wrong.

Rey: The disappointing thing is that there are so many pure babyfaces that were turned heel when they were doing great work.  Sami went from a manic ska loving fool to Che Guevera.  Bryan went from Mr. Yes to evil Captain Planet.  Gargano went from the heart of NXT to a deranged version of Mr. Rogers…wait, that’s Bray Wyatt…you get the point.  It’s a really weird thing, and I’m team Heel, so I love their heel versions MUCH better, but it’s still a troubling thing that the only babyfaces that they can effectively push are the ones like Drew.

Clive: I’d personally argue that Daniel Bryan’s Captain Planet shtick saw him in career peak form, so I’m very glad we got to see that. Sami? I don’t really think we’ll be able to articulate how to fix this issue. One of those “it is what it is” deals. I just hope Drew keeps doing what he’s doing. It won’t be long surely before we get some sort of draft. Keep things fresh for him (which they have been so far).

 

The Tag Team Division

 

Clive: Now this one is an interesting one. Until CoVid, I had my need for great tag team wrestling sated, thanks to NXT UK. So the regular gripes people have about either random singles stars put together, proper units being broken up, or too many comedy programs that admittedly litter the main roster don’t anger me as much as it does others. So I’m going to open up the floor to you on this one to spit ya fire.

Rey: Hilariously enough, I don’t have much of an issue with this topic myself.  But it’s extremely apparent that WWE doesn’t value tag team wrestling as a draw.  Now, this DOES NOT mean that WWE doesn’t value tag teams, as they clearly do.  The New Day, Usos, the Street Profits, Undisputed ERA, and most recently, Bayley and Sasha prove that.  However, they have had a storied history of choosing to break up established tag teams to make singles stars, or putting two singles guys together because they have nothing else to do with them (Hi Cesaro!).  And when you look at other companies like AEW, Impact, New Japan…actually, they’re tag division is just as shitty…never mind.  I think you get the point.

Clive: It’s certainly not exclusive to WWE, that’s for sure. I think maybe it’s more obvious just now because Raw specifically has really struggled to make its tag division seem credible, competitive etc. At least Smackdown is mostly about actual wrestling, which I appreciate. I guess…. we don’t actually have much to bleat about on this one!

Rey: Wanna trash FTR a bit?

Clive: Not at all! How dare you!

 

Who Ran Over Roman?

 

Rey: Finally, a storyline we can break down.  Last summer, Roman Reigns was in an on again/off again feud with Samoa Joe, but he started being attacked backstage.  First, somebody tried to drop some heavy lighting equipment on him (fresh with Oscar-worthy acting by Kayla Braxton), but then a week or two later, while Roman was arguing with Samoa Joe, somebody tried to run Roman down.  They hit the car that he just happened to be able to jump in, with Joe frantically worried.  It was a really nice touch, seeing as both men hated each other, but no man wants to see another literally killed.  All of this seemed to be leading up to it being Daniel Bryan, with his minion Rowan doing the dirty work.  Murphy’s random insertion, Rowan’s doppelganger, and a lot of heavy breathing later, everybody just moved on.  What the hell, Clive?

Clive: Rance, answer me this. Do you remember what you were doing when JFK was – you know what, maybe this isn’t a monumental moment in pop culture history. Nevertheless, the buzz around this whodunnit angle was off the charts, personally. When it was looking like Bryan was just a Rowan puppet, you and I wrung our hands in anticipation at the thought of this being drawn out to culminate in an epic showdown between Reigns and DBry at Mania (this must have been around Survivor Series season). The ultimate rematch. The ultimate clash between professional wrestling and sports entertainment. The story wrote itself. Except, the problem was, the story didn’t even get written. Obviously, with CoVid and Roman staying home, it may never have been anyway. But I’m concluding right now that the decision NOT to book this program created some effed up butterfly effect which actually led to that dodgy batch of bat soup around the start of the worst year in history. 

Rey: So first off, I was negative 25 years old when JFK was shot.  Secondly, it was SummerSlam season.  I remember this vividly because the story seemed to be leading to a match between the two at SummerSlam, but both men were left off the Pay-Per-View.  So not only did the story just get dropped (in fact, it was flipped to make Bryan a face again and have the fucking Bludgeon Brothers team back up), but two of the biggest stars in the company and of ALL TIME had to miss the second biggest show of the year.  Man.

Clive: Ah yes, that’s right. And on the SummerSlam pre-show Eric Rowan levelled Buddy Murphy something stinking!! Well, if there is ANY positive at all long term from this, it’s that Murphy was in a camera shot by accident. He got noticed. And now he’s a staple in a… stable. And we’ve been high on Murphy for a long time, so that’s a good thing, right?…..Right?

 

The Hacker

 

Clive: Speaking of Mr Murphy. And in particular, the Ying to his Yang. Mustafa Ali had been on the fringes of the fringes of WWE for 8 months. EIGHT. Things started to look up for him when imagery and, most importantly, the overarching message associated with him was spliced into the whole hacker routine. This went on for months. It made GTV look like child’s play in comparison. It was even paramount in the pay-off of a major angle at WrestleMania, for Allah’s sake! A rejuvenated, possibly repackaged in some form Mustafa Ali was on the horizon. And then? Once again? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Niente. 

Rey: It’s baffling that they just left it by the wayside.  And you bring up GTV, which is a great comparison because both angles affected major stories.  GTV was the catalyst of the breakup of Eddie and Chyna, and the Hacker exposed Sonya and Dolph’s collusion to keep Mandy and Otis away from each other.  So to see that it was given so much attention, then literally forgotten is massively disappointing.  They still have the possible opportunity to retcon it with this Retribution storyline though.

Clive: It’s a prime example of why I’m pretty cold on this whole Retribution thing. Sure, the visuals are awesome. Who wouldn’t pop for ring ropes being chainsawed to smithereens? But it’s the follow through, or potential lack thereof, that doesn’t see me as invested as I really should be. We’ve seen it with Nexus, which is a very similar scenario. We’ve seen it with the hacker, which fizzled away to nothing. And we’ve seen it with the greatest matchup in all the multiverse being RIPPED from our aching, vulnerable bosoms, Rance! Back on track, if Mustafa Ali was the intended hacker, then could have been really something. But it’s as if doing something which would be taboo in the eyes of law enforcement is hardly ever given an end product. It’s annoying, is what it is!

Rey: That may be the most unforgivable sin out of the whole situation.  The story, had Ali actually have been the hacker, could’ve propelled him to the main event.  And we both know that young man deserves to be there.  Still, as we’ve seen in this list and many situations like what we’re talking about, plans changed.  Brother.

I don’t know about you man, but I’m exhausted.  Talking about negativity just wipes me out in a way that very few things do.  But this had to be done.  We had to break this down, and hopefully, we can have good things again.  Once the world stops being an episode of The Walking Dead.

Clive:: Well, to be honest, I’m reading this not long after watching SummerSlam. Both women’s title matches were excellent. Drew McIntyre is storming into the conversation for having the best strong baby-face world title run since Johnny Boots ‘N’ Tights. And The Big Dog just said to Braun Strowman “I made you. You ain’t a monster unless I’m here.” Which is a major BRUH moment if there ever was one. So I’m in a good mood with WWE right now. That is, of course, until the Retribution angle shits the bed….

Rey: Well, while that may be so, I’m gonna make like the returning Big Dawg and wreck this column and leave.

 

FIN


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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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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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