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Bodeen’s Top 5 Moments: WWE RAW (5/10/21)

With WrestleMania Backlash this coming weekend, Bodeen lists out his Top 5 moments from WWE Raw!

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With just a few days to go until WrestleMania Backlash, Monday Night RAW once again came from us from the ThunderDome as the go-home show for WrestleMania Backlash. While not as bad as previous weeks, Raw once again felt slow and painful to go through as RAW once was again hurt by rematches from previous RAW episodes, multi-person tag team matches, as well as a slow pacing as RAW’s three-hour time slot, continued to hurt the flagship show. Despite all the negatives, I am here to once again bring you the positives for RAW as I once again bring you the top 5 moments from this week’s edition of Monday Night RAW ahead of WrestleMania Backlash.

5. Humberto Carrillo and the United States Champion, Sheamus push each other to the limit 

Before Humberto Carrillo and Sheamus could face each other, The United States Champion would cut a short promo just before the match on his Championship reign as well as talk about Humberto Carrillo and Mansoor talking about how dominant he was after giving both men a Brogue Kick last week on RAW. Humberto would start the match strong against The United States Champion as he sent Sheamus outside the ring, however, The United States Champion would quickly regain the advantage as he threw Carrillo over the barricade near the timekeeper’s area as RAW went to an ad break.

Sheamus would continue to inflict pain on Humberto Carrillo with Sheamus taking Carrillo to the rope to hit the Beats of the Bodhran on Carrillo. However, Carrillo would fight back and would eventually hit The Celtic Warrior with a slingshot sunset flip powerbomb with both men landing outside the ring awkwardly as Sheamus’s body landed on the knees on Carrillo. This would eventually lead to the referee calling for the bell as the match was called a no-contest with Carrillo’s status being unknown as it was not clear as he suffered a legitimate injury after the referee called the match off.

While it is unfortunate that the match was called short due to a booking decision or a legitimate injury suffered by Carrillo. Both men still put on a solid effort in the short time they had with Carrillo looking like a legitimate threat as he pushed The United States Champion to his limit. With Carrillo potentially being injured after the bump, it will be extremely interesting to see who the next challenger for Sheamus’s United States Championship will be.

4. Randy Orton, Riddle, Xavior Woods and Kofi Kingston take on AJ Styles, Omos, Elias and Jaxson Ryker in an eight-man tag team match 

After Jaxson Ryker and Elias were defeated by Riddle and Randy Orton and Omos and AJ Styles defeated The New Day all eight men would have a chance to face each other in an eight men tag team match. All eight men would put on a solid match as the massive Omos continued to look strong once again as he dominated The New Day once again. The match also did a solid job in advancing the tag team story of Riddle and Randy Orton as Riddle and Orton continue to rise up the tag team division as they continue to work well together. Before the match started, Riddle would talk to The New Day backstage talking about his reaction to seeing The Viper get tomatoes thrown at him by Ryker and Elias last week. This would lead to Orton confronting The King Of Bros telling him how he found killing legends and burning people fun showing his sadistic side to Riddle.

Riddle and Elias would start the match off for their teams with The King Of Bros getting the early advantage over Elias. However, the momentum would quickly change as Elias tagged in the giant Omos who dominated Riddle despite Riddle’s best efforts. Omos would then once again dominate The New Day making quick work of Woods and Kingston. The Viper would confront Omos as both men stared at each other to send us to the ad break. After the ad break Elias, Styles and Ryker would continue to work over Riddle. Riddle would then tag in Woods but the heels would quickly get the upper hand over Woods.

Woods would continue to fight on for his team and would eventually get the hot tag to Riddle who took the fight to the team of heels, leading to Riddle hitting the Bro-Derek on Elias. Omos would stop the pin with the match breaking down with Riddle tagging Orton in the chaos. Orton would then wait outside the ring as The New Day distracted Omos by attacking AJ Styles outside the ring. This would allow Orton to hit the RKO on a vulnerable Elias to get the win for his team. After the match, Orton would show his true colours as he gave an RKO to Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods before leaving Riddle in the ring as RK-Bro remains to be undefeated despite the massive difference in attitudes between Orton and Riddle.

3. John Morrison and Damien Priest fight for the stipulation ahead of The Miz’s match with Priest 

After Damien Priest beat John Morrison in a solid match last week, Priest would talk to WWE official Adam Pearce this week with Damien Priest adding high stakes for his rematch against Morrison this week with the stakes being the winner gets to choose the stipulation for the match between The Miz and Damien Priest at WrestleMania Backlash. Despite The Miz’s objection to this, John Morrison would accept the challenge further creating miscommunication between the two men as The Miz cost John Morrison his match against Damien Priest last week on RAW after Miz accidentally distracted the referee when Morrison had Priest pinned for a three count. Both men would exchange strikes early in the match with both men showing off their agility in the process, however, the numbers game would hurt Priest as Morrison sent Priest outside the ring allowing The Miz to hit a cheap shot on The Archer Of Infamy outside the ring with Morrison following the cheap shot up with a neck breaker for a close nearfall.

The Archer Of Infamy would then fight back against Morrison hitting Morrison with a roundhouse kick then would hit Morrison with the Shinjiro Otani spinning wheel kick. Both men would continue to go back and forth late in the match Preist hitting Morrison with a diving spinning wheel kick late in the match for another nearfall. Unfortunately for Morrison, The Miz would once again cost him the match as The Miz distracted the referee when Priest tried to connect with Hit The Lights, however, Morrison would reverse it into a crucifix pin for a 3 count only for The Miz’s distraction to cost Morrison, allowing Priest to connect with Hit The Lights to pin Morrison for the win with Priest later going back to Adam Pearce later in the night and making his match against The Miz a lumberjack match so that The Miz cannot run away from Priest in their match.

This was a great match from two men who work extremely well together as their agility and style mix incredibly well. The continued miscommunication between John Morrison and The Miz continues to be an interesting dynamic as both men continue to get in each other’s way. It will be interesting to see if this will lead to either The Miz breaking up with John Morrison, or Morrison breaking up with The Miz and becoming a singles star for the first time since his recent return to WWE.

2. Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander face each other in a grudge match

Shelton Benjamin would have a chance to get revenge on his previous tag team partner as Benjamin took on Alexander this week after Alexander insulted Benjamin, breaking up with his tag team partner, blaming Shelton with their recent poor form. Both men would put on a great match as they told a simple but effective story in the time they were given. Alexander would start off the match strong against Benjamin with Alexander taking out the knee of Benjamin after hitting him with a dragon screw through the ropes then locking in a heel lock on Benjamin, inflicting more pain on the injured leg of Benjamin.

Despite Benjamin’s best efforts, Cedric Alexander would cut off Benjamin every time he tried to get back into the match. Benjamin would continue to get dominated by Alexander as Alexander began to insult a hurt Benjamin. Alexander would continue to run his mouth as he even called out the announce table. Unfortunately for Alexander, his ego would cost him the match as it allowed Benjamin to recover to hit the t-bone suplex on Alexander for the win over his former tag team partner.

This short match told a simple but extremely effective story as it made Cedric Alexander look strong in a sense as he dominated his former tag team partner, while still showing the inexperience of Alexander as his ego and trash-talking cost him the match. Hopefully, this is not the last we see of Alexander and Benjamin on tv as both men struggled to remain relevant before joining The Hurt Business despite both men being extremely talented and gifted.

1. Drew Mcintyre and The All-Mighty Bobby Lashley face each other in a WrestleMania rematch 

Drew Mcintyre would have a chance to get revenge on the All-Mighty WWE Champion Bobby Lashley this week on RAW as both men main evented RAW this week in a rematch to their match at WrestleMania this week. Before the match happened MVP, would once again play a factor heading into the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania Backlash this Sunday as MVP confronted The Monster Among Man, Braun Strowman. MVP would talk about Drew Mcintyre costing Braun Strowman his match against Bobby Lashley the previous week. MVP would then suggest that Strowman and Bobby Lashley should team up and take out Drew Mcintyre making their match at WrestleMania Backlash a singles match. Strowman would tell MVP to leave with Strowman not giving a straight answer. MVP would later get more time on the mic as he talked about how Bobby Lashley beat Drew at WrestleMania and how Lashley will stay WWE Champion at WrestleMania with MVP once again doing a great job at being the manager for Bobby Lashley as his skills on the mic are a highlight for RAW every week.

Things would start off hot between Lashley and Mcintyre as Lashley tried to put Drew in The Hurt Lock early up in the match with Drew reversing. Both men would go back and forth, showcasing their incredible strength as they put on a great main event. Late in the match, Lashley would throw Mcintyre into the ring post face first. Lashley would then attempt a spear only for Drew to send Lashley into the turnbuckle and do a Ric Flair flip in the process. Mcintyre would then hit the leaping neck breaker and would try to hit the Future Shock DDT only for Lashley to block it. Lashley would then attempt to put Drew in the Hurt Lock, once again with Drew reversing and surviving a fisherman suplex from Lashley to hit the Claymore on Lashley only for The Monster Among Men, Braun Strowman to come out and attack Drew.

Strowman would then go and help Lashley to his feet and looked ready to accept the offer from MVP earlier in the night, however, Strowman would show he wanted to side with no one as he suddenly hit Lashley with a running powerslam. Strowman would then hit another powerslam on Drew, however, Strowman wasn’t done there as he hit Lashley with a powerslam through the barricade and would hit another powerslam on Drew as he stood tall against Lashley and Strowman as RAW went off the air.

These were my top 5 moments from an average but improved edition of Monday Night RAW this week. What were your top 5 moments from Monday Night RAW this week and what are your predictions and thoughts for the RAW matches heading into WrestleMania Backlash? Let us know in the comment section down below. 


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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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