With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!

This year’s annual Backlash showcase is only a few days away, and while there are many big matches announced, one that definitely should be isn’t on the card. In my opinion, outside of Roman Reigns/Jacob Fatu and Seth Rollins/Bron Breakker, the Intercontinental Championship scene has been stellar over the last month. 

Penta has been an excellent champion, especially after his triumphant title defense in a ladder match against JeVon Evans, Rusev, Dragon Lee, and the Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 42. Their ladder match at Mania was one of the best that WWE has produced in a while. 

The momentum never stopped, as on the post-Mania episode of Monday Night Raw, ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page made his debut and was quickly inserted into the Intercontinental title scene. Page had a fantastic showing against his longtime NXT rival Evans and picked up a big win in his debut match thanks to an assist from Rusev. 

All Ego immediately joined forces with ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ Rusev, who was also vying for the Intercontinental Title in his own right. On this week’s episode of Raw, Page and Rusev defeated Evans and Penta. All Ego pinned the champion, making a huge statement and putting him one step closer to getting a title shot. For the past few weeks I’ve been anxiously waiting to see if WWE was going to add this incredible fatal four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship, but it hasn’t happened yet. 

As much as the WWE Universe enjoys witnessing great matches on free television, I truly believe all four superstars deserve the chance to showcase their talents on the PLE. While Penta has done a terrific job as the intercontinental champion, it’s time for a fresh face to hold the prestigious title. Page would make a great braggadocious heel that would help elevate the Intercontinental Championship to new heights!

Welcome to Our Chairshot Take! This week, 5 of your favorite contributors answer questions about the WWE releases, the Forbidden Door alliance, women main eventing WrestleMania, wrestling competition shows, and The Bloodline!

Welcome to a new weekly wrestling column featuring some of your favorite Chairshot contributors (and some outside of Chairshot as well) – Our Chairshot Take! Every week, we’ll have 5 contributors answer 5 of the most interesting, intriguing, and relevant questions that you want answers too. Please, feel free to tell us why we’re right or wrong, and most importantly, let us know YOUR take!  And don’t forget, #AlwaysUseYourHead!

How do you think professional wrestling companies should handle releases?

Greg: It’s hard, because personally I don’t know how they could do it any better. It’s the wrestling media who jumps on the news–and they’re just doing their job. As Booker T says, don’t hate the playa, hate the game. For wrestling news, that’s the game. Plus, some talents are going to tell the media, and that’s their prerogative.

So instead, I offer you some other solutions:

Come up with a longevity threshold where a talent can keep their name. Call it 6 years. We released Apollo Crews? He can go and be Apollo Crews elsewhere. WWE still retains ownership over the name, but they provide him permission to use it. Because, yes, they owned it and developed it, but he made it real. Let him keep it alive, if he chooses to.

Guarantee main roster deals for two years. In the case of Aleister Black, it’s easily plausible that 3-6 months from now, we’ll all see a glaring hole that he could have filled. Some things take time to get right. 

Finally, leverage that TNA partnership. Keeping with the same example, imagine sending Aleister Black & Zelina Vega to TNA as a shocking surprise. It helps everyone. Work out something where TNA covers a portion of the contract. Elevate the partnership, and rise that tide that raises all ships.

Andrew: The way they’re done now is fine. There’s no pomp and circumstance for normal people when they get fired, and some traditional sports stars find out they’re traded or cut because of ESPN. Wrestling ain’t special or fancy. News nowadays is about first out, not moral high ground. Deal with it.

Kyle: Unless someone asked for their release, there really isn’t a good way to handle it. Inevitably, there will always be a section of fans who are unhappy with one of their favorite stars being released. That being said, I do think it’s generally good business to grant releases to people who ask for them, and I’m definitely not a fan of adding time onto someone’s contract who no longer wants there just because they may have been injured at some point.

Karl: I’ve never been a big fan of the announced releases. I think it brings too much unwanted attention to the employees during an already difficult time. I’m not one to defend a corporate entity either, and it’s no secret that companies fire and hire employees all the time on a daily basis whether for good reasons or bad. That said, I would find it better, or perhaps more palatable that releases are done quietly with little drawn attention. Allow that privacy for the employee being released. If they want to announce that they’ve been let go, that should fall to them, not on wrestling journalists looking for a scoop.

Rob: There should be no leaks before the wrestlers themselves are told by the companies. And I’d give people a chance to ask for theirs if they want to leave before we make any roster decisions.

Has the Forbidden Door alliance – AEW, CMLL, and New Japan – worked?

Greg: For who??? That’s rhetorical, and it’s also the point. AEW’s “strategic partnerships” haven’t benefited anyone other than AEW. Look at New Japan today: struggling. Bouncing the title around to see who sticks. Konosuke Takeshita was a perfect option for IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Didn’t have it long enough to gain traction. Send people out on longer tours, let them truly impact someone else’s business. THAT is how you build a strategic partnership. 

Yes, no one from TNA has held a WWE NXT Championship outside of the Hardys. And yes, someone should. Jordynne Grace and Joe Hendry signed with WWE? It was always going to happen. At least TNA got some bump out of it. Guess what? Mike Santana and Leon Slater are gonna sign at some point, too. But their presence in WWE NXT helps TNA.

AEW’s partnerships — TNA, New Japan, and CMLL  — have only benefited AEW. And that’s now how this is supposed to work.

Andrew: Hahahahahaha, oh, you’re serious? NJPW has become a farm system. Their main event scene has been in tatters and I’ve seen rats leave a sinking ship slower. NJPW went from arguably the second biggest company in the world to a footnote in where a new person comes from to the general audience. Also, AAA has been more relevant in the conversation of wrestling media in the last 6 months, as compared to CMLL in the last 5 years. This Alliance is the Go Bots of pro wrestling. Discount, K-Mart, wannabe super group, that is about as significant as Damnocracy.

Kyle: It’s worked out for AEW, but I don’t think it’s really worked for CMLL and especially not for New Japan. I can’t remember the last time that NJPW has been down as bad as they are right now. The “alliance” such as it is essentially functions as a way for AEW to test the reactions that foreign talent receive and decide whether or not to poach them from CMLL or New Japan by throwing money at them.

Karl: I don’t particularly follow these companies, but I think the answer is probably somewhere between yes and no. Defining what would make the alliance successful would be the best way to break it down. What were the goals? If the goal was to get a million dream matches on the docket, I think it’s a success. It’s a great way to get wrestling matches you couldn’t always get otherwise. If the goal was some monetary gain or bringing eyes to compete with the big dog on the block, then it’s probably less of a success. So with that, I’d probably say it’s both successful and unsuccessful depending on what your expectations were/are of the idea.

Rob: For AEW, absolutely.  They’ve gotten to use people from New Japan for various things.  I don’t know if it’s worked great for New Japan given how many people AEW has signed that were theirs first.  CMLL has gotten to use some AEW talent on their shows so I’d call that a win for them.

What will it take for there to be another women’s main event at WrestleMania?

Greg: Intent. That’s it. It’s a quick answer. “We put the most deserving match in that spot” is a bullshit cop out. You have the ability to book and showcase the product based on your plans. If you come out of every WrestleMania with the non-negotiable that women will be in the main event of one night of WrestleMania, then you will make it happen. 

You build guardrails and parameters to follow. It’s not rocket science. I book my local independent and I have had women in the main event multiple times, and had a woman win our annual Rumble and use that to win our Heavyweight Championship. I made it happen because I had an intentional plan: before, during, and after. And that’s on the indies!

It can be done, you just have to want to do it.

Andrew: A compelling story and the ability to draw the crowd in. Anyone who thinks workrate matters is a fool. If Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey had their match at Mania instead of a Netflix special, THAT would’ve headlined the show. We are a long way away from any personalities being Earth shattering enough to move a main event needle. Maybe when Bianca Belair comes back from pregnancy, but that depends on her dance partner. 

Kyle: It would have to be both the right combination of major stars and a strong story that the crowds are invested in. If anyone on the current roster who’s healthy could pull it off, it’s probably Rhea just because she’s massively over still.

Karl: Given the ownership group, a miracle probably. I just don’t think that TKO understands the company they own. This isn’t anything new. We see it time and time again when larger corporations purchase companies just to have more assets on their balance sheet. The quality dips because suits have hijacked what made the product great in the past. Wrestling is no different. That’s not to say that having women main event WrestleMania is the exact thing that makes wrestling great, but the idea that anyone can get to the top, or break down a barrier, especially in sport (scripted or otherwise) is part of what makes entertainment in this format so wonderful. I don’t trust the people in charge to have their finger on the pulse of what makes wrestling great, so therefore, I think even if the women’s stories demanded top billing, they wouldn’t get it anytime soon. I’ll be happy to be wrong.

Rob: The men’s side will have to clear out a bit. As long as Roman, Cody, and Punk are still there, forget it. Especially now that Oba will be there as soon as next year and Trick is coming up. Throw in Seth and Randy, and those spots are taken for the foreseeable future. To even get in the conversation though, they have to book some kind of compelling story between two or three women that rivals what the men at the top are doing. That requires treating one or two women as equals to Rhea creatively, even if they aren’t as popular, and not just booking for pops and title wins on big 4 PLEs.

Why do you think the winners of wrestling competition shows aren’t usually successful?

Greg: The most important word in the phrase “wrestling competition show” is the last one: show. It’s a show first, a true competition later. Pumping out true successful talent isn’t actually it’s job. it’s job is to payoff for whoever is paying for the show. That’s driven by results: viewers and advertising dollars. A&E doesn’t care of Shiloh Hill main events WrestleMania unless it means more financial payoff for their investment in WWE LFG. I do think we are too quick to thrust talent into a primary role after winning. Give them time.

For my eyeballs? I’d rather see true reality style coverage, think NFL Hard Knocks, or schools like Cody Rhodes’ Nightmare Factory and Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling. With the WWE machine behind it, it can work. But in the current format, it doesn’t exist to put out TV ready talent–that’s what Evolve and NXT are for.

Plus, who is making the decisions in the end? If it’s not Triple H, Bruce Prichard, Michael Hayes, and Tony Khan (for AEW, obviously), then it doesn’t matter who wins.

Andrew: Because they aren’t wrestlers. Why aren’t most American Idol winners successful? Talent does not equate to understanding the business you want to be in. We all know of music artists we wish were more well known, but they don’t understand the game well enough to play it. It’s easy to fake it for 8 weeks on camera; it’s another thing to have the determination and resolve to live it 24/7.

Kyle: I think most of the competition show winners aren’t successful because the writing team for the competition show and the creative team for the wrestling show usually aren’t the same. Add to that the fact that the winners of these shows are usually rushed to television too soon because the company wants to capitalize on the popularity of the show, and you have a recipe for a lot of winners ending up released sooner rather than later. Arguably the most successful wrestling competition show winner was John Morrison, who won Tough Enough III, and he was given a couple of years to develop in OVW and wasn’t put on TV until he was ready and creative had something for him. Most winners don’t get that opportunity to grow, and thus, they end up failing in the long run.

Karl: Much like the winners of American Idol or The Voice don’t typically amount to a hill of beans, I see wrestling competition shows in the same vein. Sure, you’ll have the occasional standout, but it’s just really hard to be consistently great at anything without working at it. On a competition show, you’re all in, all the time, because otherwise you’re going home. But what happens when you win that show? Does the drive stay high? It can be difficult I think, because once you’re in the door, you’re no longer looked at as someone special. You’re now just like everyone else. Or, the flip side, you’re put under the bright lights too quickly and it doesn’t work. Not to mention, there are people in the locker room who have been working their whole life for this thing you achieved in a matter of months. It’s going to naturally devolve into jealousy by your peers. I think competition show winners fall prey to the pressure of sustained success.

Rob: Winning the competition isn’t the same as succeeding in the real world. The competition is a closed space and its own entity. Just like how Star Search and American Idol winners are often not the most successful people from their group.

Has the Bloodline storyline jumped the shark?

Greg: In a word: no.

In a few words: absolutely hell the freak not.

In more words: do you know what the phrase “jump the shark” actually means? Look it up. It comes from the old TV show Happy Days, where Arthur Fonzarelli, aka “The Fonze” and “Fonzie,” actually jumps over a shark on his motorcycle. After that, the show was never really the same again. Jumping the shark was the moment. That’s what it means.

Now circle back to The Bloodline. What’s their “jump the shark” moment? There isn’t one! Are we producing “cinema” like the height of the  Sami Zayn story? No, not at all. But we haven’t jumped the shark. Instead, we’ve evolved. Roman Reigns’ ascension back to the world title saw Jimmy & Jey Uso get slowly infused back into the fold, but what did Roman do after? He said that they now stand together. They are more equal now. There’s no wiseman, there’s no outlier Sami Zayn character, no solo as the right hand man. 

It hasn’t jumped the shark, it’s evolved. And I want to see where it goes next.

Andrew: Bloodline should’ve been dead when Jacob and Solo split. I don’t think there’s been anything egregious enough to imply it “Jumped the Shark,” as in, a desperation ploy to keep it going. But it’s just outlasted it’s welcome. While Roman will always be my OTC, and I’ve been ride or die with the Werewolf and G.O.D., we can stop dragging it on into perpetuity. Let people go their own ways without a reference every other month, and no more Honorary Usos. That LA Knight shirt was ALMOST a shark jump…but the angle was so insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter enough to even register anywhere near the Island of Relevancy.

Kyle: I watched Jacob Fatu put the Tribal Chief in a Tongan Death Grip. You’re not gonna catch me in these streets disrespecting any of the Polynesian wrestlers or their storylines. I don’t want NONE of that smoke.

Karl: The Bloodline story is probably running out of juice, for a lot of the same reasons big time storylines run out of juice. There’s not much left to squeeze. There are only so many ways you can take a story. You can try to keep it fresh, and on a smaller scale, you can run into the old nWo problem of too many cooks in the kitchen. The Bloodline ran with a lot of new members, and new introductions. It helped build some of them to important status, but at a certain point, new pathways need to be created for all involved. You can always revisit what made the stories great. I’ve always thought the way the Shield was handled post-break up has been well done. Callbacks here and there to what made them great, to what broke them apart, etc., were always fun ways to remind the fans, but continuing with the angle will always fall flat, especially with how short the attention span of most people can be.

Rob: It all depends on whether or not they have some good enemies this year. If they’re just running back all of the bits they did last time then yes. But if they can find some new things to do, then they’ll be fine.

Greg – @GregDeMarco44

Andrew – @IWCWarChief

Kyle – @OutsidersEdgeCS

Karl — @OutsidersEdgeCS

Rob – @rbonne1