Opinion
Cook’s Top 5: Contract Signings
With the contract signing being a big part of wrestling, Steve Cook explores the Top 5!
With the contract signing being a big part of wrestling, Steve Cook explores the Top 5!
All Elite Wrestling’s very first public contract signing is taking place this week on Dynamite. Le Champion Chris Jericho & American Nightmare Cody will put their names on the likely non-dotted line to meet at the Full Gear event in Baltimore. I’ve been pretty pro-AEW & very pro-anything involving Jericho and/or Cody lately, but here’s the thing:
I hate contract signings.
I could go the rest of my life without seeing another one pretty easily. WWE’s really done the gimmick to death over the years, as it seems like they have one every couple of months for matches of all levels of importance. It’s one thing to have it for a PPV World Championship match. It’s another to drag it out for an Intercontinental Championship match or tag team match or something.
They’re all very predictable too. You know it’s going to involve a number of sick burns and somebody’s going to get beat up.
I need to try & get over this irrational hatred. WWE’s going to have another one in a couple of weeks anyway. So let’s jump in the time machine and look back at the Top 5 Contract Signings to remind ourselves why wrestling promotions hold them incessantly.
5. Bret Hart & Yokozuna sign to meet at WrestleMania IX
Mean Gene Okerlund was on point as the host here. He implored both men for decorum and ran the show. President Jack Tunney was out there and Okerlund seemed more like an authority figure to me. Except when he stumbled over the ropes while getting out of the ring.
The Hitman’s assertion he would be 100% for the match took a hit when Yokozuna attacked him. Bret impressed us all by eventually standing up after taking the Banzai Drop. That hadn’t been done up until that point.
4. Hollywood Hogan exposes Rowdy Roddy Piper prior to Starrcade ’96
The New World Order engaged in more than its fair share of beatdowns during its existence, but this was definitely one that stood out from the pack. Hogan & Piper’s Starrcade match was so big that the contract signing had to be on PPV as well, as World War 3 played host to it. Piper had changed a little bit since the last time he had wrestled, and Hogan & the NWO showed us how.
People were going to find out about the hip anyway, so it made sense to include it as part of the storyline. Hogan attacking it & spray painting Piper’s leg made him that much more despicable & made you want to see the Rowdy Scot take his head off.
3. Vince McMahon signs the contract for the End of an Era match with Steve Austin’s blood
There weren’t many more bitter feuds than the one between Stone Cold Steve Austin & his boss, Vince McMahon. It propelled the WWF to the the top of the Monday Night War and to bigger business than it had ever seen. But all good things have to come to an end, and Austin vs. McMahon had to end or else one of them was going to end up killing the other. So Austin’s match with the Undertaker was to have three stipulations:
-First Blood
-If Austin wins, Vince never appears on television again
-If Undertaker wins, Austin never gets another title shot
So, of course we needed a contract signing to make sure everybody agreed. And of course, there needed to be blood involved in the signing.
Vince liked doing this so much that he did a variation of it with Hulk Hogan prior to WrestleMania XIX. Shame he didn’t think to do it before WrestleMania 23.
2. Batista signs the World Championship Match contract for WrestleMania 21
When Batista won the 2005 Royal Rumble, he received the opportunity to face the top champion of his choosing: SmackDown’s WWE Champion JBL, or Raw’s World Champion Triple H. Evolution was still running strong with H, Batista & Ric Flair at this point, but Triple H was a bit afraid that the big man wanted his title. He first tried to convince Batista not to enter the Rumble, but that was a non-starter. Then, Hunter devised a plan to have Batista nearly hit by a white limo with horns on it that resembled one that JBL would ride around in. It almost worked, until Batista overheard H & Flair talking about how well the plan worked in the locker room. Womp womp.
Batista switching the thumbs up to the thumbs down was one of those amazing moments you love to see as a wrestling fan. Finally, the Animal was going to snap on his mentor. It’s easy to see why people thought he was going to be the #1 guy in WWE through the rest of the 2000s.
1. Hulk Hogan finally gives Andre the Giant a title shot at WrestleMania III
It’s extremely rare to see one of these televised contract signings end without fists being thrown, but that’s exactly what happened at the Hogan/Andre contract signing prior to WrestleMania III. Hogan’s crucifix had already been torn off, so Andre didn’t need to engage in any more physicality. The Hulkster was beside himself with rage. Bobby Heenan was in classic Bobby Heenan form.
It didn’t need violence. The way Andre brushed Hogan off did more to convince people that the Giant was going to win the title in the Silverdome than anything else he could have done. Hogan’s behavior told a better story of his mindset going in than an attack on Andre would have. Maybe it could have used a better set, but other than that it was perfect.
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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