Opinion

News From Cook’s Corner 6.22.20: Speaking Out

Cook News is back again, touching on the biggest topic in the wrestling community this week!

Published

5 years ago

June 22, 2020

Steve Cook

This is something that needed to happen a long time ago.

Back when the #MeToo movement took over social media and victims of predators in Hollywood & other places stood up against their abusers, many of us wondered when it would happen in pro wrestling. Let’s be honest: wrestling doesn’t have the best reputation for some very good reasons. For years, we glorified some of the worst behavers because they entertained us in the ring. When we’d hear some of the old stories about their worst actions, we’d shrug them off. Or heck, sometimes we’d even laugh about it because the way the story was told made it sound amusing.

As one example: a legendary figure wearing nothing under his robe on an airplane wasn’t appropriate in any circumstances, but by God that was our guy and it was funny. Gross is what it actually was, but we laughed along anyway because it was one of our favorite wrestlers and it was a different time.

As an example from a time that wasn’t so different: a divisive figure suplexing young female wrestlers by grabbing their boobs & having people grab his genetilia so he could flip them around. There were people that defended this as “entertainment”, but did anybody really think that everybody that went along with this nonsense did so without pressure? Or that somebody that thought these were good ideas wasn’t at least a little bit creepy?

Or, we simply wouldn’t believe the accusers. How could the wrestlers that put their bodies on the lines for us every night to provide us with our favorite form of entertainment be such terrible people? The accusers had to be lying. Probably just looking for attention.

This is the part where somebody interjects with the notion that not every accuser tells the truth. That is true, and its something I have to keep in mind when writing about these things. But many of the staunchest defenders of wrestlers against sexual misconduct allegations would tell you that maybe 10% of the allegations are true & 90% are false. Flip those numbers around and you’re closer to the truth.

It took longer for people involved with wrestling to speak out. As somebody that’s never been a sexual assault or harassment victim, I can’t judge when a victim should or shouldn’t come forward. I’d like to think I could talk about it openly, but I have no idea. I do know that those who have are incredibly brave, and that those who still keep it inside are also brave to have to deal with it every day and try to maintain a regular life. Don’t know if I could do that either.

This is another one of those weeks where we have a lot to unpack. It needs to be done. We won’t be able to drive all of the sexual predators and bad actors out of the business. There will be some that slip through the cracks. Hopefully we can get enough of them out to make pro wrestling a safer & better environment for everybody.

The question: How do we discuss #SpeakingOut in a column like this one?

The best we can. If somehow you’ve managed to avoid all this, I suggest you check the #SpeakingOut hashtag on Twitter. Frankly, I can’t do justice to these stories with my written word. So many folks have shared their experiences. What I’ll do here is try to cover most of the biggest fallout thus far. There will surely be more.

It all started with David Starr. For those of you that aren’t familiar with him, Starr is/was one of the top wrestling stars in Europe. He was noted for wanting to unionize pro wrestling & often spoke against major wrestling promotions for how they treat their talent. On Wednesday, an ex-girlfriend of Starr’s spoke out about the emotional & physical abuse Starr put her through during their relationship. This led to a number of other women talking about what Starr had done to them, and Starr making an apology that ranked among the least convincing we’ve heard in at least a couple of weeks. (People suck at apologizing.) The backlash from all that resulted in pretty much every promotion Starr had been working for cutting ties with him.

It also led to other women feeling more comfortable about sharing their own stories. It’s almost easier to name the wrestlers in the British wrestling scene that weren’t mentioned during all this than the ones that were. A couple have seen their North American wrestling careers halted. Jimmy Havoc has checked into rehabilitation & his status with AEW is being evaluated after being accused of abuse by an ex-girlfriend. Stories have also surfaced of various incidents involving Havoc while under the influence after wrestling shows.

WWE released Jack Gallagher after he was alleged to have committed a sexual assault. So far, Gallagher is the only person involved in all this to be punished by WWE. The NXT UK brand saw a number of people accused of sexual misconduct. Jordan Devlin, Travis Banks, El Ligero, Joe Coffey & Wolfgang have all faced various allegations. Other names have been mentioned but I can’t find enough on them to include them in this paragraph. Matt Riddle has also been accused of assaulting a woman that denied his sexual advances, but Riddle has denied the accusations and given that his debut match still aired Friday night on SmackDown, WWE seems to be believing Riddle’s side of things. More allegations have surfaced concerning Velveteen Dream and minors, so that story isn’t going away even though it tried to for a minute there.

WWE has said they are investigating the issues, so we shall see if it goes anywhere or not.

The NWA acted much quicker upon sexual abuse allegations directed towards David Lagana. Lagana resigned from his position with the company, and production on their various YouTube shows has been temporarily halted. MLW released their ring announcer, Mark Adam Haggerty, after inappropriate messages between him & a minor were made public. New Japan has seen a couple of allegations and hasn’t acted as of yet. Will Ospreay & Bea Priestley were accused of having a female wrestler that was sexually assaulted by a friend of theirs, blackballed from the UK wrestling scene. Chase Owens has been accused of harassment.

Impact Wrestling…well, I really don’t know where to start there but here we go. Dave Crist was accused of sending unsolicited pictures of himself to one of his trainees, which led to multiple trainees backing up the story. Some cases of sexual assault too. Michael Elgin was accused of similar activity. Kris Levin, a former referee with the company, talked about how Impact released him last year after he answered some questions honestly about Impact executives being internally investigated, which led to Moose tweeting that Levin got fired for being bad at his job.

Then there’s Joey Ryan, who has been accused of sexual assault. His apology had a similar tone to David Starr’s apology, which makes sense as he also liked telling people what a good guy he was for years. More accusations came out afterward, and Ryan went wherever Starr went after he left Twitter. I imagine Jim Cornette would have had a lot to say about this if he wasn’t busy figuring out how he would fight off allegations concerning his wife grooming OVW trainees for sex acts that Jim would watch. Cornette’s limited response so far has been to prove that he & his lawyer have no idea how Facebook works, which is about what you’d expect from the guy. Looks like the winner in the Ryan/Cornette feud after all these years was “none of the above”. They’re both shitheads, congratulations to them.

All of this should cause self-reflection for everybody involved in the business.

It has for me, a bit. I’ve never done anything like what’s being discussed here, but I can’t say I’m 100% innocent of being creepy. I did take some things personal several years ago that I shouldn’t have. I got a little too excited over the idea of “famous” people talking to me. Nowadays nothing bothers me, little impresses me, and I’m aware of my place in the grand scheme of things. I’m happy with it.

As for what I write, if Shotzi Blackheart or Anna Jay read one of my recent columns and tell me to knock it off, that’s no problem. What I write & tweet is meant in fun, and I think I stay on the right side of the creep fence. If I don’t, tell me about it and I’ll adjust.

And for the last time, we’re not bringing back the Hot 100 unless the price is right and I can write it without feeling like I need a cold shower afterwards. I don’t regret doing it back in the day. I still talk to a number of ladies I wrote about in that and their personalities are just as great as the qualities they had that I ranked back in the day.

As for the people that weren’t…well, one of the main critics was a fella that wrote for Uproxx and had an axe to grind with me & 411mania in general. Real feminist kind of guy that was all about virtue signaling and running me & the list down to women in the business to make himself look good. Turns out that guy was one of the names that got named this past week for being a creep.

I really don’t have anything against the Sapps & Satins of the world (except for Sapp’s University of Kentucky fandom, that can never be forgiven), and even Uncle Dave has his good points even if he should have researched my friend a little bit better.

Brandon Stroud? Go fuck yourself, pal.

You didn’t think I forgot, did ya? As I recall, which is all I can do because I’m as bad at Facebook as Jim Cornette’s lawyer is & I can’t find posts, it was 2012. That was probably the best year for the 411 Wrestling Hot 100, it got all kinds of engagement from people in the business. Shazza McKenzie charged into Jessie McKay’s Facebook post about it all ready for a fight, it was good times. As usual, some people were unhappy. One was Mr. Stroud, who chimed in on Veda Scott’s Facebook post about it how she was too low on the list or something along those lines. I assume Veda was his type, I won’t speculate any further on that bit of human interaction because I have no idea. Might have just been Facebook friends, no idea and I’m not saying anything otherwise.

That wasn’t all he had to say. Brandon had a lot to say about 411mania back in those days, and once I popped up in the mentions he had to tell me about how sexist the list was in the kind of passive-aggressive way you would expect from an Internet wrestling writer. I know this because “passive-aggressive” was my middle name back in those days.

I let it slide. For one thing, some of my boys at offtheteam.com were big fans of his. I never read much of his work because Uproxx & my computer didn’t get along, but they were quite persistent about the idea that Stroud had his finger on the pulse of pro wrestling. Which was fine by me. We all have our favorites. The second part of it was that I was all about anybody having any kind of response to the damn thing. The more hits it got, the happier Ashish & Larry were with me. If this guy from Uproxx wanted to put me on blast, any publicity was good publicity.

So it was whatever. I remembered it though, because one tends to remember things like “bigger names” taking swipes at you. Not saying I paid much attention to the guy afterwards. Like I said, Uproxx was a pain for my computer (and other devices). Also, I got to the point where I just didn’t really read anybody or pay attention to what others were doing. I have my opinions, I put them out there, and that’s that. What else do I need?

If there’s one person in this thing that I think we still call the “IWC” that needs to be cancelled due to #SpeakingOut, it’s this asshole. The one that told us how he was so pro-women & woke & all those things that folks like David Starr & Joey Ryan liked to tell us to distract us from the fact they were abusive douchebags that were the prime example of the toxic masculinity they & others they wished to imitate would speak against.

Hey, I’ve told you what I am. I’ve admitted the Hot 100 wasn’t the best idea and maybe it went on too long but had a few positive side effects for me and maybe some others too. I accept any criticism coming my way from all of that, along with whatever people I’ve interacted with in the past want to say about me. I can do that because I know it’s not as bad as what Noted Feminist & All Around Good Guy Brandon Stroud did.

So if you ask me how I feel about this guy getting accused of sexual misconduct and him copping to it? I say it’s chickens coming home to roost. He wanted to come in here back in the day and accuse me of sexism & harassment? Fuck outta here. Quit writing about wrestling. Apparently he already got drummed out of the actual business years ago for being a creep, now the folks that pay him to write about wrestling need to get him the fuck out too. If they haven’t already.

I know my conscience is clear of anything other than being a lonely single guy that didn’t have much interaction with women and was awkward via Internet. Things haven’t changed too much in that regard, other than I don’t even bother with interaction anymore. Not a great thing to admit to, but it’s my cross to bear. And I can honestly say I never did anything abusive. Shithead Stroud can’t say the same.

In Pandemic News…

Yes, “Pandemic News”. I know the government is busy trying to tell us the pandemic is over and everybody should go back to their regular lives and spend all their money, but the numbers across most of the country aren’t getting any better. Kentucky’s are “steady”, and that seems like good news!

You know one place the numbers are getting really, really bad? Florida! Their COVID-19 case numbers are getting more ridiculous by the day, and at least one of them happened to be at the WWE Performance Center in the audience back on June 9. WWE suspended production this past Tuesday after finding out and got everybody tested, which apparently was handled as well as you would expect WWE to handle anything these days. Taping resumed on Wednesday, and things ran late & SmackDown got pushed to next week and anybody with a brain saw this coming. It was only a matter of time before another one of WWE’s employees contracted the virus.

I understand why WWE, AEW & Impact Wrestling still want to run shows, and why ROH is talking about being back in July. It’s the same reason every other business is trying to run as much as possible. They need that money and those eyeballs. You can’t blame them as much as you can blame a government that enables them to make money at the risk of public safety. As somebody with a job at the airport, the stuff I see going on every day I’m there tells me that this pandemic isn’t going away anytime soon.

We just hope that there isn’t an outbreak at one of these events, or that the people involved in them don’t make the people around them sick. Especially since WWE has decided that nobody can wear a mask since Vince McMahon listens to Donald Trump. So we’ll just keep sitting here playing with fire and hope nobody gets burned.

So how about the indies?

Well, a couple of them ran events this weekend in the Indianapolis area. I have no idea why that area was chosen, but that’s what happened. IWA Mid-South ran in a small warehouse and decided to tweet a wide shot of people all cramped together with maybe one person wearing a mask. That pic got deleted once everybody expressed their displeasure. I, for one, was not surprised that Ian Rotten’s promotion would do something so stupid. That’s very on brand. A lot of great talents cut their teeth in Ian’s promotion back in the day, and they still got some good folks there, but there’s a reason IWA’s reputation is what it is.

GCW also ran in the Indianapolis area at an outdoor venue. From what I could see, people were spread out to a good degree. Didn’t look any worse than what you see on TV, actually better in some cases. Apparently they took great precautions and Joey Janela was even there to help sanitize the ring between matches. The pictures I saw looked good, so credit to them on that account. Although, during Nick Gage’s entrance people decided they wanted to have a mosh pit and some poor woman had a seizure. Not a great look. There’s also the matter that some people probably attended both of these shows, so even if GCW tried really hard to keep everybody safe, some of that IWA stuff was going to slip in there.

I get it. We all want to go back to wrestling shows. We’d all like to live the way we did this time in 2019. But if we can’t chill out just a little bit and quit spreading disease everywhere, we’re just putting off the time when we can eventually go full blast back into non-pandemic reality again.

Last Minute News!

I haven’t had the chance to watch the last episode of “The Last Ride” yet, but apparently Undertaker told viewers that it actually was The Last Ride. He has no desire to return to the ring after the Boneyard Match with AJ Styles. Which doesn’t surprise me, because the whole series was about Undertaker looking for that perfect ending to his career. A kickass match. I’ve been on record as saying the Boneyard Match was just what I needed to get though that WrestleMania that wasn’t really a WrestleMania. At least it had that match!

We all know that wrestler retirements last as long as diets. Undertaker will probably get that itch again, right around whenever Vince McMahon wants him to take that Sweet Saudi Blood Money. I wouldn’t fault him for it, every wrestler ever has gone back on their retirement match if they were physically able to. But let’s be honest…that Boneyard Match was an awesome piece of business. The best thing Undertaker’s been involved in since the HBK/HHH series of WM matches. The guy was looking for closure by having a badass match. He had one.

With a guy that’s a flat earther. Considering Undertaker’s t-shirt choices during the documentary, that seems right up his alley.

Thanks for reading. Keep your stick on the ice.

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Up Next

Andrew’s Top Matches: Week Ending 6.21.20

Don't Miss

Adam’s Carnyland Combination 6.21.2020

Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s 2025 WWE Royal Rumble Results, Review & Reaction

We are firmly on the Road to WrestleMania, starting with the Royal Rumble! Greg has his initial thoughts and reactions for everyone’s favorite event!

Published

3 weeks ago

February 2, 2025

Greg DeMarco

We are firmly on the Road to WrestleMania, starting with the Royal Rumble! Greg has his initial thoughts and reactions for everyone’s favorite event!

It’s the first Royal Rumble in an NFL stadium (thanks to the WWE calendar change), and both Rumble matches feature a star-studded line-up that makes it much harder than you’d think to pick a winner. I was lucky enough to attend one Royal Rumble live, 2019, and it’s always the best way to set the stage for WrestleMania.

If @whoislaniee‘s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner is any indication, we are in for one hell of a night with one hell of a crowd!

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

Always great to see Stephanie McMahon kicking off a show–the more Stephanie, the better. Apparently we’ve managed to pack 70,000 fans into Lucas Oil Stadium, and if you didn’t know, Pat McAfee loves him some Indianapolis.

With each match you’ll see my picks, in my traditional “Who Should Win?/Will Will Win?” format. I made them in this week’s solo edition of The Greg DeMarco Show, which you can listen to here:

Women’s WWE Royal Rumble Match

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: Bianca Belair
Who Will Win: Bianca Belair

Last year’s winner was Bayley, entering at #3, and she went on to defeat Iyo Sky for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 40.

Iyo Sky enters #1, and I do love the elevated platform–it’s not really a stage, but it does enhance the overall feel of the show. Old school fans will remember the entrance from Montreal watching Prime Time Wrestling.
I feel like Liv Morgan always enters these matches early. I also didn’t realize she’s been in all 8 Women’s Royal Rumble matches.
I do love the “ticker” across the bottom of the screen with stats and info during the entrances. Very ESPN, very “Wrestling As A Sport” to me.
Gotta say I was hoping for the black canvas (I’m biased), but I’ll always take grey over light blue.

Roxanne Perez has “Iron Woman” written all over her entering at #3. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

We even get “Active” and “Eliminated” in the ticket? I am REALLY digging this.
Lyra Valkyria enters to very little reaction–she’s a fantastic talent but has not connected on the main roster.
Lyra with the early wardrobe malfunction and we are already slightly derailed, kudos to everyone for getting it together.
Interesting to have the secondary champions enter back-to-back, and Indianapolis doesn’t seem to care much about her, either. Maybe I was wrong about this crowd, and maybe my criticism of Lyra was premature.
Chelsea thinking she’s dumped everyone and pointing to the sign is a great piece of business.
B-Fab enters at #6, and I would assume she has the lowest chance of winning of anyone in the field.
Man, B-Fab is still very NOT good.
Ivy Nile enters #7, the 5th straight entrant who has zero chance of winning this thing.
Also, we are still without an elimination, but probably 10 “hanging on the rope” spots already.
Ivy Nile is already more over in Indy than the Intercontinental and United States Champions.
Zoey Stark, complete with Barry Windham’s “Stalker” facepaint, enters eighth to continue our run of women with zero chance of winning.
Lash Legend enters at #9, and I have a feeling she’s about to win this crowd over.
LASH POINTED TO THE SIGN.
“Get her on the Fever” – Pat McAfee.
Chelsea Green gives us our first elimination, of B-Fab.
Bianca Belair enters at #10, really hurting my chances of being right.

And here’s my pick to win the Women’s #RoyalRumble, Bianca Belair. At #10? Doesn’t look good for me!

(Seth Rollins won his from #10, I believe.)

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

The crowd definitely picked up with Bianca being in the match.
BIANCA IS A MACHINE.
Shayna Baszler enters #11, reminding me she works for WWE. Which is sad, I really thought she’d have a hell of a run in WWE.
Bayley is #12, and we still have quite the group in this match. Personally I don’t see Bayley being a back-to-back winner.
Sonya Deville is in at #13 to complete the PFC trio in this match. I’m sure that’ll work out well for them!
Iyo Sky is so good, she saved Sonya’s knee spot and I am sure no one noticed.
Maxxine Dupri in at #14, another non-winner, but to her credit she only keeps getting better.
With 12 women thill in this match, I have a feeling we’re getting Nia Jax or Charlotte Flair soon to give us a bunch of eliminations.
Ivy Nile out, followed by Maxxine Dupri, and the countdown is on!
Naomi brings the halfway point with her, entering at #15.

Naomi is a former women’s champion and had an amazing WrestleMania moment back in Orlando–why does Michael Cole keep saying 2024 was her breakout year? #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

All of PFC is gone, and nothing of value is lost (from this match–they are valuable as people).
Jaida Parker, entering at #16, comes in to a better reaction than half of the field. Miss Parker has a hell of a WWE career ahead of her.
Chelsea Green is so damn good at what she does.
And here comes Piper Niven at #17.
Will Piper somehow eliminate Piper?
Yes – the answer to that question is yes.
Naalya enters at #18, her eighth Royal Rumble. She’s a little over 20 minutes away from 3 cumulative hours in Rumble matches.

If anyone “deserves” a Royal Rumble win, it’s Natalya. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

FANTASTIC reaction for Jordynne Grace–that has to raise some eyebrows among leadership.
JORDYNNE GRACE IS A STAR.
Michin in at #20, as we are up to 10 eliminations.

BUT THE INTERNET TOLD ME ALEXA BLISS WASN’T GONNA COME BACK DUE TO A CONTRACT DISPUTE. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

Wade Barrett, Michael Cole, and Pat McAfee crapping all over the wrestling newz sites is amazing.
And you can tell Alexa Bliss is THRILLED to be back.
Zelina Vega in at #22 to not win the Royal Rumble.
HUGE SPOT for Zelina Vega and Jordynne Grace.
If you happen to rewatch this match, watch Bayley very closely. It’s a look inside the business–she’s basically an agent in the ring.
Candice LeRae enters at #23, and I am reminded that she’s the WWE Women’s Speed Champion. I also wonder if they’ve started piping in crowd noise for these entrances.
Of note, we haven’t closed a Royal Rumble PLE with the Women’s Royal Rumble Match since the first one in 2018.
Of the 10 women eliminated so far, 6 of them entered #4-5-6-7-8-9.

Great reaction for Stephanie Vaquer–Indianapolis seems to be an NXT crowd. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

LET STEPHANIE VAQUER HER WIN YOU COWARDS. (Personal opinion, she’s the best women’s wrestler in the world.)
#25 already–we are trying to make up some time.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it’s Trish Stratus.

Honestly, did we need Trish Stratus? #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Kinda wanted Jordynne Grace to toss Trish Stratus right there.
Piper Niven just kncoked the SH*T outta Trish!
Raquel Rodriguez in at #26, and we have 4 more entrants left.
Nia, Charlotte, and…..Becky? Nikki? (Bella, that is.)
The crowd is NOT HAPPY about Alexa Bliss’ elimination.
#1-3 all still in the match.
Charlotte Flair and her new face at in at #27.

Listen, I’m going to hell, but Charlotte Flair’s entrance reminds me of when JR returned from his stroke. Lay off the plastic surgery. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Love Wade Barrett pointing out that Charlotte got pyro. I hope Roman gets his, too.
Took Charlotte forever to get her robe off, apparently.
Like I’m supposed to believe Jordynne Grace can’t suplex Charlotte Flair?
Charlotte definitely brought some fire to this match.
Giulia getting almost no reaction is surprising given the reaction of some other NXT talents.
Iyo and Liv approaching an hour in the match, along with Roxanne Perez.

Giulia eliminated Jordynne Grace, which makes me think Jordynne might be spending some time in NXT. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Nia Jax enters at #29, leaving a surprise for #30? Becky Lynch?
Good for Nikki Bella! And she gave someone in the crowd one hall of a souvenir.
And now it’s time for the “World vs Nia” spot.
Forget Superkick It’s an APRON PARTY.
Roxanne Perez just snuck back in without being eliminated.
Given who is left, it does seem like this is Charlotte’s match to win.
ROXANNE PEREZ IN THE FINAL THREE?

This company obviously believes in Roxanne Perez. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

LOLCHARLOTTEWINS

Winner of the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble Match: Charlotte Flair

I don’t love the decision to have Charlotte Flair win the Women’s Royal Rumble Match after being gone for over a year, but she IS Charlotte Flair. This should shock nobody. I know Charlotte Flair is a dream match opponent for Tiffany Stratton in the eyes of many, and if she were to put Tiffany Stratton over at WrestleMania, then I will eat my words and say it was worth it.

Hell of a performance for Roxanne Perez, I haven’t seen the tally yet but I do wonder if she broke the record for longest time in one Rumble.

I could go for a Slim Jim meat stick right about now.

Why was Mickie James in the crowd, and not IN THE MATCH??? #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

2 Out of 3 Falls Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships
The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. #DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano, champions)

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: DIY (but it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things)
Who Will Win: DIY (but it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things)

(I won’t be live tweeting or doing a bulleted list for these two matches, likely just the two Rumbles.)

Had to laugh seeing the drone in front of Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin during their entrance.

DIY wins 2 falls to 1, making my prediction accurate. That is small change, though. I liked the match for what it was, but it’s a reminder of Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey from WrestleMania 38–great match, wrong setting. This was an arena match, not a football stadium match. Yes, that DOES matter. Setting is a huge part of pro wrestling.

NXT Black and Gold will always hold a place in my heart, but part of what made that what it was was the crowd. This wasn’t the crowd for this match. Plus it got around 15 minutes, which is about right for a 1-fall match featuring these four. On TV, counting commercial breaks, these guys get 25-30 minutes.

The Street Profits got involved, eventually attacking everyone. I fully expect a WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match at WrestleMania, with DIY, MCMG, the Street Profits, and possibly Pretty Deadly and Angel/Humberto. This was really just the beginning–it was just misplaced on this card.

Winners AND STILL WWE Tag Team Champions: DIY

Michael Cole did also inform us that Roxanne Perez is the new record-holder for longest Royal Rumble performance. Score one for the good guy (me, from my tweet above).

Ladder Match for the WWE Championship
Kevin Owens vs. Cody Rhodes (champion)

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: Kevin Owens
Who Will Win: Cody Rhodes

Love that Kevin Owens took down the Winged Eagle Championship during SmackDown last night, and entered with it. Granted, Cody Rhodes has his, too. But KO has a certain edge to him when carrying that title.

That little ladder is HILARIOUS. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

This match was brutal, and whatever they are paying Kevin Owens isn’t enough. Cody Rhodes was beating on KO as a heel would, but he’s a babyface? I know everyone wants “Homelander” Cody, but really he might be more like “Patrick Bateman” Cody. Either way, as great as Cody is (and he is great), there is one missing element. At this point, it’s obvious to me that Cody is the worst babyface in the company. Look at him: THE MAN IS A HEEL.

While I’m glad Cody is fully out of The Bloodline’s shadow, he just needs to beat John Cena at WrestleMania, turn heel, and truly hit his stride. And I want true heel Cody. Chicken sh*t, goons, the whole thing.

Winner, AND STILL WWE Champion: Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes is gonna buy Kevin Owens a lot of cigars, booze, or meat. Whatever that man wants. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

You gotta think Sami Zayn not stopping Cody Rhodes from winning will be a major sticking point for Kevin Owens. Seems like we’ll get Sami vs Kevin at WM41.

Men’s WWE Royal Rumble Match

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: Jey Uso
Who Will Win: John Cena

Last year’s winner was Cody Rhodes, entering at #15, and he went on to defeat Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 40.

Rey Mysterio (Jr) enters at #2, and it’s obvious that gone are the days where randoms would enter at #1 and #2.
I believe I said on my podcast (if not, I meant to) that Penta would need to enter #1 or #2 so he can have his pyro.

I am so happy for Penta in the WWE. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I really hope we get a Lucha Underground reference on commentary.
LET PENTA WIN YOU COWARDS! (I know, it didn’t work for Stephanie Vaquer.)
PENTA IS A STAR.
I do appreciate how they didn’t fight on the apron, instead just got right back into the ring.
Chad Gable in at #3, and all we need is for Dominik Mysterio to be #4.
That spot looked NASTY, I hope Chad Gable’s knee is okay.
Carmelo Hayes in at #4, and I am reminded that we likely get Trick in this match.

Trick Williams’ #RoyalRumble entrance is gonna be ICONIC.

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I know they have a temporary alliance at the moment, but Chad Gable vs. Carmelo Hayes would be an absolute BANGER.
KING CUERNO vs PENTAGON JR! #IYKYK
That spot was far too similar to what we saw in the Women’s Rumble.
Otis in and had some fun.
BRON BREAKKER IS A MACHINE.
The crowd reaction to Bron Breakker tells me the WWE might make even MORE money in the future.
What if Breakker won this match? He won’t, but What If?
If not for WWE, I wouldn’t know who IShowSpeed was.
Honestly, nothing wrong with what they did with IShowSpeed there.
Sheamus enters at #9, and I assume we will see some Beats Of The Bowery.

Gotta play the hits, pal. (Sheamus.) #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

This is the most normal Sheamus’ hair has ever looked.
Crazy that this is only Jimmy Uso’s 3rd Royal Rumble.
Big Jim definitely got a bulk discount on his new gear. I wonder how many color combos he got???
Andrade in at #11, and Wade Barrett points out what I’ve been thinking–why run to the ring?
Jacob Fatu enters at #12 and gets his pyro. The rocket ship has been strapped, pal.
Ludwig Kaiser enters at #13 and no one not named (Greg DeMarco Show co-host) Patrick O’Dowd cares.
Kaiser immediately dumped by Penta, and he’ll probably lose to him on Monday’s Raw, too.

Here comes the most underappreciated wrestler in WWE history, @mikethemiz. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

We lost Michael for a minute there.

The fact that Joe Hendry’s fact on the ticket is “Say His Name And He Appears” is amazing.

Great pop for him, too.

And Michael Cole references Nic Nemeth! #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I’d actually forgotten that we’d likely get a Joe Hendry appearance, so they got a little pop out of me.
I acknowledge you, my Tribal Chief.

☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️ #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk would be one hell of a match at WrestleMania, just sayin’.
Showdowns like Roman Reigns and Bron Breakker is what the Royal Rumble is all about.
SPEAR TO ROMAN.
That might have been the greatest spear ever.
After Joe Gendry and Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre gets very little reaction entering at #17.
Drew McIntyre with the very silky smooth hair tonight.
Finn Balor in at #18 and we have our second drone sighting of the night.
Something is wrong with Pat McAfee’s headset. Hell of a showing by Penta, by the way.
Jey Uso in at #20 to a HUGE pop.
LET JE YWIN YOU COWARDS.
Poison Rana by Jey???
Let’s hope AJ Styles can stick around for a bit this time. (Not necessarily in the Rumble, but in general.)

All these megastars, and Jacob Fatu might be the most over guy in the match right now. #ROYALRUMBLE

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I’d be okay if Braun shaved his head again.
Jacob Fatu can literally do ANYTHING and it makes sense.

JOHN CENA’S SOCKS!
JOHN CENA’S SOCKS!
JOHN CENA’S SOCKS!#RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

CM Punk, John Cena, and Roman Reigns all in the ring all at the same time? YES PLEASE.
Now add in Seth Rollins? This is the greatest Royal Rumble of all time.
The current field: Seth Rollins, CM Punk, John Cena, AJ Styles, Jey Uso, Drew McIntyre, and Roman Reigns. That is ABSURD.
The only man who can follow all that talent is indeed Dominik Mysterio. This is about to be amazing.
Imagine if Dom wins. I mean, just imagine it.
With the addition of Sami Zayn, the storylines in this Rumble right now are insane.
Damian Priest, who is probably challenging Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania, enters at #28.
Two more to go. Any surprises?
LA Knight, who I forgot was in this match, enters next.
I kinda expect him to move to Raw in this transfer window.
Ah yes, Logan Paul. I also forgot he was on this.
We’ve had a Nic Nemeth and now a Ricochet reference tonight. I love when you’re WWE, and you are comfortable talking about (almost) ANYBODY.

If I’m WWE, I have Logan Paul wait until the final two before jumping back into the ring. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

He didn’t, by the way. Opportunity missed.
Final 6: Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, John Cena, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Logan Paul… STAR. STUDDED.
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins – the WrestleMania Main Event we never got.
YESSS!
Brilliant spot to have Logan Paul eliminate CM Punk.
Final 3: John Cena, Jey Uso, and Logan Paul. Two of my picks are left.
The action on the outside between Rollins, Roman, and Punk drives home how important the Rumble is to the competitors.
And then there were 2: my Who Should Win vs. my Who Will Win.
Please God let Jey Uso win this thing.
(And that’s not a slight against John Cena.)
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

IT’S JUST YOU, UCE! #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Winner of the 2025 Men’s WWE Royal Rumble Match: Jey Uso

Just like the sign said: EAT. SLEEP. YEET. MANIA. I am so damn happy for Jey Uso. You can tell John Cena was as well, along with Michael Cole. And probably everyone in the entire company. Jey Uso is the success story.

As for the match? Well obviously this is a knee jerk reaction, but eff it–this is the best Royal Rumble Match they have ever put on. The early action was fun and exciting. But from the time Joe Hendry’s music hit to the moment Jey Uso pushed John Cena off of the apron, this match was insane. I think Roman Reigns coming in at 16 was a huge part of that. Once Roman is in the match, you are watching to see a) what he does, and b) if he’ll get eliminated. CM Punk eliminating Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns was beautiful, and then Logan Paul tossing CM Punk was even better. If that leads to Rollins vs. Reigns and Logan vs. Punk at WrestleMania, you can take my money.

My money is a Peacock membership, which is automatically charged. But still. Take it.

If John Cena wins it’s still probably the best Royal Rumble Match of all time. But Jey Uso winning makes that an undisputable fact.

Overall Thoughts on the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble

The Women’s Royal Rumble was decent to good. Loved Roxanne getting the Iron Woman treatment, but in the end it’s another chapter of LOL Charlotte Wins.
I need to rewatch DIY vs MCMG because I was on the phone when my son called. Maybe I will enjoy it more on a second viewing.
The ladder match was brutal but the end result was expected. Cody is still missing something, and I think that something will continue to be missing until he turns heel. He’s just overshadowed by too many of the other babyfaces.
The Men’s Royal Rumble Match was the best Royal Rumble match they have ever put on. Great action in the early half, and from 15 (Joe Hendry) on, it was amazing. The storyline movement with CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins was (here’s that word) cinema, and having the most over wrestler in the company not named Roman Reigns win, and doing so by eliminating the odds-on favorite, was perfect. I’m biased because Jey Uso was my pick, but it was the perfect ending to what was probably as close to perfect as a Rumble match has been since 1992.

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS: WWE Crown Jewel Immediate Reactions

Join DJ and Tunney for their immediate reactions to WWE Crown Jewel. For the latest, greatest and up to datest, ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit THECHAIRSHOT.COM

Published

4 months ago

November 2, 2024

PC Tunney

Join DJ and Tunney for their immediate reactions to WWE Crown Jewel. For the latest, greatest and up to datest, ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit THECHAIRSHOT.COM