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.

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: WrestleMania 41 Las Vegas

Time for The Chairshot personalities to put their money where their mouths are! WreslteMania 41 predictions from the “expert” staff at TheChairshot.com and Chairshot Radio Network.

Published

22 hours ago

April 18, 2025

PC Tunney

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Chairshot Staff Picks. And what better setting than WrestleMania for this article to return! This 41st edition has one of the most stacked rosters in WWE history. So, without further ado, let us get to the predictions and prognostications…

AJ – The New Day
Andrew – The New Day – No one seems to hold tag titles long anymore.
Dave – The New Day – They have earned it.
DJ – The New Day – Feel tha Powah!
DPP – War Raiders – Big E distraction.
Jason – The New Day – We are not getting E in a working capacity though everyone wants it.
Patrick – The New Day – WWE doesn’t care about this match, so why should I?
Rey – The New Day – Its a New Day, bruh.
Rob – The New Day – New Day rocks and wins!
Greg – The New Day – New. Day wins. New. Day wins!

Tunney’s Take: War Machine – Yes, WAR MACHINE. I have personally had the pleasure of throwing back a few cold ones with these guys on more than one occasion. Not only being tag champs in WWE but defending the titles at Mania and against The New Day is really cool for me as a long-time fan. Would it be fun to see The New Day have another title run.. YES. I think it’s smarter to give the War Raiders a big Mania W.

Chairshot Pick: THE NEW DAY 9-2

AJ – Jade Cargill
Andrew – Jade Cargill – She needs to stay a dominant force.
Dave – Jade Cargill – Gotta gear her up for the long term.
DJ – No contest – Naomi puts another beat down on Jade.
DPP – Jade Cargill – Nervous for how this match will go.
Jason – Naomi – Way more runway with Naomi as a bad guy. Keep it going!
Patrick – Jade Cargill – Jade gets her revenge.
Rey – Jade Cargill – Best non-title feud going. Naomi should win but Jade sneaks by.
Rob – Naomi – Naomi gets help to win.
Greg – Jade Cargill – They ain’t beating Jade here.

Tunney’s Take: Jade Cargill – I imagine WWE sees Jade’s ceiling much higher than Naomi’s. What better way to keep Jade climbing the ladder towards a World Title than to pick up a decisive victory in Vegas!

Chairshot Pick: Jade Cargill 8-2-1

AJ – Jacob Fatu – “AJ does a pretty good LA Knight impersonation” – PC Tunney
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – I’m biased, Jacob for President.
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Getting gold back in the Bloodline is smart.
DJ – Jacob Fatu
DPP – Jacob Fatu
Jason – Jacob Fatu – Thanks for coming pal, YEAH!
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – C’mon cuz! All gas no brakes with it. Yadadamean??
Rob – LA Knight – Solo costs Jacob.
Greg – LA Knight – Solo screws Jacob.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – It has been quite the journey for the Samoan Werewolf. I feel like that journey and the positive turn around it has taken deserves to be rewarded. Let’s see what Jacob can do on his own. Plus, LA Knight is ready to challenge for a World Title.

Chairshot Pick: Jacob Fatu 9-2

AJ – Tiffany Straton
Andrew – Tiffany Straton – I hate Charlotte Flair, no objectivity here.
Dave – Charlotte Flair – Tiffy might be the future, but she kinda failed the litmus test.
DJ – Charlotte Flair – The Queen crowns the freshman.
DPP – Tiffany Stratton
Jason – Charlotte Flair – Tiff wasn’t ready for this spot. Charnos is inevitable.
Patrick – Charlotte Flair – Lol Charlotte wins.
Rey – Charlotte Flair – Tiffany SHOULD win but, if Charlotte can squash, she will.
Rob – Charlotte Flair – Charlotte gets number 15.
Greg – Tiffany Stratton – Lol Charlotte wins. (Actually she doesn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Charlotte Flair – Charlotte needs the title for the first time in her career. Tiffy has had a nice run but now needs to take that all important step of not losing momentum after losing the title. Despite the drama and lackluster build here, I see a really good match coming this weekend from these two.

Chairshot Pick: Charlotte Flair 7-4

AJ – El Grande Americano
Andrew – El Grande Americano – I’d like to see Gable gain some momentum. Rey is Teflon.
Dave – El Grand Americano – He needs a marque win much more than Rey.
DJ – Rey Mysterio
DPP – El Grande Americano – Grande wins with the switcheroo to prove he is not Gable.
Jason – Rey Mysterio – Unmask Grande at the end. It is fun but has a shelf life.
Patrick – El Grande Americano – TOTALLY NOT CHAD GABLE
Rey – Rey Mysterio – Someone’s mask is coming off and it ain’t Rey.
Rob – El Grande Americano
Greg – Rey Mysterio – Hall of Famer wins but doesn’t take the mask.

Tunney’s Take: Rey Mysterio – Go listen to DWI 471. DP, Greg and I lay out exactly what this match should be, FUN! Multiple Americanos!!!

Chairshot Pick: El Grande Americano 6-5

AJ – Jey Uso
Andrew – Jey Uso – Kinda booked themselves into a corner here.
Dave – Jey Uso – It just makes sense.
DJ – Jey Uso – Jey YEETS all over The Ring Genreal.
DPP – Jey Uso – Jey wins after normal Gunther beating.
Jason – Jey Uso – Land the plane man. YEET
Patrick – Jey Uso – Jey has earned this one.
Rey – Jey Uso – YEEEEEEEEEEEET!
Rob – Jey Uso – YEET
Greg – Jey Uso – If Jey loses we riot. We don’t cause he wins.

Tunney’s Take: Jey Uso – ‘Til sweat drop down my balls, ‘Til all these bitches crawl, ‘Til all… YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chairshot Pick: Jey Uso 11-0

AJ – Roman Reigns
Andrew – Seth Rollins – I can see Rollins being the last piece of Team Rock.
Dave – Roman Reigns – I can’t see Roman losing two years in a row.
DJ – Seth Rollins – Paul Heyman is a Seth Freakin Rollins guy.
DPP – Seth Rollins – The Rock helps Rollins.
Jason – Roman Reigns – Seth’s favor is a red herring. Make-A-Wish Brooks got his main, now look at the lights.
Patrick – Seth Rollins – Seth Rollins… Paul Heyman guy.
Rey – Seth Rollins – I smeeeeellllllll a new soul to sell.
Rob – Roman Reigns – Paul Heyman helps Roman win.
Greg – Seth Rollins – Brock Lesnar returns to help Seth win.

Tunney’s Take: CM Punk – I really have no idea here. I picked Punk because nobody else did. This is going to be professional wrestling cinema at its finest. The story is thick and neatly woven. All the participants are legends and so are the potential party crashers. Will The Rock stick his nose in here? Will Brock Lesnar return to play a factor? Obviously, Paul Heyman has a Plan A… but what is it? All these questions and more will be answered Saturday as night 1 will definitely go out with a bang!

Chairshot Pick: Seth Rollins 6-4-1

AJ – Iyo Sky
Andrew – Iyo Sky – Rhea vs Bianca doesn’t need a belt to be compelling.
Dave – Rhea Ripley – Going with Rhea barely, hoping Iyo wins.
DJ – Iyo Sky – Unfinished business.
DPP – Iyo Sky – Rhea and Bianca are too consumed with each other.
Jason – Iyo Sky – More layers to Rhea/Bianca. Iyo rules.
Patrick – Iyo Sky – Iyo stole the build and gets the win.
Rey – Iyo Sky – Smart money is on the underdog champ.
Rob – Iyo Sky – Iyo survives.
Greg – Bianca Belair – Naomi helps Bianca win and turn heel.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – Rhea is the best women’s wrestler in the world. Give her the biggest win on the grandest stage of them all!!! Bianca needs to go full heel. Iyo has been amazing in this build.

Chairshot Pick: Iyo Sky 8-2-1

AJ – Dominik Mysterio
Andrew – Finn Balor – I can see a Judgement Day meltdown incoming.
Dave – Bron Breakker – Bron is about to become a MegaStar.
DJ – Bron Breakker – Judgement Day implodes.
DPP – Dominik Mysterio – Finn take the pin.
Jason – Penta – I literally do not care because the winner is us, the fans.
Patrick – Bron Breakker – The WWE doesn’t care about this matchup, so why should I?
Rey – Dominik Mysterio – Only match without a clear winner. I choose chaos.
Rob – Bron Breakker – Finn and Dom cancel each other out.
Greg – Dominik Mysterio – Dom steals the pin from Bron, on Finn.

Tunney’s Take: Bron Breakker – The case can be made for any of these four to walk away with the most prestigious non-World title in pro wrestling history. The short of it is though that the Main Event picture isn’t really readily accessible for Breakker right now. Let this IC reign go through the summer, to SummerSlam.

Chairshot Pick: Bron Breakker 5-4-1-1

AJ – Damian Priest – “AJ does a pretty good Drew impersonation” – PC Tunney
Andrew – Drew McIntyre – Priest has not been interesting in this face incarnation.
Dave – Drew McIntyre – Time for Drew to get that win back.
DJ – Fuck finish – To be continued at Backlash.
DPP – Drew McIntyre – Physical matchup!
Jason – Drew McIntyre – Either one is fine here.
Patrick – Drew McIntyre – With two eyes, Drew turns the tide.
Rey – Drew McIntyre – Low key match of the weekend.
Rob – Damien Priest
Greg – Damien Priest – Priest wins, Drew tweets about it half hour later.

Tunney’s Take: Drew McIntyre – With the addition of the Street fight rules, these two behemoths have a really good chance to have one of the best matches of the entire weekend (winks at Rey Ca$h-A-Mania)! I do wonder what is next for both of these talents moving forward. Priest has staled since leaving the Judgement Day and Drew seems stuck in the same cycle for a while now. Very interested to see what the summer holds for this pair.

Chairshot Pick: Drew McIntyre 7-3-1

WHO WILL BE RANDY’S OPPONENT?!?

AJ – Nick Aldis – Orton wins
Andrew – Orton and Aldis vs Solo and Tama – Orton and Aldis win
Dave – Someone is getting an RKO!
DJ – A segment w/ the Wyatt s6cks.
DPP – Rusev – Aldis introduces Rusev who defeats Orton.
Jason – Nick Aldis – You got one more in ya, bubba. Aldis wins!
Patrick – Nick Aldis
Rey – Solo then Rusev – Solo in a squash and Rusev MATCHKA(wins)
Rob – Nick Aldis – Aldis proves himself, Orton wins.
Greg – Nick Aldis – Orton beats Aldis, they shake after.

Tunney’s Take: I would really love to see a singles match between Orton and Aldis. More likely this is some type of involvement with Solo and Tama. Rusev as a surprise challenger would be cool but, I feel that would be better left for RAW. An impromptu Goldberg retirement match would be crazy and fun, yet highly unlikely and illogical. Whatever happens, best believe exactly what Dave Ungar said, “Someone is getting an RKO!”.

AJ – Logan Paul
Andrew – AJ Styles – Logan doesn’t need the rub and should stay upper mid card.
Dave – Logan Paul – It’s the smart move and would be a statement win for Paul.
DJ – Logan Paul – Kross gets involved somewhere.
DPP – AJ Styles – AJ wins a great high-flying match.
Jason – AJ Styles – Just enjoy it or get a beer, nerds.
Patrick – Logan Paul – Logan Paul will main-event Mania sooner than later…
Rey – Logan Paul – Pass the torch, my wily vet.
Rob – Logan Paul – Kross helps Paul win.
Greg – AJ Styles – Styles wins after Paul’s cheating backfires.

Tunney’s Take: Logan Paul – Logan seems to really have dedicated himself to becoming great in this business. Anyone with that type of goal must have a World title on their mind. Beating AJ at Mania will be a great springboard for Logan into the Main Event sooner than later (winks at Patrick O’Dowd).

Chairshot Pick: Logan Paul 7-4

AJ – Liv & Raquel
Andrew – Liv & Raquel – Not really a fan of Lyra, she needs more work.
Dave – Liv & Raquel – This Bayley and Lyra team makes no damn sense.
DJ – Liv & Raquel – Bayley crashes out.
DPP – Liv & Raquel – Bayley continues a potential heel turn tease.
Jason – Bayley & Lyra – Finish the story!
Patrick – Bayley & Lyra – The WWE doesn’t care about this matchup, so why should I?
Rey – Liv and Raquel – Bayley want a title but it ain’t the ones in this match.
Rob – Liv & Raquel – Champs retain.
Greg – Liv & Raquel – Liv and Raquel retain thanks to Carlito and maybe JD.

Tunney’s Take: Liv & Raquel – Liv and Raquel need to be kept as the cornerstone of the women’s tag division for a lengthier period of time. Building tag teams in this division is difficult enough, let alone without a North Star.

Chairshot Pick: Liv & Raquel 9-2

AJ – Cody Rhodes
Andrew – Cody Rhodes – They are mentioning it so much, I don’t think 17 happens.
Dave – Joh Cena – Record falls and we head to summer with a built-in storyline.
DJ – John Cena – Some kind of Final Boss involvement.
DPP – John Cena – Cena wins and retires on RAW.
Jason – John Cena – Story’s over, “Captain” BIG MATCH JOHN.
Patrick – John Cena – A record breaking night for Cena.
Rey – John Cena – They’d be really stupid to turn John just to lose. (Post-Mania: Rock, Cena, T Scott, Seth & Drew, TEAM Corporate)
Rob – Cody Rhodes – Cody surprises us with the W.
Greg – Cody Rhodes – Cody wins to piss off Rock and set the table for Cena to turn back face. Crowd is behind Cena all the way through.

Tunney’s Take: Cody Rhodes – They had me until the threat of retirement. Been there. Done that. Didn’t fall in love with it back then. I love John Cena. I love this final run. John will get his 17th just not here. I expect nothing less than an absolute GEM of a match here to close WrestleMania 41. This has all been, is, and will continue to be about Cody Rhodes. WM40 defeats Roman Reigns. WM41 defeats John Cena. WM42 defeats The Rock (The Final Boss).

Chairshot Pick: John Cena 6-5

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We wait all year for this so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

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Blog

DeMarco: Top 5 Non-Title WrestleMania Matches In WWE History

Not all WrestleMania classics had titles on the line. Dive into the top 5 non-title matches that stole the show & defined legacies. #WrestleMania #WWEHistory

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2025

Greg DeMarco

Shawn Michaels Kurt Angle WrestleMania 21

Not all WrestleMania classics had titles on the line. Dive into the top 5 non-title matches that stole the show and defined legacies.

WrestleMania is the Showcase Of The Immortals, but it’s not always the championship matches that steal the show—or define careers. In fact, some of the most iconic, business-defining, and emotionally resonant contests at the Grandest Stage of Them All didn’t feature a title at all. These matches succeeded because of character work, in-ring execution, and the kind of storytelling that sells tickets and moves merch.

Here are the five best non-title matches in WrestleMania history—at least, according to me!

5. The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan – WrestleMania X8 (2002)

This was never going to be a five-star technical clinic—but it was always going to be the moment. “Icon vs. Icon” was a tagline, sure, but it was also the reality: the biggest star of the ‘80s vs. the biggest star of the Attitude Era. And Toronto turned it into magic. Hogan walked in a heel but walked out immortal (again), with the SkyDome shaking on every punch, every look, every gesture.

What made this work was its self-awareness. Rock and Hogan read the crowd and flipped roles mid-match—Rock became the arrogant aggressor while Hogan Hulked Up to thunderous applause. It’s not often a non-title match headlines a card emotionally the way this one did, but it dominated every headline and highlight reel.

4. Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart – WrestleMania X (1994)

Sibling rivalries don’t usually lead to technical masterpieces, but then again, this wasn’t your average family drama. Owen and Bret opened WrestleMania X with a wrestling clinic that stood tall over a night packed with title changes. Owen needed to prove he was more than Bret’s little brother, and he did it by out-wrestling the best wrestler in the company. Clean. One-two-three.

It wasn’t just a great match—it was perfect storytelling. Owen’s victory, contrasted with Bret’s later world title win, set the tone for an entire year of brother-vs-brother tension. Bret became champion, but Owen had the moral victory—and all the bragging rights. This is proof that opening matches can steal the show.

3. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 25 (2009)

If WrestleMania moments could be trademarked, this match would be the reason why. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels wasn’t about championships—it was about legacy. Michaels wanted to be the man who ended The Streak. The build was steeped in biblical imagery: light vs. dark, heaven vs. hell. And the match? Pure perfection. Each man brought everything they had—near-falls, psychology, reversals that had 70,000+ people gasping in unison.

It was 30 minutes of generational storytelling that transcended pro wrestling. And here’s the kicker—it wasn’t even the main event. Yet it dwarfed everything that followed. Meltzer gave it 4.75 stars, fans gave it their hearts, and WWE gave it a sequel the next year. A match so good it forced the company to run it back—because lightning actually struck.

Now, if THIS MATCH is #3, what could possible be #2 and #1…

2. Bret Hart vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin – WrestleMania 13 (1997)

This wasn’t just a match—it was the turning point of an era. The Submission Match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin was as violent as it was poetic, with Ken Shamrock enforcing the rules and the Chicago crowd growing more frenzied by the second. The brilliance? The shift. Bret Hart, the traditionalist hero, grew darker and more self-righteous by the second, while the disrespectful anti-hero Austin refused to quit, even when drowning in his own blood. There was no title on the line, but the stakes felt bigger than gold.

The infamous double turn changed the business. Austin’s defiance turned him into the voice of a new generation of fans—blue collar, anti-authority, Attitude Era. Meanwhile, Bret would go on to lead the heel Hart Foundation. WWE didn’t need a championship to create a moment that catapulted Austin into superstardom and ignited the company’s hottest era. This match is business-first booking at its absolute best.

1. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 21 (2005)

Dream matches often disappoint. This one didn’t. At WrestleMania 21, Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle went hold-for-hold and spot-for-spot with Mr. WrestleMania himself, and together they delivered a masterclass in in-ring psychology. Every sequence had stakes, every near-fall had meaning. It was a stylistic war: Michaels’ heart vs. Angle’s intensity.

Angle forcing Michaels to tap was a statement—it told fans that pure wrestling, not just spectacle, could still main-event caliber storytelling without any need for a title. Michaels sold the ankle lock like death, and Angle’s post-match collapse sold the moment as a hard-fought war. This is the kind of match that keeps purists up at night, smiling, and leaves the storytelling fans like myself as happy as can be!

10 Honorable Mentions (Not Honorable, Just For The Heck Of It)

Edge vs. Mick Foley – WrestleMania 22 (2006)
A hardcore war that solidified Edge as a top-tier main eventer. That flaming table spear is still played in every Edge highlight reel.
AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon – WrestleMania 33 (2017)
Everyone expected smoke and mirrors—what they got was a surprisingly technical, high-energy opener that kicked off the show right.
The Undertaker vs. Triple H – WrestleMania 28 (2012)
“End of an Era” wasn’t just a tagline. The Hell in a Cell match, with HBK as referee, was a brutal epilogue to a generation’s legacy.
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho – WrestleMania XIX (2003)
A student-teacher battle of wills. Jericho’s low blow post-match was the perfect heel punctuation to a career-defining contest.
Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins – WrestleMania 31 (2015)
The greatest RKO of all time. That curb stomp reversal belongs in a museum.
Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show – WrestleMania XXIV (2008)
More sports-entertainment than wrestling, but a crossover moment that made mainstream headlines and paid off with a great finish.
Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis – WrestleMania III (1987)
A retirement match with big heat, a hot crowd, and Piper walking off into the sunset (for a minute).
The Firefly Funhouse Match – John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – WrestleMania 36 (2020)
Cinematic weirdness at its best. A meta masterstroke that broke Cena down in layers.
Bad Bunny & Damian Priest vs. The Miz & John Morrison – WrestleMania 37 (2021)
Bad Bunny stunned everyone. He didn’t just belong—he elevated the show.
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio – WrestleMania 39 (2023)
Father vs. son in a grudge match that played perfectly off real-life drama and Hall of Fame weekend emotions.

Some of these matches shaped legacies. Others shifted eras. But all of them proved that the most memorable moments at WrestleMania don’t need a title—they just need truth in the storytelling and fire in the execution.