Opinion

Cook: Should Excalibur Be Cancelled?

Excalibur was missing from AEW Dynamite this week–should AEW be done with their masked commentator?

Published

5 years ago

August 1, 2020

Steve Cook

Excalibur was missing from AEW Dynamite this week–should AEW be done with their masked commentator?

Something felt a bit off with this week’s AEW Dynamite. No disrespect to the wrestlers involved, or the matches & skits produced. Most of the show was perfectly fine in my book. However, there was one ingredient missing, one that’s been a big part of most AEW television presentations since its debut.

Where the heck was Excalibur?

Our favorite masked commentator was conspicuous by his absence Wednesday night, replaced at the announce table by Taz. Taz is a fine analyst, but this led to Jim Ross doing more of the play by play than he has been doing since Dynamite began, and more JR old man rants. Excalibur is usually tasked with keeping JR on topic, I figure that’s because Tony Schiavone finds JR’s ranting & raving amusing.

Excalibur’s absence wasn’t mentioned on the show, and I wasn’t aware of why he would be absent. If it was a coronavirus-related issue it would have been mentioned. So what was the deal?

Silly me, I didn’t check Wrestling Twitter. Had I done so, I would have known that the controversy of the day involved Excalibur using racial slurs on a PWG show in 2003. Kevin Owens was involved as well, but his role wasn’t exactly played up by the people reporting on Excalibur. The video is easy enough to find on Twitter that I won’t link it here.

The gist of the situation is this: Excalibur & Steen were in the entrance way addressing Human Tornado & El Generico, who I believe were known as “2 Skinny Black Guys” at the time. Excalibur referred to Tornado with the N-word, and Generico with a word starting with B sometimes used to describe Mexicans. Steen yells out the N-word as well before the video cuts off.

It’s a pretty bad look, no doubt. Steen & Excalibur have both discussed it in the past & regret their involvement in it. As it turns out, the usage of the N-word was the idea of Human Tornado. He thought it would get the feud more heat, which it did, but obviously there were undesirable side effects. Like having to explain it to your employer seventeen years later. Tornado has been very pro-Excalibur on Twitter & doesn’t think he should be punished.

AEW is in a little bit of a pickle here.

A lot of it is their doing, unfortunately. When you try to set standards for morality, people are going to look for the first time you don’t live up to them. A sizable number of wrestling fans are calling for Excalibur’s head for various reasons. I’m sure some of them are legitimate, but many of them fall into one of the below categories:

-WWE fans that aren’t happy with AEW trying to be better citizens than WWE, which admittedly shouldn’t be too difficult.

-Hulk Hogan fans still mad that the Hulkster has been banned from AEW by Tony Khan for using the N-word on a sex tape.

To be fair, Khan kind of made his own bed on that one. As silly as I find Hogan fans that still whine about that whole situation and defend the old coot because they liked him 40 years ago, there was no reason for Khan to say anything about Hulk Hogan in a public forum. Except to dunk on his ex-wife saying racist stuff on Twitter, which is kinda iffy reasoning. Was anybody ever expecting Hulk Hogan to play any type of a role in AEW? He’s a 66 year old man that can’t wrestle anymore, and he’s lost most of the name value he once had thanks to said sex tape & other misadventures over the years. Maybe this movie coming out about him increases his viability, and there’s a certain audience that was never offended by anything Hogan did, but I just don’t see the value there.

There never has been a legitimate reason to think AEW would be interested in bringing Hogan in, and other than a paycheck there’s no reason to think Hogan would be interested in going to AEW. His legacy’s tied up in WWE, and I think his time with TNA took care of any need he felt to shape the next generation of wrestling.

So, while Hulk Hogan fans getting all mad over his banishment from AEW is needless nonsense, Tony Khan still enabled it. You don’t have to have an opinion on everything, unless your job is to have an opinion on everything. When you start floating your non-ancillary opinions out there, people are going to look at you closely.

You’ve now joined your husband in being banned from all AEW shows. Congratulations.

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) June 2, 2020

People have noticed the lack of comment from AEW regarding Excalibur’s status. My bet was that something would come out on Friday as a classic news dump. That didn’t happen, though some scuttlebutt was reported that Excalibur took himself off the show as to not be a distraction. I would guess a suspension and that Excalibur will be back sometime around All Out in September, if not the taping before. I could be completely wrong, that’s happened once or twice in the past.

I keep coming back to the idea that it happened seventeen years ago and it’s been apologized for before. Maybe I’m a big softie, but that’s good enough for me. I don’t need any heads on platters. Unless we find out Excalibur is spending his time off from AEW at Klan meetings, I think a brief suspension is fine.

Until then, let’s just hope JR’s old man rants becoming more & more unhinged without somebody keeping him in check works with the 50+ demographic.

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Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

23 hours ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

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 all enjoy Pro Wrestling 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

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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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

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About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

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

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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

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All Shows On Demand

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

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

4 weeks ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1