Did Swerve vs. Hangman Go Too Far?

Only in professional wrestling can a home invasion carry fame and success instead of a prison sentence. How about burning the perpetrator’s house down in retaliation? Yep, same thing. Swerve Stickland and “Hangman” Adam Page shifted roles throughout their feud. Both have been the hero of the day and the villain of the story.

Hangman’s descent into madness and Swerve’s lust for revenge created a beautiful disaster in their unsanctioned main event steel cage match at AEW’s All In pay-per-view last Saturday night in Chicago. The words beautiful and disaster are apropos as the reaction to their bloody battle garnered mixed results. Some feel it was the perfect match for such a hate-filled saga. Others believe it was garbage wrestling akin to pointless Death Match fodder.

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‘All Out’ Goes All Out!

Wrestling relies on the build from one show to the next. It gets the masses interested in the drama surrounding an angle and the main event matches.

The uninspired booking over the last several weeks suggested AEW was so concerned with the 81,035 fans that packed Wembley Stadium that they forgot about the 9,495 fans in the United Center.

While All In was a tremendous spectacle, All Out was the better professional wrestling event.

All Out was a last-minute purchase in the Ringside Logic household. In fact, it was ordered 10 minutes into the show as the pre-show was as uninspired as the build-up to the show.

It was going to be an early night until the sudden urge of “Why not” took control of my hand and pressed the order button on the remote control.

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AEW Fires CM Punk with Cause

The odyssey of CM Punk in All Elite Wrestling ended where it began in Chicago.

AEW has terminated CM Punk’s contract following a week-long investigation over a backstage incident with Jack Perry at last weekend’s All In pay-per-view.

AEW released a statement Saturday afternoon.

CM Punk and Jack Perry had an altercation shortly before Punk’s match with Samoa Joe at All In at Wembley Stadium last Saturday.

Reportedly, the altercation occurred over a comment Perry made during his match with Hook on the All In Pre Show. A spot involving a limo saw Perry slap his hand on the windshield and shout, “It’s real glass. Go cry me a river!”

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2021 Year-End Awards: Wrestling Show of the Year

It’s time for Ringside Logic to bestow our “Best of the Year” honors. 2021 will go down as an unforgettable year in professional wrestling for both good and bad reasons. Let’s focus on the good aspects of the industry, which consisted of action-packed matches, wild angles, and paradigm-shifting events in and out of the ring. Here is our pick for the 2021 Wrestling Show of the Year.

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AEW Delivers an ‘All Out’ Blockbuster

Years from now, when fans look back at All Elite Wrestling’s 2021 edition of All Out, they won’t just remember one of the most incredible nights in professional wrestling. Still, they will gain a deep appreciation for the nonconformist storytelling that led the way.

AEW owner Tony Kahn did things on Sunday night that the rules of booking 101 prohibit. Every veteran, booker, and experienced hand worth their salt would not have debuted four new acts on one show, much less two of them in the same segment.

One on loan from Japan and the other three officially signed, sealed, and “All Elite.”

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Page vs. Jericho: Who Should Win?

This Saturday night, Chris Jericho and “Hangman” Adam Page will headline AEW’s All Out pay-per-view to crown the promotion’s first World Heavyweight Champion. This is not only a crucial outing for Jericho and AEW; it is the biggest match of Page’s career. There are many storytelling avenues to travel. However, the big questions remains, who should be the first AEW Champion ?

AEW is a new wrestling company who will introduce the world to a new cast of wrestling characters. Some we already know, like Chris Jericho. Others most will meet for the first time, such as Adam Page. AEW is going with a sports-centric presentation for their product. This means the world champion will be their most essential character. Should AEW’s first champion be a rising star or an established superstar?

Adam Page was pegged for success from the moment he made his professional debut in 2011 for Ring of Honor. Page entered New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2016 as a member of the Bullet Club. It was during his time with the popular stable where Page began to find his footing as a top-level performer while adopting the “Hangman” ring-name.

“Hangman” Page is a favorite among diehard fans. However, there will be more casual viewers watching AEW’s television show, debuting October 2^nd on TNT. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks will be introduced to a mainstream audience and will have to get over based on their character and talent. If Adam Page is the champion, his role will have instant credibility to the uninitiated.

From Monday Night Jericho all the way to the man with the infamous clipboard, Chris Jericho has been a wrestling superstar on television for twenty-three years. He’s reinvented himself repeatedly over the course his career and is one of the best to ever do it. At forty-eight years old, the work Jericho’s produced with his current Clock Work Orange inspired persona has been some of the best of his career.

Jericho being the inaugural AEW Champion could be a double-edged sword. If AEW comes off as a major league wrestling product, Jericho is the exalted king of the new hot promotion. However, if AEW comes off as bush league, Jericho would become the big fish in a small pond.

Some would say Jericho vs. Page represents the past colliding with the present to dictate the future. To many, AEW will hopefully be the future of wrestling, and perhaps Page will be its representative. Jericho has been there and done that. However, he’s not a veteran who’s past his prime. Jericho’s career renaissance since leaving WWE has made him more relevant than ever.

While the title could bring credibility to Adam Page, Chris Jericho will bring credibility to the title. Jericho became the first undisputed world champion in 2001, and it’s only fitting he becomes the first AEW World Champion in 2019. All signs point to AEW coming out of the gate with a strong wrestling product. TV shows need popular characters to thrive, and there are none bigger on the roster than Jericho.

The best scenario is to build up Hangman Page for a few months on television following a Jericho title win on pay-per-view. Then, pick a date, hype of the episode, and have Page go over on Jericho for the belt. TNT is going to get more viewers than any AEW pay-per-view will garner. The key to a successful Hangman title reign is to have the largest audience possible withness his journey and capture the gold.

As for August 31st, Chris Jericho is the man who should be champion.