Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
A WWE wrestler is fired on Sunday and rehired on Saturday. Overwhelming fan backlash to such a decision will do that.
It’s cause and effect.
R-Truth announced on social media that he was released from WWE and thanked the fans for their support.
It had to be a joke, right?
Continue reading “The Evolution of R-Truth”The winds of change in WWE’s women’s division arrived in the form of the Women’s United States Championship. A tournament to crown the inaugural champion kicked off on SmackDown last Friday when Bayley defeated B-Fab and Candice LeRae and will meet the winner of the Bianca Belair vs. Chelsea Green vs. Blair Davenport. The other side of the bracket sees Jae Cargill vs. Michin vs. Piper Niven and Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. Elektra.
The tournament finals will be held on 12/14 at Saturday Night’s Main Event, emanating from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The first round will comprise four Triple Threat Matches, with singles matches filling the semi-final rounds.
Fans have clamored for a women’s mid-card title in WWE for years. NXT was the testing ground for the initiative in June when Kelani Jordan became the inaugural Women’s North American Champion.
Fatal Influence’s Fallon Henley recently bested Jordan to hold the gold. There are rumors of either a Women’s Intercontinental Title or a Netflix Title being implemented on Raw as the brand’s secondary women’s championship.
Tony Khan popularized the women’s mid-card title concept in the U.S. when AEW introduced the TBS Championship 2021, and ROH followed suit with the Women’s World Television Championship in May 2024. Mercedes Moné and Red Velvet are the respective title holders. Last year, Billy Corgan’s NWA also implemented a Women’s World Television Title.
Women’s wrestling in WWE and abroad has significantly expanded over the last decade. The top storyline on Monday Night Raw was the love triangle between Rhea Ripley, Dominick Mysterio, and Liv Morgan. In the eyes of many, it demonstrates how female acts on television are now on par with male performers in terms of importance.
While hard-nosed grizzle veterans say title belts are simply props, the right champion differentiates between them being a fashion accessory and a coveted prize. Mid-card championships allow members of a particular roster to work their way up, and as with most things in life, there are levels to professional wrestling.
Throughout WWE lore, most male wrestlers win the secondary or mid-card championship before capturing the World Championship. However, the women’s roster has no silver medal to win. No progression to establish a character’s credibility as they work through the ranks.
Female wrestlers have either been in the world title mix or have been irrelevant until now. With sixty-eight active women’s wrestlers in WWE and more on the horizon, it is the perfect time to introduce a second singles title across all three brands.
The Rock made a surprise appearance on Friday’s SmackDown. Oh, Pat McAfee was there, too, but it was all about “The Great One.”
McAfee opened the show and was interrupted by Austin Theory, who insulted the people and proclaimed that SmackDown was his show. McAfee reminded him that SmackDown is the people’s show, which brought out The Rock.
In a call back to the 3/25/02 episode of Raw, which hosted the inaugural WWE Draft, The Rock had one side of the crowd say “YOU’RE” and the other side yell “AN ASS***” at Theory.
Eventually, a quick brawl ensued where The Rock drilled Theory with a spinebuster and people’s elbow. The segment ended with The Rock coaching McAfee to hit Theory with a people’s elbow of his own.
Ringside Logic stands with the writers and actors of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. No movies being filmed meant The Rock got to play in WWE’s sandbox again.
The crowd pop when The Rock’s music hit was otherworldly. Yes, a surprise appearance from Hollywood’s biggest star will blow out a few speakers. An advertised appearance would have nearly been as loud, if not the same.
Why?
It’s the difference between a wrestler and an attraction. Larger-than-life personalities sell tickets. Every wrestler should aspire to be as over as The Rock and leg slapping won’t get it done.
John Cena will return to in-ring action on December 30th and team with Kevin Owens to take on Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn.
Continue reading “John Cena Returns to Battle The Bloodline on 12/30 SmackDown”
Unless he contributed to this week’s episode of NXT, Raw on Monday was the last piece of pro wrestling content Vince McMahon will ever create.
July 22, 2022, will be a day-long remember when the biggest announcement in the history of the industry occured. At 4:05 PM Friday, Vince McMahon announced his retirement from WWE on Twitter.
The company followed up with a full statement issued by McMahon confirming his complete retirement from WWE, including the head of creative. Stephanie McMahon and Nick Kahn will assume the role as the new co-CEOs of the company.
We’re also one week away from SummerSlam.
Continue reading “Vince McMahon Retires from WWE”
Well, Vince McMahon made his highly anticipated appearance on SmackDown this evening. Opening the show, he slightly strutted down the aisle as the ring announcer introduced him as “Mr. McMahon.”
Continue reading “Vince McMahon Does Not Address Allegations on SmackDown”
The investigation of Vince McMahon and hush-money payments takes another drastic turn. WWE announced early Friday that McMahon has voluntarily stepped down as WWE Chairman and CEO, but he will still maintain his responsibilities helming creative content.
Stephanie McMahon will immediately return early from her leave of absence to assume the role of interim CEO. Once the investigation concludes, Vince will reassume the Chairman and CEO roles.
On the same day Vince McMahon has stepped down, he will appear on tonight’s episode of SmackDown at 8:00 PM on Fox. Wow, there is a lot to unpack here.
Continue reading “Vince McMahon Steps Down as WWE CEO. Still Helms Creative”
In a long overdue move, Shinsuke Nakamura is finally on the WWE main roster. Nakamura debuted on the post-WrestleMania edition SmackDown last night following a segment involving The Miz and Maryse.
As the couple was finishing up their mockery of John Cena and Nikki Bella, a violinist was in the aisle way and Nakamura came out to a huge reaction. He did his signature poses in the ring without speaking a word to the audience tunes of “NA-KA-MURA.”
Continue reading “Shinsuke Nakamura has landed on SmackDown Live”
The card for WrestleMania 33 is always changing. Due to popular demand, WWE has shifted the SmackDown Women’s Championship match from the kickoff show to the main card. Alexa Bliss defends the title against Becky Lynch, Natalya, Mickie James, Naomi, and Carmella in a Six Pack Challenge.
Upset over the match’s placement on the show, fans started using the hashtag #GiveSDWomenAChance on social media to campaign for the change. The WrestleMania lineup on WWE.com no longer has the match listed on the kickoff show. Becky Lynch took to Twitter and confirmed the change. Continue reading “Smackdown Women’s Title Match Back on WrestleMania Main Card”
I apologize for being late to the party with one, but I watched a really, really good wrestling match last week. It won’t go down as an instant classic or awarded five stars among journalists, however, the wrestlers took their time telling a fun and engaging story.
Whatever do I mean? Well…
Wrestling is an art form like any other creative and entertaining means of expression. Sometimes, in a particular space, certain nuances fall by the wayside, looking to be picked up again. In wrestling matches, it’s the little things that can make all the difference.
Over the last few years in WWE, punches, kicks, submission holds, and selling has been devoid of any real intensity and effort. Also, the action in the ring is too fast and does not leave enough time for anything to properly marinate with the audience.
Instead, back-and-forth matches, where the wrestlers take turns delivering big moves, appear to be a substitute for an arbitrary application of the smaller moves that support the assembly of a match.
Now, I know I sound like that older guy that emphatically claims it was better in my day, but stay with me. Continue reading “Styles vs. Orton: A Wrestling Lesson”
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