This should be one of the biggest and best times in WWE history.
The company is making more money than they ever have. We’re smack dab in the middle of the Road To WrestleMania, with the first night of Mania taking place 40 days after this column is posted. There’s a level of buzz and excitement in the air with everything the company does.
Unfortunately for WWE, there is quite the black cloud hovering over everything, and everyone, that is even somewhat related to the company.
That cloud is named Vince McMahon.
We’ve all seen, read, or heard about the allegations against Vince in the highly publicized lawsuit filed against him by Janel Grant. Everyone has their opinions on the matter. This column isn’t about whether or not Vince (and the others involved in the lawsuit) did what they’re accused of, nor is it about whether or not Janel Grant is telling the truth about her relationships with the names in the lawsuit.
Instead of all that, I want to talk about the way people have been reacting to the news. Not just “normal” people, either. I’m referring to the people of the wrestling industry, and more specifically, people who are under employment by WWE.
WWE personalities do a ton of media work. Everyone knows that. They’re always appearing on podcasts, television shows, news broadcasts, and so on. They have a general understanding of the questions they’re going to be asked. It’s usually about the storyline they’re involved in at the time, or general promotion of a show coming up. When certain news stories are out there, the wrestlers know they’re going to be asked about said stories. Right now, even with all the positive news… the $5 billion Netflix deal, a huge stadium show in Western Australia, WrestleMania around the corner… everyone wants to ask about Vince McMahon.
Let’s take a look at some actual quotes from WWE personalities when they were asked about the Janel Grant lawsuit and the allegations against Vince McMahon…
Seth Rollins: “It’s a crap situation. I said it in that interview on Radio Row. It sucks. It’s horrible. It’s disgusting. I don’t like hearing about it, reading about it. It’s abhorrent. I hope, if the allegations are accurate, I hope anybody involved with it gets what’s coming to them. It sucks. For me, it’s very difficult, because I didn’t see that side of him. I didn’t experience that. When you see stuff like that, it’s jarring and it’s painful. It sucks all around. There is just no other way to say it. It sucks. It really sucks.”
Randy Orton: “I’ve got to say this… I wouldn’t be where I am without Vince McMahon taking a chance on me a handful of times. I would not be where I am today without Vince McMahon, but fuck, I’m reading this shit. What you’ve seen and read, I’ve seen and read. As far as commenting on that, it fucking hurts my heart. It hurts my heart.”
Ted DiBiase: “I’ve been kind of sad recently with all the stuff going on with Vince. That’s heart-wrenching, really. I don’t know. It’s kind of like, it’s a double-edged sword there. One part of me is like if it hadn’t been for Vince, where wrestling has gone would have never happened. By the same token, when you look at some of the things that he’s been accused of doing? I don’t know. It’s just really… it’s just sad. I can’t say anything in any other way. It’s just sad. I mean, it makes me wonder, you know? What are his children thinking when they read that stuff? It’s just sad, man.”
Maria Kanellis: “All the news coming out is horrible. Many of us experienced or heard rumors of different levels of evil for years. Some tried to speak up to build momentum to change the culture in WWE. Many times, we’ve been called bitter or crazy. Others have been paralyzed by fear. I just hope justice is served and I hope this brings some people peace. I pray for all of the victims, the ones that have spoke up, the ones no longer with us, and the ones that suffer in silence.”
Jake Roberts: “It was very disgusting, but it doesn’t surprise me, and that bothers me. For me to be able to say, ‘That doesn’t surprise me.’ It leaves me thinking, ‘Man, this is pretty disgusting shit you’re looking at here, and it doesn’t surprise me.’ I believe the man is obviously partially insane. He’s drunk with power. He has been for a long time. Remember when they were doing the ‘kiss your ass’ thing? That was pretty shitty, but to see and read that and not be surprised by it makes me shake my head, man. Just so disgusting. Christ, man. I just don’t get it. I don’t get it.”
Lance Storm: “That’s classic sexual predator stuff. Find someone down on their luck and start grooming them and bending them to your will. Not only should he be booted off the board, take his keys to the office away, bar him from going to shows, and I think there needs to be a legitimate cleaning house of anyone who covered anything up who knew about this.”
Mick Foley: “His belief in me made all the difference in the world, from just being another guy to being one of his main guys during the Attitude Era. You can tell, anyone who’s listened to a single episode [of the Foley Is Pod podcast] knows the great fondness I have for Mr. McMahon, but this is just… I don’t know all the facts, but man, it’s really ugly. I feel very similar, just like that dead inside feeling the way I had in 2007 after the Benoit murders, and man, I just, I hope it doesn’t take away from people’s memories of all the things that Mr. McMahon created or helped create. I wish he’d really just stepped aside the first time we just heard a little hint of these allegations.”
John Cena: “I don’t think it’s complicated to talk about. It’s complicated to listen to. That’s why I don’t necessarily put a lot of time and equity into it. There’s still a long way to go. I can say this… I’m a big advocate of love and friendship and honesty and communication. In the same breath, I’m also a big advocate of accountability. If someone’s behavior lies so far outside of your value system that the balance shifts of ‘I can’t operate in a world where this works,’ that’s the end result of being accountable. Right now, I’m gonna love the person I love. Be their friend. ‘I love you. You have a hill to climb.’ There is the saying of ‘You don’t know who your friends are until shit hits the fan or your back is against the wall.’ That doesn’t make any of what’s going on any easier to swallow. Just telling someone you love them, it’s a hill to climb, and we’ll see what happens. That’s it. It sounds so cliché, but it has to be one day at a time. I’ve openly said I love the guy, I have a great relationship with the guy, and that’s that. It’s largely my construct of operating with honesty and communication. Those are strong leads to handling any problem or achievement. The whole thing is super unfortunate and it sucks. It deals with an individual I love and an entity I love. I want everyone to have the experience I have. Not only do I tell a friend that I love them, but I switch to the entity and say ‘How can I help?'”
There were plenty of others giving their thoughts and opinions on the matter, but those are mostly just chosen at random.
Except for the final two quotes. Those are the two that I want to focus on.
When Mick Foley’s quote went public, I saw a lot of people take out their pitchforks and get ready to chase Mick out of town. Mick is one of the nicest, most kindhearted people that the pro wrestling business has ever seen, and has been one of the biggest advocates for the women of wrestling that anyone has ever seen, but that one quote had people losing their minds.
People felt that he made the situation about himself because he mentioned how he was one of the top names during the Attitude Era before he mentioned anything about the litany of complaints against Vince McMahon.
Other people felt Mick was too focused on the “leave the memories alone” portion of his soliloquy instead of what was the important matter at hand.
While I’m not going to sit here and demand that Mick Foley be canceled or anything like that, I can admit that I was really disappointed in his quote. By now, we’ve all heard Mick’s story a million times. His career was only going to reach a certain level before Jim Ross finally convinced Vince McMahon to sign the man known then as Cactus Jack. If not for Vince, there would be no Foley Is Pod, because Mick would’ve been in ECW until they closed down, and then he would’ve been forced to return to Japan and work the “deathmatch” style again.
Mick’s inability to “read the room,” so to speak, is just sad. Right now, people don’t want to hear anything even remotely close to resembling positivity when it comes to Vince McMahon. Even if you’re someone who thinks Janel Grant’s lawsuit is, at best, her stretching the truth, and at worst, her outright lying, you probably understand that this isn’t the time to be waving the pom-poms and doing cartwheels for Vince.
If I was disappointed in Mick Foley, though, I was downright angry with John Cena.
His quote listed above was sentence after sentence of absolute word salad.
Again, we all know Cena’s story. Without Vince McMahon, we wouldn’t know who Cena is, and he wouldn’t have gone on to become one of the biggest wrestlers of all-time before moving on to become a wildly popular star in Hollywood, blah blah blah.
John is one of the most media savvy wrestlers to ever exist. He has done more media appearances and interviews than just about anyone over the last two decades, going above and beyond the call of duty. With all that practice… with all that experience… you can’t tell me he didn’t know any better. There is a place and a time for the things he said. The here and now isn’t that place or that time, though.
If you look at what Seth Rollins said, that was almost as picture perfect a response as you’re going to find. Not only did he repeatedly mention how disgusting the allegations are, but if you actually listened to his interview, you can almost literally hear the disgust in his voice. His main focus was the allegations, how abhorrent they are, and how he wants proper punishment for everyone involved if those allegations are true.
Why is that so difficult for some people to say?!?
Obviously, it is on a lesser scale, but I can relate to what’s going on here when it comes to the wrestlers discussing Vince and what he is being accused of.
There have been a few people in my life who have been accused of some heinous crimes. One of those people was someone who was there for me at some of the lowest points in my life. I owed so much to him, and to his family. Then, he was arrested and charged with some of the most sickening crimes you can imagine. Things that make what Vince is being accused of look like jaywalking and littering.
Because of how close I was with this person before his arrest, I was asked about him, his life, and his charges again and again and again and again and again and again and again. His coworkers asked me. Our other friends asked me. His family members asked me. The police asked me. Multiple times. I kept finding myself in situations where I had to wiggle my way out of conversations, acknowledging the severity of the charges, but also wanting to take a diplomatic approach to those charges and not just move immediately into “fuck that guy, I hope he dies” as a mindset.
I wasn’t dealing with any sort of lawsuit, nor was I worried about incriminating myself in anything. Yet, with that said, I would still find ways to distance myself from everything, waiting to see if and when the truth came out.
Eventually, it did just that. More and more information came out, and the man I thought I knew better than anyone on the planet admitted his guilt and pleaded guilty. I haven’t spoken to him since, and I’ve certainly had much more to say about him when people have asked since he went away to prison.
If it wasn’t all that difficult for me, it shouldn’t be difficult for WWE fans and employees, either. Unless you’re someone who has personal, intimate knowledge that the timeline laid out in Janel Grant’s lawsuit is fact or fiction, all you need to do is be like Seth Rollins. Hope for justice, one way or another, and express your desire for the truth to come out. You can do that without trying to paint the picture that Vince McMahon is some sort of saint or that he picked up a bar tab for complete strangers one time in 1991.
In a professional setting, it’s amazing how far a simple “no comment” can take you. Say that you don’t want to discuss ongoing legal matters involving other people. Mention the hope for justice and truth. There are SO MANY other avenues to go down, but guys like Mick Foley and John Cena are out here as if they’re members of Vince’s Public Relations team. In the short-term, it makes them look scuzzy for not being as “sensitive” as they could be. However, in the long-term, it could permanently damage their reputations, as they could be hitching their proverbial wagons to a man whose positive contributions to the sport will be forever muddied by the crimes he committed and the heinous acts he was responsible for.
Why take that chance?
Don’t do it.
Weekly Power Rankings
Men’s Elimination Chamber: It was a loaded group of participants, with six of the top performers on the WWE roster being involved. The match itself lived up to the hype, and it allowed everyone a chance to shine. Drew McIntyre seemed to be the betting favorite to win, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him get the nod. He has been doing some tremendous work recently, and he deserves the spot at WrestleMania. As an added bonus, this match seemed to set up a few more Mania matches, and I appreciate that.
Damian Priest & Finn Balor vs Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne: While the challengers were unsuccessful in winning the Tag Team Titles here, I think their performance helped to put them on the map as legitimate contenders moving forward. As always, it’s all about the follow up and where they’re booked from here, but they look like a great addition to the tag division.
Women’s Elimination Chamber: Becky Lynch picked up the expected victory, but it was Tiffany Stratton that has everyone talking about her. It really looks like “Tiffy Time” is happening sooner than many people assumed it would. Works for me. I’ve been the leader of her fan club from the beginning.
FTR vs Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli: Look at who was involved in this match. It would be a major shock if it didn’t end up getting a high spot on my Power Rankings for the week.
Gunther vs Jey Uso: A lot of people were SURE that Jey was winning the Intercontinental Title here. It would’ve made sense, but personally, I don’t think you could have Gunther lose the title at any point before WrestleMania 40. He has made it this far, so you might as well get him to Philadelphia as the champion and go from there.
Cody Rhodes vs Drew McIntyre: It was the first match of any kind that Cody has been on the losing end of since November 13th, 2023. It was his first singles loss since May 27th, 2023. It was his first loss on television since May 8th, 2023. It was his first loss via pin since April 2nd, 2023. It was his first loss via pin on television since November 3rd, 2021. He was still in AEW for that last one. What a run.
Post-WWE Careers: In a 24-hour period, Nic Nemeth (aka Dolph Ziggler) won the IWGP Global Heavyweight Title, Matt Riddle won the NJPW World Television Title, and Mustafa Ali won the TNA X-Division Title. There are still people who feel that being released from a WWE contract means the end of the road for a pro wrestler, and that becomes especially so if AEW doesn’t step in to scoop them up. Nemeth, Riddle, and Ali are continuing to prove that narrative to be a false one.
Penta El Zero Miedo, Komander & Bryan Keith vs Private Party & Matt Sydal vs Top Flight & Action Andretti: I’ve said it a bunch of times, but I’m really, really happy that I don’t need to do play-by-play reviews for these types of matches in AEW. There’s always a ridiculous amount of action in these matches, and they’re almost always at a pace faster than you can fully consume in one viewing. Good stuff.
Rhea Ripley vs Nia Jax: Rhea is great, and we all knew she would be extra motivated to return home and main event in front of her fellow Australians. Nia Jax, though, stepped up and delivered one of her best performances here. It was a physical match, as almost all matches involving these women tend to me, but Nia went above and beyond, bumping her ass off for Rhea. I was very pleasantly surprised with how well this match ended up being.
Wardlow: He has never been known as a “talker” or anything, but he cut one helluva promo on Dynamite. It was as passionate as anything we’ve seen and heard from him, and there was a lot of truth in what he was saying. AEW has missed the boat on a bunch of people, unable to capitalize on any momentum that those wrestlers had built up, but there aren’t many more egregious examples than Wardlow. He was one of the hottest acts in all of wrestling at one point, and literally nothing ever came of it. It will be interesting to see what happens after this promo.
“Hangman” Adam Page, Rob Van Dam & Hook vs Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland & Brian Cage: Two strange groupings of wrestlers. Perhaps it shouldn’t have worked, but it did. In the end, isn’t that all that really matters?
R-Truth, The Miz, Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano vs The Judgment Day: For as long as we can remember, R-Truth has been hilarious, and he has been over with live crowds. Now, at the age of 52 (!!!), he might be funnier than ever and more popular than ever. He has been doing such great work that I think he should be rewarded for it. It has been four years since he held any sort of non-24/7 title, but I think that should change. Somehow, someway.
Sammy Guevara vs Powerhouse Hobbs: Take this for whatever you feel it is worth, but this was one of the biggest victories in the entire career of Powerhouse Hobbs. He hasn’t lost a singles match in six months. I’ll say this again… it’s all about the follow up and how Hobbs is booked from here, but he’s certainly elevating up the card in AEW.
Jun Akiyama vs Bryan Danielson: While it wasn’t Akiyama’s first match in AEW, it was still a very rare appearance for one of the greatest names in All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH history. It’s fun to see him appear every now and then, and of course, Bryan Danielson continues to be Bryan Danielson.
Orange Cassidy vs Mike Bennett: I’m pretty sure the mission is for Orange Cassidy to move up and down the roster, facing everyone available, and proving that he can have good matches every single time. It sure looks like that’s working.
Josh Briggs vs Brooks Jensen: Nothing against Brooks Jensen, but Josh Briggs seems to have a really bright future in the business. WWE has almost always been the land of “giants” and larger-than-life competitors, but those types of wrestlers seem to be around less and less these days. At 6’8″ and 268 pounds, Briggs is one of the largest men on the roster, and that could definitely benefit him for years to come.
Bryan Keith vs Malakai Black: This was Malakai’s first singles match with AEW since June 22nd, 2022. That’s such an insane stat. The match was good, obviously, but it really did feel weird to see Malakai in a match without his House Of Black partners available for the tag.
Andre Chase & Duke Hudson vs Nathan Frazer & Axiom: I really don’t know why Frazer and Axiom aren’t treated better in NXT. They continue to have some really entertaining matches, both in singles and tag competition, against a wide variety of opponents, but it never goes anywhere. It’s strange to me, that’s all.
Liv Morgan vs Tiffany Stratton: What is Liv Morgan’s character? Does anybody know? Do you think Liv herself knows? I bet you she doesn’t. She’s in a weird spot these days because of that.
The Good Brothers: They aren’t being used on the main roster, so let’s see about giving them a shot in NXT. Will we get the motivated version of the duo, or will we get the version that doesn’t always seem to care much? I don’t know. What I do know, though, is that the idea of them feuding with Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin sounds like a ton of fun.
This Week’s Playlist: “Saturn” by SZA… “Drown” by Justin Timberlake… “HUMAN MADE” by Kid Cudi… “WIN OR LOSE” by Kid Cudi & Chip Tha Ripper… “Friendly Fire” by Linkin Park… “2-3 Zone” by Erick The Architect… “Don’t Walk Away” by Jade… “Mmhmm” by BigXThaPlug… “Levels” by BigXThaPlug… “Texas” by BigXThaPlug… “Live And Let Die” by Guns N Roses… “Don’t Cry” by Guns N Roses… “November Rain” by Guns N Roses… “You Could Be Mine” by Guns N Roses… “Call Me Little Sunshine” by Ghost… “Judgment Day” by Austrian Death Machine & Ov Sulfur… “Dreams” by The Cranberries… “Somebody Told Me” by The Killers… “Pop The Trunk” by Yelawolf… “Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)” by UGK & Outkast… “Whoa!” by Black Rob… “Flossin” by Mike Jones & Big Moe… “Who The Fuck Is That?” by Dolla, T-Pain & Tay Dizm… “Pale Iris” by ERRA… “For Your Love” by Stevie Wonder