Last Thursday was quite the day for WWE.
It was announced that Friday Night Smackdown will be returning to NBCUniversal’s USA Network in October 2024. The five-year deal is for over $1.4 billion, coming in at an average of $287 million per year. As part of the deal, WWE will produce four primetime specials per year on NBC, although it isn’t known if those will be in-ring shows like Saturday Night’s Main Event or documentary shows like we’ve been seeing on A&E, but there will be four shows per year one way or another.
The television rights for Raw and NXT have not yet been decided, although the common thinking now, in the wake of Smackdown’s move, is that both shows will be leaving USA Network for something else. Linear television networks, streaming services, and “unexpected players” are all said to be in play for Raw, but we might not find out where Raw and NXT are going for months.
On the same day as the $1.4 billion television rights deal was announced, it was also revealed that WWE had released two dozen in-ring performers. Whether it was a Performance Center rookie that had yet to make their in-ring debut like Daniel McArthur or Alexis Grey, someone who had already been announced for an NXT North American Title shot like Mustafa Ali, someone who hadn’t wrestled in over a year like Aliyah, or a 15-time champion (including two World Heavyweight Title reigns and one NXT Title reign) like Dolph Ziggler, people from almost every section of the roster were affected by the latest round of cuts.
Whenever WWE releases anyone, the discussion online is almost always the same. Whether it’s a truly shocking release, or someone who most of the WWE Universe has never heard of, you hear a lot of the same comments… that WWE is evil for releasing people at “bad” times, that the company should be ashamed of themselves for earning record-breaking profits and still firing employees, and so on and so forth.
Let’s talk about that for a bit, shall we?
To the people who mention “bad” times to have people lose their jobs, what exactly would you consider a “good” time for that to take place? If there is no “good” time, then there really isn’t a reason to mention a “bad” time, is there? Unless it involves that fucking bucktoothed fuck Kevin Dunn getting fired and then run over by a truck as he walks out of WWE headquarters, there really isn’t a “good” time for anyone to lose their job. Cut it out.
The next point is where things get a bit trickier. WWE has definitely been sending a ton of people to the unemployment line over the last few years, all while the company makes more money than it has ever made in the history of ever. There’s no denying that at all.
I just don’t understand what people are wanting the company to do. Is WWE supposed to hire people and keep them under employment for the rest of eternity, no matter what? It doesn’t matter how much money they’re making, how often they’re being used, how much trouble they might be getting in, how good they are at their job… none of it… just keep people around forever and never fire anybody for any reason.
That’s not how it works.
It’s not how it works for any company, whether it’s a wrestling promotion valued at over $9 billion, your local McDonald’s, or an eBay store run by you and your buddies.
If it is felt that an employee isn’t pulling their weight, they can be set free. I want you to imagine that your place of employment was like WWE for a moment. Imagine if Betty from Accounting wasn’t looked at as being very good at her job. So much so that the company has pulled her out of the office and sent her to a smaller training facility to improve behind-the-scenes. She hasn’t even made physical contact with her cubicle in the office for nearly a full calendar year? Why the fuck would your job continue paying Betty if they don’t feel she’s “worthy” of doing the job she was originally hired to do?
They wouldn’t.
Betty would be searching for a new job, and I can just about assure you that most of the other people at your job wouldn’t even blink.
Look, I don’t say this to sound cruel or insensitive, but almost everyone that has been released this time around isn’t really a surprise, for one reason or another. There’s a reason it was Aliyah that was let go, and not Iyo Sky. There’s a reason it was Riddick Moss that was let go, and not Finn Balor. There’s a reason it was Quincy Elliott that was let go, and not Rey Mysterio. Dolph Ziggler has wrestled on television nine times in 2023, and none of those nine times have come within the last four months. Oh, and two of those nine matches were Battle Royals where he was nothing more than a warm body to fill the ring. In 2022, Dolph had 25 matches on television or pay-per-view, and again, three of those were Battle Royal appearances. Of his 25 televised matches, five of them came during his random NXT run. That leaves 17 main roster matches during the entire year. Seth Rollins wrestled on television 17 times last week! Dolph was probably being paid a pretty decent amount of money, based on his lengthy tenure with the company and his vast championship history, but if he’s not being used for anything, it becomes a poor use of money that could, perhaps, go to a different place to be used in a better fashion.
WWE contracts are different than they used to be. In the past, WWE would give X amount of money to its performers, while allowing them to earn even more money based on how many house shows they performed at, pay-per-view bonuses, merchandise sales, and things of that nature. These days, most wrestlers are simply being given that X amount of money without all of the additional streams of revenue, but it is often balanced out for a lot of them because said X amount of money is a lot higher now than it was in the past. In an article from WrestleMania time last year, Triple H said that all main roster performers in WWE make at least $250,000 a year on their contracts.
Take that last sentence, and then go back to what I said about Dolph’s workload over the last two years. A minimum of $250,000 a year… and as I said, Dolph was probably making more money than that based on multiple factors… to wrestle 26 times in nearly two years.
Now, think about the fact that a good chunk of the 24 names released last week were members of the main roster, and you’re looking at a lot of money being pissed away. Aliyah wrestled a grand total of 18 matches on the main roster in the almost 23 months she spent on the main roster, and of those 18 matches, a grand total of ZERO matches came in the last 12-and-a-half months. That’s a real “Bundy, you’re stealing money!” deal if I’ve ever seen one.
WWE’s profits, revenue, income, and so on is irrelevant here. Even when you’re bringing in metric fucktons of money, there are still infinite opportunities to tighten things up financially. If Elon Musk loses $20 million on the stock market tomorrow, he still owns more money than any of us could ever dream of having, but he’s still going to feel that $20 million, and if he’s smart, he’ll try to avoid losing another $20 million the day after tomorrow. That’s what separates the Elon Musks and Jeff Bezos’s’s’s’s of the world from the people who win lotteries and then spend half of their winnings on houses and cars in less than a week.
Whether any of us like it or not, and whether any of us understand it or not, WWE has a bottom line that they need to deal with. It’s a sad part of business, but it’s part of business nonetheless. We need to stop this bullshit whenever WWE releases anyone, although I’m 124% sure that it will continue on, decades and decades into the future.
Look… I get it if you’re a big fan of someone who was released. We’ve all been there, enjoying someone’s work, wishing they would be used more/better, and then boom, they’re no longer employed by a particular company. I just wish that a lot of you would be more realistic about things and how they work.
Before anyone asks, yes, I do think we’ll end up seeing some of the recently released names make their way to AEW. Hopefully, it won’t be too many of them, as AEW already has approximately 522 wrestlers under contract right now, but a few names are definitely worthy of at least a part-time run. Dolph Ziggler, Mustafa Ali and Shelton Benjamin would be tremendous in AEW, and would/should immediately end up at, or near, the top of the card upon debuting. Elias never quite got the credit he deserved for his matches, with all the attention going to his gimmick and his character work. The same could probably be said about Riddick Moss. Emma would be a nice addition to the AEW women’s division.
Do I want to see a bunch of new names brought in? No. Again, AEW already has more than enough mouths to feed, but a very small handful of them could make for a fun splash. As long as they’re able to land on their feet somehow, whether it’s in AEW, Impact Wrestling, the independent scene, Mexico, Japan, Europe, or something other than the wrestling business entirely, that’s all that really matters, though.
I don’t want people to read this and think I’m saying that WWE is above any sort of vitriol. Lord knows I am quick to pull the trigger when it comes to calling the company out for some of the decisions they have made through the years, and in some cases, continue to make to this day. I just don’t think they’re getting a fair shake when it comes to a lot of the recent releases they’ve made. Nothing more, nothing less.
What are your thoughts on the whole situation? On top of that, do you think WWE will come to regret any of the releases they made last week? Do you think AEW will reach out to any of them? Should AEW reach out to any of them? As always, hit me up in the comments section below, or on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), and let me know what’s on your mind. Now, let’s move on to my Power Rankings for the week before closing things out, as usual, with my weekly playlist.
Weekly Power Rankings
Iyo Sky vs Asuka: These two have a very lengthy history together, going back 15 years to the first time they shared the ring together. Along the way, they have been tag partners, stablemates (as Triple Tails, with Iyo’s sister, Mio Shirai), and opponents. With that said, they had only faced each other in singles competition one time, and that was at a WWE house show last year. That made this one extra special, and you could tell it meant a lot to both women, as well. WWE gave them 20 minutes to work with, and there was the important “big fight” feel to the match. Really, really good stuff.
Bryan Danielson vs Ricky Starks: With Danielson apparently being given more and more “pull” backstage when it comes to the creative direction of his career and the happenings of Collision, and with his in-ring days winding down, I am incredibly excited to watch things unfold. If he wasn’t already in contention for it, Danielson is making a very strong case for being the greatest in-ring performer in the history of the business. If he keeps putting in the work that he’s been putting in, he’ll continue to be included here on a regular basis.
Claudio Castagnoli vs Eddie Kingston: The expected ultra-physical match in a feud that has been extra personal in and out of the ring for a long time. It was a smart decision to give Kingston the feel-good win in front of his hometown fans, giving him the RoH World Title that has been held by Low-Ki, Xavier, and Homicide, all good friends and mentors of his through the years.
Tyler Bate vs Butch: It’s magic when these two face each other. While this wasn’t quite on the same level as their previous encounters, it was still a lot of fun. Butch is a little more than a month away from his 30th birthday, and Bate will be 26 years old for five more months, so there’s plenty of time to see them work together in the future. I’m down for that.
MJF vs Samoa Joe: A really good match featuring two men who are in the middle of a career renaissance. Joe is turning back the clock, putting in his best work since he was flirting with the main event scene in WWE in 2017. Meanwhile, MJF is becoming one of the better in-ring performers on the AEW roster, after spending a few years where people seemed to view him as someone whose matches didn’t quite reach the level of his promos and character work.
Andrade El Idolo vs “Switchblade” Jay White: These two are really putting in a lot of great work on Collision, helping to carry the show since its inception, and yet, you could still make an argument that both men and criminally underutilized in AEW.
Kofi Kingston vs Ivar: One of those matches that you’re not necessarily expecting much from, but it ends up surprising the hell out of you. Kofi and Ivar seemed extra motivated for whatever reason, and it meant a pleasant viewing experience for me.
Chris Jericho vs Sammy Guevara: It would be mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and sexually impossible for me to care about this storyline any less than I do. With that said, I did enjoy the match. The stuff after the match that means at least six more months of the feud, as per the conditions written into Jericho’s AEW contract? Eh, I liked that a lot less.
Elimination Chamber: WWE has already been holding large events in Saudi Arabia for a few years now. Last year, they went to Wales for Clash At The Castle. This year, they went to Puerto Rico for Backlash, and then to England for Money In The Bank. In February 2024, the company will be holding the latest edition of its Elimination Chamber event, this time taking place at Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia. It will be another giant stadium show for the promotion, with the current high attendance for Optus Stadium being 73,092 people seeing an Ed Sheeran concert earlier this year. The company is on a mission to make their pay-per-view events seem as large as possible, and it seems to be working. If you live in a big country with a major venue, you might be in luck when it comes to WWE visiting your neck of the woods in the future.
Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona vs “Hangman” Adam Page & The Young Bucks: First it was MJF and Adam Cole winning the RoH Tag Team Titles. Now, Adam Page and the Bucks win the RoH Six-Man Tag Team Titles. With the RoH championships moving to AEW regulars that are bigger names than the previous title holders, I fully expect Athena to drop the Women’s Title to Britt Baker soon.
Nathan Frazer vs Joe Coffey vs Duke Hudson: All three men did well here, but it was important for Coffey to look strong after his Gallus teammates didn’t always look great, even after being the NXT Tag Team Champions. Mission accomplished.
Jey Uso vs Drew McIntyre: While the match was good, I am growing more and more tired of anything that has to do with The Bloodline, either directly or indirectly. The end of SummerSlam continues to piss me off, and that only grows with the wheels spinning on Smackdown with Jimmy Uso, as well as the move of Jey Uso to Raw, and the fact that Roman Reigns hasn’t been seen in a long time. Now, we’re going to have to deal with a lengthy “CAN WE TRUST JEY?!?!?!?!?” story with all of the same people Jey has been working with for the last couple years? Joy.
Luchasaurus vs Darby Allin vs Christian Cage: A well done match, starting off as a glorified handicap match, and then morphing into Christian trying to weasel his way to becoming the AEW TNT Champion. Christian is really doing some tremendous stuff recently. Now we wait and see if he’ll be doing some more tremendous stuff in the not-too-distant future with an old friend of his.
AEW’s “Luck” With Injuries: It looked like Jon Moxley was on the receiving end of a serious neck injury during his match with Rey Fenix, but it ended up being “only” a concussion. Later in the same episode of Dynamite, Adam Cole injured his leg by simply jumping off of the ramp as he ran to the ring. As of the moment I type this, the extent of Cole’s injury hasn’t been revealed, but his RoH Tag Team Title match at WrestleDream was still being promoted on Collision, three days later, so that could be viewed as a positive sign that the company feels he’ll be good to go a week from now. Imagine if both Moxley and Cole would’ve suffered major injuries on the same night that would’ve kept them out of action for a long, long, long time. All things considered, AEW may have dodged two major bullets here, but we’ll see.
Ricochet vs Shinsuke Nakamura: While I understand that Nakamura is a heel now, and heels don’t always get to win a ton of matches, would it be too much to ask for Shinsuke to pick up some legitimate victories? Since turning heel, he has been pinned by Seth Rollins, lost to Ricochet by disqualification, and now beaten Ricochet by disqualification. There were already a ton of fans who didn’t “buy” him as a threat to Seth Rollins and the World Heavyweight Title because it had been so long since Nakamura was booked to look like a major player. This shit isn’t helping that at all. If you want to build Ricochet up, that’s fine and dandy, but you can do that in a different feud. Nakamura needs to look strong, and he needs to look like someone that the average WWE fan can look at and picture as the World Champion.
Becky Lynch & Lyra Valkyria vs Tiffany Stratton & Kiana James: Becky sure does seem like she’s having fun during this run in NXT. Good for her. Simply working with her is already elevating Tiffany Stratton, and now, it could be doing the same for Lyra Valkyria and Kiana James, as well.
Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar vs The Street Profits: I really liked pairing The Street Profits with Bobby Lashley. Making the group heels was something I liked even more. What I don’t like, however, is that we’re already being teased with dissension within the group, as Dawkins almost seemed upset with Lashley’s interference in this match, leading to him taking the loss as he was distracted. WWE could’ve at least given it more time before they went in this direction. I don’t think they’re going to split right away or anything. If I had to guess, I would say we’re either going to see the Profits finally get the killer instinct that Lashley demands from them, or it will end up with the long-rumored split of the Profits, with one of them siding with Lashley and the other being booted. Like I said, though, I just wish the first signs of a struggle could’ve happened a bit further down the road.
Rey Fenix: It wasn’t the original decision (it was reported that Jon Moxley called an audible in the ring when he got hurt), but Fenix is the new AEW International Champion, so kudos to him for that. His match with Moxley was good, but it was brought down a bit by Mox getting hurt, as well as the awkwardness with referee Rick Knox not making the call to end the match early, then screwing up the count during one fall, and then allowing Mox to damn near break his neck again after being spiked on the mat for a second time. Knox is booked to look like an absolute fucking moron in most of the matches he calls for AEW, but now, he is facing criticism for possibly being one for real. Fair or not, that’s what is happening now.
Carmelo Hayes vs Dominik Mysterio: Dom continues to excel at the character work side of things, but he’s still catching shit from a lot of fans on social media, either because they’ve worked themselves into a shoot, or they’re expecting too much from him. No, he isn’t involved in five-star classics on a weekly basis, but he isn’t supposed to be right now. His character is a whiny, sniveling shit of a phony tough guy. The way he is used in his matches right now is perfect for that character. Relax, folks.
Lola Vice: It is often said that if you’re not in pro wrestling to be a World Champion and a Hall Of Fame inductee one day, you should find something else to do. A lot of that is more of a state of mind than something you would actually verbalize out loud. Lola Vice, on the other hand, has taken things to an entirely new level. In an interview with TMZ, she said that she will become the “best superstar in the history of the WWE.” Think about the ground that covers. Now think about the fact that she made her in-ring debut less than a year ago, and has a total of four televised matches in that time frame, one of which was a Battle Royal appearance. In those four matches, she literally has about five combined minutes in the ring. That’s, uh… that’s a lot of confidence in herself. I guess we’ll see if she has the last laugh one day.
This Week’s Playlist: “MORE THAN YOU KNOW” by blink-182… “Join Me In Armageddon” by Thy Art Is Murder… “This place only brings death” by Heart Of A Coward… “Burning In Reverse” by Mercenary… “Black Heart, Dead Tissue” by Mercenary… “Game Over” by Lil Flip… “Thugz Cry” by Bizzy Bone… “Fried Day” by Bizzy Bone… “Menensky Mobbin” by Bizzy Bone… “Give Up The Ghost” by Immature & Bizzy Bone… “Demons Surround Me” by Bizzy Bone… “(The Roof Is) On Fire” by Bizzy Bone… “Yes Yes Y’all” by Bizzy Bone… “Romeo and Juliet” by Sylk E Fine & Chill… “Somethin’ 4 Da Honeyz” by Montell Jordan… “Just Ballin” by Do Or Die… “Still Po Pimpin” by Do Or Die, Twista & Johnny P… “All In The Club” by Do Or Die & Danny Boy… “Can I” by Do Or Die & Beyond Content… “Ultimate Showdown” by Do Or Die… “Can’t You See (Original Version)” by Total & The Notorious BIG… “Slide” by Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean & Migos… “New Money” by Calvin Harris & 21 Savage… “Obsessed” by Calvin Harris, Charlie Puth & Shenseea… “ONE MAN ARMY” by The Prodigy & Tom Morello