Browsing: Booking

John Cena (photo credit WWE media kit)

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For the most part, Iâ€ve really enjoyed a post-Vince McMahon WWE. Most of the things I dislike about the current product have been faults of TKO. The constant brand-integration sponsorships, rising prices to attend a live event, and having to have access to six different platforms to watch WWE are at the top of my list. While not perfect, WWE’s Creative has been better than what we were getting from WWE in the last decade of Vince McMahon. Better is not an automatic pass, though.

Paul Levesque will never be a perfect booker, nor should he be expected to be. Look at any era and there are stories that didnâ€t work. The same shows with The Undertakerâ€s debut had the Gobbledy Gooker, and while Steven Austin and the Rock were on top of the world, Mae Young was delivering Mark Henryâ€s baby hand. Any writer will tell you that not everything is a hit. I know that different ideas in my head will play differently when put out into art for others to appreciate.

Weâ€ve had great moves like Codyâ€s story, the introduction of mid-card womenâ€s titles, and the rise of brilliant talents such as Dominik Mysterio. Weâ€ve also had some misfires that were more than simple undercard angles that were dropped.

Tag Teams (or Making Every Title Matter)

If you watch Smackdown in a vacuum, they have a really good tag team division. Thereâ€s even a team in Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss that are a pretty fan act as champions right now. But thereâ€s a lacking of depth in the company when it comes to tag team wrestling.

Raw has been the worst offender, as Finn Balor & J.D. McDonough have only defended their titles once on television before the match with A.J. Styles & Dragon Lee – two guys who have been feuding with another guy in their stable, showing there are no actual tag teams that are taken seriously on Raw as contenders right now. With a roster with more members on it than ever before, there have to be more green guys who can learn in teams or established stars without storylines, like with Styles & Lee.

With the women, it will be the same 3-4 teams, not leaving enough teams to have personal grudges as established teams. Makeshift teams end up being the majority of the womenâ€s tag roster. We need the male equivalents to the Road Warriors, Dudleys, and FTR who make tag wrestling their established division to work within.

As stacked as the Smackdown tag roster is, you do have to watch Smackdown to catch the matches. With USA not having streaming abilities outside of a cable package, this leaves many people without access to Smackdown. While personally loving tag team wrestling, and one that has watched the majority of WWE PLEs, I miss watching tag title matches on the big cards. The biggest moments are saved for these PLEs, and their tag team champions arenâ€t priority to get those moments.

Wyatt Sicks

While on the topic of tag team champions, The Wyatt family not being a major part of your October PLE makes no sense to me. People adored Bray. We miss him and want to celebrate and honor his work that was left. After a stellar debut, it quickly became just another faction. There were injuries, but instead of using the healthy members, theyâ€re removed from television until all were healthy. Thereâ€s a Universal Studios exhibit, and theyâ€re tag team champions, but we missed a lot in between, and now fans have less invested in the group than we should.

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Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Smackdown: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller†on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)

Karion Kross

I remember when Claudio Castignoli was in WWE as Cesaro and how everyone he worked with seemed to have great things about him, fans were strongly behind him, and even “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was pushing for Cesaro to get pushed to the top of the card on a live podcast to Vince McMahon. Alas, that glass ceiling withstood, and there was no shattering it by proving yourself if the right person who made the decisions didnâ€t see it.

Kross was a viral sensation and top merch seller, while being at the bottom of the mid-card. He was getting ovations in multiple cities that didnâ€t match his presentation. The fans liked him. I guess the new WWE offices have those glass ceilings too.

Ron “The Truth†Killings

The man cut the Promo of the Year after returning from being released from his contract. Interrupting the broadcast, taking over the show, and ending that monologue by cutting the braids from his hair heâ€d been known from for decades… and nothing.

Heâ€s now the same R-Truth comedy character he was before. I was ready for a matured version of his TNA run. I wanted to hear from the man who was always held back. Especially when the fans – and fellow wrestlers who disagreed with the decision – were very vocal in their support. It was his chance to visit the main event in the twilight of his wrestling career, but nowâ€s heâ€s another missed opportunity.

Cena Heel Turn

We all wanted to see it. We got it and the wrestling world was on fire. Crossover attention on memes, fan reaction videos creating internet traffic, and the venture fandom wanting to hear that first promo afterwards. Then he came out in jorts and a retirement T-shirt that celebrated his career as brightly as a cereal box.

When Eric Bischoff recalls working with Hulk Hogan, he remembers how, no matter how good an idea was, that Hulk Hogan would always ask, “What happens next?†Hogan knew that no matter how big the moment could be, there was a show to do next week and a new PPV to start building towards. WWE has attempted to build too many shows around “moments†without there being a payoff or a move to something bigger.

In any narrative, you need a reason for a character to change their motivation, and it needs to be plotted out, as a shocking moment should be a stepping stone, not the ultimate moment itself. TV dramas have shown how this can go down for years. Kill off a character in order to alter the relationships of the characters for a storyline payoff, or a ratings ploy that left them in a hole they couldnâ€t get out of. The Cena turn ended up being the latter.

(Griffin is a lifelong fan of wrestling, superheroes, and rebellious music of all forms. He is the owner of Nerdstalgia, and you can shop online, learn about visiting the store in Colorado Springs, or catch him at a comic con in the Rocky Mountain area by going to http://nerdstalgia.shop.)

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Andrade El Idoloâ€s AEW return earlier this month was supposed to kick off a major storyline with the Don Callis Family, but instead itâ€s been nothing but legal drama and confusion.

First, reports claimed WWE enforced a surprise non-compete clause, then word spread that Andrade might be locked into a contract issue keeping him out for up to a year. Now, his latest move has only deepened the mystery.

According to Fightful Select, Andrade was scheduled to wrestle for WWC in Puerto Rico, including a Universal Title match. But despite being at the show, he wonâ€t actually compete.

“One of the bookings that Andrade scheduled before his legal situation with WWE started was WWC in Puerto Rico. Fightful Select can confirm that Andrade is in fact in Puerto Rico at the show, but isnâ€t working the scheduled match for the WWC Universal Title. Weâ€re told that he was doing whatever else he could to make good for the booking.â€

This comes amid reports that Andrade is somehow still under WWE contract following his termination, a situation being called “very confusing.†That technicality could explain why he wasnâ€t able to step into the ring in Puerto Rico, even though he still showed up for the event.

AEW has kept quiet publicly on the matter, but whatâ€s clear is that Andradeâ€s big return has been stalled again. With WWE clauses in play, AEWâ€s legal oversight being questioned, and Andrade stuck in limbo, fans are left wondering if heâ€ll even be able to wrestle for AEW in the near future.

Do you think Andrade should fight WWE in court to clear his status, or should he wait it out and return when the legal mess is over? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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WWE legend The Rock has discussed John Cena’s final opponent in WWE and who should make the decision to choose his opponent.

During his recent appearance on the “New Heights” podcast hosted by Travis and Jason Kelce, The Rock initially joked that it should be him to face Cena in his final match. He, though, put the ball in Cena’s court, arguing how Cena has earned the right to decide whom he wants to face in his final match.

“I have a tiny bit of influence in the booking of it. But it really is just whoever John wants,” The Rock said. “Really, that’s what it comes down to. Whoever he wants, that should be [it]. It’s not me or Nick Khan, or Triple H [to decide]. It’s just whoever John wants. That guy has earned it.”Â

The Rock praised his former on-screen ally and rival, lauding the 17-time world champion’s authenticity.

“The best part about John is, he comes as advertised. So who you think he is, that’s who he is. And he’s a good dude. And I love that guy,” he added.

While The Rock and Triple H have claimed that it’s down to whom Cena wants to face in his retirement run, Cena himself has said that he doesn’t choose whom he faces, leaving that decision to WWE management.Â

Cena’s last match will take place at Saturday Night’s Main Event in the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., on December 13. One person who will not be a part of Cena’s retirement tour — or his final match — is AEW’s Adam Copeland, aka Edge in WWE, who was one of Cena’s greatest rivals. The name that’s been doing the rounds is former WWE World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER, who has been on the sidelines since his match at SummerSlam.

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Mark Briscoe (photo by Jared Walsh @jjwalsh22)

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

Mark Briscoe is someone that is impervious to being booked poorly given his charisma and connection with the crowd. Mark and his brother Jay were relegated to only appearing only in Ring of Honor under Tony Khan after he purchased the company in 2022 due to Jay posting anti-LGBTQ tweets on Twitter while he was a member of the original ROH roster. The tweets upset a Warner executive and Mark and his brother were banned from AEW TV and PPV.

Not long after Jayâ€s death, Mark was allowed to appear on AEW TV for the first time. He got a shot at the ROH World TV Championship held by Samoa Joe. The match took place at the ROH Supercard of Honor PPV on March 31. Mark had a ton of momentum heading into the match and the storyline for the match even revolved around the spirit of Jay Briscoe being in the ring with Mark as he challenged Samoa Joe for the title, but somehow the call was made for Mark to lose the

This isnâ€t meant to be an exhaustive look at how Mark Briscoe has been booked in AEW, but he hasnâ€t been allowed to succeed at his maximum potential by AEW COO and booker Tony Khan. Mark appears on AEW TV frequently and every time he cuts a promo backstage or makes an appearance in a singles match, he lights up the TV screen with his charisma and connection to the crowd.

Markâ€s connection with the fans may dwindle a bit from time-to-time when Mark is put on the backburner by AEW, but since wrestling is a fan service first, why is someone so beloved by fans as Mark is not put in the position to succeed in AEW whether it be for a major title or secondary championship.

Anyone that watched Mark Briscoeâ€s appearances on social media following his brotherâ€s death saw the grace with which he handled the terrible tragedy. Mark handled the situation with a grace that I would not expect from anyone that had lost their brother. Mark almost seemed to be comforting the fans in one video that was shown on social media following Jayâ€s death that I remember fondly talking about how Jay was in a better place now and he was going to move forward with his wrestling career knowing that Jay was always with him.

It is impossible not to feel a connection with Mark if you see him cut a promo on TV with his enthusiastic delivery tinged with his signature southern accent. Mark recently got a huge victory over MJF in a Tables & Thumbtacks match at the All Out: Toronto PPV in September. He beat MJF clean and sent him packing from the company from a storyline standpoint.

A win over MJF should be huge for anyone that beats him in AEW. Mark seemed primed for big things, but before All Out: Toronto ended, Mark tipped his hand at what was to come next for him. It wasnâ€t a shot at Hangman Page and the AEW World Hvt. Championship. It wasnâ€t even a shot at Kyle Fletcher and the TNT Championship, it was hyping up the return of Orange Cassidy and his Conglomeration stablemates.

Mark teased the return of Orange Cassidy backstage on the same night he beat MJF and heâ€s been a hype man for The Conglomeration ever since then on TV. Orange Cassidy, who had been out for months with injury, even got a shot at Kyle Fletcher and the TNT Championship before Mark was rewarded from a storyline standpoint for his win over MJF.

Mark is so popular that Tony Khan can easily build him back up and give him his big moment as a singles wrestler if he wants to, but why keep teasing the fans. A win over MJF is about as big as can get in terms of a launching point for a wrestler, so why have him beat MJF and then fade to the undercard with The Conglomeration? Only Khan knows the answer.

Mark leaning heavily into comedy and being goofy on TV after beating MJF in a serious match to end a serious feud is a disappointment because it felt like it was time for Khan to pull the trigger on something bigger for Mark as a singles wrestler. He is a wrestler that would almost certainly draw interest from the AEW fanbase on TV and PPV. Unfortunately it feels like AEW is not going to deliver that big moment for Mark anytime soon.

You can contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on X @SR_Torch and on Bluesky @SeanRadican.

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What should be a hyped time for the John Cena retirement tour, exiting a historic Brock Lesnar match, is instead one of anxiety for fans.Â

Cena’s match with Lesnar, after all, wound up an unmitigated disaster just weeks before he’s scheduled to take on AJ Styles in a match at Crown Jewel from Perth, Australia on October 11.Â

Thankfully for everyone, fans included, Cena-Styles can book the feud and match in a way that is the polar opposite of the Lesnar debacle.

First, the trainwreck. By now, the majority of fans know what went down at the poorly-named Wrestlepalooza. Cena went out and got squashed by Lesnar at the PLE, a completely odd decision by all involved that was aimed at making Lesnar look amazing to casual fans on the first WWE PLE to stream on ESPN.

Cena looked like a chump in the process, with WWE going unnecessarily cruel, too, considering he did his entrance with a bunch of kids wearing his attire, then cameras made sure to pick up kids in the crowd in tears after his loss.Â

Just an odd thing all around, yet not so odd when one considers how miserable the majority of Cena’s retirement tour booking has gone. To tick off a few boxes, think, the failed heel turn, The Rock, Travis Scott, R-Truth and now squashed by Lesnar, not to start a feud and rematch, but to make the…48-year-old part-timer look good?Â

Anyway, a feud with Styles gives everyone a chance to course correct. Put the train back on some semblance of tracks, at least.Â

The groundwork for this already happened, too. Where the Lesnar feud was set up by a random attack and then the two, for some reason avoiding each other on weekly shows, Cena took to social media to build the feud by “campaigning” Triple H for the match. Styles, meanwhile, expressed frustration in interviews about not getting a Cena match.Â

It’s a little thing…but it’s a start. The experiment is again appreciated and, frankly, the build is already slowly creeping toward being one of the best of the retirement tour.Â

From here, Cena and Styles can go some interesting ways while building the feud. Since he’s been in WWE for so long, it’s almost easy to forget what a juggernaut of an international star Styles was for so long. Cena can certainly remind audiences of that.Â

There’s also the dynamic of Styles retiring in 2026. Getting this out there in front of huge audiences and working it into the story, even if it’s just Styles being prematurely bitter because his tour won’t get as many headlines as Cena’s, would be a nice way to build things.Â

Don’t forget the match itself, either. Lesnar-Cena, predictably, just spammed finishers. It’s not even worth a rewatch, but Lesnar ate, what, three finishers and kicked out before hitting three-plus F-5s for the win?Â

Frankly, that was insulting to viewers. We weren’t that far removed from Cena putting on a really technical, fun match with Logan Paul, of all people. Fans have known for years that while there’s a five-moves-of-doom cliche with Cena, he’s extremely underrated and capable of putting on versatile matches with almost anyone.Â

Cena going against Styles has a chance to stress that point in a big way. It would only be fitting if the two go into the matchup in Australia motivated to make that very point. One can almost hear the you still got it chants already.

If nothing else, it will be nice to see a carefully built feud for Cena against a great wrestler that gets the care and attention it deserves before a solid match. Some probably wouldn’t have predicted that Styles will need to bail out Cena’s farewell tour so late in the process, yet here we are.Â

If it’s Styles, Randy Orton and CM Punk as the high marks for the Cena goodbye tour over the last year or so, maybe that’s just fitting, really. It’s certainly marquee company for Styles to join and given both men’s importance to the sport over the last few decades, only right.Â

While it’s a shame things have come to this, it’s hard to suppress optimism that Cena-Styles, when booked with even the slightest bit of common sense, can be a high mark of the year while bridging the gap between both iconic wrestlers’ retirement journeys.Â

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Since Triple H became WWE’s Chief Content Officer in 2022, fans have been generally pleased with many of his creative decisions, with specific wrestlers, titles and storylines receiving more attention than they did under Vince McMahon’s direction. In addition to the wrestling improving inside the squared circle, Triple H brought back long-term storytelling to WWE, with more than one storyline finally being given weeks or months to play out in front of the live audience.Â

That said, not every creative decision by the 56-year-old has been universally praised, as he’s faced more criticism over the last year than ever before for his work in the writer’s chair. Brock Lesnar squashing John Cena earlier this month at WWE Wrestlepalooza is one of the latest examples of fans turning on Triple H, leading us to reflect on some of his most detrimental booking choices throughout the last three years.

The New Day’s heel turn

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After being viewed as one of the best professional wrestling segments of 2024, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods’ heel turn on Big E to officially break up the New Day has been easily one of Triple H’s most failed projects since stepping into his role as Head Of Creative. At one point, the New Day dismantling or turning to the dark side almost felt sacrilegious, with many fans never wanting to see them implode due to their impact on WWE’s tag team division and their storied on-screen friendship together. Therefore, when WWE pulled the trigger on having Kingston and Woods betray Big E, the audience expected a heel run that was going to make the latest version of the New Day one of the top tag teams in the promotion again, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.Â

For almost an entire year, Kingston and Woods have been inserted into meaningless tag team feuds that either lacked intensity or failed to elevate them closer to championship gold. After nearly three months, the New Day would finally be given a shot to win the WWE World Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 41, and though they succeeded by defeating the War Raiders, the match was lackluster due to only being allotted nine minutes on the card. However, fans remained optimistic and believed that Kingston and Woods could change the trajectory of their heel run with the titles, but the pair would only hold the belts for 72 days and spent most of the summer losing matches on “WWE Raw.”Â

The booking of WWE’s top women’s champions

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WWE’s women’s division continues to showcase some of the best in-ring wrestling that the company has to offer today, but Triple H’s creative outlook for each of his top women’s champions has been disappointing to say the least. Over on “WWE SmackDown,” it feels like Tiffany Stratton has been feuding with Nia Jax over the Women’s World Championship for an eternity, while Giulia struggles to be featured on TV as the Women’s United States Champion. Additionally, before Naomi captured the Women’s World Heavyweight Championship, IYO SKY was given very few storylines with the title on “Raw,” having only two defenses in her 132-day reign.

This year, the Women’s Intercontinental Title remains an exception, as the championship has excelled with Lyra Valkyria and Becky Lynch holding the gold. The same could almost be said for the Women’s Tag Team Championships, with the unlikely team of Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss making the belts the most relevant they’ve been in years, as Triple H often had no creative plans for those who held the titles beforehand.Â

The wrestling on display from every women’s champion could not be better, but the lack of engaging stories for any individual holding the top prizes in the division has prevented them from succeeding in both short-term and long-term reigns.Â

Austin Theory’s failed Money In The Bank cash-in

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It can be easy to forget that Auston Theory’s miserable Money In The Bank cash-in occurred under the Triple H era, but it remains one of the first booking decisions by “The Game” that was universally disliked by WWE’s audience, and it’s been difficult for Theory to recover since then.Â

During Vince McMahon’s final days as head of creative, Theory was one of the younger wrestlers on the roster that he was looking to push as a main event star, and having “The Unproven One” win Money In The Bank in 2022 was intended to elevate him to the next level. However, Triple H didn’t seem to view Theory in the same light, as his career began to trend downhill almost immediately after McMahon resigned from his position in WWE, and nothing was more embarrassing than having the him cash-in the contract on the United States Championship. Using Money In The Bank on anything other than to win a world championship has never been well received, but to cash-in the contract on a mid-card title and still lose the match was the ultimate slap in face to Theory.Â

The 28-year-old’s progression as a top star was completely diminished the night he attempted to capture Seth Rollins’ United States Championship on “Raw,” and though he would eventually win the title a few weeks later, his career has never been the same since enduring one of the worst Money In The Bank cash-ins of all time.

Repetitive conclusions to WWE Raw

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Although “Raw” had been viewed as better than “SmackDown” for majority of the year due to the latter being three hours long until July, the main event scene on the red brand has quickly gotten stale with the Vision taking charge, largely because Triple H continues to showcase the same four to five stars at the end of each show.Â

The typical main event of any “Raw” over the last few months has consisted of Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Jey Uso and LA Knight in a multi-man match, with the contest usually ending via disqualification, causing Rollins or CM Punk to run down to the ring and get involved. At first, the chaotic ending to “Raw” was welcomed, with fans taking a liking to the show concluding on an explosive note, but Triple H has chosen to copy and paste the exact same format of every previous Monday night, with the characters being slightly different in each main event. This has not only resulted in “Raw” becoming incredibly predictable, but has made some of their most engaging wrestlers and storylines boring, with fans growing increasingly tired of Triple H’s booking on a weekly basis.Â

The repetitive structure of “Raw’s” main event scene hasn’t always been this way, but since Rollins introduced the Vision following WrestleMania 41, the 31-year episodic series has struggled to entertain its audience in the last half hour of the show.

Booking of the men’s tag team division

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Throughout the last three years, Triple H has seemingly viewed the tag team divisions on both “Raw” and “SmackDown” as afterthoughts, with many of WWE’s most talented pairs often being absent on premium live events, stuck with no real stories to work with, and rarely slotted into priority segments on TV.Â

Triple H first tried to enhance both divisions on “Raw” and “SmackDown” by removing the red and blue titles and introducing new gold championships, a decision that was met with excitement from fans. Unfortunately, the new titles were never accompanied by effective booking, with teams like the Motor City Machine Guns, Pretty Deadly and American Made having started off strong, and then quickly becoming talent that struggled to be featured on TV. At the very least, “SmackDown” has delivered some incredible tag team matchups as of late, such as the Six Pack TLC Match at SummerSlam and the Triple Threat TLC Match following WrestleMania 40. However, Triple H has seemingly given up on “Raw’s” tag team division, with the Judgment Day holding the belts for majority of the past three years and rarely defending them on a consistent basis.

It’s become clear that Triple H’s attention is not focused on growing the division, which is unusual since tag team wrestling excelled under his supervision in “WWE NXT,” where teams like #DIY, the Street Profits and the War Raiders became some of the most popular acts on the brand. There’s been glimmers of hope for those competing in WWE’s tag team division, but “The King Of King’s” booking suggests that they aren’t an important piece to his creative plans.

Jimmy Uso’s heel turn on his brother at WWE SummerSlam 2023

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The Bloodline saga is still one of the best told stories in WWE throughout the last five years, but one of its few flaws was none other than Jimmy Uso turning heel on his brother Jey at WWE SummerSlam 2023. Coming into the “Biggest Party Of The Summer,” Jey challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship after having survived his torture and abuse in the Bloodline for years. Jey’s rebellious rise as a singles star transpired shortly after both he and his brother betrayed Reigns in June of that year, which is why fans were furious when Jimmy prevented him from defeating the “OTC” at SummerSlam.Â

The decision to have Jimmy turn on his brother was hated mostly because it felt like WWE was ruining the hard work that was put into The Usos finally freeing themselves from Reigns’ control. After both brothers lost the tag team titles to Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 39, it was a slow but effective build towards the Usos turning on Reigns, which ultimately led to the iconic segment on “SmackDown” when Jey and Jimmy both superkicked their cousin. Therefore, when Jimmy turned on Jey just two months later, it felt like a large setback in the Bloodline saga that negatively affected the storyline told throughout the year, especially since it led to a disappointing brother-versus-brother match at WrestleMania 40.

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Former WWE NXT Champion Andrade was released from WWE earlier this month, reportedly for disciplinary reasons, ending a year-and-a-half return to the company. Management was said to be frustrated with his attitude, the fans’ lukewarm reception, and his slow progress in learning English. The former AEW has taken the release in stride and is already booked for his first appearance.

House of Glory announced that Andrade will be appearing at the company’s November 15 event, Superclash, at the Suffolk Credit Union Arena in Bretwood, NY. There is no word on Andrade’s opponent at the event. The promotion is already home to former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell, who is currently the company’s Women’s Champion. The company also works with TNA talents like The Hardy Boys, who will be appearing in October.

WWE management was said to have “buyer’s remorse” over Andrade, who returned to the company after his departure from AEW. The company had hoped to capitalize on him like former AEW talents like Cody Rhodes or CM Punk, but fan reactions were not nearly at that level, outside of the reaction to his return in the 2024 Royal Rumble. WWE had hoped to include Andrade in the company’s vision of AAA, but Andrade refused out of loyalty to his former home of CMLL, AAA’s chief competitor. Andrade’s last match in WWE was at SummerSlam, where he teamed with Fenix in a losing effort against five other tag teams in a ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship.

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The Undertakerâ€s contributions to the business cannot be denied and itâ€s a known fact that he had influence backstage in WWE. However, some people have accused him of using his backstage pull to influence storylines and now heâ€s shot down such accusations.

While speaking on the Six Feet Under podcast, The Undertaker responded to accusations that he used his backstage pull to influence WWE booking. He said these accusations are ridiculous.

The Deadman said he is grateful for his incredible career and all he accomplished, things he never imagined possible. He is equally proud of how he is respected by his peers, which he considers more important than anything else. He explained that he has a very small inner circle whose opinions he values, especially the wrestlers he shared a locker room with.

“Thatâ€s the funniest part of all these accusations. Iâ€ve done so much, and Iâ€m grateful — I was very blessed to have an incredible career and to have accomplished things I never imagined in my wildest dreams. Equally proud of my wrestling accolades is the way Iâ€ve been perceived and the respect Iâ€ve earned from my peers — at the end of the day, thatâ€s really all that matters to me. I have a very small inner circle of people whose opinions I care about, and the guys I shared the locker room with mean a lot to me.â€

The Phenom added that if anyone asked nearly all of those wrestlers, they would confirm that, despite any clout he might have had, he never used it to affect anyoneâ€s booking. He criticized how easily people online believe so-called “reliable sources,†making wild assumptions about what he might have done if he had more power.

The Undertaker said he would not give anyone the satisfaction of a detailed explanation. He closed by saying that anyone who doesnâ€t believe him can line up and kiss his behind.

“Iâ€m pretty sure if you asked 99.5% of the men Iâ€ve been in a dressing room with, theyâ€d tell you that no matter the clout people think I have, I never used it for that kind of stuff. Itâ€s absurd that people on the internet throw around phrases like ‘reliable sources†and everyone believes it. Iâ€m not going to go into details or give anyone the satisfaction of explaining myself. A lot of people online assume things and say, ‘Well, thatâ€s what sheâ€d do if she had that kind of juice.†Thatâ€s the problem — you all are the problem. Anyone who doesnâ€t believe me can line up in a field — Iâ€ll bend over and they can line up and kiss my ass.â€

For more than 30 years, The Undertaker was seen as WWEâ€s top locker-room leader, guiding younger wrestlers and setting a standard for professionalism. While legends like him often have myths about their backstage power, the Phenom made it clear that he couldnâ€t care less about baseless rumors and thatâ€s never changing.

What do you think about The Undertakerâ€s fiery response? Do you believe stories about backstage politics in wrestling are exaggerated, or do they reveal something deeper about the business? Sound off in the comments.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.

September 24, 2025 9:35 am

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Andrade’s first booking since being released by WWE has been revealed. The Crash announced Friday that the former WWE and…

Andrade, formerly known as La Sombra prior to signing with WWE in 2015, seemed to be a can’t-miss prospect coming off his hot run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. However, it wasn’t long after he debuted that rumors circulated indicating he was unhappy with his spot in NXT, which he later confirmed in an interview with Mas Lucha.

Since then, it’s been quite the roller coaster for fans of the international sensation. He had glimmers of greatness during his original run with WWE, including as United States champion for a brief period, but he was largely underutilized on the main roster. Hopes were high when he arrived in AEW in 2021, but when he wasn’t injured, he wasn’t involved in anything out of the ordinary.

His latest return run with WWE getting cut short in under two years all but confirms that the problems lie well beyond the booking by the powers that be. Per new details regarding his exit that have emerged from Sports Illustrated, he had been suspended post-SummerSlam for violating the company’s wellness policy and that he had to be escorted out of the building at a recent SmackDown taping.

Tony Khan and AEW as a whole gain nothing from bringing back Andrade, who was an afterthought the last time he was there. There’s nothing to suggest a second stint would be drastically different.

El Idolo’s best bet would be to primarily wrestle for CMLL, stick to the independent scene and make the occasional appearance in AEW and NJPW. If he does indeed get dissatisfied easily while working for bigger companies, then he isn’t worth the risk, especially with the talent pool in both WWE and AEW being as deep as it is these days.

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