Pro wrestling insiders scrambled to find reasons for Samantha Irvin's exit, which is the kind of thing that can lead to mistakes happening when sources aren't so reliable. Fortunately, Irvin and her beau were able to quickly clear up any confusion, and prevented the rumor mill from spiraling out of control.

Samantha Irvin Dispels Rumors About Timing Of Her Exit

As someone who appreciated Samantha Irvin's passion for pro wrestling, as well as how she kept fans entertained during downtime when I took my child to Monday Night Raw, I was shocked to hear reports claiming she'd walked out on the WWE just hours before the show started. It turns out that rumor wasn't true at all, though, at least according to the former ringside announcer herself, who spoke on the actual timeline involving when she told the company she was leaving:

While wrestling fans themselves didn't find out until hours before Monday Night Raw, Samantha Irvin says her exit has been in the works for quite a while. That's more aligned with what I would expect, especially after reading her message to fans, which thanked Triple H and other employees quite heavily. Had her departure been more sudden, I wouldn't have expected such a warm goodbye to those in upper management.

Ricochet Clarifies Speculation Samantha Irvin Is Joining AEW

As soon as news broke that Samantha Irvin was leaving, the fans started speculating that she would now be joining rival company AEW. Considering Ricochet did that this year, I can see the logic in assuming she'd join to spend more time with him and continue her career for a rival who may offer a more competitive price. It seems Ricochet assumed people would think that as well and went ahead and squashed that rumor pretty quickly:

As for the possible reason behind the exit, Wrestling Observer Radio reported that Samantha Irvin wanted to further pursue her singing career, but couldn't juggle that with her obligations in the WWE (via Inside The Ropes). That's interesting to hear, considering how flexible the company is reportedly being regarding Pat McAfee stepping away to host College Gameday. In any case, I'm disappointed to see it didn't work out, though I hope Irvin is happy with her decision.

Who Is Replacing Samantha Irvin?

For the time being, the WWE has called on former WWE employee and ringside announcer Lilian Garcia to take Samantha Irvin's spot on Monday Night Raw. Garcia served as a ringside announcer for the company from 1999 to 2009, and then again in 2011 to 2016. After her first night back on the show in quite some time, Garcia took to Instagram to talk to fans about it:

Look up some matches she's been ringside for with a Peacock Premium subscription, and anyone unfamiliar will see Lilian Garcia is up for the job. Still, I can't help but wonder why the WWE did not decide to promote another person from the in-house commentary team to the role, as there's no shortage of people to choose from. In any case, I'm happy that Garcia seems thrilled to be back in the role, and I think she'll do a terrific job as she gets back into the swing of things.

Monday Night Raw continues over on USA on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. It won't be long now before the show makes the big jump over to Netflix, and it'll be interesting to see what else could change with the show before that big first episode in 2025.

Dallas spoke about his brother in a surprisingly candid interview with USA Today, detailing some of the behind-the-scenes workings form the Wyatt Sicks storyline. I was surprised to hear some of these details, specifically regarding just how big a hand Bray Wyatt had in planning the things we see on television with them weekly.

Bray Wyatt Had Planned Much Of The Wyatt Sicks Storyline

As wrestling fans know, we never really saw the full plans WWE had for Bray Wyatt after his return. He had one match against L.A. Knight but then was pulled ahead of his WrestleMania 39 feud with Bobby Lashley and never appeared in the ring again. While it seemed the WWE was leaning toward Wyatt returning as The Fiend in promos to Bobby Lashley, Bo Dallas revealed that the eventual formation of the Wyatt Sicks was all part of his brother and WWE creative's plans for the character. Not only that, a lot of what is on the way was also created with Bray Wyatt's direct involvement:

As mentioned, the WWE never really had the chance to get Bray Wyatt's storyline rolling, so it's not too big of a surprise that his concepts and ideas were able to be repurposed for Uncle Howdy's character.

At the same time, the fact that there are still storylines coming up that Wyatt worked on is a fascinating look at the story-telling process in the WWE, as well as how much the late wrestler worked on the angles and ideas for his various personas. The work paid off, as The Wyatt Sicks remains one of the most interesting factions in the WWE.

Bray Wyatt Even Selected The Wrestlers To Be A Part Of The Stable

As an example of how much influence Bray Wyatt had in the Wyatt Sicks, Bo Dallas noted the wrestler personally selected who would be members of the stable. This is a bit surprising to hear, considering former Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan was not in the WWE prior to Wyatt's passing, but I could certainly see conversations happening ahead of his official return. As for why other members like Joe Gacy, Nikki Cross, and Dexter Lumis were brought in, Dallas said the following:

As a wrestling fan, I deeply appreciate the revelation that the members were hand-selected by Bray Wyatt. It certainly has me more convinced than not that Alexa Bliss will eventually return and debut as the sixth member of the faction, bringing the name Wyatt Sicks full circle.

Ultimately The Wyatt Sicks is a love letter to Bray Wyatt's legacy, and its well-earned. Wyatt's character dominated consistently as one of the biggest main event heels for a decade, and while he didn't always get flowers from those in the WWE for doing so, he's certainly being honored now. I can't wait to see where it goes in the future, and who they'll target next in the WWE.

The Wyatt Sicks appear on Monday Night Raw, which airs on USA on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. It looks like The Miz might be next on their radar for turning his back on R-Truth, but we'll just have to wait and see how that all plays out for him.

With WrestleDream, which featured what could end up being Danielson’s final match as a full-timer and started the next chapter for the diabolical Blackpool Combat Club behind us, we have events like Full Gear, Worlds End, and the annual showdown between AEW and NJPW wrestlers at Forbidden Door to look forward to in the very near future.

Here are all the major upcoming AEW events that should have fans of the promotion, and wrestling newcomers alike excited for what’s to come.

AEW: Full Gear - November 23, 2024

Taking place a little more than a month after the shocking events of WrestleDream, AEW will be back on pay-per-view with the highly anticipated Full Gear, which is set to kick off from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Saturday, November 23, 2024.

AEW: Worlds End - December 28, 2024

Before we stick a pin in what has been an eventual year for wrestling, AEW will bring us its annual Worlds End pay-per-view event on Saturday, December 28, 2024, at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida.

AEW: Grand Slam: Australia - February 15, 2025

AEW has been taking its brand of wrestling to audiences around the world for a couple of years now, but early next year the company will go “down under” when it hosts Grand Slam: Australia. Leaving Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, where the previous four events have taken place, Grand Slam will call Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane home on Saturday, February 15, 2025.

AEW: All In: Texas - July 12, 2025

AEW will head deep into the heart of Texas, or at least the Dallas Metroplex, next summer for its first pay-per-view event in the “Lone Star State.” All In: Texas will come to us live from Globe Life Field in Arlington on Saturday, July 12, 2025, in what could be one of the biggest wrestling events of the summer.

AEW: Forbidden Door - August 24, 2025

The tradition of having the biggest and brightest stars of AEW and NJPW square off in dream matches will continue next year as the two companies gear up for the latest entry in the Forbidden Door pay-per-view series. No matches have been announced thus far and the venue isn’t yet known, but the Forbidden Door will open Sunday, August 24, 2025, in London, England.

We will make sure to update each of these upcoming AEW events (and add new pay-per-views) as more information becomes available. But in the meantime, now wouldn’t be a bad time to learn about all of the upcoming WWE events we have to look forward to in the coming weeks and months.

And, how could I not? In the Attitude Era with the Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Vince McMahon made himself into a character, and he was probably one of the greatest heels of all time. Not only that, but his family was brought into the storyline, and so the McMahon empire is pretty much synonymous with “professional wrestling” for me.

So, I was really excited for the Netflix docuseries, Mr. McMahon (Though McMahon himself wasn’t too happy with it), as I really wanted to learn more about the man, the myth, the mogul. And, after finishing the 6-episode series, I have to say, it was really good! However… there are a couple of things that could have been a little bit better. Let’s talk.

Love: They Made Sure To Talk About The Entire McMahon Family, And They All Gave Their Impression Of Vince

One thing I loved about the Attitude Era (amongst many things) was that it kind of blurred the lines between fact and fiction. Sure, some storylines, like the one involving Linda McMahon being in a sort of comatose state in a wheelchair was ridiculous, as was Vince McMahon’s limo exploding.

However, storylines involving Stephanie McMahon marrying Triple H, or Shane McMahon not being “good enough” to inherit the family business kind of seemed like they were somewhat rooted in reality. I mean, Stephanie McMahon DID actually marry Triple H (though, not by the ludicrous means portrayed on television), so you never knew what you were going to get when it came to the McMahon family.

And, I'm glad that this docuseries made sure to have all of the core members of the family-that being Vince, Linda, Stephanie, and Shane-discussing both Vince McMahon, as well as the business itself.

We hear from each member of the family and learn that Linda really didn't like being on TV, but she did it to advance the storylines. We find out that Steph put the kibosh on televising her marriage, and that Vince called her “selfish” for doing so. We even hear from Shane saying that everything he mostly did was to gain his father's respect–including putting his body on the line.

Sadly, we also hear from other people in the industry, like Paul Heyman, who has a heartbreaking story involving Shane that really makes me look at McMahon’s progeny in a whole new way.

All of this is to say that the docuseries feels pretty in-depth when it comes to the McMahon family. That being said…

Could Have Been Better: I Wish We Could've Heard From Gail Kim and CM Punk

There are a number of wrestlers who were interviewed for this docuseries, including The Rock, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Booker T, Trish Stratus, John Cena, and Hulk Hogan, just to name a few (but surprisingly none with arguably the greatest wrestler of all time, Kurt Angle, which is disappointing).

That said, besides Bret Hart, who once had a complicated relationship with McMahon, I would say that the other wrestlers involved with this docuseries are those who had mostly positive relationships with him (Hell, The Undertaker even said how he would have taken a bullet for McMahon).

And, sure. That's cool. I love hearing how many wrestlers viewed Vince as “a father figure.”

Even so, it would have been nice to hear wrestlers with, let’s just say, less flattering things to say about McMahon.

One person I would have loved to have seen was Gail Kim, who has said that McMahon just didn’t get it when it came to diversity. It would have also been interesting to hear her thoughts as a counterpoint to the idea that some of the wrestlers put forward in this docuseries that the only color Vince sees is green, as in money, and that he doesn’t see race.

However, I think an even more interesting interviewee might have been CM Punk, who famously did an explosive “pipe bomb” promo (which was apparently a worked shoot) on McMahon. I also would have loved to hear what he had to say about being fired on his wedding day.

Sure, CM Punk surprisingly returned to WWE not too long ago, but that was after Paul Levesque took over creative. Hearing Punk talk candidly about McMahon prior to being rehired could have been eye-opening.

Sadly, it seems like they played it as safe as possible with these interviews. But, be that as it may…

Love: They Didn't Shy Away From Really Sensitive Topics, Like Chris Benoit And Owen Hart's Death

Okay, so maybe Vince didn't really get criticized all that much in this docuseries by his employees, but that doesn't mean the doc didn't cover some pretty thorny topics.

For instance, I honestly did not think they would go into “the Montreal Screwjob,” or how Bret Hart felt when it was going on.

I also didn't think they would touch Owen Hart's death with a ten-foot pole, or even have the audacity to ask how McMahon felt about it. That seemed off-bounds, but they went there, and I'm glad they did.

But, the biggest, biggest surprise was that they they actually covered Chris Benoit's murder-suicide, which I thought was completely off-limits. You see, Benoit's name was pretty much not allowed on WWE television following the events, and it was always taboo whenever anybody referenced what a good wrestler he was.

So, I was extremely surprised when they spent a whole section of the docuseries talking about what Benoit did, and how it could have possibly been connected to CTE. I truly didn't think they would take it there, but they did.

Could Have Been Better: It Feels So Incomplete

In the very first episode, it lets the viewers know that Vince McMahon’s interviews were not finished due to the breaking news of his allegations, and this is a huge blow to the overall production.

I say this because the last episode, “The Finish” ironically feels largely unfinished since we don't hear Vince's thoughts on the scandal that he became so embroiled in.

Now, this makes perfect sense since I'm sure McMahon lawyered up and was possibly advised not to speak on anything involving the legal woes he was going through.

It's still a downer, especially since McMahon himself probably would have been very open about the scandal at the time when it was happening. So, the final product doesn't feel all that complete, which is an issue since the rest of the docuseries is mostly riveting (and revelatory) stuff.

Loved: McMahon Was Willing To Be Very Open, Which Was Surprising

Have you ever seen the movie, Saving Mr. Banks, in which Tom Hanks played Walt Disney?

I only bring this film up because instead of really getting an in-depth look at Disney, warts and all, we got a highly sanitized version of the man whose only real vice (according to what we saw in the film) was that he smoked. Truly shocking stuff.

However, the McMahon docuseries is very open. McMahon talks about how he thinks about sex a lot, and that he did have affairs. He talks about his failure with the XFL, and how he saw himself as a character when he was on television, which basically enabled him to make out with other women in front of his wife with reckless abandon.

He also muses on the steroid scandal, and how he felt like people were out to get him. His rival, Eric Bischoff, intimates that McMahon might have borrowed the evil owner angle from him, and McMahon just shrugs it off, implying that perhaps this is the case, but he did it better.

In every way, Vince McMahon is quite open, and I loved that about this docuseries. It certainly made for a must-watch.

So, in the end, while the docuseries wasn't perfect, it was quite engaging. Have you watched it yet? For more news on all things WWE-related, be sure to swing by here often!

Lesnar hasn't been in the WWE since the conclusion of his feud with Cody Rhodes during SummerSlam 2023. Now, it's looking like we may see him pop back up in upcoming WWE events or when Monday Night Raw comes to Netflix.

A Recent Monday Night Raw Mentioned Brock Lesnar Indirectly Twice

When an absent wrestler's return to the ring is on the way, it's common to see hints for their arrival on Monday Night Raw or SmackDown. Some incredibly subtle references to Brock Lesnar were made on the latest Monday Night Raw, to the point that I was watching and it went completely over my head.

For those that missed it, check out the clips below, in which both Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes made mention of "The Beast" by his nickname:

I wouldn't have been so suspicious if it was just one mention. Brock Lesnar has been one of the biggest stars in the WWE over the past decade. So, it's inevitable that other stars will make mention of him. To have two top stars bring him up, however, is just too much of a coincidence. Now, it has me thinking we could even see him make an unexpected appearance on a PLE that will be available to watch with a Peacock Premium subscription before the end of 2024.

Why Some Believed Lesnar Was Finished With The WWE

Between Brock Lesnar's exit following SummerSlam 2023 and now, a lot of big news in the WWE world happened. Namely, former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against Vince McMahon, and the claims alleged some pretty horrific actions taken by the former CEO. One of those actions included McMahon demanding Grant make sexualized content for Brock Lesnar to sway him to sign with the WWE when he wasn't with the company.

Before that report, Lesnar was believed to be returning for the 2024 Royal Rumble. That never happened, and as we mentioned previously, we have not seen the former champion in the ring since 2023. The WWE has never confirmed anything, but Sports Illustrated and others confirmed the company took measures to distance itself from him by quietly removing his image from the cover of the popular video game WWE 2K24.

If Brock Lesnar is returning, there's an interesting question about why the WWE is more comfortable bringing him back now than previously. Again, we have no idea if he's actually coming back, but I would say the people who think the company is openly hinting about it on shows aren't just making things up.

When Might Brock Lesnar Return?

If Brock Lesnar returns, it's worth stating that the Royal Rumble is coming up in February. That's still a long way away, however, and I could also see an earlier return like Survivor Series being in the cards. That said, we talked about how loaded the WWE roster is, so if he did return, there would have to be a plan in place to justify his arrival.

Between everything happening in the WWE, I see two clear opportunities for Brock Lesnar to slide into the stories being told organically.

The first possibility lies in the story that Gunther is on a dominant run as the Heavyweight champion, and Cody Rhodes is in the same boat. How do you keep two over superstars from losing at Crown Jewel when they face off? You feature another competitor run-in during the match that forces a disqualification, and I think Lesnar would be the right guy for that. This is especially true if he kept Gunther from beating Cody, as it would set them on a collision course for WrestleMania.

I also see an opportunity to use Bronson Reed, who has established himself as a massive beast of WWE in his own regard. He can only dominate so many other big men before he ultimately has to take on the biggest of them all and have a big showdown with The Beast Incarnate. We'll see if it ultimately pans out and if the WWE pulls the trigger on bringing back one of its biggest stars.

To see if these rumors prove to be true, Monday Night Raw airs on USA on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET.

You know what? I still can’t make sense of the People’s Championship, what it means to Dwayne Johnson (both the wrestler and “Franchise Viagra” box office hero), or how I’m supposed to feel about it. I thought the great American nightmare was over after Rocky’s strange run-in with Cody Rhodes following that ridiculous Mania main event, yet here I am, in the next chapter of this confusing and seemingly never-ending saga.

So, How Did The Rock Earn The People’s Championship In The First Place?

The Rock, who called himself the “People’s Champion” long before adopting his heel “Final Boss” persona in the lead-up to WrestleMania 40, was gifted the title by the widow of the late Muhammad Ali at the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. Watching the event, I thought this was going to be a ceremonial belt that he’d put in his office or his massive home gym, but that was far from the case.

The Rock is a member of the TKO board of directors and can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants in WWE. And yes, that means waltzing around with an absurd fake championship belt that he didn’t earn in a match, but was instead received as a gift – a very personal and tremendous gift, but a gift nonetheless. He didn’t win the belt, but that didn’t stop him from bringing it to the ring with him in the Night One main event or the post-match press conference.

I’m Pretty Sure The Rock Is Working Wrestling Fans By Carrying This Gaudy Belt Around

I’ve watched a lot of wrestling over the years, and I know a heel when I see one. The Rock, who has been a great villain in WWE multiple times over the years, is doing a fantastic job of working the crowd into a frenzy and making them boo him (which is no easy task for a beloved superstar like this). I’m pretty sure that’s the purpose of the Peoples Championship, and I’m pretty much convinced he’s doing this just to work fans by carrying this gaudy belt with him whenever he’s on TV.

There have been a lot of wrestlers who look utterly ridiculous, but this is on a whole other level of generating heat. I must admit that sort of respect him for that. The $500 shirts, leather loafers, designer sunglasses and million-dollar smiles pissed off millions of jabronis back during the Attitude Era, so he had to evolve, and evolve he has.

But I’m Also Not Convinced He Doesn’t Think This Is The Coolest Thing Ever

I’m not trying to put Dwayne Johnson down, as he’s been one of the most electric wrestlers to ever step in the ring or pick up a mic, but I’m not fully convinced he doesn’t think the People’s Championship isn’t the coolest thing ever. This makes the whole situation all the more confusing because I don’t know if this is a work or a shoot.

If The Rock legit thinks this belt is cool, then more power to him. I could see him rationalizing why it was given to him and not someone else, and I could totally understand why he would want to carry it around on TV and not just for some cheap heat by all those “Cody Crybabies” comments he made upon turning heel. When the lines between reality and kayfabe become blurred, wrestling becomes even more fun. Where the character ends and the man begins is something I’ve long tried to figure out with Dwayne Johnson.

Maybe The Rock Is Bringing It Around Because He Never Used The Custom “Brahma Bull” WWE Championship During The Attitude Era

One idea that I have been toying around with since the People’s Championship came around earlier this year is that The Rock wants his own personalized title after his “Brahma Bull” WWE Championship belt that was commissioned back in 1999 never saw the light of day.

If you’re not familiar with the “Brahma Bull” WWE Championship belt, The Rock and WWE basically made a custom title that featured the wrestler’s signature tattoo in place of the classic “Winged Eagle,” but it was ultimately not used because, as he told Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful on X back in 2018, it was too similar to Steve Austin’s “Smoking Skull” belt that was made first. Maybe he just really wanted that belt, as the two look remarkably similar.

Is It A Real Championship If You Don't Defend It?

There are a lot of champions in WWE right now, and for the most part, they defend their respective titles at least once a month, if not more frequently. But that’s not the case for The Rock and his People’s Championship, which brings up the question: is it even a real championship if don’t defend it?

I’m not saying that The Rock needs to defend the belt all the time, but I’m honestly surprised no one has challenged him for that gaudy, golden championship or incorporated it into a storyline. Maybe that’ll be the case in the leadup to WrestleMania 41 where it seems like we’ll finally get to see The Rock and Roman Reigns face off in the ring. But then, does that make the Original Tribal Chief the People’s Champion as well or will the belt go away with the Brahma Bull himself?

But It's Also Crazy How The People's Championship Is The One Belt You Can't Buy On The WWE Shop

WWE usually wastes no time making a quick buck off fans with merchandise, but at the time of this writing, you can’t buy a replica belt from the company. Sure, the original Brahma Bull WWE Championship is available on the WWE Shop, but not the new, improved, and flashier version The Rock had draped on his shoulders while staring down Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns at Bad Blood.

I just find this to be abnormal, as the official online store has so much merchandise, both good and absolutely terrible. Maybe it’s one of a kind or maybe WWE is even confused about the title but afraid to say something.

Am I confused about the People’s Championship? Yes, very much so. But am I excited to see what The Rock does now that he’s shown his face again? You bet! And with Raw moving to Netflix in early 2025, I’m sure we’ll be seeing much more of Dwayne Johnson and his absurd belt.

If you’ve watched any of Will Ospreay’s matches over the years, you know that the AEW International Champion is one of the best wrestlers on the planet. Heading into this three-way match where he’ll defend his title against the up-and-coming Konosuke Takeshita and seasoned veteran Ricochet at WrestleDream, the British high-flyer not only has more five-star matches than anyone who’s ever stepped into the ring but also more than WWE has received in more than 40 years.

In the leadup to the AEW pay-per-view, which will be headlined by Ospreay’s Dynasty opponent AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson defending his belt against Jon Moxley, I told the world-traveled wrestler that the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer has awarded him 42 five-star (or above) matches throughout his 12-year career, which was news to him.

But all jokes aside, Ospreay, who has become a fan-favorite due to his in-ring work and championing mental health, doesn’t want to dismiss the five-star ratings because he doesn’t want to “ignore any community or fanbase” when it comes to wrestling.

Ospreay’s 42 five-or-higher-star matches put him in the same conversation as contemporaries like Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega, but also legendary squared circle figures like Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshaki Kawada. And again, wrestling is a subjective artform where one man’s treasure is another’s trash, but Ospreay’s run in promotions like NJPW, AEW, and even smaller federations like RevPro and PWG, is nothing short of historic.

And what will Ospreay do if he ever reaches the 50-mark? Well, he would have Dave Meltzer make him a cake or a stack of pancakes:

With his upcoming match against Konosuke Takeshita and Ricochet, with whom he has quite the history, we could see Ospreay be one step closer to that monumental achievement very soon.

If you want to see Will Ospreay and other AEW wrestlers like Chris Jericho, the Young Bucks, “Hangman” Adam Page, and Katsuyori Shibata in action, make sure to order WrestleDream at 8 p.m. ET this Saturday on TrillerTV, YouTube, and traditional cable and satellite providers.

But that’s exactly what happened in the series’ fifth episode, titled “Family Business,” in which 2024 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Paul Heyman shared what I can best describe as one of the most heartbreaking stories told in Mr. McMahon. More than any revelation in the docuseries, this moment affected me in a way that caused me to look at “Shane O’Mac” in a different and much more sympathetic light. Allow me to explain…

What's The Heartbreaking Story Paul Heyman Shares In Mr. McMahon?

Near the end of the penultimate episode of Mr. McMahon, Paul Heyman shares a story that he calls the “definitive moment” between Vince and Shane McMahon. During an argument about a creative direction, Shane had an idea that he really believed in, but his father “totally disagreed with it.” And while it is normal for fathers and sons, as well as bosses and employees, to have disagreements, the way that the elder McMahon escalated things was intense to say the least:

The whole sticking a knife into your father’s heart to get what you want is one thing, but the second part of the interaction where Vince essentially tells his son that he’s not man enough to do it is what really cuts. And while it’s not stated if this incident was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Shane and his 2009 departure from the company, it’s easy to see why he’d want to leave the family business if this was the norm.

After Hearing That Story, I Felt Sorry For Shane McMahon And What That Experience Must Have Been Like

For some reason, that incident really stuck with me after I finished Mr. McMahon, and it’s something I haven’t really been able to take my mind off since. And I just can’t help but feel sorry for Shane McMahon for having to deal with something like that, especially from your father, a father who you’ve done so much to help over the years.

Again, it’s not stated in the doc when this confrontation happened, since Paul Heyman hadn’t been with the company for nearly three years when Shane left the company in October 2009. However, it doesn’t take away from the sting of those comments. I just can’t imagine my boss, let alone my own father telling me something like that. You can say “oh, it’s just Vince protecting the business,” but there are far better ways to handle such situations.

But This Is Just One Of The Stories About The Tense Father-Son Relationship In The Netflix Docuseries

This is just one of the many stories about the relationship between Vince and Shane McMahon featured in Mr. McMahon, as a large portion of the “Family Business” episode is about their dynamic, both in and outside of the ring. Just moments before the “you’re not man enough” incident, the father and son, separately, talk about Shane’s attempt to get his dad to purchase UFC years before both companies merged under Endeavor.

It’s clear the pair were not seeing eye-to-eye on the proposed acquisition, which would have more than likely changed the landscape of WWE and combat sports in general. And while it boiled down to the financials of the situation (Vince didn’t want to do it and Shane didn’t have enough capital to pursue it alone), I can’t help but feel it was because of Vince and Shane’s clashing behind the scenes, and maybe the elder McMahon not wanting to be outshined by his son.

These Stories Have Changed The Way I Look At The Death-Defying Feats Shane Pulled Off To Impress His Father

I’ve always been impressed with Shane McMahon’s in-ring work, as the part-time wrestler has continually risked life and limb to create huge moments. However, after hearing the aforementioned story and others like it, especially those that go behind the scenes of some of his wildest moments, I can’t help but have a changed outlook on his death-defying stunts.

In the final episode, titled “The Finish,” Shane talks about his legendary matches at King of the Ring 2001 and his return to face the Undertaker at WrestleMania 32. When describing the matches, the third-generation wrestling figure said he did it to put on a great show but also that he was always looking for that pat on the back from his dad. This is followed by a tender moment from Shane’s return match in April 2016 where father and son share an embrace backstage, something the younger McMahon would go on to say was very hard to come by.

Watching This As A Father, I Couldn't Stop Thinking About The Relationship With My Own Kids

Watching Mr. McMahon as a father, I couldn’t stop thinking about my own relationship with my kids. No, I don’t agree with Vince McMahon’s parenting tactics and I would never challenge my son or daughters to a fight at WrestleMania, but the series, did help me realize the importance of love, compassion, tenderness, and empathy when it comes to raising kids into decent human beings, and just how far “I love you” goes.

I’m sure Vince’s children love him dearly, and the other way around, but the documentary paints a portrait of a man who’s so consumed by his own appetite for life, power, and control that he’s lost his handle on the importance of family. I’m not holding this against him, because to each their own, but spending six hours diving into the mind of Mr. McMahon (the character and the person), had me doing some soul-searching, if I’m being honest.

Mr. McMahon is a fantastic documentary that everyone with a Netflix subscription should check out, even if they aren’t wrestling fans. On one hand, it’ll teach you so much about the history of professional wrestling and on the other, it might off your a new perspective on family and life in general.

And by look, I don’t mean face, and I don’t even necessarily mean how muscular they are. Sure, being attractive and in good shape is helpful, but what’s more important is being able to convey to an audience very quickly what your general disposition is and whether they should be rooting for you or not. You want to draw a fan’s attention in, and you want to make them feel something, either good things or bad things about you as a wrestler.

That’s why so many legendary wrestlers look like over-the-top theatrical characters, and it’s why, sometimes many decades later, many of us can still describe what some of these performers look like. So, let’s celebrate the best of the best. Here’s a rundown of professional wrestlers that look utterly ridiculous in the best ways, focusing primarily on WWE.

Hulk Hogan

This particular shot is from WrestleMania 6, but it could just as easily be from a few dozen other PPVs. Here, you can see The Hulkster tearing off his iconic yellow shirt, as well as rocking a headband and some yellow tights. In addition, you’ve got the mustache in all its glory, as well as the thinning hairline. Perhaps it’s because of my age, but Hogan slowly balding throughout the late 80s and 90s was also a vital part of the look. Also, I have to shout out Hulk for reinventing himself with an entirely separate iconic look a little more than a half-decade after this picture was taken when he supercharged the nWo and took on his black and white Hollywood persona in WCW.

Ravishing Rick Rude

Rick Rude had an absolutely fantastic mustache and some cool robes, but with him, it was always about the custom tights. For big matches, he’d get something special done. Over the years, that included everything from using his opponent’s face to his opponent’s wife to the title he was fighting over. My favorite, however, will always be his tights that were a tribute to himself. Nothing tells you to boo a villain quite like taking off a robe to reveal a tribute to themselves underneath. Real talk though, I’ve also gotta give a special shoutout to Rude for those abs– maybe the most defined in wrestling history. If I looked like that, I’d be showing them off too.

John Cena

Apart from Sid Vicious, who tried out jean shorts for a while in WCW and promptly broke his leg during a match, it’s hard to find many examples of wrestlers rocking jean shorts, outside, of course, John Cena. The wrestler turned movie star was the face of WWE for years, and throughout it all, he rocked his iconic jorts, as well as a series of rotating t-shirts that almost always preached sticktoitiveness and other positive qualities. It’s the jean shorts, however, that people remember, and hilariously, Cena has publicly admitted he only started wearing them because he tried cargo pants early in his career and had a wardrobe malfunction.

Macho Man Randy Savage

OHHHHHHH YEAH. The Macho Man didn’t necessarily have one distinctive look or color scheme, like many on this list, but he had a very distinctive vibe. It typically involved comically oversized sunglasses, a bandana, crown or colorful cowboy hat, vibrant tights and sometimes tassels. The overall package was like something out of Studio 54, and during interviews with his hands moving a mile a minute, it collectively gave off the impression of a flamboyant and unstable renegade you couldn’t look away from.

Seth Freakin' Rollins

Here at CinemaBlend, we have a Slack chat where we talk about wrestling. Seth Rollins would be happy to know his outfits get brought up more than any other modern superstar, which is crazy considering there’s some women on the roster who put a ton of effort into designing and rocking some amazing fits. No one is doing it better than Seth though, who has really integrated that flashiness and flamboyance into his unhinged babyface character who you can’t take your eyes off.

Stone Cold Steve Austin

After the Hulkamania-fueled wrestling boom of the late 80s and early 90s started to die down, the entire industry began reinventing itself to feel more edgy and modern. This led to a lot of superstars using more basic looks. In some ways Stone Cold Steve Austin epitomizes that, as the most popular superstar of the late 90s and early 2000s. He wore simple black trunks, black knee pads and black boots, but the truth is it all worked together to establish his persona. He shaved his head, came to the ring in an open black leather jacket with the sleeves cut off, and more often than not, he had a beer with him. The whole thing was iconic and worked perfectly for his character.

The Undertaker

Numerous WWE superstars have made the jump to Hollywood over the years and become crossover stars in the process, but The Undertaker is arguably the most famous wrestling persona ever who mostly just stayed a wrestler. That was largely due to how long he stuck with the character and how long he was near the top of the card. For well over two decades, he was one of the top guys in WWE, and while his character evolved over the years to change things up, his most iconic look with the long hair, black trenchcoat and creepy vibe remains the image people see in their minds.

The Mouth Of The South Jimmy Hart

People will argue about where Jimmy Hart falls on the list of all-time great wrestling managers against the likes of Bobby Heenan and Paul Heyman, but he certainly belongs somewhere on that Mt Rushmore. He was just such an iconic part of wrestling’s boom in the late 80s, and through that, he was able to work with a ton of different superstars. Along the way, he managed everyone from Hulk Hogan to The Hart Foundation, and every time he came to the ring, you had to know what his custom jacket was going to look like and how it would hype his wrestlers.

The Road Warriors/ Legion Of Doom

It’s hard for people these days to understand how popular The Road Warriors were in the 80s and 90s. They dominated so many different promotions, and it felt like they always won in memorable fashion. You don’t get booked that strong and you don’t get booked as a tag team to main event PPVs if you aren’t extremely over with fans. That popularity started with their look, which included face paint, spikey shoulder pads and haircuts that were weird, even for the time period. What a rush.

Demolition

You can’t talk about tag teams in the 1980s without also talking about Demolition. They were clearly inspired by The Road Warriors when they were first put together, but they quickly succeeded because they were great in the ring and had an extremely memorable visual look. It came complete with face paint and outfits that look straight out of some kind of niche adult film. Sometimes they also rocked masks, which made them even scarier, and was especially helpful when they brought on a third member and wouldn’t tell opponents which guys were going to wrestle prior to their matches.

Bam Bam Bigelow

Bam Bam Bigelow was the first person I ever saw with a head tattoo. I have a vivid memory of talking to my parents about it, and asking how it didn’t kill him. They didn’t care about wrestling and in retrospect, were probably mortified by my obsessive interest in something that involved people with head tattoos, but there’s a reason I could still draw his entire look, including his tights with flames on them, decades after he left WWE. Also, shoutout to Bam Bam for his appearance in the underrated 90s comedy Major Payne.

Luna Vachon

You can’t talk about Bam Bam Bigelow without talking about his mid-90s manager Luna Vachon. She could look perfectly normal when she wanted to, but inside a wrestling ring, she rocked an appearance that terrified children. Often it would include drawing on veins on half of her face and rocking a haircut with shaved parts on the side, decades before it became a trendy look. She was one of a kind, and there’s a reason so many modern female wrestlers cite her as a major influence.

Honky Tonk Man

Honky Tonk Man is hardly the first person to make his living impersonating Elvis, but the gimmick worked perfectly in the over the top world of professional wrestling in the 1980s. He got so despised at one point as a hated villain that WWE gave him the Intercontinental Championship and let him break the record for the longest ever run with the belt. Along the way, he’d routinely win by cheating and eventually, he became such a memorable character that WWE still uses his image in throwback ads.

Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt had a lot of gimmicks and memorable looks prior to his tragic passing, but his most memorable is probably The Fiend, which is pictured above. There’s something about it that just makes you uncomfortable to look at. It gives off an unstable energy far more powerful than other masked wrestlers. Personally, I also loved his swamplands cult leader as well, who was more normal looking on the surface but also gave off really creepy vibes.

Goldust

Wrestling has had a lot of over-the-top characters through the years, but I’m not sure I can remember one as memorable as Goldust whose entire persona was designed to make people uncomfortable. It’s like he didn’t want cheers or boos. He wanted people to be murmur about how they didn’t know what they were looking at. He’d touch his opponents inappropriately, touch himself inappropriately and wear outrageous outfits that involved things like putting a thong over his singlet.

Jake The Snake Roberts

Roberts used to throw his iconic snake, Damian, into the shower at live events when he wasn’t using it, and his fellow wrestlers are still talking about the horrors of that four decades later. From a fan perspective, it was every bit as scary to see him lug the beast to ringside, and the snake worked perfectly in tandem with his mustached look, which always involved raw intensity and unhinged promos. Also, a special shoutout needs to go to Roberts for the storyline he did with Rick Martel where he was blinded by perfume and wore white contact lenses to look blind. It terrified me as a child.

Mick Foley

I struggled with whether to use Mankind or Dude Love or Cactus Jack here, but I suppose you can’t talk about Mick Foley without celebrating all three. And all three are worthy of being celebrated, as Foley played the roles simultaneously in the late 90s and early 2000s and gave each their own personality and get-up. Mankind was far and away the most popular, as he wore a mask, hung out in boiler rooms and shoved his fingers down his opponents' throats to make them submit. The whole look was like something out of a horror movie, and it led to a ton of fun cinematic matches with strange conditions.

Kane

Another over-the-top character that got his start in the late 1990s, Kane immediately jumped to the top of the card when he showed up as The Undertaker’s long last brother, who was previously burned in a fire. Kane eventually took off the mask and started talking, but his most iconic look is vividly remembered today. It involved a red and black bodysuit with one exposed arm, long hair and a really creepy mask. His entrances always involved fire, and it’s only fitting that his most iconic win against a prime Stone Cold Steve Austin, came after he literally vowed to set himself on fire if he lost.

George The Animal Steele

When I was a kid, I legitimately thought George The Animal Steele had mental problems. Unlike most wrestlers who got rid of their body hair, he rocked a full sweater of fur and often had a tongue that looked discolored and wrong. Sometimes he would pull the stuffing out of turnbuckles and put it in his mouth. Altogether, it gave the impression of someone you didn’t know whether to run from or feel sorry for. Years later, I now see it for what it was, a memorable act that allowed him to work with some of the most famous wrestlers ever, including very prominently Macho Man Randy Savage in a feud where he got infatuated with Savage’s wife Miss Elizabeth.

Scott Steiner

Big Poppa Pump called himself a genetic freak and looked like his muscles were going to explode. He also sometimes wore chainmail armor, once brought a live tiger to the ring with him and did the Hulk Hogan thing where he’d sometimes bleach his hair and beard blonde except for a smaller part he’d keep black. He’s sometimes underappreciated because he was one of the faces of WCW when everything went wrong, but that was hardly his fault and there’s a reason he still gets a huge pop every time he shows up on WWE TV.

Gangrel

I almost went with the entire Brood here, adding in Edge and Christian who all looked quite scary and vampiric during their heyday, but let’s be honest about Gangrel just being on another level. He may have been, by far, the least successful inside the ring, but he was clearly the most successful at coming off like a vampire. I bought a Gangrel action figure like a year ago, and it came with a blood chalice. Fun fact: he was married to Luna Vachon for a long time, who is also on this list.

Dusty Rhodes

I struggled with whether to put Dusty Rhodes on this list because he had a lot of different looks during his forty-plus-year career as a wrestler and booker. He’s not one of those guys who wore the same outfit from day one, but the entire visual look of him in WWE in the late 1980s and early 1990s is so iconic that it has to be recognized here. At the time, he was rocking curly blonde/ white hair and thanks to Vince McMahon, wore a black singlet with absolutely gigantic yellow polka dots. Given his age and size, the look was pretty ridiculous, and WWE fans remember it so well that when Seth Rollins fought Cody Rhodes and showed up in polka dots, fans immediately got the reference.

The Shockmaster

In the early 1990s, WWE mainstay and former tag team champion Typhoon went over to WCW. The bookers reportedly planned to push him as a big, intimidating new character who wore a mask, but they didn’t put enough thought into his costume and had to throw one together at the last minute. The result was bedazzling out a Storm Trooper helmet that he couldn’t see out of, which caused him to trip during his debut promo. It was so funny and went so badly that WCW had to rebrand him as a comedic side character. Decades later, old heads still love to talk about him, as the whole look is so bad it's actually good.

Giant Gonzalez

During the early 1990s, WWE was looking for someone who could believably enter into a long-term feud with The Undertaker. They ultimately settled on the eight-foot-tall El Gigante and signed him away from WCW. They decided to rebrand him as Giant Gonzalez, but unfortunately, his costume didn’t exactly live up to his name. For some reason, he was put in a full-body suit that was painted to look like he was naked and featured fur over his nether regions. Fans weren’t able to take him seriously because of the costume choice, but I had to put him on this list because most fans watching at the time could still describe his look in vivid detail.

Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss had a nice enough look during her early rise in WWE, but it was within the realm of what most female wrestlers look like. Once she started working extensively with Bray Wyatt, however, her costuming choices took a hard right turn into the strange. More often than not, it involved pulling her hair up into buns or pigtails with some splashes of pink, rocking heavy black eye makeup and sometimes bringing her favorite doll Lilly to the ring, who may have been the most terrifying part of it all. Spooky.

Sherri Martel

Sensational Sherri wrestled alongside and managed a ton of famous names during her extensive wrestling career including very memorable stints with Macho Man Randy Savage, Harlem Heat and Shawn Michaels. More often than not, she’d completely adapt her look to pair perfectly with whoever she was escorting to the ring. My personal favorite was always when she got really aggressive with the make-up and face paint. Sometimes she’d come out looking like an art project, but it was always in the name of furthering the storyline.

Jushin Thunder Liger

I know I said I was going to mostly keep this list to WWE guys, but the Japanese legend is in the WWE Hall of Fame, wrestled a few matches for the company and spent extensive time in WCW in the 1990s, in between his historic career in Asia. He also looks too good to keep off a list like this. I mean look at that mask. There’s a long history of colorful and eye-catching masks from Luchadors and others, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything that pops quite as much as what Thunder used to rock.

Cowboy Brock Lesnar

Throughout much of Brock Lesnar’s career, he mostly let Paul Heyman do the talking for him, but after the Wise Man turned on him at the 2022 Royal Rumble, he started speaking for himself. What followed was some of the best work of Lesnar’s career and included a steady stream of outfits that typically involved a cowboy hat and some kind of flannel. Ultimately, it culminated in one of WWE’s coolest ever moments where he lifted up the ring with a tractor at SummerSlam 2022. As a shorthand for this period, fans will refer to him as Cowboy Brock Lesnar.

Asuka

The great thing about Asuka’s look is the sheer number of accessories she has in her arsenal. Her make-up is always really elaborate and on-point. Her outfits are vibrant and really interesting to look at. She has fantastic robes, and sometimes she even rocks really cool masks over her make-up on the way to the ring. It’s a treat for the eyes and a very different vibe than what you get from most other wrestlers.

Jesse The Body Ventura

The future Governor of Minnesota was a talent in the ring, but is, at least these days, mostly remembered as one of the greatest announcers ever. His chemistry with Gorilla Monsoon was especially on point, as were his outfits which were always flamboyant and way way way over the top. Typically they involved some kind of headwear and a flashy top, sometimes a suit in an odd color. I mean just look at that hat.

Brother Love

Played by longtime wrestling producer Bruce Prichard, Brother Love made infrequent appearances in WWE, especially in the late 1980s. He was stylized to be a knock-off of an over-the-top TV televangelist, and Prichard’s commitment to the character included painting his face to make it seem an unnatural orange-ish red color. He’d also always wear a really tacky suit, glasses and speak in an over-the-top voice that was an obvious put-on.

Demon Finn Bálor

I love a wrestler who can access a different part of their personality during the right circumstances. Think Hulk Hogan Hulking Up and shaking off all the damage for a short period of time. Finn Bálor’s Hulking Up is his Demon persona. He’s busted it out over the years for big matches, and every single time, the make-up work and overall look is a marvel to behold. I can’t wait to see it again.

If that wasn’t enough of a legacy, it’s also widely considered to be the last PPV of The New Generation Era, as it was the last PPV Vince McMahon was the lead commentator on and the PPV immediately before Survivor Series 1997, which was the infamous Montreal Screwjob where the Mr. McMahon character was born. It also featured a few other legends including Bret Hart, The Rock, British Bulldog, Vader, Owen Hart, Legion Of Doom, Faarooq, among others. So, yeah, there’s a lot to live up to here, and while it would be really unfair to expect this card to be as historically important as the original Badd Blood, there’s every reason to be optimistic that it’ll be an absolute banger, given the matches. 

We’ve got CM Punk and Drew McIntyre in a Hell In A Cell match. We’ve got Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes against The Bloodline in a match that’ll (probably) have lingering storyline repercussions for months to come. We’ve got a Women’s World Championship match between Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan with Dominik Mysterio suspended above the ring in a shark cage. We’ve got Finn Bálor and Damian Priest in a grudge match, and Bayley and Nia Jax for The WWE Women’s Championship with a possible Tiffany Stratton cash-in lingering. There’s something to be excited about in every one of these matches.

Before I get into what I think is going to happen, though, let’s take a look at how I’ve been doing with my predictions lately. 

Nia Jax (Champion) Vs Bayley For The WWE Women’s Championship

During this past week’s episode of SmackDown, WWE production accidentally put up Bayley’s Damage CTRL graphic during her entrance. I’m not trying to run down the people in production as mistakes happen and they’re typically great, but I can’t think of a better way to symbolize how stuck in the mud Bayley is right now than that. 

She was so hot during her split from Damage CTRL storyline, her Royal Rumble win and the WrestleMania payoff, but she just has not been able to find her footing the past several months. Nothing she’s doing is working, which is why she lost the title to Jax. She’ll get another shot here, but she shouldn’t win anything until she figures out her character. She sometimes laughs in an over the top way like she’s still a heel. She sometimes tries to connect emotionally like she’s a babyface, but since she’s not over like an LA Knight style anti-hero, it just sorta seems off-tone. And I say that as a huge Bayley fan who thinks she’s a guaranteed future Hall of Famer.

Because of all that, I don’t really see Bayley as a threat to win here. So, really, it’s all about whether Tiffany Stratton is going to cash-in. We’ve gotten a lot of teases on that so far and our most overt example of drama between the two on SmackDown. The crowd will lose their minds if/ when it finally becomes Tiffy Time, and I think that’ll happen sooner rather than later. I’m going to be cautious and not directly predict it here, but it’s definitely within the realm of possibilities.

Predicted Winner: Nia Jax

Damian Priest Vs Finn Bálor

I’m really of two minds here. On the one hand, Finn Bálor needs a win desperately. He’s had 2 victories in his last 12 PPV appearances, and they both came in tag team matches with Damian Priest. So, if WWE wants this new version of Judgment Day to actually be a faction people take seriously, he needs to start winning some big matches. The occasional victory on Raw, buoyed by outside interference, is not enough. In addition, if WWE wants this feud between New Judgment Day and old Judgment Day to continue, then Finn really needs to win here. Dominik and Liv already lost to Damian and Rhea at the last PPV. If they both lose again here, it’s over. What’s the point of continuing the feud?

On the other hand, Damian Priest is getting the best crowd reactions of his career, and Triple H clearly loves him. Yes, he dropped his belt to Gunther at SummerSlam, but that was only after big PPV wins over the likes of Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins and Jey Uso. Gunther was always going to be the future of that belt, and it’s a testament to Damian Priest that WWE delayed it for as long as it did. He could easily survive a loss here to Finn Bálor, particularly if it’s protected, but if WWE is going to have Rhea beat Liv, they may just want to end this Old Judgement Day vs New Judgement Day feud, which means Damian would need to win. It could go either way, but I think there’s more story left to tell.

Predicted Winner: Finn Bálor

Rhea Ripley Vs Liv Morgan (Champion) For The Women’s World Championship

Liv Morgan has been doing the best work of her entire career over the past few months. She’s leaned into all the heat Dominik Mysterio has had and really found a way to push it even further. I can’t imagine anyone on the roster playing this role better than her, but how long can we keep denying Rhea Ripley for? She’s the most popular female wrestler in the history of the business, and personally, I’m a dude that thinks the most popular person should hold the title in most instances.

But this isn’t Cody Rhodes against some random opponent on a second level PPV. There’s a lot of story being told here, and we can’t count Liv Morgan out. As I said in the Damian Priest/ Finn Bálor paragraph, I’m not sure WWE is done with this Old Judgment Day vs New Judgment Day storyline. I think we’re going to see Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley in a singles match at some point, and I also think there’s been too much crowd response to Rhea and Liv to burn this off with just one singles match. I’m going to go with Rhea, but I don’t feel great about it. There's a strong chance this could be remembered as the PPV where the New Judgment Day stands tall thanks to heelish tactics.

Predicted Winner: Rhea Ripley

Cody Rhodes And Roman Reigns Vs Jacob Fatu And Solo Sikoa

Roman Reigns can’t lose his return match after he was gone for months, right? I don’t know. The hardest matches to predict in wrestling are always the ones where the storyline is very obviously going to continue, and there are so many different directions this storyline could take. Let me throw out a few of them. The Rock could come back and, as heavily rumored, officially side with Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu, setting up a new Bloodline vs Old Bloodline Civil War. Roman’s potential allies, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso and Paul Heyman could show up to officially signal their support for the Original Tribal Chief. All the drama between Kevin Owens, Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes could finally come to a head, costing Cody’s team the match.

Where does WWE want to go with the storyline? Personally, I think we’re working toward The Rock and Cody Rhodes in one WrestleMania 41 main event (although there's some reason for doubt) and Jacob Fatu and Roman Reigns in the other WrestleMania 41 main event. So, what’s the most important thing WWE needs to do in order to make that happen in the best possible way? To me, that means figuring out how to bring The Rock back and it means establishing the new Bloodline, particularly Jacob Fatu as the biggest threat possible. That means they need some high profile wins. That could and probably should start here.

Predicted Winner: Solo Sikoa And Jacob Fatu

CM Punk Vs Drew McIntyre

This’ll go down as one of the greatest and most memorable non-title feuds in WWE history. It’s been an absolute masterclass from both men, but it needs to end so they can both move on to different things. CM Punk likely needs to start a program with Seth Rollins (after Rollins is done with Bronson Reed), and Drew McIntyre likely needs to focus on trying to win The Royal Rumble and possibly getting a shot at Gunther’s World Heavyweight Championship (which could be a great Mania program for him). So, this needs to have a decisive ending, but ideally, an ending that doesn’t bury either one of them.

Personally, I think Drew McIntyre should win this feud. He’s six years younger and is probably on the best run of his entire career. I think CM Punk’s character can better weather a loss, and I’d like to see him put Drew over. I think that’s best for business long-term, but CM Punk is arguably the more popular performer and he’s the babyface in the feud. So, this match could really go either way.

Predicted Winner: Drew McIntyre