34 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights



Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn crash the party
On a night and weekend that is meant to celebrate the sheer enormity of WWE–the bombast, the cultural reach, the money, the sheer scale of it all–it was two guys who made their names in various, darkly lit auditoriums and armories and bingo halls and whatever other seedy corner you might find indie ...

I don’t know why I trusted WWE to do anything differently
Let’s start by being complimentary. It’s a new thing for me but I’m getting old and trying to evolve before my cholesterol count gets me. Thanks to the work that Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns have put in over the past six months, what is usually a run-of-the-mill PLE, Elimination Chamber, rose to the l...

WWE hits the right notes, even if it can’t play the song
You’d be forgiven if you thought that WWE falls into its best long-term storytelling by accident, including in last night’s Royal Rumble. It’s so fixated on providing “moments,” where the crowd pops to a riotous level and (these days) social media starts spinning and buzzing like a slot machine. Wha...

Asuka must win the Royal Rumble
I’m not stupid. Well, I’m not that stupid. At least some of the time, when the few neurons I have left fire at the same time. I know Rhea Ripley is winning the Royal Rumble on Saturday. You know Rhea Ripley is winning the Royal Rumble on Saturday. And that’s not a bad thing! She’s great. But it shou...

Sami Zayn must win the Royal Rumble
WWE kicks its Wrestlemania season into fifth gear this week with Saturday night’s Royal Rumble. Even those who have soured on the product New York has been putting out come back in for the Rumble — for the most part — due to its uniqueness and penchant for surprises, and setting up what the build to...

Can WWE get Bray Wyatt right this time?
It has become obvious that Triple H is going to get as much mileage as he can by reclaiming all that Vince McMahon tossed overboard. There’s certainly a lot of goodwill from fans to win by bringing back their favorites, and the whole business is about the buzz you can create with pops from big or sh...

Sasha Banks thinks Ronda Rousey sucks, too
The fallout from Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out of WWE Raw continued over the weekend. With this drip-fed style of news, the overall feeling is still that there’s something much bigger floating beneath the surface and has been there a while, and it may be some time, if ever, that we get to the re...

Triple H watched other wrestling, which is actually a big deal
Triple H announcing his retirement on Friday with Stephen A. Smith was more of a confirmation than a surprise. The dude nearly died due to heart failure, after all, and he hadn’t been in the ring in three years. He’s in his 50s too, though that hasn’t stopped a host of others. And there was still a ...

WWE is truly lost
You’re not supposed to be able to fuck up the Royal Rumble....

WWE is as stale as it’s ever been, but I’m watching Royal Rumble anyway
It’s a good opportunity for the industry giant to bring back lapsed fans....

When in doubt, more Brock Lesnar
You had a feeling when it was announced hours before Sunday’s Day 1 PPV premium live event that Roman Reigns had tested positive for COVID, and that Brock Lesnar was going to be moved to the Raw title match, what would happen. That feeling only grew when then-champion Big E delivered his backstage p...

So what is WWE’s plan for Roman Reigns?
I’ll admit to watching Survivor Series last night hoping that it would be an unmitigated disaster. Through WWE’s terrible promotion and build to the event, spiced with the disheartening and cold releases of wrestlers due to “budget cuts” even though the company keeps trumpeting record profits, there...
