wrestlemania32 Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
What’s that thing about getting exactly what you want?
It was a familiar refrain, somewhere around 2016 or 2017, when the Black N’ Gold version of NXT was arguably at its zenith, and arguably the best wrestling going on the planet at that moment. Any fan would watch yet another banger of an NXT Takeover and think, “Man, when Hunter (Triple H) takes over...
Vince McMahon is an actual American story
As the eulogies for Vince McMahon’s career pile up in the wake of his not-in-any-way-forced retirement on Friday, they follow the usual script of any powerful and ungodly wealthy man’s career coming to an end. His offenses, crimes, and responsibility for the misery and violation of basically countle...
Inconsistent booking: WWE right to push Liv Morgan, but Theory not so much
WWE can’t ever get things right, can it? The genuinely great decisions are lumped in with the headscratchers, as was the case on Saturday. ...
There’s a lot to this WWE Vince McMahon mess
As Wednesday’s bombshell report dropped of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon allegedly having a sexual relationship with an ex-company staffer and paying her $3 million in hush money, no longtime wrestling fan read the headline and was shocked. McMahon has been the Harvey Weinstein of professional ...
WWE works its way into shooting itself in the foot
WWE just made things worse with Sasha Banks and Naomi. Much worse. What were the options considered by Vince McMahon and discarded? I can’t think of how Friday’s actions on Smackdown! make things any more amicable after two of the company’s standout performers walked out, due to bad creative plans, ...
Nostalgia is WWE’s biggest weapon… with a tinge of spite
There might not be a promise I’ve broken more than saying I won’t mention AEW when discussing WWE, and vice versa. I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten it right. It’s not so easy when that’s the main narrative of the wrestling industry these days. And it’s also hard to avoid when WWE, on their biggest nigh...
WrestleMania Night 2 Preview
We move on to Night 2 of the Showcase Of The Immortals… or in this case, Johnny Knoxville. Who I guess is immortal in his own way. The second night looks to be decidedly weaker than the first, which is saying something, but the main event could and should be enough to justify the whole night. Let’s ...
Duke-UNC played out like a WrestleMania main event
It wasn’t until the 3 that I knew. That was the moment, when I caught myself pumping my fist, and mouthing “yes!” that I realized I worked myself into a shoot....
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...
WWE finally wins one
The new addition to wrestling discourse in the past couple years, and this year especially with the raft of releases from WWE, is to dream of which wrestlers will go from WWE to AEW, whether by choice or by force. And also, to dream what they will do when they get there, to fantasy book your dream m...
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...
How do you screw up someone like Keith Lee?
If it feels like I come here every four to six weeks or so to bemoan WWE’s latest release and wonder how they could waste such a talent so thoroughly that they’re simply discarded like the recycling, it’s kind of because I do. We could do this all day, and by now you probably already have your own l...
Bryan Danielson is making me feel like I didn’t miss anything
As I’ve written in the past, I got back into wrestling in 2015 because of (then) Daniel Bryan. Thing was, I didn’t get to see him wrestle. Ok, once, in WrestleMania 31’s opening ladder match, which was the usual spot-fest between seven different guys. And he did win that, but it wasn’t the best show...
Becky Lynch’s heel turn proves that WWE doesn’t know what makes its characters successful
It’s clear, no matter what they say, that AEW has WWE scrambling, if only a bit. While they would never admit it, and WWE is in no danger of losing its massive TV deals or its place in wider culture, you can tell by their need to shake things up that they feel something is pressuring them. Even toda...
The Thunderdome gave WWE this Roman Reigns, will they keep him?
For all intents and purposes, WWE exited its “Thunderdome Era” last night. The “Hell In A Cell” pay-per-view was the last one that will take place in the company’s outsized and glorified TV studio, as next month’s “Money In The Bank” will take place in Fort Worth before a live crowd. There are still...
Daniel Bryan is going out the only way he can
If you’re a wrestling fan, it may feel like 2014 again. Generally, rerunning something from recent history shows a lack of creativity and ambition, and both of those things have afflicted WWE something fierce for a while now. But when it comes to Daniel Bryan, there isn’t anything he can’t turn to g...
It was a great weekend for terrible people in wrestling
It is often said that WWE does its best booking when backed into a corner. That is, whether through injuries to performers or sudden waves of popularity or other factors, when the company has to change or invent stories on the fly is when it tends to produce its best work. Daniel Bryan is a perfect ...