World Wrestling Events, the podcast about everything
pro wrestling and more. Welcome back to the show,
everybody. It is Sunday, February 22nd, 2026.
And we are sitting right in the eye of the storm
right now. Oh, yeah. We are officially on the
road to WrestleMania. The big sign is up. The
pyro is louder. And, you know, the Internet is
absolutely losing its collective mind. It's a
chaotic, beautiful... time to be a wrestling
fan it really is the season of scrutiny isn't
it i mean the weeks between the royal rumble
and wrestlemania that's just the most volatile
period of the entire calendar year everything
is under a microscope exactly every promo gets
dissected every single booking decision is magnified
and the tension like both on screen and behind
the scenes it is just at an all -time high right
now it feels heavier this year though doesn't
it yeah like we have a mountain of news to climb
today. We are talking about roster moves that
make absolutely no sense until you really squint
at them. We've got legal situations involving
massive fines and some booking decisions that
have the fan base split right down the middle.
We definitely have a lot to unpack today. But
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thank you to our partners. So where do we even
begin today? Let's look at the roadmap. We're
going to be dissecting the fallout from the Elimination
Chamber cycle, specifically why the ticket sales
are looking the way they are. Very interesting
data there. Yeah. And then we have a major roster
move involving a certain technical wizard taking
on a general manager role. That is a fascinating
development for the developmental system, for
sure. We've also got Dominic Mysterio going global
and meeting his doppelganger, which is just hilarious.
Yeah. We need to break down some heavy disciplinary
stuff happening over in AEW involving Swerve
Strickland. And then we really need to talk about
why WWE pulls massive matches from free TV at
the very last second. The business of booking.
It's a highly complex machine. So let's jump
right into segment one, the business of booking.
I want to start with the Elimination Chamber.
Now, usually this event is a total layup. Oh,
yeah, it sells itself. Right. Big steel structure,
massive implications for mania, people getting
thrown through plexiglass pods. But the discourse
this week hasn't really been about the match
quality. It's been about the seats. That's right.
We're looking at the data regarding ticket sales
for this elimination chamber cycle. And frankly,
they haven't met the internal projections. It's
softer than expected. Now, the easy reaction
for the Internet to have is to say, oh, the product
is cold. Which is lazy. Exactly. Because looking
at the TV ratings, the product isn't cold at
all. Viewership is great. Yeah. So what is going
on here? You flagged something in our notes today
called the Jeff Jarrett theory. Right. So this
is something that requires a bit of a history
lesson for the listeners. This refers to Jeff
Jarrett, the promoter, specifically looking back
at the way his father, Jerry Jarrett, ran the
old Memphis and Tennessee territories decades
ago. Their whole philosophy was centered around
this concept of market burnout. Is that just
like a fancy economic way of saying people get
sick of seeing you? In an economic sense, yes,
basically. It's the law of diminishing marginal
utility applied to live wrestling events. The
theory is that every specific market, let's say
a city like St. Louis or Chicago or Columbus,
has a strict wallet capacity within a rolling
12 -month period. Okay, so there is a literal
ceiling to how much cash a city can cough up
for wrestling tickets. Exactly. In the territory
days, you could run a town every single week
because tickets were cheap. You know, five bucks
to get into the Mid -South Coliseum. But in 2026,
attending a WWE event is a massive investment.
We are talking hundreds of dollars for decent
lower bowl seats, plus 40 bucks for parking,
plus $40 t -shirts, plus food. It's literally
a mortgage payment for a family of four. Precisely.
The Jeff Jarrett theory argues that if you oversaturate
a market, you just hit a wall. If WWE runs a
Monday Night Raw in a city. Right. And then they
come back three months later for a Friday Night
Smackdown. And then they send a non -televised
house show tour through the surrounding suburbs.
Right. And then after all that, they try to book
a major premium live event like the Elimination
Chamber in the exact same building within that
same calendar year. The fans just tap out. They
literally don't have the funds. They have to.
The wallet fatigue sets in. The average customer
isn't thinking, oh, but this is the chamber.
This is a bigger tier event. Right. They don't
care about the tiers. No, the customer is thinking,
I just spent $400 on this exact same brand three
months ago. My kids saw Cody Rhodes already.
We're good. So this dip in sales isn't necessarily
a critique of the storylines or the creative
direction at all. It's more of a critique of
these scheduling logistics. I strongly believe
so. It suggests that the routing department might
be overlapping way too aggressively with the
touring department. You cannot drain the local
market dry and expect to sell out every single
time, no matter how hot the main event angle
is. That makes total sense. Yeah. But here is
the part that really grinds my gears as a fan.
While we are talking about these ticket sales,
we have to talk about this report regarding the
blackout policy. Yeah, yes. This is a massive
point of contention right now, and rightly so.
For the listeners who might not know, explain
what a blackout is in this context. Because honestly,
it sounds like something from the NFL in 1995.
It is very similar to the old NFL model. Historically,
a blackout policy meant that if a local sports
event did not sell a certain percentage of the
tickets, usually it was around 85 percent, the
local television broadcast would be completely
blocked in that region. Which is wild to think
about now. It is. The logic back then was that
If people knew they couldn't watch it on their
local TV station, they would be forced to actually
go buy a ticket and physically go to the stadium.
Which feels incredibly punitive. It's essentially
like the promotion saying, because your neighbors
didn't buy enough tickets, you aren't allowed
to watch this thing you enjoy. It is archaic,
but the report suggests a variation of this is
affecting the Elimination Chamber viewing in
the local market. And doing this in 2026, it
just creates a massive friction point with the
audience. Because the entire business model has
changed. WWV isn't a gate -driven company anymore,
right? I mean, they are fundamentally a media
rights company now. That is the crucial distinction
you have to make. 30 years ago, the money at
the door, the live gate, that was the lifeblood
of the entire company. If they didn't draw, the
boys didn't get paid. Today, the billions of
dollars come from the streaming deals and the
massive global TV rights. The gate revenue, while
still important, is just the cherry on top. So
why alienate the local fan base at all? Like
if I'm in the city hosting the chamber and I
just can't afford a $400 ticket, but I really
want to watch on the streaming service that I
already pay a monthly fee for and I get blocked
out, I'm canceling my subscription immediately.
And that is the huge risk they run. It really
highlights a disconnect right now between the
live events department, whose sole job is to
put physical bodies in seats, and the media department,
whose job is to keep streaming subscribers happy
and engaged. They're fighting each other. Exactly.
The CFO wants the gate revenue to look good on
the quarterly report, but the long -term brand
health absolutely relies on positive fan sentiment.
Blocking the locals creates horrible badwill.
It feels like stepping over dollars to pick up
dimes, honestly. A very apt metaphor. Speaking
of dollars, let's look at the bigger picture
for a second. We got to look at the WWE stock
report for February 2026. How is Wall Street
actually feeling about the road to WrestleMania
this year? The sentiment over there is confident,
but there is definitely an undercurrent of caution.
The stock is holding steady right now. Wall Street
loves the road to WrestleMania because. Historically,
it is the highest revenue generating period of
the year. Everyone buys the video game. Everyone
buys the new event shirts. Exactly. The merchandise
numbers go through the roof. But you have to
remember, it is also the period of highest expense.
Production costs for WrestleMania are astronomical.
The sets, the pyro, the stadium rentals, marketing
costs just skyrocket. So what does that actually
mean for the product we see on television? Does
the stock price genuinely change the booking?
In subtler ways than most fans realize, yes,
it absolutely does. When corporate confidence
is high, but the financial stakes are this incredibly
massive, you tend to see a strategy of risk management
take over the creative team. Define risk management
in wrestling terms for me. Safer booking. Ah.
You protect your investments. You don't take
a wild creative swing on an unproven character
in the main event of WrestleMania if the stock
price heavily relies on a guaranteed stable engagement
number. So we get the greatest hits album. We
get the established stars. We get the rematches
that have proven analytical data behind them.
It's not necessarily about creative laziness,
which is what the fans usually complain about.
It's about fiduciary responsibility. Right. They
have a legal obligation to the shareholders.
Yes. They need to guarantee a certain floor of.
viewership for their broadcast partners. You
don't experiment during the Super Bowl. That
is, man, that is depressing, but completely logical.
It really explains why we sometimes feel like
we're watching a rerun during mania season. They
are just playing defense with the shareholders.
Safe bets pay the dividends. It's business. Well,
let's move away from the boardroom and get back
into the ring. Segment two, in -ring psychology
and character deep dives. Because while the suits
are upstairs worrying about stock prices, we've
got some incredible character work happening
on the ground level. And I have to start with
the man who I genuinely think is the MVP of the
last six months, Dominic Mysterio. The evolution
of Dominic Mysterio is arguably one of the greatest
success stories of the modern developmental system.
Did you see the video of him meeting his twin
this week? I did. It is all over social media
right now. For those who somehow missed it, Dominic
is over on an international tour. He's walking
through what looks like an airport or maybe a
hotel lobby, and he runs into a fan that looks
exactly like him. It was uncanny. I mean, the
mullet is perfectly styled. The scowl is perfect.
The weird patchy facial hair is spot on. It's
a clone? Absolute clone. Now, here is where I
really want your take on this. 99 % of wrestlers
in that specific moment would break character.
They would laugh, they would high -five the guy,
they'd take a selfie, and they'd post it on their
own Instagram saying something like, look at
this legend. Right. They would prioritize the
viral, feel -good human moment over the integrity
of the character. But Dom doesn't do that. Yeah.
He looks at this guy with absolute disgust. He
treats him like he's an identity thief trying
to steal his wallet. He stays completely in the
zone. This is what we in the industry refer to
as kayfabe 2 .0. Oh, I like that term. In the
old days, kayfabe meant pretending the fighting
was completely real, hiding your family, heels,
and baby faces traveling in separate cars. Today,
the audience already knows it's a scripted show.
So the new kayfabe is entirely about maintaining
the emotional reality of the character across
every single platform. So if he's a jerk on Monday
Night Raw, he has to be a jerk on his TikTok.
Exactly. If Dominic Mysterio breaks character
to laugh at a fan in an airport, he signals to
the audience that Dominic is just a costume he
wears for work. By staying in character, by treating
this doppelganger with sheer arrogance, he reinforces
the illusion. He invites the audience to just
keep playing the game with him. It's so much
harder to do that than to just be a cool guy
and take the picture. It requires immense discipline,
honestly. It creates this meta reality where
the fans actually respect him more because he
refuses to wink at them and let them in on the
joke. And that level of respect is directly translating
to his booking right now. We have to talk about
this AAA megatitle defense. This is a very significant
development for his career. He is defending the
AAA megatitle. And there is a stipulation attached
regarding his mask or hair, depending on how
the angle actually plays out. But just the mere
fact that WWE is acknowledging the AAA title
on their programming. It really speaks to the
globalization of his character. Five or ten years
ago, WWE lived entirely in a bubble. Nothing
existed outside of their universe. If you wrestled
a classic in Mexico or Japan, it basically didn't
happen to WWE canon. Right. But now, allowing
Dominic to carry the AAA belt on television,
acknowledging that specific lineage, it gives
him a prestige that goes way beyond just being
Rey Mysterio's annoying son. It frames him as
a legitimate world traveler, like a global champion.
It makes him feel dangerous. You know, like he
has conquered territories that the other WWE
guys haven't even touched. Exactly. And bringing
that lucha libre apuesta psychology, the betting
of something incredibly valuable like your hair,
your mass, to a mainstream American television
audience, that is high stakes drama. It's distinct
from everything else on the card. I absolutely
love it. I think he's doing the best work of
his entire career right now. Let's pivot from
the comedy of Dom to something way more intense.
Let's talk about Liv Morgan. A very, very heavy
segment on Raw this week. She broke down. Tears
streaming, voice cracking, makeup running everywhere.
And immediately, the internet debate started
up. Is she okay? Is this real? Is this a shoot?
And that ambiguity is exactly the goal of the
performance. We have some reports now discussing
the real reason she broke down out there. It
seems to be a mix of legitimate physical exhaustion,
pure passion for the business, and just the immense
pressure of carrying this storyline. But as a
viewer sitting on the couch, does it really matter
if it's real or scripted? That is the golden
question of performance versus reality in professional
wrestling. The most successful babyfaces, the
ones who sell the most merchandise, the ones
who move the needle on ticket sales, are almost
always the ones who let their real -life vulnerability
bleed directly into the script. It's the difference
between an actor acting sad and a person actually
being heartbroken in front of you. Precisely.
If Liv Morgan goes out there and just recites
a memorized monologue about being sad, the audience
tunes out. They check their phones. But if she
taps into her real frustrations, her long journey
to the top, the time she was overlooked by management,
the physical pain she's in, and lets that genuine
emotion bubble up to the surface, that connects
on a deeply visceral level. It really blurs the
line. You stop watching a fictional character,
and you just start rooting for the real person
behind it. And that is exactly when the true
emotional investment happens. You want to see
her win the title because you feel like you watched
her actually suffer for it. Now, it's a very
dangerous line to walk for the performer's mental
health to constantly mine your real trauma for
entertainment. But it is incredibly effective
storytelling. It's powerful stuff. Now, speaking
of emotional investment, I was very emotionally
invested in seeing Io Skye face off against Julia
on SmackDown this week. Oh, the match that wasn't?
Yes. They advertised it. They hyped it up all
week. Two of the absolute best female wrestlers
in the world going at it. And then you're doing.
Pulled from the card. Why do they do this to
us? This is a classic case of booking preservation.
It deeply frustrates the viewer in the moment,
I know. But it is almost always the right business
move in the long run. But I wanted to see it.
I sat through two hours of television for it.
Think about the actual environment of Friday
Night Smackdown for a second. It's a two -hour
show on network television. You have commercial
breaks every seven to ten minutes. You have very
rigid timing cues. Do you really want the first
ever WWE encounter between Io Sky and Julia,
a legitimate global dream match, to be chopped
up by insurance and pizza commercials? When you
put it that way, no. I want it uninterrupted.
Exactly. The reports indicate they pulled it
to protect the matchup itself. Management realized
that giving it away on free TV with limited time
and constant interruptions would completely cheapen
the impact. By snatching it away at the last
second, they have actually increased the baseline
anticipation for it. It's the old absence makes
the heart grow fonder strategy. It is. Now, when
they finally do lock up, maybe at a premium live
event where they can go a solid 20 minutes with
zero commercial breaks, the audience is going
to be even hungrier for it. They are banking
on your current frustration turning into a future
buy rate. OK, OK. I'm slightly less mad now.
I'm still impatient, but I get the logic. One
last note on physicality in this segment before
we move on. Jacob Fatu. The Samoan werewolf.
There was a report that dropped this week that
honestly made my jaw hit the floor. Jacob Fatu
had 11 teeth removed. 11 teeth. That is just
a staggering number to comprehend. Why? How does
that even happen? And what does this say about
the guy? Well, the exact medical specifics are
obviously private, but it's likely a combination
of severe impact damage over the years on the
independent circuit and maybe some necessary
dental reconstruction. But the what it says about
him part is the absolute key to his aura right
now. He sounds like a horror movie villain. He
really does. And in wrestling, locker room lore
is everything. When the boys in the back and
the fans online hear that Jacob Fatu had 11 teeth
pulled from his skull and is still walking around
taking bumps, looking like an absolute monster,
likely barely missing any ring time, it builds
the monster persona better than any scripted
promo ever could. It's primal. It reinforces
that he just isn't built like the other guys
on the roster. Exactly. It signals to the audience
that he has a much higher pain threshold, that
he is fundamentally built differently. Whether
it is a strict medical necessity or not, it immediately
becomes part of the legend. Did you hear Fatou
ripped his own teeth out? The rumors do the heavy
lifting for you. Yeah, I certainly wouldn't want
to be the dentist telling him he needs to floss
more often. I don't think anyone tells Jacob
Fatu what to do ever. Absolutely not. OK, let's
shift gears a bit. We've looked at the main roster,
but there is so much happening in the developmental
system right now that we need to track. So segment
three, roster moves, renamings and the future.
This is my favorite area. This is where we see
the chess pieces being moved for the next five
years of the business. First up, let's talk about
the WWE ID program. We have a brand new signing
to talk about. Starboy Charlie. A very, very
exciting talent. For those listeners who don't
follow the hardcore indie scene closely, what
is the significance of this kid? And what exactly
is the WWE ID program? So Starboy Charlie is
a young, hyper -athletic, very modern, independent
wrestler. He's had a great run in places like
GCW, incredible speed, great technique. But the
bigger story here is the actual mechanism of
his signing. Being given a WWE ID is not the
same thing as being signed to an NXT contract.
Right. He's not packing his bags and moving to
Orlando immediately, is he? No, not at all. WWE
ID is a pipeline system. It's a formal designation.
It allows top tier indie talent to officially
get on the WWE radar, receive some medical support,
maybe get some coaching access or facility use.
But they continue to work their independent dates.
This is kind of like being tagged or drafted
by the scouts, but you stay in college. Exactly
like that. It deeply benefits the wrestler because
their booking fee on the indies immediately goes
up. Promoters can now advertise a WWE ID talent
on their flyers. And it benefits WWE because
they lock in a relationship with a hot prospect
without taking on the full financial cost of
a main roster contract yet. It's a developmental
bridge. It's a really smart system. But once
you do cross that bridge and get fully integrated
into the WWE system, things usually change. Specifically,
your name. We have to talk about Mike DiVecchio.
Oh, boy. A massive powerhouse from the European
scene. He has an incredible look. He does. But
he is now officially going by the name Dorian
Van Dux. Dorian Van Dux. Look, I have to be completely
honest with you here. It sounds like the main
villain in a straight -to -DVD vampire movie
from 2004. I'm Dorian Van Dux, and I have come
to drink your blood. It certainly has a very
theatrical, almost gothic quality to it. But
this really highlights the overarching WWE philosophy
regarding intellectual property. But why do they
do this? Mike DiBecchio is a really cool name.
It sounds like a tough guy from the neighborhood
who's going to break your legs. It does sound
tough, but... WWE doesn't own the name Mike DiVecchio.
Mike owns that name. If he builds up his brand
on NXT and then his contract expires and he leaves,
he takes that brand equity with him over to AEW
or New Japan. WWE owns Dorian Van Dux. It's completely
theirs. So if they're going to put a million
dollars of marketing and TV time behind him,
they want to own the asset outright. It is purely
a calculated business decision. If Dorian Van
Dux becomes a WrestleMania main eventer, sells
millions in action figures, and is featured in
the 2K video games, WWE holds that trademark
forever. They want a name that is completely
unique and legally protectable. It's going to
take some getting used to. I'll give him a fair
chance in the ring, but man, Dorian Van Dux.
Wow. Hey, we've seen stranger names become legendary.
Remember when they named a guy Hunter Hearst
Helmsley? True, true. Now, speaking of names,
we also saw a new trademark filing this week
for Romeo Moreno. Yes, we did. Any idea who this
is? Speculation online is running absolutely
wild. The surname Moreno obviously suggests a
Latin heritage. And Romeo strongly implies a
lover character, maybe a suave romantic heel
type. I'm immediately picturing a rose in the
mouth. Some salsa dancing on the entrance ramp.
Yeah. All the classic tropes. It is a classic
wrestling trope because, historically, it just
works. It generates massive heat from male fans.
Whether this is a sudden repackaging for someone
currently floundering in NXT or a name for a
brand new signing from Mexico, we just don't
know yet. But definitely keep an eye on how that
name gets deployed. Will do. Now, this next piece
of news is the one that really caught my attention.
Timothy Thatcher. Cuesless Timmy. The man himself.
The man literally looks like he was carved out
of a block of granite. Reports are now saying
he is scheduled to be the next general manager
of Evolve. This is a brilliant, brilliant casting
decision by management. First, clarify what Evolve
actually is in the year 2026. Because older fans
remember it as an indie promotion run by Gabe
Sapolsky. Right. WWE purchased the Evolve brand
in its tape library years ago. Now, in 2026,
it functions as a very specific tier of their
developmental system. Think of it as the bridge
between the raw day one recruits at the Performance
Center and the polished, highly produced TV product
of NXT. It's the finishing school for wrestlers.
And having Timothy Satcher run that finishing
school. It sets a very definitive tone for the
brand. Thatcher's style is heavily rooted in
the catchpoint philosophy. It is incredibly serious,
grounded, painful, submission -based wrestling.
He is the absolute antithesis of the modern sports
entertainer who does choreographed dances to
the ring. He is not going to tolerate any nonsense
from the younger guys. None at all. By installing
him as the general manager, the strict uncompromising
authority figure, you are actively telling the
audience in the talent pool Evolve is about the
pure wrestling. It gives the brand a gritty,
realistic identity. I can clearly see a segment
where he's staring down two guys arguing backstage
and he just whispers, get in the ring or get
out of my building. It fits his aura perfectly.
I really love that direction for Evolve. Just
a couple other roster notes before we move on
to the other side of the fence. Tiffany Stratton,
she made an announcement about entering a legitimate
bodybuilding competition. This is quite interesting.
It really speaks to her crossover appeal. Tiffany
is already an incredible athlete, a world -class
gymnast before wrestling. But bodybuilding requires
a level of dietary and physical discipline that
is just insane, even for a professional wrestler.
She looks like a million bucks every time she
steps out there. She does. And for WWE, this
is just fantastic PR. It puts their homegrown
star in a totally different world, featured in
different fitness magazines and websites. It
showcases the... superstar aspect of the talent
beyond just taking bumps. And then we look at
the other side of the athletic coin. Gable Steveson.
The Gable Steveson debate just continues to rage
on. The question is, is he UFC ready? Because
fans are really split on this. He had a recent
performance, I think it was a grappling transition
fight or a jiu -jitsu showcase, and the reviews
online were very mixed. It is a harsh reminder
that an elite athletic pedigree does not guarantee
instant success in combat sports or pro wrestling.
Gable has the Olympic gold medal. He has unbelievable
raw power. But the transition from amateur wrestling
to pro wrestling didn't quite click the way they
hoped. And the transition to MMA is a whole different
beast involving striking defense and complex
submission defense. He's kind of stuck in this
weird athletic limbo right now. He really is.
The fans are highly critical because they see
the Brock Lesnar level potential. But the actual
application in the cage hasn't matched the hype
yet. He has to learn an entirely new game from
scratch, and that takes years of getting punched
in the face. It's a tough road to walk. All right,
let's cross the aisle. Segment four. We need
to talk about AEW and some big international
news. And the biggest story coming out of Jacksonville
involves Swerve Strickland. The mogul. He has
officially been fined $100 ,000 and suspended
by the company. That is a massive eye -catching
number. $100 ,000. I mean, that's a small house
in some parts of the country. That's a luxury
sports car. It is. And naturally, the first question
on everyone's mind in the wrestling bubble is
the classic. Is this a work or a shoot? So what
is your read on this? Because that is a whole
lot of real money to lose if it's a legitimate
shoot fine. When you see a number like $100 ,000
specifically publicized in a press release or
on television, my instinct leans very heavily
toward it being a work, a storyline element.
Why is that? Because in legitimate corporate
governance, real disciplinary fines are almost
always handled internally and quietly. They are
often subject to HR policies, collective bargaining,
if applicable, or legal caps. You very rarely
see a major company issue a public statement
saying we find John Doe exactly 100 grand unless
they are actively trying to sell a narrative
to the public. So the dollar amount is just a
prop for the story. Exactly. By stating that
specific massive amount, they are selling the
extreme severity of his actions in the ring.
They're telling the audience at home Swerve is
so dangerous, so violently out of control right
now that he is literally costing himself a fortune
just to hurt his enemies. It monetizes his aggression.
It essentially tells me that his pure hatred
for his opponent is worth more to him than financial
security. That is a brilliant way to put it.
It's a cost -benefit analysis of kayfabe hatred.
And logistically, behind the scenes, it serves
a very practical purpose, too. The write -off.
The write -off. Swerve has been going incredibly
hard for over a year. His in -ring style is physically
demanding. A storyline suspension allows him
to go home, heal his battered body, maybe film
an outside media project, and most crucially,
let the fans actually miss seeing him on television.
Because when he comes back, broke and angry.
That is an instant main event angle waiting to
happen. He returns with an absolute vengeance.
I love the psychology of that. absolutely thrive
on being hated mjf the aew world champion our
favorite scumbag there was an incident at an
indie match he was working recently the crowd
started chanting well we can't say it here but
let's call it the f ice chant a very derogatory
personal chant involving a certain icy substance
right a very hostile unscripted environment in
mjf instead of getting flustered or legitimately
angry he just seemed to feed on it This is Heel
Psychology 101, but MJF basically has a PhD in
it at this point. He is a master conductor of
crowds. A conductor of hate. Yes. Think about
it. Most wrestlers today, deep down, really want
to be the cool heel. They want to do flashy moves
and they want the fans to secretly love them
and buy their black t -shirts. MJF genuinely
wants you to despise him. When the crowd gets
nasty, when they start chanting deeply personal
things that would completely rattle a lesser
performer, he smiles. because he knows he has
them in the palm of his hand. He manipulates
that raw negative energy. He does. He takes that
heat, that genuine visceral dislike from the
building, and he expertly transfers it to his
opponent. If the crowd hates MJF that much, they
will loudly cheer for absolutely anyone who steps
up and punches him in the face. That is his core
job description. He makes the baby face look
like a conquering hero just by being the ultimate
irredeemable villain. It's brilliant to watch
him work. Now, on a slightly more somber note
regarding AEW, let's talk about Britt Baker.
There's been a real update on her future in the
ring. We all know she's a dentist. A real -life
practicing dentist with her own clinic. And the
serious conversation now is about her wrestling
future versus her long -term medical career.
This situation really highlights the stark reality
of part -time status in modern professional wrestling.
Britt Baker carried that women's division on
her back for a long time. But dentistry is a
highly demanding precision -based profession.
You have patients in pain. You have strict appointments.
You can't just cancel on a patient needing a
root canal because you suddenly have a booked
match in Japan. And more importantly, you can't
be a functioning dentist if your hands are shaking
because you took a bad bump on your neck the
night before. Exactly. The sheer physical toll
of wrestling, the cumulative neck issues, the
back spasms, the concussion risks, directly threatens
her longevity as a medical professional. I think
we are currently seeing a natural transition
where wrestling becomes the occasional special
attraction for her, and the dental practice rightfully
becomes the primary. focus. It's a really smart
life choice. Always have a backup plan or in
her specific case, a very lucrative primary plan.
Absolutely. It's the healthiest approach you
could take. OK, let's move into segment five.
We call this myths, misconceptions and history.
We're going to bust some persistent Internet
narratives. Always my favorite part of the show.
Let's get into it. First, big myth. Retirements
are sudden. We saw some news leak about the original
long term plans for AJ Styles eventual retirement
match. Right. And this leak reveals a massive
misconception that casual fans hold. Fans often
think a wrestler just wakes up one Tuesday morning,
feels their knees aching and says, I'm done.
I'm retiring today. Or they assume they get injured
and are just forced to disappear instantly. But
with a franchise guy like AJ. With a bona fide
legend like AJ Styles, the sunset is meticulously
planned out one to two years in advance. Years.
Plural. Yes. You have to map the entire architecture
of it out. Who ultimately gets the rub of retiring
him? Does it elevate a young star or is it a
respect match against another veteran? Is it
going to be a year -long retirement tour? Is
it a final dramatic match at WrestleMania? The
merchandise team needs months to design and produce
the commemorative shirts. The creative team needs
to carefully build the story arc so it peaks
at the right moment. So when we see a guy standing
in the ring crying, giving a retirement speech,
the rough draft of that speech was probably outlined
18 months ago. The broad trajectory of the exit
was yes. Unless a catastrophic career -ending
injury forces their hand unexpectedly, the exit
from the company is just as heavily scripted
and produced as their debut entrance. It is a
carefully curated monument to their entire career.
That is fascinating to think about. Okay, myth
number two. Cody Rhodes was always the hero.
Oh, this is a big one, especially for the newer
fans who just jumped on board. Yeah, if you started
watching wrestling in the last three years, Cody
is essentially Captain America. He kisses the
babies in the front row. He gives away his weightlifting
belt to a crying kid. He fights the evil bloodline.
He is the embodiment of pure goodness. But you
cannot fully understand the hero without understanding
the villain he used to be. We have to talk about
his star turn. He was a spectacular heel. He
was a fantastic, deeply annoying heel. Think
back to the dashing Cody Rhodes era, checking
his face in the mirror, handing out grooming
tips to ugly fans. Or his run as the corporate
suit EVP in early AEW where the crowds turned
on him. Why does all that past baggage matter
for his current mega BB face run? Because the
core lesson of wrestling psychology is that you
have to learn to be a truly hated villain to
fully understand how to get universally cheered.
Cody knows exactly what specific buttons to push
to make people boo him. Therefore, he knows exactly
what behaviors to avoid to keep them cheering.
He constructs his current babyface persona as
the direct, calculated antidote to his old heel
tendencies. So the smile is brighter now because
he knows exactly how effective his scowl used
to be. Poetically put, yes. You can't effectively
portray the light without intimately knowing
the shadow. I really like that. Okay, last myth
here. Production secrets. We need to talk about
botches. The dreaded B word of the internet wrestling
community. There was a report this week of a
big botch on Friday Night Smackdown and subsequently
some real backstage heat on the competitors involved
when they got back to the curtain. First, for
the uninitiated listeners, clearly define a botch
and define heat. Simply put, a botch is a mistake
during a match. A move timed wrong, a foot slipping
on the ropes, a dropped catch, or a missed cue.
Heat is the resulting backstage anger or resentment
from your peers, the producers, or the management.
So someone messed up a move on live TV and people
in the back are mad, but everyone makes mistakes,
right? It's live TV. Right. But the nuance here,
and this is what the fans online almost always
miss when they complain, is that the heat from
management isn't usually about the physical mistake
itself. It's almost entirely about the recovery.
How you fix it on the fly while millions are
watching. Exactly. Pro wrestling is essentially
live theater mixed with high speed gymnastics.
Things go wrong every single night. A true veteran
knows how to cover it up seamlessly. If you swing
and completely miss a punch, you immediately
step forward and grab a tight headlock. If you
slip off the top rope, you hit the mat and instantly
grab your knee, selling an injury. You protect
the illusion at all costs. So the real heat comes
down on the rookies when they panic. Yes, when
they freeze like a deer in headlights, when they
completely break character, stand up and look
over at the referee with a face that says, what
do I do next? That completely exposes the business.
That makes it look fake to the guy changing channels.
The veterans in the back get angry not because
you slipped, gravity happens to everyone, but
because you didn't have the ring awareness to
handle the slip professionally. That is a crucial,
crucial distinction to make. It's about maintaining
professionalism. Not demanding robotic perfection.
Correct. The show must go on and it must look
real. All right. We are heading into the homestretch
here. Segment six, listener recommendations and
viewing guide. We've thrown a ton of inside baseball
info at you today. What should the listeners
actually go out and watch this coming week? I
have a few specific recommendations to keep an
eye on. Hit me with them. First, for pure entertainment
value, go find that smartphone clip of Dominic
Mysterio meeting his twin in the airport. It
is circulating everywhere. It is an absolute
masterclass in staying in character while completely
acknowledging the sheer absurdity of the situation.
It will definitely make you laugh. Oh, definitely
check that out. It's gold. Second. Keep a very
close eye on Dorian Van Dux down in the developmental
system. The vampire himself. The artist formerly
known as Mike DiVecchio, yes. Yeah. Watch his
upcoming matches. Try to ignore the silly name
for a moment and just watch the physical work
in the ring. See how his brawling style adapts
to the WWE camera style. It's going to be a great
case study in watching a raw indie talent evolve
under the massive WWE production umbrella. Okay,
and what storyline should we be actively tracking
this week? Two things to track. One, the Timothy
Thatcher GM role over in Evolve. Is this leading
to a completely new weekly episodic show format
for the network? Is Evolve going to become a
dedicated shoot style mat wrestling brand? Tracking
how Thatcher manages that young roster will give
us huge clues about the future direction of WWE's
entire developmental tier. I am glued to that
one. I love the technical stuff. And two, the
ongoing fallout of the swerve Strickland suspension
over in AEW. Track the weeks he is gone. When
does he finally return? And more importantly,
when he does step back through the curtain, pay
close attention to the level of violence. If
he comes back noticeably more dangerous and unhinged,
we know the storyline fine was the direct catalyst
for a major monster main event push. I cannot
wait for Swerve to come back. The pop is going
to be massive. Me neither. It's going to be great
television. All right. That brings us to the
end of another massive show. Let's recap the
big stuff quickly. We covered the complicated
business landscape of the Elimination Chamber,
why those ticket sales might be a little soft
due to the Jeff Jarrett theory of market saturation.
We analyzed Dominic Mysterio's global expansion
and what holding the AAA megatitle means for
his character. We looked at the deep psychology
of Liv Morgan's Tears on Raw and the highly strategic
pulling of the Io Sky vs. Julia match to artificially
build pay -per -view anticipation. And we broke
down the future of the industry with the WWE
ID pipeline, the trademark rebranding of Dorian
Van Dux, and the disciplinary storylines in AEW
regarding Swerve and MJF. It has been a packed
show, as always. Before we go, a very quick reminder
to support the people who actively support us.
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want to get in on the wrestling action this weekend,
check the link right down in the description.
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great way to enhance the viewing experience.
Now, my friend, send us off with a final thought,
something for the fans to chew on until next
week. Well, we talked a lot today about the Io
Sky versus Julia match being pulled from TV,
and it really made me think about the philosophical
concept of the unseen match. In wrestling history,
some of the absolute most legendary mythic matches
are the ones that happened in empty arenas or
on un -televised house shows with no cameras
rolling or the ones that were promised on a marquee
and never actually delivered due to injury or
politics. Like the ultimate forbidden fruit.
Exactly. Sometimes the matches we explicitly
don't get to see end up driving the business
lore more than the ones we do see. The imagination
of the fan is arguably the most powerful booking
tool in the entire world. WWE management knows
that. By withholding that dream match, they are
essentially letting your imagination book the
spots. And your imagination always books a five
-star classic. Whoa. That is deep. And entirely
true, honestly. I've booked some absolutely incredible
WrestleMania main events in my head over the
years. Haven't we all? The perfect match only
exists in the mind. Well, on that profound note,
thank you for listening to World Wrestling Events.
We will be back next week with more news, more
rumors, and more wrestling. See you at the bell.
See you at the bell.