Author: M. Swift

Ryback is a personality who tends to make waves whenever he says something. He has a show and he doesn’t even really say anything controversial. He’s been outspoken about his time in WWE, CM Punk, and a variety of things in the business. That’s his brand. Recently, there have been rumors that he could join AEW next year.  A Lengthy WWE Career…That Didn’t Seem That Long  He first came into wrestling as a contestant on Tough Enough following some time training with WWE. While he didn’t win, he would end up in Ohio Valley Wrestling to shape up his in-ring craft before…

It’s July 1997 and the Hart Foundation are heels in WWE…or are they? By this time, WWE started to do more PPVs in addition to its big four seasonal events. Yes, the In Your House series of shows often gave you bouts that could’ve been on the major show. July 6, 1997, was the date of one of the company’s greatest PPVs…WWF In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede.   The Blue Blood vs. The Demented One There was a lot of build-up for three of the matches on the show. First, you had the career-long beef between Youngster Triple H and…

So, both CP and Jordan went into the recent release of Nightmare Fuel Simulator 2019—or WWE 2K20. It was a glitchy mess that I, fortunately, did not pick up. That being said, wrestling games and sports games, in general, should have some time between releases and I’m not talking a year.  A “Freeing Experience”  When your biggest selling point is the updated roster—which could honestly be done via downloadable rosters and DLC of people who should be in the game—and a hit or miss story mode, two years between games doesn’t sound unreasonable.  Former developer Yuke’s even said they felt that they weren’t putting up their best work and that…

AEW World Champion Chris Jericho has a way of knowing what will hit. From the iconic “Man of 1,004 holds” list to “A little bit of the bubbly,” his brand of cockiness mixed in with natural comedic ability has lead to some of wrestling’s memorable moments.  It’s that most recent catchphrase, ”A little bit of the bubbly,” that really hit in recent time. A very little has stuck in All Elite Wrestling at the moment but that catchphrase—uttered while throwing a tantrum following his title win—that has stuck. Fans rolled with it, they loved it, it ended up on a shirt, and it continues to be referenced. …

With all this news of people wanting their releases from WWE, not being happy on the flagship rosters, and not wanting to be moved to RAW or SmackDown, there’s talk of who will be cut in 2020. Yes, the early-year WWE releases are a wrestling tradition.   People get released throughout the year but it’s spotty. Sometimes, people are released like ACH was while other times you forget they were still on the roster. The best example of that is late-2008 Armando Estrada. He was being used early on in the year and by the end of that summer, he just wasn’t seen as much.  …

WWE talent Mike Kanellis recently talked with the Smarks & Stripes podcast about not getting his release from the company. The way he parsed things together about his utilization on the roster pointed to an issue some fans have had with the company’s flagship brands for years now.  A Shaky 2017-2018 Season For Mike Kanellis  Prior to taking the ring name “Mike Kanellis,” he was making moves on the indies as Mike Bennett. In the late 2000s and earlier part of this decade, he showed up a number of cards and was viewed as a rising star. I always figured he would’ve gone further during his stay in…

On last week’s Jim Cornette Experience, Cornette went into his departure from NWA Powerrr. On episode 7 “The Phoenix Rises,” he delivered a joke which many felt was insensitive in a match between Nick Aldis and Trevor Murdoch. If you remember the episode of South Park with Starvin’ Marvin then he basically used that as the crux of his joke about Murdoch’s toughness.  His co-host Brian Last felt that it was a bad joke and an outdated one but agreed with Jim Cornette on the level of outrage. Corny would go on to explain the joke and the situation where it’s pre-taped and could’ve been taken…

Every now and then, a wrestling company will put out something that isn’t directly related to what’s going on in its schedule but features its talent. A good example of this was Impact Wrestling’s One Night Only shows. Another is Southpaw Regional Wrestling in WWE back in 2017 As a matter of fact, it was so entertaining that I wanted more of that and less of what was going on with RAW and SmackDown. And that was a parody done by fun by wrestlers who had free time and were just having fun with it. Now, I’m glad WWE didn’t run with it because if…

Last week, it was announced that “Filthy” Tom Lawlor would re-sign with Major League Wrestling. It was one of those bits of news that would’ve flown under the radar given that MLW doesn’t have national television in the U.S–although its MLW Fusion program is available on YouTube and beIN Sports.  An MMA Invasion in Wrestling  Things were played up nicely around Tom Lawlor’s contract status. The current trend in wrestling right now is signing MMA fighters. WWE’s had Brock Lesnar for a while and just picked Cain Velasquez last month. Down in NXT, you have Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir, and Matt Riddle.   Ken Shamrock made indy appearances last…

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Ring of Honor hasn’t been having the best season. This fall has been rough on them publicity-wise. After former WWE Tag Team champion and producer Joey Mercury dropped a dime on the company’s backstage practices following his October release, a reigning champion in ROH would chime in with support on social media.  The Lack of Medical Treatment for Kelly Klein  The tipping point for Mercury’s departure was a head injury suffered by ROH Women of Honor champion Kelly Klein in late October and the lack of medical treatment she received. On that same…