Hey SRS, I was browsing on x and saw a comment someone said that seems like a good idea. They said that Sami Zayn should “leave” wwe and come back as El Generico at AAA for a bit. I feel that Sami’s character needs some kind of makeover. Could you see this working?
I do think he could eventually bring the El Generico character to AAA before he retires. It plays a little close to the El Grande Americano story of us all knowing he's under the mask but acting like we don't, but it would be a nice full circle situation for his career. Perhaps as something if they need to move tickets or a huge surprise. I don't think he'll do it for a full story unless it's in WWE.
Can you please explain why the plans for McIntyre going into wrestlemaina as champion was changed do they not see him on that level I was very deflated as a birt and big McIntyre mark that plans changed as the triple threat between fatu Drew and Cody or the HITC between Cody and Drew would have been amazing and way better than that awful pat macfee angl
Based on the trajectory of how things have went since then, I think it's pretty clear that Drew McIntyre needed some time off to work on other projects, and it ended up affecting some other creative. Every WrestleMania season at this point, I just expect WWE to overcomplicate things, sometimes at the urging of TKO.
Have the TKO suits learned any lessons from the Pat McAfee disaster about "celebrity involvement?" I think they should look to Lil Yachty on their own show as an example of how to do that better without pissing fans off
I think they have, but we'll see. It's certainly been scaled back quite a bit, and Pat is actually one of the more apt options but it doesn't matter if the creative is horrible en route to it. More than anything they need to stop getting involved in the WrestleMania build. Every year, TKO seems to screw something major up and just push their way in. It's not needed. Trust the people you hired or get new people!
When Stephanie comes back where do you see her fitting in the women's division?
It seems like it would be near the top. Once someone is at the top of the card, they stay there for a little while, get cycled out and return. There's definitely more fresh faces worked in to the women. It doesn't seem like they've had a great concept of what to do with the division, so they'll probably just run her and Liv Morgan back a few times since Liv put her "on the shelf" at WrestleMania.
When his 90-day no compete is up, is Santos Escobar expected to be healthy, and where do you see him ending up? Thanks.
I could be wrong, but I think he will still need some time to heal up. Previously, wrestlers had been able to use the WWE Performance Center after their release if they sustained an injury working for the company, at least til they heal up. However it was intimated to me a while back that wasn't the case. I think he is still a bit away, but we will check on that.
Is there a possibility of base contract structure being changed with TKO attempting to restructure existing contracts for current talent? Do you think the current roster is worried everyone is going to be lowballed except for the main event talent?
Yes. There's a huge possibility of such. I can't remember if I already ran the story or if I still need to, but I would expect agents to personally push for changes. This affects them too and renders a lot of the work they put in pointless. So I would expect guaranteed money, no cuts, or front loaded deals to become the norm. I think many would have been happy to continue the method as usual if not for the constant releases. Now they have to push for change.
Since AEW generally doesn't like to release people before their contract is up like WWE regularly does, how can they deal with roster bloat while still signing new people to keep things fresh?
To me, it shouldn't be that hard to deal with roster bloat. You have two 2-hour shows per week and a million title belts. The trios titles are barely referenced. You also have a separate promotion to send people to in order to keep busy. Naturally, some talent will cycle out and if they don't work out, will see their deals expire.
How do we make Sheamus vs Ishii happen?
I honestly think it will happen. The size difference is going to be startling to some, though. But I do think the match will happen, and I think it will be incredible based off that size difference and the story that they'll tell. I don't think Sheamus is done at all.
Since Jack Perry resigned with AEW does that mean Anna Jay will as well
She's still under contract as of now, and has shown up to work whenever called upon. I think ultimately she lands back in AEW and as a part of the tag team division with Tay Melo. However, I also think that she's a perfect fit for NXT, and the kind of talent Shawn Michaels would love to book. I think she's going back to AEW though.
Where do you see Sheamus being more over internationally? Japan or Mexico?
Japan. But there's a lot of great possibilities for him in CMLL teaming with Claudio and basing for a lot of really good wrestlers. However, Sheamus likes to beat the living shit out of people, and Japan is the place to go if you want to work that style and make a living doing it. I don't know what the money is like in Japan right now, though.
Hey Sean. It seems everyone agreed that MJF/Omega was supposed to be the main event of Redemption... Have you heard anything as to why it was bumped up to Dynamite?
The word internally was that MJF pushed for it to be moved up. Kenny Omega has been planned to beat MJF for the World Title for at least five months. In fact the MJF-Darby-MJF-Kenny Omega path has been mapped out for at least that long as well. AEW is keen on delivering huge matches like this on television because they make most of their money on their TV deal at this point. I think a totally different match is happening at Redemption, and I also think they wanted to move tickets for All In.
My question is with Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble still not having locations set, is this becoming more of an issue for WWE? They normally have these big events locked and loaded way before this.
It's not becoming an issue. They're doing it intentionally to leverage the maximum amount of site fees from cities. There are a lot of moving parts to things like that. Will the city cover the venue fees and rents? Will they pay WWE more to come there? Will WWE get tax breaks? They care about maximizing the profits.
Thekla is absolutely amazing in the ring and on commentary. She reminds me of Becky Lynch. If she were in WWE, do you think she could reach Becky Lynch status? She has potential to be a top of the industry, stream superstar. Thoughts ?
Becky Lynch is one of a kind. She's a special talent and got over bigger than almost any women's wrestler in history. The only person that I think could have played "The Man" to a comparable level to her is Thekla. That's not taking anything else away from anyone, but Thekla carries that same energy. I think Thekla is a top All Elite Wrestling babyface within the next year.
Hey Sean, with Maxxine joining the vision, are they moving her back to being a valet? She was really starting to do well, she won the IC Title, and then suddenly nothing. I’m concerned about her being used properly in ring now with this alignment
As best I know, yes the plan is for her to be more of a valet than an in-ring performer. That can always change, and they can always use her here and there as a wrestler, but everything I've been told was that she's more of a valet.
In the spirit of fightful's 10 year anniversary I wanted to ask, what was your absolute favorite story to break?
CM Punk returning to wrestling. Looking back on it, it was a pivotal turning point for Fightful, and I'm not sure we'd still exist if not for breaking that story. We were not profitable or near break-even at that point, despite already being in a spot where we had been breaking a lot of the news for the 18 months prior. That was life changing, and was one of the most exciting stories that I chased. Here's a full podcast we did on it.
What was the reaction backstage of cm punk winning the title?
There isn't this constant uproar like there is online. If he would have came in 2023 and immediately won the title, yes there would have been a lot of that. Yes, there are still some people with sour feelings. However, the largest portion of talent just work with him amicably and know he's going to be a big part of the company. There's just not a lot to really go off of here. Maybe some eye rolls? Nothing too bad.
Do u think Kairi Joins AEW?
I think there's a possibility but I haven't heard motion on that yet. One of our readers mentioned the idea of Kairi defending Stardom against Thekla at AEW All In, and I think that's a really good idea. I don't think Thekla losing the AEW World Title and being on the outside looking in of the All In title match is a great idea based on how well she's done this year. However, if you want a marquee match to make sense, that would be a pretty cool one.
Any updates on any of the recent WWE releases or indie talents heading to TNA?
Nothing as of yet, but naturally they will happen. Whether they be one offs or short term deals, some of them are going to pop up because there are only so many places you can work. When I asked a trusted TNA source initially, one of the names they brought up possibly were Tyson and Tyriek. They have television experience, worked a number of TNA dates in 2025 and made a good impression. They would also likely be pretty affordable to TNA at this stage, which is important.
Any chance Hangman consolidates title belts?
Jesus Christ on an old timey bicycle, I hope so. I have a serious disdain for the number of championships in pro wrestling in general, but especially in All Elite Wrestling. I think that Hangman collecting championships, consolidating AND NOT SPLITTING THEM BACK UP, would be a great "infinity stone" that could accrue is a great way to goad a major champion vs. champion match down the line. But there is a BIG title belt problem in pro wrestling and it has to be fixed.
So what I’m curious about is since matches aren’t called in the ring, how do wrestlers memorize a whole match? Do opponents help each other remember what to do? Are refs doing the same? Do they rehearse matches for tv?
Well, I can tell you from personal experience from three weeks ago, I had no idea what was happening in my tag team match until an hour before. You go over it repeatedly, you lean on your partner and ref to help you out. But largely, you just memorize it, and if you forget anything, you hope that someone else in the ring can help get you back on track. Yes, sometimes match rehearsals are done for TV. Or not TV for that matter. Not full speed, but yes, rehearsals do happen plenty.
Bro where is Max Caster? I miss the best wrestler alive and it's been forever.
He's still under contract to All Elite Wrestling. I haven't heard that he's been backstage much if at all recently. He's just not factored into creative that I've heard. The Acclaimed reunion didn't quite work out. He still does indies in the northeast pretty regularly. He seems to be exempt from the preference that AEW has of AEW wrestlers not wrestling other AEW guys on the indies, too.