If you’ve been reading my columns for a while, you’ve seen me mention my weird writing schedule on a few different occasions.
My five-year-old daughter is as high energy as a child can be, and therefore, it is almost impossible for me to get any writing done when she’s awake and around the house. I’m hoping that her heading off to start Kindergarten in August will change things for me, but for now, I have to do all of my writing after my daughter goes to bed.
That usually has me staying up all night and well after the sun rises in the morning. Tonight was no different. I was working on a different column and needed to take a break at around 3am. After grabbing a snack, I sat down and opened up Peaco*ck for something to watch. I ended up settling on The Rise & Fall Of ECW, which remains one of the absolute best wrestling documentaries ever made.
I’ve seen it a million times, but it’s so entertaining that I have no problem seeing it again. This time, I was focused on the section about the feud between Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman. Specifically, the part of the feud where they had a Singapore Cane Match, with the loser being forced to receive ten lashes across the back from a Singapore Cane (aka a Kendo stick).
The story being told there was simple enough. Dreamer was still viewed by many ECW fans as a bit of a “pretty boy” because of his original gimmick, while The Sandman was already one of the “hardcore icons” that would help carry the company to the heights it would eventually reach. After Dreamer lost the match, he had his back completely torn to shreds with shot after shot after shot, but he wouldn’t stay down, and would ask Sandman for more at one point. The whole thing was a catalyst for the bloodthirsty ECW faithful to accept Dreamer as “hardcore” and to treat him differently moving forward.
All of that got me to thinking about things from wrestling’s past, recent or otherwise, that should be brought back. Some permanently, and others for a one-time deal, but all brought back nonetheless.
Boom. Just like that… a wild column idea appeared! Let’s get to it, in no particular order.
Singapore Cane/Kendo Stick Match: Might as well start things off with the inspiration for the column itself. Kendo sticks have been a part of pro wrestling for a while now. No, it doesn’t make sense that they’re under the ring, but they are, and when a wrestler finds one (or several), pain is sure to follow.
Let’s use the same scenario from the Dreamer vs Sandman version of this match. If you followed that path today, you could get a face over with live crowds, or at least further over to where you want him to be. Just random examples, but people like Johnny Gargano, Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne, Apollo Crews, and Kyle O’Reilly are just some of the names who aren’t as over as they could/should be, whether it’s their doing or not. If those guys played the Dreamer role before an appreciative crowd, that could be what they need to reach the next level.
There’s also scenarios where you could turn someone face or heel with one of these stipulations. A heel taking the lashes, but showing heart and more of a human side as he gets beaten down. A face that delivers the lashes, but takes things too far because of his hatred for the heel, and we get a double turn like Bret Hart and Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13, when The Hitman went too far after the match for the crowd’s liking.
Lots of options, but the common denominator is that a lot of drama could be happening. I’m with it. WWE, AEW, NXT… I just want to see something like this make its return to mainstream pro wrestling.
Red Hot American Wrestling Crowds: Okay, if we’re going to be technical, this is just for WWE. People make fun of AEW for the size of their crowds and how they can struggle to sell tickets, but even if you’re watching an episode of Dynamite where 2,500 people are in the crowd, it sounds like there are 10,000 people in the building. AEW fans are loud in just about every city the company goes to.
WWE needed to start putting on better overall shows for their audience. They’ve started doing that on a more frequent basis since Vince McMahon left the company. The shows still aren’t perfect, of course, but there’s a lot more to be excited about than there was not all that long ago.
I think the next step is for the company to pay closer attention to the cities that they visit. The person or people in charge of these types of analytics should be looking at the company’s history in cities all across the country. You would assume they’re already doing that, but we’ll still see Raw or Smackdown running in cities that haven’t featured great crowds through the years. How often do they sell shows out? On top of that, what are the crowds like? We’ve seen Raw and Smackdown perform in front of sold out crowds a million times, but far too often, those same sold out crowds sound like half-full arenas, and sometimes, even worse than that. WWE knows their “sweet spots” when it comes to the places they go. They need to find the right balance of rewarding those cities with shows, but not burning those cities out. A few years ago, AEW seemed like they were going back-and-forth between Jacksonville and Chicago every week, and after a while, the crowds in those cities were getting less and less rowdy. The company has gotten a lot better at spreading things out recently, with CM Punk’s departure probably playing a role in not visiting Chicago quite as often now.
That’s what WWE needs to aim for.
Savannah, Georgia. Albany, New York. Hershey, Pennsylvania. Louisville, Kentucky. Toledo, Ohio. Corpus Christi, Texas. Chicago, Illinois. Indianapolis, Indiana. New York, New York. Boston, Massachusetts. Worcester, Massachusetts. Dayton, Ohio. Omaha, Nebraska. Green Bay, Wisconsin. St. Paul, Minnesota.
Those are the American cities hosting episodes of Raw or Smackdown between now and the end of July. There’s a pretty decent mix of huge cities and small-ish towns, as well as a combination of places that are guaranteed to provide a great crowd and places that have a spotty history, at best, when it comes to that sort of thing.
That’s one of the reasons the company has been traveling the globe so much. You’re expanding your reach, but you’re also pretty much sure to have a wild crowd. Whether it’s Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and so on… if WWE is outside of the United States, people are going to be talking about crowd reactions a lot.
Obviously, WWE isn’t going to spend 52 weeks doing shows outside of the United States. A better and more focused approach to where they do travel when they’re in America could make for a lot more entertaining home viewing situation, though.
BattleBowl: It’s not the first time I’ve made this request, and chances are, it won’t be the last.
At WCW’s StarrCade 1991 pay-per-view, they introduced their “BattleBowl: The Lethal Lottery” concept. 40 men, split up into 20 teams drawn “randomly” and placed into ten tag matches on the show. The ten winning teams would then go on to the BattleBowl main event, which was a 20-man Battle Royal, with the winner (Sting) getting a shot at Lex Luger and the WCW World Title.
StarrCade 1992 saw the BattleBowl return, but with a different format. The pay-per-view saw 16 men split up into eight “randomly” drawn teams, with the winners of the four tag matches going to the BattleBowl main event. This time, the winner (The Great Muta) didn’t have an announced prize for his victory.
In 1993, BattleBowl got its own pay-per-view, as WCW was expanding their total number of PPV events. This time around, it was 32 men split up into 16 “randomly” drawn teams, with the eight winning teams during the show going on to the BattleBowl main event, where the winner (Vader) earned a ring as his prize.
I’ve always been a fan of the concept, and with the right writing and booking, I do believe it could work in 2024 and beyond.
Both WWE and AEW already have a ton of different ways for wrestlers to earn title shots, but that option could work for both companies. The 1993 option could work with a bit of tweaking. Instead of a ring for the winner, it could be a large cash prize… $250,000 and up. Everyone wants more money, whether they’re a dastardly heel or a happy-go-lucky face.
Honestly, the BattleBowl part of everything isn’t even that important to me. I just think that the Lethal Lottery part could make for some very entertaining programming. With the “random” draws, you could have heated rivals paired up… can they put their hatred aside for one night in search of a huge pay day? There’s also the chance for a fun “odd couple” pairing that wouldn’t normally work together, but their work gets over with the crowd, and then you have a new team that can be together moving forward, even if they don’t go on to win BattleBowl.
Lots of options.
The Original Survivor Series Format: Obviously, this is another WWE-specific one, but AEW could very easily do a similar type of show if they aren’t afraid of the “ThEy’Re RiPPiNg oFF WWe” comments that they’ll inevitably receive on Anna Sawai’s internet.
We’ve seen a few different versions of Survivor Series through the years. There have been times when it was a “regular” pay-per-view, with matches featuring whatever feuds the company was delivering at the time. In recent years, we’ve seen the show adopt the War Games matches, and surrounding them by “regular” matches. Before that, it was all about the brand split, with a heavy emphasis on Raw’s champions facing Smackdown’s champions, only without the titles actually being on the line.
I miss that original format, though. Eight or ten-man elimination tag matches. Combining multiple feuds into a single match. If you weren’t a fan of wrestling back then, and you were to look at how those shows were put together, your mind would be blown. The first Survivor Series took place in 1987, and the show featured a total of four matches. In those four matches, a total of 50 people wrestled, with another seven people making the show in managerial roles. No match on the show was shorter than 20:17, and there was a whopping 105:16 of actual in-ring action. Just for something to compare that to, WWE’s recent Backlash France show had a total of five matches that delivered a total of 93:05 when it comes to in-ring action.
There’s a catch to what I’m asking for, though. I don’t think the current WWE fan base could handle a show that is laid out like the early Survivor Series cards. There’s a ton of talent on the WWE roster, but a ten-man elimination tag, followed by a ten-woman elimination tag, followed by a 20-man elimination tag, followed by another ten-man elimination tag? I just can’t picture the average WWE fan having the attention span and the patience for that. AEW fans? Sure. Just not WWE fans.
I’d settle for a good combination of old school and new school here. The last time we had an elimination match at Survivor Series was 2021, when we had a men’s and a women’s Raw vs Smackdown match. Back then, a lot of the writing was super lazy (shocking, I know, for a Vince McMahon product), with the Raw and Smackdown teams simply full of random names that weren’t high enough on the proverbial ladder to have titles at that point. The last time we had a Survivor Series elimination match that wasn’t of the Raw vs Smackdown variety was 2015.
Give me some of those again. If you need to have a Raw vs Smackdown match on the show, I get it, but I’d like to see that not just be a lazy crutch. For example, something like The Bloodline vs The Judgment Day would make more sense for me in that format compared to random names from each show winning matches to qualify for the Survivor Series team.
If we can get a good mix of old school Survivor Series matches and the War Games matches that the WWE fan base loves so much, that would be perfect.
Now is when I turn things over to you. What do YOU want to see brought back to wrestling? It could be something for WWE, AEW, any other promotion, or to the sport as a whole. It can also be something you want to see return as a one-time-only thing, or on a permanent basis. As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, or on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s close things out with my Weekly Power Rankings, followed by the list of music I was listening to as I put this column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Randy Orton vs Gunther: All of Gunther’s matches seem to have that “big fight” feel to them. That was already magnified by this being the final match in the King Of The Ring tournament. Then, it was announced that the winners of the King and Queen Of The Ring tourneys would earn World Title shots at SummerSlam in August. These two really went out there and competed like all of that was on the line. Gunther was attempting to earn his first televised World Title shot as a member of WWE’s main roster. Orton was trying to make up for lost time and earn another World Title shot, where he could win his 15th World Title, breaking a tie between him and Triple H, putting him only one reign behind Ric Flair and John Cena for the most all-time (as far as being officially recognized by WWE goes). There was controversy with the finish of the match, though…
Teasing An Orton vs Gunther Rematch: So before the day even came to an end, Triple H hinted that we would be getting a rematch between the two. He made sure to point out that the decision was final and that Gunther was the King Of The Ring. Does that mean only the SummerSlam shot would be on the line in a rematch? I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m all for them squaring off again.
Roderick Strong vs Will Ospreay: I’m still of the thinking that the International Title is “beneath” Ospreay, but he can definitely be used to raise the prestige and relevance of the title, so I’ll gladly see where it goes. This was such a physical contest, with two of the hardest hitters in the business looking to prove why they’re on that list.
MJF: Apologies to anyone who was looking forward to seeing MJF in WWE, but the man has re-signed with AEW and made his return at Double Or Nothing. The entire “Devil” storyline seems to have been completely shelved, and for good reason. MJF shows up, hits Adam Cole, gets Cole out of the ring, and then talks sh*t about the entire storyline before stomping on Cole’s devil mask. AEW really needed the boost that MJF could, and should, bring now that he’s back.
Jon Moxley vs Konosuke Takesh*ta: As I said in my DON review column, anyone involved with AEW’s creative direction in any way, shape, or form deserves to be thrown in jail for what they’ve done to Konosuke Takesh*ta. Time and time again, they refuse to pull the trigger on pushing him, and this was another instance of that. Moxley wrestled the match with one arm pretty much the entire time, took the majority of the offense, and he still won? To make it even worse, this was merely a match to see if Takesh*ta was going to receive a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. It would’ve made sense to have him defeat the weakened Moxley here, earn the title shot, and then lose that match once Mox has recovered.
Willow Nightingale vs Mercedes Moné: As much as Willow fans wanted it to be, the outcome here was never going to be in question. Mercedes arriving in AEW was treated like such a big deal, and her signing cost so much money, that she was never going to lose her debut match. Willow continues to show that she’s a bigger star than many people ever expected to be when she first arrived in AEW. Mercedes, on the other hand, continues to show that she has a strong argument for being the best in-ring worker in the history of women’s wrestling.
Adam Copeland vs Malakai Black: You knew it would be bloody. It was bloody. You knew it would be hard hitting. It was hard hitting. You knew Buddy Matthews and Brody King would get involved. Buddy Matthews and Brody King got involved. Deep down, you had to know Gangrel would get involved, simply based on how often Copeland was mentioning him in interviews and using Brood things on television. Gangrel got involved. Good stuff here, with just the right touch of nostalgia for fans who have been around from the Attitude Era days.
Sami Zayn vs Bronson Reed vs Chad Gable: All three men are bringing something very distinct to the table, and they were all able to showcase those traits here. We even got the continued storyline drama between Gable and Otis. As the WWE Universe continues to wait for the time Otis finally stands up to Gable, Julius and Brutus Creed are waiting in the wings to make Alpha Academy even more dangerous as replacements for Otis and Akira Tozawa.
Jey Uso vs Gunther: As I said, it’s always a “big fight” atmosphere when Gunther is involved. He has become a truly special talent, and he has been treated as such by WWE. It’s a beautiful thing.
Sami Zayn vs Chad Gable: Gable continues to be one of the most underrated in-ring performers in the business today. It remains to be seen if the company will ever pull the trigger on a true blue singles push for the man, but he continues to impress, even though his loss in Saudi Arabia makes him 1-4 in televised shots at the Intercontinental Title over the last nine months, with that one victory coming by count-out.
SummerSlam 2026: Minneapolis, Minnesota appeared to be the front runner to land WrestleMania 41, going back several months. When they lost out to Las Vegas, many wondered what went wrong. WWE just announced that Minneapolis would be getting a “consolation prize,” of sorts, revealing that the city would be hosting the 2026 edition of SummerSlam. Not only that, but it would be the first SummerSlam to be a two-night event. We don’t even know who is hosting next year’s edition of SummerSlam yet, but the 2026 edition, a little over 26 months away, has been figured out. I know some people are concerned about yet another two-night event on the WWE calendar, but I’m not. There is no doubt in my mind that both nights will sell out, providing another huge weekend of revenue for the company. With WWE traveling outside of the United States for more and more pay-per-views, shows like this are going to become extra popular for members of the WWE Universe in this country.
Will Ospreay & Orange Cassidy vs Roderick Strong & Trent Beretta: I’m still not sold on the idea of Ospreay going after the AEW International Title, but hey, if you’re trying to add prestige to the belt, he’ll be able to do it. The matches are going to be a ton of fun, of course. I just thought, like many of you did, that Ospreay would be in a bigger spot already.
Cody Rhodes vs Logan Paul: As I said in my show review column, this was seriously overbooked, like almost all of Logan’s matches have been. Heels need to get heat. I get that. However, Logan has proven himself to be more than talented enough, on the mic and in the ring, to get heat on his own without brass knuckles and the interference of one of the million members of his “entourage” every single time out. It really held this match back from being even better.
Bang Bang Gang vs Death Triangle: I’m thinking that the entire segment with Adam Cole and MJF ran long, on top of the fact that AEW loves to fit 28 hours worth of things on every pay-per-view, because this match seemed like it was a lot shorter than it should’ve been. It was building, and starting to get really good, and then it was just like “hurry up and send Juice Robinson out there so we can go home,” and then it was over.
Liv Morgan: The match itself just missed the cut here, but congratulations to the brand new Women’s World Champion. We got the expected “backfired” interference from Dominik Mysterio that may or may not lead to anything between Liv and Dom in the future. We also got Becky Lynch saying that she’s going to ask for her contractually obligated rematch on Raw. Why so fast, you ask? Well, that’s what has everyone talking. Becky’s WWE contract is reportedly set to expire in a week or so, and the company recently dropped their attempt to land the “Big Time Becks” trademark just before she dropped the title. This has caused many to speculate that Becky is actually going to leave. I’m not sure many people think she’ll be leaving for AEW, although stranger things have happened. The people who feel she’s gone seem to think she’ll be doing so simply to focus on being a mother. I guess we’ll find out sooner than later.
Bron Breakker: He hasn’t been an official member of the main roster for very long, but he already looks like someone who will be pushed as a really big deal. Live crowds are cheering for him, even though he is definitely acting like a heel and destroying lowly enhancement talent. He could be in line for a huge year from here on out.
Swerve Strickland vs Christian Cage: It wasn’t always the prettiest of matches, but it was a match that got better as it went on, especially when we tried to get beyond all of the interference that Christian matches feature these days. It would be nice if we can move Swerve on to something he can really sink his teeth into, though, as his World Title reign has been viewed as underwhelming by a lot of fans so far. A random opponent chosen by The Young Bucks isn’t going to cut it, even if that opponent is an all-time great like Christian Cage.
Anarchy In The Arena: There was A LOT going on here. Lots of good, but also lots of bad. The chaos and, yes, anarchy is always an entertaining viewing in these matches. However, this one was held down by an endless amount of overly contrived spots that just looked ridiculous. Darby Allin wearing a thumbtack-studded mask to protect his broken nose… only to use the mask as a weapon, while he’s still wearing it? Dumb. Darby busting his flamethrower out again, and then using it to… set Jack Perry’s pants on fire? Dumb. As I said in my review column, that’s even dumb in kayfabe. It would be like bringing a shotgun to the ring and then using it to throw at your opponent? Why bother bringing that type of weaponry to a match if you’re only going to use it to inflict the least amount of damage and pain possible? Dax Harwood being hit with a steel chair that caused a kaboom explosion on contact? Dumb. The Young Bucks AGAIN wearing sneakers that have thumbtacks attached to the bottom? Dumb. It being implied that Jack Perry ran Darby over with a bus, which we never actually witnessed, and then Darby shows up a couple minutes later looking like he was just eating lunch or something? Dumb. We’ve seen Anarchy In The Arena and Stadium Stampede matches work really well in the past. This could’ve been so much better, but it had way too much idiotic nonsense involved.
Lyra Valkyria vs Iyo Sky: To say Lyra’s time with the company since NXT UK closed has been strange would be an understatement. She showed up in NXT and was basically pushed to the moon right away, even though the NXT crowds weren’t really reacting to her the way they should for someone receiving that type of push. Then, she got the surprise call up to Raw in the Draft, forming an alliance with Becky Lynch immediately and getting the underdog push to the finals of the Queen Of The Ring tournament. Her reactions on Raw have actually been better than what she was getting in NXT. It’s pretty clear that those in charge are big fans of her, so expect big things from her in the future.
Kyle O’Reilly vs Malakai Black: While it remains great to see Kyle O’Reilly back in the ring after what many thought would be a career-ending injury, it just feels like something’s missing with him since his return. The AEW crowds don’t seem to be reacting to him like they probably should be, and the company itself hasn’t booked him to be anything special on top of that. He beats the “lesser” talents on the roster, and he loses to everyone else, making him just another guy essentially floating around in purgatory. History indicates that probably isn’t going to change anytime soon, which is a shame.
Wes Lee vs Josh Briggs vs Joe Coffey: Will NXT treat Gallus better than they did the last time around? Will the NXT crowds react to Gallus better than they did the last time around? We’ll see. For now, I’m just happy to see some entertaining matches from the trio again. Joe, specifically, deserved better than he got the last time around.
Randy Orton vs Tama Tonga: As Tama transforms into a combination of a wild animal and Beavis for some reason, he still presented an interesting hurdle for Randy Orton to overcome if The Viper wanted to advance in the King Of The Ring tournament. I dug the physicality here, but I do think I’m ready for the inevitable Jacob Fatu chapter of The Bloodline’s story now.
Bryan Danielson & FTR vs Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh: Accentuate the positives, and hide the Satnam Singh. It was a pretty simple plan for the other five men in this match, and for the most part, the plan was successful. Danielson and FTR still deserve better than this, though.
Nia Jax: She is currently doing the best work of her career. Take that for whatever you think it’s worth. She’s the new Queen Of The Ring, and I appreciated the story being told in her match with Lyra Valkyria. Nia as the immovable object, and Lyra as the plucky underdog that wasn’t afraid of going toe-to-toe with a much larger and stronger opponent. It’s a tale as old as time in this business.
Piper Niven: If Drew McIntyre is going to get a World Heavyweight Title shot in his home country of Scotland during Clash At The Castle, it only makes sense for Piper Niven to get a shot at the WWE Women’s Title at the same show for the same reason. It has been a long time since she was booked to look like a legitimate threat. While I don’t think she’ll defeat Bayley in front of her fellow Scots, it’s still good to see her look like a dominant monster, at least for a bit.
This Week’s Playlist: “Attitude” by Don Toliver, Charlie Wilson & Cash Cobain… “Kool-Aid” by Bring Me The Horizon… “DArkSide” by Bring Me The Horizon… “AmEN!” by Bring Me The Horizon, Lil Uzi Vert & Daryl Palumbo… “It’s Just Another Fine Day (In This Universe Of Love)” by Lenny Kravitz… “Spirit In My Heart” by Lenny Kravitz… “Bury My Problems” by Juicy J… “He Did” by Juicy J… “Perfume Of The Timeless” by Nightwish… “Underdog” by Nonpoint… “Lightning and Thunder” by Marianas Trench… “Losing Control” by Acacia Ridge… “Slow Dancing In The Dark” by Will Ramos & Nik Nocturnal… “Rain” by Will Ramos & Nik Nocturnal… “Demolisher” by Will Ramos & Nik Nocturnal… “Chills” by Charlie Wilson… “My Love Is All I Have” by Charlie Wilson… “You Are” by Charlie Wilson… “Without You” by Charlie Wilson… “Read Your Mind” by Avant… “Makin’ Good Love” by Avant… “Bone, Bone, Bone” by Bone Thugs N Harmony… “Pump, Pump” by Bone Thugs N Harmony… “Murder One” by Bone Thugs N Harmony… “Keepin’ It Gangsta” by Fabolous… “Can’t Deny It” by Fabolous & Nate Dogg… “Pistol Pistol” by Obie Trice… “You Don’t Know” by Eminem, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks & Ca$his… “By My Side” by Stat Quo… “No Apologies” by Eminem
