Here’s what matters today in wrestling 👇
Image Credit: WWE
John Cena promised an epic announcement at WWE Backlash that would make history. Most of us expected him to plug something for Club WWE, but it ended up being the announcement of a tournament with some interesting rules. The John Cena Classic will feature rising stars taking on established veterans, which is something Cena has been a proponent of over the years. After that, things get a little vague. There will be some type of a fan vote deciding who advances in the tournament, shades of when TNA had their Gut Check segment in the early 2010s. Cena didn’t mention a date, as that’s still to be decided, along with most other aspects surrounding it.
On one hand, this could end up being a neat idea that ends up working out. We’re already seeing WWE Superstars latching onto it, as Lexis King’s trying to take credit for giving Cena the idea & Bayley wants to face Tatum Paxley as part of it. Cena is excited about it and sees it as a way to stay involved in WWE after his in-ring retirement. That’s all good, but it also feels like WWE was looking for an excuse to promote John Cena appearing at Backlash and didn’t have much of a plan for what would happen after. Seeing John Cena is cool and all, but bringing him out for announcements with not much of a reason could get old after a while. There’s also the small question of how a fan vote could play into a tournament, especially in an environment where wrestlers are looking to keep their jobs and those jobs aren’t very safe these days. Lance Storm wondered why established wrestlers would want to help make the NXT kids look good enough to win a fan vote, as those kids could end up replacing them due to their newfound popularity. It’s a cynical way to look at things, but it’s also legitimate and something that will have to be prepared for.
WRESTLING HEADLINES 👊🏽
Image Credit: WWE
The ending of Asuka & IYO’s match at Backlash had us wondering if we were seeing the last of Asuka. Given the recent departures from WWE due to pay cuts and general moving on from talent, it was fair for people to wonder if Asuka had suffered a similar fate. Reporting now indicates that Asuka has been planning to take time off for quite a while, and WWE is very happy with the job she does & didn’t really want her to leave but respect Asuka’s desire to go back to Japan.
I must say that this is a refreshing change of pace. Recently we’ve mostly been talking about WWE Superstars being asked to take pay cuts so TKO executives can collect their bonuses & profit margins can remain high. It’s nice to see somebody get some respect & appreciation around there, and Asuka deserves it as much as anybody.
Image Credit: AEW
Okada was scheduled to challenge Darby Allin for the AEW World Championship this week on Dynamite but had to go home to deal with a family matter. (Please don’t ask me why the original plan was to have Okada challenge for the AEW World Championship with a week’s worth of build, all I can say is it’s what they’re doing over there right now.) It’s not currently known whether Okada will be back in time for the upcoming Double or Nothing PPV. Takeshita, fellow Don Callis Family member & Okada’s scheduled opponent at the PPV, has been tapped to replace Okada in this match.
I have an idea that AEW diehards might not like because they’ve loved Darby’s random title matches in recent weeks. Why not have Takeshita win the championship? If you really want AEW’s title scene to be unpredictable, a fill-in winning the title and making his buddy Okada jealous in the process would get the job done. Add in the fact that Takeshita’s a good worker and looks like he would snap Darby over his knee in a shoot, and I don’t see any reason not to have another Wednesday night title change. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Allin’s tenacity and his willingness to put his body on the line for a good show, but we know that he’s here for a good time, not for a long time.
MORE MUST-READ LINKS FROM 411MANIA
→Hall's WWE Raw Review 5-11-26
→It's a New TKO Day: Pay Cuts, Releases, and No Job Security in TKO-Ran WWE
→Universal Wrestling Federation (1.31.1987) Review
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– Steve Cook