Here’s what matters today in wrestling 👇
Image Credit: WWE
Fanatics Fest was a huge opportunity for WWE to network with all types of celebrities from the sports & entertainment world. You saw all of the social media clips with various sports stars, but none got more attention than Tom Brady. We’ve heard Brady’s name pop up before, and we know he’s tight with some of the higher-ups in TKO, so it only seems like a matter of time before all the talk finally ends up in some kind of action.
I’m really going to be interested in seeing the buildup to WrestleMania 43. A lot of factors that are going to be focused on by WWE aren’t going to be popular with the base. I don’t think most wrestling fans will care about a feud pitting Logan Paul against Tom Brady. I know most wrestling fans aren’t happy about the biggest event of WWE’s year going to Saudi Arabia. The complaints about the likes of Pat McAfee & Jelly Roll taking up all the oxygen heading into WrestleMania 42 could pale in comparison to what we’ll be hearing early next year. Will enough casual folks that don’t really care about wrestling but might be interested in Tom Brady or other people they’ve seen on TV tune in to make it worthwhile? Will some of your more diehard wrestling fans finally say enough is enough and move onto different things? This could be a big fork in the road for the future of professional wrestling…or it could just be another WrestleMania. We shall see.
WRESTLING HEADLINES 👊🏽
•Janel Grant's Lawsuit Against Vince McMahon, WWE Headed To Arbitration
Image Credit: WWE
It always seemed like this was going to be the result once we heard some of the allegations Ms. Grant had towards McMahon & some of his associates. The stuff that came out was damaging enough to WWE; it was going to behoove them to make sure that even more disgusting news items that could harm the company and their business didn’t come out during the discovery process & during a trial. It could have been a can of worms that destroyed the reputations of a lot of people that WWE wants held in high regard. They have more than enough money to sweep morally abhorrent things under the rug. As long as the aggrieved parties feel properly compensated at the end of the day, it’s not really my place to speak much further here.
Image Credit: WWE
I appreciate the honesty from Paige in this interview, and it illustrates some of the main problems that WWE’s competitors face when recruiting talent. For most of the last four decades, people have associated pro wrestling with WWE. Most people that get into wrestling as their occupation get in wanting to be WWE Superstars. Sure, there are some notable exceptions that get in because they loved watching Japanese wrestling or US indy wrestling or whatever, but WWE has been the main influence for most. Once they get there, they want to stay, even if things don’t quite work out how they dreamed. Maybe AEW or another competitor will reach that “childhood dream” status for a vast number of wannabe wrestlers one day, but for now WWE is still unmatched in that regard.
MORE MUST-READ LINKS FROM 411MANIA
→Hall's WWE Raw Review 7.20.26
→411's WWE Greatest Moments Report: Lex Luger
Thanks for reading,
– Steve Cook