JCup's Blog

All Elite Wrestling founder and CEO Tony Khan has assembled one of the greatest talent rosters in the history of weekly professional wrestling television.  It may look dramatically different as Khan attempts to stay the course heading into 2027, one of the more crucial years of AEW's existence. The current Paramount-WBD merger appears to be on hold, and it's difficult to get an accurate read on the prospects of it being approved. Khan has been shouting from the rooftops about all the potential benefits his promotion may reap if the merger goes through, often citing his relationship with Paramount's head honcho, David Ellison (please keep better company, Tony). But that's a discussion for another day, and I'm going to approach the rest of this article with the assumption the merger goes through. Khan has a chance to entirely reshape his roster, as several wrestlers have officially hit free agency following their releases from AEW's rival, World Wrestling Entertai...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” ― Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities I find the existing dichotomy within World Wrestling Entertainment utterly fascinating.  The TKO/WWE executive branch would tell you their business continues to boom. WWE's revenue increased 22% year over year, and TKO's overall revenue increased 26%. They'd also tell you they are at the forefront of modern pop culture, with Monday Night RAW airing exclusively on Netflix and "Premium" Live Events on ESPN. They are especially bragadocious whenever celebrities, from streamers to hip-hop stars to professional athletes, become involved in their programming. Attendance for some of their shows may be down, yet it's hardly a cause for concern....

TKO strikes again. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select  reported that longtime World Wrestling Entertainment veteran Sheamus is set to hit free agency after "quickly rejecting" a "restructured" extension offered by TKO, the parent company of the Epstein Class' favorite sports entertainment promotion.  There are several angles to cover, so let's jump right in:

Earlier this week, WWE Superstar  Royce Keys sat down for an interview with ESPN's (South Jersey affiliate) Josh Henning and commented on how his first 6 months in The Epstein Class's favorite wrestling promotion have panned out: “Every week is rewarding for me. I figured we’re past the dream part. I just hit six months here [in WWE], so we’re past the dream now and it’s time to just keep working even 10 times harder. Just put the same effort in things that got me here. Putting everything into overdrive.”… pic.twitter.com/wbPq2ZHFba — WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) June 29, 2026 Keys, then known as Powerhouse Hobbs, departed All Elite Wrestling at the beginning of the year and debuted weeks later at the annual WWE Premium Live Event,  The Royal Rumble, and...that's pretty much been the highlight of his WWE tenure thus far.  On the surface, the timeline of events should make you pause: Final appearance w/AEW was January 15 Debuts at the Rumble  on January 31 A rep...

Good day to everyone, especially the New York Knicks, who are on the verge of winning their first NBA Finals Championship since 1973. One more to go.  I wanted to expand on my thoughts regarding the CM Punk rumors and how the professional wrestling industry is covered. Joe & Rich from Voices of Wrestling opened the Flagship with this discussion, and I felt they both genuinely understood my intent behind going public with an unverified rumor. I found myself responding out loud, so I figured I'd write my responses and post them on the shitty blog. Let's start with a question posed by Joe:  Should reporters/journalists/wrestling media acknowledge unverified rumors? The Wrestling Media should acknowledge unverified rumors if they come from credible sources .  I'll use myself and the infamous "Cody story" I've been alluding to since he departed from All Elite Wrestling. I know with great certainty that several media outlets heard a very specific version of ...

Yours truly made a ton of noise yesterday afternoon after hosting a Stage on my Discord server, during which I revealed a rumor about CM Punk that had been circulating in certain circles of the pro wrestling industry. I followed up with a Twitter thread and a post on the F4W Board for those who weren't able to hear the audio, and Wrestling Twitter quickly buzzed. I've been accused of fabricating a story out of thin air because of my strong dislike of WWE and CM Punk himself, and the typical Fedcels have come out in droves to Stand Up for WWE.  I knew going public with a saucy rumor would invite personal attacks, but I'm a big boy who's capable of taking the hits. I'd like to take this opportunity not only to expand on what I heard (and when) but also to explain what I was hoping to gain from this. Let's jump right into it: The WWE Pay Cut "Reporting" I'm still pretty angry about how this was handled, though I have to accept that "off the recor...

All Elite Wrestling has once again solidified its well-earned reputation as being the best pay-per-view buy-in in the history  of professional wrestling. It may sound like hyperbole given AEW's relatively short existence, yet I genuinely cannot recall a promotion consistently offering high-quality wrestling, promos, and storytelling on a near-monthly basis.  The 7th installment of Double or Nothing  was not just another memorable pay-per-view but one of the very best in history. Let's jump right into it: Pre-Show I've been down on the quality and presentation of AEW pre-shows for quite a while, but this was exactly the type of formatting and purpose I've been expecting. It began with Renee Paquette introducing the newest member to the AEW family: Mick Foley . I was anticipating an MJF interruption from the jump, and I'm glad they waited toward the end of the broadcast. It was great to see a legitimate legend like Foley being embraced by his near-hometown faithful, a...

In an effort to further establish corporate synergy, World Wrestling Entertainment announced that several of its superstars would be meeting and greeting fellow pro-fascists at this summer's  UFC: Freedom  Fanfest. This is the event to be held outside of the White House, which is currently occupied by a fascist administration filled to the gills with lunatics, racists, rapists, abusers, and any other despicable trait normally associated with MAGA.  One of the eight names announced for this KlanFest was Chelsea Green, a particularly popular performer with the Disney Adults from Hell. Green has used her soapbox to gently advocate for the very same human rights that her employer and most of her colleagues consistently vote against and lobby to deny, so many of her fans were dismayed at her inclusion in this event. A tweet from Twitter user @margaretencinos would spark explosive discourse, particularly from yours truly:  guess the check cleared https://t.co/JQOhQbK8EO ...

"I'm a WWE Superstar!" World Wrestling Entertainment has rapidly lost the graciousness it never deserved.  The conversation surrounding the company immediately following WrestleMania 42  has been incredibly grim, and TKO's increasingly disruptive presence should make even the most hardened Fedcel admit the honeymoon phase has long passed. A wide array of talent, from raw youngsters to industry veterans, was unceremoniously released. Then, the shocking news broke that the New Day were departing the only place they'd called home for nearly two decades, reportedly after declining TKO's request to restructure their contracts for lesser pay. It was Mike Johnson of PWInsider who revealed the next domino to fall: "a pretty majorly pushed" WWE talent was asked - and ultimately  accepted - a 50% salary reduction, with supplemental reports from various outlets revealing multiple  talents were approached with the same request from TKO. I've been very critic...

Ricky Saints finally  made his WWE main roster debut on Friday Night Smackdown, appearing in its opening segment to confront close friend and mega superstar Cody Rhodes. Saints drew a timid reaction from the Disney Adults and children in attendance, and would go on to lose his first match on the main roster to the Codester. I was preparing to write a long-form piece on how WWE was about to enter its sink-or-swim era with Saints serving as the avatar for my premise, when the stunning news broke the following morning: The New Day and WWE had mutually agreed to part ways.  The immediate reaction amongst fans and those within the industry was a mix of shock, disappointment, and ultimately hopefulness that the duo would likely continue on with All Elite Wrestling. That's not all, though. I couldn't help but notice a tone of resignation from both a devoted fanbase and the typical grifters who have spent the past three or four years touting the brilliance of Paul Levesque and Nick Kh...

In an effort to maximize profit margins and further debilitate the professional wrestling industry, the World Wrestling Entertainment engaged in its annual post- WrestleMania  roster purge. It's another soulless corporation that is laser-focused on padding the wallets of the top 1% at the expense of its own workforce; worse, Paul Levesque was awarded an extension to remain the company's Chief Content Officer despite rapid declines across various metrics. Corporate culture in a nutshell, folks! It's been a few days since The Purge, and the dust is starting to settle around these soon-to-be Free Agents. I'll be curious to see whether TKO attempts to enforce a non-compete clause against their former employers for more than 90 days, particularly those likely to jump to All Elite Wrestling. If we jump 90 days forward, we'd land on July 27th, about a month before All In  at Wembley Stadium. Let's see if this becomes a factor, another thorn in a prickly saga.  I've...

A few days ago, I posted my thoughts on WWE's baffling creative ahead of WrestleMania 42 , particularly the inclusion of Pat McAfee as a focal point of one of their Mania main events. This particular post is easily the most-viewed on this little shitty blog, and I greatly appreciate all the kind words and feedback I've received since then.  I did receive some pushback, which is always to be expected when anyone criticizes the Epstein Class's favorite sports-entertainment promotion. This particular tweet caught my attention:  Late to the party but, from one new blogger to another (plug!) I'm curious as to your logic here specifically. I get disliking WWE as a company/product but outright hating it's fans, or fans of anything you don't personally like, strikes me as outright misanthropy tbqh. pic.twitter.com/SGMETUkUFY — OhhhNoItsJames (@OhhhNoItsJames1) April 12, 2026 The line that caused pause for OhhNoItsJames: " And there are some of you who are defen...