JCup's Blog

I couldn't catch last week's Wednesday Night Dynamite live on TBS, and I was disappointed to see my timeline flooded with complaints that felt all too familiar: campy backstage segments, accusations of nepotism, and valuable television time devoted to a piece of jewelry. I'm still hesitant to label All Elite Wrestling as "WWE lite." No WWE Premium Live Event matches what AEW brings to Pay-Per-View, and I genuinely believe AEW's roster to be vastly superior compared to The Fed's. I also don't believe the overall quality of Dynamite or Saturday Night Collision has degraded to the levels of Monday Night RAW or Friday Night Smackdown. But there are parallels. Michael Mansury is the Executive Vice President and Head of Global Production for AEW after serving as the Vice President of Global Television Production from 2009 to 2020 for WWE. Jennifer Pepperman is another former WWE executive who is now Vice President of Content Development for AEW and pre...

Earlier this week, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that Anthony Bowens' contract with All Elite Wrestling is set to expire next month. Bowens' former tag team partner, Max Caster, is also expected to hit free agency around this time. Bowens and Caster formed The Acclaimed in November 2020, a young, brash tag team with no prior experience in World Wrestling Entertainment. They were a breath of fresh air, and managed to get over with the AEW audience in short order. The duo reached their zenith after defeating Swerve In Our Glory to capture the AEW World Tag Team Championships at Grand Slam .  The news of Bowens' upcoming free agency naturally sparked debate on Wrestling Twitter: should Tony Khan look to retain Bowens and, if so, what on earth is he going to do with him? Bowens and Caster have been separated for a good while now - yes, The Acclaimed had run its course - though Bowens is the only one getting consistent television time; in fact, Caster's last AE...

600 × 338 600 × 338 I t's time for Part II in my #DEEPDIVE series examining every single WWE-to-AEW jump throughout the past 7+ years. Part I focused on three Day1 hires: PAC, Chris Jericho, & Dustin Rhodes, all still part of the All Elite Wrestling/Ring of Honor families. I determined that all 3 were worthy hires, though not without their Fed warts that pop up from time to time (particularly with Jericho and Rhodes).  So, what does Part II entail? We're going to look at two superstars who departed the comfortable confines of the World Wrestling Entertainment to enter the new and exciting AEW. Let's jump right into it:

Wrestling Twitter was once again abuzz after speculation ran rampant that WWE SUPERSTAR Johnny Gargano had removed mention of WWE from his Twitter bio, potentially hinting at his exit from the company. According to False Finish HQ, however, Gargano did no t have WWE in his Twitter bio and remains listed on their internal roster; nonetheless, AEW Sickos debated the merits of Gargano potentially joining All Elite Wrestling (a debate that has been occurring on and off throughout the past several years).  The discourse turned to AEW president Tony Khan and his alleged affinity for the "Black & Gold" era of NXT - or for his desire to further "WWE-ify" a product that's supposed to serve as an alternative. It reminded me of an old thread I started on the F4W Board, where I tracked all of the ex-WWE talent who became #AllElite. It's a thread that hasn't been updated in quite some time, but it kept coming back to me throughout the day.  So, I've decided t...

World Wrestling Entertainment loses another. Earlier this afternoon, Mike Johnson of PW Insider revealed that Ilja Dragunov has opted to depart WWE following an uneven seven-year tenure. Dragunov, 32, was quickly and unceremoniously shifted to the Alumni section of WWE.com's roster page. False Finish, a WWE-friendly media outlet, added that WWE hoped to retain Dragunov, but he ultimately chose to let his contract expire and officially enter free agency. Dragunov, a gifted professional wrestler, last competed in this year's Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal - where Aleister Black eliminated him. Let's cut right to the chase: Tony Khan should aggressively pursue Dragunov : On paper, it's difficult to imagine a better fit than Dragunov and All Elite Wrestling. He's only 32 years old and wrestles a style that is far more appropriate for AEW and its partner promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling, than it was for WWE. I've already seen a million tweets pegging him as ...

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...