WWE SummerSlam 2026 Preview & Predictions

This weekend is the 39th WWE SummerSlam, and the second two-nighter.  Like WrestleMania there are a few promising matches on the docket, and some not-so-promising ones.  I assume also that like WrestleMania, these shows will be full of abbreviated matches to make room for ads and overlong entrances.  WWE is still relying on 40-plussers to sell tickets, and still seeing diminishing returns - this year's attendance is down a whopping 40% from last year.  Yes we have Oba Femi featured in one of the three top matches (via a nonsensical storyline development), but the company's top four stars are still Roman, Punk, Cody and Seth.  No Bron Breakker on the show at all, which is insane; wasn't he the next chosen one a few years ago?  And whose gas tank did Carmelo Hayes piss in?

Anyway let's take a look....

Night 1

The Bella Twins & Paige vs. Fatal Influence

No idea what this feud is about but man does this company love riding 2010-2015 nostalgia right now (probably only because everyone from before that period is retired).  The Bella Twins and Paige, all three of whom date back to before the "women's revolution."  We're kinda going backwards aren't we?  I know nothing about the Fatal Influence trio but I assume they're losing here.

Pick: Nikki, Brie & Paige

AEW Redemption Preview & Predictions

This Sunday is the last PPV stop on the way to AEW All In, a brand new event called AEW Redemption.  Who is being redeemed, you ask?  Well it was obviously meant to be Kenny Omega's long-awaited coronation as AEW World Champion, but plans changed - it sounds like MJF needed time off sooner than expected - and the MJF-Kenny rematch was moved up to Beach Break.  And it was an absolutely fantastic match, better than their Dynasty match in April.  Long and short, Kenny is the new AEW Champ and now has seven weeks with the title before All In instead of five.  And now his "redemption" on Sunday will I guess be in the form of a successful title defense?

This here is a weird lineup that feels very much like a B-PPV except that it's loaded with bouts that should be spectacular.  But it lacks the marquee feel of most AEW PPVs.  I wonder if WBD pressured Tony into adding it to the calendar, because the build for this one was all crammed into two weeks of TV and there are lots of unconventional names vying for championships.  Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna watch the shit outta this show and most of the matches will deliver big.  But it does feel like a WWE Roadblock-type show, ahead of their WrestleMania.

But let's get into the matches.....

Six-Way Ladder Match: Jack Perry vs. The Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Speedball Mike Bailey vs. TBD vs. TBD

So somehow this match was thrown together due to a Mistico injury, but I'm fuzzy on what Mistico was supposed to be doing at this PPV.  I know he was set to get an International Title match with the winner of Fletcher-Bandido, but that was set for Grand Slam Mexico.  Anyway this match is now for a shot at said championship, with two qualifiers set for Collision: Nick Wayne vs. AR Fox and Lio Rush vs. El Clon.  Should be a very fun car wreck match and I think it would be a good candidate to open the show.  No idea who gets the title shot but Jack Perry or Speedball would make sense against Kyle.

Pick: I'll go with Jack since he just re-signed

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2026 Preview & Predictions

We're just a few days away from the fifth(!) annual AEW x NJPW (x CMLL x Stardom) Forbidden Door!  And while I've become lukewarm to the idea of this yearly crossover event, mostly due to NJPW not feeling like it's at all on the same level as AEW these days, also due to the partial storyline interruption it necessarily involves, this card looks pretty great as usual.

They've brought back the multi-man Steel Cage match as the main event, but we also have the two Owen Cup Finals, one of which is itself a Forbidden Door rematch, plus a few first- or second-time dream matchups, and a couple of fun tag bouts.  This should be a quite enjoyable show, in front of an oddly small crowd for an AEW PPV.  As of press time they'd just crossed the 7,000 mark, so I'm hoping by Sunday they can get to 8k or 8500 anyway.  Come on, San Jose, get your shit together!

But let's get to it....

Zero Hour AEW Women's Tag Team Championship: Divine Dominion vs. Thunder Rosa & Olympia

AEW really needs to get Megan and Lena into a proper feud, as they're only ever featured on pre-show bouts these days.  Pretty sure the plan is for the Brawling Birds to dethrone them at Wembley, but in order for that to feel like a big deal they need to run through more teams that actually matter, not just squash makeshift tandems on the free shows.

Pick: DD retains

NJPW Dominion 2026 Preview & Predictions

It's June and that means it's time for NJPW's second-biggest show of the year, Dominion!

As with all things NJPW in 2026, the "instant classic" vibe wore off a while ago when it comes to the Dominion card, but it does include some promising bouts.  The company followed up its biggest Tokyo Dome show in three decades with some questionable booking moves and haven't really been able to hook new viewers on their latest crop of top stars, partly due to the inconsistent booking of said stars.  Taking both titles off Yota Tsuji within a few months of his coronation as the new Ace was....certainly a choice.  Fans don't want to see this much parity when you're trying to establish a new top tier.  If no one is presented as special what's the point?  But maybe they'll get back on track with Tsuji here.  

Anyway let's look at the lineup.....

NJPW TV Championship: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Sanada

After seemingly departing the company a few months ago, Sanada is back.  And now he's in the House of fuckin' Torture.  So his matches will go from "kinda boring" to "fast-forwarding this shit."  I still don't understand why the company keeps this goddamn stable around.  Yes they sell some merch, but they aren't significant ticket movers and they keep turning off fans who just want to see good wrestling.  Ya know, New Japan's core audience?  This could honestly go either way and if Takeshita lost here he'd likely be protected by HoT bullshit anyway.

Pick: I guess Sanada?

WWE Clash in Italy Preview & Predictions

It's already that time again, for another WWE sorta-PPV.  This time they're traveling to Italy, which will no doubt have a hot crowd.  And they'll proceed to deliver half of a proper show for said hot crowd.  

This five-match format is the weirdest goddamn thing to me.  WWE is supposedly trying really hard to elevate a bunch of new people but most of their PPV events only have 10-12 total slots available, which is only going to slow down that process.  Like, just add two or three matches to each of these shows.  What's so hard about that?  I don't know what this regime's obsession is with only ever having 5-7 matches on a given PPV.  Are you actively looking for ways to make Vince seem sensible by comparison?

This show actually has quite a bit of star power on it, with both top belts on the line and Brock wrestling even though he's...officially retired.  Huh?

Women's Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Sol Ruca

This is a rematch from Saturday Night's Main Event, now for the title, no doubt with Jessika Carr as the referee.  Poor Sol Ruca's gonna end up the third wheel in this one, isn't she?  Carr will do something that costs Becky the title, they'll feud, and Sol will end up the new champ but out on her ass in terms of having an actual storyline.  Like Bret after SummerSlam 1997.  The usual "defeat in victory" trope that happens to so many new champions.

Pick: Sol

AEW Double or Nothing 2026 Preview & Predictions

Hard to believe we're at the EIGHTH annual AEW Double or Nothing spectacular, but time flies I guess, more and more with each passing year.  

This Sunday marks seven years minus one day from AEW's debut event, and as usual the company has a loaded lineup in store.  Sadly one match had to be changed due to injury, but even with Willow Nightingale and multiple other big names still missing in action (Hangman, Toni and Mercedes) this show still looks great on paper.  And the crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium will be huge, over 14,000 as we speak and the show will likely sell out by Sunday.

Also for once I'm actually excited to see the Buy-In show, because joining Renée Paquette for hosting duties will be none other than the Hardcore Legend himself, Mick Foley!  Having rightly decided he no longer wants to be associated with WWE and their pro-MAGA horseshit, Foley is now free to lend his insight and name value elsewhere.  It'll be interesting to see if he makes regular AEW appearances, and if he interacts with fellow daredevil Darby Allin.  Even if this is a one-off, Foley's presence here will be quite welcome.

Speaking of the Buy-In, let's get to the predictions....

Buy-In: Divine Dominion vs. Zayda Steel & Viva Van

This is another five-minute Eliminator Match, where any team who can last this scant amount of time against the AEW Women's Tag Champs will get a title shot.  These are just Golberg-esque showcase matches for the dominant Bayne/Kross combo, which is fine.  I think the champs probably get a squash win here in front of a huge NYC crowd.

Pick: DD

WWE Backlash 2026 Preview & Predictions

It's three weeks after WWE WrestleMania, and that means it's time for WWE to experience the Backlash.....to making their audience pay $30 to sit through two nights of mostly ads and entrances.  Hey those poor deprived TKO execs gotta line their already exploding pockets somehow, right?

Have you heard about this shit?  WWE is forcing numerous wrestlers (New Day for example) to renegotiate their contracts, MID-CONTRACT, to take a pay cut, as walking trouser stains like Ari Emanuel and Nick Khan give themselves massive bonuses.  Or as its technically known, literal wage theft.  Man am I glad I stopped giving this shithole company any of my money.  You know you're a wealth-hoarding scumbag when your talent relations practices actually make Vince McMahon look like a fair guy by comparison.  Jesus fuck....

Anyway, we're back to the five-match PPV structure, because "We need to keep the shows shorter."  Even though the five matches will total less than half the show's running time, plus we have to have John Cena "host" it again to try and make people care, since ticket sales are down again from last year's show.  Say WWE, have you considered putting on a WRESTLING show?

A few of these matches actually have some promise at least (though one of them is a pointless comedy segment), and one of them was inexcusably left off the biggest card of the year, TO MAKE ROOM FOR MORE ADS.  WWE fans, how are you not demanding more for your dollar?  It's been speculated that Cody vs. Gunther for the WWE Title will be added, but it sure seems a weird move to tack on a main event match two days before the show.  More likely it'll be on Saturday Night's Main Event in two weeks.

This company is flailing like my dog when we try to wash him.

Let's get to the lineup....

WWE WrestleMania 42 Preview & Predictions: This Build Stinks

This weekend is the 42nd WWE WrestleMania show, and for the seventh consecutive year it's a two-nighter.  And for the second consecutive year the build is.....really stupid.

So last year the company felt they needed a big hook for the Cody-Cena main event and so they brought back The Rock to "corrupt" Cena into turning heel, before leaving the scene altogether.  The resulting main event was awful and the live crowd didn't want to cheer either guy, and Cena's ensuing heel run was so bad it was scrapped four months later.

You'd think WWE would've learned from that shitshow and said "Let's just keep things simple and present the two big matches as straightforward big money bouts," but no, due to panic over a 20% gap in ticket sales from last year, TKO and/or Triple H decided the Cody Rhodes-Randy Orton match needed another heel swerve.  Their big idea?  Turn celebrity announcer Pat McAfee heel to become Orton's new mouthpiece, and have him talk about how much WWE's current product sucks and how much better The Attitude Era was.  Yes, the ATTITUDE ERA, which ended a quarter-century ago.  Pat also said Randy Orton is the guy who can "save" the company.  Yes, 46-year-old Randy Orton, who debuted during the first Dubya administration, is going to make WWE hot again, in 2026.  Pat also announced that he convinced Dodge Ram to sponsor a 25% off deal on tickets.  The HEEL in this feud.  Wants to give the audience a discount.  Oh, and Jelly Roll is being shoehorned into this shit.  Doughy non-wrestler Jelly Roll.  This is what absolute flailing looks like.  

Meanwhile on the other show you have CM Punk and Roman Reigns taking the lamest, pettiest of shots at each other.  It started with Punk talking about Roman's dead father, which is not a great look for your BABYFACE champion.  Roman apparently wanted to retaliate by talking about Punk's dead dog, but since Phil is a fragile one-way prick it got changed to "Oh yeah?  Well you're old!"  Hey Roman?  You're getting on in years yourself.  Both you two fucks are in your forties and past your prime.  He's got hair plugs, you have fake, neon white teeth.  Then Punk pivoted to what he does best, dredge up old shit no one cares about from the last time he worked here, before trying to attach himself to the Pat McAfee garbage on the other show.  Who is rooting for either of these assholes?  I'm hoping against hope they draw "You both suck" chants in Vegas.  I know it won't happen but I honestly can't recall a 'Mania main event between two less likable figures.

Anyway the rest of the lineups actually look pretty decent, but of course WWE had to screw something up there too, setting up what should've been a show stealer in IYO Sky vs. Asuka.  You remember IYO Sky, right?  The best bell-to-bell wrestler on the entire roster who got shoehorned into the Rhea vs. Bianca match last year to ensure it would be great, more than delivered on that promise by helping to make it probably the best WWE women's match ever, and was then repaid by being mostly kept off TV for a few months till it was time to drop her belt?  Yeah she gets to sit in catering this year apparently.  Pearls before fucking swine.  When's her contract up?

I could go on but I'll get to the rest as we look at each match, so let's cut to the chase....

Night 1

Logan Paul/Austin Theory/IShowSpeed vs. The Usos & LA Knight

Two things about this match are pretty crazy to me.  1. Logan Paul went from being this spectacular celebrity wrestler who always gets a prominently featured match, to opening Night 1 in a six-man tag.  He's just one of the guys now.  Not that I'm complaining, fuck that douche.  I just think it's wild.  2. IShowSpeed has a WrestleMania match but Carmelo Hayes does not.  Remember when Hayes got called up and everyone was calling him a future headliner?  Dude can't get booked on a PPV to save his life; whose gas tank did he piss in?  This'll likely be a throwaway.

Pick: My gut says The Vision team

AEW Dynasty 2026 Preview & Predictions

This Sunday marks the third annual AEW Dynasty show, and despite missing some key players this lineup is still a doozy.

There's no Hangman Page, no Swerve Strickland, and no Toni Storm (goddammit I need answers, what's going on with Toni??), but holy jeez does this card still look pretty fantastic.  As of now there are only eight main card matches and given the length a few of them are gonna require I could see that being the final tally.  But I also wouldn't be surprised if they add a TBS Title match or a Women's Tag Title match, or a Trios Title match (SPOILER: The Dogs won those belts at the Collision taping).

Let's get right into it.

Zero Hour: Marina Shafir vs. Alex Windsor

This one is a branch-off from the Mox-Ospreay feud; Will's fiancée has gone right after Mox's heater and this should be a fairly enjoyable, hard-hitting match.  I think Marina probably wins this one.  I know before Toni abruptly disappeared from television there was supposed to be a No Holds Barred Toni-Marina rematch that probably would've led to Toni challenging Thekla for the belt.  I hope we eventually get to see Toni vs. Ronda, as that would be a big money match for this company.  Anyway I think Marina wins here.

Pick: Marina

AEW Revolution 2026 Preview & Predictions

It's March and you know what that means!  It's time for AEW's first PPV of 2026, Revolution.  This here is a stacked AF lineup....

Revolution is almost always one of the best PPVs of the year, no doubt partly because there's a two-plus month gap in AEW's PPV schedule beforehand.  Thus there's plenty of time to build a strong show full of meaningful matches.  As much as I tend to love AEW's PPV events, I wouldn't necessarily be sad if they cut the schedule from nine a year to eight, just to spread the April-December schedule out a bit more.  

Anyway, Revolution has ten main card matches scheduled, plus apparently a Big Boom AJ appearance (Wikipedia lists it as a match with opponent TBA, but WON's website says "appearance"), though I can't remember it ever being mentioned on Dynamite.  There are also two big pre-show matches, both for championships.  This roster is massive, isn't it?

AEW's signed another slew of excellent talent over the last few months.  Andrade (who's doing the best work of his career thus far), Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, Lena Kross, Tommaso Ciampa, and now David Finlay (who everyone expected to go to WWE, but WWE were gonna stick him in developmental, or as it's now known, Hard Cam Academy).  It's an embarrassment of riches to be sure, and it's always dangerous to sign more wrestlers than you have room for, but man is there a fuckton of great talent in AEW right now... 

I've got a bone to pick with Tony though.  Why THE FUCK did you have to put this show head-to-head with the Oscars??  Couldn't it have been the night before?  Or during the afternoon?  I get that it's in L.A. and would have to start at like noon, but goddammit.  Looks like I'll have to wait till Monday evening to watch this, which means a 24-hour media blackout a la Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother.

Anyway let's get to the predictions...

Zero Hour AEW National Championship Blackjack Battle Royal

So is this the same as a Casino Battle Royal?  Did they change the name?  I assume it's the same rules since it's 21 guys.  Thus far the only names announced are the champion Ricochet and Tommaso Ciampa, but Mark Briscoe's gotta be a lock for it since he and Ciampa are feuding.  And Jack Perry is still chasing Ricochet so he'll be in it too.  A title change in this type of match seems weird but I could see Jack finally getting it.

Pick: Jack Perry, if he's in the match.  If not, Ric retains.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 Preview & Predictions

It's February and that means WWE is offering its annual Elimination Chamber PPV.  Elimination Chamber incidentally is what I call my toilet.  "Hold my calls, I'll be in the Elimination Chamber for the next 20-30 minutes."

Man has it been refreshing to watch WWE's own audience begin to turn on their product over social media, while behind the scenes Triple H and friends are scrambling to put together a WrestleMania lineup that will sell like the last three.  They've even, shockingly, offered discounted tickets to try to close the 18% gap below the 'Mania 41 sales at this point on the calendar, to little avail at all.  They're even cockblocking local Vegas venues from showing it on TV for their patrons to try and encourage said patrons to shell out hundreds of dollars for tickets instead.  Talk about sad desperation.  Turns out that when you put most of your eggs in the basket of a retiring 48-year-old for an entire year (and totally clusterfuck that run), your audience loses interest once he's actually gone.  Who knew?

Anyway so far we have CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns as a confirmed WrestleMania main event, plus Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan as the one confirmed Women's Title match, so this show will fill in two more slots on the card.

Let's take a look...

Women's Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee

They're in Chicago so both Punk and AJ are featured heavily.  Becky and AJ have wrestled each other in tag matches and have been feuding since September, but I believe this is the first one-on-one match of their feud.  I haven't seen any of AJ's matches post-return since I don't have ESPN Unlimited and don't plan to get it.  I assume this will be fine.  Becky as a heel still doesn't work for me.

Pick: AJ wins the belt

AEW Grand Slam Australia 2026 Preview & Predictions

We're just a couple days away from AEW's latest PPV-quality free TV show, Grand Slam Australia 2026!

Holy shitballs, this lineup.  Last year's GSA was an excellent show but it wasn't stacked like this one.  AEW Title match, Continental Title match, TNT Title match, Women's Tag Title match, #1 Contender's match, Hair vs. Hair match.  This thing is more loaded than Trump's diaper.  Speaking of that turd, supposedly WBD executives shied away from featuring anything having to with Brody King on this week's Dynamite, lest the crowd once again chant "Fuck ICE" (which they did a little bit anyway).  WBD denies it of course, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were true.

Anyway enough of that shit, let's talk about this lineup.  This is Clash of the Champions 1 quality stuff.

Hair vs. Hair: Toni Storm & Orange Cassidy vs. Marina Shafir & Wheeler Yuta

Toni and OC have incredible chemistry together and I love that they're running with what was supposed to just be a one-off pairing.  Great things have historically happened in wrestling based on unexpected hits, and it's always nice to see a promotion pay attention to that.  The build for this has been quite enjoyable, with both Toni and OC expressing some buyer's remorse about the possibility they could lose their prized locks.  But of course all signs point to Wheeler getting the shave, and there's no better chickenshit heel to fill that role.  The crowd will go bananas when the Death Riders' answer to Tully Blanchard gets humiliated.

Pick: Toni and Orange

NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2026 Preview & Predictions

It's a new year and a new era, and that means it's time for a New Beginning in Osaka, courtesy of New Japan Pro Wrestling!

The first PPV of the Yota Tsuji era is just a couple days away, and there are some fresh matchups on tap, plus a sendoff for one of the company's biggest-ever Jr. Heavyweight stars.  There's also a really odd choice of main event that seems to be a real sink-or-swim test for the company's new Ace.  Undercard-wise this show looks much stronger than WrestleKingdom.  Main event-wise not so much.

Hiromu Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori vs. United Empire

We're starting things off with Hiromu's final match as a member of the NJPW roster.  Where he's headed we don't know yet, but like his former LIJ stablemates Naito, Sanada, Evil and Bushi, the Time Bomb is moving on.  Wild times.  Anyway I imagine Takahashi will be doing the honors on his way out.  Makes the most sense to me.  Give Francesco Akira and Jakob Austin Young the win.

Pick: United Empire

Shingo Takagi & Drilla Moloney vs. Great-O-Khan & Henare

This is a match of meat warfare.  Shingo works great with both UE guys, Drilla is becoming one of the better slugfest wrestlers on the roster.  Should be a lot of fun if it gets adequate time.  I'll go with Shingo and Drilla.

Pick: War Dragons

NJPW WrestleKingdom 20 Preview & Predictions

This Sunday is the 20th annual NJPW WrestleKingdom show, and this year it's built around the retirement of one of the all-time greats, the man who almost singlehandedly saved New Japan Pro Wrestling, Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Yes, the company's greatest Ace is hanging up his boots and focusing solely on being NJPW President.  To mark the occasion he'll be wrestling his greatest rival, Kazuchika Okada, and the Tokyo Dome will be completely sold out at nearly 50,000 fans.  Seems like a great opportunity to hook a lot of new viewers by showcasing the full-time roster in a slew of killer matches.  Which begs the question: Why in the hell didn't they do that??

Aside from the legendary main event, there will be an IWGP World/Global Title match pitting Konosuke Takeshita against the company's presumed new Ace, Yota Tsuji.  But aside from that there's nary a big match on this show, and I'm beyond baffled by it.  No Jr. Title match, no Tag Team Title match, no big singles bouts for Finlay, Umino, Uemura, Shingo, Hiromu, Kidd, ZSJ, Newman, Oleg or numerous other young stars who could really use the opportunity in front of the largest audience NJPW's had in years.  Instead everyone is crammed into multi-man bouts with the exception of newcomer Aaron Wolf, an Olympic judoka who's become a mainstream star in Japan.  Unfortunately from the sounds of it he's a charisma vacuum thus far.  Maybe he'll step up in the NEVER Openweight Title match against his mentor Evil, but as of now it sounds like another Gable Steveson scenario.  Why this guy gets a big singles match but the other names I mentioned do not, I'm sure as fuck I dunno.  You have the chance to deliver one of the great Tokyo Dome shows and instead it's mostly a WrestleMania 27-type clusterfuck.

Anyway let's look at this card....

AEW Worlds End 2025 Preview & Predictions

2025 has been yet another banner year of AEW PPVs, featuring once again some of the best top-to-bottom wrestling shows these old eyes have ever seen.  And it sure feels like Tony Khan and company plan to close the year with a bang by the looks of this Worlds End lineup.  

Side note: How fuckin' cool is this poster?  Looks like an Avengers movie. 

The third annual Continental Classic is drawing to a close and it was another fantastic tournament, featuring a slew of bangers and one legit Match of the Year contender in Kyle Fletcher vs. Speedball Mike Bailey.  Despite the absence of the injured Will Ospreay and the substitution of Jack Perry in place of Darby Allin, they pulled off a helluva tourney.  And the semis and finals are still to come on Saturday, including one of the more anticipated first-time matchups in recent memory.  But we're also getting a HUGE four-way for the AEW Men's Title, the first defense of the new Women's Tag belts, and a slobberknocker of a Women's World Title match.  Let's take a look!

Mixed Nuts Mayhem: Toni Storm/Mark Briscoe/Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong vs. Marina Shafir/Claudio Castagnoli/Daniel Garcia/Wheeler Yuta

This one was just added.  You have to respect the super deep cut reference to a mid-90s Christmas movie that flopped hard at the box office.  Anyway, this will be a fun clusterfuck.  They set up a Toni Storm-Marina Shafir feud on Wednesday in a Marina vs. Mina match where Marina looked more comfortable on her own than she ever has before.  She seems to have finally turned the corner as someone who can hold her own rather than just be Moxley's heater.  I'll be interested to see this as a one-on-one match.  But for now we have a party match full of weapons I imagine.  I think the heels take this one to help set up the aforementioned singles match between the two women.

Pick: Death Riders

Continental Classic Semi: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada

I'm kinda baffled they didn't engineer this to be the tournament final, but the important thing is, we're getting it, it's gonna be fuckin' sick, and it won't be the last time.  I'm actually not sure who to pick for this tournament.  I think Okada winning again would be kinda pointless, we've already seen that and I'd rather see someone else elevated by this tournament.  My preference for a final would be Takeshita vs. Fletcher, and that could happen, but I could also see Okada beating Takeshita in their first meeting to set up a rematch.  Fletcher already beat Okada in the tournament block, so if Okada-Fletcher ends up as the final it seems like Okada probably wins there.  Maybe Okada wins the tourney but Takeshita takes the Unified Title off him in March or something.  Or, maybe Takeshita wins this whole thing and becomes the new Continental Champion (Okada would remain International Champion) so they can have a unification match later.

Pick: Okada

WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2025 Preview & Predictions

This Saturday marks the 39th annual WWE Survivor Series, a show that once featured super fun 5-on-5 elimination matches and has since 2022 been repurposed as WWE WarGames, where the company trots out the exact same sterilized, trash can/kendo stick double cage matches every year.

Man, these WarGames matches are damn near indistinguishable from each other.  I say it every year but the old elimination format would make for exponentially more combinations and outcomes.  WarGames is inherently a repetitious gimmick match thanks to its convoluted rules.  Even AEW's version Blood and Guts (though infinitely superior to this PG-rated shite) has reached a point where it doesn't need to be an annual event.  The match layout is simply too limiting.  I dunno why WWE even keeps the Survivor Series name; it's got literally nothing to do with what this event has become.

Anyway, this lineup looks like another pretty skippable one (which is good since I ain't paying thirty bucks to see it), with the men's babyface WarGames team being exactly the same as last year except for Cody replacing Sami Zayn.  Boy, that OG Bloodline reunion last year did nothing for Sami, did it?  The heel team has some new blood at least, though you know Brock Lesnar's gonna be the last man in so he doesn't have to work more than ten minutes.  On the women's side they're once again going with Nia Jax for some reason; is she gonna work the whole match again?  Elsewhere on the card we have two singles title matches, one of which involves John Cena in his final PPV bout, the other involves Nikki Bella because WWE inexplicably thinks its audience is nostalgic for the early 2010s.  I'm really interested to see what WWE's ticket sales look like when John's no longer there.....

Let's take a closer look....

Women's World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Nikki Bella

Seriously guys, 2013 wasn't a good creative period for WWE, why are we bringing back names and matches from that era instead of looking forward?  Stephanie is great, Nikki has never been great, so this match should be.....fine?  Steph ain't losing the title yet.

Pick: Stephanie retains

AEW Full Gear 2025 Preview & Predictions

It's November and you know what that means!  It's time for AEW Full Gear 2025!  

The seventh (SEVENTH!!) annual Full Gear is this Saturday and while not a crazy loaded show, and while the build has been a little haphazard past the top few matches, this show looks pretty great on paper.  Plenty of quality graps on tap for us sickos and the company is still getting by just fine despite multiple top stars being absent.

Let's get into it....

National Championship Casino Gauntlet

Okay, not sure why we need yet another championship but supposedly this one will actually be defended all over the world, in lots of different promotions (Wasn't that the intent for the All-Atlantic Title that is now part of Okada's Unified Title?).  Thus far only five names have been announced: Bobby Lashley at #1, Shelton Benjamin at #2, Speedball Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight, and Ricochet.  AEW overdoes the shit out of these gauntlet matches but they're always a fun watch.  Seeing Lashley and Benjamin lock up to kick this one off should be interesting - who's gonna sell??  Ric, Knight and Bailey will provide the flashy moves.  If I'm booking this, Ricochet steals the win and becomes the inaugural champ.

Pick: Ricochet

AEW WrestleDream 2025 Preview & Predictions

It's almost Saturday and you know what that means....  I feel like I didn't do that right.  Anyway, it's time for AEW WrestleDream!

Oddly AEW decided not to return to the Seattle market this year and opted for St. Louis, which is apparently one of the worst AEW markets in terms of ticket sales.  Sales for this show finally crossed the 5000 mark over the last week but they're still well down from Dynasty 2024 in the same building.  Given that Darby Allin is in one of the top matches they'd almost certainly have fared better in Seattle.  Regardless, the lineup looks very good on paper - a lean eight-match card with a couple pre-show bouts on TBS (I'm sad FTR-JetSpeed isn't on the actual PPV, that match should slap).

Let's get after it....

Tornado Match: The Hurt Syndicate vs. The Demand

Not sure why we're getting this yet again.  I guess Lashley and Benjamin REALLY like working with Gates of Agony.  They just did a street fight on Dynamite so this will either be less chaotic than that or roughly the same.  Since GOA beat THS this week I imagine THS gets their win back again and hopefully that's the end of this feud.  THS have really limited their options by insisting on looking so dominant.

Pick: THS

NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2025 Preview & Predictions

Time to look at the other wrestling PPV coming up this weekend (I use that term loosely, the show is actually on Monday), NJPW's King of Pro-Wrestling 2025!

New Japan is still looking to find its footing again, and lineups like this one are a step in the right direction.  There are potentially major implications for WrestleKingdom 20 taking place on this show, so we'll see if it ends up being impactful or just another stop on the road to the Dome.  The main event in particular could have very significant ramifications.

As usual I'll only do picks for the major bouts on the show, which means skipping the two trios matches.

No DQ Match: Drilla Moloney vs. Sanada

I thought the whole War Dogs-House of Torture feud was finished but we're back to it here.  HoT matches are full of nonsense as it is, but since this match has no disqualifications I reckon it'll be dialed up even more.  Moloney is a future star, Sanada is past his prime, so that should tell you who I'd book to win this.  With HoT matches all bets are off, but I'll stick with logic.

Pick: Drilla

NJPW TV Championship: El Phantasmo vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Welp, Tana's retirement match on January 4th has led to the fastest 20,000 tickets sold maybe in Tokyo Dome history, so the guy clearly has to get some momentum before then to maximize interest.  Winning a midcard title in a match that can't go past 15 minutes will do nicely I think.  Then at the Dome he can put someone over, ideally.

Pick: Tanahashi

WWE Crown Jewel 2025 Preview & Predictions

It's time once again for WWE to throw together another lackluster PPV and call it a classic.  Unlike most Crown Jewel shows though, this one is in Perth, Australia (a country that ISN'T run by an oppressive, murderous regime desperate to sports-wash away its abysmal reputation), so I can in good conscience provide my thoughts and predictions rather than just ignoring it entirely.

They brought back the champion vs. champion gimmick they used to do at Survivor Series, but now the winner gets a meaningless Crown Jewel Championship instead of just bragging rights.  One of those belts and some bragging rights'll get you.....well, bragging rights.  Elsewhere on the card we continue the John Cena's Greatest Hits Tour, where he half-assedly repeats much better matches he had a decade ago instead of using his final run to help make some new stars.  Because planning ahead is for pussies.

Let's take a look at the lineup (the second in a row with no black wrestlers).....

Australian Street Fight: Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed

It's another Roman Reigns Bells & Whistles special.  They'll have chairs, at least one table spot, probably some kendo sticks, and for sure a spear through the barricade.  Rinse, repeat.  Roman wins, they set up a WarGames match, Roman disappears from TV until Rumble time.

Pick: Roman