Wrestlers’ Court: The champs are here, and here, and here

It’s been a while since I picked up a wrestling magazine.

Websites like SlamWrestling.net have long been my source for pro wrestling news, offering content beyond kayfabe, on demand, in real time.

Sometimes I do miss print — and kayfabe: “tough as nails” Matt Brock’s columns; fabricated interviews with top stars; advertisements for apartment wrestling and primitive Dungeons-and-Dragons style ‘simulators’; actual ‘Letters to the Editor’ where pen-and-paper demand more thought and better spelling than most online forums.

I especially miss the centerspread (the middle pages of a magazine), which would list major promotions’ champions and top contenders, side by each.

As a kid these lists made for fun fantasy booking. In this age of the Forbidden Door I think they’re more fun. One could book an NXT vs TNA or AEW vs NJPW card by circling pairs of ranked wrestlers and come up with some pretty compelling matchups; the randomness of the draw might offer a squash match or two, a new chapter in an old feud, or a series of novel matches that answer wrestling’s constant stream of “what ifs” — assuming the promoters get out of the way.

Tribalism aside, as fans we really want to see the best wrestling possible between the highest profile competitors.

A quick look at the top of major promotions’ rosters shows how different feds see their champions. Wrestling magazines of my youth often featured debates over which promotions’ titles should be considered ‘World’ championships. The NWA was a lock, given its international membership, its titlist’s grueling schedule of defenses, and maybe occasional bouts of payola. The then-WW(W)F faded in and out of world title status since it was still mostly regional. The AWA and ECW and USWA all had runs as ‘World’ title promotions based largely on their television presence.

Today, with streaming and post-pandemic international travel and the availability of partnering promotions abroad, titles with worldly aspirations include MLW (represented by Satoshi Kojima), the current iteration of the NWA (with EC3 as champ) and GCW (and its new champion Mance Warner).

Tetsuya Naito is the NJPW champ, having recently dethroned Jon Moxley as part of the NJPW-AEW Forbidden Door. (Kiyomiya Kaito is the NOAH GHC champion and Anzai Yūma holds AJPW’s title, but I don’t have much visibility into either promotion.) Gran Guerrero and former Dolph Ziggler Nic Nemeth represent Mexico’s CMLL and AAA, respectively-though Lucha Libre promotions are not as focused on their heavyweight titles as a rule.

If you’re reading this you’re likely more focused on the major American promotions.

As of writing, WWE’s three main champions are: Undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes; World Heavyweight champion Damian Priest; and NXT champion Ethan Page.

AEW is represented by Swerve Strickland, ROH by Mark Briscoe, and TNA’s world title changed hands in the time it took me to write this: Nic Nemeth just beat Moose for the championship in a multi-man match at Slammiversary.

The internet howls with indignation over Nemeth’s victory. TNA loyalists see his win as privileging a former WWE enhancement talent over the promotion’s biggest-time competitor in Moose and rising star Joe Hendry. I think it’s a smart move so long as Nemeth’s reign is kept short. I appreciate TNA’s willingness to experiment with titleholders as varied as Rich Swann, Steve Maclin and Alex Shelley. However misused he may have been, Nemeth is a three-time former world champion and amassed an impressive trophy case during a 19-year run with WWE, collecting titles including his final belt — the NXT championship — until the very end of his tenure. This speaks to WWE’s confidence in Nemeth as a performer and his value in carrying storylines. Nemeth’s time in WWE adds credibility to TNA’s belt, which lost some of its luster when treated as an afterthought during the TNA-AEW program. It foreshadows programs with new heel Josh Alexander and Hendry (who Bully Ray noted on the Busted Open podcast would benefit from working with experienced prime-time talent if he’s being groomed for an eventual WWE run).

Moose is a star but given TNA’s new partnership with NXT, I wonder whether his past legal troubles (he was arrested for domestic battery in 2009) might hurt a possible WWE run. WWE is free to contract with whoever they want and I have no inside information on this front, but if this is the case it feels like selective enforcement. Where domestic violence allegations are proven no punishment is too light. Pro wrestling has been too lenient on the issue through most of its history.

AEW has too many singles titles even if they are spread among solid workers. I get the idea of elevating these other belts but I want to see these world-class talents in the mix for AEW’s main championship. I struggle with the psychology behind a former world champion in the prime of his career setting his sights on a lower-tier title. Even if he wins, it feels like a waste.

I am mystified by Swerve’s booking as AEW champion. He appears during lulls in the middle of broadcasts. He has yet to face a believable challenger. Strickland beat Samoa Joe and then defended the title against Claudio Castagnoli and Christian Cage. He is scheduled to fight Bryan Danielson at All In — none of whom should present real threats at this stage of their careers. Swerve did defend against Will Ospreay at the recent Forbidden Door pay-per-view in a match that showed what he can do, but Ospreay still held his own lesser title which took a bit of focus off Strickland, at the end of a 15-match card following the aforementioned NJPW title change.

Last week’s Dynamite opened with a fantastic hour-long match between MJF and Ospreay for Orange Cassidy’s old belt. MJF won and came across as a true main event heel. MJF followed that performance by opening the July 24 edition of Dynamite with a blistering promo where he renamed his new belt the American Championship and superimposed his face on the US flag. Despite his rechristened title’s more limited geographical reach, MJF’s force of personality makes him the most important champion in the company. Swerve went on last in what should have been a classic against tertiary champion Kazuchika Okada but got the bum’s rush. AEW spoiled an anticipated match to promote the Blood and Guts multi-man garbage match on free TV. Said garbage match was prefaced by a segment where the World champion squabbled with his partners and was then sidelined from the match until 117 years’ worth of Billy Gunn and Jeff Jarrett saved him while Prince Nana struggled to learn how to use a wire cutter. AEW needs to focus on Strickland and give him the chance to be the real face of the promotion.

I haven’t forgotten what the red coats did to our people. #AmericanHero pic.twitter.com/Ox6DAIP5cY

— Maxwell Jacob Friedman™️ (@The_MJF) July 26, 2024

ROH is an appendage of AEW, one that risks amputation over disuse. Former owner Cary Silkin has said as much during a recent episode of his podcast: “Right now, Ring of Honor it’s like no one cares at all. I don’t care how much money Tony Khan has. It’s not being treated very well.”

I feel for Mark Briscoe as champion. He has a thankless job, thrust into the role in part as a tribute to his late brother, Jay. Mark is fun to watch wrestle and his unhinged promos before he goes off to fight are highlights of often predictable shows. But he wasn’t the killer of the Briscoe Brothers tag team. Jay was the ‘serious’ brother. He came across as menacing and dangerous as a face or a heel. Mark has always been comic relief. It’s a valuable role but ill-suited for a standard-bearing champion, especially for a brand that tried to present itself as a destination for ‘real’ pro wrestling.

I think pro wrestling should be based on simple storytelling. One champion as the focal point of the promotion, under siege by a series of capable challengers. The whole roster should be chasing that title and every feud should reference that chase — even if hatred and bloodlust override the professional, competitive part of the story.

WWE runs a huge roster which is split between TV programs. I don’t love having multiple world champions. This goes back to the old magazines which provoked readers by asking “if there’s one world, why not one world champion?” Bill Apter and company likely didn’t anticipate how readily the comic book concept of the multiverse would pervade pro wrestling. As a genre fiction fan I’ve grown tired of the gimmick; it covers lazy storytelling and rewards corporate greed since unpopular decisions can be undone by hopping into the next dimension.

Cody Rhodes has superficially been positioned as the face of WWE for however long he stays on top. I can’t resist the feeling that despite his carefully plotted win over Roman Reigns at WrestleMania he is a placeholder champion. Rhodes run comes during a boom period but he has been bolstered by frequent appearances from legends and part-timers to the point that I have trouble seeing him as The Man. Rhodes returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38. The evening’s main event featured Steve Austin’s in-ring return. WrestleMania 39 opened with a returning John Cena plus Trish Stratus and Lita on the undercard. Rhodes beat part-timer Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 following the involvement of a series of legends in a blatantly constructed torch passing sequence.

At SummerSlam, Cody defends against an unproven challenger in Solo Sikoa. The real focus of this program is the possibility that Roman Reigns will return as a hero to take out his prodigal bodyguard. When Reigns comes back, it’s hard to see how a further title run would embellish his career. He has reached a stage where he doesn’t need a title. But if Reigns can assume a lead role by force of personality, that hurts Cody’s championship. As a dominant heel titlist Reigns tore through the entire babyface roster (plus a few heels like Seth Rollins and Logan Paul). His reign has made Cody’s feel anticlimactic thus far. His return risks pushing Rhodes down the card. It’s an interesting problem but not unprecedented. As WWE exited the Monday Night Wars, it had a stacked roster, including legends who displaced actual champions. Chris Jericho recently reaffirmed his view that despite being the Undisputed Champion and part of the regular roster, he knew that he and Triple H couldn’t outshine Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8. He was right, and his brief time on top of WWE as diminished as a result.

RAW World champion Damien Priest feels like a spectator on his own show. RAW’s biggest feud is between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre. It has drawn in multiple main eventers including Seth Rollins and Priest himself due to some transcendent heel work by McIntyre. McIntyre has become a tragic villain — and might yet turn into the kind of anti-hero audiences love. Eventually we will have to cheer him because his complaints about the injustices meted against him by Punk are rooted in fact. Meanwhile Priest’s reign has been marred by literal slip-ups during pay-per-view matches and the achingly slow breakup of the Judgment Day. Most wrestling factions exist to support their leader — usually a champion like the Four Horsemen’s Ric Flair, the OG Bloodline’s Roman Reigns or DX/Evolution’s Triple H. Instead of building around Priest as champion, he reacts to soapier, sillier storylines like the Rhea Ripley-Dominik Mysterio-Liv Morgan love triangle.

Priest’s SummerSlam match against Gunther feels like another distraction. WWE seems to be shading Priest as a babyface role against his unstoppable Teutonic foe. Gunther has the longer runway as a heavily pushed bad guy, but Priest’s time is now. His title reign is likely similar to JBL’s or Jinder Mahal’s or Braun Strowman’s: an improbable late-career run where he benefits from circumstances beyond his control and clings to a title he dubiously earned. It’s a heel’s story. Turning Priest into a face feels inauthentic and won’t help fan reaction in his next big match. Dude has walked out to the ring in a Skeletor cape. Let him be a heel. Priest doesn’t want to feel good. He wants to feel evil.

Which leaves us with new NXT champion “All Ego” Ethan Page. I suspect Page’s ascension to the title so soon after signing with WWE is meant as a message to disgruntled AEW talent, many of whom (like Page himself) seem to spend months on the shelf without creative direction. That said, Page is a classic heel; big enough to look imposing and skilled enough to work with just about anyone. He also has a great smarmy ring presence that runs between arrogance and cowardice, which means by turns he can run away from an opponent or accept their challenge credibly. NXT has its share of silly characters and long-running storylines but has mostly kept them away from the world title picture. NXT booking is old school in the best way; challengers line up for their shot at the title, and whoever the champion is, they deliver a solid in-ring defense of their belt. Despite the fact that most NXT title reigns are warmups for a spot on the main roster (with wildly varied degrees of success), the show revolves around the NXT champion.

And if decades of magazine rankings are any indication, that’s how it should be.

TOP PHOTO: Nic Nemeth wins the TNA title at Slammiversary 2024. TNA photo

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• Previous Wrestlers’ Court columns by Jonathan Schwartz