AEW "returned" to Flushing Meadows for a special two-hour Grand Slam edition of Rampage that didn't quite reach the highs of the Dynamite that preceded it, but was still a thoroughly enjoyable two hours of television.

Winner: CM Punk's Trunks

Tonight's special two-hour edition of Rampage kicked off with CM Punk's first TV match in seven years. But the show didn't just feature the return of Punk wrestling on TV ... it also featured the return of Punk's trunks! As you might recall, Punk jarringly wore long tights for his match with Darby Allin at All Out, but tonight, he decided to let his thighs breathe by wearing his classic Chicago trunks.

Punk went one-on-one with Team Taz member Powerhouse Hobbs in a solid opening match. Punk looked good, although he was understandably exhausted by the time the bell rang. The finish came when Hook tried to interfere by climbing on the apron, only Hobbes accidentally ran into Hook and sent his Team Taz stablemate flying. Punk took advantage of the distraction and got the gargantuan Hobbes on his shoulders and hit him a Go To Sleep for the 1-2-3.

Loser: Too Much Interference

Every single match on the show featured some form of outside interference, which is a tad overboard. AEW is often accused of relying on shenanigans and the like to end its matches, and usually, the criticism is harsh. But as fun as tonight's show was, it would have been nice to see at least one match that spoke for itself and didn't involve anyone who wasn't actually in the match.

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Winner: The SuperKliq

The SuperKliq (Adam Cole and The Young Bucks) returned to the ring as a trio for the first time in four years and got a big win over the team of Christian Cage, Jungle Boy, and Luchsaurus. The match was as fast and exciting as you'd expect and all six competitors showed off their skills in a big way. A veteran like Christian teaming with a young upstart like Jungle Boy to take on guys like Adam Cole and the Jackson brothers? It's fantasy booking stuff, and nobody does it better than AEW.

Luchsaurus delivered one of his best performances in an AEW ring and looked strong despite eating the pin. It took three consecutive finishers and some Elite chicanery to put him away and bring an end to what was a very fun match.

Losers: The Hardy Family Office

It was another torrid evening for The Hardy Family Office, although not quite as torrid as last week. Matt Hardy's hodgepodge stable has a lot of members but barely any wins. Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, The Blade & The Butcher came up short against the team of Penta, Fenix, Santana, and Ortiz in a hectic eight-man tag match. Santana and Ortiz put in another shift, and it surely won't be long until they challenge the men who were their teammates tonight for the AEW tag titles.

In a post-match interview, Matt Hardy challenged Orange Cassidy to a hair vs. hair match, but not against himself. No, he put HFO member Jack Evans forward. Evans wasn't happy at first, but he eventually yielded and agreed to the match.

Later in the night, Penelope Ford got a win over Anna Jay, so the night wasn't a complete write-off for the HFO.

Winner: Homicide Debuts

New York pro-wrestling legend and Ring Of Honor stalwart Homicide made his All Elite Wrestling debut during the "unsanctioned" main event between Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki) and Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston.

Moxley's hands were duct-taped together during the match, which helped Suzuki and Archer gain the upper hand. They looked to be on their way to victory ... and then someone's music hit. Homicide's name appeared on the ramp and as Suzuki and Archer watched the stage, Homicide appeared from behind and rescued his old friend and former tag team partner Eddie Kingston. He used scissors (which he just happened to have on him because he's Homicide) to cut Moxley free of the tape, which ultimately enabled Mox and Eddie to get the win in Eddie's hometown.

The match was ugly, but it was fun and a perfect way to end AEW's historic night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Full Results And Noteworthy Moments

• CM Punk defeats Powerhouse Hobbs (w/Hook) via pinfall with a Go To Sleep
• Thunder Rosa, Nyla Rose, and Jade Cargill put each other on notice in a pretaped promo package
• The SuperKliq (Adam Cole, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) defeat Christian Cage & The Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) via pinfall with a Panama Sunrise followed by a BTE Trigger followed by a Boom on Luchasaurus
• Men Of The Year (Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky) (w/Dan Lambert) def. The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho & Jake Hager) via pinfall when Scorpio Sky rolled up Hager following a distraction from Dan Lambert
• Jericho and Hagar attacked Dan Lambert after the bell but Lambert was saved by a bunch of famous MMA people who beat Jericho and Hagar up
• The Inner Circle (Ortiz & Santana) & The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) (w/Alex Abrahantes) defeat The Hardy Family Office (Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, The Blade & The Butcher) (w/Matt Hardy & The Bunny) via pinfall after Santana and Ortiz hit Marq Quen with a Street Sweeper
• In a backstage interview with Tony Schiavone, an irate Matt Hardy challenged Orange Cassidy to a hair vs. hair match ... against Jack Evans
• Miro attacked Fuego Del Sol and Sammy Guevara while they were doing the picture-in-picture sign thing. He threw Fuego off the stage through a table
• Penelope Ford def. Anna Jay via pinfall with a knuckle duster right hook
• Penelope Ford and The Bunny beat up Anna Jay after the bell, Tay Conti attempted to make the save but was overpowered and knocked out with the knuckle dusters
• The rest of the HFO arrived to prevent anyone from trying to prevent Ford and The Bunny from beating up Anna Jay, but Orange Cassidy, Kris Statlander, and The Dark Order emerged from the back and chased the HFO away
• Alex Reynolds offered an olive branch to Uno and Grayson but it was rejected
• Eddie Kingston & Jon Moxley def. Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki) via pinfall after Eddie Kingston beat Archer repeatedly with a trash can and a kendo stick following as assist from Homicide

This week's episode of WWE SmackDown was the go-home show to Extreme Rules on Sunday and included a main event match between Roman Reigns and Montez Ford, the return of Riddick Moss, Naomi escorted out by security, and Bianca Belair getting one-up on Becky Lynch. The show was acceptable, but it certainly didn't live up to what fans should expect of a go-home show and it didn't measure up to this week's Raw, which outshined the blue brand in every major category.

The show did set up Extreme Rules. That said, the pay-per-view doesn't have a lot of positive buzz two days out and that affected a lackluster SmackDown show.

Here are the winners and losers for SmackDown, September 24, 2021:

Winner: Lynch vs. Belair Promo

Becky Lynch kicked off the show and showed a video of how she got the upper hand on Belair last week. Belair then came out and got the final shots in on the champion who she vowed to beat on Sunday. Lynch said she'd embarrass the EST, while Belair said there was no way this Sunday would go the same way SummerSlam did.

To be honest, this segment didn't do much to further the rivalry. At the same time, this feud didn't necessarily need it. This is one of the better-booked sagas heading into Sunday and might be the most anticipated match on the card. All Lynch and Belair had to do here was keep the momentum rolling. They did that, successfully cutting promos that kept things status quo.

Loser: Apollo Crews

Just when it appears Crews could be on the road back to some sort of prominence, he suffers a clean loss to Shinsuke Nakamura in an Intercontinental Championship Match. The best anyone can do at this point is say, 'Oh well.'. Crews did his job and he had a great match with Nakamura, but it's clear he's an afterthought now. The character had a ton of potential but it certainly doesn't seem like he's going to realize it.

The silver lining here was Rick Boogs who looked impressive taking out Commander Azeez. Perhaps the line of the night was when Michael Cole asked Pat McAfee what he would do if Nakamura and Boogs got drafted to Raw. McAfee said, "I might cry, I might poop my pants, but, I'm going to enjoy it for right now." McAfee might not be the only one who cries if those two head to the red brand and he can't dance during their entrance anymore.

Loser: Liv Morgan vs. Zelina Vega

This match was too short to really grade, especially since most of the focus was on Carmella who came down to ringside and sat on the announce table during the bout. She wanted to only talk about herself but got involved in the match when Morgan sent Vega into the turnbuckle in a similar fashion to how she almost broke Carmella's nose last week.

A lot of fans are going to argue that Morgan losing here does absolutely nothing heading into her match on Sunday. That's not really the problem here. The issue is that few people care about this match outside of hoping Morgan finally picks up a win and goes on a bit of a run. Friday's loss wasn't a great way to suggest anything other than she'll probably win now.

Related: Early Extreme Rules 2021 Betting Odds Revealed

Winner: Naomi and Sonya Deville

This program took a very entertaining turn on Friday and might have been the segment of the evening. Naomi came out for a match, even though she wasn't scheduled for one and reminded everyone that she'd demanded action, only to be ignored by Sonya Deville. Deville came out and told her that's not how things worked, to which Naomi said, 'Then go ahead and make the match.' She got a chant started and when Deville cut her mic off, the crowd continued it. Deville called for security who ushered The Glow to the back.

This was a great tease to a future match, especially when Deville said, "Everyone knows I'd smack the GLOW right off your face, but that's not going to happen because I'm no longer a competitor." Naomi voluntarily made her way to the back, but will she next time? This segment did wonders for Naomi and Deville really comes off as the bad guy here.

Loser: Riddick Moss Is Back

The fact that Moss is back is all well and good. That WWE used the build-up towards a future match between Kevin Owens and Happy Corbin to get Moss over feels like a short-sighted booking decision. Technically, these two aren't even slated for Extreme Rules so it feels like the wrong time to focus on something like this, especially if creative plans to run this rivalry are meant to go long-term and Moss is the reason. Owens being dragged through this storyline is starting to grow old.

Corbin is entertaining, but this Happy Talk show wasn't good, while Owens feels like he's being fed Corbin and a character reinvention he's not really a key part of any longer.

Winner: Montez Ford

Technically, Ford came out a loser on Friday. Still, this was a strong showcase for a WWE Superstar many fans feel has a bright future as a singles wrestler. Ford showed he can absolutely be that down the line for Vince McMahon and it was a fresh match that the WWE Universe hasn't seen over the course of Reigns' year-plus run as Universal Champion. No one expected Ford to win here, but that wasn't the point.

Balor's appearance was predictable, but there's certainly a good chunk of the fanbase that gets excited every time that music plays and the lights go out.

SmackDown Match Results

We won't have to wait long for the next installment between Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.

Last week, WWE announced that the two superstars will face off at the Crown Jewel 2021 pay-per-view which will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Oct. 21. If Reigns successfully defends his title against Finn Balor at Extreme Rules 2021 this Sunday, the match with Lesnar will be a Universal Championship bout.

If Balor defeats Reigns, the Crown Jewel showdown will be a non-title match.

This will be the first match between the two since Summerslam 2018, when Reigns defeated Lesnar to become the new Universal Champion. But things will be completely different this time around.

RELATED: [Report] Backstage Details On Initial Plans For Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Reigns is being pushed as the top heel in WWE right now. The Tribal Chief hasn't been pinned in nearly two years now, whereas Lesnar is performing as babyface for the first time in his second WWE tenure.

For those reasons, the next Reigns-Lesnar bout already feels far more exciting and enticing than their previous showdowns. The problem with running Reigns vs. Lesnar , however, is that WWE has placed themselves in a lose-lose situation.

Not The Time For Lesnar To Lose Cleanly

Reigns' run as a legitimate heel has succeeded largely thanks to his run as a virtually unstoppable force. He has picked up victories against marquee stars such Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan, Edge, Cesaro and most recently John Cena.

It was fine for those five stars to take losses. Owens and Cesaro were formidable opponents for Reigns. Bryan was on his way out of WWE anyway, and both Edge and Cena work as part-timers. So does Lesnar, but Crown Jewel simply isn't the time for Lesnar to lose a match cleanly.

WWE brough him back as a face at the end of SummerSlam 2021. And so far, so good. Lesnar has garnered the giant crowd reactions that any main event babyface desperately needs.

But losing to Reigns — just two months after his highly-anticipated return — would greatly ruin Lesnar's momentum. It would make him look weak against a person he has defeated two out of three times.

One possibility: Lesnar loses to Reigns at Crown Jewel but goes on to defeat him at a later date (Survivor Series? Royal Rumble? WrestleMania 38?) But from a booking perspective, does it really make sense to have the invincible Reigns eventually lose to a superstar that he just defeated? Not exactly.

So when you take all of this into account, does this mean that Lesnar should beat Reigns at Crown Jewel? No. It doesn't keep them away from the "no-win" situation.

Reigns' Winning Streak Can't End...Yet

Yes, Reigns' incredible winning streak is going to have to end at some point. But under no circumstance he lose cleanly in the not-so-distant future. Simply put, Reigns should remain undefeated throughout the rest of 2021.

WrestleMania and SummerSlam felt like legitimate stages for Reigns to finally lose his Universal Championship. That didn't happen, of course, and it's hard to envision a scenario where he loses cleanly this year.

RELATED: Why WWE SmackDown's Crowded Universal Title Picture Is Good For Roman Reigns

Survivor Series 2021, being one of the major pay-per-views, could be a possibility. The Royal Rumble may be more than four months away, but that doesn't feel like a likely stage for him to drop the title. Honestly, it wouldn't be the least bit surprising if Reigns remained undefeated through (at least) WrestleMania 38 on Apr. 3, 2022.

If WWE wants to take the title off of Reigns before WrestleMania, the best bet is for it to occur in a triple threat or fatal four-way match — where someone other than Reigns can take the pinfall or submission.

There Isn't An Ideal Outcome Here

Add it all up, and there simply isn't a favorable nor preferred match outcome here. This isn't the time for Reigns nor Lesnar to take a clean loss.

Another possibility is for this match to end via disqualification or no contest; perhaps The Usos or another superstar will interfere in this match. The problem with that? WWE will just insult the intelligence of the fans by booking a match that turned out to be a giant waste of time. And during an intense competitive period against AEW, WWE cannot afford to run such finishes for highly-anticipated matches like Reigns vs Lesnar.

Maybe Reigns will win cleanly, and maybe Lesnar will bounce back. Or maybe the latter finally ends Reigns' historic reign, and perhaps this match outcome would be well-received by the WWE Universe.

But right now, it looks like there will be long-term booking consequences regardless of who wins between Reigns and Lesnar. WWE has taken a giant risk here by placing themselves in a lose-lose situation.

Following a story-filled run on the WWE NXT roster, Adam Cole decided to take his talents elsewhere.

Two weeks after wrestling his final match for WWE at NXT TakeOver: 36, Cole debuted for AEW near the end of the All Out pay-per-view on Sept. 5. Cole quickly turned heel by helping Kenny Omega, The Good Brothers and The Young Bucks attack Christian Cage and Jurassic Express. Moments later, however, Bryan Danielson also debuted in and rescued the babyfaces.

10 days after All Out, Cole wrestled his first match for AEW on the Sept. 15 episode of Dynamite, defeating Frankie Kazarian via pinfall.

Because Cole wasn't outright released by WWE, he didn't have to go under a non-compete clause and was able to debut for AEW right away. Cole signed a short-term extension with WWE so that he could finish his feud with Kyle O'Reilly, who bested him in a two-out-of-three-falls match at NXT TakeOver: 36.

During an appearance on Talk Is Jericho (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Cole detailed a meeting with WWE chairman Vince McMahon, and he also mentioned some of the ideas WWE had for him had he joined the main roster.

"The idea was for me to go to RAW or SmackDown and not stay in NXT, just because I had been there for so long, and I think they knew, as much as I do love NXT, if I stayed in WWE, to take that step," Cole said. "That was the gist of the conversation. It was definitely to move me up to RAW or SmackDown."

Cole added that WWE was "very vague about exactly what they wanted to do". The possibility of a name change was brought up, but Cole wasn't keen on it.

"I remember when I first had the conversation, they mentioned something about, 'Maybe we’ll do a name change, or maybe we’ll change your look a little bit', so that scared me a little bit," Cole explained. "I just spent nearly 14 years as Adam Cole. In our latest conversation, they were definitely more open to me being me and being myself. They could tell I was not too thrilled about the idea."

RELATED: SUBSCRIBE:The Sportster Wrestling Newsletter

When asked by Jericho, Cole admitted that he indeed saw this as a "red flag." And though Cole emphasized that WWE "could not have been nicer", he simply had to do what was best for his wrestling career.

What Could Have Been

It was previously reported that WWE planned to have Cole work as a heel manager for Keith Lee on the main roster, though the former later explained that he "never heard anything" about that.

We'll simply never get to see what could have been with Cole on the main WWE roster. Yes, he was the perfect main event star for WWE to build around over at NXT, but he also deserved some time on the main roster. But at the end of the day, he had to do what was best for him, and AEW promises to maximize his world-class talents and popularity.

Even though the end of the year is coming, there is still plenty of time for some major moments to take place that will have everybody talking. It's something that WWE is great at, and considering the fact that the company has serious competition right now because of AEW, the chances are Vince McMahon will want to pull out all the stops.

RELATED: 10 Current NXT Stars: Who Are They Dating?

There are some major shows still to take place between now and the end of the year, and with the build to the Royal Rumble taking place as 2021 draws to a close, WWE will want everybody talking about them.

The WWE Network Ends Completely

While the WWE Network no longest exists in certain locations due to the deal with Peacock, for many fans internationally, this is still the place where people are able to go in order to watch PPV events amongst the rest of the content that the company has.

It is inevitable that WWE will look to make big deals with other services so that it can make as much money as possible without as much pressure due to not running the Network anymore. This could take place as early as this year if WWE is able to strike the right deal.

More Releases Take Place

There is a good chance that WWE will look to make more releases before the year is up, which is something that the company has been doing consistently throughout 2021. It might not be something that people want to see happen, but there's a good chance that it could.

RELATED: Braun Strowman & 10 More Wrestlers WWE Released Out Of Nowhere

WWE has been truly ruthless when it comes to how they are operating their business at the moment and the focus is very much on earning as much money as possible, which is something that could see more wrestlers end up being let go.

King Of The Ring Returns

WWE has always got major shows planned and that is certainly going to be the case for the remainder of the year. But that could also include WWE bringing back an old concept that fans have loved over the years, which is the King of the Ring.

If WWE puts the right amount of attention and effort into things, then this tournament could end up being a major hit for the company. Allowing the wrestlers to just put on world-class matches would help make the competition interesting and could really help different wrestlers who go deep in the tournament.

Opening The Forbidden Door

When it comes to the Forbidden Door and wrestling companies working together, everybody automatically thinks of AEW and their relationships with NWA or Impact Wrestling. However, Bryan Danielson recently admitted that WWE was happy to let him work in Japan if he had stayed.

That proves that the company is willing to work with other promotions and put on dream matches of their own. This could be a real game-changer for the company if they were able to put on exciting moments that would get fans talking constantly.

Triple H Retires

A big situation that could take place before the year ends is Triple H retiring from wrestling, and potentially even walking away from his backstage roles with NXT. The recent health scares that have taken place for The Game will no doubt have had an impact on him, and that could lead to him deciding to call time on his career.

Seeing him just focus on his family wouldn't be something that anybody could complain about considering how much Triple H has given to the industry over the years, but it would certainly be a shocking moment for people.

The Rock Returns

While The Game might decide to call time on his career, there is a chance that The Rock could return to the company. He is someone who audiences have been wanting to see return for a long time, with a storyline against Roman Reigns being absolutely perfect.

RELATED: 10 Great The Rock Matches That Nobody Talks About

Bringing The Rock back in order to build up to the Royal Rumble would be a brilliant decision and is something that would get plenty of attention to the company. The Rock draws big crowds and that is why his return would be huge.

Paul Heyman Turns On Roman Reigns

Paul Heyman's partnership with Roman Reigns has been brilliant so far and it has certainly benefitted The Tribal Chief. However, at this point, Roman has reached the stage where he can fly on his own, and that is why WWE might look to have Paul turn on him and work with Brock Lesnar again.

Roman with The Usos is enough to get people talking, whereas Lesnar is always much stronger with Heyman by his side. The Beast isn't quite as gifted when it comes to talking, which is why WWE might look to go for the traditional pairing that fans know and love.

The Product Becomes Edgier

WWE is not going to change its PG rating, mainly because it brings in a large family audience. However, that doesn't mean that the company can't change things slightly by becoming a little edgier with the way things are presented.

Whether it be slightly more risky promos, violent matches, or adult storylines, it is something that could really help the product overall. With AEW happily pushing things to the edge at times, WWE might need to make this change in order to compete.

Goldberg Retires

While Triple H might decide to retire due to his health, Goldberg is another that might choose to call time on his career as well. He reportedly only has one more fight on his contract, and that is why this could be the perfect time for him to retire.

RELATED: 10 Differences Between Goldberg In WCW & WWE

There isn't much left for Goldberg to actually do, and while he does still get a reaction from fans when he appears, it makes sense that he would want to wrap up what has been an iconic career.

End Of The Brand Split

Even though WWE is about to bring the Draft back in October, that doesn't mean that the company is going to continue with the brand split forever. In fact, that could end as soon as this year considering the competition that WWE is facing with AEW.

WWE recently tested the waters for how mixing its stars could help ratings by putting The Bloodline onto Monday Night Raw, and that could be a sign of things to come. It wouldn't be a shock to see WWE get rid of the brand split and just allow as many big names as possible to be on each show.

Wrestling is tricky considering that there have been matches that look terrific on paper, but they just can't live up to the hype. Issues or injuries can mar the wrestlers, and sometimes the competitors simply can't connect with the audience. With WCW, there was a bad tradition of putting too much into matches from crazy gimmicks to overbooking, which ruined it. It's easy to look at just bad matches, but there are times where the wrestlers and company clearly thought they were putting together a huge encounter only for it to turn into a mess.

Related: The 10 Worst WCW Title Matches, According To Cagematch.net

It's amazing how even the biggest stars fell prey to a majorly disappointing, if not outright horrific, match in World Championship Wrestling. WCW had scores of examples, matches that really could have been big affairs but were ruined by either circumstances or bad planning. These 10 WCW matches were clearly going for an "epic" feel only to turn into the worst bouts ever, showing how this company just had a bad habit of messing up promising matches.

Lex Luger vs Barry Windham, The Great American Bash 1991

This match was pretty much doomed from the start. It was going to be Ric Flair finally putting over Luger, with The Total Package winning the WCW World title. But days before the show, Flair was fired and the live crowd turned on the entire PPV, which ended up being awful. Luger was instead put against Barry Windham in a steel cage that failed to live up to the hype.

Both men tried, but it was a lackluster battle ending with Harley Race yelling advice to Luger to turn heel and win the title. For the would-be highlight to Luger's career, this was a bad match.

Hulk Hogan vs Vader, Uncensored 1995

After their disappointing Superbrawl V match, Hulk Hogan and Vader hoped to make up for it with a leather strap match, even if it was non-title. That it headlined one of the all-time worst WCW PPVs ever should show how poorly it worked. First, after teasing The Ultimate Warrior arriving, it was actually The Renegade.

Related: Every WCW PPV From 1995 Ranked Worst To Best

That was followed by a masked man showing up amid a poor match. Then Ric Flair interfered, so Hogan dragged him to the ring posts, which somehow made him the winner. A tied-up Arn Anderson hopped out as the masked man was really Randy Savage to help beat down Flair and Vader. Is it any wonder fans still hate this show?

Bret Hart vs Goldberg, Starrcade 1999

With WCW rough in 1999, they still had a good showdown for Bret Hart vs Goldberg at Starrcade 1999 in a no-DQ match. It should have been a stellar battle with Bret bringing the best out in Goldberg, but the encounter couldn't quite match that level because of a lot of stalling and neither guy being on the same page.

There was also the errant kick that gave Bret his career-ending concussion. Worst of all, Bret had Goldberg in the Sharpshooter and Roddy Piper ordered the bell run in a recreation of the Montreal Screwjob. That Bret's last major match was this bad really seems unfair.

Chamber of Horrors, Halloween Havoc 1991

You have to wonder just what was going through the minds of WCW bookers in the early 1990s. A simple cage match involving Sting, the Steiners, Vader, Mick Foley, Scott Hall, and Cactus Jack would have been fine. That wasn't enough for WCW. Instead, it was a "Chamber of Horrors" match where the point was to toss a guy into an electric chair lowered from the ceiling.

Related: Exploding Barbed Wire & 9 Other Gimmick Matches We'll Never See In WWE

This oddball gimmick match ended in a goofy fashion with Abdullah the Butcher in the chair, so partner Jack "accidentally" threw the switch with Abdullah jerking around while the lights flashed. It's hard to top this in terms of nutty gimmick battles.

War Games, Fall Brawl 1998

Long before NXT tried a three-team War Games, WCW had it..and it could be pretty awful. DDP, Roddy Piper, and Warrior faced Hogan, Bret Hart, and Stevie Ray as well as Kevin Nash, Sting, and Lex Luger. With all that talent, it should have been a sensational battle.

Instead, it was a chaotic mess with botched moves and the Warrior doing a bizarre disappearing act. There were no weapons or blood and it ended in a pinfall, defeating one of the key aspects of the entire premise. Like much of WCW then, putting too much into one match ruined War Games.

Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage vs The Alliance, Uncensored 1996

It's fascinating seeing what WCW was like just before Scott Hall and Kevin Nash debuted. For the always-awful Uncensored PPV, Hogan and Savage teamed up to take on an alliance of The Four Horsemen and The Dungeon of Doom in a Doomsday Cage match. It was two against eight...and the two easily manhandled the Alliance.

Related: 10 Most Embarrassing Moments Of Ric Flair's Career

It was hard to see what was happening at all in the cages and Lex Luger suddenly joining the pair made no sense. It's one of the worst gimmick battles ever and it's amazing that WCW would be riding high following this mess in a few months.

Sting vs Sid Vicious, Halloween Havoc 1990

What is it about Halloween Havoc that has so many disappointing matches? Sting's first title reign was rough, but there was promise in taking on Sid, who looked quite impressive in his younger days. It was set to be a classic case of the babyface overcoming the giant but WCW had to mar it.

Related: The First 10 WCW PPV Main Events, Ranked From Worst To Best

When the Horsemen interfered, Sting gave chase but when "he" returned, it was obviously Barry Windham in makeup. Somehow, the ref didn't notice to let Sid pin "Sting" for the title. As balloons fell, the real Sting raced out to restart the match for the win and yet another convoluted WCW mess.

Hollywood Hogan vs Warrior, Halloween Havoc 1998

If there was one showdown WWE fans always wanted a rematch of, it was Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior. WCW tried to give it to them, but the company was marred by A) it being eight years later and B) no Pat Patterson to help plan it out.

Even Hogan admits it was a terrible affair, the two unable to pull off the simplest moves and the crowd booing hard. There was also Hogan's laughable attempt to light a fireball and Horace letting him win. The first match was a classic, while the second was one of the worst bouts in WCW history.

Sting vs Jake Roberts, Halloween Havoc 1992

Bill Watts was a pretty good wrestling booker, but his ideas didn't quite work for 1992 WCW. A clear case in point was the feud between Sting and Jake Roberts in 1992 with a great build and top action. It was to end in the "Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal" match with great options from a steel cage to Texas Deathmatch.

Related: 9 Most Embarrassing Moments in Sting's Career

Instead, it landed on a Coal Miner's Glove match, leading to a tedious battle where the whole point was to grab a glove off the pole. The ending was also bad as Jake's cobra refused to bite him, so Jake had to make it look like he was overacting in a 1950s B-movie. Little wonder the Snake left WCW right after this.

Hollywood Hogan vs Sting, Starrcade 1997

It's still amazing how a match with seemingly everything going for it could fail so badly. For over a year and a half, Sting had been set as the one guy in WCW who could stop the nWo. His new look and the stalking of Hollywood Hogan was brilliant, with Hogan looking scared and setting up the big battle.

It should have been a terrific match, with Sting winning cleanly. Instead, Hogan dominated and even got the pin. Bret Hart came to restart the match with Sting getting the belt, but the epic moment was marred by the botched ending, and what should have been WCW's crowning moment instead signaled their decline.

At Souled Out 2000, Chris Benoit won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. A solid choice if not for the fact that Benoit had no intentions of staying in WCW. When Benoit left the company the WCW Commissioner Kevin Nash decided to vacate the WCW Title. Thus starting one of the strangest weeklong stories in all of WCW.

That week WCW Thunder would end up having three separate WCW World Heavyweight Championship reigns in one show, Sid Vicious would start the show as champion, end the show as champion and Kevin Nash would somehow become champion somewhere in the middle (without having a match). But the story doesn’t start there.

RELATED: The 10 Worst WCW Title Matches, According To Cagematch.net

Sid Vicious Wins The WCW Heavyweight Title On Nitro

That week of WCW programming would start on Monday Nitro, and the WCW Commissioner at the time, who just so happened to be Kevin Nash, declared that a new WCW World Heavyweight Champion would be crowned on Nitro. Kevin Nash was the real life booker of WCW during this time, as well as the on-air authority figure so unsurprisingly, Kevin Nash would himself in the title match. Of course he would, it’s almost like having an active wrestler as booker is a simply terrible idea.

Kevin Nash’s opponent that night would be Sid Vicious, but only if Sid Vicious could defeat Don Harris earlier in the night. If you don’t recall, Don Harris was a member of the Harris Brothers with his brother Ron Harris, identical twins who would work as cronies for the NWO 2000, the millionth iteration of the NWO. Why exactly the Harris Brothers of all people were gatekeepers for a World Championship match is anybody’s guess.

Of course, Sid Vicious did defeat Don Harris, not Ron Harris, and later that night would go on to defeat Kevin Nash to become the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. It was silly, but at least a babyface won, he outsmarted the evil bad guys and sent the fans home happy. An absolute win.

WCW could get much worse than this.

And it would.

Kevin Nash Throws A Swerve On WCW Thunder

Two night later on WCW Thunder, Kevin Nash would furiously strip Sid Vicious of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Nash would claim that Sid Vicious defeated the wrong Harris Brother on Nitro, he claimed Sid beat Ron Harris not Don Harris as the twins switched places during a commercial break. Therefore Sid’s win over Don Harris and Kevin Nash that night was null and void, and the WCW World Heavyweight title was now vacant.

Kevin Nash would then award himself the WCW World Heavyweight Championship…

So… Why didn’t he just do that in the first place?

Why put Sid Vicious (and all of us) through this charade? Why not just keep your title, Kevin Nash? Why didn’t you just never book yourself in a title match ever again? You have the power, Kevin Nash, why do you keep putting yourself in positions to lose your title?!

Well, that is exactly what Nash would do later that night on Thunder, as Kevin Nash would announce his first title defense would be a Handicap Steel Cage match where he would team with the correct Harris Brother, Don Harris, against Sid Vicious. If nothing else, Kevin Nash was at least funny in this promo, he clearly didn’t care which Harris Brother was which, differentiating them only as “the one with the tie” and “the one without the tie.”

RELATED: 10 Weirdest WCW Gimmick Matches Ever

At the end of the night, the Handicap Steel Cage match would happen and Sid Vicious would win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship again…

The Aftermath

So, what exactly was the point of all this? Was it just a cheap way for Kevin Nash to bump up his number of title reigns? Not only is each reign ridiculous because of their short time, it’s ridiculous because Kevin Nash and several other wrestlers were legitimately allowed to book their own matches and angles, leaving us with nonsensical storylines like this one.

Or maybe Kevin Nash thought this was genuinely good TV, or least thought it was good enough to waste time for another week of WCW?

So Sid Vicious came through this ridiculous week as WCW World Heavyweight Champion. What would he do next? Well, very little. Not long after this Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo would make their grand return to WCW, strip every champion in WCW of their title, and declare a new era of WCW.

Bret Hart is undoubtedly one of the best wrestlers in history, standing out for his impeccable technique and extraordinary skills. A master storyteller and expert in submission moves, not to mention his exceptional selling. In short, Bret Hart was the complete package. RELATED: Everything We Learned From A&E Biography: Bret Hart The Hitman defeated countless opponents throughout his career, he defeated the best of the best such as Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, and The Undertaker. However, there were a handful of wrestlers that Bret Hart could never defeat, so let's take a look at nine of them below.

Andre The Giant

Believe it or not, Bret Hart and Andre The Giant's paths crossed once, on April 10, 1989 in Italy, on an episode of WWE On Tele+2. Certainly, the match was not memorable, to say the least, so it's no wonder no one remembers it. Andre The Giant managed to neutralize Bret Hart in six and a half minutes, making it evident that Andre's massive strength was superior to Hart's technique. Hart and Andre would also square off in battle royales from time to time, but of course The Giant would win each time.

Triple H

On the October 6, 1997 episode of RAW is WAR, the young Triple H faced off against then WWE Champion Bret Hart, even though the title was not on the line. RELATED: 10 Things Most Fans Forget About Triple H's Career Triple H showed his bravery and potential, fighting toe-to-toe with one of the best performers of the era. In fact, Triple H ended up winning the match by count out. Sadly, this was the only time that HHH and Bret Hart ever faced each other in a televised match, it would have been great to see a title match on pay-per-view.

Ted DiBiase

Bret Hart and Ted DiBiase went one-on-one in two televised matches. Their first encounter was during the April 27, 1991 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, a great match that ended in a double count-out. RELATED: 10 Ted DiBiase Backstage Stories We Can't Believe Months later, on WWE on MSG Network, they clashed again, but this time for the Intercontinental Championship. This match was also very good, The Hitman and The Million Dollar Man put on a great show and again drew, this time due to the time limit.

Tiger Mask

In 1982, Bret Hart wrestled several matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he met a great rival, Tiger Mask (also known as Satoru Sayama). They faced each other at New Year Golden Series 1982, it was an extraordinary match in which Tiger Mask successfully defended his Junior Heavyweight Title. Eight years later, Hart and Tiger Mask met again, at a special event called Wrestling Summit. This time Bret Hart was much more mature and had new tricks up his sleeve, but that wasn't enough and he couldn't get more than a time limit draw.

Bad News Brown

Bad News Brown is the only wrestler in history to step into the ring at least five times against Bret Hart and remain undefeated. They faced each other in six televised matches. The first two bouts were in Stampede Wrestling, Hart dropped the North American Heavyweight Title to Bad News Allen and a week later failed in his attempt to regain it. In 1998, already working for WWE, Bad News Brown and Bret Hart clashed four times, three-time limit draws and a victory for Bad News Brown in WWE on NESN.

Dean Malenko

Bret Hart and Dean Malenko only faced each other once, during the November 23, 1998 episode of WCW Monday NITRO. Truth be told, this match sucked, Malenko and Hart were exceptional wrestlers and the crowd was expecting a great match, but this was a bad joke. Super slow pace, both performers unmotivated and Malenko forgetting to sell his knee injury. Anyway, the point is that Bret Hart was disqualified and therefore Dean Malenko was the winner.

Ricky Steamboat

On March 8, 1986 on WWE on NESN, Bret Hart wrestled Ricky Steamboat. This was a dream match between two of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time, although Hart obviously didn't have his top superstar status at the time. It was a wrestling clinic, a real delight for the fans. The Hitman was flawless, what a great performance, but in the end Ricky Steamboat was the one who prevailed. They easily could have delivered a classic if they faced each other again a couple of years later, but that never happened.

RELATED: Ricky Steamboat Almost Wrestled CM Punk In Ring Of Honor... Until Ric Flair Stopped It

Rocky Maivia

Very few people know that Bret Hart and The Rock once faced each other. On the March 31, 1997 episode of RAW is WAR, Rocky Maivia defended the Intercontinental Title against Bret Hart. It was a pretty entertaining match. The Excellence Of Execution was phenomenal and made Maivia look great. In the end, Bret Hart lost by disqualification and Rocky Maivia retained the title. Even though it was a disqualification win, this match elevated young Rock considerably. If only we could have seen this match once again with "The Rock" vs The Hitman.

Stone Cold Steve Austin was the main reason why WWE survived and won the Monday Night Wars with WCW. With a never seen before rebellious and anti-hero persona, it didn't take him long to reach the top of the ladder after signing for WWE in the mid-90s.

RELATED: 6 Times Steve Austin Wasn't The Toughest Wrestler In His Match

The Rattlesnake won the WWE Championship six times, and he stayed at the top for the majority of his wrestling career. While he produced some greatest rivalries in WWE history, he was also over-protected at times. There were numerous occasions when Stone Cold Steve Austin was overpowered against his rivals.

Dismantled Brian Pillman's Big Friends And Broke Into His House

The famous segment between Steve Austin his old pal, Brian Pillman, was known as 'Pillman's got a gun'. While the segment was good and shocking to some extent, it certainly overpowered Austin's character.

Brian Pillman took the side of Bret Hart when the latter was having a feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin. After injuring his ankle, Austin did the unthinkable. On an episode of RAW, Austin stormed to Pillman's house to attack him who was already injured. He was stopped by two big friends of Pillman, but Austin decimated them with ease. Finally, he broke the glass and entered the house, only to see Pillman sitting on his couch with a gun. The camera cut out as soon as Austin entered the house.

Brawled With Mike Tyson

Let's be honest, there weren't many men on the planet who were brave enough to brawl with the 'baddest man on the planet', especially in his prime. But Stone Cold Steve Austin scuffled with Mike Tyson once, which showed how the former was overpowered by WWE.

RELATED:

10 Weirdest Moments Of Steve Austin's Career

Mike Tyson was the special enforcer for the match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV. While building up the feud, Tyson and Austin came face to face on an episode of RAW. Austin claimed that he would beat Tyson any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Then he showed Tyson middle fingers, provoking the latter to push him, which started a huge brawl.

Beat The Rock Twice At WrestleMania In The Attitude Era

Even though the Attitude Era was often defined as the Austin Era, The Rock's contribution to the success of WWE in the Attitude Era wasn't any less. The Great One was equally popular, and he and Austin delivered one of the iconic feuds in the history of professional wrestling.

In the Attitude Era, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin faced each other twice at the Grandest Stage of Them All, once at WrestleMania 15 and another one at WrestleMania 17. Both those matches main evented the respective shows, but Stone Cold Steve Austin was victorious on both occasions. Even though The Rock won their third match at WrestleMania XIX, it wasn't as important as their previous two bouts.

Assaulted Brock Lesnar After Retirement (March 11, 2004)

While Stone Cold Steve Austin retired in 2003, he still had an on-screen role as an authority figure. He played a pivotal role in the feud between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XX. Austin was the guest referee of the bout.

Before the WrestleMania match, Austin and Lesnar had a confrontation on SmackDown. The segment showed Austin's overpowered booking even after his retirement. During that brawl with Lesnar, Austin manhandled the Beast Incarnate outside the ring, which not many men did in WWE. Moreover, Austin wasn't cleared to get physical, yet he dominated Lesnar.

Won 3 Royal Rumble Matches In 5 Years

Stone Cold Steve Austin's meteoric rise to the top truly began after winning the Royal Rumble match in 1997. Following the Royal Rumble match, The Rattlesnake dominated every Royal Rumble match of the Attitude Era and ended up winning two more Royal Rumble matches in 1998 and 2001 respectively.

RELATED: 10 Times WWE Failed Stone Cold Steve Austin

With his Royal Rumble victory in 2001, Steve Austin became the first and only man to win the Royal Rumble match thrice in his career. Even John Cena, who was notoriously known for being overpowered, didn't achieve the feat in his prime, but WWE made Austin a three-time Royal Rumble winner.

Beat Up The Alliance Alone

After purchasing WCW, the Invasion angle began and Austin played a crucial role in it. He captained Team WWE against the teams of WCW and ECW at Invasion. Even though he hesitated to lead the WWE side earlier, he ultimately returned to his old persona on an episode of RAW, where he cleared the house alone.

While Team WWE was attacked by The Alliance, Steve Austin returned and marched towards the ring to attack all Alliance members alone, showing how he was overpowered. He gave Stunners to every Alliance member. He was later joined by WWE members and ended the segment standing tall.

The WrestleMania 13 Finish

Stone Cold Steve Austin's feud with Bret Hart was the first major feud that put him on the map as a top star. During this long and awe-inspiring feud, they met each other at the Showcase of Immortals in 1997. While the match was one of the best matches in Austin's career, the ending proved he was overpowered.

Austin was bleeding copiously, but Hart kept torturing him. When Hart put Austin in a Sharpshooter, the latter refused to submit. Instead, he passed out in the ring for excessive bleeding. Even after getting consciousness, he didn't take any medical help and gave a Stunner to the guest referee, Ken Shamrock.

Arn Anderson thinks Cody Rhodes has been receiving negative reactions from a subsection of the AEW fanbase because of his recent film and television pursuits.

Anderson, Cody's manager, shared his thoughts in the wake of this week's special Grand Slam edition of AEW Dynamite, at which Cody was booed and jeered by a large number of fans during his match with Malakai Black.

"Wrestling fans are awesome. The reason I love them so much is they are so honest. When you're great, most of the time, they'll tell you. When you suck, they'll let you know. I can see it and hear it," Anderson said during a largely in-character appearance on Busted Open Radio. "There are rumblings, not about Cody being the flagship or the face of the company because he carries that badge and I agree that he should because he can get the word out about our product and he does a great job," he added.

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The WWE Hall Of Famer said that his protege needs to start concentrating on his wrestling career if he wants to live up to his full potential.

"The fact is, without being one of, if not the best wrestler in the company, how many people are going to actually listen to him? Hollywood is a grand thing if that's all you're doing is Hollywood. Right now, he needs to concentrate on getting his wins and losses turned around and earn the fact that when he opens his mouth, people listen. Right now, I'm not too sure. Hollywood is a positive thing in a lot of cases, I'm not sure if it works for Cody in this situation," he said.

As you might recall, Cody lost to Black on Wednesday evening because he was unable to maintain focus. At one point, Rhodes accidentally knocked Arn off the ring apron and went to check on "The Enforcer" instead of concentrating on the match, much to Arn's chagrin. Arn's recent Busted Open Radio comments seem to imply that AEW is running with a storyline in which Cody's out-of-the-ring exploits and distractions will be cited as the reason for his poor run of in-ring form.

Cody's new reality show, Rhodes To The Top, will premiere on September 29th after that week's edition of AEW Dynamite.

(h/t Jeremy Lambert of Fightful for the transcription)

Conor McGregor is undoubtedly the biggest star in the history of mixed martial arts. The UFC got the big break it was hoping for when Brock Lesnar carried the company on his back for a few years, setting PPV records until a bout with diverticulitis robbed him of his health and Lesnar retired early. Fans back then claimed that there would never be a bigger UFC star than Brock Lesnar, who was already well-known prior to his UFC debut. Enter Conor McGregor.

McGregor quickly established a presence in the UFC as he talked the talk and walked the walk, knocking out his foes in his predicted time and manner. The hype of McGregor was at the apex when he knocked out divisional G.O.A.T, Jose Aldo, in just 13 seconds at UFC 194 in 2015. McGregor knocked Aldo unconscious with a left-hand counter, and taking his accurate prediction of the fight into account, some fans were convinced that McGregor had supernatural powers over the fate of other fighters.

RELATED: 10 MMA Fighters You Didn't Realize Were Wrestling FansNaturally, every realm of entertainment wanted the superstar. This included boxing promoters, Hollywood producers, gaming companies, and even pro-wrestling promoters. Indeed, even WWE wanted McGregor to put his shine on the product as McGregor was perfect for the wrestling business. He was able to work a microphone, unlike few others in the UFC, and had built up an almost mystical aura by picking the round and then knocking people out.

WWE Should Allow McGregor To Flaunt His Wealth

In 2021, however, much has changed in the MMA landscape. McGregor topped the Forbes list of the richest athletes in the world and remains as popular as ever, but his fighting career has taken a hit in the past few years. McGregor now holds losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. Moreover, he was finished in all three fights against the aforementioned fighters.

His aura of a fighting savant and the myths around his left hand are both done and dusted, and while WWE would obviously still love to have him for even a single segment, his booking must be done correctly in order for people to buy into McGregor in a WWE ring. McGregor is supremely conditioned and built impressively, but his stature would not stand out too much in the WWE. He was a perennial lightweight fighter for much of his career and even went down to the featherweight division at times.

RELATED: Conor McGregor Admits To Being A Vince McMahon FanAt one point in time, McGregor’s left hand was the stuff of legend, capable of knocking anyone out as it possessed the touch of death, according to fans and even some MMA pundits. McGregor himself was a legend, a fighting prodigy against whom no mortal man could stand. With all of those myths crushed in his recent losses, McGregor has another thing going for him, namely being super-rich and influential across the realm of combat sports.

The one interview which catapulted McGregor to superstardom was when he declared that he was not in the UFC to take part, but to take over the whole sport. His booking in the WWE should revolve around that phrase and his character should be portrayed as a supremely rich and madly charismatic super-villain who has come to conquer the company.

How Conor McGregor Should Be Booked In WWE

McGregor has often called himself a gangster; a modern Don. And while his fighting prowess has dwindled in recent years, his wealth has only skyrocketed. Therefore, much like how Floyd Mayweather was surrounded by a team of his bodyguards during his brief stint back in 2008, McGregor should roll with a pack of hired guns, perhaps some of them being WWE wrestlers who would benefit massively from association with McGregor.

The only time McGregor would get off his throne made out of millions would be when he deems that his opponent is worthy of being in the same ring as him. Regardless of his failures to put out Poirier and Khabib, his left-hand shot should still be treated as a difference-maker and quite capable of knocking out anyone in the WWE, no matter how much they dwarf him in terms of height and weight.

McGregor should also be allowed free reign over the microphone, as his unfiltered trash-talk is what made him the megastar that he is today. Any attempt to tone down his verbal onslaught would only lead to disappointment, but knowing the influence and box-office appeal of McGregor, WWE would oblige as a single appearance from McGregor will likely be the most-watched pro wrestling segment in recent memory.

Conor McGregor is still an elite fighter, even after a string of losses to his bitter foes. The superstar creates controversy wherever he goes, and as McMahon and Bischoff have often said, controversy creates cash. And with proper booking and no restrictions in regards to mic work, McGregor would create a ton of both.

The NXT Championship has a fantastic lineage that has been built up over the years. The title has gained the respect of wrestling fans around the world and the wrestlers that have held it to this point have all been fantastic workers that have helped put together many classic matches that will go down in wrestling history.

RELATED: 10 Backstage Stories About The NXT Championship That We Can't Believe

However, while there have been some amazing contests for this title, there have also been some forgettable ones. Whether it be because two wrestlers simply didn't click or that they weren't given enough time, people have taken their time on Cagematch.net to rate the NXT Championship bouts over the years, and some don't hold up as well as others.

Karrion Kross (c) vs. Samoa Joe (6.62) - NXT Takeover: 36

One of the most recent NXT Championship matches in history is actually rated as one of the worst of all time on Cagematch.net. Karrion Kross put his title on the line against Samoa Joe when he made his return to the company and the two men put together a very physical encounter.

While it wasn't a technical match or a fast-paced one, it was a true brawl between the two men. They're both great at making their matches feel like fights, but there was a slight disconnect here that stopped it from being a classic.

Adam Cole vs. The Velveteen Dream (6.55) - NXT, A Very Gargano Christmas

Adam Cole is a brilliant wrestler and The Velveteen Dream is also a talented performer, but together their storyline didn't quite connect. The two men never really worked well in terms of putting on a brilliant match, and this was an example of that.

RELATED: 10 Wrestlers With The Most NXT Championship Shots (& Never Won)

There was too much going on in this match with outside distractions from Roderick Strong stopping it from becoming an in-ring classic. They worked hard but it just didn't turn out to be one of the classic title matches, especially in Cole's brilliant reign.

Adam Cole (c) vs. Seth Rollins (6.50) - Raw, 11/4/19

On paper, a match between Adam Cole and Seth Rollins sounds brilliant as they are two of the best wrestlers in the world. However, when they competed for the NXT Championship it was on an episode of Monday Night Raw, outside of the NXT environment and under main roster booking.

The match suffered from that and because they weren't given the right amount of time and the lack of storyline it didn't become a classic. This one also ended in disqualification which also didn't help as it stopped the two men from really telling the story that they wanted to.

Keith Lee (c) vs. Dominik Dijakovic (6.50) - NXT 7/15/20

Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic had some brilliant matches across their career, but this one wasn't rated as highly on Cagematch.net. This match actually had both the NXT Championship and the North American Championship on the line, meaning it was a major encounter.

However, this wasn't their greatest bout. They didn't get as much time in order to truly make it a classic match like they have the ability to do. Rather than going back and forth with their highflying moves or huge spots it was grounded more in reality and that is perhaps why it was rated further down.

Bo Dallas (c) vs. Adrian Neville (6.41) - NXT Arrival

This match saw Bo Dallas' run as NXT Champion come to an end as Adrian Neville capture the title in what was an entertaining ladder match. Despite the fact it wasn't rated as one of the highest in the history of the championship, it was an iconic one.

Seeing the title hanging on the line with the ladder match stipulation is something that fans absoutely loved at the time and it helped to draw new eyes into the product. However, audiences just didn't rate it that highly, as was seen by this score.

Adrian Neville (c) vs. Tyson Kidd (6.10) NXT - 2/10/14

Another NXT Title match involving Adrian Neville that fans didn't rate highly on Cagematch.net was between him and Tyson Kidd. They had a lot of matches together, therefore it is no surprise that one of them was always going to end up not connecting.

RELATED: 5 NXT Rivalries That Thrived On The Main Roster (& 5 That Struggled)

This one was actually their final singles match for the title, which also could have impacted the rating as audiences had seen everything they could do at this point. Taking place on an episode of NXT, this didn't have as much hype around it either, which also impacts how people view it.

Finn Balor vs. Apollo Crews (6.06)

Across Finn Balor's two spells as NXT Champion, he has put together some of the best title matches in the history of the brand. However, this bout with Apollo Crews simply wasn't one of those, despite the fact they're both great talents.

Crews was a very new wrestler on the roster at this point, which is one of the reasons it didn't quite click as far as fans were concerned. It also wasn't one of the longest matches in the history of the title, and this was something that also hurt the match overall.

Adrian Neville (c) vs. Bo Dallas (6.05) - NXT Vengeance

Another match between Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas that was rated quite low took place at the NXT Vengeance show, which saw Dallas attempt to get his title back in a rematch from their ladder bout. However, without the stipulation this one was actually voted worse.

RELATED: 10 Backstage Stories About The NXT Women's Championship We Can't Believe

Even though they had solid chemistry, this one clearly didn't connect with audiences in the same manner that many other NXT Championship matches did. Plus, they didn't get anywhere near the amount of time that many other NXT Title matches would later benefit from.

Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal (5.86) - NXT, 7/26/12

This match was the first ever contest for the NXT Championship with the vacant title being on the line. WWE put together a Gold Rush tournament in order to crown the first person to hold the title and it was Seth Rollins and Jinder Mahal who reached that point.

It was quite a strange pairing in reality, however the two men worked hard in order to make this match work. While it wasn't a classic or something that fans would go on to talk about for years to come, it was certainly a memorable moment for Seth's career.

Keith Lee (c) vs. Karrion Kross (5.46) - NXT Takeover: XXX

This match featured two fantastic wrestlers, but that didn't lead to a brilliant match, which is why it has been rated as the weakest in the history of the title. This was supposed to be a hard-hitting bout that audiences would enjoy, but it just didn't turn out that way.

Karrion Kross got seriously injured during the match which obviously didn't help matters and the fact he was able to fight through the problem is impressive enough. However, the contest was just too slow and that stopped it from being enjoyable to watch.

In many major wrestling promotions like WWE, WCW, and ECW there have been several championships that have been created. Whether the title only stuck around for a couple of years or some for many decades, many great champions have made a lasting impression with that title. There's always a champion that fans resonate with a championship. Crash Holly may be best remembered for his time as Hardcore Champion as the impact he had on the belt but he wasn't the first Hardcore Champion.

RELATED: 10 Defunct Wrestling Titles & Their Final Titleholders, Ranked

Titles get phased out with title unification matches and in some instances, there may be far too many titles on a roster with some surplus to requirements. However, being the first champion there's a lot of pressure at stake. You want to have a memorable championship reign and do the title justice by having a great reign with a new title, that becomes established.

WCW Hardcore Championship - Norman Smiley

Norman Smiley is fondly remembered by newer wrestling fans as a trainer with WWE in NXT. However, Smiley was a mainstay in WCW and he had the privilege of becoming the first-ever WCW Hardcore Champion. Smiley was a technical wrestler during his time in WCW and he defeated Brian Knobbs in a tournament final at WCW's Mayhem in 1999.

Smiley is also the longest-reigning WCW Hardcore Champion in history. He held the championship for 51 days, and Smiley captured the championship once more in 2000. The WCW Hardcore Title never reached the dizzy heights like WWE's Hardcore Championship iteration but Smiley was one of the best titleholders of the belt.

WWE Hardcore Championship - Mankind

None other than the Hardcore Legend Mankind was awarded the Hardcore Championship by Mr. McMahon. On the November 2, 1998, edition of Raw, Mankind secured his first singles championship in his WWE Hall of Fame career.

The championship was tailor-made for Mankind but he was only Hardcore Champion for 28 days. He dropped the title to The Corporation's Head of Security Big Boss Man in a ladder match. Mankind may have been the inaugural Hardcore Champion but he went on to bigger and better things as he became WWE Champion in the not too distant future.

WWE North American Heavyweight Championship - Ted DiBiase

There's no doubt that The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase is one of the greatest wrestlers to never capture the WWE Championship. However, DiBiase became the inaugural WWE North American Heavyweight Champion in February 1979.

The championship's lineage was short-lived with only three titleholders. DiBiase was champion for 126 days and he dropped the title to Pat Patterson. Nevertheless, DiBiase carved out an extremely successful WWE career as he was Million Dollar Champion two times over, and he was a three-time WWE Tag Team Champion with IRS.

Divas Championship - Michelle McCool

One of the most underrated female wrestlers in the Ruthless Aggression era is Michelle McCool. McCool defeated Natalya in a hard-fought battle at The Great American Bash 2008 to secure her first piece of silverware as the inaugural Divas Champion.

RELATED: The First 10 Divas Championship Title Reigns, Ranked Worst To Best

The Divas Championship wasn't well-received but McCool made the title feel relevant. She sporadically defended the title and retained against the likes of Maryse and Maria. McCool's inaugural reign lasted 159 days until Maryse beat her for the title in December 2008. Nonetheless, McCool was Divas Champion twice in her career, and the latter run with the strap was as a co-champion with Layla.

WWE Women's Championship - The Fabulous Moolah

In 1956, the prestigious WWE Women's Championship was born. The Fabulous Moolah's reputation may have been tarnished, but she held the title for a remarkable 28 years. Moolah's record as Women's Champion will never be broken as it's hard to imagine someone in the present-day holding a championship for 10,170 days.

Moolah lost the Women's Title to Wendi Richter in 1984. However, Moolah's exploits with the Women's Championship were far from over as she held the championship a further three times. Moolah certainly set the benchmark for those to follow in her footsteps with many female wrestlers taking women's wrestling to the next level.

WWE Light Heavyweight Championship - Taka Michinoku

WWE tried to emulate WCW's Cruiserweight division by introducing the WWE Light Heavyweight Championship in 1997. At D-Generation X: In Your House, Taka Michinoku defeated Brian Christopher to become the first man to hold this championship.

Michinoku is unquestionably one of the very best to hold the Light Heavyweight Title. He even successfully defended the title at WrestleMania XIV against Aguila, who is also known as Essa Rios a couple of years later. Nonetheless, this was the only time that the Light Heavyweight Championship was defended at WrestleMania but Michinoku did a sensational job as champion until he dropped it 314 days later to Christian.

ECW Championship - Shane Douglas

Shane Douglas may have flopped in WWE but he was hugely successful in ECW. Jimmy Snuka is technically the first-ever ECW Champion but WWE acknowledges Shane Douglas as the first titleholder of the ECW Championship. It was Douglas' second reign with the title which began on March 26, 1994, but WWE recognized it five months later as the title was renamed as the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.

RELATED: The 10 Greatest ECW Champions Of All-Time

Douglas is the longest-reigning ECW Champion in history as he managed to hold the title for a whopping 406 days. He certainly made up for his lackluster run in WWE as he did an exceptional job as ECW Champion. Altogether, Douglas held the championship collectively for four days and he was recognized by WWE for holding the title for 718 days.

European Championship - The British Bulldog

It's pretty fitting that The British Bulldog being a European was the first man to hold the European Championship. Bulldog defeated his brother-in-law Owen Hart in a tournament final in February 1997 to win the championship. It was a competitive title bout, and Bulldog was a double champion as he was co-holder of the Tag Team Championship with Hart.

Bulldog certainly gives his compatriot William Regal, and D'Lo Brown a run for their money as the greatest European Champion of all time. However, Bulldog must have been sick of the sight of Shawn Michaels as for the third time, Michaels ended one of his Bulldog's championship runs. This time it happened in front of Bulldog's hometown crowd at One Night Only in Birmingham, England.

World Heavyweight Championship - Triple H

In 2002, WWE restored the "Big Gold Belt" and Triple H was handed the World Heavyweight Championship by Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff. The Game became synonymous with the World Heavyweight Title, especially with his second run with the championship.

Triple H was the top dog on Raw and he had a tight vice grip on the World Heavyweight Championship for 280 days from December '02 to September 2003. Nevertheless, Triple H is a household name and he was certainly the correct choice to be the first World Heavyweight Champion.

WCW Championship - Ric Flair

On January 11, 1991, Ric Flair made history as the first wrestler to capture the WCW Championship. Flair is an iconic titleholder and when people think about WCW Champions, Flair often comes to mind. The Big Gold Belt certainly resonates with the Nature Boy as he held the championship on countless instances.

However, Flair never lost the WCW Championship as he sought green pastures by joining WWE. Flair was far from done as he brought the Big Gold Belt on WWE programming although it was blurred out. Collectively, Flair was an eight-time WCW Champion and he was champion for a combined 505 days.

AEW wasted no time in getting the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium fired up for the highly-anticipated Grand Slam special.

The opening match saw Bryan Danielson, making his in-ring debut for the company, square off against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega. The two superstars competed in an intense back-and-forth affair that ended in a time-limit draw.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that AEW decided to open Grand Slam with Danielson vs. Omega so that they could run a match "with no timing issues" and so they could "go longer earlier in the show without a commercial break." There was only one commercial break throughout the 30-minute showdown.

Ruby Soho and Britt Baker D.M.D. faced off in the main event for the AEW Women's World Championship. Soho earned the title opportunity by winning the 21-woman Casino Battle Royale at the All Out pay-per-view (where she debuted) on Sept. 5. Baker managed to retain her title via submission.

RELATED: SUBSCRIBE:The Sportster Wrestling Newsletter

Like Soho, Danielson and Adam Cole made their first AEW debuts at All Out. The latter turned heel immediately by assisting Omega, The Good Brothers and The Young Bucks in attacking Christian Cage and Jurassic Express, which transpired immediately after Omega defeated Cage in the main event to retain his World Championship. Danielson showed up moments later and helped the babyfaces fight off the heels to close out the show.

AEW Smartly Booked Omega vs. Danielson

From a booking standpoint, it made sense to run a draw between Danielson and Omega for a variety of reasons. Neither star should take a clean loss right now. Danielson was making his AEW debut, after all, and Omega is the World Champion.

On top of that, the draw obviously opens the door for more matches down the road. This couldn't have been a one-off match by any means. Omega and Bryan certainly left fans wanting more, and there's little doubting that we'll see an extended feud here.

There have been rumors WWE is working on a new gimmick/character for Keith Lee. He's been active in dark matches and around the WWE product, but not been brought back to Raw or SmackDown on a regular basis. The most recent news, based on the way WWE announced him to the ring for a recent match, is that he's going to go by a new moniker. Keith "Bearcat" Lee.

The news spread when a video surfaced of his entrance at a show and the name added to his introduction. It wasn't clear exactly why the name is being used, but some believe it might have to do with WWE and Keith Lee are paying homage to Bearcat Wright and Bearcat Brown by changing his name to Keith “Bearcat” Lee. Wright -- a one-time WWA World Heavyweight Champion, is seen as a key figure in the desegregation of the sports-entertainment industry -- was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017. He was part of the legacy wing.

There is some belief that Lee will make his WWE return during the WWE draft which is scheduled to begin Oct. 1. It's not clear where he'll wind up or if a new look will accompany his return, but his dark matches have not featured him getting a physical makeover. If he does, it shouldn't come as a surprise because WWE is heavily investing in the idea that their Superstars need to have features and/or characteristics they can sell to an audience. Lee is a potential star, but WWE is looking for the right mix of ingredients to push him to the moon.

Be Great To Get Lee Back

It will be exciting for fans to have Lee back. There was a long period of time where his future in wrestling was unclear due to health complications. He needed to take an extended leave and now that he's back and healthy, WWE is hoping he can make a big impact on one of their main roster shows.

Friday Night SmackDown superstars Roman Reigns and The Usos made appearances on this week's episode of Monday Night Raw, with the Universal Champion competing in two matches.

Reigns and The Usos defeated The New Day in a six-man tag bout. The final match of the night saw Reigns, WWE Champion Big E and Bobby Lashley square off in a triple threat showdown, with The Tribal Chief pulling off the win.

Before Raw aired, it was reported that if the show had garnered strong ratings, it could lead to more instances of superstars appearing on the opposite brand.

But in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote that this is "Not a long-term strategy. Not even a short-term one." Meltzer noted that things could change, and it could be an option if ratings continue to drop.

RELATED: SUBSCRIBE:The Sportster Wrestling Newsletter

This week's episode of Raw saw a noticeable increase in ratings, averaging 1.793 million viewers which was up from the 1.670 million viewers from last week's show. The key 18-49 demographic also saw a jump, going from 0.43 rating last week to 0.49 million this week.

The 2021 WWE Draft is slated to take place on next week's episode of Friday Night SmackDown and the Oct. 4 edition of Monday Night Raw. So WWE shouldn't feel the need to bring in SmackDown superstars over to Raw shows and vice versa in the immediate future, with the rosters about to undergo shake-ups anyway.

Could Roman Reigns Move To Raw?

Reigns' appearance on Raw surely played a huge role in the increased ratings this week. Although he's the top star over on SmackDown, one can't help but wonder if WWE will ultimately move the franchise star over to Raw. The ratings on SmackDown have remained consistently strong, whereas the Raw viewership has been on a downward trend for a while. Bringing Reigns over to the flagship program could change all of that, but of course, WWE would risk a decline in viewership on SmackDown. We'll just have to wait and see what plays out at the draft.

Jack "The Rocketwheel" Cartwheel, is one of the current young talents in pro wrestling to keep your eye on. Although he's only been wrestling for two years, he's already consistently booked on independent wrestling promotions such as Game Changer Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Guerilla.

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer noted that Jack Cartwheel was going to be a "a big star very soon," after having seen his debut performance at Pro Wrestling Guerilla's Mystery Vortex 7 show in Los Angeles.

Get to know the rising star below by reading 10 fun facts about 'The Rocketwheel' Jack Cartwheel that we learned in Denise Salcedo (Twitter Profile here) exclusive interview with him.

He Began Training To Become A Pro Wrestler in 2018

Cartwheel, said he first began training to become a wrestler in the Summer of 2018. However, he took a break because he thought the school he was attending was a scam. "For some reason I thought It was a scam, when I went to my first practice I thought it was a scam or something." However he ended up giving the school a second chance and ended up officially becoming a student of Supreme Pro Wrestling based in Northern California during the Fall of 2018. "We had a little storage unit, with a ring in there and we would practice 2 to 3 times a week."

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Cartwheel Made His Debut As A Professional Wrestler in 2019

Cartwheel had his first match during the Spring of 2019 and then continued growing as a wrestler by getting booked on as many shows as he could. "It was super fun, I did a couple of Rumbles and a couple of tag matches here and there at little fairs, at other shows just whenever I could fill in."

Cartwheel Recalls Game Changer Wrestling Being A 'Nerve-Wrecking' Experience

Cartwheel has now wrestled eight matches and counting with Game Changer Wrestling but noted that he was nervous the first couple of times. "Just to be able to be on that platform, it's a very nerve-wracking experience, but it's something you gotta learn how to love in order to do this."

As a young up-and-coming wrestler, he also enjoys the traveling aspect of pro wrestling and was happy that GCW allowed him the opportunity to be flown out. He has now wrestled in multiple cities including: Las Vegas, Nevada, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California.

He Has An Extensive Background in Gymnastics

Cartwheel has a very athletic presence inside the squared circle, he does a lot of high-flying aerial maneuvers, hence the moniker, "The Rocketwheel." This is due to his extensive background in Gymnastics, he began dabbling in it as a toddler but focused more on the sport throughout his kid and teenage years. " I did gymnastics since I was really little, like jamboree type stuff, between 3 {years old} and 5 {years old} but that was more like daycare. I did do actual gymnastics, from like 6 to 16. I did it for a long time, I was a vault California silver medalist, that was cool, floor and vault were my main things in Gymnastics."

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Cartwheel Is Also A Football Player And Currently Plays For Chapman University

Not only is Cartwheel currently balancing life as an independent wrestler and student but he is also currently part of the Varsity Football team at Chapman University. "I started Football in 6th grade, and I played throughout Middle School, and High School and I also play at Chapman University."

Cartwheel Did Amateur Wrestling For A Year But Did Not Like It

On top of having an athletic background in both Gymnastics and Football, Cartwheel also adds that he did powerlifting and amateur wrestling. " I also did amateur wrestling for about a year. I didn't love it, it was cool, but it wasn't for me. I also started way too late. I started as a Junior in High School which is kinda late in that sport. Once you get to that level most kids have been doing it for 3/4/5 years. It was hard to just jump in without a lot of experience and without an off-season. I also did a good amount of powerlifting. My dad is a powerlifter. "

Cartwheel Became A Big Wrestling Fan At 16 Years Old

Cartwheel says he went through a phase of being a wrestling fan between the ages of 12 and 13 but didn't get back into it until he was 16 years old. "I watched it every now and then, if it was on, I wouldn't turn it off. But I didn't really watch it the way I feel a lot of wrestlers watched growing up."

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Cartwheel Names Kota Ibushi As One of His Favorite Wrestlers

"Kota Ibushi for sure. When I started watching wrestling a lot more, I watched his stuff and thought he was super cool. Just like freaking awesome. Him, PAC, Dolph Ziggler is actually one of my favorite wrestlers, growing up Goldberg was my favorite wrestler for a good amount of time. I actually really loved Ryback too back when he had just first started, he was my favorite at that time. ACH, I'll watch his matches all day. Bandido also."

Effy Gave Jack Cartwheel Some Great Career Advice

"Effy for sure is someone that I have talked too in the last couple of months. He said some really smart things, saying that you want to have something that a fan can look at, outside of wrestling, and say 'Oh that reminds me of that guy.' Something that can hold your brand to things and objects that remind people of you. As long as they're thinking of you in some type of way.

By the dawn of the new millennia, WCW was in bad shape. The tides had shifted in the once fiercely competitive Monday Night Wars and WWE was comfortably ahead, outperforming WCW on a weekly basis and consistently scoring higher ratings. WWE had suffered the injury of their top star, Stone Cold Steve Austin, but the massively popular third-generation wrestler, The Rock, was well capable of carrying the company on his back and he did so without a hitch, therefore continuing the successful run of WWE.

Over in WCW, the big-wigs were understandably panicked as ratings, buy rates, and merchandise numbers plummeted. Eric Bishoff was sent home during September 1999 and Vince Russo, the previous head writer for WWE, was brought in to turn things around. Unfortunately for Russo, after his pitch of putting the world title on MMA fighter, Tank Abbot, he too was sent home and the responsibilities fell upon Kevin Sullivan to book the show. This string of panicked knee-jerk reactions caused quite a bit of unrest backstage and soon after, WCW higher-ups removed Sullivan as he was not performing well. This all happened in the first few months of 2000, and the tone was set.

New Blood Was One Last Attempt to Save the Sinking WCW

Russo and Bischoff were brought back together, in a last-ditch effort to put things right. On the 10th April edition of WCW Nitro, an episode billed as “The Night That Changed the World”, Russo declared that WCW would have a bright, new start. To that effect, all titles were vacated and therefore, all ongoing storylines were reset. The aforementioned episode opened up with Russo in the ring alongside the younger wrestlers, calling Ric Flair the dirt stuck to his boot until Bishoff came out to interrupt him.

RELATED: WCW's New Blood Faction: Where Are They Now?Bischoff teased going against Russo, but soon embraced him as the two would lead the group of wrestlers in the ring, the New Blood, together as the old veterans were simply not worth the money. Bischoff had issues with Hogan while Russo thought Flair was a piece of excrement stuck to his boot.

The New Blood stable set its sights on the Millionaire’s Club, a group of veterans which included Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, and Sting to name a few. In comparison, the New Blood was several times larger in terms of numbers, with notable members including Booker T, Scott Steiner, Goldberg, and Bret Hart. The idea of this storyline was simple enough, and so was the ultimate aim of what was supposed to be a long angle; the New Blood would take matters into their own hands and rise up against the veterans, who used their position and power to hold them down. They would finally rise up against the backstage politicians and make a name for themselves, through perseverance and hard work. And in turn, the crowd would love them.

WCW was clearly looking to establish new stars, as WWE had done with Austin and The Rock. There was one big problem though, one that doomed this angle from the start. The New Blood faction were booked as the heels, while the Millionaire’s Club (which, by the way, is a horrible name for a babyface stable) were booked as heroes. Instead of portraying the young faction as sympathetic, hardworking wrestlers who were standing up for themselves, the members of the group came across as egotistical, vain, and greedy.

RELATED: WCW's New Blood vs. Millionaire's Club Storyline, Explained

Moreover, what remained of the WCW powers-that-be in 2000 barely knew anything about the new batch of wrestlers. The company had relied heavily on their aging stars, and those lower on the card were neglected. The fans booed the New Blood, and WCW, whilst having another knee-jerk reaction, pulled the plug on the whole idea in about three months. The storyline was quickly phased out, but the ultimate end came at the infamous Finger Poke of Doom, and then WCW phased out of the wrestling world.

The Storyline Was Doomed From The Start

Initially, the idea was well-received and the April 10th edition of Nitro did manage to get a decent rating. The misalignment of the two factions was one issue, but WCW clearly had no intention of thinking about the long-term goals, and only cared about boosting ratings at the moment. For this reason, the whole angle had numerous shoots, many of which served absolutely no purpose. Moreover, WCW pandered to the internet crowd with nods to real-life happenings outside of the ring. The most notable example of this occurred when Eric Bishoff taunted Sid Vicious about his scissors, referencing his real-life altercation with Arn Anderson, but barely anyone in the crowd knew what he was going on about.

Some would say the New Blood faction was doomed from the start as the bulk of WCW's charismatic talent, such as Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Dean Malenko had left for WWE by then. With stars such as Booker T and Vampiro still in the mix, there was some potential for entertaining television. But after bad booking and adverse crowd reactions, WCW panicked and nixed the idea, and the stars were left in limbo until the company was brought by Vince McMahon the following year.

They may no longer be on WWE programming together, but that's not stopped Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux from getting closer than they've ever been before. The couple officially announced on social media that they are engaged and special congratulations go out to one of the best-looking duos in WWE.

The couple shared their announcement by posting a photo on social media with Scarlett showing off a fancy ring on her wedding finger with the caption, "Pop the champagne." In a separate post on Instagram, the couple shared a photo of them on a hike and Kross wrote, "When you can go anywhere with a person or absolutely nowhere- and always feel like you’re in the right place; that’s a good way to know." It's not clear if this is the location Kross proposed or not.

There are a number of real-life couples in WWE. Perhaps the pairing that had the most potential was Kross and Bordeaux as they made a major splash upon their arrival in NXT and many fans thought the sky was the limit in WWE. Inexplicably, WWE moved Kross to Raw as the NXT Champion, but Scarlett wasn't with him. She's yet to join him on the Raw roster and it's not at all clear what WWE creative has planned for her.

Congratulations To The Couple

Let's hope WWE can see how good these two look together and this becomes the tap-on-the-shoulder creative needs to get these two back in the ring together and working on Kross' character. He's got the "it" factor in WWE, but it's clear he's far more unstoppable when he's got his finance by his side. Congratulations to the couple poured in from fans and fellow wrestlers and we'd like to wish them the same.

Let's just hope WWE elects not to make it an on-screen wedding for the sake of a ratings grab. That's the last thing the Kross character needs.

From the moment AEW began, it has been clear that MJF has something special and the company has got behind him from the start. Maxwell Jacob Friedman has enjoyed a great run so far and in terms of heel heat there are few that come close to being able to gain a reaction like he can from a live audience.

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MJF is a name on the rise and there is no doubt that he will be a future World Champion considering how entertaining he is. Because of the fact AEW is growing and MJF is such a big part of it, fans are wanting to learn even more about him as a person.

He's 5ft 11in

When it comes to the height of the AEW star, MJF is billed at 5ft 11in, which means he isn't one of the tallest members of the roster. However, he's also not one of the smallest as well, as he is quite average in terms of height.

Nowadays it isn't something that matters as much in the world of wrestling like it did in the past when only wrestlers who were incredibly tall would be pushed to the top of the card, which is why MJF will have no problems in this regard.

He's 25

One of the reasons that people are so excited about MJF as a wrestler is simply because of his age. AEW is blessed with a roster that is mixed with experience and youth, and MJF is one of the younger stars, being only 25 years old.

RELATED: 10 Great AEW Wrestlers (& Their Biggest Weakness)

This is perfect for Tony Khan because he could get a lot of years from MJF if he decided to stick with the company. He has made a great impression already and despite the fact he is very young, MJF already acts like an experienced wrestler, which makes his future even more exciting.

Came From CZW

Combat Zone Wrestling is one of the most exciting promotions in the world, with this indepedent company having brought some amazing wrestlers into the industry. The likes of Jon Moxley and Adam Cole have come through the ranks with CZW and MJF is another example.

He started training with the company back in 2015, which showcases just how quickly he has risen to the top in wrestling, as he has only been in the business for six years. But it is also a credit to the training that takes place with CZW.

Appearance On The Rosie O'Donnell Show

Something that fans might no be aware of is that a young MJF actually appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell Show. When he was just five years old, the future wrestler made an appearance on an episode where he was singing "You Are My Sunshine."

It's something that has been shared around online after fans found the footage, and MJF has used it in character to try and enhance his heel status. However, it showcases the fact he was bound to be star from a young age.

A Career In Football

A lot of wrestlers come from a sporting background before they get into the wrestling world and that was the case with MJF. Like many people in the business, he played football during his time in high school, which is something a lot of talents have done.

RELATED: 10 Former Football Players Who Won Titles In Wrestling

While he didn't make a career out of football, he was considered to be a good player and the atheltic nature of the sport is something that would have no doubt helped him when he decided to get into wrestling.

His Inspiration

MJF is a great wrestler, but what he is best known for are his amazing promos. He can talk trash perfectly and he cuts people apart on the microphone, with this truly being the best part of his work, which is why it makes sense that "Rowdy" Roddy Piper was his inspiration.

The wrestling legend is one of the best talkers in the history of the business who would also talk trash about all of his opponents. MJF was hooked by that and inspired, which is one of the reasons that promos have become such a big part of his career.

Hell In A Cell Importance

When it comes to the history of wrestling, Roddy Piper might have been the guy for him, but it was actually the legendary Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Mankind from King Of The Ring 1998 that got him hooked on wrestling.

He went into a video store and saw the cover of the PPV and was interested because he thought the Deadman was a literal zombie. This is one of the most iconic wrestling matches of all time, but few know that it started MJF on his journey into wrestling.

Tough Enough Audition

Tough Enough has been the starting point for a lot of great wrestling careers over the years, but that wasn't the case for MJF. He was never part of the show like many other stars, but that doesn't mean that he didn't try, because he did send in an audition tape to be part of the series.

MJF wasn't successful in this endeavor, but that has worked out perfectly for him, as who knows what his career would have looked like if he had ended up being part of the show rather than going on the path he has done.

Relationship Status

When it comes to MJF's relationship status, it is currently believed that he is single. The AEW star had been in a relationship at the start of his AEW career when he dated fellow wrestler, Allie Kat, however the duo broke up.

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Allie was quite public with her thoughts about them splitting up and she shared the reasons for their split and how it affected her overall. However, when it comes to right now, MJF isn't believed to be in a relationship, clearly putting a focus onto his wrestling career.

His WWE Appearance

A lot of wrestlers make appearances for WWE when they're breaking through in their careers as this is a great way to get exposure and showcase themselves with the company. This normally takes place with people being extras, and that is what MJF did.

His role came during NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II when Samoa Joe made his entrance. Joe was appearing from the back and making his way to the ring when MJF was a member of the security team who actually got shoved by The Samoan Submission Machine.