Matty Breisch Articles - Page 85

When it comes to relationships in professional wrestling, few men have as varied an experience working alongside Vince McMahon as Eric Bischoff. From being rivals in the 1990s to coworkers in the 2000s to rivals again when he joined TNA to coworkers once more, Bischoff and McMahon have spent hours formatting shows, discussing the directions […]

After weeks and weeks of anticipation, Chad Gable finally earned his chance to punch his ticket to WrestleMania 40 and, more importantly, his chance at revenge against Gunther, the “Ring General,” Intercontinental Champion, and the man who made his daughter cry during their fantastic championship match last fall on RAW. On paper, the rules were […]

Before he was a “Megastar” on SmackDown, a Million Dollar Champion in NXT, or even Eli Drake on the indies, talking about his “Shoes of a Champion” on NWA and Impact, LA Knight was a participant on the 2013 WWE adjacent show The Hero, where Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson looked to find the next great, […]

When it comes to professional wrestling in 2024, few performers have seen, let alone experienced, more than Samoa Joe. From his current spot as the AEW World Champion, to his top-shelf runs in TNA and Ring of Honor, and even his time in WWE, where he became an NXT Champion twice but was largely squandered […]

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Ezekiel, the performer previously known as Elijah and now known on the Indies as Elijah, was one of the hottest acts in the entire WWE Universe. A long-haired, clean-shaven grappler who looked like the Ultimate Warrior without the face paint/Destrucity, Ezekiel weirdly got over for being […]

As the WWE Universe inches closer and closer to WrestleMania 40, the “Showcase of the Immortals” and biggest show of the year, Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Logan Paul orchestrated a special announcement regarding another one of WWE’s Big 4 Premium Live Events, SummerSlam, on the latter’s ImPaulsive podcast. But what, you may ask, did […]

After officially accepting The Rock’s terms for a tag team match in the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes was booked for a special interview with Michael Cole on RAW, where he would be afforded a chance to speak his mind on the massive undertaking. Only, at least initially, Cole had […]

After watching Seth Rollins take swing after swing at the biggest, baddest faction in all of professional wrestling, The Bloodline, since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made his triumphant return at RAW Day 1, it’s hard not to forget that he’s technically set to face-off against Drew McIntyre at the “Showcase of the Immortals,” marking their […]

When news broke that Paul Heyman, the multi-hyphenate booker/manager/”Wise Man” who has shepherded the biggest act in wrestling over the past three years, was being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame mere miles from where he became a legend, the 2300/ECW Arena, it drew nearly universal praise from across the ICW. One such fan? […]

As WWE fans eagerly wait to watch who will win the Gauntlet match to decide on Gunther’s opponent at WrestleMania 40, some major news broke in the Vince McMahon lawsuit, with four of the previously anonymous names in the suit, dubbed Corporate Officer No. 1-4 at the time, being unmasked by Front Office Sports in […]

Though it’s been a few weeks since Sting wrestled his final professional wrestling match against AEW EVPs, the Young Bucks, the wrestling world is abuzz over the bout, with wrestlers, podcasters, and legends alike all discussing what has already been billed as the greatest retirement match of all time. One such personality who checks all […]

When news broke that Sami Zayn was going to be one of the competitors in a six-way Gauntlet match to decide on Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship challenger at WrestleMania 40, it felt like a perfect chance for the “Underdog from the Underground” to finally secure his spot at the “Showcase of the Immortals.” Sure, Zayn has […]

If there’s any member of the extended WWE Universe who has extensive experience working with Vine McMahon, it’s Jim Ross. A former commentator, member of the booking committee, and talent scout who helped to bring in some of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time into the promotion, Ross has forgotten more about his time […]

When news broke that Kazuchika Okada, the ace and biggest star of New Japan Pro Wrestling, was signing with AEW after almost two decades in the King of Sports, it left fans wondering what to expect from the “Rainmaker.” Would he enter the promotion as a singles star, immediately taking a shot at one of […]

After working an absolutely incredible bout with Konosuke Takeshita at Revolution, stealing a show that featured Sting’s final match alongside Darby Allin against the Young Bucks, Will Ospreay backed it up with another five-star match in his second match as a full-time AEW star, besting his United Empire teammate Kyle Fletcher in the Dynamite main […]

If there’s one storyline to define the WWE Universe in the post-Pandemic era, it has to be The Bloodline, Roman Reigns‘ ever expanding storyline defined by main event matches, melodrama, and extended storylines that go on with seemingly no end in sight. Discussing the faction’s incredible staying power on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker […]

When Zoey Stark turned on Trish Stratus at the end of her crushing loss to Becky Lynch in a Cage match at Payback, it felt like “The Goat” was gearing up with a feud against her former protege. On paper, it made sense, right? The duo spent months working together, with Stark serving as Stratus’ […]

After watching AJ Styles deliver – remotely – a firey promo regarding his cross-hemispherical attack on LA Knight at the Elimination Chamber in Australia, it left the “Megastar” so upset he literally attacked a television out of sheer anger. Why did he pull this action, entering into a bizarre impromptu battle that hopefully insensed Jim […]

After taking a massive loss to Rhea Ripley at the Elimination Chamber, it would make sense if WWE decided to ice out Nia Jax in order to move forward to new storylines, allowing the Australia-born, San Diego-raised Superstar to lick her proverbial wounds and prepare for something bigger at WrestleMania 40. So far, that really […]

When news broke that a dozen or so WWE Superstars were released from the promotion last September, it felt like only a matter of time before at least a few of the performers made their way to AEW. In the past, that was sort of Tony Khan’s MO, taking underutalized WWE stars that the company […]

After a week of anticipation and a preview of things to come on both RAW and social media, The Rock, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and Seth Rollins all got into the ring in the main event of SmackDown to further one of the most prolonged storylines in professional wrestling: who will main event Night 1 […]

After watching her last ties to Damage CTRL get severed on SmackDown with a very characteristic Dakota Kai betrayal, Bayley suddenly finds herself all alone within the WWE Universe, a leader without a faction and public enemy number one of four women who know all of her weaknesses and where the proverbial bodies are buried. […]

After a, shall we say, eventful week filled with social media promos, television promos, and comments about “Diarrhea,” WWE fans the Universe over eagerly anticipated SmackDown to see what Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his The Bloodline bunch would do next in their ever-expanding feud with Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins? Would he come up […]

Less than a week after Corey Graves made headlines for celebrating WWE’s new creative direction at the commentary table, with announcers being afforded much wider lanes from which to do their magic, Michael Cole, the promotion’s lead announcer and Vice President of Announcing, weighed in on his Premium Live Event booth mate’s take in a […]

While much of John Cena‘s current media blitz to help promote his Amazon movie Ricky Stanicky has been about his wrestling future, asking when he plans to hang up his boots, what he thinks about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s return, etc, the 16-time champion has had no issue talking about his past either, even his […]

One of the great questions surrounding the final throes of Vince McMahon’s last act in WWE involved what happened between Creative, Naomi, and Sasha Banks – now known as Mercedes Mone – that caused the then-Women’s Tag Team Champions to walk out of RAW and leave the promotion for good. Widely dubbed a creative dispute […]

When The Rock returned to WWE in 2011, it’s safe to say John Cena wasn’t a fan. Feuding with “The People’s Champion” in an incredibly personal feud that spread out over multiple WrestleManias, Cena made it his mission to let Rocky know part-timers like himself weren’t welcomed in his WWE, an ironic position considering he […]

Heading into AEW Revolution, one of the biggest questions surrounding the main event, Sting and Darby Allin versus the Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championships regarded which members from “The Icon’s” past would attend the show in support of their long-time friend. Now granted, rarely does who attends a show really become […]

When news broke that Maxxine Dupri was booed at a California house show before Elimination Chamber for her, shall we say, green wrestling in a match against Nia Jax, it split opinions across the IWC. Some fans found the behavior totally acceptable, noting that show attendants have every right to boo a performer if they […]

When the news that Kazuchika Okada was going to test free agency in earnest after establishing himself as the face of New Japan Pro Wrestling, it sent shockwaves across the professional wrestling world. Suddenly the “Rainmaker,” one of just two men in professional wrestling history to earn a seven-star match from Dave Meltzer of the […]

At the end of the penultimate match of AEW Revolution 2024, the Three-Way bout for the AEW World Championship, Swerve Strickland did something pretty much unprecedented for his current character: he put honor over an easy win. That’s right, as the match was winding down, ‘The Realest’ had a chance to ice out his opponent […]

When it comes to professional wrestling, there’s Will Ospreay, and really, there’s everyone else. Sure, some fans may suggest Roman Reigns is a bigger draw, Eddie Kingston is a bigger draw, Logan Paul is more culturally relevant, or someone like Kazuchika Okada has the greater pedigree, but frankly, when it comes to putting in work […]

After securing a pair of fantastic wins at WrestleMania 39, Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch now find themselves on a crash course toward each other at WrestleMania 40, set up to work a premier match with the Woman’s World Championship on the line. Will the match main event either night of WrestleMania 40 in South […]

When Corey Graves began calling matches following the end of his in-ring career, the WWE Universe was in a very, very, very different place. John Cena was still an active wrestler, Roman Reigns wasn’t over as the heel-ish “Head of the Table,” and Vince McMahon, then still considered a hero in the eyes of many, […]

When news broke that the co-main event of AEW Revolution was going to be a three-way match for the AEW World Champion between incumbent Samoa Joe, “Hangman” Adam Page, and Swerve Strickland, many felt the match was the Moguel Embassey leader’s to lose. On paper, it made sense, right? Swerve is about as popular as […]

When it comes to talks of WWE Mount Rushmores, The Undertaker’s name is usually a pretty safe bet to come up in the conversation. A dynamic, durable, dedicated “Deadman” who had one of the greatest gimmicks of all time, found a way to reinvent himself successfully despite being tied to said gimmick and even earned […]

Though it may be hard to recall now, as he’s since gone on to have one of the greatest in-ring careers in WWE history and has all but locked up a spot on the promotion’s Mount Rushmore, you wouldn’t know it by the way John Cena debuted all the way back in 2002, as his […]

As the professional wrestling world eagerly anticipates the expected Big Business debut of Mercedes Mone in “Bo$$ton,” there’s a segment of the IWC who is equally disapointed by the fact that Sasha Banks, one of the Four Worsewomen of WWE’s Women Revolution, will not be returning to RAW or SmackDown any time soon, if ever. […]

Though some may quibble on the margins over semantics, an accepted fact of the WWE Universe is that John Cena has never had a proper heel run during his time on the main roster. Sure, he had some bad guy antics during his Doctor of Thuganomics-era, and was famously considered a heel when he traveled […]