Pro Wrestling Contract Season

[digforvictory]

4 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

At one point Miro was one of the best characters in the company, and that could have continued. The redeemer was a good character, but clearly things didn’t work out in the way it perhaps could have. It sounds like he was at least partly to blame for that, same goes for Black; although it became very clear very quickly that he was a bust.

Given that Rusev can be very entertaining, I suspect he’ll end up having a good second run in WWE. I’m less convinced about Black. 

The Redeemer TNT title run was absolutely brilliant but yeah it was a long long time ago that. Nearly 4 years ago that he won the title.

And since then he pretty much did absolutely fuck all. I think his blame in that would be more than just partly to be honest. There were strong rumours he refused to lose to anyone, including that he refused to lose to Hangman Page!,  and I fully believe those rumours considering the last time he actually lost a match in AEW Kenny Omega was still the World Champ.

Black I was never a big fan of.

I can see both of them settling back into the WWE midcard. Better than Andrade but not main eventers.

[Devon Malcolm]

Fair to say he won't be busting out his Mickey Mouse t-shirt for his Raw debut.

[RedTwoster]

28 minutes ago, digforvictory said:

The Redeemer TNT title run was absolutely brilliant but yeah it was a long long time ago that. Nearly 4 years ago that he won the title.

And since then he pretty much did absolutely fuck all. I think his blame in that would be more than just partly to be honest. There were strong rumours he refused to lose to anyone, including that he refused to lose to Hangman Page!,  and I fully believe those rumours considering the last time he actually lost a match in AEW Kenny Omega was still the World Champ.

There were rumours about Black refusing to lose also - Wade Keller essentially said that on his podcast, and this is why he kept being booked in six-man matches.

[LaGoosh]

Miro was great but like most monster heels in today's wrestling scene once he lost he struggled as a character. It's why the territories were so great for guys like him, they can go have a six month run as a monster somewhere then put over the babyface on the way out and then go do the same thing somewhere else. But now when guys are in multi year contracts once they lose that monster aura after their first loss you've basically got them on the payroll for 2-3 more years and you're limited in what you can actually do with them which isn't just another monster run for diminishing returns.

[tiger_rick]

Good luck to him. I liked him as Rusev, thought he was brilliant at times and had a higher ceiling and I liked him as Miro, thought he was brilliant at times and had a higher ceiling.

I've no idea why he didn't succeed more in WWE or AEW. My suspicion is the former was because of Vince's opinion and the latter was because there was always a better choice at the tippy top but you could easily reverse those and you have to throw in the rumours about him being difficult at times and his personal circumstances.

Regardless, AEW had plenty out of him and get him off the wage bill and WWE now have a good performer with name recognition who comes in fresh and could be motivated. Everyone is a winner. 

[Lorne Malvo]

He had plenty of good moments during his initial AEW run. Arcade Anarchy, him destroying Darby to win the TNT title, him being booked as an unstopabble monster until the discovery that there was a chink in his armour in his dodgy neck (which even lead to a fun match with Fuego Del Sol - Fuego was a massive underdog but if the master of the tornado DDT could focus on the neck, maybe he stood a chance?), the 'redeem deez nuts' Eddie Kingston feud.

As soon as he took that lengthy first break it was like AEW couldn't really be arsed with him anymore, although it does sound like a big chunk of that may be down to him refusing to lose.

Those first few weeks of Collision are mad looking back though. The home of CM Punk! Andrade! Ricky Starks! Miro! And.... Scorpio Sky? So I'm full on expecting a Men Of The Year reunion in NXT at this rate.

[RedTwoster]

10 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said:

Those first few weeks of Collision are mad looking back though. The home of CM Punk! Andrade! Ricky Starks! Miro! And.... Scorpio Sky? So I'm full on expecting a Men Of The Year reunion in NXT at this rate.

People talk about Gallows and Anderson having stolen a living, but Scorpio Sky is an even greater example of that. Still contracted to the company, yet he’s not wrestled for either AEW or ROH since 2023. He’s wrestled independent matches recently so clearly he’s not injured, it’s quite bizarre, unless he has a backstage role I’m unaware of.

[Infinity Land]

24 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

People talk about Gallows and Anderson having stolen a living, but Scorpio Sky is an even greater example of that. Still contracted to the company, yet he’s not wrestled for either AEW or ROH since 2023. He’s wrestled independent matches recently so clearly he’s not injured, it’s quite bizarre, unless he has a backstage role I’m unaware of.

With at least one vignette and then there was that backstage bit with Private Party some time before they won the tag titles.

[Vamp]

It'll be interesting to see how guys like Miro and Black react to being asked to lose in WWE. 

[LaGoosh]

4 hours ago, Vamp said:

It'll be interesting to see how guys like Miro and Black react to being asked to lose in WWE. 

They'll do what they're told.

[Supremo]

Rusev won’t have a problem doing jobs as long as he and Lana get to do another cuckhold angle.

Aiden English is in TNA, isn’t he? Might as well bring him back for the Rusev Day entrance.

Edited April 3, 2025 by Supremo

[d-d-d-dAz]

10 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Rusev won’t have a problem doing jobs as long as he and Lana get to do another cuckhold angle.

I thought she'd given him the push? I never liked their act in WWE, even when others were giving it the time of day.

He's just not very good in the ring.

Edited April 3, 2025 by d-d-d-dAz

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

11 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

He's just not very good in the ring.

I think that's why she left him. 

[Cannibal Man]

5 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

People talk about Gallows and Anderson having stolen a living, but Scorpio Sky is an even greater example of that. Still contracted to the company, yet he’s not wrestled for either AEW or ROH since 2023. He’s wrestled independent matches recently so clearly he’s not injured, it’s quite bizarre, unless he has a backstage role I’m unaware of.

been around Southern California indies for ages and ages, mate of the Bucks/Excalibur and co so they might just be doing a favour to a mate

[TheBurningRed]

17 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

thought she'd given him the push?

They got back together recently. Just in time for his WWE return.