The Week in Wrestling: The Last Ride
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SI.comâs Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath the surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling.
Time to say farewell
The Week in Wrestling on SI.com has run every week since January 6, 2016.
Nearly nine years later, that run has reached its end.
There will be no new column next week for Sports Illustrated. My contract is up, and I have decided to move on. While I am grateful to have spent almost a decade with SI, it is time to explore new opportunities.
As I was thinking about how change is inevitable, a story came to mind. I had the chance to connect with Damian Priest in Cleveland the day before SummerSlam, just after the screening of his new documentary (which, for what itâs worth, was extremely well done).
Priest was about to put the finishing touches on a career-altering world title run, and we reflected on his run in The Judgment Dayâwhere, initially, he was slated to work alongside Edge, who would be the leader of the faction that would also include Rhea Ripley.
âWeâd just had a major moment joining together forming The Judgment Day,â said Priest. âIt felt like no time had passed, and then it was Edge who told me that he was being taken out of the group. He waited to tell me after TV one night when we were on the road. I thought we were done. I was so upset. When Rhea found out, she was even more mad than me.â
Without Edge, who was prematurely removed before the storyline could develop, it appeared there was a limited futureâif anyâfor Judgment Day.
âEdge was mad, too,â said Priest. âI still speak with himâhe was one of our biggest backers. When he told me, I remember him saying, âAll of this, for nothing.â And I repeated thatâfor nothing. Thatâs the way it felt at the time.
âI was waiting for the phone call to get released. Obviously, it worked out a lot differently.â
As it turned out, the Priest-Ripley-Finn Balor-Dom Mysterio version of The Judgment Day reached a level of brilliance that no one could have envisioned. To me, Priestâs memories of the abrupt ending of Edgeâs run in The Judgment Day captured the goal of this weekly column. Not that change is inevitable, though it most certainly is, but rather how he shared his side of the story. That was always my goalâreveal a different side of professional wrestling.
The wrestling industry has changed dramatically over the last eight years. Vince McMahon is no longer the end-all, be-all in WWE; in fact, he is no longer involved in any part of the company as Nick Khan oversees WWE and Paul âTriple Hâ Levesque handles creative. Tony Khan changed the landscape for the better with AEW, adding the ingredient that WWE thrives off most: competition. Covering the indies, which is the heartbeat of the industry, was also a passion, and I thoroughly enjoyed directly connecting as many mainstream stories as possible to pro wrestling.
Is Kevin Durant the leader of the NBA's version of the NWO?
â Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 14, 2021
He doesnât think so, but that didnât stop Eric Bischoff from welcoming the Slim Reaper with open arms đ¤@JustinBarrasso with more: https://t.co/AzzKZ2ve26 pic.twitter.com/ArsMedF0Bu
Iâd be remiss not to thank Andy Gray, an extraordinary piece of SIâs past. Without him, this column would never have become a reality. I had the privilege of working with Dan Gartland for years, connecting with him every dayâand looking forward to every conversation. If youâre reading Danâs daily piece, it serves as a reminder of how talented he is as a writer.
I also had the joy of working with the extremely talented Shemar Woods. We connected more on the MMA beat, but he was intertwined on the pro wrestling side, too. Shemar pushed me in different directions as a writer, and his voice and passion for the fundamentals of journalism left a lasting impression on my work.
The Rock used to say âIt doesnât matter what your name is,â but sometimes it really does, @JustinBarrasso writes https://t.co/tmu6biTNxk
â Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 7, 2020
And if you enjoyed reading this weekly column, then, like me, you are forever grateful to Francis Connolly. Every single column went through Francis before anyone else. He makes an art out of editing, and as much as I enjoyed writing this column every week, reading the edits and comments from Francis brought a whole different level of enjoyment.
As for me, there will be more stories to write. Where and when will be a story for another day.
Until then, thank you for reading.
The (Online) Week in Wrestling
- Wrestling suffered a tremendous loss last week with the passing of Kevin Sullivan, who helped revolutionize its modern form.
I believed Kevin Sullivan was the devil when i was a kid. Even after I was smart to the business, I thought that was real. I was still scared of him when I was in WCW. đ. He was brilliant! I'm so grateful to have known & worked with Kevin when i was in nWo. He will be missed. đ⌠pic.twitter.com/nSDX6Cn1Ns
â Sean Waltman (@TheRealXPac) August 10, 2024
- Roman Reigns returned to SmackDown last Friday, making an entertaining show infinitely more interesting.
- Last week on SmackDown, Kevin Owens first explained why he did not deserve a shot at Cody Rhodesâ WWE Championshipâthen, backstage, his infuriated response when being told Roman Reigns was next in line for a title shot prompted him to change his opinionâwas a perfect use of logic in pro wrestling storytelling. But are we rushing into the Owens-Rhodes match?
ROMAN REIGNS WAS ABOUT TO GET A TITLE SHOT TILL KEVIN OWENS CUT ONE OF THE COLDEST PROMOS
â FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) August 10, 2024
ITS OFFICIAL
đ¨ OWENS V RHODES IN BERLIN đ¨#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/GEfw9ep1XF
- Dustin Rhodes has his sights set on the Ring of Honor tag team titles. Cody Rhodes is watching his workâand says the Rhodesâ family has its own pro wrestling bloodline.
Cody Rhodes on Dustin Rhodes: âWe have our own bloodlineâ https://t.co/zIZ6tAKWci
â Justin Barrasso (@JustinBarrasso) August 11, 2024
- Mercedes Mone against Hikaru Shida should be an outstanding match tonight on Dynamiteâand it serves as another reminder of why wrestling is a better place with AEW involved.
ćčżăăăăăŽćšăŤčąčŞăč¤ăăŚăăăăŚĺŹăăăăăăđĽă#AEW #AEWCollision #AEWDynamite https://t.co/7IlRO9YSnw
â HIKARU SHIDA ĺżç° ĺ (@shidahikaru) August 11, 2024
- Welcome back, Maple Leaf Wrestling. Scott DâAmore will, once again, find a way to add value to the industry with his promotion.
Striving for excellence starts from the 1st second of existence. Graphics are the basis of so much we do.
â Scott D'Amore (@ScottDAmore) August 12, 2024
Our team knocked it out of the park as this graphic feel truly EXCELLENCE!#MAPLELEAFPRO https://t.co/sgcZa0Duii
- Is there a worse faction name than Pure Fusion Collective? The group is talented, but the name does not do them any favors.
The âPure Fusion Collectiveâ is the name for this faction.
â Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) August 13, 2024
Fire or nah?#WWERAW pic.twitter.com/qh9EC2KWhH
- Joe Hendry is the perfect choice to challenge Ethan Page for the title. If people in NXT want to build an air of unpredictability, they should do what the decision-makers in TNA opted not to doâand put the belt on Hendry.
"The entire world believes in Joe Hendry, the only problem is, I don't."@joehendry has his sights on @OfficialEGO's NXT Championship, but he's not the only one... đ#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/ZY7CMLlzhC
â WWE (@WWE) August 14, 2024
Braun Strowman on Bo Dallas: âPeople are getting a glimpse at how talented he isâ
Braun Strowman got his start in WWE when he debuted as the fourth member of The Wyatt Family in the summer of 2015.
Despite a limited experience in professional wrestling, Strowman had the privilege of learning from Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper (who also starred in AEW as Brodie Lee), and Erick Rowan. Tragically, WyattâWindham Rotundaâand fellow Wyatt brethren HarperâJon Huberâboth passed away far too soon.
âI learned so much from those guys,â said Strowman, whose name is Adam Scherr. âThey were like brothers.â
Strowman is watching closely as Bo Dallas carries on what Bray Wyatt built. Dallas is Taylor Rotunda, his real-life younger brother, and he is now leading The Wyatt Sicks, which also includes Rowan. It is a tribute act to Wyatt, yet it represents even more.
âItâs really cool,â said Strowman. âNot only is he carrying on Windhamâs legacy, but heâs also getting his own opportunity, too.â
watch this đź pic.twitter.com/oFfmvXe2ED
â WWE (@WWE) August 13, 2024
Strowman has found every single segment from The Wyatt Sicks extremely captivating. He believes that the group has laid the foundation to leave a lasting impact, especially with the right person leading the way.
âJust wait,â said Strowman. âTaylor is special. He is every bit as talented as Windham, heâs just never had an opportunity to show it. People are getting a glimpse at how talented he is.â
Tweet of the Week
Tonight in the land of neo nazis roaming the street and very poorly seasoned food.
â Maxwell Jacob Friedmanâ˘ď¸ (@The_MJF) August 11, 2024
I vanquish another red coat terrorist in the name of liberty and justice for all.
Why?
Because I am a real American. pic.twitter.com/h06zyevZWP
You can clearly see how much fun Max is having during this run.