WWE TV Megathread

[C.S.]

If only there was another wrestler in WWE Fenix could team with...

[The Thread Killer]

11 minutes ago, C.S. said:

If only there was another wrestler in WWE Fenix could team with...

Yeah, but Penta is actually kind of doing better as a solo act right now. With the way WWE treats their tag team divisions (at least the RAW tag division) Penta teaming up with Fenix would unfortunately kind of seem like a bit of a step down from where he is right now.

I would definitely like to see the Lucha Brothers reunited at some point, but when it will actually mean something. Although this whole angle with Penta kind of feuding with The New Day could be heading in that direction.

[The Thread Killer]

Not gonna lie, since her return, WWE did a great job of slowing building Asuka’s heel turn, finally culminating with what happened during and after the Main Event on RAW tonight.  Of course everybody saw it coming from a million miles away, but it was still really effective. It helps that Asuka is able to straddle that fine line between corny overacting and coming across like a complete psycho. I am very interested to see Rhea & Iyo vs. Asuka & Kairi now.

[sek69]

So is Bayley doing a Three Faces of Foley gimmick and just going to cycle between Hugger Bayley, Ding Dong Hello Bayley, and Role Model Bayley?

[El-P]

Jasmine Nyx not resigning and basically revealing she wasn't making 80K a year is *interesting* to say the least, in the wakes of Mark Shapiro talking about squeazing the most profit, the obscene amount of money they got from their various rights deal and the Blood money Mana show, and next Mania's ticket prices. Sure, you're on TV every week on a show that gets really good ratings, but well, you ain't sniffing those giant profits at all.

[The Thread Killer]

This situation might be part of WWE finally figuring out that they have a real problem on their hands when it comes to their developmental system.  I have actually been paying more attention to NXT over the past few months, and the picture is not pretty when it comes to the women's talent. Not that they don't have enough...they have way too much.

RAW and Smackdown both have about 15-20 roster spots for women.  And some of those spots are rightfully taken up by women who aren't going anywhere, nor should they.

RAW

Here are the "top" women's names on RAW. These are all women who have either held championships or been involved in angles that required TV time over the past 6 months...

Stephanie Vaquer (Women's World Champion)

Becky Lynch (Women's Intercontinental Champion)

Asuka

Bayley

Iyo Sky

Lyra Valkyria (although don't ask me why)

Nikki Bella (again...don't ask me why)

Raquel Rodriguez

Roxanne Perez

and Rhea Ripley (who is not only probably the top woman in the company, she's basically one of the top stars in WWE)

On top of that you have huge names like Naomi and Liv Morgan who are out right now, but will be returning to top spots. Then you have middle of the road talent like Ivy Nile, Kairi Sane, Nattie and eventually Zoey Stark. Oh yeah...and Maxxine Dupri.

SmackDown

Top names on SmackDown...

Tiffany Stratton (WWE Women's Champion)

Giulia (Women's US Champion)

Charlotte Flair (1/2 of Women's Tag Team Champions)

Alexa Bliss (Other 1/2 of Women's Tag Team Champions)

AJ Lee

Bianca Belair

Chelsea Green

Jade Cargill

Nia Jax

Zelina Vega

Plus on SmackDown you have Candace LeRae, Kianna James, Michin, Alba Fyre, Nikki Cross, and eventually Piper Niven again, hopefully.  Oh yeah...and B-Fab.

So here is my point...

Both of those women's rosters are pretty much packed to the limit with talent.  Even if you wanted to, I don't think you could realistically fit any more female talent in there, unless you made cuts to the existing rosters to make room. And there are no names on those rosters which are obvious potential cuts, except for Nikki Bella and maybe Maxxine Dupri and B-Fab.  

When you look at NXT and Evolve, it's almost ridiculous. There are 45 women in the WWE developmental system, and they have a whopping 2 hours of network TV to fill, and a show on Tubi. So essentially, there are pretty much no available Main Roster spots for the women, and a massive group of women who are basically sitting around, waiting to fill the spots. Now on top of that, you have the TNA Knockouts who are coming in and taking up NXT TV time.

This is where I question WWE's strategy when it comes to their "NIL" program.  The "ID" program is dumb enough, because that's basically just WWE signing independent female talent to keep them from going to AEW.  But in the case of the NIL program, they are literally going out and recruiting female athletes who aren't even in the Pro Wrestling business and then training them to wrestle, only to have them sit in Evolve or NXT because there is nowhere to go.

I remember the last time WWE released a handful of developmental talent, a lot of fans started freaking out about how unfair it was, since TKO/WWE could afford to pay them. Then reports started to come out that WWE had decided who to cut based on perceived level of effort and attitude. I said it at that time, and I'll say it again...what the hell is the point of having all this talent signed up, if you're not going to use them?

When it comes to Jazmyn Nyx, I guess WWE didn't release her, but they basically low-balled her on a developmental contract offer, because they probably didn't see a whole lot in her.  Based on the limited amount I saw of her myself, I can't honestly say that I disagree with that assessment.  When it comes to the WWE developmental system, I always end up looking at the talent as falling into one of several different categories.

- Talent who just need more work, but eventually will probably have the skill to make it on the Main Roster. Somebody like Sol Ruca.  In time, I can see her being good enough to get called up.  Hell, Jacy Jayne and Lola Vice both proved with their segment on NXT TV this past week that while they may be ready from an in ring standpoint, they still have a long way to go once you put the spotlight on them. Watching segments like that really remind you that you're watching a developmental territory.  That's the kind of thing where NXT being on national TV really doesn't do these guys any favors at all.

- Talent who are pretty much ready, but there's no room for them on the Main Roster.  This is basically what happened to Roxanne Perez, who ended up stagnating in NXT for ages before she finally got called up. There have been plenty of other examples of people like that, as well.  I look at Fallon Henley or Kelani Jordan in this way as well.  If there was room on the Main Roster, they'd probably be fine (although they might not set the world on fire) but there is no room for them.

- Talent who are probably good enough to be on the Main Roster, but are basically being kept in NXT to work with those who aren't. This phenomenon seems to be a bigger problem with male talent, with guys like Ricky Saints and Ethan Page, but you could easily apply this category to Blake Monroe and Jordynne Grace.  These are people who are basically as good as they're ever going to get, it's not like they're learning anything in NXT, but they stay involved in major angles on TV, to the point where you know WWE must be hanging on to them for a reason. You also have to wonder if some of these people are better off being the big fish in the small NXT pond, because they might not shine on the Main Roster.

- Talent who don't seem to be ready for the Main Roster...and probably never will be. This is definitely the category I would have put Jazmyn Nyx in, sad to say for her.  And quite honestly...there is quite a bit of talent in NXT right now who probably belong in this category.  The interesting thing is, the imbalance is pretty amazing because NXT has WAY more potential female stars than they do men.  Like, it's kind of shocking. Not to be mean, but guys like Andre Chase or Josh Briggs probably don't even belong on TV, because...damn.  They might make it to the Main Roster as an extra...but that's about it.

This is going to come across sounding cruel, and I don't really mean it to be, but when it comes to talent like Jazmyn Nyx, WWE should probably be doing more of that, not less. I don't want to see anybody lose their job just to be cruel, but those female roster spots are at a premium, and unless WWE is considering starting a new all female TV show or something...I really don't understand their hoarder mentality when it comes to talent. Eventually something's gotta give.

[El-P]

If they didn't want her anymore, they would have cut her or not renew her, just like they did with a bunch of people already. Like they needed some elaborate "low-balling" to Jasmyn fucking Nyx so she would refuse. The reality is more that NXT contracts are nowhere near as good as people think.

The actual low-balling happened BTW, and it was with Vaquer and Monroe, two people they really wanted and knew they could get for a cheap price because of how WWE-brain coded they were.

[JRH]

So AJ Styles is retiring next year:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25253051-aj-styles-announces-hell-retire-wwe-2026-my-body-can-no-longer-move

If they want to give him a retirement tour angle, lets hope they learned from the mistakes they made with Cena.

[The Thread Killer]

Nia Jax strikes again. During the main event tonight on Smackdown, she threw Jade Cargill headfirst into the steel steps, and Cargill came up bleeding badly from a cut on her forehead. It was a pretty nasty looking cut, and there’s no way she had time to do it herself. Mind you, a lot of the blame for that probably needs to go on Cargill for not protecting herself.

[sek69]

Not to mention there's zero chance WWE would ever allow blading in a women's match when they barely allow it with the men. 

Funny thing is a lot of the time with Nia it almost seems like she doesn't realize her own strength and ends up hurting the much tinier women on the roster by not realizing how far they'll go when she tosses them around. Clearly that's not the case with someone like Jade. 

[The Thread Killer]

DAMN Cargill posted a couple of follow up pictures of the cut on Instagram and it’s pretty gross. I’m not even going to repost them here because they might make people sick. That’s going to leave a nasty scar, and she’s going to be out for a bit, I bet. 

[The Thread Killer]

So apparently the injury to Cargill screwed up the finish to the Main Event last night. I remember as I was watching the match I thought something wonky had happened, but I only had one eye on that match because I was also watching the Jays/Rays game at the same time, so it didn’t have my undivided attention.

Supposedly, Stratton was always supposed to go over, but Cargill was supposed to break up a pin, which she didn’t do. Even after she got busted open, Cargill hit her finish on Jax, and then Stratton dropkicked Cargill and went for the cover herself. Cargill was supposed to break up that pin attempt, but instead she rolled out of the ring and was being checked on by the doctor. So the ref makes the count, but once the ref realizes that Cargill isn’t going to break up the pin she just stops counting at 2, and Jax doesn’t even try and kick out.

Apparently the fans started booing (I didn’t notice at the time because I had the sound muted…both because I was watching the baseball game, and because the commentary team was Michael Cole and Booker T, which I’m pretty sure is the commentary team in hell.)

Stratton ended up going to the top rope, hitting her Moonsault for the win, but apparently that was not the planned finish. Apparently you won’t be able to see any of this on YouTube because they have edited the clip.

What a clusterfuck.

[strobogo]

Shit that cut looks fucking gross. Eyebrow completely split in half, solid silver dollar sized open wound.

[Blehschmidt]

1 hour ago, The Thread Killer said:

So apparently the injury to Cargill screwed up the finish to the Main Event last night. I remember as I was watching the match I thought something wonky had happened, but I only had one eye on that match because I was also watching the Jays/Rays game at the same time, so it didn’t have my undivided attention.

Supposedly, Stratton was always supposed to go over, but Cargill was supposed to break up a pin, which she didn’t do. Even after she got busted open, Cargill hit her finish on Jax, and then Stratton dropkicked Cargill and went for the cover herself. Cargill was supposed to break up that pin attempt, but instead she rolled out of the ring and was being checked on by the doctor. So the ref makes the count, but once the ref realizes that Cargill isn’t going to break up the pin she just stops counting at 2, and Jax doesn’t even try and kick out.

Apparently the fans started booing (I didn’t notice at the time because I had the sound muted…both because I was watching the baseball game, and because the commentary team was Michael Cole and Booker T, which I’m pretty sure is the commentary team in hell.)

Stratton ended up going to the top rope, hitting her Moonsault for the win, but apparently that was not the planned finish. Apparently you won’t be able to see any of this on YouTube because they have edited the clip.

What a clusterfuck.

I turned it on just as that match starter and can verify it was a shit show. As soon as Jade got cut, everyone involved looked totally lost.

But the pin was awful. The ref counted One, Two, and then just quit counting. Jax looked up at her, she looked at Jax, Jax said something, the ref said something back, then Jax throws her shoulder up like she was kicking out. Stratton just kept pinning her the whole time.

 

You can't hardly blame Jade for rolling out with that gash on her face, but good lord, I think I'd have to go Bill Watts and fine everyone else involved for being fucking terrible at the wrestling business.

[Alucard]

NXT/TNA inVasion confirmed for October 7, to go head to head with Dynamite moving to Tuesday that week.

[Big Pete]

On 9/27/2025 at 3:36 AM, The Thread Killer said:

Not to be mean, but guys like Andre Chase or Josh Briggs probably don't even belong on TV, because...damn.  They might make it to the Main Roster as an extra...but that's about it.

Andre Chase is clearly in the same category as Starks and Page. An indie veteran who can help guide the young talent and work that player/coach role. They keep releasing his students, so I'm not sure how much longevity he has left in the company, but I don't think there's ever been designs for him to make the main roster.

If you're not familiar with him, he used to work ROH as Lancelot Bravado, one half of the Bravado Brothers and they usually found themselves working the preliminary tag team matches against guys like Cole and O'Reilly. They were a good chicken-shit heel team, but their ceiling was only so high and they could only play the Grandma's boys gimmicks for so long. Before NXT, he was largely working shows like Evolve as the mid-card veteran.

So I'd swap Chase out for Tony D'Angelo. Here's a guy who's been in NXT for over four years now, his character has done everything possible in NXT and I don't think there's room for an Italian mobster on the main roster. Maybe you could make him a package deal and bolster the tag division but I don't see a return of investment there. They can't get the Creed Brothers over, what chance do they have of getting the D'Angelo family over?

[El-P]

9 hours ago, Alucard said:

NXT/TNA inVasion confirmed for October 7, to go head to head with Dynamite moving to Tuesday that week.

The discourse is gonna be hilarious because of course NXT is gonna do better ratings, so we're gonna have the idiotic "OMG TNA beat AEW they are gonna be the #2 promotion when they get that TV deal !" 😂

Of course since "nobody" really watches TNA anyway, nobody talks about how ass the booking is. That "invasion" (which is an ridiculous concept when the biggest TNA names have appeared on NXT regularly for a year and a half now) comes from absolutely nowhere, hasn't been built at all in any meaningful way and hell, take the women side, it's gonna be funny as fuck when the TNA team is Indi Hartwell, Léi Ying Lee, Victoria Crawford and the IInspiration... The Hardies winning the NXT title from Dark State is gonna be twisted as "see, TNA talent won big" when in fact the Hardies are considered as WWE guys. Tons of fun incoming indeed.

[strobogo]

The discourse should be how fucking funny it is that HHH is bringing back the Invasion branding, the famously biggest botched program of the past 25 years (for their feeder system and WCW 2.0/their lower feeder system) while being responsible for the biggest botched program SINCE the Invasion in Cena's retirement tour.

[El-P]

Well, Michaels is booking NXT, but that's neither here or there. After watching Victory Road (which did had a great Leon Slater vs Myron Reed match, to the surprise of absolutely no one), the TNA "invasion" is already a laughing stock booking wise. So the TNA people are really angry at NXT so they invade them. And then at Victory Road, Keilani Jordan is given a spot in the battle royale to crown a new KO champ and not one of the TNA girls cares. And of course she wins. And then she wins against Léi Ying Lee (you know, that classic TNA worker), the whole thing being refed by next challenger Indi Hartwell, longtime TNA favorite (since April), all in good sportsmanship spirit. Mind you, she totally outshined Lee (not a hard task), so there. And then at the end of the show, they make a big deal out of X-div challenger at BFG being... Jevon Evans, and everybody cheers. So yeah, hostile invasion angle and all.

It's really sad how cucked TNA has been in this whole deal. Honestly the best you can hope is for WWE to lose interest once hey realize they aren't hurting AEW at all with this (I mean, they can't hurt AEW with Cena vs Brock and AJ Lee coming back for a first on ESPN, so really now, TNA...).