The Post’s Joseph Staszewski brings you around the world of professional wrestling in his weekly Post Match Angle.
From the cold open to Jackie Redmond interviewing CM Punk the minute he rolled out of the ring, Raw’s debut on Netflix was a business and branding statement by WWE and TKO.
For nearly its entire history, pro wrestling has been a misplaced toy of show business, sitting between sports and entertainment; drama and comedy, and living behind the wall of kayfabe.
WWE shattered all of that on Monday from the Intuit Dome. They are now fully and unapologetically embracing all aspects of what they are — especially with WWE moving to a more sports-centric presentation under former ESPN producer Lee Fitting.
In the cold open, Triple H used the once taboo wrestling terms “heel,” “face,” “work” and “shoot” and in the post-event press conference said, “We’re not hiding what we do.”
And they’re breaking some old rules along the way.
The Rock stood in the ring dressed as his heal Final Boss character but delivered a speech as babyface TKO board member Dwayne Johnson. (Maybe we should have known from the stubble.)
He thanked all the Netflix executives, crushed all his storyline heat with Cody Rhodes by commending him on the job he’s done carrying WWE as world champion and later acknowledged cousin Roman Reigns as Tribal Chief with a hug and the placement of the Ula Fala without delivering a Rock Bottom to launch a feud. (During his NXT appearance Tuesday, Rock did address being nice to Rhodes as being “20 steps ahead” and said to “enjoy the ride.”)
It felt like a clear — but unneeded — signal that he won’t be at WrestleMania 41 and a mixing of signals character-wise that may have been done differently during the Vince McMahon days.
But the biggest difference is how much WWE’s presentation feels like a sport now — no longer like a campy, raunchy or Disney-like variety show depending on what era we are talking about.
Yes, back in the territory days, pro wrestling was presented as a true sport while denying its predetermined nature.
But remember that media-rights money now is in live sports, so the closer WWE can resemble that the better.
As much as I hate the advertisement-covered ring mat, it’s no different than what we see in boxing and TKO’s other company, the UFC. It’s a money grab — much like awarding the Royal Rumble to Saudi Arabia of all places in 2026 — but not an unexpected one.
WWE has regularly shown its stars arriving at the arena like we get in the NBA or NFL and we often see them preparing in the locker room like we do fighters in other combat sports.
The same goes for showing all the celebrities, legends and fellow fighters who came out to watch the Netflix debut.
SmackDown play-by-play man Joe Tessitore has had a rich career calling mainstream sports and Raw analyst Pat McAfee is one of the hottest and most well-paid names in sports broadcasting at ESPN.
WWE’s pre-and-post event shows feel even more like what fans get watching games on Fox, ESPN or TNT. Redmond, who also covers the NHL, grabbed Punk for comment on the post-Raw show like sideline reporters do.
WWE performers will often visit the post-show desk — like Jey Uso did Monday — to talk as NFL players do for primetime games and we see on Fox during the MLB playoffs. WWE has dabbled in a lot of this before, but everything feels more polished now
It’s why Monday truly was the beginning of the new era in WWE where sports is just as emphasized as the entertainment.
A Money Cash-in
Tiffy Time was worth the wait, and it was perfectly done with the story WWE told around Tiffany Stratton. With all the false-alarm cash-ins and all the times her loyalty to Nia Jax was questioned, having Stratton help Jax retain the WWE Women’s championship was well played and a great swerve to the champ and the audience. It made the moment of Stratton crashing the briefcase into Jax’s back in even more effective. Lost in all of it was an incredible KOD from Bianca Belair.
So what comes next?
Jax will want her rematch, now likely at the Royal Rumble. So Stratton will need some help to even the numbers game with Candice LeRae by Jax’s side. So what if Charlotte Flair returns at the Royal Rumble, but comes out later to help Stratton retain to set them on their way to a WrestleMania match?
Risky business
Deeply Blue Los Angeles is not exactly a soft landing spot for Hulk Hogan — a vocal and visible supporter of President-elect Donald Trump — and his “Real American” beer, which announced a partnership with WWE. The showering of boos he received shouldn’t be a surprise for other reasons, too.
Enthusiasm for Hogan has diminished since he was removed from the WWE Hall of Fame from 2015-18 after it was revealed he used a racial slur in 2007 during a conversation about his daughter Brooke’s love life. But WWE took the risk of sending him out and it became a big story on an important night.
The 10 Count
After watching CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins and Punk’s work since his wrestling return, it is time to remember that Phil Brooks is as good a storyteller in the ring as he is on a microphone.
The fan chatter has been the forming of an unholy anti‐Original Bloodline alliance between Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins.
McIntyre offering help and a warning to Cody Rhodes before Owens took out the Undisputed WWE champion was an interesting potential first step because it was hard to tell if McIntyre — a viable person to beat Rhodes for this title — was telling the truth. Owens nearly cost Reigns Tribal Combat, too.
John Cena’s promos, maybe unlike any performer, can tell a mini story and take you on a ride of emotions and logic right along with the character, and his declaration for the Royal Rumble did just that.
One last significant run for Jeff Jarrett should be fun. But I’m just not sure it had to be for the AEW World championship held by Jon Moxley, who he isn’t beating. Really curious how this plays out because AEW has done such a good job with legends.
I don’t think you realize how much Adam Copeland is missed until he’s back. He’s constantly one of the most interesting things on AEW TV and a great frontman for a company. FTR looks motivated by this new pairing but there are times I can’t help but think Copeland is just filling in for where CM Punk was supposed to be.
Three titles changed hands at NXT New Year’s Evil — not even a PLE — in a huge brand shake-up before the Royal Rumble with Giulia (NXT Women’s champion) and Oba Femi (NXT champion) and Lexis King (Heritage Cup) all with clean wins to earn hardware, It could mean much-deserved call-ups for Roxanne Perez and Trick Williams in the coming months as the Raw and SmackDown rosters get rejiggered a bit. Cora Jade looks like he might be held back to be Giulia’s first feud.
Corey Graves is arguably WWE’s best color analyst. His return to the NXT desk will only elevate the brand even more — like he did during his first stint.
Chelsea Green should only dress in red, white and blue for the entire time she is United States Women’s champion.
Corey Graves and Michael Cole had an incredible back-and-forth about her that was borderline brilliant if you can tell me they didn’t plan it.
TNA’s Tessa Blanchard experiment continued to roll on in a positive direction. It was quite the visual watching her drag Jordynne Grace down a ramp backstage with a gear bag handle around her neck.
Mercedes Mone told us when she came to AEW that she was taking things “global” and made good on that by beating Mina Shirakawa at Wrestle Dynasty for her RevPro British Women’s championships to add to her New Japan STRONG Women’s title and TBS championship. Mone carried a fantastic close to 2024 into 2025.
Social Media Post of the Week
Wrestler of the Week
Kenny Omega AEW
Omega didn’t miss a beat after 13 months out of the ring after being diagnosed with diverticulitis. The Best Bout Machine lived up to his name with a bloody Tokyo Domo classic at Wrestle Dynasty while making rising star Gabe Kidd, who looked every bit the part. Could a potential reunion with a returning Kota Ibushi to go after the Young Bucks be next for Omega?
Match to Watch
Men’s Casino Gauntlet match on AEW Dynamite (Wednesday, 8 p.m., TBS/Max)
This will decide Jon Moxley’s challenger for the AEW World championship on Jan. 15. Jay White earned starting the match that ends with the first pinfall even if the final participant doesn’t make it. Jarrett and Swerve Strickland have also declared. Expect some surprises, too.
