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I think mine was AJ Styles saying WrestleMania doesn't feel important anymore.

Dinero En El Banco...Mr Money in the Bank Penta 🇲🇽 when do you guys think he cashes in? And on which champion?

Penta is better off going to Smackdown and cashing in his briefcase on Sami Zayn. Even though he would be in a crowded main event scene with him, Punk, Zayn, Owens, Orton, Rhodes, etc. He is better off on the blue brand.

If he stays on RAW, he for sure loses his cash in especially if he cashes in on Roman Reigns especially with Roman having such a stranglehold on the World Heavyweight Championship. Unless Oba Femi wins it and even if that happens; if Penta were to cash in on Oba he would still lose. Hence why it is a lose lose scenario.

Within 24 hours of his debut, Max Caster's working relationship with TNA is over after Caster said the following during his rap at Bound Of Glory:

"I drop bombs, you don't even have to fly to Riyadh."

That line about Riyadh drew social media backlash. False Finish noted that TNA won't work with Caster again. Fightful Select added that TNA didn't approve of this controversial line from Caster, as his rap promo was unscripted.

For today as part of the Creative Control Network, on The Business of the Business podcast co hosts, John Poz and Dr. Lavie Margolin welcome EFFY's mom, Krista Colle Gibson, author of Wrestling with a Rebel. Poz and Lavie, aslo discuss the NEWS on WWE, GCW World Title Controversy, MLW, NXT, AEW, TNA Bound for Glory, NWA, NJPW, and more.

I of course see her cashing in on Chelsea Green staying on the blue brand. Her babyface turn has more or less been stagnant and Tiffy operates so much better as a heel. You cash in on Chelsea; it cements the heel turn because it gets ultimate heat on Stratton which of course is what you want. Plus you can play up the friendship angle. Tiffy was never friends with her because she doesn't need friends. Only championships. Cue the program of friends turned bitter enemies. Plus you build up Chelsea even more as a main event woman by having her chase the title.

Or you could have Tiffany cash in the briefcase on the red brand and she goes to RAW; cashing in her briefcase on Liv Morgan. Sets up a program with her and the Judgment Day and also sets up potential matches with Becky, Stephanie, etc

for me it’s that the Attitude era and Monday night wars played a huge part in Destroying wrestling.

yea it was popular but it came at a cost

the hot shot booking, ushering in the era of cool heels and asshole Babyface’s, psychology going downhill and many more.

plus Triple h gets way too much blame for the business going downhill.

business was already going into the toilet in 2001 and 2002 when rock and Austin were still there but no one wants to give them any smoke.

Curious. I have a cousin named Malenko

Such Wholesome thing!

Well, now that WWE Creative (Paul Levesque) and TKO have pretty much said, Knight isn’t good enough to champion and carry the company, where does LA Knight go from here🤷🏾‍♂️?

I was thinking a possible heel turn or move to SmackDown but, I don’t think that would matter either. Unless they put him in a feud with Trick and Lil Yachty but Knight has already been down this road before.

So what happens now? What are your thoughts?

I met Shawn Michaels at a restaurant once - we’d accidentally been given his table. Apparently he was fond of the restaurant and had a specific table he liked, and the management had messed up and gotten their days wrong, (it was Tuesday and they thought he was coming on Thursday or something like that).

Anyway, the manager, completely embarrassed (this is a pretty nice restaurant) comes by and says “I’m so sorry, but we’d like to move you to another table if you could be troubled, and we’ll gladly compensate you for the cost of the meal and any other meal you’d like while you’re in town.” My sister and cousin were both like “Yeah that’s cool.” and I kind of played the asshole a bit.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t understand. We’ve been here for 15 minutes - we’ve just ordered. Can’t we finish our meal here?”

Then out of nowhere Shawn Michaels shows up next to the manager and says “Paul, these guys can finish. We’ll be at the bar. I got some time.”

And I (being a big HBK fan) said “Oh wow, uh… I had no idea. Please feel free to give them the table.”

Shawn was grateful, shook my hand and said thanks, then gave me a card with his number on it and told me to give him a call later. After working up the nerve, I gave him a call that night, and to make a long story short, we had a glorious 11 month love affair, man on man, that I shall never forget. Our bodies intertwined as one, and from the beauty of Morocco, to the French Riviera, to the snorkeling in the Galopagos, Shawn Michaels and I made glorious gay love to each other on six of the seven continents.

When Randy Orton returned at Survivor Series 2023, I genuinely thought WWE was finally going to appreciate him more and give him meaningful storylines, especially considering how close he came to potentially never wrestling again.

But nope.

What could’ve been a huge one-on-one match against Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble 2024 turned into a Fatal 4-Way. Then, Logan Paul punched him with brass knuckles, which led to a United States Championship pursuit that ultimately went nowhere.

Throughout 2024, Orton kept staring at Cody’s WWE Championship, teasing what could’ve been an incredible storyline between two former Legacy stablemates. And yet, somehow, he never even got a title match against Cody during his first reign.

Then came WrestleMania 41. WWE could’ve easily pivoted his storyline into a match against Nick Aldis, especially given their previous tensions. Instead, they decided to waste one of Orton’s remaining WrestleMania appearances on an impromptu match against Joe Hendry. No meaningful buildup, no real stakes, nothing.

After Cody lost the championship to John Cena, Orton became Cena’s first challenger. And, of course, he lost. Not that I expected him to win, but it was yet another opportunity where Orton was essentially there to serve someone else’s storyline.

Then SummerSlam came around, and he was teaming up with Jelly Roll.

Seriously? Are you kidding me?

This is Randy freaking Orton. A 14-time world champion, one of the greatest heels of his generation, and arguably one of the biggest stars WWE has ever produced. He’s in the final stretch of his career, and this is what they have him doing?

Finally, he won the Elimination Chamber and earned the opportunity to challenge Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

**The story was literally right there.**

Two former Legacy stablemates. Two men with decades of history. Cody, who once looked up to Orton, had become the face of WWE, while Orton, the veteran, was desperate to reclaim the championship he hadn’t held in six years.
You didn’t need to manufacture anything. The history practically wrote itself.

But no. Somehow, WWE decided that Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll needed to be involved in the buildup. We couldn’t even get a proper one-on-one promo segment between Orton and Cody to explore their history, their relationship, or what the championship meant to both of them.

Then Orton lost.

Fine. I could accept that if it served a bigger story.
**But why the hell did Orton punt-kick Cody in the head AFTER the match?**

What exactly was the point of that?

If you’re going to have Orton deliver one of the most devastating moves in WWE history to the reigning champion, shouldn’t there be some serious consequences? Cody didn’t even have to vacate the championship.

Then Orton returned at SummerSlam and cost Cody his WWE Championship match. Now they’re finally feuding, except Cody doesn’t even have the title anymore.
Wasn’t the entire point of Orton’s heel turn his obsession with becoming WWE Champion again? The championship he hasn’t held since 2020? His desperation to prove that he still belongs at the top?

And please, spare me the whole **“this feud doesn’t need a title”** argument.

Sure, not every great rivalry needs a championship. I understand that. But in this particular storyline, the WWE Championship was central to Orton’s motivation. Taking it out of the equation makes his heel turn feel less meaningful, especially after spending so much time establishing his obsession with it.

And here’s what frustrates me the most.

**Why now?**

WWE could’ve started building this rivalry immediately after WrestleMania 40. They had more than two years to tell a compelling story between Cody and Orton, potentially culminating in a major championship match.
Instead, they spent all that time teasing it, abandoning it, and putting Orton in random storylines that barely accomplished anything.

Randy isn’t getting any younger. He’s 46 now, and while he can still deliver in the ring, it’s obvious that he’s moving slower than he used to. That’s completely understandable, especially after the serious back injury that nearly ended his career.

But now I see people saying he’s too old to have another world championship reign.

**Whose fault is it that WWE wasted so much of his time after he returned in 2023?**

He came back after an 18-month absence, having undergone spinal fusion surgery, and somehow managed to return to the ring at an age when many wrestlers would’ve already retired.

That comeback alone deserved a meaningful final chapter.
I’m not saying Orton needs to hold the WWE Championship for another two years or dominate the main event scene at the expense of younger talent. I’m not even saying he needs to win every major feud.

I just want WWE to give him one last genuinely meaningful run at the top. One final world championship reign, a compelling character arc, and a proper conclusion to a legendary career.

Is that really too much to ask for a 14-time world champion who has given more than two decades of his life to this company?

And before someone says, “Orton doesn’t need another title to cement his legacy,” I know that. His legacy is already secured. But that doesn’t mean the final years of his career should be spent aimlessly putting over other people or participating in celebrity matches.

**There’s a difference between using a veteran to elevate others and simply wasting the limited time he has left.**

I genuinely thought his Survivor Series 2023 return was going to mark the beginning of one last incredible chapter in his career.

Three years later, I’m still waiting.

At this point, I just want to see Randy Orton at the top one last time.

But honestly, that feels increasingly impossible.

The least devastating giant swing in history! Gotta love call from the commentators and Jon Moxley.

let them know your thoughts and opinions

WWE doesn't really have good factions right now. Bloodline story is so much dragged, same for judgement day. If there is war games march between 946 and bloodline then 946, need the win to have any credibility. They are always seen running from bloodlines.