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Extra Mustard is a weekly column looking at the highs and lows–and everything in between–in combat sports and beyond.
We’re overdue for a mailbag.
Since we’re only days away from WWE’s return to NBC, with a world title change looming, there is no better time to do it than the present.
These are real questions from real people, all of whom are current subscribers:
Do you see any significant changes to Raw when it moves to Netflix?
--Andy Gray, Cape Cod
Raw moving to Netflix has a chance to evolve the pro wrestling industry in a way that hasn’t happened in decades.
And it can be accomplished through one seemingly small change: structure the commercials around the matches.
Since Netflix intends to run ads, this has the potential to be the most significant change. I cannot envision WWE changing the fabric of its tried-and-true wrestling format simply because it is airing on Netflix (or switching to a more adult version of the product, as it currently works so well), but a format change that removes commercials from wrestling matches will have a monstrous impact on WWE.
The flexibility to end the show at different times will help, too. When the main event starts 12 minutes before the end of the hour, you know almost exactly when the match is going to end. But there should be a different level of unpredictability on Netflix.
-–Jimmy Stewart, 98.5 The Sports Hub
Jimmy Stewart is in the two-hole with our first audio question.
If I were in charge of creative and had unlimited resources with the current roster, these would be my top four matches for WrestleMania 41:
CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins
Cody Rhodes vs. The Rock vs. Roman Reigns
John Cena vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
The Usos vs. The New Day
I’d have Rollins go over (the money for Punk is in the chase), The Rock would win the triple threat (pinning Cody and winning the title, making this exist in a universe where Cody doesn’t drop the title to Kevin Owens on Saturday Night’s Main Event), Austin comes up short in the build against Cena yet wins the match, and The New Day reclaims their place as the best tag team in WWE.
As for creative from here until WrestleMania, that’s the fun part. The men’s Royal Rumble should include the likes of Roman, Cena, KO, Randy Orton, Punk, Rollins, Gunther, Drew McIntyre, and Finn Balor–and I’d even consider including the champions (maybe they’d get to pick their WrestleMania opponent if they won the match). I’d rather go nostalgia with Cena’s opponent instead of an Austin Theory-type opponent (or Baron Corbin for Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 35), plus Cena isn’t retiring after Mania–he’ll be around through year’s end, so there are plenty of opportunities for him to highlight younger talent (and I’m still scarred from watching Cena-Orton too many times, so I’m good there). The New Day had entered into near obscurity prior to their vicious heel turn on Big E, so this is a chance for a return to prominence. And The Rock and Cody Rhodes are a match made in heaven. Rock-Reigns doesn’t do it for me, but if you add Cody into the mix, it’s an entirely different chemistry.
Why did you leave Sports Illustrated? And do you prefer covering pro wrestling or MMA?
--Kristin V., Freedom, NH
Plenty of layers to this question.
There were the constant layoffs at SI, and losing editor Shemar Woods hurt after we had built so much momentum on the MMA side. The site simply not working this past spring was the first time in a decade I thought I should find a new home. And when my content moved from the main SI.com site to the Fan Nation model, it became a race to see how much and how often stories could be posted. As a writer (and reader), I’d rather have time to fully sink my teeth into whatever I’m reading or writing.
The more I wrestled with it, the more I wanted to build my own site. Thankfully, people have supported it, which should open up more new opportunities on Undisputed in the coming year.
As for whether I prefer covering pro wrestling or MMA, it’s hard to choose. They’re both so different. The best part is covering the individuals involved.
When I was watching UFC 310 this past Saturday, I was drawn to the Anthony Smith-Dom Reyes fight. There was a point in the opening round where Smith purposely wasn’t protecting himself–the commentary touched on it, wondering if Smith wanted to deal with physical pain instead of the anguish he is dealing with after the unexpected death of his best friend/coach. That’s an intense story, but it shows the heart and soul of the people involved in the sport.
Wrestling is different because of the way it is structured, but there are always real-life elements (Bryan Danielson wrestling despite strong pleas that he stop, Becky Lynch winning the women’s title after Rhea Ripley was injured this past spring, Bobby Lashley looking to rewrite his future in AEW) that add a compelling element–one that adds more significance to what we see in the ring.
If you could orchestrate a trade between AEW and WWE, who would switch teams and why?
--Chris McManus, Los Angeles, CA
Hitting cleanup for the mailbag is Chris, who has a sharp mind for wrestling and experience running his own territory. It’s a fascinating question–instead of baseball adopting Rob Manfred’s ridiculous Golden At-Bat rule (which would gnaw at the fabric of the game), the top two companies in pro wrestling should institute a once-a-year trade.
My choice for 2025? Kazuchika Okada to WWE, John Cena to AEW.
Cena can’t break from his ultimate good guy character in WWE–but he could in AEW. Whether it worked or didn’t, he could always go back to WWE. It’s what allowed Hogan to have a new run in WCW once he turned heel. Not only did Hogan have the veritable chops to be an all-time great villain, he needed a new landscape to explore his new persona. It never would have happened in WWE; it just wouldn’t have worked.1 Cena as a heel in AEW would be incredible, and it would serve as an entirely new chapter in his career (AEW also needs more babyfaces, but I’d go the Hogan route and start Cena as a babyface before turning him heel).
Okada would be presented entirely different in WWE than he is in AEW. Had he debuted in March, like he did in AEW, he could have challenged Gunther for the IC title at WrestleMania 40. That would have provided an opportunity for Okada to work one of his 40-minute classics as his first-ever match in WWE, and ideally he would still be undefeated as the reigning champ with an aura surrounding him every time he stepped into the ring. I still have high hopes for him in AEW, I just don’t love the Continental Championship for him. Ideally, he is in the world title picture soon.
My second choice? The Young Bucks for AJ Styles and Drew McIntyre.
With Thanksgiving still fresh in my mind, is 1990 Survivor Series the most underrated WWE event of all time? It had it all and doesn’t get talked about enough in my opinion.
It’s Thanksgiving night. The build up of what turned out to be one of the most ridiculous ideas in the history of wrestling (the Gobbledy Gooker?!) when the real surprise was the introduction of one of WWE’s all time great characters: The Undertaker. Plus, we got the grand finale match of survival. The only missed opportunity would’ve been to have Undertaker participate in that final match and Tombstone everyone. Is that on your short list for the greatest underrated WWE events?
--Bachir K., New York, NY
Thoughts and prayers to Bachir, a Yankee fan who is dealing with the loss of Juan Soto to the Mets.
Survivor Series ’90 perfectly captures the golden era of the World Wrestling Federation. And you know there were people backstage who had higher hopes for the Gobbledy Gooker than they did for Taker, which is absurd. Thirty-four years later, one is an icon and the other is a punchline (though credit where credit is due to Gene Okerlund for trying to make that segment work).
In terms of underrated moments, a couple immediately come to mind. Mick Foley gets all sorts of attention (and rightfully so) for the sheer insanity of his Hell in a Cell bout against The Undertaker, but I thought the Mankind-Shawn Michaels match from In Your House: Mind Games in the fall of ’96 was extraordinary.2
Another all-time underrated moment is the opening match of WrestleMania 30.3 Daniel Bryan needed to get past Triple H in order to secure a spot in the main event, and he accomplished the feat in epic fashion. It runs long, clocking in over 25 minutes, but it never overstayed its welcome. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon had finally mastered their roles as overbearing villains, and Bryan was sensational as the underdog.
There were parts of this match where it genuinely felt like Triple H was winning, a credit to everyone involved. It’s the best match on the card, even if the title victory in the main event overshadows it.
A two-part question: given his grand entrance was such a disaster, do you consider The Shockmaster to be the greatest “what-if” in wrestling history? And who is the greatest baseball player to wear jersey #24, and why is it Ken Griffey Jr?
--Cush Connelly, Boston, MA
The Shockmaster was destined to fail. To me, the fall actually did him more positive than negative. Otherwise, that would be a largely forgotten run in Typhoon’s career.
And there are so many compelling answers for wrestling’s greatest “What if?” As tempted as I am to start with Brian Pillman arriving in WWE clean and healthy during the Attitude Era (Does Pillman revolutionize the business? Or alter the direction of Vince-Austin?), or CM Punk not getting hurt after he first won the world title in AEW (Would it still have ended poorly? If not, does he ever go back to WWE?), I’ll start here:
What if… WCW won the war?
Let’s say Mike Tyson is unavailable for WrestleMania 14. And Steve Austin, for whatever reason, didn’t resonate with the audience. Bret Hart is gone. Shawn Michaels is out indefinitely. I don’t think McMahon ever sells, but in this scenario, let’s envision WCW as the global entity and WWE as the distant number-two.
It’s possible that also would have hastened WCW’s demise. So what happens to pro wrestling? And would McMahon have made a comeback? Or would we still be watching Nitro every Monday night?
And the #24 debate is an incredibly difficult one. It’s a race between Griffey, Willie Mays, and Rickey Henderson (Barry Bonds wore 24 as a Pirate, but he made his legend while wearing 25). There is no wrong answer here, but I’m going with Rickey.4
Also, for those asking about the plan for the rest of the week, there is a slight change to your regularly scheduled programming:
Tuesday: The newest edition High Above Ringside podcast, where we look at the most prominent title changes to take place in December (will Kevin Owens soon be joining that list?)
Wednesday: The Week in Wrestling column
Thursday: The MMA Notebook
Friday: A look at Saturday Night’s Main Event
I like how each story gets sent via email when you subscribe, but I refuse to ever clutter your mailbox. I’d prefer to avoid sending more than one email a day, which is why I’m moving the MMA piece to Thursday with the addition of a wrestling story on Friday.
Until tomorrow…
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