WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 Thoughts, AEW Gaffes, and Ramblings

Well, say what you want but this weekend’s Elimination Chamber was anything but dull and predictable and I can’t complain. And while I have my reservations about how the John Cena heel turn will play out, I can’t complain about the execution. It was slow, dramatic, a bit shocking and par for the PLE that sets up WrestleMania. While this WrestleMania doesn’t have the feel of last year’s, the WWE has definitely made this one interesting.

The entire card that had several swerves, turns and some jaw dropping moments that we won’t forget. We now have all four major World Title matches set, a general idea about where Punk, Rollins and Reigns are headed and the return of Jade Cargill. All of those are major talking points as well as the return of Randy Orton whom I think we can all agree has been missed on TV.

But before I go on a longer rant, let’s just skip the pleasantries and dive into some of the biggest things that happened this week. Plus, the following thoughts and opinions belong to me and me alone (Don’t blame Aaron Rift who my columns because he has zero influence on what I write.)

JOHN CENA HEEL TURN IS FUN, FANTASTIC… AND A BIT RISKY.

For the following large group of fans who wanted a John Cena heel turn, you got your wish and hope your happy. Lord knows, John wanted to turn heel or freshen things up a long time ago but WWE was making bank of his merchandise sales as well as his large Make a Wish appearances.

Its reason #10,293 why the IWC and smart marks should never run a wrestling company; they would go out of business in a hurry.

On the plus side, let’s take at look at the immediate gains from the Cena heel turn; Cena vs. Cody actually has heat going into this WrestleMania. The Everyman Rhodes vs. Hollywood Cena for the World Title with The Rock in his corner. Instead of babyface vs babyface we get a devious heel who broke the hearts of fans trying to take the title off a beloved champion.

And let me go a step further and say that we didn’t see this coming and neither did the “dirt sheet writers” which is what I love.

But the biggest drawback is the John Cena schedule which is a tad more than The Rock’s schedule right now. So far, we have gotten Cena at the Netflix debut, Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber. The schedule was he would appear during the WWE European trip for RAW and then WrestleMania but outside of that it’s going to be limited.

Far as the Rock, who the hell knows as Fast X Part 2 is schedule to shoot and that means he won’t be taking anymore bumps for a while.

It means that Cody is going to have to do the majority of the work in this feud as he will be the only guy working weekly. It’s his cross to bear and that is why he is the champion but it also throws some cold water on everything with Cena-Rhodes.

Mr. Tito suggested that Cena wins at Mania and defends against Reigns at SummerSlam which sounds nice on paper but misses a big issue.

Cena isn’t going to be around often and Roman also has a very sporadic schedule. I know Paul Heyman is a miracle worker but asking him to carry this is like asking the Ukraine to win the war against Russia without the US support.

Ain’t happening folks.

The other worry is that we aren’t sure how the end of the John Cena retirement tour is going to end yet. Does John want to go out as a villain and retire that way?

Does the WWE want to have him work with a rising young star such as Oba Femi, Bron Breakker or Jacob Fatu to help “make them”?

And what happens if there are any delays or scheduling conflicts with his movie/tv schedule and he has to back out?

Sometimes we have no control over what happens in the real world and you have to adapt. WWE has learned and thrived on that time and time again and a lot of Cena’s future is still subject to change because of his dual schedule.

You can only plan for what you’re ready for and hope that nothing surprises you at the very last end. Which leads me to my one beef about the whole Cena-Rhodes-Rock angle.

TRAVIS SCOTT SHOULDN’T BE IN THE RING UNTIL HE IS READY.

Lost in the whole drama has been rapper Travis Scott coming down to the ring with The Rock, joining “Team Hollywood” and getting physical with Cody. Not only did he hold down Cody while Rock whipped him with the belt, he also threw a punched on a down Cody that landed right on the left temple cheekbone while he was standing.

Not talking a worked punch but a legit hard punch that if you watch the video, caused Cody to cover up and wince.

Imagine the outcry if Rhodes couldn’t wrestle because he broke his orbital bone due to a rapper hurting him by accident..

It’s been no secret that WWE since joining with Netflix has been leaning HEAVY on celebrity involvement and participation. I get it as they want to appear cool, hip and mainstream and anytime they get to work with music/entertainment/sports people they got all hot and bothered like a virgin at prom night.

And it has worked in the case of Bad Bunny and Logan Paul who have been fantastic.

But both men ACTUALLY had some training and understood what goes on in a wrestling ring. They didn’t get physical until it was clear that they could execute the moves and not hurt anyone including themselves. It all sherries and giggles until someone gets hurt and insurance and business mangers get upset.

Scott is not ready and should have been kept far away.

If it means he doesn’t want to do the angle, fine as the bottom line is majority of the celebrities are not going to bring in more money to the WWE than they are worth. Bunny and Paul were the outliers but even then, it was after a slow build, making sure that nobody got hurt and they were ready.

Next time Scott is at a WWE Event, unless he is ready to work in the ring and not get anybody hurt, treat him like a spectator at the circus and keep him away from anything dangerous.

JADE CARGILL RETURNS AND ATTACKS NAOMI

This is the Jade Cargill that I wanted to happen when she first came into the WWE; a legitimate threat who is vicious, dangerous and looks like the female Terminator meets Wonder Woman. WWE was put in a tough spot when they signed her because as many wrestlers and trainers told me, she wasn’t trained properly. Sure, AEW trained her, but the majority of her matches were squashes and under 4-5 minutes.

Its why for the past year she has teamed with Bianca Belair so she could get on the job training and be able to work a real match. We might never know why she missed Survivor Series and Royal Rumble but at Elimination Chamber, she came back in a big way

I am struggling to predict how the whole “Who attacked Jade Cargill” plays out as there are still a variety of juggling parts to this. I’d LOVE to see Bianca Belair end up being the one who took her out but I don’t think WWE is ready to turn her yet. Too much merchandise and she is a hit with young girls and female fans who view her as the ultimate role model.

Meanwhile Naomi needs some new momentum going and her being the heel could be great. It also allows Jade to work with someone who can actually go with her, knows how to call a match to make sure Jade doesn’t look bad.

But going forward, the best play for WWE is to make Jade the big villain that she is meant to play. Have her develop a chip on her shoulder for fans forgetting about her and her friends turning on her.

Babyface Jade was boring but bad gal Jade is someone that we know is going to be entertaining.

There is still work to be done with Jade, wrestling wise, as she is still not where the majority of her peers are at. But the woman screams money and right now is a huge boost for a women’s division that feels stagnant.

WHO HAD A WORSE WEEK: VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY OR TONY KHAN?

If you that you had a bad week, take solace in the fact that both the Ukrainian leader and AEW leader would tell you to hold your beer.

Both are living proof that sometimes it’s better to just do the smart play rather than as the cool kids would say “Fuck Around & Find Out”.

On one hand all Zelensky had to do was show up to the White House, wear a suit, sign a mineral rights deal that would guarantee US support, agree to peace talks and say “Thank You”. As my mother would say, “so simple a child could figure that out and do it”.

Instead, he decided to A) Try to renegotiate a deal already agreed upon B) Show up looking like he was going to Home Depot C) Demand the US continue to send weapons and money and D) cop an attitude.

Honestly, I don’t care if you like Trump or don’t like Trump but if someone did that to you, chances are you would throw the SOB out and tell him to take a hike.

I bring that up because its similar to Tony Khan and his productions antics which are going to an all-time low.

In the span of less than three weeks we had AEW decided to A) Show up to Australia without a ring or steel steps and then scramble to find a piss poor ring. B) Hang Thunder Rosa out to dry due to the Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford incident C) Let it be known that there are NO Production meetings which explains this crap D) Shoot an angle that had Christopher Daniels bleed after an MJF attack…. AND SHOW DANIELS BLADING HIMSELF.

Trying to figure out which clown is sadder is a challenge between these two.

I am going slightly with Tony simply for the fact is that the Daniels snafu is the 3rd screw up in three straight weeks. Three times Tony Khan and his leadership staff can’t execute what even TNA or NWA at its lowest could do.

It’s gotten now to the point where you openly root against AEW because defending them is embarrassing. From Tony’s verbal gaffes, bad wrestling angles, doubling down on bad mistakes, to now simple screw ups that a professional would have gotten right after a year in the industry would not do.

Now comes rumors that the final end to the Death Riders saga will be Death Riders vs. The Elite. That’s right, the two biggest stables that even AEW fans cannot stand, will be going against each other allegedly for “control” of AEW.

I’d rather watch kittens playing chopsticks with chopsticks that subjected to that dreck.

OBA FEMI MAKES DEBUT ON TNA WRESTLING TAPINGS

It’s not CM Punk or Drew McIntyre but this is a huge coup for TNA as it means WWE trusts them enough and cares about them to send a legit star. Yes, the NXT/TNA Partnership has been going on for a while and NXT has sent over their wrestlers and vice versa.

But Oba Femi is a much bigger deal than Sol Ruca, Charlie Dempsey and Tatum Paxley with no offense meant.

Femi is the guy that WWE sees as “The Next Big Thing” and with quite good reason as he is a monster of a man who already “gets it”. He is the NIL stud who came from track and field, has learned how to cut a promo, has a presence and looks like a super hero/ super villain.

Oba wrestling at the TNA Tv tapings doesn’t just mean that they like TNA but that they trust them. They trust that TNA is heading in the right direction and have solid and good people who know what they are doing and will do it right. That TNA has become a legitimate business partner that is worth them investing better wrestlers and time with

Vince buying the NWA and turning it around would be icing on the cake for him after defeating them in the past and now he’s buying them.

You don’t risk any top tier wrestlers or any business IP’s with just anyone as we have seen that even a star can be ruined by an idiot (cough, AEW, cough).

Sending Oba over to TNA is more evidence that TNA is on the road to better things. Which for TNA fans, WWE fans and especially wrestlers and wrestling fans is much needed.

ZAYDA STEEL DELETES TWITTER ACCOUNT DUE TO IWC THREATS

WWE ID wrestler Zayda Steel was announced to take on AEW talent Megan Bayne at GCW No Compadre at Chicago on March 29th. After a few days of getting threats and taunts by AEW “sickos” that they want to see Bayne cripple and take out Steel, she shut off her Twitter account.

File this under “why people view wrestling in the same breath as porn” due to a bunch of stupid idiots who couldn’t friggin behave. I hate to break the news to you sickos, but 99 percent of the wrestling community does not have any grudges if someone is in WWE, TNA, AEW or even NWA.

Wrestling is a business and the goal of getting into the business is to make a career, make money and walk away with your body intact. The majority of wrestlers have friends in different promotions due to working with them in the past, traveling with the or working out. The Tribalism starts and ends with the fans and in the past, it was not as toxic or weird as it is to date.

I feel terrible for Ms. Steel because her only crime is that she is a WWE ID prospect wrestling an AEW talent. There is no bad blood between the two, no racist or derogatory acts were committed, nothing that was even illegal done by Zayda. She just got booked to wrestle an AEW wrestler at a GCW event so she can make some money.

But again, the IWC reared its ugly head and now they drove off another female wrestler from social media.

I’d be cautious of any WWE ID wrestlers (especially female) doing anything with GCW going forward. The truth is its not worth the business as GCW has its own issues. The company has a nasty reputation of things getting out of control, wrestlers getting hurt and unable to get proper medical treatment.

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