6 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (July 21)

3. Give It Away Give It Away Give It Away Now

Sexy Star AAA
WWE.com

WWE has been giving away anticipated matches of PPV quality for years. This week saw more baffling premature ejaculations - three delivered, two promoted.

The Revival and The Hardy Boyz wrestled a nothing thirteen minute match on RAW. There was no build up, it wasn't announced ahead of time - a dream match six months ago was treated as pure filler. The flagship match of the RAW Women's division, Bayley Vs. Sasha Banks, is scheduled for next week's RAW. The flagship match of the SmackDown Women's division, Becky Lynch Vs. Charlotte, went a mere nine minutes on this week's SmackDown. Matches worthy of the WrestleMania undercard - the only singles bouts worthy, given the state of the respective divisions - were given away on throwaway TV shows.

Those two are somewhat understandable - if WWE does revisit them in New Orleans, at least one performer will likely end up on the opposite side of the babyface/heel spectrum. It is possible for WWE to situate them in a fresh context. Still: how hard is it to embargo these matches and create some sort of rule whereby they cannot happen on TV? Less understandable was WWE's decision to waste the in-ring debut of Mike Kanellis on SmackDown before announcing a rematch for Battleground. It's just mystifying. People want to anticipate things and receive the acts they're watching as if they are a big deal. Kanellis was made to look like a jabroni, too.

WWE, when not in trolling blue balls mode, is stupidly charitable. Where's the in between?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!