John Pollock and Wai Tingreview WWE Raw from Ottawa with Edge challenging Austin Theory for the United States Championship following Elimination Chamber.
Plus: Update on Pugh family, Ariel Helwani speaks on WWE role, Reigns vs. Zayn re-watch, Battle in the Valley & more.
Unsurprisingly, a very open and even-handed discussion on the Ariel/Tony Khan stuff.
Some points to follow on/flesh that out, by the same token:
Wai classifies Ariel as a freelancer, which is correct. That said, he’s been doing a lot of work with WWE for BT Sport, their uk broadcast partner for some time. His softball interview with triple h (particularly given its proximity to the Tony interview) was a big red flag.
Felt ariel’s attitude to those criticizing him was slightly soft pedalled. Ariel essentially said anyone saying aew’s product was superior to wwe was “lying”, and he’s been leaning into calling aew fans who have criticized him as “freakazoids”.
I dont discount what Ariel experienced from dana’s vinductiveness. That said, he’s well aware of the kind of vindictive person that’s signing those wwe checks, and the army of skeletons in his closet. Some bullies he can live with, if its not directed at him i guess.
His story that all but ended with him being carried shoulder high backstage after his “snowman” tweet was some cringy, try-hard stuff.
