The Post’s Joseph Staszewski brings you around the world of professional wrestling every Tuesday in his weekly column, the Post Match Angle. The column will be on hiatus next week and will return Jan. 2.
December is the beginning of baseball’s hot stove season, but with the calendar set to turn to 2024, we will enter quite an interesting time in pro wrestling free agency.
Two big names came off the board early with Will Ospreay announcing he was signing with AEW and CM Punk’s return to WWE.
Still, there are plenty top-tier talents available and others who soon may be listening to offers. We’ll take a look at them and some intriguing possibilities.
The most prestigious talent out there will be seven-time IWGP heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada, who is set to become a free agent in January and for the first time is considering working for another promotion, according to Sports Illustrated.
Okada is the biggest wrestling star in Japan, one of the best performers of this generation and still in the prime of his career at 36. You’d think if he’s going to make the jump it would be to the familiarity of AEW (where he has made cameo appearances) or the deep end of the unknown of WWE with dream matches waiting.
But new details open new possibilities for Mercedes Mone’, who is back in a ring working out after breaking her ankle in May. She is currently not signed with New Japan or Stardom, making her a free agent when she is ready to return, according to Fightful.
Though no deal is imminent, according to Fightful, a New Japan STRONG title program with Gulia feels possible if she goes back to the promotion, or maybe she will reunite with Trinity in Impact/TNA. Scott D’Amore teased a huge surprise for Hard to Kill on Jan. 13.
The former Sasha Banks eventually working in AEW felt likely this summer before her injury, but a return to a WWE now run by Triple H and making an effort to better showcase the women’s roster might be hard to pass up. WWE might need her star power in Bayley’s Damage CTRL storyline with Charlotte Flair out up to nine months due to a knee injury.
Even before Okada becomes available, the non-competes for Dolph Ziggler, Mustafa Ali, Sheldon Benjamin, Elias, Dana Brooke, Alyiah, Riddick Moss, Emma and the rest of the main roster talent released by WWE in September should be up this week.
Ziggler, whose real name is Nic Nemeth, already has announced a match against Puerto Rican pro wrestling legend Ray Gonzalez on Jan. 20, and Ali is teasing something for Dec. 21.
Ziggler, 43, will be the big fish here and has a link to AEW with his brother Ryan working there. But it’s possible after 19 years in WWE, he doesn’t sign an exclusive contract and works across as many promotions as possible to experience everything else that’s out there. It will be fascinating to see what he and Ali get to create with some freedom outside the WWE system should they not be re-signed.
A few other names to keep an eye on once the calendar turns are former MLW champion Alex Hammerstone, former NWA women’s champion Kamille and three-time Impact Knockouts world champion Deonna Purrazzo. All three feel ready for bigger and better things after establishing themselves.
Hammerstone’s combination of look, power and athleticism make him an intriguing possibility as an immediate main-event level player in Impact or NXT, instead of potentially getting lost in the AEW or WWE midcard. Kamille, 31, has a can’t-take-your-eyes-off-her presence like Chyna and is a powerhouse in the ring – something AEW is lacking since losing Jade Cargill. She could walk into Impact as an immediate opponent for Trinity’s Knockouts championship.
Purrazzo, 29, was in the WWE system from 2014-2020, and has since become a main-event talent in Impact and found her voice in her Virtuosa character. She has a history in Ring of Honor and could be an opponent for Athena, but you have to think an elevated run in WWE would be intriguing to her.
The one big name there is a little mystery around is Stardom’s Giulia, who is also the New Japan STRONG women’s champion. The 29-year-old, according to the Wrestling Observer, has drawn interest from WWE, but hasn’t decided whether she wants to leave Japan just yet.
Along with some of the more immediate names on the way, there are monumental ones who could be up for grabs later in the year with Drew McIntrye’s WWE deal believed to be up in early 2024. Seth Rollins’ and Becky Lynch’s WWE contracts are up this June and Andrade’s AEW contract run out this summer, according to Fightful.
It’s all part of what we have to look forward to as the wrestling hot stove is about to be lit.
Questionable call
The story champion Athena and Billie Starkz told in their main-event match at Final Battle of the challenger finally earning the respect of her mentor and having the more proven talent in Athena remaining Ring of Honor women’s champion is fine.
Still, it felt like a major opportunity missed to capitalize on the emotion and time put into the Minion in Training angle and truly make Starkz by having her end Athena’s 371-day reign.
An opportunity like that with story and emotion coming together doesn’t happen all the time. I get that Tony Khan is trying to sell ROH media rights and 19-year-old champions might not help, but he is doing AEW a disservice by not having Athena working there prominently. Unless Khan has Mone’ or Ronda Rousey lined up for Athena in the future — all of which feels unlikely – then not putting the belt on Starkz could turn out to be a blunder.
That hurts
Both AEW and WWE got some awful injury news this week that will change major story angles. Kenny Omega is out indefinitely because of diverticulitis, the Wrestling Observer reported, just when he and Chris Jericho were scheduled to get an AEW tag team championship shot at Worlds End and the Young Bucks were waiting in the wings for a likely heel return. How does it affect the Bucks?
Same with Flair, who is out up to nine months due to a serious knee injury and was likely to have been a major part of Bayley’s Damage CTRL breakup. Is it done without an external driving force, or does Bianca Belair step into the Flair role now leading Zelina Vega, Michin and Shotzi?
The 10 Count
Thought it would have been fun and fitting if R-Truth had found a way to accidentally help The Judgment Day win their Undisputed Tag Team championship match against The Creed Brothers to give them a reason to consider accepting him in the group. But the fantastic match we saw certainly will do.
Loved the idea of NXT adding the new wrinkle to Carmelo Hayes potentially being the one who attacked Trick Williams by Hayes accusing Ilja Dragunov of doing so. Hated Hayes trying to pull the NXT title away from Dragunov and smashing Williams instead. A character’s anger over accidents like that feels tired, unnecessary and illogical.
Unless it’s to force “Hangman” Adam Page into a reluctant alliance with MJF down the road, I don’t see a logical reason for The Devil and his men to attack the cowboy. Why jeopardize MJF and Samoa Joe believing Page is The Devil himself by taking him out, too, so quickly? Some people wondered whether dropping Page on the windshield of the car was a callback to Jack Perry’s controversy at All In. For now, I saw coincidence and misdirection.
The Miz certainly has answered any of his critics with the quality of the matches he’s had with Gunther as fans dig his babyface turn. Gunther, who refreshingly doesn’t need outside interference to win, selling his hand injury when the match ended Monday was a nice touch.
It will be interesting to see how the AEW crowds react after Jon Moxley beat Swerve Strickland with a little extra pull of the belt on the pin. It could be the start of a more babyface run for Strickland, who now needs to rally a bit in the tournament.
These Karrion Kross vignettes are fine, but is WWE actually going to let him win some matches after yet another reset?
Have to say, I’m intrigued by what we will get in promos, build and the match itself when Matt Cardona faces EC3 for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship in a Deathmatch at the Paranoia event on Jan. 13.
I appreciate that AEW allows its women the freedom to have violent street fights and Willow Nightingale-Kris Statlander vs. Diamante-Mercedes Martinez was a good one. But I’d rather it be used on a pay-per-view as a major blow-off than on a random weekend show.
Jimmy Uso, after being slighted by Roman Reigns in favor of Solo Sikoa as the Tribal Chief’s heir, needs to keep saving him up until he ultimately doesn’t at WrestleMania 40.
I was a fan of the “AEW Fight Forever” game when it came out. But charging $25 for less than substantial DLC content that probably should be free – or without having a bunch of stuff drop for free additionally – feels like the wrong way to get people back into the game.
Social Media Post of the Week
Wrestlers of the Week
Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, WWE
It’s been a long road to this moment for Chance and Carter, who debuted as a team in NXT in 2018. They eventually became one of WWE’s best pure women’s tag teams and the longest-reigning NXT women’s tag champs in history. Beating Chelsea Green and Piper Niven on Monday for the WWE women’s tag team titles was the inevitable and the deserved finally becoming reality.
Match to Watch
Kevin Owens vs. Carmelo Hayes, United States No. 1 contender semifinals (SmackDown 8 p.m., Fox)
Few wrestlers are more giving in matches than Kevin Owens, so this first-ever meeting has a chance to be something of a star-making foundation for Hayes on the main roster. The former NXT champion told Owens he would not be treated with the disrespect he gives Austin Theory and Grayson Waller, so this could be special showcase of Hayes’ talents. Maybe it leads to Owens and Hayes teaming up down the road.