WWE NXT Reactions and Analysis - WBD / Paramount Merger Update

Name: WWE NXT Reactions and Analysis - WBD / Paramount Merger Update
Uploaded: 2026-08-26T17:00:04+00:00
Duration: 20 min 56 s
Channel: FroWrestling Podcast

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00:47pro wrestling

00:52Oh, that cut down!

00:54Unbelievable!

00:55Turned to my table into cold arms.

01:00And I am...

01:01My champion, you savage.

01:10Such a master thong-wearing fatty.

01:15I said WWE stands for...

01:18Off-the-art game!

01:19Off-the-art game!

01:21It's me, Austin!

01:23I will never retire!

01:27Off-the-art game!

01:28Off-the-art game!

01:30Promotional consideration paid for by the following.

01:37Hey, yo, Fro Wrestling Podcast listeners.

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02:27Check it out.

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02:31Forget about all these old WWE games that come out every year.

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03:30$7.50 a month, you get to be entered into a drawing to also possibly host a show with me.

03:35So, that being said, welcome to this episode of the Fro Wrestling Podcast.

03:39I am Dr. Fro.

03:40If you've got questions, comments, something you want me to touch on in a future episode, I am happy to

03:44do that.

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03:46Give me a shout out over at the Fro Wrestling Sound Offline, 267-642-1160.

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04:21win the drawing for $750 a month.

04:23That being said, tonight we are talking AEW and Warner Brothers Discovery Paramount's deal.

04:32Technically, I guess you would say AEW and the Warner Brothers Discovery Paramount Skydance deal.

04:38Because that's really, it's the full shebang here.

04:41Dave Meltzer had some comments on this today.

04:43But the reason this is in the news is because there is a large number of U.S. states that

04:51are trying very hard to block this deal from going through.

04:54There are those who believe that if this deal goes through, it'll reduce the number of jobs in the entertainment

05:00industry.

05:01It will put a stranglehold on digital content and television programming.

05:06And basically, they're looking at it like it's a big loss for everybody.

05:09I don't know enough about that kind of stuff to be able to give you an intelligent opinion.

05:13That being said, because these states are trying to fight this so much, there is some concern that in order

05:21to get the deal done, the concern over things like hurting the television production and jobs, one way you can

05:28get around that and get the deal to go through is if Paramount Skydance were to give up parts of

05:33Warner Brothers Discovery to secure the final approval for the purchase or the merger.

05:38Now, what parts would they give up?

05:41Well, the commonly spoken of parts are CNN, TNT and TBS.

05:46Now, I'm sure most wrestling fans could not care less if they get rid of CNN, not knocking CNN.

05:52It just has nothing to do with wrestling.

05:54But TNT and TBS are the home of Dynamite and Collision.

06:00So, if you eliminate them from Warner Brothers Discovery and they are a separate entity, then it makes it so

06:07there could be a problem with television deals.

06:10Now, there are a lot of people who think that if this deal goes through, that this is basically going

06:15to be the guaranteed fall of AEW and that the company basically would have no options and would go out

06:21of business.

06:22It is being reported, though, again, Dave Meltzer's perspective, that Tony Khan feels very differently about this, that Tony Khan,

06:31if need be, can always partner with multiple other networks, spread their shows out, kind of like WWE does.

06:39And there are certain people he likes to work with within the industry, and he's hoping to work with them.

06:44But if he can't, he's hoping to find executives in other companies that want to work with him and AEW

06:50and make it a bountiful partnership.

06:54I'm not sure where this is going to go, because when it comes to regulatory things and stock markets and

06:59trading companies and acquisitions and mergers and things like that, it could be really hairy.

07:03I mean, heck, look at WWE and Endeavor. When they merged to form TKO, they had a lawsuit and had

07:08to pay millions, lots of millions to people because of their business practices.

07:13So I can understand why there's some concern here, and I don't know which side would win out in this

07:19conversation in terms of AEW, but I don't want to see AEW go anywhere.

07:23It's great to have a premium tier company for talent to apply their trade and get the exposure necessary to

07:30really make a comfortable and successful living.

07:33I want to see that in perpetuity. Heck, I'd like to see four or five companies be at that level,

07:39almost like territorial days.

07:41I'd love to see TNA just skyrocket. GCW skyrocket. There's other ones. House of Glory get huge over.

07:49Josh Barnett's Bloodsport. I know they're taking a hiatus right now, but I'd love to see that blow up.

07:54There's a lot of them. I'd love to see Tony Khan get a television deal for Ring of Honor and

07:59many others.

07:59The European market is flooded with tons and tons of companies. Maple Leaf Pro, Cotter Pro, there's so many.

08:08So I don't know. We'll have to wait and see, but I'd love to see more companies doing better, not

08:13see a deal like this take somebody and kind of pull the rug out from under them.

08:18So now, especially right now, because AEW is gearing up for all in in Wembley Stadium.

08:24And as of this past Sunday, WrestleTix has reported that they have sold 41,836 tickets for all in, which

08:33is a fantastic number.

08:35However, I still will never understand why the first year they're there, they set the place up for 80,000

08:40and now you set the place up for, you know, about 45,000.

08:44But whatever, to each his own, I guess, you know, it is what it is. I don't know what the

08:49logic is, but whatever.

08:50But there are 3,468 seats as of Sunday still available, and that's a very small number.

08:56And of course, if they don't sell those, I'm sure they'll comp them out to somebody.

08:58But I'm loving seeing that they're being so successful in moving tickets.

09:02It's a great sign for their company, great sign for investors, people who want to give them those television deals.

09:08Should something fall through with Warner Brothers Discovery and Paramount Skydance, it's always solid to have these huge shows be

09:16super successful

09:16so other people would want to step up and then have your programming on their network.

09:21So definitely something to keep an eye on.

09:23Should be a very exciting time for AEW with that kind of involvement and fan support.

09:28Obviously, the company is something people want to see.

09:31The product is very different from WWE.

09:34It's a phenomenal product.

09:35So I'm really happy that they're having what is projected to be the third highest grossing pay-per-view in

09:42their company's history.

09:43That's awesome.

09:44And so hopefully the show delivers and they can increase on that.

09:48From there, we are jumping into WWE NXT.

09:51I don't often do reaction shows to NXT.

09:54I am tonight just because I really thought the closing part of the show was very interesting.

10:00We did have some other cool stuff.

10:02We did have a weaponized cage match with Saquon Sugars defeating Dion Lennox.

10:08Solid match.

10:09And this is where I get some of the issue though right now with NXT.

10:13It's not the action.

10:14The action is always great on NXT.

10:16As a matter of fact, I would argue the action on NXT in a lot of ways can rival sometimes

10:20that of AEW and definitely can rival WWE main roster programs.

10:25That's not the issue I have.

10:26The issue I have is they have not done a good job of promoting their talent so that you buy

10:33them as legitimate premium primetime ready professional talent.

10:37Like I understand that you've got, you know, Cruz Montana, you've got Tony D, some of these other guys who

10:44are at the top of your NXT card.

10:46But this was a weaponized cage match and, you know, Saquon Sugars and Dion Lennox don't have the name brand

10:53recognition that if you were a fly-by-night fan who happened to turn it on, you're like, who are

10:57these guys?

10:58It's not as fun to watch the match when you don't know who the heck is involved because they haven't

11:02done a great job of promoting him as the premium talent.

11:06Moving on from there, and if I didn't mention it before, I should have said Saquon Sugars ended up picking

11:11up the win.

11:11We get an in-ring conversational part promo with Natty and Jada Parker.

11:16They are going to have a match at Heat Wave, which I think is a great idea.

11:21I love the Natty, not Natalya, but the Natty character.

11:27I think it really allows her to spread her wings and show a more authentic side of Natty that is

11:34something people can really get behind.

11:35And I think it really makes the product or her performance, it just has a better presentation.

11:42Hard-hitting, and that's what you want from a Hart family member, you know what I mean?

11:45You want that era of believability in everything she does, and Natty is so good at that.

11:50And I love that she's giving back to younger talent and working with Jada Parker, who really is going to

11:56benefit from getting that rub.

11:57We do get a match between Kaylee Armstrong and Zaria.

12:01If Kaylee Armstrong wins, she's going to end up getting put into the championship match at the show.

12:07She does pick up the win here.

12:09She pins Zaria, which is awesome.

12:11Zaria's going for like an F5, and she reverses it into a pin.

12:14That was awesome.

12:15So now we're seeing people being added to that show, which is great because you're going to get...

12:20The show has enough drawing power with just the two main events, really, that getting as many other people onto

12:28the card, great idea.

12:30Really, really a great idea because you want to give as much exposure as you can to secure the best

12:35deals you can going forward.

12:36We get Keanu Carver taking on Cam Hendricks.

12:40Carver picks up the win.

12:42I guess it's a solid match.

12:43I feel like it's been done.

12:45You know, it's almost repetitive in a way, and I'm never a fan of that.

12:49I'm really not.

12:49I want to see them do new things, you know, test themselves a little bit, and just push for unique

12:56and innovative matches and things like that.

12:58I don't want them to do the same thing that happens on Raw, where it's like the same match played

13:03out six times over six weeks, and you get bored to death of it.

13:06I feel like this was, you know, this was maybe the lull in the show for me.

13:13One of the real high spots for me is the AAA Cruiserweight Championship match between Phoenix and J.K. Prosper.

13:22Talk about action.

13:24Phoenix, I'm sorry.

13:26WWE, I'm not going to say they're totally dropping the ball with him because he is the AAA Cruiserweight Champion.

13:31He is in the tournament to see who's going to lose to Roman Reigns.

13:34He'll be in the finals against Penta.

13:36However, WWE has underestimated just how freaking amazing Ray Phoenix is.

13:42He waited all that time for his AEW contract to finally expire to come here to not be treated like

13:47a main event level guy, and he really, really is.

13:50And I wonder sometimes if WWE is able to see that in anybody that isn't over 40 years old.

13:56I mean, think about it.

13:58Roman's 41.

14:00Punk's like 47.

14:02Cody's 40-something.

14:0341, 42, something like that.

14:05Like, all their premiums got LA Knights in his 40s.

14:08You know, Drew McIntyre, I think, is like 37, 38, something like that.

14:12Like, these guys, actually, he might be 40 now, too, for all I can think of.

14:17You know, Brock just left.

14:18He was 49 or 48, whatever.

14:21Like, so many of their talents, the ones who get over, are so much older.

14:24But you've got these young guys who really could benefit from a premium spot, and I just, I don't know.

14:29I really don't know.

14:30I'd like to see some younger talent do their thing, but we'll have to wait and see.

14:34All right.

14:34From there, we get this interesting, like, interview segment.

14:40You have Kendall Gray and Ren Sinclair come out.

14:44They're trash-talking Kehlani Jordan.

14:46They're going to be having their match at the pay-per-view for the NXT Women's Championship.

14:53And, look, Kendall Gray is probably the future of women's wrestling.

14:56But this match is going to be amazing.

14:59I actually expect Kehlani to come out with the championship.

15:01I really do.

15:03Not because, well, you know, I don't know.

15:06She did have it already.

15:07It would be fast to take it off of Kendall Gray.

15:11But I don't see another championship change on this card for the, I don't know.

15:17I don't know.

15:18I guess we'll have to wait and see.

15:18But I'm thrilled they're doing this.

15:20But here's what got interesting.

15:21As they're having this conversation, and, you know, we start having other people interrupting them.

15:27You know, Zarya ends up coming out at one point.

15:30Everybody's coming out who's, like, main eventing a title match at Heat Wave.

15:36Grayson Waller interrupts the ladies.

15:38And he comes out and he says, you're great to look at, but hard to listen to.

15:42Like, what an a-hole line to hit on television.

15:47Shawn Michaels had to have thought that up.

15:49I don't care how much of a born-again Christian Shawn Michaels is.

15:52That guy still puts lines in and angles in and, frankly, makes them wear outfits that make me question how

16:01much of a born-again Christian he is sometimes.

16:03But that being said, this segment gets interesting because Grayson Waller's out.

16:08Of course, Cruz Montana comes out.

16:10Tony D comes out.

16:11Because they're all sharing the ring in this fatal four-way at Heat Wave.

16:15And, you know, as they're in the ring and stuff starts to break down, Zilla Fatu appears.

16:20Everybody's beating everybody.

16:21The women are beating the women.

16:23The men are beating the men.

16:24Zilla hits a splash.

16:25And he ends up holding up the championship belt while Kendall Gray and Ren Sinclair are holding up all the

16:31women's gold.

16:32So, this was a fantastic segment.

16:35Fun top to bottom.

16:37And I really, really love the vignette that played for Zilla Fatu on social media.

16:42If you haven't seen that, check that out.

16:44This guy, man, he's like, I'm not a Nepo baby.

16:48I'm not a Bloodline baby.

16:49You know, he references the necklace in his father's name of Umaga.

16:53Um, he, he, he, he just, he sounds so legit.

16:58And he's, his promo is so, so good.

17:02Certainly better than, like, a brand new NXT recruit level talent.

17:07Um, so hopefully he gets fast track.

17:09Because this guy, he's solid.

17:10And I get it.

17:11We got a million Samoas on the main roster.

17:13But if you're great, you're great.

17:15Like, I can't fault you because you're amazing and you have relatives that are great also.

17:19That's not your fault.

17:20So, I loved everything about this.

17:23Again, I've been doing this recently where I said on a scale of zero to five stars, what is a

17:27show?

17:27This is the four, four and a quarter star show.

17:30Really is.

17:31Good stuff.

17:31Top to bottom.

17:32I really enjoyed it.

17:33I hope you did too.

17:35So, that's all the time we have for this episode.

17:37Check back with us next episode where we run on the latest wrestling news and rumors.

17:40Look, you can find us on all social media.

17:42I'm talking Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Rumble, Odyssey, Blue Sky, Daily Motion, Discord.

17:51You name it, we're on it.

17:52And many others.

17:53Give us a like, a subscribe, you know, like, subscribe, share, comment.

17:57We need all that to help the logarithm to keep bringing you content.

18:00While you're at it, if you're looking to bring a new friend to family game night, I got you.

18:05Grab a copy of Sketchy People by Beezle Games.

18:08Kind of like a cross between Chutes and Ladders and Pictionary.

18:11But hey, look, maybe that's just not your thing.

18:13If it's not, I got you.

18:15Maybe you want to go see if you can get in and out of the supermarket faster than all your

18:18friends after collecting all the goods.

18:20If you want to do that, you got to grab a copy of Banani Market by Doodle Play Games because

18:24that's exactly what she does.

18:27It's a great time for the whole family.

18:28But hey, look, some guys are like, dude, I don't want to cruise around the supermarket.

18:32I don't want to go there when I have to go there.

18:33But maybe you want to fly around the universe, grabbing relics from all corners of the cosmos on your way

18:40to the final challenge.

18:41If you want to do that, I got you, sci-fi fans.

18:44Grab a copy of Legendary Elements by FooFoo Games.

18:48I have a copy of all three.

18:50They are all available on TheGameCrafter.com where you can support independent game creation.

18:56Just like indie wrestling, indie game creation is a thing.

18:59And let's be honest, you've been playing the same board games your entire life.

19:04We've played the Monopolies, the Chutes and Ladders.

19:06We've played, you know, the Trouble with the Pop-O-Matic Bubble.

19:11We've played Poker and Blackjack and Parcheesi and you name it, we've played it.

19:16It's time to try something new.

19:18Bring a new friend to family game night.

19:20Check out one of these games.

19:21Again, Banani Market, Sketchy People, Legendary Elements, all available at TheGameCrafter.com.

19:26If you're looking for your next career move, you're considering college or university life,

19:29maybe you just need your formal training for your next career opportunity,

19:32go to my website at FroLifePlanning.com for all your higher education needs

19:37as FroLife Educational Planning is for today, for tomorrow, and for life with FroLife.

19:41I'm Fred Froelich, better known as Dr. Fro.

19:43I want to thank you for taking some time with us today.

19:45Until next time, take care, everybody.

19:47We'll see you next one.

20:15We'll see you next time.

20:34We'll see you next time.

20:52We'll see you next time.

WWE NXT Reactions and Analysis - WBD / Paramount Merger Update

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