{"id":209857,"date":"2026-01-05T11:57:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T17:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=209857"},"modified":"2026-01-07T12:58:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:58:31","slug":"top-five-list-top-wishes-for-pro-wrestling-in-2026-including-tko-becoming-more-fan-friendly-aew-surviving-media-landscape-changes-wrestlers-taking-fewer-chances-with-their-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/01\/05\/top-five-list-top-wishes-for-pro-wrestling-in-2026-including-tko-becoming-more-fan-friendly-aew-surviving-media-landscape-changes-wrestlers-taking-fewer-chances-with-their-health\/","title":{"rendered":"TOP FIVE LIST: Top Wishes for Pro Wrestling in 2026 including TKO becoming more fan friendly, AEW surviving media landscape changes, wrestlers taking fewer chances with their health"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1036366787\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>With 2025 now in the history books and 2026 has begun, it can be a time to reflect on where we\u2019re at and where we\u2019d like to go in the next year.<\/p>\n<p>Many of us look at our diet, the amount of exercise we do, quitting a bad habit, or how we have been spending money. For a majority of us, these resolutions are forgotten about halfway into January.<\/p>\n<p>We remember how much we like sugar, carbonated beverages, and sitting on our butts with our feet up at the end of our day. What we really have are wishes for what we\u2019d like to see ourselves as.<\/p>\n<p>With that spirit, I have some wishes as a wrestling fan that I would like to see.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>RAF Growth<\/h3>\n<p>I get my weekly platform, and I\u2019m gonna use it to plug one of my favorite wrestling companies that has recently launched and has had four shows so far. That company is Real American Freestyle. At the helm of this organization is Chad Bronstein and Izzy Martinez.<\/p>\n<p>Their association with NCAA wrestling and MMA coaching led to a proposal to take another shot at legitimizing freestyle wrestling into a professional sport. With professional wrestling interests peaking, and UFC a viable brand for decades now, the foundations of both start in amateur wrestling.<\/p>\n<p>Through a friendship with Hulk Hogan, they were able to strike a branding deal with Hulk\u2019s endorsement and brand recognition as well as using the \u201cReal American\u201d branding Hogan was using for his beer. With Hulk also came an opportunity to work with Eric Bischoff.<\/p>\n<p>Eric has a background that makes him a perfect partner. He wrestled in high school, which meant he understood the basics of mat wrestling. He performed in martial arts tournaments, understanding the mindset of a performer. He came up from ad sales to being the Executive Vice President over WCW.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1331182632\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>After his time in live entertainment, Eric worked with the man who played Kevin Arnold\u2019s jerk of a big brother, Jason Hervey, in &#8220;The Wonder Years&#8221; sitcom. He understand that what makes professional wrestling stay viable isn\u2019t the matches, and what made UFC catch on wasn\u2019t the fights; it was the wrestlers and the fighters. Why did you care about someone winning or losing? Otherwise, why should I spend money on those fights, when I can watch free fights on television or the ones in my house between my children? He knew it was about the fighters.<\/p>\n<p>What we also get with Bischoff\u2019s partnership is a link to the professional wrestling we come to PWTorch for &#8211; Kurt Angle on commentary, big entrances, and trash talking promos.<\/p>\n<p>In 2026, what I\u2019d like to see are a few attraction matches with names from pro westling. It\u2019s been done with UFC fighters like Holly Holm, and it would be fun to see Nick Nemeth, Chad Gable, or Shelton Benjamin mix it up. Whether we see RAF go in that direction or not, it is another avenue for athletes and potentially could build a star who could cross over when they\u2019re done training for competition performances.<\/p>\n<h3>TKO Show More Care For Fans<\/h3>\n<p>Like any corporation, the bigger they get, the more they move away from what initially helped attract and build a bond with their audience. You can spend so much time on the vision you\u2019ve cast and sticking with what worked until the audience moves on and it\u2019s too late to get the consumer back. They\u2019ve been telling companies for years they were going to leave, and the ones at the top thought they were idle threats by a small portion of their audience.<\/p>\n<p>This can be applied to booking of the show and its talent. They kinda sucked the life out of half of John Cena\u2019s final run with a heel turn that was a very cool moment, but wasn\u2019t planned out for the follow up.<\/p>\n<p>The financial cost to be a fan is skyrocketing. You have dramatically increased ticket prices and multiple app and cable package subscriptions to watch. We were spoiled to have it all with the WWE Network where all you needed was that and a way to watch USA Network or catch it the next day on Hulu. If you went the Hulu option, you could watch all WWE content for $18 a month. Now you\u2019ll pay roughly $120 a month for similar content in the United States. Now try being a super-fan who buys merch or goes to events like Fan Access or autograph signings. It became unfeasible for so many in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Like every company that follows the dollar, they will lose a significant portion of their audience and revenue. Will they find a new audience okay with these new terms, or will we see WWE shrink back down to an arena business instead of stadiums again?<\/p>\n<h3>True Youth Elevation<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s about to hit hard that top stars are human. We continue to see legends such as Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, but not in physical roles any longer. As I write this, I am 45 years old, so these were the big stars of my teen years. They don\u2019t look like they once did, reminding us that we don\u2019t look or feel the same either.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-4115589501\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>John Cena retired after I had witnessed his entire career. He was different from someone like Ric Flair who was \u201cold\u201d when I started watching as a child. Next up are rumored to be A.J. Styles, Brock Lesnar, and Chris Jericho, who again, I saw from his television debut to, soon, an upcoming retirement match.<\/p>\n<p>What this can do is remind you of the ages of the top WWE players where C.M. Punk is 47, Cody Rhodes is 40, Drew McIntyre is 40. WWE is risking facing late-\u201890s WCW problem of sticking with the top stars too long and not having the younger talents interact enough with them in a way that legitimized them as main event talent.<\/p>\n<p>When the top WCW players aged out, you were left with Booker T, Jeff Jarrett, and Diamond Dallas Page as regular top talent, and only DDP was seen on a level to have a match with Hogan or Goldberg and be seen as a contender.<\/p>\n<h3>AEW Lands on Its Feet<\/h3>\n<p>In another example of corporate interference with our wrestling, the company that platforms AEW is in the midst of a sale, probably to Netflix, with small potential of Paramount forcing a hostile takeover in one of the more dramatic wrestling stories this year. This deal has enough drama to become a film.<\/p>\n<p>If Netflix wins out, they aren\u2019t purchasing any of the cable networks, so AEW could still have a home, but where does that leave cord cutters like me who has depended on HBO Max to watch Dynamite? Will Netflix want both WWE and AEW content? Would TKO even allow that? If Paramount somehow pulls off the deal, after signing an agreement with TKO to air UFC, will TKO let AEW continue?<\/p>\n<p>Media in 2026 is scary for a lot of properties as we have so many entertainment options, and while AEW has made some good choices recently, it comes after years of fans loosing interest.<\/p>\n<h3>Healthy Rosters<\/h3>\n<p>There is a lot of wisdom in the people who have lived longer than you and seen more. That doesn\u2019t mean you should blindly follow what everyone older than you says , but there are many respected voices from the past who should be given respect when they speak up.<\/p>\n<p>Arn Anderson and William Regal are two of those voices. Neither of these men chased fame; they were doing a job in an industry that they loved. In the opinions of most in the know, they did their job very well. Neither expected to be the World Heavyweight Champion; they knew what their role was on the show. So when they speak now, it doesn\u2019t come from bitterness. These are two men who have shown their love of an art form in retirement. When they advise wrestlers to watch out for and take care of their necks, young wrestlers, and especially fans who\u2019ve never bumped, should do what we are supposed to do when Miz\u2019s hand goes up, and have our mouths shut.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m at an age where I\u2019ve regretted my diet and lack of commitment to exercise because, along with simple wear and tear, it has caught up to me. Not to whine like I\u2019m in a terrible place in life, but there are places in my body I call the pain Young Gunz, because it Can\u2019t Stop, Won\u2019t Stop. I can\u2019t imagine the level of pain that professional wrestlers live with who make it out without surgery, but the injury bug is hitting necks like it\u2019s the early 2000s again when Steve Austin, Rhino, Chris Benoit, Lita, Edge, and Kurt Angle were all out during a similar period having neck surgeries. That\u2019s not even a detailed list. Those are the ones I remember without research, which is a rough statistic.<\/p>\n<p>Seth Rollins is another wrestler on the injury list. I\u2019m not sure how necessary that corner-to-corner move was, and it was easy to tell he didn\u2019t land well when watching. Not only do injuries like this disrupt stories for fans and other wrestlers, they deprive the wrestlers themselves of crafting their art in the short period they have to tell their story, their ability to sell merch, and worst of all, when the body slows down on healing as well get older, it just makes their quality of life worse. I can\u2019t feel good being entertained by a future limping elder citizen, or worse, a paraplegic.<\/p>\n<p>Father Time does no jobs, but we can extend the feud if we do this right.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Do you live in Colorado? You\u2019re invited to Nerdstalgia\u2019s Grand Opening Party on Saturday Jan. 24, featuring talent from Battleground Pro Wrestling.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Griffin is a lifelong fan of wrestling, superheroes, and rebellious music of all forms. He is the owner of Nerdstalgia, and you can shop online, learn about visiting the store in Colorado Springs, or catch him at a comic con in the Rocky Mountain area by going to <a href=\"http:\/\/nerdstalgia.shop\">http:\/\/nerdstalgia.shop<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"AEW World&#039;s End Post-Show w\/ Brandon LeClair &amp; Taylor Halley\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AD5FXd4phE0?start=3531&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-457435576\"><div id=\"pwtor-2011202226\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>With 2025 now in the history books and 2026 has begun, it can be a time to reflect on where we\u2019re at and where we\u2019d like to go in the next year. Many of us <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/01\/05\/top-five-list-top-wishes-for-pro-wrestling-in-2026-including-tko-becoming-more-fan-friendly-aew-surviving-media-landscape-changes-wrestlers-taking-fewer-chances-with-their-health\/\" title=\"TOP FIVE LIST: Top Wishes for Pro Wrestling in 2026 including TKO becoming more fan friendly, AEW surviving media landscape changes, wrestlers taking fewer chances with their health\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,52,27,4488],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlightarticles","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists","category-top-five-lists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2023\/09\/Screenshot-2023-09-12-at-2.19.51-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":209859,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209857\/revisions\/209859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}