Author: Joe Soriano

Joe helped manage the pro wrestling site Daily DDT from 2017 to 2019. He has appeared in many wrestling podcasts and has had his work featured by mainstream media sites and professional wrestlers themselves. Joe also covers soccer, writing about Tottenham for Hotspur HQ, Real Madrid for A Trip to Cibeles, and general world football for The Trivela Effect.
WWE set a huge Finn Balor shakeup in motion
19Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

WWE set a huge Finn Balor shakeup in motion

Finn Balor finally got another shot at the world title on Monday Night Raw in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and while he, as expected, came up empty handed, the show of respect he had with current champion CM Punk was a sight to behold. The match itself was a typical Balor affair: solid, if not unspectacular, with plenty of hard work in the ring but little fanfare. In a way, it sums up Balor's WWE career. He has been a perfectly solid cog in the wheel but never a true standout performer. Despite being a heel for years as a key part of the Judgment Day, becoming something of a leader of it as the main veteran presence following the turn against Edge, Balor came out of the match with Punk looking like a babyface. Finn Balor is now a babyface Sure, it's a bit of a cop out way to turn som...
Read More
The dream feud for heel Cody Rhodes is obvious to everyone
19Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

The dream feud for heel Cody Rhodes is obvious to everyone

Cody Rhodes has not turned heel on WWE television yet, and while there is no clear indication that WWE will actually go ahead and pull the trigger on a turn, this is a move that fans have been anxiously waiting them to make for about a year. In fact, WWE sort of teased a double turn at the Royal Rumble last year when Cody and Kevin Owens fought for the world title, brutalizing each other in a match in which KO got the worst of it and Cody seemed at his most menacing. And then they could have even tried a double turn later at SummerSlam in the feud with John Cena with the crowd fully moving behind a now babyface Cena and edging a bit against Cody. Cody Rhodes has taken John Cena's torch But the real change in the winds has occurred now in 2026. Cody Rhodes just dropped the WWE Title...
Read More
WWE snubbed Edge for Cody Rhodes when everyone knows the truth
18Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

WWE snubbed Edge for Cody Rhodes when everyone knows the truth

It's Royal Rumble season, as the most exciting Pay Per View of the WWE calendar is officially less than two weeks away. And before every Rumble, the second most exciting thing - after speculating about who will win it or return this year - is looking back at past Rumble moments over the years. As many WWE fans speculate that AEW star Chris Jericho will make his return to Triple H World on January 31 in Saudi Arabia, the WWE itself ranked its 10 greatest ever Royal Rumble returns. Funnily enough, Jericho is already on the list in No. 10 for his 2013 return. And as is customary, John Cena pretty much wrapped up the No. 1 spot for his 2008 return from a torn triceps that was perfectly kept under wraps. John Cena's moment wasn't bigger either But as iconic as Cena's return was back the...
Read More
There is only one answer for the WWE 2K26 cover star
17Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

There is only one answer for the WWE 2K26 cover star

Every year before the WWE 2K video game comes out, wrestling fans love to speculate about who will be the cover star, as it is the equivalent of the prestigious honor of being on the Madden cover, minus any sort of a curse associated with it. Wrestlers like John Cena, Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, AJ Styles, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and Stone Cold Steve Austin have graced the cover over the years, just to name a few. But when it comes to the WWE 2K26 cover this year, there are a number of options fans are mulling over, and everyone likes to debate their favorites. Could Cody do it again? How about Jey Uso after how over he got in 2025? To be honest, though, the clear answer for the cover star is a repeat winner, albeit someone who has not made it on the cover long enough for it to actua...
Read More
Liv Morgan isn’t the only prime candidate to win the Women’s Royal Rumble
17Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

Liv Morgan isn’t the only prime candidate to win the Women’s Royal Rumble

The 2026 WWE Royal Rumble Premium Live Event is just weeks away on January 31, and although it does overall feel like there is an open field of contenders to win the Rumble matches, there are always a few options that stand out better than the others. For the Women's Royal Rumble match, Liv Morgan is widely tabbed as one of the favorites to win the bout. She has been a star in Rumble matches over the years with her endurance and creativity, and she has more than fulfilled the potential she showed in her early years of NXT and with the Riott Squad. Morgan is now one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling with her ability to sell any story or any move in the ring, and she has really gotten over as a conniving heel that people respect and love to hate. There is no doubt that ...
Read More
Drew McIntyre’s next WWE Title opponent just became 100 percent obvious
17Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

Drew McIntyre’s next WWE Title opponent just became 100 percent obvious

Just a week ago, Drew McIntyre outlasted long time rival Cody Rhodes in a Three Stages of Hell match to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship and become the new "face" of Friday nights. McIntyre's win was months in the making, and while the "Cody sucks" chants are more of a term of endearment for the man now carrying the torch passed on to him by John Cena, there was a sense that fans had grown tired of Cody holding the championship - and being a babyface. The McIntyre victory has completely changed the trajectory of WWE plans going into WrestleMania 42, as Cody vs. Roman Reigns is no longer the plan for the Show of Shows and everything feels a bit more exciting and unpredictable now heading into the Royal Rumble on January 31. Sooner than that, though, McIntyre's next opponent ...
Read More
There’s only one acceptable Cody Rhodes outcome now (and it’s not winning the Royal Rumble)
16Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

There’s only one acceptable Cody Rhodes outcome now (and it’s not winning the Royal Rumble)

Now that Cody Rhodes has dropped the WWE Title to Drew McIntyre, so much of the landscape of the company's booking going into WrestleMania 42 has drastically changed. The long rumored rematch between Cody and Roman Reigns has been all but fully scrapped by Triple H and the company, with McIntyre now leading the charge and Cody, despite being the babyface, starting to get "Cody sucks" chants and raucous boos, almost as if to officially seal the transition of taking the "top guy" mantle from the now retired John Cena. Cody did something else official in London on the Friday, January 16 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, announcing his intention to compete at Royal Rumble 2026 in Saudi Arabia - and potentially put himself in rarified air with three career Rumble victories. The thing ...
Read More
Is WWE Quietly Setting Up Nikki Bella for a Shock Title Win?
8Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

Is WWE Quietly Setting Up Nikki Bella for a Shock Title Win?

Although many fans thought Lyra Valkyria would get her comeuppance on Becky Lynch at WWE SummerSlam 2025, it was the Irish Lass Kicker who got the last laugh and prevented her compatriot from having another crack at her Intercontinental Championship. It was a fantastic match that was among the highlights of an excellent second night of SummerSlam, but, for Lynch, the celebration was short-lived as she was immediately confronted by Nikki Bella on the Raw on Netflix after the Biggest Party of the Summer. Nikki made her return this summer for another stint in the company, and after only appearing on SummerSlam  as part of a Papa John's commercial, she has her eyes set on a much bigger prize: Becky's Intercontinental Title. The verbal sparring between the two WWE legends ended up bein...
Read More
WWE fans will rejoice at TKO admitting defeat on one of their recent changes
18Jun By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

WWE fans will rejoice at TKO admitting defeat on one of their recent changes

Most WWE fans, especially the diehard followers of professional wrestling, have been deeply disappointed by the changes around the company since the TKO takeover. There are gripes about the advertisements plastered all over turnbuckles, the canvas, and anywhere else an ad could possibly be, as well as serious concerns over the show's presentation and the booking of certain wrestlers, including the doomed Jey Uso push. Even long-time wrestling journalists like Dave Meltzer have lamented the troubling direction WWE is going in under the TKO banner. Perhaps no move exemplified how out-of-touch the new suits in charge of the promotion can be than their release of long-tenured veteran and locker room glue guy R-Truth. Fans and co-workers rallied behind Truth, and WWE/TKO were forced to...
Read More
Lyra Valkyria drops a big hint that a welcome heel turn is coming
17Jun By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

Lyra Valkyria drops a big hint that a welcome heel turn is coming

WWE superstar Lyra Valkyria has been tabbed by fans as a major star for the future ever since shining in NXT as a so-called white meat babyface. Her main strengths were in the ring, as she could tell a great story and put on a top match against anyone in between the ropes. But on the main roster, it became clear to WWE that while Valkyria was great in the ring and could get people to like her at a basic level, she would need something more to her character in order to get fans to actually invest in her and care about her as something more than a garden variety mid-carder. Although Valkyria made history as the first ever Women's Intercontinental Champion, her finest work on the main roster didn't actually begin until she started feuding with Becky Lynch a couple of month ago, and this...
Read More