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.
There’s only one way WWE can salvage a Gunther vs. Goldberg feud
17Jun By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

There’s only one way WWE can salvage a Gunther vs. Goldberg feud

On the June 16 episode of WWE Raw in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Gunther's celebrations after defeating Jey Uso on the previous week's Raw were very short-lived, interrupted by Hall of Famer Goldberg. A potential Goldberg vs. Gunther clash had been feared by WWE fans for quite some time, and Triple H and TKO have indeed pulled the trigger on bringing back the controversial old-timer into a feud with a top wrestler they have been disrespecting for months. Gunther's world title triumph over Jey was seen by many fans as a form of justice, as many were upset with how Uso defeated Gunther at the Show of Shows, tapping out one of the most hard-nosed technical wrestlers in the business. And their anger was vindicated by Jey's poor run with the title. A program between Gunther and Goldberg feel...
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Finn Balor’s turn on the Judgment Day is brewing, along with a potential new faction
16Jun By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

Finn Balor’s turn on the Judgment Day is brewing, along with a potential new faction

The never-ending friction among the members of the Judgment Day continues, and on the June 16 episode of Monday Night Raw in Green Bay, Wisconsin, it was Finn Balor who provided most of the intrigue in a backstage segment. Finn has been the veteran leader of the Judgment Day ever since the group of mostly up-and-coming superstars turned on founder Edge. He's been the main voice either pulling the group together towards a common goal or causing dissent and mayhem, first against world champion Damian Priest and, more recently, towards Intercontinental Champion and, apparently, aspiring Judgment Day leader Dominik Mysterio. While Balor and Mysterio were, once again, getting into it a little bit backstage after Liv Morgan's outburst towards an injured Raquel Rodriguez prior to Liv's matc...
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One of WWE’s most beloved up-and-coming stars is going to get her push
16Jun By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

One of WWE’s most beloved up-and-coming stars is going to get her push

WWE have a ton of up-and-coming talent who they haven't really pulled the trigger on and taken them to the next level. LA Knight might be the best example of someone who is ready to burst into the main event scene and take that leap up the card or hold a championship, but, once again, WWE snubbed him at Money in the Bank and went with a much more established name in Seth Rollins to help solidify his recent heel turn. There are even higher-upside and more universally popular wrestlers than Knight who are still waiting their chance, such as former NXT stud Carmelo Hayes, who hasn't done much besides team up with The Miz, though his Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal victory will, hopefully, be a harbinger of bigger and better things for Melo than it was for his predecessors. But the...
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Ranking every Roman Reigns WWE WrestleMania match from worst to best
29Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Features, WWE

Ranking every Roman Reigns WWE WrestleMania match from worst to best

Roman Reigns is the biggest name out of all the full-time wrestlers in the current WWE, as his record-breaking run as the company's unified champion set him up as the most dominant champion of his era. For years prior to his heel turn and return to WWE during the COVID-19 pandemic, Roman was positioned just as dominantly on the card, albeit with only begrudging respect from the wider audience and a jarring lack of a character that resonated with more people than the most ardent supporters of the literal shield. Since The Shield's WrestleMania debut in 2013, Roman Reigns has been a fixture at the Show of Shows, and although his WrestleMania record as a babyface solo star was very rocky, his recent work as The Tribal Chief has been as phenomenal as WWE says it is. So as Reigns gears...
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How long is WWE Raw on Netflix run time?
27Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

How long is WWE Raw on Netflix run time?

For years, WWE kept to the same general rule of thumb with their two main televised shows on cable: Raw was the "A" show on Monday nights and ran for a full three hours while SmackDown was the "B" show and ran for two hours, first on Tuesdays on USA Network and then later on Fridays with FOX. When SmackDown's rights were repurchased by USA, it stayed as a two-hour show. But the paradigm shifted a few months ago. In preparation for Raw's move to Netflix on the first Monday of 2025, Raw shrunk from three hours to two in October, which was seen as a welcome change by most WWE fans, who felt a three-hour Raw had become cumbersome. Interestingly enough, if WWE's intention was to trim the fat with its offerings, they went in the opposite direction with SmackDown, which changed to a three-h...
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Every WWE Elimination Chamber Winner, Champion, and Future Champion
24Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
WWE

Every WWE Elimination Chamber Winner, Champion, and Future Champion

WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 will take place on March 1, 2025 in Toronto, Canada, marking the first time the Premium Live Event (PLE) will take place in this month. Usually, the Elimination Chamber takes place in February, one month after Royal Rumble in the last week of January, but since the Rumble is on Feb. 1 this year, the EC start time is relatively delayed. Since 2010 when it became a regular PPV offering by WWE, Elimination Chamber has traditionally pitted six opponents against each other, with the winner of the match getting a shot at the title at WrestleMania or winning the title directly inside the Chamber ahead of WrestleMania. In 2018, the Elimination Chamber show finally had a women's chamber match, adding further importance to the Pay Per View as a whole and entrenc...
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How good was Shelton Benjamin in WWE and what is his legacy?
22Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Features, WWE

How good was Shelton Benjamin in WWE and what is his legacy?

Among the wrestlers released by WWE on Sept. 21, Shelton Benjamin exits the wrestling promotion after spending 14 years with the company across two stints. His most recent spell with WWE began in 2017 with a tag team alongside Chad Gable, and his last meaningful contributions came as a member of the acclaimed "Hurt Business" faction. Benjamin is nearing the age of 50, but as anyone who has watched him wrestle over the past couple of years can attest, the man still very much has it. Let's take a look back at Benjamin's accomplishments in WWE and discuss his overall legacy with the wrestling promotion he spent the most time with. In the ring Shelton Benjamin joined WWE in 2000 as an OVW product with an impressive background in amateur wrestling, as he was a two-time All-American. ...
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How good was Dolph Ziggler in WWE?
21Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Features, WWE

How good was Dolph Ziggler in WWE?

WWE ended an era on Sept. 21, 2023, when they decided to part ways with Dolph Ziggler. For years, Ziggler was booked as a "jobber to the stars", but then his role in the company evolved to being a "gatekeeper" for the main roster, feuding with recent NXT call-ups. Slowly but surely, he began to be completely phased out of WWE programming despite the fact that a wrestler with his skill set had something to offer. There are some who view Ziggler as a "What if?" and even a waste of potential, whereas others view Ziggler as one of Vince McMahon's biggest mistakes, in the sense that he could have been pushed as a believable top babyface in the 2010s if Vince weren't so fixated on irrelevant issues like "size". So let's take a look back at Ziggler's career in WWE and break down how g...
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What would need to happen for CM Punk to return to WWE
4Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Features, WWE

What would need to happen for CM Punk to return to WWE

CM Punk received his walking papers from AEW after his latest physical altercation in the company. As dismissive as this may sound, it honestly seemed like it was only a matter of time before things truly imploded. Punk has never been a fit for AEW in terms of the locker room culture and backstage environment. Tony Khan's leadership style is also not strict enough to prevent volatile situations from exploding. Quite a few pro wrestling fans have wondered if Punk could make his return to WWE. This speculation has always existed essentially since his initial falling out with the company, which was, in that case, a situation where CM Punk was the victim. He suffered from a staph infection, in addition to feeling physically and mentally drained. But ever since Punk decided to return to p...
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Ranking the 10 best heels in WWE right now
4Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Features, WWE

Ranking the 10 best heels in WWE right now

Few positions in entertainment allow an individual to express themselves creatively quite like being a heel in WWE. The best heels are able to walk a line between being "cool" enough to generate interest and being unlikable enough to enable the crowd to cheer for the babyface. Heels are supposed to be unselfish in the pro wrestling sphere, doing whatever they can to generate heat in terms of negative energy directed at them so that this same energy can be transferred into a positive force from the crowd for the babyface. Here are the 10 best heels in WWE right now. 10. Bron Breakker Turning heel was exactly what Bron Breakker needed in order to freshen things up in NXT. Everyone could tell that Breakker is a legitimate talent and one of the most explosive athletes in WWE, but...
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