In today’s pro wrestling landscape, many fans and wrestlers hold different opinions on the value of “work-rate” compared to storytelling and psychology. AEW star Chris Jericho is of the belief that many wrestlers have lost sight of what’s really important, as revealed in an interview with GamesHub.

“Match quality has become so overemphasized,” Jericho said. “Wrestling is about connecting with the crowd, capturing the imagination and the interest of the people watching.”

Jericho then reflected on his WWE WrestleMania 18 match against Shawn Michaels, which he previously referred to as one of his favorite storylines. He pointed out that this match had everything he just listed, but noted that they got there because of a great storyline. According to Jericho, many of today’s highest-rated matches don’t get the same kind of engagement from the live audience. 

“A five-star match should mean the crowd is going crazy in a sold-out stadium,” Jericho stated. “You can also have a five-star match in a community center in front of 50 people, so the rating in isolation is irrelevant. It’s character, its storyline, it’s charisma. That’s what wrestling is about — it was in the 1930s and it is now.”

Jericho believes that a given star’s success in pro wrestling should depend on their connection with the audience, with the AEW star citing The Ultimate Warrior as an example of someone who didn’t have “great matches” but built a relationship with fans nonetheless.

At 55 years old, Jericho acknowledged his limited time left in the industry. However, looking at the current state of the industry, he isn’t too sure if today’s wrestlers will reach the same point of their careers. “You can already see what serious injuries do – a bad neck surgery changes everything,” Jericho warned. “The longevity may be harder to sustain when there’s so much emphasis on the physical at the expense of charisma and character.”

We’re getting closer and closer to WWE WrestleMania 42 and details are still coming together. Monday brought a flurry of announcements for “The Show of Shows,” with four matches added to the two-night event during “WWE Raw.” Earlier on Monday, John Cena posted a video to his social media to announce that he would be hosting the show.

Cena only retired in December and will be making his return to WWE already. It was an obvious ploy, confirmed by Dave Meltzer on “Wrestling Observer Live.” He stated that Cena getting hosting duties is “absolutely because of slow ticket sales.” He doesn’t know how much of a difference Cena being there will make, “but we’ll see in the next week.”

Meltzer noted that while the 3/16 sale that WWE had for WrestleMania tickets did move about 2,000 tickets, subsequent sales and lowering of prices haven’t had the same effect. He says that compared to one year ago, “they’re down 19.6 percent.” They moved after 35,000 tickets when they first went on sale, but have struggled to move tickets since then.

During “Raw”, two title matches were made for WrestleMania; a Fatal 4-way for the Women’s tag titles and a ladder match for the Men’s IC title. Seth Rollins was also medically cleared and will have a match after a surprise attack by GUNTHER.

Francis Ngannou addressed his departure from PFL and whether he wants to remain with the PFL Africa brand, having joined as an equity-partner in the project when he first signed on as a fighter in 2023. 

Ngannou will be returning to MMA on the May 16 MVP card headlined by Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, having fought just the once during his time with PFL before his departure was announced this year. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion had defeated Renan Ferreira for the PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Championship in February 2024 as well as helping to establish the PFL Africa brand. 

However, he told Ariel Helwani that he had actually been contracted for one more fight and had been hoping to make it happen. He also confirmed that the decision had not been his to leave, “We parted ways in January… That was their decision to part ways, not mine.”

He said it’s not something he was looking to get emotional over and just sought to move on, though he said he would like to remain with PFL Africa if that remains an option.

“Obviously I would like to be involved. My goal with PFL Africa was to bring the sport to the continent, launch that and give that opportunity to people in the continent. It was something separate from my promotional agreement. So I think if there is a way to keep that on, I would still be a part of it. Because for me, it’s a personal project,” he said.

Jon Jones may not be fighting on the UFC White House card in June but his very own promotion is making headway in Washington DC, having received its promoting license. 

Jones was announced as a co-owner of Dirty Boxing Championship in March last year, joining fellow veteran Mike Perry and his manager Malki Kawa in doing so. He mainly serves an ambassadorial role much in the same way he will for Russia’s IBA Bareknuckle Boxing going forward, and was front and center for the promotion’s newest update regarding its promoting license in DC. 

“BREAKING: DBX is officially a licensed promoter in DC!” The announcement read, alongside a picture of Jones draped in the US flag in front of the White House.

The announcement was timed well considering the ongoing dispute between Jones and UFC regarding his status with the promotion and supposed negotiations for the Freedom 250 card at the White House in June. Jones had said prior to the full card being announced that he was in negotiations to renege on his 2025 retirement, and entered the USADA testing pool (two tests conducted in 2026 thus far). 

The card was announced, Jones was nowhere to be found, and Dana White dismissed any notion he was being considered. Jones has since pushed back on that, claiming that not only were there active negotiations but he was lowballed, believing any potential fight with Alex Pereira – who will be fighting on the card against Ciryl Gane – to be worth more than the $15 million he said they tabled. 

He added that if the sentiment was truly that he was done, then he would like to be released from his contract. White has maintained his version of events, stopping just short of calling Jones a liar during Saturday’s press conference following Fight Night 271.

The card for WrestleMania 42 is starting to take shape, and with 12 matches being announced for the show as of Monday, there are limited spots left for the two-night event. One star who has yet to find himself a match at WrestleMania is The Miz, and during a recent interview with Esteban Ramirez, “The A-lister” claimed that it’s never been more difficult to get booked in a match on “The Grandest Stage Of Them All.”

“I’ve been working as harder than ever to literally try to be on the card of WrestleMania 42, and the reason being is there are so many superstars, so many new and upcoming superstars that have just been blowing the roof off the place. Oba Femi, like it is not supposed to happen where a person walks into a WWE arena, whether it’s ‘Raw’ or ‘SmackDown,’ and everyone’s chanting your name right off the bat. That just doesn’t happen. It takes time to develop, but he’s developed so quickly and now he’s going up against Brock Lesnar and everyone’s excited about it. Everyone’s talking about it.”

Over the past few weeks, The Miz has been involved in segments with American artist Jelly Roll and interacted backstage with stars such as Kit Wilson and Danhausen, but it remains to be seen if current direction leads to a WrestleMania match. Last night, four matches were added to the card on “WWE Raw,” including Seth Rollins versus GUNTHER, Finn Balor versus Dominik Mysterio, a Ladder Match for Penta’s Intercontinental Title, and a Fatal Four-Way Match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, which are currently held by Nia Jax and Lash Legend.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Esteban Ramirez” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.