The holiday season is well underway, and you notice it everywhere, from the way things look to the way things smell, and just about everything in between. Our calendars are just about to make the official change from 2025 to 2026. It’s an exciting time.
This time of year means a lot of things to a lot of different people. When it comes to Christmas presents, I believe that I’m a tremendous gift giver. If I’m getting you something, know that I’m putting my heart and best efforts in it, and I will more than likely be getting you exactly what you wanted/needed.
At the same time, I hate asking for gifts. Even if I’m involved in some sort of Secret Santa activity, my list for myself is probably going to consist of nothing but gift cards to different stores or websites I like to frequent (Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Target, Lids, and so on). Boring.
The exception to that rule is this column, and the numerous ones like it I’ve done in the past. I like to write letters to Santa Claus and ask him for certain things in pro wrestling over the upcoming 365 days. Sometimes, it’ll be big things. Other times, it’ll be little things. There are times when it’s things that nobody but me wants. The entire list will consist of things I want or need out of the sport we love so much over the next year.
Let’s have some fun.
A Youth Movement In WWE: 48. 47. 48. 44. 37. 40. 41. 38. What do those numbers mean? As of the moment I type this, those are the ages of some of the current champions on WWE’s main roster, and that doesn’t even count a 36-year-old and a 35-year-old that are holding titles in NXT.
Look… I’m not here to say what’s “old” and what’s “young.” The world has changed, but particularly the wrestling business. It wasn’t that long ago that a wrestling promotion having that many champions over the age of 40 would’ve been one of the biggest crimes they could commit. Now it’s commonplace and completely accepted.
I do think, however, that WWE could benefit by looking to the future. Every single “era” needs a proper balance of the here-and-now stars, as well as putting the right names in place that will become major players in the future. It won’t take much longer until those older champions are no longer around, and if you haven’t put the right people in place to take those spots, what does your future look like?
I’m not saying I need the following names to be World Champions in 2026, but at the very least, I would like to see them properly positioned to be in that position if the situation calls for it. Bron Breakker (28 years old), Dominik Mysterio (28), Logan Paul (30), Roxanne Perez (24), Carmelo Hayes (31), Lash Legend (28), Dion Lennox (27), Saquon Shugars (25), Osiris Griffin (28 on Christmas Day), Cutler James (25), Jasper Troy (26), Je’Von Evans (21), Myles Borne (26), Oba Femi (27), Tavion Heights (28), Trick Williams (31), Blake Monroe (27), Jaida Parker (26), Jordynne Grace (29), Kelani Jordan (27), Lola Vice (27), Sol Ruca (26), Tatum Paxley (29), Thea Hail (22), Zaria (26), Jackson Drake (22), Kendal Grey (24)… the list goes on and on of people who, to one degree or another, are “next up” for the company. Some have already made a splash, while others are still waiting for their opportunity, but they should all be making clear moves to the next level of their careers in 2026. There are “future World Champions” all over that list I just named, with many of them being more than capable of reaching that level next year.
If WWE can keep the ball rolling with the current generation, while making sure the next generation or two are positioned properly, it makes everything flow a lot easier as we move into the future.
Continued Attempts At A World Takeover: I’m going to keep saying this again and again until it happens, and it certainly seems like it will happen at some point.
I would love to see WWE and AEW take their show further out on the road more frequently in 2026. It seems more likely that WWE will do it, including an already announced pay-per-view in Italy, but there’s definitely a market for AEW outside of the United States, even if it’s just their usual treks to England and maybe to Mexico thanks to their working relationship with the CMLL promotion.
Give me more loud, rowdy, passionate fans that are guaranteed to go nuts for everything taking place. It makes for a much more enjoyable viewing experience.
A Return To The Ring For Adam Page, Bay-Bay: When it comes to athletes of all types, and not just pro wrestlers, I’m very big on them being able to retire on their own terms. I hate seeing them forced to retire early because of injuries and things that are beyond their control. It’s why I was so happy to see Adam Copeland get a chance to return to the business that he has loved his entire life after injuries took his dream away back in 2011. That’s also why I find the story of wrestlers like Big E to be heartbreaking.
As a fan of Adam Cole, I hate seeing his career in limbo the way it is. Knowing what we know now, concussions and brain injuries aren’t anything to play around with, and if his concussion history is bad enough that he isn’t being cleared to perform right now, he needs to take all the time necessary to get/stay healthy.
At the same time, though, I miss seeing him wrestle. He’s one of my favorite in-ring performers to come from his “era,” and even though I haven’t exactly been thrilled with the way he has been used at times in AEW, I’d still love to see him return. Even if it’s just to work a couple matches and walk away on his own, I’d take it. He’s in a similar spot as Big E, where you never read or hear anyone say anything negative about him in any way, so he deserves to be happy.
Honestly, though, his health and safety is more important than my own personal desires to see him wrestle. Obviously. If he isn’t able to wrestle again, I hope he finds peace in that decision and is able to live as happy and healthy life as he can possibly live for as long as he can possibly live it.
A Big Splash For The Ruler: Yes, this is a bit of a continuation from my first wish, but I think it’s important enough to get its own entry.
I’ve been a big supporter of Oba Femi since he made his on-screen debut for NXT in April 2023, and my fandom has only grown stronger since then. I have watched his ascent to the top of the NXT mountain, and have now seen him wrestle none other than Cody Rhodes on Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Not only do I think Oba held his own in the ring with the face of the company, but I think he looked like a million bucks in there. In the lead up to SNME, Oba also showed that he could hang on the microphone, as well, cutting an impressive promo on Cody to hype their match up. He just gets it, and he carries a champion’s aura around him at all times.
There are countless people on Cristin Milioti’s internet that are calling for Oba to win the Royal Rumble next month. Is that possible? Probably. Is that likely? Probably not. Can you imagine the scenario, though? An NXT wrestler that is still relatively new to the business (three years as a pro with no amateur or independent wrestling background) enters the Royal Rumble and wins the entire thing. To make it even better, he might very well do so before being officially called up to the main roster. Hell, he might even do so while still being the NXT Champion.
Again, I’m not sure how probable that scenario would be, but there’s another scenario that’s a lot easier to pull off because it already started playing out on television. While it wouldn’t be as big as a WrestleMania main event match for a World Title, having Oba face Drew McIntyre would be a fun “consolation prize.” The wheels are already in motion for those two to have a showdown, whether it happens at Mania, before then, or further down the road.
I’m just looking for Oba to make major waves on Raw or Smackdown in 2026. If that’s as a Royal Rumble winner, so be it, but if it’s doing something else, that’s fine, too. He’s about as close to a “sure thing” as there is right now, and if WWE screws it up, Paul Levesque needs to be thrown in the Gulag for the rest of his life.
No More Chris Jericho: I said what I said.
It’s hilarious to me that so many people have been on the “Chris Jericho sucks now and needs to retire” bandwagon for so long, but as soon as rumors begin that he might be returning to WWE, those same people are excited to see him again. They talk about all the fresh matches Jericho can have with people who weren’t around the last time he was working for WWE.
Why?
If you think Jericho was too old, too slow, too past his prime, and so on… why would that change just because he changes companies? Unless he has spent the last eight months (and counting) getting in the best physical condition of his career and finding the Fountain Of Youth, wouldn’t he just be… older, slower, and even further past his prime in WWE?
Tribalism is so stupid.
I’ve been critical of Jericho’s run in AEW, but I also feel I’ve been very fair. I’m quick to call out what I feel are subpar performances, but I’m also quick to point out what I feel are good matches. He made my Weekly Power Rankings numerous times. My harshest comments were more about nobody that worked with him, either as an ally or as an opponent, gaining anything by doing so.
Yes, something like that could change in WWE with a different creative approach than he had in AEW, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting on that to happen.
While the list of first-time opponents for Jericho in WWE is lengthy, I’d still rather the company head in a different direction than dedicate a bunch of precious television time to him. Have you been reading anything I’ve said in this very column?
Put him in the WWE Hall Of Fame. That’s fine. He is beyond deserving of that. I just don’t need to see him wrestle again, no matter where it is.
Tony Khan Finds A Spot For All Those First-Time World Champions: By “first-time,” I’m referring to people who have never won the AEW World Title, by the way. You’ll see why I need to clarify that in a moment.
If you go up and down the AEW roster, you’ll find a lot of names that fans are either predicting will win their first AEW World Title in 2026, or are demanding that they should win their first AEW World Title in 2026.
Kyle Fletcher. Konosuke Takeshita. Adam Copeland. Bobby Lashley. Claudio Castagnoli. Bandido. Brody King. Christian Cage. Kazuchika Okada. Eddie Kingston. Darby Allin. Jack Perry. Jay White. Luchasaurus. Shelton Benjamin. Mark Briscoe. Orange Cassidy. Powerhouse Hobbs. Ricochet. Will Ospreay. Wardlow.
The list goes on and on, and that’s just from the men’s side of things.
Obviously, I don’t want ALL OF THOSE NAMES to win the AEW World Title in 2026, although it would be pretty funny to see 21 brand new World Champions in the span of one calendar year. Of the names listed there, I think it’s definitely time for Fletcher and Takeshita to reach the next level. I think Ospreay is a pretty safe bet to get there, too, but that is fully depending on how he recovers from neck surgery. While I would love for the likes of Brody King and Bandido to get elevated like that, I don’t think it will happen.
Even that shortened list has two names, and potentially three others, on it. Five first-time World Champions in 2026? The chances of that happening are slim to none. AEW has never had more than two first-time World Champions in a single calendar year before. I don’t see them jumping to five next year.
Tony Khan has a difficult task ahead of him, no matter what. Even getting one or two new World Champions in the mix could be tough, especially with past champions like Swerve Strickland, MJF, and “Hangman” Adam Page gunning for the title at the moment (one of whom could win the belt at World’s End), and with people like Jon Moxley and even Kenny Omega always capable of being elevated back to that spot again.
I just want to see something fresh. You could say the same thing for first-time World Champions in WWE, but in my opinion, there’s less realistic “deserving” names there, and even with that said, the path is “easier” in WWE with two different World Titles to choose from.
A Focus On The Street Profits, One Way Or Another: Is it just me, or does it feel like we’ve had rumors of a Montez Ford singles push for over 30 years now?
After all that time, the Profits are still together, and Montez has no singles run at all, let alone a successful one with a big push.
On the flip side, the Street Profits aren’t exactly setting the world on fire as a tag team, and they haven’t been in a long time. We’re coming up on almost three months since they’ve wrestled on television, and they’re almost afterthoughts in the Smackdown tag division, even when they held the WWE Tag Team Titles for a four-month stretch earlier this year.
I’m tired of the “will they or won’t they” breakup rumors, and I’m also tired of the way the Profits have been used as a tag team.
Let’s get a focus on them. Either go through with a split, allowing for both Montez and Angelo Dawkins to have an opportunity at solo success, or treat them as one of the best tag teams in the sport today… because that’s what they are. Simple.
A Physical Version Of The WWE Hall Of Fame: It’s time.
One of my favorite parts of WrestleMania week from the events I’ve attended (24 & 31) was Axxess, or whatever the hell WWE calls it these days. Sure, getting to meet the wrestlers, taking pictures and receiving autographs, is cool, but I was all about the mini-museum displays that the company would always have. Want to measure the size of your hand against the actual size of Andre The Giant’s hand? Here’s a display for that. Want to see the actual duster that Ultimate Warrior wore at WrestleMania 7? It’s right over there. Want to sit at a replica of the WWE announce desk, put on a pair of headphones, and do play-by-play for Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs “Macho Man” Randy Savage? Have I got some good news for you.
WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures has been a show I’ve enjoyed watching over the last few years. Seeing all of these “grails” of pro wrestling memorabilia and collectibles is a blast, especially when we get to see behind the curtain of the WWE Warehouse and all of the insane pieces of wrestling history that are there, damn near just collecting dust.
A physical, brick and mortar version of the WWE Hall Of Fame would be incredible. Take these treasures and put them on display for wrestling fans all over the world to gawk at and appreciate. Throw in a little bit of that interactive fun, and you have something that fans could enjoy year-round, especially if you’re able to rotate memorabilia in and out and have different displays at different points in the year.
We’ve seen rumors that something like that could end up in Orlando, Florida. Recently, we’ve also seen rumors that something like that could end up in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both places make a lot of sense for WWE, but really, it almost doesn’t matter where the building was. If done right, and if the building is big enough… for comparison, the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in Canton, Ohio is around 118,000 square feet, which is slightly smaller than the size of an average Target retail store… fans would be more than willing to travel to it.
Just end the rumors and give us the official announcement in 2026, WWE.
Both WWE & AEW Figuring Out How To Better Handle Their Catalogs On Streaming Services: WWE has some of their catalog on Peacock, some of it on ESPN, some of it on YouTube, and so on. AEW has some of their catalog on HBO Max, but only a small amount of events, with releases coming out in waves.
I’ve complained about this before, but I’m old, and I just want things to be easy. Give me everything in one spot, and I mean ev-er-y-thing. Pay-per-views, television episodes, documentaries, shows, podcasts, previously unreleased content, and a partridge in a pear tree. Everything is so needlessly complicated. Cut it out.
Tribalism Dies For Good: I have better odds of receiving all nine of the other things on my list than I do of receiving this one thing, but it’s here, anyway.
Can we cut this shit out already? Just like what you like. If you prefer WWE to AEW, cool. Watch and support WWE. If you prefer AEW to WWE, cool. Watch and support AEW. Hell, if you want to be a REAL Freaky McNasty, you could even watch and support both companies.
Wild.
Oh, and to you fucking losers that have “AEW” or “WWE” or “Elite” and so on somewhere in your Twitter names, even though you don’t work for either company, and even though you probably don’t spend a single dollar on either company… here’s hoping that we get a true Thanos snap to get rid of you raggedy hoes immediately. Bum ass bitches.
Your turn. What are some things YOU want to see out of pro wrestling in 2026? It can be about WWE, AEW, or any other promotion you enjoy. As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s switch things over to my Weekly Power Rankings before closing things out with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Gunther: Coming off of the most high-profile victory of his entire career, all eyes were on Gunther and how he would respond on Raw. What we got was Gunther in ultimate “troll mode” and looking like he was having the time of his life riling up the fans and soaking in all of the heel heat he received for being the man who sent John Cena off into retirement by making him tap out. It remains to be seen how things go the further we get from Cena’s retirement, but for now, Gunther is off to a red hot start.
Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero: If you take a look at the six men involved in this match, can you tell which of them took the pin to earn the loss for his squad? As good as Hechicero is in the ring, there wasn’t a chance in hell that anyone else in this match was going to get pinned. The match itself was really good… I mean, come on, it was a trios match in AEW, so that was basically guaranteed from the start… but it certainly went with the obvious outcome.
MJF: The overall AEW product is better when MJF is around, so it was great to see him make his surprise return. On top of that, he shook things up immediately, announcing that he was going to be a part of the AEW World Title match at Worlds End, turning it from a Three-Way to a Four-Way. It pays to be the Casino Gauntlet winner and own the right to do something like that.
Kevin Knight vs Kazuchika Okada: This year’s Continental Classic has delivered some excellent in-ring work, just like the previous editions have. What this year’s edition has also delivered is upsets. It seems like there has been a lot of upsets, this one included. There have been so many, in fact, that I’ve seen a bunch of people complaining about how many there have been. The general complaint is something along the lines of “if there are too many upsets, the upsets that do happen don’t mean as much” and things of that nature. I don’t subscribe to that line of thinking, but it is interesting to see the complaints popping up, even from people who call themselves huge AEW fans.
The Usos vs Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods: For the first time in over three years, these two teams squared off, giving us yet another chapter in the greatest tag team rivalry in modern wrestling history. Even if the match ended up being bad, it still would’ve been cool to see them wrestle each other again. Thankfully, that wasn’t an issue, though, and the match ended up being a lot of fun, and coming in at nearly 20 minutes in length, it was pay-per-view worthy to boot.
Ilja Dragunov & Carmelo Hayes vs DIY: Four of the best to ever do it in NXT, combining for five NXT Title reigns, five NXT North American Title reigns, one NXT Cruiserweight Title reign, one NXT United Kingdom Title reign, and one NXT Tag Team Title reign. It was really cool to see them in the ring together on Smackdown, furthering the storyline that they’re all having with the United States Title. Lots to enjoy here.
Pac vs Kyle Fletcher: As good as Pac is, this was considered another upset in the Continental Classic tournament, with Fletcher being largely viewed as someone who is going to win the AEW World Title much sooner than later. Either way, this match continued the CC hot streak, with banger after banger after banger.
Austin Theory: You know what? I really like Theory in a potential role with Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, and Paul Heyman. Theory has always shown a lot of untapped potential, and as I’ve said before, a lot of the hate he receives has nothing to do with him and everything to do with the way Vince McMahon went about using him for a lengthy period of time. He’s now in a spot where he will be able to get a bunch of television time, but also a bunch of heat, and with other guys around, he doesn’t have to do much of the heavy lifting.
Roderick Strong vs Jon Moxley: Oh, hey, another Continental Classic match that ended up being an entertaining bout. Who would’ve thought? It would’ve been quite the upset (there’s that word again) if Roddy came out victorious, but Mox but the kibosh on that one.
Joe Hendry vs Dion Lennox vs Myles Borne vs Leon Slater: A fun match to crown the next #1 Contender for the NXT Title. Leon Slater winning this is an interesting choice. Oba Femi works especially well with opponents that are of the smaller and quicker variety, and that describes Slater perfectly. On the other hand, though, Slater is a TNA wrestler, so I can’t imagine too many people are expecting him to win NXT’s top title. Perhaps NXT has us all right where they want us. We’ll see.
Rey Mysterio vs Logan Paul: Oh, nothing… it’s just 51-year-old Rey Mysterio, with more mileage, wear and tear on his tires than just about any other 51-year-old wrestler in the history of the business, still putting on impressive in-ring performances. That’s amazing.
Orange Cassidy vs Mascara Dorada: I’m going to miss the Continental Classic once it comes to an end again, and I’ll be counting down the days until the 2026 edition begins.
Thea Hail: I feel so bad for her. She wins her first ever championship, pinning Blake Monroe to become the brand new NXT Women’s North American Champion. Unfortunately, Blake appeared to have missed her cue to kick out, meaning that the Referee’s hand hit the mat for the three count when it wasn’t supposed to. Just like that, we have a new champion that wasn’t supposed to win the title in the first place. It’s a shame, but congratulations to the new champion, anyway.
This Week’s Playlist: “Old News” by Big K.R.I.T… “Gotta Do It” by Big K.R.I.T… “The Mileage” by Big K.R.I.T… “Celebrate The Line” by Big K.R.I.T, Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Lil Keke, Z-Ro, Propain & Killa Kyleon… “Salt The Earth” by Lionheart… “My Remedy” by Wake Me… “Sara Smile” by After 7… “Ready Or Not” by After 7… “Can’t Stop” by After 7… “Nights Like This” by After 7… “Til You Do Me Right” by After 7… “The Lady In My Life” by Michael Jackson… “The Sweetest Taboo” by Sade… “Purple Rain” by Prince… “Please Come Home For Christmas” by Eagles… “Little Saint Nick” by The Beach Boys… “This Christmas” by Donny Hathaway… “Sleigh Ride” by The Ronettes… “Christmas In Hollis” by Run-DMC… “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)” by Alvin & The Chipmunks… “Holiday Road” by Lindsey Buckingham… “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” by Al Green & Annie Lennox… “Somewhere In My Memory” by John Williams… “Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)” by Mariah Carey… “Let It Snow” by Boyz 2 Men & Brian McKnight
