PWI Weekly for November 24, 2025
A Reason To Be Thankful: The Turnbuckle Turkeys Are Back!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK to you, and welcome to another edition of the PWI Weekly. Normally, at this time of year, we reflect on what we are grateful for in the wrestling world, but this time, we are putting a different spin on it. While we can think of plenty of people doing good things in wrestling, some simply make us glad that they won’t be seated at our table this Thanksgiving. This edition of the PWI Weekly is for those Turnbuckle Turkeys.
DOMINIK MYSTERIO
Why They’re A Turkey:
In some ways, you have to hand it to “Dirty Dom.” It takes someone special to be the most hated person, not just within the WWE locker room, but the Lucha Libre AAA one, too. In recent weeks alone, the Mega champion has raised the ire of John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Hijo Del Vikingo, and even New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo. For his part, the younger Mysterio doesn’t seem to care.
He really should, though. In fact, his desire to antagonize people was what dragged him into an unwanted match against Cena recently. In the end, that cost Mysterio his Intercontinental championship. What a dope turkey.
How They’ll Be Spending Thanksgiving:
Alone, eating his beloved chicken tendies. He should be thankful that he’s still got one championship to his credit.
TNA MATCH-MAKERS
Why They’re Turkeys:
We’re all for spontaneity and surprise. We also like to see a veteran wrestler finally achieve their first World title win, just as Frankie Kazarian did recently. That it came at the expense of Mike Santana, however, is where we have a slight problem. When Santana finally won the TNA World title at Bound for Glory, it seemed like the sort of feel-good moment that would usher in a new era for the company—one with a deeply popular wrestler at the forefront. Instead, Santana didn’t even get one proper title defense in TNA. Rather, Kazarian cashed in his “Call Your Shot” trophy after the incumbent had just been attacked by invading NXT wrestlers on IMPACT. Cheap? yes. Unnecessary? We think so. Maybe TNA match-makers should have a long, hard think about how to better protect their top stars.
How They’ll Be Spending Thanksgiving:
Thinking up exciting new scenarios to hinder the progress of rising stars.
MERCEDES MONE
Why They’re A Turkey:
Okay, okay … she may have taken the #1 spot on our “Women’s 250,” but that doesn’t mean the Mandalorian star can’t be great and a bit of a turkey. Despite her success, there has been one title that has eluded Mone, and that’s the AEW Women’s World championship. The C.E.O. claims to be the top woman in AEW, but, in doing so, discredits those who have been World champs, like Kris Statlander. While never known for her humility, Mone’s success over the past year only seems to have made her more ego-driven. And although we are filing this prior to AEW Full Gear, you should now know by now whether the Bostonian had what it took to dethrone Statlander for the World title. If she didn’t, then maybe some humble pie should be served for dessert this coming Thursday.
How They’ll Be Spending Thanksgiving:
Being waited on hand and foot with seats at the table reserved for each of her numerous title belts.
TKO EXECS
Why They’re Turkeys:
For starters, the company—which is the parent organization of both WWE and the UFC—has made it much more difficult for the average fan to afford tickets in recent months. Still, disappointing as that may be, it could be argued that TKO brass is merely trying to maximize profits for the brand’s shareholders. But that’s hardly been the only company philosophy to elicit eye-rolls as of late. Recently, TKO President Mark Shapiro confused and enraged some fans when he weighed in on WWE’s premium live event strategy. Speaking on The Main Event with Andrew Marchand, Shapiro said:
“Right now, a lot of our PLEs were created by Vince McMahon. We need to get in the business of taking that torch and moving past that. Nick (Khan) and Triple H created Wrestlepalooza, which is the launch event for our new ESPN deal, which did incredibly well and may turn into a superfranchise.”
While initially, some fans took Shapiro’s comments to mean that beloved brand names (like SummerSlam or even WrestleMania) could be phased out, TKO later clarified that wouldn’t be the case. Nonetheless, longtime wrestling enthusiasts still took exception to the notion that Wrestlepalooza was an original creation imagined by Khan and Triple H. Paul Heyman was promoting ECW events with the WrestlePalooza name in the 1990s. Indie promotion F1RST Wrestling also used it—and even previously owned the name’s trademark—in more recent years. Perhaps Mr. Shapiro should better educate himself on the history of the industry in which he wields so much power.
How They’ll Be Spending Thanksgiving:
Presumably watching ECW WrestlePalooza 1998 and getting caught up in the magic that was Al Snow and “Head.”
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
If you think your Thanksgiving dinner plans will be chaotic, just imagine what an AEW one would look like. Thank goodness for Harley Cameron, though.