411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Will WWE Release Paige Due to Her Sex Video Leak?

Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week are 411’s Nick Marsico and Jack Stevenson!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals, the Turtle Total Trip Theorem, pizza and hydroponics.

1. Despite her rocky relationship with the company, WWE will not release Paige following the leak of her nude photos and sex videos.

Jack Stevenson: FACT – Even considering their history of questionable ethical decisions, disowning Paige at a time when she needs all the support she can get would be a truly vile thing for WWE to do. Firing her would add a callous, entirely unnecessary humiliation on top of the one she’s already suffered, and on a more cynical note, it would also generate a massive P.R. shitstorm for WWE that they’ll be wary of stumbling into. I would be truly baffled and extremely dishearted if WWE were to release Paige at this point.

Nick Marsico: FACT – She isn’t going anywhere. The leak is unfortunate and appears to be significantly affecting Paige and her family. I think WWE recognizes that releasing her would be a very cold thing to do, and I also don’t think they care that much about it happening. They made a joke about it on RAW, so chances are that they aren’t mortified by the pictures and videos surfacing. On top of that, they have happily (as far as I understand it) participated in the filming of the movie about her life, so the relationship must not be as rocky as people are claiming it to be. When is she coming back? That’s the more important question. Is she still recovering from her injury? If she is healed, this fiasco would certainly push her return to a later date because of the way the crowd will react to her.

2. A Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns Universal title match for WrestleMania 34; this will result in another failed coronation f Reigns as the top face in WWE.

Jack Stevenson: FACT – It depends on what you mean by ‘failed.’ I wouldn’t be surprised if WWE reach a point where they decide that, regardless of fan backlash, they just really want Roman Reigns to be the number one guy and, as long as he continues to shift merchandise and get a strong response at house shows, resolve to stick their fingers in their ears when he gets booed at TV and PPV. And there’s a logic to that strategy as well; John Cena of course received mixed responses pretty much everywhere he went for a decade, and it reached the point where any hostility would just become routine background noise and lost all its potency. I’ve always been a huge supporter of Reigns’ in ring ability, and his match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 is, sincerely, my favorite WrestleMania main event in history. What I’m getting at is, the most likely scenario for WrestleMania 34’s main event right now seems to be Reigns beating Lesnar in a terrific match, winning the WWE Championship, and getting booed out the building for doing so. Would this be considered a ‘failed coronation?’ In the sense that he’ll still be widely loathed by a vocal section of the audience, and will probably not reach the John Cena levels of popularity and mainstream acceptance, you’d have to say yes. But I don’t know if WWE will see it that way.

Nick Marsico: FICTION – Too many variables between now and next year. WWE could, although it’s not a likely scenario, run with Roman’s heel-driven attitude from this feud with The Undertaker and end up striking gold, thus rendering an attempt to crown him as The Guy unnecessary. Alternatively, that scenario could occur, and by the time the next WrestleMania rolls around, the crowd may actually be ready to accept Reigns as the top guy in the company, and they can pull the trigger and actually have the bullet come out of the barrel this time. I don’t know if they will be able to hold off on running that match for a whole year. The rumored plan is for a WrestleMania match, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it as the marquee match for Survivor Series. Or maybe it won’t happen at all, and they go with Cena at WrestleMania. I wouldn’t be shocked to see WWE pull out all the stops and try to give Roman a ‘WrestleMania moment’ by putting him in the ring with the only other guy who gets reactions like his. It would be a giant mess and turn out to be a spectacle for all the wrong reasons, but it would not surprise me to see WWE go in that direction. Plus, I’m giving up hope that we’ll see Cena vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania. Maybe it just isn’t meant to be.

3. Raw has been too focused on Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley instead of really pushing WrestleMania feuds.

Jack Stevenson: FACT – Maybe it’s just me, but this is the third WrestleMania build in a row that’s felt really under whelming. It’s really strange that WWE are so insistent on doing this warring General Managers thing now; if we must sit through another story in which authority figures simply cannot get along, it could surely wait until Extreme Rules or something, especially since at this moment, it doesn’t appear like it’s going to lead to anything in particular at WrestleMania. Maybe I’ll be proved wrong and Mick Foley helps out Seth Rollins against Triple H or something, but then, I’m not sure that would be a good idea either.

Nick Marsico: FACT – I have no idea what the hell they are doing. They have dragged out this saga for so long that I’m even less interested than I was when it started. And when it started I didn’t care at all. Is the idea that they are just trying to make Triple H and Stephanie into even bigger bad guys leading into the match at WrestleMania? If that’s the case, then it’s completely unnecessary. To be fair, though, everything involving Stephanie McMahon since the brand split began has been completely unnecessary. Being Commissioner over General Manager Foley has been nothing but a vehicle for Stephanie to lop off his balls for the umpteenth time. And to undermine Bayley, who feels like a joke instead of an inspiration. And to stall Sami Zayn every time he gains the slightest bit of momentum. Sami Zayn doesn’t have a spot at WrestleMania unless they plan to turn Triple H vs. Rollins into a big, overbooked mess. His involvement in the angle makes perfect sense, but the timing is off. The whole ordeal has been an uninteresting side story for months and there’s exactly zero payoff coming. What’s going to happen? Is Sami going to accidentally hit Stephanie with a Heluva Kick?

SWITCH!

4. Southpaw Regional Wrestling is the most fun and original thing WWE as done in years.

Nick Marsico: FACT – I have only seen the first episode so far, but I enjoyed what I saw. I’ve also seen a lot of gifs (GIFs? jifs?) all over the place and they all had entertaining content. It’s most certainly something very light-hearted and fun, and WWE could learn from the person who wrote these shows and implement the spirit of it into their own weekly programming. Wrestling is supposed to be fun, and WWE hasn’t been fun in quite some time. Southpaw is something completely out of left field that nobody had any idea was coming, and I haven’t seen a single person react negatively to what they have created with this weird little take on small-time 1980s wrestling. It’s different, and different is good.

Jack Stevenson: FACT – Well, I mean, it’s not as much fun as, say, that kick ass Reigns-Styles match from Extreme Rules last year, but I agree that Southpaw is very good and very funny and very worthy of more episodes. Does anyone even disagree? It seems to have got such a universally positive reaction, which is really great to see. The only debate I suppose is who is best in it- John Cena as Lance Catamaran is pitch perfect but I think Rusev corpsing incessantly as Big Bartholomew is just the most delightfully ridiculous thing! Also, Greg Valentine putting Tex Ferguson in an arm bar for two and a half hours.

5. You are excited for Impact Wrestling’s new working relationships with AAA, CRASH & Pro Wrestling NOAH.

Nick Marsico: FACT – I wouldn’t necessarily use the word excited, but I am cautiously optimistic. Very cautiously. They had a partnership with New Japan years ago and did exactly squat with it, and if my memory serves me correctly, the new management is essentially the same as the management during that time period, with the exception of Anthem overseeing things. With that said, Impact has a tremendous opportunity. Because they have such a huge opportunity, I can’t help but be interested in what this partnership could lead to. Impact Wrestling needs a big shot in the arm, and bringing back Dutch Mantell to trash WWE and having Josh Mathews play a low rent Michael Cole isn’t that shot. The roster is unbelievably thin, and it was thin even before they lost a bunch of guys when the new regime came into power. Having three other promotions to share talent with is a very good thing. Will we see the return of the World X Cup? Some other competitive tournament? Faction warfare? There are tons of possibilities. I can only hope they don’t piss it all away. I am he of little faith when it comes to this situation, but since I’ve given Impact Wrestling the benefit of the doubt for the entire 15 years of its existence, I still feel a slight bit of excitement.

Jack Stevenson: FACT – Anything that leads to fresh match-ups and more exposure for talented wrestlers is a positive step in my books. Already we’ve had TNA talent in Pro Wrestling NOAH, and good things have been said about Eddie Edwards’ match with Atsushi Kotoge. None of the promotions in this deal (nor the World of Sport revival group in the UK that TNA are apparently on the brink of shacking up with) are really the best in their respective countries, but they all boast good rosters and will only become stronger from pooling their resources.

6. Who is the one talent that you feel has been shafted in terms of not receiving a marquee match at WrestleMania 33?

Nick Marsico: American Alpha – There are a lot of guys that would fit in this category. Sami Zayn had a great few months and never lost crowd support. His work in the ring and on the microphone is always stellar and he deserves a place on the card. Braun Strowman is easily going to be named the Most Improved wrestler of the year, and the guy has a legitimate shot at being a real player if WWE wants him to be. I assume BRAUUUUUNNNN is going to win the Andre Battle Royal, but he has earned a much bigger spot than being the obligatory monster in a meaningless match that is very likely going to happen on the pre-show. Samoa Joe could have been slotted in somewhere as well, but he’s going to be a big part of the plans after WrestleMania and right now he’s more of a prop than a real member of the roster. American Alpha, in my eyes, are the ones truly getting the shaft. They were brought in as a big deal when SmackDown Live began, and then they suddenly fell off the face of the earth. The SmackDown Live tag team division had such incredible potential but it has dwindled down to absolutely nothing. There have been stretches of multiple weeks that saw no involvement from Alpha or the tag division in general. For all of the praise that SDL gets for running a strong show every week, they have disappointed me very greatly by not only dropping the ball with the tag teams — they’ve buried it under Bray Wyatt’s burned down farm house. American Alpha looked like stars when they debuted on TV and the crowd reacted to them like they were stars. They have performed up to the high standards that everybody has expected of them, but the rug has been pulled out from underneath their feet and it’s a true shame. Hopefully the tag team division on SmackDown Live picks up after WrestleMania is over.

Jack Stevenson: Sami Zayn – It’s a tough call, because pretty much the sole benefit of WWE’s ‘cram everyone onto the card’ policy for booking WrestleMania is that, well, everyone gets on the card, or at least the pre show. Sami Zayn has not been officially confirmed for anything yet though, and that’s a shame. In a year where Kevin Owens had an extended run on top of the Raw brand, and when injuries to top fan favorites briefly led to Zayn getting a tilt at the upper card, it’s a shame to see him so directionless heading into the biggest event of the year. It goes without saying that he’s really rather good at pro wrestling, and would enhance any match on the card with his presence.