The Wrestling Rewind #224 🎙️ : The New Day Exit, Ted Turner’s Legacy, John Cena’s New Tournament & Backlash 1999

📅 **Air Date:** 16-05-26 📻 **Broadcast on Phoenix 92.5 FM** This week on The Wrestling Rewind, Darragh and Christopher react to one of the most surprising WWE stories of the year as **The New Day's WWE run appears to come to an abrupt end**. The pair discuss the controversial handling of veteran talent, WWE's ongoing cost-cutting measures under TKO, and whether some of the company's biggest stars are now being treated as disposable assets rather than long-term investments. We also examine the wider fallout from recent WWE releases, debate whether AEW should sign every available free agent, and discuss how modern wrestling companies balance talent, contracts, and storytelling. The show then shifts to a tribute to **Ted Turner**, reflecting on the enormous impact he had on professional wrestling through WCW, Monday Nitro, and the Monday Night Wars. We discuss how wrestling today would look very different without Turner’s willingness to challenge WWE and invest in the industry. Next up is the announcement of the **John Cena Classic**, a new fan-interactive WWE tournament that could feature talent from both WWE and NXT. We debate whether fan voting can still work in modern wrestling and whether WWE can avoid overcomplicating the concept. We also review **Backlash 2026**, discussing the major matches, surprises, Danhausen’s involvement, and why Christopher gave the event one of the highest ratings he's awarded this year. Finally, we fire up the Time Machine and head back to **Backlash 1999**, the very first Backlash event. Featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock, Triple H vs X-Pac, The Undertaker vs Ken Shamrock, and Mick Foley’s brutal Boiler Room Brawl, we revisit one of the most entertaining WWF shows of the Attitude Era and compare its storytelling to modern wrestling. 🎧 Honest opinions, wrestling history, industry discussion, and plenty of debate from two fans who still love wrestling. --- ▶️ **YouTube Chapters (Short & Punchy)** 00:00 The Wrestling Rewind Intro 01:15 The New Day Leave WWE 05:00 Why The Departure Feels Different 09:00 TKO, Pay Cuts & WWE Releases 13:00 Are Wrestlers Just Corporate Assets Now? 16:00 WWE Ticket Prices & Fan Interest 19:30 Two-Night PLEs Under Fire 23:30 WWE Creative Problems 27:00 AEW Signing Released Talent Debate 31:00 Remembering Ted Turner 37:00 John Cena Classic Announced 40:00 Can Fan Voting Work Again? 43:30 Backlash 2026 Review 47:00 Danhausen & Surprise Moments 48:30 Time Machine – Backlash 1999 50:00 Boiler Room Brawl 51:30 Undertaker vs Ken Shamrock 53:00 Austin vs The Rock 55:00 YouTube Comments & Mailbag 57:30 Final Thoughts --- 🎧 **Spotify Timestamps** 00:00 Show intro and Phoenix FM opening 01:15 The New Day's surprising WWE exit 05:00 Why the departure shocked fans 09:00 TKO, pay cuts and roster management 13:00 WWE treating talent as assets discussion 16:00 WWE ticket sales and fan attendance concerns 19:30 The problem with two-night premium live events 23:30 WWE creative direction criticism 27:00 Should AEW sign every released wrestler? 31:00 Ted Turner’s impact on wrestling history 37:00 John Cena announces the Cena Classic 40:00 Fan voting and Cyber Sunday comparisons 43:30 Full Backlash 2026 review 47:00 Danhausen and the mystery partner discussion 48:30 Time Machine: Backlash 1999 50:00 Boiler Room Brawl revisited 51:30 Undertaker vs Ken Shamrock 53:00 Steve Austin vs The Rock 55:00 Listener comments and community discussion 57:30 Closing thoughts and plugs --- 🔗 **Follow & Support** 🎙 **Christopher's Podcast: The Josh Zodiac Podcast** YouTube: youtube.com/@THEJoshZodiacPodcast TikTok: tiktok.com/@thejoshzodiacpodcast X: x.com/joshzodiacpod 🐦 **Darragh on X:** @darraghwv 🌐 **Website:** nerdtoknowmedia.com #TheWrestlingRewind #WWE #AEW #TheNewDay #JohnCena #Backlash #TedTurner #WCW #WrestlingPodcast #ProWrestling #WrestlingHistory #Backlash1999 #WWEReleases #TKO #Danhausen