WWE and ESPN, we thought we had a deal.
You guys have a $1.6 billion arrangement for ESPN to promote WrestleMania and other major events. That’s fine. Do what you need to do.
Is it a bit much to inundate ESPN programming for an entire week to promote a pro wrestling event? It is. But it seems like enough people are interested that by all means keep doing it.
But surely, we have an understanding that the rest of us get a break from all that mishegas when you don’t have an event to promote, right? We don’t have to worry about all this #synergy all the time, right?
Perhaps not, if Thursday morning’s episode of Good Morning Football is the case. WWE wrestler Seth Rollins joined Kyle Brandt on the NFL Network (now owned by ESPN) show live from Pittsburgh for reasons I don’t have the energy to look up. The two ended up getting into some kind of “heated conversation,” and Brandt mentioned Becky Lynch, Rollins’ real-life wife, which caused the WWE star to detach his microphone and storm off the set while Brandt dramatically attempted to woo him.
After a commercial, Brandt continued to play up the drama, even roping in co-hosts Jamie Erdahl and Manti Teʻo to join in, before they eventually moved on to discuss the upcoming NFL Draft.
Obviously this is all a bit. To what end? Who knows. All we know is, it’s incredibly corny and it only gets sillier every time ESPN does this schtick.
Last week when WWE’s Logan Paul did his whole routine on First Take, we were supposed to be left wondering if it was all part of the act or if he was legitimately upset. It’s hard to imagine anyone still taking the mental energy to do that in 2026.
This kind of thing was thrilling and exciting in the 1980s when the lines truly were still blurred. It was still amusing in the early 2000s.
These days, it’s just trite and unentertaining.
If this kind of thing needs to happen the week before WrestleMania or the Royal Rumble, fine. Do the dance, we’re sure it’s fun for those involved. But we don’t need this to become an ongoing part of ESPN programming. Stephen A. Smith already provides plenty of intrigue over whether or not everything we’re watching is a work.
This kind of schtick is already a hat on a hat, we can’t wait to be even more bored of it the next six times they do it.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.