Author Archives: Karan Parmar

People Are Mad At WWE Because Of The Rock, And Rightfully So

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How? How did they screw this up this badly? I mean there’s ways they could’ve done this but they did it in one of the worst ways possible. Look, whether you’re a wrestling fan or not, the one time of year that WWE can pull in virtually anyone is during WrestleMania. This is the biggest wrestling stage of all and carries some of the biggest moments in wrestling history. If you’re not a fan of wrestling you can still watch WrestleMania and have a great time.

However, the way WrestleMania is shaping up right now is not looking like a great time for fans. Let me give you a bit of background in case you aren’t familiar with the situation. At last year’s WrestleMania, the main event of Cody Rhodes vs Roman Reigns for the undisputed WWE universal championship. The story going into was Rhodes wanted to win the title his father never could and finish his family’s story. For Reigns, it was about continuing his legacy as one of the greatest champions of all time as his reign was over two years at that point.

It was the perfect time to give Rhodes the win and give him the championship, but they opted to not finish the story and have Reigns retain and continue his dominant reign. Many (including myself) thought this was the wrong choice and they should’ve given the moment to Rhodes but were holding on for Rhodes to finish the story the next year. Since then the whole story has been about getting Rhodes back to the top of the mountain to redeem himself and finish the story. And he did make his way back to the top. He built himself up the past year and then ended up winning the 30-man Royal Rumble for the second straight year giving him another chance to finish his story at WrestleMania against Roman Reigns. After Rhodes won he pointed to Reigns saying he’s coming for him and his title. Everything was in motion for Rhodes to finally finish his story.

And then…plans changed. The original plan was to have CM Punk vs Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship and then have Cody Rhodes face Roman Reigns for his championship. However, CM Punk got injured in the Royal Rumble match and WWE felt they needed to fill that hole by getting bigger star power. CM Punk is a big draw so they felt like they had to at least equal that level of notoriety for a replacement.

Then enters The Rock. This past Friday, Cody Rhodes was on Smackdown to make his decision of who to face at WrestleMania between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. It seemed obvious that Rhodes would pick Reigns but then Rhodes cut a promo saying that he’s essentially giving the match against Reigns to Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson. The Rock is a huge worldwide star who was once the face of WWE and he is also cousins with Roman Reigns. The match between the once biggest star, The Rock, and the current biggest star, Roman Reigns, seemed like such an obvious match to have especially with these two being as big as they are.

But here’s the problem. I’m okay with this match happening, but in these circumstances, it’s a terrible move. Fans have waited over a year for Cody Rhodes to finally finish his story and win the championship his father couldn’t and that’s what the hope was after he lost at WrestleMania last year. Although people didn’t like that result, they were hoping the year-long build would make Rhodes winning even better. But now that build was all for nothing. Rhodes carried this company on his back for the past two years and now he’s just being pushed to the side for a guy who may get them some more clicks and is a bigger worldwide star in The Rock.

The Rock hasn’t even wrestled in years as well. On top of that Roman Reigns is a part-timer who barely shows up. So now they’re pushing aside a guy who has worked his ass off for this company for two guys who are barely there and will continue to barely be there. If you were working at a job that you put your blood, sweat and tears into to make that place great but then got none of the recognition and instead that recognition went to some guy who only shows up to work every once in a while but is more popular at work, you’d be so pissed about that. That is what this whole situation feels like and it just makes no sense. I get The Rock is a bigger draw but Rhodes has proven he is too and the reaction from the online community all seems to agree that WWE made a terrible decision.

The other thing that makes this situation way worse is that WWE made the championship that Cody Rhodes will now go after, the World Heavyweight Championship that Seth Rollins holds, feel like it’s meaningless. This championship was introduced less than a year ago because Roman Reigns was never around so they needed another world championship while he was gone. However, this automatically made this championship feel like a secondary championship like it’s just a silver medal and not a gold one. WWE did a solid job trying to build that title up to become relevant and was doing a decent job at it, but then right before Rhodes made his decision of which champion to face, Roman Reigns completely buried that championship. He called it the “losers bracket champion” because everyone who couldn’t beat him just went for that championship. This title just feels completely secondary and now it feels like Rhodes is going after a second-place trophy (although in reality, it’s not his choice).

Another point that makes no sense is why is Cody Rhodes just giving away his spot in a match he’s wanted for a long time? Rhodes has intentionally not gone for the World Heavyweight Championship because that title was not the one his father went after. But now he’s just changed his mind suddenly? On top of that, it makes no sense for him not to want to get revenge against Reigns and finish his story with the championship he ACTUALLY wants to win. Instead, he’s just letting The Rock face Reigns for no real reason that has been explained at this point. Wouldn’t Rhodes want to be the guy to take down Reigns and not just let someone else try instead?

The whole logic in this story and this decision makes absolutely no sense and has made Rhodes look bad, it’s made Seth Rollins look bad, it’s made the World Heavyweight Championship feel like even more of a consultation prize, and overall makes zero sense. Fans are not happy with this decision which is evident from the dislikes on this segment on YouTube which is now the most disliked video on YouTube from WWE of all time. They still have time to change this but it’s going to be messy if they do (if it’s even possible to get more messier than this situation) but will likely not happen. The Rock vs Roman Reigns will make them a ton of money so they won’t care about what the reception is.

WWE is going to WWE and we really shouldn’t be surprised about it. I’m sure WrestleMania will still be great but this kills a lot of the excitement. If there’s one thing you and I can learn from this it’s that whenever you can finish your story, you should do it. In the end though, none of this really matters. I just wish people would get this upset about things like the Vince McMahon allegations instead of just brushing it to the side…

Elias Lindholm Is A Vancouver Canuck And It’s Awesome!

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I don’t know about you but I never expected Elias Lindhold to be a Vancouver Canuck, but he is now! I’ll be fully transparent with you; before this match even happened I thought that getting Lindholm was a bad idea. My main issue was that I thought he was going to cost too much and wasn’t exactly what the Canucks needed to get at the trade deadline. But you know what? I think I’ve changed my mind about this. Now, don’t get me wrong, it is very possible that this doesn’t go well but let’s try and take a positive spin on this.

Let’s discuss what the trade was first. The Canucks acquired Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Joni Jurmo, Hunter Brzustewicz, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick that turns into a third-round pick if the Canucks make the conference finals. Many people may think this is a lot to give up but to me, I’m okay with it because it’s market value.

To summarize what the Flames got, Andrei Kuzmenko is a good player who didn’t work well with Rick Tocchet but could find his game back in Calgary. Joni Jurmo is a prospect with not a lot of upside at this point but could be developed into something. Hunter Brzustewicz has had a great year in the OHL as a defenceman but there were rumours he didn’t want to sign in Vancouver, but that is unconfirmed. The first-round pick is going to be in the mid to late 20s and the fourth is just magic beans at this point. Overall, I think it’s a good trade for both sides as Calgary had to move in a different direction and Vancouver has helped improve their Stanley Cup chances.

So who is Elias Lindholm? Well, he was a player who was drafted 5th overall in 2013 to the Carolina Hurricanes and has built himself up as a solid centre in the NHL. He found his groove when he was traded to the Calgary Flames in 2018 and had his best season in 2022 when he put up 82 points and 40 goals. He’s also become a pretty good two-way centreman who has some solid offensive tools and the ability to be a shutdown defensive forward.

You may be thinking “That sounds like a pretty dang good player. Why would Karan not want a player like that?” For me, it was more of a preference thing. I have been of the mindset that the Canucks needed a play-driving forward who can carry their own line if need be. For as good as Elias Lindholm is, he isn’t that kind of player. The Canucks had a need for a forward who drives play and they didn’t go out and get that.

However, the more I’ve thought about this trade, the more I like it. You ever get some clothes from your parents at Christmas and you think “I don’t really like the way it looks.” But then you try it on and add some accessories and you think “Oh, this actually looks really good!” That’s the feeling I have with the Canucks getting Elias Lindholm. The Canucks have now created so many options for them when it comes to their line-up and what kind of system they want to run.

I think the first thing head coach Rick Tocchet wants to try is putting Lindholm with Elias Pettersson. It’s been a great season for Pettersson regardless of if he’s centering his own line or forming the lotto line with J.T Miller and Brock Boeser. However, when he has been centering his own line, he hasn’t exactly had the greatest linemates. The one consistent linemate he’s had on that line has been Ilya Mikheyev. He’s been a solid fit with Pettersson but he doesn’t have the finishing ability that you would want alongside a player like Pettersson. But he does provide good shutdown ability so those two can create a solid shutdown line.

Adding Elias Lindholm to that line with Mikheyev and Pettersson is awesome for so many reasons. They can now create a full shutdown line with that line and have them go against the opposing team’s top line. J.T Miller has been put in the role of going up against other team’s top centers and it’s just not the best role for him. The Canucks can now run Pettersson in the role if they want to, but they can also just swap Pettersson to the wing and then Lindholm to center and have him but the teams shut down center as he has previously excelled at that role.

Another benefit of this line is the offensive potential. I just mentioned how Pettersson has never had the greatest linemates when it comes to offense and now he does with Lindholm. Lindholm can act as a playmaker and also has finishing ability as evidenced by his 40-goal season. This finally gives Pettersson the opportunity to have his own line as he’ll now have a linemate who can be a consistent producer alongside him.

Or, Tocchet could decide to go with a different approach. He could keep the lotto line together and then have Lindholm center his own line. This could then turn the second line into a pure shutdown line if they added someone like Pius Suter to that line to play with Mikheyev and Lindholm. Or if they wanted to add a bit of offence to that line while also keeping it a shutdown line, they could put Conor Garland on that line. Garland has been great on the third line with Dakota Joshua and Teddy Blueger, but he would be a great fit next to Lindholm. Garland can drive play and would work very well next to Lindholm. Garland is good at getting the puck to his teammate and I think for that fact, he would thrive next to Lindholm as he could feed him the puck and Lindholm could create some scoring chances with it.

This trade makes a lot of sense. I’m not sure if Lindholm will sign an extension here or not but it’s a bet worth making at this point. I would be hesitant to re-sign Lindholm for 7-8 years because that contract may not age well, but if they can sign him to 5-6 or even shorter then I would be very okay with that. His asking price may be a bit high but I think the Canucks can afford it. They have some cap space going into next season but they do also need to re-sign Elias Pettersson who will get a pretty big raise. However, with the cap going up and the Canucks having a deep enough minor league system where they can call up guys to replace some players who will leave in the off-season, I think they can retain Lindholm if they want to.

The Canucks are going all in this trade signifies that. The crazy thing is I don’t think the Canucks are done adding. I hope you’re ready for these next few months because Canucks nation is about to get wild and the journey for the Stanley Cup will be an exciting one.

Who’s Gonna Move At The NBA Trade Deadline?

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The NBA trade deadline is soon upon us and if we’ve learned anything from previous years it’s that the NBA has the craziest trade deadlines of all time. How does Kevin Durant just causally get traded during a season? That’s like if on a random Tuesday in February, you decided to just buy a house on a whim. You just come home to your partner and say “Yeah so we have a new house.” How are you supposed to react rationally to that? That’s how the NBA trade deadline feels like. You just never know who will be traded and what teams are thinking.

This year’s trade deadline probably won’t have a trade as big as the Kevin Durant trade (but it is possible and we will talk about that), but there are still going to be some big trades that can change the shape of a team. There’s been some names that have been thrown out there who will likely be moved and some who may not. All I know is you can’t predict this stuff but I’m going to try anyway and tell you all about it.

Dejounte Murray

The Dejounte Murray experiment hasn’t gone all that well for the Atlanta Hawks. That isn’t necessarily Murray’s fault but it may be time to move on from him. The Atlanta Hawks are a poorly constructed team with a lot of holes and a lack of defence. I’m not necessarily sure trading Murray will help solve their problems but it seems to be the direction the Hawks are heading in.

Although Murray hasn’t been nearly as good as he was when he was with the San Antonio Spurs, he could get back to that if given the opportunity. That opportunity was not given to him in Atlanta because of Trae Young taking that spot. It seems best for both sides to move on and start a new because what the Hawks have going on right now is just not working.

There have been many rumours about Murray going to teams like the Lakers or even back to the Spurs. To be honest though, there aren’t a ton of seamless fits for Murray so I’m not entirely sure where he could end up. I think he may end up just staying in Atlanta but if he does get moved then I think a return to San Antonio could be interesting. Victor Wembenyama doesn’t really have anyone good to play with right now and Murray could help boost that team. I guess we’ll see where things go from here.

Lauri Markkanen

A player who will be highly sought after by a lot of teams is Lauri Markkanen. There’s been rumours for a while that Markkanen may be moved but it wasn’t clear if the Utah Jazz would pull the trigger or not. It seems now that the Jazz aren’t anywhere near being a contender or a playoff team that now might be the time to move Markkanen and go a bit younger. Markkanen has been a pretty good offensive player who can shoot threes very well and can get quite a number of rebounds as well. A seven-foot forward who is only 26 years old with a ton of offensive tools is the type of player virtually every NBA team would love to have.

Any playoff team would love to go after Markkanen and I think the Jazz will get a ton for him so their asking price will probably be a lot. A team that can afford to give up a lot of assets because they have a boatload of them is the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder still have an absurd amount of first-round picks and some solid young players they could trade as well. Markkanen would also fit quite well on this Thunder team as they could use someone who can shoot the lights out from three. On top of that, you get many different options from getting Markkanen and I think the fit is too good for them to pass up. The Thunder are only in their first year of their contending window and I think adding Markkanen could really boost their chances of doing well in the playoffs this season. We’ll see where things go for Markkanen but I feel like if there is a bidding war, the Thunder might outbid any team.

LeBron James

Oh boy, we have to talk about this, don’t we…So it seems like we have got to that point in every three years or so where LeBron James’ team is not doing too well so people think he should be moved. And the Los Angeles Lakers as of late have not been very good. That is a bit interesting to see considering that they won the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament just a few months ago. The Lakers looked pretty good in that tournament but have not looked nearly as good since then. The Lakers have a ton of flaws and not a good enough supporting cast around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. We’ve seen some of their players be good in pockets but never consistently. This has had many wondering if it’s time for LeBron to move on from the Lakers and play somewhere else where he can have a legit chance at a championship. LeBron is 38 years old now and doesn’t have many more kicks at the can left.

So will LeBron actually be traded? I think he probably won’t unless the Lakers decide it’s time to move on. LeBron’s agent has already said that LeBron hasn’t asked for a trade or anything like that but this is also the NBA we’re talking about here so word of mouth means nothing. Far too many players have said they want to spend their entire career in the city they’re in and then get traded months later. I’m just not buying stuff like that anymore.

Anyway, if the Lakers did feel like it was time to move on from LeBron then I’m not sure exactly what their plan would be. Would they just try and build a team around Anthony Davis? Would this signify a full rebuild of the team? I’m not really sure. On top of that, where would you even send LeBron to? I doubt he would go to just any team and would like a say as to where he goes. In that case, the Lakers probably don’t have a ton of great options. Maybe he could go to the Knicks? That could be somewhat intriguing but I’m not sure they have a package to acquire LeBron. Maybe he could go back to Clevland but they don’t really have the assets either. The Dallas Mavericks are always an option if they want to reunite LeBron with Kyrie Irving but then also have the superstar punch of Luka Doncic. But again I’m not sure they could make that work.

This trade seems unlikely but not impossible. It’s the NBA trade deadline after all so crazier things have happened and boy would it be fun if LeBron was on a new team after February 8th!

I’m very much ready for silly season and I hope you’re ready for the ride. It’s going to be a weird one, but hey, that’s NBA basketball baby!

The Road To WrestleMania Preview Pt. 2

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Well, well, well…looks who’s back for some more wrestling content. I know you wanted to see a part two to this because the first one still had a ton of other things to talk about. That is why you and I are here today to discuss some more WrestleMania previews. In my last article, I previewed some matches that are more than likely going to happen and I gave some predictions to those matches as well. However, it does seem as though the rest of the card beyond those matches isn’t really set in stone and there is still a ton of room for things to create storylines for this card.

So this article will be a bit of a different one. I am going to put on my booking hat and try and create some interesting matches for WrestleMania while also keeping them realistic. Some of these may happen and some may not but it’s fun to create some scenarios and see if they actually come to fruition.

Bayley vs Iyo Sky

We should probably start with the one that is going to happen. Bayley is the winner of this year’s Royal Rumble and she very much deserves that win. She has been an incredible worker for the company but has yet to have the really big WrestleMania moment. This year will be the year that she gets it.

There have been constant teases for months about Bayley being kicked out of her faction, Damage Ctrl. This faction has been a weird one because it was going nowhere for a really long time and it seemed like the group was going to be broken up in an anti-climatic fashion. However, things have changed a bit as Iyo Sky won the women’s championship which helped build a storyline which will lead to Bayley getting kicked out of Damage Ctrl and then fighting Iyo Sky at WrestleMania. Sky as champion has been very lackluster since she has been booked to look a bit weak, but giving her this storyline with Bayley could help revive her. This storyline is close to the breaking point and will lead to a good storyline with some intriguing parts to it. How will they do the turn, will anyone join Bayley, what is Dakota Kai’s role gonna be in all of this? All of these are great questions and the only way we’ll find the answer is by waiting and seeing. This storyline is going to be great and I’m excited to see where it goes.

Logan Paul vs ???

It’s kind of weird to say that Logan Paul is a big part of WrestleMania this year because no one would ever think that was true three years ago. I’m not a big fan of Paul but I can’t deny that he is a pretty dang good wrestler. Paul currently holds the United States Championship and doesn’t have a WrestleMania opponent locked in just yet.

The most likely option may be Kevin Owens since those two are in a bit of a feud right now but that may not be what they choose to go with. In my opinion, I feel like if you want to make the Logan Paul match feel big then have Paul go up against LA Knight. Knight has become a huge start as of late and is very over with the crowd (over is a term used for wrestlers who fans really like). LA Knight has been doing some really improved as of late and he has become a must-see wrestler in the ring and on the mic.

Logan Paul vs LA Knight would be great for both of these two. Not only would these two put on a great match but they would also help build each other up. Giving Knight some mainstream appeal could help and that could be done by having him rival Logan Paul. These two would have some brilliant segments on the mic that fans would just eat up. Logan Paul has a gimmick where he talks about always wanting to go viral and it can’t get much more viral than going up against the megastar in LA Knight. While this match may not be the plan, it sure is a fun option for WWE to pull. YEAH!

What To Do With Drew McIntyre

Over the last few months, we have seen the slow heel turn of Drew McIntyre and it’s made for a pretty interesting watch. He has become this character who is angry with his position in the company and he’s also upset that the one time he had his moment and main evented WrestleMania and became world champion was when there were no fans in attendance. He now feels that he deserves his moment when there is a crowd and will get what he wants no matter who gets in his way.

This storyline has been pretty good. However, he isn’t really feuding with anyone. He does have a feud with CM Punk but he is currently injured. McIntyre has an uncertain future as well when it comes to his contract as it is supposed to expire sometime in 2024 but that is unclear. McIntyre is in a weird place because it’s tough to say if they should do long-term booking for him or not.

He could potentially go up against Sami Zayn but I’m not sure if having those two fight at WrestleMania is the way they want to go. So for this one, I want to throw a curveball suggestion that was suggested by my friend Dom. Have McIntyre fight Damian Priest for the Money in the Bank briefcase and have McIntyre win. It doesn’t seem like WWE has much plans for Priest when it comes to cashing in the Money in the Bank so why not just take it off of him?

This match could either be done before or during WrestleMania. Having McIntyre win the briefcase makes it so much more intriguing during the WrestleMania card. He could finally have his WrestleMania moment in front of fans by stealing a world title away. Perhaps if Seth Rollins retains his championship, you have McIntyre cash in on him (especially if he’s still injured) and have him steal the World Heavyweight Championship. You could create a heist of the century 2.0 against the guy who did the first one. Or, you could do the heartbreak scenario. Have McIntyre cash in right after Cody Rhodes finally finishes his story by defeating Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal championship. It’s a happy story for Rhodes where he finally achieves his lifelong dream, but then it turns into an American Nightmare, just like last year. From there you start a great storyline of Rhodes trying to get his championship back and create a moment for WrestleMania that no one will forget. Dom was cooking with this suggestion and I’m really on board for this one happening.

The road to WrestleMania is always such a fun one to predict what may happen and get excited for what’s to come. It’s time for you to drive down the road to WrestleMania because we are in for a wild ride and here’s to hoping that this WrestleMania will be a great one!

The Road To WrestleMania Preview Pt.1

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Are you ready for the road to WrestleMania? Well, so far it’s been a bit of a bumpy one. WWE had all these plans for WrestleMania with some big things in store but some of those plans have been derailed due to injuries. WWE has been going through a bit of an injury bug recently and it seems like every time they change their plans, those plans get changed because of more injuries. However, that doesn’t mean that we aren’t in for an exciting WrestleMania.

WrestleMania 40 is shaping up to be a big one as long as WWE plays their cards right and make decisions that don’t piss fans off because they tend to do that sometimes. But hey, it’s a different time…hopefully. The card for WrestleMania should be a good one assuming no more injuries occur and I think it would be fun if you and I talked about the potential matchups and what would be fun to expect.

Cody Rhodes vs Roman Reigns

Triple H I swear…please let Cody finish his story. If there is one thing that HAS to happen it’s Cody Rhodes finishing his story. Last year’s WrestleMania finish was one that no one was expecting. Everyone thought that Cody Rhodes was going to beat Roman Reigns for the undisputed Universal championship, but Triple H decided to make Roman Reigns retain the title. I was okay with that decision at the time because I thought it would help build the dominance of Reigns and make Rhodes beating him even better, but I have since changed my opinion on that. The main reason is that they didn’t do enough with those two characters to warrant Reigns retaining that night. Reigns has been absent for most of the time since he won that match and Rhodes has been in this weird place where he hasn’t been doing a ton of stuff to really build him up. They could’ve done a story where Rhodes has a downfall but then redeems himself and then wins but they didn’t do that. The way these two have had their years go has not justified Reigns winning at last year’s WrestleMania.

With that being said, LET CODY FINISH THE STORY! Rhodes has now won the Royal Rumble in back-to-back years, he’s the biggest babyface in the company, and it’s time for Reigns’ title reign to end (mostly because he’s never actually there). This should be a slam dunk decision and WWE should make this happen because if they don’t there will be some outraged WWE fans. If you haven’t seen an angry WWE fan before then trust me you don’t want to see that. It’s like when you get the Hulk angry, just don’t do it. Rhodes winning will be a great storyline and a feel-good moment so please just give him the moment.

The Whole Seth Rollins Thing

It seemed pretty obvious once CM Punk returned to WWE that he would be facing Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship. That match was in danger for a moment when Seth Rollins got injured in a match against Jinder Mahal two weeks before the Royal Rumble. But it seems like Rollins may be able to recover in time to be at WrestleMania so the match was still looking like a real possibility. And then CM Punk tore his tricep in the Royal Rumble match and will miss WrestleMania…Well, that’s just great. This has made things quite complicated for the plans for the card.

So now they’re in a position where they could go multiple avenues for the World Heavyweight Championship match. But to me, there is one matchup you could do that should be the one they guy with. That being Gunther vs Seth Rollins. This match was apparently the original plan for WrestleMania but was changed when CM Punk came back. So why not just run with this match then if it was the original plan? However, here is the one thing I’d pitch. Have Gunther squash Seth Rollins. Gunther has been a dominant force since getting to WWE and you could really build your next big villain with Gunther squashing Rollins. Gunther is great for that role and he is probably WWE’s best wrestler right now so I think this would be the time to give Gunther that major push. Plus, this could be a perfect move to do if Seth Rollins isn’t 100% by the time WrestleMania rolls around. You don’t want Rollins doing a bunch of crazy spots in the match and injuring himself even more. With a squash match, it’s quick and easy and then it will give an excuse for Rollins to be off of TV for a bit and fully recover from his knee injury and that back injury that seems to have been bothering him for a while. If WWE needs a new option for the world title match at WrestleMania then I think this is the best option.

Rhea Ripley vs Becky Lynch

At last year’s WrestleMania, Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair was one of the best matches of the year and could’ve easily main evented the first night if it weren’t for the Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs The Usos match. There was no way that match wasn’t going to be the main event for that night but Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair put on a great match and proved they are main event caliber. For this year’s WrestleMania it seems as though the match that is being set up is Rhea Ripley vs Becky Lynch.

Lynch vs Ripley will be a great match and the two characters would work well against each other. Ripley being a dominant force going against Becky Lynch who has built herself up as this badass who isn’t afraid of anything would make for a good pairing. This match should main event night one and these two deserve that spotlight. I am confident these two will put up a good match and will get the fans out of their seats.

I do hope that WWE makes a good storyline out of this because stories have been lacking recently in the women’s division. Outside of the possible dissension of Damage Control, there haven’t really been many storylines going on in the women’s division. And overall, WWE’s women’s division was heavily criticized for being poorly booked by Triple H so this is their chance to turn things around and get people more invested. They have some great stars who they should continue to build up but no one has felt like they can compare to Ripley. Lynch definitely could be argued as someone who could but as of late, that hasn’t really been the case. So if they can find a way to make Becky Lynch look like a legit threat and get back to being the man then I think we could have something special for this match at WrestleMania.

There’s still some more matches I would like to talk about so perhaps we will have to do a part two to this article. But I hope this article makes you excited for WrestleMania because it’s going to be a fun time and I hope you join the road to WrestleMania.

3 Potential Call-Ups For The Canucks

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Hey. Have you heard? I know you have. The Canucks are good again! It feels like it’s been forever since the Canucks were a true contending team that is winning night in and night out. They’re firing on all cylinders and overall are having a fun time this season. It’s such a breath of fresh air that Canucks fans have been missing for a long time. It’s like when your room has been extremely messy for a long time and then you finally clean it up and it looks great and you just enjoy every second of the clean room.

The Canucks have a lot of ambition going into the playoffs but they still have a lot of work to do at the trade deadline. In the case of injuries, they’re going to want to get some extra players to make sure they can keep their roster a competitive one if someone significant goes down. It can never hurt to have a bunch of fresh bodies on your roster and I’d imagine the Canucks will add a few guys at the deadline to make sure of that.

However, if they do need to add some more players to their roster, maybe they should consider looking in-house. The Abbotsford Canucks have had a pretty good season and many of their players are having great seasons. Some of those players even have NHL experience so they do know what it takes to step in and play a role on an NHL team. So let’s go over a few names the Canucks could call up from the AHL and discuss whether or not they are ready for that spotlight or not.

Arshdeep Bains

One player who is most ready to be called up to the Canucks roster is Arsheep Bains. Bains has been a very productive player since turning pro and this year has been no exception. Bains has been a point per game player this year as he’s put up 38 points in 38 games and that total already ties his point total from last season but he put up 38 points in 66 games that season. Bains is a player that plays with an edge and could provide a nice little boost to the Canucks lineup. He seems like the kind of player that Rick Tocchet would love and I think he will become a regular Canuck very soon.

I’m not sure if Bains will get a call-up this season and I don’t really think he should unless there’s injuries to call for it. Bain is a creative player who has good vision and is a good passer and although he could be nice for the Canucks to have, he doesn’t necessarily need to be with the team just yet. I think him playing out the rest of the year in the AHL will be good for his development and I think he will likely be a full-time NHLer next season if he keeps up his great play. However, if the situation calls for it, I think he could be a great NHL player right now if need be.

Vasily Podkolzin

If there is one player that should be with the Canucks, it’s probably Vasily Podkolzin. The reason is that he has NHL experience and is a former top-ten draft pick so he’s had the potential as well. However, Podkolzin’s time in the NHL hasn’t been the greatest which is why he was sent to the AHL to develop more. And so far, his time there has done him well. Podkolzin has been working away at his game and improving the things that make him great. He’s a physical player who some have called a bulldog type player. He’s got a great shot and can go on some great end-to-end rushes. He has the ability to drive play but hasn’t really shown a ton of that just yet. He could be a better play driver in the future if he continues to develop that aspect of his game but that’s a wait-and-see situation to see how well that ends up going in the future.

Podkolzin is another player who is probably ready to be on the full-time NHL roster but I would leave him in the AHL for the rest of the year. Let him continue to develop and get his confidence up keep his scoring touch intact. He’s also in a similar situation as Bains where he could be ready to play in the NHL if he needs to be but I’d prefer him to spend the rest of the year in the AHL. I think if Dakota Joshua leaves this team in the off-season then Podkolzin could be the guy to take over his role since he plays a relatively similar game to Joshua. Podkolzin still has some room to grow and I fully expect him to be an NHL player next year. And if the opportunity calls for it, I think he could kill it with the Canucks this season.

Tristen Nielsen

I know I’ve talked about a couple of guys so far that may not exactly be call-ups for this year, but I think Tristen Nielsen could be. Nielsen has had a pretty productive year as he’s had 19 points in 29 games. While he may not be putting up points in the same way that other players are, I think what he can provide fits more of what the Canucks may need for their fourth line. Think of it like when you’re trying to choose a leader for a group project. The smartest and most skilled ones may be great, but you want to pick someone who has the best leadership skills which doesn’t necessarily have to be the smartest or most skilled (Don’t take that as me saying Tristen Nielsen isn’t smart, it’s just a comparison). Nielsen could play on the fourth line if injuries happen and he could fit the role quite well. He’s a winger who can play center and he seems like the kind of feisty player you would love to have in the playoffs.

My friend Sean once said that Nielsen reminds him a lot of Alex Burrows and I tend to agree with that. Both were also undrafted players who found a role that works for them and excel at it. It’s incredibly hard to find players who are like Alex Burrows in that they are productive offensively and will be a pain in the ass to play against, but I think the Canucks may have found one in Tristen Nielsen. I would love to see him get a shot on the fourth line for now and see how he fairs and then maybe down the road he can make his way up the lineup. This is a player Canucks fans should be excited for because he seems like the kind of player that would be a fan favourite.

The Canucks system is much deeper than it’s been in a long time and they have a ton of players they could call up who I didn’t even mention. What a great time it is to be a Canucks fan and there is still so much more to come for you to be excited for!

The Best Wrestling Matches of 2023

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Oh boy is it a fun time to be a wrestling fan. Maybe you watch wrestling and maybe you don’t but if you’ve ever wanted to get into it, I made a little guide you can check out as to why you should why wrestling. As of late, wrestling has been so good and 2023 was a spectacular year for wrestling (well, minus all of the backstage drama that happened). In 2023 it felt like there were so many good matches and quite a number of match-of-the-year contenders.

So basically what I’m going to do is tell you my top three favourite wrestling matches from 2023 in order and gush about why these matches are so fun to watch. Something to keep in mind though is that these rankings will mostly be based on the match themselves, but the build-up to the matches will have a big influence as well. The build-up can often create more emotion within the match and the story so that will be something that will influence my choices for a couple of them.

3. Gunther vs Sheamus vs Drew McIntyre | WWE’s Wrestlemania 39

When it comes to the best matches of each year, I have always found that WWE doesn’t have as much of a presence in most lists. There could be many reasons for that too, but I think the main reason is that WWE is a more PG product where their goal is to sell their product. Because of that their matches can be a bit watered down sometimes to create a product that sells more. They usually have great storylines for the matches but the matches themselves can be lacking sometimes.

However, things have seemed to change in the past few years especially since Triple H took over the creative side of things. We’re starting to see a lot more quality matches that can be contenders for best matches of the year. WWE has got a lot of those matches recently from Gunther who is a phenomenal wrestler who constantly has great matches.

Last year’s Wrestlemania saw a really good triple-threat match between Gunther, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. This match was known for beating the other person’s chest. This match had chop after chop that could be more thunderous as each one was delivered. The pacing of this match was great and it was just three violent gentlemen just beating each other up.

This match had a bit of a story to it too as the match was for the Intercontinental Champion which Gunther held and had been holding for a very long time. Sheamus was looking to get revenge against Gunther after he was defeated by him a few months earlier. Sheamus had won every championship in WWE except for the Intercontinental Championship and that was his goal. Drew McIntyre was trying to make his way back into relevancy as he was on a bit of a losing streak going into Wrestlemania and he wanted to redeem himself and break the bad skid he was on. Gunther’s goal was to hold the Intercontinental Championship for as long as he could and break the record for holding the title the longest, which he has no achieved.

This match is fun one to watch with some great spots so I highly recommend checking this one out if you haven’t already.

2. Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega | Wrestle Kingdom 17

If you’ve read my guide to getting into professional wrestling then you’ll know this match was on that guide and the reason being that it’s one of the greatest matches of all time. This match was in the makings for a while and was centred around Will Ospreay, the new up-and-comer in New Japan Pro Wrestling, fighting Kenny Omega, the guy who was the face of New Japan and is the guy many compare Will Ospreay to.

There’s a great story to this match about how Will Ospreay has had to deal with way more than Kenny Omega did when he was in New Japan and that Ospreay had to sacrifice a lot to get where he is. Kenny Omega continually disrespected Ospreay by saying he could never fill Omega’s shoes and Ospreay didn’t take that lightly as he has sacrificed so much for New Japan that Omega never did.

Now, the story is good but the match is unbelievable. The pace is spectacular and it was just move after move after move that would put you out of your seat. There were some great moments as well like Omega hitting Ospreay with a DDT on the top rope onto an exposed turnbuckle. That’s something I’ve never seen! Or Omega doing the Shining’s “Here’s Johnny” pose with a broken table.

It’s hard to do this match justice in words because it’s one you have to check out yourself because it will make you jump out of your seat.

1. Hangman Page Vs Swerve Strickland | AEW’s Full Gear

This rivalry is SO GOOD! The build-up to this match and the match itself might make this one of my favourite wrestling rivalries of all time.

Now, before I go on about this match and the rivalry, I do need you to know that this match is not for everyone. This match is a “deathmatch” which is a term used for a very violent type of match. And this match is VIOLENT. There is a lot of blood in this match as well as some very gorey moments. There’s parts where they’re stapling each other, using barbwires, using broken glass and many other things to hurt each other. So if you are sensitive to violent and gorey things then this match won’t be for you. But if you can tolerate those things then this match is fricking awesome!

The story between Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland started with Strickland wanting to take Page’s spot because Page has got so many opportunities whereas Strickland hasn’t got any. So Strickland targeted Page to take his spot and he did some things to Page to make him upset. He insulted Page as being a poor father and a husband, he broke into Page’s house went into Page’s son’s room while his son was there, and he also beat Page in a match previously which Page wanted revenge for. As the match built up, the more these two hated each other and as we got to this match it felt like both competitors wanted to rip each other apart.

And then we get to the match which is a Texas Deathmatch. This is one of the most violent matches I’ve ever seen with some great moments. This match starts off on fire right away. Hangman Page comes out swinging right out of the gate and starts using a staple gun on Strickland’s body. Page then staples a photo his son made that Strickland took right onto Strickland’s face and the Page rips it off which makes Strickland start pouring blood and then Page drinks the blood from his face! Who the heck thinks of doing that?

There’s other moments where Strickland becomes immune to the staples and then takes it from Page and then Strickland starts stapling himself like he’s some sort of twisted villain. There’s barbwire chairs that are used in this match that got stuck on Page’s face at one point. They used broken glass on each other and so many different weapons. In the end, Strickland wins in an ironic way as he hangs Hangman Page with a chain to make him unable to get back to his feet before the ten count.

This match had some much emotion built into and it genuinely felt like these two wanted to hurt each other and didn’t care about anything else. I know this match isn’t an easy one to stomach but if you can, check it out because the way this was built up and the match itself make it my match of the year and I can’t wait to see where this rivalry goes next. It truly feels like we’re seeing a modern-day version of Stone Cold Steve Austin vs the Rock and these two are on their way to stardom.

2023 was a great year for wrestling and I’m excited to see what 2024 holds in store. I hope you check out the matches on this list because you will enjoy them. See, wrestling just because wrestling is “fake” (even though the Hangman Page vs Swerve Strickland match would say otherwise) it’s still a ton of fun to watch, don’t you think?

Songs That Have Shaped The 2020’s So Far

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Are you a fan of hit songs? They can sometimes be hard to listen to because they can be overplayed and many of them don’t always sound the greatest. You can tell some hit songs were made to make sales and to do that, some artists will take the safe road and not take any risks.

However, there are some great hit songs that go viral every here and there. Some of them can even shape the way music sounds going forward. This is an idea that YouTuber Mic The Snare has done a ton of work on as he has some fantastic videos talking about music that defined the 2010s and the 2000s. So I thought it would be interesting to examine some songs that may be defining the 2020s thus far, in my opinion. I’ll look over some songs and some artists and how they have had an influence on how music sounds currently and how they are creating trends in music.

Before I go on with this list, I should clarify that this isn’t a list of songs I think are the best of the 2020s so far, but more so it’s a list of songs that I think are defining and influencing the music industry. The songs I choose aren’t necessarily songs I listen to or think are the greatest, however, most of these songs I do enjoy. I should also mention that these songs are in no particular order, they are just songs in general that I think have shaped the way music sounds so far in this decade.

Blinding Lights – The Weeknd

I think we have to start by talking about Blinding Lights by The Weeknd. This song was released in 2020 and took the world by store. This song was massive and very universally loved. The funny thing about this song is it seems like a song that’s been done before, but it hasn’t. The way this song sounds seems like a song we’ve heard in the past but I can’t seem to find a song that would fit that description.

But when it comes to the song itself, The Weeknd started this trend of using an 80s synth style of music and many artists are starting to use this style. The Weeknd has always been a music artist who isn’t afraid to try new things, or in this case, bring back an old style with a modern twist. He mixes the synth style with a bit of R&B and this has resulted in many artists going back to older styles of music and incorporating them into their music. I do feel like The Weeknd has done it the best as he adds something unique to his music.

His album called After Hours, which is the album Blinding Lights comes from, has a lot of the same sounds and it definitely seems like The Weeknd started a trend with this one. Not only are a lot of music artists starting to use the sounds of 80s synth in their music, but they are also going back in time and try different sounds from different time periods and I think that that could be attributed to The Weeknd.

Good 4 U – Olivia Rodrigo

I feel like I have to put Olivia Rodrigo on this list because she has blown up in popularity in the past few years and there is good reason for that. Her two albums titles SOUR and GUTS have done incredibly well and many music critics have really good things to say about her music.

But something that Rodrigo has done that is similar to what The Weeknd did is bring back a style of music. Rodrigo does have a lot of songs that fit more of a pop style of music and those kinds of songs have been pretty good. However, the thing that many people have found interesting about her is her songs where they have more of a pop punk kind of sound to it. A perfect example of that could be her song Good 4 U. This song is one of her biggest songs and it’s quite the earworm.

Although Rodrigo wasn’t necessarily the first one to bring this kind of sound back into the mainstream, she was the one who was able to popularize it the most. With how well she has done with her music as of late, it’s not difficult to see why some many artists have tried to copy her. There seems to even be many Olivia Rodrigo clones appearing trying to replicate her success. She has also done a great job adding to these sounds on her new album GUTS and is seeing much success from it.

We will likely continue to see more people try to replicate the style of music Rodrigo does but that just goes to show you how good her music is. She has made that pop punk style more mainstream and it seems like a lot of people are starting to latch onto it. You should definitely check out Rodrigo’s stuff if you haven’t because she has some songs that are undeniably good.

Anti-Hero – Taylor Swift

We have to also bring up Taylor Swift, don’t we? Taylor Swift was a massive music artist in the 2010s and has got even bigger since then. She may even be working her way up the ranks as the biggest music artist of all time if she hasn’t already achieved that milestone. Taylor Swift has always been an interesting artist for me because there’s stuff from her that I love and some stuff from her that I think is pretty meh. Her albums Reputation and Lover were two albums that I didn’t find all that interesting in comparison to her other work.

But the one thing I’ve always loved about Taylor Swift is her writing. She has written some phenomenal albums such as Red, Folklore, Evermore and a few others as well. Her latest album called Midnights was a bit of a mixed bag for me but one of the biggest songs on that album is a song called Anti-Hero and that song is fantastic. As the chorus to the song suggests, Swift is realizing that she may be the problem to some of her issues and I think singing about these kinds of topics made it more normalized to sing about struggling with yourself and realizing you have some problems.

Taylor Swift is for sure not the first person to do this, but seeing a big artist like her talk about these things can normalize it more than most music artists can. You see a lot more bigger artist being more vulnerable in their songs and I think Taylor Swift could’ve played a big hand in this.

Bad Habits – Steve Lacey

Another song I want to briefly mention is Bad Habit by Steve Lacey. While the song is great, I mostly want to mention this one because of the influence of TikTok. This song blew up on Tik Tok and made Steve Lacey a much more well-known name. This song shows how TikTok can influence the music industry and make new stars and I think Steve Lacey is the best example of that.

The 2020s have been an interesting time for music thus far and it seems like we’re only scratching the surface. I’m excited to see where things will go from here and make sure you keep an eye out for what’s trending in music because it just might change the face of the music industry.

Demar Derozan | The Once Face Of Canadian Basketball

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What do you think about when you think about basketball in Canada? What memories do you think of? Who do you think of? Canada has seen the game of basketball constantly grow and produce more and more talented players. None of that could’ve been possible without the influence of the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors have been the only Canadian basketball team for decades now and they are Canada’s team. A lot of Raptors players have influenced the younger generation to get into basketball and play it more. Players like Vince Carter, Kawhi Leonard, and the greatest Raptor of all time (GROAT) Kyle Lowry are names that people are inspired by in Canada.

However, there is one player who influenced basketball in Canada maybe more than anyone. That player is Demar Derozan. While he may not be the GROAT like Kyle Lowry or be a Championship-winning legend like Kawhi Leonard. But Derozan was one of the most loved Toronto Raptors for a long time and has greatly influenced basketball in Canada. He was one of the few star players that actually wanted to stay here. After losing big stars like Vince Carter and Chris Bosh, it almost felt like no one wanted to play in Toronto.

But then Derozan sent out his infamous “Don’t worry, I got us” tweet after Chris Bosh left the team to go to Miami. This tweet meant a lot to many Raptors fans because he was someone who wanted to stay. Someone who wanted to be a Raptor and someone who loved being a Raptor. And he was great when he was here. His great play and hard work inspired many kids to watch and play basketball and at one point he was THE face of Canadian basketball, even though he isn’t from Canada.

However, where he came from is part of what made Derozan the person he is today. Derozan grew up in Compton California in one of the most difficult environments you could grow up in. Compton is one of the biggest gang-affiliated cities in the U.S. It’s tough to get out of that environment due to how much violence goes on. For Derozan, this lifestyle is just what he grew up with. Every time Derozan left the house, his parent were very strict about him getting back at a certain time because he knew every time he left his house could potentially be his last.

Gang life is something Derozan has always had to deal with. Derozan was a part of one the most notorious gangs called the Crips. This gang is rivaled by the Bloods and there is very intense conflict between the two sides. Not being a part of the Crips wasn’t really an option for Derozan either because once you’re in, it’s hard to get out. This type of lifestyle was never easy for Derozan. He had to deal with a lot of death at a very young age. Derozan was attending funerals at a young age and there would even be drive-by shootings at some of these funerals. Yeah, it was that bad.

It was always going to be a difficult journey for Derozan to make it out of this environment as being involved in gang life and even just making it out alive every day was a challenge. But Derozan put in the work to try to do what he could to get out of this situation. His easiest out was through basketball. If he made it as an NBA player then he could get out of that environment. What was the alternative? There really weren’t many other choices for him, if any.

Derozan tried his best to stay out of trouble and stay on the right path which wasn’t easy at times but he was able to do it. A big part of that was his parents keeping him on track. However, that didn’t come without tough times for Derozan and his family. His mother, Diane, was diagnosed with lupus and his father had to deal with many issues including a stroke when Demar was quite young. Despite all of this Derozan was able to keep his head above his shoulders and work towards making it to the league. He went on the be a star in high school and then to college at USC so he could stay close to home. He played very well while at USC and was able to get drafted to the NBA and Derozan made it out of the harsh Compton environment. It was never an easy ride to get there but Derozan did it. He was drafted 9th overall to the Toronto Raptors which was a huge culture shock for him at the time. He had no idea how to handle winters in Toronto and didn’t even have a passport before going. After a while, he figured it out and he quickly started to make Toronto his new home. And boy did the fans ever love that it was his home too.

Derozan put the city on his sleeve and loved Toronto every second he was there. He embraced being a Raptor like no other star before him had. This was the city that gave him a chance and he embraced the city and the city embraced him right back. Derozan had to endure some pretty bad teams but he always stuck with it. He helped build up the Raptors to become a team that could be a contender year after year. Although they got haunted by LeBron James for a few years which kind of led to the downfall of Derozan’s time as a Toronto Raptors, but the Raptors had to make a change and unfortunately, Derozan was the guy who was a part of that change.

In 2019 when the Raptors won the NBA championship, it was a great time and a great thing to see for the country and the growth of basketball in Canada. But while all that was great, it really hurt that Derozan wasn’t on the team that won it. Derozan got many Canadians (including myself) into basketball because he played his heart out every night and he was great when he played in this country

You can attribute a lot of the success of Canadian basketball to the rise of the Canadian national teams and the insane growth in Canadian talent in basketball, but I think a lot of that only happens because of the influence of Demar Derozan. He inspired so many people in various different ways and he continues to do so.

On top of all of this, Derozan is one of the first NBA players (and maybe even one of the first athletes in general) to speak up about dealing with mental health issues. Sports can often be a space that is very masculinized and Derozan was someone who grew up in a very masculinized environment. But despite that, Derozan is trying to change those spaces and let people know that its okay to not be okay.

Demar Derozan is my favourite athlete of all time and he is for many other Canadians. As unfortunate as it is that he didn’t win with the Raptors in 2019, I hope he does eventually get one because he deserves it. And if you didn’t understand what makes Derozan so great, then hopefully this shows you exactly why at one point he was the face of Canadian basketball.

Cities That Should Get An NBA Team

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Is this going to be an article about me gushing about how Vancouver should get an NBA team again? You better bet it is! Okay, it won’t just be about that because there’s more I want to tell you about this topic. It seems as though the NBA is not too far off from expansion as Adam Silver has previously stated that the NBA first needed to get their new CBA done, which they have, and their new television deal which should be done pretty soon. There’s a good chance that the NBA will be expanded within the next five years or so as it seems like it’s time to expand the league. It’s like when you run out of space for things in your room. What do you do in that situation? You find a way to expand.

There are some cities that are probably locks to get a team eventually but there are some other cities that could be in the mix depending on how many teams the NBA wants to expand to. With the league continuing to get better and better and with many great players not even getting many minutes due to there being too many skilled players who also deserve a lot of minutes. So the need for expansion is there but who are the top candidates to become the newest NBA franchise? Well, I got a list of them for you and I’ll tell you why they could be considered for an NBA.

Vancouver

Yes, do it. Make this happen. It should’ve been done yesterday. Alright, my obvious bias aside, we have to talk about why Vancouver should be highly considered for another NBA team. Vancouver’s first go around with an NBA team was a weird one because attendance wasn’t that good because of how awful the team was and the ownership group not being the greatest.

It’s been a long time since we saw NBA basketball in Vancouver and since then I definitely think basketball has become more popular in Vancouver and in B.C. A lot of that could be attributed to the Toronto Raptors’ success over the years as they have become Canada’s team since they are the only Canadian team. When you look at how Vancouver was when the Raptors made it to the NBA finals, many people were on board in Vancouver and people were following them like they’re a local team.

Adam Silver has even previously stated that it was a mistake moving the Grizzlies from Vancouver and that they wished they still had two Canadian NBA teams. Vancouver has the fanbase and has the area to make it happen too. They recently hosted an NBA game during the preseason at Rogers Arena and it was well attended and showed exactly how much Vancouver is craving NBA basketball.

Vancouver may not get a team immediately as a couple of other cities may be the first wave of expansion, but once we get to the second wave, I wouldn’t be surprised and I hope that Vancouver gets an NBA back.

Seattle

Yeah, this one is happening. I just mentioned how there will be a first wave of teams to expand in the NBA and Seattle will without a doubt be in that wave. I’ve heard from people who live in Seattle say that the biggest team in the city is the NBA team that doesn’t even exist currently. Seattle lost the Super Sonics due to strange circumstances but it seems like a given they will get the Sonics back soon.

The market for an NBA team is absolutely there, they have a new arena with Climate Pledge Arena that is incredible, and with the success the city has seen with the Seattle Kraken recently expanding into the NHL, it just seems like a no-brainer that Seattle will get an NBA team again. I think they could even get a team there as soon as 2026, but we will see how things go. Either way, you should expect Seattle to get an NBA team back really soon.

Las Vegas

Another team that will be in the first wave of expansion cities will be Las Vegas. The NBA has made it quite obvious that they want to expand into Las Vegas as they had the in-season tournament finals as well as the summer league tournament. On top of this, LeBron James has been vocal about wanting to own an NBA team in Vegas once he’s retired so that may be the avenue for them to get an NBA team. Regardless of that though, I think it’s going to happen.

With the success other leagues have seen with teams in Las Vegas like the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL, the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL and the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA, how could the NBA not go to Las Vegas considering the money they could make from bringing a team there. For Las Vegas, it’s not a matter of if, it’s when and it seems like when is probably gonna be within the next few years if all goes well. Boy, Las Vegas is going to be a very popular destination when the NBA goes there.

Kansas City

Kansas City is an interesting one because their chances of getting a team are very up in the air. They seem like a city where the NBA would like to expand to but when it could happen seems to be not all that clear. Kansas City has the Chiefs and the Royals who have done quite well for themselves while also having some pretty passionate fanbases so it seems as though they are a sports city. The Chiefs in particular have become a very die-hard fanbase since 2018 and the city will get behind a team if they have successful teams. On top of that, Kansas City already has an arena that is ready to be the home of an NBA team and Kansas City really wants a team too.

When the Toronto Raptors had to play in a U.S city when they couldn’t cross the border because of COVID, Kansas City was advocating hard for the Raptors to play in their city for the season. They ended up playing in Tampa Bay that season but it seemed pretty obvious that Kansas City really wanted an NBA team to play there and I’m sure they want one full-time. Kansas City may not be one of the top teams for the NBA to consider when it comes to expansion, but it does seem like Kansas City really wants a team and the NBA will listen if they do.

The NBA is in a great spot right now with how many talented players they are and expanding into new markets will help them better showcase those players. The NBA is almost ready to expand and there are some cities that will get a team quite soon. There’s so much talent in the league and some players need some homes and expansion is the way to go for this. All I know is if the NBA is going to expand soon then we have to get a team back in Vancouver or I will riot. You know they should be back and they will be back!