The Alpha Academy divorce is officially getting ugly
If you watched Monday night’s broadcast, you saw Chad Gable try to walk back his recent toxicity toward Alpha Academy. It was the wrestling equivalent of a guy trying to get his ex-girlfriend back by leaving a long, rambling voicemail at 3 a.m. Maxxine Dupri wasn't buying the schtick, and frankly, neither was the crowd.
We are watching a classic slow-burn breakup. The internal forums are currently a dumpster fire of people arguing whether Gable is the greatest heel in the modern era or if he’s just wasting perfectly good airtime. Some folks think the emotional shift for Dupri is a bit too rapid, while others are rightfully praising her for finally dropping the dead weight.
The enthusiasts are calling this the best character work on the roster. They point to the way she physically blocked his approach as evidence that the booking team finally understands what we want: character autonomy. It’s hard to ignore that Maxxine Dupri shutting down Chad Gable’s apology felt like the real main event of the segment, even if the cameras shifted away too fast.
Orange Cassidy is still the internet's favorite puzzle
Every six months, we have to endure the same discourse about whether Orange Cassidy is a genius or a mockery of the business. The man sat down with Extreme Channel recently to explain that his entire persona is built on the reality of feeling like he would rather be anywhere else. It’s the ultimate millennial mood, and half the fan base treats it like he’s insulting their ancestors.
Then you have the tinfoil hat brigade. These people are genuinely obsessed with the idea that his sunglasses are fake or somehow part of a massive, long-con work. It reached a point where Orange Cassidy had to shut down fans who think the eyewear is a prop with special lenses. Why does it matter if he’s wearing a pharmacy pair or custom frames?
The skeptics argue that this character has hit his ceiling. They claim once the novelty of the pocket-hands schtick wears off, there is nowhere left to go but catering. Contrast that with the true believers who see Orange Cassidy's explanation of his character as the peak of irony-poisoned modern wrestling culture. He’s essentially a cartoon character operating in a world that takes itself way too seriously.
The verdict on the chaos
Here is my take: keep your hands out of your pockets and your biases in check. The Alpha Academy drama works because it’s grounded in a human reaction we’ve all experienced—realizing the person leading your group is a giant, egotistical fraud. It’s simple, effective, and it doesn't need to be over-complicated with deep psychological essays.
On the other hand, the Orange Cassidy obsession is a symptom of people having too much free time. Wrestling is supposed to be weird. If you’re spending your Sunday afternoon debating the UV protection rating of a wrestler's glasses, you’ve lost the plot. The guy is over with the crowd, he sells merchandise, and he hasn't been injured to the point of retirement yet. That is a 100% win in any booker's ledger.
My one complaint? The segments are starting to drag. If we spend another month on the Alpha Academy soap opera without anyone taking a bump, the audience is going to start checking their phones more than the actual product. We need a payoff, not just another shouting match in the ring. A few chair shots or a quick roll-up finish at exactly 12 minutes would satisfy the crowd more than ten weeks of apologies.
Stop trying to psychoanalyze the guy in the denim jacket and just let the story breathe. Wrestling fans love to act like they are theater critics, but at the end of the day, we are just people watching simulated combat on a Monday and Wednesday night. If the gear looks cool and the promos hit, let it rip. The obsession with finding flaws in the logic of a guy who puts his hands in his pockets is just self-sabotage at this point.