The Independent Development Identity Crisis
If you’ve spent more than five minutes on wrestling Twitter this week, you’ve probably seen the absolute war breaking out over the WWE ID program. It started as a way to support the indies, but fans are already treating it like a hostile takeover. According to recent comments from former champion Cappuccino Jones, there are massive misconceptions floating around about what this program actually does. Jones pointed back to the old Team PC feud in Evolve as a reference point, trying to calm everyone down, but the internet isn't in a calming mood.
The diehard indie fans are convinced this is just a 'talent trap' designed to keep the best workers on a leash. They see the WWE ID logo and they see a tombstone for their favorite local promotion. On the other side, you have the WWE loyalists who think Triple H is basically Mother Teresa for giving these guys a paycheck and a path to the Performance Center. It’s a classic wrestling tribalism fight where nobody actually listens to the guys in the ring, like Jones, who are actually doing the work.
The argument boils down to one thing: control. Fans are terrified that the 'Evolve-ification' of the indies means we lose the grit and the weirdness that makes non-televised wrestling great. If every show has to look like a mini-NXT to get that ID stamp of approval, are we even watching independent wrestling anymore? It’s a valid fear, especially when you look at how many prospects get lost in the shuffle once they enter the system.
Damon Kemp and the Shelton Benjamin Ghost
Speaking of getting lost in the shuffle, let’s talk about Bobby Steveson. You probably remember him as Damon Kemp in NXT, but since his exit from WWE in July 2024, he’s been a bit of a ghost. Despite the radio silence on the match front, Steveson recently made it clear that the door isn't closed on his career. He’s still thinking about the business, and specifically, he’s thinking about Shelton Benjamin.
Steveson has been vocal about wanting a rematch with the current AEW star. Fans on r/SquaredCircle have been debating if Steveson is actually worth the hype or if he’s just 'the other brother.' One user posted: 'Kemp had the moves, but he had the personality of a wet paper towel in NXT. If he wants to run it back with Shelton, he better bring more than just a double-leg takedown.' It’s a harsh take, but not entirely wrong. Shelton Benjamin is currently doing some of the best work of his veteran career, and Steveson hasn't laced up the boots in a high-profile way for months.
The contrarian view is that Steveson was a victim of the WWE machine. He’s a legitimate athlete who was forced into a cookie-cutter role. If he shows up in AEW or on the indies and just out-wrestles people, the fans will flip. The problem is that in 2026, being a 'good wrestler' is the baseline. You need a hook. Steveson is currently fishing without bait, and the fans are starting to lose interest in the line.
The Mentorship Myth and Scrapped Geniuses
Wrestling fans love a good 'what if' story, and the latest one involves a nixed pitch for the Wyatt Family. A former WWE star recently revealed that he’s still thinking about a storyline he pitched to Vince McMahon that never saw the light of day. Since the passing of Windham Rotunda on August 24, 2023, any news regarding the Wyatt legacy hits a nerve. Fans are divided on these reveals. Half the crowd thinks Vince was a creative vampire who killed every good idea, while the other half thinks these 'scrapped pitches' are usually garbage that sounds better in a podcast interview than it would on TV.
This links back to the current state of developmental. We have a new crop of talent naming guys like Booker T and X-Pac as their primary mentors. That’s a hell of a duo to have in your corner. Booker T brings that main-event swagger, and X-Pac is basically the blueprint for the modern high-flying style. Fans generally agree that this is a win. 'You can't teach what Booker has,' one fan noted on a forum. 'But you can definitely learn how not to blow your knees out from X-Pac.' This is the kind of mentorship that actually matters, unlike the 'creative freedom' that usually ends up with someone wearing a cape and losing in three minutes.
However, the skepticism remains. Is having a Hall of Fame mentor enough to survive the modern corporate structure? We’ve seen dozens of 'Booker T proteges' vanish into the abyss. It’s one thing to get advice in the back; it’s another to survive a booking meeting with five writers who have never taken a bump. The fans know this. They’ve been burned too many times by 'can't miss' prospects who missed by a mile.
Alistair Overeem and the CTE Controversy
We need to talk about the elephant in the room: Alistair Overeem. The former UFC heavyweight recently claimed he believes CTE can be healed. In a world where we’ve seen the devastating effects of brain trauma on legends like Chris Benoit and countless others, this take went down like a lead balloon. The wrestling community is hyper-sensitive to this stuff for obvious reasons. When a combat sports icon starts talking about 'healing' brain damage, the fans get protective of the guys currently taking headbutts for our entertainment.
The reaction was swift and brutal. 'Overeem has taken too many knees to the face if he thinks you can just pray away brain plaques,' one fan tweeted. It’s a grim reminder of the physical cost of this business. While we argue about WWE ID and indie contracts, these guys are literally destroying their futures. Overeem’s comments feel like a dangerous step backward in a sport that has finally started taking concussion protocols seriously.
There is a small, vocal minority of fans who think Overeem might be onto something with 'alternative' recovery, but they are getting shouted down by anyone with a basic understanding of science. This is the one topic where the tribalism disappears. Whether you watch AEW, WWE, or a local show in a high school gym, nobody wants to see these athletes end up in a wheelchair or worse because they ignored the risks.
The Verdict: Who Is Right?
So, where do we land on all this? The fans who are worried about WWE ID have history on their side. WWE has a track record of absorbing and then discarding indie talent like used gum. But the fans who are excited for the structure aren't wrong either. The indies have been a mess of twenty-minute chinlocks and terrible production for far too long. If Triple H wants to pay for better rings and actual medical staff, that’s a net positive for the wrestlers.
As for Bobby Steveson, he’s in the toughest spot of all. He’s a man without a country. He’s too big for the small indies and hasn't proven he’s ready for the big stage again. Wanting a rematch with Shelton Benjamin is a great goal, but goals don't pay the bills. He needs to stop talking about the door being open and actually walk through one. The fans are ready to cheer for him, or boo him, but they aren't ready to wait forever.
Ultimately, the stronger argument lies with the skeptics. Wrestling is at its best when it feels unpredictable and a little bit dangerous. The more you corporate-ize the developmental process, the more you lose that spark. We don't need a thousand guys who all know how to 'work for the camera' but don't know how to make a crowd feel something. We need more guys who are willing to pitch wild Wyatt Family ideas, even if they get rejected. We need the chaos.
