Biggest Winners And Losers Of The Week — 10/5/2026

It's been another week in the wild and too-often tragic world of professional wrestling, and while we took last week off out of respect for the passing of AEW star Pac, the Wrestling Inc. crew is back this week to name some winners and losers!

It's been an emotional seven days to say the least, given that this past week saw "AEW Dynamite" reworked as a tearjerking Pac tribute episode that featured the in-ring return of Bryan Danielson. Even on WWE's shows, the passing of the former Neville was acknowledged via graphic and by WWE talent who knew and worked with him. But of course, the industry's response to Pac's death wasn't the only thing that happened, as the wrestling world saw everything from on-screen surprises like Jaida Parker's main roster call-up to off-screen decisions like John Cena continuing to defend Vince McMahon.

Which performers rose to the top for the WINC crew this week, and which ones sunk to the bottom? That's what we're here to find out. Here are your WINC winners and losers for the week of 10/5/2026!

It's funny how this is being written on the fourth anniversary of what was "National Scissoring Day," a day that Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, and Billy Gunn came up with to essentially celebrate how successful they had been as a group at that time. "Daddy A**" was having a career resurgence next to The Acclaimed, who were at the time the AEW World Tag Team Champions and were widely considered to be one of the best homegrown stars All Elite Wrestling had to offer.

Four years on and neither Caster or Bowens are even with the company, and Gunn is nowhere to be seen on screen either. Both Caster and Bowens departed AEW on October 1 as their contracts with the company expired. They have remained on the official roster page on AEW's website as there is still a chance both men re-sign, with contract talk naturally taking a back seat in recent weeks due to the tragic passings of Andy "The Butcher" Williams and Benjamin "Pac" Satterley. Negotiations weren't really atop the AEW priority list, but to be honest, it's not like keeping them around is going to be a priority either. 

Ever since The Acclaimed broke up in early 2025, things haven't gone well for Caster and Bowens. In Caster's case, he became a comedy jobber who didn't win a single match, even being beaten by Bowens who looked to be a shoe-in for an AEW TNT Championship run at that point. As time went on, however, he faded into the background, to the point where a brief reunion at the end of 2025 didn't exactly light the world on fire. Caster would end up on the indies, Bowens would end up in The Opps, and the glory days where everyone in the crowd was wearing pink and showing up with giant cardboard scissors were a distant memory. The downfall of one of the most promising duos in all of wrestling will be a case study on how sometimes, breaking up a tag team isn't the best way to go.

I have no doubt that both men will land on their feet. Bowens is still putting ten toes down and vowing to become the first openly gay world champion in wrestling, and I can see him doing well in a place like TNA or a high-profile indie. As for Caster, he has the comedy chops down to probably have a half-decent run in "WWE NXT" — just don't expect him to be a world champion any time soon. Overall, The Acclaimed are losers this week because they had the world at their feet and they just couldn't make it last.

Written by Sam Palmer

One of the most surprising "WWE NXT" call-ups in recent memory was that of Jaida Parker's on Monday's edition of "WWE Raw." "Miss Parker" shockingly aligned herself with Royce Key's 946, which made sense to those who watched her previous work in "NXT," when she was the manager of Lucien Price and Bronco Nima.

Parker appeared at the beginning of the episode, when she pulled up in an SUV, making the Bloodline's Jacob Fatu and the Usos believe that it was 946 rolling up. She went face-to-face with Jey Uso, who she's rumored to be dating in real life, popping those in on the gossip within the internet wrestling community, but said she was only there to speak with General Manager Adam Pearce.

That of course wasn't the case, and at the end of the episode, Parker ran over Fatu with her car in the parking lot as he was brawling with Keys. She initially acted as if she was sorry and she didn't see him, but quickly changed her tune to remind the "Samoan Werewolf" that "no one is safe," 946's motto, and drove off with Keys. The entire segment was a shot in the arm to "Raw" on an episode where Roman Reigns wasn't present — Parker's addition to the faction, plus the car crash stunt, was something unique fans weren't expecting. It's edited on Netflix now, but live, the stunt was excellent, something rarely seen in WWE these days.

Parker's call-up also sparked rumors and rumblings of the return of former Women's World Champion Naomi, to align herself with real-life husband Jimmy Uso and the Bloodline. While Parker always could have been called up because she had wrapped up all recent storylines in "NXT," it's possible she should start to "proceed with caution" and gear up to go toe-to-toe with Naomi. Adding women to a Bloodline-related story is a first, and something desperately needed to help it evolve.

The 946 vs. Bloodline storyline had been exciting on the red brand for a minute, but after weeks of Fatu telling the Usos that it was better not to run the play, it had kind of fallen off. Parker aligning herself with Keys, Nima, and Price made things interesting once again, in perhaps the most dramatic way possible. Parker also hadn't often been featured in either the Women's NXT Championship or Women's North American title scene in the developmental brand, so bringing her up and inserting her into the top storyline of "Raw" was a major upgrade for the star.

Written by Daisy Ruth

While being in the ring is much better than lying around backstage on a road case for months on end, both Johnny Gargano and his wife, Candice LeRae lost their Money in the Bank qualifying matches last week on "WWE SmackDown." Even worse, both Gargano and LeRae took the pins in their respective triple threat bouts.

"SmackDown" was bookended by the qualifiers, with LeRae up against the blue brand's newest roster member, Tatum Paxley, and former Women's United States Champion Tiffany Stratton. In the weaker match of the two, LeRae was taken out by a 450 splash from Paxley, and Stratton broke up the pin with her Prettiest Moonsault Ever, to pin LeRae and protect one of the latest "WWE NXT" call-ups.

"The Poison Pixie's" night wasn't done, however, as she tried to interfere on behalf of her husband in the main event. Gargano ended up bumping her off the ring apron, sending her falling onto a table below, but not breaking it. Gargano and opponent Cody Rhodes then went somewhat viral on X, for the wrong reasons, as Rhodes ran the ropes only to gently push "Johnny Wrestling," who did fall through the table below. Gargano took the pin from Kevin Owens off a powerbomb, as Randy Orton interfered to prevent Rhodes from breaking the pin.

Both Gargano and LeRae were "awarded" their shots at Money in the Bank from Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn, for helping him get through a lot of his own issues backstage. The best case scenario for the pair is to continue their backstage promos with Zayn, and in the worst case, Gargano ends up just lying down on things, distraught, once again. There doesn't appear to be much of substance for them to do, now that they're officially not vying for their respective briefcases, with Survivor Series: WarGames to come after that.

There's a high chance Gargano gets back in the ring to mix it up, perhaps with Owens, or maybe even alongside Zayn in a tag team match or two while Zayn still holds the gold. Before the MITB qualifier, LeRae had wrestled even fewer matches on television than her husband in 2026, and Gargano has only had only eight. The match was LeRae's second TV match, not including the Royal Rumble, of the year, and while it made sense to protect the new star in the match, taking the pin still had to sting for her, and she feels even more directionless than her husband.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Everyone grieves in a different way. Some will cry until they feel exhausted, others take a deep breath and march forward because what else are you supposed to do with yourself? Regardless of how you grieve, everyone needs that one person who they can absolutely depend on to help them get through such a difficult period, even if that same person is going through the exact same process. This past week, Jon Moxley has been that person for a lot of people.

Like many others, I am insanely proud of the AEW roster for what they produced on the September 30 episode of "AEW Dynamite." It was a beautiful tribute to the man we knew as Pac or Neville, but they knew simply as Ben, and while everyone played their part in honoring the career, legacy, and life of Pac, Moxley went above and beyond to make sure everyone felt comfortable.

Take the opening match for example. Moxley defended his AEW Continental Championship against Orange Cassidy, and when he came out, Cassidy looked like he hadn't stopped crying. He looked like he would have rather been anywhere in the world than in that ring, not because he didn't want to wrestle as everyone on the show was there voluntarily, but because he was heartbroken, and therefore couldn't give 100%. Referee Bryce Remsburg was also visibly upset, and even the crowd was a bit awkward to start because they didn't know if it was really appropriate to act like a normal wrestling crowd given the circumstances. Moxley changed all of that.

Moxley knew that for the match to operate at 100%, he would have to go the extra mile to help his opponent, the referee, and even the crowd, and by the end of it, the place was rocking and both guys had one of their best matches with each other. Moxley was the rock that everyone needed in that situation, and it didn't stop there. He consoled Bryan Danielson when he arrived, who in turn allowed Moxley to let out what must have been an overwhelming amount of emotion. He consoled Marina Shafir after her match, with Shafir even telling Moxley to get in the ring for a hug because that's what she needed at that time. Then there was the main event where he was on commentary having probably the most fun he had all week, and it allowed Excalibur and Tony Schiavone to laugh and smile for likely the first time in days.

On Wednesday night, Moxley was the captain, the MVP, the shoulder to cry on for everyone in front of and behind the barricade, and he did it in a way that was simply inspiring. 

Written by Sam Palmer

John, buddy, what are you doing?

You're a free man, John. You're in-ring career is wrapped up. You might have a WWE tournament named after you, but they officially need you now, not the other way around. You have no reason to answer a question about Vince McMahon, ever again. The company itself won't even stand by Vince McMahon, and yet you have seemingly strapped yourself to his already-embalmed visage time and time again. You can't even muster the conviction of a "no comment." You hem and you haw your way through parables about imperfect friends and his responsibility for your success like some kind of media-trained hostage.

You're promoting Apple TV's "Matchbox: The Movie." I'm certain that a majority of the entertainment media would not only agree to a request for no McMahon questions, but would welcome the opportunity to have more time to do meme-able bits with you. But no, deep down you realize that — like Hulk Hogan before you — your wrestling stardom is the most interesting thing about you, and thus you keep falling into pit after pit, trap after trap, time and time again.

Now, no one is talking about "Matchbox: The Movie." We're not even talking about John Cena's wrestling career or his acting career. We're re-litigating the many allegations of Vince McMahon, and what you might've or might not have known. 

Great work, John. Stellar promotion. 

Written by Ross Berman