By: B.P. Burke
Champion.
Every professional wrestler that has ever stepped between the ropes has done so with the goal of being able to use that one simple word to describe himself.
Yet, for the champions of PPW, heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Dani Mo
The reigning queen of PPW’s women’s division sees over a growing roster of women desperately seeking gold. Since capturing the title for a second time, Dani has faced a returning threat in the form of Cosmic, and now sees herself up against one of the most relentless newcomers PPW has ever seen in the form of “The Spiteful Brute” Harleen Lopez, a punishing dual threat who can make you tap out just as quickly as she can deliver a KO strike.
Lest we forget the dark cloud hanging over the entire women’s division. With a win in tag action over "La Chica" Clara Carreras and Simone Valentina, it would be hard to argue that Sammi Chaos has not proven herself worthy of top contender status. On the flipside, if Carreras or Valentina are able to score an upset over PPW’s Most Destructive Force, they’d make strong cases for themselves.
Dio Bando
This may seem like the exception to the rule - after all, the Dio Bando Show has shown no signs of a premature cancellation - but never underestimate the power of a scorned rival. Nolan Pierce has tried to move on from his bitterly short TV title reign in 2023, but the idea of reclaiming the title from the man who took it from him has dominated his mind since the second he lost the championship.
If Dio Bando is able to defeat Nolan Pierce once again and send his longtime rival to the back of the line, we could definitely be in store for one of the longest title reigns in PPW history, but don’t count Nolan Pierce out just yet,
Rembrandt
The only double champion in PPW, now in possession of the No Limits and United States Championships, The Artist is embroiled in an intense rivalry with Andy Header, a two-time TV champion who had Rembrandt against the ropes last December at Lights Out before the champion saved his US Title by being intentionally disqualified. The dual champion is now being tasked with defending both belts against Header at Born to Run.
Whether it’s Header or Rembrandt leaving Slatington as a double champion this weekend, they’re sure to face twice the pressure.
Team YUGE
No champions have felt the pressures of holding the gold quite as distinctly as Alec Odin and Wrecking Ball Legursky. PPW’s biggest champions may have had the biggest target on their backs of all, to the point where they currently find themselves suspended and off of Born to Run entirely while Championship Material parade around with their titles.
That change, however, has actually turned things around for Wrecking Ball and Odin, however. Championship Material have turned themselves from predators to prey, with both the champs and CXR looking to return their titles to their rightful owners.
The Sindicate
The newest champions in PPW are by no means immune to the burdens of being champions. While Sam Adams and The Brothers Grey have used every trick in the book to keep a stranglehold on the newly-formed trios division, whether they used dirty tactics to take down The Chopping Block or having James Ellsworth double cross his partners Nice & Smooth in a championship match. By hook or by crook, The Sindicate have been on quite the undefeated tear since the formation of the division.
And their story is intertwined with that of…
Adrien Soriano
Sam Adams picked a fight with the PPW Heavyweight Champion at Walk the Line, and it ended as most PPW events in recent memory have tended to end, with Soriano and his Primal Fear brethren standing tall. While Adams and the rest of the Sindicate thought they were luring Soriano into a trap, it is now Primal Fear that has the opportunity to emerge with the upper hand.
But what would that mean for Adrien Soriano?
It’s been clear over this past series of paragraphs how the pressures of being a champion ultimately prove too much for any wrestler. That goes double for THE champion. Having to split focus between being at the top of the mountain while also juggling the trios titles could prove to be too much even for someone as gifted as Adrien Soriano.
As great as Soriano is, to say that you can’t touch him would be a bit of an understatement.