CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Lauren Theisen

Pro Wrestling

How Did A C-Tier WWE Guy From Germany Become One Of The Most Popular Luchadores In Mexico?

Year In Review

The States Of Pro Wrestling In 2025

US wrestler CM Punk greets the fans before his match against against John Cena for the undisputed WWE Championship during the King of the Ring event at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on June 28, 2025.

CM Punk Loves Saudi Arabia

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis look on during the main event of Money in the Bank 2011.

John Laurinaitis Says He Will Testify Against Vince McMahon

Luis Paez-Pumar

John Cena (L) celebrates with rapper Travis Scott after defeating Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship during WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium on April 20, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

WrestleMania 41’s Two Main Events And The Risks Of Getting Epic

Some Wrestling Matches I Liked In 2024

View of a wrestling ring during a tag team match at White Eagle Hall

Deadlock Pro-Wrestling Is As Fun As It Is Fragile

Chairman Vince McMahon is introduced during the WWE Monday Night Raw show at the Thomas &amp; Mack Center August 24, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

‘Mr. McMahon’ Is An Incomplete Portrait Of Wrestling’s Reprehensible Kingpin

WWE Informs Viewership Of Tyrese Haliburton

Flaws Can Make A Wrestler Feel Real

Brad Balukjian, PhD has chosen two careers—journalist and scientist—which converge on pursuit of the truth. He has been published in Rolling Stone, Smithsonian, National Geographic, and many others. His first book, The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife, hit #7 on the LA Times bestseller list and was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. He is a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences, and he discovered 17 species of insects (green flash bugs) in Tahiti, one of which he named after Harrison Ford. He lives on the road, where he’s in an open relationship with his VCR.

Brad Balukjian

An image of Tito Santana in the ring during his time in WWF, with the cover of Brad Balukjian's book "The Six Pack" visible at lower left.

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

Before He Became A Wrestling Legend, Tito Santana Needed A Name

Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.

Heather Wei-Xi Chen

SUNRISE, FLORIDA - JUNE 24: Matthew Tkachuk #19 of the Florida Panthers smokes a cigar while wearing the NHL/WWE Stanley Cup Championship belt in the locker room after Game Seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on June 24, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida.

WWE