Opinion
MSG Needs To Compete If They Want WWE Back
Can anything be done to save the relationship between Madison Square Garden and WWE? Yes, but the Garden is going to have work for it.
So, word on the internet is that MSG is unhappy with WWE over the fact that WWE is no longer running TV and PPV from the Garden, despite the fact that WWE stopped running both years ago.
For decades, Madison Square Garden and WWE have been synonymous. The Garden was WWE’s home when they were in New York, many great moments in WWE history, including the first WrestleMania, took place in the Garden. For years, the thought of WWE going somewhere else in New York City to do TV or PPV was like the Queen of England staying at a Holiday Inn instead of Buckingham Palace when she was in London. In fact, no other wrestling promotion could get into MSG during the prime years of their relationship, including WCW, though some promotions ran in a smaller venue attatched to the Garden.
However, over the years, WWE’s use of Madison Square Garden has become less cozy. WWE slowly stopped running TV and PPVs from the Garden. In 2009, WWE chose Houston as the host for WrestleMania 25, which should have happened in MSG, but even when WWE went back to New York for WrestleMania 29 in 2013, they chose MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for WrestleMania and Madison Square Garden was used for the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. In fact, the last WWE PPV to happen in the Garden was in 2011 when WWE ran Survivor Series from the Garden. WWE still runs the Garden, but only for house shows, which aren’t televised, though being on the Garden card is still considered a huge honor and thrill for any wrestler.
So what happened? The biggest reason has been the Dolan family, who owns Madison Square Garden and most of the teams that have their home games in the building, as well as several minor league teams, Radio City Music Hall, and some theaters in New York and LA, have raised the cost of running TV out of the Garden to a pretty prohibitive one and aren’t offering much in return except prestige.
Why? Short answer is that it is extremely expensive to operate in New York City and the Madison Square Garden Company not only has Madison Square Garden to operate, but the teams that make their home there, as well as the theaters and Radio City Music Hall and the cost has to be made up somewhere. WWE paid the money because there weren’t many viable options and because there was a sense of loyalty to running shows in the Garden.
The other reason things cooled was the emergence of the Barclays Center. The completion of the Barclays Center in 2012 meant that WWE had alternatives in New York if they wanted to run a show IN New York City, as opposed to going to New Jersey. Yes, Barclays wasn’t as prestigious as Madison Square Garden, but it also meant WWE wasn’t going to have to spend a fortune just for the prestige of doing a show there either.
Unfortunately, the Madison Square Garden Company didn’t seem to realize that an alternative arena meant that they could no longer count on WWE shelling out the money to run TV out of the Garden. Instead of playing ball and competing for WWE’s business, the owners ignored the issue until it was shoved in their faces when Barclays was the venue chosen for the WrestleMania 35 weekend fun and games instead of MSG, which is closer to MetLife Stadium than Brooklyn (if my rough knowledge of NYC geography is correct), or RAW 25, which was done at Barclays and the Manhattan Civic Center. While having part of RAW 25 at the Civic Center made sense since it was the home of the first RAW, the snubbing of Madison Square Garden was a surprise to many.
Problem is that, even when it was shoved in their faces, MSG’s reaction was not to do a rethink but to try and put pressure on WWE to come back, seven years after the last WWE PPV in the arena. Mexico’s AAA organization has a hold on MSG for a September event, though WWE has a right to tell MSG that they don’t want it to happen due to an agreement with the building going back decades. Problem is that it doesn’t look like WWE’s going to protest, especially since they’re going to be doing a house show at the Garden in July that’s going to feature The Undertaker.
However, there is a way to save the WWE/MSG relationship, but it requires that MSG play ball and act like they are actually interested in keeping WWE’s patronage instead of assuming it’ll always be there or trying exert pressure on WWE to come back, when they’ve pretty much already moved on, by bringing in a rival promotion. If MSG is really serious about wanting to be the home of the WWE again, they’re going to have to work for it because while WWE continues to say its home turf is the Garden, the reality is WWE’s found a new home in Brooklyn.
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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