Opinion
Chairshot CLASH! Faces, Heels, and Throwing Shades of Gray

“It’s not about what I want. Ever. It’s all about what the audience wants. I’m a pretty good listener.”
NICK:
People complain because they don’t listen to their fans right now. In fact, most who say that actually use all of your examples as times in which WWE listened to their fans and garnered tons of critical and monetary success. So in that regard, I’m not sure what your intended point is.
And the best characters do break the mold, but it doesn’t allow them to break the face/heel barrier. It allows them to do stuff that would normally be what, for example, a bad guy does, and get cheered for it. The Rock got over as a heel, for example, for being a cocky prick who undermined everyone around him, including his own faction’s leader. He turned heel again very shortly after what was mostly a face turn and joined the Corporation, and eventually, the crowd started cheering him again. What did WWE do? They stayed the course and kept having him do the stuff that made the crowd cheer him, but they had him wrestle bad guys instead of good guys.
They did the opposite of that with Cena. He was a rapping heel. It got over so big that they used it to turn him face and didn’t change the character very much. Then, as he was really getting huge, they started stripping away everything that drew people to the character, which is what led to the crowds booing him out of the building. It just so happened that this formula worked, so they just pushed forward. It doesn’t mean that it was objectively entertaining — it just means they kept making lots of money.
And if they REALLY listened to the fans, they would have continued pushing Zack Ryder. He was selling plenty of merchandise and the crowds were on fire for the guy. Instead, he became a joke, they slowed the merch production and used him as a pawn in a John Cena storyline.
They wouldn’t have had Cesaro, whose big swing was helping get over as a huge babyface, become a heel Heyman guy. They would have run with it. But they didn’t. They tried to keep him as a bad guy, and the crowd kept cheering, and he eventually got taken off TV. The list goes on. The reality is that WWE chooses their guy and goes with him. Cena was a lucky one because he was on the verge of becoming a footnote in history before the rap thing came along. But once he got over, they decided that he was going to be the money train. There are lots of guys who have gotten crowd support and then had it suppressed.
Rusev ring a bell? Dude gets massively over, so they have him lose to Randy Orton in 10 seconds at SummerSlam, and he gets no revenge. The crowd wants to cheer him, but he continues to get positioned as a bad guy, thus watering it down. What reason is there to not turn him face and have him run the midcard division? AJ is busy on top where he belongs, so why isn’t Rusev the babyface US Champion kicking everyone’s asses? The list goes on, so don’t give me the “WWE listens to its audience” line. They don’t. Dolph Ziggler at the end of 2014 is another great example. He was mega over after winning that Survivor Series match, but in the end, the whole narrative was based around John Cena, and Ziggler was, again, like Ryder, a pawn in the game.
Seth Rollins is a great example this year. After that amazing gauntlet match before Elimination Chamber, why not alter the course and go with him instead of Roman? If it fails, it fails. You try something else. Instead, he gets the IC Title and is eventually used as a pawn in the Roman Reigns story.
And that’s fine. They don’t have to listen to the audience. Their business isn’t hurting, so it doesn’t really matter to their bottom line. But it’s an out-and-out untrue statement to say that WWE listens.
In relationship to merchandise, I specifically said that the people who aren’t cheering for Reigns (the adult males/internet fans) are the ones buying other guys’ merch. I said nothing about kids because that would be ridiculous.
The argument here isn’t whether or not WWE is running a successful business. The argument is about what they’re doing with their characters. You can’t use the success of a couple of recent guys as a model for everyone. There are a token few guys who are actually over. Everyone else is middling, at best. Why? Because they don’t listen to their fans. The EMOTIONAL REACTION you’re talking about is working for Roman Reigns and it worked for John Cena because WWE was happy with it. The emotional reactions that the majority of the rest of the roster get doesn’t make a damn bit of difference, because they will push whatever narrative they want, people be damned.
Also, this discussion has nothing to do with anything outside of WWE, so let’s not try to bring that into the equation. It makes no sense.
Chairshot CLASH! Verdict Count
Week 1, Rematch Clause: AGREE (1)
Week 2, Shades of Gray: DISAGREE (1)
That’s going to bring us to the end of our second CLASH! Greg and I weren’t going to agree on this topic, and we never will. Both of us have some valid points and we can understand the angle the other is coming from, but in the end, our subjective views on the matter remain unchanged. What do you think? Does WWE listen to their audience? Are faces and heels actually extinct (for the most part) or are they just writing incomplete stories with incomplete characters?
Let us know in the comments and come back soon for another contentious edition of the Chairshot CLASH!
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Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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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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Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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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!
Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Nefarious Means
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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