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In This Corner: Wrestling’s New Golden Age

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2018 ALL IN Crowd Golden Age Wrestling

I recently finished Ron Synder’s book Wrestling’s New Golden Age, and the book goes in-depth about the rise of independent wrestling. After reading this book, and viewing ALL-IN, it made me ask the question are we in a “Golden Age” of wrestling?

Often times there are three time periods in wrestling that are considered Golden Ages. The late 1940’s to the 1950’s during the time of Gorgeous George, the Rock ‘N’ Wrestling era during the 1980’s, and the Monday Night Wars of the late 1990’s.

Each era has had its importance on shaping professional wrestling making it what it is today. The 1940’s had the pageantry and entertainment of Gorgeous George. The early 980’s had the popular territories of the WWF in New York, World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas, The Carolinas had Jim Crockett Promotions, and Minnesota had the AWA. While the territories started to die off in the late 1980’s, the WWF began its national expansion. Also, we had the advent of television and pay-per-view during this time period. Television ratings for wrestling were though the roof while the NWA/WCW and the WWF battled for supremacy.

The Monday Night Wars of the late 1990’s really doesn’t need an introduction, but in case you have been living under a rock, this time period garnered record numbers in pay-per-view and television ratings. Many fans and media consider this period the high point of professional wrestling and it may never be reached again.

So you may be asking yourself, why do I think this is a Golden Age? Let me answer.

While the WWE has essentially been the number one promotion for the last 30 years, (with the exception of a few years) there are now more choices for non-WWE fans than there has been in decades. Obviously, people are interested in an alternative with ALL-IN being the first non WWE/WCW event to draw 10,000 people since 1993. Essentially all 50 states has a wrestling promotion on the local level, and you have the larger independent promotions like Impact, CHIKARA, Ring of Honor, and Combat Zone Wrestling. You could make the argument that we are heading into the direction of the territorial days. Even the NWA is becoming relevant again since the ownership change to Billy Corgan.

WWE has even begun to take notice of the rise of the independent promotions over the past few years. Love him or hate him, Triple H has a great mind for the business, especially with the rise of NXT and the creation of the WWE performance center. The list of wrestlers the WWE has signed over the past few years from indie promotions is a long one but includes Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, etc.

Many wrestlers have also proved you don’t necessarily need the WWE to earn a living in wrestling. Examples include Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, Sami Callahan, The Young Bucks, and Chris Jericho. Obviously Jericho and Rhodes were big names in WWE, but they have been able to reinvent themselves in the independent scene.

Catching your favorite wrestling promotion is as accessible as it has ever been. On television Raw, Smackdown, ROH, Impact, Lucha Underground, 205 Live and New Japan have episodes that air weekly. If you can’t catch the programs live, you also have the ability to either watch archived versions of some of these shows on Sling, Hulu, clips on YouTube, or you can DVR and watch back later.

If all that TV isn’t enough, there are multiple streaming networks out there in which you can access thousands of hours of content. There is obviously the WWE Network, Global Wrestling Network (TNA/Impact), and Honor Club (ROH). But there are also many others including Powerbomb (a collections of smaller indie promotions), Highspots (indie shows, vintage footage, shoot interviews), Club WWN (Women’s promotions including SHINE, EVOVLE, and FIP), CHIKARAatopia, New Japan World, and many other promotions throughout Europe. If you have the cash, there is more wrestling out there than you can handle.

Wrestling also has more crossover appeal than ever before. Ronda Rousey has been able to successfully make the jump from UFC to WWE. Brock Lesnar has been able to transition from WWE to UFC and back and forth again. Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins purchased ownership of the NWA after a failed business agreement with Impact. Even Hollywood is involved in wrestling. Actor Stephen Amell, from the television show Arrow, competed at ALL-IN.

Whatever way you want to look at it, there is more wrestling out there now then there has been the in the last 30 years, if not ever. It is a great time to be a wrestling fan, and we truly seem to be in a Golden Age.

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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.

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Wyatt Sicks WWE

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!

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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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 

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WWE Jacob Fatu Roman Reigns Backlash

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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