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Wrestling Media Was ALL IN. So What?

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ALL IN

Wrestling opinion is somewhat predictable when you’ve been around as long as I have. I have a pretty good idea of what people are going to like & what people won’t like. I know who will like certain things. On the other side, there’s always going to be dissenters that either don’t like the thing, don’t like the fact that people like the thing, or usually both. It all applies to ALL IN.

I knew that All In was going to get positive reviews from most of my fellow writers & online personalities. For one thing, a lot of them were there.

(For the record, I lasted three quarters through that debacle. The Louisville football game, not Invasion, which seemed better by comparison.)

When you’re at a wrestling event & you’re a wrestling fan, you typically end up enjoying it. Shocking, right? I’ve attended events & watched matches that I thought were great, then watched them on DVD later and wondered what the heck I was thinking. For example, the Triple H/Shawn Michaels Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood 2004 did very, very poorly on the rewatch. I thought it was great live, but on DVD you could see all the laying around & time-killing in lieu of doing anything. Being a few rows back from the Cell colored my live opinion. It’s natural.

All In doubled as the biggest non-WWE event in ages & the largest gathering of wrestling media/IWC personalities/podcast hosts that I can recall. This felt more hyped than the WrestleReunions & WrestleMania weekend conventions. Everybody from Dave Meltzer to Eric Bischoff to Maffew the Botchamania Guy was in attendance. Wrestling Twitter showed up in full force. It was a veritable who’s who.

The show itself was set up to celebrate independent wrestling while paying off a number of angles on the Being the Elite YouTube series. The goal was to make the audience happy, and it seems to have done just that. Catering to your fans makes sense for a one-time event. If you don’t, you’re not going to have a second.

The anti-All In reaction was predictable too. We knew the crowd of people that refuse to watch anything other than WWE wouldn’t be impressed. The “anti-smarks” that hate whatever the top IWC taste makers like weren’t going to like it. We knew Jim Cornette wasn’t going to like it because Joey Ryan was on it doing his dick stuff. Then there were the other fans that don’t mind Indy wrestling but simply don’t care for what this group was presenting.

The show didn’t win over any of these people. Nobody online was saying “Man, I wasn’t sure about these guys before. But that show was awesome baby!” There don’t seem to be any converts, at least not from those already familiar with the talent involved. The goal wasn’t conversion. All In was all about serving their fanbase. The people that watch the BTE series, the 10 Pounds of Gold series and anything else they can find with Cody, the Bucks & the others. This show was a reward to those fans to shore up their loyalty.

I didn’t get to watch the show live, but I will soon. I already have an idea of what I’ll like and what I won’t like, as I find my opinions predictable to me. I’ll like Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon, as I’m a fan of those guys & the reviews make it sound good. I won’t like Joey Ryan’s appearance, as that’s one of the things I think Cornette isn’t too far off on. Not my cup of tea. Unlike Jimmy, I won’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch.

One interesting take I’ve seen out there is that All In & the Starrcast convention was simply a way to get wrestling media on the side of Cody, the Bucks, and even good ol’ Conrad Thompson. If so, you really have to admire Thompson’s game. He has Meltzer eating out of one hand while selling “FDM” t-shirts with the other. Roll Tide, indeed.

They claim that wrestling media is co-opted now, and can’t be trusted for fair & balanced analysis due to their friendships with these folks & the fact that some got press passes & some got paid to be panelists at Starrcast. This is where I admit that I’ve been guilty of favortism in the past. In my defense, I’ve only showed it to beautiful women, which is a well-known weakness of mine that crosses genres of entertainment. (You won’t see me giving Insatiable a bad review, for example. Sup Debby Ryan?)

My question to these folks is simple. How is this different from Triple H doing NXT conference calls & giving winking interviews to the likes of Ryan Satin & David Shoemaker? Trying to get the press on your side is good for business. Trying to get anybody on your side is good for business. Putting your best foot forward for critics instead of offering up a shitshow seems to make sense. Having a show that somebody wants to watch is typically a good thing.

Right?

Wrestling media liking the show doesn’t mean they’re going to fall in line behind anything these guys do from now on. If they put on a All In 2 and it ends up being the drizzling shits like many sequels are (including WrestleMania 2…yeah, I said it), people will point it out. Heck, starting out on a high level means you can only go downhill. Unless Dave wants to add more stars, I suppose.

I guess what I’m saying is everybody needs to chill the heck out. Yes, the people you expected to like All In liked it. The people you expected to not like it didn’t. Nothing’s changed…except we have more evidence that professional wrestling without WWE’s name on the marquee can succeed.

That can only be a good thing. Especially for wrestling media folks like me looking for things to write & talk about.

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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!

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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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