Opinion
How Much Do Ratings Matter?
Kevin Carroll tackles one of the most polarizing topics in pro wrestling (and sports entertainment), TV ratings!
Kevin Carroll tackles one of the most polarizing topics in pro wrestling (and sports entertainment), TV ratings!
Ratings, ratings, ratings. That’s all you hear about anymore, no?
Television ratings for professional wrestling are struggling, there’s no doubt about it. RAW and Smackdown have seen record-low numbers in recent years, Impact is still struggling to make a blip on the ratings radar, and no one watches Ring of Honor anymore.
Why is this? And more importantly, does it matter?
TV ratings are down all over the airwaves, I would have to think. People aren’t watching as much television as they used to, and there are so many different mediums in which we receive our content that the ratings were bound to dip.
I’m talking Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime. THAT’S how people are watching television anymore. Hell, I bet if you asked ten people, nine of them would tell you they don’t even bother with cable anymore except for live sports.
Does wrestling fall into that category? Yes and no.
Yes, it is in the same as bubble for pro sports in that you have to catch it on television if you wish to catch it live. At least, that’s the case for WWE’s weekly programming, as well as Impact and soon-to-be AEW. But there are plenty of streaming services that more than whet your appetite when it comes to the pro graps.
WWE has the WWE Network. New Japan has NJPWWorld. Plenty of indies around the world use streaming services like Fite and Powerslam.TV to showcase their product.
So yeah, ratings are going to be down across the board for wrestling shows. People have busy lives, and wrestling often times isn’t at the top of the priority list. I also just believe that not as many people are watching wrestling as they were in the Attitude Era and even as recently as 10 years ago.
That doesn’t mean that wrestling is failing. On the whole, I’d say that wrestling is thriving right now. Ratings aren’t the end all, be all. They really haven’t been since the Monday Night Wars (and, I will concede, may become important again with the dawning of the Wednesday Night Wars, although I don’t think it’ll be as big a deal).
There are plenty of ways to measure a wrestling company’s success. We’ll take WWE for example, the global leader in sports-entertainment. WWE’s ratings are the lowest they’ve EVER been. And yet, Vince McMahon is still making money hand over fist. How so?
Well, as previously mentioned, they’ve got the Network bringing in a nice chunk of change. Then there’s the brand-new TV deal they’ve inked with Fox. This shows that the ratings aren’t necessarily harming them, when you take other shows competing at the same airtime with RAW or Smackdown, the WWE shows are consistently atop the leaderboard.
Plus, think of the mainstream attention that WWE has garnered over the last, say, five years. They’ve made it to FOX, they’ve been on ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports. ESPN even has their own WWE section on their website, and full-time beat writers just to cover pro wrestling.
Now that AEW is breaking into the consciousness of the everyday wrestling fan, it won’t be long before they start to bask in some of that notoriety, as well. And they certainly won’t measure up to even WWE’s paltry ratings numbers.
But who cares?
Wrestling fans have more important things to consume their time with than pouring over ratings. The sport isn’t going to magically disappear if not enough people are watching the damn TV shows. Wrestling is here for the long haul, whether it’s reflected in the ratings or not.
Every time you hear Davey Boy Meltzer talk about flagging ratings, or Vince Russo, or one of those quacks, just remind yourself that they’re looking at wrestling from a different point of view than the average fan.
Enjoy wrestling. Enjoy the pageantry, the theater of it. Don’t worry about the ratings. Bullet Club is fine. WWE is fine. AEW will be fine. Wrestling is fine.
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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!
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!
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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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