Opinion
Rob: Reality Check
Rob breaks down the reality of exactly where professional wrestling lands in the greater scope of entertainment.
Rob breaks down the reality of exactly where professional wrestling lands in the greater scope of entertainment.
The ratings news this past week should serve as a dose of sobering reality to those who have been obsessing over pro wrestling breaking out and having another boom period.
Even though the World Series game is the likely culprit behind the total audience drop for both shows, the trend leading up to this past week suggests that neither show is must see TV beyond whatever number they will eventually settle on (around 1 million for AEW and 700 thousand for NXT sound about right). People have seen what both to offer and lots of them have decided that either they’re good or that they can catch it when they catch it. Which runs contrary to the idea that there’s this large group of people ravenous for something other than WWE (AEW) or ‘WWE done right’ (NXT). Meanwhile the Raw and Smackdown audience numbers seem to have stabilized around 2.5 million, give or take a few thousand here and there. Outside of them no one else even submits their shows for ratings measurements so who knows what they’re doing outside of YouTube numbers that we can all see.
What does that mean? Nothing nefarious or scary, really, but something we all need to keep in mind: pro wrestling is a niche entertainment option. Yes there are ways for several companies to make money off of it and one or two to make a lot of money off of it. Yes a select few of it’s practitioners can get rich doing it. And yes at any given time you can find yourself in a large group of fellow travelers. But the number of people of who are into it full time, go to shows, and have a working knowledge of anyone currently active outside of a few people just isn’t that big. More people have heard of Ant Man or Gamora than Seth Rollins or Kenny Omega, and more people will watch movies that are deemed box office failures than wrestling shows that are considered highly successful. More people know the lyrics to a second tier Taylor Swift song than who won the main event of WrestleMania. It’s about high time we accept that.
I bring this up because it’s not uncommon to see people on Twitter stressing over when wrestling is going to become mainstream again, and blaming it not happening on WWE’s perceived booking failures (y’all know I’m in the camp that doesn’t think they do a bad job at all). And now that AEW has not reignited all the fires that many thought Vince McMahon put out, some people are legit worried. And to that I say……just stop already. WWE would not still be doing five million viewers if they’d just put the Universal Title on Braun Strowman or put Rusev in the main event, and AEW wouldn’t be doing three million viewers if they were running unopposed on Wednesday nights. There’s no magic booking that’s going to juice the numbers either way. Maybe with the right person poached from WWE can AEW get over a million and stay there, and maybe with the right set of cards falling in place WWE can get back over three million for a while. But that’s it, and with the TV schedule getting more saturated with Impact on Tuesday nights that’s not even likely.
So stop stressing over it. You like something that a lot of people know about but not a lot of people regularly partake in. And it’s okay! The faster you accept that the faster you can get back to enjoying it more. Wracking your brain over how this booking decision or that TV segment is an indicator of why things aren’t taking off the way you think they should is a waste of time. The business will get bigger than the usual wrestling bubble when someone comes along who makes it do that. And that takes more than booking the right way, whatever that is. If you want proof look at Steve Austin’s wins and losses in big matches while his popularity was rising. By 2019 twitter standards he would be getting called buried or intentionally derailed by Vince McMahon. Until that day comes enjoy what you have and stop chasing validation from people on the outside.
The business isn’t growing outside the bubble because it just isn’t. Some people that start as fans don’t stay that way, and some people just aren’t ever going to be interested enough in it to become fans. That’s got nothing to do with booking and everything to do with them. And quite frankly there’s no way you can book Cesaro or Hangman Page that are suddenly going to make millions of more people want to watch their respective shows on TV. One day someone may walk through the door that gets people to do that because of who they are and not whether they went over on a pay per view that time. Deal with it, people. You like some weird, wacky stuff that just isn’t gonna be it for everybody and that’s ok.
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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!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
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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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