Opinion
Cook: Let Shotzi Blackheart Book WWE NXT!
NXT Halloween Havoc was a hit, thanks in no small part to host Shotzi Blackheart. Steve Cook has a pitch for more Shotzi in charge of NXT!
NXT Halloween Havoc was a hit, thanks in no small part to host Shotzi Blackheart. Steve Cook has a pitch for more Shotzi in charge of NXT!
Let’s be honest.
The Wednesday Night War has been as much of a war as the US invading Grenada was a war. AEW Dynamite has been kicking WWE NXT’s ass for most of the time. There have been some occasions where NXT got the upper hand on viewership, but AEW has been owning those prime demos and overall viewership for most of the past several months.
NXT has gotten the upper hand when they’ve embraced wrestling’s past. It’s funny, because WWE noticed this when Cody got the copyright to “Bash at the Beach”. One of WCW’s premier shows, and up until that point WWE’s policy was to pretend that WCW didn’t exist, because they saw no value in that brand. After all, WWE won the Monday night war! Also, the WCW mid-carders they signed after didn’t get over enough for an Invasion. Obviously, WCW wasn’t worth a shit and the horrible booking of all WCW talent in the Invasion angle was deserved.
Once “AEW Bash at the Beach” got over, WWE took notice.
They saw how the named episodes got over, and they saw how those named episodes had WCW names. As much as some wanted to deny it back in the day when everybody insisted that most fans liked ECW more than WCW, there was some WCW nostalgia! They also had more political power than the folks behind AEW, so any claim they made on one of Dusty’s names for WCW’s shows would carry more weight.
If Cody wanted to claim copyright on any of his father’s names for shows, he would be denied because the U.S. President is a friend of Vince McMahon. Cody got Bash at the Beach while WWE was sleeping on those WCW trademarks, which was a good get because that was one of WCW’s biggest shows each year it took place. Also because Chris Jericho likes to hold a Jeri-Cruise once a year, so some matches on that boat make sense as a Bash at the Beach. I mean, maybe Jericho has donated enough money to Donald to change his mind…except that Linda McMahon is one of the top fundraisers for that cause. Whoops!
Why am I getting political? People don’t like that!
So let’s get back to the wrestling wing of this situation. Once the WWE brass figured out that those WCW show names still had value, they clamped down on those names. Which I don’t blame them for, since Dusty came up with some great names for shows while working for WCW/Jim Crockett Promotions/whoever else WWE has in their video library. Not only were they great names, but those names were put on shows that people fondly remember.
We saw it back in July when NXT presented the Great American Bash. The GAB started out as a stadium/arena tour for JCP in the mid-1980s, with mixed results attendance-wise but also some great matches. NXT’s Great American Bash lasted two weeks, and the second week was the last time NXT won the viewership battle over AEW…
Until Halloween Havoc.
NXT really leaned into the Halloween Havoc gimmick. They even brought back the Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal business, which backfired for WCW one out of two times they did it because they weren’t smart enough to gimmick the wheel the first time. It was still recognized as a great idea, which WWE brought back from time to time when Eric Bischoff hosted Raw Roulette. What wrestling fan doesn’t like the idea of match stipulations being decided by the spin of a wheel? Seems natural to me.
We also need to pay homage to the host of NXT Halloween Havoc, which somebody behind the scenes was smart enough to let happen. Who better to host Halloween Havoc than a woman arguably creepier than anybody else to not enter the Undead Realm? We all know that Shotzi Blackheart could have been a suspect in the #WhoShotBravo saga, but she went a different route. The fact of the matter is that the one thing WWE has been lacking in their women’s divisions on Raw, SmackDown or NXT is a little bit of the dark side. They have some heels, no doubt about it, but they still lack that true connection to the dark side. Every division on every wrestling show needs that.
Shotzi Blackheart has that connection.
Sure, we all love her. We worry whenever she does some stupid looking bump that gives me material for Botched columns. I don’t like using those, as I’m a big fan of everything that Shotzi Blackheart brings to the table. Including that connection to the dark side of the ring.
Shotzi’s success in the role of host of Halloween Havoc can only be a boon to her career. She’s proven her worth as a hostess of destruction. You can use that on either side of the face/heel fence. Father James Mitchell became a cult hero in TNA/Impact Wrestling for nearly two decades, and I think he’ll get to that two decade mark pretty easily since he’s that talented.
We love people that bring us to that dark side. James Mitchell, Paul Bearer, Shotzi Blackheart. These people bring a feeling to our hearts we didn’t know was there, for better or worse. Most wrestling fans are open to folks from the dark side, even if we shouldn’t be. We saw Paul Bearer lead the Undertaker as a babyface. We’ve seen James Mitchell get over as a babyface even if TNA/Impact Wrestling didn’t intend for that to happen. People just love that dark side. That was a thing back in the day, and I doubt that’s changed in 2020.
So here’s what we’ve learned this week.
- Using old WCW names draws attention.
- Shotzi Blackheart draws attention.
I can get behind both of these ideas, as an old man that remembers these WCW shows, and being attracted to Shotzi…ok, I shouldn’t have admitted that last part even if it doesn’t matter. I could get Me Tooed out of this business if I wrote it somewhere else. As things stand, I can just state the obvious.
NXT was getting absolutely murdered in the ratings until Shotzi Blackheart took control.
If I was WWE I would give her the book. Couldn’t hurt!
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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!
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