Busy Week Hodgepodge (Wyatt Sicks, Dynamite Viewership, Jacob Fatu)

*By Request*

 

Last Monday afternoon, I posted my weekly column and immediately went to work on what was going to be this week’s column.

Then… big story after big story after big story took place.

By the time Friday night rolled around, I had received three different topic requests for things that happened over the course of the week. When I get requests, many of them are about things from the past, or about some sort of fantasy booking and things of that nature.

All three current topics are so big, and so time-sensitive and relevant, that it would be foolish to skip them and talk about something else. So, instead of working on three separate columns, I’ve decided to combine the topics into one. Instead of turning this into the longest column of all-time, I’ll cut to the chase with each topic, and we’ll go from there.

I’ll be going in chronological order, starting with the big story from last Monday night.

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Have I Changed My Opinion On The Wyatt Sicks?

“after seeing uncle howdy and the wyatt group debut on raw, i went back and read the column you wrote a month or so ago about your low expectations for the group. i was just wondering if their debut was enough to change your mind?”

First things first, it’s worth pointing out that the debut of the Wyatt Sicks was one of the most incredible debuts in recent memory, and a case can be made for it being one of the most incredible debuts in the history of the business. It was straight from a blockbuster horror movie, and I mean that in the best possible way.

In case you didn’t read the aforementioned Wyatts column I posted last month, it was all about me trying to curb everyone’s expectations with all of the rumors that were floating around about the group’s upcoming debut. I talked about my own personal opinions of Bo Dallas, Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, Nikki Cross, Alexa Bliss, Vince McMahon’s creative mind, Paul Levesque’s creative mind, and Windham Rotunda’s creative mind.

It wasn’t something where I was claiming the faction was going to be a huge failure. I was merely using it as a vehicle to voice my concerns that fans across the world were going to get their hopes up, only to be let down and disappointed down the road.

Has my opinion changed?

So far, no.

As wrestling fans, how many things have we seen that made an immediate splash, only to end up fizzling out, for one reason or another, and going away forever? It’s great that their debut as a full group went so well, but as I’ve said a billion times in my columns through the years, it’s all about the follow up and the follow through. Where the group goes from here is incredibly important.

While we’re here… where does the group go from here?

In one single segment, the group members dismantled and destroyed what looked to be at least 15-20 people, including security guards and multiple wrestlers. Not just “these people beat these other people up” attacks, either. Everything was purposely staged to look like a fucking murder scene. Someone in the Gorilla Position looked like he took a rifle round to the head, blowing his brains all over the wall behind him. Chad Gable looked like he was hit in the temple with a small caliber pistol round.

How in the world do you “top” that? Drive-by shootings? Planting a bomb in the arena? Trapping the Raw roster in a warehouse and setting fire to said warehouse?

I would love for the Wyatt Sicks to be successful. As a wrestling fan, why in the world wouldn’t I want to see more awesome things in the sport I love? I remain extremely cautious, though. Joe Gacy still isn’t someone I particularly care about in any way, shape, or form. Erick Rowan and Dexter Lumis aren’t exactly people that you’re going to count on for great promos or matches that are anything beyond squashes. Bo Dallas is a step down from Bray Wyatt in almost every possible way, but that’s more a statement on how good Bray was than anything else.

The debut was amazing, but I need more than that before I declare that my opinions have changed and my worries have disappeared. “Hacking” Pat McAfee’s show on multiple occasions isn’t doing much of anything for me. I will be watching Raw and paying very close attention, though, I can tell you that much.

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What The Hell Is Happening With AEW?

“I’m sure you’ve seen the viewership numbers for last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite by now. Do you think anything can help the company? I’ve never been a die-hard AEW fan, but I’ve watched every episode of television they’ve delivered since the beginning. Over the last few months, I’ve just found myself lacking the same level of excitement that I used to have. Apparently I’m not the only one.”

In case you’re unaware of what is being discussed, last week’s episode of Dynamite pulled in 502,000 viewers and a 0.16 rating in the coveted 18-49 year old demographic. Both of those numbers are all-time lows for Dynamite when it airs in its usual time slot.

Those numbers are u-g-l-y, with no alibi, especially the overall viewership number.

Of course, your opinion of those statistics probably depends on your participation in the “WWE vs AEW” tribalism that continues to take place. If you’re a WWE diehard, you’re probably laughing it up and making jokes about AEW’s race to bankruptcy. On the other side, if you’re an AEW diehard, you’ve probably posted on social media already about how the declining numbers aren’t a big deal, citing a laundry list of reasons that viewers are going elsewhere recently.

I don’t play that tribalism bullshit, so I call things the way I see them.

To me, it doesn’t matter what other options are on television while AEW programming is on… they have a very loyal fanbase that is going to tune in and show support to the company. For the majority of AEW’s existence, though, they have had trouble bringing in new fans, and the numbers don’t lie. They had the curiosity factor working in their favor when they first began, then their numbers dwindled a bit. Then, the numbers settled, to the point where it seemed like the same amount of people were tuning in… week in, week out… month in, month out… year in, year out. It’s that loyal fanbase I just mentioned. Once the curious early viewers tuned out, those loyal fans remained.

When chunks of those fans are now tuning out, there’s a major problem. Not “AEW will be out of business within a year” major, but major nonetheless.

So what can be done?

Without turning this section into a 10,000-word essay on its own, the key is, has, and always will be Tony Khan. He needs to go. Him and anyone involved in any way with the booking of AEW programming. TK can talk all he wants about booking the shows for the “sickos” out there, but it’s not working. In a normal situation, AEW passes on a lot of long-term storytelling in order to deliver the best possible matches. When it comes to Forbidden Door season, that strategy is magnified by a million, as it’s always just “random” names from Japan showing up to challenge “random” AEW talents or to be challenged by “random” AEW talents. Then, once Forbidden Door is over, it’s back to the regular stuff again.

While I understand the desire, and the need, to be a true “alternative” to WWE, it wouldn’t be terrible to adapt more long-term storytelling to their overall product. There are more than enough workers on the AEW roster to find the right mix of storytelling and “dream match” presentations.

I’m not asking AEW to become WWE. Again, I get that there is a big need for AEW to be different than what WWE is delivering. If I wanted to watch WWE, I would… you know… watch WWE.

The numbers don’t lie, though. When you look at WWE’s television viewership, they’re not exactly setting any records at the moment, but Raw and Smackdown are generally holding steady. NXT has been on a roll, topping the 700,000 viewer mark in four consecutive weeks, which is the first time they’ve done that since last October. Rampage, when in its usual time slot, struggles to top 300,000 viewers, and they were regularly over 400,000 viewers at this point last year. Collision was brand new last year, starting with 816,000 viewers for the show’s debut episode, but the last two (as of the time I type this) episodes have combined to pull in 819,000 viewers.

Dynamite is AEW’s flagship, though, and it makes the 502,000 number extra concerning. The show was regularly topping 900,000 viewers a week at this point last year. Hell, it was regularly topping 800,000 viewers a week a couple months ago, so it’s not super crazy doom and gloom because of a long-running pattern. The May 29th and June 5th episodes… only a few short weeks ago… both fell just short of the 800,000 viewers mark.

Could it be a blip? Of course. I don’t expect 500,000 to be the new normal for Dynamite. Is it still a concern? It damn well should be. Not all that long ago, Tony Khan was THRILLED to have Dynamite beat NXT every week, even when the shows stopped airing head-to-head. Now, we’ve reached a point where an episode of NXT saw 222,000 more viewers than an episode of Dynamite got the following night. For the amount of money that AEW is spending on talent, there is no scenario where that should ever happen.

As long as Tony Khan remains in charge of the creative side of things, I think we’ll continue to see problems with AEW not only failing to gain new fans, but struggling to retain all of their old ones. Outside of Will Washington, I’m not sure that we’ve officially heard of anyone else involved in the creative side of AEW. It’s clear that the wrestlers themselves have a say in what goes on with their characters, but at least on the surface, it doesn’t seem like AEW has a WWE-like “committee” to handle the creative side. Even with Washington in the mix, nothing has changed in AEW, creatively, for better or worse. Does that mean he has no real say in anything, or does it mean that he views things exactly the same as Tony Khan?

Fuck it. Whatever the problem is, TK is where the buck stops. When things are going great, he gets the credit, whether he deserves it or not. On the flip side, when things are going poorly, he gets the blame, whether he deserves it or not. That’s how wrestling (and almost every other walk of life) works for bosses. Get a creative team involved. Do something. Anything. Names like Dustin Rhodes, Bryan Danielson, Adam Copeland, Jeff Jarrett, Jake Roberts, Chris Hero, Jimmy Jacobs, Christopher Daniels, and many more are already under contract, and they could all be beneficial to improving the creative side of the company.

Again, I want AEW to be the best it can be, because it benefits me as a fan of pro wrestling. I just want to see them reach their immense potential, and I don’t think that’s possible with Tony Khan stepping all over his own feet and getting in the way.

If you wanted to make a list of things that AEW could do better, it would be a lengthy one. However, the same can be said about WWE, Impact, New Japan, AAA, NOAH, or whatever other wrestling promotion you can think of. If Tony Khan were to step to the side and let someone else handle the creative side of the company, though, I think some other dominoes would fall in line pretty quickly.

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What Should We Expect From Jacob Fatu In The Bloodline?

“I remember when you first started talking about Jacob Fatu and how he could be a major player in the business one day. Now that he finally debuted for the WWE, what do you think we should expect from him?”

It really does seem like decades since I first started keeping track of Jacob Fatu and his potential to be a big star.

When news first broke that he signed with WWE, everyone knew he would be involved with The Bloodline. Sure enough, he made his debut as the newest member of the group, saving Solo Sikoa from an attack at the hands of Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, and Cody Rhodes.

I’m not 100% sure what to expect from him, to be honest. I know what he’s capable of, both in the ring and on the mic. That’s not the issue.

Instead, the issue is now Solo Sikoa. To be specific, it’s how Solo Sikoa is going to look. I say this as a fan of Solo from his days in NXT, but he’s not on Jacob Fatu’s level. Jacob looks like more of a star, he’s better in the ring, and he cuts better promos. When you have that in the background, as nothing more than a henchman, how does that make the leader look? This isn’t something that The Bloodline had to deal with when Roman Reigns was around. Roman looks like an absolute superstar as soon as he steps off of the bus, as the saying goes, and he was never outshined, even with the great talent working behind him.

I’ve seen people predict that Jacob Fatu won’t be a speaking character, at least for a while. That’s one way to help make Solo look better. It just seems weird to bring someone with all of the necessary star qualities to make it in WWE, and to immediately handicap them by taking away one of their best qualities.

If you’ve never seen or heard Jacob Fatu before he debuted on Smackdown, you’re in for a treat. On his own, he is everything necessary to be a World Champion by the end of 2024. He looks like a monster, and wrestles like one, too. On the mic, he is as believable as they come, and that believability is the most important part of a wrestling promo. As a member of The Bloodline, he adds yet another terrifying threat for the Smackdown roster to deal with.

How terrifying? Look no further than the reactions on the faces of Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa after they joined Jacob and Solo in the ring. They both looked at Jacob almost as if to question whether or not it was the best idea to unleash him on the rest of the roster. That was a good touch.

He can be an absolute game changer for WWE, and I think he will be. If the company can figure out how to align him with Solo Sikoa without ruining Solo and making him look bad, this move should restore some of the luster that many people feel The Bloodline has lost in recent weeks. If you ask me, it won’t be long until we all blame Solo for the hell that he has unleashed on the WWE roster.

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Now, let’s move on to my Weekly Power Rankings, followed by wrapping things up with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this column together.

 

 

Weekly Power Rankings

Jacob Fatu: Solo, what have you done?!?

Wyatt Sicks: Easily one of the best debuts in recent wrestling history. How WWE tries to keep that crazy momentum up is very, very important now.

MJF vs Rush: It doesn’t seem like MJF missed a step in the ring after being out of action for nearly six months.

Drew McIntyre: You just knew that Drew’s revenge on CM Punk was going to be violently spectacular, and that’s exactly what it was. In front of Punk’s Chicago brethren, Drew left Punk in a bloody heap and looked more like a badass than he has in a long time. When these two finally have a match against each other, presumably at SummerSlam, it’s going to be epic.

Sheamus vs Bron Breakker: They both want the Intercontinental Title, but for different reasons, and they fought like it here. Throw in a highly motivated Ludwig Kaiser, and the title scene could feature a ton of moving parts, with a lot of fun matches and feuds to watch unfold. While we’re here, that shot of Bron and Ludwig running on opposite sides of the ring, leading up to a wicked Spear from Mr. Breakker? Immaculate. Kevin Dunn isn’t dead, but he should be.

Seth Rollins: It was great to see him make his surprise return after some much needed time off. Right away, he gets a shot at Damian Priest and the World Heavyweight Title, which is a very intriguing match.

CM Punk & Paul Heyman: Seeing the two of them in a ring together once again brought back some great memories. Damn near made me shed a thug tear.

Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Orange Cassidy & Dante Martin vs Konosuke Takeshita, Zack Sabre Jr, Roderick Strong & Kyle Fletcher: If you’ve been reading my columns for a while, you know the routine by now. Six (or more) men in the same match for AEW? Check. Tons of fast-paced action that can be difficult to keep track of at times? Check. Plenty of entertainment? Check.

Jeff Jarrett: He had one helluva interview about being a participant in the Owen Hart Tournament, full of real, raw emotion. Great work. While we’re on the subject, though, I was stunned to see how many AEW fans were quick to hit up social media with the “WHY IS JEFF JARRETT IN THE TOURNEY? HE SUX” comments when the brackets were revealed. No, Jarrett isn’t exactly at the top of the food chain in AEW, but nobody else in the tournament got to team up with Owen and call Owen his best friend like Double J did. Perhaps this is the downside to AEW assuming their fans know everything and don’t need to be introduced to anybody or anything.

Joe Hendry: I believe in Joe Hendry. When his music hit to reveal him as a participant in the Battle Royal on NXT, the crowd pop shook the camera. He didn’t last very long in the match, but that crowd reaction proved he should be brought back for something more substantial.

Jey Uso vs Finn Balor vs Rey Mysterio: A Money In The Bank qualifier where all three men had a legitimate shot to win. Fun stuff.

Pac vs Claudio Castagnoli: I enjoyed this match, but I also felt it should’ve gotten more time to work with. They did a lot of stuff in 11 minutes, but this is something that could’ve, and perhaps should’ve, had 15+ minutes.

Kevin Owens vs Grayson Waller vs Andrade: Another good MITB qualifier, and it was a crowd pleaser. Sometimes, you don’t need much more than that.

Will Ospreay vs Brian Cage: I enjoyed this, too, but it was the opposite of Pac vs Claudio. The match went nearly 17:30, and I didn’t feel that was necessary at all. It’s good to see Brian Cage being built up, sure, but you could’ve made that happen in a 10-12 minute match. Right now, making Ospreay look strong is a lot more important than making Cage look strong.

Mina Shirakawa: You saw her. You know why she’s here.

Liv Morgan: You saw her. You know why she’s here.

Je’Von Evans vs Ethan Page: NXT continues to make Evans look like he’s going to be a really big deal. Whether he wins or loses is almost irrelevant at this stage, because he looks like a star, no matter what.

Shane McMahon: Word on the street is that Shane has been reaching out to different members of the AEW roster about what it’s like to work for the company, as well as the possibility of making at least an appearance in AEW down the road. Can you imagine a member of the McMahon family making an appearance on AEW programming? That would be crazy.

WWE’s Continued Attempt At World Domination: The company keeps having pay-per-view events in places well outside of the United States, and they also keep building working relationships with other promotions around the world. With that in mind, the new word is that WWE is looking to build more of those working relationships with wrestling promotions in Mexico and/or Puerto Rico. Wild times.

Fresher Money In The Bank Participants: Jey Uso won a qualifying match, putting him in his very first MITB match, beating two opponents that have been involved in MITB before. Andrade won a qualifying match, surprising a lot of people who felt Kevin Owens was the “favorite” in the match. Carmelo Hayes won a qualifying match, surprising a lot of people who felt that Randy Orton or Tama Tonga were the “favorites” due to their status. Chelsea Green won a qualifying match, surprising almost everyone that assumed Bianca Belair was the clear choice to win. The matches seem a lot fresher so far, and that’s a great thing.

 

 

This Week’s Playlist: “Big Big Money” by Key Glock… “The Future Is A Foreign Land” by Ghost… “Heartbreaker” by Purple Disco Machine & Chromeo… “BLUR” by Wage War… “Lost” by Acres… “Suffocate City” by The Funeral Portrait & Spencer Charnas… “I Believe In Joe Hendry” by Joe Hendry… “Serenade” by Shades… “My World” by Big Pun… “A Lotta Pain” by Krayzie Bone & Dave Toliver… “Throw It Up” by Lil Jon & Pastor Troy… “I Don’t Give A…” by Lil Jon, Krayzie Bone & Mystikal… “What U Gon’ Do” by Lil Jon & Lil Scrappy… “Theme From Pink Flamingo” by Kids In Glass Houses… “Like A Stone” by Audioslave… “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode… “Hail To The King” by Avenged Sevenfold… “Landmines” by Sum 41… “The Kill” by Thirty Seconds To Mars… “Patience” by Chris Cornell… “Lonely Boy” by The Black Keys… “These Are The Times” by Dru Hill… “Last Time That I Checc’d” by Nipsey Hussle & YG… “Dedication” by Nipsey Hussle & Kendrick Lamar… “Grinding All My Life” by Nipsey Hussle