Stagnation. Defined as "a failure to develop, progress, or advance." Somewhere around the middle of 2019, pro-wrestling was looking up. There was chatter that intimated the business was destined for another boom period, an upsurge of prosperity that fake fighting desperately needed. This talk was prodded by the arrival of AEW and the handy presence of NWA's Powerrr, a YouTube show that was gaining in popularity before the pandemic poached all of our toilet paper. In the here and now, the wrestling landscape has leveled off. It would be easy to impute COVID-19 (and the rest of the coathanger abortion known as 2020), but that's not where I find blame.
No, no, no...rasslin' need only to look in the mirror. Perhaps it was naïve to expect Vince McMahon to view legitimate competition as good fortune. For what purposes, you may ask? To close ranks, take (metaphorical) stock, trim the fat, and get serious about delivering a fresh, relevant product. All the while, he could have built new stars. Satan knows the roster has plenty of exceptional talents ready to utilize. Of course, that is not what happened. For months, Raw and Smackdown were business as usual. Neither stupendous nor miserable.
I never strive to be the reactionary fan who leaps into hyperbolic rants at the conclusion of each episode of Raw (or whichever program you want to insert here). I can usually find positives in even the most prodigious mounds of Triceratops feculence, but as of late, WWE has been unspeakably horrible. Two weeks ago, I swear on your mother's grave, I watched the worst fucking episode of Raw to ever hit the air. The fact that it's still three evercunting hours long...that's just the tip of the tip of the iceberg. I couldn't possibly describe why it was shit. Jesus, this column would never end.
It's no wonder why there are millions of folks who identify as former wrestling fans. Vince has lost it. Period. Ah, but I began by addressing the business as a whole. I'm not letting Tony Khan off the hook. Do I prefer AEW to WWE? Yes. I actually look forward to sitting down with Dynamite on Wednesday nights. Be that as it may, Khan (and The Elite EVP's) squandered an evasive opportunity. They promised a true alternative. Something different. A sports-based presentation. I abandoned complete sentences for a second there, but I felt it was necessary. Indulge me.
I would wager that 95% of AEW's television programming has been extremely similar to that of WWE in terms of tone and style. I'm not talking color schemes here. Keeping track of win/loss records was a terrific place to start, but that's not enough to shake the casual viewer into tuning in on a semi-regular basis. If you want to see pro-wrestling exhibited in a realistic, sports-based way, check out ROH's Pure Title Tournament. It's so different from WWE, it's almost a culture shock. Unfortunately, you'll have to dig online for their TV show. I'm dense, and I cannot seem to find it on any earthbound streaming device.
My verdict? Stagnation. Yes, that is my verdict. Wrestling won't be encountering a boom period until ROH gets purple hot (I stand a better chance of receiving steamy DM's from Penelope Ford) or Vince McMahon croaks. Please note that I am not wishing for the man's death; I am simply stating a fact. Yikes, this fulmination screed was wordier than I intended. Why don't I add to it!?
P.S.-For the record, I'm cool with NXT, although it does lose out to Dynamite by a smidgen.
P.S.S.-New Japan kicks ass. Always. This year's G1 Climax has been so epic, I haven't been able to soak all of it up. Here is a snapshot of Jay White being Jay White.
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