Why WWE Is In For A Rude Awakening

Zack Ryder
WWE.com

We Want Ryder.

The Yes! Movement.

The total rejection of the babyface Roman Reigns character.

As the decade drew to a close, an accepting apathy lowered the volume. These protests were pointless, ultimately. When WWE made this abundantly clear, through countless burials and the disastrous NXT call-up process, viewership declined significantly and the fans that remained seemed content to just sit there. With few, rule-proving exceptions, WWE shows were remarkably silent from around 2017 onwards. Crowds were dead on the average episode of RAW and SmackDown in what was a belated measure of WWE's broken star-making process and inability to craft compelling storylines. After years of bargaining for a better WWE, the fandom, audibly, seemed to lose all hope. In a post-truth world, the atmosphere of a typical WWE show was undeniably, damningly flat.

Ahead of the return of live events, WWE faces something far more damning than a rabid set of fans jeering a top babyface. At least then, the noise was proof of investment. Ticket sales are uneven. Certain markets aren't popping. A North Little Rock, Arkansas show at time of writing has distributed 59% of tickets, and this middling number is consistent across the board with the exception of Las Vegas, Houston and Fort Worth. WWE have pushed this return big on television. Thus far, the market has not responded with much fervour.

CONT'D...(3 of 6)

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!