There’s been a lot of online discussion lately of fans being upset that Vince McMahon and the WWE took the Universal Championship off of “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, and deservedly so.
What’s often missed is many of us aren’t upset he lost, but how he did. It was a squash match for what has the potential to be is this generation’s Undertaker.
Many have pointed to how Bill Goldberg beat Kevin Owens in 22 seconds on March 5, 2017 at the Fastlane pay-per-view. Goldberg was appreciative and honored, and who can blame him? He’s brought out of retirement every so often for the company to make a quick buck. He destroys his competition and becomes champion, basically skipping over the other stars in the back that have been working toward that goal.
This isn’t about Goldberg
Goldberg is a draw. He always will be, but he’s an asset McMahon and the WWE use to make a quick, easy buck. Seriously, who can blame Goldberg for wanting another taste of what it was like on top of the mountain, not to mention the payout?
We forgive him being thousand times more the part timer than Brock Lesnar because, well, he’s always the fan favorite and Lesnar’s the heel. It is what it is.
This falls squarely on Vince McMahon’s shoulders.
For years, the WWE has refused to develop a real star. In fact, according to a former WWE superstar, that’s by design.
(Special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian for the transcript)
“Hunter’s told me directly. He goes, ‘We never want another marquee name here in the WWE.’ This was during my first contract negotiations. Legit told me, he goes, ‘We’re never going to have another John Cena.’ And if you look, that’s why they book guys the way they book them. They don’t want guys to have too much power anymore.” – Ryback, Conversation With the Big Guy Episode 17.
It’s important to take this quote with a grain of salt given the constant arguing between Ryback and the WWE over various properties and trademarks the WWE is refusing to return to their alleged creator.
It’s reasonable to look at Ryback’s comments and toss them aside as being shots fired by a disgruntled former employee. Except that the evidence to support this claim is right in front of us. The opening of this post is the most current one.
I wrote before that the WWE would’ve been better served storyline and fan-wise to develop a reasonable storyline for Wyatt to lose the Universal Championship. I named Aleister Black and Killer Kross as two potential opponents that could’ve been built up to feud with Wyatt and possibly win the championship at SummerSlam or Survivor Series. It wouldn’t have hurt the company, and it would’ve helped establish their newer and younger talent.
Instead, Goldberg is being really booed for the first time in his career. He’s been sacrificed to protect Roman Reigns from fan backlash. And that’s what has many upset.
WWE sells out, not the wrestlers
This is something Jim Ross had said in an interview a while back. He said the WWE relies on the company name to sell tickets, and not the wrestlers like they used to.
What doesn’t make sense with this is it’s a surefire way to hurt and possibly end the company. We’re seeing promotions getting national television deals and have a growing presence online. It’s like they can smell blood in the water. This is a business of sharks, as many have previously stated.
This approach is even more baffling because having big names that filled arenas and stadiums like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, the Undertaker, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, and so on built this company and saved it when it was in dire straights.
Now, it appears Vince McMahon’s desire to micromanage has grown to the point where he’s intent to control everything to the point he strangles the life out of it.
At some point, editing the boos out and replacing them with cheers on their youtube channel (Goldberg’s recent introduction as Universal Champion) won’t be enough. Many fans already just scan the online recaps to see what happened.
At some point, Vince McMahon will have to hand over control or risk killing what he’s spent a lifetime building.
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