WWE rushing Rollins vs. Styles
On the April 15 edition of Monday Night Raw, AJ Styles was one of the wrestlers selected to move to Raw in the Superstar Shakeup.
It took WWE all of one week to rush him into a Universal championship match against Seth Rollins at the Money in the Bank (MitB) PPV next month.
Several fans emailed about the match with half excited and the other half unhappy with the quick match.
I am in the same boat as the latter as WWE is giving away a first-time match of that caliber with three week鈥檚 worth of build.
Why?
WWE is losing fans in droves and part of the reason is that WWE is not doing a good job of telling stories.
The build for this year鈥檚 WrestleMania was the worst I have seen in years, and there is usually a buzz for Mania.
The event didn鈥檛 have the hype it usually has, and part of the reason is WWE is just not putting out storylines to build up matches that fans want to see.
Same goes for this match.
Did WWE really have to give this match away this fast?
The MitB event is considered one of the more important WWE shows of the year, and this match will add to it.
However, the event would sell itself on the history of the MitB ladder matches and WWE could have built up the Rollins versus Styles match for SummerSlam or even later.
But instead, we are getting it in a few weeks and one of the few WWE dream matches left will have taken place with a lackluster and fast build.
Wyatt鈥檚 new character
Also on Raw, Bray Wyatt debuted his new character as well as his 鈥淔irefly Fun House.鈥�
My initial reaction of his new character was very low, and even several days later, I am still not sure if it will work.
Wyatt is said to be very behind the move and is going to give it his all.
I knew Wyatt was debuting his new character Monday as a friend of mine sent me a picture of him before Raw with a different look and my first reaction was thinking about how much Wyatt must have been hitting the gym lately.
Time will tell with the character, but many did not like what they saw Monday.
Hopefully for Wyatt鈥檚 sake, he makes the character work.
WWE releases 1st quarter numbers
Business is down almost across the board in WWE and Thursday, it released the Q1 results.
Revenues were down to $182.4 million as compared to the first quarter in 2018 when revenues were at $187.7 million.
Vince McMahon blamed the absence of superstars, whether because of health or other reasons, for lower numbers.
It is a safe bet that WWE鈥檚 Board of Directors have to be a little antsy considering WWE鈥檚 new TV deals start later this year and ratings continue to drop.
There are experts who think that the holdup with WWE鈥檚 numbers is that McMahon is out of touch as head of creative, but he isn鈥檛 giving up that role.
WWE鈥檚 stock has taken a hit as well.
Thursday morning, it was at over $100 a share but dipped to $84.50 during the day Friday.
Numbers don鈥檛 lie, regardless of how McMahon or anyone else tries to twist them.
On This Day鈥�
In 1997, Owen Hart defeats Rocky Maivia, later known as 鈥淭he Rock,鈥� to end Rock鈥檚 first Intercontinental title reign.
This week鈥檚 question
With how boring WWE is, will AEW become a legit number two promotion? Sean, California.
It is way too early to say if All Elite Wrestling will become a big enough player to become a second option behind WWE for fans, but fans don鈥檛 have to always look at WWE and assume it is 鈥渘umber one.鈥�
Each fan has his or her own personal interest and if fans like the AEW product better, then that is their choice.
Ring Of Honor is another viable option, and there are those who still follow Impact Wrestling.
Also, there are numerous independent groups worth watching as well.
If you find WWE to be boring, there are plenty of other options out there and at the end of the day, WWE is not the only game in town.
Email questions/comments to Bill at powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to me @BillHughes_III.