March 28, 2024

The Race For Third Place

The 2019 wrestling war is heating up.

The wrestling landscape is in the middle of a great upheaval that has not been seen since the WWE monopoly was cemented nearly 20 years ago. As All Elite Wrestling continues to beat NXT in the ratings, it seems that for the first time in many years, WWE’s stranglehold has loosened up.

FOX recently bet big with its acquisition of SmackDown, bringing wrestling back to a major broadcast network in a prime time spot. With the exception of the debut episode, no one seems to care. Whether that is a reflection of the WWE product or the transition to viewing niche sports like wrestling in an on demand capacity remains unclear. But what is clear is that the ratings have been consistently down since SmackDown’s premiere. It’s a big enough problem for those at WWE headquarters that Eric Bischoff, the architect of the last time WWE saw itself falling behind, has been removed from his role as executive director and replaced with perennial company man Bruce Prichard.

Whether the move will be beneficial for SmackDown is yet unknown and will likely not be clearly defined for some months. On the other hand, Raw seems to have maintained its place in the ratings with the help of executive director Paul Heyman, only seeing minimal drops compared to this time last year. But an uninspired product following a universally panned Hell in a Cell may prove to be costly for the McMahonopoly.

Of course, it’s absurd to suggest that AEW has overtaken WWE as the top pro wrestling company in the world. McMahon has built such equity in the WWE brand that his form of sports-entertainment has become synonymous with the genre, like Kleenex and Sharpie. But it is exciting to see another company actually succeeding in direct competition with a WWE product.

As WWE and AEW take first and second place respectively as the top wrestling promotions in the United States, the landscape becomes even more interesting when you look at who’s coming in third.

With MLW recently crossing its 80th consecutive weekly episode and announcing its first pay-per-view, the promotion would be a clear pick for third place. Until you realize that the NWA, once synonymous with the best wrestling in the world, has taken a very unique approach in presenting its product. In a time where big arenas house wrestling, sometimes to the detriment of the product, the revitalized brand has instead gone back to its roots. Billy Corgan and Dave Lagana have unveiled a weekly studio wrestling show with some NWA alumni, a few huge names in the business and an influx of incredible talents that haven’t quite fit anywhere else.

It becomes even murkier still when you realize that on the heels of MLW announcing its first foray into PPV that the new NWA, with only a month of TV under its belt, announced the historic brand’s return to pay-per-view and sold out its intimate venue in a matter of hours. It seems that a very specific form of wrestling fan feels that they have been underserved by the powers that be in recent years and have found solace in the arms of easily accessible YouTube wrestling.

The conversation does not stop there. Ring of Honor is admittedly in the midst of a bit of a downturn with several high-profile performers going to NXT or in the case of Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks and “Hangman” Adam Page, establishing AEW. But ROH continues to put out a solid product and is still one of the best promotions in the country for hand picking and establishing future stars. It’s not like the promotion hasn’t had downturns before; losing Daniel Bryan and Nigel McGuiness at the dawn of the decade, Kevin Steen and El Generico midway through and all of what would become The Undisputed Era after that. This is to say that RoH is in a constant state of reinvention and will most likely be fine.

The final and most interesting competitor angling for third place in this new wrestling war finds itself alone on cable television on Tuesday nights. Impact Wrestling has understandably been the butt of many jokes over the past 17 years. From its six-sided ring to the worst pay-per-view in wrestling history, the bar for excellence is very low. And yet it has maintained a product over the last year and a half or so that very easily clears that bar. Even in the face of some of its most talented and sought after products (LAX and The Lucha Bros) leaving for bigger and brighter opportunities.

IMPACT has taken everything levied against it in stride. When losing the two best tag teams in the division, head honchos Scott D’Amore and Don Callis chose to revitalize an old favorite (Rhino and Rob Van Dam) and create new stars (IMPACT Tag Champions The North: Ethan Page and Josh Alexander). The company has also been active in the free agent market, luring the previously mentioned Rhino from a WWE contract that reportedly doubled his last contract so that he can get back in the ring with his ECW brothers, as well as bringing in the “Grandfather of MMA” Ken Shamrock to put over homegrown talent in former NFL linebacker Moose. Don’t forget former WWE and ROH star Tennille Dashwood and indie favorite and general sleazeball Joey Ryan. Plus, Impact facilitated former AEW star Smilin’ Kylie Rae’s return to a professional wrestling ring. With this move to AXS TV, the company has a much shorter path to greatness than anyone seems to realize.

No matter who you choose to support, whether a WWE loyalist, AEW defector or somewhere in the middle, no one can argue that there has ever been a more exciting time to be a wrestling fan.

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