Post by WP on Jan 3, 2023 16:52:44 GMT
The year is 2024.
We are three months removed from the implosion of Tony Khan's All Elite Wrestling and two weeks removed from the Great Walkout of WWE. How did we get here?
All Out 2022 was a black cloud that hung over AEW for the first half of 2023. Whilst there was a shift to younger talent, and less of a presence of ROH, Dynamite and Rampage still struggled to keep eyeballs on the product. The belief online from fans and wrestling journalists alike was that Tony Khan was ill-fit to run a wrestling company with so many egos involved. Throw into the mix a locker room that was anything but harmonious, a lawsuit from Ace Steel and his wife, plus Turner Broadcasting not renewing their contract come September 2023, and the company quickly fell into a quick tailspin. Numerous wrestlers did not renew their contracts and with the well-piublicised issues concerning CM Punk, not to mention the constant issues that plagued ROH's relaunch, and Tony Khan threw in the towel. It had been the best of times, and it had been the worst of times; but the wrestling business had seemingly chewed up Tony and spat him out. Rumblings of a takeover from several wrestling personalities (Chris Jericho, Eric Bischoff and, laughably, Jim Cornette) came and went, but by the end of September, AEW officially ceased operations.
Meanwhile, the Triple H-led WWE went from stength to strength for most of 2023. WrestleMania was a huge success, with The Rock and Roman Reigns headlining in Hollywood. The King of the Ring made its return in the Spring, and WWE brought SummerSlam back to the UK for the first time since 1992 for an incredible spectacle at Wembley Stadium. Then, the unthinkable happened; as WWE prepared for another visit to Saudi Arabia, the news broke that Vincent Kennedy McMahon (the man who had left the company in 2022 disgraced admist allegations of embezzlement, NDA's and - disturbingly of all - rape) would be back in charge following the Crown Jewel event. In the coming weeks, ratings plummeted as the staus quo very much returned to RAW and SmackDown. Audiences were not coming out to see the WWE either, with Survivor Series - which had sold out the year prior with the War Games gimmick attached - struggling to fill 3/4 of the arena, and slow ticket sales heading towards the Royal Rumble. Everything came to a head on the last RAW event of 2022, and after all was said and done, numerous superstars walked out. Whilst the WWE chugs along, rumors are abound that Brock Lesnar is scheduled to - once again - win the Royal Rumble at the end of January.
January 27th 2024.
A new website crops up on the internet, with Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages to follow. Upon seeing the domain name and the sole image on the website, the internet is soon buzzing. The date is also not lost on wrestling die-hards; ten years to the day since CM Punk walked out of the WWE - and sports-entertainment as a whole - a new hat is seemingly throw into the wrestling ring. Introducing...
