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So, WWE's ratings. There have been a number of creative team changes over the past several years in response to dwindling ratings, and no matter who they have writing Raw and Smackdown, the ratings have gone down on average. Do you think Vince will ever see that the lone common denominator in all this is himself? Or do you think he'll continue to blame all the other writers for the ratings? Does he have the capacity to look in the mirror and be honest with himself?
I think if he had that capacity he would have done it by now. Variety just had an article the other day about Raw’s decline and Vince being the problem. It’s pretty well known everywhere that creative is the problem and he is the head of creative, so even if he doesn’t want to point the finger at himself, the masses know where the problem lies.
Before Rey & Dominik, who and when were the last father son to compete together in a WWE ring? (Shane&Vince don’t count.)
The last one I can remember is Randy Orton teaming with his father Bob to take on The Undertaker in a 2 on 1 Handicap match at No Mercy in October of 2005.
Why doesn't the WWE do RAW Roulette anymore?
Probably because they haven’t been to Las Vegas and no one has thought to do it. I am not complaining. I think that concept has run its course.
With Dynamite often being pre-empted by the NBA playoffs, does it hurt them that the show airs on different days and different times each week during the playoffs, or does it help them that they air unopposed by WWE programming? Seeing how both Dynamite and the playoffs will continue to air on TNT for the foreseeable future, how should AEW address this yearly pre-emption period going forward?
I think you could say it helps and hurts them. Their audience has traveled well and found them on the off nights, which is a huge plus. At the end of the day though you don’t ever want to make it hard for the viewer to find you either. Given TNT’s investment in the NBA, this will just be how it is for a short time every years. It’s also the reason that Dynamite airs on Wednesday, since TNT airs the NBA on Tuesday and Thursday.
With Dana White speaking at the Republican National Convention and the UFC's latest headliner Colby Covington incorporating his support of Trump into his character, the UFC has now fully integrated politics into its presentation. I don't watch UFC, pro wrestling, or any other sport for people's views on politics, in fact in many ways I watch to escape the realities of the current political situation in the US. Regardless of Covington's political views, which involves instigating divisiveness and at times outright racism (see his comments after his latest fight regarding current UFC champ Kamaru Usman), he clearly plays into a heel character designed to generate heat. What do you think of Covington's character, and do you think a similar character portrayed in WWE would be a good way to generate heat and grab people's attention, or would a character such as his in WWE be as ill-advised as Muhammad Hassan?
I don’t know anything about Covington as I am not into UFC in the least. If he wants to do that, it’s his right I guess. Other sports are allowing athletes to be political, so UFC can do it as well if they want to. WWE is different though. It’s not real sport, it’s a show that is written for actors. If, say, Roman Reigns, became a huge Trumper character, that is being written for him, not who he is. So I think it falls under a different category. I think that kind of character would be just like all of the other characters that played off of political and racial tensions, it wouldn’t be well received.
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