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WWE’s Royal Rumble sets all time Box Office Gate. But I thought people didn’t watch “Rasslin?”

brentonontour Jan 30, 2023

It was a record-breaking weekend in San Antonio this past weekend as WWE’s annual Royal Rumble shattered box office records with a $7.7 million dollar box office gross, saw over 20 Million views across all platforms, and helped launch Roman Reigns’ TIK TOK account with over 100000 subscribers in the first day! SOURCE

Not bad for a company that has had its share of controversy lately with the return of Vince McMahon to the fold (after being removed for various payoffs to cover up some affairs/sexual misconduct scandals):

A potential sale to the Saudis (which has since been debunked):

And, a Monday Night Raw 30th Anniversary celebration that barely acknowledged the Woman’s division (which basically carried the company from 2015-2020):

But, I thought no one watched “Fake Wrestling” anymore. Well, it turns out that’s not necessarily the case. Sure, it doesn’t stack up against Monday Night Football but it is slowly making progress against College Football SOURCE and few programs have had the longevity that WWE has. It’s evident that longevity matters (as well as its back catalog of content) as the returning Vince McMahon appears to be back to lead the charge to sell the company and take it private!

How is this possible? Well, since the original departure of Vince from the company (as mentioned), Paul “HHH” Levesque has taken over creative and overseen one of the most compelling storylines the company has had in over 10 years which culminated this past weekend here:

You also had a returning Cody Rhodes (the son of the late great Dusty Rhodes and brother of Dustin “Goldust” Runnels) winning the whole thing as he begins his journey (scripted sure, but still a journey) to capture the elusive WWE Championship that neither his father nor brother won:

Or how about WWE HOF couple Edge and Beth Phoenix returning together to exact revenge on the dreaded “Judgement Day” stable who put both out of action for a substantial amount of time and continue to show the world why they are two of the greatest of all time:

Yes, the question is why DO we watch? Well, when the writing is good, it can be one of the most compelling things TO watch and if you listen to that “Pop” (crowd reaction) above, it’s very clear that the WWE and all involved got it right. You had 50000+ people losing their minds, waiting for the culmination of a storyline they have been engaged in for well over a year to happen right before their eyes. It’s kinda like enthralling yourself in a local hockey team that just can’t seem to make it out of the 1st round of the playoffs. You wait, thinking that this is the year, time and place, and then; “BAMM” a chair shot to the back in OT and you’re onto the second round.

The difference between the two organizations is that one will often write the script to appease the fans and the other just spends its money to keep them thinking they are actually trying to appease the fans. Perhaps the latter needs an evil tyrant owner to run things and they will finally get that chair shot for the fans they so desperately deserve!

Oh wait, they already did that:

brentonontour

I tour the world and run concerts for a living..I'm searching for the world's best coffee and will share that journey here.. I will never watch a Fast and The Furious movie..Monster Trucks don't interest me but the band is really cool!

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