WWE had some of its best debuts of the year this week, but they also have huge tests with direction from here on out.
Photo: dailyddt.com
BUFFALO, NY (6-23-2024) - At WrestleMania XL chief content officer Paul Levesque aka Triple H, said we are in a new era of professional wrestling and this couldn't have been more clear with how this week turned out.
We had some of the biggest debuts of the year from the Wyatt Sicks on Monday Night Raw, Joe Hendry on NXT, and Jacob Fatu on Friday Night Smackdown. While these debuts have a lot of potential to be a part of major storylines this upcoming summer, Triple H should remember there is risk with them too.
Starting off with the Wyatt Sicks, their debut was not what we expected. In fact, it even "shattered" our expectations. Their debut was straight out of a horror movie and an effective way to show that despite Bray Wyatt's death in August 2023, his legacy will live on through his brother Michael's character and his new group.
Their debut generated 8.9 million views on WWE's X page. However, it was also joined by another shocking debut, as Joe Hendry made his NXT debut on Tuesday, in the latest of TNA superstars showing up on both promotions. His debut became WWE's most viewed X post of the year so far with 17 million, even passing their post of Cody Rhodes' winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
And on Friday Night Smackdown, Solo Sikoa's Bloodline continues to take shape in the absence of Roman Reigns and the Rock. This time with the debut of Jacob Fatu, the son of Sam Fatu aka The Tonga Kid. He demonstrated his sheer brutality by samoan dropping Owens on the steel steps, spearing Orton through the barricade, uso splashing Rhodes through the announce table to end the Chicago show.
With all of these debuts, we have to keep in mind that this could go any way and fans should acknowledge the risks with these moves. However, they should know that since Triple H took over as CCO, the risks they took ended up paying off big time. For example, many questioned how LA Knight's shift would turn out, and now he's one of Smackdown's top babyfaces, or how Logan Paul would do in WWE, and now he's the current U.S. Champion.
First off, while the concept of the Wyatt Sicks looks intriguing, many believe that without the involvement of Wyatt, it won't live up to its full potential. While this may be true, fans should at least see it as a way to honor Wyatt's legacy. Even though Wyatt's last run wasn't as great as many hoped, honoring him by having the group be neutral and be a destructive force is the best way to follow where he left off.
As for NXT and their collaborations with TNA, they have a lot of potential for more crossover events. It's even possible they could have a World's Collide PPV between the two companies. With Jordynne Grace's and Joe Hendry's debuts creating massive pops, fans would like to see these two jump back more often.
Smackdown's new Bloodline already appeared to be beginning a feud with Rhodes and the alliance of Kevin Owens and Randy Orton. Initially it leaned toward a six-man tag match at Money in the Bank, but with Jacob joining the party, they now have the numbers advantage. Could Rhodes, Owens and Orton find someone to join them in the fight? It would be an interesting way to give Jacob some momentum, since his debut showed how destructive of a force he can be in WWE.
It's no doubt that all of these debuts created massive hype around the WWE Universe, and it will be interesting to see how they pan out. While these present themselves as huge risks creatively in this new era, we have to remember that WWE is known for taking risks and pushing boundaries in professional wrestling.
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