Three Count | Brock Lesnar play-fighting Cain Velasquez in Saudi Arabia is a sign WWE is flailing
- Two former UFC heavyweights ‘square off’ in a WWE match that looks like they’re acting out a play of an actual MMA fight
- Match tells a wider story of a pro wrestling empire free-falling into obscurity
I’ll admit, I haven’t watched World Wrestling Entertainment in years. I think the last show I remember catching was Razor Ramon versus “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels in a ladder match in 1994 and, from everything I’ve heard, I may have caught the WWE’s high-water mark.
To summarise, the WWE got into bed with Saudi to try to expand its fledgling fan base there. However, the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has tainted the whole endeavour, while WWE’s female wrestlers weren’t even allowed to wrestle at the three previous events in Saudi before last week’s show.
In a way, it might be the perfect setting for a poorly planned and executed faux rubbish nostalgia fight. After watching all 88 seconds of this dumpster fire, it’s pretty clear what is happening: WWE is grasping at anything it can do to remain relevant as it slides into obscurity.
The fight fits into a larger metanarrative which, according to some, could tie into the UFC and its own rise and fall. The WWE stock hit a 52-week low in October, and the past few years have seen bad news follow bad news.
