Over the past few years, WWE's ratings have been on the decline, and it's hard to believe the USA Network and FOX don't have at least some regrets over those big-money TV deals they signed.
There are those convinced that by the end of the year, AEW Dynamite will top RAW in terms of ratings at least a couple of times, and it does feel like the tide might be turning. Now, WWE is a billion-dollar company, so there's no way they're going out of business any time soon, and TV ratings aside, it's obvious they will continue making a lot of money. However, by the time all is said and done, we could see All Elite Wrestling become the #1 promotion.
Someone who doesn't agree with that sentiment, however, is WWE Champion Bobby Lashley.
"I think the feeling is good," Lashley told TV Insider of how things are in WWE's locker room right now. "We get tested with so many things. Everyone will say, ‘This is it. This is the downfall of WWE.’ It’s never going to be. We have so much talent in WWE. WWE is never going to be beaten or contested. It’s always going to be the flagship of professional wrestling. That’s never going to change."
As for what advice he'd give the recently released Superstars, he added: "I just tell the guys if you do get that call, and they say your contact expired, or they have to let you go, the worst thing you can do is be one of those people who goes online bad-mouthing. It looks really sad. A lot of these guys wouldn’t even be the guys they were without WWE. They made a name for themselves."
Understandably, Lashley is a company man, and no one can fault him for standing up for WWE. How right he is about WWE remaining #1 is hard to say; they'll probably always be the promotion that springs to mind when people think of wrestling, but that was once the case for WCW as well.
Lashley will defend the WWE Championship against Goldberg during SummerSlam this Saturday.