WWE's ratings remain on the decline and with All Elite Wrestling making quite the splash, it appears as if Vince McMahon and company are going to great lengths to stop its Superstars from jumping ship. In fact, they're even trying to manipulate the way fans view non-WWE wrestling companies!
"They are trying to convince people not to leave with the idea that your career is over when you leave," Dave Meltzer recently revealed on Wrestling Observer Live. "They’re trying to convince the fans of it too like they’re doing a lot of subtle things like that stuff with the local wrestlers like on 205 Live with the idea of like you’re not in WWE then you’re a joke."
He then referenced the team who appeared on SmackDown Live and noted that was another way of making fans think that if you're not in WWE, you're just a joke. "Yolo County Tag Team Champions or something — yeah they’re trying to get this ‘it’s WWE or it doesn’t count you’re not in wrestling.’"
"They used to do this before like when Cody left like ‘of your career’s over the minute you leave’ and most of those guys were believing it then, but now none of them are believing it anymore and the guys who are leaving are all happier that they’re gone so now it’s exposed."
That doesn't bode well for WWE moving forward, especially with so many contracts nearing their expiration dates and many wrestlers realising that the grass is indeed greener on the other side. Over the next few years, it's undoubtedly going to be very interesting who stays and who goes.