IN 2024, I WISH FOR…

By Michael Weaver, Jr. [E-Mail | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Website | X | YouTube]

Welcome to 2024!  Starting with this year, WU Online will begin to have its writers write what they wish for in the upcoming year.  So let’s waste no more time.  Here’s what I wish for in 2024…

• In 2024, I Wish For…
  

  

  More championship defenses by the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion: “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns.  Out of 11 WWE Premium Live Events in 2023, Reigns only defended the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship five times.  His title defenses were: at the WWE 2023 Royal Rumble when he pinned Kevin Owens, at WWE Elimination Chamber 2023 when he pinned Sami Zayn, on Night 2 at WWE WrestleMania 39 when he pinned “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, at WWE SummerSlam’23 when he pinned “Main Event” Jey Uso, and at WWE Crown Jewel 2023 when he pinned LA Knight.

  The Undisputed WWE Universal Championship is the only championship that can be tracked back to the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) Heavyweight Championship in 1963.  That, in a way, makes it the most important championship in the WWE, and some would argue, the most important champion championship in the entire professional wrestling industry.

  The fact that the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship went undefended from April 2, 2023 to August 5, 2023 is completely inexcusable!  The WWE has always prided itself on having respectable champions who defend their championships.  They even had a rule that stated a championship must be defended at least once every 30 days.

  So in 2024, I wish that our Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, whomever he may be, actually defends the championship more than once every four months

• In 2024, I Wish For…
  Whoever is in charge of the WWE Network hosted on NBCUniversal’s Peacock to actually update it with classic content more often and to make sure that the WWE Universe is made aware of the uploads.  The last time the WWE Universe were told of new classic content was on May 29, 2023 when 10 episodes of Championship Wrestling were uploaded.

  So in 2024, I wish for WWE.com and Peacock to make sure the WWE Universe are informed of when classic content was uploaded and I wish more classic content was uploaded more often.  The WWE Library is so huge, even if they uploaded 10-20 episodes every week for one year, there would still be a large amount of footage available to upload in the future.

• In 2024, I Wish For…
  The wrestling fans on social media not to be so…well mean!  It still shocks me when I visit Twit, I mean X, and actually see people lashing out at each other just because one person is a fan of WWE and the other person is a fan of AEW or another wrestling company.

  We are living in a time when there are so many different wrestling companies, with so many different styles, that there’s a company for everybody’s taste.  There’s no reason for people to be so toxic just because they’ve met someone online that likes a different company.

  So in 2024, I wish for people on social media to be kinder to each other.

• In 2024, I Wish For…
  

  

  The major wrestling companies to realize that there are fans who still enjoy physical home video.  This past December, wrestling fans across the globe were shocked when Fremantle announced that WWE was removing itself from the home video business.

  There are wrestling fans, like myself, that have been buying home video going back to when Coliseum Video would distribute the WWF VHS tapes.  Every month fans who would then become collectors would purchase whatever the item was – VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray – starting with World Wrestling Federation in the beginning and most recently WWE, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and IMPACT! Wrestling.

  I know of collectors who don’t watch the WWE product but every year they still go out and buy the latest DVD/Blu-ray for that year’s WrestleMania.  Why?  Because it’s something that they began, most likely in their childhood, and it still brings them pleasure.

  So in 2024, I wish these companies would remember who their consumers are and bring return to the home video industry for their fanbase.

• In 2024, I Wish For…
  Success for all of the wrestling companies around the world!

  

  On the historic night of March 26, 2001, the wrestling world was in complete awe when the owner of the then-World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon, appeared on a special Night of Champions episode of WCW Monday Nitro and informed the world that he had purchased World Championship Wrestling!

  It was a night that everyone who had watched the WWF-WCW war never imagined would actually happen.  It was a moment that brought excitement for the fans.  It brought new rivalries to life as WCW Superstars would appear for the first time or return to the WWF landscape.  But as cool as all of these things were for the fans, it turned out to be a negative in the long run.

  You see, once Paul Heyman appeared on WWF RAW, replacing Jerry”The King”Lawler as color commentator, signalling the end of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and then when WWF purchased WCW, there was no more competition for McMahon to fight.  If a fan didn’t like what he saw on RAW or SmackDown, there wasn’t anyone else to watch.

  

  But all of that changed in 2002 when Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action (TNA) and then in 2019 when All Elite Wrestling (AEW) opened.  Sure, there have been a few bumps in the world but in 2023 it was finally realized that the landscape of the wrestling scene had changed.

  Now there are so many wrestling companies that fans can watch either on television or on the internet.  There’s something for everyone and if you can’t find something you like, you’re just not looking hard enough.  Think about it…these are just a few of the companies that have shows: WWE, AEW, TNA, ROH, NXT, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Major League Wrestling (MLW) and countless others.

  So in 2024, and I realize this might make me sound naive, I wish success for everyone!  I wish continued success for WWE and AEW.  I wish TNA success and I hope they continue to grow bigger and bigger once the company is officially relaunched this Saturday, January 13, 2014 with the first premium live event of 2024 – TNA Hard To Kill.

And with that wish, I come to the end of what I am wishing for in 2024.  I would like to thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoyed what you read.  If you didn’t, make an account and post your comment below.  Or if you want to post your own wishes for 2024, feel free to do so.

I hope each and everyone of you has a great 2024.  May God be with you and your family through all of the good moments and through all of the bad moments in 2024.  From January 1^st to December 31^st.

About The Author

Michael Weaver, Jr.

Michael Weaver, Jr. is the founder and owner of WU Online. He is a disabled 45 year old male who resides in Greenfield, Indiana. He’s interviewed legendary figures in the sports-entertainment world as Animal & Hawk of The Road Warriors, “Sensational” Sherri, Jerry Jarrett, Eric Bischoff, “The Ninth Wonder of the World” Chyna, Colby Corino, and most recently Declan McMahon – a member of the IU Hoosiers football team and the oldest son of Shane & Marissa McMahon. When he’s not working on WU Online he enjoys spending time with family, his fur babies, and watching hit television shows as “NCIS,” “Star Trek,” and the “Law & Order” and “One Chicago” franchises.

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