Bill Apter On How WWE Can Fix Their Declining Ratings, Vince McMahon - Triple H Rumors
Just as there are legendary wrestlers and managers, there are also legendary journalists in wrestling. One of those is Bill Apter who was the longtime publisher of Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
Apter spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast about many things including reported friction between Triple H and Vince McMahon.
"I don't know anything about it. I'm not in that office," stated Apter. "People have said this since Triple H got into the office there. I don't know any of that first-hand, so I won't report it. Is it a possibility? Certainly it's a possibility because there in a tumultuous spot with their ratings issue. And with them moving over to FOX, a lot of stuff is going on. A lot of nerves are being rattled as to why are we not drawing the amount of people we used to draw? What's wrong with our product? That could very well be true but unless I know that first-hand, I can't say 'Yes. That's what's happening.' I won't do that."
On the topic of WWE not drawing the same as it did in the past, Apter was asked what he would attribute WWE's ratings decline to.
"I wish I had a handle on that. If it were me, the SmackDown and Raw rosters would be mixed every week which is what I think they're trying to do right now. Just make it so that everybody's got to be at SmackDown and Raw. Some people will work and some people won't," said Apter.
"They also don't have that one guy anymore. You always had Cena, Hogan, Bret Hart, Randy Savage. So right now, if you go up to someone on the streets and ask them whose a famous wrestler in WWE, I'm not sure who would they say. They might say The Undertaker or Hulk Hogan, not knowing he's there. I think they need that focal star to tie it all together."
Apter said he doesn't see the next break out star on the WWE roster right now but notes that Becky Lynch is getting the biggest reactions. He also told a story of a kid telling him Ricochet is his favorite wrestler, so he doesn't know why a guy like that is getting pinned as that wouldn't happen back in the day.
Apter will be among the many at Starrcast this week in Las Vegas and he mentioned what he'll be doing at his two events.
"Conrad Thompson has booked me at Starrcast for two events. One will be a magazine panel that will include myself, PWI and WrestleCrap," said Apter. And on Friday Night, I will be hosting Starrcast Karaoke from 10:30 until midnight.
Bill Apter will be a featured guest at Starrcast II. He is also the author of the book "Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn't Know It Was Broken!" which is available via Amazon and Kindle.
Apter's full interview with Wrestling Inc. was included on Tuesday's episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In it Apter discusses his close relationships with Bruiser Brody and The Von Erichs, the reported friction between Triple H and Vince McMahon, WWE's declining ratings, how AEW's TNT deal will affect WWE, his love of karaoke and upcoming appearances at Starrcast 2 and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here.
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