Like any other sports entertainment company, WWE likes to remind us of its history.
This accomplishes a few things, from a marketing perspective. Nostalgia’s a powerful tool, especially when you’re selling subscriptions to a streaming archive of past shows. Reminding us of big moments from days gone by will also motivate people to watch what’s going on right now, so they don’t miss the next big moment.
It also reinforces the idea that we’re following an ongoing story where what happened before can play a part in shaping future events.
That’s all in theory. In practice? You can celebrate the anniversary of something a whole lot of your fans hated...
#TheBeast @BrockLesnar came into #SmackDown with one mission 2️⃣ years ago today, and that was to CONQUER @TrueKofi! @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/Z3elQzAJYE
— WWE (@WWE) October 4, 2021
You’ll find people who enjoyed Brock Lesnar pinning Kofi Kingston in seconds on the premiere of SmackDown on FOX. But you’ll find more that were angry and even hurt that the second Black man to hold the WWE championship had his run ended in this fashion.
Memories of the Oct. 4, 2019 squash also remind us that Kingston didn’t get another shot at Lesnar, and wasn’t scripted to talk about the match very much - his reign swept aside so Brock could go to Saudi Arabia to beat his old UFC foe Cain Velasquez in the Mexican heavyweight’s only WWE match.
Kofi’s remained a prominent part of WWE television, and Lesnar being champ did give us a pretty fun Royal Rumble. But Kingston getting the Ricochet treatment on national television is never gonna sit well with a lot of people, especially online, where the company decided to bring up this infamous anniversary.
I guess they figure all attention is good attention.