This WWE producer has emphasized how important experience and consistent match time are, noting that improvement happens rapidly with more in-ring reps, which he believes is lacking today due to wrestlers competing in fewer matches.
Appearing on Dan Marston’s podcast, former WWE Tag Team Champion Tyson Kidd (TJ Wilson) compared LA Knight’s match statistics to those of independent wrestlers he spoke with during a seminar.
“The experience and the reps people get at that level lead to exponential improvement,” Wilson said. “It’s almost unbelievable how much they grow — it’s remarkable. But that’s where things get a little tricky now. I saw that LA Knight had the most matches in WWE last year with 64. Then I did a seminar and asked some guys how many matches they’d had, and one said around 100 in a year.”
Using that comparison, he explained that in three years, that independent wrestler could reach 300 matches, while WWE’s most active performer might only reach around 190 at the same pace. “I told him, ‘In three years, at that rate, you’ll have 300 matches. Meanwhile, our most active guy would be at about 190 just doing the math,’” he added.
This gap, he said, highlights why companies may eventually rely on talent with more in-ring experience. He also raised concern about those getting very limited matches, noting that someone working around 15 matches a year would still be under 50 even after three years, which significantly slows development.
“That’s why we’re going to start needing people with that level of experience. If our most experienced guy has that many matches, what about someone only getting 15 a year? In three years, they’d still be under 50. That’s a huge gap in development.”
Adding to the criticism, WWE has already reduced its house shows and live events, which were once considered a key pathway for talent to gain in-ring experience, a point also highlighted by John Cena in his interview with Joe Rogan.
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