WOW doesn’t have the same ratings as WWE or All Elite Wrestling, the billionaire Tony Khan’s company. But it surpasses Impact Wrestling on AXS TV, arguably the third-largest wrestling company in the United States — though Brandon Thurston, the editor of Wrestlenomics.com, noted that AXS was only available in about 39 million households, about half of the cable houses. By comparison, WOW is available in every household in the United States with cable and runs in weekend syndication on groups of stations owned by CBS, Sinclair Communications, Nexstar Broadcasting, Hearst Television, and more. It is also shown in Australia and Canada.
But Ms. Buss has her work cut out for her in a space where women still outnumber men, and with most of the country’s biggest female stars in WWE and AEW.
“In the places I pay attention to, which are the hardcore places, I don’t hear people buzzing about it,” said Mr. Thurston. “I’d like to see people say, ‘Oh, wow, did you see such and such a match on WOW? That was a really good match.’ I don’t hear about that.”
The fans who attended the filming in May seemed to be hanging on to the performers’ every move. In the main event of the first episode, The Beast (real name Twana Barnett), a hulking tattooed fan favorite who is the WOW World Champion, took on Adriana Gambino (real name Noelle Giorgi), a character hinting at Italian mafia- affiliation. who paraded to the ring wearing a long fur coat, a black hat and long black gloves.
Professional wrestlers are indeed actors, tasked with creating a false impression of violence while protecting each other. The action between Mrs. Barnett and Mrs. Giorgi was fast and hard, starting with Mrs. Barnett grabbing Mrs. Giorgi by the neck and throwing her over the ring. Mrs. Giorgi recovered briefly, and Mrs. Barnett was cut in the back of the knee, but it wasn’t long before Mrs. Barnett was on the attack again. The match ended when Mrs. Barnett knocked Mrs. Giorgi to the mat with a so-called power bomb.
Mrs. Barnett tensed and lifted her championship belt high as the crowd chanted, “Beast! Beast! Beast!” There was not a mud pit in sight.