Pro wrestling isn’t really a “less is more” form of entertainment. The ethos is definitely more and bigger most of the time. How many fans can we pack in? What can we do to get the most eyeballs on a show?
As the industry leader, WWE certainly doesn’t hold back, offering five hours of live TV each week (more if you count NXT), monthly premium live events, and non-televised house shows. And it would love if fans consumed it all.
Despite that, WWE does understand the idea of a performer as a special attraction — one who shows up less often but makes every appearance feel like a big deal, can’t-miss event. It’s been doing this for years with Brock Lesnar, who wanders in and out of the company, and has essentially reached that point with Roman Reigns as well despite keeping two of its three world championships on him.
All of this is worth considering when it comes to Logan Paul. WWE treated Paul like a big star right from the start due to his oversized social media following. The fact that he ended up being able to wrestle really well, really quickly was almost icing on the cake.
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Though Paul has insinuated that he considers WWE his full-time gig, the company hasn’t used him that way to date. In 18 months, he’s competed in just four singles matches, along with a tag team match (in his in-ring debut) and a couple of special events like the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank ladder matches.
It sounds like Paul would be willing to appear more often. But should he? On the most recent episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff said he believes it would be better to keep him as a special attraction (h/t Fightful for the transcription).
Let me first say that in a big fan of having talent that is special and unique, and maintaining that uniqueness, and keeping them as an attraction. The challenge with putting anybody, no matter who it is, every single week, and yes, it’s great for telling stories and it’s probably good for ratings to a degree, there’s a lot of reasons why that makes sense on paper. But with someone like Logan, I would probably lean into keeping him more like a Brock Lesnar-type of character, Hulk Hogan, when we brought Hulk Hogan into WCW, The Undertaker in WWE later on in his career. Keeping Logan a special attraction, there’s a lot of value in that.
As a bit of a caveat, Bischoff does say that a big part of the decision centers on Paul’s own goals. That’s where it gets interesting, as he’s made repeated comments that he’d like to get his hands on a WWE championship of some type, and winning one would most likely mean he’d have to appear regularly on company programming for a period of months.
Could he be gearing up for that right now? Paul made headlines by using his post-fight interview after his recent boxing match with MMA fighter Dillon Danis to express his desire to take on Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship. Mysterio has since responded publicly, and Paul is being advertised for SmackDown, making it look like they might face off for the title next month at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.
Paul was part of the Crown Jewel card last year, battling Reigns in the show’s main event. He didn’t emerge with gold around his waist then, but if he does this time, that could go a long way toward telling us whether WWE agrees with Bischoff or feels it’s time to see if more is more when it comes to Paul.