WWE: AJ Styles’s Podcast Appearance Emblematic Of Larger ‘Culture’ Problem

AJ Styles’s appearance on a right-wing talk show might have surprised fans, but it shouldn’t surprise anybody who watches WWE.

Despite all the controversy, AJ Styles’s appearance on the Louder with Crowder internet talk show was…well, pretty silly.

In the span of his appearance, the two-time WWE Champion established that he straight-up didn’t comprehend the point of that Gillette commercial about toxic masculinity, he’s scared of a mythical “PC Left” that will somehow censor him despite the fact he works for a company that allowed a hacky, transphobic men-in-dresses bit on their flagship show as recently as last year, and that any woman who has to deal with this dude on any level is probably in for a bit of a headache.

He clearly was not booked for his amazing insights. But he did make one interesting point, as called out (and swiftly debunked) by wrestling writer Scarlett Harris:

This is actually a canny statement about WWE’s culture. WWE knows that all kinds of people exist and might be interested in watching their product, but they also assume that their fan base has not changed in demographic since the Attitude Era. They think that people who are interested in the “PC culture” don’t watch wrestling, so WWE doesn’t care about them. And this is why Styles can appear on a talk show that makes money off of vile shirts that proudly brag about the racism and homophobia of their fan base.

But this logic still doesn’t quite explain why WWE would take the PR risk of booking him on this particular show. If they didn’t, it’s even more of a mystery why Styles would comfortable booking himself on any talk show at all while employed by WWE, a company that typically frowns on their talent making public appearances that aren’t tightly controlled by their own PR machine.

Some people say it’s a power move on Styles’s part due to an upcoming contract negotiation, but I think it’s something else. By allowing superstars to make appearances like this, WWE is able to reinforce their image as entertainment for conservatives while maintaining plausible deniability about their political leanings. This isn’t an AJ Styles problem. It’s a culture problem at WWE.

Styles is not the only WWE superstar that has exploited the company’s belief in their fabled conservative fanbase. The RAW Women’s Champion is a noted transphobe. Seth Rollins felt free to stick up for Louis CK’s right-wing comedy set where he mocked both transgender individuals and the survivors of a school shooting. WWE’s Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, has a history of homophobia. And of course, it only took the death of one beloved figure in the WWE universe for the company to sneak Hulk “I Am A Racist” Hogan back onto our screens for his very unwelcome return.

If there was not a general belief at WWE that the company profits from condoning this behavior, they would simply not employ people who do these things. Imagine saying something like “I don’t like gays, write that down in your little notebook, I don’t like gays!” to a reporter, and when your boss found out about it, he decided that instead of firing you for making the company look bad he’d make you Employee of The Month for two years straight.

That’s WWE’s relationship with Brock Lesnar. At a company that does things like that, is it any wonder that Styles didn’t feel like it would be a big deal if he appeared on a right-wing podcast?

You could say that perhaps WWE feels it doesn’t have the right to intercede in the lives of their employees. However, it isn’t as if WWE won’t take punitive action if a wrestler does something in their private life that could be perceived to hurt the brand. On Total Divas, Lana and Rusev were reprimanded for a photoshoot that ran up against WWE’s family-friendly image. Supposedly, all that stands between Chyna and a Hall of Fame recognition was her brief post-WWE career as an adult film star. In interviews, Triple H has hinted that the accessibility of Chyna’s video clips to children via Google are why she can’t be included in WWE’s legacy.

Well, I found out about Lesnar’s homophobic rant on Google, along with all of the other things cited above. Why isn’t WWE more concerned about kids finding out the company’s Universal Champion doesn’t like gay people?

You might be able to find the answer if you look at some recent decisions by WWE’s creative department. On one hand they’re pushing women’s wrestling as a progressive tool for gender equality and giving a platform to their humanitarian stars like Mustafa Ali, Titus O’Neil, and Sami Zayn. Stephanie McMahon herself was the reason for Finn Balor’s inclusive Balor Club entrance at WrestleMania 34. As a brand they want to be viewed as cool and progressive, a family friendly sports franchise where anybody can find something to love.

However, their weekly programming is a different story. As much as conservatives like to whine about “virtue-signaling social justice warriors”, we know they love a dog whistle, and I’ll bet their ears are burning around 8pm on Monday and Tuesday nights. There’s plenty of regressive nonsense meant to appeal to a certain kind of crowd: the Lashley’s Sisters segment above (poor Sami!), Lacey Evans’s icky old-timey racist/misogynist vibes, Ronda Rousey being applauded for slut-shaming Nikki Bella, Daniel Bryan’s concern about the environment being spun as a part of his heel turn, and so on.

WWE’s products nakedly pander to the same folks that would tune into a show like Crowder’s. Dig a little deeper and phenomena like WWE’s reticence to put belts on people of color and their ongoing blood-money partnership with a Trump-approved dictator start to fit into that same uncomfortable pattern. WWE is dead-set on Making America(n wrestling) Great Again.

AJ Styles believes that WWE’s programming is politically neutral, but he also thinks the Earth is flat. It is only possible to believe that WWE is neutral if you agree with the politics of Vince McMahon and their creative team. If you don’t, this kind of stuff is blatantly political, and frankly hard to sit through. And it will most likely get worse: as Cageside Seats wrote, Alexa Bliss’s humiliating “surprise” on RAW was probably a sign of things to come. Because this is what the fans want, right?

Sure, but only if you think you only have one kind of fan watching your product. As Harris notes, that isn’t the case: wrestling is in a boom period of public interest right now, and plenty of progressive people such as herself (and myself, too!) watch WWE TV shows along with the other wrestling they consume. The fact that WWE seems unaware of this is baffling.

But listen: WWE is a company that is straight-up terrible at knowing what fans want! If you need proof, check out the viewership numbers. The ratings for McMahon’s baby RAW are a legit fiasco, so bad that McMahon and Co. took the the airwaves during a recent episode to promise that the show would someday be watchable. When Crown Jewel was advertised at Evolution, the crowd booed so vociferously that they had to cut the ad short. Hulk Hogan’s return to RAW wasn’t met with the expected pop, but tepid cheers, scattered boos and puzzled silence.

For every loudmouth on Twitter that wants the Attitude Era back, you’ll find plenty of people who don’t. From a business perspective, WWE would probably make better decisions if it didn’t view the world through Trump-tinted glasses.

What’s the solution? I don’t know. As Styles himself notes, everything on WWE really goes through one guy, and that one guy is an ancient Republican millionaire who loves big buff white dudes and thinks he’s right about everything. Even if he goes away, he’s built a company out of people who think like him, so there’s nothing to say things would actually change. But the very least we can do as fans is let folks like AJ Styles and WWE know that their fanbase is more diverse than they think, and that we’re paying attention.

Not that Styles was particularly excited the last time he was informed of his diverse fanbase, but hey, it’s worth a shot.