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The "Control Your Narrative" Promotion Is A Disaster Waiting To Happen

Posted: Mar 10th 2022 By: Noah Letherland

When it comes to what has fans talking, WWE's return to Madison Square Garden ahead of WrestleMania and AEW's highly anticipated Revolution pay-per-view have had the lion's share of the discourse as of late. But, one promotion has drawn curious eyes, some morbidly so, to their first live event. Capitalizing on the Revolution traffic, Control Your Narrative ran its first 'Awakening' show in Orlando, FL.

The brainchild of EC3, Control Your Narrative has branded itself as staunchly counterculture and anti-establishment, in regard to the makeup of the professional wrestling industry, as well as society as a whole. Whilst pushing the envelope and new ideas breed creativity, the way in which Control Your Narrative has gone about introducing itself to the world reeks of a dumpster fire that threatens to burn down those around it.

EC3 was a part of the first wave of WWE releases during the COVID-19 pandemic, being cut in April 2020 along with many others. Highly regarded as a great creative mind following his run in IMPACT Wrestling, fans were eager to see what EC3 would do next after being squandered in the WWE system. No one could quite predict what he had in store.

As released wrestlers have done many times before, EC3 took to social media to air his grievances, but in a dramatic fashion. These videos all centered around the idea of taking control of his own narrative, a clear statement of frustration with WWE's creative and corporate wrestling as a whole. These promos would come to involve EC3 making similar statements in regard to other released wrestlers, such as Drake Maverick before he was rehired, fired again, and rehired once more by WWE.

In the time since, EC3 has produced cinematic matches under the banner 'Free the Narrative' and has even taken this mission statement to IMPACT and ROH, now bringing it all together as a promotion of its own. The sentiments all seemed to be in line with many of the principles that have helped independent wrestling thrive for years now, so why is it turning people away?

Getting people to invest in a new wrestling company is all in the advertisement and promotion of it. Somewhere along the way, Control Your Narrative veered from that independent spirit to taking on characteristics of fringe political groups. Vague messages of fighting for freedom, finding a purpose, and reclaiming control sit uncomfortably close in line with the rhetoric spewed by QAnon groups and alt-right talking heads that have risen to prominence in the online space. The messages from these political groups have manifested all too real consequences across the United States and the world as a whole, and Control Your Narrative veering towards those same propaganda tactics and sentiments is enough to put many fans off.

Then, add to this the personnel involved alongside EC3, and it becomes apparent that these ideologies might not just be for promotional purposes. Partnering with EC3 on this venture is the former Braun Strowman, Adam Scherr. Scherr lost a lot of goodwill in March 2020 when he publicly chastised independent wrestlers asking for support as the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the live performance space, telling them to be accountable for their own actions. Another recent WWE release that has joined the ensemble is Karrion, now Killer, Kross. Kross made several appearances with Drake Wuertz, the once-beloved deathmatch wrestler turned referee turned conspiracy theorist, at events linked to the QAnon movement. The group is also joined by Flip Gordon, the high-flyer who rose to prominence thanks to Being the Elite, who has since lost a lot of support since his vocal stance against face masks and vaccinations. Then, the other marquee name associated with Control Your Narrative is Austin Aries. Outspoken on his anti-mask and anti-vaccination beliefs since the start of the pandemic, Aries also has seemingly no end of attitude problems that have burned bridges with essentially every other promotion of note, as well as having a multitude of accusations of abuse that came to light during the Speaking Out Movement.

Then, we come to their debut show itself. Control Your Narrative made headlines when they announced their 'Rage Room', a VIP experience where fans could pay to enter a room with their most hated member of the CYN roster and say whatever they wanted to them without repercussions, with the idea being to challenge 'keyboard warriors' coming to their shows. The show also began with EC3 ranting about taking back control as a man kneeling in the ring with a bag over his head, an image reminiscent of extremist groups from around the world. Later on, a wrestler named Man Bun Jesus makes a joke about seeing a lizard person in the bushes of Florida, referencing the David Icke conspiracy theory that is deeply rooted in anti-Semitism.

The whole promotion seems like the dream of a Facebook uncle who complains about 'cancel culture'. Control Your Narrative is clearly influenced by Fight Club's 'Project Mayhem', though they have failed to grasp the work's messages on the dangers of toxic masculinity, proto-fascism, and the creation of cult-like followings. Whilst some may find some cringe-humor in the debut show, from being hosted in the back of an Orlando bar with some poor production value (even by independent wrestling standards) to just the bizarre nature of it all, CYN is a troubling addition to the wrestling ecosystem.

Control Your Narrative doesn't seem to be going anywhere just yet, however. The promotion announced a partnership with 'Pro Wrestling TV', a totally legitimate sounding broadcaster set to launch in April, with CYN beginning to film content at their next event. Also supported by a merchandise store that sells a sample of the most cringe-inducing wrestling shirts in existence as well as the 'Control Your Nutrition' food supplements, they're clearly looking to set up for the long haul - though how much longevity does a ticking time bomb truly have?