10 Ways DDT Did WWE Better Than WWE At WrestleMania 35 Weekend

10. Genuine Variety

That WWE fail their hardcore audience by serving too many masters at once is a common complaint, and one with merit. In trying to create a product that appeals to men, women, and children of all ages, they created a storytelling vehicle that rarely slips out of third gear. Raw and SmackDown are never outright terrible, but they hardly ever hit higher than a 6 or 7 out of 10 either, because they try to be a pantomime, soap opera, comedy show, and pseudo sport simultaneously, but excel at none.

Here's the thing, though: so does DDT, and Coming To America hit much greater highs than the average WWE variety show.

Coming To America had over-the-top comedy, gimmick matches, bold characters, women's wrestling, hardcore spots, hot action for the workrate fans, badass heels, babyfaces you can root for, and so much more. It succeeded where WWE regularly fails by going all in on everything. While Vince McMahon's writing always gives the impression he's reluctant to stray too far from his product's line of best fit, DDT leave nothing in the tank. Nothing is superficial: everything is honest, whether it hits the mark or not, and the result is a compelling variety show with nothing that feels out of place.