10 Dream Scenarios For Wrestling's New BOOM Period

3. Triple H Starts Taking Risks

Bryan Danielson ROH Thumb
WWE.com

Paul Levesque is a very effective if dry wrestling booker. 

Now, that's a good thing, at least to his audience. He profiles his top stars. Even if they don't have a great deal to do, they do a great deal. Sometimes, a back-and-forth promo duel will drag as the wrestlers involved regurgitate the premise of their rivalry at one another, but the effect works over time. You know who the stars are. It's as much an exercise in conditioning as storytelling, an approach best typified by Levesque's insistence on booking very, very long title reigns as the norm. 

The philosophy yields incredible results when WWE does eventually deviate from the pattern. Cody Rhodes, drenched in blood, becomes a far more indelible image precisely because it so rarely happens. A turn, like Damage CTRL's on Bayley, is meant to resonate all the more. 

Signing CM Punk was a risk, and every time he appears onscreen, WWE takes on a fascinating, untenable edge. Why not do more interesting things? 

Stop the soft-launch NXT call-ups and boldly promote a talent as a true difference-maker, because as it stands, no debuting name will ever have the Will Ospreay Effect in AEW. Give an untested talent a live mic, just to see what would happen. If they can actually hang, 

Less is more works for WWE, but the TV is too often free of true incident. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!