10 Improvements WWE Have Already Made In The New Era

It’s easy to be cynical about WWE. More often than not, fans doing get what they want, and that’s when the knives come out, viewers switch-off, and the television ratings plummet. From pushing the “wrong guy” and undermining fan favourites to repetitive booking and bland storylines, there’s always something to complain about, and while us wrestling fans have a tendency to exaggerate, the issues are genuine.

WWE haven’t always done the best job when it comes to listening to their fanbase, and their product has been stuck in a holding pattern of tired tropes and formulas for years. By WrestleMania 32, the “PG Era” had long since ran its course. Fan apathy was at a high, ratings were struggling, and Raw and SmackDown had become arduous slogs.

Something had to be done, and WWE knew it. The “New Era” came to fruition shortly after ‘Mania, and the adjustments began. It was the company’s first conscious effort to evolve since going PG back in 2008, and a real attempt to reconnect with their fans and recover lost viewers.

Things slowed-down into the lead-up to the 2016 Brand Split, but for the most part, WWE have put their best foot forward in trying to refresh their product. They haven’t succeeded in every department, but this past week’s programming demonstrated a number of big steps forward, and after months of talk, the New Era finally means something.

Here are 10 improvements WWE have already made in the New Era.

Mr. McMahon will go down as one of the most important characters in WWE history. Vince’s “evil boss” persona was a vital component of the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras, and without him as an antagonist, Stone Cold Steve Austin would have never gotten over as an anti-authority badass. Though the character was heavily inspired by Eric Bischoff’s WCW persona, Mr. McMahon has been imitated on countless occasions, but the original character will never be bettered.

Unfortunately, much of the imitation has come within WWE itself. Vince himself has tried to revive the Mr. McMahon character on a number of occasions over the years, and when he’s not been around, the likes of Triple H, John Laurinaitis, and Vince’s daughter Stephanie have operated as heel authority figures.

The trope had long since run its course. Fans grew tired of seeing babyface wrestlers oppressed by their neerdowell bosses years ago, with the story descending into soul-crushing tedium very early-on in The Authority’s depressingly long reign.

Fortunately, those days appear to finally be behind us. There’s still a touch of evil in Stephanie McMahon, and she’ll always be a natural heel, but she’s slowly reigned-in her megalomania since her husband Triple H’s defeat at WrestleMania, and in Mick Foley, she is joined by one of the most popular performers in WWE history. SmackDown, meanwhile, is administrated by the universally-beloved Daniel Bryan, and Shane McMahon, who has continually played-up to the fans since returning.

While there’ll always be the threat of Triple H returning and throwing a spanner in the works, it’s refreshing to know that whatever happens on Raw or SmackDown over the coming weeks, it won’t involve a turgid “evil boss” story.