10 Most Damaging Figures In The History Of Wrestling

4. George Barrios

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For the uninitiated, George Barrios currently serves as WWE's Chief Strategy Strategy and Financial Officer.

"Damaging" is, if not a complete stretch, then a still-harrowing half-truth. Under Barrios' regime, WWE is more lucrative than it has ever been. The problem is that he has secured the company's medium-term future so well that the actual product has suffered.

Barrios has helped create an environment in which it doesn't matter that nothing matters. It doesn't matter that WWE gives away ceaseless matches on free television. The pay-per-view model is dead; there is no longer much need to preserve anything outside of WrestleMania or, at a stretch, SummerSlam. It doesn't matter that domestic fans cannot reconcile the thought of Jinder Mahal's insanely sudden WWE Championship reign; there is a "localised" audience in India to bear in mind within Barrios' "ecosystem". It doesn't matter that wins and losses don't matter. WWE can get away with sacrificing logic, narrative, and careful forethought for lazy, carousel booking in a systemic enablement of nothingness. The same "core" audience will still lap up "super-servings" of WWE content. In doing so, Barrios and WWE are in the process of manning a second wave of monopolisation.

That is a nice, grassroots, progressive UK scene you've got going on over there. Would be a shame if someone were to borrow, localise and homogenise it...

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!