10 Most Unthinkable WWE Changes In The Last 5 Years
9. Working With Others
The idea of WWE even acknowledging another company’s existence was a foreign concept five years ago. Vince McMahon’s acquisition of the ECW and WCW brands through the Invasion necessitated their presence, but there was more chance of Mason Ryan and Vladimir Kozlov wrestling a five-star classic than WWE acknowledging NJPW or CMLL in 2011.
Now, barely an episode of SmackDown passes without the commentators mentioning AJ Styles’ reign as IWGP Champion, even if they conveniently skirt around his TNA background. Smaller indie companies are constantly alluded to, even if they’re not mentioned by name, and now, more than ever, WWE have finally remembered that yes, their workers actually had careers prior to joining the Performance Center.
It goes deeper than that, though. WWE’s working relationship with EVOLVE has seen the likes of Drew Gulak and Tony Nese appear as freelancers on Raw, NJPW’s Jushin Liger showed-up at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, a host of global talent moonlighted in the Cruiserweight Classic, and Kota Ibushi occasionally appears for a cup of coffee in NXT.
WWE haven’t quite gone the extra mile to unite the wrestling world under their umbrella, but their cold shoulder approach to smaller companies is all but dead.