10 Reasons Why Old School Fans Struggle With Modern WWE

2. Nothing Is So Bad That It's Good

Sycho Sid
WWE.com

Everything in WWE is micromanaged within an inch of its life - promos, characters, production. Ruled with an autocratic polish, there is little scope for wrestlers to separate themselves from the homogenised pack. Equally, there is little scope for calamity.

Sadly, we'll never see anything like Kronik Vs. The Brothers Of Destruction at Unforgiven 2001 again. It was a hot mess of blown spots and miscued timing - one of the all-time entertainingly awful matches. Vince McMahon's grip is now so tight that he would not allow such shaky performers to grace his national stage. Nor for that matter would he allow Sid to just go absolutely off on one, screaming nonsense at the top of his lungs. Nowadays, shows are produced with such strict preparation that there is no chance whatsoever of a performer forgetting that he's even on live television.

The last elements of WWE TV which came close to crossing that undefinable line were the original seasons of NXT, but they are only blackly funny in retrospect. Those were the company's top developmental prospects thrown to the wolves.

Yetis can never be mummies again - and wrestling is all the worse for 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!