10 Things We Learned From WWE 24: Empowered

4. Re-re-reframing The Narrative

AJ Lee Kaitlyn
WWE

Depending on how many more of these WWE intend to make, the history of Women's wrestling may yet again change as per the whims of Vince McMahon or whomever keeps such asinine company mandates on such a tight leash.

In the last Women-centric '24' special, the company rather abandoned the period between Trish Stratus and Lita bidding adieu and the famed NXT-inspired 'revolution' in 2015.

Not here.

With Beth Phoenix, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly and several other major figures from admittedly the darkest days of the Divas division, the period was now a celebrated transition rather than the black eye it was once considered.

The company are having their cake and eating it yet again, though hopefully that sort of angle won't feature in the fat-shaming WrestleMania programme between Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax. Quite enough went on between McCool and evergreen returnee Mickie James in the aforementioned abysmal years to last a lifetime.

Bizarrely enough, not a single 'Piggie James' skit aired over this entire hour, despite two thirds of the original SmackDown storyline physically reuniting for the first time under WWE's bright lights. Such a shame to waste such vintage creative inspiration.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett