10 Things We Learned From WWE 24: Empowered
3. F***ing Marks
Dolph Ziggler laid claim to the phenomenal 'Gratitude Era' tag used to describe himself and others from more recent generations that grew up as such ardent WWE fans that they wanted to be part of the show more than just being the show themselves.
A relatively new phenomenon, the idea of admitting to be a fan of wrestlers or a product past or present only showed itself in years after the most grizzled veterans departed. Those old heads were raised to make money from an industry with your colleagues, not make history dressed as your heroes on a Network special.
The reasonable compromise between the two eras doesn't appear all that clear as of yet, but the latter substantially outweighed the former when discussion turned to the meshing of talents old and new in the Rumble itself.
Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Carmella and the rest spoke openly about their unabashed excitement to work with Molly Holly, Trish Stratus and co, whilst Mickie James cooed more over those legends returning to remind her of the 'good old days'. The compliments were rarely returned from the older heads, far less interested in being part of a show compared to giving the paying audience one.
As somebody quite literally married to the 'Old School', perhaps Michelle McCool picked a side and used that conviction to campaign for so many eliminations in the match itself?