10 Things WWE Are Secretly Telling Fans About Their Future

7. It's Never Off The Table

Vince McMahon
WWE

There was point during the initial hysteria around Shawn Michaels' planned Crown Jewel return where select bookmakers made The Rock an even money bet to win the 2019 Royal Rumble.

Ignoring the madness that WWE has even become an entity in which money can be made from predetermined outcomes, the story was instead telling for how the widest floodgates were swinging open in light of the Saudi Arabian investment.

'HBK' retirement was sacrosanct in an industry notorious for its entire disregard for the concept. Ric Flair, Terry Funk and others have parodied that particular notion over the years, but Shawn having neither the emotional want nor financial need seemed set to buck the trend and hopefully trigger a brand new one in the process.

Some will view the news as a step back for Michaels and the entire industry's bought and sold soul, but it's two forward for the most fanciful fantasy bookers. Shawn in Saudi and The Rock in the Rumble suddenly saw Stone Cold Steve Austin speculated for WrestleMania and countless inter-generational dream matches pitched as darkly realistic possibilities in a world where an Amy Winehouse hologram has her own tour lined up.

Heroes of Wrestling reanimated corpses as early as 1999 - the technology has only improved since.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 almost 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 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL 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