10 Things WWE Is Still Awesome At

4. Vignettes

WWE excels at making the prospect of missing a major match borderline crushing. So much is repeated that it's almost impossible to really miss anything - and yet, WWE has mastered the art of FOMO, principally through their incredible pre-match vignettes.

Triple H Vs. Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 33 suffered badly from a lack of heat, but you can only fault the bloated card and, ironically, the scorching Florida sun. It was intelligently-worked and ingeniously-promoted.

Triple H's long-winded RAW promos were rendered with a brutal economy when spliced by WWE's next-level editing team. Those fellas are eagle-eyed; they somehow unearthed footage of Triple H looking involuntarily hesitant (1:37) as Rollins delivered one of his entitled, overcompensatory 2015 promos. Triple H was portrayed as a beast in the vignette, as you'd expect - and Rollins was depicted as a sympathetic figure without it feeling manipulative, hollow and overwrought. Brief, understated glimpses were seen of Rollins' initial ACL tear, both gruelling rehabilitations, of him watching WrestleMania 32 with detached despair. The creeping use of Metallica's Am I Savage? rose in the mix in parallel with the hairs on your neck.

No wrestling company before or since WWE has massaged anticipation quite like them.

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!