10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About WrestleMania 39

2. A Raw Deal

John Cena WrestleMania
WWE.com

This point might be flawed, since everybody's social media is curated differently and Twitter is a bubble used by a minority of television viewers before it is configured into an echo chamber.

But did you read any takes, even as WrestleMania 39 unfolded with its peaks of excellence, to the effect of "Man, this show is great and I can't wait to check out Raw afterwards?"

No.

The joy of WrestleMania 39, as unbelievable as it was, was fleeting - at least to those who know better, or feel like they know better. Many fans live-tweeting the show experienced it as a one-off. The idea that WrestleMania is the one night per year that draws the casual fan was all too real over the weekend.

How bad a TV product must WWE Monday Night Raw be, for something like Rey Vs. Dominik Mysterio to happen and not entice the disillusioned, lapsed base to watch the episodic story beats?

The answer to that question arrived 48 hours later, as it always does.

Raw was a putrid, tedious sludge of a show. Veering between oppressive (Brock Lesnar dismantling Cody Rhodes) and redundant (Seth Rollins leading a singalong when his night one entrance was replayed in full on night two), the show was the expected disaster.

A ratings hit in 2023, Raw was never going to win back those ran off over the last several years - and was in fact so dismal that it may alienate those enthused about Triple H's approach to 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!