10 Things You Learn Watching WWE TV After 9 Months Away
8. Some Of These Stories Feel Very 'Vince Russo'
One of the major criticisms of WWE in the past few years has been just how inane the storylines have been. It’s really not an exaggeration to say that WWE took narrative incompetence to depressing new lows between 2009 and 2016.
To counteract this, it appears WWE has reached into their bag of tricks and have pulled out some narrative strategies that would feel very familiar to anyone who witnessed the Attitude Era and the Monday Night War. During this time, both WCW and the WWF went out of their way to blur the line between fiction and reality. In particular, the infamous Vince Russo liked to incorporate real life wrestling politics and issues, into the stories his shows were producing. Some of these were successful (eg: Mr McMahon as a dick), and some less so (Hogan’s exit in WCW). By the looks of it, WWE is now cautiously imitating Russo's narrative strategy, albeit in a very manufactured, and PG way.
Even if it’s a bit telegraphed, it’s refreshing. As much as the aforementioned Natalia/Nikki feud is embarrassing for all parties involved, the idea that someone would see potential nepotism in John Cena and Nikki Bella's relationship is something WWE are probably right to play up. Similarly, as uncomfortable as it is seeing WWE use Jerry Lawler's on-air heart attack in a storyline, it worked pretty well in giving Dolph Ziggler some much-needed heat. And it's nice to see John Cena really embracing the fact that he is both utterly adored and utterly despised. For the first time in his career, he looks truly free to do what he wants, say what he wants, and act how he wants. His whole schtick is absolutely drenched in irony and self-reflexivity, and it makes him exponentially more entertaining than he’s ever been.