10 Ways WWE Can Finally Get Their Audience Back

1. Be Good, Consistently, For A Calendar Year

Big E
WWE

This is the main crux of the issue.

A significant portion of fans that might be inclined to still enjoy WWE for what WWE is - a soapy, verbose and contrived interpretation of pro wrestling - simply can't trust it to be good for any worthwhile length of time.

WWE is not uniformly, irredeemably abysmal. Well, RAW is, which isn't ideal, but they're not pumping out Heroes Of Wrestling-tier junk on every single broadcast. Certain developments betray the prevailing take that WWE is in the mud. The RK-Bro storyline is over with crowds and, gauging by the rare, real sound in arenas, fans have been effectively manipulated into sympathising with Riddle. The Head of the Table stuff isn't as over as his biggest defenders think it is, but the individual performance is legitimately superb. Put an over babyface on a winding long-term collision course with Roman Reigns, and the promise of the act might yet reveal itself.

Night one of WrestleMania was excellent - a quintessentially WWE show that proved, across its giant breakouts, dumb-fun Shane McMahon bumps and glorious spectacle, that the old magic still glows.

Say WWE strips itself of the reluctant, loveless embrace of the old indie scene and somehow distills night one of 'Mania and applies it to cohesive, functional TV. Say Vince McMahon's recent HHH-baiting impulses are proven correct.

The chronic lack of trust is such that it will still take at least a year of healing for it to matter.

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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!