10 Ways WWE Has Changed Since John Morrison Left

5. Cash In A Flash

John Morrison CM Punk
WWE

John Morrison's return coming just days before one of the biggest weeks in WWE history spoke to how nothing ever stands still in the organisation, regardless of how much more polish they've been able to add to their processes over the last decade.

2019 will prove to be financially transformative for WWE, but it'll remain unclear just how much these changes will benefit the viewer. Moneyed television deals and the problematic relationship with the Saudi Arabian Sports Authority filled Vince McMahon's mansions with rivers of gold, but only in the wake of the Wednesday Night War and pressure from Fox has this finally manifested in impacting the actual output.

2018 saw WWE scooping over 50% of their revenue from television rights deals and other investments and endorsements rather than cash from a customer's pocket. They'll welcome small fortunes from all of us, but our hard-earned investment no longer reflects a majority, regardless of how much a McMahon tells us we still come first.

The corporate culture changes can be largely credited to Stephanie McMahon and Triple H's gradual takeover of the operational side of the industry. From the original top table, only Kevin Dunn remains - and not coincidentally, production style is one of the few things that hasn't massively altered since the 2002 WWE shift. A warehoused roster including the likes of 'JoMo' speaks to how the system works - more is always more with the company, but it's ever meant more to have more.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 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 over 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 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana 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