10 Ways WWE Has Warped The Minds Of Fans

7. Tag Team Wrestlers ARE Stars

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Being The Elite

Kenny Omega is a World Tag Team Champion who has either headlined or worked the longest match on the last four AEW pay-per-views, three of which drew in excess of 100,000 buys.

He is considered less of a star than he was in New Japan Pro Wrestling because he isn't a singles World Champion. People retrieve stopwatches and time this man's matches, to see how much offence he allows his opponents, because WWE has for years - through Billionaire Ted skits, "high school gyms" rhetoric and the like - mobilised its fans to lash out at anything that threatens WWE's critical perception or financial bottom line.

This is why, for example, Johnny Gargano, last seen as a midcard heel with spaghetti on his head, doesn't also draw the same "He was a bigger star in 2018!" criticism Omega is subjected to every other week.

Omega is also considered less of a star than he was because of the division in which he wrestles, which is presented in WWE as beneath singles wrestling, or a platform to it, because Vince McMahon would rather pay one man, rather than two, main event money.

Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels became "real" stars when they left their midcard tag teams, remember.

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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!