10 Ways WWE Storytelling Has Declined Since 2000
5. The 'Extreme' Paradox
Switching to PG has allowed WWE to wash away much of their product’s former crudeness, greatly improving their appeal to advertisers and investors, while leaving their shows feeling cleaner and more polished than ever before. Explicit violence is now a thing of the past, and ‘extreme’ wrestling can no longer flourish.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as for all the Attitude Era’s positive qualities, it was crammed with scrappy, chaotic stunt shows that put the performers’ health at risk. Wrestling will always be a dangerous sport, but WWE have successfully mitigated this, which is a huge plus.
The trouble is that even though blood and brutality no longer have a place on WWE programming, the company continue to push the theme. Extreme Rules was one of the year’s tamest pay-per-views, but it was built on promises of violence. PG makes it impossible to deliver on these, and thus, WWE are perpetuating a false narrative.
When gimmick matches are as docile as the average singles bout, they have no purpose. Two wrestlers competing inside Hell In A Cell doesn’t feel like an escalation anymore, and the stipulations are so overused that they’ve become the norm. The paradox is real, and until WWE accept that they can no longer produce convincingly ‘extreme’ or ‘hardcore’ wrestling, the mixed messages will continue.