10 WrestleMania Statistics WWE Don’t Want You To Know
5. 10
The Part Timer Era took definitive hold in 2011.
Vince McMahon famously announced the Dawn of the Attitude Era on the December 15, 1997 RAW, on which he promised us a cure for the common show. On the February 28, 2011 RAW, Triple H promised us a cure for the common roster.
"And when you look around that locker room in the back, Dead Man, I know you see the same thing that I do - there are no challenges left, really."
Translated: these guys are just guys, they aren't stars, and if we're going to keep making money, we need a payday loan.
And so, Triple H, the Undertaker, the Rock, Brock Lesnar et al. soon dominated, in focus and match length, the Grandest Stage. The ramifications of this strategy rendered everything else - talent, entire title lineages, the other 364 days of the year - a mundanity.
Excluding repeat Kickoff showings, of which there are several, no less than 10 former World Champions have been marginalised to the land of anonymity: Sheamus, Great Khali, The Miz, Jack Swagger, The Big Show, Kane, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt have all appeared on the Kickoff show from 2011 onwards, in various capacities, not a one of them remotely flattering or consequential. This doesn't include countless more current, former and future midcard and Tag Team champions.
The thing about payday loans is that the interest rate is astronomical. WWE has accrued significant creative debt in the years since.