10 WWE Decisions AEW SHOULD BE Scared Of

5. Re-establishing Legends

Cody Young Bucks Fiend Undertaker Sasha Banks Adam Cole
WWE.com

A disastrous Undertaker/Goldberg match at April's Super Showdown was the second Saudi Arabia show in a row to take the legacies of legends and publicly dismember them, no matter how bad a look it was.

'The Deadman' joined Kane, Shawn Michaels and an injured Triple H in assembling one of the most embarrassing pay-per-view main events in years at November 2018's Crown Jewel, doubling down on years of indifferent efforts that seemed sure to eventually kill his reputation as an all-time great and future drawing power as one of the company's special attractions.

Then, in two months, both 'Big Evil' and Big Bill were completely rehabilitated.

Inserted into midcard programmes to play their greatest hits in well-booked spectacles, the pair washed away the Saudi stain with two of the best one-night outings of 2019. Are WWE finally figuring out how to get the best out of their former favourites?

A look elsewhere on the show seems to suggest so. Jerry Lawler, Kurt Angle and Mick Foley were all fed to Bray Wyatt's Fiend, whilst Stone Cold Steve Austin and Booker T have been Skyped in to put over present day babyfaces as well as whatever they're looking to promote for themselves.

There isn't a perfect formula, but WWE's galaxy of stars is something the opposition simply can't offer. It's time to monetise it beyond just filling the Network archive.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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