13 Ups & 9 Downs For WWE In 2022

Ups…

13. Vince McMahon Resigns In Disgrace

Vince McMahon Triple H
WWE

...WWE got an unexpected and quite remarkable creative restart.

Articles like this and others similar to it will use the success and failure of various wrestlers, angles and matches to determine exactly how well or poorly Triple H has done since taking over from Vince McMahon in July, but while there are cogent arguments on both sides for 'The Game's dealings so far, one thing is so apparent that it splits the entire year in two with a BC/AD-like chasm - WWE is a wrestling show again.

It might not be a particularly good one if it's not to your tastes, or in comparison to a far more established wrestling company in the form of AEW. But even the most boring changes made by Triple H ensured that the Sports Entertainment brand could at least go back to making a modicum of sense instead of zero at all. The positives now are far more earned than the usual cycle of "X talent got over in spite of the WWE system" or "X managed to fool Vince McMahon into doing something good" and the like, with several of the below entries seemingly a direct result of Hunter either providing performers with something to focus on, and/or allowing them more freedom to flourish away from crippling and fatalistic micromanagement.

The extremely high levels of positivity now do raise questions about those that were just as high on WWE when Vince McMahon was in charge, but that says more about those people and anybody else that parrots their sycophantic co-opted drivel.

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Contributor
Contributor

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