How Exactly Wrestling Will Return Better Than Ever

Literally unprecedented brilliance awaits.

by Michael Sidgwick
Orange Cassidy
AEW/Lee South

Wrestling is weird now.

That which exists to help us escape cannot help but remind in this eerie new context. Beyond the blip that was WrestleMania 36 - the peaks of which were as memorable and or as seminal as anything the company has ever produced - WWE's approach has invited scorn.

And strong praise, insofar as the excellent Road to WrestleMania promos, but the steadfast in-house match layouts and presentation style create such a synthetic vibe, which is doubly alienating since WWE is synthesising that which is already lacking for soul.

Recent episodes of AEW Dynamite, not bad shows per se, can not replicate the stirring, irresponsible creative magic of the first empty arena show. Kenny Omega can still operate very well in this context. His match with Trent on last week's Dynamite was a superb war of attrition; an exhibition of sportsmanship wrestled in the spirit of the occasion consumed and made ugly by its ultra-competitive edge. It was in tone and structure the perfect match for an imperfect context, but he had to seemingly re-injure or exacerbate his torn labrum to get the story over. The talent has to work super-stiff to get matches over now, and it isn't sustainable.

CONT'D...(1 of 6)

Advertisement
In this post: 
Kenny Omega
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!