How WWE Is About To Expose Its Biggest Myth

John Cena The Fiend
WWE.com

The performers didn't cut loose, they weren't encouraged to use their creativity to adjust to this new environment. They didn't enter house show mode but were instructed to perform as if nothing had changed. There is a way of acknowledging the situation without taking an overtly ironic approach that likely would undermine the seriousness of the WrestleMania build, as if that tone is even halfway tenable at this weird point.

As a top-of-the-head example, babyface tag team partners don't walk out into the bleachers, take a seat, and cheer on their partners in the midst of a beat-down. A wry smile doesn't creep over the face of the performer getting licked, as he is reminded of who he is fighting for, sparking his comeback. They could do something like this. They could use this new situation to their advantage to put a smile on our face. A knowing smile is still a smile. Isn't that the point of all this even happening anymore?

Or is it to fulfil a TV contract?

WrrestleMania is in danger of becoming an actual punchline. Per reports, WWE is imagining The Fiend Vs. John Cena as a big-budget Hollywood-adjacent spectacle. Their version of that is WWE Studios. It will suck. This is all but enshrined in law. Again: this is a Fiend movie produced by WWE Studios.

A Boneyard match is wildly inappropriate and nobody even knows what it is yet. Most everything else is an empty gym match and can only hope to be "good under the circumstances". Everything will be weird.

CONT'D...(5 of 6)

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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 current Undisputed WWE 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!