If WWE Was Being Honest About Unhappy Talent

by Michael Sidgwick
Fabulous Moolah Battle Royal
WWE

Naomi won the SmackDown Women’s Championship in Orlando. Next year: Moolah. Only, lol, WWE discovered that naming the battle royal attraction after a reviled pimp wasn’t good business practise.

See? Morbidly hilarious.

WWE’s global raid has backfired spectacularly. Aiming to secure a warehouse of ambitious, prime talent, the bloated roster now seeks an escape. WWE’s week-to-week product is so laughably inconsistent that it invites waves of scorn on Twitter. We are in the Meme Era of WWE, and the roster is sick of being the punchline—particularly since their erstwhile colleague Cody, the example to follow, is Being The Elite.

Something needs to change, but it can’t. WWE cannot be honest about all of this. WWE is fundamentally incapable of lasting creative change—remember the December 17 RAW?—and even less capable of or inclined to rip up the new personnel blueprint. The company is too spiteful, too fearful of losing grip on its monopoly. Just listen to the absolute state of Triple H’s Hall of Fame speech. There’s an underlying arrogance to everything, too.

We have reached a point at which acts that debuted in January of this year can now be classed as “long-suffering”.

This sh*t is unsustainable, but WWE will maintain its stronghold. Under these bizarre, oxymoronic conditions, only chaos is possible. It is a strangely, perversely magic time to follow WWE. To perform under its umbrella, through which rain pours ceaselessly like an early morning in New Jersey, seems significantly less magic.

WWE has for years surgically removed any sense of autonomy within its talent. The company has been asking for this for well over a decade. Change is coming.

In WWE, it always is.

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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!