It’s Official: A New Era Has Begun In WWE

The Room
TPW Films

The Undertaker, stitched back at the seams with Saudi blood money, used the last fumes of his tank to blow an errant strand of hair from his face as the match crawled to a conclusion. Even this was beyond him. Out of breath, he collapsed to the mat, a morbidly hilarious shadow of his old, formidable self. The Saudi General Sports Authority presented Crown Jewel…

…in partnership with WWE Studios.

To use another, more fitting film analogy (Death Becomes Her is actually really good on purpose), Tommy Wiseau’s The Room is the definitive so-bad-it’s-good masterpiece. Harrowing, copy-and-pasted software sex scenes shot and acted by the über-bizarre antithesis of sex; inexplicably abandoned subplots; genuinely alien-like dialogue: it is an incredibly wrong film. Everything about it is the antithesis of good filmmaking, and is thus impressively awful. In a low-key moment of wrongness, we see, over and over again, the sun setting over San Francisco. This is a cinematic technique designed to convey the passage of time. No time passes in The Room. The passage of time conveys nothing.

On the undercard of Crown Jewel, Shane McMahon, to cap off a tournament weeks in the making, one with no less lofty a stake than to determine the best wrestler in the world, won the inaugural WWE World Cup. After a second, very convenient injury angle, McMahon, always the hero, always the badass, stepped in for The Miz. He defeated Dolph Ziggler in an impromptu final, drawing utter astonishment from all quarters. Was anybody that fussed? Subjectively, this was hilarious.

CONT'D...(3 of 5)

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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 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!