Real Reason WWE Entrances Are Being Cut

There's a very valid reason why we've stopped seeing as many length entrances in WWE...

by Andrew Pollard
Karrion Kross
WWE

In recent weeks and months, WWE entrances – particularly where it pertains to the NXT brand – have been getting noticeably shorter. And now, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that that is very much by design.

The latest Observer Newsletter reports that main driving force behind the decision to cut back on lengthy ring entrances is Shawn Michaels.

When NXT was still going head-to-head with AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights, the Heartbreak Kid suggested shorter entrances as a way to stop viewers from flipping the channel to check out what was going on in All Elite Wrestling.

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NXT of course doesn’t have a Dynamite problem these days, with WWE’s black and gold brand having switched its weekly programming to Tuesday nights, but the concept of relatively short ring entrances is something that has stuck – with the idea being that this allows more time for in-ring work or to develop storylines.

In an interesting sidenote, the belief behind the scenes in WWE is that Michaels started pushing for this change after his wife Rebecca was watching WWE programming and pointed out how lengthy ring entrances offer up the chance for a viewer to change channel. From there, Shawn brought the issue up with Triple H and changes were soon implemented.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.