The Disturbing Truth Behind Saudi Arabia Buying WWE

Vince McMahon
WWE

Take Newcastle United Football Club as a pilot for where all of this is heading. To the rabid locals, the club is a babyface. The strategy of rebuilding it from the ashes of the previous regime almost borders on genius. The players are grafters, sentimental favourites driven to excellence by the highly intelligent and well-spoken manager Eddie Howe. It feels so little like an ugly blood money-driven cheat code to success that it's shocking. These people know what they are doing, and what they are not doing is tanking a business under the spiteful whims of its founder. And if it doesn't work that way with WWE, the media gives infinitely more of a sh*t about football than wrestling, so that is probably all moot.

If you're more concerned about this from a content perspective, don't be. What realistically changed when Triple H briefly took over as head booker?

The last episode of WWE Raw before the news broke opened with an impromptu Baron Corbin match. The match quality increased as a result of GUNTHER, Ricochet and Seth Rollins, primarily, being encouraged to leave it all in the ring on the TV shows that, under Vince, were perceived as "only" Raw when he berated Shayna Baszler for attempting to work a distinctive, hard-hitting match. Triple H inherited and did a cracking job with the Bloodline saga, but "key matches are built well ahead of major destination show" is the bare minimum for a wrestling promotion with such vast resources. Triple H played it safe and was held aloft as a prestige TV drama screenwriter for colouring inside the lines.

Vince McMahon no longer has to sell for the markets, but then again, he barely did.

Vince McMahon is bringing back the invisible camera, impromptu heatless matches and patently fake scripted promos, but then again, they never went away.

Vince McMahon has sold WWE to an evil regime, but then again, he is Spiderman pointing at himself.

Vince McMahon has won, but then again, he always did.

Life sucks, and then you die.

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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!