The Disturbing Truth Behind WWE’s New Monopoly

Gargano Black
WWE.com

To enjoy a Johnny Gargano match in 2018, you sort of have to enjoy a Shawn Michaels match, too: though exactly the sort of pulsating, twisting, affair NXT fans lap up, you couldn’t not see the puppet strings hovering over the heads of Gargano and Aleister Black in Los Angeles. The story-driven build reflected in the match, melodrama at times supplanted realism. At various points, both the never-say-die Gargano and martial arts practitioner Black disengaged from combat blows to instead exchange words.

This TakeOver was suffixed ‘WarGames II’; at times, they might as well have stuck ‘The Resurrection of Shawn Michaels’ on it. Shawn was an outstanding performer, obviously, and clearly, millions of fans enjoyed his theatrical style. But this sort of very apparent NXT production is another form of WWE control. Look at certain new main roster acts, like AOP, and you can infer what is taught and what is learned—and, by extension, how much of what we see on NXT is production flex, and what is creative freedom. A more entertaining spin on it—but control, nonetheless. Even if that one match was amazing in itself, the principle behind its layout remains troubling for the wider picture.

Should WWE achieve this new strategy, and become successful in luring away the very best practitioners in Japan and elsewhere, hysterical as this may read, you won’t see Minoru Suzuki drill anybody’s skull with a cradle piledriver. You won’t see Tomohiro Ishii bust anybody’s brains. Kazuchika Okada isn’t an enduring, safe pair of hands known intimately to WWE for decades. He’ll have to retire his Tombstone. It’s not as if Okada, and what a grim, sad-but-true notion this is, is Kane.

Kenny Omega doesn’t appear to be WWE-bound anytime soon, but then, many wrote that about WALTER prior to this week. It doesn’t matter that the Cleaner has performed his uranage signature safely every time he has delivered it; his opponents land a bit too close to their heads for WWE’s liking.

It will have to be modified.

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 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!