The Lesson WWE BADLY Needs To Learn From The NJPW G1 Climax

Finn Balor Andrade
WWE.com

WWE drops several clues in the weeks leading up to it, unhelpfully, by positioning just one star at the forefront of TV. This year, it was Seth Rollins. 2018 was the outlier. In 2016, WWE gracelessly gave away the main event of WrestleMania 32. A year earlier, it was so searingly obvious that Roman Reigns was winning that WWE adapted the “Anyone but you” sentiment into his programme with Bray Wyatt. Becky Lynch was nailed on to win this year’s Women’s Rumble. To entertain themselves ahead of it, fans had to debate the how, not the who. In the end, WWE opted for an unimaginative injury angle, which Becky got over through sheer force of will and her connection with the people.

This problem isn’t limited to the Rumble.

WWE has struggled badly to build talent this year through carefully plotted midcard programmes. Paul Heyman didn’t really need to put over his “spoiler” shtick ahead of Extreme Rules—which other heel was remotely ready for the SummerSlam main event, if not Brock Lesnar? Sami Zayn lit up the post-WrestleMania RAW, indicating to fans that he was to be heavily featured in the coming months. As the months rolled by, he did jobs to Tucker on SmackDown. Andrade went 50/50 with Finn Bálor, and then Apollo Crews. Baron Corbin was an unpopular choice to challenge the Universal Champion, but he at least had an in-built reason to challenge, by virtue of retiring Kurt Angle at WrestleMania. Drew McIntyre played lackey to Shane McMahon. Daniel Bryan was relegated to the tag team division.

With no heels built for Kofi Kingston, either, WWE simply fast-tracked Samoa Joe, relying on his excellent character work. The careless plotting was contagious; their Extreme Rules encounter died a death.

CONT'D...(4 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!