The Lost Magic Of WWE's REAL Golden Era (And How To Bring It Back)

Clash At The Castle 2022 was in the works before Vince McMahon resigned in disgrace, but the wheels Nick Khan put in motion to make that happen have gelled expertly with Triple H's more focussed and destination-centric booking. WWE had been paid by the Welsh government to put the event on, Khan had meetings with television executives as the very best version of the product he was selling came to town, and Triple H had a British babyface he could feed to Roman Reigns as a way to give the stadium crowd a match that earnestly felt like it belonged to them.

It was the beginning of a series of similar scenarios. Sami Zayn main evented against Reigns in Montreal that featured hometown hero Kevin Owens saving his friend in an evocative post-match. Damien Priest, Zelina Vega and Bad Bunny had memorable nights on a Puerto Rico Backlash show that generated Steve Austin pops for Carlito and inadvertent anti-reaction meme Savio Vega. John Cena surprised London with his presence and the promise that he'd fly a WrestleMania request up the corporate flagpole, and Rhea Ripley toasted a year as one of Raw's biggest stars by delighting an Australian stadium crowd like she was a decades-long pro. The TakeOver magic has been in the air.

The reframing of the WWE B-Show into an event that attaches itself deep into the soul of those lucky enough to attend it has been a business masterstroke that goes beyond the strategy of simply not being Vince McMahon. For too long, the events between the company's "Big Four/Five" (McMahon himself historically went off Survivor Series and the company often sold Money In The Bank as a major occasion) were there to ensure the raft of ambling shambling television characters had something to do. In reality, they made a big problem even worse.

The Superstars had never felt further away from the branding, and the middling shows they worked during down times for the business made the perception even worse.

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