The One War WWE Will Never Win

The real enemy is within.

You Are The Authority
WWE

There's a scene in It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia where Dennis Reynolds, surveying the pathetic state of the "gang" that he has to call a friendship group, says "By the way, all of us have become so goddamn weird".

It's from the season 10 episode 'The Gang Misses The Boat': a genius meta exploration of the show's core dynamic in which the cast acknowledge the process of Flanderisation they have underwent, and ultimately arrive at the conclusion that it doesn't matter. They're not cool anymore, if they ever were, and that's OK. They want to dress up and perhaps even become "cheetah men", and why not? They're into that. It's an incredibly, specifically weird thing that they think is cool and or fun. As shown in superb comic set-pieces throughout the episode, they've spent so long being weird that it is the new normal for them. They don't want the old, normal world they were humiliated by, and they are so repugnant as warped simulations of people that the normal world sure as sh*t doesn't want them. Denying reality is significantly less painful to them than living in it.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is a fictional show about the worst, most empathy-devoid people on earth.

Substitute "By the way, all of us have become so goddamn weird" with "You are the Authority now," and how that was no-sold, and you arrive, more or less, at WWE.

CONT'D...(1 of 6)

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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!