The Three Words That Ruined WWE

The Fiend Seth Rollins
WWE.com

WWE's struggles to attract a younger audience are drastic, in the no-fans era of 2020, but looking at the acceleration of its various, recent disasters, it's genuinely a wonder that there are any left watching at home. There's an inspired Office gag in which Jim's pranks are listed back to him in rapid fire, the mounting volume of which bring into focus that they're a bit cruel, actually. Just look at what WWE has "accomplished" since October 2019. The incompetence is staggering, and should illustrate the extent to which this company is in trouble. When you put it "that way"...

They killed the Fiend twice, and brought back the incarnation of the Bray Wyatt character Wyatt had manifested as penance for how sh*t it had become in order to play off the "history" between Wyatt and Strowman, which was a failed experiment, and not a rich, curated backstory. Vince McMahon listened to the fans...

...literally seven years after they last truly believed he was a main event concern, and pushed Dolph Ziggler as a WWE Title challenger despite literal generations of talent emerging after 2013. Of those generations, Ricochet and Aleister Black were both ruined as potential star acts. Ricochet, capable of feats of which no other wrestler is, was annihilated by Brock Lesnar in one minute and 34 seconds and was then defeated by NXT also-ran Riddick Moss, who has since vanished. Black, undefeated in singles competition for months, in some kind of modern record, was defeated cleanly by Seth Rollins in an unadvertised match, and it took several telling seconds for Rollins to make the cover.

CONT'D...(3 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 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!