THIS Is The Same Mistake WWE Makes Every WrestleMania Season

becky lynch stephanie mcmahon raw promo
WWE.com

This plot development can't escalate, and under the principles of drama, it cannot be ignored nor diminished. Somehow, with this shock tactic, WWE has lessened the impact of Baszler's deadly arsenal. An expertly-applied submission hold will not hold the same visual power. A vampire is deadlier than a wrestler.

WWE did it again, and "it" in this latest specific example was WWE emphasising a story beat to the point of farce in order to enhance WrestleMania season.

The omens for Shayna Baszler Vs. Becky Lynch are not great, gauging by last year's hopelessly excessive Winner Take All storyline. The original premise of the story was simple and elevated by the enormous star power of the respective players. Reduced, Becky Lynch versus Ronda Rousey was a tale of belief versus quality. It was genuinely inspiring. And then WWE botched it by ruining the crux of Becky's character to such a backwards extent that she cut a pitiable figure. She suffered a storyline knee injury in a rote bid for sympathy, and the crutch she carried with her removed all of her zeitgeist-grabbing power. WWE surgically removed the essence of The Man and transplanted tropes where her heart once was.

Deeply unnecessary Authority interference did her in, too. She was sorry, alright; when she apologised to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, this submissive behaviour seemed to punish everybody for drawing comparisons between Becky Lynch and Steve Austin. A sh*tty smorgasbord of WWE tropes, one, at least, was very fun.

WWE has taken the whole "Road" thing rather seriously in recent years.

CONT'D...(2 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 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!