What Wrestling Legends Really Think Of Modern WWE

4. The Undertaker

Steve Austin
WWE Network

The Undertaker, who in his most famous match mostly just did a sh*tload of finisher kick-outs and it was great - has criticised WWE's in-ring for its apparent lack of subtlety. Reports state that when 'Taker delivered this critique, his eyes grew wide in melodramatic shock.

Less facetiously, 'Taker in an interview with Onnit Stories claimed that the issue with modern WWE - presumably he isn't downloading torrents of PWG, all that grenade-throwing is beneath a dude who has died like eight times - is that ring psychology has been deemphasised.

In favour of spots!

Those kids, man. When will they learn that the key to getting over in 2020 is by grabbing a damn hold and slowing that sh*t all the way down - i.e., working within the WWE in-house style that has declined steadily and then rapidly for 20 years.

"Everybody's calling, they want to backflip off this and into that instead of learning the finer nuances of what we do, and that's tell stories. Granted, physical, painful stories, but stories nonetheless."

What is it with WWE and the constant conflation of "storytelling" and slow as sh*t pro wrestling? It can be both.

Is this mentality - seriously - informed by the malignant carny idea that the crowd, the "marks", need fairly comprehensible story beats spoon-fed to them?

The intricacies of a Baron Corbin match demand that every move he hits is registered!

 
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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!