Why WWE Is Playing A Dangerous Game With WrestleMania 38

WWE is calling WrestleMania 38 "stupendous". The first four letters are correct, at least...

by Michael Sidgwick
Shane McMahon
WWE

WWE is in disarray.

The wild news of Shane McMahon's "quiet" exit from the company underscored the total chaos at its core. One minute, he was set to work Seth Rollins - who had to beat Roman Reigns (!) via disqualification to keep him strong ahead of that mooted match - and the next, he was pitching a match against Austin Theory. This sh*t should be marked on the board in permanent marker by November at the earliest. With a plan and destination in place, WWE could build interest in storylines by teasing conflict, shooting angles, generally doing things to make you want to watch a match that hasn't been booked five minutes ago, if in fact it has even been booked at all.

This is the most basic tenet of traditional storytelling. Figure out the ending, make the journey interesting. WWE does neither, ritually, and isn't even doing this on the "road" to its biggest show of the year.

WWE allowed Shane to ruin one of the most important matches of the year because his pathetic ego couldn't sanction the idea of not kicking everybody's f*cking ass. Forget about the damn WrestleMania midcard: when are we getting to the Shane McMahon factory!

"Bang pow! Punches in bunches to Riddle! *Generic shadow boxing-adjacent noises and gestures* Left hook to Brock, liver shots to Bad Bunny! It's sickahohow I'm so f*ckin' sick you guys!"

That was the verbatim scene in the production room on Saturday; in an astonishing story, Shane booked himself like Antonio Inoki and didn't have a single thought nor care about how to advance f*ck all else.

CONT'D...(1 of 6)

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK 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 AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and 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!