Why WWE Needs A NEW Pipebomb Moment

by Michael Sidgwick
Roman Reigns Pipebomb
WWE

Perhaps the recent rumours of a New Japan Pro Wrestling crossover may yet change the game. Perhaps Roman Reigns, when finally unleashed in the heel role, may yet unleash a promo blasting the creative direction of his character with such refreshing, iconic honesty that it spells the end, forevermore, of the Vince McMahon pet project. Perhaps those words will ring so true that the reverberation never stops.

Or perhaps these fantasy booking scenarios miss the point entirely.

We cannot rely on them, nor the the creative team tasked with making them a reality to initiate change. To underline the extent to which they are utterly useless, they are in fact literally redundant. They aren’t needed. With zero exceptions, wrestlers get over using their own instincts far more than they do reciting pure dross. WWE can only create a new Pipebomb moment by removing their power and placing it into the hands of the performer - the only real constant in an ever-evolving industry.

WWE needs to lend a Voice to the Voiceless to inspire hope within the hopeless, even in an age in which actual fan engagement matters less than ever. This grim new world, in which corporate financing dictates everything in WWE, is just a new paradigm. The eventual, inevitable destruction of this world will give the power back to the people - but only if the passion of the people isn’t ritually destroyed in the interim.

On June 27, 2011, CM Punk was instructed to do whatever he saw fit to sell a pay-per-view. WWE no longer needs to sell pay-per-views.

But, to enliven a creatively dead landscape, the company needs a new Pipebomb moment.

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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!