WWE's Latest Disaster Is About To Get EVEN WORSE

by Michael Sidgwick
Cody Rhodes is sad
WWE

It took a while - since WWE's post-Attitude Era period was mostly a critical and commercial disasterscape - but eventually, when John Cena and Batista won the big ones at WrestleMania 21, it felt like they were on equal footing.

This was the case a year earlier, not that it feels pleasant to put that development over, but by 2005, the titles were firmly equal in stature. The old World Heavyweight title turned to sh*t, of course, and the Universal title felt cursed for ages, but it's nonsense to suggest that this can't work.

There's precedent for this to work, even in spite of a terrible launch, but this is all, at the very least, terribly convoluted - and all the while, WWE has eroded the trust in the process it had done a terrific job of rebuilding on the road to WrestleMania. This is key. WWE might still have a happy, logical ending in play, but fewer and fewer people believe that to be the case. This isn't good. The idea is to invest in your escapist hobby, not to become leery of it. Wrestling is so much better when it feels like something awesome is going to happen and you can believe it is going to happen. The First Dance. Cody's march to the WrestleMania 39 main event. Steve Austin getting one over on Vince McMahon. Whatever this World Heavyweight title business is, it isn't that.

In the end, no matter what happens, every single person on that roster is secondary to Roman Reigns. WWE is right. That story never finishes. And while that's how a top star should be promoted, it has been nine years of Keep Roman Strong, of RomanWinsLOL.

Is it not getting a bit boring at this point?

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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 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!