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It is an undisputable fact right now that WWE is firing on all cylinders after their Netflix debut. As they click into Wrestlemania season at the Royal Rumble next month, there is a lot to enjoy, so here’s a quick dive into some of the elements that I’ve found to be some of the most interesting elements of the product in recent weeks:
The Production: Whether Lee Fitting is a controversial hire or not given the reasons he exited ESPN, there is no denying that WWE’s look and feel has never looked fresher. In many ways, the current production changes have been the biggest step forward for the company since the day WWE started cribbing WCW Nitro’s homework and created Raw is War. Whether it be the sports-like shots of talents entering the building, cameras following talents through the crowd in a way that it makes you feel you, the viewer, are entering the environment with them, the loss of 10,000 camera cuts a segment, drones flying into and through the venue, and the simple, quiet shots of following a talent after the matches, the current WWE feels more visceral as opposed to the old version, which at times felt overly rehearsed and far too flat emotionally.
Ethan Page: Since coming to NXT, Page has played equal parts asshole antagonist and veteran coach to help bring talents up to the next level. There’s something so prickish about him that you can’t wait to see him get slapped upside the head, no different from Kurt Angle or Steve Corino during their respective careers. While this is a huge long shot, would it be all that shocking if that segment with Page, The Rock and Ava led to some sort of showdown where The Rock lays Page out with a Rock Bottom and a People’s Elbow down the line? Not in my mind, because Page gets the most out of every segment and makes everyone hate him. Even the suit he was wearing in The Rock segment screamed rip it off like he was Ric Flair in 1970s Mid-Atlantic Wrestling. Page is utterly unlikable as a heel and he’s great at it.
The Women’s division: There’s always an argument in certain circles of social media that women in pro wrestling don’t get enough time or matches or attention. This week, in WWE, almost the entire first hour of NXT New Year’s Evil was devoted to women’s bouts and with talent who are learning and trying to find themselves but are given the time to do so on national TV. The night before on the first Raw on Netflix, Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan tore down the house with no less than The Undertaker endorsing Ripley to the new era audience after. Add in that the women’s division has regularly had bouts as good or better than the men’s division over the last year, plus we are looking at the returns of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Jade Cargill, Asuka and others, the potential addition of Roxxane Perez (and others) and things look really positive for 2025 in WWE’s women’s division. They’ve even finally found a good role for Raquel Rodriguez and one can hope Zelina Vegas finally gets the push Twitter wants her to have this year.
Drew McIntyre on social media: I’ve grown to really hate social media over the last few years personally but there’s no denying that if there is one WWE account to follow, it is Drew McIntyre. Whether he’s knocking Cody Rhodes’ neck tattoo or CM Punk’s AEW run, McIntyre’s accounts are an extension of who he is on television - a loud, braggart asshole who can’t be shut down because he can back himself physically. There was nothing funnier or more evil than his photo with AEW’s Jack Perry, although his recent use of a fight at a New York Knicks game featuring someone who sort of looked like Sami Zayn came close. In the 80s, people believed Roddy Piper was a piece of trash-talking filth 24/7 because of how Piper carried himself. McIntyre is the closest equivalent of that today, just presented in a different way, nonetheless evil and hilarious.
The Bloodline: We can also just put Paul Heyman - performer, producer and performer - in this as well. The Bloodline may be the best, longest running long-form content storyline in WWE history. Heyman is no stranger to making such things (Sabu vs. Taz, Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven anyone?) but with this story he and every single performer involved have built this twisted Goodfellas meets The Sopranos meets Game of Thrones labyrinth of a story that has not only elevated every single person involved but never seems to hit its apex when it comes to dragging fans into the story. For every person who complains there’s not enough wrestling on a certain WWE broadcast, I can point to an arena full of captivated fans who are there live to see The Bloodline stories play out - and in many cases, those fans are far happier seeing a “Trial” as much as they are seeing “Tribal Combat.” When you can hold the emotion of the audience in your hand without taking bumps but still take those same fans on an emotional ride, it’s something that’s once in a generation. Nothing lasts forever, but The Bloodline will be to the 21st century what the NWO was to the 90s, the group and story that everyone compares the future against.
Liv and Dom: Could anyone have predicted how much this act would work when it was first put together? It’s equal parts white trash and Mickey and Mallory from Natural Born Killers. Morgan’s confidence has not just shot through the roof but off Planet Earth in the last year while Dom went from a babyface who felt forced and uncomfortable to a truly slimy, sneering heel that exudes the best parts of Eddie Guerrero and JBL when they were cowardly chickenshit villains. The two of them, put together, magnify each other and everyone around them. Rhea Ripley is a great monster babyface, but truly needed great villains in order to ascend. Liv and Dom facilitated that and are now doing the same for Raquel Rodriguez as their ally - and will certainly continue to do that for the next people they are programmed against.
GUNTHER: Is there a more capable, legitimate feeling badass champion anywhere in the world right now? GUNTHER has taken the best elements of Vader, Billy Robinson and Ron Garvin, among others and carved his own path, one powerbomb and chop at a time, to build someone that every wrestling fan can point to and believe that he’s as legitimate as it comes in terms of toughness and in-ring quality from bell to bell. The fact that WWE has smartly protected him in terms of wins and losses only helps matters. No matter who he ends up facing at Wrestlemania, you know they are in for a long night at the office - because you believe in GUNTHER. Hell, so do I. There isn't anyone who doesn't watch GUNTHER who can't believe in him in the moment, especially when you see the remnants of his chops on his opponents' chests. In the 21 century, that is rare and should be commended.
While there are lots of other talents to enjoy (Trick Williams in NXT for example), the CM Punk return run has certainly made a lot of fans happy and Cody Rhodes’ run as WWE Champion is like so few others in terms of a legitimate connection with younger fans, the elements above are the ones that I’ve found myself gravitating towards and enjoying the most in today’s current WWE product.
Winds can change very quickly, but it seems like it would take a number of truly insane shifts for WWE to derail its current momentum, in part because of the great work of those I’ve listed above. WWE is in the midst of something special and unique, and certainly, all of those I've mentioned deserve their true credit and reward for their part in building the success WWE is enjoying currently.
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