Now Is the Best Time to Get Back Into the WWE
WWE’s 2023 Survivor Series: WarGames Premium Live Event (PLE) has come to a successful end, and with it, the return of Randy Orton and the surprise reveal of CM Punk, who is back with the company after a decade.
But that’s not all. Couple that with the new creative booking coming from Triple H, who now helms the company following the merger with UFC, and a diverse roster of Superstars in the locker room, and now is the best time for new and returning fans to get back into WWE.
We are in a new era, much like the so-called Universal, Reality, PG, Ruthless Aggression, and Attitude eras before it. With Triple H at the helm, it means Vince McMahon is no longer around to stifle storylines or meddle with established gimmicks. The UFC merger saw the complete removal of McMahon from those creative decisions and put his son-in-law and former wrestler at the head of the table. Fans love him for his on-screen presence, as well as his penchant for giving emerging talent a chance during his tenure running WWE’s NXT division.
Evidence of his leadership is in signing CM Punk in the first place. The bad blood between Triple H, McMahon, and Punk is laced in the very WWE run that made Punk so famous. McMahon went on record saying he would never do business with him again, and lo and behold, here Punk is, and here McMahon ain’t, and the product has already changed for the better.
If you’re a lapsed fan, now is no better time to jump back into WWE. Royal Rumble is right around the corner and has served as the perfect jumping-off point for several eras previously. Stories are already easily accessible if you’re aware of the whole Tribal Chief/Bloodlines thing and the return of Punk. Everyone on the roster, from fresh-faced punks to new school legends, is going to want a piece of Punk because of his history in the company.
He’s everything he preached against ten years ago. Now, he’s the oldhead coming to steal the thunder from the young cats. He’s also the hypocrite who himself cemented in his post-WWE career that he would never return, and so the people who remained have a bone to pick with him. It writes itself.
Speaking of the roster, it has never featured a more diverse mix of fresh faces like Rhea Ripley and L.A. Knight, some nepo babies with legacy names like Dominick Mysterio and Cody Rhodes (who had a similar post-WWE career to Punk), new school vets like Orton and Jey Uso, as well as old school vets like The Rock and John Cena possibly making appearances (if they aren’t already back to work in Hollywood).
Punk being here is just the icing on top, and if he’s used correctly, we’re in for a bounty of dream matches and grudge matches for the next few PLEs, and we may get even more surprise returns as a result.
It’s not just a good time to jump into WWE, but wrestling itself.
Contracts at both WWE and All Elite Wrestling are lucrative, and there’s plenty of room for good talent at both (although not everyone will be the main event’s top talent, which is hard for many to accept). Even Impact Wrestling (soon to be renamed TNA again) is doing good business and getting good buzz. Ring of Honor Wrestling is essentially developmental for AEW and lesser indie joints, but that just means there are plenty of other places to go. New Japan Pro Wrestling has a relationship with AEW, and Pro Wrestling Noah has a minor relationship with WWE after they sent Nakamura to Great Muta’s retirement shows. The Mexican promotions are working with other spots.
It’s all just really good for wrestling as a whole.
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I know the point of commenting on this column is to maybe disagree with the central thesis, but as a WWE mark since 2006 who has grown up with the burgeoning world of wrestling on streaming, and witnessed some seismic shifts in the genre's presentation, workmanship, and even storytelling standards, I feel this article is preaching to the choir somewhat. The WWE product under Triple H's tenure has improved across the board, with expectations for what industry superstars look, sound, and fight like greatly expanding so that, as Miles Morales says in the Spider-Verse films, "Anyone can wear the mask. YOU can wear the mask." AEW has diversified the market to some degree, and even with its own litany of faults, it still showcases an exciting vertical slice of what else is going on in the world three (or more) times a week. ROH is starting to become its own thing again, New Japan has developed a decent following that I'd love them to keep building on in the States, Impact (soon to become TNA again next year) has found a new groove, Billy Corgan's NWA has somehow weathered some nasty incidents...
And most of the aforementioned is accessible in various forms on streaming for far more affordable prices than most other media, perhaps the lowest barrier to entry for average viewers since televised wrestling began in the '50s. And most of the major players have their own extensive archives of content so viewers can drop down the rabbit hole to their preferred eras of fandom or disc
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And most of the aforementioned is accessible in various forms on streaming for far more affordable prices than most other media, perhaps the lowest barrier to entry for average viewers since televised wrestling began in the '50s. And most of the major players have their own extensive archives of content so viewers can drop down the rabbit hole to their preferred eras of fandom or discover new ones that pique their interest at practically no additional cost. I defy anyone to name any major sport or entertainment entity (not named Disney) that can match that deal!
BTW, two quick podcast recommendations good for watchalong binge sessions. "Between the Sheets" covers a random week of news in wrestling history, often using "dirt sheet" newsletters as a guide and jumping-off point for in-depth conversations about how the industry has evolved. And "Wrestling Memory Grenade" is sorta the same deal, but focuses on one particular promotion across a whole year of TV, PPV, and contemporary news coverage. Their WWF '93 season is some of the best I've ever heard in connection with tha
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All the better to imitate Dave Batista's "thumbs down" taunt, among other things. Also, it's amazing to have this much wrestling available across streaming platforms for relatively cheap. It's been much more affordable than trying to keep up with the MCU/Disney in theaters (speaking of opposable). Much higher quality, too, across the board. The generations that grew up watching and then trying to replicate All Japan's legendary realistic-looking (until UFC and MMA stole their thunder, anyway) "King's Road" style are now in charge and bringing as many facets of that product as possible to their own efforts. Between all of this, as well as most of televised wrestling history being available through these same portals (and loads more through sketchy YouTube uploads, natch, and Internet Archive has a surprisingly huge trove of Apter mags), it's now possible to find your own niche within the vast sports-entertainment landscape, then bring a loved one along and get them started on theirs.
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