A metaphorical hurricane has been passing through the WWE office for the past few years. It began in 2020 as a steady hemorrhaging of talent releases, expiring contracts and staff departures disguised as “budget cuts”. Since the calendar flipped, it’s been a multi-faceted carousel of nonsense.
The past six months have hosted the McMahon Family’s most stunning game of musical chairs. Shane was re-introduced, then fired when he started playing his own game at the Royal Rumble. Triple H retired from the ring and returned to the office after suffering a heart attack. Stephanie stepped down for about two weeks before taking over as interim chairman and CEO. Meanwhile, the current Chairman and General Manager of Talent Relations are facing their hottest legal waters in 30 years and an ongoing investigation by the WWE Board of Directors. Worse, it’s not their only current public relations nightmare.
There’s also the chaotic creation of the wildly popular Women’s Tag Team Champions. Leaving the company amid creative frustrations in mid-May, Sasha Banks and Naomi literally put their championship belts on the desk before a planned main event on RAW and never looked back. Although subtle hints have surfaced periodically, WWE has yet to issue an official statement confirming their departure.
Things are almost as inconsistent on camera. Given the circumstances though, this maelstrom of chaos is almost enough to forgive WWE for dropping the ball a few times in their main event picture…
almost.
WWE’s most admirable feat of ineptitude this year may have occurred in the first four hours of 2022’s broadcast.
When the ongoing pandemic sidelined immunocompromised Universal Champion Roman Reigns for a moment, slated challenger Brock Lesnar entered Atlanta on New Year’s Day unopposed. Then the powers that are called sonic.
An otherwise commendable six-match card was bookended by an 11th-hour announcement of Reigns’ absence and Lesnar’s reassignment to the WWE Championship match. While the closing itself was a fascinating demolition derby, the writing was on the wall. Of course, the night ended with The Beast Incarnate once again as WWE Champion. What was most contested, however, was who fell in the competition.
I most likely suspected that then-WWE Champion Big E would walk away empty-handed on the night. However, the five free-for-alls created an opportunity to crown a new champion without sabotaging the current champion’s trajectory. Rather than pin the loss on Seth Rollins or Kevin Owens, whose Road to WrestleMania has yet to materialize, Lesnar instead ended a promising reign by defeating the champion himself.
Even after that, the big WrestleMania event wasn’t out of the question. Winning the Royal Rumble four weeks later and subsequently chasing the WWE Championship would be an easy enough story to tell. Unfortunately, WWE had much grander, much sillier plans in mind. Another cruel twist of fate saw Big E trade the WWE Championship for a neck brace two months later.
Get well soon E. We all miss you.
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