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JWeinCom on 28 August 2022
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The quality of WWE's TV programs has definitely gotten better post Vince.

The philosophy is different. Before, there was kind of a focus on building to the next PLE (Premium Live Event) match. So, wrestlers would often be running in place for a month till the pay per view. For example, the Street Profits and Usos facing off in some capacity for what seemed like an eternity or two.

Now, it's kind of more like juggling. There's a lot more going on between wrestlers in different ways. For instance, with Drew Mcyntyre, his main thing is that he's going to take on Reigns for the championship in a couple of weeks. But, Karrion Kross is also after him for reasons not entirely apparent. And, he also has started some beef with Kevin Owens. And then there are other things going on like Sami trying to protect Roman Reigns in a dorky way.

There's a lot more moving pieces which for someone who keeps up with the show regularly is a good thing. It's more engaging, everything serves a purpose, and there are more surprises. To the more casual fan, I wonder if it will work. In general, more complex interveaving storyline makes the product more engaging but less accessible. We'll see how that turns out. For all the negatives you could have said about WWE's booking over the past few years, it was at least easy to follow.

Along the same lines as what I was saying before, there have been a lot of returns. Kross, Scarlet, Dakota Kai, Dexter Lumis, Gargano, Io Shi- errr Iyo Sky, Hit Row, and maybe a couple of more. If you thought Vince was somehow really running things... probably not. I'm excited to see these people as most of them were people with potential that just didn't fit Vince's idea of wrestlers. But, it's a lot coming at once. I'm guessing Hunter wanted to lock them up as at least a few of these guys probably had some interest from AEW. It makes for good TV, but debuts (or redebuts) are easy. Maintaining interest beyond that initial excitement is the tough part. We'll see if they can do it. Are people gonna care about Johnny Gargano in 4 months? We'll see I guess.

Theres also less of an emphasis on comedy, which is probably a good thing. The 24/7 sketches were a guilty pleasure and I kind of miss them. But, I enjoyed them in a "so bad it's good" way, and I guess it's better that they go away. I am generally a fan of comic relief when it's done right, so I hope they don't abandon it altogether.

Bottom line is that WWE has gone to something I would watch when I happened to be home and not doing something else to something that I actually want to make an effort to watch. Still not completely sold on the McMahon-Helmsley regime, but optimistic.