If the creative direction of WWE WrestleMania 36 is well received, perhaps there’s an opportunity to apply some of those changes to when things get back to normalcy.
Professional wrestling, like the rest of the world, is in an unprecedented time as the novel coronavirus outbreak has limited nearly all aspects of the industry. WWE WrestleMania 36 is a few hours away and what should be the biggest moment of the year for the WWE is being looked at with apprehension.
With two days of taped content ahead, no one really knows what to look forward to with the 2020 edition of WrestleMania. As expectations continue to drop, perhaps this can be an opportunity for the WWE to remind wrestling fans that the organization can be a creative dynamo when its organizational back is against the wall.
There’s so much in the air around this year’s WrestleMania. Match order. Explanation of match types. Who is going to perform? All of these are questions that aren’t clear heading into the event. WWE hasn’t done the best job building to show throughout the last few weeks due to limitations around its shows.
Unfortunately, the largest promotion in the industry didn’t leverage its massive media platform in a way that could have helped bridge the gap when it was needed most. So now, as the hours tick away before the showcase kicks off the energy around WrestleMania is lower than ever in recent memory.
However, there is an opportunity for WWE to use that apathy to its benefit. While nothing in recent memory has impacted the world like this novel coronavirus has in the past weeks and months, the WWE has shown that it can be creative when it’s needed. Just look back to when Finn Balor was forced to relinquish the title the night after winning it.
WWE Creative responded by building a tournament angle that culminated in Kevin Owens winning the title as Triple H turned on Seth Rollins. Rollins knee injury in 2015 led to a similar situation in which Roman Reigns eventually won the title after a 16-man tournament for the title.
With WrestleMania being taped, there’s ample opportunity for WWE to get things “right” with this event. They’ve already tried to change some things up creatively over the last few weeks including the camera angle on the ring and using editing tricks to close out the final segment of SmackDown between John Cena and Bray Wyatt.
In some ways, there’s a potential for a positive reaction to WrestleMania to hopefully impact the general sense of laziness around the product.
WrestleMania is an opportunity for the WWE to show fans that they are listening, something they’ve failed at handily the last few years. If WWE Creative can successfully pull off a show that is critically praised after Sunday, perhaps that can lead to a change in how the organization handles some aspects of production.
After years of mindless and boring booking, almost any type of change would be a positive.
In many ways, wrestling should be the last thing on anyone’s mind at a time like this. However, WWE has decided to move on with WrestleMania. This product isn’t anywhere near the spectacle that fans will be used to.
But it still could be an opportunity for the WWE Creative team to present something different that can be applied to future content once things get back to “normal.”