WWE: WrestleMania must become a launching point for improvement

WrestleMania 37 has come and gone. Fans returned to the WWE as they performed in Raymond James Stadium. All-in-all, this showcase was seen as a success, especially after the history that was made during night one. Now, WWE is preparing to return to the ThunderDome and move forward with another year heading into WrestleMania 38. While that is a long road away, WrestleMania 37 needs to be a jumping-off point to correct a lot of the ills that became glaringly noticeable during the last 12 months of wrestling.

Wrestling during the pandemic era has been hard on numerous individuals and organizations. Many wrestlers were forced to sit and struggle to find paydays, promotions had to cancel multiple shows without any idea of when they can return to normal. As vaccine rollouts ramp up around the country, things are slowly opening back up across the industry.

The WWE, on the other hand, experienced a record-breaking revenue year as the company cut expenses, including multiple rounds of layoffs that impacting both performers and staff. As the money rained in from new television deals and lowered production expenses, issues within the company that was already well-known were even under more scrutiny. Non-sensical booking, questionable roster usage, and more were front and center. The WWE also faced a growing competitor in All Elite Wrestling and the debates across wrestling Twitter surged.

Then WrestleMania came and for a moment, WWE put on a grand show event that showcased a lot of what wrestling fans want to see from the company. Was everything perfect? Absolutely not. But there was a lot more positive to take from the event than negative, which has been rare for the WWE these last few years.

This is an opportunity for the WWE to begin to rebuild itself into a promotion that puts on quality content more often. That includes presenting matches that matter, better leveraging the talented roster under contract, both men and women, and putting together booking that makes sense enough to get fans to watch week after week. Television ratings are historically down for the WWE in comparison to recent years. Even though the promotion continues to ink big deals such as those with Fox and Peacock recently, the value of those deals was based on the perceived interest in the overall product. As interest drops, they open the door for the availability of those deals to fall as well – damaging the long-term value of the promotion.

The momentum after WrestleMania is a major point for the WWE. Plus, coming off a well-reviewed edition of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver heading into NXT’s move to Tuesdays – fans are excited to see where the company will go next. The roster is capable. The resources are there. Now, there must be a will and the patience to put forth the content that will lead to a gradual improvement across the board.

WrestleMania is booked as both the end and the beginning of the WWE “season.” With WrestleMania 37 ending, it is time for the WWE to use the momentum behind the product built after this last week to get the promotion and its brand back to a place of respectability in professional wrestling.