At WrestleMania 41, I wrote a piece about President Trump, the WrestleMania main event, and the WWE as a mirror for our world and the people who inhabit it. I have no hard feelings or ill will, but I must say that a few different places overlooked it.
Since then, considerable time has been dedicated to what some fans are calling the rightward shift in wrestling. Numerous reasons are being suggested for this shift as well. I have written and rewritten this for about a week, tackling them all. The reality, though, is best described by MAGA voter and WWE legend Roman Reigns, who told Vanity Fair back in April, "To be honest, the world seems to be more like wrestling than any other form of entertainment." Put simply, wrestling is a mirror of real life in a way that the broader media has never understood. So, we should know exactly who’s to blame. We, the fans, are the first-order problem with WWE.
The WWE Universe is fueling the movement, just as everyday people are driving the global shift in a similar direction. This isn’t to exempt other promotions either; if folks want to pretend their company doesn’t have the same or similar issues, that is their prerogative. In this case, as a long-time fan and writer of WWE content specifically, I feel it is my responsibility to speak up on this before I head out.
Hell has come to the Meadowlands
A Michael Cole call that may well prove to be infamous but not entirely accurate. It is more like hell has frozen over in the Meadowlands. It is fair to assume nobody seriously thought Lesnar would recover from the scandal. Brock was old news for most fans. Then he came out at SummerSlam 2025 to a rapturous applause that put most of the superstars and all of the WWE women to shame.
For a quick recap, though, John Cena and Cody Rhodes fought for the WWE title. They both did it as faces, too, in what should be discussed as one of John Cena’s best matches ever. Not since he returned, not since he went to acting, just ever. When it ended, Cody reclaimed his title, and he and Cena celebrated a shared achievement; all was right with the WWE Universe. Add to it the fact that it was an excellent card, no doubt, but Rhodes and Cena did something special even on a stacked PLE. It felt like WWE finally avoided booking into our nihilism, and that we were happy to drop it. That feeling was comically wrong.
To end the show, we got the return of Brock Lesnar and his attack on John Cena. Lesnar has been missing for almost two years, following the allegations by Ms. Janel Grant against Vince McMahon and WWE. Lesnar, who is not being sued in the case, receives a significant amount of mention in the filing, with more than 40 mentions in the document. They include allegations of his requesting graphic content be sent to him and attempts to set up meetings for intercourse with Ms. Grant, all supposedly as part of ongoing negotiations with Vince McMahon about a new contract offer. It is worth noting that, whether it be morals or merlot, Lesnar did not engage in physical intimacy with Ms. Grant. His role is as an interested party, with explicit messages and images being exchanged according to the most recent court documents.
After he dropped Cena and sauntered back up the ramp, several million dollars richer, although he had been getting paid throughout his entire absence, it seems WWE went on to spin like a top, trapped in the Inception film. It was never their doing; the billion-dollar wrestling empire had no agency in the hiring decision. John Cena wanted the match until he didn’t. They promised a big surprise, and nothing is bigger than Brock. They cancelled press conferences and constantly questioned the integrity of serious wrestling journalists as a precursor to discredit the barrage of negative coverage coming their way. This is the game plan, and this is how WWE ruined a wholesome moment, but it is also where culpability ends. That is because they finally landed on a new scapegoat, and one that is unfortunately correct. This is what the fans wanted.
WWE fans are increasingly for Brock Lesnar...and it shows
In the early morning hours, the virtual forum was alight in curated combat. The war of words didn’t remain amongst the anonymous posters. Wrestling heavyweights derided anyone “soft” enough to question the ethics of bringing Lesnar, who certainly seems to be a creep to say the least, back for no particular good reason. Cena was a baby face again, with a ton of young heels to overcome, and the revenue streams have been overflowing since the WWE/TKO deal, which is what jettisoned Lesnar into the wilderness to begin with. It also wasn’t an interesting angle. Lesnar silently returned to the ring to attack Cena and then left. He isn’t even on the upcoming Clash in Paris event.
None of that mattered; the angle was dumb, implemented with certifiable ineptitude, and it involved a man many would argue is ethically in the wrong for his treatment of multiple women (names like Terri Runnels come to mind). It vanished into thin air when his music hit because what mattered was that the fans popped for Brock Lesnar. They did it freely and gladly, and the reaction to this very day online proves it was because of his misdeeds, not in spite of them.
This is why I always have RESPECT for Paul Heyman @HeymanHustle. He tells it like it is! https://t.co/ayOQSqMbMr
— MISTER FILM STOCK (@mrfilmstock) August 6, 2025
The fact that people they disliked were uneasy with the return made them do it even louder each day. The discourse continues. Lesnar is among the top trending superstars on social media, whereas not two weeks ago, he was a non-entity. We can call on the company, Triple H, John Cena, or whoever we want in this situation. We all heard the pop, and wrestling is a mirror.
Worse than the return itself, AEW, TNA, and even the WWE’s past have their fair share of baggage with women, and it was how the rally around the urine-stained flag formed so quickly. A fairly large contingent didn’t just rejoice in his return, but they spent hours defending his name from any criticism. Brock was canonized a conquering hero by the WWE Universe, not by TKO or Nick Khan. When they cheered after the show as Triple H dismantled the idea of criticism in real time, it was Brock they were chanting for. Ignoring this for a simple villain narrative is cute, but it cuts out the point that we own this.
The people on forums, in the comments of articles like these, and sitting with you in the stadium, if you can still afford that, are to blame. Not because they keep watching necessarily, although that doesn't help. Instead, it is because so many wrestling fans, especially in WWE, choose to cheer when one of their own misbehaves as a middle finger to the system, exalting the cruelty it allows on people who disagree. The tribalized nature of today, characterized by the new conservative movement globally, has given fans one aspect of pro-wrestling that wasn't open to them before. They can inflict pain and torment in their very own rivalry.
What comes next for the WWE?
What the average WWE fan does with this rightward shift, highlighted by the celebration of an alleged pest, is an open question. For some, the easiest thing would be to condemn it and then return to watching, same as before, since nobody in the WWE Universe is shocked at the company's endless empathy for misbehaving men. The rabid defense this go around has made that much harder to stomach, though. It loops otherwise good people in with trolls of the highest order. Others will join the siren call of supporting Brock and tacitly Vince McMahon by calling Janel Grant into question.
Vince has already received renewed support to return online since he came forward to claim he felt slighted by not getting to be at one of several 10 bell salutes for conservative speaker, presumed racist, and WWE icon the late Hulk Hogan. Women, according to the internet, are out to manipulate innocent guys who are just trying to live their lives. As the WWE courts young men more aggressively, this sort of red pill ethos is becoming increasingly mainstream, providing skeptics with the cover they need to adopt it. In reality, however, most people will overlook it.
Every Monday night is about getting through to Tuesday, and worrying about the women of the WWE locker room or Brock Lesnar’s family is not on the agenda. The general shrug most fans mustered while a vocal segment hailed the cancel-culture survivor as the next big thing, this time several decades past his best match, is the norm. The instant reaction of tribalized responses, where everyone in the company was at fault, unlike on other shows, where the alleged creeps and abusers don’t draw the same crowd noise in general, was equally telling.
This seems harsh to be sure for wrestling fans to hear, but that is both the point and the problem. Only we can change this outcome. Running to the right could be less profitable. Instead, its resurgence across entertainment, led by sports like UFC or the NFL, is making everyone even more money to the point that WWE is shunning Netflix as a home for WrestleMania for at least 10 years, with prices on everything shooting up and fans paying for it gladly.
Respect for women could be commonplace, with the standard bar being set anywhere above that of an active assailant, though it is not. Reactionary engagement among tastemakers could be ignored for the poor excuse of stoking drama that it is, yet they consistently make a living in wrestling, posting about nothing in particular. Virtue could be a signal worth sharing, not a cause for open declarations of fascism forever. Check your socials to see how that is going. We have consistently done nothing to change the behaviors of the worst actors within our beloved industry and fandom. A trend decades in the making has finally blossomed as the broader culture becomes fertile ground for this behavior, starting with men and seeping down into boys before spreading to everyone else.
Final thoughts on WWE and the rise of rightward wrestling
For some fans, like myself, this marks the end for now. Consider it a signal of virtue or just a massive disinterest in being part of this particular club, but many fans are stepping away from the content pushed out by the WWE. This is not necessarily because of most performers, many of whom want to entertain us. Some we may never see wrestle ever again. It is instead the result of greed and callousness from a fandom that is fed exactly what they ask for in almost every respect.
The WWE shifting more openly to the right isn’t because Triple H or Nick Khan are more “politically conservative” than the McMahon family. I remember clearly when Linda ran for Senate in my home state, twice. It is because it now pays to do so. It is why Paramount is losing Colbert for budget reasons while buying UFC for billions, or why Terry Moran no longer works at ABC News. Brands follow the money; every penny saved and earned is relevant. That means cultural pressure, political realities, and crucially, consumer values are the driving forces behind the changes. I don’t dislike the wrestlers, past and present, who made me a fan of this art form.
I am forever grateful for the incredible stories I’ve been fortunate enough to see on my TV, especially Cody’s win for Dusty, which happened as I lost my father. It can be an outlet and an escape, it is make-believe and viscerally real. Wrestling on its face is absurd, but frankly, what isn't? That is what wrestling is wonderful, and it is why I know so many good people won’t leave it. In many ways, I wish I were there, too. I am not, I cannot be, and I know I won’t be while the rest of the fandom asks for worse men and less morals every single time.