The Review
I don’t know, man. There was a pandemic that people just kind of joked about. Nothing seemed real, let alone wrestling.
2020 was when WWE went from 90s Giuliani to current Giuliani – reliably weirdos, but goddamn.
The review is that I haven’t cared this little about the outcomes and quirks of WWE since I tried to grow up a decade ago in college, and yeah there’s the pandemic and my wife and son but I think about it as a lifelong fan and this was worse than usual.
I like the arc, I like the boys and girls. I like when it actually does come together and is good. But MAN. The good stuff was alright; the bad stuff was horrifying.
Full matchlists and the very best stuff were tracked as the year went on.
The Platform
The unending travel to different arenas stopped for the first time and the best they came up with was the Thunderdome and fake crowd noise (and laughs!). The approach at best was replicating what was already getting old, plus people sitting still on webcams.
They flooded airwaves across FOX (SmackDown), USA (RAW, NXT), Hulu (Main Event), and the WWE Network (monthly PPV’s, Thursday NXT UK, Friday 205 Live, RAW Talk, Talking Smack, The Bump, and a billion other things including a Sam Roberts podcast). YouTube too.
They might have lost the plot.
The weekly TV was generally just… bad. Each brand had a few good episodes out of 52, but otherwise I can’t recommend anyone not already following this to buy in. Empty arenas made it all somehow more uncomfortable.
The PPV’s usually delivered, but usually because the wrestling overcame the weak story. Occasional bits on Talking Smack or more often than not WWE Network documentaries like WWE 24 and 365 were the only places sometimes that showed how creative and interesting everybody here still is.
The Corporation
I don’t know jack about the Inner Workings of the company, but the corporate hierarchy (like many!) is clearly broken and the balance sheets are too positive to do anything about it.
Miscommunications abound and you can hear the eggshells from the couch. There’s a lack of energy and unwillingness to invest their billions of hours or TV in any more than a few acts at a time.
It is licensing first and pro wrestling last, and with AEW emerging for a hardcore fan as a viable weekly alternative – not to mention WWE’s inability to follow through on anything and ignoring that COVID-19 existed on their TV until like September – I think WWE and I got a little divorce this year.
What Happened – Big Stuff
Edge returned at the Royal Rumble and got one of the last great pops. He wrestled Randy Orton in a bad Last Man Standing Match, then a match promoted as The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever that actually delivered. Then he got injured. Orton had some good matches, made some great Tweets, strong promos… but was on TV too much doing too many silly things.
Shayna Baszler came to RAW and dominated everybody before losing to Becky Lynch at WrestleMania. After Mania, Becky got pregnant and ceded the championship to Asuka who despite a floundering RAW women’s division just killed it all year.
Seth Rollins, now a bad guy, recruited (no longer Buddy) Murphy as his Disciple, a tandem that didn’t develop much throughout a year-long saga with Rey Mysterio and his whole family where Dominik wrestled at SummerSlam, Rey lost his eye, and his daughter Aalyah fell in love with Murphy.
Universal Champ The Fiend continued to dominate and then poof, a Goldberg! Braun Strowman ended up beating Goldberg for the title at Mania after Roman Reigns understandably took time off to assess COVID, then had a very bad feud with Fiend all summer where they referenced their history but made it all lame.
They kept the title warm for Roman Reigns, who returned in August and turned heel. That happened. Backed by Paul Heyman too. He is INCREDIBLE at it, and made SmackDown so much better after SummerSlam as he made Jey Uso a star and had an awesome feud with Kevin Owens.
The New Day split up. That happened too. But in a good, careful way that appears to be setting up Big E for big things. More to come.
What Happened – Brass Rings
Drew McIntyre was the RAW Ace all year, a reign that felt nearly identical to Kofi Kingston’s last year, right down to a VERY long Randy Orton feud. He had a tough task and the PPV matches were generally good, but the weekly TV promos and general storylines were brutal and played a big part in how bad RAW was this year. The positioning has made him a star, but I don’t think his lackluster run on top being a plot point for Survivor Series reflects well on anyone.
Street Profits held down the RAW tag division and wrestled Andrade and Angel Garza forever, while SmackDown had The Miz & John Morrison (he’s back) then New Day then Cesaro & Nakamura (they’re together) then New Day.
MVP is back and making managers relevant again – first he was relied on to help promo the Drew/Brock Mania match, then he formed The Hurt Business that has given another life to the careers of Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and Cedric Alexander.
What Happened – Not RAW and SmackDown
Keith Lee beat Adam Cole for the NXT Title in April then quickly lost to Karrion Kross, who got injured and vacated the title right away. Keith went to RAW to do uhhhh…? Finn Balor grabbed the NXT Title, but besides some good stuff with Kyle O’Reilly didn’t do much. Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae figured out how to be heels too.
Pete Dunne left for the UK so The BroserWeights dropped the NXT Tag Titles, which were picked up by non-WALTER Imperium then Breezango. Enter Pat McAfee, who helped Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch of all people win the titles before going after Cole’s Undisputed Era along with… Pete Dunne.
WALTER defended the NXT UK Title against Ilja Dragunov in October in front of no fans and it was the best match of the year.
205 Live got sort of replenished, keeping Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari but debuting a bunch of new acts that I hope get to work live crowds eventually. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Ashante “Thee” Adonis, Jake Atlas, Legado del Fantasma, Ever-Rise, Jake Atlas.. they’re all coming for you.
What Happened – That Happened??
Sheamus framed Jeff Hardy for a DUI.
Randy Orton set both The Fiend and Alexa Bliss on fire.
Randy Orton also wore night vision goggles and attacked Ric Flair, Big Show, Christian and Shawn Michaels, who got their revenge by costing Randy an Ambulance Match.
Mandy Rose‘s love story with Otis paid off at WrestleMania with a kiss; her rivalry with Sonya Deville at SummerSlam with a fight.
Say it with me: Shane McMahon‘s RAW Underground.
SmackDown had a hacker but it was revealed as Mustafa Ali months after everybody forgot. Also Mustafa Ali is the leader of something called Retribution and I don’t want to talk about it.
WWE said farewell to The Undertaker with 15 of his old friends in a circle in the ring in the middle of a pandemic with fake crowd noise and Snoop Dogg merch tie-ins.
Multiple people did commentary from their house.
WWE does not seem headed for “good times” in 2021, though there are always glimmers of hope in the form of their comically large untapped roster of pro wrestlers and sports entertainers. I’ll continue to follow week-to-week, but with my eyebrow raised more than ever and as little monetary investment I can get away with.
That reminds me. I bought two AEW shirts this year.
