What's next for WWE?

As promised, after an article with suggestions on what All Elite Wrestling should focus on in 2023, I'm going to take a look at the WWE landscape as well. The organization had an almost unthinkable shake-up this year with the Vince McMahon misconduct scandal and the "retirement" that followed it.

The kingpin of sports entertainment was in the news again recently with reports that he wants to make a comeback to the organization that he bought from his dad in 1983 before he took the regional territory to the publicly-traded, global corporation that it is today. As I wrote just a few weeks ago, it's not surprising that Vince wants back in the door at Titan Tower, considering that he dedicated every facet of his life to the company, but his return would put yet another spotlight on what started his downfall. Granted, if Vince showed up on Raw next week, the fans in attendance would gleefully cheer and bow as he strutted down the ramp, ignoring that he was accused of several incidents of misconduct. Again, if there's that much smoke, there has to be fire, and if McMahon actually did even one of the things that he was accused of, he's a total creep. So, of course, the sport of pro wrestling will look great if fans in the crowd are shown on television praising someone with those type of misconduct incidents towards female employees.

The WWE as a whole was able to stake through the McMahon scandal without much harm since the corporation is fool-proof for the next several years because of the massive broadcast rights fees it secured through the television and Peacock deals. Mostly, the Wall Street Journal stories were a Vince McMahon problem, not a WWE problem. The argument could be made that Vince put the product in autopilot too often in recent years, booking the old tropes from his heyday since they worked before and there's nothing to lose when the money is guaranteed. Ironically, it was the structure that had the company in autopilot the past few years that actually protected the stock price when McMahon stepped down.

Some fans might be misguided to think that with Triple H at the top of the company that the main roster shows will suddenly become the NXT of several years ago, but make no mistake about it, the goal for the WWE remains the same with or without Vince McMahon. The WWE has always and should look to draw the casual fans in an attempt to get as much of the general public as possible to follow the product because that's where the biggest money is made. Drawing from the widest demographic possible is how to maximize revenue across the board. At the same time, wrestling is still quite literally on the marquee, and McMahon's attempts to try to avoid that in every way possible hindered the presentation of the product over the years. Furthermore, because McMahon won the wrestling wars during his tenure as the boss, he used those previously mentioned recycled tropes since there wasn't an alternative to take a piece of the pie away from him. Sure, All Elite Wrestling is on television, but it's only been in existence for three years. McMahon's default plan for roughly five years after 2014 was to put the title on Lesnar again if the product was sluggish. Vince didn't take a chance on trying to push new stars to the next level because he didn't have to, he had a formula that worked fairly well and there wasn't any outside factors to prompt a shift in direction.

On some level, when the company touts record-setting profits, it's tough to argue with Vince's logic, but it's important to remember that it was the climate of the television business, specifically the demand for live programming that would secure better ad rates as a way to be more DVR proof that landed WWE the major TV deals, not the popularity of the product. At some point, Goldberg isn't going to be there to boost a pay-per-view, or management isn't going to be able to get Steve Austin to return to sell tickets to a stadium show. The office seemed to rely on those aging legends too often, and keep in mind, when a part-time star was booked for a top spot on a major show, it was an opportunity that wasn't used to elevate a younger star with potential to the next level.

While the WWE philosophy as the Walmart of pro wrestling so to speak, will remain the same since its goals are to make the product cheap and easily accessible to the general public, the Triple H era at least seems to be in the direction to freshen up the shows. Roman Reigns is doing the best work of his career, and The Bloodline are the top act in the company, but truly establishing depth to the product is a process that will take time to develop over the year. One way or another, Sami Zayn should emerge from this current storyline as one of the top stars in the company. If Vince was still making the decisions, I'm not sure Sami would get the chance to be anything more that a secondary comedy character.

Quite simply, in 2023, Vince McMahon should stay wherever he is and continue to pump iron in his Icopro t-shirt because the WWE should absolutely make a solid push toward the next generation that will draw money for the company. The talent is there, but the key is truly the presentation of those stars.

Along with that, next year should be the coronation of Cody  Rhodes as a main event talent. Granted, it had to be delayed a year because of the injury and it might be predicable, but sometimes the easiest answer is the right answer. Roman Reigns has done a tremendous job as champion and in the course of his reign, he cemented himself as one of the biggest stars of his generation. That said, Cody's return from injury to win the title for his dad is a story that writes itself. The angle where Cody is finally the competitor to dethrone Roman to win the championship in honor of Dusty is a narrative can be extremely successful.

As far as the next generation, I've said it before and I will say it again, Bron Breakker should be in the fast lane to the main event scene on the main roster before the conclusion of 2023. There will only ever be one Kurt Angle, and making that comparison, especially at this point, would be unfair to Bron, but strictly as a natural in sports entertainment, Breakker developed as a performer almost as natural as when Angle inked a WWF deal in the late-90s. One way or another, we should be talking about Bron Breakker potentially winning the Royal Rumble this time next year in 2024.

Finally, and of the suggestions I'd have for WWE, this is the one I'd say has the best chance to continue on television, the company should continue to spotlight the women's division. I've mentioned it a lot recently so I won't be repetitive, but the bottom line is, the women's division might be the best segment on any of the shows and the depth on the roster allows for those athletes to continued to be showcased throughout 2023. Bianca, Bayley, and others can go in the ring and are extremely marketable stars.