MICK FOLEY AND DANIEL BRYAN: THE GENERAL MANAGERS WE NEED & DESERVE

This past Monday on RAW it was officially announced that Daniel Bryan will take over as the General Manager of SmackDown Live and Mick Foley will take over as the General Manager of RAW.

In terms of capitalizing on fan-enthusiasm for the creative direction of the upcoming "brand split" (or "brand extension"), these are great choices for the GM roles. Two beloved fan-favorites in positions of fictional power will be a nice shift away from the domineering "evil boss" gimmicks that have defined the WWE's primary narratives in recent years.

Tim Kail's Raw Review

There are times when the WWE strikes that perfect balance between heavy-handed schmaltz and sincere, logical storytelling.

That elusive sweet spot may just be the purest representation of the WWE's perspective on professional wrestling; an over-the-top family saga wrapped in spandex, fireworks, and an assortment of colorful heroes & villains that occasionally results in genuine expressions of pain, joy, surprise, and psychosis.

One such moment occurred on the November 13th, 2017 episode of Monday Night Raw when Kurt Angle and his tearful "son", Jason Jordan, were interrupted by a grim & determined Triple H.

Am I A Pro-Wrestling Fan Or A Human Being

I stood with my hands in my pockets and my eyes on the floor, waiting for the next stall or urinal to open up. We were a pack of shifty men, unaccustomed to bathroom lines. A father and a son talked about Spiderman: Homecoming (the movie we'd all just finished watching) behind me. The father liked it. The son wasn't so sure. Both loved Michael Keaton. Most of us were quiet save a few customary post-pee man-grunts.

A stall door opened, and a bearded young man exited. He wore a Bullet Club tee-shirt. I recognized the skull and crossed AKs immediately. Even though I knew nothing about the Bullet Club (other than the fact that they exist and are important in indy wrestling) I experienced the warmth of recognition.

A fellow wrestling fan!

Is WWE Too Smart For Its Own Good? What The Women's Money in the Bank Controversy Reveals

"Too smart for their own good" is a criticism that doesn't just apply to pro-wrestling fans, though.

It's a criticism that also applies to the WWE.

How exactly?

We needn't look further than the way the WWE booked the first ever women's Money in the Bank ladder match to see "too smart for their own good" on unapologetic display.

The Anatomy Of WWE Backstage Segments

I haven't watched a full episode of RAW in over three months.

I catch up by way of clips on Twitter and I skim through Hulu's already abridged version. I spend most of my time perusing the promos, the skits, and whatever vignettes there may be, cramming the broad strokes of the larger narratives so that I might be able to pass whatever WWE-quiz comes my way. Altogether, after also checking up on SmackDown, I've condensed my WWE-viewership into about thirty minutes a week (unless there's a pay-per-view and then that duration naturally increases).

The result is that I'm a much happier human being, and I'm probably a lot easier to be around. I don't obsess about booking decisions. I don't bicker with anyone online. I don't care about anyone's criticism of my criticisms. The imagined judgements of some phantom "real pro-wrestling fan" have vacated my mind, replaced with a sense of peace and the ability to interact with pro-wrestling in a healthier way on my own terms.

Millions of Us Have Stopped Watching Wrestling - Can The Era of Wyatt Bring Us Back?

There are millions of us out there who have lost faith in the world of professional wrestling. It was a world we used to love. But since the end of the Attitude Era, so many of us walked away.

Is now the time for us to come back?

And is Bray Wyatt the man to bring us back?

Roman Reigns And The Dangers Of Deserve

Almost every day I see comments from frustrated professional wrestling fans claiming that Roman Reigns "doesn't deserve" all of the opportunities WWE has given him. This comment is incredibly reliable regardless of how Roman Reigns evolves and regardless of how his booking changes.

At this point, if a pro-wrestling fan is reciting the same laundry list of criticisms that have been leveled at Leati Joseph Anoaʻi over the past two years, I tend to question their true intentions as it relates to their love of professional wrestling.

The Art Of The Brand Split

The WWE announced on Wednesday morning, May 25th that in addition to broadcasting SmackDown live, Tuesdays on the USA Network, that a brand split will once again take effect in its fictional universe. Raw & SmackDown will feature *insert press-release quote* "unique storylines with unique casts, writing teams etc".

There are a lot of obvious benefits to this creative direction. Not only does a switch to live presentation help revitalize the WWE's stagnant B-Show, a definitive split in an over-crowded roster means less repeat match-ups, less over-exposed, over-worked talent, and more creative focus (hopefully) committed to improving the quality of these proposed unique storylines. With each roster able to focus on one live television show a week (rather than two where wins and loses cancel each other out) there could be more room for the performers to establish their characters via backstage interviews, in-ring promos, and main event matches that represent the culmination of consistently promoted throughlines rather than last-minute, contrived hero/villain pairings.

The Writings