With the announcement of two significant WrestleMania 39 matches—Rhea Ripley vs. SmackDown women’s champion Charlotte Flair and Cody Rhodes vs. undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns—the effect from Saturday’s Royal Rumble was felt right away on Monday’s Raw.
In addition to setting the stage for top performers and the Royal Rumble victors, the early announcement of the two marquee matches provides Triple H and WWE the chance to develop timeless narratives in advance of The Showcase of the Immortals. And the chief of creativity is already familiar with that.
The Importance of Storytelling
With the Sami Zayn and The Bloodline saga, we have already seen the potency of long-term storytelling. It has resulted in some fantastic television segments, culminating on Saturday night with Jey Uso leaving his family rather than fighting someone who had grown to feel like a brother to him. Zayn also took part.
Zayn, a stalwart member of the WWE’s mid-card, has transformed into one of the sport’s most adored babyfaces by being free to be who he truly is. It certainly helps to be in the same room as a big event, act like The Bloodline, and interact with The Tribal Chief.
The Usos, who have been as defeated as ever since their on-screen partnership with Reigns started in late 2020, can be said to be in a similar situation.
Simple plots with the potential to grow, evolve and incorporate layers have always managed to connect with audiences and elevate characters who aren’t already regarded as the top dogs.
One of the true epics in wrestling history is how Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan founded the Mega Powers only for desire and greed to cause their fall a year later. This tale was first recounted at WrestleMania IV.
The same can be said regarding the rivalry between Bret and Owen Hart, where the former vowed, “under no circumstances at all will I fight my brother,” only to do so when he was left with no other option following a shocking betrayal.
Working with Hogan and Bret, respectively, helped Savage and Owen boost their star power, which led to long main event runs that irrevocably changed the course of their careers. It’s too soon to say how Zayn will be remembered in the future due to this show.
Still, there is no denying that WWE management’s storytelling efforts and everyone else’s performances have aided his rise to stardom at a level he had not previously experienced simply by being a skilled in-ring performer.
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Whether Triple H can collaborate with people around him to have the same impact on the top two matchups heading into his first WrestleMania as the company’s chief content officer is the question.
While The Game does not have eight months to prepare for WrestleMania, he does have two relatively straightforward stories to work with. Because his family has failed to capture the WWE Championship for many years, Rhodes is motivated to do so.
The American Nightmare will, if doing so, requires passing through the most prominent celebrity and most dominant champion of this period. On the other hand, Ripley wants to make up for her defeat by Flair at WrestleMania 36.
With two months of television at his disposal, Triple H can collaborate with his creative team to develop two tales supporting WrestleMania’s buildup.
WWE will have to take the route of telling stories that get the audience to invest in the men and women involved if it hopes to draw similar numbers to last year’s event because it won’t have The Rock’s anticipated presence or “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s return to the squared circle to attract casual fans.
Rhodes, one of the greatest promoters in the game, can convey a powerful and moving story when speaking on the mike. And Ripley, one of the most popular characters on Raw or SmackDown, has demonstrated her ability to deliver.
For a head of creative who is still only in his first year in the position, announcing their matchups in advance and allowing them to put in the work before April 1-2 should yield the desired result and make WrestleMania 39 another spectacular event.
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