World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is in the midst of a revival. This rejuvenation of WWE is a result of new ownership (Endeavor purchased WWE in 2023 and formed The TKO Group with UFC), new creative leadership (Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque became Chief Content Office [CCO] in 2022), and the return of ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 38 (2022). WWE’s renaissance has emerged over the past two years and follows a period of economic and creative decline for the company (largely driven by the pandemic but not entirely), so this resurgence is welcomed by the wrestling business and the WWE Universe (its fanbase); it is also significant for the entertainment industry and its study because it shows what can be achieved when creators reconnect with the distinctiveness of the medium, its history and its audience. Over three parts we will explore the significance of WrestleMania XL (2024), the serial storytelling that led to the event, and its affirmation of a new era for WWE and professional wrestling.
What is Professional Wrestling?
Professional wrestling – or pro wrestling – is a form of live storytelling that revolves around staged combat in a wrestling ring, otherwise called “the squared circle”. In this form, storytelling emerges through the blurring of reality and fiction as pro wrestlers adopt archetypal personas (gimmicks) and form rivalries based on two principal character roles: the babyface (or face) and the heel. These roles are often understood as protagonists (or heroes) and antagonists (or villains) that are associated with storytelling more generally, but the function of these roles is more nuanced in pro wrestling: the babyface and the heel are defined by a relationship with audience.
While it might be easy to simply label the babyface as a heroic ‘goodie’ and the heel as a villainous ‘badie’, this does not quite account for the distinct relationships that form between babyfaces and heels and how the audience can influence these characters and their stories. A heel can be morally ‘good’ and still be a heel if they deny the audience something, or a babyface can behave immorally and be cheered, as with the double turn of Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 (1997). Heels can still be very popular, despite their presentation, as with ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, Austin, and The Rock. Pro wrestlers can also move back and forth between these roles based on booking (match and story producing) and audience response. A face that gets a pop and a heel that gets heat signal a successful synergy between the audience and the story (inside and outside the ring).
For most mainstream commentators, pro wrestling’s “fakeness” is a shroud that obscures appreciation of its distinct storytelling qualities and medium specific conventions. This idea of “fakeness” in relation to pro wrestling is really about an ambiguous relationship between fiction and reality, which can be a complex dynamic to manage creatively. WWE storytelling occupies this ambiguous threshold between the real and the scripted through distinctive character types, cause and effect driven by staged (not fake) combat, serialized narration, and audience participation. This is all exemplified by the road to WrestleMania XL.
What is WrestleMania?
WrestleMania is an annual event produced by WWE (formerly WWF) that began in 1985. It is the flagship event of WWE programing that all premium lives events (PLEs) – formerly pay-per-views (PPVs) – revolve around. Historically, each year the “Road to WrestleMania” begins at the Royal Rumble; since WrestleMania XL celebrates the event’s 40th anniversary, this event also culminates 40 years of WWE history. It is also the first WrestleMania without a member of the McMahon family running WWE.
