The wrestling world was shaken to its core on Friday night.
Just hours before SmackDown was set to go live, the one thing most wrestling fans thought would never happen did happen as Vince McMahon announced his retirement.
The shocking news came in the most 21st century way imaginable, via a tweet which said: “At 77, time for me to retire. Thank you, WWE Universe. Then. Now. Forever. Together.”
With Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan now in control of the promotion, here are 10 things that WhatCulture predict will change.
Slower Production?
Rumours suggest that McMahon’s friend and longstanding production guy Kevin Dunn could be the next out of the door.
Dunn has drawn the ire of fans for his eclectic taste for camera cuts and angle changes, which is a major contrast to most other wrestling companies.
Last-minute script rewrites?
Jim Ross and Bruce Pritchard have detailed how commonplace last-minute script re-writes were under McMahon’s stewardship. So much so that headlines hinting to such happenings become a regular fixture on wrestling news sites on Tuesday and Saturday mornings.
Vince McMahon: 10 changes WWE will make after his retirement predicted
With McMahon now stepping away from creative control, they could become a thing of the past.
No more over-produced commentary
Before fans knew Vince McMahon as Mr McMahon, he was merely a member of the commentary team.
Even after stepping away from the desk his influence on the commentary didn’t let up as the likes of Michael Cole have received direction from the boss mid-show.
With McMahon no longer a part of the company, commentators may now be given more freedom to call the action than ever before.
More freedom during promos
Everything that has been said above could also be true for the wrestlers themselves.
Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman
Far too many promos these days are scripted with very few wrestlers being able to deliver them down the microphone in a way that makes you forget that they have been written for them.
Fans want to hear the performers speaking from their hearts, not a piece of paper that was handed to them by a writer.
Obvious differences between shows
Other than the fact one show is red and the other is blue, there aren’t many visual differences between SmackDown and Raw.
Moving into the new era, they could do with an update, creating a unique viewing experience for both shows. And whilst they are at it, why not bring back the unique PPV sets like we used to see back in the day.
Greater emphasis on mid-card titles
The once proud Intercontinental and United States championship titles don’t have the same prestige they once did.
Intercontinental Championships
In the eyes of many fans, they’ve been misused for too long, often being passed around and forgotten about.
With Triple H having more control in the company these days, we could see a return to the importance of mid-card and tag team titles, similar to what we saw during the Black and Gold era of NXT.
Less toilet humour
From wrestlers peeing themselves live on air to the iconic clip of him screaming “he’s gonna puke” whilst Droz is stood bent over a dustbin in his office, it’s no secret that McMahon has a curious sense of humour.
Combine his departure with the rumoured return to a TV-14 rating and toilet humour gags could be flushed down the loo in favour of an edgier comedic style.
NXT returning to its roots?
The whole landscape of NXT changed when McMahon took over creative control. From the signing policy transition from top independent talent to the visual changes from black and gold to an art attack style set up.
Triple H
Don’t be surprised if we see NXT slowly return to its glory days. It’s what we all want.
Quicker reactions to fan feedback
Fans have seen a slew of WWE talent get over with the fans, but never receive the push from the powers that be that their popularity warrants.
Cesaro, now Claudio Castagnoli in AEW and ROH, is a notable example with McMahon even suggesting that he needs to grab the brass ring in a Broken Skull’s Session with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
With a new set of people in charge, we could see them look towards who the fans are cheering and booing to decide who gets pushed up the card.
Less reliance on part-time returns
Vince McMahon had a long list of wrestlers who have made him a lot of money over the years that he could call up for a semi-regular return.
The days of Goldberg, The Undertaker, Trish Status et al coming back for big shows could be in the past as WWE looks to build the next generation of household names.