Can WWE get any better than this? 

WrestleMania XL was over a week ago, and people are still buzzing about it. You can understand why. Before the two-night event kicked off on April 6, Paul Levesque (HHH) promised us the biggest WrestleMania of all time.

Naturally, we laughed because promoters make those claims all the time. Well, WrestleMania 40 delivered.  According to Variety, both nights attracted a whopping 145,298 people, which explains the 78 per cent increase in gate earnings. Additionally, the event’s viewership went up 41 per cent, with merchandise sales spiking by an impressive 20 per cent.

WWE’s YouTube Channel had its biggest day ever, recording 67 million views within a single 24-hour period. WrestleMania XL was a success and capped an incredible year for WWE. Do you watch the weekly Smackdown and Raw episodes? Those wide shots of arenas and auditoriums bursting at the seams with people are not camera tricks.

WWE keeps selling out everywhere it goes. The Smackdown before Mania 40 was the biggest Smackdown in the company’s history, and the Raw after Mania was equally successful. Before you assume that WWE: NXT is faltering while its sister shows thrive, the NXT live event ‘Stand and Deliver’ occurred on the same Saturday as Night One of Mania 40, and it drew NXT’s biggest crowd to date (16,545).

Professional Wrestling is a soap opera. I know it looks violent, and the action in the ring typically dominates the individual Raw and Smackdown episodes. However, at its core, professional wrestling is no different from your favourite telenovela, boasting wacky characters, exaggerated acting and wild twists and turns. People tune in for the stories more than anything.

Unfortunately, Vince McMahon was a lousy storyteller. However, Paul Levesque has gone out of his way to reward viewers for their dedication to his shows. Remember Mania 39? The excitement surrounding Cody Rhodes and his eventual triumph over Roman had reached a fever pitch.

After a near-perfect build, fans could not wait for WWE to crown a new undisputed champion. But then Rhodes lost, and interest in the brand plummeted.  Some people called Rhodes’ defeat the worst decision WWE had ever made. They thought it was indefensible, a cash grab designed to extend Roman’s reign because the Bloodline story was too financially lucrative for the company to lose.

Twelve months later, everyone is hailing that Mania 39 heartbreak as a stroke of genius, because it made Rhodes’ victory at Mania 40 that much sweeter.

Entertainment journalists have called that moment where Roman strikes Seth instead of Rhodes one of the most brilliant writing decisions in wrestling history, because it pays off a scene from 2014 where Seth essentially created the Tribal Chief character by betraying Roman.

In essence, Levesque finished two stories: Rhodes and his quest to secure the title his father never held and Roman’s festering bitterness towards Seth.

Fans love that attention to detail. They want to know that every development in a story arc matters. Look at the Seth/McIntyre feud. McIntyre spent months telling Seth to keep his focus on their fight. He warned Rollins that getting distracted by the Bloodline would cost him the title, and he was right.

After the beating he took at the end of Night One, Seth could not withstand the punishment McIntyre dished out at the start of Night two, and he lost. But then McIntyre took his eye off the prize as well when he taunted Punk, paving the way for Damian Priest to steal his title.

Levesque gives viewers credible story reasons for what happens in his matches, and audiences have responded by throwing money at WWE. Stephenie McMahon opened Night Two by asserting that WrestleMania 40 would mark the start of the Paul Levesque era.

WWE is trying to distance itself from Vince and his sex trafficking scandal. Nonetheless, she was right. This is a brand-new era. You can see it in the dynamic camera angles we get every week and on the shockingly happy faces of the wrestlers. Hopefully, WWE can capitalize on this momentum.

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