Hot Take: Logan Paul Can Be Exactly What WWE Needs Right Now

Here's a sentence wrestling fans perhaps thought they would never hear said in a serious manner—Logan Paul is the answer to many of WWE's problems.

Wildly enough, that's not so much a knock on WWE and its well-chronicled problems as much as it is a testament to how well Paul quickly made the transition from other avenues into a bona fide entertaining, skilled in-ring WWE Superstar.

As such, it's not too much of a shock to find out WWE just inked him to a contract:

This is a fever dream for WWE as a company. It has gone overboard to a silly degree over the years trying to bring on celebrities and big part-time names from around the globe in an effort to get that non-wrestling attention, especially around major events like WrestleMania.

To say Paul has reeled in that desperately sought attention would be an understatement. WWE says the Instagram post announcing his deal is the company's most-liked post on the platform ever. The video of the contract signing is up over 300,000 as of this writing. The videos of his build to Mania (in a meh feud with the Mysterios, no less) are way in the millions, some of them approaching two million. A mere Twitter or Google search shows the broad mainstream attention he's getting WWE. Mission accomplished in this area.

But non-casual wrestling fans as a whole shouldn't have much of a complaint here, either. Just look at his match at WrestleMania 38 where he teamed with The Miz to take down the Mysterios. He was better than expected in the ring. Instead of just getting by like other celebrities and part-timers, he had some eyebrow-raising spots and was very entertaining as a character, at one point even paying very good homage to Eddie Guerrero.

In fact, the in-ring debut was oddly reminiscent to Ronda Rousey's early run with the company. Fans were not entirely sold on the whole thing, but her in-ring work was so impressive, so quickly that it made it clear she wasn't the typical celebrity name getting involved and rather, had huge potential as an actual headliner.

Maybe Paul doesn't heave headliner appeal in the same way. But if a quick, 11-minute tag match in the middle of the card at a Mania was that entertaining, it's pretty exciting to think about what else he could boost.

If there's a biggish red flag about the whole thing, it's that Paul himself could have a little too much power over what he does and how he's presented. This has already been brought up—Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reported Paul is "calling the shots" and wants to be a good guy in WWE.

That...might backfire in a big way. Paul comes off as a heel, and his embracing that would be a way to win over some of those more hardcore fans who don't love the idea of him being around in the first place. Then again, there's always an outside chance Paul's younger audience embraces everything he does, gobbles up the merch and the catchphrases, and it turns out just fine.

But if that is the red flag—not his in-ring ability, dedication to it and other things that usually arise with this sort of problem—WWE's doing pretty good with this signing.

Based on the early returns, this checks all the proverbial boxes. WWE has had a stunning bit of success with the celebrity/part-timer appearances as of late, with guys like Paul and even Johnny Knoxville raising the bar for what fans should expect. If things keep trending this way, Paul will only keep raising the bar.

It's almost hard to imagine a better time than now for this, too. Paul's going to bring droves of attention at a time that WWE has elected to...go back to the Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns well that has tied up the entire men's main event scene. That's not to say there aren't other fun things going on, such as Liv Morgan's epic title win or anything Seth Rollins does, but it's hard to get too excited about say, Austin Theory holding a Money in the Bank briefcase.

Paul's arrival at least happens at a time when WWE needs some sort of boost that appeals to fans across the board. The old guard continues to fade, names like Cody Rhodes are out with injuries, and it's going to take time for Superstars like Morgan and Theory to go from major prospects to company-leading draws.

Again, the idea that Paul is the solution to anything might have baffled wrestling fans not too long ago. This is pro wrestling, though, where guys like Chris Jericho can have fans eating out of his hand over an imaginary list. Is it really so hard to believe that Logan Paul is just what WWE needs and will, in time, win everyone over?

As they say, wilder things have happened. Paul's aboard after a better-than-expected debut run, and the upside is huge, even if it takes him dragging even the most stubborn of fans along for the ride.