WWE Superstars or Superheroes? What Lies Ahead After Shift in Roster-Building

With the release of 71 wrestlers in 2021, WWE has made it clear that it is shifting the way it constructs its roster.

Of those performers let go, 41 were from the NXT brand. They were names signed when Triple H was selecting stars who fit his vision for the brand, something that is no longer the future of the company's developmental efforts.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported the company is actively seeking "talents in their 20s on TV and have focused on bigger, younger people with an athletic background." He also noted that the "new directive in hiring women is 25 or younger."

This almost certainly has to do with the company molding and shaping them the way it wants, rather than relying on past indie credibility to get talent over with fans. It can teach raw, athletic young stars the WWE style.

However, something Stephanie McMahon said during the 2021 Q3 earnings call potentially revealed the company's reason for favoring blank slates as opposed to established competitors, per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.

"In terms of Superstars, the best comparison I can think of is Disney's Marvel superheroes," she said. "Each superhero is their own individual franchise, and WWE has just begun to unlock some of our incredible IP, which dates back generations. With each superstar being their own brand with their own story." 

WWE has always had a penchant for the larger-than-life characters it can brand and merchandise. It's part of what separated Vince McMahon's promotion from the territories and helped him find national success in the mid- to late-1980s.

Might the company be looking to replicate that successful model, creating stars from scratch and hoping they become internationally recognized superheroes?

There are, surprisingly, several pros to go along with the obvious cons in that scenario.

Pros

It is easy to dismiss the idea of WWE building its own stars rather than relying on recognizable indie competitors to carry the company forward. Why would those in power want to recruit untrained athletes and go through all the trouble of teaching them the basics before they can ever actually have a coherent match? It doesn't feel like the most appropriate use of time.

In reality, WWE has a rich history of taking inexperienced performers and turning them into the top stars in the industry.

The Rock was a former University of Miami football player, Brock Lesnar was an NCAA champion at the University of Minnesota, and Roman Reigns played football at Georgia Tech. All of them had the athletic background necessary for management to believe they could succeed in WWE, and they did. They became the foundation of the company, stars around whom the entire show revolved.

They learned the style WWE wanted them to, developed their characters (some faster than others) and became the top dogs in the industry. There is a precedent for it, making any outcry over the company's sudden decision to stop focusing on indie talent and bringing in undeveloped athletes that much sillier.

The decision to alter how it compiles talent has also allowed WWE to incorporate a youth movement, something fans have been clamoring for. They want new, fresh, exciting and untapped stars. They want to see stars who haven't been overexposed. 

This method gives them more of an opportunity to succeed on the main roster.

And, whether it is right or wrong, the homegrown talent the company amasses will have a greater opportunity to succeed at the next level in WWE than the Roderick Strongs or Kyle O'Reillys ever would have. McMahon has always favored the stars he has had a hand in crafting as opposed to those who come from elsewhere.

Look no further than the Invasion storyline from 20 years ago and how many WCW names struggled to find a footing in the company because the boss wasn't directly involved in their previous success.

No one is championing the idea of WWE sticking capes on wrestlers and turning them into superheroes, though The Hurricane and Mighty Molly were pretty freaking cool. Figuratively, the idea of building these larger-than-life figures to carry the company for the next decade or so should be encouraging to fans who have longed for the company to rediscover passion and want to focus on the long-term future of the organization, rather than operating on a week-to-week basis.

With that said, there are also negatives to be dealt with.

Cons

First, a lot of people had to unnecessarily lose their jobs to make this shift in roster-building happen. Too many.

WWE stockpiled independent talent for years to deny the competition from getting their hands on them; uprooting those wrestlers and moving them to Florida, only to cut them on a whim.

It was devastating to 71 individuals who found themselves out of work after spending their careers chasing their childhood dreams. 

Those releases left fans feeling sour by the ruthlessness with which WWE conducts business. The idea of sacrificing in-ring quality also threatens to disenfranchise fans who demand a certain level of in-ring quality that they will not get as WWE focuses on younger, developing talent. The company essentially yields those fans to All Elite Wrestling for the time being.

And what happens if the talent WWE plucked off a college football field or from the mats of a university gym fails? What if the company invests time and energy into developing them and it doesn't work out? Worse yet, what if the company pushes them to the moon, only for them to fall out of love with the industry, not unlike Lesnar did in his first stint with the company?

What does the future hold then?

Does WWE scramble to find someone to fill the hole, turning back to a grizzled veteran as it did with John "Bradshaw" Layfield in the wake of Lesnar's departure?

With the independent talent, who have cut their teeth in front of a dozen fans previously, at least you know the passion is there. Love for professional wrestling isn't something you can teach in a performance center. You either have it or you don't, and recognizing which is which will present WWE a challenge it really cannot afford to flub up.

After all, what good is this handcrafted universe without the superheroes you have spent all this time creating?