Opinion: With Hollywood on strike, opportunities are endless for WWE

With the SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood, movies, television and other projects have been pushed back, and celebrities on press tours is a rare sight to see. Executives are worrying about how to produce content, and the only thing on television is an extra thirty minutes of whatever spinoff of a reality show companies can cough up next.

Save for WWE.

The writers’ strike has hurt and is going to hurt a lot more people, but not WWE, its writers, company members, wrestlers, promoters and fans.

President Nick Khan said that WWE does not fall under the Writers’ Guild of America and are therefore not affected by the strike, meaning that they can keep producing three shows a week plus pay-per-view events.

Which is why former stars John Cena and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have both come back to WWE this past month.

Cena was originally scheduled to be with the company for two months and guest refereed LA Knight and former rival The Miz’s match at “Payback,” but it’s rumored that he is going to stick around longer.

On the Sept. 15 episode of “Friday Night SmackDown,” Pat McAfee opened the show, as he was in Colorado covering Deion Sanders’ squad. He was interrupted by Austin Theory, who insulted McAfee and his career.

McAfee told Theory that “SmackDown” is “the people’s show” and that the people were going to see what they wanted to see: The Rock.

The Rock had arguably the biggest crowd pop of the year, and after insulting and stunning Theory in the ring, embraced rival-turned-friend Cena backstage.

Though WWE has some of the most famous wrestlers signed to their brand, The Rock’s return gained a total of 100 million views across all social channels in one day.

So Mermaid Barbie and Maui go back to their “fake wrestling” company. So what? Who cares? You should, if you’re looking for something to entertain you.

Though lots of WWE is scripted, the hits and falls that wrestlers take are completely real, everything from stunners to getting smacked in the back with steel chairs. It’s an amazing bout of athleticism and a show of how the human body can push the limits.

That’s what WWE is: sports entertainment. It’s literally in the name of the company. The “W” stands for wrestling, and the “E” is for the star-studded entertainment aspect.

With all of the start-up reality television shows pulling at nothing for topics, viewers have been longing for something with actual substance, and that’s what WWE provides.

Take The Bloodline story, for example. Led by Roman Reigns, the bad-good-guy turned to the good-bad-guy, the Undisputed Universal Champion who’s doing everything to keep his family together. Under him were his cousins, Jey and Jimmy Uso, twin brothers who were Tag Team Champions. Alongside them was Solo Sikoa, the ruthless enforcer who did whatever Reigns asked of him.

Long story short, Reigns got greedy, and the Usos got mad and beat Reigns at a pay-per-view event. Reigns and Sikoa put Jimmy Uso in the hospital, and after Jey Uso went on a rampage for weeks and almost beat Reigns at SummerSlam, Jimmy came out of nowhere and betrayed his brother.

The best part of all of that? They’re all actually related. Joe Anoa’i (Reigns) is the uncle of Joshua, Jonathan (Usos) and Joseph Fatu (Sikoa), all part of the Anoa’i/Fatu wrestling dynasty.

There: “Succession” and “Sopranos” level family drama with the comfort of knowing that your viewership isn’t hurting the people who make it all possible.

Then there’s the megastar who has taken over social media, LA Knight. A year ago, no one knew who he was, but after his “Yeah!” gimmick got popular on TikTok, LA Knight has sold the most merchandise and has been scheduled for high-end matches. With the starpower he has, he’s slated to hit Cena-level popularity right before our eyes.

Cena and The Rock recognize where WWE is at right now and the financial power it possesses: after merging with UFC under Endeavor, Vince McMahon now owns 49% of the company, with the other 51% under a huge parent company. Additionally, this year’s upcoming “Wrestlemania 40” was the highest-grossing Mania in company history.

Who knows how long the two will stick around, or if their residence will inspire Dave Bautista to come back as well.

WWE is in a revolution right now. Cena and The Rock know it, and deep down, you do, too. Watch it: it’s worth a shot.

Adrianna Gallucci is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu.