WWE finally seems to be going back to its glory days after the recent WrestleMania 40. Ever since Dwayne Johnson a.k.a The Rock returned to the ring, the events at the promotion and the storyline seem to have gotten better and better. The recent WrestleMania was also considered to be one of the best in recent times and reportedly satisfied many fans.
After the promotion’s biggest event, WWE seems to be going twice as hard as the recent SmackDown saw Kevin Owens bleeding after a fight with Tama Tonga. Many fans considered it to be the end of the PG Era of the WWE, which changed its rating way back in 2008 to appeal to a more diverse and younger demographic.
Does The Kevin Owens Incident Mark The End Of The PG Era In WWE?
This week’s SmackDown saw The Bloodline continuing under the leadership of Solo Sikoa. Former member Jimmy Uso had been kicked out and Tama Tonga seemed to have made his way into The Bloodline. Sikoa seems to be in charge of the stable after Roman Reigns’ championship loss at WrestleMania 40 against Cody Rhodes.
One of the highlights of the episode was Tonga attacking Kevin Owens to the point of the latter bleeding. The incident reportedly occurred when Sikoa and other members of The Bloodline came into the ring to talk about their future. When Sikoa announced the inclusion of Tama Tonga in the stable, Tonga walked out with a bloodied Kevin Owens, causing chaos (via Wrestle Zone).
Many fans were delighted at the event as it was the first time in years that the WWE had shown blood on screen. Fans began to say that this was the true ending of the PG Era, which began in 2008. The WWE dropped its TV-14 rating to a more PG approach to attract a younger audience and widen its demographic. This resulted in less mature storylines (via The Sportster).
While WWE claims that the present era is ‘The New Era’ and that the PG Era ended in 2013, many fans still consider the promotion to have not been as edgy as its glory days (via WWE). However, after several personnel changes, including the return of The Rock and Triple H a.k.a Paul Levesque’s promotion to WWE Creative Head, things might have finally changed.
How Did The Rock’s Return Change The WWE?
Actor and wrestler Dwayne Johnson a.k.a The Rock returned to WWE full-time earlier this year, making a full-fledged appearance after eight years. The wrestler had exited the promotion to focus on his acting career and business ventures but had always made appearances. However, his last match before this year’s appearance was in 2016.
The Rock, who also got a seat as a board member at TKO Group Holdings, the company that manages WWE, returned to the ring this year and immediately began feuding with Roman Reigns. The storyline was built up to end at WrestleMania 40, but Reigns already had an ongoing feud with Cody Rhodes, who hoped to ‘finish his story’ and win a world championship.
The main event of the show saw Reigns and Rhodes go head-to-head for the WWE Universal Championship title, in a solo as well as a tag team match. This year’s WrestleMania also saw the return of stars such as John Cena and the Undertaker. Fans seemed to be extremely happy with Triple H and The Rock’s work on the storylines.
Kevin Owens is BLEEDING 🔥
— EliteRockerz 𝕏 (@EliteClubS0B) April 20, 2024
THE PG ERA IS DEAD AND BURIED.#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/qO2uAcqyeL
— Future WWE Champion El Idolo (@Gabriel99425082) April 20, 2024
Who agree with me that WWW under HHH has become so kuch more interesting than ever!
— SimplyMe (@the_wiresless) April 20, 2024
give Hunter and Nick Khan their flowers 💐 WWE is taking a whole new direction in the modern era of wrestling and social media. They're keeping up with current trends outside of WWE and integrating them with the product. The @SamiZayn entrance on Raw was an example of this. 👌🏾
— BigUce_SapGod🤙 (@AyoMayoBC4Life) April 20, 2024
The best thing about this is that these guys are not bleeding in matches for no reason. They're using blood to sell the heels.
— WRESTLETALES (@wrestletales) April 20, 2024
Many have even claimed that this year’s WrestleMania was one of the best in the recent past and have described it as pure cinema (via BBC News).
