One of the biggest holidays for the United States is just around the corner. Perhaps, Thanksgiving could be considered the biggest, with the effort, pomp, and circumstance that the American people put behind the day. It’s actually not just a day, but a whole week of festivities centered around what the people should be thankful for this year. As we head into the Thanksgiving season, it would be great to reflect on this past year and see what every WWE fan should be thankful for.
Yes, the company has room for improvement, frankly, who doesn’t, but they have hit so many high notes. It has been a year of unprecedented growth, with WWE giving us plenty of reasons to be grateful they are in business. Below is a list of the reasons each WWE fan should be thankful for.
John Cena’s Retirement Tour
No one should be thankful that John Cena’s career is coming to an end. He is at the top of the profession and has been one of WWE’s biggest stars for over 20 years. It’s never great to see a legend leave the world of wrestling, but at least WWE is doing John Cena justice with his retirement tour.
Most wrestlers don’t get the tour that John Cena has been given. If they are lucky, there is an announcement before their match that they will be riding off into the sunset. This time around, we have been given a full year of enjoying John Cena before he calls it a career.
During his last run, we have witnessed the long-awaited heel turn and many classic matches against old and new foes. Cena has not shied away from the ring and has given it his all when he stepped between the ropes. This past year has been a celebration of John Cena, and we should all be thankful that we had the chance to witness it.
SmackDown’s Tag Team Division
Anyone who is a fan of tag team wrestling should be very thankful that SmackDown’s tag team division has been as great as it has. Since the introduction of the new WWE Tag Team Championships, SmackDown’s tag team division has been absolutely stacked.
The depth of the tag division is fantastic, but it’s their quality of matches that sets them apart from their Raw counterparts. It doesn’t matter which matchup we have been given this year. The matches have been phenomenal every week. They have been a highlight of SmackDown each week, putting on banger after banger after banger. Even when they were given a timeslot on a PLE, the division stepped up.
The Motor City Machine Guns, Street Profits, Pretty Deadly, DIY, Fraxiom, and the Wyatt Sicks have been the MVPs of SmackDown this year. We should be thankful that tag team wrestling is making a comeback.
The Ongoing Relationship Between WWE and TNA
The term “Forbidden Door” is one that WWE has taken very seriously for years. It was taboo for anyone within the company to mention another promotion. Doing so would draw much ire from those in charge. If talents did come over from other organizations, they were usually buried to show WWE’s dominance over the field.
Thankfully for all of us, those days are gone, and WWE has entered into partnerships with various promotions. The biggest being their working relationship with TNA.
Being able to see wrestlers cross between promotions has been fantastic. Their talent-sharing agreement has made each company’s shows a little more unpredictable than they have been in the past.
Wrestlers such as Joe Hendry, Mickie James, and The Hardy Boys have made appearances in WWE, representing TNA, and the wrestling world has been loving it. Seeing a positive working relationship between WWE and any company makes wrestling better.
The Wiseman
Paul Heyman makes everything better. The Wiseman was fantastic as Roman Reigns’ aid, as he was when he was partnered with Seth Rollins, and now with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. In this day in age, the manager is not a commodity that is used very often. It’s a part of wrestling that has been lost over the years, but Paul Heyman shows why it’s still important.
The Wiseman has been money every time he hits the screen. He adds that little extra to every segment and every match that he’s a part of. His facial expressions are amazing, and he brings another level of intensity to every promo. Paul Heyman is that “It Factor” in every storyline, so it’s no coincidence that he has been featured heavily in the main event program.
Non-wrestling personalities are few and far between nowadays, and we should all be thankful that Paul Heyman is one of them.
WWE’s International Expansion
WWE has always been an international company. Their base is in the northeastern United States, and most shows run within the United States, but they have run tours all over the world. For a long time, their tours outside of the United States were reserved for house shows, Raw, and SmackDown.
Very rarely did WWE expand its PLEs to the international markets. That’s a trend that has thankfully been bucked over the past few years, especially into the 2025 calendar.
This year has seen WWE host some major PLEs overseas with massive success. The international crowd has been insane every time that WWE comes to their city. Chanting and being raucous have become commonplace for WWE shows when they move overseas, and it’s been amazing.
It’s this type of expansion that brings in a larger audience and builds the brand even further. International shows are becoming more frequent, and the whole world should be thankful for that.
Cody Rhodes Being The Guy
Cody Rhodes might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there can be no denying that he has put the company on his shoulders this year. Every wrestling promotion needs to have its top guy. A top guy that they can lean on to be the face of the company. Someone who is dependable and draws a crowd. Cody Rhodes has been that guy for WWE this year.
He took some time off after WrestleMania, and that highlighted his importance to the company. His absence was felt, and the main event scene had some trouble. It showed how effective Cody Rhodes was in the top spot and that no one was ready to assume his mantle.
There aren’t many who can put in the work necessary to be the top guy in WWE, and the company’s operations wouldn’t run without him. We can all be thankful that such a steady hand has become WWE’s biggest star.
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