Published: 3 seconds ago by Connel Rumsey | Last Updated: 3 seconds ago by Connel Rumsey
Connel has over five years of wrestling journalism experience writing about some of the biggest stories from across the wrestling world. Being a fan for 20 years, Connel has an expansive knowledge from a wide range of various wrestling promotions, including WWE, AEW, NJPW, TNA and Joshi.
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WWE/Marvel
Actor Nicolas Cage made headlines during a panel, when he was asked about his thoughts on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to which he referred to it as a ‘glorified WWE’.
Cage’s comment was mainly in reference to the actors putting on costumes to perform, but it actually isn’t the first time that WWE has been compared to the MCU.
Triple H made similar comments last year, where he said WWE is more like the MCU than it is MMA and the UFC:
“I would say we’re much more akin to the Marvel Universe, where you’re planning out long term where the movies fit and how they go with all the characters, than we are direct MMA.”
With both these comments comparing the two juggernauts, they are both entirely accurate, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing…
Avengers Endgame & ‘Finish The Story’
What do Cody Rhodes finally capturing the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania XL and Tony Stark’s snap in Avengers Endgame have in common?
While a lot of casual audiences came to the cinema to watch the latest superhero movie, at the time what really made the Marvel Cinematic Universe explode was every movie feeling important, and plot points from one connecting with another movie that would be at most a year away.
Since the first Iron Man in 2008, the series was building to the first Avengers movie in 2012, and after that, Thanos appeared in the post credit scene and everything continued to build towards the two header of Infinity War and Endgame, to close the 11 year long Infinity Saga.
In many ways WWE had it’s own Infinity War and Endgame with WrestleMania 39 and WrestleMania 40, with Cody’s defeat in Los Angeles paralleling 50% of our beloved superheroes being snapped out of existence.
WWE during the early Triple H regime felt like everything was intertwined rather than feeling isolated as it had in the years before, and rewarded fans for watching and paying attention to every detail, just as the older MCU movies did.
However, after WrestleMania XL and Avengers Endgame, both companies had to answer one question: what next?
Chasing former glory over new ideas
In 2026, both WWE and the MCU, while still money making juggernauts that have no sign of slowing down in that regard, have hit a creative standstill.
Marvel coming out of Endgame put a lot of focus on quantity, pumping out far too many movies and Disney Plus shows to keep track of.
In a panic move to drum up interest in their next big crossover, Robert Downey Jr was cast as Doctor Doom, as well as Chris Evans being brought back as Steve Rogers after his perfect sendoff to end Endgame, with zero build up simply to drive audiences to the theatres solely off nostalgia and remembering when things were as great as they used to be.
In a very similar manner, WWE has shamelessly been attempting to recreate WrestleMania XL ever since it happened, as well as TKO inserting Travis Scott and Pat McAfee into WrestleMania main events to drum up interest off their names alone.
On Raw right now, the Bloodline is once again reunited, with Jey and Jimmy Uso falling back in line with the Tribal Chief, who reigns as champion just like he did during the ‘good old days’.
Both companies are too big to fail at this point, yet they are falling into the same trap of rehashing what was once great and wondering why lightning isn’t striking twice the second time around.
The year is 2026, and Roman Reigns and the Bloodline dominate WWE television, while Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans are the top billed names for the next Avengers movie.
The more things change…
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