5 Bold Creative Moves WWE Must Make After Lackluster WrestleMania 41

WWE WrestleMania 41 was one of the most underwhelming WrestleManias in recent memory, but WWE is already attempting to right the ship.

On the post-WrestleMania editions of Raw and SmackDown, there were a number of refreshing creative moves that could reinvigorate both shows. Among them, Rusev returned to the red brand after a stint as Miro in AEW, Becky Lynch turned heel on Lyra Valkyria and Aleister Black also returned on SmackDown after a few years in AEW.

WrestleMania 41 largely disappointed outside of a few marquee matches, including both triple threat bouts. Most notably, there was an overwhelmingly negative reaction to John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes, which was one of the most highly anticipated bouts ever entering WrestleMania 41.

While Cena’s heel run has quickly gone sour, WWE is currently without both Rhodes and Gunther, who are both getting time off after entering WrestleMania as world champions. As always, the post-WrestleMania season is a time when WWE resets its rosters and, in essence, starts a new “season.”

And given the way WrestleMania 41 largely underdelivered, WWE must move forward with a handful of bold creative moves in the weeks and months ahead.

ForbesWWE WrestleMania 41 Results: John Cena Defeats Cody Rhodes, Wins 17th TitleBy Blake Oestriecher

Promote WWE NXT’s Top Women’s Stars To Raw And SmackDown

Arguably WWE NXT’s top three women’s stars, Giulia, Roxanne Perez and Stephanie Vaquer, all appeared on Raw last week in what may be a sign of things to come.

Vaquer shined in a fantastic match with Iyo Sky while Perez, despite being just 23 years old, is reportedly in line for a main roster call-up as soon as possible. The trio of NXT stalwarts quite clearly possess the skill set to be on Raw and SmackDown. What’s more, they’re badly needed there, too.

For the past several years, WWE has relied largely on a handful of names at the top of the women’s division, with the likes of Tiffany Stratton and Sky being among the few stars to break through the proverbial class ceiling. Especially now with four women’s singles titles on the main roster, WWE needs depth in the division in order to flush out its storylines.

There would be no bigger boost to WWE Raw and SmackDown than promoting some combination of Guilia, Perez and/or Vaquer in the upcoming weeks. That would present WWE’s booking team with a slew of salivating dream matches, but of course, this should only be done if a long-term creative plan is in place for whichever women’s stars make the move.

Push Karrion Kross And Other Stars Who’ve Gotten Over Organically

Karrion Kross is one of a handful of WWE stars who’ve recently experienced organic rises, and WWE is reportedly planning on rewarding Kross with increased TV time.

Kross’s blistering post-WrestleMania promo combined with his stellar character work in 2025 have resulted in the former NXT Champion becoming a hot commodity these days. He isn’t the only one, though. Other WWE stars who’ve won over the WWE fan base include Dominik Mysterio, Chelsea Green and the aforementioned Sky.

Throughout WWE’s long history, there have been stars who’ve gotten over organically but never received a push that matched it. As WWE’s creative head, Triple H has done a much better job of listening to the company’s fans, but his recent comments on “Internet fans” should make fans leery about how much input fan reaction and online discourse really affect his booking.

Especially with WWE CEO Nick Khan flat-out saying WWE follows its “gut” rather than listening to fans on social media, there is no guarantee that a star who wins over fans naturally will be pushed because of it.

However, given the sheer volume of stars WWE fans are responding to, Triple H and his creative team need to listen and push them accordingly.

Fix The John Cena Heel Turn Or Scrap It Altogether

The widespread thought is that Cena, despite just recently pulling off one of the biggest heel turns ever, will ultimately turn babyface again before retiring at the end of 2025.

But both his WrestleMania 41 main event against Rhodes and his character arc since his heel turn have completely flopped. Cena’s heel turn feels forced and fake, and it’s difficult to buy into a character that the person portraying doesn’t seem to fully believe in.

The inclusion of rapper Travis Scott, The Rock’s baffling post-Elimination Chamber absence and Cena’s run-of-the-mill heel promos are just a few of many reasons why Cena’s heel turn, just a couple months in, hasn’t quite clicked. WWE must fix that because this is Cena’s retirement tour, and the company needs to get more than just some standard villain promos and mediocre matches out of the legendary star during his final run.

WWE must either take Cena’s heel character in a new direction or pull the trigger on a babyface turn as soon as possible, if only to prevent his uninteresting character from being a detriment to both Raw and SmackDown.

Add A Top Women’s Star To Paul Heyman’s Stable

Paul Heyman shockingly betrayed Roman Reigns and CM Punk at WrestleMania 41, and the next night on Raw, he revealed that he is in the early stages of forming a super-stable with Bron Breakker and Seth Rollins.

The trio of Breakker, Heyman and Rollins already has all the makings of a fantastic group, but one thing is clearly missing: a female star. The good news is, there is certainly no shortage of women’s wrestlers who could potentially become the first-ever “Paul Heyman girl.”

Of course, the most obvious choice would be Lynch, who already turned heel and is married to Rollins. However, there are numerous other high-profile and rising stars, ranging from Bianca Belair to Naomi to Nia Jax, who could fill that spot and instantly make a huge impact.

Consider this: WWE has relied quite heavily on stables over the past few years, including The Judgment Day, The Bloodline and The OG Bloodline. Those factions have elevated stars like Dominik Mysterio, Liv Morgan, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu, among others.

In today’s WWE, predominantly male stables work very well, but now, it’s time to do the same for the women’s division.

Go All In On Bron Breakker And Jacob Fatu

It’s not easy to create new stars, and WWE sometimes has a bad habit of relying too much on the stars of yesteryear.

But WWE does have two potential cornerstones of the company currently rising up the ranks in Breakker and Fatu. Both stars have been clearly positioned to enter the upper echelon of WWE stars, too. Breakker is now getting a massive push as the latest “Paul Heyman” guy while Fatu won the United States Championship at WrestleMania 41 and is arguably the hottest act in all of WWE.

With Gunther and Rhodes sidelined as well as the likes of Reigns and Cena largely working a limited schedule, Breakker and Fatu are the two best candidates to carry the load on Raw and SmackDown. They have anything and everything WWE could want out of a top star, including the look, in-ring ability and promo skills that could make them a staple of WWE for the next decade or more.

WWE can often be wishy-washy when it comes to pushing new stars consistently, but Breakker and Fatu are two stars who are ready to go right now. Though that’s not to say that WWE should force something that isn’t there, it’s blatantly obvious that the majority of the WWE fan base is anxiously awaiting their rise to the top of WWE.