5 Massive improvements WWE made in 2019

2019 was an eventful year for WWE and while some fans are always going to be critical, this was one of the company's better years in recent memory. It might even be their best year of the last decade and a lot of that has to do with the risks the company took throughout the last twelve months.

Of course, that doesn't mean the company didn't stumble here or there, especially towards the second half of the year, but those minor hiccups were vastly overshadowed by WWE's strides. Another big thing about this year compared to the last few is that when WWE did make a mistake, they corrected it quickly, which really gave shows an anything can happen feel.

With that stated and another calendar year almost in the books, here are five major improvements WWE made in 2019. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below and tell us what you thought WWE improved on.

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#5 Giving underdogs a chance

2019 had to be the year of The underdog for WWE.

Was 2019 the year of the underdog?

Maybe that claim is a bit too generous, but it just seems wrong to go through WWE's biggest improvements this year and not explore how well the company booked underdogs. WWE has always done this kind of storytelling in some capacity over the years, but 2019 was arguably the year the company really leaned into it.

In fact, between Kofi Kingston winning the WWE Championship, Mustafa Ali and Buddy Murphy both picking up wins over Daniel Bryan, and Becky Lynch defeating Ronda Rousey, there were several fantastic underdog storylines this year. WWE made the choice to stick with the underappreciated Superstars fans wanted in the main event scene and are ultimately better off for it.

Of course, Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali are currently toiling away in the midcard right now, but with the way that things are going, it's not out of the question to put them in the title picture. It could even go a long way in raising their stock in the future and maybe even allowing for them to have a World Championship run.

#4 Returning to the supernatural

WWE took a chance with The Fiend and reintroduced supernatural storytelling to the WWE Universe.

WWE hasn't really touched supernatural storytelling in quite some time and that was for very good reason. While some will point to The Undertaker as proof that WWE still embraces supernatural storytelling to this day, he is only trotted out every so often and many of his supernatural elements aren't played up as much as they used to be.

Sure, WWE continued to go through the pomp of his bone chilling entrance and disappearing act, but those became the exception to the rule. With that stated, however, WWE changed all that in 2019 with introduction of The Fiend and the company might never be same.

Not only has the introduction of The Fiend given fans a sort of anti-hero to rally around, it also allows WWE to focus on paranormal storytelling once again. The company even seems to be creating a whole different universe for The Fiend that is separate from WWE, which allows Creative to make an ongoing horror movie of sorts.

In the end, it's a whole new universe for WWE to explore and they seem to be taking their time with it, building it in appropriate fashion. Hopefully this leads to the company doing more of this kind of content in the future, especially since there seems to be a huge market for it. It might event lead to some future creations that are even more well received than The Fiend.

#3 Having something for everyone

WWE is finally starting to have something for everyone again!

Mature content made a strong comeback in 2019 and while it still isn't injected into every single storyline, it is a lot more prevalent than it was in recent years. Beyond that, it seems like WWE focused on several previously untouched styles of storytelling in 2019, which definitely helped make it more interesting to a wider audience.

Whether that be relationship storylines, paranormal occurrences, mature content, or even something for the kids, WWE has achieved the seemingly impossible balance of pleasing everyone at once. Of course, it doesn't work all the time and some fans might be alienated here or there, but in 2019 chances are good that there's something for you on WWE Television.

In fact, between Roman Reigns, Ricochet, and Ali all being billed as super hero type characters, The Fiend taking care of the supernatural aspect, and Rusev, Lana, and Bobby Lashley covering more mature content, WWE has everything covered. They also have juggled each of these storylines in a way that is enjoyable to watch and makes the show much easier to take in.

WWE has made many strides in 2020, but one of their most important has to be how the company started making content that everyone could enjoy. It also goes a long way in helping to market the product and bring in more fans over time, which should be fun to watch play out in 2020 and beyond.

#2 Use of cliff hangers

WWE's booking of Becky Lynch versus Ronda Rousey was a great example of cliff hanger storytelling.

WWE finally stopped spinning their wheels when it came to storytelling in 2019 and it has spurred some of the best content to date. In fact, between Roman Reigns' mystery attacker, to Ronda Rousey versus Becky Lynch versus Charlotte Flair, WWE took things up a notch and it was awesome!

Interestingly enough, WWE seems to have put a renewed interest on cliff hanger type storytelling in 2019 and it has made the product better as a whole. Not only is that evident by the company seemingly not spinning their wheels as much in between pay per views, but also by the creative payoffs they have employed to keep the WWE Universe engaged in its content.

The best part, however, is that the company has continued to do this with the ongoing Fiend storyline, Erik Rowan's hidden object, and the new Liv Morgan, all of which have left fans eager to see what happens next. Furthermore, it has created a desire from fans to keep tuning in and put all the storyline pieces together in an intriguing way.

Much like a carefully crafted murder mystery, WWE is now giving their fans more questions than answers and it's working to their advantage. Furthermore, they are creating questions that WWE fans want answered, which is only helping to bring them back for more.

#1 Booking Roman Reigns

WWE has become much better when it comes to booking Roman Reigns.

While the real key to Roman Reigns becoming the biggest face in WWE started in the summer of 2018, it wasn't until his leukemia diagnosis and his return that he really captured the hears of fans everywhere. Of course, some of that had to do with the seriousness of the diagnosis and fans legitimately wanting to see him get better, but also by how WWE used him afterwards.

Maybe it's the fact that WWE didn't put him in the upper card all that much in 2019 or maybe it was just the fact that they kept giving him a great heel to work off of, but Roman Reigns still received some of the biggest reactions every single night. It's even come to the point where the script has flipped and many fans are demanding that he be put in the title picture.

That's going to be a powerful tool at WWE's disposal heading into 2020 and might even be enough to shift the tide towards him winning the Universal Title at WrestleMania 36. Or maybe WWE can make the fans wait and save Reign's title victory for a more opportune time. Either way, WWE holds all the cards in their hands on this one.

In the end, none of this would have been possible if WWE didn't hold him in the midcard for as long as they did this year and keep putting him up against great heels. Reigns' teaming up with The Undertaker to take on Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre at Greatest Royal Rumble was an excellent example of WWE doing just that.

Building Reigns back up over an extended period of time makes his eventual title reign all the more alluring and is going to cause more fans start to outright demand it.