WWE Unreal Season Two Highlights Major Creative Issues

Pat McAfee has spent most of his time with WWE on the commentary booth alongside Michael Cole. But the former professional football punter also competed in the ring, losing to Adam Cole on NXT back in August 2020.

The big post-WrestleMania storyline for Gunther after losing his World Heavyweight Championship to Jey Uso was a feud with McAfee. They locked horns at Backlash, and the Ring General won, albeit he was given a tough fight from the American sports analyst.

What came as a concern during episode two of Unreal's second season was that it was pitched for Gunther to lose on the very next PLE after losing to Jey at Mania. Bruce Prichard came up with the controversial idea while in a writers' meeting:

"It's predictable to just have the match and have Gunther win and be done with it."

Triple H seemed to take the proposal on board, suggesting that Gunther go on a tear after a McAfee win. This was until WWE VP of Creative Writing, Jonathan Baeckstrom, shot down the suggestion by comparing it to James Bond always coming out on top in the films, because "that's what you paid to see, it's the right ending."

It wasn't just an outlandish creative pitch that shocked fans, but also the lack of long-term planning behind the title change. WWE SmackDown head writer Road Dogg proposed switching the Women's United States Championship from Zelina Vega back to Chelsea Green.

Triple H asked who she'd work with once champion, and Road Dogg didn't have an answer: "I don't know." The title change didn't take place but Green eventually reclaimed the US Championship from Giulia and, unsurprisingly, defended her title just once down in NXT before dropping it back to Giulia on the first SmackDown of 2026.

WWE Need a Creative Team Shake-Up

It's fair to say that WWE's programming in 2025 didn't quite connect with fans as in previous years of the Triple H regime. While there were entertaining moments such as Seth Rollins' 'Ruse of the Century', there was a clear lack of long-term planning and a desire for big moments outweighed continuous storytelling.

Many members of WWE's roster have already admitted they dislike WWE Unreal, and poor creative decisions only make matters worse. But it's been clear for some time now that the writing team needs freshening up because stories are less engaging and talent is being harmed by a lack of a long-term vision.

It feels like a lifetime ago when WWE entered a buzz period because of the success of the Roman Reigns Bloodline story and Cody Rhodes looking to finish his story. With such worrying ideas on show on their own docuseries, it seems bizarre the company would allow fans such a clear look at such a mess that they were already hearing about in the media.