It's kind of crazy how much the pandemic seemed to reset WWE for the better.
They were in a really bad rut before it.
Ehh, I think there's a couple factors here and only one is really tied to the pandemic...
1. AEW created a "Purge" of sorts for the WWE audience. Fans who wanted an alternative product got it, and that stopped a lot of the negative responses in the arena to what WWE was pushing. Think of Cody as the new Cena. AEW fans hated Cody. WWE fans love him. AEW essentially took the "Cena sucks" fans out of the building and left WWE with the "Let's go Cena" chants.
2. Vince got in trouble. It really can't be emphasized how much this changes things. It goes beyond dumb shit like having Drake Maverick piss himself on TV or advertising matches that don't happen. If Vince is 100% in charge, Gunther doesn't go on the run that he's on. If Vince is in 100% in charge, LA Knight probably flops as Max Dupri and gets released. If Vince is 100% in charge, Jey Uso is likely not over to the degree that he's at now. That's two of your top 4 babyfaces and a top 2 heel.
On the women's side, Rhea had just gotten out of a forgettable tag team with Liv Morgan and jumped onto JD... Which Edge quickly jumped out of because Vince wanted to make the group supernatural. Becky was still wearing her goofy Rollins-esque shit and being shoehorned as a heel. Sasha and Naomi took off because of Vince's inconsistent booking. (I think this is partially a problem of Sasha being a brat, too, but nonetheless)
The only thing that really ties to the pandemic, IMO, is Roman. Vince kinda let house shows dictate the direction of the company pre-COVID. I don't think you ever get a Roman Reigns heel turn if they still had to sell house show tickets. You also probably don't get a change in production that has made Roman a great character without empty arena shows, where he was talking a lot of shit in the ring and saying a lot of shit off mic, which has carried back into arena performances.
And whether people have particularly enjoyed Roman's monopoly over the title or not, nobody can deny that his Tribal Chief run has absolutely elevated the company as a whole.
