5 Things WWE Subtly told us in 2021: Possibly bad news for part-time legends, New requirement for superstars to get pushed revealed

2021 is officially in the books for WWE. While there remains one episode of SmackDown on Friday Night, it's only going to be a highlights package. The live programming for the year is over, and the company will start afresh at WWE Day 1.

So how can we sum up the year as a whole? Behind the scenes, the mass releases that have taken place only amped up in 2021, with some of the company's big stars getting cut despite their status.

This has put into question the status of virtually every WWE Superstar who doesn't belong to the top-tier. However, it also means that the company's over-bloated roster has been reduced in size, and a new focus and change in direction has been implemented.

While WWE programming in 2021 was quite good compared to recent years, what were a few things that were subtly told to us in 2021? Let's find out!

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#5. The era of part-time legends is ending in WWE

For the last decade, part-time superstars have exerted unprecedented dominance in WWE. In the Attitude Era or even the Ruthless Aggression era for that matter, it would have been unthinkable for a part-time star to get such an important spot.

That hasn't been the case for the last decade. The likes of The Undertaker, Triple H, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and John Cena have all transitioned into part-time roles -- ones that have largely been earned.

WWE doesn't seem to want to build larger-than-life superstars anymore, preferring to grow the company's brand name as the draw instead -- an approach also taken by the UFC when they realized how reliant they were on Conor McGregor for large pay-per-view sales.

No full-time superstar has the larger-than-life feeling of the stars from yesteryear, but the part-time influence is slowly reducing as well. While they were often utilized for world title matches at pay-per-views like WrestleMania, 2021 was an indication that the concept is winding down.

While the likes of Brock Lesnar will always be utilized in top positions, the number of part-time superstars seems to be reducing. Goldberg has only one match on his WWE contract, The Undertaker has retired, Triple H might never wrestle again due to his cardiac event this year. This leaves only two larger-than-life stars in the company -- Lesnar and Edge.

2021 saw WWE utilize full-time superstars far better, and there weren't many cases of younger superstars suffering due to part-timers. Bobby Lashley lost to Goldberg at Crown Jewel but gave him the best match of his WWE career, while Seth Rollins losing to Edge at SummerSlam and Crown Jewel resulted in incredible matches and the rivalry of the year.

#4. WWE's change in direction with future superstars

This seems a little less subtle, but WWE's implementation of it prompted us to add this to the list. Earlier in the summer, it was revealed that company was "done" signing independent superstars who were in their 30s.

Instead, they would start signing young men and women in their early 20s and preferably those from a non-wrestling background. This would allow them to become completely WWE-trained Superstars. A bigger emphasis will be placed on the looks of both male and female trainees, with the old approach of pushing "bigger" male stars emphasized.

Nick Khan seemed to confirm this in his rare interview with Ariel Helwani on BT Sport, stating that WWE was moving away from featuring wrestlers with the "indie" style. That's why NXT was revamped into NXT 2.0. It was given a different set of colors, a change in direction of programming, as well as the superstars being pushed.

There are now new requirements to get a big push in WWE, and size, look, and homegrown talent will be given preference going forward.

#3. WWE's treatment of RAW and SmackDown has balanced out better

For more than a decade-and-a-half, RAW was WWE's flagship show. For a couple of years between 2019 and 2021, WWE gave a lot more emphasis to SmackDown. There was one big reason for this -- the move to FOX.

There was likely a lot of demand from FOX executives to make SmackDown the more star-studded show. That's why Roman Reigns moved to the blue brand in 2019 and hasn't changed since then.

Between 2019 and 2021, the bigger stars and the biggest matches were featured on SmackDown. It's no coincidence that both nights of WrestleMania 37 were headlined by a SmackDown match -- the first night being headlined by Sasha Banks vs Bianca Belair (the second women's main event in WrestleMania), and the second night featuring Roman Reigns vs Edge vs Daniel Bryan as the final bout.

In all likeliness, a SmackDown match will also headline WrestleMania 38 night two. However, post-WWE Draft in 2021, many believe that RAW got the better share of talent, and it seemed to signal a bigger balance in the treatment of both brands. RAW even picked up a dominant victory over SmackDown at Survivor Series.

#2. "Free television" is more important to WWE than pay-per-views

For the last few decades in WWE history, the nature of programming has seen free television used to build up feuds, and pay-per-views used to have big, must-see matches.

However, things have changed. While pay-per-views like WrestleMania and SummerSlam will always have the biggest matches, the reality is that RAW and SmackDown provide far more revenue.

Many fans are puzzled when big matches these days are booked for RAW or SmackDown, stating that it doesn't make sense to give it away on free TV. That's where they're wrong. Let's look at one example from this year. The WWE Championship only changed hands in one pay-per-view - Elimination Chamber. Even then, The Miz's title reign was cut short when he lost it to Bobby Lashley on RAW eight days later.

Nearly seven months later, Big E cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on RAW to become the new WWE Champion. While Peacock is paying the company a reportedly handsome fee of $1 billion for five years, the overall broadcasting revenue from different TV networks worldwide means that RAW and SmackDown remain the more valuable products.

Don't be surprised to see the big moments take place on free TV more than pay-per-views since WWE needs to incentivize networks to give them bigger and better broadcast deals.

#1. The Roman Reigns era in WWE is a long way from being over

Roman Reigns is currently enjoying the best run of his WWE career. While the last four months of 2020 saw him establish his new heel character, 2021 has seen him grow into the role and become the undisputed greatest Universal Champion in history.

When it's all said and done, Reigns' current title run will likely be remembered as one of the greatest world title runs in the modern era. The only problem he faces is that he is such a big step ahead of everyone that it's hard to think of anyone credible enough to dethrone him.

By the time New Year approaches, Roman Reigns will be 488 days into his Universal Championship reign. He is expected to headline WrestleMania in 2022 for the sixth time in his career -- and whether he wins or loses, the biggest plans will be for him.

Don't expect a Roman Reigns face turn anytime soon. He will likely have the same role in 2022, and whatever happens, will eventually be centered around him.