E:60 Pictures 'WWE: Behind the Curtain' review

The WWE was showcased on the worldwide leader in sports Tuesday night when ESPN debuted it's latest E:60 feature titled "WWE: Behind the Curtain."

The hour-long special literally pulled back the curtain on the inner-workings of the WWE and its developmental system, NXT.

The bulk of the footage and stories told are set back in 2013, and is primarily focused on WWE's Adam Rose, Corey Graves and Xavier Woods.

During the course of the program, however, you rarely hear the three men referred to by their stage names. During the program, Rose is known by his real name, Ray Leppan. Graves (a native of Pittsburgh) goes by his real name of Matt Polinksy and Woods as Austin Watson.

Before I dive into my thoughts on the program, first let us examine what the special represents. It represents a very real look at the lives of the people working for the WWE. There is no such thing as kayfabe when it comes to this. Everyone, including Michael Cole (Michael Coulthard) and Michael Hayes (Michael Seitz) are referred to by their real names first and their stage names second.

The special also represents some of the best mainstream exposure the WWE has received in a very long time. The WWE was given an entire hour of free publicity on the worldwide leader in (real) sports in primetime.

Not only were die-hard wrestling fans exposed to the lives and inner-workings of the WWE, but sports fans that never watch a second of wrestling got a glimpse of what it's like for the superstars of the WWE.

As for the quality of the special, as expected, it was outstanding. ESPN isn't the worldwide leader in sports for nothing, and its E:60 specials are usually very, very good. This one was no different. I thought it was fair to the WWE by taking a serious look at what goes into running a major corporation of its stature.

There were not any jokes about the validity of professional wrestling. ESPN took the WWE more serious than the WWE does on most occasions.

As far as the content during the special, ESPN told the very compelling stories of Leppan, Polinski and Watson. For those that are already wrestling fans, Polinsky's concussions issues and Waton's pursuit of a PhD are already known stories, but Leppan's story was essentially brand new to even wrestling fans and left almost everyone watching cheering for him.

Leppan, formerly known as Leo Kruger, was fledgling in NXT at the time ESPN's cameras were following him around in 2013. Although he was good in the ring, Leppan was not seen as exciting enough to keep fans interested, which Seitz made quite clear during an exclusive look at a production meeting.

Because of his lack of fan interest, Leppan was on he brink of being released from his NXT contract. On top of that, Leppan's first son Maverick suffers from a rare birth defect, adding to the amount of empathy for him and his family.

Eventually, Leppan came up with the idea for the Rose character and used it to propel him to the WWE's main roster.

Leppan currently plays a heel on WWE television, but his inspirational story may have turned him into a babyface in the eyes of the fans.

Polinsky, who is also a father, was in line to become a major star in the WWE, but a series of concussions and other various injuries abruptly ended his in-ring career. Just when it looked like Polinsky was going to be looking for work elsewhere, he was offered a two-year contract by the WWE to become an announcer. He's been a fixture on WWE television ever since.

Watson had all of the tools and the support of the decision makers in the WWE. All he had to do was find the right niche that could make him successful. It seems as though he's finally found it with The New Day, who are the current WWE tag team champions.

All three of these stories did more for each man than anything WWE has done for them on its own television. Even the biggest wrestling hater could want to see a guy like Leppan succeed.

There were two more stories that weren't featured on the television program, including Tyler Breeze (Mattias Clement) and Colin Cassady (William Morrissey) that are online exclusives. Although both are good, they are not quite as compelling as the three featured Tuesday night.

In closing, "WWE: Behind the Curtain" was an overall success for both the WWE and ESPN. For WWE, it hopefully opened people's eyes up to what professional wrestling is today and the level of dedication and desire it takes to become even mildly successful.

For ESPN, it may have opened itself up to an entirely new segment of the audience that it has yet to fully tap into.