3 reasons why WWE desperately needs an off season
Monday Night RAW is so underwhelming that WWE itself had to apologise on-air. While it might seem like a neat trick of post-modernist storytelling, what it is, is a harsh truth ringing across the universe for quite some time now. The ebb and flow quality of WWE programming has been a thing for years, and it can't seem to avoid this trend.
Another thing it can't seem to avoid are injuries and health scares, there's like this regularity during the waning months of the year for the company's performers to fall ill. At the same time, it seems like the horrific 2016 injury crisis during the road to WrestleMania might see a repeat this year, with big names set to just about make it on time if at all. In all of this, injuries and sickness come off as something that cannot unfortunately be avoided.
However, there is a solution the company can take into consideration.
One that flies on the very face of the billions thrown their way for programming next year, and the robust build of the ever-growing WWE Network. It makes it seem implausible as such, but it is a solution worth considering if not for monetary reasons, then for qualitative ones. Although it is something no corporate-backed public licensed company will even consider in this day and age (capitalism at its best!).
That solution is for WWE to finally bow to the idea of an off-season, and there are three strong reasons why.
#3 Gives more time to build a better product
As aforementioned, WWE and its majority stakeholders could care less about delivering a quality product. It prides itself on having a stable variety of shows for all kinds of audience, enough to bring in the casual viewers, as well as the hardcore fans. Not that any other promotion is breaking into the mainstream, but there is a burgeoning undercurrent of competition that threatens complacency.
Yet they don't care, because it isn't really about being the top dog in the field. For WWE as a giant corporate entity, it is about spending or investing the minimum effort to eke out a maximum profit, that's the capitalist handbook.
So if they did care, then what?
An off season would give enough preparation time for the wrestlers down to the smallest of jobs in the company to prepare for a better product. Having the company tackle the house show circuit (minimally of course) for the better part of half a year, before opening its gates to the actual seasonal programming might just make things better, after all practice makes perfect.
Not only that, but an off-season affords a clear-cut idea of where stories and rivalries will build towards. It makes it that much sharper and smarter, with the occasional readiness of a contingency plan in case something goes off; such as crowd engagement or injuries.
It's a tough one to tackle, but it has its advantages if played right; maximum effort for maximum long profit.