Opinion: Possible reasons why the WWE product is struggling to improve
WWE is the global conglomerate of pro-wrestling and has been that way for many years now. They have had both good times and bad, but have always seemed to bounce back when they needed to.
However today, the world's largest pro-wrestling company is no longer the destination that everybody wants to be in.
There are many obvious reasons for this such as the creative process and underutilizing of talent, but why exactly are these things happening and what is making people so unhappy that they wish to leave WWE?
WWE was once the go-to destination if you wanted to be a globally recognized name, so why are people really wanting to leave?
To answer this, we must look at the obvious reasons in more detail, starting with the creative process.
The WWE creative process is something many of us will never understand. WWE Superstars are made to follow a script for their character which includes promos to how they act and perform in the ring.
They must also try and stay in character while using social media. People like Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens and Becky Lynch have been great at using social media to their advantage. It has allowed them to really build up their rivalries, especially in the case with Lynch.
One of the problems with creative though is not having the freedom to express yourself in your own words.
A lot of Superstars who have wrestled on the independent circuit are used to having freedom over their character.
Having the creative freedom element taken away can be a difficult adjustment for independent wrestlers. Batista is somebody who has revealed in a recent interview his thoughts on the creative process in WWE.
Creative isn't the only issue in WWE. There is the fact that WWE has so much talent on the roster, yet they do not get used on television or in meaningful storylines.
Talented stars like Bobby Roode, EC3 and many others are chasing the 24/7 title in comedy segments, while the talents who feature regularly are being used to take up the majority of the storylines.
It is difficult to understand why WWE keep adding more talent when they already have more than they need at present.
Perhaps if they had a system in place where they rotated talent around with who gets TV time and who doesn't. There would definitely be less disgruntled talent backstage and things would be fair.
There are also questionable booking decisions being made on talent backstage.
For example, why is Baron Corbin being given a push when the WWE fans aren't fond of him? Why is Bobby Lashley not being booked as a complete destroyer like Brock Lesnar? Why does WWE always book faces to win most feuds? Why can't heels get more clean wins instead of taking shortcuts most of the time to win? These are all questions that need answering, along with others.
We may never know the answer to these questions but we can make an educated guess, starting with Baron Corbin. We know that Vince McMahon sees big things in Corbin.
Mr. McMahon can see that Corbin has real heal heat with the WWE fanbase. It is hard these days for any Superstar to get real heat, yet the Lone Wolf does it easily.
While many of us may not like Corbin's character, there is no doubt that he has made improvements to his character and presentation.
Then we have the case of guys like Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre. These two should be booked as top heels and complete destroyers, not being lackeys to Shane McMahon.
They should be getting clean wins over credible faces to boost their credibility. They will need to be used in the Universal title scene as challengers to Seth Rollins, yet they don't have enough credibility at present to be seen as legitimate threats, based on their booking.
Faces winning most of the time has become increasingly common in WWE. Heels like a Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre or Kevin Owens need to be given more clean wins over credible opponents so that we believe they do stand a chance against the face opponent. Not only are the constant losses hurting their credibility, but are also making storylines quite predictable on TV.
The overexposure of Shane McMahon on our screens is currently hurting the product. The self-proclaimed Best In The World has been used too much on television when he doesn't need to be.
Seeing him twice a week and taking TV time away from actual superstars who need to be on TV, is damaging the image of WWE. It is saying to people that they dont seem to trust those not currently on TV to be entertaining enough for their viewers.
Having the Wildcard Rule in place is causing problems in WWE. Having talent appear on both shows is overkill and makes others miss out on TV time.
There is so much talent currently not getting the time on screen and the wildcard rule is ensuring it stays that way.
The Brand Split ultimately needs to stay in place to restore order within WWE and make sure as much talent as possible gets TV time. Having Superstars appear on one brand is the best approach for WWE's loaded roster.
The approach/business module need to be adjusted by Mr.McMahon for WWE programming moving forward. Making spontaneous, yet calculated and wise business decisions are what is needed to bring the unpredictable factor back into WWE.
Mr. McMahon needs to tap into his genius brain and work out a strategy of how he can regain order in WWE. The current status quo inside WWE is not working. The chaos backstage needs to end and a clear vision needs putting into place.
If any company has the experience and ability to bounce back and come out on top, it truly has to be WWE.
They were the underdog last time against WCW and are being presented as the same this time. WCW beat WWE for 84 weeks straight in the Monday Night Wars before WWE ended up coming out on top. If anybody knows how to shake things up in WWE for the better, it's Vince McMahon.
Mr. McMahon knows that if he doesn't do something soon, he could lose the huge TV deal with Fox.
He certainly has the ability to turn the tide around for WWE though. Despite the negativity we are hearing from people in the company, we need to remain loyal to the company and place our faith in them.
After all, this is the company that made many of us get into wrestling in the first place. The least we could do is support them through the good and bad times.
WWE have the ability to compete with AEW if the latter does prove to be a successful promotion.
WWE just needs to sort out things backstage, create a clear vision and present logical, smart booking and storylines.
If they can do that, they stand every chance of beating AEW. WWE still has a few months to get things back on track before AEW airs weekly on TNT. Only time will tell how things play out.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.