With rumors of Superstars leaving, what does WWE need to do to stay ahead of the competition?
WWE, in the previous weeks, has been trying to reclaim itself as the superior promotion when it comes to wrestling. By doing this they have been throwing the word "opportunity" at their stars as a way to keep their hopes up that maybe one day they'll be a champion in their division. However, not many stars are looking to stick around to see if these build-ups will happen.
Who are on their way out?
Superstars including Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are rumored to leave as their contracts are set to expire later this year. There have been mentions of them returning to NJPW, if not, AEW, a new promotion started by former WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes and Indie wrestlers, The Young Bucks.
The Good Brothers started off as a threat but have since become jobbers and had a mediocre run as the RAW tag team champions.
Other wrestlers to follow may include "The Revival" who have shared tweets with the Young Bucks about facing each other in the future, possibly hinting at a future AEW signing.
This may be a possibility as they're just as vocal about being unhappy on their social media. Scott Dawson tweeted earlier this week following RAW.
With former WWE stars Chris Jerhico and Pac, aka Neville, who left the company as they were unhappy with bookings, more stars may follow suit for not being utilized.
What else is damaging the brand?
It's no secret that there has been a decline in viewership. The drop in ratings comes from two factors; lack of new talent, and repeated matches that fans have seen time and time again such as Drew McIntyre vs Seth Rollins.
They may have found a short term fix as they're continuing to scout new performers. During RAW and SmackDown Live, EC3 and Nikki Cross of NXT were announced as the next Superstars to be called up to the main roster in a warn out promo.
What needs to happen next?
Although RAW and SmackDown are the superior brands outside of Main Event and 205 Live, it would help the promotion to put a little more attention on NXT. With the company extending their brand to the UK, having a televised NXT weekly show on cable instead of the WWE Network would help in ratings.
Next, if they are really listening to the fans now, RAW definitely needs to go back to its two-hour block this year. This is something that has been demanded for a long time and there have even been petitions for this change. It would make more sense to shorten the time and have better storylines instead of having numerous time fillers promoting WWE Shop.
And lastly, give the wrestlers their identity back. No one wants to see Bobby Lashley flexing and acting like a tool, nor see the B Team continue to stretch out their fifteen minutes of whatever they are at this point. This will lead to more interesting feuds, meaningful championship matches, and fewer rumors about stars getting ready to leave.