In this very column back in April, we eulogised over the WWE’s rude health and the bright future it seemed to be roaring toward.
On the back of a WrestleMania full of delight, it all seemed justifiable.
The WWE had its best roster in years and an apparent clear path for Creative to wind us down, weaving in and out of glorious matches that had the potential to paint a very pretty picture for the company.
– Will Sheamus ever be more than a transitional champ?
– How The Undertaker has survived so many series
– Rooney pulls off attacking performance of the season
On the back of it, we had John Cena vs Kevin Owens and the rise of the Divas.
There have even been two rematches between The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar but somehow the company is still on its knees, desperate to reinvigorate a Universe growing more and more disaffected with the product.
Ratings are dwindling – the New York Post said this week that Raw ratings “have fallen nearly 50 percent from their 2015 high” – and fans are being turned off by predictable storylines and a frustration over its negligible use of some of wrestling’s brightest Superstars in decades.
Here, Sport360’s WWE TLC looks at three things that have gone wrong for the company since that pivotal WrestleMania.
BAD BOOKING
Consistently over the last few months, the WWE has failed to deliver with its booking of pay-per-views, with feuds hurried to a conclusion and Superstars given next to no time to build a story both in and out of the ring.
A look at the tag-team, NXT and Divas divisions shows three factions of the company rich in talent but deprived of headlining PPVs and making runs at the gold.
It has lead to an infuriatingly stagnant production line of exciting wrestlers and the same old Superstars being put over at the top of shows.
Stop asking these rational question. #wwe doesn’t do rational booking. It’s like Bischoff and Russo are back. #raw https://t.co/NbBNu0LHyc
— Nicholas Huba (@nicholashuba) December 8, 2015
DIVA DEVOLUTION
When Stephanie McMahon ushered in the Divas revolution, it wasn’t a gimmick, it wasn’t pandering to equality, it was recognition that the WWE’s women were as good as they have ever been.
Paige, Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch have all shown that they are not just hugely marketable Divas, they are exceptional in the ring and some of the most innovative females in the history of sports entertainment.
However, a combination of stubbornness from the WWE to erase AJ Lee’s record-breaking feats and a lack of opportunity on main shows for the likes of Lynch and Banks has seen the revolution stall so soon after screeching off the mark.
A MUDDLE IN THE MIDDLE
With so many Superstars vying for top honours, the Universe would understand some of the best in-ring and mic specialists not having a run at the top if they were made the most of elsewhere.
Unfortunately, that is not the case and week after week we see an array of Superstars left dormant in the locker room.
The company, quite simply, has been far too afraid to break the mould despite having all the tools at its disposal to do just that and allow the middle-card wrestlers a chance to shine and take the attention away from what Triple H’s puppet is up to this week.
It’s all getting a bit too boring and if something is not done soon, people will continue to turn off their TV sets.
