WWE - Need for a change we can believe in

Vince McMahon

One has to be really averse to not notice the changes unfolding in WWE already.

John Cena is not that invincible anymore. Smaller wrestlers are getting their due respect in some capacity. It still has a long way to go, but the seeds are being sown. Younger stars like Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Curtis Axel, The Shield, Bray Wyatt, Big E Langston, Brad Maddox etc. are on the screen and making some impact.

The Smackdown MITB has been the impact establishment for many young stars. The three hour RAW is a great way to utilize the varied storylines. But there are only a handful of RAW episode that make it to the ‘zero-drag’ list.

My ‘zero-drag’ list contains episodes which had really few moments where the show began to lose its momentum and hence made the show mostly entertaining. RAW 1000, the post- Wrestlemania 28 and 29 RAW are some which made that list. But it’s a jarring observation that most RAW episodes drag on for a substantial part of the runtime.

The fact that part time entertainers and wrestlers like Brock Lesnar, The Rock, Triple H and the McMahon family have heavy screen time allotted to them, contributes a lot to the character under-development of many younger stars.

These special appearances should be short and sweet. They are veterans after all, and they should know how to make an impact in the shortest possible time. That’s why I can’t get enough of Usain Bolt. (Just kidding. There’s no comparison.)

But this experienced lot should know when to speak, how to speak and when to shut up and move on. Move on to the next generation.

Apart from this, the WWE should steer clear from pointless matches too. Other than the recent Christian victories which led to a title match at SummerSlam, he’s been on the screen, winning and losing matches, leading to God knows what.

Alberto Del Rio is a good wrestler. He had a great heel turn at Payback. But it just went haywire like the earlier momentum in his career.

Great matches make great TV. But many great matches together should be reserved for PPVs, and not be wasted on free television which will put more pressure on wrestlers to be more novel and creative next time around. And it doesn’t help when the next time comes the next day on Smackdown or next week again on RAW.

Yes, championships don’t make superstars. Superstars make championships worth fighting for. WWE has made the Intercontinental, United States, tag team and Divas title change many hands in the past year.

But after an initial swim, they are stuck with no storylines. No storylines mostly means no character development. With the advent of the social presence of wrestlers on Twitter and everywhere else, it makes the sanctity of the fictional world of WWE very open.

It’s hard to accept the fact that most Divas and Superstar have close to zilch character development given how great and intriguing they seem in radio interviews, Twitter and the like.

What WWE needs more than ever, is compelling drama, and not compelling action. Most of them on the roster can wrestle. But drama outside the confines of a match is the ultimate challenge in this socially networked times.