3 Proven ways for WWE to win the new wrestling war

After AEW's critically acclaimed PPV 'Double or Nothing', the wrestling fraternity has been abuzz, owing to the sublime quality of the show. The upstart company has only had its first show till now, but wrestling fans have already started talking about it being a potential rival to WWE. It's not surprising though, with WWE's product degrading in quality and their mismanagement of talented superstars being common knowledge .

WWE's declining ratings, and the humongous success of Double or Nothing have shown signs of a new 'Wrestling War' on the horizon. Much of this is also due to AEW having the backing of the billionaire Khan family. With the latest acquisition of Jon Moxley, FKA Dean Ambrose, AEW surely seems more like a legitimate rival to Vinnie Mac's billion dollar company.

Either way, this is a great time to be a wrestling fan! The WWE thrived alongside competition in the form of WCW, which gave birth to the illustrious Attitude Era. In this piece, we will take a look at the 3 proven ways for the WWE to triumph over the upstart promotion.

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#1 Character development

A legendary feud

It is common knowledge that character development in the WWE is a rare occurrence. Babyfaces are projected as being gullible, and sometimes clueless. Case in point, AJ Styles was low blowed by Shinsuke Nakamura continuously throughout their rivalry, but this didn't compel him to wear a cup. While this may seem like nitpicking, little things like these go a long way into making rivalries memorable. Babyfaces still get distracted by entrance music, losing matches via roll ups.

Only a few superstars like John Cena and Seth Rollins have had great character arcs and development on the main roster. Cena turned from a young upstart to a grizzled veteran. Rollins went from being the Protégé to becoming 'The Man'. This makes the characters interesting and helps the product overall.

WWE doesn't need to look too far away to know how it's done. It's third brand, NXT has an excellent record when it comes to character development. Some of the most notable ones include Johnny Gargano, the Velveteen Dream, and Asuka. On the opposite side of the fence, Cody Rhodes, along with the Elite, has been having great character development since leaving the WWE. Sometimes, it's the little things that help in the grander scheme of events.

#2 More creative control to the Superstars

Pooper-scooper? Sufferin' succotash? No thanks

Jon Moxley's recent interview on Talk is Jericho shed some light on the creative process behind the curtains in the WWE. If we go by his words, it really is a mess back there.

Everything seems to be micromanaged by Vince McMahon. However, Moxley isn't the only one who has called out WWE's creative crisis and heavily scripted promos.

We have seen how getting creative freedom helps the Superstars get over with the audience. The New Daniel Bryan, New Day and Bray Wyatt are major examples of it. Even Roman Reigns comes off as immensely lovable if he's being himself, if locker room word is to be believed. There's not a chance that the Attitude Era would've been so successful had the likes of Austin, Hogan and the Rock been handed scripted promos. Each person is unique, and giving each superstar the creative freedom helps them stand out as separate entities.

Modern-day superstars like John Cena, CM Punk, etc all thrived under the creative freedom afforded to them. They rose to stardom because people could feel the genuineness behind their words. Many legends such as Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin have also called out the WWE for their overly scripted promos. Removing this would be a huge breath of fresh air for everyone, and could win over some of the fans.

#3 Make RAW a 2-hour show

Good old days!

This one has the least chance of coming to fruition. The third hour of RAW has been a drag. The last hour has seen the highest drop in ratings. Whenever the WWE is criticized for its creative bankruptcy, superstars defend the writers by attributing the low quality of the product to the huge quantity of wrestling they have to script each week..

Well, the simple solution is to make RAW into a 2-hour show once again. Smackdown Live follows a similar structure, and it has led to a crisper, quicker product. As it is, WWE produces a LOT of wrestling every week. This move should reduce the pressure on the writers as well.

Unfortunately, this is unlikely to happen as the WWE gains a lot of revenue from advertising and product placement in the third hour. Expect a continued 3-hour slog every Monday night.