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2. Lack of legitimate stars to contend for the WWE championship
Now, I may get a lot of heat for this but Samoa Joe and Nakamura (as good as they are) are not established main eventers in the WWE today and are still trying to find their way to the top. If you divide the WWE title scene into 3 aspects (the champion, the championship and the challenger), at least one of them has to be powerful enough so that the weaker one can leverage out of it.
For example, AJ Styles vs John Cena for the WWE title at Royal Rumble 2017 felt like a real main event and helped Styles further his footing at the top (agree or not) because Cena was involved. It doesn't help matters when all those aspects are weak and the program does more harm to the up-and-comer than good.
Imagine how much more attention management would have given it if the Summerslam match was Samoa Joe vs John Cena or AJ Styles vs Randy Orton for the title.
Speaking of which, when are we finally going to get the inevitable Orton vs Styles feud? They've been active full-time on the same brand for over 2 years now!
It would've propelled Joe to the next level (which we have not seen since his feud for the Universal title with Brock Lesnar).
Styles and the WWE Championship can be so much more just by being in a program with Orton, let alone if he beats Orton, because the WWE will be much more comfortable positioning Styles vs Orton as the main-event of a PPV than it will be for Joe or Nakamura.
Imagine if Batista finally makes his return to the WWE and challenges AJ Styles or the WWE Championship, there's no way they're not closing out PPVs. But going by WWE's track record, Batista will most likely return on RAW and challenge Roman Reigns for whatever title he holds at the time.
Smackdown Live has always been The Undertaker's brand. What's stopping them to book a feud between The Phenom and The Phenomenal One for the WWE Championship?
If reports are something to go by, Shawn Michaels may just make his in-ring return very soon. If that's true, would you rather see him tag with Triple H against Kane and The Undertaker, or in a one-on-one match against AJ Styles?
