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AEW has officially set foot in the world of pro wrestling with their Double Or Nothing PPV. The Casino Battle Royal was good and the tag team matches were great. Cody vs Dustin Rhodes reminded us why storytelling is a big part of pro-wrestling and the main event topped it all. The surprise debut of Jon Moxley after the main event was the cherry on the cake.
Disclaimer: The views of the author do not represent the views of Sportskeeda.
The AEW title was also revealed and it really looked prestigious. It seems that the promotion can do nothing wrong now.
On the other hand, there is WWE. While fans were full of praises for the up and coming promotion’s show, absolutely none liked the RAW that followed. While I am doing a mistake here by comparing a Pay-Per-View with a weekly show, it is the booking that matters.
While AEW brought out the best in wrestlers like Dustin Rhodes (FKA Goldust), WWE is wasting talented wrestlers who can easily be turned into main eventers. Despite a vast ocean of super talented wrestlers, we get to see the same matches every other week. So, there’s no doubt that fans criticize the promotion.
With a possible war against AEW on the horizon, WWE really needs to step up their game in order to stay at the top of the mountain. Here are some ways WWE can do so:
#1 Less of McMahons, more of wrestlers
This seems to be a point many wrestling fans would agree upon. While there is no doubt that Vince McMahon is possibly the biggest heel in the whole wrestling industry, WWE should use him (the character) wisely. Not only Vince, but the whole Authority should not be a part of the regular programming.
Just take a look at the current scenario. We have Shane McMahon fighting in the main event of SmackDown Live, but Shinsuke Nakamura is nowhere to be seen. The point is, WWE struggles to give us three hours of content every Monday and giving the limelight to the McMahons is the solution they come up with?
WWE needs to realize that they have many talented Superstars who are sitting on the sidelines. Investing time in McMahons isn’t actually going to help WWE a lot. It can only be a short-term solution to declining viewership.
Also, the arrival of the authority figures should be a major thing. With WWE repeatedly relying on the Authority for the storylines, the special feel that they (Vince and family) had has been lost. Now, instead of looking forward to a McMahon appearing on the show, people hate it.
The saying ‘Less is more’ is the solution to this problem. WWE should drastically reduce the appearance of these figures on television, bringing them out for extremely important feuds or announcements. Like NXT, give each brand a General Manager and give wrestlers the limelight they deserve.
Speaking of wrestlers...
#2 The part-timer problem
While WWE needs to give the time and limelight to their wrestlers, it doesn’t mean they give away a majority of it to the part-timers. While John Cena, Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and others are the most popular faces of the company and made the promotion what it is today, they are not the only wrestlers.
WWE tends to rely on nostalgia a lot, which isn't really a good thing to do. We all know of the countless opportunities Brock Lesnar has received in recent years and have criticized it.
Given that pro-wrestling is not only about fighting, but storytelling as well, nostalgia is an important part of it. But, nostalgia isn’t the only part of it. In today’s scenario, when the fans care more about the action that takes place inside the ring, WWE needs to let go of their old veterans.
WWE surely does have a lot of main eventers like AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns and many like Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt who can easily be turned into the main eventers. Stealing opportunities away from them isn’t the right thing to do.
Take, for example, the 2018 Crown Jewel PPV. While Braun Strowman had lost a lot of steam since Mania 33, it still felt the right time for him to the vacant Universal Title. Instead, WWE gave it back to Brock Lesnar.
WWE’s first priority should be to utilize the present Superstars and build new ones for the future, instead of bringing in part-timers to run the company.
With due respect to all the stars of the past, WWE needs to understand that many of them are past their prime and cannot pull off matches as they used too. They should be brought back only for the programs that benefit everyone involved, instead of tarnishing the legend’s legacy.
Also, WWE should use these legends to build up stars for the future. Allowing Corbin to retire Kurt Angle at this year's WrestleMania was a smart (although unpopular) booking decision. WWE should have capitalized on this by booking the Lone Wolf well. Only time will tell what comes out of Corbin's booking.
#3 Titles
WWE has been messing up the title pictures in recent times. Sure, programs like Daniel Bryan vs Kofi Kingston and Seth Rollins vs AJ Styles make the shows interesting, but is it the case with all the other titles as well?
The RAW tag team champions do not get television time. The same goes for the Women’s tag team champions and the SD Live Tag Team champions. The only titles which seems to be given the limelight (other than the World titles) is the 24/7 Championship.
Feuds like Seth Rollins vs Baron Corbin are only going to make the titles look unimportant. While WWE has given the IC title to the person who deserves it the most, they aren't really booking him well. Further, injuries to Samoa Joe and Rey Mysterio aren't really helping the US title picture. In short, WWE’s mid-card titles are in a mess. All the work done by John Cena and The Miz to elevate the US and the IC title respectively has gone down the drain.
The WWE creative need to come out with better feuds to make the titles look more important and prestigious. After all, a title should add to a wrestler’s legacy, not tarnish it. Holding a title in any promotion means being an elite level performer and thus, the title needs not only proper booking, but also a proper design.
While many WWE titles (like the UK Titles) are a sight to behold, most of them look atrocious. The newly instated 24/7 championship was heavily criticized initially due to its bad design. It is rightly said that first impression is the best impression and WWE needs to change the design of various championships for the better.
What, in your opinion, should WWE do in order to make their programming better? Do drop in your valuable opinion in the comments box!
