5 things WWE should have done differently in 2021

2021 was a memorable year for the wrestling community. Whether it was Roman Reigns entertaining the WWE audience as the Tribal Chief or CM Punk making his highly-anticipated AEW debut, fans had lots of moments to cherish this year.

WWE, in particular, got a lot better with the return of the live crowds. The presence of an actual audience allowed WWE to bring back top stars, build up cohesive storylines, and entertain the fans with some epic dream matches. However, not everything went right for the company this year.

This year, Vince McMahon made some questionable decisions that affected the quality of the product. While these decisions weren't entirely bad, the way they were executed was a bit underwhelming. WWE could have definitely done a better job in some of their booking strategies.

In this article, let's take a look at five things that WWE could have done differently in 2021.

#5. The second half of the Roman Reigns vs. John Cena feud was underwhelming.

John Cena's return at Money in the Bank was probably the biggest WWE moment of the year. The timing, the atmosphere, and the execution, everything about Cena's return was perfect.

Just when Roman Reigns thought he had run out of all the credible threats, he was confronted by a ghost from his past. The Cenation Leader entered the Dickies Arena with a bang, made his trademark babyface entrance, and came face-to-face with the biggest heel in the industry.

The weeks that followed saw Cena doing some of his best mic work in years. The tension between the two men was at an all-time high, as Reigns kept denying Cena his Universal title match. However, the 16-time World Champion outsmarted the Tribal Chief to get himself into the main-event of SummerSlam.

But this was where things began to go wrong. After a solid promo battle, Reigns and Cena met again a week before the pay-per-view. Their last segment before SummerSlam was probably the most disappointing part of their feud. It was written to recap the whole storyline but ended up being a forced attempt at recreating the magic of their previous promo war.

Things got even worse when Roman Reigns announced that he would leave WWE if Cena manages to pin him at SummerSlam. This one booking decision took away the unpredictability of the match. No one bought the whole "Roman Reigns is leaving" thing, making the eventual title bout a lot less interesting.

#4. WWE should have kept booking Cesaro.

2021 started with a bang for Cesaro. After being underutilized for years, it seemed like WWE was ready to take a chance on the Swiss Superman. He also signed a multi-year deal, which further strengthened his relationship with backstage officials.

As the weeks passed, Cesaro began getting more and more TV time. The company started putting him in important matches on a regular basis.

Cesaro didn't disappoint as he picked some impressive victories over the likes of Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and Baron Corbin. This period also brought another achievement to the former Tag Team Champion, as he claimed his first-ever WrestleMania singles win by defeating Seth Rollins.

After gaining so much momentum, Cesaro was ready to enter the title picture. He collided against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania Backlash, which marked his first-ever World title match. It was a technical masterpiece and one of the best matches of the year. Although Cesaro failed to take the title, he still looked strong in defeat.

Unfortunately, this was one of Cesaro's last moments in the limelight, as he was sent back to struggle in the mid-card division. He was put in meaningless storylines with Alpha Academy and Los Lotharios. All these decisions took away the momentum he had built up. Right now, he is part of another odd WWE storyline with Sheamus and Ridge Holland, which doesn't seem to do him any favors.

Hopefully, 2022 will provide Cesaro a chance to rebuild himself so that he finally gets to taste World title gold.

#3 The aftermath of Drew Mcintyre's WWE title loss almost made the fans turn on their favorite superstar.

Drew McIntyre was the superstar who carried WWE in 2020. His WWE Championship reign was one of the greatest in history, as he emerged as a rare babyface champion that fans didn't turn on. WWE did a commendable job keeping his character fresh throughout his title reign.

But after losing his title, Drew was subjected to what fans call "The 2015 Roman Reigns" treatment. He was handed over rematches after rematches, which made the fans slightly dislike his character. His feud with Bobby Lashley grew stale in no time.

People wanted new faces to step up against the Almighty. But Drew McIntyre's push didn't allow that to happen. His character also took an odd turn, as fans couldn't relate to him anymore. People supported the Scottish Warrior who earned everything, not someone who got everything he wanted.

Luckily, WWE learned from their mistake and moved Drew over to Smackdown. A new environment has greatly benefited the former WWE Champ, as he is now able to reinvent his personality in a new way.

#2. The Happy Corbin storyline did not have an exciting pay off.

Baron Corbin is an incredible performer and does not get much credit from the fans. He's a versatile talent who has delivered on WWE's expectations every single time.

One of the biggest complaints that fans have about the superstar is the kind of characters he's been given to play. From Constable Corbin to the King, every Baron Corbin gimmick so far has felt outdated. Luckily, everything changed in July 2021 when Corbin ditched his Royal gimmick to don the character of a man who lost everything.

The depressed man gimmick proved to be the best work of Baron's career. It led to some hilarious and entertaining moments on the blue brand. All of a sudden, Corbin started getting involved with other top stars such as John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Kevin Owens. The new gimmick quickly made Corbin a fan favorite, allowing him to get the praise he deserves.

Fans were really excited to see where this whole story goes. It was finally revealed that Corbin got freedom from his miseries after he won a Jackpot in Las Vegas. This led to the birth of Happy Corbin, a rich and obnoxious heel who believes in being happy all the time. Sounds weird, right?

He was soon aligned with Madcap Moss. This alliance made the fans expect more intriguing stuff to happen. Unfortunately, WWE watered down Corbin's character by making it goofy and childish. The lack of credible opponents for this tag team further made matters worse. There was so much stuff WWE could have done with Corbin instead of making him just another heel.

#1. AJ Styles should have been used better by WWE.

Agreed, AJ Styles is no longer in that phase of his WWE career where he needs a title to stay relevant. He doesn't need to prove anything to anyone and is comfortable helping other superstars find their 'A-game'. But for WWE's own benefit, they could have used The Phenomenal One so much better this year.

Styles spent his entirety of 2021 as part of a tag team with Omos. These two superstars were put together so that Omos could learn from AJ's immense experience. It worked quite well, as the two men captured the RAW Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 37.

But if we leave their rivalry with RK-Bro, the duo didn't do anything that important. While WWE struggled to present viable babyfaces to feud with Lashley, Styles was stuck in a lifeless tag team division. WWE could have split-up this team right there by turning the former WWE Champion into a babyface.

We were also deprived of many epic AJ Styles dream bouts by the WWE. AJ Styles vs. Edge, AJ Styles vs. Damian Priest, AJ Styles vs. John Morrison: All these were the dream matches that could have happened if Styles was not providing his services to the tag team division.

Now, when the year is coming to an end, it seems like WWE has finally understood what they need to do with AJ Styles.

We saw signs of a split between Omos and Styles on the latest episode of WWE RAW, when the former left his partner alone in the ring after losing the match. Hopefully, this means that AJ Styles will become a babyface again and take on heels such as The Miz and Seth Rollins.

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What are some things you would have changed about WWE in 2021? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.