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It's no secret that WWE has competition in the form of AEW now, especially after their Double or Nothing pay-per-view over Memorial Day weekend, but that doesn't mean the upstart company has the pro wrestling giant on the ropes just yet. In fact, if WWE wanted to, they could probably fix all their problems in a matter of a few weeks.
Whether WWE ultimately decides to do that or not remains to be seen and will it'll be dependent on if the company truly sees AEW as competition or not, but it's pretty obvious that fans are starting to become disinterested in the product. With that being said, what can WWE do to make it all better?
While there are no definite answers to that question given the fact that taste varies from person to person, here are five things WWE must do to keep fans interested in the product. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below and tell us what you think WWE needs to do in this situation.
#5 Edgier content
WWE has been dipping their toes into edgier content over the course of the last few months, but really haven't pulled the trigger on anything definite at this point in time. While it's understandable that the company would want to stay away from the edgier side of content, especially with so many family-friendly sponsors, the arrival of AEW might not allow them to do that anymore.
In fact, WWE is probably much better off continuing to explore edgier content than to keep spending their time on a PG product. Now that doesn't mean WWE has to swear off PG content entirely, but the company needs to find a balance between the two types of storytelling and use that as a driving force moving forward.
WWE has already done a good job of this by making some of their mid-card feuds more personal than usual, but there is just so much more they could do with this. Maybe they could even bring relationship storylines back into the mix, which would be a great way to drive ratings for the company!
#4 Convince CM Punk to come back
Whether some of the WWE Universe wants to admit it or not, CM Punk could be a game changer for whoever is lucky enough to court his services in the near future. With that being said, and AEW stacking their roster more and more every day, WWE needs to offer CM Punk whatever he wants in order to bring him back to the company.
Of course, that's going to probably require them giving him the main event spot at an upcoming WrestleMania, which is the one thing Punk never accomplished in his own career, but it will be totally worth it if WWE is able to bring The Second City Saint back on their television. In fact, it could leave AEW playing catch up for quite some time.
In the end, getting CM Punk isn't the end-all-be-all for WWE and there are other superstars the company could get to fill the role, but nothing is going to have as big of an impact as bringing Punk back. Beyond that, allowing AEW to get their hands on CM Punk could mean WWE is the one at a disadvantage.
#3 Turn Finn Balor heel
In all honesty, WWE needs to make big moves in order to keep the WWE Universe on their toes and turning one of the biggest fan favorites heel would be a great way to do that. In fact, it could finally give Balor the shot in the arm he needs in order to reach the upper card again and creates something different for fans in the process.
Sure, The Club reunion is probably out of the question, especially since AJ Styles, Gallows and Anderson are all on Raw, but that doesn't mean he can't find others and create a new faction of his own. At least this way, WWE can capitalize on what made Balor a star in NJPW, have an interesting story on Smackdown Live and eventually put Balor back in the title picture.
In the end, Balor deserves a lot better than where he is at right now and WWE really needs to take advantage of all the ill feelings of The Demon's push throughout the past couple of years. If nothing else, it could act as a cathartic moment and have fans legitimately interested in what happens next, which is what WWE needs right now.
#2 Align Brock Lesnar with Vince McMahon
Let's be honest here. WWE is trying to get under fans' skin with this whole boombox Brock Lesnar gimmick that they are going with right now and it's actually got a lot of potentials. Maybe WWE could even raise the stakes a little bit by finally aligning Vince McMahon and Brock Lesnar on screen.
Think about it! Brock Lesnar just needs that last little bit to put him over the hump as the most hated man in WWE and aligning him with McMahon would be the perfect way to do that. It could even be the beginning of a very personal storyline that pits McMahon's idea of WWE's future versus someone else's, which could be another interesting avenue to explore.
With that being said, it might be a shot in the dark, but if WWE is willing to bring McMahon back as on-screen talent for a while and have him in Lesnar's corner, it's going to really rub fans the wrong way. Furthermore, it's going to make whoever manages to stop his Money in the Bank cash in a freaking hero in the process!
#1 Have Roman Reigns cost Brock Lesnar his cash in
WWE is still struggling to make Roman Reigns their defacto babyface and while they have made great strides in doing so since moving him to Smackdown Live, the company is still having trouble getting everyone behind him. Interestingly enough, however, the solution to that problem seems quite simple.
In fact, all Roman Reigns would have to do is cost Brock Lesnar his cash in opportunity and the WWE Universe would be behind him like never before. Not only is that evident by how hated Brock Lesnar is by fans right now, especially with his boombox Brock gimmick, but it would really help cement Reigns as the tweener that bucks authority.
In the end, if WWE can put all the pieces together and have Vince Mcmahon align himself with Brock Lesnar, then this is probably the best case scenario for everyone involved. At least that way, WWE can milk boombox Brock for a while, bring McMahon on to raise the stakes and then eventually have Reigns come in and make the save for the WWE Universe.
