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It was December when Vince McMahon walked out to the ring after the last PPV of the year and talked about the need for an intervention and a change along with the rest of the cavalry constituting of Triple H, Stephanie, and Shane McMahon. There were talks of people getting opportunities. There were talks of listening to the fans but most importantly, there were talks of an improvement in the show.
Since then, we've had a couple of PPVs and it does seem that the jury is out now. The two PPVs - Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber, have passed and even though Royal Rumble was decent, the lesser the Elimination Chamber is talked about the better. The latter just seemed like a formality with the results for some matches seeming like a foregone conclusion more than anything.
To add to this, there are consistent in-flow of rumors of stars wanting to leave WWE. Dean Ambrose is rumored to leave with many others like Tye Dillinger also doing the same. Although it's true that there have been some welcome changes with Finn Balor getting a shot at the title, Asuka winning the SmackDown women's title amongst other things. However, there are just way too many things that are just not up to the mark with WWE and are affecting the show adversely.
#1. Championships are not Valued
One of the biggest flaws with WWE right now is the way championships are treated. The Intercontinental and the US Championship used to be the stepping stones for future world champions but they've just lost their importance now. Similar is the case with the Tag Team Championships and even the SmackDown Women's Championship.
Asuka had just tapped out the biggest star in WWE in Becky Lynch at the Royal Rumble but then, she didn't even make an appearance for the next three weeks. The less we talk about Shinsuke Nakamura's US Championship reign the better because he hardly defended the title despite holding on to it for such a long time. Every title used to have immense prestige attached to it but slowly, that has been watered down to such a level that they have stopped holding much importance even in the eyes of the viewers.
#2. Storylines lacking logic
Braun Strowman with the injured arm came out to face Baron Corbin and the whole roster rushed out, beat up Corbin and Braun eventually pinned him. Just a couple of weeks back, Braun Strowman had been pummeled by Baron and his friends Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley. Oddly enough, they were nowhere to be seen at the PPV.
At Elimination Chamber, Baron Corbin faced Braun Strowman and this time Corbin's friends came to his aide and destroy Braun Strowman. The very next night on Raw, there was a rematch between the two men, however, there were no signs of either Bobby Lashley or Drew McIntyre. Can anyone explain why they come to his help on one night and not on the other? How does this thing work? This on-and-off relationship is bound to put the viewers off.
#3. Inconsequential Matches
One of the biggest reasons why the Elimination Chamber PPV was a bit of a bust was because of the lack of anticipation for many of the matches. The bout between Ruby Riot and Ronda Rousey was hardly promoted with Ronda being occupied by Charlotte and Becky with Ruby acting merely a sidekick in the larger scheme of things.
There was no SmackDown Women's Title match for reasons unknown as Asuka was pulled off the show after Royal Rumble. Daniel Bryan had just unveiled a new WWE Championship belt and he was never going to lose it so soon at the Elimination Chamber. Baron Corbin and Braun Strowman fought for the umpteenth time with no stakes attached with the match. The booking just seemed to lack the quality and proper application. On the long run, it has hurt the product.
#4. Too much focus on a handful of stars
Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey are currently the face of the company. The feud has become so big that it has spilled over to both the brands because of which it occupies a lot of air time. At that time you ask yourself, what about the Universal Title? And what about the Women's SmackDown Championship? And the new WWE championship?
There's just too much emphasis on producing a good quality product for one segment that sometimes, it seems that the rest of the segments are just not given enough attention. Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins should have a great build-up but other than a couple of monologues by Paul Heyman and Seth, it's the same old intimidation game that is starting to become a bit stale and some effort is needed to revive the feud.
Despite securing the biggest win of her career at Royal Rumble, Asuka was taken off TV for a long time and it's still not entirely certain what's next for her. A good show consists of great sub-segments, not one amazing segment that culminates the show while the other segments are mere fillers.
#5. Champions are hardly present
The number of appearances Brock Lesnar, the current Universal Champion makes can be counted on your fingertips. The US championship hardly grabs any time on TV and Shinsuke Nakamura had one of the more underwhelming Championship reigns in a long time. Many would have even forgotten that R-Truth is the current US Champion.
The same could even be said about Asuka now. It's hard to understand why after beating Becky at Royal Rumble, she was taken off the show and didn't even feature on the Elimination Chamber PPV. A Champion is supposed to be the one sitting at the top of the mountain and this is supposed to be a thing of prestige, however, that just doesn't seem to be the case anymore as the Champions are never around.
#6. Wastage of talent
WWE has legit superstars on its roster. Finn Balor, Bobby Lashley, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio; the list goes on. But, when you look at how they get utilized, it just leaves a lot to be desired.
Finn Balor has never been a legitimate contender for the world title in a long time now. His match against Brock Lesnar was amazing but deep down everybody knew it was Brock walking away with the title. Bobby Lashley, who got over in his previous stint as a complete wrecking machine, has been turned heel and he seems to lack the required charisma.
Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio are crowd favorites with Rey having already evolved his style and made it even better but they're just getting used as fillers. On the other hand, the treatment meted out to legitimate stars like Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode is just appalling.
