Is WWE just too predictable these days?

The success of a professional wrestling company lies in its capability of captivating the fans and taking them on an unexpected journey. Though the WWE has been a successful promotion (in one way or another), one thing that has been missing in the recent times is the unpredictability of matches.

Gimmick: Superman with no kryptonite

Some curse the PG era for the problem while others blame the internet, either way the predictability factor is not doing any good for the promotion as the fans are slowly being driven away (I mean who likes to see a film whose climax is already known). Slowly on the decline, the WWE has been clinging on its glorious past.

Most of the fans still drool about the matches in the Attitude era, which managed to produce all the twists and turns at the right moment. One could not simply predict who would win if Stone Cold Steve Austin went one on one with The Rock or an epic tag team bout between the Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian.

And fast forward, we have John Cena, who wins all matches like a superman with no kryptonite or CM Punk, who rarely loses on Pay-per-view. The evolution might have been good for television but for the fans, it’s just some same old opera whose story you can tell with your eyes closed.

A major contributing factor to the problem has been the lack of good storylines; most of the current storylines has been either too short or too long, much to the misery of the fans. And the midcard matches literally are no brainers as they carry no emotions at all, Damien Sandow and Kofi Kingston would go at it for five minutes and it ends there.

Many might argue that the midcard matches are unpredictable, but what is the point? They are not as compelling as they should be. The wrestlers don’t have a driving emotion or the urge which can substantiate the beating that they take or give in the ring. Back then, even a match between Tajiri and Spike Dudley would’ve had a motivation behind.

A story behind every leap : Attitude Era

To the main event scene now, when was the last time we saw two faces in a match against each other? Not in recent times I assume. The classic heel versus face set up in all the main events have been a salt to wound.

Even a ten year old kid would know that the face would come up on top in the end. The characters lack the dimension and the time to develop. And it all adds up to a messy array of matches who are predictable to the core. Matches like that minus the eye candy, violence, blood and broken rules plus long programming, no competition, PG-13 and uncooked roster, then you have the predictable PG era in your hands.

We all want storylines that are going catch us off guard or give us a heart attack but at the moment with the above reasons it just doesn’t seem to be happening.

Now, that was the problem with the company, on the other hand an external factor causing the problem is the wild fire spreading of internet users. During the Attitude Era, the internet wasn’t that popular as it was today, which is a good thing for business. And now in every corner you see a fan page or blog which gives you all the inside scoop into professional wrestling.

They leak the result and kill the joy of being awed by the twist that may happen. The TV tapings has lost its significance completely as the results are available just moments after the events take place. Some years like these and the people would find it more interesting to read the incidents in internet rather than seeing the actual thing.

One has to admit that the company is going nowhere with the predictable plots and could well fall into the bottomless pit unless the creative team manages to recreate the magic of the Attitude Era, until then read the results in the internet or watch the show: it’s all the same.