Let’s just talk straight here: WWE programming is somehow fulfilling enough to keep us watching, yet frustrating enough to keep us throwing fits about it. It’s the ultimate love/hate, and if it wasn’t such a uniquely Wrestling Thing, a lot of us might have kicked it to the curb by now.
Like anyone who’s been watching the product for years, I do my share of Monday morning quarterbacking. Aside from the ludicrous fantasy booking I usually fall into (ask me about my new Nexus led by William Regal), there are also some key points to which I return every chance I get. So, in the interest of giving credit where credit is due, here are some areas where WWE was actually skirting the right idea, as well as some things they need to avoid like the plague. Maybe if we all shout into the void loud enough, somebody will hear us. It’d probably be Rich Brennan, he seems like a good dude.
Make NXT Harder To Ignore
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but NXT is the best show WWE currently has going. It’s a global phenomenon, and there doesn’t seem to be an upper limit on how big it can get. If it’s truly going to be recognized as a brand unto itself rather than just “developmental,” NXT needs to insert itself into the A-to-B conversation that Raw and Smackdown have been having for years. It might be tricky when you consider NXT’s taping schedule, but main-roster storylines need to be making their way to Full Sail, and NXT angles should start being showcased on the flagship shows. Remember that time on Raw when Sami Zayn, Neville, and Tyler Breeze all showed up as a special attraction and the entire crowd reacted to the Red Arrow with a collective “Wait, WHAT?” Expand on that. The casual viewer needs to feel terrible for missing NXT.
Give The Divas Revolution A Hard Reset
As cool as the introduction of Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks initially was, it now feels like they all just got thrown into the pool with no supervision. Also, the people on the side of the pool won’t stop catcalling and doing the wave, and the lifeguard stand is on fire. In a perfect world, we could start by rewiring the brains of people who still have a strict Attitude Era view of women’s wrestling. Unfortunately, we have to take the long way around and improve from the ground up, hoping that people are receptive enough to actually sit down and watch the damn wrestling in the first place.
To make it clear, in-ring work isn’t actually my gripe here. I’m more concerned about motivations and the context in which these characters exist. Team B.A.D. is fine as is, they’re a sarcastic Team Rocket and it works perfectly. PCB was the big mistake. Each woman should be rolling solo because they have better stories to tell on their own, and to lump them together is to ignore their strengths and weaknesses. Charlotte is the legacy player who’s slowly learning what it really means to be a Flair, for better or worse. Paige is an insanely jealous loudmouth, but you can’t help but feel like she’s right about things. Isn’t she also from a wrestling family? Isn’t she proving that you can exist at the crossroads of Total Divas and SHIMMER? And then there’s Becky, who sort of becomes the ersatz Bayley in all this. Her wealth of talent is being covered up by people who won’t stop using her as a shield or stepping stone, and one day she’s going to say “SCREW THIS” and suplex someone into the next county. Sticking a bunch of people in the same room doesn’t give them the same motivations.
And for God’s sake, no more distraction roll-ups.
Continue To Pull Back The Curtain (As Necessary)
So, here’s something I didn’t expect: Breaking Ground on the WWE Network has grabbed hold of me and won’t let go. It’s the latest in a very pleasing tradition of the Network going deep into the lives of the developmental talent. Remember Finn Balor’s profile before Beast in the East, or Apollo Crews’ emotional journey toward his NXT championship shot? Breaking Ground is the logical extreme of that, and it works so well. Spoiler alert: It turns out that viewers tend to care about genuine, fleshed-out people! For real, I want to hang out with Baron Corbin now, even if “hanging out” with him just means sitting in a corner and hating everything. On a main roster full of so many who-cares people and feuds, WWE shouldn’t be afraid to divulge a little information on who these superhumans on our TVs are. Modern crowds are smart, and reality isn’t going to shatter if you show a bit of Kalisto tearing down the house at PWG. You don’t even have to go full vérité with it, just give me something to work with. Actually show me one of Tyler Breeze’s seasonal residences or something.
Quit Nuking Things Right After They Happen
If WWE is Santa, then a lot of the toys under the tree end up falling apart no sooner than you put the batteries in. I don’t know what the obsession is with having cool things instantly go THUD, but they’ve gotten alarmingly good at it. The big example I point to is Kevin Owens decisively beating John Cena at Elimination Chamber. That’s the kind of thing that should send shockwaves for a few months, making Cena doubt his capabilities and setting up Owens as a dangerous time bomb. Instead, Big Match John shrugged it off after about a week, because even the most unexpected events in WWE are dished out on a quota system. Trying something new and instantly returning to the status quo defeats the purpose of trying new things at all. The culture of “How quick are they going to screw this up?” needs to die. Spare a thought for poor King Barrett, who was probably excited to win King of the Ring, only to find out he had to return to his 900-match losing streak against Neville.
Don’t Underestimate The Power Of Individuality
This sort of goes hand in hand with the Breaking Ground point I had. WWE is a world of overinflated heroes and villains, and in that world, we sometimes forget that the real people populating this world are sometimes more entertaining than their fictional foils. I point to The New Day as the template here. On a show that features a firebending corporate executive and Bayou Charles Manson, the most entertaining people on the roster can be described as “three friends who make booty jokes.” No frills, just flawless execution. Kevin Owens meandering backstage and calling people “Milhouse” is one of the best things about Raw, and it only makes the YouTube channel. Experimentation should be encouraged, and unique personality traits need to be let loose more than ever. You know what happens in a vacuum of personality? Dead-behind-the-eyes Alberto Del Rio happens.
