Discussion on WWE

By Justin Hopkins

I don’t actually want to write this blog. Doesn’t bring me much join in complaining about a product that has been a part of my life for over two decades. Have been delighted by some of the great moments, death defying acts, and five star matches. To some low brow moments, tasteless attempts of comedies and some that could hardly be called a match. Still, never wanted to change the channel and walk away as much as I do know a day…Jeez I sound like a whiny internet troll, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Only one way to change things, and that is to actively say what the issues are, and here are a few things that I feel is what is dragging the shows down.

Going to start off with an easy one, and that is how little the titles are actually worth. Now this is starting to turn around with the reigns of Seth Rollins as Universal and Kofi Kingston carrying the WWE Heavyweight belt, and to a point Becky Lynch is carrying the Raw and Smackdown Championship with prestige, which the Smackdown Women’s Title needed desperately, after they cared so little about the title, they couldn’t be bothered to book Asuka in a Mania match, but simply took it off her and chucked it into an already jammed main event story. I know Asuka is getting a push toward the women’s tag team title, but look at what they have done with those belts since they debuted at Elimination Chamber. Sasha more or less left the company, due to her worry over the belts not getting a prestigous first real run, and since the IIcconics, A team I generally enjoy, have barely won any matches going into Mania, and don’t think they have won a match since. How can we, as viewers, take them as a threatening, successful team, when they can’t even cheat out a victory. Even if Asuka and Kari Sane get the straps, they have their work cut out for them to make something of them. The Intercontinental Title and U.S are in the same boat. Finn Baylor and Samoa Joe are more then capable to make these titles worthy again, but they have to be booked that way. Joe is in a less then thrilling rivalry with Rey Mysterio, who he already lost to when he needs to look like a dominate force and while Finn has been more successful with the I.C belt, instead of having a defending match at money in the bank; he is in the ladder match. Taking a spot that could go to someone like Aleister Black. Someone who has been getting pushed for months, and is now just doing speaking vignettes.

WWE has never been sporting a more talented roster then now. Not counting the obvious; Kofi Kingston, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair. Off the top of my head, they have Kevin Owens, Sammy Zayn, Aleister Black, Bray Wyatt, Robert Roode, Chad Gable, Shelton Benjamin, Rusev, The Good Brothers, The Revival. On The women’s side, you got Ruby Riott, Sarah Morgan, Liv Taylor, Ember Moon, Bayley, Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks, Nikki Cross, Lana, Alicia Fox, Fire and Desire, you get were I am going. Yet, they continue to fall back to the same old ways of old time and/or part time wrestlers, burying them and taking their well earned spots. News came out recently that Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, and Undertaker have all got big money contracts to come back, surely would be part time work. Two of which are well, well past their prime, and all three taking time away from those who can still go in the ring, and may very well end up burying a few of the names up above. Gone are the days where any of these three can make new stars, but only bury them further. And as much as people clamor for the shows to drop the brand split, doing so well come at the cost of more of these wrestlers losing screen time, and more of what we have been getting, since most of the names up there, have been booked so bad, that it’s hard to see their star potential that they deserve to be at by now.

All of this comes down to just how bad the booking has been. I get it, writing is in fact very hard, but that’s why they have teams working on each show. Most have some experience in wrestling and what the crowd likes vs what they don’t. Take what happened last night. We got a continuation of Samoa Joe and Rey Mysterio, with Rey’s son Dominic working his way back into the feud because it worked so well before. When they could have swapped Rey, with Braun Strowman. We’d have a fun and exciting clash of beasts between Braun and Joe, with the two slugging it out, that would add authenticity to Joe if he overcame the monster among men, and the U.S Title in the process. While Rey working as the voice of the crowd against the critic of the critics. Win or lose, at least Zayn wouldn’t have been dumped into a dumpster.

We get the same matches over and over again. Promos that are so heavily scripted that they suck the emotion out of them. Lay off them just a bit. They all know what they are doing. Give them a little of freedom to tell their stories. Arm them with some bullet points. Not asking for swearing, because they can do that without swearing. Have a hard time believing they want to beat them to a pulp, when their words are flat. Let them brawl in the back without breaking it up, or pit them together in tag matches, or just don’t let them touch one another at all. Letting their hate build until the ultimate payoff.  Instead they drag on and on. Contract signings and forced tag teams and reminding us what they did a week ago. We know what they, did, we suffered through it.  Doing the same over and over again, with flatter and flatter results, and their comedy is worse.

 

Going to stop know before I start in on Commentary.  I want WWE to turn their luck around. They have so many good wrestlers and future rivalries that can be so great. Instead of that stupid prank from the Usos, let us see The Revival take on The Good Brothers, because that would have been great. Two teams that are criminally under utilized. Instead of Charlotte Flair going for the Smackdown Women’s title again, give us Ember Moon, Bayley or Nikki Cross. Dare to be different. Trust in your wrestlers WWE. Let them do their promos and build their cheers or boos for themselves, and the wrestlers being overlooked so heavily, can be the stars you so badly need, and the ones we want to see more.

Sorry for the rant. As Always, thanks for reading.

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