Where has it all gone wrong for WWE?

 

In this day and age in wrestling, there are no secrets.  Every website has you tuned in to every rumor and every storyline before it ever happens.  Some will say that the internet has killed pro wrestling, mainly WWE.  In some aspects this is definitely the case.  However there are some other reason that I will dive into as to why the product is at an all time low.  And don’t worry IWC, it has nothing to do with you.  Here we go…

We will start shortly after the new millennium.  The year is 2005 to be specific.  We are several years removed from the infamous “Attitude Era” and somewhat taken away from a short time where “Ruthless Aggression” was what the company looked for in it’s talent.  This is a great starting point, because it marks the very last time the WWE has really taken it’s own homegrown talent to the very top of the industry.

At WrestleMania 21 we saw a changing of the guards in two different matches.  We saw John Cena capture the WWE Championship from JBL, as well as we saw Dave Batista take the World Heavyweight Championship from HHH.  These guys did not get to these spots overnight.  There was a gradual process over a 3 year period in which many educated fans knew that these two men were destined for something bigger.  They were destined to go straight to the top.  Not only did they both make it there, but they planted their flag and stamped their names into Super Stardom on the exact same night.

And then………..It stopped.

Now I also have not mentioned Randy Orton’s name.  He is lumped right in with these two because these are truly the last three men that the WWE has built from the ground up.  Sure we have seen guys like Rey Mysterio win a World Championship as well as Sheamus, The Miz and Edge.  But in the end all of these guys were either talents who had already established their names, or guys that held the top spot for just enough time to give it right back to the big 3.

While this article is not meant to bash Cena, Batista, Orton or any of the guys that have won the title in between.  It’s more to open the eyes of many who are confused as to why the product now in 2017, is both strange and sometimes virtually unwatchable.

It seems like the WWE’s new method of talent development is kind of an odd way of going about things.  While NXT is a great idea and product, it has mostly produced loads of Indy talent that have simply been signed to the WWE, and over a short time either been pushed to the main roster or just had their gimmick tweaked while the WWE tries to then pawn it off as their own new talent.  All in all it seems kind of half assed if you ask me.

While all of the talent is not necessarily produced in this manner, a large amount of it is.  All you have to do is look at the main roster, and even NXT and see that the majority of this talent is not homegrown.  Why does this have to be the case?  Is the WWE really not capable of creating it’s own talent?  Or are they just complacent and ok with doing such things because at this point there really is no true competition.  A combination of both seems like the correct answer.

Another reason for the product suffering, is that not only have you not built much talent from within, but the talent you did bring in from other places are either being quickly buried, or misused in segments that are both confusing to the fans, and sometimes it looks like, the wrestlers themselves.

The week to week shows sometimes make hardly any sense.  The only time it really does, is when they run the same matches in back to back weeks.  And those matches are usually six man tag matches that involve either a tag team feud and a singles feud that are simply just mashed together.  So in the end are you telling us that 3 hours of a show on Monday night isn’t enough time to give these programs their own segment?  That’s seem a little odd to me.

I am excluding SmackDown for one simple reason.  Right now that show and brand is the only thing keeping the company afloat.  Which is funny to say, given that some of it’s top talent was simply plucked and given to the Raw brand.  A move that has made the product worse, more than it made it better.  It’s another example of just how little direction and creative mindset this company truly has at the moment.

While the WWE isn’t exactly hurting for SuperStars and isn’t going out of business anytime soon, I figured it was time to voice my opinion regarding the current situation of the company.  Many fans are truly becoming confused with what this company is trying to accomplish and what direction they ultimately want to go in.  It seems as if they are trying too hard to appeal to every genre and person on the planet.  In the end, you should probably stick to what you know and what has worked.  And you should probably do so before it’s too late.