I've been watching the WWE for close to three decades now and this is as bad as I've seen it in well, roughly 20 years or so. Ratings have hit new lows and even though I think that's a bad indicator of what's great and what isn't sportswise...this is a really tough watch right now for a few reasons which I'll outline here.
First, no storylines...AT ALL. Like any good show, you gotta have characters engaged in storylines to keep people entertained. This is the first time in about 20 years that the WWE, the brand which labels itself "sports entertainment" has absolutely SUCKED at entertaining the masses. Creative hasn't earned its paycheck in forever and over the last few months, it's real apparent to me at least, the only person they're seemingly writing anything for is Roman Reigns. (I'll get to him in a bit.) Without storylines of any kind, you have what most have been watching every week. Aimless hooblah going around and around with no discernible direction whatsoever. Nobody gets over. Nobody is entertained.
Second, there's no future. No, really, there's NONE. This is where I go off not on the finale, but something that largely went unnoticed by most folks in the midst of their anger about how the Survivor Series ended. That's all fine and well, but The Wyatt Family were effectively jobbed out to The Old Men Of Destruction, Undertaker & Kane. Now, for the uninitiated this goes all the way back to January. Bray Wyatt through a series of well laid cryptic promos called out The Undertaker, wanting to finish what Brock Lesnar started when he ended The Streak last April. Taker responded and even though he didn't need to, even though he probably shouldn't have, beat Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania XXXI. Okay. Taker moved on to retribution in the form of kicking Brock in the junk repeatedly and Bray became The Smark's Advocate as he went on a 'Anyone But Roman' crusade. Both of these crusades ended on the same night last month and that's when Bray, unsuccessful in his quest to snuff out Roman decided to renew acquaintances with The Undertaker who was done in ironically enough...with a low blow by Brock who claimed final victory inside Heck In A Cage. Bray, with his 'Family' consisting of three big guys who look like they not only haven't missed a meal but probably consumed a few in their sleep...beat Taker to a pulp. They carried him off and the next night on Raw when Bray came out to brag about what he did, Kane got much of the same.
Now again, while Taker & Kane aren't lightweights by any stretch of the imagination, they're up against four guys as tall and as big as they are. Two weeks ago, The Old Men returned and in one night, effectively laid waste to all four men seemingly at the same time. This comes 13 days before their tag match at Survivor Series and I guess the E felt like giving people a preview of what was to come. Cause 13 days after the two of them returned, damned if the same exact thing didn't play out at Survivor Series. It was Taker & Kane against Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper officially. First one to get dealt with was Erick Rowan. Then there was Braun Strowman, the biggest of these four who was unveiled late August. He was put through a table best I can recollect. Long story short, Luke Harper gets tombstoned by Taker and that's it. So while I get that Sunday night was about commemorating the 25 year anniversary of Taker's debut in the company, this was the absolute perfect time to pass that proverbial torch to someone else. To someone who much like Taker, is a really good 'dark' character. The Wyatt Family could've been a really good dark unit but well, nobody does nostalgic quite like the E. While its past will shine bright, its future is super bleak. Bray Wyatt has lost virtually every major fight he has picked over the last year with the three biggest dogs roaming the yard (John Cena, Roman Reigns & The Undertaker). One would say it's an honor unto itself to be able to say within a calendar year, you've worked with all three of those names but it doesn't count for anything if all you're doing is LOSING to them. Still, with a roster this stacked with talent from the top (Roman and Dean are definitely up there, Kevin Owens has made waves since he entered the company in February and he's not going anywhere) down, it's insane that it's THIS BAD.
Survivor Series well, was much like every other special event you will see going forward. A largely underwhelming midcard and a hit or miss main event. The three tournament matches were good, the finale was shorter than expected and I have to think it's a teaser for future attractions down the line. (Least I hope that's the case.) THE finale was when Roman Reigns turned down Triple H's handshake with an emphatic Spear and turned into a Brogue Kick by Sheamus who cashed in his Money In The Bank title shot (good for 365 days to get a title shot anywhere, anytime, anyplace). Now it's worth pointing out that no man has ever been cashed in on or on the wrong end of it twice within a calendar year. Thanks to two Brogue Kicks by Sheamus, Roman Reigns can say he's the first to do so. Now, it was a forgone conclusion that Roman Reigns would become champion here. Didn't matter if Seth Rollins blew out everything in his knee or not. This was the predetermined point where it all came full circle for him. Thing is, he's STILL not ready for a few reasons. First and foremost, he cannot talk for extended spurts. Being champion isn't just about LOOKING the part which he does in spades, whatever that means. You have to be able to SOUND the part and that's something, he just doesn't have and isn't close to right now. Whether Vince is writing his shit or not, it's clear the second that camera light goes red, Roman just sounds dead. Next, he has what I call John Cena Heat which isn't good for a company that's looking to have its top face cheered by EVERYONE. John Cena Heat is defined by me as someone who is getting a 50/50 reaction at best and general apathy from the fans at worst. Roman through no fault of his own, has had John Cena Heat since January when most caught on to the fact that Roman was being slingshotted to the top of the heap against their wishes. Now, last year he was liked. Well liked. But the one thing that the company hasn't figured out, is that you can't tell the paying public what they're going to cheer for anymore. It's not the 80s. It's as crappy as the 90s and here's the thing most of these "smart marks" don't get. It wouldn't have mattered if Roman walked out of Sunday as champion or not. It's not going to matter that Sheamus, who should have something of a career rebirth so long as booking doesn't cripple his title run the way it has, well, everyone over the last few years. Sheamus had his first run as champion towards the end of 2009 and hasn't done a ton since of consequence, he's better suited as a heel. Being paired alongside Triple H, won't hurt him in the least bit. This ending works out well on several fronts...
For The Authority, it's a much needed and past due reboot. I'm sorry but while Kane & Show are big and were tag champs once upon a time...they were more comic relief than they were intimidating. Monday we got a new look at what The Authority likely will resemble going forward. Sheamus, Rusev & Wade Barrett. Unfortunately with the current piss poor state that creative is in, nothing will come of this and it's a shame because those are three really good talents paired up with two of the best heel heat magnets in the form of Triple H & Stephanie McMahon. Speaking of Triple H, this breathes new life into his heel authority form which had effectively flatlined over the last few months. Roman will be the target of his angst going forward as he makes it his mission to ensure Roman doesn't regain the title on his watch. At Wrestlemania, their beef will reach its boiling point more than likely. Even though I've read that Sheamus is likely holding the belt up until the Rumble, he should keep it until Mania. It's also worth noting that Roman's road to the title hit a roadblock at Money In The Bank back in June, the very night when Sheamus snatched the case he failed to thanks to Bray Wyatt's interference.
Fact is right now, television is as uninteresting as it has ever been and as a result, people are tuning out. I cancelled the WWE Network a few months back and I only agreed to get it back cause of the free month they offered me. That and two other reasons, one was because I wanted to know how this tourney played out and the other is next month when Finn Balor defends the NXT Championship against Samoa Joe. NXT is really good, but it's a stark contrast to what's wrong with the main product. One hour of NXT is light years greater than everything that we're presently getting from Raw and Smackdown COMBINED. It's really not rocket science, people. The weekly shows are pretty much a paint by numbers operation and it's not a good one. This week we got Sheamus coming out, gloating about his win Sunday night and Roman coming out to stake his claim for a rematch. Now, Roman wasn't angry about being screwed and showed literally no emotion to indicate he was upset about what went down. Hell, he showed more emotion the night before after the fact than he did the following night. John Cena Clone Sequence, commence!!! The E is turning Roman into another John Cena. Like Cena, Roman doesn't take anything too seriously even when it all but screams that he does so. Problem is, Cena has done so much it's kinda understandable that he has such a laid back deal about him. Roman hasn't done 1/3 of what Cena has. Considering the last few months he has had, being robbed by Seth at Wrestlemania, getting denied the Money In The Bank by Bray in June and then losing Sunday night thanks to Sheamus robbing him...Roman needed to show he's PISSED. He's sick of folks robbing him and he's ready to start blowing through fools. But he didn't and at the end of the night, faced with a three on one disadvantage, Roman went through all three guys with a steel chair. Just like John Cena has. This company isn't about making stars anymore, just 'The Next So & So'. Thing is, this is another part of the problem. John Cena got his big break ten years ago and ever since roughly August of 2005, he hasn't had 100% of the crowd support since. This is where John Cena Heat comes from. Dueling chants of adulation and utter disdain at the same time. Generally, you don't want your audience split about the top hero in the company. There was no split reaction for Hogan or Austin in their respective primes.
So...the sad reality here is short of a total overhaul creatively speaking, this isn't going to change anytime soon. Seth Rollins, Cesaro and Randy Orton are out until at the very earliest next Spring. Orton apparently needs neck surgery on top of the injury to his shoulder, so maybe next Summer for him. Losing Cesaro and Rollins hurts, as it's two fewer bodies for a creative and booking team that can't seem to stay out of its own way. Sadly for them, the viewers will keep tuning out until they get with the program, pardon the obvious pun.
First, no storylines...AT ALL. Like any good show, you gotta have characters engaged in storylines to keep people entertained. This is the first time in about 20 years that the WWE, the brand which labels itself "sports entertainment" has absolutely SUCKED at entertaining the masses. Creative hasn't earned its paycheck in forever and over the last few months, it's real apparent to me at least, the only person they're seemingly writing anything for is Roman Reigns. (I'll get to him in a bit.) Without storylines of any kind, you have what most have been watching every week. Aimless hooblah going around and around with no discernible direction whatsoever. Nobody gets over. Nobody is entertained.
Second, there's no future. No, really, there's NONE. This is where I go off not on the finale, but something that largely went unnoticed by most folks in the midst of their anger about how the Survivor Series ended. That's all fine and well, but The Wyatt Family were effectively jobbed out to The Old Men Of Destruction, Undertaker & Kane. Now, for the uninitiated this goes all the way back to January. Bray Wyatt through a series of well laid cryptic promos called out The Undertaker, wanting to finish what Brock Lesnar started when he ended The Streak last April. Taker responded and even though he didn't need to, even though he probably shouldn't have, beat Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania XXXI. Okay. Taker moved on to retribution in the form of kicking Brock in the junk repeatedly and Bray became The Smark's Advocate as he went on a 'Anyone But Roman' crusade. Both of these crusades ended on the same night last month and that's when Bray, unsuccessful in his quest to snuff out Roman decided to renew acquaintances with The Undertaker who was done in ironically enough...with a low blow by Brock who claimed final victory inside Heck In A Cage. Bray, with his 'Family' consisting of three big guys who look like they not only haven't missed a meal but probably consumed a few in their sleep...beat Taker to a pulp. They carried him off and the next night on Raw when Bray came out to brag about what he did, Kane got much of the same.
Now again, while Taker & Kane aren't lightweights by any stretch of the imagination, they're up against four guys as tall and as big as they are. Two weeks ago, The Old Men returned and in one night, effectively laid waste to all four men seemingly at the same time. This comes 13 days before their tag match at Survivor Series and I guess the E felt like giving people a preview of what was to come. Cause 13 days after the two of them returned, damned if the same exact thing didn't play out at Survivor Series. It was Taker & Kane against Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper officially. First one to get dealt with was Erick Rowan. Then there was Braun Strowman, the biggest of these four who was unveiled late August. He was put through a table best I can recollect. Long story short, Luke Harper gets tombstoned by Taker and that's it. So while I get that Sunday night was about commemorating the 25 year anniversary of Taker's debut in the company, this was the absolute perfect time to pass that proverbial torch to someone else. To someone who much like Taker, is a really good 'dark' character. The Wyatt Family could've been a really good dark unit but well, nobody does nostalgic quite like the E. While its past will shine bright, its future is super bleak. Bray Wyatt has lost virtually every major fight he has picked over the last year with the three biggest dogs roaming the yard (John Cena, Roman Reigns & The Undertaker). One would say it's an honor unto itself to be able to say within a calendar year, you've worked with all three of those names but it doesn't count for anything if all you're doing is LOSING to them. Still, with a roster this stacked with talent from the top (Roman and Dean are definitely up there, Kevin Owens has made waves since he entered the company in February and he's not going anywhere) down, it's insane that it's THIS BAD.
Survivor Series well, was much like every other special event you will see going forward. A largely underwhelming midcard and a hit or miss main event. The three tournament matches were good, the finale was shorter than expected and I have to think it's a teaser for future attractions down the line. (Least I hope that's the case.) THE finale was when Roman Reigns turned down Triple H's handshake with an emphatic Spear and turned into a Brogue Kick by Sheamus who cashed in his Money In The Bank title shot (good for 365 days to get a title shot anywhere, anytime, anyplace). Now it's worth pointing out that no man has ever been cashed in on or on the wrong end of it twice within a calendar year. Thanks to two Brogue Kicks by Sheamus, Roman Reigns can say he's the first to do so. Now, it was a forgone conclusion that Roman Reigns would become champion here. Didn't matter if Seth Rollins blew out everything in his knee or not. This was the predetermined point where it all came full circle for him. Thing is, he's STILL not ready for a few reasons. First and foremost, he cannot talk for extended spurts. Being champion isn't just about LOOKING the part which he does in spades, whatever that means. You have to be able to SOUND the part and that's something, he just doesn't have and isn't close to right now. Whether Vince is writing his shit or not, it's clear the second that camera light goes red, Roman just sounds dead. Next, he has what I call John Cena Heat which isn't good for a company that's looking to have its top face cheered by EVERYONE. John Cena Heat is defined by me as someone who is getting a 50/50 reaction at best and general apathy from the fans at worst. Roman through no fault of his own, has had John Cena Heat since January when most caught on to the fact that Roman was being slingshotted to the top of the heap against their wishes. Now, last year he was liked. Well liked. But the one thing that the company hasn't figured out, is that you can't tell the paying public what they're going to cheer for anymore. It's not the 80s. It's as crappy as the 90s and here's the thing most of these "smart marks" don't get. It wouldn't have mattered if Roman walked out of Sunday as champion or not. It's not going to matter that Sheamus, who should have something of a career rebirth so long as booking doesn't cripple his title run the way it has, well, everyone over the last few years. Sheamus had his first run as champion towards the end of 2009 and hasn't done a ton since of consequence, he's better suited as a heel. Being paired alongside Triple H, won't hurt him in the least bit. This ending works out well on several fronts...
For The Authority, it's a much needed and past due reboot. I'm sorry but while Kane & Show are big and were tag champs once upon a time...they were more comic relief than they were intimidating. Monday we got a new look at what The Authority likely will resemble going forward. Sheamus, Rusev & Wade Barrett. Unfortunately with the current piss poor state that creative is in, nothing will come of this and it's a shame because those are three really good talents paired up with two of the best heel heat magnets in the form of Triple H & Stephanie McMahon. Speaking of Triple H, this breathes new life into his heel authority form which had effectively flatlined over the last few months. Roman will be the target of his angst going forward as he makes it his mission to ensure Roman doesn't regain the title on his watch. At Wrestlemania, their beef will reach its boiling point more than likely. Even though I've read that Sheamus is likely holding the belt up until the Rumble, he should keep it until Mania. It's also worth noting that Roman's road to the title hit a roadblock at Money In The Bank back in June, the very night when Sheamus snatched the case he failed to thanks to Bray Wyatt's interference.
Fact is right now, television is as uninteresting as it has ever been and as a result, people are tuning out. I cancelled the WWE Network a few months back and I only agreed to get it back cause of the free month they offered me. That and two other reasons, one was because I wanted to know how this tourney played out and the other is next month when Finn Balor defends the NXT Championship against Samoa Joe. NXT is really good, but it's a stark contrast to what's wrong with the main product. One hour of NXT is light years greater than everything that we're presently getting from Raw and Smackdown COMBINED. It's really not rocket science, people. The weekly shows are pretty much a paint by numbers operation and it's not a good one. This week we got Sheamus coming out, gloating about his win Sunday night and Roman coming out to stake his claim for a rematch. Now, Roman wasn't angry about being screwed and showed literally no emotion to indicate he was upset about what went down. Hell, he showed more emotion the night before after the fact than he did the following night. John Cena Clone Sequence, commence!!! The E is turning Roman into another John Cena. Like Cena, Roman doesn't take anything too seriously even when it all but screams that he does so. Problem is, Cena has done so much it's kinda understandable that he has such a laid back deal about him. Roman hasn't done 1/3 of what Cena has. Considering the last few months he has had, being robbed by Seth at Wrestlemania, getting denied the Money In The Bank by Bray in June and then losing Sunday night thanks to Sheamus robbing him...Roman needed to show he's PISSED. He's sick of folks robbing him and he's ready to start blowing through fools. But he didn't and at the end of the night, faced with a three on one disadvantage, Roman went through all three guys with a steel chair. Just like John Cena has. This company isn't about making stars anymore, just 'The Next So & So'. Thing is, this is another part of the problem. John Cena got his big break ten years ago and ever since roughly August of 2005, he hasn't had 100% of the crowd support since. This is where John Cena Heat comes from. Dueling chants of adulation and utter disdain at the same time. Generally, you don't want your audience split about the top hero in the company. There was no split reaction for Hogan or Austin in their respective primes.
So...the sad reality here is short of a total overhaul creatively speaking, this isn't going to change anytime soon. Seth Rollins, Cesaro and Randy Orton are out until at the very earliest next Spring. Orton apparently needs neck surgery on top of the injury to his shoulder, so maybe next Summer for him. Losing Cesaro and Rollins hurts, as it's two fewer bodies for a creative and booking team that can't seem to stay out of its own way. Sadly for them, the viewers will keep tuning out until they get with the program, pardon the obvious pun.
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