WWE Creative can be confusing at times, but let’s try to make sense of the wild booking decisions that have been made recently.
There is no doubt that WWE has some of the most talented wrestlers in the world on their roster. Because of this, not everyone is going to make the main event scene. But that doesn’t mean that those can’t get good storylines.
It seems the days of WWE having a great main event story, along with an above average mid-card story, are gone. Now, WWE’s creative team only focuses on the main event scene. It’s not entirely their fault. Most of the writers are only employed by WWE for six weeks or less. Only being around for that long it’s hard to keep an interesting storyline going.
It can’t be any easier for the wrestlers either. It makes sense why WWE’s booking is so 50/50. And why some wrestlers characters can’t connect with the crowd when they don’t have a clear direction. When the people they work with, who tell them what to say, are changing every other month.
Still, though, there are some on the roster that has made it through this. There are some that will make it no matter what. Superstars like Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Charlotte, John Cena, and Brock Lesnar will always have their place on the roster.
Reigns, Cena, and Lesnar all make it through because Vince wants them too. It’s no secret that Reigns, in Vince’s eyes, is the next Cena. And Lesnar will forever be at the top of the card because of the appeal he brings with him, in addition to the legitimacy he brings to whatever card he’s on.
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Styles makes it through because the fans want him to. Whereas Reigns, in many cases, makes it in spite of the fans. Styles is the definition of fan favorite. Fans love him, and they always will. When Styles came to the company in 2016, Vince didn’t plan on making him a champion. But, fan reaction forced Vince’s hand. And it’s a good thing it did because I couldn’t imagine where SmackDown Live would be without Styles on the show.
Charlotte will make it through because of her lineage. No doubt she’s great in the ring and her mic work has improved significantly throughout the years, but fans will always like her because she’s Ric Flairs, daughter. That will always keep her relevant in WWE.
Still, though, if WWE can make it work with these five superstars: Why can’t they make it work with anyone else on the roster?
If they can book Braun Strowman from being just another Wyatt Family member to one of the most over big men on the roster, they can do the same with anyone else.
Granted they have tried and failed, most recently with Jinder Mahal. But it’s good to see them trying.
But it remains perplexing how WWE can’t make it work with some guys. Or, how they can give up on some after just a few weeks, the way they did with Jordan and Gable. Both seemed to have great singles careers in front of them, but WWE had different plans.
Granted things could still work out for Jason Jordan; he’s put in great performances the last couple weeks against Cena and Reigns. So a successful singles career could still be in the future for Jordan.
Gable, however, has already been paired back up with another tag team with a returning Shelton Benjamin. Another wrestler who could easily make it on his own. But, SmackDown needed a new tag team, and WWE put Gable and Benjamin together. Hopefully, it will lead to a heel turn by one – and a good program later on.
WWE.com
I understand getting cold feet on someone, but that’s hard to do after only a few weeks. WWE has to know that sometimes it takes time for a character to stick with the fans. Two years ago when Strowman was just arriving on the scene in WWE, he was nothing more than a large man. Fans were just waiting for him to fizzle out, become a jobber to other guys, then fade away into the WWE memory bank.
When news surfaced that WWE planned on having him take on The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32 fans groaned and Taker used his backstage sway to shoot it down, at the time fans were thankful that he did. Now, however, fans would lose their minds for that match.
Strowman and his popularity didn’t just happen over night; it took time. Strowman had to go through a lot to be taken this seriously as a big man. He is, no doubt, the most believable, and over big man, WWE has on their roster today. And he may be the best since the early days of Kane’s career.
It’s confusing that WWE would let this run its course, and not others. They gave Strowman the time and opportunity to succeed, and he ran with it and made the most out of it.
Credit: WWE on Twitter
With that being said, it’s not entirely creative, or WWE’s fault when something doesn’t work. If they don’t give it time, or if the gimmick is stupid, then that’s their fault.
Sometimes it’s the wrestler. They just aren’t able to connect with the WWE crowd.
Take Drew McIntyre’s first WWE run for instance. He was given every opportunity in the world to succeed. Vince even came out and cut a big promo putting him over as his chosen star. This immediately made him a heel, and it worked early on.
McIntyre was a good heel; he played the part well. But there was something off about the character. It never sat right with the WWE fans. It never connected. The fans didn’t like it. Not because he was a heel, they just didn’t like the gimmick.
So, he did what many expected him to do, fell down the ladder, joined Slater, and Mahal in a group called 3MB then left WWE not too long after that. (It’s amazing how far they’ve all come.)
McIntyre left WWE and worked on the independent circuit for a little while. But he’s back now, and in NXT, as the NXT Champion. And he couldn’t be any better. Fans like him now, and he looks more comfortable the ring.
Before he wasn’t sure what to do, now it’s easy to see that he’s planning moves in advance. He knows where he wants to go, and he knows how to get there.
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WWE Creative can sometimes shoot themselves in the foot with stories they come up with. But, sometimes they hit it out of the park. Let’s just hope they start giving stories, and wrestlers, more time to develop. Sometimes things don’t connect with fans, but that’s no reason to scrap the idea altogether and go in a different direction. Figure out what the fans like, do more of that, and cut out the things they don’t like.
WWE has too many great wrestlers that get wasted every week. They need to find a story for them before the fans lose interest in them.