Roman Reigns’ recent discussion of some of the benefits an offseason could provide WWE is just another reminder that the company needs to give its fans, writers, and competitors some well-deserved time off.
On the heels of a great pay-per-view and an increasingly exciting build to WrestleMania, it may seem a tad odd to talk about less WWE on TV.
Perhaps on the other hand, that’s precisely why we should have this conversation now. The recent excitement on WWE’s weekly episodes could actually be the reason we should all support an offseason for WWE.
First though, let’s all take a step back to see how this whole discussion was started.
In an interview with Alex McCarthy of TalkSPORT published on March 8th, Roman Reigns had this to say about a potential WWE offseason:
"“We do it the way we do it, and I’m never opposed to trying something new. This formula has worked and Sports Entertainment is a ‘what have you done for me lately’ industry. Unfortunately, we don’t have an off-season like most sports or other kinds of forms of entertainment or competition but, you know, I think if we could make it work, it would give a great benefit to our performers and our fans as well. It would definitely give our performers another couple of months if not a full quarter to rest and recover, not only just from a physical standpoint, but creatively. When you go year-round, we’re always trying to evolve, trying to grow as far as our stories and our character goes and when you’re doing it over and over and over it can be tough. I think that’s what makes WWE and its superstars so tough and it’s an accomplishment to get to where we are. Only we can handle this and we’ve proved it, so it’s just a part of the gig. I don’t think it’s something that shouldn’t be looked into, but if the schedule stays the same I’m gonna be the guy that’ll run it.”"
Needless to say, it’s a rather intriguing response from one of WWE’s top stars on a topic the company practically never feels like they’ve become comfortable addressing.
An offseason for WWE, especially one with the length which Reigns discusses, would easily be one of the biggest changes we’ve seen in the pro wrestling landscape.
Sure, there’s been smaller promotions like Lucha Underground who have implemented defined seasons before, but they are by far the exception.
Throughout wrestling history, the weekly TV episode has been a mainstay of basically every pro wrestling company. If you ever forget that fact too, just wait for Michael Cole to repeat one of his much joked about favorite lines about Raw’s weekly episodic prowess for the umpteenth time.
Despite that rich history, WWE still desperately needs to make a change sooner rather than later to their schedule.
While we’ve been in somewhat of a renaissance of intriguing WWE TV over the last month or so, it’s easy to forget how much of a slog consistent WWE viewership can be.
There are many months where WWE simply doesn’t have much exciting going on. Weekly episodes become nothing more than an exercise in storyline stretching and repetition when we know from months like the one we just had that they can consistently be so much more.
This past year, we saw this degradation of excitement and intrigue on WWE TV throughout the summer months, a typical time for this phenomenon I might add, in the form of seemingly never-ending feuds like A.J. Styles versus Shinsuke Nakamura and Dolph Ziggler versus Seth Rollins.
While those rivalries used to contain highly enjoyable encounters that left audience’s buzzing, they were unfortunately turned into exhausting grinds through sheer repetition and an utter lack of intriguing developments.
On top of that, when we weren’t forced to apathetically watch previously enjoyable match-ups, we were treated to several awkward and ultimately inconsequential angles during this past summer like a mini-reunion of Team Hell No and a puzzling loss for Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules to Bobby Lashley.
If that’s the best WWE can put out in the months after WrestleMania, that might just mean the company would be better served taking some time off.
While I would hardly believe a multiple month break would ever occur in WWE like the one Reigns’ mentioned, a singular month off immediately after WrestleMania in order to condense that seemingly stretched thin creative schedule could possibly do wonders for the on-screen product.
WrestleMania, after all, is the grand culmination of most every major angle in the company each year. It’s WWE’s equivalent to the Super Bowl in the fact that it’s essentially the end of the wrestling season for the company.
Nevertheless, instead of taking time off like an outsider may expect, WWE is right back at it the night after their season’s grand conclusion with an episode of Raw that typically debuts a bunch of fresh faces and rivalries.
I might not be an expert on this sort of thing, but that sounds to me like the telltale signs of a new season. Maybe, just maybe then, WWE could move that “season premiere” of sorts out a full month after WrestleMania.
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Along the way, some hype and anticipation can build then over what the fallout from WrestleMania’s biggest moments will be and who might debut on the new season.
All the other factors that basically every other TV show and sport enjoy during an offseason, such as giving the talent a well-deserved break, can occur too.
It’s a novel concept that could help shore up some of the injury problems which periodically somehow plague a company that pushes for multiple grueling physical encounters between their competitors on virtually a year-round basis.
With the “debut” of the new WWE season pushed back then, one of those instantly forgettable summer months where WWE stretches their rivalries to a breaking point could be effectively erased as well. A win-win for both the creative team and the audiences alike.
Considering all of those benefits that could occur from WWE instituting a widely accepted practice in TV and sports, it seems to me that Reigns just might have been on to something in that interview.
As Reigns said in fact, if WWE could make it work, an offseason could “give a great benefit to our performers and our fans as well.”
Let’s not let the most recent exciting WWE action fool us. An offseason is still what this company needs in order to more consistently provide its viewers with those feelings of excitement and intrigue.