WWE has to seize the opportunity to prove change is coming

Friday’s big news about Vince McMahon retiring hit the wrestling world hard. As expected, many celebrated, while some questionably offered support to McMahon without addressing the proverbial elephant in the room. The fallout has sent reverberations across wrestling, leading to an innate interest in the immediate and long-term future of the WWE product. The next edition of Monday Night Raw will come with a lot of anticipation from fans to see something different from a product that has failed to deliver for years. This is an opportunity that WWE cannot afford to drop the ball.

The news continued over the weekend and hit in ways that fans wanted to see. Triple H was placed in charge of not only talent relations but also the creative direction of WWE. This is huge because there has long been a push to see Triple H in this position. It was his vision that helped lead WWE NXT to become the brand that it did in its original iteration and the expectation is that Triple H can help turnaround much of the lackadaisical booking on WWE television today.

Therefore, the anticipation is palpable heading into WWE Raw and why the company must respond by showing fans things will be different over time. This doesn’t mean some drastic change just to generate headlines, but a gradual improvement on many of the issues that were becoming prevalent in the promotion. Issues such as incessant rematches, underutilized talent, uninteresting characters, and storylines all must come to an end. WWE must fully move away from the practices and stances that McMahon entrenched in the promotion and those steps must begin sooner rather than later.

But what happens if WWE fails to seize this moment to improve the product? That could be the blow that truly sends the promotion’s popularity spiraling downward. If the booking without care mentality remains and fans cannot be convinced that shows matter, there will be long-term implications for the organization.

From the fans’ side, this is the prime opportunity to invoke that famous phrase, “let it play out.” Triple H is now at the helm of two of the most important positions in the largest organization in professional wrestling, a role that many have wanted to see him in for years. The spotlight will be magnified on the WWE product starting immediately and the company must snatch this moment to prove to fans that positive change is coming.