“Be careful what you set your heart upon – for it will surely be yours.”
In 1983, when WWE put the wheels in motion to go national, Vince McMahon couldn’t have foreseen the current state of his company. Wrestling is a business of peaks and valleys, and we all remember the Duke “The Dumpster” Droese era.
But this feels different. Worse. Ratings are in the tank. House show attendance is in the tank. WWE Network sales are below projections. Social media gains, YouTube views and coverage by ESPN, Deadspin, Grantland, Rolling Stone, etc., can’t be significantly monetized, so they don’t count.
But beyond that, it’s boring. WWE has been bad before. But never this boring.
No relief is on the horizon, either. There’s no next big thing. In fact, the “Next Big Thing” isn’t even as big as they need him to be. Who’s the next Rock? Who’s the next Stone Cold? All WWE has is a bunch of Dolph Zigglers.
WWE is a big-event promotion. WrestleMania and SummerSlam. That’s it.
I’ve seen it this bad. I lived it this bad.
Death rattle-era WCW made fans fume in frustration. The current incarnation of WWE makes fans wonder what the score is on Monday Night Football. CLICK.
During the glory days of the Monday Night Wars, neither show was all that great. Those programs are remembered as being better than they were.
But each show had X amount of legit stars, and pockets of absolute brilliance. If you got that, viewers will wait around for those stars, those pockets, that brilliance. Viewers will slog through three hours of mud to get to the gold nuggets. The same principle applies to watching the NFL. Almost nothing happens. Until it does.
WWE has none of that, or even anything with that potential. (Actually, the women do have that potential. But WWE will never go all the way with them.) Three hours is too long for a wrestling show. The trick is to make it not seem too long. You’ve got to have something to hang your hat on. WWE doesn’t.
On Raw, nothing happens. Then, nothing happens.
WWE’s biggest problem: They don’t know it’s bad. Or, more likely, won’t admit it.
For WWE’s creative staff, there’s accountability. That’s why everybody is at .500. If no one gets pushed to the moon, no one gets blamed for the crash. Only nailed-on long-time stars like John Cena get protected. There’s no risk in that. On the other hand, you got a world champ who gets beat all the time.
