10 Ways to Save the WWE

What is the hottest period in professional wrestling history? Some may argue the seventies. Others may say the early to mid-eighties when World Class Championship Wrestling, Bill Watts’ Mid-South, Crockett’s Mid-Atlantic, and the “Rock n’ Wrestling Connection” era of the World Wrestling Federation was going strong. Of course, a younger generation would scoff at these suggestions and would say there is no comparison to the WWF, World Championship Wrestling, and Extreme Championship Wrestling era during the Monday Night Wars. While each era’s fan base could present a good argument for why their era is the best, it’s all suggestive based on personal preference as each was great for its own reason.

On the flip side, what is the worse era in wrestling? There are many contenders. The dying days of the AWA, WCW, and ECW quickly come to mind. Not to mention the 1994-95 WWF days. However, I would argue that although those years were bad on their own, it wasn’t the era that was bad. It was just bad years for the individual companies. When each of those companies were having their worst time period, the wrestling fan had other alternatives that they can follow on a national basis.

In my estimation, I think the calendar year of 2015 has been the worst year in wrestling history. While it’s true, there are more different wrestling companies on television today than at any time period since the eighties, it’s not that simple. If you are lucky, you can watch the WWE, TNA, Ring of Honor, New Japan, and Lucha Underground throughout the week. However, aside from the WWE, the other federations are not on mainstream cable stations. New Japan is featured on AXS. Lucha Underground is on Spanish language television, which sucks if you are someone who can’t speak the language. TNA and Ring of Honor are on Destination America. In the coming weeks, TNA will move to POP TV, and Ring of Honor will call Comet TV their home. These two stations aren’t exactly USA or TNT. Therefore, finding an alternative to the WWE on cable television is a trying feat for the wrestling fan.

If you are someone like me, you are stuck watching the WWE or going to the Monster Factory every two weeks to see Clutch Adams in order to get in your professional wrestling fix. Therefore, when I look at strictly the WWE, I believe that this is the worst era in wrestling. When I am talking about it being the worst ear, I am NOT talking from a business sense. The WWE has so many revenue streams that they will remain profitable even with a subpar product. I am talking strictly from a creative and booking standpoint. Each week, the rating for RAW hits a new twenty-year low. You can’t even blame Monday Night Football, because the discrepancy in the amount of viewers they are losing this year isn’t comparable to the normal ratings drop that the company ensues due to the NFL. I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve dozed off while watching RAW this year. The product seems to be at an all-time low on the boring scale. This was evident as early as the Road to WrestleMania back in January. Normally, the WWE product picks up in entertainment value as the Road to WrestleMania draws closer to the big event. However, this year, the Road to WrestleMania was just as dull as the calendar year of 2015 turned out to be.

I can hear the WWE apologists saying “well, if you don’t like it, don’t watch.” For a normal person, that would be a perfectly reasonable option. However, I’m a wrestling fan. I’m not normal. I need my wrestling fix. Plus, I’m a creature of habit. Mondays from 8:00-11:115, I wouldn’t be anywhere else. Even if RAW is on more as “background noise” than as entertainment. However, the main reason I continue to watch is because every once in a while, you will see a CM Punk pipe bomb type promo, or Shawn Michaels vs. the Undertaker match at WrestleMania that reminds you of why are a wrestling fan to begin with. There is no more gratifying feeling for a wrestling fan when you are watching a wrestling product that is really good, and feels really special.

It’s easy to beat up the WWE for their lackluster product. However, that’s not what I am looking to do today. I want to bring the excitement back to the WWE, and have a ten-point plan that I believe would help make the WWE a “Must See TV” program once again.

1.NO MORE 50/50 BOOKING

This isn’t the eighties anymore. In the eighties, the WWF used to run their house show loop with a Madison Square Garden card once a month. Each three-month loop would look like this. Month One: Heel beats Hulk Hogan by disqualification or count out. Month Two: Hulk Hogan beats heel in the same manner. Month Three: Hulk Hogan finally vanquishes the heel in the rubber match. This was fine during the house show centric business of the eighties. TV was used for squash matches and promos to keep the star players strong. Plus, not every wrestling fan watched these house shows, so you weren’t as aware that 50/50 booking was taking place.

Today, house shows are meaningless. Instead, five hours worth of weekly television programs and one monthly pay per view have taken the place of what used to be the importance of the house show. Now, every win and loss is seen been millions of people each week. We no longer have the use of “enhancement talent” to build up wrestlers for their major programs. The WWE’s use of 50/50 booking in the year 2015 has led to no new stars getting over. It’s not 1985 anymore. You can no longer hide behind the 50/50 method. It doesn’t work. Not everyone is a main event level wrestler. Not everyone should be portrayed as being on the same level, because they are not. This brings us to point number two.

2.PICK SIX TO EIGHT GUYS TO BE YOUR MAIN EVENTERS AND RUN WITH IT

The WWE’s lack of main event talent depth was severely exposed recently due to the long term injuries to Randy Orton, Cesaro (even though he’s not a main eventer), Seth Rollins, and Daniel Bryan. Not to mention that John Cena is off until mid-December filming a reality fitness show. The WWE has put everything they have into the “Roman Reigns is our new top guy” basket that they have ignored everyone else. Roman Reigns is the only performer that they have tried to elevate to the next level. If you think the WWE is screwed now because of the injury bug, how do you think the company would look if Roman Reigns suffered an injury that kept him out for six to nine months? WrestleMania would be John Cena, the Undertaker, Triple H, and a band of mid-card geeks.

In the “Attitude Era,” at any given time, the WWF was able to go to any number of wrestlers that would have been believable in the main events. When Steve Austin got injured, The Rock stepped up. When The Rock went to Hollywood, Triple H became THE game in town. Plus, the Undertaker, Kane, Mick Foley, the Big Show, and Chris Jericho could have easily been inserted into the main event programs in the company. Not one fan at the time would have thought, “what the hell is this guy doing in the main events?”

Just look at what happed at the Survivor Series when Sheamus ended the show as champion. The fans were cringing at the thought of Sheamus, who’s a good in-ring worker, but no longer thought of as a main event star by the fans, holding the World title. The WWE felt they had no other choice but to put the belt on Sheamus if they weren’t going to put the strap on Roman Reigns. Look at the final four participants that remained in the tournament aside from Reigns. Albert Del Rio has been deader than dead since he returned. The fans don’t buy him as a main eventer. He is seen as being in the same position as when he left the company a little over a year ago. Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose have the fans’ support, but at this time, they do not have the support of management to be the ones that the company feels can carry the ball. How do I know this? Look at how they are booked. For that matter, look at how everyone not named John Cena or Roman Reigns is booked. There goes that 50/50 booking philosophy again.

The WWE needs to take a long look at their current roster, and rank the individuals into tiers. The company currently has fifty-nine male wrestlers on the main roster according to wwe.com. Take twenty guys right off the list to be predominantly tag team wrestlers. If I’m going to build up the main events, I might as well restructure the tag team division as well. Ten teams should be more than enough to build a strong division. For the remaining thiry-nine wrestlers, one tier is the main event block that features six to eight wrestlers. These guys should NEVER lose, except to each other. When they do lose to one another, don’t do it in the 50/50 manner. Instead, any wrestler that will be the next title contender should dominate the feuds that he’s in leading up to his World title feud.

The second tier will be the upper mid-card or lower main event wrestlers. These wrestlers should be the Intercontinental and United States championship level. They should be used to beat every other tier except the main event level wrestlers. However, they should be kept away from the main event wrestlers as much as possible, because you don’t want them to be jobbers to the main event wrestlers. Otherwise, they would look like they don’t belong. I look at this level as the AAA level in baseball terms. They are to be protected so they can easily move up to the main event level when their time comes. Feuds against one another should be decided by who the company wants to move up to the main event level, and which wrestlers they want to compete for the two secondary titles. There should be ten wrestlers in this bracket as five can be pushed as US title contenders, and the others can battle for Intercontinental championship supremacy. The ideal situation would have the two secondary champions move up to the main event level once their secondary title reigns are over. Then the “lowest”main event level talent can drop down to the upper main event level to battle for the secondary belts.

The third level is your mid-card wrestlers. These wrestlers would be your talent that you see potential in that you will one day move up the card. They should be kept away from the other two levels as much as possible, except to beat them early enough in their run on this tier to where the fans will forget that they were “jobbers to the stars.” I would put ten wrestlers in this bracket.

The final level would be the lower level guys. This would be the modern day jobbers. They would only beat each other, and every other level would beat them. I wouldn’t use any new wrestlers, like NXT call ups, to be in this level, except to get wins off of the lower level wrestlers in order to boost their standings in the promotion. The tier system is very similar to what Triple H and Shawn Michaels did in the mid-nineties. They went to Vince McMahon with a list of the whole roster, and ran through each name and discussed what to do with each guy and who had potential. This system resembles what the WWF used to do when they brought someone knew into the company. He didn’t start out in the main events, or jobbed out after two months in. He started by beating the enhancement talent, then moved on to lower level guys, followed by wins against midcard wrestlers until they were elevated to the Intercontinental and finally main event levels.

3.MAKE TITLES MEANINGFUL AGAIN

Another way I would build wrestlers up is to use an old WCW format of having a Top Ten contenders list. However, I would have a Top Ten contenders list for EACH title. This way when non-champions in each tier are fighting each other with no purpose, in other words, not in a feud, there is a reason for them to be facing off. It’s no longer just a random match, it’s a way to climb up the ladder in the division. This will help add to the importance of the title.

Another way to add importance is to have wrestlers cut promos talking about how important the title is that they are chasing. Talk about how it’s been a childhood dream to be the WWE World Champion. The build-up to Shawn Michaels first WWF World title win was his “boyhood dream” angle where the WWF even brought in Shawn Michaels wrestling school trainer Jose Lothario. I remember reading interviews with Chris Jericho stating that he considered his career a success if he could one day hold the Intercontinental championship that was held by the likes of Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat. You can do the same thing today, and bring up how many greats have held whichever title the wrestler is gunning for. Then when a wrestler, who was a secondary champion, moves up to the main event level, he can bring up the names of Hall of Fame wrestlers who once won the United States championship like Harley Race and Ric Flair or won the Intercontinental title like Randy Savage, Steve Austin, and The Rock before moving on to capturing the World title. It would show that the secondary titles aren’t just lower card belts. They are foundations to which World Champions are built from.

4.PIPE BOMB 2.0

Look at many of the big moments in professional wrestling. From the formation of the Four Horsemen to Austin 3:16 to the ascension of CM Punk as a top main event wrestler, each began due to a promo that was cut by the wrestler. The NWA needed their four top champions to cut an interview, so they had Tully Blanchard, Arn and Ole Anderson, and Ric Flair all on the same interview stage together to cut their promos at the same time. Arn Anderson dropped the line that the fans are currently looking at the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the Four Horsemen were born.

During the King of the Ring, Steve Austin was in an emergency room getting stitches for a cut on his lip. Michael Hayes told him that Jake Roberts, Austin’s opponent in the final round, just cut a religious promo. Austin knew that after he wins the final round against “The Snake,” he would need to rebuff the religious statements by Jake. Austin said, “You can have your Palms, your John 3:16. Well, Austin 3:16 just kicked your ass.” The biggest selling wrestling t-shirt, and biggest star of the post-Hogan WWF era was born that night as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin sky rocketed from that point forward.

In 2011, CM Punk was arguably the WWE’s most talented wrestler. However, much like Daniel Bryan today, CM Punk didn’t have the look that the WWE likes its main event performers to have. Punk was on the fence about whether or not to leave the company after his contract ends. The WWE decided to put him in a match at the Money in the Bank pay per view against the WWE World Champion John Cena. As part of the build-up to the match, CM Punk cut a promo where he complained about everything that was wrong with the WWE product. While there is no doubt that this was NOT a shoot style interview, it was the most effective and famous promo of recent years as even non-wrestling outlets picked up on the promo. CM Punk was the hot star of the company.

With the WWE viewed at by the fans in the most negative light in years, the WWE needs to have a wrestler go off on a CM Punk-like tangent about everything that is wrong with the WWE today. It would give him instant credibility if the WWE followed the promo up with a monster push. A new main event star could be born if the WWE had the right guy cut the promo. The problem is, with the WWE’s lack of building stars lately, who would that guy be? It’s time to find out.

5.ORGANIC PUSHES

When something happens organically, don’t fight it. Go all in, and see where it takes you. Just like the aforementioned Four Horseman and Austin 3:16 promos, if something unexpected happens that the fans are getting behind, follow their lead. It should lead to money.

A prime example of something happening organically is the whole Daniel Bryan situation. When he lost the World Heavyweight championship to Sheamus in eighteen seconds at WrestleMania XXVIII, the “YES” movement was born. The fans immediately got behind him, and the first fan hijacking of RAW officially came to life on RAW the next night, as the crowd even drowned out The Rock’s promo because they wanted to see Daniel Bryan so much. By the summer of 2013, the fans wanted Bryan as the top guy, and got a taste for five minutes when he beat John Cena for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. It wasn’t meant to be, and the title was quickly taken away from him. When it was learned that the WWE was bringing back Batista to challenge for Randy Orton for the World title at WrestleMania XXX, the fans turned on the program, and each card until Daniel Bryan was included in the angle. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see how far Bryan could have risen as a neck injury took him out of action for most of the next year.

The WWE currently has guys like Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, and Dolph Ziggler that the fans are behind, but the company doesn’t have plans to use them in a way that the fans would like them to be. The WWE needs to get behind one, if not all three, and see what happens. Maybe a guy that gets over without the WWE machine pushing them along, can sky rocket to the highest levels if the WWE would get behind them. Remember, some of the best things happen when the “powers that be least expect it.”

6.CHANGE WITH THE TIMES

If I can choose one word to describe the WWE right now, it would be “stale.” Everything about the product is stale. From the format to the sets to the main storyline to the booking to the characters. Nothing has changed in years. Times have changed, and the WWE needs to change with the times. I remember an interview from a few years ago with Paul Heyman. Heyman is a master at knowing about pop culture, and what the next big “in” thing will be. When he was the head writer in charge of SmackDown!, he told the company that hip hop music was big, and they should use that type of music for the SmackDown! opening to differentiate it from RAW. It’s been more than a decade later, and I’m still waiting for the WWE to use more modern hip music to their openings.

It’s not just the music either. John Taffer is the chairman of Taffer Dynamics Bar Consultants, and star of Spike TVs reality show “Bar Rescue.” In a recent episode, he said that a bar needs to change up its appearance every three years, and needs a complete overhaul every five years to keep things fresh. When was the last time the WWE renovated their sets. For the most part, except for WrestleMania, the sets all remain the same. I’m not saying that the WWE program will turn around because they “threw a new coat of paint on the car.” It’s just a way of showing that the WWE isn’t standing for status quo, and are changing even small things within the company.

It’s not just the shows’ appearances either. The WWE needs to work on character development. Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the Undertaker’s debut in the WWF/E. One of the most common observations regarding how the Undertaker was able to last this long was the fact that he adjusted his character over time. That was never more noticeable then during his entrance at this year’s Survivor Series when they showed a casket that had photos morphing into each gimmick the Undertaker character went through over the past two and a half decades. That’s why he has been able to last all of these years. The WWE sells these framed pictures on their website of different wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H. Each framed item shows different pictures of the wrestler throughout their career, so you can see the differences in the character over the years. Look at the stars in the WWE that have been with the company for a long time. How many have really changed over the years? Randy Orton changed slightly from his early years to his Evolution years, but since then he’s had the same look and character.

Let’s examine John Cena. He won his first WWE World title a decade ago. In that ten years, what has changed with his character other than his collection of rainbow colored t-shirts to hock? When he lost to The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII, I thought the WWE had a golden opportunity to add some depth to his character. Leading up to the “once in a lifetime” match with The Rock, John Cena cut promos regarding how he MUST beat The Rock. The night after WrestleMania XXVIII, Cena should have cut a promo where he was devastated. Instead, it was your standard John Cena promo. Brock Lesnar returned during that segment and attacked Cena to set up their pay per view match at Extreme Rules, which John Cena won. How much better would it have been if John Cena lost? He would have just suffered two of the biggest losses in his career in back to back pay per views. The WWE could have set up 2012 as the year that John Cena has a losing streak for the first time in his career. For the first time, John Cena’s character would have doubts about whether he could still do it. This would be the set up for his redemption in 2013 where he won the Royal Rumble and then the WWE title in his “twice in a lifetime” match against The Rock at WrestleMania XXIX. That would have added so much depth to the John Cena character, but he’s not alone. Aside from the performers who get drastically different gimmicks because their old gimmicks weren’t working, I don’t remember the last time the WWE developed their characters in an effort to keep them fresh. I am a much different person today then I was ten years ago. Everyone is, so why are our WWE superstars the same?

The last time the WWE tried to reinvent itself, they went with the PG model that you see before you today. Once again, the WWE needs to take a look at pop culture to see where the latest trends are. Based on the language that you see on network television, it’s no longer PG. We are currently living in the reality era. The WWE needs to feature more reality based storylines. I’m not talking Total Divas. They don’t need to go the slime ball route of bringing up Reid Flair’s drug overdose either. However, everyone knows that John Cena is dating Nikki Bella, and Bryan is married to Brie. Use that in your storylines. They have to some extent with Brie Bella, but they haven’t even touched the subject of Cena and Nikki. Sure Lana put a damper on the WWE’s plans when she Instagrammed a pic of her engagement ring from Rusev. However, instead of getting mad over it, the WWE should have played it up on TV as Rusev and Lana’s plan to take down Dolph Ziggler from the inside.

After Matt Hardy was released from the WWE, the news broke out that his long-time girlfriend Lita cheated on him with fellow WWE superstar Edge. The fans turned against both Lita and Edge, and the WWE created a storyline where Edge stole her from Kane. Since the fans already knew the true story, they crapped on the angle as they clamored for Matt Hardy’s return. I was at the Meadowlands Arena when Matt Hardy returned to the WWE and attacked Edge. The crowd went nuts and thought it was the start of an unbelievable storyline. In the end, it didn’t turn out that way, but using the reality of the situation gave the story line the kick it needed in the beginning. It’s not just boyfriend-girlfriend relationships that the WWE should use as reality based storylines. Look at how John Cena and Roman Reigns are treated by the fans. Aside of the women and children, the fans boo the WWE’s two front men despite them always being on the side of right. They rationalize it as “the WWE is a place where fans can boo and cheer for whomever they like, and we are cool with it.” Bullshit, the WWE should use the boos, and pull a Rocky Maivia on the fans asses. Literally tell the fans who boo them to go to hell. Die Rocky Die. Rocky died the night he told the fans that they could shove it, but The Rock was born out of it. How did that work out for the WWF/E?

7.LONG TERM BOOKING

The WWF used to book backwards. They would decide on what the next year’s main event of WrestleMania would be, and then they would book backwards to create a realistic, logical step by step plan on how to get there. A perfect example of this strategy’s success would be to look at the WrestleMania V main event between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. At WrestleMania IV, the WWE already knew that they would be having Hulk Hogan regain the title from Savage at the next WrestleMania. That storyline worked perfectly. For a more recent example, at WrestleMania XXVII, the WWE knew that The Rock would face John Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII. I would say that storyline was a pretty successful chapter in the WWE’s history books.

The WWE has tried to book their WrestleMania main events long term the last couple of years as well. They knew in September 2013 that Batista would face Randy Orton at WrestleMania XXX. They knew that Roman Reigns would main event WrestleMania XXXI even before WrestleMania XXX took place. While the Batista title win would have never worked due to the Daniel Bryan phenomenon, they dropped the ball on Roman Reigns. The reason is because they never set Reigns up to succeed. Had they performed the backwards booking of the past, they would have been able to set Roman on the correct path from the start. Instead, even though the WWE may have a long term plan of where they want to be in a year, they book one show at a time on the fly. Want proof? Go back to the Survivor Series. Originally, after not giving Roman Reigns the title at WrestleMania, the Big Dog was supposed to get the title at the Survivor Series. However, as of 1:30pm on the day of the Survivor Series, the WWE was still debating if Reigns should live the show as the champ. You can’t book shorter term, on the fly than that.

8.STOP RELYING ON THE ATTITUDE ERA

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Attitude Era. I love seeing The Rock, Steve Austin, Sting, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, and Triple H. However, the WWE relies too heavily on starts of the past, especially at WrestleMania. This upcoming WrestleMania is supposed to be the “biggest Mania of all-time.” However, when thinking of what the card may look like, rumors circulated around whether Steve Austin would fight part-timer Brock Lesnar, will The Rock face Triple H with or without Rhonda Rousey in some capacity, and will we see one of the last remaining dream matches in the WWE revolving around part-time WWE legend the Undertaker against either John Cena or fellow part-timer Sting. What about Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, and all of the other full-time workers? The WWE has been lucky, because all of the part-time players of the past can still work. However, these performers are living on borrowed time. In a few years from now, what will the WWE do? They’ll bring back John Cena and Randy Orton, but who else? They haven’t built up any future legends to help the next generation. The WWE needs to start doing this now.
Speaking of relying on things from the past, can the WWE stop relying on the Authority as its top angle? The Authority was formed in 2013. In less than a month is will be 2016. It’s time for the WWE to try something new. The Authority is the WWE’s version of the n.W.o. The New World Order debuted in June 1996, and lasted in World Championship Wrestling until 2000. While the non-n.W.o factions would get some revenge throughout the years, it was always short lived until a New World Order member was back on top. WCW never won in the end. The same applies with the Authority. The closest the Authority angle came to a close was when they lost a match at last year’s Survivor Series when Team Cena beat Team Authority causing the Authority to lose power. However, a few days after a month later, the Authority was back in power, and the storyline is yet to die. Which brings me back to point six of the WWE being too stale and not evolving with the times.

9.CREATIVE STIFLES CREATIVITY

I know the WWE loves to employ Hollywood writers to write their shows, but enough is enough. First of all, what good is having a gaggle of writers when Vince changes most of the stuff they write to begin with? Why even have writers if they can’t be given the freedom to do their job? It must be a very frustrating situation to be in if you work in WWE’s creative department.

Second, professional wrestling is not Beverly Hills 90210. It’s not a Hollywood drama production. Stop trying to treat it as one. What I may think is a great storyline on General Hospital would NOT make me pop if I saw the same skit on RAW. Two different styles of products, and two different types of audiences. Booking wrestling to get a reaction is simple. Promoters have been doing it for decades. Why must you try turn wrestling into something it’s not. You pop a crowd with a great promo, angle, or match. You don’t pop an audience or put asses in the seats by trying to write a Hollywood manuscript.

If the WWE must have their writers, they should be used to structure what should appear on the show. They should write the back stage non-interview segments, write the scripts for the announcers’ introduction to the show, and the scripts to the video packages. As for promos, the writing team should ONLY provide bullet points to the wrestlers on what needs to be covered, and let the wrestlers cover those points in their own words. Unlike Hollywood actors, wrestlers are these characters every second of every day that they are out in the public’s eye. Bruce Willis is only John McCline during the hours that he is on the sound stage while filming the latest “Die Hard” movie. When he finishes a scene, he’s back to being Bruce Willis. A wrestler lives and breathes his character. Who would know his character more than the wrestler that is living the gimmick every day of the year?

When a performer gets to the WWE, chances are that he’s a pretty decent worker, if not better than that. What separates the good wrestlers from the great performers is their ability to cut promos. It’s the talking that gets the asses in the seats, and it’s the in-ring work that gets those asses on their feet to applaud the match they just witnessed. What the WWE does now with scripted promos does not separate the good from the great. It just shows which wrestlers could be the better actors, because they know how to read a script. That’s fine for a WWE Film production. Not so fine for an airing of WWE RAW or SmackDown!. There are times when you watch a wrestler cut a scripted promo, and you just cringe. Not only is it a bad promo, but you can tell that the wrestler delivering the message doesn’t believe a word of it.

I would always tell my brother, who is currently working heel, is that the best heel is someone who may be doing things not on the straight and narrow, but believes that what he is doing right and that the route he is taking justifies his means. A great heel is one who says something, and you think “you know what, you have a point, but you shouldn’t be doing what you are doing unethically.” The same route applies to a promo. A great promo is one where the performer believes in what they are saying. How fake did it sound last year when Roman Reigns was spouting promos about “suffering succotash?” What about when John Cena makes first grade poopy jokes? Just awful. Is it any surprise that John Cena’s best promos are when he gets serious? Nothing rubs me the wrong way when John Cena loses a major match or the WWE World title, and he comes on RAW the next day smiling and cracking jokes. No normal athlete would act like that if they just lost a big fight or a championship game. If the WWE went back to the old format, maybe we would get the Austin 3:16 or CM Punk pipe bomb that became legendary, and a new boom period could be on the horizon.

10.LISTEN TO THE FANS

This is the easiest, yet hardest thing for the WWE to do. Any successful business needs to listen to their customers, otherwise these consumers will go elsewhere for the product that they desire. The advantage that the WWE has is that they have no competition. If the fans want to watch wrestling, where else are they going to go? It’s not like they can turn on TNT and see another major wrestling promotion filled with world class athletes. Plus, the WWE seems to be stubborn to a point. The fans have hated John Cena for a decade, yet the WWE refused to turn him heel. The fans wanted Daniel Bryan to main event WrestleMania XXX. The WWE did not want that. It took CM Punk quitting the promotion and the fans revolting against the WWE and Batista in order for the company to decide to add Bryan to the match. Even as the most popular wrestler on the roster, Bryan was originally scheduled to be fifth from the top in a match against Sheamus.

Sometimes, a wrestling promotion needs to move the fans in the direction that they want the show to go. However, there are times when the fans aren’t buying what you are selling. In that case, the promoter needs to listen to the fans. The perfect scenario is when a company tries to book a certain direction, and the fans gladly go along for the ride. When the angle peaks, the crowd explodes and business booms. Unfortunately, these days fans are more demanding. They aren’t going to go along for the ride anymore. They want to be a driver. It’s like one of those children’s books where they give the reader Choice A and Choice B. Depending which option the reader suggests, the story will take a different direction. In today’s WWE, if the fans don’t like the story being told, they will vocally let their feelings be heard as they attempt to hijack the show. If the WWE learns to listen to the fans demands with a clearer mind, they may be able to rewrite the story in a way that pleases the fans, and benefits the business.

These ten steps are some ways that the WWE could try to make their shows better. Will they listen? Probably not. However, I stated my case. Any other suggestions, please enter them into the Comments Section below.