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Things are either getting better in WWE or are still not completely fixed, and in large part it depends on who you ask. There were specific changes made to cater to FOX after the Blue brand's move over to the major television network.
FOX wanted either Brock Lesnar or Ronda Rousey and since Rousey is on hiatus, they were given Lesnar. WWE's 24/7 Champion, R-Truth, went to RAW due to USA essentially creating the title. The ratings might not be at all-time lows like they had been at various points this year, but they haven't increased immensely either.
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Despite the changes, some things have remained the same. WWE Creative often puts WWE Legends over the current roster and once again Brock Lesnar has captured a major title. The moves might look good on paper to WWE, but in reality, some of the tactics that they are consistently using prevent progress.
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WWE and its creative team have the ability to fix many of these problems. They have to identify what might not be working from all angles including feedback from the writers, producers, fans, and wrestlers. The crowd is sometimes hard to contend with and it will not always react with the desired response. Slightly adjusting to the crowd's reactions could help to improve some things. Here are five problems the WWE Creative team still needs to address.
#5 Booking Champions to get pinned in order to lead to title matches
This is something that the bookers often turn to in order to set up a new challenger for a potential title holder. What better way to stake a claim to a title match then to pin a champion in a non-title or tag team match?
While it is an easy way to enter into new feuds, it doesn't do any favors for the champions. By taking pin-falls, and in some cases numerous pin-falls, the wrestler and their reign loses a little luster. Champions are supposed to be champions for a reason, and eating pin-falls in matches minimizes everything they've done to win a title.
The easiest way to determine a challenger is to have a No. 1 Contender Match like they did two weeks ago on SmackDown. A Six-Pack Challenge gave us Nikki Cross as a new challenger to Bayley. With such a loaded roster on both shows, they should continue to utilize these type of matches or have Battle Royale Matches, rather than the title holder getting pinned.
It should be noted, however, that in the same episode of SmackDown we had two title holders pinned in different matches. Daniel Bryan pinned Shinsuke Nakamura in a tag team match whereas The Revival ate the pin in the Tag Team Showcase. Dolph Ziggler or Robert Roode should have taken the pin in the match instead.
If we are to take champions seriously, then they should be protected as champions, rather than having them routinely pinned. Despite being WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, The IIconics lost many matches and this led to their build being siderailed. If title holders are to be taken seriously as both threats and champions, they need more consistency during their runs.
#4 Not using the entire roster
The photo above represents a pretty stacked lineup of stars. From top to bottom, WWE is stocked full of talented performers. Many talented men and women have carried the company for the past decade. While a select few are usually allowed to represent the company at the top, the entire roster is full of performers who could be stars if given the chance.
Look at the men and women above. Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, AJ Styles and Randy Orton are all main event stars. The future is bright with wrestlers like Aleister Black, Andrade, Buddy Murphy, Ricochet and Cedric Alexander waiting in the mid-card.
Women like Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and The Kabuki Warriors are likely going to be treated as the top women on the brand. Many of the other women (The IIconics, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan) are just as talented, but need a prolonged chance to show it. Not everyone will be pushed to the moon, but some talents like The IIconics, Logan, and Morgan could see some more favorable booking.
Many stars have started to get time on either RAW or SmackDown with the rosters officially set following the WWE Draft. Stars who haven't had extended pushes, like Buddy Murphy and Humberto Carillo, are starting to get pushes on RAW. The more the WWE Universe sees of WWE's underutilized talent, the better.
Shorty G has gone through an up and down past few months, but it has led to a big singles push for the former Chad Gable. Each post-draft episode of RAW and SmackDown has done a decent job of highlighting some new talents, and creative should continue that trend.
One way to further utilize an extremely deep roster is to form more factions. It's an easy way to get more people on screen and to book storyline feuds. The OC is going to need more groups to feud with and teams like The Viking Raiders and The Street Profits have needed a third person to go to battle with. Another way to get more people on TV is to only book one or two short segments per show in order to give more people air time.
#3 Always catering to Brock Lesnar
WWE suffered through some of its lowest ratings in history when Brock Lesnar was Universal Champion. By not having a consistent presence from the brand's top champion each week, it lessened the title's importance to a degree. Some people may have argued that it made the belt seem more prestigious due to it's special appearances, but the title is not a yearly PPV. It represents WWE and the Superstar holding it should be a consistent representative of the company.
Lesnar is a huge name in the sports world and because of that, he gets to call the shots on what he does or doesn't do. He rarely loses to smaller guys like AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, or Finn Balor, but he did at least make them look good in defeat. Kofi Kingston, however, wasn't so lucky.
'The Beast' does provide his opponents with an almost insurmountable obstacle to overcome, but that has really only helped two of the roster's current full-time workers in Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. Neither of those two needed a rub because they have already been established as top stars in the WWE.
People like Braun Strowman or Samoa Joe could have really helped the company out as top stars when challenging 'The Beast.' Instead, Lesnar showed up once every couple of months in order to build up to one of his few defenses. To his credit, he does bring eyes and money to the product, but that's largely because of the trouble WWE has had with creating a new crop of stars over the last few years. Due primarily to this, the company might feel like they need Lesnar more than they actually do.
#2 Putting Legends/non wrestlers over current talent
Edge speared Elias at SummerSlam this year while Goldberg received his redemption after putting away Dolph Ziggler at the same PPV. Those are just two recent instances of creative always using current stars to put over WWE Legends.
If it's only done once in awhile or a couple times a year, then it's fine, but every time some big name from the past shows up at RAW, SmackDown, or at a PPV, they are likely going to hit their classics at the expense of a full-time star.
It is true that nostalgia is sometimes needed, but if some of the newer stars are going to get over, they need to triumph over the WWE Legends every now and then. Stars working with Legends do get somewhat of a rub, like Becky Lynch did recently with The Rock. King Corbin, however, wasn't so lucky.
There have been some instances of this working out, as Ronda Rousey was a full-time performer for her first year. She picked things up quickly and was a legitimate star. Even Trish Stratus, arguably the best women's wrestler in WWE history, put over Charlotte Flair, but in that case, Flair didn't need putting over, as she had already won major titles on numerous occasions.
The main point is that it's okay to have WWE Legends go over Heath Slater or stars lower in the pecking order, but if the company is already having trouble getting younger stars over, then have a few of them go over a star from the past. It would do wonders for a young up and comer's career.
#1 Not listening to the crowd
One of the few times bookers really listened to the crowd was during Daniel Bryan's ascent to the top of the company. Fans were red hot for the bearded wonder and were incensed when he was not a part of the 2014 Royal Rumble Match that was won by Batista. Due to incredible backlash, the main event of that year's WrestleMania was changed from another showdown between 'The Animal' and Randy Orton to a Triple Threat Match with Bryan.
Fans felt that way again the following year with Bryan's treatment at the Royal Rumble. He was a part of the match, but was unceremoniously eliminated after a short run halfway through. Not even The Rock could help turn around the boos that were directed at Roman Reigns, after 'The Big Dog' won the match.
Those were just examples from five years ago. More recently, both Rusev and Strowman were red hot. Rusev received a WWE Championship match against AJ Styles, but lost. He also lost a tag team title match alongside Aiden English. Rusev Day was one of the hottest things going in 2018, but nothing much came out of it.
During 2017 and 2018, Braun Strowman was gaining steam as one of the top stars in the company. He received three title shots at Lesnar, but came up short each time. The crowd was clearly behind both men at those times, but WWE Creative missed out on a golden opportunity to make both men even bigger stars.
This isn't to say that the bookers ignore the fans, but they have misread situations or didn't strike when the iron was hot. They misread things at SummerSlam last year when they expected Becky Lynch to be booed after losing out to Flair once again. The pulse of the WWE Universe is what drives things. By fixing a few of these problems, things will improve from the top to the bottom.
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