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The first thing that many think about when the topic of WWE is brought up is its current TV ratings crisis, as Vince McMahon's promotion is under a lot of pressure to pick Raw and SmackDown Live out of the slump.
While many do feel the need to criticize the company on its shortcomings, it can't be denied that WWE is making a solid effort to get both brand's back on the road to success.
However, let us be honest here, when looking at the company's proposed solutions to achieve this goal, it suddenly starts to dawn on you that WWE might not have a clear idea of the direction they are heading, as their 'wild card rule' is starting to look like a complete mess.
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While many critics and we as fans bashed the WWE with regards that decision (which is totally understandable), there are so many moving parts McMahon has to consider when making his choices, as wrestling is 50 percent business and 50 percent passion.
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We as fans won't give two thoughts about the financial side of things, but for a billion dollar company like WWE, it's a must. So, let's go through other possible solutions WWE should have in the bag when solving a TV rating crisis they caused themselves.
#1 Look to the past to build the future
The one thing fans hate about having legends' return to WWE is the fact that these once in a lifetime stars are wasted by the creative team, as most appearances made by The Undertaker, Goldberg, and even the returned Shawn Micheals have been relegated to the shows WWE do in the middle east.
WWE should be thinking long term gains instead of short term profit, as there are so many ways these veterans could be utilized to improve the product. One of those ways is to elevate younger talent to a level where they can carry the show by themselves, as just look at the biggest WWE star in Roman Reigns, this is a man that only gained that status by working with the likes of Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, and John Cena.
Without those programs helping the young Samoan reach his main event status, where would he be today? The same could be said for other young stars like Aleister Black, Ricochet, Andrade, and Ali, while most of these stars work with veterans, it's not to the same extent WWE designed Reigns' push.
Maybe with more recognizable faces in the promotion, WWE can climb out of the rating slump, and one concrete way to do that will be to build up more prominent stars using veterans instead of trying to stretch Reigns thin on Raw and SmackDown Live in hopes of improving TV ratings.
#2 In demand PPVs
Backlash, Fastlane, and Clash of Champions, what do all those WWE pay-per-views have in common? The answer is simple, they are all expendable.
There is not one unique thing about WWE's pay-per-views throughout the year, as most of the matches on these shows can be witnessed on Raw or SmackDown Live every week, which is a sad fact for people who pay for WWE Network.
However, there is a case to be made for shows like Extreme Rules, Elimination Chamber, and Money in the Bank as shows that warrant your attention as a fan, and that is due to the reason they are worth watching. Still, many feel those pay-per-views that have been named after match stipulations have destroyed the novelty of the stipulations.
Therefore, not all of WWE's pay-per-view's need to have a gimmick, but at least all of them have to be unique in some way to catch people's attention.
As the company needs to look at some of their old pay-per-views like Cyber Sunday, King of The Ring, and even for the sake of nostalgia - bringing back Badd Blood, would be better than the generic pay-per-views fans don't want to sit through any more.
#3 Turn the invisible into the visible
The thing that stood out in the glory days of the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Era's was the presentation of the product, now, by no means was all of WWE's design back in the late 90s to early 2000s so immaculate it deserved an Emmy nomination, but one thing the company must be applauded for was the risks they took during this time.
From pay-per-view set designs to the backstage interview areas, everything had a unique brand of its own, and funny enough, this is what gravitated fans to the product more than the in-ring content.
Nowadays fans (for those who still stuck around) have learned to accept that WWE won't be going the extra mile anymore, which means pay-per-views without pyro, no unique sets for Raw or SmackDown Live, and even no more props that give certain shows a different feel.
For being the most popular company in wrestling, WWE is failing to utilize their unlimited resources to draw fans to the product, and if they do realize that fans care about making every single pay-per-view, house show, live event, and an episode of Raw or SmackDown Live unique, then maybe that could see an influx of fans rushing back.
#4 Order and structure
The McMahon family are arguably the biggest heels in wrestling, as the common consensus is that there was no bigger heel in wrestling than Vince McMahon because, at the height of the company, McMahon vs Stone Cold Steve Austin was the hottest thing in wrestling.
However, while those days are done and dusted, McMahon still gets a whole lot of heat to this day for being the destroyer of his own creation, as his outdated booking, lazy approach, and overall handling of the product has led many to believe that he needs to step away from the company.
Maybe that is the solution or maybe it could be a mistake, but the McMahon's at least stepping away from the television section of the company could be more beneficial than many would expect, as WWE needs to bring back one thing that would make the shows a whole more structured.
General Managers for all their shortcomings are vital in the structure and order of a brand, as look at the amazing work Paige had done in her tenure as the GM of SmackDown Live. The New Era introduced by WWE has seen them take out GM's all together, but by reintroducing them to the shows, it will add a level of realism to the show many fans prefer.
#5 Listen to the fans
The last solution on this list is the first thing many propose when discussing this topic, as the solution of WWE just listening to their fanbase seems like the most logical thing to do.
The reason why the ratings are tanking is due to the WWE Universe realizing that they are fed up with the company's apathy with regards to the booking of the product, as everything from superstar pushes getting cut short to having to sit through the same matches every single week takes a toll.
There are those who will tell the aggrieved fanbase to stop watching if they don't like what they see, however, for many WWE fans it has become a habit to watch Raw or SmackDown, but for many that habit is not worth three hours anymore.
It's plain and simple, WWE needs to give fans what they want, as the push of Kofi Kingston, for example, has been received extremely well over the last few weeks, as the company is truly making an effort in ensuring Kofi's WWE Title reign works, which the fans appreciate.
While sometimes listening to the fans is a terrible mistake, as wrestling fans hate what they asked for when done, but most of the time it works out if a good booking strategy makes these dream scenarios come to fruition.
