How WWE continues to miss the mark on creating stars

Since the beginning, WWE has always had it's proverbial, number one star. It has almost seemed like a formula the company has stuck to since day one.

Looking back through the years, there has always been a number one star that has been the pillar of the companies storylines and on-screen narrative. Names like Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, The Rock, John Cena and currently Roman Reigns, have had a clear spotlight on them to carry the company torch. The flag bearer has always been established, and stars have been built around them.

There has arguably never been a deeper roster in terms of star power or potential star power than now. It has never been more evident, that this strategy of building around one key star, may not only be hurting up and coming stars, but the entire product itself.

Roman Reigns is one of the most unique stories in recent years, in the effort and time that has been put into him to become one of the company's top stars. After years of disapproval from fans, his star in the executive's eyes has never dimmed and that has been evident on WWE programming.

Roman Reigns stands tall following defeating The Undertaker at WrestleMania

The very most recent case of this current strategy is Braun Strowman. It is no secret that Strowman has been one of Vince McMahon's first priorities, as he has slowly become quite possibly the biggest star on the roster. He has certainly connected with fans, as one segment after another has played off his larger than life size and strength. There is no denying the talent and ability to learn so quickly in both Strowman and Reigns.

With the absence of Brock Lesnar for the most part of the year, the two heavyweights dominated RAW storylines, and both stars came out of the feud brighter than when they entered it. With such a clear focus put on so few stars, it has diminished the entire product, and potentially drawing power as a whole.

With such a focus placed on too few stars, there is so much untapped and underutilized potential. Characters that have not been elevated to a level their potential demands includes names like Finn Balor, Cesaro, Bobby Roode and Big E.

Undoubtedly there are many more names that fans would add to that list, but it is evident how deep this roster could be. The bigger the number of top stars, the more compelling the product would be on a consistent basis. It would allow mainstream attention with a rise in household names, and a potential growth that may not have been seen since the Attitude Era.

Fans calling for their favourite stars to be elevated is nothing new, but the WWE itself may be hurting their brand with every star they do not invest in.

It is clear that the future of the WWE main event is in good hands with emerging stars like Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, Elias, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura. All these men together can become huge worldwide pop culture stars as both heroes and villains, but they need to be given the opportunity to do so.