WWE: Lost in transition – Who are the good guys?

I remember a video back in 1997; a video that was pivotal in the period of professional wrestling. A promo that changed the business forever, along with the way people perceived the industry. It wasn’t one of those all too familiar, clichéd segments that clearly tested the intelligence and intellect of the fans, but a promo that blurred the line between fiction and reality.

Vince McMahon was tired of losing the Monday Night Wars to WCW, and came out with a simple yet brilliant strategy. He insinuated that WCW was testing the intelligence of the fans, and said the WWF would provide the fans with invigorating TV.

It was this promo that laid the foundations for the Attitude Era, as Vince McMahon explained that the WWF would provide the fans with compelling, contemporary stories. After the Bret Hart – Steve Austin match at WrestleMania, the fans were ready for the gray shade in professional wrestling, and that was what Vince did.

Fast forward to 2013, and it’s funny how Vince McMahon completely forgot how he discriminated WCW’s product when he has been doing the same thing for the past 8 years. Long gone are the days when WWE came up with compelling, creative TV.

If you think Khali and Mahal being portrayed as snake charmers (Let’s just ignore how ostentatiously racist that is), trying to control Santino’s “Cobra” is intellectually stimulating or even remotely entertaining, then I have some bad news for you. The sad part is that those aren’t WWE’s biggest flaws! What is baffling is how Vince McMahon takes it for granted that the WWE Universe has ephemeral memory, which is what I intend to look at in this article.

While watching WWE Battleground couple of hours ago, something bewildered me. The Bellas, who were the most hated (and untalented, but let’s skip that) divas in the locker room till a couple of weeks ago, were being pushed as babyfaces. WWE has the knack of pushing performers down the throats of WWE Universe, telling the fans whom to cheer for.

Brie Bella, who got engaged to Bryan Danielson was pushed as a fan favourite, even though the Buffalo crowd wasn’t the least bit interested in cheering for her. How many of us remember Vince McMahon being “relieved” of his duties during the Summer of Punk angle? Miraculously enough, he came back as the chairman of the WWE a couple of months later, and no explanation was given.

Let us look at yet another event that transpired a couple of weeks ago. Triple H, for what it’s worth, has inserted himself into the program between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton. Yet during one episode of RAW, he became a “good guy” and sacrificed the three members of The Shield to eleven WWE superstars. Logic dictates that it should either lead to a program where The Shield asks for an explanation, or Triple H reveals it to be yet another plot in his devious, sinister long term plan to dethrone Daniel Bryan. As it turned out, nothing ever really happened, and no mention of it happening was ever made again.

For quite some time now, the fans have been complaining about how the product has become abhorrent. WWE, in trying to bring the writers from Hollywood, has lost the essence of logic in its storylines. While the fans clamor for something that is remotely believable, WWE has been testing the patience of its fans.

WWE is a global juggernaut; there is no way WWE can go out of business in the next decade, but that doesn’t mean they completely forget to entwine the storylines properly or completely eliminate the reality aspect from their angles. WWE in the past few years have not done themselves any favours, when they leave a story in the middle and completely ignore that it ever happened.

There are rumours of Vince McMahon making his return to WWE TV to confront his son–in–law and his daughter, and take on the power couple. If that is indeed true, WWE better come up with a plausible explanation. Let us not forget that the whole “Daniel Bryan is not good for business” fiasco started with Vince McMahon and not Triple H.

If WWE brings back the senior McMahon and conveniently forgets that he was the person who initiated the new corporation angle, then that would be yet another attempt by the WWE to test the intelligence (or the lack of) of the WWE Universe, which doesn’t speak too well about the company either.