Start with the change in overall philosophy of the company. They are doing better with wrestling talent. NXT was the initial source of a lot of that buzz. The WWE will be doing other specials catered towards wrestling fans on the WWE Network. And the main roster has a number of great wrestlers that are being featured. I mentioned AJ Styles. How about Kevin Owens? People were ready to write him off as buried after he lost his feud against John Cena. He has done pretty well since then. Seth Rollins will likely be featured at a high level when he returns from injury. He was in the midst of a lengthy run with the WWE Championship when he got hurt. There's talent everywhere in the men's division.
Over in the women's division, there have been changes to make things look more respectable. There are still divas. There are still women there primarily for their looks. But female wrestlers are still getting the opportunity to shine. Charlotte appears to be the centerpiece of the new division. I always have to wonder what would have happened if Nikki had not gotten injured. This isn't like Tamina getting injured. Nikki Bella was the centerpiece just last year. Losing her was big. In any case, fans are excited for the new emphasis on wrestling in the women's division.
Despite embracing wrestling like they have, the WWE still has issues. The roster is too full, both the men's and women's rosters. And it is just going to get more crowded when guys return from injury and more debut from NXT. It is even worse in the women's division. How can you have so many women in the roster and only have one legitimate women's feud going? Maryse and Lana have periphery angles, but there are still other women not being featured well at all. The WWE needs to improve there. It is inefficient. Who cares about that? It is annoying to fans of these women and likely can get irritating for the women too. It gets even worse when dirtsheets come up with dumb reasons why these women are not treated better. The atmosphere may be more respectable than it used to be, but the WWE has to utilize all this talent better.
Roman Reigns is the new centerpiece. This is not just a filler push because Cena took time off to do something else and got injured soon after returning. While Cena can be moved out to the kind of role Shawn Michaels had in his last run with the WWE, Roman Reigns is the new guy. He has already had three runs with the WWE Championship. If he stays healthy, he should be able to get to ten in a few years. His character isn't exactly the same as Cena's. You would think fans might appreciate that. No, they hate him. Some might say he is more hated than Cena. And yet, the WWE will stick with him. The best you can hope for is they turn him heel one day.
Consider the direction the overall product is going and consider the centerpiece choice. Does it really fit? The centerpiece should either be someone that best represents what you want your company to be about or someone that energizes the company. The WWE is making a lot of decisions that would please wrestling fans, but they pick a centerpiece that is not a great, respected wrestler and just irritates wrestling fans. It just does not seem to be a smart choice. Just because Roman Reigns gets loud boos a lot of the time does not mean he energizes the product. The WWE sells Roman Reigns as the leader of the new era, but he really may not be the best representative of this era. Is the WWE making a lot of these decisions that please wrestling fans just in hopes that they lighten up on Roman Reigns. That might not work the way they hope.
The centerpiece choice in the women's division is also questionable. Charlotte is not that over. She is obviously in the position she is in because of who her father is. Not a nice thing to say, but speaking realistically, just being a solid in-ring worker is not enough to get the kind of push she is getting. And she doesn't have much else going for her as a performer. A lot of fans would rather Sasha Banks get the push. I wonder what happens if Charlotte suffers some serious injury. The WWE has fumbled over the years when their centerpiece in the diva division went down. What happens if one of the divas still there now becomes solid enough in the ring? Revert back to a diva status quo? If these changes in the women's division hinge mainly on Charlotte, then things can easily become terrible again. Of course, all the WWE has to do is send two great in-ring workers out there and let them steal the show and wrestling fans won't care about anything else.
Is The Authority dead? Fans complained about them ruining Raw for years. Shane McMahon to save the day? Stephanie McMahon is also back from a few weeks off after getting speared by Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania. Triple H has yet to return after losing the title. The Authority isn't fully gone. One of the reasons that group became irritating was because of the bickering within the stable. It just became annoying. With Shane and Stephanie both running things, things can get annoying again. And there will eventually be some kind of angle to oust one McMahon. Is that when The Authority retake full control? Overall, I would not say this new era has really changed much as far as authority figures go.
I do not think the WWE has reacted well to fan criticism. For years, the WWE treated "wrestling" like it was a bad word. People accused Vince McMahon of being out of touch. They pointed the finger to John Laurinaitis. Then Kevin Dunn. Well, the WWE has now given these fans a lot of things they want. Not everything. A heel turn or depush for Roman Reigns and push for Sasha Banks are probably the only two things these fans seriously want. Nevertheless, between NXT and changes to the main roster, the WWE has given these fans a lot.
You ever have someone accuse you of not listening to them? It isn't because you are too busy listening to Miley Cyrus on the radio. You can hear them. You are just not agreeing with them or don't want to do what they want you to do.
After years of fans accusing the WWE of not listening to them, the WWE has just started giving them a lot of the things they want. I do not think that is the right thing to do. Listen to them, give what they want a fair opportunity, incorporate it into your own way of doing things, and see if it works. I do not think the WWE has done a great job of that. Look at AJ Styles. He debuts a few months ago and the WWE already treats him like he's established. He has not broken out like CM Punk or Daniel Bryan did. The WWE either needs to do a better job of helping him do that or he needs to step up and connect with that wider audience his own way. You can also look at lot of guys that just debut from NXT and are treated like people already know who they are. A lot of people don't.
The problem with listening to these vocal wrestling fans is that they are really not representative of all fans out there. Just because they are getting certain things to trend on Twitter does not mean they are really that popular. The WWE cannot get fooled by listening to these fans. They still have to do what they do to make and feature stars. I think they have just started to lose their way with that a bit. Wrestling is not as popular as vocal wrestling fans will lead the WWE to believe. The WWE still needs star power, entertaining storylines, and an overall entertaining and exciting atmosphere. The WWE still has a lot to improve on, and let's not forget their issue of not giving all workers fair opportunities to earn better spots for themselves.
I would say the decline in ratings will continue. Some people say ratings don't matter. Ratings are still an indicator. The WWE's lifeblood is their network? That's all they care about? Well, what is the big draw for the WWE Network? There is a reason Wrestlemania season typically sees the most subscribers. People want to see the big event. And the WWE still builds and promotes their PPVs mainly on Raw and Smackdown, not really on the WWE Network. The WWE can do all these cruiserweight specials and whatever else do please wrestling fans, but isn't the archives and NXT enough to please them? What do they need to do to get the wider audience interested enough to keep subscribing? You need to sell those PPVs. That's where big matches happen and storylines reach their climax or get taken to a new level. And if Raws and Smackdown are not interesting these fans, what are the chances they will subscribe?
The WWE really does need to stop focusing so much on wrestling fans. They are pushing away a lot of other fans. It is not just the decline in ratings. If they did a great job in bringing these fans in, they would be likely to subscribe to the WWE Network, as I mentioned, buy tickets to events, buy merchandise, and just really help the WWE make even more money. Does the WWE not want their money? Vocal wrestling fans will give money to the WWE even if the WWE irritates them. Other fans will just lose interest and change the channel. If the WWE doesn't please that wider audience, they will have to raise prices, add more commercials to the network, have to add more shows, which will result in workers working more and increase the possibility of injury, make pay cuts, possibly start releasing people again, and all those other decisions that will be needed to make more money and cut costs. This may not be a great era for the WWE, although wrestling fans seem excited.
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