I want to talk more about one of the WWE's big problems these days. The midcard just seems non-existent. It is rare to see a proper midcard feud. A lot of great things can happen in the midcard, but it just isn't right now.
The big reason for the terrible treatment of the midcard is that there are too many top guys. That is to say, too many former World Champions. There is no written rule that a person that wins a top title automatically becomes a priority. Jack Swagger was certainly pushed inconsistently even after his World Championship win. Regardless, these days, the WWE is trying to keep former World Champions relevant.
And where are they keeping them relevant? The main-event scene can only hold so many people. These guys just have to spill out in other areas. And that is what is going on. The Intercontinental Championship has been held by former World Champions for over a year now. The United States Championship has been held by former World Champions for almost a full year now. Look who is holding the tag titles on Raw, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, two former World Champions.
It is like the WWE cannot find a way to keep these top guys relevant unless they are chasing or holding a title. Dean Ambrose transitioned into an Intercontinental Championship feud not too long after losing the WWE Championship. After AJ Styles lost the title, he had a brief feud with Shane McMahon, but then found himself in another title feud, this time for the United States Championship. How about Kevin Owens losing the Universal Championship and quickly getting the United States Championship? I don't criticize the writers as much as most fans, but the writers have to come up with ways to keep these guys relevant without giving them midcard title feuds. In a lot of cases, the feuds just lack much creativity. They are lazy.
What are other former World Champions doing? They are getting feuds with guys that you would consider midcarders. But in a lot of cases, it seems like a lot of these midcarders are only there to put over these former World Champions. Look at Rusev and the amount of jobbing he has done in the last year to Roman Reigns, John Cena, and Randy Orton. I am not saying the guy should be a World Champion. That would only make things harder to manage. I am saying the guy should be used as a proper midcarder. Even if he beats these top guys, what is the point if the WWE has no intention to follow through. Rusev doesn't get elevated and a top guy just jobbed for no reason.
Aside from midcarders just used as jobbers to the stars, there are a couple of them that do not even feel like midcarders. Call them upper-midcarders, then. I am talking about guys that are being groomed to potentially be World Champions or big deals. Jason Jordan looked like one of those guys, unless his push flopping hurts him. I have seen some people talk about Big Cass like he was going to be a main-eventer. He's injured. And you can't even consider Nakamura as a midcarder. He's already someone that feels like he will be a top guy. The same with Bobby Roode. These guys have not even held a World Championship on the main roster, but they are still priorities.
With so much time taken up, where do the midcarders shine? Time has to go for the World Champions, the women, the tag division, possibly the cruiserweights, and then all these priorities I just mentioned. If the midcarders aren't working with top stars, whether as jobbers to the stars or to be groomed as stars, they likely won't get anything or will soon get lost in the shuffle. These guys are pushed more as upper-midcarders. The actual midcard is poor. There are guys that can be pushed there that belong there, but they are not utilized right.
Aside from possible backstage issues, this is why a lot of guys are mistreated. It is like the WWE is performing triage, determining the priorities of their roster, and the ones left over don't just include old jobbers like Goldust. They include guys that some wrestling fans want to see pushed, like Luke Harper. Even guys that do reportedly have backstage issues might get camera time, like Enzo. For now, however, that's in the cruiserweight division. What about guys who are not so lucky? Creative just has nothing for them.
Continuing to hand out too many World Championships to new wrestlers does not make the problem easier. That just creates more priorities. I have seen people talk about how having former World Champions like Miz and AJ Styles hold midcard titles elevates the titles. It seems to elevate these titles out of the reach of midcarders. It also seems to lead to midcarders getting treated poorly. I have also seen fans complain about multi-man matches. With all these priorities, the WWE has to do it. Throw in the fact that the WWE isn't high on annual mass releases anymore, and they are usually unlikely to release former World Champions, unless they do something to get fired or want to be released. Too many people to manage.
It is sad these days that some people cannot appreciate someone getting a push without a title needing to be involved, especially in the midcard. Create some entertaining gimmicks. Create some intriguing storylines. Just run with it. There are all these gimmicks coming up from NXT. In a lot of cases, instead of the gimmicks shining, it is either about using the person as a jobber or immediately hyping them up to be a star. Creative interest matters more than hype for midcarders. And they are not getting it.
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