It was bound to happen. WWE has delivered many great stories over the past three years, but lately, the duds have been accumulating at a faster rate. Fans are starting to notice the sameness of matches and stories. It’s on WWE to remedy this before it becomes a trend and not just a blip.
There isn’t just one aspect of WWE TV that’s feeling stale right now, either. Several aspects of the product feel like we’re just in a holding pattern until WrestleMania season. About the only chances WWE seems to be willing to take these days are in ad placements. It’s hard to ask fans to be patient when you’re expecting them to pay a lot more money to watch WWE.
Interference Everywhere
WWE has long relied on two wrestling tropes more than others: Run-in interference and the surprise roll-up. The latter has been out of hand for years. However, interference has become an outright epidemic in WWE rings in recent months.
Night 2 of SummerSlam didn’t have a single match without stipulations or shenanigans. There were run-ins, heel tactics, or gimmicky craziness in every bout of the night. In a time when WWE loves to boast the most talented roster ever, surely we can squeeze in at least one standard match that can deliver without a gimmick attached.
Weekly television is somehow worse. Go ahead, count the number of times matches end in interference the next time you watch. Sorry in advance for ruining it for you. These patterns aren’t just lazy; they’re an indication that ideas are running low. If you look closely enough, you’ll find another clear sign — the fact that stories are starting to look similar to stories they’ve already told recently.
Seth Rollins’s stable, The Vision, is beginning to suffer from this. The patterns in their early rise are similar to a lot of early Bloodline stuff. Matches where it looks like the leader is beaten, only for interference to ruin the moment for the face. Rollins, like Reigns before him, then takes the opportunity to hit the finisher and steal another victory. It’s a classic heel move, and wouldn’t be a problem if we hadn’t already seen multiple other instances of it on the same show. That’s why it’s getting stale. Not because The Vision is doing it — but because everyone else is, too.
The NWO was massively popular while using a lot of the same tactics almost 30 years ago. What made that group great heels was that they were the only ones in WCW doing those things. It helped elevate their heel status. It also made them a force that you wanted to see get their comeuppance so, so badly. What actually makes The Vision a heel stable? Wearing all black? If you don’t reserve the interference and shady tactics for them, then they’re just three popular wrestlers and the greatest manager of all time. That’s not how I’d describe a heel group.
Congrats To Naomi
Naomi should proceed with happiness, as she and Jimmy Uso announced that they’re expecting their first child. Unfortunately for fans, that means Naomi has to relinquish the Women’s World Championship. From a purely professional standpoint, it’s sad to see Naomi have to step away when she has been so over for the past year. Her current run is by far her best in WWE, and she deserves to be right back at the top when she returns. All of that is irrelevant compared to how happy she looked, though. Congratulations to her, and I can’t wait to see her back in a year or so.
WWE has an opportunity to give the women’s division on Raw more meaning now, though. Many of the women’s wrestling storylines have been unfolding in the backstage areas through interviews or impromptu confrontations lately. They need to be in the ring more, and doing something big to choose an opponent for Stephanie Vaquer will give more of them a chance to shine. I only wish there were another week or two before Clash in Paris so WWE could do a proper tournament and give some of the talent a reset.
The Best Of The Rest
- It turns out that Roman Reigns won’t be gone until the build to Survivor Series after all. His match against Bronson Reed at Clash in Paris should be a lot of fun.
- The work Rusev and Sheamus are doing is fun to watch. I hope the match they have at Clash in Paris pays this off. It’s another gimmick match, so fingers crossed on that.
- Paul Heyman got to gloat about his accomplishments while in Philadelphia. He’s a legend there, so that made me happy. Heyman is truly one of the greatest managers in professional wrestling history. Enjoy him while we have him.
- The Miz calling the Motor City Machine Guns the Motor City Squirt Guns is the absurd wrestling that makes me laugh.
- When Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre finally square off, it should be one of the better matches of the year.
At Least They Tried
- SmackDown was really rough on Friday. I’m rarely bored watching WWE, but I was here. If you need Cody Rhodes or John Cena on every show to keep people interested, then you’re not putting enough time into developing the other great talent you have on Friday nights.
- Why would Sami Zayn just move to SmackDown now? He refused to move there to chase a belt months ago, but now he’s moving to Fridays to… chase a belt? Please have a little more respect for us than that, WWE.
- There is no reason for Carmelo Hayes to continue teaming up with the Miz. His character doesn’t want to, so why is he going along with it? I know it’s to set up the eventual match between them, but this is more lazy storytelling that happens when you don’t develop characters enough.
- It was fun seeing Becky Lynch and Natalya in the ring again, but they’ve had better matches. If you want proof, go watch their SummerSlam in 2019.
WWE Power Rankings
These aren’t about who’s the best — it’s about who had the best week in terms of performance and fun factor. Feel free to disagree.
- Naomi
- Drew McIntyre
- Bayley
- The Bron Brons
- Seth Rollins
- Iyo Sky
- CM Punk
- Roman Reigns
- Sami Zayn
- Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss
