By Ciaran James@TheCiaranJames
What does the future hold for WWE, after the recent Q1 financial reports, many were left quizzed over Vince’s explanation of the current state of the company. It’s clear that WWE right now is in a creative slump, talent is squandered, storylines don’t stick, the wrong people are pushed, and the content overall is of a poor quality. The viewership in the US is dropping week by week, ratings decline hour to hour, yet Vince see’s the silver lining of financial deals with Saudi Arabia and FOX TV. The FOX agreement is the pinnacle of a wrestling tv deal, I don’t think the NWA or Vince McMahon Sr ever imagined such deals could ever happen, and it will also be the last major one.
WWE were extremely lucky that the popularity of Becky Lynch and Kofi Kingston grew, otherwise WrestleMania might not have been the huge success it was. Yes, there were other factors, but overall the storylines of the women’s triple threat and Kofi’s journey to glory fuelled the event in the final weeks. In the aftermath the quality of content has dropped even further, Robert Roode shaved and beat one of their brightest prospects, The Uso’s secretly filmed the Revival shaving and on top of that Baron Corbin has been favoured as the top heel on Raw. Is this really the type of content that draws fans to watch, keeps them tuned in and overall makes them pay for the Network. The 3-hour run time has been a killer for the whole creative division, the exposure of talent for that long week after week, having to create fresh matches and promos is draining. The key to keeping characters fresh is to limit their exposure, treat them as a special attraction, hype their appearances, with the depth of talent WWE has this is not difficult.
Roman Reigns is by WWE’s standards a big star, however to get him there and tell his story they devalued one of their biggest commodities in Brock Lesnar. In 2019 Brock Lesnar is still one of their biggest draws, he’s an MMA and Wrestling legend and skilled ring tactician, unfortunately WWE managed to brainwash the masses. The biggest mistake they made was portraying Lesnar as the self-serving, money grabbing superstar, they attempted to ruin their greatest commodity. The truth is, Brock’s wrestles the way WWE want him to, he appears as per the contract they agreed, he wins and loses in accordance with their decision, he even blows up backstage per their request for their Network documentaries. But make no mistake, the big TV companies want the biggest most bankable wrestlers on their channels, and Lesnar fits their idea. And in 2019 Vince nods to the demands of the TV executives, why, because it’s best for business.
Some will argue that the wrestlers now are not like the stars of yesteryear, true we haven’t got the Stone Cold’s, Rock’s or Mankind’s; however, the talent now is far superior. The standard of wrestling now is as high as it’s ever been, and it’s only getting higher, the problem is WWE don’t know how to sell that product once it hits the main roster. The Revival, Ricochet, Andrade Almas and even EC3 are bankable talents that the audience want to believe in, but if the company portrays them as a joke then in turn the audience do. Take for example the men’s money in the bank match, Strowman, Corbin, Orton, three acts who are overrated, boring and past their prime. Think of the excitement levels of MITB if Adam Cole, Aleister Black and Velveteen Dream were to take part, after weeks of decent build and if belief was put into their characters. These are ready made, bankable wrestlers who have a direct connection to the audience, and especially the diehard fans who’ve followed their careers from the independents.
Another factor that can be contributed to the drop-in fan interest is the Saudi Arabia deal, WWE went from screaming at the top of their lungs about the “Greatest Royal Rumble” to only muttering the words of “Crown Jewel” last November. Decline of the audience in November can be attributed to the Kamal Khashoggi murder controversy, add to that Saudi Arabia’s treatment of homosexuals, women and suspected links to terrorist organisations and you have very muddy waters and dissatisfied fans. Another factor with the Saudi super shows was the inclusion of big names, Undertaker, Kane, Triple H and even Shawn Michaels came out of retirement to the behest of Saudi princes. The fact that Undertaker and Shawn Michaels appeared at Crown Jewel and not a US big show such as WrestleMania and Summerslam, further exposes their greed and that maybe US flagship shows aren’t worth their time. Surely a WrestleMania return for HBK has far more meaning than a one-off appearance for money, but then this year Goldberg is the name signed to appear.
The biggest question now is what happens to WWE’s lucrative one-billion-dollar contract with FOX if viewership continues to decline? In the US especially, television programmes can be cancelled if the viewers don’t tune in, therefore what happens if Smackdown’s ratings are not above what FOX considers acceptable. Obviously, FOX will do all they can to promote and market WWE programming, they won’t take drastic action just yet, after all it’s yet to debut on their channel. Between the FOX TV deal and the Saudi agreement, WWE right now are sitting very pretty and are about to become ever richer. With the financial clout they now have, WWE have no excuse for not purchasing the best talent to improve their content, but then again, NXT I’m sure works perfectly well on a much smaller budget. There are arguments that Triple H should take over creative control of the main roster, it’s a fair argument but we all must remember that Triple H creates one hour of TV a week. Based on the success of NXT, why not give Triple H the reigns, he can’t do worse than Vince in 2019.
