“Now I’m the old bastard walking the hall. I look at these young kids and, I don’t know. Someone needs to step up. Get over. Figure out how to put asses in seats and not worry about your next high spot. Figure out, ‘how the hell can I be different. How the hell can I make money?’ That’s the business.”
Brock Lesnar made the above statement on the Pat McAfee show. Reading between the lines it tells us there’s slight frustration. As a veteran, Lesnar would love to see the young kids getting over, because he feels some sense of responsibility to motivate them. However, I feel like WWE Superstars have never had to work in a more stifled environment than they do now.
Speak up and you’re ignored. Don’t speak up and you’re lazy. Be a team player, but look out for yourself. Break through the glass ceiling, only to fall through a crumbling floor. It’s the age old scenario of damned if you do, damned if you don’t. The exceptions are those at the top of the food chain who can do no wrong. Only the most valued players have any stroke, because they know WWE needs to keep them sweet. Management only released those they didn’t feel were worthy, so the remaining are who they want to keep.
Before I began writing this, I looked at WWE’s main roster for a while. From the names, I picked out those who I believe are the exceptions. Let’s call them “A-tier Superstars”. They may not be around all the time, but WWE treats them like royalty when they are. Vince McMahon would love nothing more than to promote them every week. You can tell they are important because of how animated the commentary team becomes. This list isn’t an exact science. You can add or remove any names you want. This isn’t about who is in it, but what they represent.
A-Tier Superstars
– Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair & Randy Orton are the full-time pillars of WWE. Maybe Orton hasn’t been champion lately, but he is the most consistent because creative always has something for him. Reigns, Lynch & Flair are never away from the title picture. No one else is on their level in WWE’s eyes. This isn’t about me liking them more than another, this is about taking logic and applying it. They are never made to look weak. In defeat, WWE always makes it look like they got screwed over.
– This is where most fans see a problem. There are so many legends who WWE like to call upon, and 99 times out of 100, they get a title shot just by asking for it. Goldberg. Edge. Lita. Trish Stratus. Ronda Rousey. John Cena. The Rock. WWE has picked up this unhealthy habit of calling back an old name whenever they need to make something look bigger. Ticket sales low for WrestleMania? Bring back Cena & The Rock. Roman Reigns has no one to wrestle at Elimination Chamber? Call Goldberg. Becky Lynch has no credible challengers. Who can we get? Lita will do it.
What happens when you bring back old/part-timers and give them title shots without earning it?
1) It kills the credibility of your roster. Imagine if during The Attitude Era, Vince McMahon brought back Bruno Sammartino to challenge Steve Austin for the title? While he has The Rock, The Undertaker, Mankind, Triple H, Big Show, Kane, and so many others he could work with? Why bring back someone who hasn’t wrestled in years? It undermines the current stars to rely on those well past their primes. The WWE Universe is being told that this generation isn’t better than the last. Or even worse, that MMA fighters make better wrestlers than those who dedicate their entire lives to the craft.
2) Only Reigns, Lynch & Flair are former NXT stars, meaning WWE’s development system is still struggling to break through in to the top tier. The previous generation is holding them down, because WWE loves the nostalgic feeling of everything smelling like flowers and rainbows. Remember the old days of the 90s? Wow yeah, I remember! They were the best days. Screw the 2020s, let’s make sure we live forever in the 90s.
3) Goldberg rocks up and says Roman Reigns… you’re next! Lita strolls in to the ring and politely implies she would like a shot against Becky Lynch. While these matches look fun on a fantasy booking sheet, there’s little to be desired by how they are instigated. What did they do to deserve these opportunities? Absolutely nothing. Yes, they are legends, but does that entitle them to automatic title shots? It seems so, although this issue has been present in WWE for decades. This won’t be news to some, but to others it may get you thinking. Let’s bold this statement for dramatic effect.
Wins & Losses Do Not Matter
The only exception are title matches, because people care about a championship changing hands. That’s the only time WWE cares about who wins and why. Any other time? Forget about it. You could be on a 100-0 winning streak on Main Event and get no title shot, while Curt Hawkins gets it because fans cheered his losing streak. WWE does not care who wins or loses, it only cares about taking advantage of reactions.
When WWE doesn’t know who should challenge a champion, it goes looking elsewhere. There’s only so many times you can put Roman Reigns over current talent before it gets repetitive. WWE has lost the art of creating intriguing feuds spanning months, so a champion can wrestle their rival many times without fans getting bored with it. WWE builds no one up with enough credibility to make it so fans believe they stand a chance. Take Cesaro for example. He had some wins over Seth Rollins, but who seriously thought he would beat Reigns for the title? I sure didn’t.
Also, WWE has lost the art of competitive #1 contender matches. They are so infrequent that we’re more likely to see superstars requesting title shots than earning them. Remember when Finn Balor challenged Roman Reigns? He didn’t earn it, but Reigns accepted it because he needed something to do. This makes Finn Balor look like a chump. He never earned the shot, so nobody ever thought he would actually beat Reigns. The predictable result makes it a forgettable match for the Universal title. Sometimes even title matches mean nothing, because the way they were set up was hollow, like a dead tree.
B-Tier Superstars
This is the hardest to decide because WWE changes its mind on who it likes on a weekly basis. Again, it’s not about who is here, but what the list represents.
Seth Rollins. AJ Styles. Rey Mysterio. Sasha Banks. The New Day. Drew McIntyre. Bayley. Bobby Lashley. The Usos.
What do they have in common? They have had much success, but are never considered the pinnacle. The New Day is only here as a group, while The Usos are arguably the tag team WWE cares about the most. The majority worked their way through NXT or FCW. They are ready to stand in if the pillars need replacing for any reason.
Breaking out of the B-tier is harder than you think. Remember how tough it was for Daniel Bryan? The WWE Universe had to force Vince McMahon’s hand. It takes a monumental effort from the fans to make management promote a B-tier. There is a definite structure to WWE’s booking, which can be figured out with long-time viewing. Unlike the 90s, when there was more flexibility, WWE doesn’t like to push anyone too hard unless it chooses them and puts in the work.
It cannot stand superstars getting over by accident, like Zack Ryder with his YouTube show, or Fandango’s entrance music going viral. Management shuts this down because it only wants to promote what it can control. Its rigid, steadfast approach makes it so superstars rarely get over organically. Rarely will someone get over by accident and WWE accepts it. Remember when Nia Jax broke Becky Lynch’s face? The aftermath saw a surge of popularity for her, and WWE took advantage because it would be stupid to ignore the opportunity to make money.
The key thing to take away is that B-tier superstars are hanging on to the cliff. They desperately want to make the next step, but they need someone at the top to extend out their hand because they can’t make it on their own. There is no jetpack. No teleporters. You can’t cheat your way up there. Management will let you up when it decides there is space for you, and if you don’t like it? You can fall down in to oblivion, and they won’t look to see if you survived, because you didn’t want to be a “team player”.
Start/Stop
Momentum is important in wrestling. If you want to make stars, they need to be made in to a big deal. Not just by winning the top prize once, but several times. They should showcase superstars as credible threats, no matter what they have done lately.
While seeking new stars, WWE has gone through what I call many “Start/Stop” programs. What this means is that WWE takes a mid-carder, pushes them heavily (sometimes out of nowhere), and books them to become WWE or Universal Champion. You’re already thinking of names, aren’t you? Good, because here’s a list of some:
WWE Champions – Dean Ambrose, Jinder Mahal, AJ Styles, Big E & Kofi Kingston
Universal – Finn Balor, Kevin Owens & Braun Strowman
Women’s – Carmella, Naomi, Rhea Ripley & Nikki A.S.H
From this list of names, only AJ Styles & Naomi won their titles twice (close together), while the rest claimed theirs once. When I say mid-carder, I didn’t mean that to be disrespectful. I’m just saying that no one here was on top of the mountain before they set out on their dreams of becoming champion.
The pattern here is that all these names went from being champion to being just another superstar shortly after losing it. AJ Styles is the only one who had a credible run, but even he got lost in the shuffle. Yes, he was helping Omos, but he’s one of the best in the world. Should he really be used to get others over, before he gets too old to be on top? Some may say he is being wasted, and I wouldn’t disagree with that statement.
Now, did Jinder Mahal deserve to win the title? It’s highly debatable, but this isn’t a list about who should have got a push. The point is to show that WWE has tried and failed to push new stars because of hot shot booking. What does that mean? It means WWE did not build up to these moments. Had WWE built up Jinder Mahal over six months? His title victory would not have been shocking, but at least it would have been accepted. The same goes for Braun Strowman randomly going over Goldberg. WWE did little to follow up on how dominant Strowman was over him, like it completely forgot how they made him champion.
The New Day boys of Big E and Kofi Kingston were popular champions upon their victories, but the booking of their title reigns lacked focus. It doesn’t help Big E when he has to lose to Roman Reigns at Survivor Series, nor does it help Kofi Kingston when he loses the title to Brock Lesnar in a matter of seconds. It feels like WWE gave them a participation award, like a grand thank you gift for the years of service. After holding the WWE title for a while, they were quickly pushed back in to The New Day slot again, like nothing happened.
Then you have the women. If you’re not Ronda Rousey or one of The Four Horsewomen (Lynch/Flair/Banks/Bayley), good luck getting opportunities. Ever since WWE introduced the Raw & SmackDown women’s titles, these five women have dominated the divisions. There’s very little room for career progression in this so-called women’s revolution. WWE is content pushing the same women repeatedly, because it’s easy to stick with what you know, then to push an unproven commodity. Only Bianca Belair is creeping through, but even she will find it tough to get on top and remain there.
Start-Stops aren’t a new thing, but WWE used to be more careful with who they pushed. Rarely would you get a champion who isn’t over, but these days, it feels like WWE is putting titles on superstars to get them over. That’s not how it works! The title does not make the superstar, it’s the superstar who makes the title.
Presentation
With production, no one holds a candle to WWE. Decades of experience means WWE has the slickest operation in town. Not just with the lighting, but costume designs, video packages, and many other things. However, there are a few things WWE hasn’t been getting right, and it started a long time ago.
Entrances – We know when WWE wants to make a spectacular entrance, it will pull out all the stops. They are usually reserved for marquee events like WrestleMania, but this isn’t what I want to discuss. The issue is that so many regular entrances are unimaginative. Not everyone is going to come down like The Undertaker, but at least give everyone something that makes them unique.
What makes this worse is the music. The quality of entrance themes has declined severely since they let Jim Johnston go. Some superstars are desperately in need of something better. When you want to make stars, the entrance is everything. Anyone who appreciated Karrion Kross in NXT will know what I mean. We know WWE can produce amazing entrances, but it chooses not to. Remember how long we had to wait every time Triple H entered? What would The Game be without that entrance? Or Shawn Michaels without “Sexy Boy”? How about Stone Cold Steve Austin without the glass shatter?
Catchphrases – Can you smell what The Rock is cooking? It’s time to play the game. I’m the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. What you’re gonna do brother?! Rest in peace. And that’s the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so.
What happened to the catchphrase? Seriously, look through the WWE roster and see who actually has a catchphrase. And no, them saying “I’m the legit boss”, or “I’m the queen” is not a catchphrase, it’s just them telling us what their nickname is. Anything that is not them reminding us of their nickname could be a catchphrase, like for example, Goldberg saying “You’re Next!”
Catchphrases are important in wrestling because it gives superstars character. It gives the fans something to quote. We can chant it along with them as they say it, whether we are there in person or sat at home. It’s a severely underutilized gimmick that has somehow been lost on many, especially in WWE. Not only does it help promos, but you can stick it on a shirt and sell it.
Overexposure – I have said this before several times. Just in case you didn’t already know, overexposure is a difficult thing to manage in WWE. Like anything with life, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Raw is three hours. SmackDown is two hours. PPVs often run 3-4 hours. Then there’s NXT, Main Event, and any network specials. We’re given no time to miss WWE Superstars, because they are bound to be on every week. There are plenty of opportunities, so over time we may find we don’t care for them as much, because they have not given us the chance to miss them in any capacity.
It’s like chocolate ice cream. What if you had one of those say, once a month? Sounds nice. How about once a week? Even better. Now, what if it was every day? Try having one every single day for a year. It would be great at first, but you’d soon find that you aren’t appreciating it as much because it has become a certainty. Becoming overly familiar with anything will naturally make us more inclined to think negatively about it. We can’t just appreciate it for what it is, because it turned from being a treat in to a daily chore.
There’s also the fact that superstars getting guaranteed airtime creates less urgency to impress. If you’re new, you’re doing everything you can to make an impact. Those who have been doing it for years and know they will be on the show every week, they won’t care as much, because it has become routine to them. For WWE Superstars, it’s like having chocolate ice cream every day. There’s nothing motivating them to become more than they are, because what they have done has got them this far. Why go above and beyond when you’re already getting paid loads to do what you always wanted to do?
Sadly, there isn’t much that can be done about overexposure, other than trying to rotate superstars more often. WWE will never backtrack on the amount of airtime, so it is what it is.
Moments
The single biggest thing WWE can do to make new stars is create moments. When we think of Stone Cold Steve Austin, we think of King of the Ring, Vince McMahon, the Zamboni, the beer truck, and many other fun times. We rarely think about the matches first, but we appreciate them differently. WWE’s biggest stars didn’t get over because of their matches, but they were important in cementing their credibility as wrestlers and athletes.
I feel like the current generation of superstar is sorely lacking in memorable moments. You need these for character building, otherwise no one cares if Wrestler A works with Wrestler B. This isn’t professional wrestling, it’s sports-entertainment, so WWE needs to do what it sets out to do. I’ll say that it has gotten better in the past few years, but like previously mentioned, there’s much more that could be done. When Brock Lesnar has to remind the superstars of what the business is, it tells me he doesn’t really know what it’s like to be in their position.
Lesnar had it handed to him on a plate from the off. He never had to prove himself because he’s a freak of nature. Just being Brock Lesnar got him in to that spot, so he doesn’t know what it’s like to work from the bottom. He knows about moments though, because he had plenty in his first run. Lesnar knows how to be a character, and how to sell when it matters. There is much he could teach other superstars, but it’s harder for them to break through in today’s WWE than he thinks.
There is more I could have talked about, but I think this is enough. I’d like to know how you feel about superstars breaking through in today’s WWE. Do any of them have what it takes to be the next top superstar? Are we destined for the same old nostalgia acts taking opportunities from full-timers? And will the NXT 2.0 revamp have any say in the matter? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments and thank you for reading! See you again.
Also Read: The Ultimate Guide to Wrestler’s Court
