10 Things WWE Needs To Stop Doing Immediately
Less Bray Wyatt BS would be a start...
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00:00While WWE, under the stewardship of Triple H, is a vastly superior beast to the WWE seen
00:06under the maniacal reign of Vince McMahon's final few years, there are still plenty of
00:10problems with the present day WWE, and that's what we're looking at here.
00:13So with that in mind then, I'm Andrew from Raw Culture Wrestling, and here are 10 things
00:17WWE needs to stop doing immediately.
00:19Number 10, Hit Row on the Main Roster
00:22Clearly, some of Triple H's rehires of 2022 and 2023 have been better than others, but
00:29few acts have failed to click on any sort of level as much as Hit Row.
00:35In the group's previous iteration in NXT, and on the main roster briefly, it was Isaiah
00:40Swerve's Scott who was the focal point of the group, with B-Fab, Top Dolla, and Ashanti
00:45The Adonis serving as decent supporting players to Swerve's undeniable star power.
00:49Now, of course, Swerve can these days be found in AEW under his Swerve Strickling guise,
00:54and the remaining trio of Hit Row have floundered in Swerve's absence.
00:57As a hand-slapping, energetic babyface act, fans didn't give a damn about Hit Row upon
01:02the three's return to the company back in August.
01:05It was a little bit sad and slightly uncomfortable to hear Fab, Dolla, and Adonis put their all
01:10into their pre-match raps, only for those raps to play out to an apathetic crowd.
01:15Many had suggested that some of Hit Row's problems could be served by turning the three
01:18heel, and just such a turn played out towards the end of last year.
01:22Unfortunately though, the act is still an awful one that garners minimal reaction.
01:27In fairness, Ashanti The Adonis is a decent in-ring worker, B-Fab has something, but Top
01:32Dolla?
01:33He just carries himself on screen and on social media as if he's the second coming of the
01:38rock.
01:39And not in a, ooh, what a cocky heel way, the way you'd love to see Top Dolla get
01:42his ass handed to him by a babyface, but more in a, seriously mate, have a word with yourself
01:46way.
01:47As babyfaces, Hit Row have sucked.
01:49As heels, Hit Row continue to suck.
01:51The best option right now would be to send the entire trio back down to NXT to work on
01:55their craft in the hope of finding something that clicks with audiences.
01:59If not, Hit Row's return to WWE may be a rather short one.
02:03While there's clear plus points to WWE having tiered pricing options for their WWE Network
02:12and their Peacock service, there are so many times during the Premium Live event where
02:15those who pay the most for this service are left twiddling their thumbs as yet another
02:20bunch of countless promo spots and montages play.
02:23For those who opt to pay $4.99 to watch content through Peacock, that price point comes with
02:28the inclusion of adverts.
02:30The problem here, though, is what the viewing experience is like for those who choose to
02:33pay the higher fee of $9.99 to watch ad-free action.
02:38With WWE not wanting anything of note to happen during Peacock's ad breaks, that means that
02:42Premium Live events are basically put on pause.
02:46So to fill that time, the $9.99 subscribers find their screens filled with nothing video
02:50packages designed to spotlight Bobby Lashley or Charlotte Flair or promote an upcoming
02:56event, for no particular reason other than there's broadcast time that needs taking
02:59up.
03:00Obviously those watching on demand can skip through any such montages, but it makes for
03:04a somewhat jarring viewing experience for anyone tuning in live to watch a Premium Live
03:09event.
03:108.
03:11So much of the NXT daftness
03:13Sure, NXT these days is far removed from the glory of the feigned black and gold days,
03:18but the product is also better right now than it was when NXT 2.0 was in full flow.
03:24And while there is absolutely a place in pro wrestling for a good old dollop of daftness,
03:29NXT needs to drop what percentage of such daftness can be viewed on its weekly programming.
03:34One has to remember, NXT is technically a developmental ground, designed for talents
03:38to hone their craft and learn the WWE style.
03:42It's also a developmental ground in terms of a particular talent being afforded the
03:45opportunity to flesh out a character or gimmick.
03:49Still, at the end of the day, NXT is televised to a worldwide audience, and so what's seen
03:54on those broadcasts does and should matter in terms of perception.
03:58Case in point, a recent episode of NXT opened with a very solid 15 minute TV match between
04:03Tyler Bate and Grayson Waller.
04:05For those impressed by the in-ring action delivered between Bate and Waller, they were
04:09then left rolling their eyes by a segment involving a 22 year old virgin getting a lesson
04:15in how to kiss a girl.
04:16This same episode later had Apollo Crews writing in his diary.
04:19The Aheo was freaked out by four jobbers in dreadful masks, there was a pantomime villain
04:24voice note from Isla Dawn, we had a security guard learning how to wrestle, a couple of
04:28tag teams played pool and racked up a comedy bar bill, and we got the aforementioned 22
04:33year old virgin getting giddy on Twitter before having his big moment ruined.
04:38Way, way too much daftness.
04:41While it's nowadays ridiculous to see poor Excalibur have to rattle through a multitude
04:48of matchup announcements in a short amount of time over on AEW programming, Tony Khan's
04:53promotion should absolutely be commended for how they have their Dynamite and Rampage lineups
04:58in place weeks ahead of time.
05:00For WWE, it's completely the polar opposite to AEW when it comes to having upcoming shows
05:05mapped out and to letting its audience know what to expect.
05:09As an example, a recent AEW Dynamite was already planned out a week in advance with fans knowing
05:15that they'd be tuning in the following week to see an 8-man tag match, a Hangman Adam
05:19Page vs. Kip Sabian match, Jungle Boy vs. Brian Cage, Mark Briscoe vs. Josh Woods, Tony
05:24Storm vs. Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho, and Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Roosh and
05:30Preston Vance.
05:32It was revealed that Wardlow would be sitting down to talk to Jim Ross, Adam Cole would
05:35be interviewed by Rene Paquette, and there'd be an appearance from AEW World Champion MJF.
05:41In WWE's case, you'll be lucky if you get two matches announced for either Raw or
05:45Smackdown and even then, such announcements are often made online on the day of the show.
05:51How bushy does it look on a kayfabe level when so many matches are conveniently put
05:55together as Raw is in process?
05:57As in, if Wrestler A didn't unexpectedly come out to interrupt Wrestler B and set up
06:01a contrived singles bout, what exactly did WWE management have planned to take up Raw's
06:07three hours?
06:08It makes no sense.
06:096. Stop allowing Road Dogg to do his podcast
06:14For many wrestling fans, wrestling podcasts are part of their weekly or daily routine.
06:19While there's clearly our own fantastic WhatCulture wrestling podcast output, there's
06:23a whole array of other great content out there too.
06:26Be that from outlets such as the Wrestling Observer to podcasts from those within the
06:30industry like Dax Harwood, Jim Ross, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Eric Bischoff, Arn Anderson,
06:35Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash and the man many love to hate, James E. Cornette.
06:39And then, well, there's Road Dogg.
06:41Yes, Bruce Prichard may currently have his own podcast and be an active WWE Senior Vice
06:47President, but at least Prichard's podchatter doesn't particularly impact WWE.
06:51For the Road Dogg, Brian James, his podcast often seems to conflict with his present-day
06:56role as WWE Senior Vice President of Live Events.
07:00Case in point here, the DOWG's podcast comments about Dax Harwood have reignited a beef between
07:06both men.
07:07Of course, this being the one and the same Dax Harwood whose AEW contract is expiring
07:11in April and who has very publicly addressed that he and Cash Wheeler returning to WWE
07:17is a very real option for the pair right now.
07:19Would Diggs and half-arsed apologies from Road Dogg be enough for a talent to turn down
07:24WWE?
07:25Likely not, but it's still something which could be a factor where the free agent is
07:28weighing up the various options and destinations available to them these days.
07:32If you're going to have any WWE VP do their own weekly podcast, why not give William Regal
07:38a nudge to restart his gentleman villain pod?
07:40You know, as in a polite, professional, humble icon of the business.
07:445.
07:45THE MAJOR LACK OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
07:48Mia Yim and Piper Niven are two extremely capable, talented wrestlers.
07:52So why did the pair's recent match on Raw play out to utter crickets at Brooklyn's
07:57Barclays Center?
07:58Clearly, the fact that Yim and Niven were given less than three minutes to impress is
08:02of course one issue, but more problematic is that audiences haven't been given a reason
08:06to care about either individual.
08:09What do we know about the Mia Yim character since she's returned to WWE?
08:12Okay, she's buddies with AJ Styles and the Good Brothers, and she likes to go by the
08:16Meacham nickname.
08:17Great.
08:18As for Niven, she thankfully dropped the do-drop gimmick when she returned to WWE programming
08:23at the Royal Rumble.
08:24But what's the kayfabe reason for Piper to revert to her former moniker, and why was
08:29now the time to do so?
08:30All that we know from WWE TV is that Niven is a heel, and that's about it.
08:35For fans to be invested in a wrestler, they need a reason to care.
08:39You look at any even half-over current act, and there's clear-cut characteristics on
08:43display.
08:44This is far from just the problem with Mia Yim and Piper Niven, don't get that confused,
08:47but there are numerous members of the Raw and Smackdown rosters who lack any sort of
08:51true character definition right now, and until that is rectified, those talents will continue
08:56to struggle to connect with audiences.
08:59The monotonous opening promo format.
09:02Promo trains are nothing new to the wrestling business, and they certainly aren't a problem
09:05unique to WWE, but they are still a problem for the company nonetheless.
09:09In particular with WWE, it's the Raw brand that forever opens with one wrestler cutting
09:14a promo, just to be interrupted by another wrestler, just to often be interrupted by
09:18yet another wrestler.
09:20It doesn't even have to be the traditional promo train of more than two acts exchanging
09:24barbs.
09:25The WWE's approach, in particular for Raw, is to just constantly open their show with
09:30an interruption segment.
09:32There was a 6th of February, where Edge and Beth Phoenix cut an in-ring promo, only to
09:35get interrupted by Finn Balor, Damien Priest and Dominic Mysterio.
09:38The week before that, the 30th of January, Cody Rhodes cut an in-ring promo, and then
09:42got interrupted by Finn Balor, Damien Priest and Dominic Mysterio.
09:46The 16th of January, The Bloodline cut an in-ring promo, only to get interrupted by
09:50Rhea Ripley, Finn Balor, Damien Priest and Dominic Mysterio.
09:54And the week before that, on the 9th of January, Kevin Owens cut an in-ring promo, only to
10:00get interrupted by JBL and Baron Corbin.
10:03Of course, for those wondering why the 23rd of January episode of Raw wasn't mentioned
10:08there, that was Raw 30, and there was a whole different format, complete with an awful lot
10:12of opening promo from Hulk Hogan, brother.
10:15Starting a TV broadcast with a promo, a promo interruption or even a promo train involving
10:20multiple acts is absolutely fine, but seriously, can we not start to mix things up a little
10:25bit from week to week?
10:26How about starting with, y'know, a hot wrestling match from the get-go, maybe dropping a little
10:31backstage chaos, something, anything, but just the same old, tired show-opening trope
10:37each and every week.
10:393.
10:40Standing around in the ring.
10:42One of the more baffling tropes WWE has introduced in recent years is having a talent stand around
10:48in the ring for a ludicrous amount of time as they wait for something to happen.
10:53For example, a wrestler will make their way out to the ring, complete with their usual
10:57entrance pomp and circumstance, then the show will go to a commercial break.
11:01Upon returning from that ad intermission, a video package might air, another star or
11:05two will be interviewed backstage, and only then will the person stood out in the ring
11:10either get to cut their own promo or be greeted by whichever opponent they're scheduled
11:14to face.
11:15There are regularly instances such as this where a wrestler is left to twiddle their
11:19thumbs in the ring for, like, 7-8 minutes, then that wrestler will have to be all smiles
11:24and poses once the focus finally returns to them.
11:27Just stop it.
11:282.
11:29Bray Wyatt This is not to say that WWE needs to immediately
11:34stop Bray Wyatt's time with the company, and once again, wish him well in his future
11:39endeavours, but the market leader needs to do something to stop the current stench Wyatt
11:44is bringing to WWE programming.
11:46It's clear that Windham Rotunda is an extremely creative person, a fantastic orator, and more
11:53than capable in the ring, yet the way he's presented in WWE is continuing to drag him
11:58and those around him down.
12:00It would be fair to say that the Wyatt family as a collective certainly benefited all in
12:04volved at times, but who has ever entered the rivalry with Bray and emerged unscathed
12:09in terms of their character and or the crowd response to them?
12:12Let's take a quick look at a few people.
12:14Braun Strowman was literally drowned on pay per view by Wyatt, before then dropping the
12:18Universal Championship to him a month later at SummerSlam 2020.
12:23Babyface Seth Rollins was made a laughing stock after his feud with The Fiend in 2019.
12:28Uber tough bastard Dean Ambrose had the willies put up him by a fricking lantern back in 2014,
12:36earlier that same year.
12:37The legs momentarily were taken from under Daniel Bryan when he fell under the spooky
12:41dookie spell of Wyatt.
12:43John Cena looked like a total idiot after he lost to Bray due to a spooky kid singing.
12:49And then there's poor Randy Orton, who has shared black goo, refrigerator wars, fake
12:54MAGA infested rings and more with Wyatt over the years, including attempted murder when
13:00Randle Keith set The Fiend on fire, throwing Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, Finn Balor and
13:05even the often maligned Kane as just a few other examples of those who were hindered
13:11by feuding with Bray Wyatt.
13:12Thankfully, LA Knight's sheer charisma and personality means he should just about be
13:18fine moving forward after the pair's Mountain Dew pitch black BS at the Royal Rumble, WWE
13:23is proven with the bloodline that they can still exquisitely deliver long form storytelling.
13:28But the whole Wyatt 6 guff and Captain Howdy mystery needs to seriously start to chug along
13:34at a brisker pace.
13:36It's been over 4 months now since Bray Wyatt returned to WWE, yet what more do we know
13:41about Bray and all the spooky stuff that surrounds him now than we did when The Eater of Worlds
13:46returned last October?
13:48Nothing, we don't know anything more about this guy.
13:51No world title presence on Raw Whether the undisputed WWE Universal Championship
13:57is once again split into two separate entities or not, there absolutely needs to be a world
14:02title presence on Raw once WrestleMania 39 is in the rear view mirror.
14:07It's long been reported how WWE has discussed splitting the two belts that are currently
14:11in the possession of Roman Reigns, and likewise there have been rumblings that USA Network
14:15executives are keen to have a world championship on the Monday Night Flagship show.
14:20While WWE has a couple of options on this front, the most logical may well indeed be
14:24to re-establish the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship as individual beasts,
14:30with one of those titles housed on Raw and one based on Smackdown.
14:34However, should WWE decide that it still doesn't want to split these belts, the other sensible
14:39option would be to just have the undisputed WWE Universal Champion actually appear on
14:45Raw on a regular basis.
14:46Granted, Roman Reigns and his schedule means that the Tribal Chief doesn't necessarily
14:51even appear on every single episode of Smackdown these days, but it's laughable how few Raw
14:56appearances Roman has made since taking that brand's top title from Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania
15:0138.
15:02So, there are 10 things that WWE needs to stop doing immediately.
15:05Agree?
15:06Disagree?
15:07Or are there any other problems WWE needs to fix right now?
15:11Be sure to let us know in the comments.
15:12And while you're here, be sure to like, subscribe, share, turn those notification
15:15bells on, and come and give us a follow on Twitter at WhatCultureWWE.
15:19While you're there, you can find me at CulturedLeftPeg, I've been Andrew Pollard from WhatCulture
15:23Wrestling and hopefully you've enjoyed this video, and most importantly, I hope that whatever
15:27you're doing today, it's a good day.
15:28Whether you're doing something, whether you're doing nothing, I hope you have the
15:31best possible time.
15:32And if you're not, I hope things turn around very quickly, and I will catch you down the
15:35road.