by The Legend » Jun 05, '19, 10:01 am
I'm going to take a bit of a shortcut cop out, but tie it into the same thing, which is simply the WWE needs to change the way in which they tell stories. That starts with all of the weekly shows, they have pretty much followed the same formula for 15-20 years. As someone with a little experience working in TV, I understand the importance of having a basic format when filling out many hours of TV in a weekly format, but you have to be flexible enough to notice when the format has become stale and needs changing.
There should be a common theme and purpose for each episode of RAW or SD. Episodes of every other TV show follow a basic principle of building to something, WWE doesn't build to anything, they have some people show up, talk about some stuff, have a match and then disappear, it's just a collection of randomness.
The two biggest problems I have with WWE TV is the show drags on way too much and is paced completely wrong, and that it takes too long to get to even a second point on the show. Nearly every episode begins the same way it has this millenium with a guy or two in the ring, they talk for a while, then some other people show up and yammer on for a little while longer, all of which typically sets up a Teddy Long-esque tag match either right after the ensuing commercial break or in the main event. When it follows the promo we are easily more than a half hour into the show before a second feud is even mentioned.
If the WWE would break that one long-winded promo of people standing in the middle of the ring broke it up into 3-4 smaller vignettes throughout the show, each of which could set a better tone in a backstage setting, then you could really feel like the show is building to the main event and the biggest reason to turn in to that episode. The same thing could be repeated throughout the show with different feuds on a smaller scale so that there's true progression and purpose.
Which brings up the larger point of everything that happens needs to have a reason, those reasons can be big or small, but every win or loss should affect each character's persona in some way - some times WWE does this, but not frequently enough.
In general, the WWE needs to be more willing to explore different ways to end things, more promos need to end in some sort of physical confrontation or at least lead to it. Matches don't all need to be 12-15 minutes and have a clean finish, explore DQ, no contest and other chaotic options that add drama to the show more frequently.
Finally, when discussing the way WWE tells stories, they need to re-vamp the main storytellers -- the commentators. This is not a criticism on any of the people that sit at the desk and announce for WWE, because whenever WWE changes one out the new person behaves the same way - so I've got to believe it's a company decision more than individual talent. It seems like WWE is so desperate to create the next JR and King, commentators that stand out, that they actually hinder the product. The commentators seem more interested in putting themselves over than the talent, which in turn buries the talent. JR and King would banter and throw quips back and forth, but did so while making sure they made everything happening in the ring feel like the most exciting/important thing in the world at the moment and then would move on to the next thing when it was over and do the same thing. Commentators shit on too many things right now and make fun of the product, which doesn't help anyone.
Credit to Tim/Everlong for this awesome sig