The style of the WWE has been undergoing changes since the inception of the WWE Network in 2014. Really, subtle changes have been taking place for much longer. For example, each pay-per-view event used to get its own unique entrance/set. That’s not the case, anymore. Monday Night Raw is now three hours – not because there was so much content, bursting at the seams, that they needed the extra hour of programming to fit everyone in, but because it provided an extra hour’s worth of advertising revenue. It’s been a streamlining process to maximize revenue.
It’s not as much about honoring the tradition and heritage of professional wrestling anymore, but it’s about the overall brand of the WWE.
The biggest change is the fact that pay-per-views don’t cost $50 a pop anymore. You can spend $9.99 each month and access each and every live pay-per-view, along with thousands of hours of additional content. It’s been a game-changer, but I’m here today to posit that it’s had an effect and will continue to have an effect on the product that could agitate the wrestling traditionalists.
Namely, WWE is no longer tied to quality pay-per-views. When the pressure of getting people to buy a $50 show is alleviated, it means they can take a few more risks. If people have subscriptions, they likely aren’t going to cancel after one bad show. Think about it – children, whose parents own their subscriptions, aren’t going to be upset that Sami Zayn isn’t in the main event. That’s the demographic that is there to see John Cena, Goldberg, and the like. And, the adults who are mad that Sami Zayn isn’t in the main event aren’t going to give up the WWE. Outside of a weak #CancelWWENetwork social movement, all of the smarks came crawling back. I’d argue that your favorite wrestler doesn’t need to be in the main event for you to enjoy him/her, but that’s going to lead me down a path that strays from my point here.
We’ve already seen this decline in pay-per-view prestige. the first example that comes to mind is No Mercy. The WWE Championship triple threat opened the show. They trotted out A.J. Styles, John Cena, and Dean Ambrose first, and gave some reason for it like they didn’t want to lose numbers to that night’s U.S. Presidential debate or something like that. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt had a mediocre match in the main event.
At Hell in a Cell, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks went on last. Sure, it was long overdue for the Women’s Championship to main event – I agree with that, and I agree that this was the match to do it with. But, it still shows that that WWE/Universal Championship match isn’t as protected as it used to be. Trish Stratus and Lita could’ve headlined pay-per-views in 2003, but they didn’t. As meaningful as it was, we have to acknowledge that main eventing a pay-per-view in 2016 is not like main eventing a pay-per-view in 2003.
Payback was headlined by Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns, and Extreme Rules will be headlined by a number one contender match, while the current Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, is out gallivanting about his ranch somewhere. Look at all the pay-per-views that didn’t end with a WWE Championship match during Lesnar’s reign in 2014.
Then, there’s Wrestlemania 33. It wasn’t headlined by either the WWE or the Universal Championship. Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns closed the show – and for good reason, it ended up being the Dead Man’s retirement match. But, over the last couple of years, Wrestlemania, as a whole, has become less about the actual moments and matches on the show. Bray Wyatt’s first WWE Championship win took place at Elimination Chamber. Bayley’s first Women’s Championship was won on an episode of Raw. She ended Charlotte Flair’s pay-per-view undefeated streak at Fastlane. Mojo Rawley won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal thanks, in part, to New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Pitbull and Flo-Rida performed for what felt like an hour.
It was an entirely different show than the Wrestlemanias I grew up with in the 1990s-2000s. When the style of Wrestlemania is different, you know the winds of change are blowing. Wrestlemania is more of a grandiose spectacle of celebrity and pageantry. It represents all of the showmanship of the WWE brand. But, it doesn’t feel like it’s about the matches that fans most want to see anymore, does it?
That same vision is creeping in to WWE’s philosophy on championships. Look no further than the Universal Championship. The current title holder is absent from regular WWE programming. Yet, the WWE has no issues with putting the strap on him and trotting out Reigns and Strowman in main events. What does that mean? It means WWE thinks they’ll be just fine out without the Universal Championship on Raw every week.
They put the big red belt on Goldberg for a month instead of letting Kevin Owens carry it into Wrestlemania. Wyatt won and lost without a single pay-per-view defense in between. The Raw Women’s Championship was criticized for its hot potato booking for the last year. And, most recently, the WWE gave Jinder Mahal a WWE Championship as a key to expanding into India.
All of these things bother a large subset of WWE fans – I’ve seen it on Wrestling Twitter, as I’m sure you have, too if you’re a part of it. This is just an observation on my part, mind you. I’m not saying either way is right or wrong – put the belts on Lesnar & Mahal or Strowman & Styles and I’m just as well.
I’m just saying that evidence exists to suggest that championships could be declining in prestige compared to how the older, diehard WWE fans view them. So, if you’re already having a hard time enjoying the WWE as is, you can either get over it or get out of it. I have a feeling it’s only going to get “worse.”
Disclaimer: I fucking love WWE. I enjoyed Wrestlemania 33. I’m happy for Mahal. This trend doesn’t bother me at all.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @WrestlingNewsCo
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