Why I Stopped Watching WWE

If you have been reading a lot of what I put on here regarding wrestling its mostly glowing praise of AEW and whenever I mention WWE its mostly complaints. In the spirit of a recent trademark filed by WWE I guess 'complaining is not conversation' so let's have that conversation. I stopped watching WWE regularly years ago and if it wasn't for AEW I most likely wouldn't be watching wrestling at least on a constant basis seeing just parts of New Japan would be it. I wanted to break down why I don't watch anymore. Ignoring the fact I don't have BT Sport so couldn't watch in the UK whenever I have tried to watch PPVs I borrow someone's Network account so I am disconnected from the product as you can be I'd have to go out of my way to watch the show and I just don't want to.

Why should I care for a wrestling show where it doesn't matter for large part who wins. I've always been a wins and losses matter how am I suppose to care if a man has loss after loss and then wins once and is in a title match. Wrestling at its best is about people climbing the ladder by winning, and getting to the top on very rare circumstances can someone fall upwards much like Daniel Bryan to Wrestlemania 30 (which feels like it is broken the booking structure of WWE). Which leads me onto another issue.

Their booking does nothing for me. It feels like the scripts approve do not know how to get characters to connect to an audience. Everything feels so flat, I check the results as more of a habit then anything and I'm left scratching my head more than anything. Anyone I'm engaged with seems to be in bad stories that seem to go nowhere or the show feels flat, I don't like everything AEW does but the show hooks me in. I tried to watch Summerslam but the show just didn't do it for me it just wasn't interesting to get me looking to watch the product. 

I'm not saying that everything is bad, I'm sure in a round about way some good stuff gets on the show and some people get over but it's a hit and hope, some people seem to like Roman Reigns so good for him for finally being in the role people wanted for years and shocker he's good at it. That's another issue it seems that WWE does not want to listen to its fans. I get not listening to a vocal minority on the internet that turn on everything once it happens but look at the upheaval it took for them to listen to fans for Daniel Bryan to win the belt at Wrestlemania 30. Constant pushing they felt and audience wanted to see Batista vs. Orton and seemed to ignore audience reaction from around the world to try to push it until they couldn't no longer. What is that? You don't want to push a guy you audience loves for what reason? You have to change plans. 

It has felt that WWE overall is a show booked for one mans enjoyment in Vince McMahon and damn what everyone else wants, that would be fine if he had his finger on the pulse of what his core audience loves but that isn't the case anymore. People connected with Austin so he pushed Austin in the Attitude Era, you think of The Rock's first heel turn being out of fan resentment for the character and how it put him on the road to be a mega star and how they just kept refusing to do that for Roman Reigns. If a crowd reacts fully to a show it sounds and looks better the noise and engagement gets people to stop clicking through channels and watch. You think this mythical 'casual fan' people bang on about wants to stay and watch a show where they see an audience not caring on their phones not you hot crowd into what they are seeing chanting, cheering and booing makes the show sound better. If you want over acts book people to get over don't go with 50/50 booking dropping them off the show or months on end and then scratch your head wondering why nobody cares and then blame the talent for not getting over. Only on very rare circumstances can a talent get over regardless of the booking handed to them Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch even CM Punk was made to lose far too many PPV matches during his best run (look at that loss to Triple H and the Hell in a Cell to Del Rio very angrily at the moment) but you know a lot of people lose the booking gets inconsistent and well why should I as a viewer get behind this person if you don't. Stop trying for the rare falling upwards strategy and create stories for people to care and respond to. 

In all sorts of management roles at points you need to move on and change direction. What worked once doesn't work now and you see results and stature slipping. Arsenal fell towards the end of the reign of Arsene Wenger and look that hasn't worked out well for the club for many reasons but sometimes you need new ideas to revitalise a product. Why do you think people responded so well to NXT when it was first moving along under Triple H. It was new and fresh and different to WWE until it was used as a counter booking mechanism. People have fresh ideas actually listen and try them out but nah WWE is a place of ripping up scripts and rematch after rematch it could be different but it won't be again the show is booked for Vince and Vince alone so you know that doesn't get changed until the show isn't written just for him. 

All in all the main take away is if you are engaged in a product you spend money. I could get BT Sport and I could get the WWE Network but I don't want to as I feel it's a waste of money whereas I buy AEW PPV's and have the AEW plus option on Fite.TV. You vote with your wallet and if you don't like something don't invest into it. WWE needs a creative overhaul or an overhaul of some kind come on man make fans care. WWE seem to not want to do a wrestling show despite being a wrestling company and it hurts in the long run. You want to create moments well you can't do that without doing the ground work and making people care and invest into a show. I dunno I feel like I'm shouting into a void with WWE now the numbers keep slipping year on year and interest can be diverted elsewhere when I want to watch Professional Wrestling I'll tune in anywhere but WWE.