The WWE needs to adjust their wellness policy. There is one muscle that a good percentage of the WWE roster needs to start taking PEDs to develop. That muscle is “creativty”, and it needs to start getting worked out.
Use It Or Lose It
Just like any muscle, if you don’t use it, it will certainly atrophy. If the WWE superstars are not allowed to explore and develop their own gimmicks, promos, etc., they will become weak.
Whether or not you agree that creativity is a muscle that needs to be continuously focused on, I think we can all agree it’s been lacking as of late. It’s no secret that promos and talking segments are heavily scripted and censored. There have been leaked scripts and guidelines showing as such.
I understand that as a publicly traded company, as well as being kid focused, there has to be some oversight from the corporate office. However, there is no denying that this is being overdone. It’s simply hurting the product.
Attitude Era – The Golden Age
Now I’m not one of these people that is oblivious to the fact that the Attitude Era had it’s issues. There were plenty of horrible gimmicks and segments that were just plain ridiculous. That being said, I do think that this was the golden age of promos. This main reason for this was that the superstars had a lot of creative freedom.
Think back on the most popular superstars from that era. Stone Cold and the Rock. “Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!”, “If you smell what the Rock is cooking”. Do you think that WWE creative made those up? Definitely not. These are obviously the pinnacle of the era, but there were countless other moments that came from spontaneity and superstars creativity.
Post Attitude Era has memorable and amazing moments that came from superstars taking the wheel with their career. CM Punk ripping up creatives scripts and shooting from the hip. YES YES YES! The “List of Jericho”. Fashion Files. Broken Matt Hardy. Bray Wyatt. Think of your own favorite moments from the past or in the present. Ask yourself a question. Does this feel like WWE Creative, or does it feel like the superstars?
Does It Seem Real?
I think one of the main reasons that superstar’s promos or gimmicks fall flat or seem bland is because it isn’t their own. There isn’t much passion for the product because what creative writes them might not seem genuine to the superstar.
If the WWE roster has the freedom to come up with their own ideas, there is a very good chance they will give it their all when they materialize them on TV. If a superstar doesn’t get the desired reaction from a promo or idea that was written for them, they can always blame creative. However there is a lot more at stake if that promo or idea came from them and it doesn’t connect with the audience.
There is also a pride element that comes into play with this as well. Think about it from a stand up comedy point of view. A comedian will take it much more to heart if a crowd doesn’t like them while they are being real, as opposed to a inauthentic version of themselves.
How To Fix It
I’m not saying that the WWE has to let their roster go wild and try anything on live TV. That would be silly and dangerous for the company if someone said something inappropriate or damaging. So what can the WWE do to protect themselves, but also allow the superstars some freedom to create.
House shows are a great arena for this. If you have ever been to one you know that the superstars have a lot more fun and some really great content comes out that will never see television. I think WWE creative should be paying attention to this. If it works there, it can most certainly work on television.
Ultimately it all comes down to Vince McMahon. The Big Man will always have the final say, and unfortunately he doesn’t seem to be loosening his iron grip on the creative process. I think it will take some brave superstars to go off script and try some things on TV. This is a scary long shot for the superstar though. If it falls flat, that could very well be the end of that superstar’s career. On the other hand, if the superstar hits a home run with the crowd, and social media blows up and supports them, their popularity will be undeniable. This happened with Daniel Bryan. He was not Vince’s idea of a world champion, but he was so popular crowds would hijack segments with YES! chants.
I hope that we start to see more superstars taking chances and going against the WWE creative grain. I’m sure there are superstars that we consider dull and boring that have the ability to wow us, if they were only given the chance to be themselves.
