10 Solutions To The Hot Mess That Is WWE Creative

The Beast Invalidated.

Brock Lesnar SummerSlam
WWE.com

A case study in numbers:

Brock Lesnar has wrestled five televised non-Rumble matches in 2017. Of those five, three were either multi-mans, opposite a part-time star who hasn't been spotted since, or versus the equivalent champion from SmackDown Live. He has faced two full-time RAW stars in singles competition, and through a complete failure to build genuine new stars on the flagship, there are still zero viable opponents in line for a Universal Title shot at the 2018 Royal Rumble before he meets the one, Roman Reigns, at WrestleMania 34.

Lesnar has already defeated Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman, ruling them out - Joe because there is no appetite for a rematch, Strowman because he cannot withstand a second loss. Finn Bálor purportedly isn't deemed "over" enough. A Kane-sized burial will do that. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins have already wrestled deeply underwhelming singles matches with 'The Beast'. Bray Wyatt wasn't on this week's RAW; they don't have a clue what to do with him. Again.

This is a major, calculable indictment of the company's creative process - one which renders the events of Sunday's main event more moronic, as if it wasn't self-evidently moronic enough.

We've been writing this sort of sh*t for years...

10. Remove Brock Lesnar From The Universal Title Picture

Brock Lesnar SummerSlam
WWE.com

Brock Lesnar is already at least one league beyond the rest of the roster; formalising this stifles their perception and their opportunities to smash that perception.

Brock Lesnar, Universal Champion, is a creative catastrophe because he's there solely to job to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34. The whole story arc is contrived in the extreme, and all not named Roman Reigns have suffered in its wake. So has Roman Reigns, for that matter; the recipient of the most manufactured push in company history, fans audibly despise him for it - and so WWE's answer is to force feed more Roman down their throats. Vince McMahon is going to go apesh*t when the fans regurgitate Roman all over the New Orleans Superdome.

Provided Lesnar does re-sign with WWE, it certainly won't be as a full-time performer - and so he should serve a new, dual purpose: to flatter an upcoming performer in defeat in a similar manner to AJ Styles at Survivor Series, and/or actually put them over in victory.

He can't exist purely to do the latter; latter-day Triple H and Chris Jericho matches are usually quiet because their wells have run dry. Part-time John Cena is the inspiration here - i.e. .5 booking that actually makes sense.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!