Why Wrestling Has A MAJOR Problem Right Now
AEW, WWE, NJPW: has pro wrestling reached critical mass?
There's a certain malaise in the air in wrestling right now.
WWE is WWE; the promotion mostly exists in a constant state of repetitive churn, with its rematch-heavy approach, and the drab, meandering approach Vince McMahon takes to booking has been brought into focus by the strange and possibly under-reported Roman Reigns story. His part-time schedule has compounded the stasis WWE finds itself in more often than not. WWE has long since evolved into a content factory, but in a post-Fiend world, it's barely even perversely entertaining. Since WrestleMania - the first night of which was incredible - WWE with the exception of the stellar Cody Rhodes Vs. Seth Rollins programme has failed to generate any buzz whatsoever. This is also a promotion that buried Sasha Banks and Naomi for letting the fans down and failing to appear as scheduled for a RAW main event, only to promote a tournament that then didn't end up happening. WWE summarily and unprofessionally failed to book the series of matches, as advertised, even though they had far more than eight hours to construct the brackets. The promotion just doesn't want to do anything, even if they've already committed to that thing.
AEW is in a lull.
Some of it is driven by misfortune, some of it is invited. Forbidden Door already feels like a convoluted, politicised compromise to get several wrestlers on the show between matches that have been announced and teased. This follows Double Or Nothing, a pay-per-view that also felt like an overlong compromise to keep the various stars happy. AEW remains the best promotion on the planet at its peak, but it feels overstuffed yet somehow weightless. The rate of excess is alarming, too.
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