10 Bad Habits WWE Must Kick In 2017
2. Looking Backwards, Not Forwards
Nostalgia can be a powerful thing, and harnessing it produced one of WWE’s biggest moments this year. Goldberg’s return has been flawless, and his defeat of Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series has given WWE a rock solid angle that they can lean on all the way to WrestleMania. For better or worse, it feels like WWE’s most important story heading into 2017, and Goldberg has inexplicably become the company’s biggest babyface.
As with most things, however, WWE love to hammer fans over the head with nostalgia, and it rarely pans-out meaningfully. From Mick Foley, Steve Austin, and Shawn Michaels beating-up the League of Nations at WrestleMania to recreating the Montreal Screwjob during the Charlotte/Natalya feud, 2016 has been rife with cheap nostalgia, and it’s time to kick the habit.
It goes far deeper than singular incidents, though. Just like Triple H vs. Roman Reigns earlier in the year, The Game’s feud with Seth Rollins is another flimsy attempt at retreading the Austin vs. McMahon template by pitting an oppressed babyface against his evil boss. The company’s booking practices are stuck in the past, and as long as they remain this way, things will never move forward.
Overdoing nostalgia burns fans out, and leaves important historical moments feel far less special. WWE aren’t just undermining their current product by going to this well so often, but everything they’ve done in the past.