10 Bad Habits WWE MUST Kick
9. Agent Of Misfortune
Backlash was a p*ss poor night for a myriad of different reasons, but none were sadly all that unfamiliar. Bad booking didn't help bad matches on what was ultimately a very bad card, but the long-established mechanisms within the company were failing the wrestlers and writers too.
Agents are employed to work on matches with wrestlers, adding structure and heft as required to fit the planned rises and falls within the match that help the performers adequately arrive at the finish. A great WWE match is so often a team effort, perhaps exemplified by the absorbing Miz/Seth Rollins opener that comfortably stole the show. The company clearly agreed - after using work around Seth's injured knee so exquisitely, they then threw the gimmick away in the Carmella/Charlotte stinker whilst the opener was still fresh in heads.
Daniel Bryan vanquished Big Cass in short order later that night, but the seven-footer smashed through the 'Yes!' man in the post-script. Again, the company had attempted to afford both men a victory of sorts, and left each one a bigger loser than before the bell had even rang. This strategy has been employed with such frequency that almost nobody is even considered a threat on the show anymore - it fundamentally stubs out star quality. Not least when other wrestlers can't even be a*sed to "fight for their dreams"...