9. Kill Off The Heel Authority Figure For Good
The fued that changed wrestling, and the WWF's fortunes, forever was Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon. The blue-collared worker rebelling against his pompous, rich boss struck a chord with all the common people in the audience and it propelled the WWF to heights never imagined. The heel authority character was a winner and it led the WWF to victory in the Monday Night Wars. So, of course, WWE proceed to run the exact same storyline for the next eighteen years. Sure, the person who played the evil authority figure changed. It went from Vince to Eric Bischoff to Stephanie McMahon to William Regal to Mike Adamle to John Laurinaitis to Vickie Guerrero to the Authority, but the storyline itself has stayed exactly the same: Evil authority tries to screw over top babyface. The entire thing is played-out and beyond tired. There's really no reason for an evil authority figure anymore. It was necessary during the Attitude Era because Steve Austin was a rebel and he needed someone to rebel against. And besides, the Authority themselves are useless heels, especially Stephanie. Say what you will about Vince McMahon but when it came time for him to get the crap kicked out of him and get his comeuppance, he did it better than anyone. No one is ever going to lay a hand on Stephanie so what is the point of her talking down to 275 lbs. men who have to pretend to cower in fear from the awesome of The Billion Dollar Princess? It makes your babyfaces look like total wimps and only serves as an ego boost to the McMahon family.