10 Major Flaws With WWE's Current Pay-Per-View Model
2. Too Many Gimmicks
There’s nothing wrong with gimmick pay-per-views when used in moderation. The Royal Rumble and Survivor Series are seminal concepts, and always among WWE’s most enjoyable annual shows. Money In The Bank is going the same way, and while King Of The Ring wasn’t always a great all-round show, the tournament format at least provided a break from the norm.
As with almost every other good thing in their arsenal, WWE have gone too far, and completely burned most of their gimmick PPVs out. Four of the company’s nine 2017 PPVs have come packaged with a flashy concept thus far, and with Survivor Series, TLC, and presumably Hell In A Cell and Clash Of Champions still to come, this percentage could yet increase.
Fans see these gimmicks too often for them to feel special anymore. Their value has been eroded through oversaturation, and the matches themselves are often drab, sanitised affairs, hampered by WWE’s PG restrictions. This provides another reason to scale back on such shows, as WWE are no longer able to deliver on the violence promised by stipulations like HIAC, creating an extreme identity crisis whenever these events come around.