10 Reasons Why WWE's Stagnation Will Never End
5. Endless Repetition
WWE operate primarily on patterns, particularly on a creative level. Coming up with fresh, original wrestling content can't be easy in 2017, but every major WWE angle feels like a retread of something that came before it. This is fine when it's done well (there's nothing new about Braun Strowman's monster push, but it rules regardless), but leaves the product feeling cripplingly predictable when it's not, which is usually the case these days.
The vast majority of WWE storylines end with the same babyface redemption moment. Authority vs. wrestler feuds dominate many major PPV arcs. Every top face is an anti-hero, and every heel is a yellow-bellied coward. Each episode of Raw and SmackDown opens with an in-ring segment, and on a micro level, characters like Bray Wyatt and Jinder Mahal cut tiny variations on the same boring promo every single week.
The company's staunch adherence to such formulae is killing their product, and removing the incentive to tune in every week. WWE have never been so telegraphed, and while the sport used to thrive on surprise and suspense, such moments are becoming increasingly rare in the modern era.