10 Reasons Why WWE's Problems Aren't Going Away
4. WWE Is Incapable Of Building New Stars
Look at Aleister Black's character arc this year.
Arcs, plural: Black has essentially debuted on three separate occasions under three WWE introductory tropes. In February, amid total ratings desperation, he debuted as an NXT call-up. After WrestleMania, WWE ran some introductory vignettes, for a character to whom we'd already been introduced, marked by long-winded spiels and a weird new inflection. Then, after his excellent showcase match with Cesaro led nowhere, he returned on RAW, on which WWE attempted to put him over in a series of squash wins over enhancement talent.
Eight months, three pushes, no impact.
WWE has told us, relentlessly, that Ricochet is a superhero without much showing it. He wears the costumes, but doesn't wrestle truly extraordinary matches under RAW's patterned match formula. The Fiend is the Universal Champion, but he was crowned after first enduring a debacle at Hell In A Cell, in which his intriguing horror movie monster character became parody.
A lack of long-term direction, a refusal to allow for agency, and, simply, asinine decision-making has led WWE to this barren point.