10 Reasons Why WWE's Problems Aren't Going Away

2. The View Never Changes

Saudi Trouble
WWE Network

Vince McMahon, as founder and COO, decides upon everything unilaterally. WWE is his.

Hell, pro wrestling is his, and he abhors the word.

The firing of Executive Director Eric Bischoff once again brought this into focus: he was there purely as an empty promise to investors concerned about dwindling ratings. When those ratings failed to climb, Bischoff was at fault, even though he did absolutely nothing, by all accounts, beyond shuffle around catering in a glorified 'Lenny runs the Springfield Power Plant' role. Those first FOX numbers, worse than projected, required action, and the literal sleeper agent was activated in very short order.

CM Punk's Pipebomb has become depressing, all these years later: it is as true then as it is now, but that initial promise of change is now formally dead. Vince continues to surround himself with yes-men - look who replaced Bischoff in the role - and while the company might be better, once Triple H assumes control of it, burying AEW as a "pissant company" mere months before it killed his NXT project in the ratings was, in fact, a doofus move.

Paul Heyman's RAW is an improvement that does feel in some way "his", but it's still a WWE show, and this is the last film in a trilogy defined by the acrimony of UPN SmackDown and WWECW.

WWE's management structure is literally designed to fail.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!