10 Simple Ideas From The Past That Would Save WWE In The Present
7. Not Overusing Stipulations
TLC! Money in the Bank! Elimination Chamber! Hell in a Cell! Symphony of Destruction!
Ok, not so much the last one, but the franchising of these brilliantly original ideas diminishes the impact and the kudos that used to come with them.
It wasn’t always like that. Many of the most enduring and memorable stipulation matches had only a handful of incarnations. Take the Empty Arena match, for example. Whether your bag is Jerry Lawler taking on Terry Funk in 1981, or The Rock and Mankind during half-time at Super Bowl 1999, both of these matches have become etched in fans’ memories not only because they were so watchable, but also because the stipulation hasn’t been overused in the succeeding years (pandemic arena closures notwithstanding.) Same goes for nostalgic devices such as the Casket Match, Ladder Match, and the much lamented traditional Survivor Series matches, when the fun was to see heels versus faces, and not hollow, meaningless brand supremacy.
Maybe we do need a short break. It's not me, it's you.