2. Stupid Referees
Wrestling referees have always been a bit stupid. They fall for the same tricks every week and they never quite figure out that the steel chair sitting next to the ring might have played a prominent part in the remarkable turnaround that happened during the match they are officiating. However, recent years seem to have seen them become even dumber. Whether that is down to the fact that Vince McMahon has apparently declared that referees are so unimportant that they should not be named on television is hard to say, but something is well and truly up. Officials no longer feel like a part of the match. They have no personality and they have no fight. Long gone are the days when Earl Hebner might have pushed a troublesome wrestler back and given him a stern talking too for breaking the rules. Now referees are just moved around the ring, as necessary a prop as the steel stairs. Their job could ostensibly be done by robots. Which might not seem like the end of the world, but is one more thing that sees WWE not treating itself like a real sport. In other sports, the refs play an important part in every match. The players fear them and their ability to punish them for breaking the rules. In WWE, they come across as pawns in the wrestler's games. I guess 'sports entertainment' really does lean more heavily towards the entertainment side.