10 Things WWE Are Secretly Telling Fans About Their Future
6. Expect The Expected
If the entry path into WWE has dramatically changed for new fans, how can a product so completely different still cater to fans that remember the old ways?
In short, it can't.
All the things audiences of certain ages loved will be little more than exceptions to rules - surprises, twists and turns delivered only when necessary rather than to help move stories and characters forward. It's becoming all the more apparent how many fans have already adjusted their viewing habits accordingly.
Network subscriber numbers and official YouTube view counts can't be that wrong. There is still a thirst for WWE but it's not the sort quenched by a five hour+ weekly investment. Those platforms allow fans to watch what they want. Raw, in contrast, forces viewers to get what they're given. Super-service extrapolated to its ugliest point, the bloated flagship at its best still only feels like a laboured tribute act to the dynamic Raws of old.
If - like a lot of cable television - it still only exists for the heels-dug folk clinging on to the dated tech, the standard perhaps doesn't even need to be that high. If WWE are aware of that, it would explain why they've spent the last few years ensuring that they delivery quantity, if not quality...