10 Ways WWE Are Holding Their Own Wrestlers Back
9. Making Them Talk Like Robots
Of all the ways WWE micromanage their wrestlers, scripting almost every line of dialogue down to the word is the most restrictive. Guys like John Cena and The Miz still cut great promos every other week, but for the most part, the company have created an army of personality-less drones who don't speak like human beings, let alone professional fighters.
The way WWE wrestlers communicate with each other is completely unlike anything you'll ever hear in daily conversation. Remember when Roman Reigns told Seth Rollins he was a "snivelling little suck-up, sellout, full of sufferin' succotash, son?". These lines don't just stick out for being incredibly corny, but because they're the kind of thing that not even a 12-year-old child would find funny, yet they still make it to television.
It's impossible to relate to something that sounds so stunted and unnatural, and when wrestlers aren't reciting these overbearingly goofy quips, they're fumbling their way through other peoples' lines. Such promos are one of the main factors contributing towards the company's inability to build engagement, and while it's unlikely they'll abandon this policy, it's something they must do if they're to replenish the roster's rapidly dwindling levels of star power.