10 Ways WWE Are Holding Their Own Wrestlers Back
7. Corny Gimmicks
WWE creative have a longstanding habit of saddling wrestlers with horrendous, go-nowhere gimmicks. The situation isn't as bad as it used to be, but it only takes a quick look at the talent pool to realise it's still an issue, particularly on Raw and SmackDown.
On Raw, Jason Jordan is the blandest, most generic babyface the company has produced this decade, and Bray Wyatt's once compelling character descended into self-parody several years ago. SmackDown's Dolph Ziggler, meanwhile, is working a cringeworthy meta gimmick that'll only run his career further into the ground, and Mike Kanellis is never going to be build a following while working his "power of love" shtick.
Duds are inevitable, and we can forgive creative for churning out the odd failed gimmick every now and then, but this only goes so far. The problem is too widespread to be excused, and it's frustrating that we're still in this situation in 2017. Guys like Jordan and Kanellis have plenty of positive qualities as performers, but those traits are invisible when their characters are presented in such a distractingly bad way. They'll never get over to the level WWE would like while stuck in their current forms.