10 Ways WWE Are Misreading What Their Fans Want From The Product
1. Devaluing Babyface Commodities
WWE's heels might be thriving, but the company have done a terrible job booking their babyfaces this year. Randy Orton is the supposed top 'good guy' on SmackDown, but he's as engaging as an elderly sloth. On Raw, Roman Reigns persists as a pseudo-Superman protagonist whom almost anyone above adolescence despises, and the likes of Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose aren't half as over as they should be.
The issues are most apparent when looking at the company's traditional 'white meat' babyfaces. Sami Zayn and Bayley are the most naturally likeable performers in the company, but the former is stuck in a dreadful go-nowhere feud with Mike Bennett, and the latter has seen her crowd reactions evaporate throughout a disastrous 2017. WWE don't know how to book these characters without making them look like complete losers, and they've completely worn out two valuable commodities in the process.
Wrestling has evolved beyond rigid black and white morality, but fans (particularly those of a younger age) want somebody to root for. Given the way WWE have booked their heroes over the past few years, it's no wonder the crowd have turned towards supposed 'heels' like Braun Strowman instead.