10 Ways WWE Are Misreading What Their Fans Want From The Product

WWE's habit of controlling every aspect of their superstars' performances has spiralled out of control. A handful of notable individuals aside, the company have killed their roster's creative freedom, with their insistence on scripting their promos down to each individual line particularly irritating.

First adopted in the early 2000s, the practice has greatly diminished the quality of WWE's microphone work. It isn't that the performers aren't charismatic, but that they're reading from scripts they're not entirely comfortable with. The words aren't the wrestlers' own, and don't always fit their characters. This has created an army of robotic soundalikes across Raw and SmackDown, not only hindering the performers' ability to develop their personas, but also get over.

The current environment is too rigid to produce another Rock or Austin, and the scripting is too tight and stringent to allow such personalities to flourish. Guys like Seth Rollins definitely aren't as charismatic as the Stone Colds of the world, but their mic work would be far more enjoyable if it weren't so disposable. People want these characters to feel like three-dimensional human beings, not androids, but sadly, this is the only conceivable outcome with scripting this heavy.