10 Ways WWE Can Finally Get Their Audience Back
6. Keep It Simple, Stupid
Emphasis on the f*cking stupid.
WWE appeals to a broad audience. This isn't trademark authorial snark but rather the fact of the matter.
WWE wants the most people possible to watch its product. This is why the matches are worked at the pace they are worked, why the recaps are so numbingly frequent, why the storylines are told through long, repetitive promos and not shown through detailed in-ring craft.
But for years and years now, WWE has failed to trust its audience in what has become a damaging symbiotic relationship. They don't so much do the simple things they're after as pummel them with repetitive thwacks of ring style and info dumps.
When WWE does the simple things without patronising its audience, that audience laps it up. The WrestleMania build was putrid, largely, but Cesaro's promise of swinging Rollins around the place was purchased with glee by the crowd at Raymond James. The "ref tosses the baddie out of the ring" bit went down like a right treat on an otherwise lifeless SmackDown last week.
These people just want a payoff that is threatened for dramatic effect and delivered to make them feel something called "happiness".