12 Ups And 15 Downs For WWE In 2017 (2nd Opinion)

4. Battle Of The Part-Timers

Quick question: How many of the 10 matches on the main WrestleMania card featured part-time wrestlers? Follow-up question: How many of the final four men in the Survivor Series men’s elimination match were part-timers?

This has been a stated problem in WWE for some time now, but it really needs to be called out, especially now that superstars like John Cena really do qualify as part-timers. Including him, half of the 10 Mania bouts featured wrestlers who don’t handle a full in-ring schedule: Shane McMahon, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Triple H and the Undertaker. You could add Chris Jericho to that list and make it six of 10 matches, including the Universal Championship match and the main event.

Then look at Survivor Series, where superstars from Raw and SmackDown were supposed to be battling for brand supremacy. With “so much” on the line, you’d think you’d want your best wrestlers competing. And yet, with Raw sporting a 3-1 advantage, you had Kurt Angle, Triple H and Braun Strowman staring down Shane McMahon. The Raw GM, the WWE COO and the SmackDown commissioner were three of the final four. Come on.

This problem is only going to get worse as megastars like Cena, Randy Orton and others get older and cut back their schedules. Something needs to change, soon.