25 Ways WWE Has Ruined Raw

Another glorious Stephanie McMahon creation, scripted promos started filtering through in the early-2000s. While most wrestlers were already given a rough framework to build upon, Steph eventually decided that nobody, even top stars, should be safe from her meddling. Now, almost every single performer is expected to read from a script somebody else wrote, with word-for-word adherence a universal demand.

The scope of this problem can't be overstated. It has all but destroyed the art of a great wrestling promo, as performers aren't allowed to be themselves anymore. Spouting lines that they aren't at all comfortable with results in palpable awkwardness, as displayed in Roman Reigns' early failings, and WWE's heavy scripting has created an army of bland, personality-less drones who all sound the same, and don't communicate like normal human beings. At all.

Guys like The Miz prove that success isn't an impossibility within this restrictive framework, but they're the exception, not the rule. Unfortunately, WWE's quest for complete control has strangled their wrestlers' ability to express themselves. Remember that the next time Reigns cuts one of his dopey "I'm 'The Big Dog,' and this is my yard" promos on Raw, because almost none of it is his fault.