7 Huge Problems The WWE Wild Card Rule Has Created
1. Wrestlers Overshadowed
Far and away though, the biggest problem the Wild Card Rule has created is the lack of screentime for many Raw and SmackDown superstars.
Mid-carders, women and tag teams have gotten the short-shrift on TV since the rule went into effect, because we now have to devote an entire segment of Raw each week to Roman Reigns and Shane McMahon’s feud spilling over from SmackDown, or Kofi Kingston cutting a promo, or R-Truth “defending” the 24/7 Championship (though that’s a lesser offense).
These crossover segments mean there’s less time to feature the Raw Tag Team Champions – Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins, in case you forgot – who haven’t had a match on Raw in four weeks. Wrestlers who came to Raw in the Superstar Shakeup have still not had a single televised match. Women have only had one match per show since the Wild Card Rule went into effect.
Here’s a short list of wrestlers who haven’t had a main show match (not counting 24/7 melees) in at least the past two shows (weeks of 20 and 27 May): Viking Experience, Ryder & Hawkins, Cedric Alexander, Robert Roode, Samoa Joe, Good Brothers, Sarah Logan, Buddy Murphy, Aleister Black, Randy Orton, Rusev, Shinsuke Nakamura, Charlotte Flair, Ember Moon, Asuka, Heavy Machinery and Finn Bálor.
Granted, some might get some match time this week, but that’s a long list of talent who haven’t had ring time in at least three weeks. And a good part of the problem is the number of wrestlers crossing over and either eating up segments or taking their spots in matches.
These problems are only going to persist as long as the Wild Card Rule continues in its current form, and the writers don’t adapt.