In Defence Of WWE Creative

WWE’s strategy to kill off Independent wrestling has backfired spectacularly. Gloriously. The mission statement incorporated a dual objective, in theory: bolster the WWE ranks, and deplete the Independent talent pool. In practise, WWE has contrived to replete that talent pool and, through its awfulness, create a movement in which we don’t wish to see the likes of Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Cody, WALTER et al. under the WWE umbrella. Their defiance is an ingenious marketing ploy, one that in turn casts their home promotions as the cool alternative.

There is nowhere for them to go for them but the middle, for WWE’s greedy and spiteful recruitment policy is killing the company creatively.

There are no tiers within the main roster. There are no less than 17 former top-tier singles Champions (NXT, WWE, Women’s Universal) across the RAW roster, a number that does not include but inevitably will (or by all rights should) Braun Strowman and Ronda Rousey. On SmackDown, there are 14.

Post-NXT, where so many of the promoted acts boast the talent and storyline credentials to succeed at the top, there are former Champions, prospective Champions, current Champions, and geeks. That's it. We have arrived at this bizarre, paradoxical new All Stars/no stars paradigm because the company is eating itself to a dispiriting creative death.

Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas is making some upward progress of late, but though his underwhelming introduction was inexplicable in a vacuum, there was little else for him to do, beyond a basic introductory programme. Almas - really, any and all promoted NXT talents - become part of a logjam of rotting wood. The insanely cash-rich WWE no longer releases talent, unless their attitude is too rancid to ignore. They don’t need to, and they don’t wish to let a performer, like Neville, make money for another promotion - no matter how relatively minuscule that amount is.

WWE, to its profound creative cost, wants it all.

CONT'D...