The ONE Department WWE Needs To Get Rid Of…

Writers tend to use the third person in order to create the illusion of objectivity, of analysing the given topic with considered reasoning over subjective, emotional impulse to put it over as something persuasive to the reader—but f*ck that. Whenever I watch Monday Night RAW, I cannot actually believe how basic and lifeless the matches are. I cannot believe, on a week-to-week, practical basis, that the same Road Agents/Producers are even required to travel. I find it mind-boggling.

How does it take more than one person to lay out the same match we’ve seen over and over again, for years now? The thing about doing it by the book is that WWE could just literally write a book, use that, and spare themselves the expense.

The role of an Agent is required. Wrestlers need to be reined in, especially those looking to impress on the undercard. They can’t all work the same match (even though they do). But the team in WWE, and the philosophy behind the work, is all too often homogenised and tedious and arrogant.

Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp has made something of a habit of crediting Tyson Kidd, for his production nous, on the all-too-rare occasion that RAW has presented a banger in 2018 (specifically, the Seth Rollins Vs. Dolph Ziggler firecracker of June 25). Kidd, pointedly, was only forced into retirement in 2015, and in contrast to his low card position was a highly respected and hugely talented performer who knows what it takes to electrify modern crowds. He’s still learning—the Extreme Rules rematch was totally overbooked—but that’s the point. He’s still learning.

You can’t really say the same of the likes of Michael Hayes, who on the evidence of most Monday nights is hardly keeping up with global trends. “Get rid of” is a stretch, but another Producer standout, Sara Amato, was also a tremendous, but unheralded performer from the modern era.

There’s a pattern emerging here. If only WWE could spot this one, instead of recycling the old one.