The Quote That Sums Up WWE's Problem Perfectly
It's no less concerning imagining the WWE careers of pro wrestlers who aren't in the WWE system.
The Butcher can't do sh*t. That's what makes him great on AEW Dynamite. He is great because he is so unrefined; there's a bumbling, chaotic quality to his work all the more gripping for how dangerous he feels. He is competent, and safe, but he's not so good and so well-drilled that it feels so obviously like he is performing. This absolutely would not do in WWE's sterile, practised, over-produced system - to its detriment.
There is a sign of promise on the horizon in the form of Shotzi Blackheart, whose own distinct energy NXT have shown no desire to control. There is a unique fire to her work, not bound by an insistence on laborious, protracted selling, and she is over enough to market a TakeOver around because her personality, while not cool particularly, is totally authentic. She is Shotzi Blackheart, unbridledly.
WWE does what it does because they do not consider themselves pro wrestling and are loathe to lower themselves to it. Road Dogg canonised this old complaint as a company value in an appearance on Corey Graves' podcast last year.
The company needs to embrace it, warts and all, before the paradigm shifts yet further.