It’s rather a common sentiment that the WWE roster in 2018 is arguably one of, if not the best roster WWE have ever had on their hands. On that roster is amongst the greatest male and female talents in the world, combining ‘WWE made stars’ with wrestlers that found their feet in the independent circuit all over the world, contrasts to create a roster that very rarely fails to deliver (from an in-ring and all-round work ethic perspective).
Following WrestleMania 33 last year, SmackDown Live began to take a downward spiral. Several of the pivotal figures that made the show compelling during the first few months of the modern era brand split had been drafted across to RAW, with talents such as Dean Ambrose, The Miz & Alexa Bliss all making the jump. In the space of a matter of days, the brand went from having Jinder Mahal losing to Mojo Rawley in two minutes, to being poised as a legit threat and eventual WWE Champion. The Summer months on SmackDown were tough, stagnant and frustrating.
All you need to do is take a look at the current roster of SmackDown Live to realise that the roster has every ounce of talent in the world. The likes of Daniel Bryan, Cien Almas, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy and even Shelton Benjamin combined with prominent female talents such as Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Asuka and Billie Kay & Peyton Royce are surely going to make the show prominent again? Incorrect.
The talent on one show alone is not enough to create a successful wrestling product; you have to look no further for evidence of this than SmackDown in 2002-2003 fronted by Paul Heyman, the show had the right mix of consistently over veterans such as Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit but it also had that group of young, hungry talent such as Edge, John Cena and Rey Mysterio Jr.
Notwithstanding the talents of the aforementioned names, without Heyman creating a compelling weekly TV product, the talent would not have had the ability to grow, attain confidence and thus become the legendary figures they are today. The ultimate point is that WWE can load SmackDown with all the talent in the world, however if the writing is not in place, neither will a successful show.
Talent should be given an extended amount of leverage in terms of their promos and their match structure; allow management to oversee talents in bullet-pointing their promos and matches, but in-turn not forcing said talent to do any promos that they can’t deliver with confidence and manner.
Clearly this is easier said than done and to expect this to be achieved over-night is a ludicrous request; however, it’s not completely out of the question. If Vince McMahon allowed Triple H to take the reins (no pun intended) of 205 Live, which clearly is allowing talent to breathe, then naturally the talent will be more comfortable in their role and it will show in the TV product. Fans moreover will notice this and will naturally appreciate and engage with the weekly product on a more consistently positive basis.
The success of the NXT call-ups on the blue brand comes down to correct positioning and presentation. My concerns for Kay and Royce are that they will type casted as generic heel female characters (and both whom happen to have an accent, which naturally Vince and production will fathom over).
During their in-ring promo before facing Asuka & Lynch on this past week’s edition of SmackDown Live, initial concerns were that this ‘TV feud’, would focus on Lynch’s accent rather than a ‘we’re the best female duo in WWE’ (which got them over in NXT), my doubts were confirmed when 22 seconds into the promo, the accent was mocked, as well as making out-dated comments concerning Ireland. This needs to stop.
Talent do not thrive under these circumstances. Naturally, seeing the lack of progression in the writing is a channel changer for casual viewers; loyal or persistent fans understand that modern-day talents are simply reciting lines from a TV writer and do not have much of a say in their character work.
What the brand simply needs is a few solid months of foundational programming. Back-to-basis storytelling. Tell stories that aren’t built on race, stereotypes or any other outdated wrestling tripe. If we can somehow move forward in the vein of the AJ v Skinsuke Nakamura feud; a respect angle focusing on nothing else with, the WWE Title as a cornerstone for the heel’s reasoning and agenda.
The US Title: Jeff Hardy feuding with every name in the roster, hopefully this extends to the recently called up Cien Almas (who would be a naturally fantastic initial feud for Hardy). The Tag Titles; one of the highlights during the dark days of SmackDown LIVE last year was in-fact the tag division and now the roster seems more loaded than ever in that department with the arrival of The Bar to freshen things up.
The talent on one show alone is not enough to create a successful wrestling product; you have to look no further for evidence of this than SmackDown in 2002-2003 fronted by Paul Heyman, the show had the right mix of consistently over veterans such as Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit but it also had that group of young, hungry talent such as Edge, John Cena and Rey Mysterio Jr.
Notwithstanding the talents of the aforementioned names, without Heyman creating a compelling weekly TV product, the talent would not have had the ability to grow, attain confidence and thus become the legendary figures they are today. The ultimate point is that WWE can load SmackDown with all the talent in the world, however if the writing is not in place, neither will a successful show.
Talent should be given an extended amount of leverage in terms of their promos and their match structure; allow management to oversee talents in bullet-pointing their promos and matches, but in-turn not forcing said talent to do any promos that they can’t deliver with confidence and manner.
Clearly this is easier said than done and to expect this to be achieved over-night is a ludicrous request; however, it’s not completely out of the question. If Vince McMahon allowed Triple H to take the reins (no pun intended) of 205 Live, which clearly is allowing talent to breathe, then naturally the talent will be more comfortable in their role and it will show in the TV product. Fans moreover will notice this and will naturally appreciate and engage with the weekly product on a more consistently positive basis.
The success of the NXT call-ups on the blue brand comes down to correct positioning and presentation. My concerns for Kay and Royce are that they will type casted as generic heel female characters (and both whom happen to have an accent, which naturally Vince and production will fathom over).
During their in-ring promo before facing Asuka & Lynch on this past week’s edition of SmackDown Live, initial concerns were that this ‘TV feud’, would focus on Lynch’s accent rather than a ‘we’re the best female duo in WWE’ (which got them over in NXT), my doubts were confirmed when 22 seconds into the promo, the accent was mocked, as well as making out-dated comments concerning Ireland. This needs to stop.
Talent do not thrive under these circumstances. Naturally, seeing the lack of progression in the writing is a channel changer for casual viewers; loyal or persistent fans understand that modern-day talents are simply reciting lines from a TV writer and do not have much of a say in their character work.
What the brand simply needs is a few solid months of foundational programming. Back-to-basis storytelling. Tell stories that aren’t built on race, stereotypes or any other outdated wrestling tripe. If we can somehow move forward in the vein of the AJ v Skinsuke Nakamura feud; a respect angle focusing on nothing else with, the WWE Title as a cornerstone for the heel’s reasoning and agenda.
The US Title: Jeff Hardy feuding with every name in the roster, hopefully this extends to the recently called up Cien Almas (who would be a naturally fantastic initial feud for Hardy). The Tag Titles; one of the highlights during the dark days of SmackDown LIVE last year was in-fact the tag division and now the roster seems more loaded than ever in that department with the arrival of The Bar to freshen things up.