Views From The Turnbuckle: WWE's Character Problem And Why New Japan Can Help
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of WrestlingInc or its staff.
WWE's largest problem over the last several years hasn't been declining TV ratings, injuries to top wrestlers or fluctuating stock prices. Their biggest issue has been a general lack of ability to create stars that fans genuinely care about. There have been a few a guys who have reached that plateau over the years, but not nearly enough wrestlers have been sustainably interesting for a long stretch of time.
CM Punk and Daniel Bryan both hit that lofty mark, but as of today both wrestlers careers inside the ring look finished. Randy Orton and Chris Jericho had both had runs for a while when they were gamechangers for WWE, but they have also had long bouts of mediocrity in between their stellar runs. The rest of the heavy hitters are part time wrestlers who only work a couple dates a year, like The Undertaker, Triple H, and Brock Lesnar. Really only John Cena, love him or hate him, has consistently remained relatively interesting for the last 5-10 years.
WWE can have a great undercard filled with great in-ring work, and they could brilliantly book the women, but ultimately none of that matters if they are not consistently churning out good matches at the top of the card. Nobody would go to a restaurant if the appetizers were delicious but the entrees sucked. Having a solid undercard is certainly a benefit to the show, but the greatest undercard in the world isn't going to put 50,000 people in a stadium. At the end of the day it is the guys at the top that are going carry the company, and WWE has struggled mightily in that regard over the last several years.
Why is that? There are a lot of potential answers, but one that I find very problematic is that WWE is utilizing an archaic formula for creating stars. The crutch of wrestling since the turn of the last century has been to create a feud that involves good guy vs bad guy. The good guy is the good guy because he always follows the rules and endears himself to the fans while the bad guy is the bad guy because he cheats and insults the fans. The reason that formula always worked was because it was accepted that the actions and results in the ring were authentic, even if most fans knew that wrestling was staged, their reactions were always based upon as if it was real.
In 2015, with shoot interviews, podcasts, the Wrestling Observer and everything else, the perception of what wrestling fans value as good and bad has morphed. Kayfabe is largely dead, and a large portion of fans no longer base their opinions on characters whether they are noble or dishonest, they base it on the level of talent and ability that is being displayed by the performer. When a heel is doing a really good job being a heel, more often than not fans will cheer for him because they respect his ability. When a babyface is doing a bad job being a babyface, more often than not fans will boo him because they don't respect his ability. It is a problem that has puzzled WWE for years.
The real root of the issue for WWE is that they are pretty much the only wrestling company that operates this way. When you look at New Japan Pro Wrestling, it is plain to see that the top wrestlers in the company are there because they are the most talented guys on the roster; and that they truly deserve their positions in the company. In WWE, Roman Reigns is not one of the five best performers in the company, but he is booked like one, so it's no wonder the fans haven't fallen head over heels for him as the next great babyface of the company.
In WWE, it creates a system that is not at all in tune with what most fans actually care about. Part of the reason the Kevin Owens/John Cena feud has been so interesting is because WWE has dabbled a bit more in operating away from the traditional face vs heel methodology, but even it has fallen into the same pitfalls that plague the rest of WWE booking. When Kevin Owens powerbombed Machine Gun Kelly off of the stage, in the eyes of WWE it was a dastardly action that should only cause displeasure in Owens from the fanbase. This thinking was confirmed by the announce team's reaction to the event, with somber voices condemning the actions of Owens. In reality, it was probably the biggest babyface moment in WWE in 2015. What WWE refuses to acknowledge is that fans don't like their time watching Raw to be spent watching middling musicians perform. Owens did what 90% of fans wanted to happen, but because WWE is stuck on creating false perceptions of their talent, it was treated as a despicable act.
In NJPW, the characters come off across as so much more authentic because there are no real babyfaces or heels. Fans support a wrestler because they actually like THE WRESTLER, not because he didn't turn his back on his friend, or because he didn't cheat to win a match. Instead of insisting on having two groups of wrestlers, ones fans should cheer for and ones who they should boo, NJPW creates a level playing field and allows the fans to choose who they root for, for a variety of reasons. Maybe you like Shinsuke Nakamura for his off-the-walls charisma, maybe you like Hiroshi Tanahashi for his in-ring ability and sweet frog splash, and maybe you like Kota Ibushi for his athleticism or Tomohiro Ishii for being tough as nails.
Puroresu has operated this way for a long time. When All-Japan Pro Wrestling came up with their golden generation, Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada were at the top not because they rescued the most kittens from trees or because they were always sucking up to the fans, they were at the top because they were the best workers and had the most charisma.
The authenticity of the characters creates a much more interesting product. In a way it is much more like watching real sports. You root for your team because you like them, maybe they are based in your area, maybe they have a player you really like, etc. and then there is everyone else's team, which most of the time you don't particularly dislike, but they are not YOUR team so you root against them. Restricting fans to only liking one group of wrestlers and disliking the other is limiting the appeal that the product presents. Instead of having it be red vs blue vs green vs yellow vs orange vs purple, it is just white vs black, and that isn't nearly as interesting.
You can follow Jesse Collings on Twitter @JesseCollings