Kevin: Aren’t We The Authority?

Kevin explores a little oversight in the current WWE narrative.

Back in December, a proclamation was made.

The entire McMahon-Helmsey power quartet stood in that WWE ring, looked us dead in the eyes and promised change. They promised that “we were the authority.” This, after a stretch of unquestionably dreadful weeks of WWE programming had left fans searching desperately for some answers – or something new to watch.

Fast-forward half a year, and not a damn thing has changed.

RAW still sucks. SmackDown is on the downswing. The so-called “wild card” rule has reduced both shows’ creative processes to sludge.

Wasn’t there supposed to be some sort of positive change going down?

I’m still waiting to assume my authoritative powers, and I could safely assume from the outpouring of grief on social media over the last few weeks that I’m not the only one who doesn’t feel the slightest bit empowered.

When do we start to get making some choices about what WE as fans want to see? It surely isn’t Shane McMahon main eventing both shows, picking up wins over the Miz and Roman Reigns. It isn’t the RAW tag champs being left on the shelf for weeks on end. It isn’t the absence of the Intercontinental champ Finn Balor from any sort of meaningful storyline.

Now, at this point in your reading, you might roll eyes and question, “well what does this kid really want?”

Fair point. I feel like, as fans, we’re being conditioned by the WWE to scorn every decision made by the brass, no matter whether it’s different or not.

This could be both good and bad. For example, the new wild card rule is absolutely dreadful (please feel free to slide in my Twitter mentions if you disagree, we could have a friendly chat) and the fans are right in their almost-universal disdain with the rule.

On the other hand, I see way too much hate for something like the 24/7 title, which has been fun and creative since its inception last month. People are quick to judge and cast doubt, but it’s been one of the most consistently creative parts of the show for weeks now, and has people paying more attention to R-Truth and Jinder Mahal then they have in years.

But there are things out there, scenarios and situations that would make the WWE Universe quite happy to see, that the WWE just sees fit to ignore and cast aside, much to the detriment of their product and their fan base.

Emphasis on tag team wrestling. Less championships. Guys like Cesaro and Ricochet elevated above the midcard. I know I can’t be naïve and assume that all of these things are feasible, but it’s what the fans want. Those are certainly things I would do if I was truly the authority figure in charge.

I’d welcome almost any changes at this point, but the problem is, outside of the wild card and 24/7 belt, there hasn’t been much change since December.

There’s still waaaaay too much Baron Corbin. The man’s good at his job, but to be featured in every conceivable fashion week after week is just overexposure.

There’s still absolutely no care in the world for any of the tag team championships, including the women’s tag belts introduced in February. Hopefully the Revival can spark things on RAW, but there’s currently no competition for D-Bry and Rowan on SmackDown, and the women’s tag scene is an absolute black hole. All of these competitors deserve better.

And there’s still too much of a focus on authority figures in general. Before, it was Vince, Steph and Triple H who seemingly had their fingerprints all over every live show. Now, it’s the golden boy Shane who is literally EVERYWHERE, much to the chagrin of the fans.

If you guys are going to set out and claim that the fans are the authority, then let us lead. Don’t blatantly lie to our faces.