State of the WWE: Wrestling's Not What It Used to Be

WrestleMania XXV being just hours away, it's got me thinking.

Stone Cold Steve Austin has been inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame, and that will likely end any chance of him returning to the ring. If anything, I could see him coming back to wrestle just one more match, perhaps at a WrestleMania in the future.

I wish he could do a run in at this year’s 'Mania. It would be pretty cool, considering it is taking place in Austin’s backyard, Houston. But on that note, let me get to the point.

Is it just me, or does it seem like WWE has stopped trying to put a good product out there? What has happened to wrestling?

I remember a time when missing a Monday Night Raw was something me and my friends never did. Nowadays (for me anyways) it has become no big deal. Have I outgrown wrestling, perhaps?

I've come to realize that Vince McMahon has eliminated all of his competition. With WCW out of the way, there really is no reason for the organization to really put forth all their effort to make a great product.

This is a really disheartening thing to think about: With WWE being the only game in town, there is no reason to try. Yeah, there's TNA, but it's insignificant by comparison; McMahon refuses to even acknowledge them on his product.

Another thing that has drained excitement from wrestling is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson going to Hollywood. Personally, I believe The Rock has sold-out. He basically said "eff you" to the fans by leaving.

As far as I'm concerned, the fans made The Rock who he was, yet he turned his back on them. Only through wrestling did he get to where he is today.

Alright, I take that back, he might have had a shot at becoming a pro football player. But that is beside the point.

The Rock needs to come back home and give up acting. Wrestling is his heritage, and the sooner he realizes that, the better off WWE fanatics are.  

I hope the challenge that John Cena issued to Johnson gets through. The video pop-ins and short-lived comebacks are not enough. The Rock needs to return within a couple months, say at the Royal Rumble, so that he can build up some momentum for 'Mania XXVI.

Sure, The Rock himself as gone on the record saying he doesn't want to come back. That’s all well and good, but is it too much to ask for an appearance once in a while? Or has he gotten so full of himself that he can't pay respect to where he came from?

It's all been downhill since Steve Austin left the spot.

Ah, those were the days, when Stone Cold was the baddest. He made Monday Night Raw, and for a time, the man was wrestling. He practically carried the company on his back; if not for him, I don't know if WWE would've been able to beat WCW in the Monday Night War.

The storylines of Austin vs. McMahon were unbelievable. I can say with confidence that what we saw between those two can ever be recreated again.

I give Austin credit for going as long as he did on two bad knees and a bad neck. It's his health that has kept him from continuing.

Of course, split brands aren't helping the wrestling world, either.

I guess the whole process is Vince’s best attempt to create competition. I see the upside, as people get opportunities they normally wouldn’t with just one brand present, but I was never a fan of it when they did it, and I’m still not.

I do like, however, the draft that they’ve instituted over the last few years.

It's provided for a few interesting scenarios with guys who wouldn't otherwise be able to work together.

But, overall WWE’s current product doesn’t impress me. They could be doing so much better than they are. In my opinion, if they were doing all they could, then TNA wouldn’t even have had a chance to start up.

I suppose as long as people continue to shell the out money, Vince will continue to put out an inferior product.