Triple H's WWE Is Boring and Formulaic at the Worst Possible Time
Contrary to popular belief, WWE television isn't terrible at the moment. Rather, it's perfectly fine, but that's also part of the problem.
The Road to WrestleMania should be when WWE is putting out its best and most compelling content that leaves fans excited to tune in the following week. That simply hasn't been the case in many months and the timing couldn't be worse.
While almost everything on Raw and SmackDown at the moment is largely logical, there's a certain spark that's missing. Paul "Triple H" Levesque and the powers that be aren't doing enough to generate genuine interest in the product heading into what's supposed to be their premier pay-per-view.
WWE TV was virtually unwatchable at the tail end of the Vince McMahon regime. By comparison, the Triple H era has been a vast improvement, but the honeymoon phase ended years ago and it's high time to restore the feeling.
WWE being boring and formulaic might suffice at any other point, but during WrestleMania season, it's inexcusable.
Where's the Spark?
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WWE should ideally be putting forth maximum effort creatively throughout the year, but no time is more important than WrestleMania season.
Storylines should be culminating in epic fashion and the biggest bouts should be booked. Excitement is supposed to be in the air, but the reality is that WWE has been going about things as if it's been business as usual since the Royal Rumble.
The lack of the build for the Rumble was underwhelming enough and there's been very little about the buildup for Elimination Chamber that has screamed special, either.
WWE can't afford to wait until after the event to start heating up the product. This is the time to get fans buzzing about what they want to see at WrestleMania and to produce can't-miss television.
As it stands, no story is lighting the world on fire at the moment. The shows are average, but that doesn't cut it when the company has proven in the past that they're capable of so much better when WrestleMania is right around the corner.
The WrestleMania Direction Is Constantly Changing
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The only match officially announced for WrestleMania 42 as of now is CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship. Liv Morgan vs. Stephanie Vaquer is expected to be confirmed by Monday's Raw as well.
It's hardly out of the ordinary for the card to be completely open this far out from the event, but the issue is that not a ton of matches are obvious, either.
On one hand, it's nice not to know exactly what we'll be getting in the coming weeks. There's any number of directions WWE can go in with the marquee matches as well as with the remainder of the card on both nights.
However, there's also a sense of uncertainty among fans as to whether Triple H is sure of what the WrestleMania lineup will look like and that things are still in a state of flux.
That's alarming at this stage of the Road to WrestleMania. More matches should be set in stone, and while it's possible WWE is doing an excellent job at hiding it, it's difficult to give them the benefit of the doubt with how many things have changed on a whim within the last year.
The constant changes are more concerning than they are encouraging. Raw and SmackDown are in something of a holding pattern until they figure out how everything is going to shake out.
A Growing List of Injuries Hasn't Helped
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Injuries are always plaguing the product, but it's especially apparent ahead of WrestleMania this year compared to past installments.
Seth Rollins going down with an injury last fall caused a seismic shift in the plans for the World Heavyweight Championship and Raw's main-event scene as a whole. His rumored WrestleMania opponent, Bron Breakker, recently underwent hernia surgery and likely won't be back in time for the event.
On the women's side, Bianca Belair should be challenging Jade Cargill for the WWE Women's Championship, but a broken finger has kept her out of action since WrestleMania 41.
With how stacked WWE's roster is and with the amount of names they've called up from NXT since the start of the year, all of the injuries aren't an excuse for subpar storytelling.
The company isn't hurting for star power these days. They can put together a strong card with relative ease but are instead going through the motions week after week because they feel there's no incentive to try harder more often.
Shock Value Isn't Always the Answer
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A recurring criticism WWE has received from fans in the last year is that they don't take risks, or at least not enough of them. Despite that, WWE took what was probably the biggest risk of all by turning John Cena heel at Elimination Chamber a year ago, and in the interim, it was the shot in the arm their creative direction desperately needed.
The immediate aftermath was poorly executed, as was the remainder of the heel turn. It was never fully fleshed out, either, and many would argue that it wasn't worth it in the end.
WrestleMania went on to deliver another two "risks": Seth Rollins turning heel to align with Paul Heyman, and Travis Scott aiding Cena in capturing the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Both moments aged horribly, so in short, resorting to shock value when fan morale is low isn't always the answer. Any major moves WWE makes next need to be carefully planned out to ensure they don't come at the expense of the future product.
Triple H's week-to-week booking is solid, but WWE needs more than that to sell tickets to WrestleMania and drive audience interest. Last year's Elimination Chamber event was a smashing success and changed the perception of the product almost overnight.
WWE won't be able to do anything quite as drastic as that at Chamber this year, but an eventful evening would be a significant step in the right direction.
Time and Tempered Expectations Could Turn Things Around
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All hope is not yet lost for WrestleMania this year. WWE has so far failed to get the Road to WrestleMania off to a strong start, but that doesn't mean the next two months have to be wasted as well.
One of the only positives of the event happening as late as it will be this year is that it gives the company an ample amount of time to turn things around and pivot where necessary.
The WrestleMania build plays a pivotal role in selling tickets, convincing viewers to purchase the premium live event on the ESPN app, and overall boosting audience investment. That said, some of the best 'Mania shows over the years have been preceded by poor builds, so tempered expectations can also make a major difference.
Triple H excels at the basics and telling long-term stories, but this is the time of year when out-of-the-box ideas should be embraced and integrated into the programming. It's becoming harder and harder for fans to buy into WrestleMania as being a spectacle, so now more than ever, WWE needs to knock it out of the park with gripping booking or risk striking out by sticking to the status quo.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
