WWE Makes It Even Harder to Get Emotionally Invested in Wrestlers

WWE just made a big problem quite a bit worse.

With the shocking releases of big names like Braun Strowman and Aleister Black, WWE amplified an issue that has been plaguing its weekly programming for a long time: There's little reason for fans to get invested in characters and storylines.

This was already a big issue simply because WWE drops storylines left and right. Likewise, the company's lack of creativity when booking stars and entire divisions often doesn't lead to satisfying payoffs—and that's when a plan gets follow-through at all.

Strowman and Black now sit as perfect examples here, as well as an escalation of so much more.

Think about the journey for these two over the past few years.

Strowman was a top contender in the Raw main event scene and was recently contending for the top title. While one could easily argue he had reached a ceiling and done everything he could in his restrictive big-man role, there's a big difference between removing him from the main event scene and cutting him from the roster.

Which isn't to suggest Strowman had a massive, dedicated fanbase. But if there were fans out there getting excited for the idea of a Strowman title run or just wanting to see him succeed, this is so much worse than a mere loss in a title match.

It's a similar but different story for Black.

Black was an elite talent from the indy scene who took NXT by storm with devastating in-ring striking and a unique mystical side to his character. His potential on the main roster, like many NXT standouts before him, seemed unlimited—if not more so because of the potential for his character.

Instead of say, being the supernatural guy to slay Bray Wyatt's The Fiend, at least verbally sparring with someone like The Undertaker or putting that striking acumen to test against a Brock Lesnar-type, Black mostly just cut promos and got lost in nothing feuds.

Call it the perfect marriage of WWE-isms. The company struggled to figure out what to do with his character and ultimately threw in the towel. And in an added burn, there's almost a 100 percent chance Black goes on to make waves with another promotion. Not only has he done it before but pretty much anything will feel better when compared to his WWE run.

Not to mention, of course, that WWE ripped the rug out from underneath Black as he was getting hot again. WWE had just filmed big-budget promos with Black and had him cost Big E the Intercontinental Championship, clearly setting up a feud.

Yet any fans excited for the idea of that—and what it might mean for Black if he could get past Big E and into the main event scene—were left disappointed by his release at a moment's notice. This also means Big E caught a stray and has suddenly lost his direction too.

Maybe the thing that feels closest to this is the miserable ending to Kofi Kingston's long WWE title run. As soon as SmackDown shifted to Fox, Brock Lesnar came back, embarrassed him, won the gold and Kingston hardly mentioned it again. It smacked of WWE outright telling him to pretend it never happened.

After a fun run that got ruined so terribly, why would fans get invested in Kingston again? Especially with the threat of part-timers coming back and overshadowing full-time guys?

That's the other problem here. Fans already know how this goes. The cuts were made for supposed budgetary reasons, yet fans know WWE will turn right around and spend big the next time a Lesnar or Goldberg wants to come back around the middle of the summer or during WrestleMania season.

So even worse than the fear of investing in Superstars because they could be cut from the roster, fans have to worry that it will happen just so WWE can bring in temporary acts they might not have an interest in seeing in the first place.

It's an unfortunate place for everyone to reside. It was bad enough when Drew McIntyre got mishandled around 'Mania after a superb yearlong run, making fans tire of him. And now there's the threat of not only seeing a talent misused but outright let go.

That all makes it hard for fans to get too attached to the performers, both the characters and real person alike. And in the wrestling business, that's the opposite of what a company should be striving for on a daily basis.