WWE Creative Team Burnout: Where Does the Blame Lie?

June 13th: Monday Night Raw was a special 3-hour episode dedicated to promoting the newest WWE video game, "WWE All-Stars." The night included cross-brand action with our special GM Stone Cold Steve Austin.

June 19th: WWE Capitol Punishment aired, receiving a generally negative overall score. High praises were given to two matches: Randy Orton vs. Christian, and CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio.

June 20th: Monday Night Raw was a special 3-hour episode called Power to the People, a viewer's choice night in which fans texted in their votes for opponents and stipulations. A No.1 Contender's match was held, which CM Punk won before announcing the end of his contract on July 17th.

June 27th: Monday Night Raw will be a Raw Roulette, another special show where a spinning wheel determines match stipulations.

This is a lot happening in which little actually happens.

According to a blurb from the site No-DQ (found here), it appears the WWE creative team is facing burn out. One can only wonder what sorts of conversations are happening backstage right now, and what is going through Vince McMahon's mind.

It's easy for us in the IWC to say their job is easy. It's easy for us to say "I have a solution" (which I have done a number of times over the past few months). It's easy for us to say "I can do that just as well as they can."

But as I sit here and type, I really wonder if I could.

In reality, every idea is green-lit by Vince himself. If he doesn't like the idea, it doesn't happen. Who knows how many ideas have been pitched that he's rejected? While some people think Zack Ryder is deserving of TV time and a possible feud (WWWYKI), how many times has Vince probably shot down that plan?

I sit here today not blaming the creative team itself, but rather the process and the planning. A short interview with Brian Gewirtz and Ed Kosky (article here) said this:

"Friday, we pitch all our ideas to Vince... It's our big 'Vince meeting' day. Saturday we put the show together and then Sunday we're usually traveling. Then we take some time to run the ideas by the talent."

Why are shows being put together on a weekly basis? I understand that shows will need to be changed based upon the needs of Superstars at times, or because if injury, but these are risks that must be taken. Angles and stories cannot be held back because of a chance that things could go wrong.

One example of this would be Edge's retirement. It wasn't until that time that WWE and Edge knew what was going on. But to me, this is an extreme case. A more likely example would be when Orton injured himself at Over the Limit when fighting Edge. It's these times where we need a "Plan B".

I think putting together blocks of shows at a time would be a better route to take, since that allows more promo time and a schedule that can be easily followed, rather than rushing from day—to—day. It would certainly elevate the pressure from stretches of time such as this.

Personally, I'd have until Night of Champions outlined, with checkpoints every two weeks. How are we doing? How is the crowd liking it? What do we need to do to amp this up? These are questions that can be answered rather than asking "so what happens now?" Always stay at least 3 PPV's ahead of the game, and you'll never worry about being behind.

Also, does Vince really need to be the one to approve each storyline? I figure he can have a group of trusted advisers that can choose, while Vince is left in the loop of what is going on and can make decisions based around the top faces and heels.

I'm sure Vince McMahon will want to have control over what John Cena and Randy Orton are up to, but does he really care about Daniel Bryan feuding with Cody Rhodes? Probably, but nowhere close as the faces of WWE. I believe that there is someone that a writer can report to besides Vince to move everything along.

Think of Vince McMahon as a head editor, and his team as standard editors. My articles here are edited, but not by the chief—of—staff each time. Why? Because the chief—of—staff trusts the editors, and they've been proven to do a good job.

All in all, I think the process has to be reviewed in which WWE pitches and works ideas. I'm sure it's made leaps and bounds past what it was in 1999, but any process can always be improved upon. Then again, it's easy for me to say I have the answer. I'm just sitting at my computer typing away.

Can we blame the WWE creative team? Sure. Can we burn each one in effigy and riot for a new team of writers? Sure. But I don't recommend it. If the process doesn't change, chances are the outcome will remain more or less the same.

What do you think? Let me know below in the comments!