Why I’m Cancelling the WWE Network . . . for now.

After this week’s Monday Night Raw I made the decision to cancel the WWE Network. I can usually put my trust in the company with storylines. In the past the road they’ve been on has been shaky but I’ve stuck it out, often with scant reward. But recent events culminated in an ideology I can’t be a party to. WWE doesn’t seem to care about Raw’s pathetic weekly ratings so the only place to make a stand is by removing my payment of 9.99.

The bone of my contention is the deformation of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. We all get that John Cena is the company’s main guy. I acknowledge without any gripes that this has been his year. He’s given the US Title credibility and in the process put over performers such as Cesaro and Kevin Owens. This should have existed while the main title looked strong and its champ – the supreme Seth Rollins – was given legitimacy. Never the twain shall meet.

But they did meet. There could have been other ways to get the belt back to Cena, beforehand they could have afforded Rollins one clean win over Super Cena. Now it is unclear the benefit of the whole Cena/Rollins program. Cena certainly doesn’t need a boost. It’s etched in the fans’ minds that he is the man that runs the place. All it’s done has made the World Champ looking like he’s only good enough to be top of the mid-card.

This is diabolical. Rollins on the mic has no equal right now, and in-ring he’s shown signs he could be not just the greatest of this generation but of all time. His reward for this is a match against Kane going into Hell in a Cell with a belt that’s now worthless.

This poor writing from WWE Creative – the best example of an oxymoron ever – will be masked by the interest in the PPV. Thanks to Undertaker and Brock Lesnar being on duty it’ll appear to be a successful event. In reality it will paper over the cracks.

This is the future of WWE: Poorly managed talent and badly written stories. But as long as the t-shirt sales stay up, kids are buying toys, and the Network bounces around 1.2m subscribers, Vince won’t make a change. Until then I won’t be sending him my ten British pounds each month.

Okay, I’ll probably crack before then. Maybe. Definitely Maybe.

Rollins needs the Rub

Heading into Night of Champions there’s one thing that has been universally agreed upon: Seth Rollins has been poorly booked during his run as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. There have been too many occasions The Authority’s chosen one has lost matches or been made to look weak. At tonight’s PPV the man with two belts deserves – and needs – to get put over.

Another thing that has also been repeatedly expressed is how good Rollins is, as both a performer, and on the mic. It’s part of playing the heel, to look slippery and win by any means possible. Dirty finishes are common place for villains. What’s become unacceptable is the number of times Rollins has been made to absorb an unnecessary loss. That’s what mid-card talent is for. If say, for example, Sting needs a win on Monday Night Raw, let him get that tap-out to someone lower down the card or a bit-part player like Big Show. Don’t make the champ take the hit.

It isn’t quite at the levels The Miz endured when he was champion. That reign did nothing other than damage his top tier card beyond repair. Rollins is too talented in-ring to allow this to happen. When creative have allowed him to shine he’s flourished. The match against John Cena for the US Title demonstrated he can look strong and be a heel. That match deserved a clean finish for the former Shield member.

Tonight it’s inevitable he’ll drop at least one of the belts. Many people in the run-up to the PPV have had their say on which superstar should leave with which title. Most have stated that Sheamus is probably cashing in tonight. There’s a chance that WWE Creative will swerve that angle now because it’s too obvious.

My personal feeling is that Rollins should be compensated by Creative for months of carrying the brand and getting scant reward. Okay, two belts is some reward, but his reputation is taking a hit. To cement his in-ring talent as legitimate they should allow him a clean victory over Cena. These two had great chemistry last time out and it would make sense in keeping with the story. Super Cena has been pushed to his limits and found a new level, it can be said afterward that this made the champion do the same. It’s a rub for both men.

If Rollins keeps the US Title then it stands to reason he’ll drop the main gold. This could be WWE’s thank you payment to Sting. He finally joined WWE to lose at his debut Wrestlemania to Triple H, who, while a strong talent over the years, is no Undertaker. To give him the last world strap he’s never had brings closure on a glittering career. If this does occur the commentary team can play up the war Rollins had been in with Cena and that Sting benefited from a fatigued defending champ.

What WWE cannot do is give anyone a clean win over Rollins, making him appear cowardly or throw him a cheap win. He should be made to look strong and when he loses he deserves to go out on his shield.

Remember when Titles Had Meaning?

Currently in WWE the World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar makes fewer public appearances than Bin Laden did before his demise. As such the main belt is void of screen time, an act that threatens to devalue it. The second tier titles, the United States and Intercontinental championships, should have been used to cover the gap. Instead these once illustrious titles have been floundered further by WWE creative. It used to be so different. It used to be so much better.

Regardless of storylines and the characters involved, during the boom periods of sports entertainment championship gold meant everything. The gravitas of results revolved around which side of a rivalry ended the night with a belt held aloft. From the dawn of the new brand of wrestling, sports entertainment as we now know it, in the 80s, personalities that transcended the ring and fell into popular culture came into being. Characters like Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior. Their defining moment came at the start of 1990 when WWF champion, Hogan, faced the Intercontinental Champion, The Warrior, at Wrestlemania VI.

What added to the bout, one already soaked in electricity, was the two main titles. It was like a pro-wrestling unification bout, the type only seen before in boxing rings. Hard to call, a unique chance to see the two great titles face off. The belts weren’t an added gimmick, they were revered and desired. They made a win all the more credible. Of course, Warrior triumphed that night, vacated the I/C title, but not before holding both belts high above his head with pride.

Moving through the 90s the titles still had great value. So much so that Vince screwed Bret (or Bret screw Bret, depending on your take) to keep his main belt from appearing on WCW television. An era when the WWF Womens Championship was dumped in a bin on WCW Nitro by Medusa, a shock at the time, a title that disappeared without fanfare. Before that The British Bulldog defeated Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Title in a packed-out Wembley Arena. That was when 90,000 Brits believed it was a belt worth holding. Nowadays it’s a tool to place a ceiling on the mid-card.

Back then belts were an extension of a performer’s power, a visual representation that validated them, never better emphasised than when Ric Flair brought the Big Gold Belt from WCW to WWF. Now they feel like awkward afterthoughts. Something the WWE hates to accommodate but does so to shift kids’ replica merchandise. The last time they had genuine importance was after the Invasion storyline. They went to great lengths to enforce how important championship gold was. They had, after all, just bought WCW’s history; they had to drive home how important each championship aspect was. It culminated in belts becoming unified, separated, and unified some more.

For example, Chris Jericho became the first unified champ by holding the WWF belt and WCW world heavyweight title. That became the unified belt and then singular WWF title again. Due to the brand extension they soon brought the big gold belt back, in doing so it saw the I/C title, US title, European Championship and the Hardcore Championship all being unified, across a period of time from Survivor Series 2001 to No Mercy 2002, into the World Heavyweight Championship. The US and I/C titles did re-emerge at Judgement Day 2003, but by then the stage had been set to devalue the once highly regarded belts.

Recently we saw the World Heavyweight Championship – the Big Gold Belt’s ghost title – unified again, this time by Randy Orton. WWE tried to remind us the great lineage of both titles, successfully reminding us how mistreated all the current titles have been in recent years. Now Lesnar holds the belt without making any appearances for months. I’m all for the main belt having reduced screen time. It makes it feel more special. But an absence of one month is enough. One PPV, tops. Never more than this. It should be defended at every monthly event that requires subscribers to pay more or headlines the network during that period. Now the WWE World Heavyweight Title doesn’t feel special, it feels unnecessary.

In its absence the secondary titles could have been used to fill the void. It was a great chance to return their former value. The higher mid-card could have evolved to the main event scene, like Warrior did with his I/C title in 1990. With the I/C title becoming the new top title, the US champ could have become a good number two, like the Intercontinental title of years gone by.

Instead we witnessed Sheamus holding the belt without ever really defending it. It was prop, not authentic. And Ziggler went on a losing streak while holding I/C gold. Even though he was the holder of such an illustrious title, there was no way WWE creative could allow him to overcome Seth Rollins. In doing so they told the viewers that the I/C champ was good, but not that good. That a higher level existed beyond the title.

To enforce this, Ziggler himself overcame the current holder, Luke Harper, this week on Smackdown. Telling us that Ziggler is now in the top group. The Intercontinental Championship should be validation of the top group by them holding it, not by the champ jobbing to them. Top tier and the upper mid-card shouldn’t face off on regular programming, especially to the detriment of titles. Only Rusev holding the US title has stemmed the tide for now.

The WWE needs to address its current title problem. It’ll take time but the long term benefits are worth the efforts required to restructure its current stance. Would a ladder match for the I/C title tomorrow have the same aurora as Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon did? No. And it’s not for a lack of talent, but the title has zero importance now. Does anyone actually care who the WWE Champion is now? No. And it’s not because WWE lacks main event star power. Better titles creates bigger buzz around PPVs. Prestige on the belt gives holders a step closer to immortality, and instant validation with the WWE Universe.

A competition without a main prize isn’t sport at all. It’s not even entertainment.