5 MAJOR CREATIVE MISTAKES WWE IS CURRENTLY MAKING

WWE may be a booming business, but its programming certainly isn't without its fair share of faults.

Lost in all the excitement surrounding WWE's pair of lucrative new TV deals, which will earn the company approximately $542 million in 2021 alone, and its soaring stock price (up to more than $80 per share as of this writing) is the widespread belief that, as a TV product, WWE, well, simply isn't very good. In fact, even those within WWE are reportedly well aware that both Raw and SmackDown have struggled to deliver compelling programming this year, which could explain why Raw recently scored its worst viewership ever and why SmackDown isn't far removed from generating its lowest viewership of 2018.

Of course, with those blockbuster TV deals already set in stone, it would be easy for WWE to rest on its laurels and continue delivering a mediocre product to its fans, but with the possibility of SmackDown being cancelled on FOX looming should the show fail to deliver in the ratings department, WWE knows it needs to step up its game. The company is stuck in creative quicksand and continues to under-perform as a television product, a sad reality that leads to poor TV viewership, disgruntled fans and the need for immediate change.

Here are five creative mistakes WWE continues to consistently make, an analysis of how those miscues are affecting the product and suggestions on how they can be fixed.

NO CREATIVE PLANS FOR NXT CALL-UPS

All of these stars were promoted from NXT to the main roster after WrestleMania 34, and clearly, WWE had no idea what it wanted to do with any of these stars when they were called up. While Sanity's debut may have been delayed due to a trademark problem and the Authors of Pain were dealing with a visa issue, it has still been painfully obvious that there are absolutely zero long-term plans in place for the vast majority of stars who have been promoted from NXT.

That includes the likes of the IIconics and Bobby Roode, who is floundering in the midcard on Raw and has lost all of the luster that made him a top act in NXT. Last month, Triple H told WrestlingInc.com the following about NXT stars making the transition to the main roster on Raw or SmackDown:

I think that comes down to anything right? You try to prep them, you try to give them the tools, and you try to give them everything you can so they can succeed on the main roster. But the truth is if you believe that everyone who gets called up will become ‘the guy’ or ‘the girl’ or the next big thing it’s kind of an unrealistic expectation.

No one should expect every NXT callup to be "the next big thing," of course, but a realistic expectation is that, at least initially, WWE should have a definitive plan and goal in place for an NXT star, whether that includes a specific match or feud. What's unfortunate for many of these NXT stars, including the likes of the incredibly talented Almas, is that WWE promoted them with no rhyme or reason, which begs the question: Why?

After all, it does more damage for an NXT star to be "promoted" to the main roster and for the creative team then to fail to push them strongly right out of the gate than it does for those stars just to stay in NXT. This creates the perception that these stars aren't really big stars at all, and as we know, perception often becomes reality.

CONSISTENTLY LEAVING GREAT TALENTS OFF TV AND PPV

If only you had a dollar for every time a main event caliber star was left off an episode of Raw or SmackDown with no logical explanation.

Just recently, Elias and Bobby Roode found themselves inexplicably missing multiple episodes of Raw, which was certainly a head-scratching decision given that Elias is currently one of WWE's hottest acts. While it's certainly understandable when a star like AJ Styles misses SmackDown in order to do promotional work for the company, there is really not much of an excuse for WWE consistently failing to find TV spots for many of its most popular acts, an issue that has plagued the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, Jeff Hardy, The Bar, The New Day, the Usos and Rusev, just to name a few, over the last year.

This isn't like an NBA player falling out of the rotation because he's struggles to play well. It's not even like when the NFL's New England Patriots benched Malcolm Butler in a move that may have cost them this year's Super Bowl. WWE simply often cannot create an engaging angle or find a storyline purpose for stars who should be centerpieces of its programming, and oftentimes, it's for reasons that make you scratch your head.

Take, for example, the current hiatus of Sheamus and Cesaro. The Bar reportedly has been of TV because "creative has nothing for them," which is akin to a professional sports team not being able to find a role for two very good players and its team performance suffering as a result. With so many talents on the WWE roster, it will be next to impossible to find a consistent TV role for all of them, but when potential main event talents continuously find themselves struggling to get on TV, the product also struggles, the stars suffer and the perception of those stars in the eyes of fans suffers as well.

It's up to WWE to stop dedicating so much TV time to top stars like Styles, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman who are already established and instead use some of that time to push new stars.

PUSHING TOP BABYFACES AT THE EXPENSE OF ITS TOP HEELS

Let's recap, shall we? AJ Styles has beaten Shinsuke Nakamura what feels like 100 times in 2018. Roman Reigns defeated Samoa Joe, supposedly one of SmackDown's top heels, at Backlash. Kevin Owens lost to Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 34 and is currently in the process of being fed to Braun Strowman. Elias has spent most of his main roster run losing to Raw's top babyfaces. Bobby Lashley just "buried" Sami Zayn, who is now injured. Sanity lost its first main roster match. Almas just tapped out to Styles for no reason whatsoever. And we could go on all day.

There's a trend here, and it's that WWE's obsession with pushing its top babyfaces has resulted in a roster with very few believable top heels. While WWE's merchandise sales prove that the company has no shortage of super popular babyfaces, a look at its recent YouTube viewership shows that the company is sorely lacking in the heel department, in large part because most of its heels have been squashed by its top babyfaces. The heel stars who seem to generate the most views on YouTube, which probably translates to TV ratings as well, are Brock Lesnar (No. 1) and Stephanie McMahon (No. 11), and that's notable because neither is a full-time star while one isn't even a wrestler and they are the only two heels ranked in the top 11.

A show's top babyface is only as good as its top heel, and even though WWE has a number of quality villains in guys like The Miz, Samoa Joe and Baron Corbin, the questionable booking of those stars has resulted in a product that has a woefully imbalanced split between babyfaces and heels. While the likes of Styles, Bryan, Reigns, Rollins and Strowman are pushed incredibly strongly (and are over because of it), there really isn't a main roster heel in the men's division who is booked to be on their level.

That's a major issue because at the core of pro wrestling is the battle of good vs. evil, and when virtually the entire fan base knows that perhaps no top heel is a true match for a top babyface, the story of good overcoming evil is pointless as fans have no reason to tune in to a show in which the babyfaces typically triumph over the heels. WWE needs to remedy this issue by pushing its heels more strongly or moving a top babyface or two to the dark side (especially on Raw), as it did with Randy Orton on SmackDown.

WHATEVER IS GOING ON WITH BROCK LESNAR

There have been so many conflicting reports about what's going on with Brock Lesnar that it wouldn't be surprising if Lesnar himself is insure what his future holds.

Back in April, it was reported that Lesnar re-signed with WWE but that his deal would expire prior to SummerSlam. That, however, apparently isn't the case as Lesnar will be wrestling on that show. In June, it was reported that Lesnar would face Reigns in the main event of SummerSlam and probably drop the Universal title there, but that may not happen either as Lesnar is advertised for the post-SummerSlam episode of Raw, which suggests he may actually retain his championship at the PPV.

The uncertainty surrounding Lesnar has already resulted in Vince McMahon scrapping the original Extreme Rules main event, which was supposed to be a multi-man No. 1 contender's match featuring several top Raw stars, and all of the questions regarding Lesnar's status and the outcome of his next match have left Raw in a state of flux for the majority of his title reign. If you're wondering why the red brand's programming has been so bad as of late or why its ratings have tanked to historic lows, it's because the show has had no top title, no top champion and no direction due to the absence of Lesnar.

While many of Raw's top stars are gunning to be Universal Champion, they have been unable accomplish that because Lesnar has held the title for nearly 500 days and has hardly been around for any of his ridiculously long reign. In fact, Lesnar has appeared on Raw for a grand total of 196 minutes since becoming champion at WrestleMania 33 in April 2017, a laughably low number especially when compared to the totals for the company's other top stars.

And as long as Lesnar is the absentee Universal Champion, there's no reason to think that Raw's upper midcard picture or main event scene will improve because it will remain directionless until he drops the title. That needs to happen at SummerSlam, whether it's Reigns, Strowman or even Lashley who beats him for the belt.

THE BOOKING OF ASUKA

It sure didn't take long for WWE to ruin Asuka on the main roster.

With WWE's female superstars becoming massive ratings draws for the company, the charismatic and formerly unbeatable Asuka was once seen as someone who would be the next major attraction in the women's division. That was until WWE badly botched her main roster run. At the time, Asuka's WrestleMania 34 loss to Charlotte Flair, which marked the first time she had ever been pinned or submitted in WWE, didn't seem like that bad of a decision because of what it meant for Flair, who might be the only current WWE star capable of carrying the burden of being the one to end Asuka's undefeated streak.

Then, Flair quickly lost the SmackDown Women's Championship to Carmella and lost again to Carmella in clean fashion, cheapening Flair's ending of Asuka's streak. Then, Asuka lost her first match after making the jump to SmackDown and lost in relatively clean fashion to Carmella at Money in the Bank before losing to her again at Extreme Rules. Admittedly, it would have been difficult to keep Asuka's character fresh if she went undefeated for too long, but it took barely six months for WWE to ruin her character on the main roster.

Asuka's mystique and aura as an Undertaker-like unbeatable attraction is already gone. She lost to Flair and Carmella, and now, she just feels like another superstar in a women's division that is absolutely loaded with talent. With WWE looking to create as many draws as possible in a women's division that tends to only focus on a handful of stars (Flair, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, etc.), Asuka was the closest thing to a sure thing. Until she wasn't.

Asuka isn't the must-see attraction she was in NXT or even immediately upon her call-up to the main roster. She's simply another beatable superstar in a women's division that will need to rely even more heavily on Ronda Rousey as its biggest attraction now that Asuka no longer is one.