PWP Nation’s Stephen Ajamie pleads his case as to why WWE needs an off-season.
With the recent news of John Cena taking some time off and the decline in the weekly RAW ratings, this creates the perfect storm for WWE to create an off-season. I’ve had this idea running in my head quite a few times, and it makes so much sense when you consider the amount of talent WWE has to make it work.
Not only would it help the declining ratings, but it would save so much wear and tear on the bodies of superstars and divas, which would in result lead to longer careers for all competitors.
What makes this idea so strong is that you know WWE has those down times that business isn’t booming like it is earlier in the year around WrestleMania and SummerSlam. Look at the time now, and you could take off a month or two, recharge the batteries, give those wrestlers much needed time off after SummerSlam, create the storylines for Royal Rumble and come back ready to go for that time in January.
Another time to do this would be the time right after WrestleMania. You go so strong from January to March or April whenever Mania will fall, so why not take off a month in the summer time when you know viewers just aren’t as likely to tune in? How many times have we seen those June and July special events fall flat?
With the talent so busy during WrestleMania week with media apperances, I would imagine it would be fantastic for them to even get a week or two off from all that hustle and bustle. When you consider the huge roster as well, this could give some guys some much needed television time.
You can give a guy like John Cena that time away and give the time to Dean Ambrose. He doesn’t need to fill the shoes of Cena, but gets out there and gets inserted into some storyline that means something for him. Maybe you build up a storyline for your Intercontinental Championship if the United States Champion isn’t around for a period.
Think of Daniel Bryan and all the grind he’s put on his body; maybe he could be given some extended time off to somewhat recover from nagging injuries.
It’s just like the major sports of NBA, MLB, NHL, and NFL. They are given some period where they don’t have to engage in any sort of physical activity.
I think fans as well sometimes need that break from the viewing. We are engaged in Raw on Monday, Smackdown on Thursday, NXT on Wednesday, and all of the other stuff that might pop up along the way on the WWE Network, not to mention some of us watch TNA Wrestling, Lucha Underground, New Japan Pro Wrestling, etc. Sure, we can take our own break from the product, but when you’re invested into a life long love of something, do you really want to step away from it?
Writers could step back and look at where guys/girls could be heading in some down time. Even Vince McMahon could probably use some time away from his own product, even if he’s asked to do it kicking and screaming. I would love to see something implemented along these lines and I’m sure fans would agree that it would be a change that is best for business.
I am more in the camp of having a Roster A and Roster B etc for certain times of the year. Granted sometimes you need to keep at least a handful of regular peoples to have as the centre pieces (specifically the World Champion) but it can both keep the show going on and make it feel like a refresh via different people.
I like the idea of an off-season. Raw and Smackdown can get predictable and stale, I think an off-season will help with that as well as create a need for the product. For example, Lucha Undergound’s off-season has made me want to watch the next season so much more.