Hello WWE? Lack of character depth is killing the product, fan interest, & careers!?

It's not so much the lack of character depth (this IS pro wrestling, how much character-growth CAN there be?) but more the over-exposure of the same old faces several times each week doing the same things and saying the same things over and over.

This is the biggest problem with Vince's "vision" of a "WWE universe", a small island unto itself with no ties to the "outside world". There are only so many characters in that universe and they've severed all ties to all other promotions in the world. Which cuts their noses off to spite their faces. With the "WWE universe" officially refusing to acknowledge even the existence of other promotions, they've cut themselves off from "history". They CAN'T give us any history on Sheamus (for example) because there are NO other wrestling promotions on earth. Vince grew Sheamus in his basement lab then one day put him on TV. Finlay has a rich and long history in the wrestling business, especially in Europe. But...Europe doesn't have any wrestling promotions, either. So, Vince grew a middle-aged Irishman in his basement lab then put him on TV.

The WWE is in a Catch-22 situation. They don't market their product to pro wrestling fans; they want the "mainstream" to watch their programs. The "mainstream" doesn't really care about the nuances, technique, and art-form of pro wrestling, they want the "drama". But Vince and the "writers" he hires aren't skilled enough to give us a compelling "universe". They expend all of their efforts into creating a few interesting characters (sometimes even giving us decent stories in which to place these characters) and populate the rest of that "universe" with stereotypes and cookie cutter characters nobody gets interested in because, basically, they're just incidental characters having little to do with anything of importance.

"Jeez, Dragon, it's just the WWE, not Masterpiece Theater." Indeed, and that's the basis of the problem. Is the WWE a pro wrestling promotion, or is it another prime-time TV drama with it's own fictional little world? It can't be both. They've proven that themselves. When the WWF was, for the most part, getting the "drama" right (the "Attitude Era") the wrestling aspect suffered horribly. When they got the wrestling right (pre-"Attitude Era") the WWF was slammed for having cartoon characters and "kiddie" storylines.

So how do we "fix" this? First and foremost, the WWE needs to decide what it IS. A pro wrestling promotion in a world full of promotions, or a TV drama with it's own little fictional world and fictional characters that fight once in a while.

If it is a wrestling promotion, they need to acknowledge that there are other promotions in the world, and use THOSE to flesh-out the "histories" of their own performers. Be PROUD that they managed to sign wrestlers with the histories of Finlay and William Regal. CROW about signing Ric Flair, the biggest star of the 80's not named Hulk Hogan. They did that for Kurt Angle's amateur career which gave us reasons to believe that he would be great. Tell us what Sheamus accomplished BEFORE he got to the WWE to explain why he got his push. Nobody believes Vince found Kofi Kingston on a beach and just signed him to a WWE contract, so tell us why he really got signed. The same for Vince finding Drew McIntyre on a golf course and signing him (golf course? huh?).

If they want to be a TV drama then they need to hire professional TV writers who CAN give us interesting and compelling characters AND stories. And most definitely hire a "continuity editor" to keep storylines, plot twists, and character changes logical and believable. Professional TV writers accustomed to dealing with large casts will be less likely to populate the "world" with stereotypes and cookie cutter characters.

And, very important, stop pushing the same small handful of characters week after week after week for years on end. The WWE has a large roster; there is no need to see the same main events month after month. Every promoter and wrestler on the planet know that over-exposure can kill a wrestler faster than just about anything else. Vince ignores that and just keeps bludgeoning us with the same faces over and over until we just give up and accept it. We whine and complain about the same old faces all the time, and when Vince finally gives us a new face, we whine because it's NOT the same old face.

WE, as fans, need to decide what we want the WWE to be, as well. We CAN influence that. RAW and/or Smackdown boring? Tell Vince that by not watching the shows. Don't want Cena in the main events? Don't react when he comes to the ring. Tired of Orton's criminal antics going unpunished? Laugh at Orton for being the Elmer Fudd-type of cartoon villain he is. Sick of DX? Don't buy their merchandise. Etc etc etc. The point is, we don't HAVE to just accept what Vince puts on TV each week.

With TNA stepping up and now offering a different type of product from the WWE, and different from what TNA has done up to this point, the WWE cannot just continue doing what they've been doing for the last ten years. Too many fans complain about the WWE as it is. TNA's new "crash TV" style of programming will become more and more appealing to those who are tired of the same old same old from the WWE.

So, Vince needs to decide what the WWE IS and focus on that. It can't be everything to everybody.

Anyways, yes. The lack of character in WWE superstars (mostly the faces) is one of the main problems in WWE right now. We simply don't have a reason to cheer for them or care about them.

I enjoy the great ability of a wrestler but most of them couldn't go very far without a decent character. Storylines and characters are the things that make us like certain superstars.

CM Punk and Kofi are a good example. I hated CM Punk during his entire WWE stint .... until WWE has started to give him some character development. And now, I'm actually starting to like the guy.

Some will say that I'm a bandwagoner, simply jumping onboard because Punk is turning heel, but that is not the case at all. He is now producing entertaining storylines and promos.

Kofi Kingston is a great wrestler, but I had no reason to cheer for him and even my younger siblings who barely watches it don't either but now, she started cheering for him after he had mic time and got a feud with Orton.

Every thing you say is true, the lack of personality to these characters is WWE biggest weakness. Every time I see anyone who asks what makes the Attitude Era better than the PG era, I don't point out the mature content, but one of the keypoints I always try to point out is the lack of strong, charismatic characters for the PG era, like Austin and Rock, who had personalities people could relate to, Austin, a beer drinking tough SOB who had a passion for hating his boss, the Rock was the People's Champion, if he came back now, WWE probably wouldn't even refer to him as the people's champion, because the fans are only referred to as "The WWE Universe" on TV these days, plus these guys took no crap from anyone and wasn't spineless cowards like so many of the characters these days are, they was kind of inspirational in some ways, they never made excuses for their losses, you just don't see that in WWE these days.

This is what WWE lacks the most, Strong Characters, that fans actually give a damn about, so I would have to agree with everything you say. There is no depth to the characters, no depth to the story plots they are involved in, there just is no depth to anything in WWE, it is strictly good guys vs bad guys, with little or no explanation to why they are good and bad, WWE needs to work on this.

That's why I can't wait until Bryan Danielson comes back from Florida (they sent him to Florida after his match with Chavo, but it was Bryan's idea, as he feels he has to work off some ringrust first)

You got this from Wrestlezone forums.

i lol'd at chris masters