Too Formulaic?

Is WWE too formulaic? I think it is. Every week Raw and SmackDown follow a pattern that map out how the show will progress on television. Don’t believe me? When was the last time Raw or SmackDown started with a match? I honestly cannot remember as a promo is what usually kicks off the show. A wrestler will call out another wrestler, and they will have a war of words. Usually an authority figure appears and sets up a match between the two jawing wrestlers. It happens on a near weekly basis, and the formula is not restricted to just the opening segment.

Contract signings are very formulaic. A table will be set up in the middle of the ring with the contract and a pen on top. There are usually chairs as well, but the wrestlers rarely sit in them. Occasionally there is a moderator such as a WWE authority figure or a commentator to oversee the signing. One wrestler will cut a promo and sign the contract while the other wrestler will respond with a promo of their own before singing the contract themselves. The promos will escalate and before you know it, both wrestlers will be swinging fists at each other. Contract signings don’t always end in a fight, but nine times out of ten the wrestlers will end up going after each other.

Another formulaic approach WWE has is how it books wrestlers leading up to a pay-per-view bout. The wrestler who usually wins at the pay-per-view is usually beat down by their opponent on the show before the event. For example, the last Raw before Wrestlemania 29 featured the Rock and John Cena face to face in the ring. The segment ended with the Rock taking out Cena. What happened at Wrestlemania 29? Cena defeated the Rock. Before Wrestlemania 30, the Undertaker choke slammed Brock Lesnar on the final Raw of Wrestlemania season. At Wrestlemania 30, Lesnar defeated the Undertaker. This 50/50 style of booking is not a guarantee, but it happens a lot in WWE.

Those are just a few examples of WWE’s formulaic approach. While there are more examples of how WWE is set in a pattern of how it presents its shows, those are just a few I could think of off the top of my head. Can the formula result in some lackluster shows? Absolutely. Could WWE think outside the box and throw some more surprises at fans? Without a doubt. However, the formula has proven successful as they are still the undisputed champion in the professional wrestling industry.