Just about anyone and everyone has an opinion on WWE and the product they give the fans these days. Honestly, the fans have a bit of a voice, but to be able to say what is truly wrong with the product and causing ratings to fall, one has to have inside knowledge of how things work. Wrestling legend Shawn Michaels has spoken on just what is wrong with the WWE product these days, and he also has some rather choice words for the fans as well.
Shawn Michaels isn’t around or involved with the WWE product lately. He’s enjoying his retirement and doing a lot of other things, but like at WrestleMania 32 , HBK is never too far away when he’s called upon.
Having gone through just about anything and everything there is in the wrestling world, Michaels is able to speak freely on it and with a lot of knowledge and experience backing it up. When he speaks, people listen, and it’s for any number of reasons.
Recently, Shawn Michaels was a guest on a new show called The Brand , and it comes from Vince Russo. As the conversation went on, Michaels was asked about what he believes is a struggle in WWE today and what is one big thing they can do better.
Michaels referenced something that he learned from the late Rowdy Roddy Piper, and it had to do with main event feuds. There is actually something more important in wrestling that WWE is struggling with, and they need to fix it.
“…(the) follow-up to the main event is perhaps more important than the main event itself.”
He makes a very valid point there. Feuds don’t last today nearly as long as they used to. There were times that a feud would continue over the course of eight months to a year with a big blow-off match at a major pay-per-view.
Now, feuds don’t last longer than a month or maybe two, and chances are the superstars will have two or even three matches in that time-span. Some feuds do last longer, though, and then the pay-off main event match is important, but the next step is even more important.
In the case of Roman Reigns , he won the WWE World Heavyweight Title from Triple H at WrestleMania 32 and then immediately went on to a feud with AJ Styles. On Monday Night Raw , Styles won the number one contender spot, but then WWE ignored the feud entirely the next week.
This match is now set for the main event of Payback , but WWE has been focusing more on Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt . Obviously, this is exactly what Shawn Michaels is talking about, and it’s a big reason that fans turn on the product.
Speaking of the fans, Michaels also spoke about his job as a performer while in the ring, and he was asked how much of an influence the fans had on it. HBK kind of dropped into full-on heel mode for a second in his response.
“I don’t listen to fans… fans listen to me. I’m the wrestler. They don’t tell me what to do. Nobody is going to tell me if my match was good – I TELL ME if my match was good!”
Yet again, Michaels has an extremely valid point, and it’s knowing your own body of work. It’s times like this and comments like that where fans miss the cocky “Heartbreak Kid” persona from years ago.
Shawn Michaels may sound like he is coming off as harsh or rude or like he’s a know-it-all about what WWE should do. Well, he kind of is. The Hall of Famer was there during some of the best and some of the worst times. He was the one on the bottom of the totem pole and worked his way up and over it. Also, his comments about the fans reveal that even in retirement, he’s always working and always proving he is the “Heartbreak Kid.”
[Image via WWE]