Can't the WWE see the trend, yet? HHH, Cena, Jericho, Brock, Rock, Heyman, Taker, HBK, Vince. What do they all have in common?
1. They are the only consistent ratings bumpers that appear on television in recent years.
2. They are all stars from the 90's and early 2000's. (80's in HBK and Taker's cases.)
The trend is simple: People are cruising along and see a familiar face and stop for it. They don't stick around to see the new crop of stars. It is the guys who illicit the memories of better characters, stories and moments that get them to watch that segment. That being the case, the WWE needs to do three things:
1. Remember how to gauge the pulse of the people in 2012 and make characters that match them. Hogan for 80's, Austin for the 90's, Cena for 00's, Who for the '10's since Cena is now just for the kids? They have got to make MODERN characters for the modern age.
2. They need to create stories with continuity, suspense, cliffhangers and special moments. Almost all feuds are just "Talk, jump each other, talk, match." Where's the creativity? People used to get hit with cars, thrown off buildings and pile-driven on limos. WEEKLY. Then the WWE needs to FINISH those stories.
3. Once they have developed better stories and characters, they need to get controversial. I'm not saying they can't be PG and successful, but they have no controversy that gets people to even notice what's going on with the E. Even if it gets better stylistically, will anyone notice? They have to get the media talking again, good or bad.