What is wrong with the WWE?

I don't want to talk about this like a business guy, a sports reporter, or anything else beyond being a total mark for wrestling and a long time wrestling fan.

I also don't want to blame a lot of the fan's (and apparently the WWE roster) displeasures with the Miz being the WWE Champion. While I don't like the Miz, or his character we have to say he has done a great job of creating a character from a reality TV show and probably being the most successful person to ever appear on a reality TV series.

Yup Mike Mizanin was a MTV Real Worlder that created the Miz character on one of the Real World versus Road Rules challenge series. He would go on to win a season of Tough Enough to become a WWE star. He now holds the WWE championship and while it is an unpopular move, I don't think it is at the core of what is wrong with the WWE.

I could have a laundry list of things wrong with the WWE, but in my estimation I find it really hard to believe that the only WCW belt to survive to this day is the United States Championship. Remember although the WWE World Heavyweight Title looks a lot like the old WCW/NWA it actually is not represented that way. The WCW/NWA belt was killed off when the WWE crowned Chris Jericho the first WWE Undisputed Champion. Eric Bishoff would later revive the WWE World Heavyweight title and simply give it to Triple H.

When I think of the great WCW titles the first one that comes to mind is the TV title. For a business like the WWE, based mostly on TV production, it seems quite odd to not have a TV title. However, that alone is not the root of the problems at the WWE.

We could site an overall lack of compelling new talent for people to follow, or the title reigns that are way to short, but for me the overall problem with the WWE stems from the brand extension. Raw and Smackdown are technically supposed to be their own companies. However we regularly see superstars from each roster crossing over to each show, and three of the seven WWE current titles are co-braded titles.

When the WWE killed off the WCW invasion angle, the fans were promised two distinct brands, and I have yet to see a pay per view that is brand exclusive or a separation of the two brands. Really the WWE missed its chance to create its own WCW and truly have two distinct companies up and running.

We can blame the failure to produce an independent WWE/WCW on many things. In the past I have blamed the failings on the loss incurred by the WWE due to the XFL, but we can also blame it on the WCW invasion angle that was doomed from day one.

The WWE could not bring in top notch talent from the WCW roster it acquired due to lengthy guaranteed contracts by WCW and the unwillingness of WCW mainstays like Sting to accept that WWE would transfer them over at an equal level.

Sting did not trust the WWE creative team to use him in the proper manner. Most of that is due to the treatment of NWA/WCW mainstay Dusty Rhodes in the late 1980's and early 1990's. In fact the WWE creative team has always had a tough time swallowing its own ego and treating stars made in other promotions as top tier talent.

When we think about it that is the one thing the WCW did right. When they launched the most successful wrestling storyline ever, the New World Order, they used stars made in the WWE as top tier guys. It is a lesson the WWE has failed to learn and it is hurting their business.

Let's be honest there is only so much wrestling talent and if the WWE truly wants to have two distinct brands up and running using stars created by their promotions is inessential. Right now the WWE does not have two distinct brands and that seems to be an issue.

Sure the killed of their ECW brand earlier this year, but that had the same problem the other two brands had. It did not have its own talent. The WWE ECW Championship was constantly placed on a guy from another brand's roster. I don't like it, and it doesn't appear that many other wrestling fans like it either.