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CALDWELL'S TAKE
CALDWELL: WWE lacking buzz & substance coming out of Summerslam - what needs to be addressed before Mania season?

Aug 21, 2012 - 2:05:04 PM
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By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor
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With a contribution from five straight weeks of three-hour Raws dulling the collective senses of wrestling viewers, there is a noticeable lack of buzz coming out of Summerslam. Now the question is how WWE builds a bridge to WrestleMania during their fall season programming.

As for the lack of buzz, the "eh" Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H Summerslam main event, the constant, transparent teases of a Triple H retirement on Raw, Lesnar leaving WWE again... via a Tout, a stream of Raw matches keeping feuds jogging in place, and the "will he ever just turn heel?" C.M. Punk story with John Cena carrying over from 2011 makes it seem like WWE is still trying to find their footing in the three-hour Raw era.

Backing up the lack of buzz is Raw's social media score Monday night down 12 percent from the Summerslam lead-in episode. And this was with a 14-minute over-run compared to a 2-minute over-run last week.

There's also the residual effect of WWE's one-year build-up to The Rock vs. John Cena at WrestleMania four-and-a-half months ago. From WM27 to WM28, the destination was clear, even if the journey was bumpy with Rock and Cena tearing each other down on Twitter, the eventual Rock-Cena match overshadowing WWE business for 12 months, and WWE hitting Creative potholes along the way.

Now, the destination is not as clear. Where is WWE going after Summerslam? Sure, WWE has set up The Rock challenging the WWE champion at Royal Rumble in January, but that's five months away. Will Cena win the title and lose it back to Punk in-between then? Will it be Rock-Punk at the Rumble for the title? Will Cena win the Rumble and face Rock at WrestleMania in a re-match, this time with the title on the line?

If Rock-Cena II is the WM29 destination, it makes sense and it keeps Punk in the spotlight beforehand. However, there are so many moving parts with part-time stars in potential WrestleMania headline positions that WWE still has to find a way to create compelling three-hour Raws in the interim. Brock Lesnar will keep coming and going, The Undertaker will come back during Mania build-up season, Triple H's retirement tease could be a focal point going forward or may shift to the background, and Rock isn't due back until January.

Based on the end of Raw, though, it appears the "interim" will be filled by a singular focus on C.M. Punk and John Cena. Is there enough there with a wishy-washy Punk character and a Cena character who has been on top for seven years to create compelling television before WrestleMania season? Or, do wrestling viewers need more to sink their teeth into trying to anticipate WrestleMania's big matches?

WWE went with a one-year build-up for Rock-Cena, but there is a sense this year that WWE will simply "flip the switch" around the start of 2013 and "create the demand" for WrestleMania 29's top main events. They will have months of post-WrestleMania 28 stories to build upon, but can they effectively link the past to the present to build anticipation for April 7, 2013?

WWE had a chance to create buzz, substance, and intrigue coming out of their second-biggest PPV of the year on Sunday and then following through on Monday. However, the product feels stuck with basic reinforcement of mid-card feuds, a revolving door of part-time main-eventers, and a big question mark on how much Triple H's retirement tease will be part of Raw going forward.

All of this comes at a time when WWE is trying to fill three-hour Raws on a weekly basis without wearing out the audience. It will be interesting to see how WWE addresses the challenges after passing the unofficial "All-Star Break" of their Mania to Mania season now that Summerslam has passed, and without making a lasting impression.


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