2014. It’s a brand new year, WWE. And as with all brand new years, it’s a time for hope and dreams, a time for us to all look at the upcoming year and say “This is the year. This is the year that things will be different.” It is with that level of hope and optimism that I present to you this list. It is a wish list of things that I hope happen over the next twelve months. I know that it won’t be all sunshine and roses, after all I’ve always been willing to admit that it’s quite difficult to put out unfailingly must see material ever single week, but if you can manage to make the things that are on this list happen, I’ll be willing to consider 2014 to be quite a success.
WrestleMania XXX: I’ll go ahead and admit that regardless of whatever card you present for WrestleMania this year, I’ll be putting down money to buy it. That being said, it’s WrestleMania 30 guys, and that should mean something. Something more than just what the yearly WrestleMania means. That doesn’t mean that I want a four-hour show of the WWE just tooting it’s own horn, but at the same time Acknowledge what has been accomplished here. This is an event that I will be buying to see live and then more than likely spending additional money to own on DVD later in the year. Don’t make me not give you my money here.
Don’t Waste Our Time With CM Punk: CM Punk has said in the past that he plans to retire by the year 2015. He’s said that on more than one occasion. If he sticks to that, it very possibly means that this could be the very last full year of CM Punk being an active roster member for the WWE. Now I don’t want to belittle the stories and feuds that CM Punk has been put in for the past few years. No question his 2011-2013 run with the title is one of the most important things to happen in the WWE in recent memory and a feud between him and Paul Heyman seemed like a surefire gold storyline (And the first part of it, the part that was CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar, not the part that included Ryback, was) But since SummerSlam, it doesn’t seem like CM Punk has really had a feud that he can really thrive in. Now maybe that’s just my CM Punk bias coming through complaining everytime that Punk isn’t the main focus of every single episode, but the fact still remains that he is one of, if not the most gifted wrestler on the roster right now and by his own words you only have him for just over another year. Don’t waste it.
Don’t Screw Up Sheamus: In all my time as a wrestling fan, I don’t think I’ve come down so firmly against any one individual wrestler as I did against Sheamus in 2013. So while I never wish any sort of injury on someone else, especially one that could potentially end a career, I can say that I didn’t miss the character of Sheamus week after week. And honestly, the absence has done our relationship a world of good, and I’m actually not dreading his return that I assume is most likely happening in the next month or so. So WWE, you have a very rare second chance to make this character work. Which means, don’t bring out what you tried last time with Sheamus.
Make Someone Champion For the First Time: In the year 2013 only one person became WWE champion for the first time and that was Daniel Bryan who held that title for about three minutes. For the rest of the year, Punk, Cena, Orton, The Rock, and Vacant held the title. In 2012 nobody held the title for his very first time, but that was thanks to Punk’s extended title reign so I’ll accept that. But that still means that in the past two years, only one person has won the WWE title for their very first time. So, in an effort to help solidify the next generation of Superstars, somebody needs to win the company’s top title this year (Dolph Ziggler is a perfectly acceptable option here. Just saying. Or any member of The Shield).
Get me To Watch SmackDown Again: I’ll admit it, I don’t keep up with the happenings on SmackDown as much as I really should. But how much can you really blame me? When was the last time there was an episode of SmackDown that I really needed to see? And I’m not talking about a segment that I needed to see. If that should ever happen, they’ll be sure to show it a few times on Raw the next week. And now that there’s no title for the SmackDown brand, there’s even less of a reason for me to pretend that SmackDown’s important. So rather than just be the clear B show to Raw that SmackDown’s been for the past while, why not do something different? Why not try something off the wall or something experimental? Or maybe just have some time for some really good long,, matches to show of the talent of your roster. Or a storyline that’s exclusive to SmackDown for some reason. Whatever it is, you have two hours of air time every week that I never feel compelled to watch. Do something with it.
Good Luck With the Network: I sure would like that long rumored WWE Network to actually become a thing in the year 2014. And I sure would like it to be something quite awesome, and I assume that you would as well. I don’t really know what to tell you to do here, because right now we still don’t know exactly what the “network” is and what the possibilities are. But lets just say that I hope that whatever you decide to actually do with this whole network idea, you really knock one out of the park on this one and make it worth all the hype and anticipation I’ve been going through every time someone mentions it. Good luck here guys, and good luck with 2014.
