WWE

The WWE has been gradually sinking for a few years now. What used to be a pretty consistently entertaining show, has turned into a generally directionless staple with more groan-worthy moments than highlight-reel worthy ones.

My thought on why is that the characters aren't what they used to be: they are gray. Back in the "old days", the heels were always bad and the faces were always good. The Iron Sheik was always evil and never likable (unlike his real life persona on twitter which is hard not to love). Hulk Hogan, when wearing yellow, was always the hero. When the Hulkster finally went bad...he was bad.

These days, the show seems to incorporate too much "reality" at times. HHH is presented as a conflicted heel that is more bad than good, but has distinct moments where he seems to truly care about being fair. He will pedigree Daniel Bryan to hand Orton the title one minute, but then make sure there is no cheating a few weeks later in an Orton match against Cena.

Orton is constantly at odds with The Authority, which makes for an odd vibe. Having everyone on the same page would seem to polarize things better. Instead, Orton comes off as a whiny, bipolar, diva that is more annoying than worthy of vitriolic hate.

The lack of consistency with the minor characters also contributes to the directionless feel to the show. Is Miz a heel or a face? I really have no idea and eventually I just stopped caring to find out. While having a Swiss Citizen being the second "Real American" was briefly hilarious, hasn't it taken away from the whole schtick a bit in the long run?

The show lacks an edge to it now that it had in the past too. The company had more cajones to go way over the PC line in the past, but now you rarely see it. The closest thing they have is Zeb Colter, whose rants about illegal immigration become increasingly funny and his Tea Party rhetoric worthy of old school polarization from fans.

Darren Young recently came out as gay. The WWE used to be notorious for making brilliant storylines out of real life events. This would seem to be ripe for one, but it's too daring for what used to be a fearless Vince McMahon. They've staged gay weddings in the good old days, but can think of nothing to do with Darren Young until recently...which now appears to be getting beat up by Titus O'Neil.

I still tune in for shits and giggles every so often on Monday nights, but they've lost me a while ago so far as finding it entertaining enough to dedicate too much viewing time. So please, WWE, a few suggestions:

1. Don't screw up Bad News Barrett like you did to Fandango, Ziggler, and Del Rio. That's a lot of talent and potential that you've rendered irrelevant with poor writing and terrible ideas. Barrett is hilarious and deserves a serious push.
2. Give Daniel Bryan the title already. Does this really need elaboration? You seem to be waiting for the right moment. It's long-since passed. You can salvage things still, but the longer you wait, the less triumphant that moment is going to be.
3. Make Batista go heel. His much anticipated return was the most underwhelming thing I've seen in a long time. Having him come out in skinny jeans and address the crowd like he was bored...yeah, the reaction shouldn't have come as a surprise.
4. Have the Wyatts convert someone hilarious. Santino Marrella? Cena?!
5. More Lesnar.