Why WWE's Big Weekend In Atlanta Could Be a Major Letdown

The WWE will touch down in Atlanta this weekend with three huge events. The first event will be The Great American Bash, an NXT Premium Live Event. The next two events are the main attractions for the weekend: the 40th edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event and the second all-women’s PLE, Evolution. On a weekend, many fans should be excited, it feels like the WWE is throwing so many matches without any buildup that the company is relying on fans' passion for the product to make these events successful. Some fans have noticed that the WWE has had a pacing problem, by delivering so many PLEs in such a short time frame that it does not get many fans invested in the story that is being told. If the WWE continues this at this pace, then it could become a major problem going forward.

First, Saturday Night’s Main Event has been successful for the WWE because it is a spectacle filled with nostalgia that is mixed in with the current iteration of the WWE roster. The 40th edition of Atlanta should be a success because over 10,000 tickets have already been sold for this event. It is headlined by Goldberg’s last match ever against Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. The biggest issue is whether the championship should be on the line in this match. The short answer is, unless WWE plans on giving a world title to a 58-year-old legend, then no, the championship should not be on the line. Another issue is that this event is going to compete with AEW’s All-In event, their biggest event of the year. The truth is, WWE should not be worried about AEW yet. The company that Tony Khan founded is not on the same level as WWE, so the company did not have to book an event to compete with them. The Worldwide Leader in Sports Entertainment already has a strong fan base due to being the premier destination for professional wrestling for over fifty years. They should not have to worry about another wrestling promotion that is working on building its fan base and developing its strategy for building matches and storylines. Another issue with SNME is that, besides the LA Knight vs Seth Rollins match, this card is just going to get thrown together. Randy Orton vs Drew McIntyre is on the card, but is this to kick off a feud or just another chapter in Orton’s road to becoming a heel again? Right now, there are only three matches on the Saturday Night’s Main Event card, with one more episode of SmackDown before the show, WWE will throw one or two matches together to fill out the card.

Evolution on Sunday night should be a historic night for women’s wrestling; however, due to a significant injury, the WWE had to change their plans for this event. It is a card that has some buildup to it, but it does not seem to have the same investment as Saturday Night’s Main Event has. So far, reports have said that the Evolution PLE has only sold 4,000 tickets and has yet to fill up the upper level in State Farm Arena. This is a huge disappointment for the WWE, as this is an event that many fans have wanted to see return, and many stars in the women’s division have asked for. The problem goes back to the pacing of these PLEs, as this event should stand out on its own. Why does this event have to share a weekend with SNME? Evolution should stand out on its own. This event should have the proper buildup and storylines that fans can get invested in to show up for the show. The only matches that have been properly built up are the Women’s Intercontinental Championship match between Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Lyra Valkyria, and the NXT Women’s Championship match between Jacy Jayne and Jordynne Grace. Other matches on the card were put together to either get everybody on the card, a battle royal, or just filled with star power to hype up the card more, Tiffany Stratton vs Trish Stratus.

Overall, WWE has to do a better job of building its cards and having stories that fans can invest in. They cannot just rely on star power and hope that fans tune in to see matches that they have seen before. Saturday Night’s Main Event and Evolution should be events that fans should be excited about and want to watch because they are solely hooked on what is going on. They should not watch just because it simply has the WWE logo on it. If the company does not fix this problem, then they are doing their fans and their roster a disservice by not putting the best shows possible this weekend and in the future.