Why February Should Be The WWE Offseason

This time is usually the most anticipated part of the year for WWE fans. We’ve been waiting nine months to get to the fabled Road to Wrestlemania, and now it’s finally upon us.

Unfortunately, instead of Wrestlemania predictions and speculation, we more often see reports on who’s not going to be at the grandest stage of them all instead of the reverse. For whatever reason, this time of year is usually when the injury bug rears it’s ugly head the most for WWE.

That’s precisely why the WWE needs to take February off.

Why go into the biggest show of the year short staffed? I would hazard to guess that most fans want their Wrestlemania to have matches with The Bar, Jason Jordan, Samoa Joe, and Seth Rollins. Nevertheless, the WWE chugs along towards its most anticipated time of year without the stars which paved the way to the show.

Now, if this year was an isolated incident, I would be much less inclined to make a suggestion such as this. It just so happens that this same injury plague has struck the WWE roster at this time just two Wrestlemania’s ago. In that specific instance, WWE even missed out on promoting a match for The Face That Runs The Place because of a shoulder injury Mr. Cena had sustained.

If WWE can’t even guarantee matches for their biggest stars, due to injuries that are usually a result of the wear and tear of the company’s intense schedule, then it only makes sense to institute some kind of offseason.

Now, at this point, I’m fully aware of what the biggest problem with this plan may appear to be. After personally hyping up how exciting the Road To Wrestlemania season is for the fans, how could I say that this is precisely when WWE needs to take a leave?

The answer lies in momentum. While WWE has built up quite the level of sustained press with the Royal Rumble debut of Ronda Rousey and the reappearance of Rey Mysterio, they have done nothing to capitalize on it.

Sure, WWE has devoted numerous segments on Raw to Rousey, but one of the prevailing questions after the show was why the UFC star wasn’t in attendance. Rousey’s no show on Raw, when she will presumably be a central character in the month leading up to Wrestlemania, feels like a letdown.

It makes sense on WWE’s behalf to hold Rousey’s announced debut till closer to her first match. It allows them to build up some time for people to speculate and for the inevitable anticipation for her in-ring debut to begin.

What it doesn’t do, however, is make for compelling TV.

While Raw this week admittedly had some amazing matches, it still felt incomplete without an in-person appearance by Rousey. If WWE were have taken this time to give their wrestlers a break, while simultaneously accomplishing the same task of generating press for Rousey’s in-ring debut, then the company could have got a great two-for-one deal.

If WWE had, for example, restarted Raw at the beginning of March, they would have been able to use their first show after Rousey’s Royal Rumble debut to actually feature their biggest new star with a true story building appearance.

On top of this, WWE could have used that month to negotiate and sign Rey Mysterio to a true contract, something which they have been rumored to do anyways in the coming weeks. If Mysterio simply appeared on the first post Royal Rumble Raw or Smackdown, then the awkward time gap that would occur between his reemergence and actual storyline would be erased. In essence, Mysterio would seamlessly have become a WWE superstar once again in the viewer’s eyes.

In the face of examples such as these, it’s hard to ignore the logic which backs a February offseason for the WWE. On top of the ability to give their stars much needed rest to ensure that the biggest show of the year is ideally not missing any of its biggest names, WWE would also be able to plan out and capitalize on all of the hype and anticipation events like the a Royal Rumble create.

At the end of the day, a February offseason just seems like a win-win scenario for WWE.