The first of the RRRetrospective series deals with the Matt Hardy/Edge feud. The date was May 2nd, 2005. It is certainly relevant today, since on RAW they kicked-started a feud between the two. I enjoyed it and some of the little things they did (the camera angle during the arrest, Hardy promoting ROH) but it wasn't realistic enough - it was too obviously 'worked'. Below has me outlining how to make the feud "real".

I don't know how much money could be made on Matt/Edge. The appeal, for the fans, is that this is real. It is not something the WWE wants, it is not something that is forced on 'us', it is something that the fans have chosen to be interested in. If they (the WWE) made it into a storyline, it would cease to be real. The appeal of a match between the two would have to come from "whether or not Matt would cooperate". They would have to make it seem like that there is a very real possibility that Matt would shoot on Edge in that match. They (the writers) don't know how to do that. Bischoff would LOVE to get his hands on this storyline, while Vince just wants it to go away.

For a storyline to work, they'd have to use all their resources to make it work. Have Edge work a house show in (or near) South Carolina (or where ever Matt lives) and have Hardy rush the ring and get a shot in before immediately getting taken out. Have him actually get arrested. Have the report of his arrest get "leaked" to The Smoking Gun, mug shot and all. Have him do a commentary on his site trying to explain the matter. If this situation has proved anything, it is that information travels fast on the internet and with the IWC. "Leak" a video (a fan cam) on-line of Matt attacking Edge, have the WWE try to "remove" the video to no avail. Put plants in the audience that are dressed up like Matt Hardy and have them interact with Edge as if they are teasing him. Have him rip up signs on the matter. Make sure very few people know the "truth" of what is going on so that Meltzer, or anyone else, will report that it's a work.

Then have Edge open up his own website and talk about the matter. Create a messageboard for him, have Matt Hardy post on that messageboard, and let them air their dirty laundry. Part of the appeal of this story for fans is that "we're not supposed to be reading this". Have Edge apologize and then have the matter resolved. Matt posts on his website that he has cooled down and that he is "over" the issue. The WWE feels "safe" hiring Matt Hardy back, and put him on a 90 day probationary period. Matt makes his return to television on a night that Edge has "off". The only reference to Matts leave made on television is that Hardy had some "personal issues" that he had to take care of, and now is back better than ever. To this point, not a single word has been said on TV about the two fighting. Then, after a week or two, they put Matt and Edge in a program together over the most absurd reason possible, just to have them feud. Say, Edge steals Matts wristband.

They have a tag match against each other on RAW, they only interact once and Matt "accidentally" injures Edge and the match can't be finished (A chairshot that was a lil too hard, maybe?). Have everyone act confused, have the show halted for a second, go to a commercial break and comeback with JR and King go over what happened, and then go on with the show. Report on WWE.com that Edge received x amount of stitches, have Hardy say on his website that it was an accident, have Edge say on his website that there are no hard feelings. They have a house show match, the same thing happens. Edge gets "injured". Reports online are coming in that there is heat on Hardy and that he is "taking liberties" with Edge in the ring and that Edge is getting concerned that he will get injured in another match and wants out of the program with Hardy. A match, nonetheless, is set up on PPV. A report of Edge and Hardy getting into a fight backstage is leaked, this time it was Edge who initiated it. It was "broken up" before anything could happen. The WWE wants to fire Hardy and plans to after the PPV, but they can't call off the match because they already set it up and have nothing else to fill it with. Again, all of this is "leaked" information.

I think that working the internet is always a bad idea, but in this case, I think it is the only way to make good money from the two having a match together. A traditional storyline won't work, because the heat for this feud hasn't been garnered in a traditional way.

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When I was looking for the Hardy post, I stumbled on this. So consider this a BONUS post.

The theme I think would be interesting, is "You won't believe your eyes". The positioning would be what the WWE offers, you won't find anywhere else.

I see the current trends on television being more focused on melo-dramatic, weaving, arc-based storylines. These feature well-developed, multi-layered characters with backstories. There is no reason why the WWE can't have this as well, storyline and character-wise. It just takes some effort from the writing team to come up with histories for characters and provide them with motivation for wrestling. Once this is established, pairing wrestlers-up to feud should be easy. Mcguffins can be used from time to time (a tournament perhaps) to get some rivalries, stables, etc. together. The WWE should be looking to put out an intelligent product, rather than the LCD shit that they've been spewing forever. The occasional smart twist and turn, revolving characters, long, draw-out, cohesive, tight, storylines and satisfying conclusions are all key. If they are able to successfully do that, word might get around that the WWE is putting on better storylines than major networks, people might tune in to see it just out of disbelief.

Then comes the sport aspect of it. From the sound of the way I want the writing, it may sound like it would be a 30/70 thing... and it is. There shouldn't be so many matches on RAW. There's no point to them and they force the writing team to come up with lame reasons why the match is happening and it takes the importance off of wins. PPV's are where the matches should happen, because in the end it's what the fans ultimately want to see and they should have to pay to see it.

Each match should be like a battle. Going into these matches, there should be the possibility that a wrestler won't come out in full-health. They should be built up with interviews, background pieces, lengthy entrances and introductions. The wrestlers on the TV show shouldn't be HHH and Batista. They should be used to build guys for future PPV's and contenderships, and the main events should feature popular b-level wrestlers. To hype the PPV's on TV, you have wrestler interviews, featurettes, promo-packages, etc. This means that the WWE has to trim the fat and get rid of a lot of the wrestlers. They should have, maybe, 20 wrestlers on the roster. The other wrestlers they can sign to short-term contracts and develop as they see fit. This may also mean going to smaller venues, but since they average 4000 fans per show, I don't see that as a big issue. This is working under the premise that RAW is a television show that is used to promote PPV's. The money doesn't come from house shows, it comes from ad revenue and PPV buys.

There should be a wide-variety of styles featured in the matches. A cruiserweight match should be a cruiserweight match, not a cruiserweight-wrestles-like-heavyweight match. Each division should be defined as well. "You won't believe your eyes" becomes particularly true here, as wrestlers will go all out rather than holding back. Since there will be less matches per-show, they shouldn't run the risk of numbing the fans or injuring the wrestlers. Depending on what you want your outcome to be, matches could range from 30 seconds to 30 minutes. This is a better star-making system than they currently have, because it can allow guys to be "made" in 2 or 3 matches (or even 1) if it is worked right. The two guys in my sig are an example of that. I'd like a more fight-like atmosphere, because for me, that's simply more exciting. UFC does it very well, and they get me to buy their PPV's.

I don't think JR and the King could support this through their announcing, but they are still needed for some familiarity. They could act as the "hosts" of the show, like Friday Night Fights, and then send it down to the better announcers at ringside. JR could participate as the 3rd man on PPVs as well. There wouldn't really be a need for general managers, however a governing body could be used, or a match maker for that matter. Each show would be used to get a different match at the PPV over, and maybe throw in some little hints at things to come (some of the more traditional wrestling aspects could be used, "who is that guy in the crowd and why is wrestler x so focused on him?")

So when I say there is a 30/70 wrestling/entertainment division, that 70% would be primarily focused on getting the 30% over.

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