Promoter

The rosters aren't even jam packed and they are releasing people left and right trying to fill spots with guys they bring up. Oh well. I wonder where all this Luther love is coming from He didn't seem to get many topics or threads with him in it or maybe I just didn't care. He's not really that bad though. They have worse on the roster. It's amazing Holly is still around with all his drama.

I thought Russo was a long time wrestling fan? You know, Russo probably just thought things were skyrocketing with 2 minute matches that he wanted to cut down on the wrestling. It didn't exactly prove to be right when Kreski took over with a stronger depth of talent. I remember reading Russo's greatest matches and champions list(might post it some time) and he had it pretty damn smarkish. The British Bulldogs were the #1 tag team in wwf history. Steamboat/Savage as the greatest match or it was behind Bret/Owen. Bret Hart as the greatest wwf champion. I think Russo knew the wwe could not compete wrestling wise with the deeper roster of wcw. He got burn out for a reason in 1999, but by that time the wwe had guys like Jericho and Big Show jumping ship. It also should be noted he changed the titles of all divisions more times in that 1999 year than anytime in history and that helped bolster the ratings. Still he did build the empire, but his wcw run shows Mcmahon knew how to use the guy's "talents" properly.

At least he didn't go along with Russo's dumb idea to have Test marry Stephanie. Maybe we would have to endure Test as multiple world champion today Seriously, the wwe did get a goldmine with the radicalz jumping at the same time. They should also be thankful for Kurt Angle's quick learning, but Kreski did help Angle into the main event scene.

Rumours are running wild that Cena's music video turned away about a million viewers for raw. RAW got a 3.8 supposedly.

Hopefully, it's a work to keep it a surprise.

This was the only hollwyood writer who "got it" imo. Russo was a long time fan and not a hollywood writer.

You guys should know by now that Vince wants his storylines and characters to be his creation to get all the credit. If not completely re-tooled then he twists in his vision.

ECW vs. RAW actually sounds more intriguing than smackdown vs. raw. I wonder if the ecw ppv does really good if Vince would make ecw replace smackdown. Smackdown has some elements of ecw anyways such as trying to get guys over who never were such as JBL(Justin Credible) and having younger stars like Cena as champion(Tazz). If they can make the ecw ppv feel authentic and if they can somehow morph ecw into smackdown maybe the fans might buy into the brand split more.

I think I rather Masters than that crap tonight with Simon Dean and Maven myself.

Wasn't that match a #1 contender's match that led to Brock/Taker though? Taker left RAW because the champion became exclusive to smackdown. Thus, we got the HHH show forevermore on raw.

So no one thought HHH might have read this forum after hearing tonight's promo? I just thought it was funny how he said he'll leave and see how well RAW does without him by kicking back at his big mansion. Many here did say he needed to take a hike from raw's main event:lol: I guess we get the Matt Hardy Memorial Match next week

Actually, that's how I think they should play it. I mean he is only 6 titles away and he's younger than the reigning champion.

Why because it's the internet that has the spoilers? Well, it seems Lita and Edge's rendevous has the wwe responding because of the heat they are receiving. Brock/Goldberg were really crapped on too because of spoilers of Brock and Goldberg not returning. If they do try to stretch it over a few weeks it will spoil it a bit.

That was actually explained last week when Edge claimed that Batista may be able to beat him once, but not twice. Which makes sense, especially if he decides to use the money in the bank right after the other match. It could also just be a heelish thing to do

-He breast feeds John Madden -He once at the bible while water skiing -He date raped David Bowie -He sleeps 8 hours a night...though I guess he's pretty normal in that respect -Was the shooter in the grassy knoll. -Contains 11 herbs and spices from the colonel's secret recipe. -Wrote the script for THE PHANTOM MENACE. -Makes babies cry with the shape of his beard. -Wrote the final episode of "Seinfeld" -Was the real murderer of Nicole Brown Simpson -Responsible for "The Simpsons" decline -Convinced Seth McFarlen to create "American Dad" (that one's unforgivable) This is one of the funniest things I've seen about HHH on the net. Hilarious! Oh yeah, HHH was the reason the wwe won the monday night war. Ask Eric Bischoff.

Just a twist on the topic. Should HHH break Flair's record? I know the majority of answers will say no, but does that contradict smarks saying that they should push the new generation(I also see the immediate response in calling HHH new generation, but in some ways he is post Austin and Rock). HHH beating Flair's record will make him this generation's Ric Flair ON PAPER. Whether fans buy him as being as great as Flair is another story. Personally, I don't think it should happen for the simple fact that it looks too obvious and the record is just starting to look like something similar to Bruno Sammartino. It should takes years for this to be broken for it to mean anything for the record breaker or the fans. Another tidbit would be this. Knocking on wood, if Flair were to pass away would it be disrespectful on the part of HHH to break the record. Would he respect Flair's record or try to break his mentor's legacy. I don't even think HHH is that callous or am I wrong?

I guess Vince had some twisted fantasy of seeing his former arch rival kiss his daughter. I dunno! I think Austin or Bret outed Vince the night after Royal Rumble '97 as the real boss. If I remember correctly, Austin called Gorilla Monsoon a pencil pusher that is only good for stuffing bananas down his throat. I could be wrong, but I remember the mic work going along those lines. Bret had "quit" earlier in the show because Vince did not live up to his promise of equal opportunity. Austin would later not do what Vince wanted him to do in an interview around this time in 1997 when he got a title shot against Taker(as a sidenote, that episode of raw was amazing with Pillman's return). In other words, NO. Vince never came out and gave a real explanation why he never admitted to not being the real boss. When Bret also came back for Survivor Series he did a promo where the cameras were focusing a hell of a lot on Vince. Russo in the wwe mag stated that Vince did not know if Bret was staying or going and just assumed Bret would not screw him with trashing the company and jumping. Now, Russo the king of worked shoots could have been lying, but if he wasn't it really puts a hole in Vince's fear exactly a year later about Bret taking a dump on the wwf title by going to nitro.

So, you want Angle to turn face? I hate face Angle, but I suppose that would lead to Angle/Hassan if he stayed on raw.

RAW being live kind of makes it the show to initiate the draft. This is one aspect of the product where I haven't really seen any great ideas on how it could be done by net critics. The best thing it has going for it is the unpredictable nature of it. Vince said there is no exemptions this year, so it gives the illusion of anything can happen. If they can't capitalize on this and the draft turns out like last year I think it's drawing power will dwindle next year in the anticipation for it. I think it's a good idea to stretch the draft for a couple of weeks for both raw and smackdown. I just can't figure out how they can do this in an entertaining fashion and also delivering shock to pull in viewers. One thing they can do is have the goldrush tournament winner face the world champion the first night of the draft. Now, if they do the champion switch this could shock people into watching. After tonight we'll see. If Edge wins, I think the angle will surround Edge and a championship match. They could play up he is the hottest trade prospect with his standing as #1 contender.

No WM for Calgary..how about the draft lottery instead? http://www.slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/20...029934-sun.html " There are rumours the draft may be broken up over several weeks of TV tapings but based on WWE's touring schedule, it looks like Calgary's chances of being the sole host city are still strong. Last week, company officials booked a non-televised Smackdown house show to run head to head with the Wisconsin Raw event May 23. The odds of the draft taking place that night are now minimal, as John Cena, Kurt Angle and the rest of the Smackdown crew wouldn't be available to take part. Meanwhile, although the Smackdown crew will be definitely in Alberta May 30, there has been no conflicting event scheduled against the Raw taping at the 'Dome. "

I don't detest it like the rest of the internet does. I think the net doesn't like it because they have seen it before with guys like Dibase. However, it's an old school way of getting someone over. I rather this than him getting a Brock Lesnar push out of nowhere.

It's good to just see honest answers here because I have some friends(some smarks and some markish) who have stopped watching passionately for the reasons some have stated here. However, I give all the reasons the internet has for why there is a brand split, but they just take it as making excuses for the product being weaker than years before. The product has been picking up though. I just think that sometimes net fans and writers are stuck in a box with what actually makes people want to watch along with the wwe's preconceived ideas with what fans want to see.

No, Flair should not get the title again, but it might happen. The reasons have already been stated why. Hulk Hogan winning the title in 2002 is not the same thing. Hogan was still in his 40's and like it or not image plays a big part. Hogan LOOKED like he could at least hang with the champion Triple H in 2002. However, I think it's obvious there is a long term plan brewing with HHH and Flair where Flair would take concern about his legacy being contended with. The problem with this is that time is running out. They even teased this thing on wwe.com and calculated how long it would take for HHH to break the record which was 2008-09. Coincidentally, that is the year WrestleMania XXV takes place and if they plan on putting Flair into the HOF that year the match makes a lot of sense. I can easily see this as an idea that has at least been brought up. It's a good idea, but Flair will be just too damn old.

I know why they did the brand split and in theory it sounded good. I'm not even saying it sucks. What I'm really getting at is this thinking too much in a box? Something might be intrinsically wrong with it, but it's not really being acknowledged for said reason. I don't think this is really a cycle thing. It's the product. Why is it that WrestleMania got a monster buy-rate this year compared to all the other ppv shows? The fans ARE out there. They just aren't interested in the product. It is highly possible the HOF and Piper's Pit was the big draw. I know these guys are legends, but the argument I see sometimes is that wrestling's cyclical, but I think the latest developments show something else. We'll see if RAW's ratings come back stays for long or if it's just a backlash from Mania and the appearances of Hogan and Austin in the last few weeks. I also don't think fans are really buying some of these newer guys in their positions because it seems watered down. The total fanbase is not really smarks, but the general audience can tell the real deal. The mention of 2001 is kind of profound. I just really noticed a lot of my friends who were fanatic about the wwe just simply gave up on them after disappointment after disappointment. They are hardcore fans, but one thing they say about the brand split they don't like is the repeat matches over and over. Business wise we know why they have the brand split, but the bottom line is if it's entertaining to ther masses. Why aren't peopel going to house shows? I think many fans feel the same way and the wwe is not really getting to the heart of the matter. How may times do you hear people complain that the house shows don't matter and that's why they don't attend? Does the wwe LISTEN to this? Or do they write it off as fanatics who are asking for unrealistic stuff to happen? Well, if he had someone breathing down his neck I bet he would find some way to fix it. I just think there must be something wrong with the model and it's hard to see the major problems. I'm saying this because I remember Hulk Hogan saying Vince told him that his time was over in 1992 or so. Yet, Hulk Hogan went on to become one of the greatest heels of all-time about 5 years later. Vince was really determined to have his gimmicks like the Goon thrown on the fans. In wcw, though Bischoff changed things with more real names and less gimmickery. WCW came out of its misery with nitro. It was thought it was suicide to go up against Vince's company and his wrestling philosophy of ppv type main events on free television weekly. In other words, wcw did not think in its own world of a system that was used for years upon years. mean if they had HHH basically given the storyline JBL had, while allowing JBL to develop naturally in the midcard before bringing him straight to the top out of nowhere he might be seen as a better draw. The general masses might simply see him as the guy from APA who got a monster push because the roster is thin on smackdown. Hell, I don't think Cena winning the belt this quick will do him any good, but if he stayed in the midcard this year and then was built up to face HHH at next year's Mania it might have created an atmosphere where the fans demanded it instead of it being forced. Cena is coming off more forced now with the Chain Gang and fan pandering because they wanted him to have a following to crown him champion. This is unlike what they did with HBK, Austin, etc. They guys naturally had their fans demand the championship run. Of course, there is bad to this, but just seeing how things would go the opposite direction without the brand split. Then take into consideration the weekend shows. Who really watches those and why is the company satisfied with those low ratings? There is more than enough time in their programming to give everybody a good amount of time to shine. I don't know maybe the net and the wwe are in a mindset where if it isn't broke don't fix it. The problem with that is I'm pretty sure Vince thought the same thing in the mid 90's. Obviously, he was wrong as wcw helped usher in another boom by changing up until the majority of wrestling fans out there started to pay money for tickets at house shows and buying ppv shows. Vince never dreamt a monday night raw episode would have ever got a rating of over 7.0 in 1995. Is the company really making money in the vien of what they could be making? You got to also take into account that they are the only major wrestling organization in North America. They should be at least doing something similar to the business wcw, ecw, and wwf was doing combined. They are the industry now. It's not really only about them making money too. A lot of fans aren't watching for a good reason and I think the wwe and the net haven't figured it out yet. Mania surprised some net writers because they are also stuck in a box in what works. I'm just trying to garner a good convo going because I've been asked these things by friends who use to watch and honestly I can't answer it. This is not really about being negative or anything, but trying to see what they can do to keep people interested.

The reason I made this thread was to see what everybody's viewpoint of what great booking is. It would help people understand why certain people like certain things that they don't like. Knowing what someone thinks is great or what made them watch consistently will give a good measure on what the wwe is now to not make them click with fans. I mean if WrestleMania got all those damn buys it shows that fans ARE out there. There is something broken. It's like the mid 90's when it didn't seem like things were broken, but when things changed a lot of fans starting watching again. So, Vince had those guys booking until 1992? Why did he change and I suppose the people who took over didn't do that great in 93,93, 94, and 95. I guess in hindsight, wcw his competitor wasn't trailblazing either.