Big Smackdown! Ratings Drop

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

oh okay,  i learn something everyday here.

[Guest Lil Naitch]

Bad writing, on-the-fly booking, and to many recaps are to blame, nothing else.

[Guest artDDP]

From Aaron William's "The Finisher" column, reprinted from the March 2002 WWF Raw Magazine:

 

A few weeks ago, I was at a meeting where the topic of discussion was how to make the Federation's product better.  Plenty of points were made:  how to advance storylines, which Superstars to push, who should fight whom.  After the meeting, I passed a colleague in the hall and told him about the meeting.  "Don't kid yourself," he said.  "All the fans want to do is come to the arena and chant 'What?'"

[Guest AngryJohnny]

the ratings.

1.Steph is writing

2.the nWo is being buried, whether they suck or not, they're being buried. Burying the heel faction you bring in to pop ratings when the reason they popped ratings the first time is because they dominated=not good idea

3.the midcard sucks

4.the tag division sucks

5.Steph is writing

[Guest Loss4Words]

Actually, if what Brian said was true about the way the booking process is structured, Stephanie is doing a hell of a job. Look at the overall direction of the company. On paper, it looks fantastic.

 

*Alliance angle receives poor response and is dropped

*Steve Austin is turned babyface (despite her boyfriend's best wishes BTW, which shows she's not HHH's puppet)

*Chris Jericho is made top heel and gets victories over Steve Austin and the Rock in one night

*The Undertaker is turned heel as an attempt to revive his stale character

*Edge is slowly moving up in the ranks

*HHH's return is hyped out the ass and he is brought back in an attempt to make him a strong babyface to play sympathy off of his injury

 

ON PAPER, all of those things look outstanding, which means if Steph's job is just to oversee the creative direction of the company, she's doing exceptionally well. She apparently has no control over what happens once Vince and friends get their hands on things, which is why blaming Steph is just a disguised way for all of you to say "I don't like her heel character so she's a bad person and can't write."

 

And what's up with all of you complaining about her voice? She's SUPPOSED to sound that shrieky and be that annoying. She's the best heel in the company right now because she's the most hated TV character in the company right now. I don't understand why so many people can't see that it's by design. She's also been effective as a face in the past during the Test angle of '99. She wasn't annoying then. I'm not saying she's the world's greatest actress, but I am saying she's a great heel -- so good, in fact, that you all blame her writing as an outlet to vent your frustration over her on-screen character.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

*Alliance angle receives poor response and is dropped

 

True.  Unfortuanately...the NWO angle is not being treated any better than said invasion angle.

 

*Steve Austin is turned babyface (despite her boyfriend's best wishes BTW, which shows she's not HHH's puppet)

 

This is true.  

 

*Chris Jericho is made top heel and gets victories over Steve Austin and the Rock in one night

 

Also true.  But Jericho is viewed by everyone as not having a shot at beating HHH at Mania.  A lame duck champion heading into Mania is not a good thing.  Even if he pulls it out at Mania...it would be nice if they gave the undisputed champion just a little more credability.

 

*The Undertaker is turned heel as an attempt to revive his stale character

 

Undertaker still gets one of the biggest face pops in the company.

 

*Edge is slowly moving up in the ranks

 

Edge has completely stalled because of the Regal feud.  People are starting to come around to the fact that Christian is the better of the 2, and that RVD is more over...thus leaving Edge the odd man out in the midcard.

 

*HHH's return is hyped out the ass and he is brought back in an attempt to make him a strong babyface to play sympathy off of his injury

 

HHH is far from his old self.  Bringing him back to Main Event WrestleMania in the condition that he is in is one of the worst decisions I've seen made.  He shouldn't be pushed until he stops being garbage in the ring.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

"ON PAPER, all of those things look outstanding, which means if Steph's job is just to oversee the creative direction of the company, she's doing exceptionally well."'

 

I thought she was the one who oversaw these get carried out.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Now that I think about the Austin turning face thing...

 

Face Austin is more over than face HHH...but Austin is in a feud with the NWO that he doesn't want to be a part of...and HHH is getting a titleshot at WrestleMania.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

I've said all along that the main event of Mania should be Jericho vs. Austin.

[Guest Loss4Words]

I agree that Austin v Jericho would probably draw more, be a more interesting, equaled out feud and make more sense, but you have to admit that everyone expected HHH to be mega super duper over when he returned. He's not, and that's not anyone's fault really, it's just that it's happened like that. So HHH winning the Rumble seemed like the right decision at the time, so they started building him toward Wrestlemania, in hopes that they could get him as over as they thought he would be going into the show. He's not. They really can't go back on something as big as a WM main event in mid-stream. I think that's surprised everyone. It's a hindsight being 20-20 thing.

 

And it's not Stephanie's fault to make sure things get carried out. It's Vince's. That's what his job entails. Steph does what her job entails too.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Actually...I would have flashed back to the Rumble...and NOT had Jericho vs. Rock there...I would have had Rock win the Rumble and had Jericho beat RVD (Who was in the middle of a feud with him that was thrown out for no reason)

 

Then I would have had Jericho beat Austin at No Way Out and Rock beat him for the title at Mania.

 

Rock gets his big WrestleMania win...and beats Jericho (who he had been putting over).

 

I never would have given the ball to HHH.  He was unproven as a face and in the ring when he returned.

[Guest Loss4Words]

I think I'm going to have to agree with you there actually. That would have made more sense all the way around, and Jericho v RVD wouldn't have done any better or worse a buyrate than Jericho v Rock did just because all the hype was on the Rumble anyway. Looking back, maybe they should have built toward HHH headlining Wrestlemania NEXT YEAR since it would have given him more time to develop his face character, get back in ring shape and test him in different roles and see where he fits in the grand scheme of things. HHH could have faced Hall and Austin faced Hogan. I do agree with you there.

 

I want to make one thing clear to everyone -- I'm not saying the WWF is doing an excellent job building things up. What I'm saying is that it's not Stephanie's fault that things aren't going well, it's Vince's fault. I'm also saying that most ideas they have had have looked good on paper and until they signed the NWO, the long-term direction they were taking wasn't horrible, it's just that they couldn't produce episodic TV anymore. That seems to be a problem they are still facing.

 

Since Vince is the one that plastered Shane all over TV during the Alliance angle, did the Kiss My Ass stuff and has hogged more TV time than Steph ever dreamed of, I tend to say his character is far more annoying than his daughter's, who at least tends to stay within one storyline and isn't the top heel. Stephanie also has a storyline purpose for being on the air while Vince has none at this point.

 

I believe it was also reported a few months back that Stephanie was appealing to Vince for all of the McMahons to be taken off of TV because they would always be around and she wanted their presence to still mean something in five years by not overexposing them. Vince's response was apparently that she was being "modest" and that she was needed on TV. Stephanie also briefly left the writing team along with HHH because Vince was opposed to the Chris Jericho push. There's a lot more than meets the eye there.

[Guest Brian]

Man, I'm just waiting for them to blow-off Rock/Austin dammit.

[Guest mastermind]

Okay, Stephanie is an excellent heel. Hell, she may be the top heel. I think that IS a problem. She isn't a wrestler. Rock/Jericho for the main event of WrestleMania sounds like a good idea. I think that path would have been better. Not everyone was saying Trips should be a face. I sure as hell predicted Trips was gonna blow as a face because he doesn't have that kind of charisma like Rock or Austin. He still seems heelish to me.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Sadly...Jericho isn't the most over heel either.

 

Right now, Angle is.

 

So we have the third or fourth most over face against the second most over heel...

 

And that's not even factoring in the NWO.

[Guest Loss4Words]

I agree that Angle is more over than Jericho at the moment, but I think that's because Jericho doesn't get nearly the TV time that Angle does. I guaranteed you that had Jericho been proven a failure as a draw (which he has yet to be), he would be spiraling down the card so fast we'd never know he was once a world champ. Angle has been proven a non-factor in terms of TV ratings, buyrates and merchandise, yet the WWF believes in him so they keep him around the upper echelon. I think both are equal ingredients to the WWF's future, though Angle will probably have a longer career than Jericho for a wide variety of reasons. If they were actually doing something to make fans constantly think of Chris Jericho instead of just remember he's there when he's actually on screen, he'd be a lot more over, but the announcers don't talk about him and HHH is more concerned with his ex-wife than the man who once pinned him in a major upset on Raw and sidelined him for eight months with a torn quad.

 

I hate to say this because I hate conspiracy theories and all, but I honestly am starting to wonder if Chris Jericho is being set up to fail miserably? They're pushing him in main events right now while burying him in as many other ways as possible so they can yank him out in the future and justify him not being on top. That's what it seems like anyway. Adding fuel to the fire, HHH is obviously being the babyface set up to destroy the NWO once and for all since they have yet to mess with him while they've attempted murder on the Rock and made Austin their bitch. It seems like regardless of what direction wrestling takes, the Clique members always seem to come out smelling like roses. Shawn's on the way back, X-Pac will be with his buddies, Hall & Nash will be in the top storyline for the rest of the year and HHH will be their maker.

 

I hate to jump to conclusions, but I will admit that the future is starting to look very grim for everyone not named Hulk Hogan and not in the Clique. That includes Austin, Rock, Angle and Jericho, who were doing just fine main eventing just a few short months ago. I've tried to ignore the political stuff going on for a little while just because it's all speculation and we don't really know for sure what is happening, but I do freely admit that it is getting harder and harder to overlook some of the things going on. It's obvious to anyone with a brain that HHH v NWO is the long-term direction they are shooting for, which is just wrong on so many levels when Austin, Rock, Angle and Jericho are all sitting out in the cold here.

 

Nash needs an opponent for Wrestlemania. If they are truly trying to use the NWO as a springboard to create new stars, why can't they do something with Nash and Edge? Or Nash and Kane even? It's like they're keeping the apparently WCW-trademarked elitist upper card point of view going strong here instead of using the NWO buzz (which is already gone) to get people watching and present younger guys against the establishment in a new light.

 

I'm starting to think with as much top talent as they have right now, instead of doing a "split", maybe the better option is to do a midcarders v establishment feud and turn Austin, Rock and HHH heel. As great as Jericho's heel run is artistically, it's not making the kind of waves it should. He was a million times more over as a babyface and a million times more effective as a tweener late last year. As bad as Angle's face run was last year, if he wasn't doing stupid stuff with milk trucks and swimming pools and actually showed a serious, bad-ass side and didn't rip off his traits from everyone else, he could be effective in that role. As bombed out as Austin's heel run was, if he had a strong babyface opponent to play off of, it could work. They could continue Rock v Jericho, which would have an entire new dynamic for both guys now while Austin got in a program with RVD, the one guy he would get serious heel heat against. HHH could work with a face Angle or Benoit and the NWO could work with guys like Edge, Kane and Big Show. It's just a suggestion and certainly would be a pretty big risk on many levels, but it just may work. It's just imperative that the established guys aren't faces. Otherwise, nothing changes.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Well...I find it incredibly funny that HHH is the only guy in the back sticking up for the NWO...and he's the only one of "The Big 3" (Austin, Rock, HHH) that doesn't have to work with them.

 

Jericho might not be a transitional champion...but he is a forgettable one.

 

The focus of every show is on 2 things:  HHH and the NWO.

 

I don't think that Jericho would even rank third...

 

The only way that Jericho doesn't get completly buried is if he wins at Mania and is given a chance to be the focal point of the company (or at least half of the split).  It's been reported that the Champion will be the one guy who is on both sides of the split...and something tells me it's not going to be Jericho.

 

I think that the WWF keeps Angle at the top because he is a "real" athlete.  The WWF loves to have a "credible" guy like Angle at the top.  I'd like to think that Angle is at the top because he's such a great wrestler...but we all know that won't get you anywhere in the WWF.

 

While I like the idea of a midcard vs. Main Eventers feud... and turning the Main Eventers heel would be great...The WWF doesn't have the balls to try something like that.  Let's face it...they don't have the balls to do much.

 

If there was another company to contend with...maybe the WWF would do something revolutionary...but as it stands they are putting the ball back into the hands of Hogan and HHH.

 

Is there any doubt that if they were in competition...that RVD wouldn't have shot right up the rankings?  Guys who are that over don't stay mired in the midcard for that long.  They get pushed until they see how far they can go.  (At least in times when business is down)

 

I summed this up best in my column...which I will now shill for:

 

http://www.gwpwrestling.com/features/bps/first.html

[Guest Brian]

"Is there any doubt that if they were in competition...that RVD wouldn't have shot right up the rankings?  Guys who are that over don't stay mired in the midcard for that long.  They get pushed until they see how far they can go.  (At least in times when business is down)"

 

See Chris Jericho.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Business wasn't down in the shitter.

 

I'm talking about when another company is pushing you to find something that will get your ratings up.

 

Jericho arrived in August of 99...won the IC belt in December.

 

By the time he could have been elavated seriously (Keeping in mind he was NEVER a Main Event guy in WCW) The ratings weren't much of a "war" anymore.

 

If WCW was close in the ratings...Jericho would have been elavated too.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Now that I mention that...

 

Booker T and DDP WERE MAin Event guys...and with no competition...look where they are.

[Guest Brian]

But Vince's main goal with competition has always been to drive them out of business.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Right.

 

And What drove WCW out of business?

 

The top WWF players were:  Austin, Rock & HHH.

 

THat's some serious elavation...

 

THose 3 were able to topple the ratings against a company that had:

 

Hogan, Flair, Sting, Savage, Luger, Nash, Hall, Goldberg, Bret Hart, DDP...

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

And the WWF better elevate someone soon or they could very well have some problems.

 

Austin's knees (or neck) aren't getting any better, Rock is always a threat to jump to Hollywood, and HHH could explode at any second.

[Guest converge241]

Sure they should be thinking of elevating guys. They should aalways have that in their plans, but i dont think they need to worry about those particualr reasons. Austin's probably got a good amount of time ahead of him, not like years and years, but he rarely misses any time. I assume they have Rock under contract for a good while and they hold approval over his scripts.

I cant comment on HHH exploding. that was too funny and i dont know if i'd feel safe to disagree with it and then turn on Smackdown to watch HHH hulk out and explode before my eyes , much like a Spinal tap drummer.

heh

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

I will once again shill my column as a resoning for elavation:

 

http://www.gwpwrestling.com/features/bps/first.html

 

 

I should really get around to writing a new one...

[Guest converge241]

good stuff

"We'll call Group #2 FIRED

 

What?

 

No NWO? No Undertaker? No Jeff Hardy?

 

That's right...back that ass up Rikishi...you're fired."

 

now... that's a reboot!

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Thank you.

 

I've been asked why I fired Jeff and kept Matt.

 

The answer I gave was that Matt had the look of someone who could play a good midcard heel...

 

...but the more I thikn about it...I'd keep Matt and fire Jeff...just to play up how much I hate Jeff.

[Guest converge241]

Matt actually showed a little personality on that Fear Factor.

my opinion may have been biased cause i may have been judging it in a vacuum considering the great "personalities" he was on the show with.

Test: "(so and so)'s gonna fall"

next person goes

Test: "(next person)'s gonna fall"

Later:(paraphrasing)

Host: "you gonna drink this mix test?"

Test: "nope, see you later"

[Guest Tony149]

Good column bps21. I just read it for the first time. Do you plan on doing another?

 

I agree about Matt Hardy. Jeff will probably be crippled, but Matt could be a solid heel.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

You wouldn't fire X-Pac?  The guy is still playing the same character he has since joining WCW in 1996.

 

And you would fire Booker?