WWF is serious about cruisers!

[Guest Tony149]

The problem with most start up feds is they all want to be the next ECW. Not a good idea.

[Guest converge241]

Can anybody honestly say why the hell the WWF even had this tryout camp?

I mean what are the odds that out of all those guys, they werent impressed with anyone?

To see if any of them had "good genetics"?

Dont they theoretically have a cruiserweight division to stock?

I guess we'll see that oft-delayed division around the same time they reveal who lifted the breifcase in the Austin-Mcmahons ladder match

[Guest El Satanico]

A new fed needs to have something for everyone. It should have something to please the wrestling fans and the sports entertainment fans and SOME hardcore stuff for the fans of that.

 

A new fed won't truly succeed if they focus totally on sports entertainment since that is pretty much all that wwf offers now. But a new fed also wouldn't succeed if it was pure wrestling.

 

WWA does have the cruisers and DECENT lower card wrestling part off to a good start. But at the current time they fall way short on main events and upper card wrestling. Not to mention that they are currently doing a terrible job at "booking" the shows. They need to fix that part of the fed to go with the part that has started out good. I believe that Jeff Jarret is a good main eventer for them to build around. He's a veteren, he is still rather young, is a pretty good wrestler and can be entertaining when given material that he can work with. But currently other then him they have no quality main eventers.

 

WWA currently won't find any real success but they COULD still have a chance. However they will need some major work and to hire some more main event talent with a known or respected name that isn't washed up or named Buff Bagwell. They need two known or respected main eventers to get the fed going and to give them the abilty to build NEW main eventers from "unknowns".

[Guest Tim Cooke]

"Why not build paychology around massive spots? In a feud, if one person finishes the other off in one match by, say, throwing them through two tables, then the psychology could be built around this. The next match they had they might repeat the spot, but this time, the victim kicks out. This is AJPW style psychology, but using a hardcore spot instead of a finishing move."

 

I don't understand the logic here.  We saw this in ECW with all the hardcore spots and the effect was not a higher psychology but more injuries.  The WWF has so many injuries without the really hardcore bumps that they *can't* afford to put any more hardcore into the product.  Look at where the Ladder match has gone.  It went from a wrestling based story match to people doing meanigless swanton dives off of 20 foot ladders.  Now, to get a pop in those matches, even higher risks have to be taken.  McMahon has run himself into a situation where he *can't* satisfy his fans needs so he keeps trying to up them.  It won't work and that is why wrestling will never be primary in the WWF.  You AJPW point is not good either because the height of AJPW relied on story, whereas 1997 on relied on "I kicked out of this, so this time you give me 2 and another neck breaking suplex to win."  It worked in 1997 but as time went on, it not only got old and stale, but ever more dangerous.  Hardcore spots to build psych around don't work because they are so over used.

 

"This will work because hardcore spots are only going out of fashion because they mean nothing. Things that mean something to fans will always be popular, as proven by the fact that the stunner has been over as a move for years."

 

Exactly.  Hardcore spots are so overdone.  The Rock should be dead, yet he will be on Smackdown.  So does someone need to fall from the rafters to make an injury look legit and a story have meaning?  That's where the basic story telling elements of the WWF are NON EXISTENT.  

 

"It's still popular because it still means that Austin should get the win directly after hitting it. Following this, you could also give different wrestlers signature spots that would act like finishers."

 

Already done.  Dudleys did this for a long period, not every match but in at least 1/3 and in most PPV matches.  Look at them now......

 

"If you don't know what i'm on about, go and watch Raven vs. Rhyno from Backlash 2001, it's not the definitive version of what i'm talking about, but it's a good start."

 

People shit themselves over this match.....why I don't know.  If I was going to go pimp a match that made sense and used some storytelling methods but is not popular, I point you towards Survivor Series 2001 between Test and Edge.  Decent build, decent stiffness, decent movesets......and a nice hot finish with good to almost great nearfalls.  The nearfalls came from the good build early on.  No ref bump either helps.

 

Tim

[Guest razazteca]

Feinstein's Ring of Honor could be "the next big thing" fed but without a venture capitalist backing the fed, it could just be another what if senario.  I believe the next big fad is the fast paced lightweight wrestling with AJ Styles and American Dragon as the stars.  If Ring of Honor gets a tv deal, then it could be a serious threat to the WWF monolopy on wrestling.

 

As for the psycology debate I give you exhibit A:

 

Tajeri vs Super Crazy feud from ECW, nearly every match builted up to the next match.  From Tajeri using the Tranchula to finishing with Brainbuster or stiff kicks.  Super Crazy used the Moonsault as a finisher and a folding powerbomb as finishers.  Then the 3 way dance concept added life to the matches by adding Jerry Lynn and Little Guido into the feud.  Then add the deathmatches and PPV matches which always added something new.

 

Does the WWF "get it" I doubt it, since it is still in the 300 pound larger than life character development cocept.  I like Lil Joe on Bonaza better than Hoss!!!!!!

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Thank you One Bad Apple.

 

Nothing pisses me off more than when ECW is dismissed as Hardcore garbage.

 

....or HHH.

[Guest TheHulkster]

The great thing about ECW is that they didnt try to make so they had established stars and a bunch of other people. Heyman used Terry Funk, Shane Douglas, and Cactus Jack to make Sabu, the Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Tazz, RVD, Steve Corino, Justin Credible, the list goes on, but the point is that the formula worked. The WWA is just throwing guys who worked in the big two against each other. No feuds, no new characters, nobody being built up, just guys who worked for the wwf and wcw. They could find new guys from the indys, who dont ask for 6 figures and build them into something using Jarrett, Steiner, Jerry Lynn, and Eddie Guerrero.