Reward the hard workers at WM

[Guest The Tino Standard]

I can remember back in the day when WrestleMania was the culmination of all the big feuds of the last booking year. Everything from the previous April evolved to the following March, leading up to the biggest card of the year.

 

They're getting away from that and it sucks. Look at what we had last year: HHH is out for the better part of the booking year, returns about 10 weeks before WM and wins the title there. The NWO is brought in about 4 weeks before and Hogan is given a co-headlining match with the Rock. Meanwhile, the people that carried the whole company on their backs for the better part of the year- Austin and Angle- are stuck in worthless midcard matches.

 

It is happening all over again. In some form of weird karma, Austin looks like HE is coming back after being absent most of the last year (walking out of company) and being penciled in for a big match. The Rock has been in WWE off and on and appears to be "on again" just long enough to collect a WM payday before jetting again. Talks of bringing in Goldberg JUST for a WM match and maybe a rematch in April.

 

Excuse me... but what the hell have these guys done in the last year to earn a spot in the biggest payday the company has? To me, Wrestlemania is where you reward the guys that have done the lion's share of the work for you. You've focused the company around them all year, making your money off of them... Why take that away on the one day that means the most?

 

You might hate HHH, but the fact is that he's been the focal point of Raw since jumping there last summer. You might think Brock Lesnar might be getting too much too soon or he's being forced on us and doesn't deserve a spot in his first WM as a main eventer. But you know what? Since the day he's debuted, he's been the main man of WWE TV. He's done a hell of a lot (well, at least he's done a lot more than most, because it seems like a lot of people in this company are doing jackshit now). He's gotta be in the main event scene too.

 

But my point is this: You want to bring in all these guys just for Wrestlemania because they are "names" and they can pop a misleading buyrate? Fine, it's your company, but don't screw over the guys that are carrying your company.

 

Reward Booker T., Jericho, RVD, Edge and the rest of the Smackdown 6 with high-profile matches. Want to improve the morale in the locker room? Then reward the guys that do the most dirty work during the year with well-promoted, top-of-the-card matches at WM. Don't screw them over by shoving them to borderline curtain-jerking status in favor of "names."

 

... and if you don't think these guys deserve good matches at WM, then why are they being foisted on us the rest of the year?

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

Well, that's a very nice thought, and I agree, but the company will always be out to make the most money. Look no further than the last year and a half to see that the WWE isn't really in this for the long-term. They'll go for what makes the big buck fast, and if that means "names" in the big matches, that's what it'll be.

[Guest Violent Mahatma]

Well, that's a very nice thought, and I agree, but the company will always be out to make the most money. Look no further than the last year and a half to see that the WWE isn't really in this for the long-term. They'll go for what makes the big buck fast, and if that means "names" in the big matches, that's what it'll be.

You say that as if the WWF/WWE hasn't already been around for ages. To say that they aren't in it for the long term is kind of ridiculous to me. Then again, possibly hotshotting guys that have had little to no impact over the last year to top spots at 'Mania seems kind of ridiculous as well, so I don't know who is right or wrong here.

 

I can certainly understand putting Rock and/or Austin at the top (moreso Austin because of the obvious fan desire to see him), but Goldberg or Sting? If they get put at the top, it's just not right, and I think Vince will realize this before it's too late. No reason to freak out too much until there's an official announcement, though.

[Guest Slapnuts00]

It's a good point, but you need a happy medium.

You mentioned Brock, him and arguably the WWE MVP of the past year are getting a slowburn feud building to a main event WWE championship match at Mania. So that should be the "right" thing by you. Meanwhile you have Triple H, who under your thinking would deserve a main event match too (even though 90% of us would be happy if he was injured and off the card) and he is going to be defending his own world title in another marquee match...which leads to his opponent which lately has been rumored to be...Booker T another guy who you would classify as deserving of a big payday.

As for Austin and Rock, even though they spent most of the past year out of the WWE they are still 2 of the biggest and most popular stars and deserve to be on the big show (and let's face it, at least for me personally and I'm sure a lot more people, having them on the card makes me want to order it more).

As for the Bill Goldberg situation (which recent reports indicate are not likely to go through) even if he is signed it's for "novelty" and just makes Wrestlemania all the more special.

So in fact, guys who have "carried" the company like Brock, Angle, Triple H and Booker T will all be getting high profile matches as will Chris Jericho who will likely face Shawn Michaels in a marquee match. Even Hogan who you can argue carried a lot of the weight from last year will be getting a midcard novelty match with Mcmahon so no harm done.

That really just leaves Rock and Austin as guys who should be there on the merits of being the biggest stars in the company (and will likely face each other only taking up one match).

That doesn't leave too many "deserving people" off, in fact one I can think of that by your thinking is being slighted is a guy many of you wouldn't want in a high profile match...The Undertaker. The man carried a large load and was in the main even scene for most of the year, yet doesn't seem to have a ready made opponent for Mania. The other guys would be RVD (who they've never wanted to push seriously to begin with), Benoit (this is a tough one, I really don't see where he fits...they could match him with Austin though if Rock fights Goldberg) and Edge (who I don't think anyone percieves as being a main eventer anyway. So there you go, I think the potential for big matches at Wrestlemania will make it a good evenly represented card.

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

The card, hopefully, looks something like this:

 

-->Midcard matches and stuff

---> Jericho vs Shawn

---> Vince vs Hogan

---> Throwaway Women's Match

---> HHH vs Booker T

---> Nu-Metal Performance

---> Kurt vs Brock

 

This is an ideal setup. Jericho banked on the last WM, and his match with Shawn will be exciting from a workrate point but probably won't get THAT much heat with if the build continues like it currently is going. At the same time, Hogan/Vince will be slower than hell, but the heat will be on.

 

Then a break with a garbage women's match.

 

Then the HHH/Booker match. God, I hope Booker goes over.

 

Then another pause for the crowd to regain their bearings.

 

Then the main event.

 

As for Austin and Rock, I agree that they'd just clutter up the show. They haven't done squat all year. Rock will probably get involved in Hogan/Vince in some way, and maybe Austin can get involved in the Raw title match (since HHH won't want to job cleanly anyway.) Hopefully Undertaker will be content with being a midcard attraction. It seemed to work last year.

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

You say that as if the WWF/WWE hasn't already been around for ages. To say that they aren't in it for the long term is kind of ridiculous to me. Then again, possibly hotshotting guys that have had little to no impact over the last year to top spots at 'Mania seems kind of ridiculous as well, so I don't know who is right or wrong here.

Well, in terms of their recent financial exploits, no, they're not in it for the long term. The entire last year has been about trying to find quick fixes to pop a buyrate, and I see the "special attractions" of WM as the same sort of approach. Obviously they're going to try to make money as long as they can, but nothing they've been doing except for trying to create a superstar in Brock is really hinting towards a long-term plan.

 

Right now they're still doing damage control from a year of mediocre product and waning fan interest; hopefully WM will be the end of that, and business will start to swing up again.

[Guest deadbeater]

Just watch--the so called 'throwaway women's match' just may be the best match not involving the Smackdown 6.

[Guest geniusMoment]

What no one here has considered is the most obvious reason for why they no longer have those lengthy feuds. They now run 12 ppvs a year instead of the 4 they used to run. They must make every ppv at least seem somewhat worth your money, therefore you must occasionaly end feuds at non mania ppvs. Also they now have 4 prime hours to fill as well as countless other wrestling hours to fill. They used to have 1 prime hour a week, WWF Superstars, and they could extend feuds.

[Guest Luke Cage]

WWF PPVs don't exist to continue/conclude feuds. They don't exist to feature wrestling. They exist to remind people when the next PPV is coming.

[Guest AndrewTS]

WWF PPVs don't exist to continue/conclude feuds. They don't exist to feature wrestling. They exist to remind people when the next PPV is coming.

And hype up the next episode of Nitro II aka HHH Raw.

[cawthon777 0]

This really isn't anything new. When was the last time a WrestleMania had even 3 matches that had been building up for about 6 months?

 

Just off the top of my head:

 

Jake the Snake vs. Ted Dibiase

Jake the Snake vs. Rick Martel

Jake the Snake vs. Andre the Giant

 

hmmm... I see a trend

 

Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage

TLC 1 & 2 (not a strong backstory though)

Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart

Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund

Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel

Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat

 

I'd say about 75% of even the more memorable WrestleMania feuds didn't get started until the January time-frame and - to get a little old school - the first TV taping following the Royal Rumble.

 

I think the major issue now is the amount of talent the WWE has. They've got the monopoly on major league pro wrestling. There are so many guys that are talented enough to be featured at WrestleMania - but there are only so many slots to go around. From a financial standpoint - do they bring back the big guns that are a proven draw or do they rely on the new crop of young guys?

 

As good as Jericho, Benoit, RVD, Guerrero, and Edge are - guys like Hogan, Rock, HBK, Austin, and Triple H are going to bring in the buyrates. But if the WWE is smart (which is debatable), they better elevate that younger talent fast or they'll just be losing more money. That's why I like the HBK / Jericho buildup.

[Guest TonyJaymzReloaded]

this is alittle off topic buts hwats WWE's obession with nu metal/rock? Woudln't mind it if they gave a little new stuff, maybe some rap....just something different. If it was Edge vs. Angle, "Lose Yourself" would be great

[Guest Luke Cage]

WWF PPVs don't exist to continue/conclude feuds. They don't exist to feature wrestling. They exist to remind people when the next PPV is coming.

And hype up the next episode of Nitro II aka HHH Raw.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Why reward the hard working people when you can overpay to bring back Hogan and have Vince wrestle? Why promote the guys that are going to be around in the future when you can try to sign Goldberg instead?

 

WWE hates you.