The writing team

[Highland 0]

Ok, a few years ago I was reading an article on wrestling and it described one of the main differences between the then wwf and wcw, mainly that wcw storyline were spontaneous, written on the spot and basically lacking any planning.

On the other side of the scale was the wwf, with storylines written and planned out many weeks if not months in advance, with adjustments made in case of injury, etc. with Wrestlemania being the beginning and ending point of virtually all major fueds and angles for that year.

 

Now, clearly today that is not the case with wwe, but if they for some reason returned to the old format, would the shows and the product in general improve?

[Guest Choken One]

Its the lack of urgency and Competition and gernal Malaise right now...not really the "format"...

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

What happened?

 

Well, someone decided to run a football promotion and put their daughter in charge of creative.

 

The WWE does have long-term plans; unfortunately, those long-term plans usually involve HHH and the Mcmahons. Their main problem - aside from pushing the 'wrong' people - is that they don't care about the 'little things'.

[Guest Boo_Bradley]

Ok, a few years ago I was reading an article on wrestling and it described one of the main differences between the then wwf and wcw, mainly that wcw storyline were spontaneous, written on the spot and basically lacking any planning.

On the other side of the scale was the wwf, with storylines written and planned out many weeks if not months in advance, with adjustments made in case of injury, etc. with Wrestlemania being the beginning and ending point of virtually all major fueds and angles for that year.

 

Now, clearly today that is not the case with wwe, but if they for some reason returned to the old format, would the shows and the product in general improve?

Are you refering to the Entertainment Weekly Article from 98 where it said something like "A tale of 2 Heel turns"?

 

WWF:HHH:

Had his bodyguard Chyna turn on him and Join Shane's Corparation, who then manipulated Kane into fighting her ex -employer HHH, only to Turn on Kane at WM, which reunited DX for about a half and hour, before HHH turned heel by attacking his lil buddy X-Pac and joined Shane's Corparation as well.

 

WCW:Hulk Hogan

They turned his beard black.

 

 

I think thats an exact quote.

[Damaramu 0]

Well I remember the guy from 2000 that wrote all the good storylines....and he would storyboard everything.

The problem is that they only care about the main eventers storylines and then they plan those out but they plan absolute shit out for them.

[Guest webmasterofwrestlegame]

WWE goes into RAW and SmackDown! with a script but basically they get shifted about so much that they are warped come showtime.

 

I know when Russo booked WWE he would ring superstars during the week with what they had in store from them etc. so they could make the necessary changes there and then and come the day of the show, it was just a mtter of getting the pre-tapes done and fine tuning things.

[Highland 0]

[

Are you refering to the Entertainment Weekly Article from 98 where it said something like "A tale of 2 Heel turns"?

 

WWF:HHH:

Had his bodyguard Chyna turn on him and Join Shane's Corparation, who then manipulated Kane into fighting her ex -employer HHH, only to Turn on Kane at WM, which reunited DX for about a half and hour, before HHH turned heel by attacking his lil buddy X-Pac and joined Shane's Corparation as well.

 

WCW:Hulk Hogan

They turned his beard black.

 

 

I think thats an exact quote.

That's probably it. I forget the exact article or the name of the magazine, but I do remember the gist of the topic, which was the difference between wwf and wcw writers and how things were done back then.

[Slayer 0]

Well I remember the guy from 2000 that wrote all the good storylines....and he would storyboard everything.

The problem is that they only care about the main eventers storylines and then they plan those out but they plan absolute shit out for them.

What was that guy's name? I can't remember for the life of me

 

And also, when and why did he leave and what is he doing today?

[KTID 0]

Something like Chris Klein (?)

[The Czech Republic 0]

Well I remember the guy from 2000 that wrote all the good storylines....and he would storyboard everything.

The problem is that they only care about the main eventers storylines and then they plan those out but they plan absolute shit out for them.

What was that guy's name? I can't remember for the life of me

 

And also, when and why did he leave and what is he doing today?

He left in 2001 when he couldn't take the crap anymore

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Something like Chris Klein (?)

The worst actor ever being one of the best WWF writers ever? Probably not.

[BoboBrazil 0]

His name was Chris Kreski.

[KTID 0]

I WAS CLOSE!!!!

 

*hides*

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

You can basically draw a line to everything starting to fall apart when Steph was handed the book.

[Austin3164life 0]

Ever since the HHH/Angle/Stephanie love triangle resolution and the "Who Ran Over Austin?" conclusion (which were both supreme dissapointments), things began to take a different turn, slowly, but surely. But like Dangerous A has quoted, the real ground zero of the WWE at least was the purchase of WCW (and a little something called "XFL").

[Damaramu 0]

No the real ground zero was the night of WMX7. When Austin turned heel...EVERYTHING went downhill.

And I believe right after this was the start of the dreaded....3 Minute match and 5 minute main event!

[Austin3164life 0]

I believe the Austin heel turn was needed. It was a fresh character turn for the guy and it resulted in a compelling persona and great matches. It wasn't Austin's heel turn that caused the ratings downfall so much as it was Triple H's refusal to be the big babyface to take him on (remember when the Texas crowd exploded for him when he came out?). Austin couldn't continue to be a huge babyface because he had just defeated one, and it would've been great to see a fresh face going against a fresh heel Austin. Since Triple H didn't play the main babyface to go after Austin, we got to see a nonsensical pairing which resulted in plodding feuds with Taker and Kane (who weren't hot at that time). It would've been fresh, new, and exciting had Triple H gone against Austin as a face, and I'm sure the crowd would've liked it at least. Now, you could argue that Austin wasn't really perceived as a hated wrestler because he still got big pops most of the time, but the Austin/HHH feud (not sure if this is accurate, idk the numbers) was proven as a good draw in Jan-Feb and it still would've been good.

Edited October 16, 2003 by Austin3164life

[haVoc 0]

While there were mistakes and disappointments like who ran over Austin and the Steph-Triple H-Angle storyline the product was still pretty good at the time. The storylines made sense and the in ring action was still hot.

 

Austin turning heel could be pointed at as the start of the down fall but the real turning point was Vince buying/burying WcW. That should have been one of the biggest and best storylines ever. But, WcW only had a handful of "big stars" like Booker and DDP and the writers never figured out how to use them.

 

Of course, Taker, Austin and everyone else playing politics didn't help either. But, that is when the writing went to crap. Guys being jobbed out for no reason. Guys winning and then dropping titles every other week. I couldn't keep up with who was champion half the time.

 

Then little things like Austin kicking the crap out of the WcW guys at KOTR that year then joining them at the end of the match. The whole Invasion being focused around Austin and favoring all the WWF guys. Booker T being WcW champion then being made a running joke and then becoming Rock's bitch. It was a one sided battle from the start and the writing has never recovered since.