SD! Talent Growing Frustrated With Management

[Guest Benno]

from 411

 

SD! Talent Growing Frustrated With Management

Posted By Ashish on 07.01.04

 

Many feel older guys should get more chances....

 

Smackdown talent was extremely frustrated following the Great American Bash PPV, which just about everyone agreed was horrible. Many feel that one of the problems is that too many guys who aren't ready yet are being thrusted into PPV spots instead of veterans like Richards, Val Venis, Maven, Nunzio, A-Train, Chuck Palumbo, Paul London, The Bashams, etc.

 

Many are pointing the finger at Vince McMahon with the feeling that he doesn't understand how "smart" the current audience is and how quickly they notice if someone isn't "good" in the ring as a performer. Most already are upset with McMahon since he is sending so much of the company profit straight into his pocket.

 

The general feeling is that WWE needs to invest heavily in a better farm system since Ohio Valley Wrestling isn't getting the job done.

 

what the hell? maven, london and the bashams are veterans now????? OVW ISN'T getting the job done?..off the top of my head from ovw in the past couple of years we've had lesnar, cena, orton, benjamin, haas, batista who are all stars now and theres a few others that havent even had their chance yet....who's smoking the crack, the news reporters or their sources?

[Precious Roy 0]

I don't know, but....

 

veterans like Richards, Val Venis, Maven, Nunzio, A-Train, Chuck Palumbo, Paul London, The Bashams, etc.

 

The bolded guys aren't close to vet status in the WWE, or in the industry for that matter, and half the guys named aren't even on SD

[caboose 0]

OVW ISN'T getting the job done?..off the top of my head from ovw in the past couple of years we've had lesnar, cena, orton, benjamin, haas, batista who are all stars now and theres a few others that havent even had their chance yet...

Lesnar was good I'll give you that.

 

Cena is by no means close to the finished article.

 

Orton was greener than Shrek for the first year or so.

 

Benjamin and Haas were great but only in a tag until recently.

 

Batista has to be the most well protected of them all. He's getting better, but damn was he used sparingly, in fact he is probably the least active Evolution member.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

OVW ISN'T getting the job done?..off the top of my head from ovw in the past couple of years we've had lesnar, cena, orton, benjamin, haas, batista who are all stars now and theres a few others that havent even had their chance yet

 

OVW isn't getting the job done. How can you say the company is doing a good job when almost all the call-ups seem to have a major learning curve once they get onto tv? I for one hate watching guys learn as they go loike Orton, Cena, Batista and most of the others. It's beyond me that we have to talk about guys being green when they were in OVW for serveral years.

 

I mean you had powerplant guys showing up on WCW tv more solid in the ring than a lot of these OVW guys and it was a SCHOOL and not a development fed.

[Mole 0]

411 gets their news from other site and just copy's and paste's it into theirs. They usually give them credit at the bottom of the news report, but I see none here.

 

If there isn't a source, I don't believe.

[Guest Wondermouse]

I don't know, but....

 

veterans like Richards, Val Venis, Maven, Nunzio, A-Train, Chuck Palumbo, Paul London, The Bashams, etc.

 

The bolded guys aren't close to vet status in the WWE, or in the industry for that matter, and half the guys named aren't even on SD

I think it's just that, in general, the guys mentioned have been around longer than Mordecai, Kenzo, and Reigns combined, yet all three of them get a squash on a pay per view, while these guys get lucky to appear on Raw and Smackdown. And, aside from the first three, all of them either are on SD, or were traded/drafted away and are't being used in any capacity.

 

I'd also argue that Palumbo, while not a veteran, has been around for over 5 years, and was actually used a good bit in WCW, and probably doesn't belong to be thrown in with Maven and the Bashams. As for London, he works better than everyone else on the list, anyway.

 

Even if the guys backstage at SD aren't frustrated, I sure as hell am.

[Si82 0]

WWE seems to be making the same mistakes as WCW back in 2000.

 

Like WCW did with the Power Plant, WWE are now doing the same with OVW. They are bringing up new guys in order to create new stars way before they should be. They, like WCW did in 2000, seem to be after a quick-fix to their problems and are going the wrong way about it by calling up guys who are far too green to be on TV already. Guys like Mordecai, Luther Reigns, and Tyson Tomko.

 

As for those "vetrans" complaining. Guys like A-Train and Chuck Palumbo should learn to improve their own skills before bashing guys. Oh, and since when were The Bashams Brothers and Maven "vetrans"?

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Like WCW did with the Power Plant, WWE are now doing the same with OVW. They are bringing up new guys in order to create new stars way before they should be. They, like WCW did in 2000, seem to be after a quick-fix to their problems and are going the wrong way about it by calling up guys who are far too green to be on TV already.

In WCW's defense, the WWF was killing them in the ratings, and attendance was dropping. They had to do something to shake things up, so bringing up new guys before they may have been ready was really the only recourse they had. What were they going to do, push Buff & Lex?

 

Guys like A-Train and Chuck Palumbo should learn to improve their own skills before bashing guys.

Both of those guys are perfectly fine for use in the midcard. They're certainly many times better than Kenzo, Tomko, Mordecai.

 

As for the Bashams, I know Doug had been in OVW for a while. Maybe someone can confirm, but I'd guess around 5 years combined WWF/OVW service?

 

I'd agree with this, though:

Many are pointing the finger at Vince McMahon with the feeling that he doesn't understand how "smart" the current audience is and how quickly they notice if someone isn't "good" in the ring as a performer.

It's no coincidence guys like Matt Morgan, Nathan Jones, Heidenreich, Suzuki, Tomko, etc. didn't/haven't been well received despite getting good amounts of TV time. While the crowd may not be 100% geared up for technical masterpieces in the ring, they're certainly not as willing to accept "ME BIG! ME SMASH!" guys as they were in the past.

[Guest Arnold_OldSchool]

During the WWF's 1st heyay (Circa 1985) They were almost exclusively using wrestlers who had 5 plus years of experience.

 

Most guys should be in OVW and the other indies for at least 5 years before making it on National TV.

 

The argument many people have when reading about OVW ("That guys been there over 2 years??? OMG either call him up or cut him what a waste!) is erronous.

[Guest TheRedDevil]

For all the talk about the Bashams not being veterans, Doug has been wrestling for OVW off and on since late 1999, and was in the USWA and doing WWF dark matches since around 96 or 97 as "The All American" Doug Basham. If I remember correctly, Damaja has been with OVW since 98 or 99.

 

And when y'all mention Mordeci being "green", he was in OVW for a few years as one of the Disciples of Synn, and was in the Memphis developmental leagues since at least 1999.

[Promoter 0]

Well, if this report is true all it illustrates is that the wwe cannot maintain two rosters at full potential plain and simple.

[haVoc 0]

This shouldn't be a shocker...

 

Eddie Guerrero was not happy about WWE's decision to take the WWE Title off of him, but did not complain about it backstage. Most believe that he will get the title back soon anyway, possibly as soon as Summerslam.

 

Credit: Torch Newsletter/411

[TheBigSwigg 0]

Well, if this report is true all it illustrates is that the wwe cannot maintain two rosters at full potential plain and simple.

All it says is that McMahon doesn't have the ability to put both shows on an equal plain. He has to play favorites. If he gets over this, then the split could be great. Though he probably won't.

[AndrewTS 0]

"The general feeling is that WWE needs to invest heavily in a better farm system since Ohio Valley Wrestling isn't getting the job done. "

 

I thought Smackdown was part of the farm system? =P

 

Well, they did have HWA but they cut that.

 

"All it says is that McMahon doesn't have the ability to put both shows on an equal plain. He has to play favorites. If he gets over this, then the split could be great. Though he probably won't. "

 

Yeah--it was funny a couple years ago when Vince would swear up and a down that Raw was the better show.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

GAB wasn't even worth $35 of monopoly money.

[Guest TigerDriver91]

This shouldn't be a shocker...

 

Eddie Guerrero was not happy about WWE's decision to take the WWE Title off of him, but did not complain about it backstage. Most believe that he will get the title back soon anyway, possibly as soon as Summerslam.

 

Credit: Torch Newsletter/411

I would love to see the title back on Eddie sometime soon.

[TheBigSwigg 0]

This shouldn't be a shocker...

 

Eddie Guerrero was not happy about WWE's decision to take the WWE Title off of him, but did not complain about it backstage. Most believe that he will get the title back soon anyway, possibly as soon as Summerslam.

 

Credit: Torch Newsletter/411

I would love to see the title back on Eddie sometime soon.

As in, say, yesterday?

[Guest Your Olympic Hero]

So you guys who are complaining are saying you'd rather see Mordecai, Kenzo, and Luther get their chance at stardom instead of Nunzio, London, or Richards?

[Guest TigerDriver91]

As in, say, yesterday?

Yesterday... 48 hours ago... he should never have lost the belt in the first place. I just hope he gets it back in the cage match two weeks from now.

 

[King Cucaracha 0]

So you guys who are complaining are saying you'd rather see Mordecai, Kenzo, and Luther get their chance at stardom instead of Nunzio, London, or Richards?

No. We're complaining because it's a horrible attempt at reporting, considering the site is so well known.

 

It's the same story we get every week, only with more blatant errors.

[Guest iamgod410]

man im glad i didnt buy that ppv. i dont get how they absorbed so many guys from wcw and in like 2 years they dont have enough decent wrestlers? human resources department must be lazy and need to hire somebody. put paul heyman in charge of talent searches

[Guest DeathBecomesYou]

Hate to be a nitpicker, but technically one of the Bashams is a veteran, Doug's been wrestling since around '91.

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

man im glad i didnt buy that ppv. i dont get how they absorbed so many guys from wcw and in like 2 years they dont have enough decent wrestlers? human resources department must be lazy and need to hire somebody. put paul heyman in charge of talent searches

Well for a long time JR was in charge of the talent searches and we all know what kind of wrestler he likes.

[NoCalMike 0]

They should let Heyman book Smackdown....EOS.

[Fro 0]

Hate to be a nitpicker, but technically one of the Bashams is a veteran, Doug's been wrestling since around '91.

Yep, Doug Basham used to wrestle in USWA... he's certainly paid his dues. I think Danny (Damaja) has been wrestling since around 95 or 96 (same with Dinsmore and Conway).

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Anyone else think 411 was just shitting us? I mean, do you really think they're dumb enough to print the word "veteran" next to London, Maven, Palumbo, etc.'s names? I don't think so, really...

[Fro 0]

OVW ISN'T getting the job done?..off the top of my head from ovw in the past couple of years we've had lesnar, cena, orton, benjamin, haas, batista who are all stars now and theres a few others that havent even had their chance yet

 

OVW isn't getting the job done. How can you say the company is doing a good job when almost all the call-ups seem to have a major learning curve once they get onto tv? I for one hate watching guys learn as they go loike Orton, Cena, Batista and most of the others. It's beyond me that we have to talk about guys being green when they were in OVW for serveral years.

 

I mean you had powerplant guys showing up on WCW tv more solid in the ring than a lot of these OVW guys and it was a SCHOOL and not a development fed.

Who from the Power Plant had as good of matches as Lesnar had? Who has had as good of matches as Orton has had? Whichi Powerplant tag team as good of matches as Haas/Benjamin? Who from the powerplant besides Goldberg has gotten as over as Cena and Eugene?

 

They're not going to turn out guys that wrestle like Chris Benoit (actually, Doug Basham and Dinsmore could come pretty close if they were allowed).

 

The problem with the developmental system is that Vince has a hoss fetish and signs a bunch of them and calls them up too early, not OVW. They also sign people based on charisma and having good bodies instead of being good workers. There's only so much Cornette and Danny Davis can do and if WWE wants to take people who aren't ready and throw them on tv, there's not much they can do.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

Uh... Goldberg had good matches occasionally and so did the Big Show...

[deancoles 0]

DDP was one of the first guys to train in the powerplant and he did pretty well.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Who has had as good of matches as Orton has had?

Orton doesn't exactly have a laundry list of great matches.