What Would YOU Do?

[razazteca 0]

I would use Bob Sap to send all of the OVW hosses to the medical facitily. So say bye bye to Gene Snitsky, John Heindrich, Rene Dupree, and the other french canadian. Bob would win with the Power of the Punch, it would similiar to the Tank Abbot push in WCW but without the comedy.

[TheBostonStrangler 0]

This is what I would do:

 

1) Push the people that sell the most merchandise. This seems like it's pretty obvious, but I think you could make a very good case that the people who do some of the best merchandise sales are The Hurricane, Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam, and Matt Hardy. None of these people have been pushed heavily in any real way for two years. Now, this could just be me, but it seems like if they're selling a lot of merchandise while being kept in midcard hell, their sales would go through the roof if they were pushed. On top of that, Matt Hardy, Rey Mysterio, RVD, and The Hurricane all get massive pops when they're given something to do. Putting the four of these men in actual storylines, give them an opportunity to get over, and let them do something.

 

2) Build up the few unique matchups that you have now. There are five or six feuds that would be absolute money (or, at the very least, be something that we haven't seen done to death in the last two years), so these are feuds that should be massive deals on the shows:

 

- Undertaker vs. HHH (hasn't been seen since WM X-7, I believe)

- Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (never)

- Shawn Michaels vs. The Rock (never)

- The Rock vs. John Cena (never)

- Chris Jericho vs. The Undertaker (done at some point, I'm sure)

- Eddie Guerrero vs. Shawn Michaels

- Rey Mysterio vs. Shawn Michaels

 

Now, you'll notice that a lot of those feuds have Shawn Michaels involved. Basically, in his last run, have him move from high-profile feud to high-profile feud. Have him win one, have him lose in most of them, and then put him out to pasture for good at Wrestlemania XXII. Although this doesn't put new people in the main event, it does give a lot of premiere matches to distract the people while they build up new stars. They can't tear the entire thing down all at once, so this would be an important thing to do.

 

3) Well, like I said, they need to build up some new stars. Therefore, what they need to do is build some new, unexposed people up. The five-six people that I could see getting the big pushes are:

 

- Randy Orton

- John Cena

- Rob Van Dam

- Chris Jericho

- Batista

- Shelton Benjamin

 

Therefore, they need to slowly work these people into the main event. No more sudden thrusts into the main event. Work them into angles with the main eventers, but portray them as equals, not as punks. It doesn't require a lot of work on their part, and it'd work, most likely. Just make them look somewhat decent, spend a lot of time around the big boys, and then start getting their wins.

 

4) LOTS of definitive singles matches. It doesn't matter if people fight over and over again as long as the singles matches mean something (I would support some kind of ranking system, even if it's vaguely fabricated by the writers) and had decisive endings.

 

5) Offer a prize to every tag team that can stick together for more than 6 months (something like $500,000 or something like that) in order to create some teams. Offer benefits for creating real teams, tag finishers, etc. Some teams will last, some won't. See where they click, see where the fans react, and just have some fun with it so that everyone is contributing. You could have Stevie Richards beg to tag with an up-and-comer like Shelton Benjamin to get the money, you could have a tag team on their last ropes try and hang on for six more months, have the "wacky tag team that hates each other", the big guy/small guy, etc. Bring in a couple indy tag teams, and use this to rebuild the tag team with some legitimate tag teams. It creates storylines for the division, which is nice.

 

Enough for now.

[Guest goatfish]

I have two basic things I would try to pitch to management.

 

1. Somebody said this earlier, and I completly agree. People just sit and wait in line for title shots. On Raw, Randy Orton wants Triple H, and his title. But why doesn't Jericho, who has a much longer history of despising Triple H, try to take out Orton and get the title himself? Why doesn't Shelton Benjamin want to beat Triple H, after knowing that he can do it three times already? They shouldn't have just one person going after the title, at least in the fans minds. Two of the main reasons why the buildup (NOT the execution) of Benoit's title win was so great was 1. It was established, mostly on Smackdown, how much the title meant to Benoit, and 2. Shawn Michaels ALSO wanted the title. Granted, he wanted Triple H more, but the fact that Benoit not only had to defeat Triple H, the unstoppable force of Raw for a year, and Shawn Michaels, someone who in the fans minds had always come up huge in title matches, and huge in Madison Square Garden, for the title made it that much more impressive. I'm not saying that there should be that amount of depth in every feud, that's unrealistic. But instead of having just Orton going after Triple H, have Jericho mention casually in an interview how much he wants Triple H. Have JR put over the fact while Chris Benoit is wrestling that he mentioned to him earlier today that he is rededicating himself to get back "his" championship. Simple stuff like that.

 

2. More credible midcard heels. I'm sick and tired of seeing A Face V. Christian for the IC title. I can't think of a credible midcard heel on RAW outside of Christian, and Batista. Part of the reason guys like The Rock, and Austin, and Triple H were believeable (to certain degrees) when they hit the main event was that they had battled in meaningful feuds for the IC title. I mean, even Brock Lesnar started off in the midcard going up against The Hardys and RVD. Have Eugene go after Shelton, and push the idea that he wants a title just like he used to see on TV. Have Regal turn on Eugene (although I really want to see Regal stay as a face, he's one of the only characters on either show that I legitimatly care about), and go after the IC title. Have The Hurricane turn, become an evil Superhero (If they need the merchandise he could still pull in), or completly revamp his character, and go after Shelton Benjamin, asking why he still cares about the fans. Look what the fans gave him for 3 years, they just laughed at him, or something like that. Fuck, do SOMETHING interesting. They really need to start developing that side of the card on Raw. Stop having "Evolution V. Raw" with Christian and Baby Killer Snitsky being token heels.

 

 

I'd offer up something for Smackdown, but I haven't watched it in 2 months, which speaks volumes about how good that show is.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Why go to that format now? When for years the WWE has been using the same format and not a weight divison. It has proven to be succesful at times.

 

It isn't successful now and hasn't been for years. The tag titles are worthless, the IC and US titles are worthless, and the main titles don't have any meaning.

 

And doing that format basically erases a tag team divison and breaks up the very few credible tag teams the WWE has left(Dudleys)

 

I mentioned that the tag titles would be open weight. Jeez, it had its own point.

 

It just seems boring and would erase some of the good matches that the WWE can produce.

 

No, infact it would produce better matches by keeping the good workers in two divisions and have the crap in one, without having to drag down the good workers with the hosses.

 

This isn't boxing folks.

 

Neither is this. See, they're still wrestling... at first I thought you were joking by saying the idea was garbage, but now I just think you're stupid.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Rando is here with his IDEA...that's right, just one. It's very simple and easy to follow, and I hope everyone can follow along at home.

 

My idea can be summarized in ONE sentence:

 

Wrestle How You Want!

 

There are two things that help get people over in the wrestling business:

 

1) Wrestling

2) Character

 

Vince needs to see the light, and realize that nobody will ever upstage the main event, and even if they do who really cares. It is money in his pocket either way. People will always come to see the champions, even if it is HHH. They want to see him lose, though as each month passes the idea of it seems much more futile than it ever has, even though he just went six months without it. The character of HHH carries him alot farther than his wrestling skill, and that is a good thing in this situation because there are characters like Chris Benoit who get over on wrestling ability and skill, and don't need any sort of real personality to let that point be known.

 

In the other divisions, identity is KEY. The fans need to look at a wrestler and say "Yeah that's so-and-so! BOOO!" or "Yeah, there's whats-his-face, he beat so-and-so last time with the such-and-such!" It is not enough to know who they are, but what they are in the ring. Carbon copying Rey Mysterio over and over again won't work, same for anyone else. The independents thrive because of the variety of styles, and if not styles then moves that those guys pull off. It's Jeff Hardy Syndrome to the full effect. That nutcase got over because he did a flipping senton splash from the top with a little bit of finesse and nobody had ever seen it before. But besides that, the Hardyz had the Poetry In Motion and other little things that set them apart from the more character driven E&C. Edge & Christian had their characters to a T during all of 2000 and it showed. They did not need great wrestling to back them up because their characters were such assholes that it worked.

 

Vince can not continue to push the "WWE style" and expect business to prosper. Sure, injuries happen...but even in the slower paced age, they still do (for instance CCC earlier this weekend, Edge repeatedly, HBK, and others). Management needs to go to independent shows and see those small groups of fans going WILD for those guys busting their asses for next to nothing and realize that it might not be WWE style, but it gets fans into the seats and has them cheering the whole way.

 

The WWE needs a proper balance of characters and wrestling put into their storylines and used in such a way as to completely maximize profit. This is a big reason HHH vs. Orton did not really work. The characters clash in such a bizarre way that it turns fans off, and they don't have anything to latch onto. Eddie/Angle, on the other hand, worked on a variety of levels because the characters were played wonderfully (at least before WMXX) and they had the wrestling to back it up. Sure, the WM match wasn't spectacular by alot of means, but the presentation and use of those two dynamic characters made it work.

 

With the recent firings, WWE could easily pick up a few casual fan no-namers from the indy circuit and throw them onto SD or Raw and give them a small push, even if in the beginning it was just throwing them on Velocity or Heat with guys they are familiar working with to job to before moving them up to the more well known names and established names. The recent pushes of Heidenreich, Snitsky, and others shows that the WWE only wants to slow-burn things that don't need it (Test/Steiner, for instance) and not the storylines that really do need it (HHH/Orton, Edge/Benoit).

 

Also, another big point:

 

CHAMPIONSHIPS NEED TO MATTER

 

The championships should NEVER be used for a storyline that they have no reason belonging in (ala Edge/Benoit recently). This happens most often with the tag belts, but in the same vein the singles championships can not be left out of storylines (most of what Orton did in his first IC reign). Right now, there are a few people consistently hunting for the IC Championship, but there is never more than one or two at a time. I say, if a wrestler can not get at HHH, the IC Champ is the next best thing. Have the wrestlers give a shit about who is holding it, why, and how. Wouldn't it be fucked up beyond BELIEF if Christian defeated Shelton, and immediately Bischoff would have his office flooded with people wanting a title shot. Not only would it make the IC title more important, it would in turn make the champion important as well.

 

Currently I love the way that HHH and JBL hold their respective titles. You can tell it means ALOT to each of them to have them. Same things goes for earlier this year when Kidman/London won the tag belts. The after-match stuff backstage was brilliantly done, showing that the new champs really care about it. This needs to be done with every belt and their needs to be a clear storyline going around it at all times.

 

See, it's not so hard now is it?

 

1) Let the wrestlers work out their own individual style and character.

2) Let them use it to the best of their ability in storylines that work to ENHANCE what they are good at (either the characters or the wrestling or both)

3) If championships get involved, make them mean something.

 

AND

 

My encore rule...

 

4) If you are going to win, make your opponent look as good as possible leading up to the finish.

 

 

~ Rando.

[Guest Fook]

They need to make PPVs important again. Right now PPV's just seem like extended versions of the television shows instead of the big "we can't miss this" shows they used to be. They need to get the fans to think this way again.

 

There are several things they can do to accomplish this. First, they need to cut back on the sheer amount of them. Less is more. They were fine with having one a month with the brands alternating except for the big four. Having big shows less often will not only let the storylines have more time to develop, but also make the shows seem that much more important and worth ordering.

 

Second, bring back King of the Ring. Make it a dual brand show and make it a one night tournament instead of having only the semis and finals at the show. Stress that winning the tournament not only vastly improves your standings on the card, but that it's evidence of toughness as the winner would have to beat four guys in one night. Have one side of the bracket as Raw only and the other as SD only. That way we're guaranteed a Raw vs SD match in the finals, which would be one of the few times per year we'd see this.

 

Third, make the PPVs more distinct. The Royal Rumble is popular because of the Rumble match itself. Aside from that, it's just another show. I liked the idea of Taboo Tuesday, and it couldn't hurt to have a direct line to what the fans actually want as far as matchups. For God's sake though, please change the name. They need to introduce matches that you can only see at certain shows. Some examples, besides the one night King of the Ring tournament mentioned above, are having more elimination style matches at Survivor Series, HIAC at Bad Blood, Elimination Chamber at Summerslam, War Games at No Mercy, etc. If the shows are identifyable and each offer something unique, they'll be more appealing to the fans.

 

Fourth, have the shows lead into each other so to speak. Right now, the WWE has the Road to Wrestlemania start at the Royal Rumble, but why not start it earlier? Here's my scenario: At Survivor Series, have a few elimination matches. At the end of the night take all the survivors and put them in an every man for himself elimination match. Declare the winner the "Ultimate Survivor" or "Sole Survivor" or something like that and make the prize be a guaranteed #30 spot the the Royal Rumble match. It's much more preferable than just having a four man match on Raw the week before the Rumble for the #30 spot. Linking these shows together from November to March will not only force the writers to come up with long term plans, but will generate fan interest as they can track a wrestler's quest for the title from an eight man elimination match in November to the main event at Wrestlemania (assuming, of course, that they actually have someone in the #30 slot win the Rumble for once).

[haws bah gawd 0]

Speaking of finishers, I wish they would give names to some of them. I dont mean things like Pumphandle Slam for Snitzky, and "AH! THERES A HARD SHOT BY TOMKO!" (the big boot). Im talking about names like the RKO and Pedigree. There are only a few wrestlers whos finishing moves have actual names that identify them with that particular wrestler. I get tired of JR calling everything an "innovative move", or "hard knock down". Batista has been using his powerbomb for over 2 years now, and it is still called "that hard sit-out powerbomb". They should at least give it a name that identifies the move to Batista, such as The Demonbomb (I believe this is what his spinebuster was called in OVW) or something similar.

[jester 0]

I think that the higher up the card you have, the more finishers you should have. Two for midcards, maybe as many as four for the top guys. That way matches are less predictable, and more thrilling. You'd never know which one would close the match.

 

Of course, asking wrestlers to have four moves of any kind seems to be asking a lot.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

1)CLEAN finishes. I would stress that this is one of the few things that they HAVEN'T tried (Now I admit this is stolen from the past weeks observer). The fans in wrestling nowadays get upset at the promotion and booking when it comes to screwjob finishes and NOT at the heels. This in turn makes everything worse because most things have trouble getting heat the way they were designed.

 

2)Trim MORE of the fat. Save more money and free up roster space for all the people who are there just collecting a check. The cuts made over the past week or so were a good start. Now I'm not saying everyone they cut was terrible (for the most part they were) but honestly if they are not being used..............get RID of them.

 

3)Make all titles mean something again. Quit with the transferring titles for no reason without any build or emotion. Also, if someone is the champion...........they should be on EVERY show. Not necessessarily wrestling either. They need to be seen and everyone should be able to tell you who all the champions are off the top of their heads. PERIOD.

 

4)Give the fans a reason to tune in everyweek on TV. There should be QUALITY matches on TV. Thus proving wrong every person I know that watched wrestling years ago that always says "I used to watch, but now all they do is talk and there is no wrestling."

 

5)Kill off the left over Russoisms. No more GM's, no more invincible camera backstage, and no more insulting angles/gimmicks. If someone attempts murder, rape, or any other crime..........they go to jail. Even wrestling on TV is not excused from that.

 

6)Stick to the gameplan. If you book a match for PPV, don't change it because some flavor of the month is getting huge pops from the crowd. It makes no sense. There is nothing wrong with incorporating them MORE in the show, but it doesn't mean that they are destined for the top of the card(Examples: Snitsky and Eugene).

 

7)Kill the scripting of interviews. I've heard for years from people "in the know" that a wrestling persona is only an extention of the wrestler's "real life personality". Not if some writer is cue carding everything these guys do. It comes across as unnatural and more like bad acting than anything else.

 

8) I forget who said it here, but I agree with pushing of the wrestler who seem to be selling the most merchandise. It's a nice scale to measure who people are willing to pay for. Do not base EVERYTHING on this.........it's just a useful tool.

 

9)DO NOT use workers than cannot do just that......WORK....at least in the main programs. If you want guys to get experience, then let them work indie shows. This will get them more exposure and will help them when they are brought up to the main roster and more people will recognize them and might start watching MORE WWE.

 

-I hope I followed the guidelines here......I might add to this later too.

[strummer 0]

4)Give the fans a reason to tune in everyweek on TV. There should be QUALITY matches on TV. Thus proving wrong every person I know that watched wrestling years ago that always says "I used to watch, but now all they do is talk and there is no wrestling."

 

 

I've had SEVERAL people who used to watch wrestling say this to me. My mother and father watched a little in the 80s and early 90s and when they see today's product, they always say "Jesus, they sure do talk a lot more than they used to" My mother once said "Are you sure this wrestling anymore, all they are doing is talking and talking" I've had friends who loved wrestling when we were in school, that were diehards like myself, and they always say "They talk too much" I don't think this turns away fans that started watching in the Attitude era, because they were used to all the talking. But for the fans who have watched since the 80s (even though the matches were mostly bad then), it definitely is a turn off.

[Guest Loss]

5) Offer a prize to every tag team that can stick together for more than 6 months (something like $500,000 or something like that) in order to create some teams. Offer benefits for creating real teams, tag finishers, etc. Some teams will last, some won't. See where they click, see where the fans react, and just have some fun with it so that everyone is contributing. You could have Stevie Richards beg to tag with an up-and-comer like Shelton Benjamin to get the money, you could have a tag team on their last ropes try and hang on for six more months, have the "wacky tag team that hates each other", the big guy/small guy, etc. Bring in a couple indy tag teams, and use this to rebuild the tag team with some legitimate tag teams. It creates storylines for the division, which is nice.

 

Enough for now.

I love this idea, if only because the idea of a heel working to break up a team just to cost them $500,000 ROCKS and would be an insta-feud. Imagine if a team had been having problems for two months or so, and were one day away from getting $500,000, and miscommunication causes a breakup and they don't get the money. Good stuff.

[Guest Loss]

I want to play devil's advocate on a few points that keep getting brought up:

 

1. Exactly HOW do you make titles mean something? What style of booking do you use to make titles credible again? How do people see them now and how should they see them? And how do you revitalize the belts through the booking?

 

2. We tried letting the wrestlers do everything they wanted, and the result was a roster full of injured people and a slew of neck injuries. How do we ensure the safety of our workers and still let them wrestle the style where they're comfortable?

[Jericho2000Mark 0]

What I'm trying to say is that it was a small part that ended up helping Hogan prior to him being a main event juggernaut.

Actually, Hogan became the biggest draw in wrestling before Rocky 3 was released.

 

 

I would propose they take better care of the Mid-Card, by replacing the green heatless OVW call-ups(Jindrak, Reigns, Bashams, Heidenrich, Grenier) with established talent the company already has, but aren't using(Rhyno, Snow, Richards, Morley). I wouldn't call up as many wrestlers from OVW...so when someone new debuts, it actually means something. Only the wrestlers who are ready for television and at least have a good idea of how to work, would be called up. For developmental talent, I would go for legit atheletes(MMA, college wrestling, Football) rather than bodybuilders or models. As some of the best talent developed by WWE's developmental system have had strong atheletic backgrounds(Rock, Brock, Angle, WGTT, etc...).

 

Any worker under contract, starting out on television, would get a fair chance at getting over, regardless of their look or ability. By covering their weaknesses and playing up their strengths.

 

As for who to push, I would factor in merch sales, heat and segment numbers...basically who the fans would pay to see most, then push the wrestlers accordingly.

 

I would propose they make the outcomes of matches less predictable... As in not having every match end with a wrestler's finisher, a fluke roll-up or a screwjob.

They could use the in-ring 10 count rule or the 5 count when someone stands on

a turnbuckle, to end a match some time. Or have someone like Benoit win a match with the triple germans or Northern lights suplex, moves that aren't exactly finishers but are still believable enough to finish a match. Or have someone pull out a move that looks devastating, but they rarely use, to finish a match(like when Kid Kash beat Sonjay Dutt with a top turnbuckle DDT in their match a year ago). This would add more supense to matches, as the near-falls would be more effective...not just when someone kicks out of a finisher.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I want to play devil's advocate on a few points that keep getting brought up:

 

1. Exactly HOW do you make titles mean something? What style of booking do you use to make titles credible again? How do people see them now and how should they see them? And how do you revitalize the belts through the booking?

 

2. We tried letting the wrestlers do everything they wanted, and the result was a roster full of injured people and a slew of neck injuries. How do we ensure the safety of our workers and still let them wrestle the style where they're comfortable?

1. Exactly HOW do you make titles mean something?

Have the wrestlers going after them be the ones people care about and/or see as stars. When Evolution had the tag titles, people cared when they were defended, and, by proxy, who were challenging for them. Same when Edge and Benoit had the belts back in May/June. However, when La Resistance have the belts, nobody gives a shit about the belts because nobody gives a shit about La Res or takes them seriously. They're an opening act comedy gimmick, and when opening act comedy gimmicks have titles, they make the titles seem worthless. The booking needed to make the belts have value against is simple; put the belts on people on wrestlers people care about and/or take seriously, and keep comedy well away from the them. Sure, use the occasional light hearted moment from time to time if need be, but don't make the belts seem like a joke.

 

As for point number two, the key isn't limiting the wrestlers style, but limiting how often they do the crazy and spectacular stuff, Instead of the wrestlers being allowed to go to town with big spots, limit them to one or two a night at house shows, a few more on TV, and few more than that on PPV. Teach them how to build their match so that instead of needing to ten crazy spots to get a pop, they only need to do one or two. They have/had the talent on hand to do that. They just need to use it.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

1. Exactly HOW do you make titles mean something? What style of booking do you use to make titles credible again? How do people see them now and how should they see them? And how do you revitalize the belts through the booking?

 

You make titles mean something by presenting the titles and champions as something special. They should ALWAYS show(through graphics and such) who the top say.........five contenders for all the titles at the beginning of the show, or even just put it on WWE.com and advertise where fans can see it. This not only makes the titles more important, but it makes all matches more important. This is only a starting point..........I could go on.........but I'll leave some for others to bring up too...........

 

We tried letting the wrestlers do everything they wanted, and the result was a roster full of injured people and a slew of neck injuries. How do we ensure the safety of our workers and still let them wrestle the style where they're comfortable?

 

Well, there is a way to curb this.............but I doubt Vince would be up for it. See there isn't so much problem with that style than there is with the schedule. You see Indy workers and Japanese wrestlers go the "balls to the wall" style and wrestle for a long time. But if they do it in the WWE then guys are constantly getting injured. First and foremost the reason why is their schedule. There is no way someone can work the WWE schedule and work with that high of workrate.

 

That better Loss?

[King Cucaracha 0]

Taking on Kido's point, the most prestigious US based title right now is probably the ROH Title...which has plenty of things going for it. One being the ranking system, combined with the #1 contenders trophy. You know roughly who is in line for a shot and you know who has the next title match. Plus, you have to EARN the shot at the title by winning a MATCH...not by bitching to the GM or getting a new gimmick.

 

The big problem with the WWE and World Titles come when the belt is a secondary issue. For the belt to be made prestigious, it should be treated the way Trips treats it...like his life. The champs should not be defending the championship against someone simply because they don't like them. The belt must be issue of conflict number one, with everything else being an add-on from there.

 

Also, make it so the titles are defended according to their importance. World Titles should be defended only on big stages, like in Japan. That way, you feel there's more of a chance of a title switch...where as nobody expects a T.V show switch anymore.

[Guest Loss]

Much better. I do agree that they should un-handcuff the guys and also that titles should have more importance, I just didn't know how to go about making that sort of thing happen.

 

I think title matches would mean more if they always had clean finishes too, and that matches were competitive on a tier level. HHH shouldn't be giving as much to Taijiri as he does Randy Orton, for example. That's one area where he can learn from Flair's errors and improve.

[Guest Trivia247]

make each Wrestling show that has wrestling on it, be it taped or live two hours. That way everyone who hasn't been on can get on without either sitting at home or being Dark match or House show fodder.

 

Reestablish the importance of being champions outside of the HHH World championship reign where he genetically superimposes the belt onto his shoulder so no one can take it off him bleh.

 

Revitalize the Tag team division, make clear and unwavering teams. The best tag team years was those with ironclad teams you never thought would split up. So save that drama for other things. We need the Killer Bees 2K4 Dag nabbit!

 

Reestablish paul heyman as a viable Creative manager in the back. Surround yourselves with all the old time Promoters that the WWE has absorbed into their employ, Heyman, Cornette, Bischoff and the like.

 

Get active wrestlers out of the booking chairs for god sake, thats one of the reasons WCW went down, because too many active wrestlers with their own self images were protecting their own asses... This is Wrestling for Damn sake, they win, they lose they win again...Its In the Fucking Script!

 

Finally.... get people with balls to tell Vince the fucking truth. Have it laid out for him in plain english, spanish, japanese, Rich Republican, whatever he will comprehend. He should not be an Invalid in this, he grew up with Vince Sr, running Capitol wrestling and WWWF wrestling, he knew men Like Stew Hart, Crockett, Gagna and such, Stop thinking about god damn football, Movies, Bodybuilding or whatever side project you want to do to Mainstream WWE. Fuck that, Vince, The WWF was mainstreamed twice. They had fans who weren't die hard Smarks like us or Marks like the rest, but non fans who became fans, because wrestling became popular. you didn't superimpose wrestlers into other arenas and sports to make people watch. Through Moxy you got them to watch... Mid 80's rock n wrestling from that wrestlemania I to what the Mid 90's you got the attention of the World. Then when the shitty years went by the 95-97 years.... when all hope was lost...BOOM wm 14 turned it all around with SCSA and the new brand of Wrestling you mutated from ECW's hardcore turned it into Trademark Sports entertainment Attitude era. In those days you had matches Watched by so many people that 1 out of 9 Houses in AMERICA was watching it. (The figures of Stone cold vs the Undertaker on raw during the Ministry of Darkness era) But you got to get your Head in the game, got to be proactive and you got to stop listening to Stephanie, HHH, the tooth fairy or whomever Yes men been telling you this bullshit for the past year.

 

WAKE UP!!!!!

 

 

about that point would be where the interview would end, I get tear gased and thrown off the 20th floor window of Titan Towers.....but I would have made my point clear before the SPLAT

[Guest Loss]

Any plea to Vince that involves downplaying HHH is going to have be brilliant, empathetic and play to his ego. It's also going to require a certain luck. If Pat Patterson, one of Vince's most trusted confidantes, can't get through to Vince on HHH, it's virtually impossible to find a way to do it properly. It can't involve criticism of HHH personally and it can't involve criticism of Vince personally. In fact, you have to find a way to praise HHH while burying him at the same time. It's tricky.

[King Cucaracha 0]

Anyway, on Dames' original post...

 

1) Build from the bottom up. Nowadays, wrestling fans demand more than just a decent top-line match...they want a solid undercard to go with any main event now. This ain't boxing. The WWE name is the thing that draws fans now, not just the guy holding the belt. Things were different in years gone by when the main event was everything...times have changed. So if the creative team don't care about the undercard then the fans won't either, meaning the fans won't want to shell out money for shows. The cards need to appeal as much as possible from top to bottom. That means building up as many wrestlers as possible and making as many intriguing matches as possible. Which means no jobbers. Everyone on the roster should be percieved as either a threat or put across as at least having a chance. Putting Funaki in a match with JBL and not only having him get squashed, but having him described as a no-hoper by Cole and Tazz from the start does nobody any favours. As such, if Fuanki was said to have a chance at an upset, JBL beating him would look better in comparison.

 

2) Character, character, character. Say what you will about the cartoony eighties and nineties, but at least the Doink The Clowns stood out from the Shawn Michaelses, who stood out from the Papa Shangos. Now, everybody is the same. What exactly makes Chris Jericho different from Maven currently? They say the same things, have the same attitude, fight the same battles, like the same people. Nobody has a distinct character anymore. I'm not saying turn everyone into dentists and clowns again, but having 20 nice guy faces and 20 cocky heels on one roster is ridiculous. Have them do something to distinguish them from the pack. Even it means making the Angles goofy, the Jerichos parranoid, the Chavos insane, the Eddies cheat...whatever. Just make them different.

 

3) Learn how to book faces. As above, Chris Jericho has become such a generic face it's saddening to watch. He's not alone though. Every time a heel character gets over Vince sees the guy getting over, looks to capitalise on the popularity and turns them face. But once he turns them face, he has to change their character to be more 'facelike'. And as a result, they pander to the fans, start chumming up to the people they've feuded with for the past 5 months and they all mould into one stereotypical face character. It's happened to Jericho, Benjamin, Benoit. Eddie's character is too stupid now. Cena is a shell of his former self. Angle becomes the same terrible character every time he turns face. Does Rob Van Dam have any character left? What about Booker T? It happens EVERY time. The entertaining characters are all heels. Yet the biggest successes of recent years are Austin and Rock...both faces for most of their runs, both booked to stand out from the crowd, but different from your generic face. And both worked.

 

4) I liked Kahran's idea for Afterburn and Bottom Line, with the 'discussion table'. Putting a group of people together to dicuss the implications of matches, results and decisions gives more scope to innovate with them...than simply playing a video and saying 'hey, this happened on Thursday, so let's show you it again'. Plus, you give the retirees like Malenko and Tazz something to do by putting them on the panel some weeks. Putting a Heyman or a Long works too. Even bring in guests to the panel to discuss their actions. Also, I seem to remember them doing something like that around about 92. That led into Perfect's face-turn on Heenan. Using an Afterburn or Bottom Line to develop a 'lesser' feud would work wonders.

 

5) Go back to basics. Less interviews, less segments, less stipulations and less Crash TV. The reason the Attitude era's segments were effective because they were fresh. The reason being, they were implemented slowly. Now, they've grown stale. There are only so many ideas you can have as far as innovative segments go before you verge on the ridiculous (Concrete Crypt, car crashes, attempted murder)...and re-hashing angles has been proven to draw criticism. Turning Raw and Smackdown back into wrestling shows is the way to go. But you can;'t just suddenly get rid of all the interviews and you can't just start having 20 minute matches on the show regularly. Just as the fanbase had to be nurtured into the Attitude phase slowly, they need to be nurtured out of it. Making too many changes too soon will alienate the current fanbase and will seem too rushed to those the changes are trying to attract. The plan to emphasise the shows on wrestling, if it were to go ahead, should be done across a year rather than a couple of months.

[Vyce 0]

You know what I miss?

 

Stables actually run by MANAGERS.

 

Nowadays it's just one wrestler who acts as the leader for a particular stable (HHH with Evolution, Angle with his group). I miss the days when you'd have Heenan running his "Heenan Family", or Heyman heading up the Dangerous Alliance.

 

I mean, shit, they've got Heyman & Cornette under their employ, how hard would it be to bring that back? It's deliciously old school.

[RHR 0]

STEP ONE:

Establish who are the main event stars (barring injury) of 2008 that are currently on the roster, or should be. Age should be a big factor, the younger guys will be peaking around this time, so I would not factort Benoit, Angle, Taker, even Triple HHH cannot be on this list. The reason for forming this list is to set up the future better, and avoid too many matches between these guys...to keep things fresh.

 

ON CURRENT ROSTER

Randy Orton

Shelton Benjamin

John Cena

Carlito Caribbean Cool

Rene Dupree

Charlie Haas

Paul London

 

NOT ON CURRENT ROSTER

Teddy Hart---get him to drop the 'tude

AJ Styles---in TNA lasts another two years, it will be because of AJ

Monty Brown---and some of this guy NEEDS ALOT OF TRAINING!!! But, is far superior to Tyson Tomko and Heidenrape

Cael Sanderson(sp?): Apparently he isn't intrested. But, he's got a good look, and--as Angle proved...he could do it well. Also, if anybody knows the guy, TJ Williams is a funny, funny guy....and an outstanding wrestler.

 

STEP TWO: Enhance the PPV schedule.

January: ROYAL RUMBLE(finalize the Main Event picture for Mania)

February: No Way Out

March: WRESTLEMANIA(Wrap up the year and start the new one)

April: Backlash

May: Judgement Day

King of the Ring(Bring it back! This could be a 1/2 price PPV, and would be a direct rip-off of the Super 8 tourney. For 19.95, Rey, Kidman, Chavo, London, Spike, etc in a 8 way tourney for the Cruiser title.)

June: Bad Blood

July: Great American Bash (July 4th, duh)

August: SUMMERSLAM(Start set up for next WM)

September: Vengence

October: No Mercy (1st week of October)

Halloween Havoc(On Halloween, period. Make it a fun event. No major developments---Fun, gimmicky matches---make it 1/2 price and real in some kiddies---MAIN EVENT--a Battle Royale where the contestants all dress up as their "favorite" wrestler. I'd pay $19.95 to see John Cena come out as the Macho Man to take on The Showster.)

November: SURVIVOR SERIES

December: Armageddon

 

That would make 14 PPV's in a year, with the two extras being 1/2 priced---but---gimmick driven, so as to up the DVD sales.

 

STEP THREE: Enhance the DVD's!!!

Up the price 5 bucks, and include five memorable matches from that PPV's history. Give us some backstage snippets (a la The Mania of Wrestlemania). Combined with Step Two, you increase the bottom line.

 

STEP FOUR: MANDATORY 6 WEEK VACATIONS!

Give the guys a break occasionally each year. With the extra PPV's, they can make up the $$$ and still miss time. It keeps them healthy, and happy. Hell, send them out on personal appearances if they are up to it to all corners of the US and Canada to rebuild the fan base.

 

STEP FIVE: THE TITLES

Very easy. There is a:

WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE( for up and comers not yet main eventers, and fading main eventers)

WWE TV TITLE (for up and comers)

WWE TAG TITLE

WWE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE

 

Weekly and monthly ratings to go with it. Constant polling on the Website to make sure the favorites are pushed better, not forgetting the live reactions the guys get.

 

No women's division. It's crap and it wastes peoples time. I cannot watch with my girlfriend because she thinks I have spent 15 years, almost 5 hours a week, and countless time on the net, in the store, at bars, etc....so I can get a peak of Stacy's crotch? But, utilize the ones with personality into....

 

STEP SIX: MANAGERS!!!

There are ALOT of people who could be utilizied for this role.

 

STEP SEVEN: The only way the above works properly, is to get rid of the damn brand extension. Nobody buys into them as separate brands....and it's been long enough that there are plenty of fresh fueds a brewin'. Plus, just the storyline of putting the brands back together is interesting.

 

So...there's some of my ideas.

[Vyce 0]

One thing I would absolutely change: NO MORE COMMERCIAL BREAKS BETWEEN MATCHES.

 

If it's going to be an ironman match, okay, maybe.

 

But otherwise, FORGET IT. I know commercials pay the bills, but use up all of your commercial breaks before the match starts. The WWE wants us to care about these matches, right? Well, it's pretty counterproductive to give the viewer the perfect opportunity to change the channel and lose interest by having one OR MORE commercial breaks in your main events and other "high profile" matches.

[Guest Trivia247]

Unfortunately I don't think the WWE has any control over Spike's or any other TV station's demand over the commericial break timing.

[Guest MikeSC]

Unfortunately I don't think the WWE has any control over Spike's or any other TV station's demand over the commericial break timing.

No, but I'm sure the WWE has some knowledge of when advertisements are supposed to air and can plan accordingly.

-=Mike

[Guest Tjhe CyNick]

#1. Build around faces instead of heels

 

#2. Shorten TV matches, increase number of people who get on RAW and SD.

 

#3. Unify Heavyweight titles (and tag too).

 

#4. Make roster switches happen more frquently, and make then happen "out of nowhere".

 

#5. Go back to 12 PPVs, and make them all dual brand shows. Make the "big 4" the only PPVs where we get SD vs RAW matches. Do it in a similar fashion to the Ryder cup in Golf. All interpromotional matches on the Big 4 PPVs are worth points, this builds to Mania where some trophy (Triple H Cup?) is awarded to the winning brand.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

One thing I would absolutely change: NO MORE COMMERCIAL BREAKS BETWEEN MATCHES.

 

If it's going to be an ironman match, okay, maybe.

 

But otherwise, FORGET IT. I know commercials pay the bills, but use up all of your commercial breaks before the match starts. The WWE wants us to care about these matches, right? Well, it's pretty counterproductive to give the viewer the perfect opportunity to change the channel and lose interest by having one OR MORE commercial breaks in your main events and other "high profile" matches.

Let me first say that I 100% agree with you guys about the commerical breaks. But......

 

 

It has been proven that the WWE gets higher ratings by doing so. People will stay on instead of changing channels and has been shown this way in the rating report(no matter how flawed......that's what Vince's aim is at). Vince experimented with staying with the whole match, but the ratings were better otherwise. Meltzer talked about this in an Observer that came out over the summer(The week leading up to the Benoit/HHH ironman match).......

[Guest bigrockstar]

Trade Angle and Guerrero for Benoit and Hurricane

 

Angle vs HBK

 

Guerrero vs HBK

 

Hurricane vs Mysterio

 

Benoit vs Booker T

 

Benoit vs Paul London

 

Benoit Snow (Hardcore)

 

Give the title shot to Hogan the REAL american (or somebody in that role) . Booker T becomes jealous because he was seeing himself as WWE champion.

 

Hogan defeat Bradshaw and then a jealous Booker T defeats Hogan.

 

 

 

Papa Shango, Mideon, Dracula (played by Gangrel) joins Undertakers Ministry

 

Mordecai comes back to fight evil ministry with white magic .

 

 

 

[Guest UncleKimmyGibler]

QUITE SIMPLY :

 

ADD FULL HOUSE CHARACTERS TO BOTH ROSTERS

 

Imagine what Jesse Katsopolous and Joey Gladstone could do to the Tag Team ranks of Smackdown! Or what Danny F'n Tanner could do to "Clean up" get it? The IC title Scene. Plus, I could easily clean the floor with Trish Stratus...Divas...pssshhh Yeah right!

 

 

HOLA TANNERINOS

[Guest bigrockstar]

hEY UncleKimmyGibler,

 

I USED TO JERK OF TO THAt girl when I was a teen !!!!

 

lol!!!