If you were in charge of rebuilding WWE...........

[Guest Teckneek]

If you were in charge of rebuilding the WWE, how would you do it, but with the catch of having to keep the Brand Split?

 

Here's how I would do it. As much as I think he sucked in WCW and TNA, I would hire Vince Russo and make him the head writer for Raw and I would make Paul Heyman the head writer for Smackdown! I would make the two compete and take shots at each other(like the WCW vs WWF days.) I would make Smackdown! a live show. I would have multiple challangers for each title and make them seem improtant again. I would redo the sets and graphics for both shows. I would have a huge advertising campaign for each show promoting the hell out of 'em and showcasing that they're both new and improved shows. I would hire a few new Music composers for the Wrestlers theme songs; as much as i like jim johnston, there's too many wrestlers for him to write songs for, so it would be good to have a few guys work undernieth him. I would hire a bunch of new costume designers(the ones they have now suck, they just put the wrestlers names on their tights.) I would move the announce booth of Raw back to the ringside position. I would get rid of Velocity and the Experience and make Sunday Night Heat a 2 hour show covering both brands with elements from the WWE Experience(such as the behind the scenes stuff) and hire writers exclusivly for that show and have storylines for the wrestling portions of Heat. I would rename the WWE Championship to the WWE Smackdown! World Heavyweight Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship to the WWE Raw World Heavyweight Championship, that way it would be even. It just doesnt make sense to not have the brand name in front of each belt, JBL is the Champ of the WWE while HHH is the champ of the World. I would also get rid of the stupid dress code, wrestling is about indaviduality. Aside from making Russo and Heyman the head writer for each brand, and making Smackdown live, these are just small stupid things, but if WWE did everything i listed, i gurantee WWE would be in much better shape.

[Enigma 0]

Russo was good in WWE because he had an editor to weed out his ridiculous crap (Vince McMahon).

 

Russo blew it in WCW because he had total control over every aspect of the booking, and his ridiculous crap made it to TV.

 

The first thing I'd do is send HHH to Smackdown and job him out to Rob Van Dam and Booker T.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Russo was crap in WWE too after Survivor Series 1998. 1999 was the worst year quality-wise in the history of the company.

 

Also, this topic was just done by Dames a couple of weeks ago.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Russo was crap in WWE too after Survivor Series 1998.

For a one-night deal, SS 1998 was compelling storytelling for it's time. But if you back and watch it now, you see that it actually was a pretty bad event, and it doesn't stand the test of time.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Russo was crap in WWE too after Survivor Series 1998.

For a one-night deal, SS 1998 was compelling storytelling for it's time. But if you back and watch it now, you see that it actually was a pretty bad event, and it doesn't stand the test of time.

It was a lot better than what came later. Look at Royal Rumble 1999, Wrestlemania XV & KOTR 1999. Those are three of the worst PPVs that the company has ever put on. Seriously, Great American Bash this year smokes all three of them, and it was bad.

[Promoter 0]

I guess the old saying "when you're hot you're hot" fits the 1999 year. Austin and Rock's popularity at its peak.

[The Kid 0]

What I would do:

 

-Brand split is out. I know it's popular now and all of that, and it gives the smaller guys a chance on television, but it's so hard to keep everything in order when you're a casual fan. When people go to live shows they want to see ALL of their favorite stars.

-With the extra talent hanging around, create a tag team divison again. This invloves putting together lower card wrestlers and actually making them look good for an extended period of time.

-Bring in more female wrestlers and not just all this diva trash. Such a shame that they fired Gail Kim and Nidia.

-Continue building up Randy Orton and John Cena. When other new stars are being built, keep it up and not just job them out after months of kicking ass.

-Hire wrestling writers, not soap opera writers.

-Have the midcard division blow everything out of the water. Make the intercontinental title mean something again.

-Keep the cruiserweight division steady and create a few fueds.

-Shawn Micheals and Undertaker's time is up, this is the time to start creating new stars.

-Hold off on bringing in more new stars for a least a year. All these new guys get confusing.

[Kizzo 0]

Hire wrestling writers, not soap opera writers.

 

Actually The Kid...there are only a few hollywood writers left on the creative...two on RAW and one on Smackdown(well he was fired).....the rest are those who have been in wrestling biz for a while......The only year with an all Hollywood team was in 2000...

[Chazz 0]

Fully agree with putting Russo In charge of Raw, although I think Heyman Is a bit overrated as a writer. I would try to bring back Chris Kreski to head up The Smackdown! Brand. I would also reassign Stephanie McMahon from The Head Of The Creative Team. Not only does she suck as a writer, but It's an obvious Conflict of Interest with hubby HHH being an active wrestler. This part Is LONG overdue. Lastly, I would either modify or drop this "New WWE Style". Since this was inplemented, It seems as If everyone Is wrestling the exact same punch, kick, resthold snoozer. It's 2004, not 1984. Pick up the damn pace!

[Guest JMA]

Even though I dislike the brand split, I'm going to stay in the parameters of the original question.

 

My changes:

 

-Send Christy and all the diva losers down to OVW for about a year. If they don't quit and actually improve, I'd bring them up to the main roster.

 

-I would heavily revamp the announcing team on both shows. I would restrict guys like Todd Grisham to just interviewing the talent until they improve. I would also begin training announcers to replace JR as the voice of WWE (he won't be around forever). I would have JR personally train his replacement, thus taking him off television. I would remove Lawler from the announce booth and maybe put him in a position of power in a new Memphis based developmental territory. I might even send a few of the diva losers down there to keep him happy.

 

Assuming he wanted to work with WWE, I'd hire Joey Styles to be the temporary replacement for JR on RAW and have Paul Heyman be the color man (as well as managing talent). Styles would also be the lead announcer for Heat, with Coach as the color man.

 

For Smackdown!, I’d keep Michael Cole and Tazz together, as I think they work well as a team. However, I would tell Cole not to call younger wrestlers “kids” anymore. For Velocity, I would replace Bill Demott with Christopher Nowinski and keep Josh Matthews. Demott would be sent to OVW to train young guys; I feel that Demott could help some of the bigger guys with agility.

 

-The Women’s division would also need to be heavily revamped, with talent being called up and hired. I would re-hire Jazz and Gail Kim, and give them both significant raises as incentive. I would call-up Jillian Hill, Alexis Laree, Passion, Beth Phoenix, Melissa Coates, Trudi Denucci, and Synn (as both a manager and a wrestler). I would send Ivory down to OVW to train the female rookies and the future valets. I would try to steal Trinity away from TNA to be the next big female star on RAW. The Smackdown! Divas would not wrestle in any serious matches EVER. They would only be used as valets and in fan service matches.

 

Slightly off-topic: I would get rid of Victoria’s current music and return her to her crazy persona.

 

-For the main division, I would also hire and call-up new talent. Likewise, I would fire and send some talent down to OVW to improve. I would raid some of TNA’s talent (survival of the fittest), particularly AJ Styles, Monty Brown, Ron Killings, Johnny Swinger, Pat Kenney, Jonny Fairplay, Abyss, Christopher Daniels, Elix Skipper, James Storm, Chris Harris, Petey Williams, Scott D’Amore, and Raven. I would try to “court” CM Punk to get him to join WWE (as I believe he’s a great wrestler with a very unique character). I would offer him a high salary, the option of having matches as long as he wants, and a guaranteed Intercontinental title run.

 

Some of the people I would call up are Mark Bell, Mike Bell, Kenny Bolin, Joey Matthews, Johnny Nitro, Seven (Mordecai), and Aaron Stevens.

 

Regretfully, I would also need to let a few people go. I would let go Kenzo Suzuki, Hardcore Holly, Hiroko (I don’t have a problem with her, but I’m sure she’ll want to leave if her husband is gone), Heidenreich, and Scotty 2 Hotty (I have no problem with Scotty, but I don’t see him getting very over at this point in his career--besides, he’s only being used as a jobber right now).

 

I would also need to send some of the talent down to OVW. Besides the diva losers and Christy, I would send only a few people. I would send down Lance Cade (I’d drop the “Garrison” name), Maven, and Mark Henry.

 

-I would need to change some gimmicks around and create some good storylines to make the shows better. First off, I would repackage Tyson Tomko as Bane and pair him with Seven (Mordecai) and Synn as “The Disciples of Synn.” Eugene would turn heel a few months before WrestleMania, revealing himself to never be “special.” He would re-invent himself as “Mr. Wrestling” Nick Dinsmore and defeat his mentor, William Regal, at WrestleMania. Randy Orton could face Ric Flair in an “I Quit” match that would have several stipulations. If Flair wins, Orton must leave WWE as long as Triple H is in the company. If Orton wins, Flair must retire from wrestling for good. Orton would win this match, cementing himself as a REAL “Legend Killer.” After the match, Orton would shake Flair’s hand…right before giving him an RKO. Flair would leave WWE after the match.

 

Triple H would lose the World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Jericho (who would face and win against Chris Benoit at WrestleMania). Triple H would continue his feud with Orton until WrestleMania, where he would lose in a clean match to Orton. The night after ‘Mania, Triple H would cut a promo telling the fans that they don’t deserve to see him anymore. He would take a five-month leave from the company before resurfacing on Smackdown! (this is to give Hunter a chance to heal his body, to let other guys have a chance to get over, and give the fans a break from the character). When Hunter comes back (still a heel) the fans will most likely want to see him again (that’s the theory anyway). A few months after ‘Mania, Orton would shock the world by turning heel. I think Orton works better as a heel, and his victories over Flair and Triple H would make him a legitimate threat. Orton would form a new Evolution consisting of himself, Rob Conway, Nick Dinsmore, and Batista.

 

Edge will continue his run as a “bitter heel”, eventually leading to Shawn Michaels coming back to feud with him. Michaels would win their first PPV match, but their next match would have a different stipulation—seeing as how Edge and HBK see RAW as being “not big enough for the both of them” the loser must leave RAW. Edge would cleanly pin HBK and force him to go to Smackdown!. A few months after WrestleMania Michaels would turn heel (playing an intolerant religious zealot) and feud with people such as Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, and John Cena. Michaels would give Smackdown! some much needed star power and would be able to have dream matches with many wrestlers. At this stage, Michaels would put over the rising stars while still getting wins over lower-card guys to keep him looking strong. Assuming he keeps going strong, I would transition him OUT of the ring during mid 2006. I would offer Michaels the chance to train new superstars for WWE in Texas, but would keep him out of the limelight for the most part.

 

JBL would lose his WWE Championship to Booker T, and then lose in separate matches to Eddie and the Undertaker. However, just when everyone thinks JBL was a fluke champion who couldn’t cut it in a fair match, he’ll upset John Cena for the United States title. JBL would hold the title past WrestleMania and have it for about eight months before losing it to John Cena in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. Booker T would transition the title to Kurt Angle, who would lose to Eddie Guerrero at WrestleMania.

 

On RAW, I would continue to build Shelton Benjamin up as the future of WWE, and I would do the same on Smackdown! with Charlie Haas. I would re-package the Basham Brothers as the masked “Machines”, everyone would know who they really are, but I would just ignore that. Gene Snitsky would replace Tyson Tomko as Christian’s bodyguard and tag-team partner. And since WWE is still short on tag-teams, I would re-hire Gangrel and stick him with Viscera on RAW. To give WWE a better public image, I would make Mick Foley the official ambassador to the mainstream public. He would give the company a good image and increase its appeal.

 

Batista would be given a character similar to Waylon Mercy. The new Batista would dress nicely, be polite to those interviewing him, and even shake hands with opponents before a match. Once the bell rings he would change into a different person, though; he would annihilate his opponent with no mercy.

 

Since Jericho is going to be the number one babyface on the roster, I would tweak his character a bit to keep things fresh. First, I would allow Jericho to use the Liontamer instead of the Walls of Jericho. Second, I would drop the "Y2J" nickname since it's outdated. Third, I would have to cancel the "Highlight Reel" since it's kind of redundant to have your number one babyface and the World Heavyweight Champion host an interview segment. I would also have Jericho use "Don't You Wish You Were Me" as his theme song.

 

To replace the "Highlight Reel" would be a segment hosted by Johnny Nitro, which would be called "Monday Night Nitro." I would slowly build up Nitro as a heel in the same vein as Jericho's WCW run. Nitro would be arrogant, sneaky, and cowardly. I might even pair Stacy Keibler with him, as the "Nitro Girl."

 

Finally, I would remove all active wrestlers from the booking team (that means Triple H) and not allow them to even sit-in on meetings. I would make it mandatory for each member of the team to know about wrestling, and if they didn't know enough, they would be fired. Ideally, I'd like for guys like Bret Hart (who I would try to get to come back), Arn Anderson, Terry Taylor (stolen from TNA), and Paul Heyman to be booking things. Oh, and the "Canada ban" that WWE has would be gone. No more announcing Jericho as being born in New York or Benoit residing in Georgia.

 

I think that’s enough for now.

[Guest Hass of Pain]

Honestly I think that the Raw side is developing pretty well considering the fact that business is in a down period. New stars like Orton, Batista, Benjamin, Christian, Conway and some others are coming along well. I would give Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair creative input because honestly they are two of the brightest minds and most successful bookers ever at their peak, so at least listening to their input could allow some revolutionary ideas to come to light.

 

The Smackdown side is in serious trouble. There are a few young wrestlers, namely John Cena, who are on the verge of becoming huge stars, but the brand lacks any true starmakers like Raw has with HHH. I love Angle, but he can't put someone over at THAT level that HHH can.

 

I think that Smackdown needs Vince McMahon as an on air general manager more than anything right now. It's a pretty unpopular stance for whatever reason, but he's one of the few people left in the company who can give any young star the rub and have it mean something. Smackdown is just completely lacking in star power and if they were used in limited though weekly roles I think that Vince and Shane could really help lift the perception of Smackdown as no longer just the minor league brand of the WWE product.

 

I would hate to see Austin/McMahon reincarnate, but Vince would be the PERFECT antagonist to John Cena when Cena comes back full time. It's been done, but no heel on Smackdown (not even Angle) is good enough to put Cena over at the level that McMahon could. If McMahon got behind Bradshaw as the type of champion he wants as the public face of WWE, did everything he could to help Bradshaw keep the title and even appeared in his corner at major PPV matches, it would give Bradshaw instant credibility and make the looming Cena/JBL fued a hell of a lot more interesting than it's bound to be.

 

You could have Cena lose his first hugely hyped title match with Bradshaw due to interference from a returning Shane, and have Vince McMahon serving in a managerial role for Shane (with the Bashams as protection) for the next few months with the stipulation that Cena will never got another title shot against Bradshaw unless he beats Shane. Maybe it's just because I am a mark for Shane, but I think that a Cena/Shane fued that lasted two or three months would be easily be the hottest fued in wrestling and establish Cena as a major star and the top guy on Smackdown. Plus, after he went over Shane and finally got his one on one title match with Bradshaw, the interest in the match would be huge and it would be the most important title match and the most significant switch since Lesnar took the title off of the Rock a few years ago.

 

The McMahons involvement in this would put Cena over HUGE, give Bradshaw some much needed credibility, provide months of fresh storyline possibilites on a stale show and result in some major stars being created.

 

I think that Paul Heyman should have creative input as well, and manage RVD as a tweener and push him harder than he ever has been while in WWE. I think that RVD can't get over on his own WWE has misused him so much, but there is a TON of money to be made with Heyman by his side.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

First off, I would totally revamp the booking committee. I would oversee it myself and bring in others to be on it. You know, people with ACTUAL wrestling knowledge. Guys like Bret Hart, Terry Funk, Ricky Steamboat. Then I would go with them to assess the entire roster to see what is basically salvagable at this point. Who to keep and who to release.

 

Then I would revamp the shows themselves. Make one show more angles and storyline driven wrestling and the other a more in ring workrate product. Try it for a few months and see what the ratings reflect. If the public takes to the shows, then continue it that way. Otherwise, I would change them accordingly. I would definately figure out the weakest and strongest parts of the talent roster and shift them to the other show if need be.

 

Then I would get rid of things that have personally bothered me about wrestling for years.

 

-Major cut down on screwjob endings. I have no problem with them, they just shouldn't happen on EVERY show in EVERY match....PPV or not.

 

-No more invincible camera man. I would explain everytime the camera is backstage and state the reasoning (The announcers can mention things like "The Cameraman backstage was going to set up for a Chris Jericho interview and cought this on the way"......then show what happens)

 

-Either cut down of the PPV schedule or lower the PPV costs. Probably the first one though.

 

-Wrestlemania will them become the superbowl of wrestling where it would be RAW vs. Smackdown. The month of Wrestlemania is the only month all year where I would combine rosters. (I know you said that the brand extention had to stay, but I figure I would throw this in anyway.)

 

-The Royal Rumble winner would get a title shot of his choice at Mania. If he chooses the opposing brand from which he is on and looses the title match at Mania, he will then have to stay on THAT brand and will not have the choice of champion he faces if he repeated as the Rumble winner. We would simply fight the champion of the brand he is already on. The other title match would then be decided by a tournament that will be held on the Feburary PPV.

 

-Talent will be allowed to do their own promo's instead of having them written for them. I am fully aware that wrestling is based on emotion level, I feel prewritten interviews are taking away from this.

 

-No more T&A segments. Sorry guys, if you want porn.....watch porn. It wouldn't be on my wrestling show.

 

-If veterans are not willing to help put over young talent..........they can go over wrestlers in another company then. That will be a MUST for my version of the WWE.

 

-I would use Paul Heyman to help come up with Angles and Storylines and such. He was great at bringing out the emotion of the fans in his ECW days. If he can make THOSE people care.............he can make anyone care. Even if he couldn't............I would still let him try.

 

-Use the indies as a minor league. I know what your thinking. This is already being done. Yeah, but not in my way. I would use those companies to help breed talent for mine.........but I would give them some sort of financial kickback for doing it. I would help them promote their DVD's and merchandise during my program. I'm not greedy, and if you can help other's.........they will help you. Also, if everyone was making money.........the business would be better off in the long run.

 

Of course I could do more, but I'd be here forever.

[Guest combat_rock]

This is a colum I wrote a couple of weeks ago for another site. It's pretty lengthy though, so I'll understand if you don't read it

 

What does the casual wrestling fan want? It's a question that's hard to answer. Just ask anyone in the WWE. Obviously, as much as it would please me, a sixty minute ultimate submission match between Jericho and Benoit every week probably won't go over with them. At the same time, I think it's obvious that stuff like the Lita/Kane/Snitsky/Hardy saga is doing the trick either. It can be argued that there are no casual fans left. The ratings during the past year have been fairly consistent, so if they aren't going down anymore, that must mean that all they've got left are the people who will watch wrestling no matter what. So how do you bring in new fans, or bring back the ones that left after the "Attitude" era. Well, I have some ideas...

 

Think in terms of word of mouth advertising

This one goes first, because it's probably the most important. Almost everyone in America has a pretty good idea of what a wrestling show entails: Lots of big men pretending to hit each other mixed with soap opera storylines. So all of the flashy advertising on Spike TV really isn't going to help. This is why the WWE must cater to it's current fans first and foremost. Yes, we'll keep watching even when Heidenreich "rapes" Micheal Cole... But we certainly aren't telling our non-fan friends about it. This means that WWE should focus more on telling compelling, (and probably not as contraversial) stories, and also on the in ring action. These are things we can actually talk with our non-fan friends about, with a relative lack of embarassment.

 

Offer a greater variety of matches

This is something the WWE hasn't been great at lately. Right now almost all matches that are given any time are either technical, or slug fests. Nothing wrong with that, but how about a bit of tag team, crusierweight, and hardcore action? Obviously if you are a big mark for hardcore wrestling, the WWE doesn't have much going for you, and you're going to be far more likely to stop watching. Plus, even as a big mark for technical wrestling, I know I need a break from the monotany.

 

Bring back faction wars

Right now the only faction that is over is Evolution. Kurt Angle's group may be some day, but even if they are it's unlikely that the two factions will face each other. Good factions connect with a mainstream audience because it gives them a sense of belonging to a certain team. There's a reason that team sports are much bigger than individual sports in America. Also it gives people a reason to care about undercard matches. During the height of the DX/NOD feud, people would care about the outcome of a Billy Gunn/D-lo Brown match. If those two hook it up in TNA in the near future, there won't be nearly the interest, even though both will actually be higher on their card. They aren't bad for merchendise sales either.

 

Stop bringing in guys that aren't ready

This is a big one. Every time they bring in someone from OVW, push him to the moon, and then demote him when they find out he isn't ready, it hurts continuity. Look at Smackdown six months ago, and it doesn't even look like the Smackdown of today. That causes apathy, because nothing matters in the long run. Instead, they should look to the independent scene, where they'll find more polished workers, ready for a shot at the big time.

 

Treat the undercard belts with some respect

Let's face it, a two hour show isn't long enough to give everyone a well written feud or storyline. So the chase for these belts should become doubly important. What's good for one belt is good for the other. And that means longer title reigns. Everyone remembers Randy Orton's recent intercontinental title reign that lasted for months on end. Hell, it's one of the things that's helped make him the star he is right now. However, none of the other recent reigns have made nearly that impact. Hopefully they'll get it right with Shelton Benjamin and Carlito though. The same applies for the two tag titles, the crusierweight and the women's title also.

 

Apply the storylines to the in ring action

This is one of the reasons why the WWE needs to stop hiring writers with no experience in (even watching) wrestling. Everything that happens in a show should be leading towards a match that people want to see. Simple as that. The writers just need to ask themselves before they throw something out there, "would this logically lead to a wrestling match?". Otherwise, it probably doesn't belong on a wrestling show.

 

Pay attention to other feds

Back in the Attitude era the WWE made a lot of money ripping off the cutting edge ECW. Right now the "buzz" independent is Ring of Honor, but feds like IWA-MS are catching on as well. The fans of these groups are much more passionate than the average WWE fan, and if WWE can take something from them and mold it into something that makes their fans more passionate, they should. Again, this goes back to the word of mouth thing. Like when politician fire up the "bases", the WWE needs to fire us up. This doesn't mean that the WWE should install a "Code of Honor", but something like the Prophecy would drive people insane. Or imagine if they re-did the C.M. Punk/Raven feud using Eddie Guerrero and some one else playing the straight edge hero.

 

Hopefully one day the WWE will realize that resting on their laurels isn't good enough. Yes, Vince is still rolling in dough, but the recent releases of ten wrestlers and the fact that he expects his fans to shell out $40 twice a month proves that it's coming at the expense of both his workers and his fans. And that's really the saddest thing in the sad state of the WWE.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I'm okay with screwjob endings, but primarily in the undercard. They do occur too much, but they are a good way to continue feuds at times. The big matches on PPV definitely should be clean or at least a creative screwjob (like the ending to Wrestlemania X-7).

[Guest JMA]

-No more invincible camera man. I would explain everytime the camera is backstage and state the reasoning (The announcers can mention things like "The Cameraman backstage was going to set up for a Chris Jericho interview and cought this on the way"......then show what happens)

This has always personally bothered me. I mean, how hard is it for WWE to come up with an excuse as to why a camera-man is taping something? I remember in WCW when a camera-man was caught spying on Arn Anderson and Dean Malenko, trying to listen to their conversation. I always thought that Arn chewing him out was cool (and realistic).

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

I liked it when WCW would at least have the camera not RIGHT there but down the hall and would just zoom in on them. Made it more realistic.

[Kizzo 0]

^^^ I agree.

 

wCw had some great camera shots for backstage...