Cryptic meltzer comment on wo.com

[Guest bcu1979]

Meltzer made a pretty scary comment in his update today. Well, the Hogan comment is scary as well but I never believed he was leaving on his own anyways. Here's the interesting part of the update from wo.com

 

"The main event is the Hogan interview where he teases his retirement. Don't worry, WWF is thin on what they consider talent that can headline and he's not leaving on his own. By the way, King of the Ring is not scheduled to be Undertaker vs. Hogan even though the show ending angle would lead you to that conclusion. Not that it can't change. I'm guessing it's Undertaker vs. HHH, which, unless there is a hell of a deal on the undercard, doesn't look promising from a buy rate standpoint."   - wrestlingobserver.com

 

The word that scared me was "they" - he seems to imply that the WWF has no confidence in all but a few select guys as main eventers. I know, what's the big surprise? But Vince still doesn't seem to understand that no one with the exception of maybe Austin can be considered a draw at this point. Hogan is driving younger fans away in droves and no one else's appearance is making any kind of impact. Keeping the same tired guys on top because they are "proven draws" or were draws in the past is only going to prolong the WWF's rebuilding period.

 

I can probably guess who's on this short list of headliners:

 

Triple H

Steve Austin

Rock

Hulk Hogan

Undertaker

Vince McMahon

Kevin Nash

Ric Flair (maybe?)

X-Pac  <snicker>

 

The list includes 3 men over the age of 50, 2 more over the age of 40 and the head writer's boyfriend, who is the only guy under the age of 35.

 

LONG LIVE WCW!

[Guest treble charged]

What they have to do is just give Jericho and someone else (Angle, Benoit, etc.) a chance to headline a show by themselves.  This way, they can atleast see if they can draw on their own, and therefore see if they can be considered to be tippy-top guys.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

Rock & X-Pac are also under 35.

[Guest dreamer420]

WWF is thin on what they consider talent that can headline and he's not leaving on his own.

what does this mean exactly?  does this mean that hogan is on his way out, as well as a few disappointing others?

[Guest Choken One]

You seem concerned about age, but Angle, Beniot, Jericho, Eddy are all older then Rock and HHH. But...It's not really that big a deal people...3.7 is still GOOD ratings. You're still stuck reminded of the old days of 8.1's.

[Guest bcu1979]

WWF is thin on what they consider talent that can headline and he's not leaving on his own.

what does this mean exactly?  does this mean that hogan is on his way out, as well as a few disappointing others?

I took it to mean that Hogan was going out on his OWN terms, which means he is not going out by putting over some young star or stepping aside gracefully to let other guys have the their time in the sun. Hogan isn't leaving until he wants to leave or until Vince pushes him out. We better pray for the later.

[Guest dreamer420]

i get it.  but hogan can only wrestle through so much pain before he has to call it quits

[Guest gusmahler]

WWF is thin on what they consider talent that can headline and he's not leaving on his own.

what does this mean exactly?  does this mean that hogan is on his way out, as well as a few disappointing others?

 

As for those on the list of main eventers: scratch X-Pac and Nash and Rock.  I would like to think WWE is aware that Taker is on his last hurrah.  I would hope that WWE realizes that Nash is not a draw anymore, but Nash has been able to fool people for years.  WWE also realizes that Flair is too old and that Hogan is on his last legs.  They want to milk Hogan for all he has until retirement, though.

WWF is thin on what they consider talent that can headline and he's not leaving on his own.

what does this mean exactly?  does this mean that hogan is on his way out, as well as a few disappointing others?

What it means is that there are few main eventers and WWE doesn't want to lose another one.

[Guest caboose]

The bottom line is the list of those considered Main Eventers is the a combination of the 1999 WWF and WCW ME lists.

This scary considering since 1999, some of the biggest angles and shows ever have occurred.

Who Ran over StoneCold?,

WCW and ECW dies,

Austin Vs. Rocky @ WMX-7,

InVasion,

nWo in the WWF,

Flair as an owner,

Hogan Vs. Rocky.

 

See the trend, the big angles start off as chances to close chapters on old careers and launch new stars.

But as the list continues, they simply become the old stars coming back for more.

Bottom line is Vince needs to cut the deadwood.

For me this is Hogan, Nash, Austin, Taker, and as much I hero worship the guy, Flair as well.

Triple H is useful if Vince can get him to put over the new stars, and Rocky is practically gone, but if he came back he would be more than useful.

Triple H and Rocky need to be portrayed as Veterans,

Angle, Jericho, Benoit, RVD, Booker T and Kane(yes he's still useful) need to be made THE Main Eventers,

and new talent needs to be got into the position that Jericho has been in for three years: Ready to break thorugh.

If this cycle is continued every 1-2 years then there will never be a stagnant ME scene.

[Guest Hogan Made Wrestling]

So you want the veterans to be the youngest guys on the roster, while the "new guys" are older than the ones they are replacing? Hell, Austin (who you want to get rid of) is younger than Booker T and only a few years older than Benoit.

[Guest caboose]

The actual age of the wrestler does not matter to me.

In terms of exposure and time in the ME, Austin and co are far older than Booker and co.