Bonnie Hammer submitting ideas to Vince

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

I always thought there should be a Raw where HHH Pedigrees every wrestler in the middle of the ring.

[Chazz 0]

I'm glad the lady is putting pressure on Vince and Co. for their poor ratings. I think one of the reasons The WWE has gone to shit in the last couple of years is they had no pressure on them to preform better. However, if she wants more "Vince Russo" like shows", them maybe she should talk Vince McMahon into hiring Vince Russo back as Head Of Creative.(Don't know if he actually is under contract with TNA.), or even someone like Paul Heyman. Otherwise, if she's waiting for the current creative team they have now to turn Raw back into what it once was, she's going to be waiting for a while. A long while.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

It never said she wanted "Vince Russo shows." That was one person's interpretation of her demands. I'll have to go look it up later when I get off work, but I think she was a big proponent of self-contained shows (where one large story/angle would be developed and concluded each week), long, overarching storylines with mutliple twists and turns that incoporated several wrestlers, cliffhanger endings that enticed the viewer to return the next week and good performers put in the 9:00, 10:00 and 11:00 quarter hours.

 

I think it was more about keeping the crap short, making the good stories emotionally investing and pushing the real talent heavily. To summarize, she basically wanted good booking.

[The Niggardly King 0]

I always thought there should be a Raw where HHH Pedigrees every wrestler in the middle of the ring.

 

Have the top half of the roster line up for complimentary Pedigrees. The other half can can just Pedigree themselves.

[billdynamite 0]

Vince doesn't listen to anyone in his own company, so if the ratings are crap he can always just pretend he doesn't care because it's his company and his show. But now the network is getting involved he'll have to listen, he may be the boss of WWE but he isn't the boss of the channel. I think a bit of pressure from above might spark something into action.

 

I don't think it can get much worse than it is at the moment to be honest. I'm all for change.

[chaosrage 0]

The original Attitude era was a successful attempt to grow the product beyond the child-skewing storylines that had insulted adult intelligence. Pro wrestling has advanced to the point in Hammer's absence though that returning to the Attitude Era would itself be an insult to adult intelligence.

 

It advanced from a fun and entertaining show that was getting 7s and 8s in the ratings to a mostly boring show with bland characters and stale storylines that has settled on a core rating of about 3.4. The product now is so bad that they actually managed to dwindle their entire audience away that they gained during the Atitude era, not to mention eliminate all of the fans who were watching WCW at the time, which is impressive. Any change can only be a good thing.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

A check of the rating info shows that, segment peaks aside, Raw only got above an 8 rating once (5/10/99) and a 7.0 rating or more 5 times. It's best ratings in the 'Attitude Era' were in the mid-to-high 6's.

[strummer 0]

This is from another board so not sure of the validity but Hammer specifically wants Stephanie McMahon and Sable to return to television in full time roles.

[justcoz 0]

I'm not against her involvement at all. I didn't like everything that Russo and Ed did but the shows were at least entertaining and the ratings were indicative of that. While I personally think that the Attitude era has passed and they need to go for a more traditional old school wrestling booking/realistic UFC-like presentation there is no guarantee that I'm right and that will mean ratings. I just think a lot of the stuff they relied on during the Russo era, like the T&A, backstage skits, arrest angles, boss vs. talent, etc. are no longer cutting edge and useless. Yeah, I was into the Mr. McMahon exploding limo angle but the creative team had no idea what direction to take it. With Russo it would've been comedy right off the bat. This group of writers made it more creepy and directionless. Getting wrestlers over should have been the main goal but instead we were about to get Linda McMahon arrested in connection with it. Pretty much resulting in the same old shit.

 

If she's serious about improving things, she should bring in REAL television writers with real credits like 24, Oz, Prison Break, etc. Get someone that wrote for Reno 911 or the Chapelle Show for comedy touches. These writers may want no involvement in writing for a wrestling show but I imagine that there are writers with real credentials who liked wrestling as a child or in college who would get some kicks from it. Hell, if Bonnie is serious, promise them USA series deals if they help out the wrestling show. They need people who know how to do the story board like Chris Kreski did after Russo left. People that can develop characters and episodic television. Brian Gerwitz and these rejects that come and go don't cut it. If there is any part of the company that they should throw out money for quality - it's creative - it leads to ratings, PPV buys, house show attendence, merchandise sales, etc.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

This is from another board so not sure of the validity but Hammer specifically wants Stephanie McMahon and Sable to return to television in full time roles.

 

NO!

Raw should go on hiatus. It would give the creative team time to come up with stuff.... Actually Vince has lost his touch a long time ago. He needs to retire.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Shouldn't WWE create its own identity for this decade, rather then falling back into the 90s?

[Perfection 0]

This is from another board so not sure of the validity but Hammer specifically wants Stephanie McMahon and Sable to return to television in full time roles.

 

SABLE? :

 

Ok some make good points about pressure being put on them to come up with better shows and maybe thats a plus but if they follow ideas like they need another Mcmahon to return to push themselves over the talent.... and pushing for people like sable to return, then that's just fucking stupid.

[foleyfanforever88 0]

Shouldn't WWE create its own identity for this decade, rather then falling back into the 90s?

 

The decade is almost over..sadly it will be remembered for the never ending title reigns of Triple H and Cena.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

When does WWE's current contract with USA expire? VKM would be hard pressed to find a television company to take Raw on right now...

 

Vince has lost touch with the wrestling fan and doesn't realize Stephanie doesn't know shit. Stack Raw with every friggin top wrestler and it doesn't make a difference because Raw is a shitty show. And what's worse, is that SD! has been told to be more like Raw, though with all of the sports entertainers taken away. Basically SD! was showing up Raw, so they had all of their top talent taken away and then was handcuffed by the edict to be more like Raw.

[tommytomlin 0]

If this results in a RAW that is actually entertaining and unpredictable, I don't care who she brings back. As cheech said, you can have an Attitude-era style show without all the dumb crap that we remember. Was anybody surprised by this Monday's RAW? Did anything happen that we couldn't have predicted?

[milliondollarchamp 0]

Where did you get that she influenced the Attitude era?

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

If you read the book "Sex, Lies, and Headlocks" , it is written, Bonnie was influencing the creative process after the Brian Pillman gun angle. I can probably pull some quotes out of it later.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

By the way, for those of you piling on without doing any research, Bonnie Hammer was not a big fan of Vince Russo's work and helped him streamline it to stop confusing viewers (something he could have used in TNA and WCW, respectively).

 

According to Sex, Lies & Headlocks, Bonnie was assigned to Vince and WWE after their disgust over the Pillman gun angle. She had never watched wrestling, but came in and overhauled the product so that it would be appealing to mass audiences. She once remarked to Russo, "If I can't understand what's going on in the first five minutes of the show, then we're in trouble. You have to get viewers in right away, tease them."

 

She was responsible for many of the changes we take for granted now. Among her changes to the product were the estabishment of hot minutes (9, 10, 11 o'clock hours) to help draw viewers. She wanted the best stories displayed at these times. She helped them flesh out their one-dimensional characters. She convinced Vince McMahon to become an on-screen character. She encouraged them to establish strong female characters (like Sable) that women could respect.

 

In my opinion, she's exactly what the product needs right now.

[TheFranchise 0]

Yes.

 

Strong female characters.

 

Push Maria.

[CubbyBr 0]

They need people who know how to do the story board like Chris Kreski did after Russo left.

 

You mean when they had Triple H feud with the Rock for something like six months with no direction at all? Or when Triple H/Rock/Undertaker buried Angle/Jericho/Benoit in one night when they were in need of new stars?

[chaosrage 0]

Shouldn't WWE create its own identity for this decade, rather then falling back into the 90s?

 

If the 90s means exciting unpredictable complex intertwining storylines between multiple personalities at the same time such as a link to the opening of Summerslam 97 or a link to the opening of Survivor Series 98 and the new identity means whatever passes for story today (Not much), we should probably go back to the 90s.

[Enigma 0]

They need people who know how to do the story board like Chris Kreski did after Russo left.

 

You mean when they had Triple H feud with the Rock for something like six months with no direction at all? Or when Triple H/Rock/Undertaker buried Angle/Jericho/Benoit in one night when they were in need of new stars?

Yeah, Angle got beat around by UT, but he was WWF Champion less than 3 months later.

 

HHH vs. Jericho was a blood bath. Go watch the finish where HHH is covered with blood and has to struggle to get up at 9 and then collapse after 10 and call that a "burial".

 

And The Rock only defeated Chris Benoit because of the favoritist antics of WWF Commissioner Mick Foley.

 

People like you really piss me the fuck off when you mindlessly throw around the word "bury" like you know anything.

 

Losing does not equal buried.

[foleyfanforever88 0]

Just a thought..even though I don't want to see Cena in the title picture for the next 5 years, and even though Randy Orton may not deserve to be in the main event after his many screwups backstage, could and should Cena vs Orton become the next Austin-Rock? Obviously it won't be the same, but Cena is the #1 guy right now, and I think that Orton can be a great heel. Starting with Orton winning the title at Summerslam, I think these two should become the main two guys on RAW, having atleast 2 or 3 PPV matches between now and Wrestlemania. They should develop a huge rivalry while still facing other opponents at times. With the title going back and forth between them (not all the time, maybe every 4 to 6 months for the next year or so), and challenges from the likes of Triple H, Kennedy, Umaga, Lashley, HBK, Booker, and Jeff, I think they could become this generation's lesser version of the Rock and Austin. Do you think this is a decent idea, and do you think it could draw in viewers? (I figure it can't be any worse than the current state of WWE.)

[Enigma 0]

Randy Orton can't be depended on to hold any considerable role in the company. He's a potential PR disaster with his immature behavior.

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

Im with the poster who said the WWE should come up with their own identity for this era instead of rehasing old Attitude ideas. The Attitude era was fun for its time, but rewatching it now, most of it has aged terribly now. Of course then I was 13-16 and now im 21 so ive advanced in taste and what I consider entertaining. I dont think they should model after UFC because I believe that WWE cant now, after killing kayfabe, go back and try to present wrestling as real again. Everyone now is in on the con, and a shoot style show would insult everyones intelligence.

 

Now if Hammer can influnce Vince to get his creative juices flowing and return Raw to an action packed, cliffhanger show then I'm interesting in what she can cook up. Ifs an Attitude rehash, then count me out because Im not interested in seeing Stone Cold and Mick Foley upstaging. I think the WWE has good group of young guys and new faces that are coming into their own. Im more interested in what Hammer can do for people like Cena, Orton, Lashley et al and not for Attitude retreads,. I mean whats the worst that could happen?

[Enigma 0]

If USA is serious about turning things around, why not tell Vince that his daughter sucks at booking and use someone else? USA is the one's with the leverage here, not Vince.

 

Wouldn't that be hilarious if USA forced Vince to boot out Steph and replace her with either Vince Russo or Paul Heyman?

[Mecca 0]

If USA is serious about turning things around, why not tell Vince that his daughter sucks at booking and use someone else? USA is the one's with the leverage here, not Vince.

 

Wouldn't that be hilarious if USA forced Vince to boot out Steph and replace her with either Vince Russo or Paul Heyman?

 

I could only imagine what would happen of they tried to force out Steph.......Her and Vince are about the most stubborn people.

[Jingus 0]

All this stuff Hammer is demanding seems like it'll do that Russo crap of making the actual wrestling matches short, meaningless, and filled with stupid interference and non-clean finishes. Boo-urns.

[justcoz 0]

If USA is serious about turning things around, why not tell Vince that his daughter sucks at booking and use someone else? USA is the one's with the leverage here, not Vince.

 

Wouldn't that be hilarious if USA forced Vince to boot out Steph and replace her with either Vince Russo or Paul Heyman?

 

I could only imagine what would happen of they tried to force out Steph.......Her and Vince are about the most stubborn people.

 

And this is the real problem. The difference between 1997 Vince McMahon and 2007 Vince McMahon is his back was against the wall then. He was nearly out of business and desperate to get back on top against Nitro. That was the reason he listened to Bonnie Hammer, Vince Russo and outside opinions. I mean, I remember when freaking Vince McMahon opened himself up to AOL chats with fans. He would consult Meltzer. Could you imagine that now? It would never happen because somewhere along the way Vince built up a group of yes men, Kevin Dunn being the main one, who believe they know what fans want more than the fans. Even with declining ratings there is always an excuse.

 

Bonnie Hammer probably doesn't know that creatively the company has never moved on from the Attitude era in so many ways. This is why things like the Diva Search, fat guys in speedos, midget cruiserweight champions, angles revolving around deceased talent, Katie Vick, evil GM's, superstar arrests and pointless backstage skits still exist. They are still trying to shock and it doesn't work any more. It was shocking in the late 90's. Now it's just predictible. So, regardless of what she did in the 90's, this makes me feel that Bonnie Hammer is just as out of touch with the current landscape as Vince.

 

Now, if they could get legitimate Hollywood writers to input creatively, writers for other USA Network shows or whatever, maybe we would see an improvement. Somebody that can get a feel for the personalities, develop characters and put them into sensible storyline roles. For all we know guys like Dave Lagana could be good but they write to please Vince and that's what needs to stop. I just get the feeling that overall the current creative team needs kicked to the curb. Seriously, what money making angle have they come up with since 2001? Then again, I'm also someone that would use the minds of Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff if they were on my payroll.

[Chalmation 0]

i think the internet helping expose a lot of inner workings of the business might be making things seem predictable.

 

if yall remember the '97-'01 era, that was back when most fans didn't have the internet or they had a slow dial-up connection. now if you look at the 3.something ratings, i bet many fans over the age of 12 go on websites like this one. these fans aren't true "smarks", but if people are telling them the shows are terrible, they're not gonna watch over a period of time.

 

these are the same fans that bring that attitude to live events. how better can you explain carlito's or lashley's lack of pops than the internet "conditioning" fans to beleive those guys suck (what fun is it to say a guy's "just there"????). of course the cycle reinforces itself. no pop="he sucks". this also works in reverse, which is why matt hardy is getting the best reactions of all the midcarders in WWE.

 

every superstar is entertaining in his own way. some, we've been invested in their career for years and years; some, obvious gimmicks (the world heavyweight and cruiserweight champions); and some, we just "feel" them and what they're fighting for or what's fighting against them.

 

my answer to the ratings dilemma is to draw older fans in with the competition level of the matches over anything else. weekly 10-15 minutes, **1/2-*** consistent matches in beleiveable story arcs leading to ***1/2-**** on pay-per-view main events and so on. also i'd get serious about reforming the business from a wrestler's health standpoint. other than the "offseason" suggestion, i don't beleive there's much that can be done. i'm betting lots of fans have been turned off over the years as they've realized these guys are slowly killing themselves in the ring on every move.