| Here are my major suggestions to improve WWE:
[b:post_uid0]BRING BACK STABLES[/b:post_uid0]
I agree with Drunksader that stable wars need to return. If nothing else, it allows for an easy transition of feuds. For example, when the Nation was feuding with the Corporation, they all had one-on-one beefs, but then switched since their groups had beef with each other.
[b:post_uid0]"WHOLE SHOW" BOOKING[/b:post_uid0]
I think that WWE needs to not hang its hat on one big storyline and let the rest of the show(s) go to crap because of it. Sure, the announcers should plug the main storyline throughout the show, but they should also pay attention to what is happening in the ring at that point in time, to make it seem important. I hate it when the match that is going on in the ring is ignored by the announcers (JR & King are worse about this than Cole & Tazz). Write midcard storylines, and have the announcers plug them.
[b:post_uid0]UTILIZE TV TIME[/b:post_uid0]
Heat and Velocity are wasted space on TV. No storylines progress, the matches are all low to mid-card guys with no current angles running, and half the time jobbers are used as cannon fodder for these marginal stars. Ideally, and I know that doing TV tapings cost astronomically higher amounts of cash to produce than to run a plain, old house show, I think that if WWE really wanted to generate ratings for its weekend shows, they should tape them separately from Raw & Smackdown. They could air Raw live on Monday, tape Smackdown on Tuesday, and then have a Heat/Velocity taping on Wednesday. Over time, the boost in ratings to these weekend shows could justify the added cost of doing a third day of television production. If nothing else, at least tie the idea of using these shows for something into my last point of midcard storylines.
[b:post_uid0]PPV OVERLOAD[/b:post_uid0]
Why were PPVs such a big deal 10 years ago? It was because matches featuring two guys who hadn't faced each other before/recently could resolve their three month storyline at a big event. This worked back when there weren't big name vs. big name matches on TV on a weekly basis, but it isn't feasible any more. Now, in order to draw ratings, big names have to face each other every week, taking away the rarity of these big encounters. To make matters worse, they must then put these wrestlers into matches on PPVs, making the matches less and less marketable (as they are less and less unique) as time goes on. I think that WWE has been working on resolving this problem with split-brand PPVs. Now they just need to use the time they're given to develop longer storylines, rather than doing their habitual two week shotgun booking for the next PPV, and develop new stars so that the same three or four guys aren't constantly feuding over the championship.
[b:post_uid0]PROSTITUTED TITLES[/b:post_uid0]
This is another problem that WWE is sort-of working on. They dropped the I-C, Euro, and Hardcore belts last year because they were worthless. There were too many titles in the company (ignore the Invasion era when it was really ridiculous), and they weren't writing any storylines for them any more. A title is made important by the person holding it, the person(s) pursuing it, and how the title is kept/won. No storyline means the title = crap. I'm glad that they gave the I-C belt a rest, and have now resurrected it. However, they've done a really bad job of making it important again. They booked Christian to look like a chump, and Booker T won the belt after a month & a half of its re-introduction. Bad, bad, bad booking. Hopefully, Booker keeps the belt a long time to rebuild it, and whoever wins the US belt will do the same.
[b:post_uid0]STALE ROSTER[/b:post_uid0]
I think WWE is going about their remedy for this problem all wrong. Instead of dropping talented midcard guys that they've neglected so that they can write storylines for the same 4 main event guys, they need to develop their midcard into main eventers. The Rock used to be the ultra-dorky Rocky Maivia who mimicked his dad's mannerisms. HHH used to courtsy and come to the ring with harpsichord music. Steve Austin used to be a Hollywood Blonde with more of a wuss gimmick than a tough S.O.B. persona. Mick Foley used to be a sideshow attraction. The Undertaker used to be a tag team wrestler. So did Shawn Michaels. So did Bret Hart. WWE took all of these guys, and pretty much every main eventer they've ever had, and developed them into the big draws they became. That's why they became big. Not because they kept Hulk Hogan in the spotlight from Wrestlemania I to the end of time. They kept developing their midcard into main eventers. That's exactly what they need to do now. Sure, John Cena and Randy Orton will be headliners down the road, but WWE needs to focus on its other 50+ guys who have the talent and desire and give them the opportunity to succeed.
[b:post_uid0]CONSISTENCY[/b:post_uid0]
Not much to say about this, but that if something happened in the past, people remember that and need to relate it to what is currently happening. Make that connection. |