Where do WWE's problems truly lie?

3D

Not all is well in the WWE. As the internet wrestling community generally agrees, WWE is going through a bad stage. Some may say we're experiencing a "down-cycle" (Though I don't buy that crap).

So how does WWE remedy the situation? Do they fire the ream of talentless stars in their roster such as Test, Albert, and others, to replace them with more talented (And some rejected by WWE) such as Jerry Lynn and Essa Rios?

Are they firing the wrong people? Are they hiring the right people?

Do they foot the blame at the creative department? They can't write themselves out of a paper bag at the moment.

Do the McMahons step back from their product, and let others remedy their problems instead of filling the shows with repetitive promos from Vince?

Is the presentation of the programming not up to proper standard? Do Raw and Smackdown need an overhaul? Or do we need two entirely new flagship programmes?

Do they need to build for long term more? Or is adding more big name stars the real answer? Do you enjoy the returns of veterans and main eventers?

Explain where your gripes with WWE lie, in true depth. We know the WWE do raid the site regularly, so maybe they'll see what we post, and try to rectify it. I doubt it VERY much, but still, I reckon it'll be good to vent all their crappiness in its full, polished turd glory.

3D. Wrestling Clique, Monksdiner, JimmyVan and KnowYourNews' Crafty Old Veteran.

3D

Don't blame it all on HHH either.

3D. Wrestling Clique, Monksdiner, JimmyVan and KnowYourNews' Crafty Old Veteran.

Drunksader

A few intriguing storylines is all that is needed to get things back up and running.

The Kane angle is starting to develop nicely - why can't they write compelling storylines such as that?? What's stifling that sort of creative thinking?

I think bringing back stables and having a stable war over the belts would be interesting, particularly if it crossed brands to an extent (i.e., the "Smackdown Wing" of a RAW stable, etc.)

Shaking up the product is what's needed at the moment, and I'm sorry, but the McMahons are beyond stale. I mean they're not even good for cheap heat anymore. Get them out of the storylines and put guys like Bischoff and Austin in their spots (or, hopefully, FOLEY!!)

Cowboy Bob Orton

I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings,
but the thing with Kane sucks balls dudes.
He is boring both in and out of the damn
ring. I wish he as well as SCSA, Trips, and
all the Mc Mahons would just go away for good.
The fact is they won't use any of the good talent
to build on, week after week they give the same guys
in the ring against each other, and that gets very old
very very fast.
I hate the entire product they been trying
to shove down our throats for about two years
now, and to be honest they are showing no signs of
turning the corner and getting the momentum going again.

Danny Diamond

Founder/Admin

[quote:post_uid0="Drunksader"]Shaking up the product is what's needed at the moment, and I'm sorry, but the McMahons are beyond stale. I mean they're not even good for cheap heat anymore. [/quote:post_uid0]
You couldnt be anymore right with that one.



I believe that it is lack of consistency with the storylines. They are way too WCW, I mean quick to dump a storyline as soon as they think it wont work right away.

Imagine if they gave up on pushing the Rock the way they did? What about Kurt Angle? This guy wasnt even in the biz 4 years ago and is huge now. Why? Consistent booking. Remember his angle where he had a crush on Steph. That lasted a good couple months before they had it come to fruit. Yes it helps that his ring skills are next to perfect, but that happened over time. He wasnt the best right away.

I also believe that they need to give the fans more credit than they usually do. They seem to think that if it happened two months ago it never happened. CONSISTENCY is the main word I am trying to get across. The WWE has lacked it for a while.

They need to be more patient

Shane

Yes the cycles are up and down, but RAW never fails to entertain. That was not the case with the old WWWF TV tapings. Back in the day, you'd have to go to a live event to see something at the level of HBK/Y2J, Kane/RVD, maybe Orton/Venis could be a mail event on a good show. Rest was all jobbers like Johnny Rodz. Over the long term, it's much better than it was, as far as entertainment goes. Hence, WWE.

Papa Shango

This is what I think is wrong with the WWF at the moment:

Incorrect use of people

Older stars, some even in a non wrestling role, taking up more TV time than younger talent

WWF's constant desire to protect certain wrestlers and thus resulting in lame finishes and screwjobs

Lack of build to PPVs

Too many WWF programmes

Too many PPVs

Vince is out of touch with the fans

The storylines are mostly awful, senseless, boring and pointless

Injuries occur too frequently resulting in abandoned storylines

Vinces Desperation, resulting in the hiring of anyone from Nathan Jones to Hulk Hogan.

and those are just off the top of my head.

Like I said in a previous post a few weeks ago.. one episode of RAW encapsulated the whole problem:

Hurricane's music hit and he came down the ramp.. only to be jumped my Randy Orton just so HHH could have a boring interview segment. Now that aint a bash on HHH, its a bash on the misuse of a young and over star being buried for the sake of someone who needs no build whatsoever.

Boz

More realism is needed... we can't have people lighting other people on fire... we can't have the cops involved... the fans have to be able to relate. Get another stable to rival Evolution.. hell get 3.. or 4 rival stables. Keep things real! Give Jericho the belt... he's more than deserving.

Y2J The King Of The World

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.