The Next big storyline in wrestling?

Blitzkrieg

That's what WWE needs isn't it? Not all this rehash of crap we've seen a thousand times. When the nWo was around it was innovative, it was cutting edge, it was like nothing we had ever seen in wrestling before..

Evolution was mildly succesful, but it was just a play off of The Four Horsemen. Shit like D-X, and Austin/McMahon was a big "FU!", no pun intended, to authority. People liked that.

Cena is boring because we've seen it before. Remember back to Jericho/Christian/Trish ? That was really well done because even though we had seen shit similar to that, we hadn't seen it done as well and with Christian and Y2J being best friends at the time.

I think until WWE starts thinking outside the box and stops being conservative, the product will suffer because it will all be repetitive.

Danny Diamond

Founder/Admin

No doubt.

When they show the highlights of old stuff (98-00) you can't help but think you are tricking yourself now.

Its like we are just sitting around waiting for the next big thing, rather than watching it.

The WWE had STARS back then. Now it seems they have guys that have lots of muscles, but not much else.

I think its actually pretty simple.

People don't want to watch Renee Dupree and Rob Conway prance around like......well whatever type of gimmick its supposed to be. They want to see some good ol'e fashion ass kicking and attitude.

People wanted to be like their favorite WWF stars. People that didnt even watch wrestling sure as hell knew or heard many times the following "And that's the Bottom Line, Cuz Stone Cold Said SO." and "If ya smell what the Rock is cooking"

They used to do stuff like the Superbowl halftime show and SNL.

They have not only lost the casual fan that is truely entertained by the crazy antics of the guys, but they are grasping at straws to keep US. The hardcore fans.

I mean this stuff is puff really. Sure its entertaining, but I used to really get amped up for wrestling, You really never knew what was going to happen next.

Now its pretty obvious.


Also, make heels just win just because they are good. The whole cheating to win because I am a heel thing is really beat to death. It would really change the element quite a bit.

Miakal

Unless you watched Japan............

I remember creating this thread over five years ago.

This isn't new. WWE has been lagging for a long time. I think eventually some of WWE's financial woes will catch up with them and they'll have to stop dragging in old timers to save the ratings and start looking inwards.

Blitzkrieg

They are just way too conservative. It pains me to sit there and watch and be like, "Ok, I know what's happening now".. They never surprise us. I like the whole "shork" concept, that's thinking outside the box, they need to do more of it.

Of course, you don't want it to get too crazy like Russoism.. But you want to keep an even balance. I watch wrestling now and it reminds me of wrestling in the mid-90's.. It was all just "there".. Nothing really EVER changing.

I also agree with Simon. Heels should win because they are that damn good. Kurt Angle should never lose matches, when he does, it should be a shock to everyone. A guy ike that would really piss the crowd off because it's like, "Ok..you don't like me? well, I don't care I'm winning anyway"

You know what I'm saying?

It would have been great to see Edge run out post-match and beat Cena because of the MITB contract, but it never happend.. All we got is the same old, Cena can't be touched because he's "street".. It's very tired.

Miakal

I still believe that people need to stop watching WWE. Watch some indy wrestling, some Jap wrestling, some UFC, whatever you need to do. WWE will never change if you continue to watch it religiously.

Mr. Kennedy

A lot of people don't have that option Miakal because WWE(and now TNA) is the only wrestling that they can watch. It would be easier if we had something like The Wrestling Channel in the US.

Visit and shop for video games at my Amazon-based store, also get discounted HD DVDs while they last.

Blitzkrieg

I do watch UFC, but it doesn't give me the same kind of entertainment wrestling once did. I like UFC, but it's different, it's more like sport..

WWE used to give me a lot of different aspects all in one show. I could laugh, I could see people fly around the ring, I could get attitude, now.. I just get some rehashed shit and a bunch of juicers..

Don't get me wrong, I think Masters is alright, but do I need to see him and then Conway, then Rene, then Lashley..etc. ?

It's too much of the same thing.

Y2J The King Of The World

I think the biggest thing that WWE needs is a creative team with friction in it. Do you think that Vince Russo & Vinnie Mac saw eye-to-eye on every storyline that was brought to the table back in WWE's late-90's heyday? Doubtful. They made those classic moments by butting heads, having a love-hate relationship, where they were more stressed from working with each other but generating much better results.

Right now, I'd bet that most of Vince's writers are yes-men who just go with what they think he wants and don't rock the boat. As a result, everyone agrees to the same bland ideas and no sparks happen in the creative process.

The last time I remember WWE getting rolling for a bit was when Paul Heyman was writing for Smackdown (when Smackdown was the better of the two brands). Unfortunately, the plug got pulled before things could really take off because he and Vince were rumored to not see eye-to-eye. The sad part is, guys like Heyman who have a creative mind to begin with are the kinds of guys that Vince needs to add some fire to the product. Maybe it's Vince's ego that doesn't like to admit that he isn't always right and that he can learn from other people - maybe it's more complex than even that. Regardless, I think that what WWE really needs is creative friction to create an entertaining product. Austin/McMahon storylines don't happen overnight - they are a culmination of momentum. So, WWE just needs to shake things up and get that ball rolling in the right direction.

ICEMAN

Y2J is right, WWE needs to stop hiring "yes" men who will agree with every one of Vince's whack ideas, and get some guys with some balls who will think out of the box. Heyman is doing a great job with OVW right now and before him, Cornette was producing solid shows. Those two guys love wrestling and know how to write compelling storylines. I think Dusty Rhodes could have some good input. Sure he's had his share of bad storylines, but Dusty was one of the top bookers in the 80's and did some good things with TNA, even though most of his ideas were over ruled by the Jarrett's.

I'm a Cena fan and even I am sick of his act right now. The storyline he's in is so stale, it's pathetic. Put the strap on Kurt, keep booking him to be this unbeatable force and then have someone like a Triple H, Batista, Chris Benoit, Cena, Randy Orton etc. beat him for the strap in 8-12 months.

The re-hashing of angles, gimmicks needs to stop. What made the Attitude era so fun and refreshing is that it was all new. Nothing is new now in WWE and they have the potential.

Remember when Smackdown was more of the wrestling show (Heyman was booking then, no surprise) and RAW was more storyline driven? I thought that was a great concept because it gave fans the best of both worlds; you could watch RAW for the storylines and SD! for the good in-ring work.

WWE even managed to screw up the Hardy-Edge feud, which could've been so much bigger than it turned out.

It's clear WWE can put together good ideas, as they've done good things with their website; hopefully their next project will be to re-tool their creative department.

WWE needs a shakeup and I think the move to USA and their leaving Spike on bad terms helped wake Vince up. Vince books better shows when he's angry and he feels he has to beat somebody. I hope that's the case now.