The Wrestling Thread will give you all the stuffing you can handle

[Mace Bloodstone]

CM Punk is on Talking Dead right now.

 

[Dr. Evil]

The WWE gets praise when they deserve it, which is very rare these days.

 

[Big Green]

How can you start fresh and clean in an industry that has been around for 70 years?

Storylines get recycled, CSI was doing the same **** as Law & Order. At the end of the day the WWE is a soap opera, and I hate to break it to you, but there are only so many storylines in any story told.

 

[Dr. Evil]

The problem is that unlike the NFL (which I am also a fan of and it's very frustrating to be an NFL fan sometimes) is that the TV ratings for the WWE have rapidly declined. The polar opposite is true for the NFL (where despite being a mediocre product itself, still has massive TV ratings and sell millions in merchandise sales). The WWE has plans on creating a TV Network in which if it fails, could set the company back years. It's not like the NFL Network in that if the NFL Network fails, the NFL still has their billion dollar TV contract with FOX, ESPN, CBS and NBC to fall back on.

The WWE is a lot like Hollywood in a way. Both are uncreative and unimaginative. I mean, Hollywood wants to remake every damn movie ever made and adapt movies from books, comics, TV shows, video games, toys and will probably want to adapt movies from songs, commercials, food products and cell phone apps next. Both the WWE and Hollywood are made for each other, it's the perfect combo.

BTW, still waiting for the day that the WWE remakes Body Slam.

 

[Wheels]

How can you start fresh and clean in an industry that has been around for 70 years?

Storylines get recycled, CSI was doing the same **** as Law & Order. At the end of the day the WWE is a soap opera, and I hate to break it to you, but there are only so many storylines in any story told.

That's all well and good but **** booking is **** booking and **** writing is **** writing. ft you've got good people involved in the creative process then they can make something old feel new again.

 

[bullets]

It was a wise move to place her at numer one on the most beautiful list. I still can't believe she's gone.

CM Punk is on Talking Dead right now.

I really need to catch up with Walking Dead before Friday. It would be cool if they offered him a guest spot. I could see him leading a group of survivors and kicking zombies in the head.

Some people want the shows to improve and and that has nothing to do with being stuck in the past. Its called not towing the line. WWE needs to improve and evolve. Not rehash and stay stale.
.

I remember a comment Triple H directed at Punk where he says "some people don't want change". There's a section of the audience who just go with the flow and don't see a problem. I think the WWE is catering to them , but then you see glimpses of progress. Like the somewhat revived tag team division. I want to have faith it's going to get better , but who knows if it ever will at this point.

 

[NDX]

So what storylines can you come up with?

Cause I'm sure half the thread would think they are **** too. You are entitled to your own opinion.

My job is not to come up with storylines. Mine is to ***** about the ones WWE pawns off on us thinking they are quality.

 

[Wheels]

I'll say this. My favorite WWE show is the one Vince McMahon doesn't oversee. That tells me what the problem Is.

 

[Fans of Reilly]

Unlike Buff Kaitlyn didn't become someones b*tch to get into the business.



Part of WWE's problem is it IS stuck in the past. But that's no excuse for the product sucking most of the time--which it does. Stuck in the past or not.

If ratings get bad enough you won't have a WWE to enjoy. Won't happen anytime soon but they should still be be worried. When they have a network to please that has so much power over the show ratings matter. Weaker ratings means weaker bargaining posture and less money to work with from sponsors. Less opprtunities.

Some people want the shows to improve and and that has nothing tyo do with being stuck in the past. Its called not towing the line. WWE needs to improve and evolve. Not rehash and stay stale.




How does any of that matter when WWE clearly doesn't give most of them the chance or enough time to showcase their talents? Even most of the better current divas don't have the skills of their Knockout counterparts. The talent level of the division has dropped.

Why have so many women left or mutually agreed with WWE to leave if the division is so great? They're frustrated thats why.

about the divas not geting them I blame the life crowd They are always dead during a diva match And, of course, people in the back will see that and decide divas do not deserve More time

 

[NDX]

I'll say this. My favorite WWE show is the one Vince McMahon doesn't oversee. That tells me what the problem Is.

It also helps there's a lot of new faces on there changing things up. I just read that Bray Wyatt, Bo Dallas and the Ascension are being considered for a call up.

I think I'll be sticking around a bit more for parts of RAW now due to this and the NXT3.

And I'll check for certain Main Event episodes. I like the concept and how they approach the matches, but some wrestlers I won't watch. Do like the fact that they actually have main eventers on a program called Main Event.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I am cutting and pasting this exchange from another message board, because I think it hit the nail on the head.

[quote author=nichotine board=WWE thread=457227 post=9161842 time=1353888559][quote author=yamicabana board=WWE thread=457227 post=9161406 time=1353881986]Not sure if it was on here or not but I've talked about this before. The current product seems to wain in comparison to other eras but the PG rating has nothing to do with the product not standing up. Smackdown has always been PG and it brought us moments like Jericho being Gored through the stage, the Lesnar/Angle/Big Show feud and even Buried Alive matches. The problems are as follows:

Characters are described and not portrayed

In the Attitude Era we saw the characters of the wrestlers, we were given something to buy into and if it was for you then it would get you invested. We had everything from Pseudo-Vampires to Officers of the Law and Pimps to Porn Stars and we got to see it all unfold in-front of our eyes. In this day and age however we are simply told that a wrestler is an aristocrat or a multi-sports star or a lawyer we're always told about it instead of getting to see that play out in front of our eyes. It is extremely hard to buy into a character when he isn't doing anything different than his counterpart and the only reason we're given to care about them is something we've been told by a commentator.

Less Unpredictability

When was the last time you saw a main event on Raw that had so much unpredictability and intrigue? When was the last time you saw a Raw main event that pitted the biggest superstars all against each other and you couldn't already peg who was going to win it? It's been a while since teams of Austin and Undertaker had to work together just to keep the tag titles around their waists, it's been a long time since the dynamic of "Anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation!" has been real instead of just a catch phrase and I honestly think that detracts from the excitement of the modern day WWE. Maybe once every 6 months we have a OMG moment but is once every 6 or so months really good enough to invest your time into 192 hours of television for that one moment? You wouldn't watch 192 episodes of a one hour show just for one awe inspiring moment and it shouldn't be that way with the WWE. More should be done on the weekly shows to satisfy fans. I'm not saying it should be every week but definitely not as sparsely as it is currently.

I'm going to stop rambling now.

There's got to be a happy medium. Because in this era we're in nothing happens and the things that do happen seem to retroactively destroy itself as it progresses, but in the Attitude era, the bar would be raised for the sake of raising it at times, and the swerves and plot twists would get out of hand.

I would easily take the Attitude era over now. Both are flawed, nothing can be perfect, but there was an energy to the Attitude era that I don't think anyone in the WWE who has a say in it even comprehends at this point.

I find it interesting in today's climate where WWE is overrun with Hollywood writers how little happens on the shows. I'm not knocking writers over bookers, I see benefits of having an outsider's perspective on storytelling and trying to implement them into wrestling. But I just don't understand how you get these Hollywood screenwriters, all they ever know or strive for is writing a serialized TV show built for longevity, but nothing ever happens.

I know nothing of screenwriting but I would figure that your first inclination would be to know what characters you have to work with, and then finding a way to have them mesh and sort out what sets them apart, what role they would be most effective, just creating stories. You don't even have to be a professional, any average Joe, if thrown into a creative position in the WWE would have to come up with stories. As a fan disconnecting himself from the business end of it, that's what bothers me most with WWE right now. I don't know how anyone within the company can look at the product their pushing out and believe that they're creating a compelling, can't miss show, let alone a slightly above average one.

People knock the John Cena/AJ saga and it's definitely deserving of it, but I don't mind watching it because A) I don't know where it's going, and B) It's a welcome change from the autopilot storytelling going on everywhere beneath the main event.

How many feuds do we have right now where it's heel vs. face week after week, with commentary telling us "wow what a rivalry this is", and how many of those "feuds" will silently disappear with zero closure? All it would take is a little pride in your work to watch the show and realize there needs to be something more to this. You can't just put Wrestler A on TV every week, never let him speak for himself and have commentary tell us everything he's thinking and doing and convince yourself that's acceptable character progression. It's just so lazy.

It's frustrating because when WWE gets it right it's beautiful. Undertaker's Wrestlemania storylines for the past 5 years have been immaculate and timeless. Their production packages that make guys look like Hollywood. I say the Attitude Era's better, but with the in-ring talent that they have today, and the resources they have to make them look like stars I could see WWE being better than they've ever been.

 

[Wheels]

It also helps there's a lot of new faces on there changing things up. I just read that Bray Wyatt, Bo Dallas and the Ascension are being considered for a call up.

I think I'll be sticking around a bit more for parts of RAW now due to this and the NXT3.

And I'll check for certain Main Event episodes. I like the concept and how they approach the matches, but some wrestlers I won't watch. Do like the fact that they actually have main eventers on a program called Main Event.

NXT gives me hope that WWE will have brighter days again.

 

[TheFuture]

I wouldn't be sold on the Ascension, the gimmick seems a bit goofy to me.

 

[Wheels]

I wouldn't be sold on the Ascension, the gimmick seems a bit goofy to me.

I think it can work. The only thing I would consider really goofy is the howling during matches. The entrance is cool and having a gimmicked tag team would be refreshing. The Ascension actually feel like a real tag team.

I mean Damien Sandow is goofy to a certain degree; what with him wearing a Bob Backlund robe with pink tights and doing cartwheels. He's stilll entertaining though.

 

[NDX]

I wouldn't be sold on the Ascension, the gimmick seems a bit goofy to me.

Glad it's not me. The gimmick is a joke to me. They'd have to book them like Gangrel or something, and even then...

Not a bad tag team, though. A good time to bring them up, but I find the characters a joke.

 

[Wheels]

I can see the issue with it but really I can see people getting into it. For instance, I think the Kane character sucks more often than not. Tons of horrible storylines with the character and stuff., but other people love Kane's character. He was best as a silent monster IMO. Once he started cutting promos it went downhill.

 

[Slushy]

The one match from Over the Limit they choose and it's not AmDrag/Punk.

Good thing I bought Punk's Blu Ray as it was my main reason. t:

 

[Fans of Reilly]

What people think about Wade Barrett going After Kofi Kingston Intercontinental title I know many people do not like it and think Barrett should go After the world heavyweight title

Personally I disagree I think any Wrestler should at least have one successful title Reign with a small title before he is giveing the right to be world champion

and Wade Barrett First Intercontinental title Reign was bad and boring

 

[Wheels]

I'm fine with it. l'm not clamoring for Barrett to win a world title or anything. I expect him to be WHC sometime next year anyway.

 

[Lobo]

It also helps there's a lot of new faces on there changing things up. I just read that Bray Wyatt, Bo Dallas and the Ascension are being considered for a call up.

I think I'll be sticking around a bit more for parts of RAW now due to this and the NXT3.

And I'll check for certain Main Event episodes. I like the concept and how they approach the matches, but some wrestlers I won't watch. Do like the fact that they actually have main eventers on a program called Main Event.

Bo getting called up would have me real excited, I have high hopes for him, I can see him as a top face. Bray is ready and will be an excellent heel, it will be interesting to see how he is brought up. I wonder who is first feud will be? I'm guessing it will be someone like Gabriel.

Some things I'd like to see. More than likely won't happen but I'd like:

A reborn cruiserweight division

The divas given more time to show what they can do specifically Natalya

Jack Swagger repackaged as a face

Alex Riley on TV

Ambrose given a live mic on Raw (this we know will at least happen)

Rollins vs Ziggler (I'll mark if/when this hapens)

Brodus Clay heel turn, maybe have him as a follower of Wyatt's.

Matt Striker as a Bobby Heenan styled manager. I'd pair him with Mason Ryan as his bodyguard from the likess of Kane and Ryback etc (i.e the Tomko role), and also have him manage McGillicutty, and either the Uso's or Colon's after Rosa becomes Del Rio's valet

 

[TheFuture]

I'm fine with it too. To be honest, I find Barrett to be quite overrated, he does nothing for me. His gimmick isn't good enough for a main eventer. I do think though that if became a bastard type character who does dastardly things then he would have potential. Whether there is any room for that kind of character in this era is a whole other story.

 

[Lobo]

I am a Barrett fan but I think going after Kofi's belt is the right move, he's not ready for a WHC run yet.

 

[Wheels]

I'm fine with it too. To be honest, I find Barrett to be quite overrated, he does nothing for me. His gimmick isn't good enough for a main eventer. I do think though that if became a bastard type character who does dastardly things then he would have potential. Whether there is any room for that kind of character in this era is a whole other story.

If there's not then Ambrose and Wyatt are screwed. They're both sick twisted bastards.

 

[TheFuture]

Look at all their top heels such as Del Rio, Ziggler, Punk, Rhodes and Sandow. They are all heels for essentially the same general reason: they are all narcissists who think they are better than everyone else. Show is the only one that breaks this mould as he's a monster giant.

I will say this though, it seems like they're starting to give their heels a bit of room to grow further. For example, Ziggler and his verbal deconstruction of AJ and Heyman (while it left a sour taste in my mouth) feigning a heart attack. They need to let more of this kind of stuff roll in order to let their heels grow distinctive characters.

I mean I think Barrett would do wonders with an Orton/HHH type character when they were at their most loathsome such as attempting to maim opponents, attacking commentators and kicking women in the head.

Even look back to the last PGish era when Savage turned on Hogan and he violently pushed Elizabeth to the floor. An absolutely reprehensible action that got him big heat. I know kicking a woman in the head isn't going to fly in this era but surely a violent push would be ok?

 

[Lobo]

Seth Rollins vs Bo Dallas vs Antonio Cesaro vs Kassius Ohno