Bleak future for WWE?

flahavaj

When I was thinking about Ricky steamboat's recent awesomeness and the amazing spectaclethat waas HBK/Taker, a thought struck me: isn't it an extremely worrying situation for WWE when all of the truly great in-ring workers that they've had in the last few years are now well over 40 or dead?

We're pretty much stuck with combinations of Edge/Cena/Orton/HHH as potential Wrestlemania Main Events for the foreseeable future once HBK and Taker retiren(which can't be too far away). How depressing, especially considering how overdone all those combinations are.:eek:

This is what happens when you don't build new stars on a regular basis I suppose.

Discuss.

Mr.Nice Guy

Yeah I think it is worrying situation and unfortunately I think it's a sign that Vince has taken his eye off the ball, unlike say ten years ago.

Too many old-timers in privileged spots unwilling to step aside and pass the torch on to the future of the industry.

For example, they had Randy Orton win the Rumble and placed him in a match against HHH that has been done countless times before and what's more, he lost to the veteran. The mind boggles.

Bubs101

The future's not bleak talent wise, the problem was the last crop all rose to the top by 35 or so, so they were around for much longer than most crops of talent and they all stayed in the same place.

The good news is that they should all go around the same time. They won't miss Hunter, he's gone stale and is replaceable. Taker is replaceable if they get someone with the right gimmick. You can get someone else to play Warrior so Dave is replaceable. Edge,Cena ,Jericho and Orton will be their for a while. Morrison can do HBK. Swagger will rise to the top soon. If Kennedy finds what he had in early 2007 they've got a star. Punk could stay at the top.

To cut it short, Future is bright, present is not

DM_7

flahavaj wrote: »

When I was thinking about Ricky steamboat's recent awesomeness and the amazing spectaclethat waas HBK/Taker, a thought struck me: isn't it an extremely worrying situation for WWE when all of the truly great in-ring workers that they've had in the last few years are now well over 40 or dead?

We're pretty much stuck with combinations of Edge/Cena/Orton/HHH as potential Wrestlemania Main Events for the foreseeable future once HBK and Taker retiren(which can't be too far away). How depressing, especially considering how overdone all those combinations are.:eek:

This is what happens when you don't build new stars on a regular basis I suppose.

Discuss.

Interesting.

I don't remember a time when there were more than 5 top guys in one company at a time. I would include jericho in your combo as the top guys.

I do think WWE intend to create new stars and are in the process of doing so. New stars are all built over time. I don't think they would have had Jeff or Punk hold heavyweight titles if they didn't see a future for them. Why create a group like legacy if you don't intend to push both guys over time? Vince is no dope, he has the ability to create stars and i think the roster has potential for new stars to appear.

IMO if we are Expecting young guys to be able to live up to what taker and HBK can do without 20 years of experience we are asking too much.

At mania most of the matches were restricted as they had to further a story while hbk and taker was a just a go and steal the show match.

Bubs101

DM-ICE wrote: »

I don't remember a time when there were more than 5 top guys in one company at a time. I would include jericho in your combo as the top guys.

You could argue that there are no top guys in the company atm.

callaway92

Bubs101 wrote: »

You could argue that there are no top guys in the company atm.

thats going a bit ott tbf

flahavaj

callaway92 wrote: »

thats going a bit ott tbf

In fairness to Bubs he has a point. certainly from a drawing power point of view, there's no guy that they can currently put on top who's guartanteed to spike ratings like Austin in the Attitude era or Hogan before him.

callaway92

flahavaj wrote: »

In fairness to Bubs he has a point. certainly from a drawing power point of view, there's no guy that they can currently put on top who's guartanteed to spike ratings like Austin in the Attitude era or Hogan before him.

DM_7

Bubs101 wrote: »

You could argue that there are no top guys in the company atm.

I couldn't:p . When (Or if) i look back in about 8 years i would expect to rate the 4 mentioned and Jerico as top guys.

Nostalgia was mentioned in another thread and it makes everything look better so i honestly find it hard to compare todays guys with past stars.

If anyone is worried about what they perceive as a lack of talent they may well turn out to be right. Me, well i am happy with the level of talent on the roster at the moment.

callaway92

I think what sums it up is that they have brilliant talent but arent giving them the chance in the big time

flahavaj

callaway92 wrote: »

Apart from a small spike in Raw's ratings earlier in the year, not really. PPV buyrates would suggest he, like everyone else at the moment has little overall effect. Nothing they've tried has worked. Certainly nothing along the Austin/Hogan level I was alluding to anyway.

stainluss

None of the superstars in the WWE seem to get much of a reaction from the crowd anymore(VERY BAD SIGN). 70,000 boo's is better than indifference which is what the crowd seemed to been showing towards most superstars who were fighting. i was watching wrestlemania and the only big reaction was for stone cold, whos gone now. The only match which got a big reaction was Undertaker vs HBK (both of whom, lets face it, have not got long left in the business) HHH is still there, but he doesent seem to e what he used to be back when he was selling out crowds fighting the Rock. I can only assume he won't last.
Where are these new up and coming wrestlers who are going to take over?And this has nothing to do with wrestling ability. (look at hulk)
I think the large crossover rate between WWE and hollywood shows us that these men are muscular actors. Thats what draws the crowds.

I don't think its fair to say RIP WWE, because in my eyes the greatest wrestling promotion will always be the WWF (pre 2002/3). And that died along time ago (along with the attitude era).I feel like an old man talking about the good old days lol

callaway92

flahavaj wrote: »

Apart from a small spike in Raw's ratings earlier in the year, not really. PPV buyrates would suggest he, like everyone else at the moment has little overall effect. Nothing they've tried has worked. Certainly nothing along the Austin/Hogan level I was alluding to anyway.

In all fairness..This is a huge recession and buy rates are pretty good for these times

Minto

I have to agree. WWE has lost all appeal to me. I still keep an eye on Jericho and don't think he's had a bad feud since he returned. I think Hunter is stale, and have thought that since last year. I feel sorry for John Cena, I've really started to enjoy his work in the last month or so (when I started keeping up with WWE again), he works hard and has improved in the last few years. I do feel sorry for him as when WWE was shoving him down our throats he feuded with almost everyone, and now all his feuds seem stale.

From watching WrestleMania and RAW last night, I wonder why guys like Morrison, MVP, William Regal, Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger and Christian are not being used. Hell even I even find CP Munk entertaining now. It is criminal how these guys are kept out of the limelight and I wonder if Vince will ever see the light. WWE is going the way of WCW at the moment, great mid card guys and old main eventers. The scary thing is that if WWE ever goes the way of WCW and the Dodo, which I doubt will happen but if it does, there are no viable alternatives.

flahavaj

callaway92 wrote: »

In all fairness..This is a huge recession and buy rates are pretty good for these times

Cena was main eventing long before the recession hit and still he didn't have the level of impact on ratings i was alluding to. Also Hogan drew unbelievable numbers throughout the 80's which was pretty much a recession from start to finish.

Bubs101

Of their 2 face champs, one gets no reaction (Hunter) and the other gets a mixed mixed reaction (Cena). Neither of these are stars anymore IMO. Look at 12 rounds. Bomb.

Of their heels it could be argued that Orton is a star or at least approaching star level but he's being held back, should have won the title. Edge has no credibility because he cannot win a title by himself, always relying on others

callaway92

Bubs101 wrote: »

Of their 2 face champs, one gets no reaction (Hunter) and the other gets a mixed mixed reaction (Cena). Neither of these are stars anymore IMO. Look at 12 rounds. Bomb.

Of their heels it could be argued that Orton is a star or at least approaching star level but he's being held back, should have won the title. Edge has no credibility because he cannot win a title by himself, always relying on others

I fell asleep after 1 round

Rjd2

Bubs101 wrote: »

Of their 2 face champs, one gets no reaction (Hunter) and the other gets a mixed mixed reaction (Cena). Neither of these are stars anymore IMO. Look at 12 rounds. Bomb.

Of their heels it could be argued that Orton is a star or at least approaching star level but he's being held back, should have won the title. Edge has no credibility because he cannot win a title by himself, always relying on others

The one month title reigns are killing Edge to many to be honest. Jeff has that something, his feud with Orton in 2008 was hot and ratings did not drop when he was champ of SD. The problem he had like Punk he had the title for a brief time where he was not portrayed that strong and his title reign played second fiddle on their respective shows, when both lost their belts it was so anticlimatic it was kind of like Vince saying
"Ok children you had your moment, but its time for the big boys to have their toy back"

flahavaj

Rjd2 wrote: »

The one month title reigns are killing Edge to many to be honest. Jeff has that something, his feud with Orton in 2008 was hot and ratings did not drop when he was champ of SD. The problem he had like Punk he had the title for a brief time where he was not portrayed that strong and his title reign played second fiddle on their respective shows, when both lost their belts it was so anticlimatic it was kind of like Vince saying
"Ok children you had your moment, but its time for the big boys to have their toy back"

This is kinda my point. Now people are happy if a guy wins the title and ratings stay the same. What ever happened to the guys who boosted ratings? They seem to be a thing of the past. No one is a draw at the moment.

Bubs101

callaway92 wrote: »

I fell asleep after 1 round

Best sign since Shake Dem Ropes Batista

DM_7

flahavaj wrote: »

This is kinda my point. Now people are happy if a guy wins the title and ratings stay the same. What ever happened to the guys who boosted ratings? They seem to be a thing of the past. No one is a draw at the moment.

Wrestling is not a draw like it was years ago, neither is eastenders! When you compare the ratings to other shows they come up well. WWE produce 5 hours a week and its not possible to attract maximum buzz as a result. Its overkill. I picked up this thread as about the talent. The current ratings are nothing to do with talent. They are everything to do with a changing world. People who watched wrestling years ago have moved onto more realistic and violent programming like MMA. WWE can't compete with that.

WWE are trying to get kids into wrestling which is an area they can aim at to attract new fans. Thats why they have gone PG. Its no shock they went for their most controversial storylines in the weeks before mania, this is how they get older fans interest up once a year for mania. Rest of the time they have to try and attract new fans. Those new fans are the kids, thats why its PG.

flahavaj

DM-ICE wrote: »

Wrestling is not a draw like it was years ago, neither is eastenders! When you compare the ratings to other shows they come up well. WWE produce 5 hours a week and its not possible to attract maximum buzz as a result. Its overkill. I picked up this thread as about the talent. The current ratings are nothing to do with talent. They are everything to do with a changing world. People who watched wrestling years ago have moved onto more realistic and violent programming like MMA. WWE can't compete with that.

WWE are trying to get kids into wrestling which is an area they can aim at to attract new fans. Thats why they have gone PG. Its no shock they went for their most controversial storylines in the weeks before mania, this is how they get older fans interest up once a year for mania. Rest of the time they have to try and attract new fans. Those new fans are the kids, thats why its PG.

But they have everything to do with star power, which was the context in which that particular subject was brought up.

Jolt2007

I'd say quite a few of the ECW kids will do well. I actually have little doubt if there was an ECW title bout at Mania, Swagger v Bourne or Kidd (as long as it didn't have Dreamer), it'd easily be the second best match of the night. Them along with others already mentioned show the talent is there, it just has to be used right.

EireGunner

ECW needs to be killed off atthe draft, smackdown played down a bit and RAW needs to be bumped up to the main show and get the rating up, the live show RAW is the most important. There needs to be more unique characters, wrestlers like the bogeyman were used badly there needs to be a new ndertaker/papa shanko style character. The tag team division can be made stringer and they should look at the possibility of puttin a title like the hardcore title back on the market and use it in a possible 24/7 role again idea's like this can save the company.

rossie1977

^^^ i am sorry but save the company?? i didn't know they were dying

is the the same company that has just attracted 72k to a card with "no stars" :P making it the highest grossing pro-wrestling/mma gate in history??

is this the same company that continues to make big profits when huge companies in the states in all areas are now on the brink of bankrupcy (one of those companies being ufc's parent station casinos)

regarding flahavaj's point on ppv buyrates; there is no easy solution, WM19 featuring the 3 biggest drawing guys of the last 25 years hogan, rock and austin, still managed to have the lowest mania buyrate since before the attitude days, manias since then without those 3 have done well

personally i don't think wwe are too worried if they have no good workers as long as their top guys bring in money in tickets sales (live attendances) and are strong merch sellers. if they are in a pickle there is lots of good workers in the states they can bring in to fill the gap, its not like they are limited to what they have presently on their roster.

Bubs101

rossie1977 wrote: »

^^^ i am sorry but save the company?? i didn't know they were dying

is the the same company that has just attracted 72k to a card with "no stars" :P making it the highest grossing pro-wrestling/mma gate in history??

They're not dying but they should be growing. they won a hotly contested war to get a monopoly on the product and talent for years. Since then they've lost their monopoly and let their talent stagnate while leading to a growing disinterest in the product.

People didn't go for Hunter vs. Orton or the three way. They went for Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan. They went for Austin vs. The Rock. They went for Savage vs. Steamboat. they went for HBK vs. Razor. Most of the tickets were sold before the card was announced

chopperbyrne

How have they lost their monopoly?

All other televised wrestling put together hardly makes a dent on WWE ratings and PPV buyrates.

Bubs101

chopperbyrne wrote: »

How have they lost their monopoly?

All other televised wrestling put together hardly makes a dent on WWE ratings and PPV buyrates.

They're used to be no other wrestling show on TV, now there's a 2 hour one on a network that's more prominent than two of the ones the WWE and a monopoly is an exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market

rossie1977

Bubs101 wrote: »

People didn't go for Hunter vs. Orton or the three way. They went for Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan. They went for Austin vs. The Rock. They went for Savage vs. Steamboat. they went for HBK vs. Razor. Most of the tickets were sold before the card was announced

when people bought their tickets for mania in november 2008 none of them expected to see hogan or rock or austin.

WM23 and WM24 didn't have any marquee matches but look at the numbers they did before and after the card was announced.

flahavaj

There were tickets still available for Mania on the day of the event. It sold out but only just. In years gone by it was sold out within weeks of tickets going on sale

PPV buyrates will be down by at least 30% according to Meltzer's predictions. Why? Because its the same few names at the top of the card the last few years. People are getting bored, becaude there are no stars, no big draws and all the frsh match ups at the top of the card are gone and people know it.

Bubs101

rossie1977 wrote: »

when people bought their tickets for mania in november 2008 none of them expected to see hogan or rock or austin.

WM23 and WM24 didn't have any marquee matches but look at the numbers they did before and after the card was announced.

It sells on the name Mania, not the card. the reason it sells is because of the classic matches and Mania moments. And alot of them expected to see Austin

Bounty Hunter

tbh I agree with many others the future is only bleak if WWE dont change their policys backstage creative wise as the have the talent, for instance if Orton had gone over at Mania i doubt this thread would even exist.

flahavaj

Bubs101 wrote: »

It sells on the name Mania, not the card. the reason it sells is because of the classic matches and Mania moments. And alot of them expected to see Austin

And in addition sales are slowing down. WWE would like to you to think its not and trotting out figures like the biggest live gate ever would on the surfae appear to be healthy. But delve a little deeper and theres no doubt that interest is dwindling at a fairly alarming rate. Another few years of mediocre cards like this years and a lack of fresh names at the top of the bill and the decline will become more obvious. This was the first year in the last few that a non-wrestling celebrity hasn't been brought in (rourke and that aborted on-off storyline can't be counted) and its very worrying for vince that when asked to stand alone his roster couldn't produce.

flahavaj

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

tbh I agree with many others the future is only bleak if WWE dont change their policys backstage creative wise as the have the talent, for instance if Orton had gone over at Mania i doubt this thread would even exist.

Yes it would. Orton having the belt or not is largely irrelevant and miniscule in the greater scheme of things in terms of this argument anyway.

ShawnRaven

To me, WWE is surviving off a nostalgia trip, seriously.

All the second generation guys are depending heavily on living off their dad's name. The likes of Orton Jr, DiBiase Jr are talented, unfortunatley they're also limited. Not in ability but in what WWE will allow them to do! While Orton stinks up the main event with chinlocks, a nearly 57 year old Ricky Steamboat is ruling the school, 20 years since his last Mania match which was against Greg Valentine which was inches short of finishing on a time limit draw.

The problem is, and i've said it time and time again, WWE have no real competition, and as long as WWE adapt the "We're #1 so why should we try harder?" approach, it's not going to improve. Because they've no reason to, they know kids will tune in because kids won't particularly care about TNA, not to the same degree that they could even make a slight dent in the market.

Talent is useless if it isn't being showcased, and WWE are doing a poor job showcasing their current talent with the exception of ECW, which has been pretty much been their televised farm brand for the last 18 months. But one hour a week isn't going to make a vast improvement.

Vintage Collection is probably drawing better Nielson ratings right now! :rolleyes:

stainluss

ShawnRaven wrote: »

To me, WWE is surviving off a nostalgia trip, seriously.

All the second generation guys are depending heavily on living off their dad's name. The likes of Orton Jr, DiBiase Jr are talented, unfortunatley they're also limited. Not in ability but in what WWE will allow them to do! While Orton stinks up the main event with chinlocks, a nearly 57 year old Ricky Steamboat is ruling the school, 20 years since his last Mania match which was against Greg Valentine which was inches short of finishing on a time limit draw.

The problem is, and i've said it time and time again, WWE have no real competition, and as long as WWE adapt the "We're #1 so why should we try harder?" approach, it's not going to improve. Because they've no reason to, they know kids will tune in because kids won't particularly care about TNA, not to the same degree that they could even make a slight dent in the market.

Talent is useless if it isn't being showcased, and WWE are doing a poor job showcasing their current talent with the exception of ECW, which has been pretty much been their televised farm brand for the last 18 months. But one hour a week isn't going to make a vast improvement.

Vintage Collection is probably drawing better Nielson ratings right now! :rolleyes:

couldn't agree more, brother;)

Terry

flahavaj wrote: »

There were tickets still available for Mania on the day of the event. It sold out but only just. In years gone by it was sold out within weeks of tickets going on sale

PPV buyrates will be down by at least 30% according to Meltzer's predictions. Why? Because its the same few names at the top of the card the last few years. People are getting bored, becaude there are no stars, no big draws and all the frsh match ups at the top of the card are gone and people know it.

PPV buy rates are down?
Proof?
Metzler is not an all seeing god.
He is often wrong.

flahavaj wrote: »

And in addition sales are slowing down. WWE would like to you to think its not and trotting out figures like the biggest live gate ever would on the surfae appear to be healthy. But delve a little deeper and theres no doubt that interest is dwindling at a fairly alarming rate. Another few years of mediocre cards like this years and a lack of fresh names at the top of the bill and the decline will become more obvious. This was the first year in the last few that a non-wrestling celebrity hasn't been brought in (rourke and that aborted on-off storyline can't be counted) and its very worrying for vince that when asked to stand alone his roster couldn't produce.

Again you say that buy rate are down with no proof.
This is the same crap that put us in a recession in the first place.
Unfounded speculation that things were going to go bad.

We all want the attitude era back. It was brilliant.
The thing is, you need to build up a new audience in order for that to happen.
I doubt mammy and daddy flahavaj would have approved of you watching the Nitro girls* (god bless them) if you were a kid during that time.

Yes, wrestling can be lame these days, but that's just from an adult perspective.
In 10 years time that kid down the road who always wears the wwe jacket will want more than Big Show going Ugghhhhhh and he won't be alone.
We'll have the attitude era again. we just have to wait for it.
30 rock is the new Seinfeld.

*NSFW

ShawnRaven wrote: »

To me, WWE is surviving off a nostalgia trip, seriously.

All the second generation guys are depending heavily on living off their dad's name. The likes of Orton Jr, DiBiase Jr are talented, unfortunatley they're also limited. Not in ability but in what WWE will allow them to do! While Orton stinks up the main event with chinlocks, a nearly 57 year old Ricky Steamboat is ruling the school, 20 years since his last Mania match which was against Greg Valentine which was inches short of finishing on a time limit draw.

The problem is, and i've said it time and time again, WWE have no real competition, and as long as WWE adapt the "We're #1 so why should we try harder?" approach, it's not going to improve. Because they've no reason to, they know kids will tune in because kids won't particularly care about TNA, not to the same degree that they could even make a slight dent in the market.

Talent is useless if it isn't being showcased, and WWE are doing a poor job showcasing their current talent with the exception of ECW, which has been pretty much been their televised farm brand for the last 18 months. But one hour a week isn't going to make a vast improvement.

Vintage Collection is probably drawing better Nielson ratings right now! :rolleyes:

That's why he's the mod.

Bubs101

Terry wrote: »

PPV buy rates are down?
Proof?
Metzler is not an all seeing god.
He is often wrong.

Again you say that buy rate are down with no proof.
This is the same crap that put us in a recession in the first place.
Unfounded speculation that things were going to go bad.

He is the closest there is and he's half right, PPV buy rates are undoubtably down in America. there are some exceptions, No Way Out has turned into a money PPV but at the same time Survivor Series has gone down the ****ter. Worldwide excluding America they're up but that's due mainly to deeper penetration.

As for proof, nobody else is disputing it and I'm not wading through Observers to find some. Ever since the Invasion PPV buy rates for non marquee PPVs have gone down. Wasn't even aware that this was disputed, it shouldn't be. Meltzer might not be a god but he's without a doubt the foremost authority on the subject and if he says there down and you say they're not then you should provide some proof because Meltzer's word has alot of leverage and in all fairness yours does not

Terry wrote: »

We all want the attitude era back. It was brilliant.
The thing is, you need to build up a new audience in order for that to happen.
I doubt mammy and daddy flahavaj would have approved of you watching the Nitro girls* (god bless them) if you were a kid during that time.

Yeah but Extreme Expose were if anything worse than the Nitro Girls (I know the talent was better, still miss Brook). The problem is not building a new audience, they have that, Rey and Cena still sell the most merch. The problem is where on earth did all the fans go from 1997-2001. They dissapeared. If the WWE can get them back they're on the right track

Terry wrote: »

Yes, wrestling can be lame these days, but that's just from an adult perspective.
In 10 years time that kid down the road who always wears the wwe jacket will want more than Big Show going Ugghhhhhh and he won't be alone.
We'll have the attitude era again. we just have to wait for it.
30 rock is the new Seinfeld.

We won't ever have the attitude era again. Wrestling never had had that before. They built the product up for 50 years on safe angles and Terry Funk. ECW came along and inspired Vince. Since then hardcore stuff has been a mainstay and it will never get the shock value back. CZW is still fighting in car parks and even a serial killer would be shocked at the stuff they do. Unless you completely clean up the product for 10 years or so (which they are not doing nor will they) the attitude era can never ever come back.

What they should focus on is creating a new era, not recreating the attitude era. D-X and the NWO will never be back because the time won't be right. Try creating a group of gangsters. Hip-hop culture is massive these days, Cryme Time got no push and they got really over. Cena got over with a rapping gimmick. just try anything new, not the guy the company considers the next Austin going up against McMahon. Again .or Hardy vs. hardy again. Or Rey and JBL again .Same **** different year. Or Micheals and HBK again. Or Cena and Edge again. Diva cluster**** again. The only new thing they bumped of the card

Terry wrote: »

That's why he's the mod.

Seriously, heard it was through sexual favours to admins

EdK

A few points,

1. Assign developmental talent with a decent gimmick early in their stint so they can perfect it over time before they get to tv,as opposed to giving them a doomed one so they will be sure to be future endevoured
2. Give guys a chance many wrestlers are fed the creative has nothing for you line within weeks or months of their debut (not very ****ing creative huh?) then are released,at the current rate Flex Kavana would have been released in a day
3. Dont hire guys you dont ****ing want Dlo etc

Also on the point of WWE doing great numbers so why should they care? WCW did great numbers for years with a shoddy product and they didnt care, Where are they now?

DM_7

Bubs101 wrote: »

What they should focus on is creating a new era, not recreating the attitude era. D-X and the NWO will never be back because the time won't be right. Try creating a group of gangsters. Hip-hop culture is massive these days, Cryme Time got no push and they got really over. Cena got over with a rapping gimmick. just try anything new, not the guy the company considers the next Austin going up against McMahon. Again .or Hardy vs. hardy again. Or Rey and JBL again .Same **** different year. Or Micheals and HBK again. Or Cena and Edge again. Diva cluster**** again. The only new thing they bumped of the card

Thats a great point, they should focus on creating a new era. Cryme time and cena got over not only because of hip hop but because they stood out. As heyman said recently to many wrestlers look like they could of wrestled 30 years ago, priceless for example in plain black trunks and boots, boring. On the other hand guys like Carlito or John Morrison stand out as they look differant but they are not pushed.

redout

The Rock is still young enough to come back and be the top guy for the nearly the next decade.

ShawnRaven

redout wrote: »

The Rock is still young enough to come back and be the top guy for the nearly the next decade.

Only he doesn't want to. He announced he was done with wrestling years ago, with very little desire to come back.

ShawnRaven

Bubs101 wrote: »

Seriously, heard it was through sexual favours to admins

Between that and your awful Taker joke today. Come back when you're funny. Seriously!

Bounty Hunter

ShawnRaven wrote: »

Between that and your awful Taker joke today. Come back when you're funny. Seriously!

no it wouldent work if he was funny, his lame jokes are hilarious cos they are always packed full of comedic fail :pac:

ShawnRaven

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

no it wouldent work if he was funny, his lame jokes are hilarious cos they are always packed full of comedic fail :pac:

A very good point indeed. :pac:

Bubs101

ShawnRaven wrote: »

Between that and your awful Taker joke today. Come back when you're funny. Seriously!

I'd be quiet if I were you, there's an audio record of your "comedic brilliance":D

ShawnRaven

Bubs101 wrote: »

I'd be quiet if I were you, there's an audio record of your "comedic brilliance":D

Mine's more critically acclaimed
(publically defamed too, as a result!)

redout

I'm stumped. I dont see any real star draw in the company at the moment with the potential to be the next Austin, Rock, Hogan etc. If Cena is it then we are in for a pathetic next decade. A good wrestler but to nice guy in my opinion. I have been away since the invasion and after doing a recap on the past 6-7 years I really dont think I have missed much to be honest. Someone was mentioning bring back the Hardcore title and I think that good be a step in the right direction. Also dump the seperate entities gig and revert to the original way of Raw and Smackdown. Dump the the World heavyweight belt ffs. Confusing as **** having two champions. These moves could help things move in a more positive direction.

ShawnRaven

The hardcore title was a terrible move though, too many people were benched as a result of it. Ditch the ECW brand, we don't need 3. Keep the two with less titles (which is what they're aiming for anyway with the unification of the tag belts), keep RAW and SD seperate branded. It's good for morale in the sense that the locker room are on a lesser schedule than they would be working both sets of shows.

Ditch the PG rating. Kids were still watching during the attitude era anyway, the rating didn't make a blind bit of difference to their viewers.

Rjd2

ShawnRaven wrote: »

The hardcore title was a terrible move though, too many people were benched as a result of it. Ditch the ECW brand, we don't need 3. Keep the two with less titles (which is what they're aiming for anyway with the unification of the tag belts), keep RAW and SD seperate branded. It's good for morale in the sense that the locker room are on a lesser schedule than they would be working both sets of shows.
Ditch the PG rating. Kids were still watching during the attitude era anyway, the rating didn't make a blind bit of difference to their viewers.

ECW is good though less filler and its got a great roster. Its a great training ground for the young kids of the show.
I agree with keeping the roster seperate, people want the ikes of Punk and Morrison to break through? Well they get much less of a chance if they ended the split.

flahavaj

Terry wrote: »

PPV buy rates are down?
Proof?
Metzler is not an all seeing god.
He is often wrong.



Again you say that buy rate are down with no proof.
This is the same crap that put us in a recession in the first place.
Unfounded speculation that things were going to go bad.

We all want the attitude era back. It was brilliant.
The thing is, you need to build up a new audience in order for that to happen.
I doubt mammy and daddy flahavaj would have approved of you watching the Nitro girls* (god bless them) if you were a kid during that time.

Yes, wrestling can be lame these days, but that's just from an adult perspective.
In 10 years time that kid down the road who always wears the wwe jacket will want more than Big Show going Ugghhhhhh and he won't be alone.
We'll have the attitude era again. we just have to wait for it.
30 rock is the new Seinfeld.

*NSFW


That's why he's the mod.

In think Bubs has done a better job than I could ever do in dissecting and correcting the obvious flaws in this post so I'll leave it at that.:)