What would get you back full time?

gimmick

From reading over a few threads here, it does seem that people are more than a bit pissed off with lax booking in WWE and are pretty much abhorrent towards TNA. So it is a simple question - what do you want in a promotion, be it TNA, WWE or whatever?

Personally, I think TNA is doing a decent job for the most part lately, but then does really stupid things like giving Foley the belt for no good reason. TNA has a decent womens division, which with a bit of work could be top class. It has a fairly well defined Tag division. The MEM storyline is very good and the addition of Joe was a masterstroke, especially in its execution. The X Division could be done a tad better to give it back its former glory.

WWE is so hit and miss at the moment I just do not bother. Now, half of that is due to the fact I cancelled Sky Sports for the summer months, the other half being how awful Raw has been for almost 3 years now. Idiotic bookings, pretty much no decent storyline outside the main events. Smackdown is doing a decent job alright.

So in answer to my own question - I would like to see, say WWE, have proper defined divisions with sensible booking, which we know they are capable a prime example being how they looked after the Jericho Mysterio feud. The emphasis has to be on the in ring product, not the backstage skits and promos. I would also love if they tried to make matches a bit longer. I really do not think a great match can happen in 10 minutes as everything would be too rushed.

flahavaj

Good thread gimmick bah, I'll fire up a postin a while.

Rjd2

ECW/Superstars/Smackdown are very wrestling heavy so the whole " their is not enough wrestling in WWE these days compared to the Attitude era is totally false".
More emphasis needs to be on character development, why are we supposed to like MVP and Morrison?

gimmick

Cmere, there was fcuk all (good) wrestlin in the attitude era.

I agree, the likes of ECW, SD and Superstars do a decent job on the wresstling side, but do they develop the wrestlers. Do they guys on these shows get good feuds going into PPVs? I do not think so really.

CMpunked

Puppies....

geeky

WWE:
Stop booking Trips like the terminator. He's a good worker, but they've rammed him down our throats so long that it drives me mad. His insistence on always being in the top spot is holding guys down. eg: Orton seemed amazing when he started out - now, they won't let him win a match cleanly.

Make the tag team titles mean something. Whether it's a lack of talent (don't think so) or neglect, one of the best divisions in the promotion is now boring as hell to watch. Very little in the way of serious storyline development, and minimal competition for the belts. For example, the hart dynasty - which I'm very fond of, btw, but haven't been on the main shows for long at all - got booked in a number one contender's match with Crime Tyme to face two singles wrestlers that are only carrying the belts as a "business decision". That doesn't exactly convey the image of a fiercely competitive division with top-drawer teams.

More new talent, more new talent, more new talent. The guys in the top spots are so stale it's simply mind-boggling. HHH, noted above, is only the most glaring example: Jericho and Rey, for example, are still great but they have their best years behind them. While the former has stayed fairly injury-free, he has other things he wants to do, and Rey can't have much more than two years left. In any case, most of us are truly sick of the same old faces.
WWE needs to start pushing the guys with real careers in front of them - Swagger, the Hart Dynasty, etc - rather than making them look weak. They could be doing worse at this (Kofi's getting over well) but McMahon used to be great at making new stars with a simple formula - lob lots of crazy stuff at the wall, and keep what sticks.


TNA
More matches. my fiancée and I watched an hour of TNA on Saturday, catching a grand total of 1 1/2 matches (the Joe-Amazing red one where Joe got disqualified after 30 seconds, and the very good Suicide match defending the X-Division title).
Less storylines that make no sense, or are just plain stupid. The 'title shot' suitcase works in WWE, but copying it over directly just looks like you can't come up with any original storylines. The line where they're insinuating that the TNA Champion somehow controls the direction of the company is too lame for words - Foley's dead eyes as he spouted that trip tell me I'm not alone. In general, they need to take Vinny Russo away - the promotion is being booked like attitude-era WWE, but without the stars of that period. In fact, publicly fire him on PPV. I'll tune in for that.

Rant over.

gimmick

geeky wrote: »

The line where they're insinuating that the TNA Champion somehow controls the direction of the company is too lame for words

To be fair, this is something which they have kind of copied from WWE, during the McMahon/Helmsley era, HHH as World Champ made all the decisions regarding title defenses etc.

It was silly then and it is silly now.

The Cannibal

Going back to one brand.

I feel that one of the factors of no new stars being created is that everything is far too diluted. You'd think that with more guys on the roster with far more shows to get over would lead to more stars than you ever had but it seems to work in reverse.

Remember when the old WWF only had 3 titles? There was a logical sense of progression and you knew who the ones to watch were.

Winning the intercontinental title used to be a big deal and the holder of the belt was perceived as a potential future world champion. Now he's just perceived as one of MANY belt holders that probably won't go anywhere.

Everything was more of an exact science then. Both Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart came from that science. They were in succesful tag teams, won the titles and then were split up and given singles pushes to test the waters. If that worked out they put the IC title on them to see how fans bought them as legitimate contenders. If that worked out you were put in with the big boys to test the waters, and if you held your own and showed yourself to be marketable, you ended up with a world title.

Now, they don't bother with tag teams. You might get a brief singles push if you're lucky. They'll wonder what to do with you and you'll bounce around the mid card for a while with no obvious sign of progression.

I guess the whole brand of ECW is the new Intercontinental title, and if you succeed there they shift you onto one of the main brands where is usually where the progress stops.

Handsome Bob

I don't ask for a lot, just good writing throughout the show. For some reason however this seems to be an impossible mountain to climb for wrestling promotions in general these days.

Bubs101

1 show. 6 hours a week can **** itself. Also, a review show shouldn't be more entertaining than the show itself

flahavaj

1. Meaningful characters. I don't just mean gimmicks, I mean that I'd love to see WWE put some effort into character development. They put far too little effort into explaining people's reasons for doing things these days. Take Miz and John Morrison for example. A hugely over act for a couple of years, thats then broken up by Miz attacking Morrison. no reason is given for te attack. We're now supposed to cheer for Morrison simply for that reason. We're given no reason to care about the guy, or get behind him. Consequently he's over to a certain extent, (which is mainly down to his own talent) but should be hugely over.

2. Westlers who can talk. Theres a huge lack of guys with decent promo skills on TV today. What ever hapened to weekly backstage promos and giving guys the quality time in front of a camera they need to become good talkers. if wrestlers can talk they can get themselves and their feuds overbetter. Instead we have guys like Kofi kingston that I've heard speak maybe once ever on WWE TV and consequently, despite his being a decent athletic wrestler, i couldn't give a sh*te about him.

3. Younger wrestlers who can work properly. Too many guys are being rushed up from developmental who are shockingly green in ring. These guys should be shipped off to tour Japan where they'll learn fast about a proper wrk ethic and gai valuable experience workig long matches where their skill in the ring will get them over more tha anything else. Another idea would be letting them work indy shows for a couple of years,givingthem a chance to learn how to work a crowd and develop their own unique styles and gimmicks.

4. Less PPV's and TV shows. Obviously this in't gonna happen as WWE wants to make money, but I'd love to go back to the days of 4 PPV's a year. At least they felt special then. these days PPV cards rarely even look that different from month to month and consequently are stale as f*ck. I couldn't even tell you the main Events of the last 3 WWE PPv's as they all blend into one these days.

5. Bryan Danielson. Sign this guy up at all costs for the love of God, Vince. I'd DEFINITELy watch on a weekly basis if he was on WWE TV. Now more than ever, with the likes of Benoit, Eddy, Angle et al off the scene, they need some super technical workers to fill out the mid card and have great matches with pretty much everyone. In fact put him training the lads in developmental wile they're at it. Ditto Alex Shelly actually, a superstar begging to be shot into the stratosphere.

6. Make the titles seem important. Make people care about the belts again. make the show revolve around them and te prestige that goes with holding them. Remember all those old Flair NWA promos where he talks at length about being the World Champion and what it means to hold the belt. Why does no one do this now? The belts are only a prop now, which is a disgrace.

Arra sure these are tired old points that many people have make a hundred times over I suppose, but they are all legitimate IMO.

Penn

gimmick wrote: »

To be fair, this is something which they have kind of copied from WWE, during the McMahon/Helmsley era, HHH as World Champ made all the decisions regarding title defenses etc.

It was silly then and it is silly now.

Yeah, but the key word in McMahon/Helmsley era, is McMahon. He had Stephanie, then Vince and Shane joined up with him too. And I quite liked that. Made the faces (namely The Rock) have a real uphill struggle to get the title, facing all odds, constantly being put in brutal unfair matches. Made the faces winning the title even better, because you've seen how they struggled.

Nowadays, HHH as the face just demolishes Rhodes and DiBiase while Orton either runs away or hits HHH with a sneak attack.

Thats another thing I want back, I want someone in the ring, with someone on the stage, taking the p*** out of each other or threatening each other. Setting up matches, and actually making people give a damn about them in the process

geeky

gimmick wrote: »

To be fair, this is something which they have kind of copied from WWE, during the McMahon/Helmsley era, HHH as World Champ made all the decisions regarding title defenses etc.

It was silly then and it is silly now.

That was more due to him marrying the bosses daughter, though, wasn't it? I mean, Austin and the Rock (or Mick Foley during his run) were never inexplicably controlling how the company was run. They could agree to title shots or insist on stipulations, but so could all champs. They seem to be pushing the line that, somehow, the TNA champ calls the shots in the company. It's never explained why that's the case, just stated as an article of faith. Stupid comic-book storyline, on a par with WCW's 'powers that be'.

Mr.Nice Guy

I'd watch full time based on three things...

- A more adult-oriented show

- The old guard moved away from the main event

- Logical booking (ie Heyman)

There's nothing remotely interesting about the wrestling scene right now in my opinion and I can't say I've missed it at all since I stopped watching. I'm amazed so many have managed to stick with it as I think it's so stale at the minute.

DM_7

Rjd2 wrote: »

ECW/Superstars/Smackdown are very wrestling heavy so the whole " their is not enough wrestling in WWE these days compared to the Attitude era is totally false".
More emphasis needs to be on character development, why are we supposed to like MVP and Morrison?

Charachter Development is so important. I think one of the big flaws is the lack of allowing guys come up with their own charachters. Using the development system is not good as far as I can see.

If WWE want to get guys under contract then they should sponser guys with the right Athlethic background and help them work in the indy's or japan. Let them learn about the business outside the WWE bubble. Look at Dolph Ziggler, I was shocked to find he has his 29th birthday this week. He is doing well at the mo but he could be an amazing star at this stage if he travelled more outside wwe.

I love smackdown at the mo as the roster is smaller but most guys are getting extra time where they are involved in mutiple segments of the show. All guys look important. Back to doplh, the last couple of weeks has seen him involved in the last bit of the show which makes him look important. When was MVP last involved during the last few minutes of RAW?



Also titles. Unify the world titles. In a time when rosters a small having one champ makes it possible to have the biggest star appear on two shows. The IC and US titles can have their importance increased. I think the unification of the tag titles shows the use of being able to have Jericho on Raw and Smackdown as required. Imagine how much Better RAW would be if Punk or now Hardy could turn up and fued with Cena or Orton. A guy like kofi getting the US title would feel important.

Penn

I wouldn't go so far as to go back to 4 PPVs a year or whatever, but knock at least 2 of them off. Years ago, it wasn't that there were less PPVs, so they felt important, it was that there was more time for fueds to be built up. Now, with so many PPVs and the brand extension, most fueds only get 3 or 4 shows before the next PPV. Whereas even around 2000 where there was one PPV a month, they had both Raw and Smackdown to fued over, giving 7 or 8 shows.

Either have less PPVs, or get rid of the brand extension. If they got rid of the brand extension, make ECW a 2 hour show so some of the lower-midcarders get some airtime.