ATH Quarter-final 4: Hashtag_heel vs D.Q

Bounty Hunter

time for our last quarter final to earn the last available spot in this years final four and to do so you have to best your opponent at a question submitted by Connemara man this time

Simplified version of the rules:

I will post a topic and you have to post your response including why you made that choice within a given time limit (before the next match is scheduled to begin), take care while making your responses however as the other contestant can counter your arguement i.e pointing out possible flaws in what youve said.

*you can only counter an arguement two times so make sure your point is worth making. If someone's defense of their arguement isnt good it will count against them.

*You can use the same answer as your opponent if you wish i.e you agree with their choice however its hard to win a debate when your making the same points someone has already made

see the OP of the main thread for further details or if any examples are needed check out previous years competitions.

Q: What would you do to reinvigorate RAW and Smackdown without using any main event talent ie no Cena Orton Punk and now Bryan I also include part timers like Undertaker, Brock and I suppose Jericho.

The questions in essence is how to make the midcard, divas or lower card relevant again? And so that it lasts as such.


after your first post: why would your choice be better than your oponents?

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so have at it and g'luck lads!

Hashtag_HEEL

A tough question to answer! Well I have a few ideas so creative better listen up!

Bring back the cruiserweight division and title



WWE has started hiring more and more small wrestlers. All of which can pull of the gravity defying moves that kiddies and aerial junkies love. While the main event scene will remain the same for the moment (as the question asks), new stars will be built. There's a fair few lads down in NXT and on the main roster who could really excite people on a weekly basis whether it be RAW or Smackdown. This will obviously last a fair amount of time seeing as most people love and respect the skill of cruiserweights and high flyers

Re-introduce the official brand split



I know that sounds odd as a way to help talent but in the long run it would. On each brand there would be titles (US=Smackdown IC=RAW DIVAS=BOTH CRUISERWEIGHT= BOTH TAG=BOTH)
Titles would mean a little bit more if they were "owned" by their respective brands. There would be no more Raw recaps on Smackdown meaning each wrestler is valuable to their brand. There would be separate PPVs too allowing Wrestlers to fight on their own brands. Cross promotional PPVS will be held to allow defences for dual titles. It gets over the importance of each wrestler to their brand too on the cross promotion shows. It also brings hype to the Smackdown VS Raw rivalry

EQUAL TIME FOR ALL



C'mon, three hours of raw each week! Give more time to the Divas (NOT TOTAL DIVAS) and the mid/lowercard. We don't need a 20 minute promo from someone with no mic skills. Each wrestler gets enough time both promo and match to get their character over and move the story across.

Start bringing up more talent who are capable



Sami Zayn, Paige, Adrian Neville, Corey Graves and others are stuck in Florida. It's a crying shame when you see that Khali and Santino are

having a singing competition on Raw next week

rather than building stars. Debuts are always exciting and fresh. Instead of letting talented people rot in developmental when they can clearly work well send 'em up to the big leagues. Even have them debut post brand split on Smackdown until they've proven themselves to be drafted to raw. It will get people excited and have the smarks watching something other than NXT.

At the end of the day WWE is becoming stale and boring in the mid card area. It's time to shake things up again!

D.Q

I believe that the whole system needs an overhaul. Two many talented wrestlers are languishing in meaningless feuds in the midcard with no prospect of moving up. Two many good workers are stuck in stupid comedy gimmicks. I would introduce a series of changes that I hope, would breathe new life into the lower card.

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Firstly I would introduce a ranking system based on wins and losses.Its rules would be as follows:

1)You can only challenge for the WWE title if you are in the top ten.

2)You can challenge for the intercontinental title if you are in the top 30.



This Ranking system would be transparent and up on WWE.com. It would be mentioned heavily on the programming, and a superstars rank would be added to their entrance graphic.

I believe this system would solve the problem of no one being interested in the likes of Kofi vs Alberto on RAW. In ring, those matches are quite good, its just that there is no consequence to any of it. The ranking system would mean every match matters towards something.

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My second change would be to bring back King of the Ring. This was always a great tool for moving midcard talent up the card and making people care about them.

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My third change would be to actually start writing angles for the lower card talent. This is what makes people care. Get them invested in the chgaracters and storylines. For too long lower card talent has just been there for the matches. I would have storylines, and consistent, logical progression of these stories all the way to the bottom of the card.

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My fourth change would be to cut RAW back to 2 hours. I believe that while the best intentions may have been had as far as giving the time to midcard talent, its just too bloated. People would invest more in a better planned, more refined product over the two hours.

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Hashtag_HEEL

Sorry for my tardiness! I was working late last night!
Let's begin

Firstly I would introduce a ranking system based on wins and losses.Its rules would be as follows:

1)You can only challenge for the WWE title if you are in the top ten.

2)You can challenge for the intercontinental title if you are in the top 30.

I remember TNA running a similar system back 2010. While it's a great idea in theory it turns to crap after a while. Companies tend to forget that they're doing this. You're also barring feuds. Were it to be run like a legit ranking system if you lost you'd go to the back of the line and you'd be one and done match wise. Yes, I know wrestling isn't 100% above board but in kayfabe terms Vince would have everyone think that it is a legit sport and that the ranking system is a-ok. Feuds need time to develop and could need more than one match. Sure WWE could learn from TNAs mistakes but realistically this type of system can't work in a fake sport, only real ones.

The ranking system would mean every match matters towards something.

Well, every match can mean something. In the case of my scenario involving brand warfare and inter-brand titles each person is fighting for their show and themselves. If they don't pull their weight or deliver (in Kayfabe terms) they're sent packing!

My second change would be to bring back King of the Ring. This was always a great tool for moving midcard talent up the card and making people care about them.

I haven't really got a problem with this idea. It could work. I think though it's too much work to build just one (maybe two) wrestlers. Also the prestige of being WWEs KOTR has gone down since many of the past few winners haven't done too well after it. Maybe a long way down the road but in the short term it doesn't do much unless the wrestler can capitalise on what they've done. The company need to be fully behind the winner straight after the tournament, and not stop/start them every so often.

My third change would be to actually start writing angles for the lower card talent. This is what makes people care. Get them invested in the chgaracters and storylines. For too long lower card talent has just been there for the matches. I would have storylines, and consistent, logical progression of these stories all the way to the bottom of the card.

You and I had a similar idea on this point. We just phrased it differently. I think everyone should get equal promo and match time to progress characters and feuds. WWE aren't the most favourable of their undercard as they're only their for filler until they're called up to something bigger. While it's a good idea I can't see it going too well. Your last point almost hinders your third as well. I'll explain below.

My fourth change would be to cut RAW back to 2 hours. I believe that while the best intentions may have been had as far as giving the time to midcard talent, its just too bloated. People would invest more in a better planned, more refined product over the two hours.

This is something people have been clamouring for since they added the extra hour. In your third point you want the undercard to be developed character and storyline wise. If you take an hour away of TV you're taking time away from those you want to help. People have always favoured raw over SmackDown. Building undercard feuds outside of Raw is like Píssing in the wind. Nobody will notice or care. Raw would be two hours and would be using the time as they did all along, building main event guys and leaving the rest to the Smackdown lads.

In essence all of your points are good and might work elsewhere other than the fed. Also some of your points aren't helping each other.

Bounty Hunter

Will be adding the poll later today, hopefully D.Q can get a rebutle up at least but this match up has already been running since the 17th and will need 2 days for the poll and will ideally be finished before Christmas.