WWE has painted themselves into a corner

[Hootiethehog]

I originally liked the Daniel Bryan versus corporate angle, but the longer they draw this out, the less people will care about Bryan who is about as over as a wrestler could be. Something interesting has to be building with the Big Show angle or this is all for nothing and they completely wasted Bryan's push and a great villain in Randy Orton.

I've become a fan of CM Punk this year, but again, they're drawing it out too long. Let him get his vengeance against Heyman and let him get back in the title picture, which currently consists of a whopping two contenders.

I actually liked the Rhodes family angle, but it was too obvious that they would win. They needed to build suspense a bit.

The mid-carders are buried and will never be allowed to rise above, which is a mistake. There are some great characters out there (Dolph Ziggler, the Wyatts and as much as I hate to say it, the Shield).

Speaking of the Wyatt Family, talk about being underutilized. And what happened to Kane?

The mid-carders that are getting a ton of air time are boring as hell. Alberto del Rio, Damien Sandow, the Real Americans and a few others are all acts that I could do without. I usually find something else to do when theyre on screen. Like with the great Khali or any of the Divas. Why do they even try with the girls?

There are so many ways the WWE could improve, but those in charge are so far removed from what the fans want to see and what is smart and clever that it may never be fixed or even come close to the glory days of the 90s.

Back in the day what made the WCW so interesting was you never could take a match off as a fan (unless it was Goldberg). A title could change hands on the Monday show and sometimes even the Thursday show. If a guy with a title was in a match, that title was on the line.

Now, RAW only exists to start or further a storyline and rarely is there a well-conceived match. Even the PPVs are having non-title matches, which is an insult to those buying them.

The WWE has painted itself into a corner with no way out with its current feuds. Once upon a time it was fluid. As one feud ended, another one or two would splinter off and intermingle until the original was over. The WWE has left itself no outs with anything currently going on. After the next PPV, they will either keep limping with the same ones that are well past their expiration date or they will have new ones come out of thin air that won't really make sense.

I think they can fix it, they just have to put their egos aside and be smart with the booking and feuds, but the powers that be are incapable of doing that now.

[hvsupastar]

WWE has turned a lot of chicken salad into chicken stuff over the past two years or so.

Having Lesnar return to lose his first two matches, cooling zigglers jets after cashing in... 

[Dr. Starcs]

If the 'attitude era' would make any attempt of a comeback, I'd start watching again.

Agreed about the divas. If its not a bikini contest, nobody's watching.

[pigture perfect]

It's sure not what it used to be.

[Richard_white]

The good thing about the WWE is that the main audience for their shows are the age of diaper-10 years old.

The days of old (Attitude era is long gone).  There is only a few that would hold any credibility of the Attitude era.

Righ now the WWE is playing it safe.  They have nothing but what you read on shampoo directions.  Rinse, lather and repeat.

[hvsupastar]

I don't think it has to be attitude not to suck, even though that was the high point. I just think it's too scripted and poorly scripted at that these days

[HogScoutMaster]

I guess I dont see what everyone else see's in Ziggy.

havent paid much attention to the Wyatts either.

[Pulled(PP)pork]

the introduction of the new tag team consisting of glorified bull fighters says all it needs to with me....it's still crap.


PP

[Hootiethehog]

Yeah, the bull fighter guys are an awful gimmick, not to mention it takes 10 minutes from the time their music starts until they get to the ring and the little guy in the bull outfit jumps all over the ring for no apparent reason. And they make damn sure we don't miss a second of that riveting television, but they will go to a commercial in the middle of a match. Nah, matches aren't important, but god help us if we don't see every moment of the los matadores ring entrance.

[DeltaBoy]

I only watch it about every 6 months or so.  I miss Mid-South!

[Eddie Goodson]

I guess I just don't see the same show some of you do. Internet wrestling fans are a miserable lot. Nothing is ever good enough.

I like and fully see where Bryan/Orton is going and I like it. My guy is the top face in the company and in main events. Big Show/HHH now makes sense to me and when  the whole thing culminates in Vince returning to the chaos, he will enter a fued with HHH and Steph.

I am especially happy that the top of the card isn't dominated by a bunch of men passed their prime. I see a solid pipeline of some good talent cutting their teeth and getting better. Sandow, Ziggler, the Wyatts, Cody, Del Rio, and half a dozen others are all assending. They're no where near their prime and will step up when their turn comes. Wrestling is all about cycles and change. These guys time will come.

[SwinerBock]

So question....   with the G-rated fare that the WWE has been putting out (and for that matter, TNA), is there room for an organization that is a little more hardcore?  Or are the days of seeing blood in a wrasslin match on TV long gone?

[hvsupastar]

Is there room for it, yes. But as soon as that starts to get over, WWE would go in that same direction. Exactly like it happened with ECW

[Eddie Goodson]

So question....   with the G-rated fare that the WWE has been putting out (and for that matter, TNA), is there room for an organization that is a little more hardcore?  Or are the days of seeing blood in a wrasslin match on TV long gone?

You must have missed that Kenny King match a couple weeks ago on TNA from LR. He bled like he had his throat cut. I thought they were going to have to stop it for a minute.

I just don't think you'll ever see it again. The extreme violence was one of the things that doomed ECW from ever getting a big time TV deal.

[Richard_white]

So question....   with the G-rated fare that the WWE has been putting out (and for that matter, TNA), is there room for an organization that is a little more hardcore?  Or are the days of seeing blood in a wrasslin match on TV long gone?

There is no need for blood or hardcore matches in the WWE.  WWE would turn it into a joke like they did towards the end of their hardcore era.

The WWE has a couple of problems. Competition and direction.  I don't care if they ever go back to attitude but their storylines repeat anf repeat time again.  Character development is another problem. Why would they rush Cena back if we have two top faces?  Cena needs to stay out of the stoyline to keep Daniels on top.  Which I don't understand. CM Punk will fued with Heyman for another month or two.  Don't make sense.  Don't get me started with Brock. No credibility with him showing up every 4-5 months. Royal Rumble? That makes sense like Goldberg vs Lesnar at Mania. They had to put SCSA as special referee to help make us care for it.

Don't get me wrong, WWE has some talent. But the direction and story development is far from what is was.

[TheRazorback500]

I only watch it about every 6 months or so.  I miss Mid-South!

This^^ Watts and JYD were WRASSLERS!

[hvsupastar]

There has been good story lines. Paul Heyman, CM Punk, and Bryan have been making it watchable. I need to see more prime time players, wyatts, ziggler, the Rhodes and less bull fighters, Alberto del Rio, miz..... I wish I could be the booker

[Hootiethehog]

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the product, but they just keep hammering the same storylines over and over again, well after the feud would normally have been over in the older days.

Just look at the top two matches for hell in a cell, Bryan-Orton and Punk-Ryback. What was the point of battleground then? Maybe they should scale back the PPVs to every other month to where they are actually an event you HAVE to see.

I will say that seeing the Big Show finally deck HHH was very satisfying. Only thing that could have made it better is if he would have worked in a chokeslam on HHH or even Stephanie when she was slapping him. But hey, at least he's not crying at the drop of a hat anymore. Hard to take someone seriously as a threat when they're constantly weeping.

[Eddie Goodson]

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the product, but they just keep hammering the same storylines over and over again, well after the feud would normally have been over in the older days.

Just look at the top two matches for hell in a cell, Bryan-Orton and Punk-Ryback. What was the point of battleground then? Maybe they should scale back the PPVs to every other month to where they are actually an event you HAVE to see.

I will say that seeing the Big Show finally deck HHH was very satisfying. Only thing that could have made it better is if he would have worked in a chokeslam on HHH or even Stephanie when she was slapping him. But hey, at least he's not crying at the drop of a hat anymore. Hard to take someone seriously as a threat when they're constantly weeping.

You will NOT be seeing men hitting on women anymore on WWE or TNA. Not on TV. Won't happen. We are living in a different time. Those days are long gone.

Big Show has been outstanding the last two months. My wife hates wrestling and even she said Big Show is very good at what he has been doing recently.

I don't know what some want anymore. Some hate El Torito. Shoot, I think he's awesome. He's new. He's different. I don't know why people don't like the comical aspect some bring. Santino is one of my favorites. He is over the top ridiculous but he can actually wrestle. The WWE has always has someone to fill that Court Jester role down through the years and he does it well. The snake charming stuff a couple weeks ago was so absurd it was funny. I laughed out loud. The wife came in the living room wanting to know what was so funny and saw it. She shook her head and laughed at the silliness of it and stood there and watched for several minutes afterwards. She stood there and watched. It accomplished the goal.

[hvsupastar]

Pay Per View scale backs could improve the product but it would probably lower the bottom line

[Richard_white]

I don't like the product because I can't let go of the attitude era.  I don't like the product because it reeks with predictability and too washed down for me.  There are some moments of polished matches that tells a story during their matches .  For instance, Daniel Bryans vs Randy Orton first ppv match. Great wrestling by both that sold that match.  This past Sunday night, not so much.  Not a bad match but not as good as their first match.  CM Punk vs Brock. I couldnt buy into it because Brock was gone back to his farm right after their match. No credibility or substance but just a filler on a ppv card.  I'm a big Lesnar fan by the way.

There is a couple storylines I like. The shield is one. They remind me of the NWO. I hope they stick with that for awhile.  And lastly I like the most is the Wyatt angle.  Bray needs a little work in the ring but in time I believe he will be pushing main event status. He just needs to follow the buzzards.....

For me there is hope that WWE will have a product I like as of a whole. But right now it's on the blah side or turn it off and watch some great matches on youtube.

[HogScoutMaster]

I'm just glad I have a DVR so I can fast forward through the crap

[Hootiethehog]

You will NOT be seeing men hitting on women anymore on WWE or TNA. Not on TV. Won't happen. We are living in a different time. Those days are long gone.

Big Show has been outstanding the last two months. My wife hates wrestling and even she said Big Show is very good at what he has been doing recently.

I don't know what some want anymore. Some hate El Torito. Shoot, I think he's awesome. He's new. He's different. I don't know why people don't like the comical aspect some bring. Santino is one of my favorites. He is over the top ridiculous but he can actually wrestle. The WWE has always has someone to fill that Court Jester role down through the years and he does it well. The snake charming stuff a couple weeks ago was so absurd it was funny. I laughed out loud. The wife came in the living room wanting to know what was so funny and saw it. She shook her head and laughed at the silliness of it and stood there and watched for several minutes afterwards. She stood there and watched. It accomplished the goal.

Oh, I freaking love Santino! Whenever he comes out from the powerwalk to him inexplicably getting the win, I love every second of it. He is a great wrestler and knows how to play the jester role perfectly.

I didn't like him too much when he first started (before he turned funny), but since the turn to goofball, he has been one of my favorites.

As far as the comment about less PPVs lowering the revenue, that is 100% true, which is why it will never happen, but a PPV is no longer a special event. Battleground was basically just RAW without commercials, nothing extra about it.

I'm loving where they're going with the Big Show and oddly enough I like the Shield (it took me a while, but I like what they do).

As for the Los Matadores and el Torito, it's just too over the top. I probably could have been able to stomach the stupid gimmick of the bull fighters if it hadn't been for el Torito running around acting like a bull. Mark my words, he will eventually trip on that tail as he's springboarding around the ring.

My biggest complaint is they are running angles into the ground, to the point where a lot of people no longer care about the outcome. The Bryan-Orton feud is getting to that point. Three straight PPVs (four if you count where Orton cashed in), these two will be in the ring against each other for the title.

One good thing I can say for the current WWE is that they no longer use wrestlers that are way too old to be in the ring and still be considered credible (Hogan, Flair, Funk, etc.). Sure some of them still look good in the ring (Flair), but the suspension of disbelief is gone when one of the legends goes up against anyone on the current roster who is in their prime.

I like a lot of what I see, but I know it could be so much better, and it has nothing to do with being stuck in the Attitude Era (I was a WCW guy during that time).

And Big Show didn't necessarily have to choke slam Stephanie, since that is evidently not PC in wrestling of all places, but a good threat to her while she was attacking him or even stopping her from wailing on him would have really intensified the upcoming feud between Show and HHH.

[Craig O Squeal]

I thought El Tostitos was actually Hornswoggle in a bull outift?? How many midgets do they have on the roster?

[Hootiethehog]

They've done much better recently and they have me intrigued as to which way everything is going to go. Though I'm not a fan of having Cena back and thrust back into the top storylines.

[Eddie Goodson]

Zeb Coulter promo on Raw tonight=awesomeness

[Hogwop]

They've done much better recently and they have me intrigued as to which way everything is going to go. Though I'm not a fan of having Cena back and thrust back into the top storylines.

But...but...John Cena/Del Rio is must see television

2 of the dullest wrasslers I've ever seen

[SwinerBock]

Just out of curiosity, why the heck have they pulled back on the Dolph push? 

[Eddie Goodson]

Vince does not think Dolph puts butts in seats. Simple as that.

[Big Papa Satan]

I don't like the product because I can't let go of the attitude era.

Reminds of something I witnessed earlier this year at earlier this year at a LR event.  Jericho was talking to someone in the ring and made the comment "Uh, yeah, you can't say that, this is PG."

A guy down a row from my seat yelled out "Bring back the Attitude Era!" 

Quite a few adults cheered.

Half the crowd - which consisted of kids the age of 10 and under - had puzzled looks on their faces.

[spiritof92]

WWE's PPV formula for suckcess:

1) Have two guys wrestle each other one and one every week on Raw and/or Smackdown.

2) Have two guys wrestle one another in various tag team combinations every week on Raw and/or Smackdown.

3) Have them repeat the same promos word for word regarding the feud on every episode of Raw and Smackdown and then replay it another 3 times per episode to makes sure we heard them.

4) Have a craptastic PPV.


The Orton/Bryan storyline has been the worst.  As much as people hate on the Big Show, I'm just happy it's not going to be the aforementioned two wrestling again. 

[spiritof92]

1) Have two guys wrestle each other one and one every week on Raw and/or Smackdown.

2) Have two guys wrestle one another in various tag team combinations every week on Raw and/or Smackdown.

The Orton/Del Rio and Ziggler/Ambrose feuds were the worst regarding overexposure.