3 hour Raw's starting in July...

[who knows]

are they really going to try to jam more crap into a 3rd hour...

[BigSexyHog]

are they really going to try to jam more crap into a 3rd hour...

more failed attempt at comedy to try and draw in more of a crowd....  Won't work.

[Hogwop]

I could see this working back in '97 or '98 when the roster was bursting at the seams, but it's going to be a complete failure now. They had better have some good young talent in the wings that we don't know of, otherwise what's the point? I don't need 30 more minutes of Brock Lesnar's lame ass promos or John Cena's ass kissing.

[hvsupastar]

Wasn't Nitro 3 hours at one point?

[Doug]

Yep... which led to their downfall.

WWE's grasping right now.

[dhornjr1]

I could see this working back in '97 or '98 when the roster was bursting at the seams, but it's going to be a complete failure now. They had better have some good young talent in the wings that we don't know of, otherwise what's the point? I don't need 30 more minutes of Brock Lesnar's lame ass promos or John Cena's ass kissing.

Yeah. This would have been awesome when they had The Rock, Austin, 'Taker, Triple H, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Kane, Big Show, The Road Dogg and Billy Gunn (New Age Outlaws), Ron Simmons and Bradshaw (Acolytes), The Dudley Boyz, Edge and Christian, and The Hardy Boyz.

THAT was a powerhouse lineup.

[Hogwop]

Yeah. This would have been awesome when they had The Rock, Austin, 'Taker, Triple H, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Kane, Big Show, The Road Dogg and Billy Gunn (New Age Outlaws), Ron Simmons and Bradshaw (Acolytes), The Dudley Boyz, Edge and Christian, and The Hardy Boyz.

THAT was a powerhouse lineup.

Don't forget about guys like Al Snow, Ken Shamrock, Shane, Vader, Owen Hart, British Bulldog and Golddust. Hell even Gangrel, the Godfather, Val Venis, and Hardcore Holly were good in their own right. The lower card guys back then were better than WWE's Mid-Card guys now. Half of those guys I listed would be better than alot of the guys hanging around the Main Event right now. Guys like Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, and Santino Marella wouldn't even sniff house shows back then.

[Boared Stiff]

Don't be so hard on Del Rio and Swagger. Hopefully Wight vs Cena does something. Paul is way too nice, and way overdue. He shoulda got a shot with 'Taker in his ('Taker's) prime.

[TomasPistola]

Yep... which led to their downfall.

WWE's grasping right now.

Somewhat disagree. Thunder is what killed WCW. Well, that and the AOL merger.

[dhornjr1]

Don't forget about guys like Al Snow, Ken Shamrock, Shane, Vader, Owen Hart, British Bulldog and Golddust. Hell even Gangrel, the Godfather, Val Venis, and Hardcore Holly were good in their own right. The lower card guys back then were better than WWE's Mid-Card guys now. Half of those guys I listed would be better than alot of the guys hanging around the Main Event right now. Guys like Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, and Santino Marella wouldn't even sniff house shows back then.

Yeah. I started to mention Al Snow, Val Venis, Shane-O-Mac, Owen Hart, Bret Hart, Jeff Jarrett, X-Pac, Chyna, Hardcore Holly and the Godfather. Those were all damn good performers who made you sit up and take notice.

[dhornjr1]

Don't be so hard on Del Rio and Swagger. Hopefully Wight vs Cena does something. Paul is way too nice, and way overdue. He shoulda got a shot with 'Taker in his ('Taker's) prime.

I never have understood why Show hasn't been THE MAN at some point in his career. He's not great on the mic and that hurts, I know. But hell, Angle wasn't the best ever at cutting promos and Triple H isn't the best, either.

I know Show was overweight several years ago and that pissed Vince off but there has to be other reasons why he has never gotten that push and sustained it. I mean, just a few months after first winning the WWF title he was relegated to doing impersonations of other wrestlers.

Does anyone else remember The Showster, The Big Showbowski, and Showkishi?

[Hogwop]

Don't be so hard on Del Rio and Swagger. Hopefully Wight vs Cena does something. Paul is way too nice, and way overdue. He shoulda got a shot with 'Taker in his ('Taker's) prime.

I think Swagger is pretty good in the ring and he has the look, he's just horrible on the mic and because of that he'll never get a proper push. He's fine as a lower/mid-card guy. I don't get ADR being in the main event though. He's just so boring and the heat he gets is cheap. He hasn't done anything that makes him worthy of a push over guys like Ziggler and R-Truth (heel). If you could combine his in ring ability with Ricardo's charisma you might have something.

Alot of people like to clown on him but I've always been a Big Show/Giant fan and I hope they let him have a dominant run something akin to Mark Henry last year. Paul has definitely put in the work over the last 16 years or so. I always thought he was under utilized. He's huge, powerful, and (especially when he was younger) deceptively athletic for his size. Sure he's been WWE/ECW/Heavyweight champ 4 times in his career and he's a grand slam champ, but he never had a really dominating run like he probably should have.

As far as Show on the mic goes, I think he's better than average. He's no Macho Man but he's a decently convincing actor. He can be pretty funny, I think.

[ThrillaHog]

Bad idea in my opinion.

In order for the three hour raw to work i think they should just end the roster split. WWE has gone completely downhill since they split into Raw and Smackdown.

[Hogwop]

Bad idea in my opinion.

In order for the three hour raw to work i think they should just end the roster split. WWE has gone completely downhill since they split into Raw and Smackdown.

Exactly. And even if they end the split roster they still don't have enough compelling talent to generate interest. This past RAW was pretty decent and it was 3 hours, but it was sort of a one off thing. It wouldn't have been near as good if Vince hadn't been on it, bringing Vader back etc.

[ThrillaHog]

Exactly. And even if they end the split roster they still don't have enough compelling talent to generate interest. This past RAW was pretty decent and it was 3 hours, but it was sort of a one off thing. It wouldn't have been near as good if Vince hadn't been on it, bringing Vader back etc.

I agree with all of that. WWE is really lacking star power right now

[Hogwop]

I agree with all of that. WWE is really lacking star power right now

Lack of competition is really killing wrestling right now. WCW was the best thing that ever happened to the WWE, it kept them on their toes. Right now they seem content with rehashing old story lines and it seems they've grown apathetic in their approach to booking. Wrestling is cyclical though, hopefully this is just a down phase like '92-'97 and not a permanent thing. They really need to start showing the faith in their younger talent, the Attitude/Ruthless Aggression era guys are getting on in age. Not everyone is Ric Flair wanting to wrestle til they die in the ring.

[Bebop]

Lack of competition is really killing wrestling right now. WCW was the best thing that ever happened to the WWE, it kept them on their toes. Right now they seem content with rehashing old story lines and it seems they've grown apathetic in their approach to booking. Wrestling is cyclical though, hopefully this is just a down phase like '92-'97 and not a permanent thing. They really need to start showing the faith in their younger talent, the Attitude/Ruthless Aggression era guys are getting on in age. Not everyone is Ric Flair wanting to wrestle til they die in the ring.

Yep. That and MMA. WWE is losing some of their demographic to MMA. I love wrasslin, but I would rather, due to the current lack of actual wrestling, watch a MMA event than an WWE event.

[PowderedToastMan]

It seems like they are stretching a two hour show into three hours.  With the exception of Raw 1000, the three hour shows have not been good. 

[Hogwop]

Yep. That and MMA. WWE is losing some of their demographic to MMA. I love wrasslin, but I would rather, due to the current lack of actual wrestling, watch a MMA event than an WWE event.

I can see that. The lack of wrestling on a wrestling show really gets me. I've seen RAWs in the past year that had, maybe, a total of 25 minutes wrestling, if that. Too many contract signings that take up 20 minutes and stuff like that. And of course Super Cena has to come out and pander to the crowd for half an hour too. Get down to the action!

[Eddie Goodson]

I've like the extra hour. The show is not rushed. They are taking their time now. I like it.

If I had a wish, I'd want to see Orton and Punk go wicked heel.

[Hogwop]

I've like the extra hour. The show is not rushed. They are taking their time now. I like it.

If I had a wish, I'd want to see Orton and Punk go wicked heel.

I dvrd last nights raw, I may try to give it a watch tonight when I lay down for bed. I can see the extra hour helping out with pacing.

I just really don't understand where they're going with all this. They've added an hour to RAW and they have a saturday morning wrestling show ( i think ). So declining ratings means 2 extra hours they have to fill? I mean, the roster is so small right now they basically had to get rid of the brand split just to fill out the 4 hours they already had planned every week, and now it's up to 6? Do they have a whole fleet of fresh talent they're hiding from everyone or what?

[Agent of Chaos]

I dvrd last nights raw, I may try to give it a watch tonight when I lay down for bed. I can see the extra hour helping out with pacing.

I just really don't understand where they're going with all this. They've added an hour to RAW and they have a saturday morning wrestling show ( i think ). So declining ratings means 2 extra hours they have to fill? I mean, the roster is so small right now they basically had to get rid of the brand split just to fill out the 4 hours they already had planned every week, and now it's up to 6? Do they have a whole fleet of fresh talent they're hiding from everyone or what?

Well, there were injuries and wellness suspensions, which definitely hurt. But as we churn closer to SummerSlam and the end of the year, we are definitely getting some big pushes for mid card guy to take over, specifically Dolph Ziggler and his feud with Jericho, and Tyson Kidd and his feud with the abysmal Tensai. Mysterio is back, Wade Barrett returns this week, the HHH/Lesnar feud is coming to an end, but I do hope Heyman sticks aroung. Now that R-truth is healed up, I'm sure him and Kofi will defend their tag titles against the cash money not-racist-at-all group. Alex Riley has been working hard and getting better, plus the Miz is back. Orton finally got unsuspended and beat the one man band, and I'm sure he's going to get in a useless feud because he is useless outside of the ring.

And of course, D-bry, Punk, Cena, Rock, Show, and AJ. All of their stuff is going to keep mixing over the next 3 months or so.

They are finally back at almost full staff, so I'm expecting some moves this upcoming RAW.

[spiritof92]

Vince McMahon has been the backbone of the WWE.  It's become obvious that he no longer has the Midas touch and no one (his daughter, son, or son-in-law) have it either.  The WWE roster is very shallow due to lack of character development.  Unless Vince's kids suddenly develop the ability to create larger than life characters or they hire someone that can, the WWE is doomed to peddling a mediocre roster of forgettable characters.

[Hogwop]

Well, there were injuries and wellness suspensions, which definitely hurt.

I'll admit, I forgot about some of the guys that were out. Even with those guys back the WWE still doesn't have a large enough roster to warrant adding 2 hours to their programming, imo.

Vince McMahon has been the backbone of the WWE.  It's become obvious that he no longer has the Midas touch and no one (his daughter, son, or son-in-law) have it either.  The WWE roster is very shallow due to lack of character development.  Unless Vince's kids suddenly develop the ability to create larger than life characters or they hire someone that can, the WWE is doomed to peddling a mediocre roster of forgettable characters.

I agree with everything you said. Like I said in another thread (maybe it was this one, hell I can't remember) when I was a kid wrestling had huge CHARACTERS. Guys that really stood out for one reason or another. These guys commanded attention and got it. It's all so cookie cutter anymore. It seems like they're afraid to push anyone with any individuality and the product hurts because of it.

[who knows]

as long as their still making millions of dollars they are not gonna change it...

[Agent of Chaos]

as long as their still making millions of dollars they are not gonna change it...

Millions of dollars! Millions of dollars!

[BigSexyHog]

They got to stop this rybeck guy.  The big muscled up white guy with the "winning streak" is so played out and his chant of Feed Me is the worst ever....

[Agent of Chaos]

They got to stop this rybeck guy.  The big muscled up white guy with the "winning streak" is so played out and his chant of Feed Me is the worst ever....

I'm just personally very happy for Ryan, he is an awesome dude and very obviously has worked incredibly hard to get to where he is. They're getting him over(and punishing JTG for his twitter rant last week, lol) but I have a feeling he's going to become a serious enforcer if he can loosen up in the ring. He's very stiff, and somewhat dangerous in his style, but I love his intensity, and his hype up arm movements, and the head bob to his own music.

\O

O/

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[who knows]

was glad to see Y2J go face...

[Agent of Chaos]

was glad to see Y2J go face...

Yeah, but he's leaving after summerslam, probably until at least the Rumble if not Wrestlemania. Stupid talented Jericho and his stupid popular band.

So he's going to lose to Ziggler, which is fine, but when he comes back, he needs to have a title run or something, cause I don't think he's won an important match in 2 years.

[Hogwop]

Yeah, but he's leaving after summerslam, probably until at least the Rumble if not Wrestlemania. Stupid talented Jericho and his stupid popular band.

So he's going to lose to Ziggler, which is fine, but when he comes back, he needs to have a title run or something, cause I don't think he's won an important match in 2 years.

Def. agree with them needing to give Y2J a title run when he gets done touring with Fozzy. He's done his duty and help put over the younger talent, now it's time to let him have another run with the belt

[Agent of Chaos]

Def. agree with them needing to give Y2J a title run when he gets done touring with Fozzy. He's done his duty and help put over the younger talent, now it's time to let him have another run with the belt

Agree completely, he's probably in my top 3 favorite wrestlers of all time, and I'd love to see him sign an actual contract and dedicate himself to it for at least 8 months and give it one final go, to solidify him with some of the younger fans as a legend, so he can keep putting people over for a few more years. Him and Kane, man. They have been so great for the company this past year.

[Hogwop]

Yeah I think Kane goes under appreciated alot of time. But year in year out he's there preforming at a high level and he always helps get younger guys over

[who knows]

just wish Jericho would grow his hair back out...when he told vicky guerrero to shut the hell up..I busted out laughing...

[Agent of Chaos]

Yeah I think Kane goes under appreciated alot of time. But year in year out he's there preforming at a high level and he always helps get younger guys over

From what I understand, he's one of the safest wrestlers in the game, which is why he's always on the card the week before a PPV, because he's not going to hurt someone.

Plus, there's this picture.

just wish Jericho would grow his hair back out...when he told vicky guerrero to shut the hell up..I busted out laughing...

I do miss the mane that Jericho used to have, but i'll trade the hair if he keeps the jacket haha.