Save The WWE In Three Moves

[Just John]

Ok, it's been done before, I just wanna hear how you would 'save' the WWE from the huge pile of crap it is falling into recently. Oh and you can release however many people you want in one move.

1. Get rid of ECW, it confused the heck out of me and many others, mabye do the One Night Stand event every now and again but having its own show just requires various jobbers and/or old ECW members to be transferred away from potentually good fueds/storylines

2. End this D-X thing ASAP, it's nice to remember them, but don't bring it back and kill the legacy. Like Nowhere Man said,

"Because a balding middle aged born again christian and a son of a multi billionaire is very rebellious :roll:" or at least something like that.

Vince :heart:'s chicken? Avoid.

3. Cena. Not too much of a problem, I mean, he doesn't have to be fired, but a heel turn would be great. Even dropping the title for at least a month or so would be something, I just need a little break from the typical Cena to be honest.


Yeah, I dunno how well this would 'save' the WWE, but I'm pretty sure it would clean up the majority of crap.

[Pepsi Man]

How the hell does 2 "save the WWE"?

[The Naitch]

1. Turn Cena heel- He should start rapping in his promos again like in his early days. Old school Cena_style

2. Turn Vince McMahon face- Remember when Vince came back and took back the WWF from Shane/Steph/HHH to help The Rock beat Big Show to earn him a spot at WrestleMania 2000? Get rid of the whole face vs authority heel concept. It's played out

3. The Rock as General Manager of RAW for 6 months minimum

[The Naitch]

I got 1 more

1. Create the Burt Angle character. He'll be like Gillberg

[The Fear]

1-Hire new writers.

2-Don't give creative power to people who wrestle.

3-Focus on running and making a better product. Apposed to making cartoons of the boss's ass.

That'd definitely be a good start, IMO.

[M-A-G]

I just love how everyone tries to simplify these things. It's like a bunch of ex-WCW employees.

[addy2hotty]

1. 5 knuckle shuffle.

2. FU

3. STFU.

[Jordan]

1. Wrestlers have ability to do whatever they want. No more saving good spots for the main event.

2. Push wrestlers based on talent and realisim. (Kurt Angle, Finlay, Joe are very real, Cena is very fake when he wrestles)

3. End the brand split

[Nowhere Man]

3 steps really is over-simplifying an extremely complex problem. A lot of things about the product suck right now, and wrestling hasn't been popular in the mainstream for years, and there's at least a dozen people who could easily have the blame shifted on them. There's no easy solution to a difficult problem such as this, but if you must have an answer, here are the three major things I would do.

1) Come up with new main-event angles. For almost ten years now, there have only been two recurring scenarios for the World Title scene: babyface champion vs. evil authority figure and his cronies, or upstart babyface challenger vs. Triple H. Bring at least a half-dozen people to the status of potential-champion at all times, so we don't have to see the same 2 or 3 again and again, and give us something we haven't seen before.

2) Lift the in-ring restrictions. TNA is still a good ways behind WWE in terms of viewers, but a lot of what they're doing is starting to strike a chord, and it sure as hell ain't Russo's booking. There's a market for actual honest-to-God pro wrestling again, and Vince and his boys are largely ignoring it. WWE still has some of the best wrestlers on the planet working for them; if they're allowed to do what they're capable of doing, they could leave TNA in the dust for good.

This would also include an easier schedule, to avoid so many injuries.

3) Stop worrying about mainstream appeal. Wrestling has been out of the mainstream limelight for years now, and yet Vince is still begging for their attention. Bringing in C-List celebrities like Kevin Federline, pulling shock-value angles like the Billy/Chuck gay wedding and Katie Vick, exploiting the death of Eddie Guerrero, all done to appeal to a casual audience that stopped caring years ago. Quit grasping at straws and do what you can to keep the fans you still have.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Three steps can't really save the WWE, but I'll give it a go:

Firstly, turn John Cena heel. As a babyface, John Cena does more to turn people away than draw them in. Just have Cena shoot on the fans, saying how they don't appreciate his greatness. Have him point out he's good enough to be the WWE Champion, and there's nothing we can do about it.

My second step would be to drop the ECW concept. They have one-hour a week, they don't even do their own house shows. Some ECW reunion PPVs would be sweet, or even PPVs just booked by Paul Heyman using WWE talent, but can we just drop the brand? A lot of people will disagree with me, because the idea has shown promise, but it's taking a lot of time and energy on the WWE's behalf. The alternatives alone would be worth it:

Paul Heyman could replace Jerry Lawler as colour commentator. This would alone be worth it. Joey Styles could replace Michael Cole on SmackDown!, and Cole can focus on his WWE.com duties. This could lead to Velocity returning, and Michael Cole could do commentary with Josh Mathews for that show. This allows the WWE to fill in some much needed potholes in their roster. The Full Blooded Italians would be a great tag team. Jazz, Ariel and Trinity would help out the Women's Division. CM Punk would be interesting in the mid-card. Test could feud with DX. Basically it just helps strengthen both rosters.

The final step I would take, is unifying the Championships. King Booker as WWE Champion appearing on two shows, is going to be much better for the WWE long-term. Have Paul London & Brian Kendrick become the top tag team of the WWE, and have the Intercontinental Champion win the United States Championship, then appearing on both shows as IC Champ.

[Londoner]

1) End the roster split.

2) Pay more attention to mid-carders, they're just as important as the main eventers as they're the future of the show.

3) Bring the 'attitude' feel back.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

See, I'm totally against dropping ECW, as it's the only show I really enjoy. Maybe I'm crazy, but the matches on ECW seem to be far better than the matches on other shows (Both Punk/Knoxx matches have been good. Holly/Lashley was good, RVD Vs Test/Holly were good, etc. )

[Lock Jaw]

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3776/drhibbertcb6.png
Fire! And lots of it!

[UmbrellaCorporation]

1.) The

2.) Great

3.) Khali


I mean every word of it too. :shifty:

[Nowhere Man]

See, I'm totally against dropping ECW, as it's the only show I really enjoy. Maybe I'm crazy, but the matches on ECW seem to be far better than the matches on other shows (Both Punk/Knoxx matches have been good. Holly/Lashley was good, RVD Vs Test/Holly were good, etc. )

That's more to the merits of the individual performers, though, not to the brand itself.

[Pepsi Man]

That's more to the merits of the individual performers, though, not to the brand itself.
Honestly, as far as the brand itself goes, though, it seems to actually be more focused around the action in the ring, which allows for the "better matches", in my opinion.

[Jeritron]

1. I think fixing the ECW brand would be a wiser choice than just giving up on it. Theres enough talent and resources to make it work, they just have to use them more strategically.

I think they should have some kind of draft lottery in the near future, even if they have to wait until right after Mania.

3 brands, 10 picks each where they can secure a member of the roster from one other brand or resign an existing member. Non-involved superstars stay put.
Not saying it would be the best idea, just a thought for a time where things to need to be changed around.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

That's more to the merits of the individual performers, though, not to the brand itself.

Yes and no. Yes, because if two guys are willing to take certain moves, etc (CM Punk can probably do more moves to say, Knox, then he could to Flair)

However, like Pepsi man said, it seems like the guys on the ECW show are given more time to go out and actually have a match. Good matches need a build. I have a feeling if ECW goes, so will the quality of some matches.

[Innovator]

1) Vince steps down, someone else takes over, Shane, Steph, HHH, whomever

2) No more Hollywood writers. Writers who know wrestling should be hired.

3) No more nostalgia. No more DX. No more Rock. No more Hacksaw. Concentrate on the future of the business, not just the cheap ratings pop.

[Vastardikai]

Simple ideas:

1. Have a major focus, but not have it be the ONLY focus.

2. Add a show on network television like "Superstars" of old, where they focus on the younger guys and have the promos of the big name stars.

3. The WWE needs one thing more than anything else. It doesn't have enough of the following:

http://store.drumbum.com/media/cowbell-percussion.jpg

[Londoner]

1) Vince steps down, someone else takes over, Shane, Steph, HHH, whomever

2) No more Hollywood writers. Writers who know wrestling should be hired.

3) No more nostalgia. No more DX. No more Rock. No more Hacksaw. Concentrate on the future of the business, not just the cheap ratings pop.

:y:

Though i wouldn't mind seeing The Rock make a comeback.

[XL]

1) Improve SmackDown! -- My main thing to do (and I know this has been said and discuss around 7652072234 times in various friends). I'm not interested in making grand sweeping statements like "END THE BRAND SPLIT" as I think that'll do more harm than good. I also think ECW is doing fine at the moment.

It wouldn't be too hard. I'm not saying send DX over, I'm not saying send Cena back. They've got a fairly good roster as it stands. The following things could make SD! a contender to Raw:


Have McMahon show it some respect. I'm not talking IRL, I mean as a character. When was the last time he (or any of the McMahons) were on SD!? He spends months on Raw, he involves himself in one of the main fueds on the brand before going awol for a while. Having Vinnie appear on SD! at least shows that it's of some importance.
Very much the same as above. No one really returns to SD! If a wrestler goes out injured they will more than likely return to Raw for the shock value and to make the most of that initial 'return popularity'. Think about it...every time Hogan pops back for a top-up to his bank account where does he go? If and when Austin makes speradic returns you know where you'll find him. Should The Rock ever make a return to wrestling it'll be on Raw. Even useless legends like Hacksaw are pumped into Raw. Imagine the lift SD! would get if say Chris Jericho returns to SmackDown! Not only would it make sense as he was "fired" from Raw but it would be a fantastic coup for SD!
Establish a solid and competative Main Event scene. Build Benoit back up to ME status. You have King Booker, Batista, Kane, Undertaker as guys that are easily see as ME players. With the right push perhaps include Finlay. Mysterio could be pushed back up there (But I bet he comes back to Raw!). You Kennedy on his way up there. That looks pretty good to me. Especially if Jericho ends up there. Basically have a few guys vying for the top spot and make the audience believe that any of those guys could be champ at any time. Shit they had peopele thinking Mark Henry was a legitimate contender, it can't be that hard, can it?
Apply some attention to the Cruiserweight/Tag Team divisions. I know they do it every now and again in their own half hearted way but at least try giving it a prolonged attempt.
Drop the shitty 1980s, cartoon gimmicks. Although Boogeyman (some how) works, gimmicks like Jimmy Wayne Yang, Sylvan and all the other fluff can go. Hearing that the plan to bring Psicosis back as a "Mexican Revolutionary" with think Mexican moustache and chaps, I'm not surprised he stole a car and drove as far away as possible.


Think that's enough on SmackDown! really.



2) Quit the repetition -- How long were HBK and Vinnie Mac fueding for this year in some form? How long did teh Cena/Edge fued run? It's not necessarily a bad thing to have a long fued, but mix it up a little!

Look at Nitro/Hardy. How many one-on-one matches have the two had?

Granted the upcoming match on Raw will be a ladder match but it's getting a little silly now. Let's look at this weeks Raw...

Nitro vs Hardy for the IC Title -- a rematch from the week before and another title switch between the two.

Lita vs Mickie James for the Womens' Title -- a rematch from the week before.

Rated RKO vs Flair/Piper for the Tag Titles -- a rematch from the week before.

I'm starting to repeat myself as much as Raw does, so I'll stop.

(What was with the triple title change this week on Raw about anyways?? Was it to make up for booking a repeat show or a "present" for the UK as little ever happens when we host a Raw?)



3) I'm not really sure to be honest. Probably say let the guys go full pelt, no restrictions.




OR





Get rid of Cena:shifty:

[Jeritron]

Its not as much that they have to get rid of Cena as it is that they should just let somebody else hold the belt.
Shit, even at the height of their popularity Austin, Rock, Hogan, and Shawn didnt always have the goddamn belt. When they dropped it they'd be without it for a good time period before they got it back, thats the way I like it.

[Testicle]

jeritron5000 is right, why does the face have to have the wwe belt for every god damn minute

even austin and rock got pinned and lost matches(even clean victories by heels), but no, not cena, he is too good for thathttp://www.ringsidecollectibles.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/sg_72_autographed_photo_john_cena_5_knuckle_shuffle.jpg

[The Naitch]

1. Burt

2. Freakin'

3. Angle

[FourFifty]

Phase one- collect underpants.
Phase two-
Phase three- Profit!

[Jeritron]

I think the answer to my own question is that the fans actually liked those other top guys. They didn't have to be champion and be forced down our throats to stay at the top. They're afraid to give Cena a year off from the belt because he'll be quickly dropped by fans. Half of them boo him as it is.

Note to WWE... If only half of the devout fans of WWE like Cena, then hes NOT the next Austin. If you're not WAY over with the fanbase, you shouldnt be the top guy.

[Londoner]

Phase one- collect underpants.
Phase two-
Phase three- Profit!

:lol:

I think the WWE creative teams logic is similar to that.

[KingofOldSchool]

1. The WWE is not a sinking ship, it would've died a long time ago if it was.

2. The business is cynical, even if an angle or character gets over, doesn't mean WWE will get the ratings they got from 98-00.

3. Turning Cena heel will not usher in a new boom period, not even short term. None of us really know who will be the one to usher in a new "era" in the WWE.

[FourFifty]

1. The WWE is not a sinking ship, it would've died a long time ago if it was.

2. The business is cynical, even if an angle or character gets over, doesn't mean WWE will get the ratings they got from 98-00.

3. Turning Cena heel will not usher in a new boom period, not even short term. None of us really know who will be the one to usher in a new "era" in the WWE.


That's the smartest thing I've ever heard anyone say about anything!

[Mr. JL]

Well, if history serves to be correct. It is usually a competiting wrestling promotion that initiates the boom period, and then the WWF(E) gets backed into a corner and starts producing great quality wrestling and entertainment & takes over the boom period until every competing promotion gets run out of business.

[FourFifty]

That's the smartest thing I've ever heard anyone say about anything!

[Jeritron]

a one-shot occurence in history isn't neccesarily a proven sequence of events. Just because the WCW did what it did and the WWE reacted the way it did, doesn't mean thats what will happen again. Its not that simple.
And I honestly don't believe another company will get as big as WCW got. It was only because Ted Turner personally wanted to dump money into wrestling for his own liking, because he had plenty of it. Plus he had major television networks under his control.

Unless Bill Gates or some other billionaire decides they wanna be in the 'wrastling' business, and hire a worm and ask him "of all my billions of dollars and power, whats it gonna take to beat WWE", and they sign The Rock and Stone Cold and every established star, its not gonna go down the same way.

[Batsu]

1) Come up with new main-event angles. For almost ten years now, there have only been two recurring scenarios for the World Title scene: babyface champion vs. evil authority figure and his cronies, or upstart babyface challenger vs. Triple H. Bring at least a half-dozen people to the status of potential-champion at all times, so we don't have to see the same 2 or 3 again and again, and give us something we haven't seen before.

2) Lift the in-ring restrictions. TNA is still a good ways behind WWE in terms of viewers, but a lot of what they're doing is starting to strike a chord, and it sure as hell ain't Russo's booking. There's a market for actual honest-to-God pro wrestling again, and Vince and his boys are largely ignoring it. WWE still has some of the best wrestlers on the planet working for them; if they're allowed to do what they're capable of doing, they could leave TNA in the dust for good.

This would also include an easier schedule, to avoid so many injuries.

3) Stop worrying about mainstream appeal. Wrestling has been out of the mainstream limelight for years now, and yet Vince is still begging for their attention. Bringing in C-List celebrities like Kevin Federline, pulling shock-value angles like the Billy/Chuck gay wedding and Katie Vick, exploiting the death of Eddie Guerrero, all done to appeal to a casual audience that stopped caring years ago. Quit grasping at straws and do what you can to keep the fans you still have.

These are single handedly, the best ideas I have read in this thread.
These would go a long way to helping save WWE.

In #2, I'd add something along the lines of forcing creative to try a little harder to put back up the "fourth wall". Even if people know pro wrestling is scripted, they don't have to make it so blatantly obvious. There was a little bit of believability in things like Mike Tyson challenging Stone Cold Steve Austin... and I think it was that event that makes WWE think they can bring in K-Fed, and do all this other crap. People see K-Fed and just know he's gonna get F-Ued before he even does anything. That's lame.

[Jeritron]

"Originally Posted by Nowhere Man
1) Come up with new main-event angles. For almost ten years now, there have only been two recurring scenarios for the World Title scene: babyface champion vs. evil authority figure and his cronies, or upstart babyface challenger vs. Triple H. Bring at least a half-dozen people to the status of potential-champion at all times, so we don't have to see the same 2 or 3 again and again, and give us something we haven't seen before."


I agree with you that they need to do something fresh with the title scene and have newer better fueds, but may I ask whatin the past 2 years of either world title has resembled either of those 2 scenarios? Or on Smackdown since its inception as its own brand in 2002 for that matter?

[KingofOldSchool]

Well, if history serves to be correct. It is usually a competiting wrestling promotion that initiates the boom period, and then the WWF(E) gets backed into a corner and starts producing great quality wrestling and entertainment & takes over the boom period until every competing promotion gets run out of business.

Rock N' Wrestling wasn't born through competition, neither was the Attitude Era.

Those just happen to catch the eye of casual fans.

It breaks down like this 50% luck, 40% character, 10% competition.