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Root of the problem(s)?
Love WWE or hate it currently, even with the financial and industry status, I think there's no doubt that WWE has some serious problems that need to address. Poor writing, lack of consistent creative direction, suspension of Jericho for doing a common heel tactic, release of AW for a poorly chosen joke, lack of creating new popular superstars and characters, these are some of the problems I think they're having. My question is what is the root cause of these issues?
Is it the fact that the company is publicly traded and now more worried about shareholders, sponsorships, partnerships and public perceptions? Is it Vince losing his faculties, management abilities or something else? Is it the fact that WWE is now focusing on too many other things, movies, their network, social media, etc.? Is it Linda McMahon's political and career ambitions (either direct or indirect) negative influence? Or is it some combination of the above? Personally, I thinks it's a combination of all the above. However, I believe it's really all poor management by Vince, as he could and should, as CEO, deal with and solve the other causes and issues. Whether it's intentionally his fault or not, it is ultimately, Vince's fault and responsibility. I think he's losing his touch or effectiveness as a manager and executive. I'm curious to know what do you guys think. Thoughts? |
Shit writing, lack of direction and no concept of long term character development.
It all pretty much revolves around writing I guess. It's not even just bad writing... the writers literally don't seem like they even try. They write a few boring pain by numbers storylines and then fill PPVs with three filler matches that could easily be seen on free TV. |
^ that right there ^
I mean, if you had to try to point out ONE thing out of all initally listed. Having "creative teams", and two* shows, you would think they could have some sort of divisional umbrella of people in charge of certain aspects. For example, instead of merely a circle jerk of people in a room deciding the fate of the 5 people the head writer can be assed to remember, how about one focusing on the main event picture, somebody making sure the midcard has something to do, someone taking care of the show openers, etc. Also, they too often do the obvious. The obvious is fine in most cases, but it's pretty tireless in their case. They're the opposite of TNA, where creative tries to swerve everyone with damn near every angle on a bi-weekly basis. I know this will make me sound like tireless internet fanboy living in the past, but this was one of the beauties of ECW: interconnected storylines. Taz vs. Shane Douglas or Raven vs. Dreamer were huge collaborations that led to matches between people even associated with the two in the primary feud. This is a cue WWE could take from their aquired archive instead of just saying "you know what, long term booking is hard" and just refusing to do it. |
Incompetent writers in terms of long term stuff combined with the WWE is basically afraid of elevating anyone else to the level of Cena for the long term.
In terms of having an equal to Cena, Orton has been the closet but even he could not reach the same status nor was the WWE able to really recreate the Stone Cold vs Rock rivalry they wanted. In terms of long term stuff, the writers tend to ruin anything that might be great after a while because of general incompetence. The WWE is also to blame for being too reliant on Cena to the point it hurts everything else. Instead of letting things develop gradually, they pull the plug too quickly and just make everything about Cena again because of how huge the youth market is tied to him. |
Orton has been booked amazingly well at times too. But it's mainly been on Smackdown where there's a ceiling now for how over someone can truly get. Plus the wellness issues don't help.
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Hey, if you can write shit, week-in week-out, and get 4-5 million viewers, why not?
I'm not saying I think this is a good thing, but needs to be addressed? Nah. What incentive do they have to push for anything competent? |
Simple, it's Linda's campaign.
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Shitty writers are responsible for making it a SHITTY PG product. PG does not automatically equal bad. |
I feel a strong desire to shit in Lindas shoes right about now.
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I've been a wrestling fan for nearly 25 years, and I've seen a lot of ups and downs over the years, and right now, I believe WWE is at their lowest point so far, because of, like BigCrippy says, a combination of several things and Vince is getting up there in age. I believe it's almost time for him to step down and let The Game take over. I know my main man James Steele can't wait for Hunter to take over.
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WWE just has shitty writers and whenever they manage to do something interesting its a safe bet itll be ruined or forgotten a week later but they don't have to care because they are pretty much the only show in town it would take a mass exodus of fans to see them truly start to care about the product. To me it looks like the WWE is so focused on expansion that theyve neglected the very thing that brought them to the dance. I mean they spend more time promoting tout, twitter and whatever the hell else I could care less about than they do the matches in the ring |
A serious lack of risk taking in developing storylines, booking matches, executing outcomes and transitioning feuds are some things that have been hurting them for years. It's not entirely PG/Linda's campaign, but it definitely has something to do with it. One thing that I liked about the product 10 years ago is that in special gimmick matches like Hell In The Cell, Street Fight, No DQ, etc... there was an emphasis on the fight & not the "entertainment." I always thought that they over did the blading from time to time, but in those matches, blood tells the story (even fake blood if need be). At the same time (or on the same show), the wrestling matches (one on one, tag teams) focused on the wrestling. Aside for a few guys in the company that have the ability to give us wrestling, we don't have that any more. Even looking back at when I started watching in 1993, there was clear emphasis on keeping the story in the ring and not outside of it. Nothing was over the top back then, but the transitions worked well for the time.
If they take more risks like the Nexus angle that they destroyed and the CM Punk angle that they destroyed, just to name 2, it would be a much better product. I don't think competition (or lack there of) is the focal point of the problem. |
I'm still sweating the Spring Cleaning.
I'll get attached to upcoming/mid-card talent and WWE will release them and we all know it's coming soon after this campaign shit stops. Might be around after next Wrestlemania so wrestlers need to start saving up. Crazy shit |
The writers get too much shit from the IWC. You hear from a lot of them that they have all these good ideas and want to create interconnected storylines and all that jazz, but someone from above shoots them down. A good idea for Yoshi Tatsu to get serious and represent Japan will be taken from the writer and transformed into Wade Barrett going "super British" and squashing Yoshi Tatsu, which would be all well and good, except that Wade would be dropping an eloquent bad-ass gimmick and no one has been made to care about Yoshi Tatsu.
That's just a hypothetical example, of course, but I think the writing team is far more capable than what people think. It's certain people doing things for the sake of doing things. As much as Vince tries to take professional wrestling into the mainstream, certain things happen that help you understand why the mainstream continues to reject professional wrestling. For every RAW where CM Punk cuts a promo talking about changing the way we think about professional wrestling, there is a RAW where Vince mocks people with illnesses. Has anyone noticed the hypocrisy in the Triple H/Brock Lesnar angle, with it apparently being terrible that Paul Heyman mention Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's kids, but it's totally cool for Steph to tell Paul that his children are ashamed of him? The morality in wrestling is weak, and that's fine -- if it weren't trying to aspire to be a moral code. |
Look on the bright side. If Linda was running for President or something we'd be entering the G-rated era where all the wrestlers hug and talk out there problem like civilized chaps.
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The "problem" with WWE, is that this isn't 1999, times have changed, as have people and their attitudes. The boom period during the Attitude Era came at the right time where the social climate and storylines managed to cross at the right time. The internet wasn't as prominant as it is today, which meant that more people were tuning in on TV to watch.
People on here have been complaining about the writing for around ten years now, yet continue to tune-in week in and week out. So where's the problem? I mean, if it was as bad as everyone says, why watch it for ten years? Having interconnected storylines or breaking away from the PG rating isn't suddenly going to boost WWE's ratings back up to the 7's and 8's that they were making twelve years ago. Don't get me wrong, I have my grievances too. There are times when WWE make decisions that I hate, but that's not so much a "problem with WWE" as it is a personal opinion of mine. I mean, WWE still bring in millions of viewers every week, so it can't be all that bad. There's a lot of undercard guys who never get used that I wished they would, I mean, now they've gone to a three-hour Raw, whilst guys like Zack Ryder still struggle to get televised matches, but ultimately the WWE machine will still roll on. It sucks, but I'll live, and it's certainly not what I'd call "the problem" with WWE. The truth is that the problem isn't in the WWE, it's in us fans who sit here on the internet thinking we know everything and demanding too much. |
No doubt things have gotten stale. I won't lie I still enjoy the product, but allot of the time I'm more afraid to admit to people I'm a wrestling fan than that I'm a brony. Thing is PG can be great. Like someone said earlier the movie Coraline was amazing, it's all about the writing. At the same time though it's not all the writers' fault especially when management won't let them do anything edgy that pushes the envelope. Linda's political crap has allot to do with it, but it's not just that WWE is trying to impress the share holders and is more focused on making them happy than making the fans happy. In the end it doesn't matter though because most of the WWE fans are sheep (me included) who will watch no matter what because there just isn't any alternative.
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Off on a bit of a tangent, your avatar reminded me -- the way they pushed Christian to the top last year, while rewarding in that they were actually doing it, kind of made Christian look shitty at the same time. At the time I quite enjoyed the rivalry between him and Orton, as did many others, and I ignored the criticisms of "Randy Orton wins all the time." Christian managed to get quite a few wins and falls over Orton. He was never made to really look like he was on Orton's level, though. And while I maintain that Christian was the heel, is much older than Orton, and probably not the guy the company should be investing in long-term, and that Orton beating him clean whenever they fought made total sense -- I do think that Christian's face push was aborted by the company way too quickly. Instead of ending Christian's initial World Title run in four days, how about having Christian beat Orton with a roll-up in a hard fought match. The two respect each other and then Sheamus and Henry become involved. Christian & Orton beat them in a tag team match and then face each other again. This time the match goes to a double disqualification due to Henry and Sheamus. Cue a Fatal 4-Way, which Christian wins when he pins one of the heels. The money is still there in Orton challenging Christian, but you've made Christian stand out as a performer who is doing surprisingly well as World Champion. And at this point, you can properly gauge how well Christian is doing commercially as World Champion, as well as gauging critically. It comes time to do Orton vs. Christian again, and that time Orton beats Christian like he did four days after Extreme Rules and is the new World Heavyweight Champion. Christian then turns heel on Orton in the coming weeks and you get the same essential story as what we got, except that Christian looks like more of a player against Orton, and actually poses some sort of threat to Orton's dominance, given that Christian has proven he can beat Orton in the past (although never decisively). |
I guess my point there is that while I do believe that the role of the heel is to put over the babyface in the end, the heel should also be interesting and pose some sort of real threat to the babyface, or else there is no conflict worth really investing in.
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The writing (and a few other things) in WWE has been a problem for almost 10 years.
I've grown to accept it and just enjoy the things they actually do right and not dwell on things like why Hornswoggle was revealed as the anonymous GM, almost a year since the whole gimmick was even dropped. |
As in life, you have to let things just slide.
There are so many things you can pick apart and scrutinize in WWE on a weekly basis, but I feel that if I did that, I would enjoy it a lot less. |
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Anyway, my point, is that what you wrote is what you'd have wanted to see. And that's fine, everyone has their own opinions and expectations. But if the WWE had done it your way, it wouldn't have instantly taken the ratings up to the high 7's they were hitting in 2000. It's not so much about the actual product or the writing, it's about todays social climate. People just aren't into wrestling nowadays. |
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They problem in wwe is that they have writing bad. Someones I does think need to come fromThe Hollywood and write stories like in tv and the like. Movies? Yes
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some of the "greatest moments of all time" were from crappy writing.
"let's have austin come down... and... SPRAY EVERYONE WITH A BEER TRUCK!" "... a beer truck with a hose on it? is that even, like, real?" "i dunno." "... whatevs. let's do it." <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u82_bqMRDiU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> "hey, what can we do with foley and rock now?" "...uhhh... let's have them do 'this is your life'!" "...what?" "yeah! we can bring out a bunch of people nobody has ever seen before or cares about, and pretend that they were part of the rock's life!" "... whatevs. let's do it. is there any more pot?" <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EJWDI7-M1mI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> and prob the best example of all: "hey, austin and rock... um... we have 20 minutes to fill, and absolutely no idea what to do with it. just go do something, k?" <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_5XnuoQYb1k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> |
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Never let a lack of correlation interfere with a good conspiracy theory. Quote:
Regardless, the point that PG doesn't have to be bad is completely legit, yes. We've already seen wrestling doesn't need to be hardcore to be good. Thing is, there will always be people who correlate it (much like people who hold a correlation between Linda McMahon's political ambitions and WWE's rating, or between the lack of an F in their name and quality of show). |
The IWC is retarded. It's a business and the company is making money. Just because it doesn't fulfill your fat virgin fantasies, doesn't mean it's broken.
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It's gotten a hell of a lot better over the last year
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Yes, because Ryback debuted.
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Ryback scares me. He has that eye of scarryness
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The root of the problem is that there is no (real) competition for the WWE at the moment. So why try, when you don't have to worry about a competitor seizing the spotlight?
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When everything below the main event including the titles is just being ignored to the point that they're randomly throwing lower level matches on a PPV with no build, no heat, no drama, it can only come down to pure laziness. Plain and simple. |
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_5XnuoQYb1k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
vs <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-ujHn3EJwoU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> You tell me what the root of the problem is after watching those two vids |
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Linda's campaign & PG rating.
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"Fat Virgin Fantasies"... real original there. Gertner, Kane Knight if you're going to be douche bags at least come up with some new material. Seriously guys I know you're trolls, but if you're gonna troll at least take some pride in it. I had expected so much better from you. :nono:
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The problem is the writing. The storylines are all about lawsuits and shit we don't care about. Who cares if AJ likes Punk but Punk doesn't like her and Daniel Bryan's in there somewhere when they're having a match for the goddamn title at the next PPV?? The booking has gotten so much worse because they're trying to go so much further than they should or need to. I was watching my Summerslam 2002 DVD and I was blown away at how a Flair-Jericho feud could be recapped in 2 minutes and the build was 400 times better than any dumb "I'm gonna sue you!" storyline. The WWE is completely out of touch with their fanbase and they need to get grounded in what people really want.
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I'll agree that some of the IWC guys don't deserve pushes, but Gertner "Hates" them all and seems to see absolutely no redeeming qualities in any of them. Sorry, but from ever point he's made Gertner qualifies as a troll. |
It's time they start blatantly ripping off our favorite storylines from the past thirty years. Like, match for match, ripping off.
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As for Kane Knight he's just a dick. :p
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WWE is making a shitfuckload of money right now. Thats essentially what businesses do. Thats what keeps people in jobs and makes economies work, Sure the TV product isn't as entertaining as it once was but we are still watching and they are still trading.
From a business standpoint (The most important standpoint) WWE is performing effectively despite the TV/PPV product not being as exciting as it once was. Why would they as a business strive for more? You can blame Linda/Vince/PG/Bad writing all you like but what it really comes down to is us the viewers. I wouldn't expect to see any changes until we give them an incentive to change by switching off and stopping them functioning as a business. Which won't happen. people always say we are on the verge of another 'Boom Period'. We aren't, because of the reason I've stated. Unless TNA can somehow find a way to challenge the WWE like WCW did or millions (and millions) of people switch off and stop buying the merchandise we are stuck with wrestling in it's current state for the long haul. |
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What is so "coming out of left field" about that? |
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WWE can lay down (More so than they seem to be doing now at time) and TNA wouldn't make it interesting. They just don't have any way of getting the mainstream recognition to be a serious contender to WWE.
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WWE didn't even get to where WWE is now overnight. WCW didn't reach its peak in 1 to 2 years and suddenly kick everyone's ass. Every WWE castoff is the "biggest aquisiton ever" and only recently seem to be starting to break away from screwjob finishes every other match and no clean title switches that was the hallmark of their shows. Every regime change is a new turning point where they blow everything up and start over... now, they've relaxed on that shit. They're starting to build some stars, start their own trend (like with the BFG point system). If they keep things like this up, they could, one day, be seen as a true second place fed. They just need to ditch the notion that they're going to overtake Vince in 6-12 months anytime they do something considered big. On topic: I've said before, some of us keep watching- or suffering, as it may be depending on the product at the time- through shows partially out of habit, and partially because that next hot angle, next big moment, next amazing promo, next tear-the-house-down match might be that turning point we're waiting for. Waiting for the promise of something better that is sure to come, we just don't know when. Then we get that angle, or moment, or promo, or match, and hope we get more, as opposed to being cockteased into watching months worth of more shit because that moment was a one-off and not a trend. |
Simple: lack of stars. Most of this imo is because they ask wrestlers to be actors now. but thats up for debate.
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The trouble is the WWE is too focused on pushing people that sell merchandise rather than pushing people so they can sell merchandise.
Back during the Attitude Era like 10 or more guys were able to sell merch and most of them weren't main eventers. Which leads right into the second problem the WWE is too focused on having 3 or 4 storylines going on at a time instead of 6 to 8. If you're watching back the attitude era their storylines aren't so much better than today's it's just their were more of them and they were all slightly diffrtent than one another and sometimes they collided with one another. Nowadays we have 3 or 4 storylines that when they do interact with one another are only for tag team, 6-man or 8-man matches. |
Honestly the obsession with Cena is what is holding down WWE product. If you put the focus back on wrestling (see sig) you would get back to what wrestling used to be.
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Anyway though back on topic. TNA won't ever be a threat to WWE unless like someone else said they get over the "We gotta be popular now" thing. TNA is on the right track, tonight's PPV proved that they can put on a great show they just need to keep it up and stop trying to push things too fast.
None the less WWE won't change until something major happens like a mass exodus of fans on the scale of the millions. Until Raw drops to like a 1.0 rating they'll keep shelling out the same crap because they know we'll watch it. I'd like to think that with HHH coming into power things will change, but to be honest he was groomed by Vince. Honestly I don't see WWE ever going back to it's former glory. The days of Professional Wrestling and Sports Entertainment are gone all hail the era of "Entertainment". |
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As I've said before, there is literally no imperative to create a better product, because WWE has a consistent fanbase and rakes in large sums of money. The fact that so many people here continue to follow the programming so closely but bitch about how bad it is demonstrates exactly why they don't need to change the product for you guys. Quote:
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Linda's campaign isn't the problem. It kinda is the problem, to a degree. Along with a few other things.
I'm from Connecticut and we got the primary tomorrow, Linda's probably gonna get the nod by a fucking landslide. Haven't seen any Shays ads and I don't know whoelse is running on the republican side. It's pretty much a fist fight on the democratic side. Anyway, my point is short leading to WWE making television a bit edgy like now and aiming for the 18-49 adult demographic instead of the 9-17 children's demographic. They can't vote anyway. I know, I know, their parents can. "Shitting on Blumenthal" last year wasn 't a good idea. Also are the obvious points. Weak writing and no direction. The obilgatory "turn Cena heel" idea. Lack of tag teams. Blah blah blah. However, something to think about tonight and tomorrow. What happens if Linda loses the primary? |
The problem WWE has is the following:
They have no competition, so there's no real drive to produce at a high level week in and week out. They can push it hard when they're trying to promote a PPV, and then back off and ride out a couple weeks, because no one is pushing them. That is it. Good afternoon. |
The problem is people who overanalyze everything in wrestling.
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Well, that too.
I remember the good ol' days (circa 1994, for example) where we'd just consume whatever WWF and WCW gave us and enjoy it. Damn internet. |
I see nobody has contradicted or questioned anything I said in my post. I claim that I am now the rightful King of the Muties.
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I'd say lack of competition is an issue.
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The problem that WWE has is the sub par writing. PG isn't a really huge of an issue with the product, in fact you can put out a good wrestling show regardless of the rating. It all has to do with the quality of the writing.
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In all honesty, WWE has gone down ever since they released The Undefeated Snitsky.
So, Snitsky. |
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Anyways, back on topic. If I had to pick one thing that was the root of the problems within WWE, it would probably have to be lack of competition.
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He likes Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, and probably many other "vanilla midgets" out there. He just likes fucking with all of you too much to admit it. |
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Wrestling forum threads are all pretty much wastes of time, so that's kind of stupid. Doesn't change the fact that wrestling junkies are in here arguing about the shit they watch weekly....Which is just fucking funny. WWE is not the product you demand, but the one you deserve. The fans are the biggest issue that needs addressing, but nobody really wants to turn that critical eye on their own watching habits. They're too busy manufacturing conspiracy theories about politics or scapegoating PG or whatever. Anyway, while we're talking pointless, this thread has kind of been beaten to death time and time again, and is generally populated with the same people firing off said complaints in an echo chamber ad nauseum. Of course, expecting you to not employ a double standards would be expecting too much, so instead I'll say this: As long as people keep saying stupid things, I will call them stupid for it. Nobody's taking away their ability to state their opinions and nobody's calling them pointless (except you), since that would somehow indicate that this was somehow more or less important than anything else on the internet. Complain about how I'm a big meanie all you want. |
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No, because his reasons for hating Bryan and Punk contradict his appreciation of Kidd and McGillicutty.
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Here's the difference
Me: I really enjoyed that Kidd vs MCGillicutty match IWC: OMG KIDD AND MCGILLICUTTY SHOULD BE WORLD CHAMPS AND THE WWE KNOWS NOTHING FOR MISUSING THIS TALENT I don't put unrealistic expectations on people I enjoy. Those two should never hold a title other than tag champs. |
Kidd should unify all the titles and you know that Gertner!
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They have no mic skills at all. They put on good matches, but mic skills hold them back from being singles champs
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Kidd is a good wrestler but he less charisma than is humanly possible.
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I was about to say if Tyson Kidd were pushed like Daniel Bryan, I guarantee Gertner would hate him just like he does Bryan.
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Yes I would, because it'd be ridiculous, just like it was for Bryan.
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I used to kinda feel the same way about Bryan. I like him in the ring but in no way did I think he should be in the main event and DEFINITELY not a world champion.
He's done better as a character now than I thought he would though. Now I just find him a little overrated by people on the mic. Still don't think he should hold a world title. He doesn't look good as a potential face of the company and he isn't a believable antagonist for a potential "face of the company" guy. I think the main title/s should be reserved for someone who fits one of those two categories. |
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I think a lot of it has to do with lack of talent. I think that's going to be a huge problem for years to come.
The roster isn't that good. Also lack of long term planning is a big problem. |
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(or used for guys who are over but lack credibility.)
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Well that's their shitty booking's fault. I'm speaking ideally.
And it's not like you'd need to write much. A cruiserweight division is based mainly on in ring competition anyway. A promo here and there maybe. Hell, Tyson Kidd and Yoshi Tatsu had an awesome rivalry going on NXT last year. Throw a title in the picture for them to fight over and give Justin Gabriel, Sin Cara, Evan Bourne when he comes back, Hunico, Ryder, Heath Slater, etc something to shoot for instead of floundering around in obscurity forever. |
Its not shitty boking its too many belts. Hell its two world titles. How can you expect a 3rd tier title to elavate anyone?
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