DISCUSSION - My Theory on why the WWE can't get to that "next level" in terms of ratings/interest, etc.

**Heyman** · 01-09-2012, 04:30 PM

DISCUSSION - My Theory on why the WWE can't get to that "next level" in terms of ratings/interest, etc.

The main reason why the WWE cannot...and has not.....taken the next level in terms of their ratings and fan interest, is because they have no idea how to push their baby faces. Period.

I believe that this has been a problem of their's since Survivor Series 2001 (which ironically enough, was probably the last day of the 'Attitude era').

One thing the WWE has done an EXCELLENT job of all these years - they know how to build up credible heels. Whether it has been Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, Kane, John Cena, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Batista, Santino Marella, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, etc., etc., the WWE has usually done a PHENOMENAL job in building up heels:

Their biggest problem however....something that has hurt them since 2001......is that they have ZERO idea on how to effectively transition a tremendous heel into a tremendous face. Period.

The WWE's biggest problem in converting heels into faces, is that they get too excited about positive crowd reactions (i.e. if fans start loving a heelish character, the WWE will take note and try and turn them into a face almost immediately). If you think back to the Attitude Era however, the WWE did NOT do this. Instead - they let the fans cheer the "bad guys" to the point where the fans were literally creaming their pants at the idea of cheering the bad guy. Heel Austin in 1997 and heel Rocky in 1998 are PERFECT examples of this. To a lesser extent, heel DX in 1997 also fit that bill.

If you look at some of the most disasterous face turns in WWE history (and if not disasterous, some of the biggest let downs), you will see the same thing:

-Brock Lesnar in 2002
-Kurt Angle in 2003
-Eddie Guerrero in late 2003 (he quickly burned as a face after winning the title at Wrestlemania)
-Randy Orton 2004
-CM Punk 2010

While all of these guys, along with numerous other examples, did achieve great success with their turns, they could have and should have been MUCH MUCH bigger. In retrospect, the face pops they garnered were lukewarm at best....compared to the face pops/reactions that they could have got.

Why? Because - unlike The Rock/Austin, the WWE 'blew their load' upon seeing even the slightest of a positive crowd reaction. It's basic pyschology. Fans don't want to be told to "cheer a guy." Fans want to cheer a guy based on how they feel......and fans will want to cheer a guy even MORESO, if they are not supposed to. THAT is how you build an effective long term face.

Heyman's 3 steps to building "the next big thing"

1) Have them be a tremendous entertaining heel (as the WWE does a good job of building).

2) Have the fans love these heels, but have the heels keep their character.....to the point where fans are cheering the heelish character, but the heel is still hating on the crowd and/or opponent.

3) In the long term, slowly transition the heel character into a fan favorite....BUT....keeping the 'character/personna' of the wrestler almost the exact same (i.e. like they did with Austin and even The Rock).

The WWE already do a tremendous job with step #1. This is actually one thing that they've done just as well from their Attitude Era days. It's Steps 2 and 3 that they need to work on....and have needed to work on since late 2001.

01-09-2012, 04:30 PM	#1
Heyman Father of Hinduship Posts: 21,083	DISCUSSION - My Theory on why the WWE can't get to that "next level" in terms of ratings/interest, etc. DISCUSSION - My Theory on why the WWE can't get to that "next level" in terms of ratings/interest, etc. The main reason why the WWE cannot...and has not.....taken the next level in terms of their ratings and fan interest, is because they have no idea how to push their baby faces. Period. I believe that this has been a problem of their's since Survivor Series 2001 (which ironically enough, was probably the last day of the 'Attitude era'). One thing the WWE has done an EXCELLENT job of all these years - they know how to build up credible heels. Whether it has been Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, Kane, John Cena, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Batista, Santino Marella, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, etc., etc., the WWE has usually done a PHENOMENAL job in building up heels: Their biggest problem however....something that has hurt them since 2001......is that they have ZERO idea on how to effectively transition a tremendous heel into a tremendous face. Period. The WWE's biggest problem in converting heels into faces, is that they get too excited about positive crowd reactions (i.e. if fans start loving a heelish character, the WWE will take note and try and turn them into a face almost immediately). If you think back to the Attitude Era however, the WWE did NOT do this. Instead - they let the fans cheer the "bad guys" to the point where the fans were literally creaming their pants at the idea of cheering the bad guy. Heel Austin in 1997 and heel Rocky in 1998 are PERFECT examples of this. To a lesser extent, heel DX in 1997 also fit that bill. If you look at some of the most disasterous face turns in WWE history (and if not disasterous, some of the biggest let downs), you will see the same thing: -Brock Lesnar in 2002 -Kurt Angle in 2003 -Eddie Guerrero in late 2003 (he quickly burned as a face after winning the title at Wrestlemania) -Randy Orton 2004 -CM Punk 2010 While all of these guys, along with numerous other examples, did achieve great success with their turns, they could have and should have been MUCH MUCH bigger. In retrospect, the face pops they garnered were lukewarm at best....compared to the face pops/reactions that they could have got. Why? Because - unlike The Rock/Austin, the WWE 'blew their load' upon seeing even the slightest of a positive crowd reaction. It's basic pyschology. Fans don't want to be told to "cheer a guy." Fans want to cheer a guy based on how they feel......and fans will want to cheer a guy even MORESO, if they are not supposed to. THAT is how you build an effective long term face. Heyman's 3 steps to building "the next big thing" 1) Have them be a tremendous entertaining heel (as the WWE does a good job of building). 2) Have the fans love these heels, but have the heels keep their character.....to the point where fans are cheering the heelish character, but the heel is still hating on the crowd and/or opponent. 3) In the long term, slowly transition the heel character into a fan favorite....BUT....keeping the 'character/personna' of the wrestler almost the exact same (i.e. like they did with Austin and even The Rock). The WWE already do a tremendous job with step #1. This is actually one thing that they've done just as well from their Attitude Era days. It's Steps 2 and 3 that they need to work on....and have needed to work on since late 2001.