DISCUSSION - The WWE needs to do a better job of creating distinctive CHARACTERS

**The Mackem** · 11-26-2009, 07:03 AM

I watched Raw a few weeks back when the Osbournes were guest GM's and one of two main things that stuck out was the lack of character development equating to a lack of crowd reaction.

Point in case was one of the matches I watched; Sheamus vs. Jamie Knoble. This match was technically good, a squash match putting over Sheamus' power. The commentary on putting this over was excellent, however there was little reaction due to - 1. Not many people being into Sheamus as a threat because 2. Nobody really cared about Jamie Knoble being destroyed.

The reason for this is I felt was because they had this running one dimensionally. Sheamus had no other programme to speak of other than new monster guy in squash match. It was an introduction of sorts for him to the Raw audience but I think it would have benefitted by having another superstar being onvolved somehow i.e Sheamus destroying Knoble ahead of a match the next week against somebody else with Sheamus articulating that he'd do worse next week to *insert superstar*. At the same time nobody cared about Knoble who hd no TV intro and apparently hadn't wrestled in weeks. He was just one step away from 1992 superstars jobber.

The Sheamus point is moot now though as I understand he went on to bigger and better stuff following this but I think it shows your point. Sheamus is one of a long line of monster heels who come in, destroy everybody who eventually get burried by a solidified Main Eventer eventually and are then lucky if they are not released.

The attitude era was great for the unexpected, the twists and the character involvement which made it exciting to watch. The product which I saw a few weeks was very one dimensional, predictable, yet at the same time not too far away from being good. They are missing some key components which follows on to the second thing I noticed.

The serious lack of direction for WWE as a whole I feel tends to lead to uninteresting characters as well. When WWE was at it's best it had a good main event storyline; Canada vs. USA, Austin vs. McMahon, The Corporation etc. The lower card eventually rode the back of this or were dragged in via stables or matches. When I watched Raw the only 'show' Storyline was the Raw guest GM which for me is a poor reason to watch the show especially when the guest GM's have little to no mic skills. A good storyline builds anticipation and can raise interest in lower card matches.

I don't know if they find this difficult due to the number of shows they have, it's laziness, they have lack of good ideas or past failures are putting them off.

I think the key word from your topic title was 'creating', anybody could go into the writer's job and throw matches together based on what people have 'created' previous. What shows your worth is actually doing something with what you've got and progressing into something of note.

It was weird becasue I thought they weren't too far away from an truely entertaining show but they could do with focusing on these two key components; Character development and Overall Show Direction.

11-26-2009, 07:03 AM	#31
The Mackem VG + Q&A FORUM REPRESENT Posts: 38,940	I watched Raw a few weeks back when the Osbournes were guest GM's and one of two main things that stuck out was the lack of character development equating to a lack of crowd reaction. Point in case was one of the matches I watched; Sheamus vs. Jamie Knoble. This match was technically good, a squash match putting over Sheamus' power. The commentary on putting this over was excellent, however there was little reaction due to - 1. Not many people being into Sheamus as a threat because 2. Nobody really cared about Jamie Knoble being destroyed. The reason for this is I felt was because they had this running one dimensionally. Sheamus had no other programme to speak of other than new monster guy in squash match. It was an introduction of sorts for him to the Raw audience but I think it would have benefitted by having another superstar being onvolved somehow i.e Sheamus destroying Knoble ahead of a match the next week against somebody else with Sheamus articulating that he'd do worse next week to insert superstar. At the same time nobody cared about Knoble who hd no TV intro and apparently hadn't wrestled in weeks. He was just one step away from 1992 superstars jobber. The Sheamus point is moot now though as I understand he went on to bigger and better stuff following this but I think it shows your point. Sheamus is one of a long line of monster heels who come in, destroy everybody who eventually get burried by a solidified Main Eventer eventually and are then lucky if they are not released. The attitude era was great for the unexpected, the twists and the character involvement which made it exciting to watch. The product which I saw a few weeks was very one dimensional, predictable, yet at the same time not too far away from being good. They are missing some key components which follows on to the second thing I noticed. The serious lack of direction for WWE as a whole I feel tends to lead to uninteresting characters as well. When WWE was at it's best it had a good main event storyline; Canada vs. USA, Austin vs. McMahon, The Corporation etc. The lower card eventually rode the back of this or were dragged in via stables or matches. When I watched Raw the only 'show' Storyline was the Raw guest GM which for me is a poor reason to watch the show especially when the guest GM's have little to no mic skills. A good storyline builds anticipation and can raise interest in lower card matches. I don't know if they find this difficult due to the number of shows they have, it's laziness, they have lack of good ideas or past failures are putting them off. I think the key word from your topic title was 'creating', anybody could go into the writer's job and throw matches together based on what people have 'created' previous. What shows your worth is actually doing something with what you've got and progressing into something of note. It was weird becasue I thought they weren't too far away from an truely entertaining show but they could do with focusing on these two key components; Character development and Overall Show Direction.