Hello WWE? Lack of character depth is killing the product, fan interest, & careers!

[Suneeboy]

The lack of character depth is biggest weakness of the WWE. There is nothing to any of these guys to keep us drawn in, and hence we are completely bored. The WWE must add depth to their characters, or they risk losing viewers over the long term. Many viewers are still watching due to their historical connection with WWE programming (grew up watching or whatever). However, as characters become more cookie cutter, and competition picks up, the WWE could be out to float without a paddle.

Some examples.

Sheamus – He is the WWE Champion, from Ireland. Uhm, he likes to beat people up…he is pale….Uhm what else? Nothing. Why don’t they talk about him wrestling overseas?

Drew McIntyre – He is from Scotland. He is undefeated, and was hand picked by Vince McMahon. Uhm..he uhhh is the IC Champion…uhmmm that’s all the announcers can say about him. This is the future? What else about this guy? What is his past…why should I give a shit about this guy?

The Miz – He is the US Champion. He is awesome…he has a loud mouth…uhmm he thinks very highly of himself…uhmm he’s from Cleveland and uhhhhh what else? Why don’t they capitalize off of him being on the Real World? Why don’t they capitalize off of him being an annoyance to some on the road?

Kofi Kingston – ok he’s shown some growth but other than them saying he’s from Africa and him losing the Jamaican accent what else? Uhmmm “We’ve seen a side of him we’ve never seen before”…ok thanks for the heads up for the 1,000th time. Is the guy going to cut a fucking promo that actually means something?

Dolph Ziggler – “Hi I’m Dolph Ziggler, and I run my hands through my hair”. Why should I give a shit about this guy?

Chris Masters – He can make his tits jump. What the fuck else can he do?

Jack Swagger - Two-time All American who does push ups. He has a great look and is skilled in the ring. Nice. So where do we go from here? Apparently no where based off what I'm seeing on television.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

The point I’m trying to make here is the WWE is basically saying we don’t give a shit what you want to see we are going to shove what we want down your throats and you will watch. It has been done so gradually that many people fail to realize that they are watching the same thing week in and week out, and any teaser of anything is considered fresh or interesting. But when was the last time there was a good payoff?

The WWE needs to work on developing their characters as opposed to focusing on Merchandise sales and Action Figures. Once your characters are unable to connect with the audience due to a lack of interest you are basically fucked. I am slowly losing interest in the up and comers because I have no reason to root for one over the other. They are all the same people with no added dimension.

Where is the character depth these days? I want to be entertained. We need more than CM Punk, John Cena, Jericho and a very small handful of wrestlers. They should do it sooner than later, because later may be too late.

 

[Muttley]

The only one I don't really agree with is The Miz. The Miz seems like he's been hit or miss lately. When they let The Miz go up against Cena, with all his promos, I think that's when he was at his best...now all he does is say "he's awesome" every week, and that's pretty much it. Him lurking around with Maryse could maybe add something to his character, they've been hinting that those two are going to have something going on for awhile now, I think it's time to try and capitalize on it.

And I agree that they've strayed away from his whole Real World stint. Maybe they just figure they have milked it to death and don't want that to be apart of his character?? Not sure why they wouldn't tho.

Swagger and Ziggler have DEFINITELY fizzled out...I don't think many people really care about either of them anymore. What happened to Swagger and his "going the rest of 09 undefeated??" I was kinda looking forward to that angle. And Ziggler, I don't even know what the hell he's doing, nor do I care...you can only resemble a mini-Mr. Perfect for so long.

I have to give WWE some credit for Chris Masters being around...but Masters better thank the wrestling Gods that his tits can jump around, cause that (as sad as it is to say) has gotten him a little bit more tv time AND being paired up with Eve.

McIntyre is another one I agree with you 110%. I haven't given a shit about him since he came in and I still don't give a shit about him, even if he does have the IC title.

And Sheamus, I think you left something out with his "depth of character"...his lisp (along with way too many other people who get the mic) and the fact that he STILL has rope burn bruises from TLC.

 

[Kenny Powers]

This is a great thread because there is no character depth in WWE. The same can be said about TNA with characters such as Jessie Neal and Big Rob Terry. It's great to see some new blood be in the main event or even as the WWE champion, but no one of us know anything about them. The best thing WWE did was to allow superstars like The Rock and Steve Austin to be themselves instead of being Rocky Maivia or The Ringmaster.

Sheamus is a celtic warrior that beats up jobbers and maybe speak 5 words. I don't know anything about Evan Bourne or Drew Mcyintyre, except that Drew is IC champ and Bourne is from St. Louis. Kofi started to develop a personality, but now he has hardly said a word on camera for weeks. Drew and Ziggler get no reaction what so ever. Ziggler is great in the ring, but he has a bland gimmick.

Zack Ryder has a lot of charisma and shiny tights, but I don't know anything about him either. No one cared about Masters until he did his pec dance. Now he gets a few cheers, but not enough to make fans cheer for him. Jack Swagger has all the elements to be a huge heel in the future, but no one will know if he only speaks scripted promos.

That is why fan interest and careers go sour in wrestling because you have a wrestler that should be a main eventer, but instead he is reduced to a ladies man gimmick. Even worst, he is having an affair with a mop.

People loved the attitude era not just because of the sex and violence, but because WWE had depth to their characters. There was a pimp, a porn star, a group of rebels known as DX, The Nation of Domination, The Corporation, even Mark Henry and Bob Holly were over. WWE needs to have characters cut more promos introducing themselves. I don't care how good Lance Archer is in the ring, I'm not going to watch him since ECW doesn't care to let me know who he is.

We have seen some interesting changes with Kofi, but nothing too promising with other talent. Most times on ECW or Smackdown, I can't tell who is the new talent and who is the indy jobber due to lack of character development. Let's hope that changes in the future.

 

[tnasuxs]

you are right we need some future superstars because hbk taker hhh batista and other oldder stars in there 40s wont be here for ever weve got maybe 1 or 2 years till hbk and taker are gone 3 years most likley on batista and 3 years left in triple h but with cena and punk and orton so wats up with sheamas he is white he is the wwe champion and thats it drew mcintyer was hand picked by vince mcmahon big deal he picks everybodys jobs kofi is showing a side weve never seen big mother fricken deal with only a couple years left for hhh hbk taker and batista only cena orton and punk will be the best and only best oh yeah i forgot about edge edge is i think almost fortyand he as torn i dont know how to spell it but that is a career endinginjury so he wont be here for another 10 years like cena punk and orton and rey mysterion is a high flyer and he has had surgary 5 times in his left knee 2 times in his right arm and jericho wontbe here for long so in about 4 years wwe will be less popular in ratings if we dont get some good decent superstars

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Good for you, Suneeboy. Wise man.

And yes it is killing careers. It is reducing the potential guys have to get them to connect with the crowds, which leads to PPV buys, arena attendance, and buying their merchandise.

This crap mentality from the ROH bots these past couple years that "two guys putting on a good technical match should be all that is required for fans to be entertained" has seemingly been getting some backlash as of late, and I'm proud of people for putting their foot down.

My #1 rule of Creative Writing for Wrestling is that: "Nobody in the audience will care about the match quality of two guys unless the audience first cares about the match participants themselves."

The wrestling alone is not going to do it. Rather the audience needs a reason to care about the wrestlers. You get the audience to care about the wrestlers through 3 means:

1) Characters and Gimmicks and developing those characters with the audience
2) Inserting those characters into intriguing storylines
3) Executing angles to place those characters into


The audience couldn't care less if you put on a 5 star quality match unless you give them a reason to care about the wrestlers involved.

Character Development is a crucial component of that goal as it gets the audience involved in that character, it gets the audience to connect with that character, and results in the audience showing or feeling some form of emotion for that character instead of just sitting there in apathy like half the WWE audience seems to do these days, because they clearly could care less about half the roster.

All you have to do is give the audience a REASON to care.

Excellent thread, suneeboy.

 

[KKarvox]

Great Thread and very good points, although the same points could be applied to TNA as well. It's most wrestlers in both companies, that just don't have that IT that people like Austin, Hogan, Taker etc. have, and alot of it stems from over scripting and not allowing characters to develop. Kofi has been completely stripped of any gimmick. At least when he was Jamaican, he was somewhat interesting, and most people don't care whether he could get the accent right, at least he had distinguishing qualities. Sheamus, who I actually really like, and he can cut promos fairly well, but he comes off badly because you can tell how much it is rehearsed. This is why people only care about the main stars, because they are the only ones that are interesting.

 

[Limelee666]

I have to agree with this. I feel the WWE is really struggling to provide characters i want to cheer for and look forward to seeing week in week out. I personally feel that simple plot devices aren't used properly in the development of storylines as they were in the past. These days, all the big guys come in with destructive power... but no direction as such, and they end up going into a dead end roads. This is what the managers back in the day were for. The manager had the expertise, knew the sport, knew how to get heat, knew who to get there man to go after. It became believable that the big guy could go places, cos the manager had a track record.

I also feel they don't allow the up and comers to get close enough to the current main eventers and develop freindships. It's simple. Shawn Got big, brought HHH along for the ride. HHH then started Evolution with Naitch. Randy Orton and Batista reach the main event. Orton Starts legacy, all of a sudden people tout Rhodes and Dibiase as the next generation. PLUS, when they get there, they have history with each other!

I think the most worrying thing though is how the old school path to the top isn't followed. Used to be guys would come in, build respect and go after a mid card title... win it, lose it, have an epic fued over it... win it, lose it then attempt to get into the main event scene. Events like King Of The Ring helped people build momentum towards the belt, but often with strong midcard fueds building momentum.

The WWE needs to set out its heirarchy to the top. It helps wrestlers forge a route to the top fans can relate to. It needs to use the wrestlers that are established and put up and comers alongside them. I don't understand why DX hasn't expanded to include a new guy, and give people a lineage back to the history of the sport.

In a game so heavily built on it's history, it seems that the WWE isn't allowing new wrestlers to take full advantage of it.

 

[triple_b2k]

character development? haha that went out with the attitude era. the new WWE is all about punch lines, little people jokes and short matches. come on get with the times...

 

[classicviolence]

WWE is run by people who honestly think that what they are producing currently is the best that they can do, which is totally false. It seems that WWE is letting the Miz, Kofi and JoMo grow as future players as other mid card talent is left floundering.

WWE creative should allow the pops and heat from the crowd really dictate who should be in line for a push. Look at R-Truth, yeah he comes out raps but the fans love him. Why not let Truth cut promos and build a feud with a Main Event player. Jack Swagger is the same way, allow Swagger to be involved in a major angle and get some more exposure.

Instead we have alot of bland characters being force fed on us consistently because the "corporation" sees something in them,yet the audience can care less. What has Drew done to deserve so much praise and fame from anyone. What has Sheamus done to prove that he is capable of being a great in ring performer let alone WWE Champion.

I agree that the "old-school" way of pushing talent and gimmicks would be a refreshing change of pace to WWE. Honestly, I think that Indy-Style wrestling with great promos and a small handful of gimmick characters would do wonders for the product.

No more "7 min microwave matches" and force fed characters (Drew, Sheamus, Batista)

 

[Baximus]

Another major issue for the WWE is that their pathetic attempts at character development are rehashed.

Tonight's Miz - MVP showdown was the most canned thing I've ever seen after MVP's music hit.

"I DARE YOU" This was the exact same thing that happened with Miz-JoMo, JoMo-Drew, etc

They aren't being creative. They're not giving guys time to develop characters. Hell, Shad and JTG have more character through Word Up than Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, MVP, etc.

The problem is that creative doesn't give their guys any room to breathe and it is killing any character development. We just get the same feud from different people.

 

[Ryander88]

You are absolutely right about how the lack of character development is seriously hurting the business. I mean, in this day and age, every superstar is more or less given one shot and they have to sink or swim. No second dive.

Back in the day, superstars would sometimes go through many, many gimmicks before they find one that clicks with the audience. Rikishi, for example:
-Began as one half of the Headshrinkers tag team.
-Then he became Fatu, the cheesy 90's character that wanted to "Make a Difference".
-Then he became a masked superstar, the Sultan.
-Then he became a hip hop dancing, thong wearing sumo; Rikishi.

The man had FOUR different characters until he made one truly work. I don't think the same would hold true for any up and comer in 2010.

As for the young superstars of today, they need to figure out why they fit into the WWE.

Sheamus, for example, could be fighting for the pride of his home country. Allow him to come out and talk about how the Irish are made tougher and more honorable than Americans. Maybe start a petition to move WrestleMania across the Atlantic so he can defend his WWE Championship in his home country. With this attitude, Sheamus can color all of his promos a bit differently, adding depth to avoid the generic heel promos he has been cutting.

I think Drew McIntyre should develop a strong submission game and become a European 'Crippler' of sorts (a role I would have sooner given to Paul Burchill). McIntyre seems like he will never have an exciting move-set, and already relies too heavily on rest holds. If he can turn those rest holds into submission holds and truly adopt a calculating psychology, similar to Chris Benoit, then he can keep the calculating, smarmy gimmick he has. While I don't particularly like the idea of repeating a gimmick, the original Hunter Hearst Helmsley gimmick is essentially perfect for Drew McIntyre; all the way down to the attire, in my opinion. I'd like to see McIntyre up his class and allow that manifest itself into his gimmick.

The Miz seems to have the right idea about what his relationship to the company is as of last night's RAW. The Miz is, and will continue to be, the red-headed step child of the WWE until he is finally (if ever) the best in the company. Everything the Miz does in the WWE can relate to the fact that he was treated like he doesn't belong there, and for a long time, he didn't. The Miz, holding a grudge on JBL and the rest of the Locker room for years is exactly what his character should be doing. Constantly proving himself to his peers, even as a champion. The Miz cut the promo of his career last night and really gave me a sense of what mid-card champions used to look like; future main eventers.

Speaking of the Miz promo from last night, MVP is an example of a character retrogressing after it has already been established. MVP spent the first year on Smackdown, creating a highly entertaining character that likened him to a new generation Rock. Last night, the first time he is given a promo in what seems like years, MVP dropped everything he spent those years establishing. MVP could have come out and said:

"Yes. I spent nine years in jail. But like they say, everything happens for a reason. I went to jail, where I had to fight for my life every day for almost a decade. Jail made me tough so I could come to the WWE, make that money and buy myself designer suits and Gucci shoes. I bought this designer suit and these Gucci shoes because they are the perfect accessory to that United States Title sitting on your shoulder. Everything happens for a reason...and at the Royal Rumble...you're going to know exactly what I mean."

Not a perfect promo by any means (I'm not paid to write this stuff), but this would at least preserved the VIP character MVP already established. Fans cannot get behind the really lame, overly scripted MVP promo we saw tonight. The MVP that learns from his mistakes so that Linda McMahon can win a seat in the state senate or whatever.

John Morrison also needs to revert back to the persona he built for two years. He should be the new generation's answer to Rob Van Dam, including all of the Jim Morrison drug allusions.