How Can WWE Bring Excitement Back?

[Y-2-Jay]

Don't get me wrong we do have the odd exciting moments like The Rock returning but i have been noticing the crowd are just too damn quiet and in a way its not there fault at all. RAW lately has been following the same formula for a while now and the crowd are seeing through it.

Here is a example of excitement

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No doubt if that moment happened anywhere else it would get the same reaction its just a incredible moment and i even have goosebumps watching it still to this day. Which is leading me to think we need more endings that get the crowd pumped for next weeks show. What's the point of ending a episode of RAW with *Insert wrestler name* standing tall it makes you think "Why should i watch next week i have nothing too look forward too" Its not just shock endings how about creative endings to a show as well just stop the damn ending where this guy stands tall.

Also could it be due to no one giving a fuck about most of the wrestlers and only caring for certain wrestlers? Back in the Attitude Era almost every wrestler got a pop or big boo's because they cared about the character that much they would react to them (Don't get me wrong again its not a Attitude Era>>>>PG ERAZ type of thread i could give examples of midcarders in the 80's getting big reactions)

Like the title of the thread says "How can WWE bring excitement back?" What would you do? Or is there no problems for you with excitement?

 

[amazing_blue]

Well to be fair, they did pretty much that same sort of thing you posted on RAW a lot last year when the Nexus would brawl with the WWE and lots of random people ran out.

I think to restore excitement, they need to get wrestlers that people actually care about, make interesting stables and ditch the cookie cutter heels.

 

[Y-2-Jay]

Well to be fair, they did pretty much that same sort of thing you posted on RAW a lot last year when the Nexus would brawl with the WWE and lots of random people ran out.

I think to restore excitement, they need to get wrestlers that people actually care about, make interesting stables and ditch the cookie cutter heels.

Oh don't be confused i wasn't saying they need huge brawls every week i was using that as a example of excitement because the fans fucking exploded during this and wasn't quiet until it finished.

 

[Rockyfolifebo!!!]

For one, they could bring back REALLY Gimmicks. Look here 3 random gimmicks from the past

Godfather-a pimp
Doink The Clown- nuff said
Ganrel- a blood drinking vampire

And these gimmicks got over with the fans. They were original, and not something you'd normally see. That's the problem with the 'E, they give us bland, clone, average joe characters. I can probably think of a handful of current superstars that have a gimmick. Everybody else just walks out in normal trunks, boots etc, they have generic music, and the personality of a doorknob. Another problem is there's no more badasses! You used to have Undertaker(ABA), Austin, Batista, Goldberg, Lashely, just guys that don't give a f***! Just go out there and raise hell. But, no, now everybody wants to be mr. "save the day, do what's right, and play by the rules". They can't get faces over for nothing!! Randy Orton (another clone) is about the only credible face right now imo. I'm just ranting now, but there's a lot i could say about this!

 

[MizfitPeep]

Something they could stop doing is over hyping the appearances of former wrestlers or returns of others. They don't do this all the time (recently, Triple H was unannounced), but it's done enough to be annoying. For example, I feel like they tell us every time the Undertaker is going to appear on Raw or Smackdown. Sometimes, they should just let it be a surprise. Why not have him return when the fans least expect it? We don't need to know weeks in advance to make us watch. Those of us that see these promos will most likely tune in regardless. The WWE will also advertise when a wrestler is going to call out another wrestler. I don't think that's needed. They didn't used to advertise what a wrestler was going to say in a particular promo, that I can remember anyway.

That's just something that has been bothering me about the shows lately. The shows have become too obviously preplanned. Most of the spontaneity is gone. It also doesn't help that you have Michael Cole reading the GM's orders off a computer, but that's another issue.

 

[Constipated Badger Bottom]

Also could it be due to no one giving a fuck about most of the wrestlers and only caring for certain wrestlers? Back in the Attitude Era almost every wrestler got a pop or big boo's because they cared about the character that much they would react to them

I think this is a case of selective memory I can never remember the likes of Big Bossman, Crash Holly, Hardcore Holly, Steve Blackman, Test getting any sort of a reaction I think it is maybe a case of the Attitude era having alot of big stars with the likes of Jericho, Austin, Rock, Undertaker, Angle, Triple H, Mick Foley etc

I think what the WWE could do with right now to bring some excitemeant back is a Whodunnit? type storyline similer to the "Who ran over Austin" storlyine or the "Who is Mcmahon's Illigitmate Son" storyline there a good way to cause excitement and keep everybody guessing aslong as sites like Wrestlezone don't post spolier to the storyline as it just kills it, even if you don't read the spoiler you will probably find out who does it before the WWE wants you to, it was like that during the Illigetmate Son storyline within 2 weeks of it starting everybody knew it was Kennedy and that storyline was killed until Kennedy got suspended

 

[kingofkings01013]

How about not Cena and Orton as champs. That alone = major bore These guys do not have to be in the title picture. How about more than 3 weeks between PPV's. How about have stuff unannounced happen. I am ok with 1 or 2 matches announced before raw kicks off. Also have us wondering what is next instead of being so obvious (like oh my god over the limit is coming what match will Cena choose, wow for the 3rd fing time it is an I quit match at over the limit who would have guessed).

 

[Ayatollah]

for me i think i really have a BIG problem with excitment this last weeks i watch all of RAW shows live and i'm in the UK and it ends at 4h30 AM and i need to wake up at 7 am but that's not the problem now so it has been many years that i watch RAW live but in this last weeks especially this last RAW i watched the first hour and i said to my self "i know what is gonna happend so i sleepd and didn't care about the rest of the show and the all angle of Nexus last year was juste Awesome especially the first Impact they did in the Main-Event befor Fatal-4-Way PPV attacking all the employes in their way and Cena and Punk with his SES that was just awesome and i will love to see that happend again that will be just incredible

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

How about not Cena and Orton as champs. That alone = major bore These guys do not have to be in the title picture. How about more than 3 weeks between PPV's. How about have stuff unannounced happen. I am ok with 1 or 2 matches announced before raw kicks off. Also have us wondering what is next instead of being so obvious (like oh my god over the limit is coming what match will Cena choose, wow for the 3rd fing time it is an I quit match at over the limit who would have guessed).

Agreed, but you know Vince he is like the monopoly man. By that i mean, the more money he makes the happier he is. Cena and Orton make him money (hence why they are champs), so forget it they will be champs until somebody makes more money for Vince.

 

[akrassikauda]

Is it that we the people were spoiled so much for an entire era that we're part of the problem. We loved that era so much that nothing could ever top it. Those days were great even now there are great days there are exciting moments, but it's always this guy can't wrestle or he has no mic skills and my fave they're shoving this guy down our throats. Lets enjoy the moments instead of looking for the negatives all the time.

The excitement depends on the venue. Some places are hot some are cold take for instance when WWE went to Japan all you heard was the crowd was dead so that RAW was boring in fact that's how the Japanese watch wrestling ( i keep doing it ) they're not all rah rah like us Americans and Canadians that's how they enjoy the show. In this business you can't be flawless with crowd reaction to everything that happens.

Could WWE try harder to stop leaks so nobody knows HHH is advertised for an upcoming PPV until it's booked live on RAW. YEAH! That's their fault I understand that, but sometimes we do ask for a little too much.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

Personally I still think WWE has plenty of exicitment. Maybe its because I can sit there and watch the Shows without trying to figure out what may happen next (what a novel idea that is huh?) The San Antonio Crowd on RAW this week was very Hot I thought and sounded like they were into it all night. Somebody mentioned the rumor about HHH showing up at MITB in July. I read that but how do you or anyone else know he will be there for a fact? He may pop up again out of the blue like he did in Feburary.

Here's one idea,stop reading or believing every single Rumor/News tidbit that is reported on the Internet Sites. Maybe that will help some of you enjoy the product more.

 

[Odisho]

wwe simply needs more bad ass people, i mean u had people who would punch and kicked as hard as they can, it was an adrenaline rush, how they moved in the ring, their were more tough looking wrestlers, now we dont have wrestlers in the wwe, we have superstars.
and for the bad ass wrestlers, i think sheamus could be a ''bad add'' guy. same with alot of their talent, wwe needs to stop going through the same routine, a heel either loses, or cheats to win, wwe thinks its gonna hurt the face' steem if the heel wins fair and square, but back then it was about revenge, when a heel won the title(fair) the face would get his shot next ppv and really kick his opponents ass, so the steem of the face comes back

 

[KoC417]

I think this is a case of selective memory I can never remember the likes of Big Bossman, Crash Holly, Hardcore Holly, Steve Blackman, Test getting any sort of a reaction I think it is maybe a case of the Attitude era having alot of big stars with the likes of Jericho, Austin, Rock, Undertaker, Angle, Triple H, Mick Foley etc

My friend you clearly didn't watch Crash then. The Houdini of Hardcore got decent pops. Hardcore got reactions too. Especially during their claims to be "super heavyweights". And in terms of Steve Blackman he did get heat. He ran down Shamrock in the parking lot. He got cheap heat but he got heat. Sure these reactions were no where near what Austins and others were but how could they be? Bossman also got some serious heat during his stint with Big Shows "mama" and "daddy being dead" time. Don't really know if that's worth mentioning though because THAT was def cheap heat. And during the Corporate Ministry Bossman was booed like crazy.

As far as making the "E" exciting again. Ditch the PG non sense, give back blood oh and put Shawn Michaels at the announcers table. If you need a reason why go listen to King,JR,Vince and Michaels at the announce table during Sid/Taker's Main event at Mania. Hilarious stuff.

They also need to stop cutting the heads off of people so to speak. Now I know Finlay's termination didn't rub everyone the wrong way but I'm sure it did rub some people the wrong way. TBH I was one of them. Oh and for the love of God, Linda stop trying to run for political positioning. Bring the McMahons back, give them each a stable to run with.

Vince/Linda representing the OLDER generation therefore they would have OLDER stars (HHH etc) taking on Shane/Stephanie who would have YOUNGER generation stars (Miz, Daniel Bryan etc) or to throw a curveball.. SIGN PAUL HEYMAN and give him creative control over RAW or SmackDown!
Let JR do what JR does, find talent that the WWE can use and that are GOOD.

There are limitless reasons one could list as to how to make the "E" more exciting. It all starts from the TOP down. Vince needs to get his head on straight and stop making stuff in the E hard to deal with.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

My friend you clearly didn't watch Crash then. The Houdini of Hardcore got decent pops. Hardcore got reactions too. Especially during their claims to be "super heavyweights". And in terms of Steve Blackman he did get heat. He ran down Shamrock in the parking lot. He got cheap heat but he got heat. Sure these reactions were no where near what Austins and others were but how could they be? Bossman also got some serious heat during his stint with Big Shows "mama" and "daddy being dead" time. Don't really know if that's worth mentioning though because THAT was def cheap heat. And during the Corporate Ministry Bossman was booed like crazy.

As far as making the "E" exciting again. Ditch the PG non sense, give back blood oh and put Shawn Michaels at the announcers table. If you need a reason why go listen to King,JR,Vince and Michaels at the announce table during Sid/Taker's Main event at Mania. Hilarious stuff.

They also need to stop cutting the heads off of people so to speak. Now I know Finlay's termination didn't rub everyone the wrong way but I'm sure it did rub some people the wrong way. TBH I was one of them. Oh and for the love of God, Linda stop trying to run for political positioning. Bring the McMahons back, give them each a stable to run with.

Vince/Linda representing the OLDER generation therefore they would have OLDER stars (HHH etc) taking on Shane/Stephanie who would have YOUNGER generation stars (Miz, Daniel Bryan etc) or to throw a curveball.. SIGN PAUL HEYMAN and give him creative control over RAW or SmackDown!
Let JR do what JR does, find talent that the WWE can use and that are GOOD.

There are limitless reasons one could list as to how to make the "E" more exciting. It all starts from the TOP down. Vince needs to get his head on straight and stop making stuff in the E hard to deal with.

Dude by doing all of that is basically the WWE going backwards. People can wish for the WWE to drop the PG Rating and go back to TV-14 or an Attitude like era but guess what ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Paul Heyman is done with the Business,he is not coming back as he is doing something with UFC last I read.

By the way Triple H has taken over the finding talent department and is doing fine with that so far. Sin Cara and Kharma ringing any bells?

 

[CuddleBuns84]

Nexus was relevant in a similar fashion because they went after Cena.....people say that they hate Cena, blah blah blah, but HE is what made Nexus relevant, and lets be honest, besides Barrett, none of them were going anywhere but the midcard.

(PS: people hop all over the "Cena is fired" angle for Cena never missing a Raw.......everyone remember the "Austin is fired" angle? How many Raws did he miss? Don't remember a complaint with that one)

Yes, Yes! I remember it very well. Austin Kidnapping McMahon, and then the fake gun to make Vince wet himself in the ring. Huge Pop!

I remember that angle well, and it was better then the Cena angle. For one, Austin did wear his wrestling gear, and two, Austin didn't wear a mic, sure he can still give promos on camera.

Anyways, after that, the question was... How can the WWE Bring Excitement back. Well first I thought, Nostalgia! Nothing like a returning star, like Hogan or the Rock giving a 5 star promo and get the crowd going. Only thing is, you can't always count on Nostalgia. It can go away just as quick as it came back. So let's lay off that.

I need feeling in some of these matches. I mean, if you look at previous eras. the Mid-card performers gave a feeling of the match. They gave the feeling of Who, What, Why, Where, When, and How. They gave reason why a feud was happening. When Rock and HHH were mid-card guys, people watched. The reason why was because the feud had a meaning. The promos gave meaning, just like the actions they both delivered on.

So, my answers are good promos, and realistic feuds. This reminds of the very poorly done feud of Ted Jr. and Danial Bryan. The writers could of made something that crowd good of gotten into. Ted being a rich kid, and Danial Bryan working his way to where he had to be. Instead, they just had 3 or 4 matches, and called it good. I want meaning, and emotion, not here's your match.

So, WWE needs to invest in realistic feuds, and good promos. They need to drop scripted promos, and have realistic mid-card feuds. So much good young talent there, and not being used. Give reason to love or hate the guy. A good heel can make a great face, and build off of that.

Plus, I hate to say it, but, cut down that roster, or create a better third brand. Something that allows more time for mid-card feuds to develop.

 

[silrock316]

Honestly, that Austin video is great BUT no matter what time in history we are in wrestling now we are becoming more knowledgable fans and we are NEVER going to get as excited as we did when we were kids. Its just not going to happen. Its the evolution of life. Do I get excited for Mondays? Sure. I love wrestling but I don't really cheer for one wrestler or the other when they are wrestling. I just root for it to be a good show and I firmly believe there is others like me. If you are "hip" to every angle of wrestling as most of us are on here, as I said, its going to take Macho Man Randy Savage showing up on Raw next monday without absolutely ANY leaks.

When that video with Austin actually took place me and my friend use to talk about how shitty wrestling has gotten, now you are looking back on it like it was wrestlings glory days. When indeed it wasnt. Awesome segment? Yes, but MANY purests believe around that time was the true downfall of wrestling.

My point is, there reason and this is my opinion, that we dont get that excitement you are talking about, is because we are seasoned wrestling fans that understand more than we did when we were younger.

Its the santa claus factor. When you didn't know he was real, it was pure excitement but now you get excited for the holidays but that edge is gone. Its happiness to be around family.

 

[silrock316]

Just a thought with the excitement too..

You made a comment about the crowds being completely dead and they definitely are. I watch a lot of shit from the 80s and 90s and the crowds were just so hot ALL the time. When Mankind beat Rock with the assist from Austin, when Austins music hit I dont think there was ONE person who was NOT jumping up and down screaming with two arms waving.

My point is, could the WWE be stupid enough to be lulling us to sleep with this PG era shit long enough that when we least expect it they slap was with with an AE2?

 

[Pepperami]

I think part of the problem lies in the hands of the superstars. Most of the just don't show the heart that past performers used to. A lot of the heels are just cocky instead of being outright evil. I find it hard to become emotionally attached to the performers when they aren't showing enough emotion. When was the last time you saw a title win that seemed like it actually meant something to the winner? For that fact, what about a title loss? Isn't meant to be a devastating moment? Thankfully Christian really sold his WHC loss the other week, and that's what I mean. You feel for his loss, whereas most of the time, the performers don't sell it right.
The superstars need to at least act committed and passionate about their role. That is key in making the audience latch onto the characters.

 

[RJB1976]

They don't have to go back to the attitude era, its simple what the WWE needs to do. less focus on backstage skits, and more focus on in ring product. Watching Raw this past week, I counted three times they came back from commercial, and went back to commercial with out featuring one wrestling match!

Wrestling on a wrestling show, what a novel concept!

 

[fredstephenson]

i have to agree with the lack of exitement in wwe it always seemed to have a great atmosphere abowt it and the fans would get really into it with there chants and stuff but that seems to have mostly dissapeared the crowds look bored half the time and i think it is coz most of the wrestlers being pushed no one actually gives a crap abowt them because they have no character or personallity back in the attitude era almost every wrestler no matter how insignificant had some sort of elaborate gimmick and a back story.

sadly tho now its a different story most most of them are just boring generic oily men in underpants they might aswell be in ufc or whatever look at randy orton hes meant to be one of the top guys in the company and no doubt hes a great wrestler but hes so god damm dull i think if wwe had more far out storylines and gimmicks the exitement would return

 

[mpunk23]

1st of all, I'd bring the McMahons back on TV.
2nd, I'd give the audience a cliffhanger at the end of every Raw/Smackdown. I remember this is how it used to be.
3rd, I'd put the big heels in factions.
4th, I'd change John Cena's character. Enough with the hip-hoppin' marine crap. I'd also change Orton's character. Enough with the viper crap. He should be a heel, and nothing else. He should have the attitude that he had during the Evolution days.
5th, everything that everyone else already said.

 

[VABurghman]

Quite frankly, I don't know that there is a way for WWE to return the level of excitement they once had. For starters, they have gone way too far into the arena of Entertainment. Second, the product is too predictable. Every now and then they throw a little surprise in the mix. But you can easily predict what will happen next once that wrench is turned. Part of that is internet rumors. Part is poor writing. But a huge part is the product has little to do with wrestling and more with drama. Third, you have matches that used to be reserved for TV Main Event and PPV only for every match in the TV show. So how can you possibly be excited about the PPV knowing you have either just watched it in recent weeks or the same 2 wrestlers will be having a rematch on Raw or Smackdown anyways? Bottom line, wrestling as a whole is a watered down product.

 

[abuduru1]

The guys on the roster today are just too generic. They look like create a wrestler templates and they don't get a chance to bring anything to the table. They need to give these guys gimmicks and start having more faith in new talent. WWE needs more main eventers and
upper mid carders to have more exciting feuds. Also treat each feud as if it were a main event feud. Too many of today's matches are just thrown together and have little to no backstory. That makes for easily forgettable feuds. Also let the guys cut loose and do their own
promos. You can tell their promos are scripted and it makes it sounds bland. Lastly better entrance themes that make us wanna jump out of our seats are required.

 

[VinnieSunshine]

#1 MAIN THING!!!

Bring back the shock factor.

When Nexus debuted they came out swinging. It was a shock to everyone in the arena and those who watched on TV. It was before that moment I looked at my girlfriend and said "I dont remember the last time the WWE really had a big shock and awe feature like they had back in the day" and BOOM Nexus hits.

Christian's title win wasn't a shock because most fans knew as soon as Edge announced his retirement that the title was going to Christian anyway. WWE could've played that big but dropped the ball.

I think with the internet its harder to keep the shock factor. Most knew Kharma was coming in, Bret Hart was coming, Nash and Booker...the rest goes on.

Hell the last big surprise I remember before Nexus was John Cena coming back and winning at RR in 2008.

I personally think WWE is doing decently. RAW is slow but keeps the pace and I dont watch Smackdown because Im never home Fridays. BUT...if WWE wants to stay ahead of the game they need to bring back the shock factor.

Oh and push the younger faster guys. Lets see some David vs Goliath matches here and there. Speed CAN win over power. MAYBE even bring back the cruiserweight title for Smackdown since its lightweight heavy right now.

 

[VABurghman]

Nexus decut was a surprise. One thing that was not predictable or ruined by internet rumor. But, their debut and subsequent appearances were still botched. Another thing the WWE could improve on. Not insulting the WWE fans intelligence. Or at least not a certain percentage of us outside of the core fan base. So Nexus debuts and you have the announcers "What are these guys doing here? What's going on?". Ahh, guys.....they are in wrestling gear. Those Nexus attacks when they "weren't supposed to be here" would have been better had they come from the crowd in regular street clothes. Not straight down the entrance ramp or wearing their wrestling gear / Nexus shirts.