Is the WWE roster as "weak" as people claim?

[TWJC: The Beginning]

The WWE roster right now has more talent than ever before with guys like Bryan, Swagger, Ziggler, Punk, etc. the problem is that getting over is a hard process. Its no longer about how YOU draw the fans in it depends entirely upon if the WWE chooses you to succeed. Ryder is the perfect example of this, he got incredibly over by himself, without the WWE's blessing and instead of capitalizing on it they buried him and took over his youtube show until the fans stopped caring about him.

Then you look at the way WWE pushes guys, when someone holds their first world Championship they become a jobber immediately after ie: Henry, Punk, Swagger, Ziggler, Sheamus, Miz etc. How is anyone supposed to really get over and get established when they are never booked consistently as stars?

Worse still Cena is booked above the World Championship, so a guy like The Miz can win the WWE Title and even beat Cena but Cena is still booked above him in the PPVs afterwards. Just look at Punk now, he hasn't headlined a single PPV during his entire title run. Apart from the Rumble and the one PPV Cena wasn't booked on he has headlined every single PPV. Even in matches with Kane and Big Johnny.

Its too hard for anyone to get really over which damages the credibility of the entire roster, when you Have Cena > Sheamus, Punk, Orton > then just a roster of bums waiting for their chance to job.

Again with the ******ed "WWE chooses who gets over".

How much sense does this make. "WWE chooses who gets over" "over guys make the WWE money" "WWE only wants certain guys to get over" IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT. They want everyone to get over.

Cena isn't booked above shit, he's booked like the most over guy. If you want to book who you personally like more, look at TNA for how that fails.

I agreed with your first part, the roster is incredibly talented and diverse. They didn't bury Ryder. Ryder was in with main event guys. He stagnated so they'll give him another push here in a bit and try again. that's how it works. You get a push, you get more over, you get more pushed, you get more over, you get more of a push.

I don't think you understand the meaning of "jobber". Swagger, Henry, etc aren't jobbers.

Punk is booked and placed on the card in accordance to how over he is.

If all it took was for the WWE to book you a certain way and BOOM you are more over (and they are richer) don't you think they'd be booking lots of guys that way? Fact is, that's not how it works, and it's actually incredibly stupid to think that. Makes about as much sense as saying "well they only make so much money because they charge so much for their candybars".

Makes no sense. You get a push, if you don't get over, someone else gets a push. It's a business, not fantasy booking where guys are over because you said so.

 

[Entertain The Exodus]

Swaggers won one or two matches all year, most of them nothing 2 minute mehfests. Thats a jobber, he's used to make other guys look good, hence he's doing the job.

Cena is booked above every title. The Championship is secondary to Cena, thats him being booked above everybody when a Cena match is more important the the WWE Championship consistently.

Just look outside your fantasy land where hard work gets people places, WWE like all businesses is about kissing ass to get places. Vince/HHH/etc have to like you to give you a push. Just look at how many grudges those two hold in the business.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Swaggers won one or two matches all year, most of them nothing 2 minute mehfests. Thats a jobber, he's used to make other guys look good, hence he's doing the job.

Cena is booked above every title. The Championship is secondary to Cena, thats him being booked above everybody when a Cena match is more important the the WWE Championship consistently.

Just look outside your fantasy land where hard work gets people places, WWE like all businesses is about kissing ass to get places. Vince/HHH/etc have to like you to give you a push. Just look at how many grudges those two hold in the business.

He's a heel. How much he wins doesn't really matter. Plus he wasn't getting over, he didn't deserve it.

Cena is booked like the face of the company. That's what he is. Sorry, I didn't make the decision, he's just that over. They've booked Punk really well, he's still not as over as Cena.

Get outside of YOUR fantasy land where it's not a big conspiracy theory. If Vince held grudges, he wouldn't have brought back Hogan, Bischoff, hart, etc. Vince is a businessman first. If you make him money, you get pushed. Sure there are politics, but at the end of the day, if you can make him money, you have a job. You don't become a multi-million dollar company by having silly little conspiracy theories.

Bottom line is, it makes no sense and is actually impossible for the WWE to "decide" who is over. the fans make that decision. If a guy gets pushed AND is talented, then he'll get over. If he's not, he won't get pushed again. I can promote the shit out of a soda I make in my kitchen, but if it's horrible, nobody is going to buy it. WWE is no different than any other business. Just because it's outlandish on TV, doesn't mean it's any different. It's a business and pro wrestlers are products. Vince wants to make money. He's not going to push products that don't sell, and he's not going to keep products that sell on the shelf. Some guys you might like just don't get over, sucks, but it's true. Some guys you hate might get really over, sucks, but it's true. The way you'd book (on personal preference) is how TNA is booked. WWE is booked based on numbers and business sense. If someone is over, they are pushed. If someone isn't over, their push stops.

 

[Entertain The Exodus]

He's a heel. How much he wins doesn't really matter. Plus he wasn't getting over, he didn't deserve it.

Cena is booked like the face of the company. That's what he is. Sorry, I didn't make the decision, he's just that over. They've booked Punk really well, he's still not as over as Cena.

Get outside of YOUR fantasy land where it's not a big conspiracy theory. If Vince held grudges, he wouldn't have brought back Hogan, Bischoff, hart, etc. Vince is a businessman first. If you make him money, you get pushed. Sure there are politics, but at the end of the day, if you can make him money, you have a job. You don't become a multi-million dollar company by having silly little conspiracy theories.

Bottom line is, it makes no sense and is actually impossible for the WWE to "decide" who is over. the fans make that decision. If a guy gets pushed AND is talented, then he'll get over. If he's not, he won't get pushed again. I can promote the shit out of a soda I make in my kitchen, but if it's horrible, nobody is going to buy it. WWE is no different than any other business. Just because it's outlandish on TV, doesn't mean it's any different. It's a business and pro wrestlers are products. Vince wants to make money. He's not going to push products that don't sell, and he's not going to keep products that sell on the shelf. Some guys you might like just don't get over, sucks, but it's true. Some guys you hate might get really over, sucks, but it's true. The way you'd book (on personal preference) is how TNA is booked. WWE is booked based on numbers and business sense. If someone is over, they are pushed. If someone isn't over, their push stops.

Ratings isnt WWEs big money maker anymore though merchandise is. They have the comfort of picking and choosing who to push like Drew McIntyre who was pushed strong for half a year despite no one ever caring because TNA cant touch them and as long as parents keep buying their kids Cena bedspreads WWE make a ton of money.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Ratings isnt WWEs big money maker anymore though merchandise is. They have the comfort of picking and choosing who to push like Drew McIntyre who was pushed strong for half a year despite no one ever caring because TNA cant touch them and as long as parents keep buying their kids Cena bedspreads WWE make a ton of money.

Well you see, the amazing thing about the WWE is, they are an actual real-life company. One that's publicly traded, so you can actually get this information instead of pulling it out of your ass to make a point that doesn't make sense.

http://corporate.wwe.com/company/financials.jsp

See, 61% of their revenue comes from live revenue. In other words, these people who go to shows with "Cena sucks" signs and chant "Cena sucks". Next, consumer products make up 29% (this is the Cena bedspreads and Austin 3:16 diapers and Hulk Still Rules adult diapers), then digital media 6% and WWE studios 4%.

Crazy huh? Who would have thought you could actually look up these things because.....it's a real business.....ran.......like a real business......with products and shit..... Wow, turns out, their "big money maker" is actually live events.

But then I bet you probably think this is all a conspiracy theory by Vince because him and HHH are really evil bastards.


Oh, and your bullshit about the demographics can be researched too: http://corporate.wwe.com/company/overview.jsp

IT'S AMAZING!!! You have no clue what you're talking about. Looks like the audience is pretty evenly split. Now, obviously, some of the over 40s and under 18s are coming together, but 48% of the audience is 18-49 years old. But I bet this was also all made up by evil Vince and HHH.

 

[DANIELBRYANrealwrestler]

The WWE has alot of talented guys on their roster, but very few main eventers.

The focus of the promotions remains on Cena,

EXACTLY they actually have a good roster they just never do anything with them.The midcard never have relevant storylines or feuds in the show and are horribly booked.(eg.US and IC champions jobbing??)

 

[SinCityBlitz]

The WWE roster is not weak at all, it's creative and Vince who are weak. Guys are just not given enough time to get over while others are given wayyyy too much. Guys go from World champs to jobbers in a couple of months. Very rarely do guys get over quickly. Look at Austin and The Rock.

By all means please stop with the comedy shit that is just not funny. Vince's sense of humor is fucking horrible.

 

[theBec2101]

I don’t think so. At least not a whole it is weak. But it is staked in RAW's favor. You would see a lot of difference in the talent if the brand split ended. Imagine you’re on top of your game and then all of a sudden you have to go the B level show. That would kind of dampen your mood and affect your performance. Also I think the storylines and creative ideas don’t not help the way they look either. I mean it there; no one knows how to use it I guess.

 

[CRuckVoV]

The roster isn't weak at all, just for the most part they make everything revolve around one man, that of course being Cena. The WWE is capable of making several guys main event level they just don't

 

[AshleeSezYouSuck]

I may be a female, so correct me if I sound biased, but they need a damn divas division. I'm glad they signed Sara Del Ray, I just pray to God they use her correctly. We all see what they've done to Natalya. (and she's a damn 3rd Generation diva) I miss when divas were main eventers and kicked ass, this 30 second shit has GOT to go. By the way, creative, bringing Trish back is NOT working! That woman has HORRIBLE ring rust. I'd rather see Lita kick someone's ass, because how many high-flying divas have there been since she left besides Ashley Skanksarro? It seems that they have a sexist attitude, making the womem seem weak. What the hell? Sorry, but it just pisses me off that when a diva becomes talented, they dump her. Now I see why Gail Kim was brought back. K, I'm done.

 

[Skinsley]

WWE's roster is, if anything. Too strong.
So many people in FCW,NXT, Raw&Smackdown with huge potential and so little time and space to test them out with the fans.

WWE needs to build big stars, but the focus on ratings and merch sales causes panic all over the board and Cena, Orton, Punk, Bryan, Sheamus and all the other big Merch sellers must have a spot on every show every week without fail to make sure the people who pay to see them, see them.

If WWE had a legit rival like the times of the monday night Wars, then they would be forced to make drastic changes and give new tallent more Tv time and promote them to the Main event in inovative styles, like the risks they took back in the attitude era.

The thing with the attitude era is that when WWE lost viewers, they lost them to WCW. And if WCW lost viewers....they lost them to WWE. So the epic see saw was that if you tried something new and it fails, try something else next week, hope your rival screws up and you get the viewers back.
The way it works now is, if WWE try something new and it fails.....those viewers go watch NFL or NBA (or whatever show is on in america at the time) and start to enjoy a different Genre of TV. Once this happens there is no garantee that these fans will end up coming back if they scrap the idea and try something else next week.

So come on Dixie Carter!!!! Hire some decent staff!!!

 

[Radical]

No WWE does not have a technically weak roster but they sure the hell make it look that way.

Perfect example... Jack Swagger. Regardless of what you may think of this guy he IS an athlete and he can wrestle a good match. Yes, he isn't the best on the mic but it is something he and WWE could work on with him if they gave him the time of day. ... Well they did give him the time of day a few years back, gave him the World Heavyweight Title but it probably was a bit early and/or they didn't support him when he was on top... then he moves down the card and last year was US champ for a while which made a lot of sense... but then he loses it to Santino randomly and can't even win the rematch! WHAT. A. JOKE. Now if you see Swagger in any match you expect him to lose... EVEN TO F'N SANTINO! That is stupid, stupid booking. Give Swagger a freaking Superstars win or two and something on Raw or Smackdown... SOMETHING, ANYTHING so he doesn't look like a complete loser.

Now sounds like I'm just focusing on one guy but I'm just giving an example. I feel there are a lot of talented wrestlers the WWE doesn't take the time for showcasing. They seem so damn worried to spend 30 or 50 minutes a show in something related to CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, AJ, and Cena. Yes, fine, those guys deserve time but they don't need THAT MUCH! People still know they are there.

WWE wastes so many minutes every show ... how many more Brodus Clay and Ryback squash matches to we have to see until they are in a REAL meaningful fued and/or storyline?

If WWE actually made titles seem important and had the Superstars show and tell us how important the titles are to them then there would be more reason to get behind them and they would be developed.

Why doesn't the WWE have a tournament for the #1 contender for the US title? Something they can have 1 or 2 matches a show for and it will give wrestlers something to do.

Why doesnt' the WWE then have a storyline where the IC champ challenges the US champ for a "winner keeps their title, loser has to retire their title" match? WWE seems to love throwing the US and IC champs in matches together, well why not actually make it mean something?

I know the Tag Division seems like it is being rebuilt but it is going so slow because there aren't enough tag matches for people to start caring about it and there aren't any real promos or feuds to get people interested.

Why can't 4 tag teams come out and say they want the Tag Titles and the GM comes out and says "Ok, well you will all get a shot" and announces a Tag Team Turmoil match on Raw for the Tag Titles? Something like that would kick-start the division again if you got to see 5 tag teams in action.


So many simple ways for the WWE to use their talent and make titles important yet they keep spinning their damn wheels investing so much time into the same few guys.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

It is pretty weak.

Let's start from the top. You have Cena and Orton who are bonafide main eventers. Punk and Sheamus are on the way to becoming what the first two are but even the gap between Cena and Orton is huge. Jericho, Show, and Kane are part-timers that you can throw in there and make it work but they won't be around forever.

That brings to me to guys like Ziggler, Miz, Christian, and Rhodes who have been or could be in the main event scene. The problem with these guys is that they always lose. Ziggler lost to Sheamus like four or five straight times so what makes me think that he can beat him or his peers for that matter. If he could have gotten a win through heel tactics, then I will feel better. WWE has had this nasty habit recently of their champions always losing. If a champion always loses, it never really elevates the wrestler that beats them. If you have strong midcard champions, then whoever wins the title will be elevated which will help guys like Kidd, McIntyre, and DiBiase.

Concerning the tag team division, I don't really mind the fact that most of the teams are thrown together. The lack of storylines is the main problem for me. Same goes for the divas. AJ has been anywhere and everywhere for the last month or so. Beth and Natalya are the best divas in terms of wrestling but they have zero personality. AJ has personality and I hope she can do something in the divas division once this Punk/Bryan fiasco is over.

The WWE roster can be as strong as it wants to be, but I have seen no evidence that it's what they want.

 

[bonesaw]

The Roster isn't as strong as it was during the late 90's early 00's. However, I think there is a lot of talent and more wrestlers could be popular than they are right now. Creative has dropped the ball a few times.

R-TRUTH - In 2011 R Truth was more over as a heel than most heels currently on the roster. He gets suspended, comes back as a face and is irrelevant and acts like a fool.

SWAGGER - I'm not saying Swagger should get a push at all. My question is why in the world would you throw the title on a guy, and 2 years later he is your #1 jobber??

MIZ - I know he's making that crap movie right now, but how can you go from being #1 heel to being completely irrelevant to professional wrestling that fast? The bookers are like 12 year old kids with ADHD, they can't make up their minds and change everything in the blink of an eye.

WORLD TITLE - The world heavyweight championship used to mean something in professional wrestling. You didn't just throw it on anybody. They had to earn it. They carried it with pride. (i.e. Ric Flair, Sting, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Taker, etc.) That is not the case anymore. CM Punk has done a decent job, but he is sometimes overshadowed by Cena which isn't his fault. Think of all the guys who have had the title who really aren't capable of carrying a company (Swagger, Miz, Khali, Mark Henry, Dolph, Christian).

TAG-TEAM DIVISION - Think back recent years when pro wrestling had huge success. 1996-2001. Tag teams Steiner Brothers, Harlem Heat, Outsiders, New Age Outlaws, LOD, Edge and Christian, Faces of Fear, Dudley Boys, APA, Hardy Boyz, etc, etc etc.


Lets think of tag teams with success the last 2 years. Air Borne, Awesome Truth, people thrown together?

STABLES- When wrestling was really good you had DX, 4 Horsemen, Dungeon of Doom, The Corporation, The ministry of darkness, The Brood, NWO, The Flock, Evolution, etc.

Now what stables do you have? None!

MANAGERS- In the past Bobby Heenan, Miss Elizabeth, Jimmy Hart, Jim Cornette, Mr. Fuji, etc. Now there is Vicki, ricardo, and that one guy I'm not even sure. They had a great one in Armando Estrada, but he got canned for some reason.

GREAT LENGTHY WRESTLING MATCHES-Yes I said wrestling matches, not Brodus Clay butt jiggling and winning after 3 moves. Last Monday's raw had no wrestling in it. Great wrestling matches help build characters and gets fans interested in those characters.

CELEBRITIES - Does anybody care when they bring in celebrities? I sure don't. I guess it makes Vince feel like WWE is more mainstream and accepted when they come in. I could care less to see Pee Wee Herman, MacGruber, 3 Stooges.


Great Matches, Tag Teams, Stables, Great Champions are all things that help captivate the audience and get them interested in characters. They are all missing right now in WWE. Whether Vince believes it or not, it will always be Pro Wrestling and people want to see wrestling.

 

[Page_Iommi]

The whole WWE product is weak right now, hate to be the one to say it but it is, for no other reason than the booking. It's not because it's "PG", you can do intelligent, edgy PG (see WCW '96/'97) or you can do goofy, kids PG (see, WWE now).

Call it wrestling, sports entertainment, whatever you want, the format dictates there needs to be a fight between 2 or more guys. If the characters of these guys aren't believable, if you can't believe through their actions and verbalisation that they can kick ass, the fight becomes a meaningless, silly dance between two cuddly buffoons, would you buy that on PPV?

Why's the UFC doing so well? Because people want to see fights, between two fighters. With that in mind WWE being sucessful should be a lay-up, you can have fights, you can have cooler fighters and the fights can be better because they're "staged".

I think the roster right now has alot of potential, if they tweeked a few gimmicks and let the guys act more like fighters and less like children's entertainers, they could be doing big buisness. Don't agree? Look at how Punk's momentum died when he went from "pipebomb anti-hero" to doing bad comedy in a silly "love triangle" angle.

I can almost guarentee alot more people outside of our little IWC would be into Punk/Bryan if they'd set it up as two former friends, guys with a storied history who had been up and down the road together, beaten each other black and blue, having beef over the title. One last fight on the biggest stage to see who the man really is.

 

[#1Dobz92]

I don't think it is necessarily weaker but WWE haven't done the best job with it imo. They have only recently begun to break the Cena-Orton-HHH status quo by pushing Punk, Sheamus, Bryan. However, Cena is still top dog. Acceptable but it's too obvious. He main events above both world titles. With a situation like that, new stars are difficult to create, and guys that should be getting pushed to the main event (i.e. Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler), they find themselves held back somewhat.

IMO, one those 2 get that main event push, we can see more younger guys get pushed in the midcard and suddenly we'll have a flourishing main event scene as well as a vibrant midcard. Just a couple more midcarders to be pushed and a couple of guys to get introduced into ohe WWE roster and I think the overall roster looks damn strong.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

The talent have what it takes to make a successful product, however they don't have the opportunity. Lets breakdown some of the undercard:

ALEX RILEY
This guy was very hot this time last year. He had a very good run with The Miz, he actually won against him and showed a lot of personality, an energetic one that made us remember a younger The Rock, combined with a good entrance and a good look this guy really had a chance to make it, but WWE didn't give him the ball.

DREW MCINTYRE
A lot of people actually started to care about the former "Chosen One" when he was relegated to "jobber status". Day in and day out he had good performances main eventing Superstars with the likes of John Morrison, Chris Masters, Zack Ryder, Alex Riley and Christian. He showed a lot at 2011 Elimination Chamber, some thought that he deserved a push after his show-stealer performance, but yet again WWE didn't gave him the opportunity.

Honourable Mentions to: Michael McGillicutty, Tyler Reks, The Usos and Justin Gabriel.

At the upper card, or at least a regular status we have guys like Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes. They are the total package, all of them have good mic skills, of course some are better than one with The Miz highly on top of that. In-rig ability we have Dolph Ziggler on top, with some of the best selling in the industry. The creative team has troubles, not the talent. This time last year everything had a bigger importance, better storylines. But then again, we can understand that WWE is in a transitional phase.

New faces being introduced and some waiting for his opportunity. I'm highly anticipating the debut of Dean Ambrose and I want to see how far can Ryback go. I just wish that WWE hadn't introduced Brodus Clay and Tensai, they have the worst gimmicks possible for storylines, 'cause let's be real who wants to see a gorilla feuding for something personal or an American speaking Japanese for high relevant feuds? Nobody.