Is WWE afraid to roll the dice?

[anthonymclaughlin]

Think about the stream of bad bet's the WWE has made in the last ten years, Bastista he up and left, Brock Lesnar back part time and costing a bomb!, Edge, I know its not his fault but still the man can't wrestle, mucho manly tears shed, and most recently Randy Orton (i know their are more but my wrestling history is currently failing me). All of these guys and more have been heavily invested in by the WWE with regards to high profile storylines, time on screen, massive pushes and what have they got for their troubles? injuries, abandonment, part timers and a guy who just can't say no to a good time.

In all honesty I think that WWE is afraid to take risk's with someone new, so rather than give someone a chance to make them look like idiots, so what do they do? they give tentative pushes/mike time to potentially exciting stars and stick with safe yet boring options see Alberto Del Rio. I mean hell who cares if he deviates from the script nobody can understand him anyway. Hell the most successful push last year was Mark Henry, and he still up and injured himself, maybe for good .

Really though how can someone like Dolph get over, if all thats given to him are wins on superstars and such dialogue as "tonight..... I'm gonna get in that ring, and show off". Or Zack Ryder, who gets pushed to the top only to be used to get support for their golden boy, and is then dropped off the face of the planet.(not a Cena hater just calling it as I see it)

So what are your thoughts? are failures like this the reason the WWE isnt putting as much time into up and comers?

BTW on a side note WTF is up with "it's not showing off if you back it up!" do they not know what "showing off" is? its not arrogance if you back it up, but your definitely still showing off regardless of the result! is that something meant to make me hate Dolph or is it just stupidity?

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Think about the stream of bad bet's the WWE has made in the last ten years, Bastista he up and left, Brock Lesnar back part time and costing a bomb!, Edge, I know its not his fault but still the man can't wrestle, mucho manly tears shed, and most recently Randy Orton (i know their are more but my wrestling history is currently failing me). All of these guys and more have been heavily invested in by the WWE with regards to high profile storylines, time on screen, massive pushes and what have they got for their troubles? injuries, abandonment, part timers and a guy who just can't say no to a good time.

In all honesty I think that WWE is afraid to take risk's with someone new, so rather than give someone a chance to make them look like idiots, so what do they do? they give tentative pushes/mike time to potentially exciting stars and stick with safe yet boring options see Alberto Del Rio. I mean hell who cares if he deviates from the script nobody can understand him anyway. Hell the most successful push last year was Mark Henry, and he still up and injured himself, maybe for good .

Really though how can someone like Dolph get over, if all thats given to him are wins on superstars and such dialogue as "tonight..... I'm gonna get in that ring, and show off". Or Zack Ryder, who gets pushed to the top only to be used to get support for their golden boy, and is then dropped off the face of the planet.(not a Cena hater just calling it as I see it)

So what are your thoughts? are failures like this the reason the WWE isnt putting as much time into up and comers?

BTW on a side note WTF is up with "it's not showing off if you back it up!" do they not know what "showing off" is? its not arrogance if you back it up, but your definitely still showing off regardless of the result! is that something meant to make me hate Dolph or is it just stupidity?

I have to disagree with most of your examples. Batista was 33 when he made his debut so he didn't have a lot of years and he lasted eight and was the second top face of the era so WWE made a good investment of him. Edge was in the WWE for fourteen years and helped the Smackdown brand when it needed it the most.

There are various why they don't put so much time into some up and comers. Lack of character development, bad booking, lack of personality, etc. We can blame creative sometimes but we need to start putting some blame on the wrestlers themselves as well. Creative can always be used as a scapegoat as to why our favorite wrestlers aren't doing as well as we would like them to and that needs to stop.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

WWE would have made huge star out of Drew McIntyre in 2009 .

Drew McIntyre's angle with Matt Hardy for the Intercontinental Championship even main-evented a Smackdown in 2009. He would have been World Champion till 2011 but WWE started burying him making him lose to guys like Santino etc.

BTW Guys like Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes are good wrestler but so were Dean Malenko,William Regal and Lance Storm but did those 3 ever became World Champions? No.

Zack Ryder has always sucked. Ryder just got pushed because of his youtube show which had nothing to do with wrestling.

And yeah agreed about Dolph Ziggler's "Show-off" gimmick, it just sounds stupid just like "#Heel". Telling people that he is a "heel" just to get a reaction is pathetic.

 

[RCProAm29]

I agree they are afraid to take more chances then they used to. Without any real competition, they can be late to the party on an idea, or swing and miss with no real repercussions because there is no where else a viewer on Monday Night can go. Wrestling viewer that is. For example, CM Punk "left" with the belt last summer. Instead of letting that angle build some steam with Punk changing title belts and getting rid of Cena's belt and keeping Punk away for a while, what did they do? They gave Cena a second title! They went back to the same old because they were afraid of change. Brock cut that contract signing abortion of a promo against Johnny. Heyman shoulda been involved from the beginning and cut that promo. WWE, with no fear of messing up, took a risk...failed and brought Heyman a week later. They have no urgency anymore. And even if creative has good ideas, if Vince doesn't believe in it, he axes the idea before its even fully realized. Vince is more concerned with getting Cena cheered. They know they have to book him a specific way now or he will get booed and they cant have that. It's sad.

BTW....NY/NJ for PPV and Raw the next night will do for Dolph what Miami did for Bryan. He is going to be popped big time and help send him to the next level.

 

[Cereal Killer]

They are probably afraid now of doing so because the wrestlers of the "reality era" are not as good as the past wrestlers.
They have rolled the dice before, for wrestlemania 1.

 

[roethlisberger78]

Yeah lets face it some times its best not to roll the dice when you know the outcome. Not saying all their talent couldnt make it because they have a few that have the potential, but Big Johnny didnt do his job all to well signing his new talents. Besides Dolph and Cody and maybe Barret they are lacking people that can play to the crowd and get theirselves over. I mean yeah creative has something to do with it but the wrestlers them selves have to be able to push themselves with what they are giving. I feel with Trips in charge of getting new talent we'll see things changing, but for now with what they have why roll the dice if you know the outcome.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The problem is not being afraid to roll.... but which dice to roll... In the 80's it was simple, 4 sides to a top star were needed, Size, Charisma, basic promo skills (the famous backstage/Mean Gene style interview) and a toy friendly gimmick.

Once Attitude hit the sides needed to a top level star began to increase sharply, they had to have real ability in the ring, on the mic, the ability to work live on the mic on camera, on the tron, in the ring, even as they walk to the ring. They also need to be "over"... Think back, was Zeus ever "over"? Was King Kong Bundy or Mabel? No but they all headlined major PPV's. You couldn't put any of them in there today without a million and one fanboys screaming that their workrate is poor or a kid saying "he looks dumb".
They need to be mainstream appealing, in the 80's you had Hogan as the face, Savage did Slim Jim, Andre and Roddy were in movies and that was it, you never saw Jake Roberts on the Tonight Show. Today all talent is expected to do the media boards, award shows,support the troops and be "the face of the WWE". They also need to be able to star in a WWE movie now and then.

Legacy comes into play...cos they pissed away the concept of a title, every one is a former champ. In the 90's there were so few former champions that whoever got that honour was somebody. Once it went to 2 belts it became anybody. While the HOF is a good thing, it makes it harder for young guys to become their own legend, Ziggler is already "The Curt Hennig that never was", JoMo was gonna be "The Next HBK"... For every induction and old star who hangs around (Triple H and Taker, I am looking at you) then thats one less young star who will get there on their own merits.

So the dice now has so many sides that they can never get anyone who matches properly. That's why the aborted runs.

 

[DeathClutch]

It's WWE's fault they're lacking with depth, the constantly screw guys over, Christian, JoMo, Drew, Dolph, Kane and even Swagger (to some degree) all come to mind that have been pushed or on the cusp of something then it's pulled.

WWE need realize they need the next generation but due to their fickle outlook guys get pushed because their flavour of the month and once that month is up their dropped, Ryback will be the next guy on that list, probably dominate the jobbers then he'll challenge Big Show around Summerslam on some RAW/SD and get obliterated, killing his push.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

WWE really, and I mean REALLY rolled the dice when the let Stone Cold and The Rock be themselves and cut their own promos. They didn't know if a move like this would pay off but they took the risk. And let's face it. At that time they had much, and I mean MUCH more to lose than they have now.

I can't understand what has changed now.

Yes, they are afraid. How couldn't they? The wrestling audience is becoming fewer and fewer each year. For me, WWE became lazy after 2007. And it wasn't because of the PG. In 2008 the WWE had only on RAW Cena, Batista, Orton, HBK, Jericho, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio and Kane. That's 7 maineventers, The main-event scene was way too crowded, so the 'E stopped investing in young stars because they had all what they needed right there. In 2007, Randy Orton, Edge, Mr. Kennedy, Lashley, Khali and Umaga were all getting huge pushes. In 2008 only Jeff Hardy, CM Punk and Kozlov got pushes. And in 2009, when they realised that HBK and Batista won't be wrestling forever they give a push out of nowhere to Sheamus who one month prior to his WWE Title win was in feud with Goldust on ECW and hadn't even competed in a single WWE PPV! WTF?!
And from 2010 till now, the only successful pushes were the ones of CM Punk and... oh, CM Punk. I would put Sheamus in that but the guy got over because he won two WWE Championships, U.S. Championship, King of the Ring, took out Triple H and beat Cena two times at a PPV. Sheamus' REAL push came in 2011, during his time on Smackdown. And I'm still waiting to see how well his title reign will go in order to judge his push.

So, after of two years of some really bad pushes and creative desicions, WWE management got afraid. And to be honest, Vince McMahon got soft. Why? Becuase of Linda's campaign. He is afraid to do anything new.

I'm going to make a statement right here, right now. The reason WWE is afraid to roll the dice, is this:
Vince McMahon simply doesn't have the same balls he had ten years ago to take some drastic desicions and finally, after 5 years, give us, the fans, a good OVERALL product.

*I'm saying overall becuase right now we have three nice storylines in CM Punk-Kane-Bryan-AJ, Cena-Big Show and Christian-Cody. But the rest of the product simply just doesn't do it for me.

P.S.: Sorry for the long rant. I had to take some things out of chest

 

[MCMG]

Sheamus was a risk. If i remember correctly he went from feuding with Jamie Noble to beating John Cena for a world title in under a month. That shows that they will take a risk if they feel it is necessary and/ worth it.

For the example of Dolph Ziggler, i feel it is not a matter of taking a risk but picking the right moment. Funnily enough Ziggler is getting a chance against Sheamus at No Way Out. This is not a risk. Ziggler's career has been building up to this for several years and i'm positive that with a little more exposure he will succeed.

It would be impossible for the WWE to have made it this far with the amount of success they have without taking calculated risks.

 

[Headman]

It's not about the WWE refusing to pull the trigger on guys. People just aren't getting over. The WWE fully expected Alberto Del Rio to be a major player and they still do, but the crowds as a whole don't give two shits about him. He makes an ass out of himself on the mic and just looks weak next to legit main eventers.

Ziggler is the guy people feel is ready to take off like a rocket ship and don't get me wrong, I'm a fan but what has he really shown us other than his ring work? He's still not connecting with his personility and that's what's holding him back.

 

[Skinsley]

I think WWE have "rolled the dice" over the years and do not fear doing so.
Sheamus for example....CMPunk and Now Daniel Bryan.
I agree with what someone else said up there...and that Drew Macintyre could really have made it if he was given the chance....or if he took the chances given to him...I feel the same (ISH) about Alex Riley....the man could have been a huge face if he hadnt screwed up somewhere behind the scenes.

 

[The Ghost of Benoit]

I'm going to make a statement right here, right now. The reason WWE is afraid to roll the dice, is this:
Vince McMahon simply doesn't have the same balls he had ten years ago to take some drastic desicions and finally, after 5 years, give us, the fans, a good OVERALL product.

Do you really think Vince McMahon really cares about giving the fans a good overall product? All that matters is to him if fans are stupid to watch the weekly shows and buy the PPV each month.

Like c'mon he turned a main event match at Wrestlemania into a 18 second squash match. And look what happened last week on Raw. Instead having Ziggler or Swagger or some other young star in the main event. We had the announcer Michael Cole getting BBQ sauce poured on him, IN THE FREAKING MAIN EVENT! So he doesnt care about giving you a good product.

Now the reason for no new stars being created is not because people arent getting over, its booking. Vince and the creative team have no idea how to create storylines and no clue how to book matches/superstars.

 

[DANIELBRYANrealwrestler]

No i think the superstars in the back are afraid to roll the dice. Think about Zack Ryder,CM Punk,Daniel Bryan and Santino these are superstars who got over with the crowd on their own and wwe embraced it, wwe cant do EVERYTHING for them? They let the miz do his thing and he pinned the face of the company at wrestlemania, they were letting wade barret do his thing and it was working for him,Damien Sandow is doin his thing right now and i hope he gets used properly because this guy can work. You can tell when some1 is self-made or corporate-made (eg. Del Rio, Sheamus, Brodus Clay, Ryback, Tensai) these are ppl who have little to nuthin to say and are being shoved down our throats into believing they are sumthing. I wish ppl like Kofi Kingston,Alex Riley or Justin Gabriel tried something new because smiling and waiting wont get u nowhere.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

No i think the superstars in the back are afraid to roll the dice. Think about Zack Ryder,CM Punk,Daniel Bryan and Santino these are superstars who got over with the crowd on their own and wwe embraced it, wwe cant do EVERYTHING for them? They let the miz do his thing and he pinned the face of the company at wrestlemania, they were letting wade barret do his thing and it was working for him,Damien Sandow is doin his thing right now and i hope he gets used properly because this guy can work. You can tell when some1 is self-made or corporate-made (eg. Del Rio, Sheamus, Brodus Clay, Ryback, Tensai) these are ppl who have little to nuthin to say and are being shoved down our throats into believing they are sumthing. I wish ppl like Kofi Kingston,Alex Riley or Justin Gabriel tried something new because smiling and waiting wont get u nowhere.

You are absolutely dumb if you think guys like Miz and Santino "do their thing". Santino is just Eugene's replacement for comedy, And Miz was in the main-event because WWE had zero star power left in 2010.

Only people who care about Zack Ryder are dumbasses who think a youtube show is equal to wrestling skills. A Youtube show has go nothing to do with Pro-Wrestling.

Damien Sandow isn't "doing his thing" either. He is told by creative to talk that way.

 

[XXJJ]

Of that list that you mentioned the only one that was disappointing was Lesnar.

Orton, Edge and Batista have been big stars for the WWE over the last 10 years. Edge has been with the WWE 14 years before he had to retire. Orton has been with the company for a decade. Batista had a successful run with the company. He is much older than the others so you knew he was going to have a shorter run.

Sheamus has gotten himself over. They keep trying with Del Rio but they fail. Punk, DB have gotten over. Bottom line is the real talent get themselves over. It takes some longer than the others, but I believe the cream always rises to the top.

 

[zabba53]

why does everyone hate on john cena so much, he is pretty much identical to the rock and what he use to do before he went to hollywood, cena has carried the company on his own for a number of years, with restrictions, that guys like the rock and stone cold never had in the "attitude era" ppl should be applauding john cena for the efforts and commitment he has made to be the best in the business! he is proof of the wwe rolling the dice, look how far he has come and done it all on his own!

 

[The Ghost of Benoit]

why does everyone hate on john cena so much, he is pretty much identical to the rock and what he use to do before he went to hollywood, cena has carried the company on his own for a number of years, with restrictions, that guys like the rock and stone cold never had in the "attitude era" ppl should be applauding john cena for the efforts and commitment he has made to be the best in the business! he is proof of the wwe rolling the dice, look how far he has come and done it all on his own!

How is he identical to the Rock? And how does Cena have restrictions? He could easily do whatever he wants but he chooses not to because he believes that whatever Vince wants is what is best for the company. He is a true company guy so to speak.

 

[Kizzani]

Really though how can someone like Dolph get over, if all thats given to him are wins on superstars and such dialogue as "tonight..... I'm gonna get in that ring, and show off". Or Zack Ryder, who gets pushed to the top only to be used to get support for their golden boy, and is then dropped off the face of the planet.(not a Cena hater just calling it as I see it)

It is hard to blame a business for making business decisions. People don't tend to invest into sinking ships unless they are going to do the repairing. ( see Dixie Carter...oh well her daddy anyways.)

WWE gives people a shot but when they fall on their face what do you expect them to do? Zack Ryder is a perfect example. The WWE gave him a push, they linked him with the top superstar and still he falls off. His last Long Island Ice Z sory crap had a total of 206 views after two weeks. I am a fan of Shawn Michaels I watch his weird ass hunting shows on youtube, As I am sure other do as well. If the wwe universe is made up of 206 people then Zack Ryder is popular and should get his push but since it is made of of Millions and millions, 207 is like a drop in the ocean nobody notices.

It was something Cute the fans could get behind to pretend like they have any control at all, but the fact is the fans let Ryder down. Not sure why they did. Personally I never liked Ryder he used you tube and the internet to get himself some publicity like he had wrestling talent, which he does not. But that is now obvious to everyone.

It is hard to pull the trigger when up and coming talent is getting themselves suspended every other week. Those who love wrestling and aren't willing to ruin their careers for a night of Drunkin stupidity are not getting the push they deserve. But hell when Angle can get away with Drunk driving and the fans still love him, Jeff Hardy can traffic drugs and use everything under the sun and the fans still adore him. Why do any other younger wrestlers need to fear drugs or Alcohol. Shit SCSA was praised for his drunkin ways.

 

[Pink Hole Slam]

Ryder got screwed because he got himself over. The only reason they gave him the US Title was to move Ziggler into a feud with CM Punk. If they didn't have that need then Vince would have kept jobbing out Ryder despite the support he was getting from the crowd. Also, Z! True Long Island Story sucks now because the WWE took it over. He used to make the show and submit it. Now he makes it, submits it for approval, the WWE has to approve the content, and then its posted. You really think they're going to let him put something about how hes being held back?

Its really simple what the WWE is doing: Sheamus, Cena, and, to a lesser extent, Punk all make them money. They sell merchandise, they're over with almost every demographic, and they're good wrestlers. There is no reason for them (a publicly traded company) to screw that formula up. So they don't. Good story lines are secondary this day in age. Its all about the dollar.

 

[Dyscord]

I agree they are afraid to take more chances then they used to. Without any real competition, they can be late to the party on an idea, or swing and miss with no real repercussions because there is no where else a viewer on Monday Night can go. Wrestling viewer that is. For example, CM Punk "left" with the belt last summer. Instead of letting that angle build some steam with Punk changing title belts and getting rid of Cena's belt and keeping Punk away for a while, what did they do? They gave Cena a second title! They went back to the same old because they were afraid of change. Brock cut that contract signing abortion of a promo against Johnny. Heyman shoulda been involved from the beginning and cut that promo. WWE, with no fear of messing up, took a risk...failed and brought Heyman a week later. They have no urgency anymore. And even if creative has good ideas, if Vince doesn't believe in it, he axes the idea before its even fully realized. Vince is more concerned with getting Cena cheered. They know they have to book him a specific way now or he will get booed and they cant have that. It's sad.

I agree with everything, but the bolded part stands out. That's the main problem with the WWE to be honest. It's hard to come up with ideas and such if Vince keeps axing them. I can understand having final say in storylines and such to an extent, but to veto things just because you "don't get it" is pretty dumb. Plus it's a sign that perhaps times are changing and you need to get with the program.