Is WWE Trying Hard To Be Unpredictable?

[TWJC: The Beginning]

God it's fuckin ridiculous that some people think WWE changed their mind on Jericho winnning. Both at the time and in retrospect, I've thought Sheamus was a pretty good bet to win the Rumble as far back as October. Saying "JERICHO DIDN'T WIN EVEN THOUGH THE INTERWEBS SAID HE WOULD AND HE SAID HE WOULD AND HE IS RETURNING" is shit-your-pants level ******ed. A LOT of people said they'd win the rumble, but they didn't. What's more exciting? A guy coming back, saying he's going to win, then winning, then starting a feud based on that, or a guy coming bac, saying he's going to win, acting happy, then LOSING, then flipping shit and going crazy? Hmmm.

Predictability is a weapon, not a fault. When Punk hits his swinging neckbreaker, when Cena hits his FIVE MOVEZ OF TEH DOOMZ, that's predictability but it lets the audience know the finish is coming and everything is amplified. If Santino beats Cena with a knockout jab 49 seconds into the match....that's just dumb.

Unpredictability is something the WWE knows how to build. Most of the time I hear people on here bitching that the dirtsheets weren't right "ZOMG THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN AND IT DIDNT", no jackass, it was never supposed to happen, some fat virgin who hasn't been outside in 6 months wrote it in some article and pawned it off as journalism.

The part where you say "they do what we expect but delay it" is what they've ALWAYS done. If they do what you expect, then that means they aren't very good at their jobs because most of you suck at storytelling and marketing. Think about this, a lot of you wanted Cena and Kane to be in the rumble.....yea, that's how bad your ideas are. The WWE creative team is pretty good at doing what they do.

 

[CasualNinja]

The main problem with the Sheamus RR win was because Jericho spoke saying that Sunday at the Rumble "It will be the end of the world as you know it." Fans clearly expected 1 of 2 things. He would attack Punk sometime during the night, or win the Rumble. When the first didn't happen, it made it clearly obvious it would be the latter. The problem was, it ended up being neither. If they had no intention of having him win, he could've just did his Highlight Reel segment, then didn't speak again. They spent 2 months with the videos hyping his return, and him not speaking. He finally does, and they kill the momentum he had by not doing anything at the Rumble like he said. Obviously, they are gonna still have the feud with Punk, it just makes the first 2 months pretty useless. They obviously decided on the Sheamus win sometime between after Raw and the Rumble. Clearly, they start storylines without a desired or clear cut outcome. Predictability isn't hurting this company. It is the half-assed writing and storylines. They build stuff up, and have good beginnings, yet the endings are so terrible and anti-climatic. The entire Nexus angle, The whole Nash/Text stuff, and there are many more through the last few years. That hurts more than a little swerve here and there. It is cool to swerve people, but not when it comes at the expense of potentially ruining the best angle you have going.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't see WWE as trying to hard to be unpredictable. To me, that would entail simply trying to be unpredictable just for the sake of being unpredictable rather than things making sense.

I do think WWE has added more unpredictable elements to various aspects of the product and, in my view, it's either turned out or turning out very well. Nobody expected Daniel Bryan to cash in his MITB briefcase at TLC, but he did. People were expecting mediocrity from the very beginning but not only has Bryan managed to hold onto the title against the two overall biggest men on the WWE roster, but has emerged as one of the best young heels in wrestling over the past several weeks. He's much more comfortable in his heel role, his slow heel turn has been pulled off beautifully and Bryan's stock has never been higher since he became WHC and it continues to go up each week. People were expecting Brodus Clay to hit Raw as your standard, one dimensional monster heel and WWE went in the opposite direction. Clay's Funkasaurus character is fun, he's entertaining and is quickly becoming one of the most popular babyfaces in WWE. Clay has shown that he has tons of personality and charisma and probably wouldn't have gotten nearly the same sort of enthusiastic acceptance had he hit Raw as a monster heel. Ultimately, Funkasaurus might be much better for Clay in the long run. Kane's unexpected return saw him return not only as a dominant physical force but he also didn't revert to the standard, near invincible monster heel that he's played at various times since his WWE career started. I've had no problem with Kane talking because the man can deliver damn good promos and this new thinking man's monster that Kane is portraying is helping John Cena to become more overall interesting than he's been in the past few years. Sheamus winning the Royal Rumble came about whereas most people thought that Jericho would win. Even though I wouldn't have complained if Jericho had won, Sheamus is probably someone that can benefit the most from winning the Rumble. He's been a dominant force on SD! since he came there last year, WWE has really gotten back on track with him and this could propel him into an epic encounter with Bryan at WM. As we saw last Monday on Raw, Jericho made his intentions ultimately known when he attacked CM Punk. It was the first step towards Punk vs. Jericho at WM and, when it's all said and done, that's the end result damn near everyone wanted to see anyhow.

At the same time though, I think a lot of internet fans and dirtsheet writers make too many assumptions sometimes. They'll complain if something turns out like they expected it to, but they'll complain even more if something unexpected comes about that didn't meet with their expected outcome.

 

[scottyshowman82]

I don't see WWE as trying to hard to be unpredictable. To me, that would entail simply trying to be unpredictable just for the sake of being unpredictable rather than things making sense.

I do think WWE has added more unpredictable elements to various aspects of the product and, in my view, it's either turned out or turning out very well. Nobody expected Daniel Bryan to cash in his MITB briefcase at TLC, but he did. People were expecting mediocrity from the very beginning but not only has Bryan managed to hold onto the title against the two overall biggest men on the WWE roster, but has emerged as one of the best young heels in wrestling over the past several weeks. He's much more comfortable in his heel role, his slow heel turn has been pulled off beautifully and Bryan's stock has never been higher since he became WHC and it continues to go up each week. People were expecting Brodus Clay to hit Raw as your standard, one dimensional monster heel and WWE went in the opposite direction. Clay's Funkasaurus character is fun, he's entertaining and is quickly becoming one of the most popular babyfaces in WWE. Clay has shown that he has tons of personality and charisma and probably wouldn't have gotten nearly the same sort of enthusiastic acceptance had he hit Raw as a monster heel. Ultimately, Funkasaurus might be much better for Clay in the long run. Kane's unexpected return saw him return not only as a dominant physical force but he also didn't revert to the standard, near invincible monster heel that he's played at various times since his WWE career started. I've had no problem with Kane talking because the man can deliver damn good promos and this new thinking man's monster that Kane is portraying is helping John Cena to become more overall interesting than he's been in the past few years. Sheamus winning the Royal Rumble came about whereas most people thought that Jericho would win. Even though I wouldn't have complained if Jericho had won, Sheamus is probably someone that can benefit the most from winning the Rumble. He's been a dominant force on SD! since he came there last year, WWE has really gotten back on track with him and this could propel him into an epic encounter with Bryan at WM. As we saw last Monday on Raw, Jericho made his intentions ultimately known when he attacked CM Punk. It was the first step towards Punk vs. Jericho at WM and, when it's all said and done, that's the end result damn near everyone wanted to see anyhow.

At the same time though, I think a lot of internet fans and dirtsheet writers make too many assumptions sometimes. They'll complain if something turns out like they expected it to, but they'll complain even more if something unexpected comes about that didn't meet with their expected outcome.

My immediate reactions after the Rumble was dissapointment. I thought the Funkasauras was a joke the first time I saw it ,and I thought Bryan's heel turn was a way further devaluing his name. But after reading you stuff it makes more sense. You're right people,to some extent have to just wait and see how things pan out before they condemn an angle or character. I thought I was optimstic and patient when it comes to wrestling but I guess I need some fine tuning. Really good stuff man, keep it up.

 

[Da Solo]

Yes, they are. But I don't think its a bad thing. I actually think it's pretty necessary. In the age of the Internet and Dirt sheets and whatnot, news can leak fast and fans end up getting expectations or getting prior information on something that could have been bigger with the shock value. People complain about WWE being predictable all the time (Cena's title wins, Taker's returns, etc.), but then when WWE tries to shake things up for us, we complain (Jericho losing the rumble, Punk taking over Nexus, etc.). SO they have to be unpredictable sometimes lest the IWC bitch and moan again, and if the angle ends up failing as a result, then so be it.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

First and foremost this isn't a hate thread. Hey I love the unpredictability of the product and I am amazed how WWE has kept me glued with what it's done, especially with the RR winners (ADR, Sheamus) and the main summer angles (Nexus riot and Punk shoot).

All I'm saying and I tend to agree with Chris Cash that Jericho's long silent frantic month yielded absolute nothing. They delayed what was an eventual feud with Punk.

The strongest hint was at the Rumble and nothing happened. If for some reason he would've cost Punk his title that would've been much more impactful and shit.

Being unpredictable is fine, but being unpredictable just for the sake of it is confusing me as to what to write next

 

[somehetero]

That pretty much sums up this entire thread. Thank you very much. There's a lot of wisdom hidden on these boards that so many fans choose to ignore.

I also wonder why people are angry about being "Swerved" when Jericho fails to win the Rumble, but didn't mind being "swerved" when Punk walked out of Chicago as WWE champion on his last night. Could there be some internet darling bias going on?

Punk and his win in Chicago is the exact OPPOSITE of what happened with Jericho. The build up with Punk was pure anti-establishment. The whole thing was about him creating chaos. The most chaos he could possibly create was to win the strap and leave with it. That's what the entire thing was building to - it was absolutely what the storyline was suggesting the entire time.

And then it happened. And it was STILL probably the most awesome thing that happened all year.

Had that situation been given the Jericho treatment, it would have gone AGAINST all the build up. All the promos he did trash-talking the company and all the segments about how he wasn't going to re-sign would have led up to the big moment in Chicago... and then he would have just lost. But that's ok, right? Because when he came back a week later and won the title then, we would have all gotten the great end result anyways, right? Just like everyone is saying "Jericho's gonna get the title shot at mania against Punk anyways, so shut up" - it'll all be ok, right?

No. It would have made all the build up with Punk worthless. It would have been a LET DOWN. Anyone who has any sort of creative writing training knows that the LAST thing you want to do is let down your audience. You want to keep them captivated. When you build to a point of suspense, you want to deliver on it. The writers made the Rumble the apex of the build-up when they had Jericho deliver his one-liner on Raw just like they made the apex of Punk's storyline his match for the title on his last night. You can't say "it's still coming, just wait" because they FORCED the climax to be at the Rumble.

If this stuff were real, all the drama would be in the product itself. Since it's all written, the drama has to be in the suspense created at the writer's table. Punk causing chaos in the company and then just fading in Chicago with a loss would not cause suspense. Jericho saying the end of the world would happen at the rumble and then nothing happening did not cause suspense. It just fell flat.

If they wanted to drag out the storyline with him, then having him say that the Rumble would be the end of the world was a mistake.

EDIT: Look up the term "retcon". Retroactive continuity. WWE writers do it all the time to explain away storylines that were changed, and it's exactly what is going to happen to the Jericho situation. They also, quite often, just ignore plot devices when changing storylines (known as "retcon by subtraction"). Anonymous GM? Eh, we're gonna scrap that one and go with something else. Retconned. Nash getting a text from HHH's phone from a mystery person who was controlling the entire scenario? Nah, we don't wanna do that anymore. We'll just say that Nash sent it to himself. Retconned.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

I never, and I'm being really honest here, envisioned what happened at MiTB last year.

I was damn sure Cena was gonna win another match, and then maybe Punk cuts a promo ala Bradshaw from Mania 25 and we go on without a glitch.

What WWE did that night was magical. It was something that left me speechless as I read the results here and I thought to myself 'he just ran with the title, how the fuck is this gonna play out?'

I've no problem with Sheamus winning. He is over for reasons I don't quite fathom, but I've always liked his unique appeal; however Jericho promised something huge and I eagerly awaited that along with a surprise entrant (and got Duggan thanks WWE) from the Ruumble. I still believe things will shape so Punk REGAINS his title at Mania to give it that much more fitting end to their match that night, yet I rue a month of jumping and screaming and all those vigenettes and the excitement they brought.
Its like meeting a girl online for the first time and realizing she's hot but an addict.

 

[deadman182]

the undertaker coming back on raw was soooo predictable to me anyway. but i do agree they are trying very hard and its working to some effect. shamus winning was a shock but i do think it was a better descion than y2j winning.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I think that Jericho's attack on Punk can be easily explained. He was confident on winning the Rumble and confront and challenge Punk with all the promos that everyone has been imagining, but he did not win the Rumble. Therefore he got upset and attacked Punk in order to get his attention because without the Rumble victory, he has no card to play. I think that we will get pretty much the same story with Jericho confronting Punk on stealing his ideas but not just in the way we want it. I do not think however that it is unpredictability for the sake of it, or that WWE is trying too hard. I think the storyline will be better because of this move. It establishes Jericho as a clear cut heel than as a tweener which is what he would have been had he won the Rumble and challenged Jericho. He comes across as a whiny bitch this way, which also happens to be the role Chris plays to perfection.

The Undertaker return was well done. The Undertaker is supposed to barge in any time he pleases and I love the cliffhanger on which the Lauranitis story ended this week, which I am guessing was WWE's prime aim from having the Undertaker return at precisely this moment. I think Lauranitis will try to keep his job by convincing the board of directors that HHH has a lot on his plate at the moment and cannot be trusted to make the correct decision.

So, it's not like any of the stories were purposeless.