Is WWE trying to bring back older viewers?

[RKOking]

Lately I have been thinking with this PG thing for the kids is the WWE trying to bring back people who were there in the past to lure back older viewers?
I mean first a 2yrs ago Chris Jericho,last year Big Show and in 2009 Ricky Steamboat,Christian then Chris Masters now Eugene (there was a rumor of Scotty 2 Hotty)hmm I wonder who is next

 

[just a wwe fan man]

"mean" jean orcerland is host a wwe "remember this stuff" show on saterdays now. the obvious HOF inductions. Rumors about Axing the PG rating. I agree with your WWE/VKM is trying to bring back "older" fans who know wrestling from what it used to be namley the Attitude Era

 

[Milkyway!]

Lately I have been thinking with this PG thing for the kids is the WWE trying to bring back people who were there in the past to lure back older viewers?

Would it kill you to expand a little bit on what you mean? I mean seriously, how can anyone reply to this crock of shit? You've given no opinion, and theres nothing to say about it. I'll go ahead, for the sake of posting, and say no. The WWE is trying to atract any viewer it possibly can. By being child friendly they are attracting children, obviously. They are also using a style very much so like they did during Hogan's hayday, causing a sense of nostalgia to overcome the fans, thus causing it fun for some older viewers again.

I will say this, The WWE needs to get as far away from the Attitude era, as possible though.

I mean first a 2yrs ago Chris Jericho

Sigh, proper grammar wouldn't hurt. Chris Jericho has been back for about a year and a half now, not two years. If when he returned is when I think he did, that is.

last year Big Show

Show was fat, so he retired, got back in shape then got rehired.

and in 2009 Ricky Steamboat

The WWE almost always bills some sort of legend for some spectacle even like WrestleMania.

Christian

Christian left the company on his own terms, went to TNA saw the crock of BS it was, then came back to the WWe.

then Chris Masters

He had 3 wellness violations, the WWE waited for him to hopefully straighten up, and now he is getting another shot. Once again, didn't just get fired randomly.

now Eugene

Eugene is only coming back to train FCW stars from what I can tell.

(there was a rumor of Scotty 2 Hotty)

Not heard the 2 Hotty rumor.

hmm I wonder who is next

Who knows, it could be Kurt Angle. It still doesn't mean the WWE is trying to attact older viewers only.

 

[TSG]

No, they aren't. The only guys who they've brought back so far from The Attitude Era, who are most of the viewers they lost, are Jericho and Big Show. The rest of them were just brought back because, well, simply, WWE can. That's most likely the only reason they brought back Jericho and Show. So, no, I don't think the WWE isn't trying to bring back older viewers, or at least not by bringing back wrestlers from the past.

 

[Milkyway!]

"mean" jean orcerland is host a wwe "remember this stuff" show on saterdays now. the obvious HOF inductions.

Jeans always been with the company. He does a lot of behind the scene work from my understanding. Along with name recognition when it comes to the HOF, and smaller WWE shows, like the Roundtable of Legends show. or his show on Saturdays.

Rumors about Axing the PG rating.

Really, whered you hear this from? All that work only to go right back where they started? That would be absurd, and has absolutely no logic whatsoever.

I agree with your WWE/VKM is trying to bring back "older" fans who know wrestling from what it used to be

You're incorrect.

namley the Attitude Era

The WWE needs to, and is getting as far away from the Attitude era as possible.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Would it kill you to expand a little bit on what you mean? I mean seriously, how can anyone reply to this crock of shit? You've given no opinion, and theres nothing to say about it. I'll go ahead, for the sake of posting, and say no. The WWE is trying to atract any viewer it possibly can. By being child friendly they are attracting children, obviously. They are also using a style very much so like they did during Hogan's hayday, causing a sense of nostalgia to overcome the fans, thus causing it fun for some older viewers again.

Today's style is not a thing like the cartoony Hogan Era style. The Hogan Era had far more gimmicks than this particular Era, and was geared towards kids even more than this Era.

The wrestling is far better today, however the characters they have in place are far worse, unfortunately.

I will say this, The WWE needs to get as far away from the Attitude era, as possible though.

Couldn't disagree more.

If straight up scripted wrestling matches between any 2 wrestlers is all you want, then Ring of Honor is the show for you. I think you would be even happier with that product than even what WWE is, at the moment.

Eugene is only coming back to train FCW stars from what I can tell.

He apparently wrestled at this weekend's House Show.

Eugene made his WWE return in a match against Ricky Ortiz at last night's Smackdown/ECW house show in Manchester, NH. He is expected to make his return to WWE TV on August 7th episode of Smackdown and will continue his feud with Ortiz. Eugene was released on September 1, 2007 for receiving his third strike in the WWE Wellness program.

Credit: PWTorch Newsletter

Not heard the 2 Hotty rumor.

It was just a rumor. But it wasn't true. Apparently, he appeared at FCW I believe for an autograph signing, but that was all.

Who knows, it could be Kurt Angle. It still doesn't mean the WWE is trying to attact older viewers only.

Where in his post did he say that WWE was trying to attract older viewers ONLY? He was simply wondering if they were looking to attract older viewers who left the product. Not really out of the realm of possibility since those words came out of McMahon's mouth himself when he did McMahon's Million Dollar Giveaway and stated its purpose.

 

[Ballistic83]

Lately I have been thinking with this PG thing for the kids is the WWE trying to bring back people who were there in the past to lure back older viewers?
I mean first a 2yrs ago Chris Jericho,last year Big Show and in 2009 Ricky Steamboat,Christian then Chris Masters now Eugene (there was a rumor of Scotty 2 Hotty)hmm I wonder who is next

Pretty much! You see they still got Goldust (for the fourth or fifth time) on the WWE roster. They got him on the ECW brand though for some reason? Back in the original ECW, People like Joey Styles use to make fun of Goldust aka Dustin Runnels family, being that he is "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes first son. Like the blue meanie's "BlueDust" gimmick. It was a shot at the whole Runnels family. It was cold blooded. Now I guess it's poetic justice that Goldust is on that brand now huh?

But that's all I got to say right now.

 

[KKKKwe]

even though i think this is a stupid discussion ill reply to it just for the sake of it. Simply WWE is Fucking up right now they're looking towars younger kids but if you think about in the future those young kids will grow up and will be the one giving most of the ratings to the wwe with a new generation of kids but i think wwe is doing the "PG" era shit is becasue of the little mcmahons yes fucking vincent kennedy mcmahon's grand children so they dont get exposed to words like bitch or **** or even HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO but as they are doing this they are changing so much things like john cena's hand sign his move names and more but as for them bringing back older viewers NO like come on think about you idiot if they wanted wwe to have the older viewer they would have brought back steve austin, hulk hogan, they probably would have even bribed Kurt angle to come back and the rock they would probably bribe him and pay him good money just to come back. Right now as i can say WWE is doing their own thing and theyre doing what ever they want and theyre also prbably trying to lure enough kids in so that one day they just go alittle more extreme they also they know kids will be easy to fool so that people dont go to events andsay oh this shit is fake blah blah but on the good side theyre giving kids a hero to look up too. SO no WWE ISNT BRINGING BACK OLD VIEWRES all the old veiwers are DEAD jokes they are still there they are just not intrested as they were like in attitude era

 

[Razz]

All the signings are not related. Christian left TNA and wanted to come back and they had interest to resign him which was a no brainer. The Steamboat thing was mainly for WM 25 the anniversary tie in. The other signings I don't think it has anything to do with older viewers. I think they had known commodities in Eugene and Masters who they brought back. They both did reasonable well and were two of the better gimmicks they have created and pushed in the last 5 years or so. They both had personal problems or some sort of heat which lead them to release. WWE is realizing they have failed at some points very bad with many gimmicks and angles they have created especially in the last 2 or so years. Another gimmick I would have love to see return would be Muhammad Hassan but obviously that wont happen since he left the wrestling buisness and the show is PG. They totally wasted some wrestlers like Jimmy Yang and his horrible gimmick. He could have been getting the push Yoshi Tatsu is getting, just being himself. The gimmicks have no depth barely which is a major problem. Even till a few years ago they developed characters better like Eugene, Masters, Hassan, La Resistance etc..Theres too many people being pushed too fast now with no depth like Tyler Reks, Sheamus, Ryder etc..Ziggler even, but he is finally getting some character other than just a guy coming out and saying his name.. Even Kofi Kingston is still too one dimensional as a character..

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

The gimmicks have no depth barely which is a major problem. Even till a few years ago they developed characters better like Eugene, Masters, Hassan, La Resistance etc..Theres too many people being pushed too fast now with no depth like Tyler Reks, Sheamus, Ryder etc..Ziggler even, but he is finally getting some character other than just a guy coming out and saying his name.. Even Kofi Kingston is still too one dimensional as a character..

You hit the nail on the head.

WWE has 75 active wrestlers on the roster at the moment. This is more than they ever had at any other point in history. So, signing even more names isn't the problem. Developing the ones you do have, and giving them characters with actual depth, which actually gives the audience a reason to care about them, IS the solution.

 

[McNewfall]

NOTHING pisses me off more than people who quote topics and pick apart every little thing and say dumb shit that makes no sense.

Would it kill you to expand a little bit on what you mean? I mean seriously, how can anyone reply to this crock of shit? You've given no opinion, and theres nothing to say about it.

Are you kidding me? Did you just read the first sentence and then decide that he didn't say anything else? He DID expand on it.

Sigh, proper grammar wouldn't hurt.

Fuck you. Nobdoy cares.

Chris Jericho has been back for about a year and a half now, not two years. If when he returned is when I think he did, that is.

He returned on the 11/19/07. Closer to two years than one and a half.

Show was fat, so he retired, got back in shape then got rehired.

You still didn't prove the OP wrong. You gave no reason that he wasn't hired back to bring back old viewers. There are plenty of people who were in shape who had never been on WWE tv but they rehired him.

The WWE almost always bills some sort of legend for some spectacle even like WrestleMania.

And then continues to book them on houseshow tours almost six months after the PPV?

Christian left the company on his own terms, went to TNA saw the crock of BS it was, then came back to the WWE.

You said "crock of shit" twice in your posting. Nice vocab, bro.

He had 3 wellness violations, the WWE waited for him to hopefully straighten up, and now he is getting another shot. Once again, didn't just get fired randomly.

Once again, you didn't elaborate WHY he got another shot. Don't argue for the sake of argument if you're not even attempting to prove someone wrong or right.

Eugene is only coming back to train FCW stars from what I can tell.

No, dipshit, he's been booked on house shows and will be starting a TV program soon.

Not heard the 2 Hotty rumor.

Because it's not true

Who knows, it could be Kurt Angle. It still doesn't mean the WWE is trying to attact older viewers only.

So he asks "Who is the next person WWE will hire to attract old viewers?", you answer the question, acknowledging it's credibility, but then shoot it down again. Fuck.

 

[RH23]

well right now, WWE is targeting kids but that doesn't mean that they don't want to attract older viewers. Chris Jericho and Big Show are two big names in sports entertainment today, and they both left the WWE for different reasons. I think that they brought back Christian because they know that Christian is popular and again, he wasn't released, he left on his own terms. I think WWE brought back Masters because he could be a future main eventer, as long as he stays clean. Ricky Steamboat was brought in to feud with Jericho and as for Scotty 2 Hotty, he was there just to sign autographs. As for Eugene he's there to train guys and probably to job against some upper mid card talent. As for who's next, I could see Kurt Angle coming back, but thats only if Jarret remains in control of the booking.

 

[wolvdog316]

How can WWE bring back the attitude era when the attitude era was about cutting edge TV, Undertaker being as evil as possible and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Without those things, you have no attitude era. Without Austin, you have no attitude era.

 

[conradhunter]

they want and are bringing in kids and they have parents are letting there kids watch wwe cos its suitable for them to watch and i think they have lost viewers adults that is. when it was tv 14 it was the best but vince wont change it cos its working for him there heaps and heaps of kids watching and going to there shows pg is working
sorry for going off subject but they have lost the older viewers cos of the change. im 23 and i still watch wwe for i like edge hbk triple h jeff hardy jack swagger and more. but at times i get bored of it cos of the change

 

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

You hit the nail on the head.

WWE has 75 active wrestlers on the roster at the moment. This is more than they ever had at any other point in history. So, signing even more names isn't the problem. Developing the ones you do have, and giving them characters with actual depth, which actually gives the audience a reason to care about them, IS the solution.

I curious as to what you mean by "actual depth. What exactly is a character is professional wrestling that to you had or has "depth". La Resistance? They were french guys that didn't like the US. Hardly a complicated gimmick, nor did it extend beyond face value. In fact the anti american gimmick has been used time and time again, with Muhammed Hassan also a good example of this. Hell, its more of a rarity to find a character with "actual depth" in any era. I dont care whether you scour the Hogan Era or look around in the Attitude era. You'll find that classic characters are few and far between.

I don't see at all how a redneck or a "crow" is anymore ingenious than a guido from Long Island or a Jim Morrison copy. But I will listen for your counter argument if you ever return to this thread. As for the original topic, I don't see how bring back Christ Masters or Eugene is getting "old fans" to return to the product. What, fans that left the product all the way back in 2006? They aren't old fans. Okay, if they bring back Gillberg, you might have an argument. If we see Essa Rios lhanging out backstage, we could give something to your claim, but bringing back a wrestler thats been away for about 2 years isnt really good enough. Odds are a fan in 2006 is probably still watching now. And Christ Masters isn't going to bring someone back if they aren't.

 

[Nev]

Vince used that same line, 'trying to bring back old viewers', when he attempted the million dollar giveaway last year. He was trying to lure them back, but it didn't work. I doubt appealing to a new generation is Vince's or WWE's mindset with the PG rating, but it makes sense.

As for what you are saying with the older superstars, reason being they are returning is simply because they have experience, are established, and can help put the younger guys over. Not a complicated concept.

 

[Davey McBoy]

WWE's main goal is, was and will always be to make money and you have to spend some to make more. They spend the most when it comes to children. There are many important reasons for this, most of which everyone here knows. The reason that applies to this discussion is the fact that the kids of today ARE the older viewers of the near future and the potential is there to bring WWE back up to those 8-9 ratings when the next boom peroid arrives. It won't be another attitude era but it will be whatever Vince and family decide is best to capture the imagination of the teenagers of tomorow.

When it comes to the "older hands" that some people think are hired to appeal to older fans, it isn't as cut and dry as that. They will always need guys like Christian who have worked at their trade and can carry a match, and who can also appeal to the "lapsed" fans of the North East, the South and Europe who still remember him from 1999 onwards.

They are not all of a sudden trying to bring back older viewers, that would be counter intuitive when you look at the millions of dollars that have been poured into the likes of Cena, all they are doing is taking care of business and utilising their experienced guys as best they can as the company looks to the future. This has always been done and I don't see why people are getting so abusive over something so benign.

 

[OIL]

Bringing back Chris Masters won't bring back the older viewers, brining a BIG name would. Someone like The Rock, although that won't happen.

I think the WWE really liked Chris Masters, but they had to release him. They let himself get clean, and let the media storm die down. Now they can bring him back, and let him shine. I'm pumped for his return. If they got rid of the PG rating and allowed the storylines to be more edgy, then perhaps the older viewers may come back.

There is one simple way, put on the best matches they can. It doesn't matter if it's Chris Masters vs Dolph Ziggler, if they work their asses off, and put on a good match, people are going to sit up and take notice. Improve the quality of the matches, and they'll sit the fuck down, and take notice.

 

[Mavericks fan]

Lately I have been thinking with this PG thing for the kids is the WWE trying to bring back people who were there in the past to lure back older viewers?
I mean first a 2yrs ago Chris Jericho,last year Big Show and in 2009 Ricky Steamboat,Christian then Chris Masters now Eugene (there was a rumor of Scotty 2 Hotty)hmm I wonder who is next

Yes.hell yes.the older fans can now be kinda happier,kids will be happy,vince will be happy.and the next one will surely be the transformation of helms into the hurricane

 

[Milkyway!]

Today's style is not a thing like the cartoony Hogan Era style. The Hogan Era had far more gimmicks than this particular Era, and was geared towards kids even more than this Era.

You can't deny that with each passing week, we're getting closer and closer to what was going on during the Hogan Era, can you?

The wrestling is far better today, however the characters they have in place are far worse, unfortunately.

Agreed, but those characters may never be reachable again. The Hogan Character was dang near perfect.

Couldn't disagree more.

Then we'll agree to disagree.

If straight up scripted wrestling matches between any 2 wrestlers is all you want, then Ring of Honor is the show for you. I think you would be even happier with that product than even what WWE is, at the moment.

Thats not what I want, by any means necassary, but I don't like the attitude era by any means neccassary. Its was just plain old foolish teenage bullshit, being done by 30+ year old men. The whole boss vs employee was stupid, if it had any logic, Austin would have just been fired after week one.

On a side note: Don't you push the illogical button quite often, while still pressing the edgy button as well? That makes no real sense to me.

He apparently wrestled at this weekend's House Show.

Ahh, interesting indeed.

It was just a rumor. But it wasn't true. Apparently, he appeared at FCW I believe for an autograph signing, but that was all.

Good.

Where in his post did he say that WWE was trying to attract older viewers ONLY? He was simply wondering if they were looking to attract older viewers who left the product. Not really out of the realm of possibility since those words came out of McMahon's mouth himself when he did McMahon's Million Dollar Giveaway and stated its purpose.

He never said anything about new viewers, while all I've heard from anyone inside the WWE (Linda, and JR in particular) the WWE is simply attracting children. But no, the older viewers aren't out of reach. Like I said in my post afterwards, the sense of nostalgia reach for the elder viewers is deffinetly a factor.

 

[Milkyway!]

NOTHING pisses me off more than people who quote topics and pick apart every little thing and say dumb shit that makes no sense.

Sounds a bit personal to me. If you don't like it, don't post here. Almost every single regular does it.

Are you kidding me? Did you just read the first sentence and then decide that he didn't say anything else? He DID expand on it.

Not hardly, he simply stated what he thought, there was no explination involved in his post.

Fuck you. Nobdoy cares.

Who are you again?

He returned on the 11/19/07. Closer to two years than one and a half.

I was too lazy to look it for one. For two, when/how long Jericho returned has no relevance what so ever.

You still didn't prove the OP wrong. You gave no reason that he wasn't hired back to bring back old viewers. There are plenty of people who were in shape who had never been on WWE tv but they rehired him.

You act as if Show had no name credibility allready. Even the youngsters would recognise him, because he quit the WWE for a mere year. The WWE was lacking any monsters during this time. Umaga was hurt, Khali was going face, Kane had no relevance anymore. So they brought back The Big Show.

And then continues to book them on houseshow tours almost six months after the PPV?

I'm disappointed that you would mention such a thing. Ricky Steamboat is from Japan. He has HUGE name credibility in such a place. Steamboat still works for the company, so I'd say he travels with the company either way.

You said "crock of shit" twice in your posting. Nice vocab, bro.

Actually I said Crock of BS the second time. It was just on my mind that day. I'm certain I used it at least 10 times yesterday. You've never done such a thing?

Once again, you didn't elaborate WHY he got another shot. Don't argue for the sake of argument if you're not even attempting to prove someone wrong or right.

No need to try and elaborate on a point, when more than likely the poster who posted is a noob, who will forget he made this thread, and never look at it again. Theres no need to waste that much time, when theres more important posters, that you can actually get something out of debating from.

No, dipshit, he's been booked on house shows and will be starting a TV program soon.

Not necassarily. Just because hes on a house show, doesn't mean he'll be back on TV. Just because I don't read the, more often than not, fake headlines of the website, doesn't make me a "Dipshit."

By the way, I'm reporting you for flaming, just to piss you off.

Because it's not true

Okay.

So he asks "Who is the next person WWE will hire to attract old viewers?", you answer the question, acknowledging it's credibility, but then shoot it down again. Fuck.

I didn't say anything of the sort. I either missunderstood his wording, or, he said the WWE is going for older viewers only, which isn't true. The WWE is going for everyone. But as a Lord Sidious said, he never said only but he probably should have been more clear with his wording, as well.

 

[Southwind]

You don't have to be so abrasive with other posters MilkyWay this is a forum of public OPINION. If you don't like it then go away nobody likes an egomaniac who only thinks he is right.

The attitude era is something WWE should not go back to it feels stupid watching it now and the business doesn't need it anymore. But the PG era is not working either what the attitude era did was not restrict wrestlers from being themselves and thus the gimmicks and action of the show was leaps and bounds better than it is today.

The WWE needs to find some middle ground between the two tipping more towards the attitude era in the aspect of developing characters and gimmicks well enough to create new stars. Although Vince and the gang have given me little confidence they are capable of achieving this.

 

[GameOver]

"mean" jean orcerland is host a wwe "remember this stuff" show on saterdays now. the obvious HOF inductions. Rumors about Axing the PG rating. I agree with your WWE/VKM is trying to bring back "older" fans who know wrestling from what it used to be namley the Attitude Era

Mean Gene has been hosting Vintage Collection on Australian Foxtel PayTV for well over a yr now so thats nothing new and well b4 this shift to PG. The guys that have come back recently would attract no old viewers.

The guys "older viewers" would want to see depending on what era you think you are referring to, they are all retired, dead or no working elsewhere.

Chris Masters is gonna have no effect on viewers, Eugene ok if he was returning to screen thats purely to be a comic relief for Smackdown maybe since Santino does RAW

Jericho was never fired and this not hired back he just took a few yr sabatical.

Big Show once again someone who would have little influence on attracting viewers.

And any legends get brought in on a few matches a few times during the year thats been happening for a long time.

I don't think they would be trying to get back old viewers, rather trying to convince new ones to watch and get hooked.

Personally i've been watching WWF/E since 1984. months b4 Hogan won his first world title

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

You can't deny that with each passing week, we're getting closer and closer to what was going on during the Hogan Era, can you?

I'll tell you what. I actually go back and forth between which was my favorite Era, between the Hogan Era and the Attitude Era. I loved them both. And if I had my way, Raw would represent an Attitude Era-like product while Smackdown would represent a Hogan Era-like product. In my opinion, those were the best two Eras in the company's history. Two distinctly different products, but both definitely stood out.

With that being said, I see basically nothing in today's product that is representative of the Hogan Era. Zip. Believe me, I wish it did. And if I saw the Hogan Era in today's product, I would embrace it whole heartedly.

I see people compare John Cena to Hulk Hogan, and can understand why they do it. Although both of them are two totally different characters, as Cena is even more goody two shoes than Hogan was during his prime.

But, other than that comparison, I am not seeing the resemblance between the two time periods. Quite frankly, the Hogan Era had a Hell of a lot more personality than this Era, which I find to be extremely bland.

Some things would need to transpire for me to see those comparisons.



1) A return of more gimmicky characters. Now before everyone starts citing bad gimmicks like TL Hopper, Doink, The Gobbledygooker, etc. the gimmicks I am talking about are characters like Macho Man Randy Savage, Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase, The Big Boss Man, Jake The Snake Roberts, Ravishing Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, The Birdman Koko B. Ware .... guys with a lot of personality and character, which I find absent from today's performers.

2) I would need to see prominence return to both the Midcard and Tag Team Divisions. More feuds taking place amongst all parts of the card, not just the Main Event. This will help progressively grow each of the talents, which WWE did a masterful job of doing back in the day, which they lost touch of today ... and why they are having a Main Event problem.

3) I would need to see ringside managers return ... and good ones at that. I would like to see modern day Bobby Heenans, Jimmy Harts, Slicks, Mr. Fujis and Sensational Sherris in the managerial ranks again, and have prominence on WWE television.

4) At least one or two jobber matches on Raw and Smackdown, which keeps the guys facing each other on PPV's separated, to build up the anticipation of the actual PPV match ... instead of having Triple H facing Randy Orton on Raw, and then facing each other again that same Sunday on PPV. Jobbers help keep main talents on TV, while prolonging key matches from taking place on weekly TV.

5) Return of Face/Heel broadcast teams to help keep the show entertaining. Vince needs to stop treating wrestling like a real sport, as far as his announcers go. Gorilla Monsoon's commentary style was perfect for me. He argued with Heenan, but still got guys over, as well. Heenan may have cut guys down, but he still got them over, just by being himself. I also didn't have a problem with Vince McMahon's over-the-top style, either, for that matter. I will take those two any day over any of today's commentators, including Jim Ross. The toned down Jim Ross is not the same as classic Jim Ross, whom I also enjoyed immensely.


Those things would need to transpire in order for me to start seeing a resemblance between the two Eras.

Rather, what I see today is Ring of Honor for the adults, along with a couple child segments thrown in for the kids to keep them occupied (like Hornswoggle).

Agreed, but those characters may never be reachable again. The Hogan Character was dang near perfect.

Hogan's character was, in my opinion, the character that really put wrestling on the map. It's too bad there will never be another Hogan. I feel really bad for those fans that never grew up in that time period, as they truly missed out on the Golden Age of wrestling.

 

[Razz]

I curious as to what you mean by "actual depth. What exactly is a character is professional wrestling that to you had or has "depth". La Resistance? They were french guys that didn't like the US. Hardly a complicated gimmick, nor did it extend beyond face value. In fact the anti american gimmick has been used time and time again, with Muhammed Hassan also a good example of this. Hell, its more of a rarity to find a character with "actual depth" in any era. I dont care whether you scour the Hogan Era or look around in the Attitude era. You'll find that classic characters are few and far between.

I don't see at all how a redneck or a "crow" is anymore ingenious than a guido from Long Island or a Jim Morrison copy. But I will listen for your counter argument if you ever return to this thread. As for the original topic, I don't see how bring back Christ Masters or Eugene is getting "old fans" to return to the product. What, fans that left the product all the way back in 2006? They aren't old fans. Okay, if they bring back Gillberg, you might have an argument. If we see Essa Rios lhanging out backstage, we could give something to your claim, but bringing back a wrestler thats been away for about 2 years isnt really good enough. Odds are a fan in 2006 is probably still watching now. And Christ Masters isn't going to bring someone back if they aren't.

The characters were better developed till lately. Their not like jobbing one night then on a streak, then disappear from the main shows and have no angles at all. Like La Resistance was given a good build up and had regular promos, vigenettes, angles etc. Sure some gimmicks are plays on classic themes but they were built up and progressed well. Muhammad Hassan had a huge build up prior to his debut. For example all the different prejudice things happening against him like being ganged up at the royal rumble and progressing on. He built up his character for months with interviews/promos/matches and was kept in the picture. Same with Masters/Eugene etc..Now a guy like Mike Knox is made noticeable for a while then disappears, just becomes a nobody then. It's like they have no long term ideas/angles/character to develop. I like what they did with Kofi building him up on ECW for a long time. But when he came to RAW all he did is mostly wrestle in random matches, became a champion, yet he has no angles/ little promo time or development. They seem to be going back and forth on gimmicks and characters more than ever now. Not sticking with something to develop it. They built up Jesse and Festus for example and then made them into nothing. The seem to care less about their undercard titles and performers more than ever. It's all about the main eventers now, who just keep facing each other in a rotating fashion. At least there's some promise with some steady new pushes and faces on RAW and SMACKDOWN like what there doing with Ziggler.