Mark Madden’s comments about the WWE Jumping the Shark

[Ding_Dong_#2]

I admire Mark Madden,

I think he is a fair, intuitive and generally decent guy who says what he thinks, and most of the time, he is generally right.

His thoughts on the WWE “Jumping the Shark” were well-considered and opinionated as always but I don’t think it is quite as cut and dried as that. I’m not sure Professional Wrestling ever can, or cease completely because it is unique entity; what I mean by that is that wrestlers are neither actors or athletes; they are unique in terms of entertainment. Because of this, they can never receive public recognition or be eligible for award ceremonies in either field which makes the wrestling quite insular – kayfabe is long gone but there is still some magic, some aura around the competitors; they are larger than life, heroes, villains, cartoon characters – people latch onto them and become quite protective of both them and wrestling itself, which makes it somewhat of a closed shop and hence, something that will continue on forever in some form.

Can it ever reach the heights of Hogan and Austin again? I doubt it and to be honest, those responsible don’t seem to care, which I think is at the core of Maddens frustrations. Vince McMahon wants ratings, he wants success but he doesn’t seem capable of making those tough decisions as he used to – there is more dead wood clogging up way too many programmes; Orton, Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Kane, Mark Henry have been there and been a part of everything that there is to do, they have nowhere to go – there are no possible angles or surprises left that would make money; McMahons and Jim Ross’s point about there not being enough strength in depth is weak – Can’t speak? Give him a manager. Can’t wrestle? Make sure their matches are not longer than five minutes a la early Road Warriors. Poor image/physique? Let’s welcome the New Conquistadors – there are always answers because in wrestling, you are blessed with a blank page and the ability to make the impossible happen and make dreams come true.

It depends whether they want it bad enough – I just don’t feel that Vince is running on 100% anymore, maybe 90% but standards, thought process and imagination have slipped, which more or less backs up what Madden is saying. A wrestling show that is 2-3 hours needs to punchy, pacey so you continually keep an interest – the NWA in the 1980’s did that the best – short, fast, entertaining matches with fresh faces most weeks; you never quite knew who was going to me next or what was going to happen. The WWE is very, very predictable – I never imagined I would fast-forward some of RAW but that what I find myself doing after watching wrestling for 30 years.

Triple H has the right idea, promote tag-team wrestling and make title reigns longer; because CM Punk held the belt for so long, his match with Ryback actually had some meaning. This is what you need – take things from the past and take things from the future; keep innovating and stay motivated.

So in conclusion, I have to side with Madden – it is very dangerous in any business to be complacent; Vince McMahon took advantage of the complacency and lack of foresight to buy up his competitors in the 1980’s – at the moment, there is probably someone out there with new ideas and a new way of thinking; the UFC gave people an outlet where the action is real, how long before there is else along similar lines and how long before one of those things overtakes the WWE? It may never happen but what Madden is suggesting is that someone has left the door very slightly open, and that may be enough for someone or something else to step in, to which I agree completely

 

[closet_fan]

You won't find a lot of people who side on Madden's comments only because it's cool to hate the guy and what he writes, but he is usually spot on. Just like when Russo stood up and said there needs to be something different, someone in creative has to have the balls to do the same thing. And that's the problem. No one wants to be the guy/girl to do it for fear of getting fired.

You have 2 of the greatest wrestling minds ever in Jim Ross and Paul Heyman, yet you don't use them at that capacity? C'mon. Even at their height, WCW would have loved to have Ross and Heyman behind the scenes.

Those 2 guys could start a wrestling company and have it be a better product than Impact within a year.

But the WWE is nepotism at it's finest. It's HHH or nothing.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Mark Madden is an intelligent guy but I've long since stopped paying attention to what he writes. It isn't that I necessarily agree or disagree with him, as I've done both many times.

However, my problem is that Madden almost never writes anything positive about anyone or anything. I can't remember the last time I read an article he's written anything that wasn't filled with general loathing or criticism for anything that goes on. I'm not just talking about WWE, I'm talking about pretty much all of wrestling in general. He hates WWE, he hates TNA, he hates ROH, he hates the indy scene so, really, what's the point? For the most part, if you've read one Madden article, you've pretty much read them all.

Madden's article appeals to some because, like so many of the IWC, Madden is basically an armchair booker that sees himself as being "special" in the sense that he feels that his view points and/or ideas on what should happen, who should go over, who should be pushed, what storylines should be undertaken, etc. are usually the only good ones. Just as with internet fans, it's easy for Madden to gripe continuously at wrestling companies and play the booker because he's got no stake in what happens in any wrestling company.

After all, it's much easier to criticize about anything and everything when you don't really care one way or the other.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Do you ever find that the things you hate about others, could actually be said for yourself? Madden needs to look in the mirror and ask himself if he is any different than the his image of the people he criticizes. The man started off writing some really interesting stuff in the beginning. Detailed talk of his past with guys like Hogan, Flair, Nash and DDP was really interesting. As those guys get further from the limelight his inside info became stale and out of date. Now he has become creatively void in his blogs so he just criticizes the establishment for being creatively void and speculates on what other could do. He seems to consider his readers to be nothing more than marks and preys on their lack of real behind-the-scenes knowledge and emotions. I don't blame him, in the IWC you catch more flies with bullshit as opposed to honey but I've definitely grown tired of his articles and rarely look for them anymore.

He's not wrong about everything, he's right about a lot of things, but he's become just a tired shock jock without anything really substantial to say.

 

[closet_fan]

I've noticed he used to treat WWE like they were gods, barely ever putting them down, and go after TNA and Dixie Carter in the past. Hell most of his work was how TNA was awful. Now it seems all of his stuff is about how much the WWE sucks, with barely a sentence about Impact, aside from the Hogan sex tape stuff.

 

[Rayne]

He's a man after my own heart. He says what's on his mind, without worrying about the political consequences (why he never worked out well in WCW- his commentary during the 'Viagra on a Pole' match is classic.)

That being said, saying exactly what's on your mind tends to piss off a LOT of people. A long long time ago I wrote a column on video games for a weekly newspaper, so I understand some of the stress of the columnist. You have to write enough to stay relevant, even if you aren't working on a deadline. So he said something that's been on his mind for a while, and he's pretty spot on. Two hours and forty-five minutes of RAW usually suck, and Smackdown adds another two.

Why's he cranky all the time? It sells. People like to read cranky in numbers. Andy Rooney is remembered as one of America's favorite TV columnists, and all he did watch bitch about inane bullshit.

Madden's usually a good read. With his response column today, it looks like the reaction today is getting to him.

 

[Miko]

Mark Madden is the only thing on the main page worth reading (suck it Killam!) and this column is no exception, I didnt think it could get any better but then he wrote a part 2. Fuck, even when I disagree with everything he says I still really enjoy Madden columns, long may he continue.

I dont really watch WWE anymore, I am only posting to verbally ******e Madden.

 

[a member of wwe universe]

Ppl who cant stand mark madden are those refuses to admit the overall quality of the product (raw) sucks. They are the loyal fanbase who will stick with the E through thick and thin in spite of whatever ridiculous comical skits wwe throw on tv. They cant stand him bashing the product because that is like bashing to someone close to them.

Madden speaks to the truth. He provide facts, facts against the wwe. Fanboys piss at him, make jokes about him in response to his article.

He mentioned in the article daring fanboys to list out the positives of the current product besides punk/heyman, rather than talk about the potential, what if, what should've etc. Its true. Thats the mindset of the "wwe unvierse." The aware the product sucks and turns toward the future. They will stay optimistic about: the potential of cody rhodes and damiem sandow being the future, the product will improve after the senate campaign, dolph ziggler will mainevent and turn everythign around AND the dream match of punk/austin that every fanboy dying to see because they know there is no nobdy on that f### up roster can offer a match of that caliber.

Right now what do we have? Ryback?

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I don't care if he projects the image that he never writes anything positive. Not everybody has to write something positive about what they are covering. What did he write that was exactly wrong? I was surprised that neither Cena or Ryback came out to defend Lawler because top faces have done that numerous times. Cena has done it too many times to count but why not this time? I agree with his assessment that the WWE are waiting for HHH, Undertaker, Rock, and Brock to appear. I also agree with the fact that guys like Ziggler, Miz, and Del Rio are in this rut where they alternate wins and losses so much that they're stuck in the same position.

I've always been skeptical of this supposed resurgence of the tag team division but I see the same old problems. The Prime Time Players were in a good position but they lost so much to Kofi and Truth that the impact of them possibly winning would be downgraded. If they keep losing, why would I expect them to win? I fear the same thing is happening to Sandow and Rhodes. They should have won at Hell in a Cell because the longer they stretch it out, the more momentum they lose. I know that they turn on it during Wrestlemania season and this part of the year, they don't. However, it would be nice to keep us entertained all year round and to just not wait for the big draws to get here. Try to improve the guys you got right now because the big draws won't be here forever.

 

[jmt225]

For some reason, it's become "cool" to agree with Mark Madden. I really don't get it.

Everything the guy says is a load of crap. He purposely finds stuff to bitch about so he can keep his shitty articles "edgy." That's all it is, folks. The guy is not a fan of pro wrestling. Unfortunately, it's the one business where he has been able to keep his name a little bit relevant, so he stays writing these articles and people are still dumb enough to buy into it like he speaks the gospel for all miserable internet wrestling fans.

As far as this particular article... I'm not giving the douchebag the hit. If someone had posted it here, I'd glance through it, but I'm not reading it outside of that. I can tell just by the title that it's ******ed. I mean, WWE is just now "jumping the shark"? They didn't do that when Mae Young gave birth to a hand, or in the Katie Vick angle? Give me a break. Just more bullshit from Madden and it sucks to see some intelligent posters here actually fall for it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Ppl who cant stand mark madden are those refuses to admit the overall quality of the product (raw) sucks. They are the loyal fanbase who will stick with the E through thick and thin in spite of whatever ridiculous comical skits wwe throw on tv. They cant stand him bashing the product because that is like bashing to someone close to them.

There's probably truth in that for some but not for everyone. I'm not usually a fan of the comedy skits that they put on when they put them on. To be fair, however, you have to admit that they've very much cut back on comedy stuff. It used to completely dominate the program, especially back in 2009 when DX popped up in every other segment.

If people want to think WWE sucks, however, that's their business. I don't spend hours debating people over it because it won't solve anything I've got better things to spend my time doing. But, one reason why I don't really pay much attention to a lot of the criticism is that it's the same old stuff over and over again.

What I mean by that is that a lot of haters, Madden included, will gripe & complain about one thing that goes on before moving onto another when or if WWE improves something. The tag team division is a perfect example of it. Nobody can deny that WWE's tag team scene is the best now that it's been in many years. That's not to say that the work is done or that improvements can't be made because it's not done and some things can still be improved on. But, if anything, there seems to be as much criticism as there ever was, including far more of the same old complaints rather than giving any degree of credit for what they've done with the renewed emphasis on the tag team division thus far. It's just more of the "it sucks because they're not doing what I think they should do" philosophy.

The mid-card picture still needs a good deal of work but, again, there's been overall improvement over the past year or so. The IC title has been used, as a whole, much better over the course of the last 12+ months than it has in close to a decade. It's nowhere near perfect but, overall, the mid-card picture is better than it's been for a while.

Even the Divas featured on television are actually getting to do storylines and, most of the time, their matches get some time. Again, it's far from perfect but, again, virtually no credit is given for any improvements made. Just the same old complaints.

The WWE is damned if they don't and damned if they do when it comes to a lot of internet fans and journalists. When they royally screw up, they get criticized and rightly so sometimes. When they do things damn well, they still get criticized.

I've got no problem with Mark Madden, I've just heard all the same old stuff from him time and time again. It's always the same gloom & doom opinions about pro wrestling in general. I've heard him rip through WWE, TNA & ROH so many times that there's really nothing left for him to say. If people agree with him, great. If they don't, great. I just don't base my opinions on Madden's view points.

 

[DForce]

Madden needs to bite an ass. He never brings anything of sustance to the discussion. Sounds like a bitter dose of dick juice does that guy. Wrestling does suck nowadays because a bitch can't say "unstoppable like Kobe in a Colorado hotel...", anymore. Ain't no blood, cussing, divas' ass and tits. Nothing!

Yeah, it's damn AWFUL. The villians still run like Skeletor when they should be unstoppable like Frieza. That motherfucker Vince too affraid to pull the trigger on heel turns. I understand, to some extent, Cena not turning--but why the fuck can't we see a heel Kofi Kingston or a heel Rey Mysterio? WTF!

Vince too old. He thinks this is still the lame ass 80s where villians say, "Mark my words. I'll get you for this, Cena" right before they haul ass with their dicks tucked between their legs. Then all the heros stand around chuckling like some smoked out navy seals. Madden is right, and it sucks. I don't want that bastard to be right about a damn thang.

Contradictory, incomplete, and recycled story lines bother the crap out of me. Bad promo delivering, non-wrestling, and charisma lacking wrestlers make me want to pluck my eye balls out. Madden, although an idiot, is right about a lot of shit. I have this insane compulsion where I have to click on his posts, sort of like "Why the fuck do I watch Fox News when all it's going to do is PISS ME OFF!"

 

[avi01]

WWE has jumped the shark a long time ago. You`ll have your occasional great run here and there, you`ll have your wrestlemania season but you just will not get something that will top what this industry has given during the peak of wrestling. The creative staff is shit, people in charge are completely out of phase... if you fix that , you just don`t have stars of the caliber of Austin or the Rock (well full time). Besides WWE has a large portion of its audience that are kids. This restricts the show in many ways but makes tons of $$$. They don`t have WCW breathing don`t their necks, their product is not threaten whatsoever, wrestlemania broke PPV records this year, ratings don`t matter that much anymore, so things won`t change and the older fans will never be very happy with the current product. Since jump the shark basically means that moment it`s clear a show won`t top what we`ve seen previously, that is just a lost cause. That happened a long time ago.
But this by no means excuse the current state of the product though. Survivor Series is one of the worst built PPV i have ever seen. Seriously, supposedly one of the top PPVs of the year and it gets such a horrible build up?

 

[DirtyD79]

Mark Madden is telling it like it is. Hell he's the reason I came to this site. WWE sucks right now between the bad writing, poor comedy, and lame hokey soap opera bullshit. The problem is the honks, the fanboys, and the McMahon nuthuggers don't want to hear it and want to keep on deluding themselves that WWE is sacrosanct and any other fed is an abomination and has no right to exist before the almighty Vince. It's sacred and invincible. They'll say "The wrestling business operates as long as Vince McMahon says it does." Nevermind that wrestling existed long before him and will keep on existing long after him.

 

[AndThat'sTheBottomLine]

I don't have a problem with Madden except that he says the same shit every damn article. He's run out of things to say so he just recycles his old articles and pukes them back up only writing it in a different way. He's absolutely right don't get me wrong, he just needs to find a new topic of discussion every week.

 

[Ovaltine]

Cena is WWEs cash cow (I am indifferent when it comes to him), Paul Haymen is great, AJ is slammin' hot, personally I don't like Punk, but I certainly understand why so many do. Unfortunately, that's all that's good about WWE. EVERYTHING else is boring and pointless. The matches are formulatic, the plots are dire and no one draws. I watched The Rock N Wrestling connection, The Four Horsemen, The super Powers, The Mega Powers, The War Games, Magnum TA, The First Starrcade, The Lex Express, Warrior Vs Hogan, Sting Vs Flair at GAB in 1990, The birth of the n.W.o, Sting turning into the crow, Goldberg (I hated him but he was insanely over and a huge draw in WCW), Rock Transforming into the most electifying man in Sports Entertainment, Austin 3:16, The death of WCW and the end of the Monday night Wars and the end of the biggest Wrestling boom in history. All that is left is the WWE which is certainly not the same company as the WWF. They blew the Summer Of Punk angle, they blew the n.W.o, they blew Brock Lesnar, they basically blow EVERYTHING. The best thing they have is AJ's ass!

 

[enviousdominous]

My fondest memory of Mark Madden was when he bust a nut over Muta and Vampiro teaming up. "BROTHERS IN PAINT!! BROTHERS IN PAINT!!"

So yeah, attempting to maintain any shred of dignity while being slightly involved with the wrestling world is damn near impossible.

What made Stone Cold famous? Great booking and great performances. Today's booking is shit and the creative department is at the mercy of the bookers. You won't win a Pulitzer prize for recognizing that, so folks like Mark Madden have to snazz it up to avoid suicidal levels of depression.

Has WWE jumped the shark? I think a harder question is: When the fuck hasn't WWE jumped the shark in recent memory?

I recognize the arbitrary push of a stupid idea as jumping the shark, they had to know for sure if their stupid shit would work or not. Kharma crying, Rhodes Scholars, 3MB, Ryback squashing Hawkins and Rex and every Cena angle ever forced upon us. Good job Mark Madden.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

Mark Madden was never a very good announcer in WCW, but as a column writer, man he was a helluvan announcer....

'Raw was bad....Raw was excrement....Raw was blah, blah blah'. I get it Mark, WWE didn't hire you, so they suck, but really let's look at some of what you said, and go all 'WRESTLING 101':

- Muraco bullied Solie and Piper turned face. You used that to compare to why Cena didn't come out to save JR. Well, that makes no sense since Cena is a face and didn't need to turn. Cena, when he came out for the match got his usual mixed bag of cheerhate. For him to come out would have actually hurt the sympathy factor for Lawler in the case since it would have turned the attention on to whether fans should cheer or jeer Cena, and away from hating Punk. Punk usually gets cheers even as a heel, but ffor that segment, and for the record, it's not something I'd book, but he was purely hated. Oh and btw, someone did come out, Foley. Foley was able to cut a promo with more heart than Cena's character would have allowed and fans knew what to do with Foley. Short of Austin coming out, Foley was the best choice.
- You sit and say that Raw sucks, but offer no way that would truly make it better. You claim that 'people may like it, but that doesn't make it good'. Well, Mark, here's the thing: just because you say it might be better, doesn't mean it will. And really, you offered nothing of substance to make the E better. Guys with a better rep than you in the IW world say Raw being 2 hours is a mistake, so you say it too. Good for you, but that isn't the main problem.
- You quote all sorts of numbers, and that is fine, but numbers are down from indy shows all the way to the top. Wrestling has ebs and flows. The economy in the States, where the E spends most of its time, is the shits. Tickets and shows cost money. yes, ratings are down, and that is an indicator, but there is a false attitude that numbers need to be as high as they were in the MNW era, and they don't. Sites 'reporting' Vince being irate over ratings aren't helping because, well, Vince has proven to be out of tune with the reality of ratings. Raw's competition is MNF, and guess what, no one stands a chance. To a lesser extent you have DWTS, which didn't exist at the time of the MNW. at the time, Monday nights were Raw, Nitro and MNF kicking both their asses. in the off season from football, ratings bounced up a bit, but the reality of the matter is that a lot of football fans don't choose football over wrestling, they choose football, period. When there is no football, they choose other things. Until ratings systems find a way to adjust for PVRs, there will never been an accurate number of viewers.
- For every person who goes after the worked segment on Raw where Punk, the heel, went after Lawler, the sympathetic face, you wil;l find the same people singing the praises of the Attitude era. People, first, Lawler was in on it, it was decided weeks ago and it would have been a routine segment controversy wise in the Attitude Era. Again, I wouldn't have booked it, but then again, I wouldn't brag about writing a terrible column that generally says nothing during commercials breaks of a radio show.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

Mark Madden reminds of most of the people I see on wrestling message boards. Bitter old farts that look at the past through rose colored glasses and shit all over the present and future. No WWE is not the best it's ever been right now, nor is it the worst it's ever been. Like another poster already commented Madden writes about negativity because the internet thrives on negativity. I commented to his latest article this evening and I stand by what I said. I became a wrestling fan 30 plus years ago when I saw the Road Warriors beat the crap outta some slack jawed yokels on World Wide Wrestling. I have been a fan ever since, through the shit, thick and thin, I have been a die hard wrestling fan. Now I get to sit with my own son, 6 years old, that loves wrestling probably more than I ever did right now. All he talks about is wanting to grow up and be a wrestler. He loves John Cena and Randy Orton, he hates CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio. He loves the good guys and hates the bad guys. It's simple good vs evil to him. Larger than life characters fighting it out, masked heroes like Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio flying through the air! He likes wrestling for what it is at it's simplest form and I bet that's why we all fell in love with wrestling in the first place. Getting to watch it with him and enjoy it with him made me remember all the things I loved about wrestling to begin with and with him I can feel that all over again.

 

[dudedudedude]

I've said this before, and I will say it again. Until the WWE starts posting a finacial loss, do not expect them to 'change' course. Madden can go on and on about things being down, and not liking where things are at. And in some way, he may me right. But the WWE is a business, and, for a downturn in product quality, they are still posting quarterly profits.....unless that changes, their direction won't/

 

[d_henderson1810]

Ppl who cant stand mark madden are those refuses to admit the overall quality of the product (raw) sucks. They are the loyal fanbase who will stick with the E through thick and thin in spite of whatever ridiculous comical skits wwe throw on tv. They cant stand him bashing the product because that is like bashing to someone close to them.

Madden speaks to the truth. He provide facts, facts against the wwe. Fanboys piss at him, make jokes about him in response to his article.

He mentioned in the article daring fanboys to list out the positives of the current product besides punk/heyman, rather than talk about the potential, what if, what should've etc. Its true. Thats the mindset of the "wwe unvierse." The aware the product sucks and turns toward the future. They will stay optimistic about: the potential of cody rhodes and damiem sandow being the future, the product will improve after the senate campaign, dolph ziggler will mainevent and turn everythign around AND the dream match of punk/austin that every fanboy dying to see because they know there is no nobdy on that f### up roster can offer a match of that caliber.

Right now what do we have? Ryback?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What I want to know is this? If you think wrestling sucks so much, why even come on these boards and read about it anymore? Why read about something that bores you today?

I think that Mark Madden is a fat turd, and I know I may get modded for this, but wrestlezone were idiots for ever employing the man.

Mark Madden hates professional wrestling. The real reason that people like he, Kevin Kelly and Jim Cornette constantly run down the product is that they got fired, and instead of looking in the mirror and realising that they sucked, they blame everyone else for their failures.

I think if Mark Madden can't say anything positive about wrestling, then he is wrong to continue to write for a wrestling website, and receive money for it. He is effectively "biting the hand that feeds him". Without professional wrestling, no-one would know who Mark Madden is, so he should at least show the product, the art of professional wrestling, respect.

Mark Madden says what wrestling companies would do, but he isn't running one. There are two types of people in life:- those who do things, and those who criticise those who do things. The second group don't put in the time, effort, or money themselves, but feel that they have the right to make all the decisions. Who cares what the IWC think? Most of you should grow up anyway. If people like you and Mark Madden don't want to watch wrestling anymore, then get lost! Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out, because the WWE don't need you anymore. They have got every dime they are going to get out of you anyway, so now it is time to squeeze it out of parents with kids, who will be a cashcow for twenty years. You people need to get a life, and find something else to do, but don't criticize those who show some loyalty to WWE.

I also have no respect for Mark Madden because I have, on occassion, e-mailed wrestling columnists I have disagreed with. I even have f4way wrestling columnist Todd Martin as a Facebook friend, since we struck up a friendship, because he respectfully argued my points, and showed me respect while disgareeing with me.

However, I once sent Mark Madden an e-mail, refuting some of his points, and his response was the following:_

"F.... off! Go f.... yourself!"

What a charmer! You know what, though, this response doesn't surprise me, because it just confirms that Madden is a human turd, and wrestlezone looks bad employing the douche.

Madden calls wrestling "fake fighting" and UFC "real fighting". Then why doesn't Madden do something that will earn my respect- quit writing about wrestling altogether, and go and write for UFC instead, since he loves them so much, and he can sing their praises, until the fad of UFC wears off, and it starts to no longer appeal to that narcissist.

 

[Ovaltine]

Wow, someone had the balls to say that Jim Cornette sucks? Damn, that's bold. You also said Mark Madden is fat... that was the point of him writing the article that we are discussing. His point was the the current crop of WWE fan boys (of which you are) can't come up with anything good that happens on Raw. Their only retort is that Madden is fat. Therefore, you are doing exactly what he said that fan boys like you would do. You failed to list anything at all that is good in the WWE. You also failed to state why you think Jim Cornette and Kevin Kelly suck. These are baseless opinions if you can not back them up- which you haven't. Until you can say why these people don't know what they are talking about or why they suck (ASIDE FROM BEING FAT) your opinion is mute.

And for the record I hated Madden while he was in WCW. I hated the fact that he gave away so much inside information about the business and I hated his comentary too. However, his articles for wrestle zone are (IMO) usually at least 95% spot on in their assesment of the current quality of the WWE trainwreck.

AJ's ass is the only thing watching Raw for and most of the time I cannot even be bothered to do that.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Madden had a few general points, after you break it down - WWE isn't very good right now and they aren't producing any legitimate stars.

He's absolutely right. The show isn't very good right now. They're clearly coasting through the Fall, waiting for the legitimate stars to return (The Rock, Lesnar, and potentially HHH, The Undertaker and, even less likely, Steve Austin). This leads into his other point...

They aren't building legitimate stars. That's a combination of not having the horses to push and not caring about 3/4 of the calendar year. Outside of Ryback, who has made any sort of splash? Ziggler is a really nice mid-card wrestler. They'll give him a shot at more, but he isn't good enough to maintain it, guaranteed (sorry, smarks).

I could go through each name, individually, but what's the point? Outside of Punk and Orton, no one has gotten over enough to be a consistent main event guy, and given the overall lack of talent WWE currently has on the payroll, most never will.

WWE has become complacent. And why shouldn't they be? They have the entire fanbase to themselves. TNA could make some sort of push, but that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. WWE's not looking to make a huge impact, because they don't need to.

 

[closet_fan]

I think that Mark Madden is a fat turd, and I know I may get modded for this, but wrestlezone were geniuses for ever employing the man.

Fixed your post. And you are just one of many who can only back up your claims that WWE is great by putting down someone because of their weight. Madden's columns are the only thing I read. No one else who writes for the site has the balls to put down anything the WWE does. And Chris Cash is too worried about pumping his show to give a damn about writing anything. His articles are one big advertisement.

Give me someone who was part of the business for years instead of a bunch of WWE Insider wannabes.

 

[Coco]

For some reason, it's become "cool" to agree with Mark Madden. I really don't get it.

Everything the guy says is a load of crap. He purposely finds stuff to bitch about so he can keep his shitty articles "edgy." That's all it is, folks. The guy is not a fan of pro wrestling. Unfortunately, it's the one business where he has been able to keep his name a little bit relevant, so he stays writing these articles and people are still dumb enough to buy into it like he speaks the gospel for all miserable internet wrestling fans.

His negativity and the fact that he only does this to retain what little relevance he has doesn't negate anything he's saying. A personal attack on the man doesn't mean he's wrong. Might as well call him a fat doo-doo head, neener-neener-neener!

Pointing out one incident where the WWE jumped the shark isn't what he's done here, JMT. He's merely pointing out the trend that WWE continues to coast and drop the ball creatively in spite of having all the resources a wrestling company could ever want. It's a fair point. This isn't arm-chair booking BS. He has fair gripes. To dismiss him because he's bitter or because he might not love wrestling is ignoring the real discussion worth having. To dismiss him because he gravitates towards sensationalism to generate hits is equally unfair, as it's hardly a grievous offence. Frankly, I'm surprised to see so many people who allegedly love professional wrestling dismiss his grievances so quickly and glibly.