Old School vs New School

[Savage1]

So being an 80's kid I grew up watching the "Golden Era" of WWF programming. I have been and always will be a die hard fan of wrestling but I wish everyday that the creative team in WWE would wake up and realize the things they need to change to keep the products' integrity. So my question is what things from the 80's, 90's, and now would you mesh together to keep the product as entertaining, and integral as it can possibly be. An example is the fact that back in the 80's the IC belt meant almost as much as the WHC and the build up to fueds and the fueds themselves were long and had a definitive beginning, middle, and culmination...So what aspects from each era would you use to create the best product?

 

[Big Sexy]

80's- One thing from the 80's that I liked was that there were only the three titles so they meant a lot more. I wouldn't mind seeing the WWE go back to having one heavyweight title, one mid-card title (ic title), one tag team title, and then one womens title.

90's- The thing from the 90's I would take is obviously the attitude. Arguably the WWE's most succesful period was the attitude era in the late 90's and I think the WWE needs to go back to the tv 14 rating and start getting more edgy.

Current era- Titles changing hands fairly often. A lot of people don't like the titles changing hands constantly, but that is because there are so many titles. If the WWE went down to just four titles then frequent title changes wouldn't be as big of a deal because of the amount of talented superstars the WWE has. The one part about the 80's that I didn't like was the lack of stars that were created. Guys like Ted Dibiase and Mr Perfect deserved runs with the heavyweight title, but they never got it because that entire era was dominated by Hulk Hogan. I also like there being a pay per view every month, and that is another thing that contributes to more title changes.

 

[bulldog76]

Big Sexy makes some great points. I dont like the amount of titles. Everyone complains about Triple H approaching Ric Flair's 16 title reigns. Part of his is too many titles. At least it took him 10 years. Edge has 8 reigns in 3. How many does Cena have? At this rate screw Triple H. Edge or Cena will be vying for most title reigns.

As far as what style or what aspects, of wrestling do I like. I like believability. Never a Hogan fan. Always a Bret Hart fan. Hart said it best when he said Hogan was too cartoony. Von Erichs weren't popular because of some cartoony goofy gimmick. They were popular because they were the good ole local boys. Freebirds were the outside "jerks" from Georgia. Believable. Where the WWF took off is when they took a page out of ECW's book and decided to really shoot for some sense of believability.

All sorts of styles need to be incorporated. Too many fans like too many things. There is so much ground to cover. Not personally a fan of Mysterio's style but others are. And there are stories where Rey is perfect. I think right now they have a good blend of styles.

Just consolidate the titles and consolidate the rosters.

 

[LokiCobain]

Perhaps the big flaw in your question (So what aspects from each era would you use to create the best product?) is that the best product is irrelevant today. Vince took wrestling and made it entertainment. Plain and simple. The whole reason TNA boomed was because it focused more on the actual wrestling, which caters to the likes of actual wrestling fans, but not to the mainstream or lay-fan. Most importantly, it doesn't cater to kids, who buy the toys and nag their parents to purchase anything related to their superstar of choice.
The 80s is when this whole thing began, and Hulk Hogan was the culprit. Similar to Kiss and rock n roll, the "music" didn't matter so much as the spectacle. Sure it was wrestling still, but that wasn't the point anymore. Bruno Sammartino is old school, but that wrestling is simply not fast enough or flashy enough to get the attention of the majority. The 80s were a time of transition, so as much as it seemed like the decades before, it was moving in a totally different pop culture direction.
All we can really ask for is that TNA blossoms into a legitimate threat, so that WWE is forced to focus on their product. It's no wonder that the best time in recent history was the Attitude Era, which was an evolution of maximizing profit AND product, and the reason that mattered was because WWF was competing with WCW. Once WWE has a monopoly (again), the product will shift down to PG rating (like it is) and the product becomes rubbish

 

[RATED R CHAMPION]

Mmmmhh Yes, Wwe Is Too Cartoonish At Times, Ahmmmm Wrestling In The 80's Looked More Realistic, But I Have To Say This:

What I Will Like To Mix Of The 2 Eras?

*the Great, Moved And Entertaining Matches Of Today Should Be Keeped, I Like It, But Giving The Mid Card Titles More Importance...


*something Great From The Old School Was The Importance They Gave The Mid Card Talente And Titles And Titles Didn't Change Hands So Frecuently, So Longer Title Reigns Should Come Back, Not Too Long As 1 Year 2 Years, But Men At Least 5 Or 6 Months Solid Reigns.

*wrestling Should Keep The Entertainment Side But Giving The Wrestling Side More Importance And Make It Look Serious.

 

[Think]

Get rid of the stupid fucking PG rating, for one. Bring back the bloodshed and vulgarity. Stop moving the camera in a different direction just because a woman is getting assaulted by a man. Light some tables on fire and subject someone to them. Spread some thumbtacks on the ring.

Oh, and stop making ECW such a shithole.

Fire:

- Kelly Kelly

- Maria

- Candice Michelle

- Alicia Fox

- Eve

- Bella Twins

- Batista

- John Cena

- Jim Duggan

- Cryme Tyme

- Ricky Ortiz

- Tommy Dreamer

 

[The Brain]

The titles seem to be a common theme among fans in the discussion, and I could not agree more. WWE should definately go back to four titles. Last year at this time I was thinking WrestleMania 25 would be a great time to have some title unification matches. That's not going to happen so let's hope for mania 26. WWE realized they had too many titles in 2001 and had unification matches at the Survivor Series and Vengeance. Then only a year or two later they brought those titles back. I understand they want champions on each brand, but I think the WWE Champion, IC champ, Tag Team champs, and Women's champ should be free to go to any show to make title defenses. This would make each of the titles more important.

Another way to make the titles more important would be to come up with logical ways determining contenders and properly hype the title matches. How many times have we tuned into RAW and found out there is an IC title match against a random opponent? Years ago a title match would have been hyped for weeks and their would have been a certain atmosphere the night of the match. Now these matches are just filler for the two hour broadcast.

The tag team division needs serious help. This is one of the most obvious differences between the 80's and today. Twenty years ago the tag scene was outstanding. Now it's a joke. Remember the first Survivor Series? A five team vs. five team match!! And these were legit teams, not just two struggling singles wrestlers thrown together for a few weeks. There are so few teams now that all you have to do is be a tag team to get a title shot. Anyone remember how Matt Hardy and MVP got their title shot? MVP wanted a title match so Vickie Guerrero said whoever the next person to walk through the door would be his partner in a title match. Not the greatest way to determine the number 1 contenders. Teams like The Rockers, The Rougeau Brothers, The Powers of Pain, and the Islanders never had a title reign. Anyone of those teams would dominate today's tag scene. In the 80's tag matches were just as important and even more exciting than singles matches. I'd like to see some of the developmental wrestlers study these matches and maybe try to get their start in the tag ranks (worked pretty well for Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Davey Boy Smith). Really learn how to work the ref and work the crowd. This is a lost art in today's WWE. WWE seems to like throwing feuding singles stars in tag matches every week. Why not have a legit tag divsion instead with people who've learned the art of the tag match the right way?

Make the titles more important and try to bring tag team wrestling back and you will see a much improved WWE.