Please list what you enjoy about today's WWE product.

[Ambiguous Turd]

Some time ago, I posted a poll asking each poster who participated to rate their satisfaction level with today's product, as well as to identify what period they began watching wrestling in. Obviously, I wanted to compare the fans of each of the Eras as far as their likes and dislikes. That poll is now part of a Sticky Thread on this page.

280 people have voiced their opinions thus far, and hopefully we can get it up to 300 soon.

The choices were "Very Satisfied", "Neither Satisfied or Dissatisfied", or "Very Dissatisfied".

It should be noted that the majority consensus from fans in the following Eras were "Very Dissatisfied":

The Hogan Era
The New Generation
The Attitude Era


Fans of the Post Atttitude Era who were "Very Dissatisfied" were in second place, however .... with the majority consensus of those fans ranking themselves as NOT "Very Satisfied", but rather "Neither Satisfied or Dissatisfied".



With that being said, I have a sincere interest in talking with the fans who appear on the surface to be the minority, and consider themselves "Very Satisfied" with the current WWE product. I would kindly ask the fans who are "Very Dissatisfied" to take a rest from this thread .... and would kindly ask the fans who are "in the middle" so to speak, to do the same.

Rather, I really want to hear from the fans who would label themselves "thrilled" with today's product.

As I am very interested in hearing your perspectives and getting into your heads, I am asking if you would be kind enough to provide a short list (bullet points, if you like) with the IWC on what is it about this Era that you personally enjoy about The PG Era.

Again, this isn't the thread for Negative Nancy's, but rather for those who only wish to speak positively about the current product, and what they find enjoyable about it.

Also, if you could very quickly rank your favorite Eras in order of preference, that would also be greatly appreciated, just so we can see how your enjoyment of today's product ranks in comparison to the other Eras.

Much thanks for your time and participation.

 

[The Todd]

First of all, the era I like, in order is

Attitude Era
PG Era

I have only ranked two purely because these have been the two eras I witnessed as they happened. I don't think you can get as good a feel for a past era without seeing it take place. However, if it was which era was the best from an overall view, it would have to be the Hogan Era followed by the attitude era.

For me there is no doubting I preferred the attitude era, mainly because I was the right age to enjoy it (between eight and 11). However, I immensely enjoy this current era. I believe this is because I don't view the product as a critique but view wrestling as a chance to revisit my childhood and watch programming with the mentality of a child, as you would watch a cartoon. As of a result, I enjoy the following aspects.

1) John Cena. The man is a great babyface. He portrays his character so well. He's the guy who is not the most talented wrestler in the world. He's nowhere near the best at what he does, but he never gives in and keeps trying no matter what, and he overcomes his challenges. What better role model is there for children? The character is humble, honest and respectful. If every member of society was like this the world would be a better place.

2) I like DX. They are funny if you watch with an immature mentality, the way wrestling is meant to be watched. It's fake fighting, what's the point in viewing it seriously? The two of them interact well together and are enjoyable to watch.

3) I like Orton + Legacy. I don't like their characters, I want them to get their arse kicked, but that's their job. Dibiase and Rhodes have come on so well lately, mainly thanks to DX. They are a legit threat in my eyes.

4) I like Rey Mysterio. The guy always entertains, pure and simple.

5) I like the midcard. Kofi Kingston, John Morrison, The Miz, Jack Swagger and R-Truth have always entertained me. I would like to see each of them in the main event, thoigh R-Truth will never make it.

6) I like Hornswoggle. A little guy taking the piss in an entertainment show. It's funny on Scrubs when Randall does it. It's funny in WWE when Hornswoggle does it. He also got Finlay over big time, something that isn't the case now. He also created heat for Chave Guerrero. He does his job.

7) I like Mickie James. This one isn't the WWE's creating though. Mickie is showing girls what a healthy looking female body looks like, in my view, even if Vince doesn't like it. Kelly Kelly makes me sick, as does Michelle McCool. Girls who are too skinny repulse me. Put some damn weight on.

8) I like Chris Jericho. The guy is a tool who you want to hate. Job done.

9) I like the Big Four PPVs. Survivor Series concept is superb, as is the Royal Rumble's. WrestleMania and SummerSlam would be better if each individual PPV wasn't built as a huge one and in the same format. WWE are addressing this problem.

10) I like Edge. The guy is a consumate professional. He puts over anyone and everyone. No face has ever fought him and come out looking bad. I can't wait for his return and hopeful face turn.

 

[ABMorales787]

I won't pick a favorite era. Mainly because they all offer something unique.

The Hogan Era: Brought Wrestling to the mainstream for a short period and featured some great and lengthy feuds. Something we don't see nowadays.

The New Gen/Technical Era: It was a time of simplicities. It offered many great matches of our time: Michaels/Ramon, Bret Hart/Owen Hart, Michaels/Hart Lawler/Hart.

Attitude Era/Monday Night Wars: It brought reality to a rather cartoony atmosphere along with some of the greatest entertainers in history: Stone Cold, The Rock, Mr. McMahon, Triple H...etc. Not to mention the variety offered by WCW and ECW. Each one bringing something revolutionary to the table.

Post Attitude/Entertainment Era: It brought some of todays finest and toned down on the violence and crudeness. And even though there was no more competition for the WWE, a new alternative began to rise offering a unique high-flying style. TNA.

PG Era: Where we are today. Even though it doesn't have blood or long lasting feuds, it still offers the occasional taste of what we like. But since it's geared for a new generation of fan's, I won't complain. I gladly pass the torch to the newer and younger fans.

 

[thesweetness]

The things I currently like in the WWE include:

The Brand Split - I like the fact they divided up the talent. It gives the feel that there are two separate companies. It makes for more competition, amongst and between the shows, as it would be boring to see the same superstars on 2-3 different shows a week. (even though Jericho showing up bi-weekly is always entertaining)

Divas Action - I can't remember when the WWE roster had so many female performers. There is so many that they had to create a new belt. It's cool that the norm is no longer for women to be just a manager or eye-candy, but actually to be a good wrestler. In older times it seems like there would only be 3 or 4 women at a time involved in in-ring storylines and the women's title never really got much focus.

Equal Balance of New and Old Talent - There are old and new talents in all divisions. RAW has some promising youngsters (Swagger, Miz, Legacy), and the most crowd favorite vets (Dx & Cena). Smackdown! has gotten 'Taker, Mysterio and Batista in the spotlight, but they always highlight the younger guys, CM Punk and JoMo in particular. Even ECW has balance with Goldust, Christian and Regal balancing out people like Zeke, Yoshi Tatsu and Sheamus.

Family Business - I love the fact that 2nd and 3rd generation stars are normal to see today, we got all of Legacy, The Colons, DH Smith and Natalya, and news of Nick Hogan training. I think the big names of vets being around helps maintain older audiences as it brings some nostalgia for the older fans.

 

[unique.enigma.666]

Well I began watching WWE in 2003, so to start off with whichever era you like to class from the end of the attitude era to the PG era, that's my favourite, followed by the PG era of course. However if I did watch WWF during the Attitude Era I can tell you straight up I would've enjoyed it and most likely would have put that as my top choice. Now, onto what I find enjoyable about todays product.

First off, ECW. Yes I know it isnt ECW anymore, but hell, they're creating new talent on that brand, Zack Ryder fell off the map a long time ago, now hes on ECW people are behind him now, he's got the talent and in my opinion the charisma to eventually be moved, hopefully he has somewhat of a gimmick change along the way, or at least new threads, you know it. Had to be said. Also they have a few in-ring veterans, Regal, Goldust and Dreamer, who help put over the younger talent. Christian although is awesome hovers inbetween young and old in terms of wrestling age.

Second of all the gimmicks. If you asked me 4 years ago who my favourite wrestlers were, I would have definetly named the top faces, but after seeing the same material from Cena I grew bored of his character. Edge, Orton, Jericho, J.B.L., CM Punk, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler have, or had, awesome gimmicks and get the crowd hating them, I can't get enough of them. I still however like HHH, HBK, 'Taker, Christian, Mysterio and so on, but I lean more in the direction of the heels nowadays.

Smackdown!. Raw is viewed as the flagship show, but Friday Nights is the most I look forward to, Teddy Long is one of the best GM's we've had, the segments aren't over-ridden with a midget, and the wrestling is top notch.

The way, and I'm mainly focusing on this year, the Intercontinental and US Titles have been featured more. Morrison, Mysterio, Jericho, J.B.L., Punk, Kingston, Miz, MVP, Regal and others have all played great parts in putting on some worth-while contests over the mid-card titles, whereas last year they weren't defended as much or featured as much as I thought they should have been. Miz and Kofi put on a hell of a match at Breaking Point and the Mysterio/Morrison match on SD was epic, this sunday we're seeing Morrison vs. Miz with the titles around their wastes, not being defended of course but I think its going to be great to see.

Legacy's build-up. Yeah, they had a shaky year last year and most of this year, but I've loved all of the matches they've had with DX, say what you will about Hunter, he and Shawn put those kids over, irrelevant they lost at SummerSlam and Hell In A Cell (But honestly, did you expect any less?) they were still put over and made to look like a serious threat to DX.

Team Ego and later JeriShow. Before we saw Edge and Jericho as the Unified Tag Team Champion's, the Tag Title's were rarely featured, before The Bash the last time they were featured was WrestleMania, yeah they're lacking tag teams, but Edge and Y2J put life and prestige back into those titles, as for JeriShow, they work incredibly well together and I've enjoyed the tag team matches with Cryme Tyme and Batista and Rey and MVP and Mark Henry. Kudos to WWE for pairing two already over talents to revive a division that was lacking something special.

The feuds. Punk/Hardy, incredible work between the two. Orton/McMahons, was watching Orton vs. Shane-O at NWO and the promo before that with Hunt You Down playing was epic highlighting the feud they were embroiled in. The build-up to the WM25 match with Hunter and Randy was nothing short of spectacular aswell, it was personal, it wasn't just about the title. Edge and Cena for the 3 weeks they had for the build-up to Backlash put a lot into it aswell, and the LMS was immense viewing.

So there you have it, thats what I enjoy about todays product, in no particular order mind you. I'll always try my hardest to watch the weekly shows though, Raw, ECW then Smackdown, regardless of whose main eventing, whose guest hosting, I might love some shows I might find some shows dull or crap but its how things go, in TV you might laugh your head off at a Family Guy episode, watch the next one and find you don't laugh as hard, like that with wrestling.

 

[HHHDiedForOurSins]

I've only been watching for around 10 years, so in that time we've had the attitude era and this current era (the brand split era?) and I have no doubt I'm in the minority, but I much prefer today's product for the simple reason that the wrestling is far better today, throw in a DVD of a PPV from 1999...most of the matches are just awful, we get better matches for free every week on Smackdown now, anyway, things I like about today's WWE product:

Like I said, great in ring product, Smackdown alone has had numerous match of the year caliber matches in the last few months, Rey v Morrison, Punk v Hardy, Edge v Morrison, Jericho v Rey etc, I like the fact that SD, ECW & Superstars have long matches and let the guys showcase their skill, for this reason I much prefer those shows to Raw & Impact, were, barring the odd aberration (Angle v AJ last week, DX v JeriShow 2 weeks ago), they are normally full of 5 minute matches.

The past year or so has seen a lot of young guys get pushed and with a few exceptions (Kozlov), most of them are very talented and have big futures, CM Punk's character development since the heel turn has been great and has taken him to the next level, John Morrison is putting on great matches every week, Legacy have really been elevated by the feud with DX, then there's Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Evan Bourne, Hart Dynasty etc, probably the best crop of youngsters since the purchase of WCW in 2001.

The PG rating, yes I have no problem with it, I hated when they used to take the easy way out and just be controversial for the sake of it to try and get a reaction, now they have to be more creative with these restrictions placed on them and it results in great promos by the likes of Punk, Jericho, Edge etc, also, some of the best rivalries of this decade have come since the PG rating came into effect last year, with Jericho v HBK, Punk v Hardy, Taker v Edge, Jericho v Rey etc.

I like the idea of the brand split, there is truly something for everyone, SD has great wrestling matches each week, ECW showcases the new talent and lets them shine and Raw is the more "sports entertainment" orientated show which has the big names that draw ratings, if you are a wrestling fan, then more than likely, you will enjoy one or more of these shows.

The upcoming period between Survivor Series-Wrestlemania is also always my favorite time of the year wrestling wise, the product is always at it's best during this time with the build to WM and of course the Rumble is right in the middle of this, which I have always loved and never disappoints.

Not to say I enjoy everything of course, I think there is far too many PPV's now, one per month is more than enough, also the main event scene on Raw has become very boring, thankfully after the next PPV there will finally be something different because Raw right now really is the weak point of the company, but all in all I still enjoy the overall product.

 

[WWEIsLife]

Ive been a WWE Fan for 20 Years and I have enjoyed each Era. All of them have provided us with some Good Moments and Great Matches so its all good with me. Here are the things I enjoy right now the most.

John Cena-Yeah he gets alot of flack but he is the hardest working guy in the Company which is why I like him.

DX-Always been a DX Fan since the Attitude Era.

Batista-Glad he is back and hopefully for a good while.

Rey Mysterio-Always exciting and puts on Great Matches

John Morrison-Grown on me lately and giving some nice crediblity to the IC Title.

Mickie James-Become one of my Favorite WWE Divas in History.

Good Mid-Card with Miz,Kofi,Bourne,Swagger,MVP,Ziggler,Harts,Cryme Tyme,Zack Ryder,Sheamus,etc.

Randy Orton-Not the biggest fan of his but he gets the job done.

Chris Jericho-Same as Orton but he gets the job done as well.

Christian-Glad he is back and been a Good ECW Champion.

Themed PPV Concept-I like it,its different.

RAW Guest Hosts

Jim Ross-Best Commentator today

Royal Rumble,Wrestlemania,Summerslam,Survivor Series-The Big 4 PPVs with always a big feel around them still today.

Undertaker-nuff said

CM Punk-Done a Great Job of becoming the Top Heel on Smackdown

 

[Jack Tunney's Ghost]

Regarding Eras, I would have to say my favorite is "The New Generation Era."

It was neat to see the (then) WWF "growing up" and that transition from the old school style to what became the "Attitude Era" was actually rather fascinating. I would suggest that was when we saw the best wrestling in the WWF as Bret Hart, Shawn Micheals, Mick "Mankind" Foley, Steve Austin, Undertaker, as well as a great roster were at their prime. Plus, with the Monday Night Wars just beginning to take off at the time, WWF was experimenting with different styles and were developing relationships with Japanese and Mexican promotions. Plus, they were working with the likes of Smoky Mountain Wrestling AND the original ECW as well. Unfortunately, we saw the gassing of a number of great long time employees at the time (road agents, office staff and talent) but we've seen that in the past year in the company as well. The cartoon gimmicks at the time were just being phased out as well... but there were still some great gimmicks... I gotta say, Waylon Mercy had great potential! (I'm chosing to forget Man Mountain Rock and Men On A Mission here).

A VERY close second would be The Hogan Era... I gotta say, sure, there were some awful cartoony gimmicks near the end, but what separates the Hogan Era from today is that MOST of the wrestlers on that roster at the time were experienced, paid their dues and knew what they were doing. They KNEW how to cut great promos, they KNEW how to keep fans into their matches, and overall, they were just great fun to watch in and out of the ring. They had what 90% of the WWE "superstars" lack today -- charisma. Sure, the wrestling in the WWF at the time was, well, not that great... but their personalities more than made up for it. It was neat seeing pro-wrestling enjoy it's first surge in over 40 years as well. It was campy -- but -- it was fun camp... and only a few "got it." Near the end with Hogan dominating the championship when the likes of Bret Hart, Ultimate Warrior, Undertaker, Lex Luger and Shawn Michaels were lurking about, the company was indeed growing atale at that point.

In third place is "The Attitude Era." Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the ride when it was all happening... Stone Cold blasting Vince with beer from a truck, The Rock raising his brow and dropping The People's Elbow while Undertaker decided to kidnap Stephanie. It was indeed a helluva ride -- but -- someone once said that wrestling became "too popular" at the time. Everyone suddenly became interested and everyone knew that a good lot of them would jump off the band wagon eventually. I was actually most intrigued by what was going on backstage at the time because of The Monday Night Wars. Things were waaay more interesting behind the curtain than what was in the ring. WWF was growing up too fast and there were major growing pains politically speaking. WCW was imploding and the ramifications were felt in the WWF as well. Meanwhile, I was somewhat turned off that the crowd would, word by word, cut the same promos as the boys in the ring were. It was like a fun little "hobby" I had became too big. I'm not dissing The Attitude Era... but, in hindsight, it just wasn't my favorite of the listed.

Now, the positives of today's WWE --

I usually take swipes at WWE "Creative" throughout the internet mainly because I'm great frustrated that WWE "Creative" tends to piss away great opportunities due to a number of reasons that usually don't make sense. The politics of WWE on every level, well, just pisses me off. But, that's a reaction due my great passion for the company and the business in general. I look at WWE as my son who chooses to be an underachiever... and just makes you want to pull your hair out. Yes, this is a positive point because I am a fan of WWE... I actually like the company.

+1) That being said, I will say that the employees of WWE work their asses off and most of them are the unsung heroes of the company.

I'm talking the office staff, the production crew, the ring crew, the referees, the announcers, the producers (road agents), truck drivers, pyro guys, lighting crew... EVERYONE. When VKM signs your paychek... you work HARD for your money.

+2) Jim Johnston. He's the guy responsible for most of the original ring entrance themes and production music beds for WWE TV. Music was (pardon the pun) instrumental in WWE's success throughout the years sparking CD sales! Johnston is second to none in what he does and a gem in the WWE crown. Just listen to what he's produced throughout the years, and not much is a miss. Listen to TNA's entrance music and TNA's entrance themes all pretty much sound the same... same sound, same guitars, same voices... just the same.

+3) Jim Ross and Howard Finkle. Both long time GREAT announcers for WWE and both have been treated like absolute crap by Vince McMahon simply because of their age and looks. And Yet, they still tow the company line when they're both being denied what they REALLY should be doing... being on WWE TV's alleged flagship show. Two more jewels in the WWE Crown.

+4) Even though I've said that Kevin Dunn is just calling it in and is far from being inspired, WWE's TV production still remains the best in the business. Imagine how much better it would be if Dunn was inspired for a change?

+5) The attempt to give each WWE TV show and PPV it's own "feel." I'm not talking about brand split here... I'm talking about something that dates back to the 80s from "Superstars of Wrestling" and "Wrestling Challenge" to today's Raw, Smackdown!, ECW and Superstars. Each show has it's own unique graphics, ring aprons, entrance way sets (pre-hi-def pixels set) and some cases ring ropes color. The brand split just underscored what WWE has been doing for years -- each show is its own show. Small things like that DO make a difference!

+6) The ring. It's not six sided. Actual ropes -- It doesn't have elevator cables for ropes. Turnbuckle pads look great with the WWE logo. The ring aprons look great. It's the major "prop" of wrestling TV -- it should look great and most WWE rings do.

+7) ECW. It's a great program overal and it'd be awesome if they named it anything else but ECW because of the namesake's history. Even still without the history -- It's being somewhat promoted as the "farm brand" of WWE ... but what's so "extreme" about it? Hell -- They've brought back Superstars... Bring back "Wrestling Challenge"... woops... Vince hates the word "wrestling" .. bring back "Challenge" as ECW's new name!

+8) Katie Lee Churchill. She's hot. 'nuff said. Maria. She's hot too. Kelly Kelly. Pretty hot.

+9) I tend to look at wrestlers as expendable. But there are a few wrestlers who are just simply "money." Randy Orton, Legacy, Zach Ryder, Jericho, Shawn Micheals and Edge.

+10) WWE DVDs. They're simply the best of SPORTS DVD production. That includes productions put together by NFL, NHL, NBA, UFC, TNA and NASCAR. Again, whoever edits and compiles WWE DVDs are unsung heroes.

 

[rayisawesomeness]

Smackdown - Lots of wrestling, love it.
ECW - Lots of wrestling as well and new blood.
DVD's - I buy a lot because I love to collect them lol
PG - I love it because it gets the IWC hot
Eve Torres - She's one hot ass skank
JR and Matt Striker - The only commentators I really enjoy hearing

 

[satellites2009]

(1) Attitude Era
(2) The New Generation
(3) Hogan Era
(4) PG

Attitude - The Attitude Era was my favorite for many of the same reasons that others cite. The Rock, Austin, DX, etc. As a fan, I never knew what to expect.

The New Generation - I was a huge Shawn Michaels mark.

Hogan Era - I liked this era but absolutely hated Hulk Hogan. For me, this era was great because of everyone else involved. The characters at the time, although somewhat ridiculous, were very cerebral. Jake Roberts, The Undertaker (Vintage Version), Million Dollar Man, etc.

PG - Here's the list of what I like:

(a) Shawn Michaels
(b) The Miz
(c) Santino
(d) Chris Jericho
(e) Edge
(f) Kelly Kelly
(g) Jim Ross
(h) Jerry Lawler


Ultimately, I rank the PG era last out of the four. However, I still watch it and I still enjoy it. They're clearly having a tough time building as many stars the same way they did in the previous generation. Furthermore, they're certainly finding it difficult to locate that new "superstar." That said, they're doing well with what they have. I anticipate that new "superstar" is right around the corner, and that is why I'm so excited to watch right now. At any moment, a new leader will emerge.

 

[Jonno]

My favourite part of wrestling today is the fact that we have so much wrestling history avaliable on DVD and the net. The DVD's that WWE are putting out now are awesome, from the wrestler profile DVD's like Brian Pillman, Jake Roberts, Mr. Perfect and Macho to the doco's done on the promotions that Vince now owns like AWA, ECW and WCW (Rise and Fall of WCW wasn't exactly great, but it was still a good watch). The Legends of Wrestling DVD's are really cool as well.

There has never been a time in wrestling when it's history has been as celebrated and remembered as it is now, and we have WWE to thank for that. Often times things are one sided, but as the saying goes, history is written by the winners.

The current product has its moments of greatness, like anytime you have HBK and Y2J in the ring. There are also great matches/fueds to still look forward to such as Y2J vs Taker, Morrison vs HBK and Edge & Christian (either teaming for fueding, either way would be good.)

 

[TheChristmasCreature]

What I enjoy about today's WWE product (in no particular order):

Kane (of course)
Cena
HHH/DX
Shawn Michaels/DX
Santino
Jericho
Edge
Batista
Undertaker
Morrison
Swagger
Kofi
Cryme Tyme
Mickie James
Beth Phoenix
Debiase/Rhodes
Punk
Ziggler
Maria
Natalya
Knox
Melina
Maryse
MVP
Legends/HOFers popping in
JR
Lawler
Katie Lea
Goldust
Gail Kim


Basically, storylines involving the above listed. I think people take too many shots at WWE and many of the above because it's easy to "monday night quarterback" on these sites. I know I've done my share of bitching here. Overall, WWE puts out an entertaining product. I know I tune in almost every week.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Guys, I have to say ... rattling off a list of 20-30 some superstars doesn't really tell us anything. If you have a couple favorites, please be my guest and go ahead and list them. But I am particularly interested in hearing things like (all hypothetically speaking ... I am not saying I am actually of the opinion of all of these):

I think WWE is doing fantastic with character development:

I think they are allocating longer time for matches, instead of promos and storylines, which I enjoy.

I think the new stage adds a fantastic ambiance to the shows

I really enjoy where they are taking Miz's character. They are really allowing him to come out of his shell on the mic and draw a tremendous amount of heat from the audience.

John Morrison's promos are really allowing him to make a connection with the fans.

Vince McMahon making appearances on Smackdown.

I enjoy Jim Ross being given a shot at Color Commentary for a change, and providing an opportunity for storytelling.

WWE is handling Teddy Jr's Face Turn magnificantly.

The superstar entrances compared to year's past are phenomenal.

Etc.



Things of that nature. Again, rattling off over half the roster really doesn't tell us anything at all about what you specifically enjoy about the product-- which is what I really want to hear your opinions on. Unique Enigma, for example, did an excellent job doing what I was really looking for.