Rumored HHH Plans: More Tag Teams, Less Divas

[closet_fan]

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/259...-to-push-more-tag-team-a-less-divas-wrestling

The Wrestling Observer Reporter is reporting those close to Triple H feel as he gains more power in the company—expect more tag team wrestling and less female wrestling.

Reportedly, Triple H has never been high on women's wrestling. He feels a solid tag team division is very valuable.

While there have been females added to WWE's developmental as of late, many are expecting Triple H to focus on having a few solid workers in the Divas division and keeping the attention on them.

The days of signing female talents from modeling agenicies and magazines are said to be gone. This is something that took place under the reign of John Laurinaitis in charge of the talent and Triple H is determined to move as far away from that as possible.

If true, which I think we have seen the beginning stages of it, I LOVE it. Many will gripe about the Divas. But for me, I'd rather a small, more solid match between two women who can wrestle, than a longer match with those who can't. And hopefully This does make me question why the WWE decided to bring Kelly Kelly back though.

 

[Slyfox696]

This is mostly good news. I would much rather the WWE get rid of women's wrestling all together, and just hire beautiful female actresses who never get in the ring, but the less time on women's wrestling the better.

As far as tag teams go...meh. As I recently said in a different thread, until the WWE allows their tag teams to work a different style of tag team match/story than the formulaic good/bad/hot tag/finish match they require now, I still won't be interested.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

i think this will be great for the company. its been far to long since we have had a great tag division. hope hunter really runs with this idea.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

Woman's wrestling is boring, no one wants to see it. Keep pushing the tag division because more people will be interested. It's a good thing, I see no bad in this. As when I dvr raw I always skip through the diva stuff.it's become a reflex action for m to skip now.

 

[D-Man]

This is obviously a good thing.

First of all, fans have been complaining about the lack of tag team wrestling for some time now. WWE has faked their way through tag team matches and storylines for years. Finally Triple H wants to capitalize on the value that he feels can be brought to the table. He's a fan of the old school and really has a great understanding of blending old with new. If he hits it right, tag team wrestling could be making a HUGE comeback this year.

Also, with the new 3-hour Raw (as it's already be voiced by Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler) there is a lot more time for undercard talent to be showcased on television. Not only can the WWE squeeze in 3-4 more storylines/matches per week but this gives tag team wrestling a solid, televised slot each week. As time goes by, the division will build and could possibly get more TV time.

Everything seems to be on the upward slope in terms of improvement in on-screen quality and product. I could care less if there's no hardcore crap, violence, racy storylines, nudity, and especially women's wrestling. All of those, while entertaining to young audiences, is a complete waste of television time. Real storylines and product involving top-tier talent written by professional, television writers is the best thing they can put on TV.

 

[Bernkastel]

The last good program I saw featuring the Divas was Candice Michelle vs Beth Phoenix, and that was 5 years ago. There have been a few good stand alone matches mostly involving Mickie, Beth, or Melina but that was the last really good program featuring the women. Outside of AJ Lee and Vickie Guerrero, what other woman is even mildly interesting righ now? No one.

It's also been about 5 years since the tag division was relevant as well, but the difference between the tag division and the women's division in 2012 is the the former has some interesting talent waiting to be developed. Primo and Epico, the Prime Time Players, and Truth and Kingston; those have potential to make some great feuds.

 

[ECPirate37]

Woman's wrestling is boring, no one wants to see it. Keep pushing the tag division because more people will be interested. It's a good thing, I see no bad in this. As when I dvr raw I always skip through the diva stuff.it's become a reflex action for m to skip now.

I disagree, but see your point. I like seeing women's wrestling when they actually wrestle. I do not think anyone can argue that Mickey James v. Tara in the cage was "boring". However, I completely agree that it is stale in WWE. I would like to see them do more wrestling, and less Diva'ing if they are going to be there.

 

[TheLoneCharles]

Nothing is wrong with WOMENS wrestling, it's the DIVAS wrestling that drives us to take a bathroom break whenever they are on.

In the past you had Trish, Lita, Mickie James, Sable, and Ivory. Any combination of those women in a match was fun to watch.

As for the tag division I like the new teams coming up, and I cannot wait until The Ascension reach the main roster. The only thing I don't want to see is two established stars (like Orton and Cena) forming a tag team and squashing them all to win the tag belts. Crap like that is what wrecked the division to begin with!

 

[closet_fan]

Personally, instead of using the extra third hour for constant recaps, use it more for both tag team and GOOD women wrestlers. I watched a taping of RAW where the person who made it took ALL recaps and commercials out. It was an hour and 46 minutes long. That's BS.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

This is mostly good news. I would much rather the WWE get rid of women's wrestling all together, and just hire beautiful female actresses who never get in the ring, but the less time on women's wrestling the better.

Why? I think talented women wrestlers should get an opportunity to work in the WWE. They have the same dedication in their craft as the men so I see no reason why they shouldn't have a wrestling career in the WWE just because of their gender.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

I like the idea of more tag teams provided they are given the proper push and the backstory/ idea for them. The issue with the Divas is a difficult one, because I do agree that a number of them can't wrestle and shouldn't be onscreen. To eliminate them entirely or seriousl reduce their time on tv, that might not work. There are guy performers who can't cut it, getting air time every week. H might not like divas but they can provide value if used well. The problem, imo, is they are pushed too soon and need a little (in some cases a lot) more time to develop. If they can't meet the timeline, if they have a look and you think you can make money off them, have them conduct interviews backstage or something that still makes them visible.

I don't want to see some kind of nonsense where the most popular tag team doesn't get a push as champ so two individual stars can get the belts (i.e. Cryme Time). I liked it before when SD and Raw had their own heavyweight title champs, midcard title champ, tag champs, and women's champion and would love to see it again.

The issue with the Divas is a difficult one, because I do agree that a number of them can't wrestle and shouldn't be onscreen. To eliminate them entirely or seriously reduce their time on tv, that might work against him than for him. They need that time in the ring to develop and need the time to work in front of a crowd to get better. H might not like divas but they can provide value if used well. One problem, imo, is they are pushed too soon and need a little (in some cases a lot) more time to develop. Another is they aren't given any kind of a storyline, or anytime to push that storyline. If they can't meet a reasonable timeline, if they have a look and you think you can make money off them, have them conduct interviews backstage, be managers or pose for calendars or something that still makes them visible and help the company.

 

[Paria]

I think that HHH is 180 degrees from Vince in his ideas nowadays, which is a very good thing. Vince has changed with times meaning that as time went on he saw more and more dollar signs, whereas HHH has the ideas bout what is best for business and it's fans. Vince let the tag team division go in order to promote "sex" in wrestling...now I know that most men love that, they are getting their weekly tease and in the long run, that is bad for business because the people who gripe and moan and complain about women getting too little tv time are the exact same people who are whining that the WWE has failed as a company and not provided for them.

I believe that HHHs' point of view is the best....rebuild the tag team division. Being WWE Tag team champs carries the same glory that the WWE champion carries. His focus is on rebuilding the business to what he loved growing up as a kid watching every week, and for that I am very appreciative. I do believe that if women want to wrestle they should be given the chance, but on their own show and then if it survives, let it carry on. I remember, and I'm not quite sure how many of you will remember this but here goes....G.L.O.W.(gorgeous ladies of wrestling)it was a weekly televised womens wrestling show. That show failed for the same reason it would fail today.....because horny perverts would tune in each week to gawk at the ladies, but when it comes time to purchase merchandise, it would just flop, but hey, if they want the chance then give it to them, let it fail and then maybe they will leave wrestling alone. However, in the mean time I will say this....I am happy that the WWE will no longer be recruiting women based on their looks but rather by how talanted they are.

 

[gk11973]

Woman's wrestling is boring, no one wants to see it. Keep pushing the tag division because more people will be interested. It's a good thing, I see no bad in this. As when I dvr raw I always skip through the diva stuff.it's become a reflex action for m to skip now.

So wrong my friend, I generally only watch for the women's wrestling, unfortunately WWE does not provide much in the way of it. An not its not cause I think they are hot... I got the boys for eye candy. I hope this does not mean that HHH will push it further into the background but that he just focuses on a small group of actual female wrestlers (Beth, Nattie, Sara, maybe Layla, Tamina and Eve and some new faces) and ditches the rest of the model types who have made a mockery (I'm looking at you Kelly Kelly) of women's wrestling. The tag division can be successful if they get away from make shift teams of singles stars and actually have defined long term teams competing.

 

[TJWWE]

Well being a fan of womens wrestling, I am not happy but looking at it, I would rather have a 2 minute match with Natalya vs Beth than a 5/6 minute match with Kelly vs Aksana. The WWE should just release every diva they have apart from Beth, Natalya, Layla, Eve, AJ, Vickie, Paige, Tenille and Raquel.

As far as the tag division is concerned, for the past 2 months, they have been attempting to bring the life back into the division which is a good thing. I have stated on a forum before that I think to give the tag division a good boost, I would have a fun-packed-high-flying tag ladder match featuring The Usos, Prime Time Players, Epico/Primo and either Gabriel/Kidd or Curt/Tyler and I bet you that if this was on a PPV, it would most likely be considered as one of the best matches of the night.

Either that, or at Night of Champions, have a tag turmoil match so the WWE universe can see what the establish teams are within the company instead of 2 randomers thrown together.

 

[Bernkastel]

I hope this does not mean that HHH will push it further into the background but that he just focuses on a small group of actual female wrestlers (Beth, Nattie, Sara, maybe Layla, Tamina and Eve and some new faces) and ditches the rest of the model types who have made a mockery (I'm looking at you Kelly Kelly).

Those types of women don't draw a dime, and they never have. The only way for women to become relevant is to work and get over doing storylines with top male superstars like Trish, Lita, and Sable used to do, or become a GM like AJ, or a successful manager like Sherry. WWE builds them up, then releases them into the division with lasting appeal.

Those women have matches that are 100 times more interesting than any match featuring random-woman-with-no-personality-but-can-do-a-bunch-of-spots A vs random-woman-with-no-personality-but-can-do-a-bunch-of-spots B.

WWE has two women right now that are interesting, AJ and Vickie, compared to 3 or 4 more versatile tag teams. Its a good business decision to put the women in the background.

 

[Animal30]

The Divas divsion isnt Great and the new Era of the Divas divison is pure Eye candy I agree with HHH focusing on the tag team divison I miss good tag team macthes Look at the History of the Tag team divison. Hart Foundation , LOD the Nasty boys. the ROCKERS it helped creat stars. I would keep the divas divsion if they had macthes like womens divison in TNA but they dont back in the Lita and trisha days it was wacthable but now who cares. I for HHH direction.....

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I read about this sometime this morning. If it's legit, and if Trips' ideas of having WWE programming being more wrestling heavy & title reigns being longer, then it looks like Trips has something of a more old school mentality for his vision regarding the WWE. He's surrounding himself with guys to work for him that not only like wrestling but have a strong background in athletics altogether.

Triple H is said to still be a wrestling fan at heart and I think he'll be able to find a good balance of the wrestling aspect with the entertaining aspect of WWE. Sometimes, Vince goes a little too far in one direction or the other. I think Vince ultimately thinks too much of what social media will do and mean for wrestling. As long as it's at the level it is now, it's fine for me personally. Sometimes, Vince strikes me as someone that puts so much focus on the method of doing something that he loses sight of what the real goal is.

A stronger tag team scene sounds good to me. I agree with some posters in that it looks as though we're seeing a beginning of that. There's still work to be done obviously, but at least there actually is a tag team picture of some degree of relevance to speak of now. I agree with Sly that in order for it to really take, a lot of the mostly standard tag team formula needs to be shaken up quite a bit. Hopefully, that's something that will come along as well once Trips really gains the power he needs.

As far as the Divas go, in all honesty, it doesn't really bother me. Women's wrestling isn't a draw and it never has been. That's not to say that the Divas can be a positive contribution to the WWE. If the Divas are used mostly along the lines of the Knockouts, maybe one decent match or segment per episode of Raw, then I'm fine with that. I'll take something like that over the generally useless drudgery that's defined the Divas for the better part of a decade. The women that look to be heading into WWE from now on look as though they're going to be hired based on their wrestling capabilities rather than how good they look in bikinis, like with Big Johnny contacting modeling agencies all over the place. Trips will probably catch some heat from it from some people but, at the end of the day, what choice does he have? People tune out whenever the Divas are on, they get up from their seats in the arena to hit the snack booths or use the bathroom because there's nothing interesting going on with them. Why throw good money away when you don't really need to? Trips is said to not be a big fan of women's wrestling and, in all honesty, I don't think the vast majority of wrestling fans are either. Traditionally, the best role for women in wrestling has always been as a manager/valet. To stand there in skimpy and/or revealing clothing, look pretty and help your man get a heel victory. Sure it's old fashioned, but it also worked.

 

[schaeffershawn]

Ok facts and not to sound like mark madden, but womens wrestling does not draw. People do not buy tickets or PPVS for womens matches. It is just how it is. Yes there are some great women wrestlers but its like Sherri Martel. She was a great wrestler, but her as a manager was ten times more relevent. Now yes women when give the proper build can entertain, at the end of the day to twist a phrase from the past they dont put buts in seats.

 

[Ethelion]

More Tag Teams. Less Divas. Hmm. Bittersweet.

On the one hand, more tag teams would mean more legitimacy to the already dying, but slowly rising tag team division. In addition to the Prime Time Players, Primo and Epico, and the Usos, I'd very much like the WWE to put Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater back; these guys look good together as a team and have a great chemistry with each other since their Nexus and Corre days.

On the other hand, less divas would mean less significance to the also dying divas division. Then again, the only female wrestler I ever cared about was Beth Phoenix (I don't count Kharma since she never wrestled during her time in the company) and the only eye candies I ever drooled on were Eve and Layla. Still, it's a shame that this division will eventually be forgotten.

Hope the tag team push is true. Hope the diva burial isn't.

 

[Slyfox696]

Why? I think talented women wrestlers should get an opportunity to work in the WWE. They have the same dedication in their craft as the men so I see no reason why they shouldn't have a wrestling career in the WWE just because of their gender.

I'm afraid you're mistaken. The WWE is not about equal opportunity. The WWE is a business, selling the product of entertainment. Women's wrestling is not nearly as entertaining as mens, just like women's basketball isn't as interesting as men's basketball, softball isn't as fun as baseball, etc.

This is not sexism, it's just a truth, a truth even most women will tell you. Athletically, women are simply inferior, their bodies are created differently than men's bodies (for child bearing purposes). Women simply are not as athletic nor as strong as men, and as such, they are more limited in what they are able to do in the ring.

While I think it's admirable you're trying to treat men and women equally, it's simply not the case. And because of this, I don't want to watch women's wrestling.

 

[GrandSword]

I'm afraid you're mistaken. The WWE is not about equal opportunity. The WWE is a business, selling the product of entertainment. Women's wrestling is not nearly as entertaining as mens, just like women's basketball isn't as interesting as men's basketball, softball isn't as fun as baseball, etc.

This is not sexism, it's just a truth, a truth even most women will tell you. Athletically, women are simply inferior, their bodies are created differently than men's bodies (for child bearing purposes). Women simply are not as athletic nor as strong as men, and as such, they are more limited in what they are able to do in the ring.

While I think it's admirable you're trying to treat men and women equally, it's simply not the case. And because of this, I don't want to watch women's wrestling.

I feel there has to be a cavet to what you are saying though. In the last decade, if you were to mention who were the top 20 most over sports entertainers in the WWE, you would have to include Trish Stratus and Lita and maybe even Sable. The Diva's division maybe dying right now and women's wrestling is "boring" to some people, but there is no denying the popularity of Trish and Lita. Before Trish became the alpha female, the fans used to have thunderous pops for Lita. So much so that these two girls were included in mixed tag main events on Raw.

If the right performers like a Trish and Lita came along again, the Divas division would work.

 

[JJ15776]

I'm afraid you're mistaken. The WWE is not about equal opportunity. The WWE is a business, selling the product of entertainment. Women's wrestling is not nearly as entertaining as mens, just like women's basketball isn't as interesting as men's basketball, softball isn't as fun as baseball, etc.

This is not sexism, it's just a truth, a truth even most women will tell you. Athletically, women are simply inferior, their bodies are created differently than men's bodies (for child bearing purposes). Women simply are not as athletic nor as strong as men, and as such, they are more limited in what they are able to do in the ring.

While I think it's admirable you're trying to treat men and women equally, it's simply not the case. And because of this, I don't want to watch women's wrestling.

I see that you're confused. Allow me to straighten out your misguided and incorrect views.

Wrestling is not basketball or baseball. You see, basketball and baseball are sports. They're competition. They're at their most interesting at the highest level. That's directly linked to physical ability - the most athletic, the fastest and strongest, are going to put on the best show more often than not. Wrestling, on the other hand, is not a sport. It's not a competition. It's an art. It's entertainment. While athleticism does play a role, it is much further down the list of important factors than it is in sports. Less athleticism does not hold one back in wrestling nearly as much as it does in sports.

In summary: in sports, athleticism is the most important thing. It's complimented by one's mental abilities. In wrestling(and other arts), the reverse is true. The mental aspect is far more important, and it's complimented by athletic ability. Hence, while the edge that men hold over women athletically is huge in the sports world, it is not nearly so in the arts and entertainment(such as wrestling) world.

I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm here to inform people such as yourself. You're welcome.

 

[VencomHardcore]

I HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH ANYONE WHO SAYS THAT WOMEN DON'T DRAW.

They can when given a proper story line and do when they are treated as important. Most of you on this forum were toddlers when WWF used to feature some women's matches with legit talent. They weren't on every tv show but when they came to town. Those women got MAJOR pops and were highly anticipated.

Its not an issue of being talented. Hell, Madison Eagles and Mis Chif are more entertaining in the ring than most of the smackdown roster. They can wrestle, do draw well and sale alot of merchandise.

But when you don't spend time writing quality story lines, developing characters and treating them like piss breaks then that is what the fans will think.

Japan does women's wrestling better and have had matches that book ppvs. Simply go back to the first womens hardcore match in FMW. That match stole the show and put all the asses in that stadium because it was built up the right way. That can happen now.

But when you want eye candy. Not only do you dumb down your fans, you are insulting the women at the same time.

There are many fans that enjoy the divas as is. When they were not on the show, the amount of tweets complaining were astounding. I read the twitter stream and people were upset. Not a few but thousands of tweets. So there is an audience there. You have to make it important for it to be important. How do you think Cena Became Relevant ? They built him that way, invested in his character and forced the issue. The fans bought it.

There is no way if they put effort into a credible program it wouldn't work. They did it in the past. And it can happen now. I can think of at least 6 women wrestlers that can out talk most of the WWE roster and have the skills in the ring to back it up. You give them a program that makes sense and let them go and people will get behind it.

 

[JJ15776]

Clearly this is good news all around. Tag Team wrestling can be very valuable. Even if the top tag team matches will never match top singles matches(and they won't), it's a great way for a wrestler to get his feet wet. To get the crowd to notice them, to get the crowd familiar with them. For some, it makes a great springboard to a singles career. For others, a lifetime of tag team wrestler can lead to greatness in its own way. WWE's biggest problem is that they break up teams too fast. The guys aren't ready to go solo yet, and it shows. People often ask how to fix the tag team division, and at its core the answer is very simple: keep teams together longer.

And I think people are misunderstanding what's going to happen with the divas...and that's partly WrestleZone's fault, because their article didn't exactly hit the nail on the head. Yes, Triple H wants to get rid of the "divas" division. But he wants to replace it with a real women's division, with real women's wrestlers who know how to really wrestle. That becomes clear when you look at who he's signed in the short time he's been in charge.

This is good - nay, it's great - news all around. Every single sign so far indicates that Triple H will make a great executive when he's in charge of WWE. It's just sad that so many people refuse to recognize that.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Excellent news, the Tag Team division has been dwindling to say the least and the fact that H recognizes that more focus there is needed makes me very happy. There aren't a ton of names that come to mind when thinking of new teams to spice it up, Reks and Hawkins are decent and I'd just be happy to see them doing something halfway relevant. I have a gut feeling that they'll put Cara and Mysterio together atleast for a while to mix things up, and possibly have them split and feud after.

As for the ladies I love seeing them but not wrestling. If they stuck to walking superstars out to the ring and doing videos at Summerslam of them washing cars in bikinis I think most of us would be happy. I used to love the Womens division, but when we lost Lita I stopped caring because no other diva can perform like she did and well...look like she did. When she and Stratus were mixing it up and main eventing Raw, that was their high point but they've fallen very far since then and I'm not sure what can be done to get it to that level again. Bring in a girl similar to Lita and I'll start caring a little bit more.