Should The WWE Have An Off-Season?
- Thread starter mikde_
- Start date
No they should not. That's one of the great things about WWE. They go 12 months each year. If someone must take time off for injuries then there are others in line ready to be pushed in their place. If WWE ever took any time off as a whole organization then the fans who expect a show each week would get upset and be less likely to keep watching when it comes back on. The roster is large enough that people can always be pushed and people are still wanting to attend shows. The biggest reason is financial. WWE is active all year because they make a ton of money all year, why change that when the system they have works rather well?
justinsayne
Cody Rhodes is an excellant
With them doing the Supershows now, I think they could easily get away with giving chunks of the roster a few months of here and there, while still keeping all the live shows & everything else going. Between Royal Rumble & WM they need, & I'm sure the entire roster wants, to work, so after WM you start scheduling time off for groups of wrestler, just giving them 2-3 months at a time then having them come back, & sending the next group of superstars home for a few months of rest. You do that over the next 9 months, until the entire roster has had a little break to rest, spend time with their families, work on some side projects, ect. and then when RR roles around every is back & ready to work the Road to WM. Their are plenty of benefits to this, oustside of the obvious, wrestler having time to heal & be with family, it would also give a break to the fans from seeing certain guys in the ME all the time, and prevent them from getting burned out on those guys. How many times have we seen guys like Triple H, or Cena getting boo'd only for them to eventually suffer some type of severe injury that sidelines them a couple months, & when they come back the fans go crazy & have a renewed love for those guys, because by that time they've missed them while they were out. It would also give more talent an chance to shine, it would force WWE to make new stars, so they aren't backed into a corner & forced to rely on old stars coming back to work the ME scene. I have no issue with WWE doing things like this, giving chucks of the roster time off is perfectly fine by me, I wouldn't give the entire roster time off at the same time, anyone here who thinks that's a good idea is just being silly, WWE would lose boat loads of cash if they did that it would be a horriable decision just from a business standpoint.
Okay Fabian
Occasional Pre-Show
I wasn't saying that WWE was exactly like sports or exactly like a sitcom/soap opera. I was saying they have elements of both. But the elements in sports seasons and TV series that allow for off-seasons aren't entirely present in the WWE. The WWE doesn't build to a championship as with sports. And they don't end their stories in the same place. Sure, Wrestlemania would seem like the logical "Super Bowl" or "Season Finale" but that would mean WWE would have to coordinate all their stories to end at the same time, and that's pretty difficult when you are dealing with such a large cast of characters and overlapping storylines. Right now, Wrestlemania is used as a place to end feuds, as a place to start feuds, and as a place to continue feuds. It'd be pretty boring knowing that everything was going to come to a conclusion at Wrestlemania. And even if there were several cliff hangers, I don't think it'd be wise for WWE to go weeks without TV. The casual fan is a fickle animal.
WWE NEEDS AN OFF-SEASON:
A wrestler makes his/her living from being slammed onto an unforgiving mat night after night. They get little to no time off during the year.
A baseball player gets about four months to rest his weary body receiving about 100 percent less chair shots.
Creating an offseason in WWE is a hard sell. There would be fewer pay-per-views, fewer house shows, less money.
Vince McMahon would lose the color in his face just thinking about it.
In the long run, though, I believe it will be better for the sport. Wrestling is hell on the body. I wonder how many careers could have gone on longer had the superstars been given a few months every year to recover.
Would Edge have been forced to retire so young? How much longer would Steve Austin's career been?
Wrestling success has always depended on the popularity of its superstars. We've seen some of our best leave early in no small part to the beating these folks take. Imagine the landscape of the WWE with Edge, the Rock and Brock Lesnar still around.
I know the Rock may have chosen Hollywood regardless of some rest every summer, but it would have made his choice much more difficult. He obviously loves the sport, coming back now even after all his success.
Currently WWE uses storylines to write in time for surgeries and injury recovery. Rey Mysterio is probably playing Xbox with his kids right now, letting his knees rest.
But aren't there plenty of people on the roster who could use some time off?
In addition, perhaps the lessening of our yearly dose of wrestling will heighten our enjoyment of it. Fans get giddy in anticipation of the NFL season returning.
Having less Raw and SmackDown shows annually may serve to crank up our appreciation.
I propose (if you are listening Mr. McMahon) that we begin the wrestling season in August and end it in April. SummerSlam could kick things off after a few weeks worth of build up on the weekly shows. The Road to WrestleMania would take on another meaning altogether.
The four big boys, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, SummerSlam and WrestleMania could still occur at basically the same time that they have traditionally.
It's not like most of us can afford to order 13 pay-per-views a year anyway.
During the offseason, WWE could mimic how other sports operate during downtime by giving us offseason storylines, interviews and analysis.
In no other sport do we expect the athletes to take such a beating for so long. WWE would surely be afraid that during an offseason Ring of Honor and TNA would pilfer their audience. Maybe they would at first.
But if McMahon were to blaze that trail, other wrestlers in other promotions may start to demand the same luxury.
Rejuvenated wrestlers may perform at a higher level more consistently. More sustainable careers means us having to say goodbye less quickly and less often. Young stud athletes choosing between sports may be more inclined to take up wrestling.
What does WWE have to lose? Money, lots of it.
But what they (and we) could gain is a far superior product.
A wrestler makes his/her living from being slammed onto an unforgiving mat night after night. They get little to no time off during the year.
A baseball player gets about four months to rest his weary body receiving about 100 percent less chair shots.
Creating an offseason in WWE is a hard sell. There would be fewer pay-per-views, fewer house shows, less money.
Vince McMahon would lose the color in his face just thinking about it.
In the long run, though, I believe it will be better for the sport. Wrestling is hell on the body. I wonder how many careers could have gone on longer had the superstars been given a few months every year to recover.
Would Edge have been forced to retire so young? How much longer would Steve Austin's career been?
Wrestling success has always depended on the popularity of its superstars. We've seen some of our best leave early in no small part to the beating these folks take. Imagine the landscape of the WWE with Edge, the Rock and Brock Lesnar still around.
I know the Rock may have chosen Hollywood regardless of some rest every summer, but it would have made his choice much more difficult. He obviously loves the sport, coming back now even after all his success.
Currently WWE uses storylines to write in time for surgeries and injury recovery. Rey Mysterio is probably playing Xbox with his kids right now, letting his knees rest.
But aren't there plenty of people on the roster who could use some time off?
In addition, perhaps the lessening of our yearly dose of wrestling will heighten our enjoyment of it. Fans get giddy in anticipation of the NFL season returning.
Having less Raw and SmackDown shows annually may serve to crank up our appreciation.
I propose (if you are listening Mr. McMahon) that we begin the wrestling season in August and end it in April. SummerSlam could kick things off after a few weeks worth of build up on the weekly shows. The Road to WrestleMania would take on another meaning altogether.
The four big boys, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, SummerSlam and WrestleMania could still occur at basically the same time that they have traditionally.
It's not like most of us can afford to order 13 pay-per-views a year anyway.
During the offseason, WWE could mimic how other sports operate during downtime by giving us offseason storylines, interviews and analysis.
In no other sport do we expect the athletes to take such a beating for so long. WWE would surely be afraid that during an offseason Ring of Honor and TNA would pilfer their audience. Maybe they would at first.
But if McMahon were to blaze that trail, other wrestlers in other promotions may start to demand the same luxury.
Rejuvenated wrestlers may perform at a higher level more consistently. More sustainable careers means us having to say goodbye less quickly and less often. Young stud athletes choosing between sports may be more inclined to take up wrestling.
What does WWE have to lose? Money, lots of it.
But what they (and we) could gain is a far superior product.
I'm honestly surprised that so many people are so willing to go with this idea. For me, the great thing about WWE is that it's year round. You don't get that with ANY other sport, or ANY other TV show in existence. That gives it a uniqueness and allows the company to constantly maintain its fanbase. Also, imagine how many guys would get less opportunities if there was less wrestling time per year? The main event scene when the WWE WAS in season would be even "staler" than some perceive it to be now. I do agree that the guys are overworked and that they deserve time off, but honestly, most of them probably wouldn't WANT time off. Forcing it on them wouldn't be good for anybody, especially not the fans who would likely be pretty pissed that something that has been year round since the beginning of its existence suddenly isn't anymore.
FutureCreative
PIPE BOMB!
From a TV stand point... the summer is always lacking in good TV. All the good shows are on their off-season as well as sport. WWE programming is all I watch in these months. WWE would be foolish not to be on television in these months as their competition is non-exsistent... and I'm pretty sure they know that 
Da Muddaship
It was ME, AUSTIN!!!
An off-season is definitely NOT GONNA HAPPEN. As others have posted, it's too much money for the Vinnie Mac Attack to make. BUT.....most of us ham-and-eggers get at least a few weeks' vacation a year. If you've been around your job for quite a while, you get more time than others at your office or factory.
SO....what the 'E' can do is 1) dedicate to run the Supershow concept from the TLC PPV to the Rumble; 2) again between Wrestlemania and Backlash, and 3) again between Summerslam and MITB. During these times, you can rotate all of your guys (not just the main and upper mid-card) on five-to-seven-day extended breaks, to do nothing but go home and think about their families, at least three times a year. Remember, even the top guys who might not wrestle all the house shows still have to drive on the road, do radio & tv junkets and make public appearances on their 'days off' between RAW and Smackdown shows. This'll help keep the body and mind refreshed throughout the year and keep the 12-month schedules intact. It covers the Christmas season (and by the way, everybody's off the road during Tribute To The Troops broadcast week), and we half expect to NOT see some of the roster after Wrestlemania, the vaunted 'future endeavors' season.
SO....what the 'E' can do is 1) dedicate to run the Supershow concept from the TLC PPV to the Rumble; 2) again between Wrestlemania and Backlash, and 3) again between Summerslam and MITB. During these times, you can rotate all of your guys (not just the main and upper mid-card) on five-to-seven-day extended breaks, to do nothing but go home and think about their families, at least three times a year. Remember, even the top guys who might not wrestle all the house shows still have to drive on the road, do radio & tv junkets and make public appearances on their 'days off' between RAW and Smackdown shows. This'll help keep the body and mind refreshed throughout the year and keep the 12-month schedules intact. It covers the Christmas season (and by the way, everybody's off the road during Tribute To The Troops broadcast week), and we half expect to NOT see some of the roster after Wrestlemania, the vaunted 'future endeavors' season.
