The 10 Year Cycle Returns...

[THTRobtaylor]

A long time ago, I wrote several articles on the main page about the 10 year cycle... only one seems to have survived and it's here...

http://www.wrestlezone.com/editorials/236073-the-hot-topic-spin-cycles

In 1985-86, 1995-96 and 2005-2006 there were sea changes in how the wrestling business was percieved, talent that made it big and how the business itself was done. Business drops in the 3-4 year of a decade, reaches a creative and financial funk by the end of year 4 and years 5-6 bring something that changes the game.

1985 saw the birth of Wrestlemania and its success saw territories quickly decline. The WWE's product gained big momentum in 1986 with talent raids so that by 1987 it was at a peak.

Ten years later, things reached a nadir in 1995 for Vince but the business itself took a quantum shift with WCW's money and bold talent raids...WWE reversed what had happened a decade earlier and took the cast offs from WCW. Ron Simmons, Dustin Rhodes and three who changed the game completely... Brian Pillman, Mick Foley & Steve Austin

The company so used to picking and choosing were now hustling and making something of talent, just as JCP had done in the mid 80's... meanwhile the cherry picked NWO ruled in WCW.

The noughties saw a similar pattern, only in the middle of that decade, it was the rebirth of "indy", as groups like ROH, DragonsGate, EVOLVE and numerous others all began to get notice. WWE, by now the only game in town for "big feds" began their own "talent initiatives" to replace those raids that always energised fans and creative. While not as successful, it did bring in talents like CM Punk. If there is a decade that doesn't quite "fit the cycle" it's that one... but the same things happened, just a year or so later... ECW showed the creative nadir, yet Chris Jericho v Shawn and later Punk vs Cena reinvigorated for a while.

So we come to this decade and yes, we not only are following the pattern but we're right back 20 years as we enter 2016.

Just as in 1995, 2015 ended on a bummer... Main eventers haven't worked out as planned, like Lex Luger and Diesel did. Top level talents are picking up injuries from clumsy opponents like Mabel nearly killing Taker and young talent, while seemingly becoming a big part of the show often get hamstrung by dire booking... Neville and 1-2-3 Kid are having virtually the same career... Kevin Owens is exactly where Bam Bam Bigelow was before his Wrestlemania moment and Dean Ambrose is floundering like The Ringmaster...

Ratings are falling, badly... and while NXT IS growing and becoming successful - the true tests are yet to be taken... only really Seth Rollins and Reigns have made it... one as a surprise, one as the least surprising or interesting push since the Lex Express...

But WWE has a plan seemingly... they're gonna borrow a bit from the WCW playbook... seemingly, they've gone and gotten the hottest group in the business right now - or the key players of it.. The Bullet Club.

There are two ways it can go - they take the 1986 route and just bring these guys in seperately... not referencing the group and change out some of the less successful talents. OR They take the 1996 route and use them as an invading faction. Either way, there is potential for things to drastically improve over the coming months. The cycle is holding!

Personally, I think it's a lot to bet on unproven talents in the US - while AJ Styles is a known quanitity and Doc Gallows has had some WWE experience, neither have really "done it well" on the biggest stage... Karl Anderson and Nakamura haven't really done it in the US..

The wildcard? Finn Balor...

For all Vince's hopes for Reigns... Balor is the guy who is gonna make these acquisitions work and, like Austin before him, be the catalyst for the next big sea change... Imagine if the new blood showed up at the end of the Rumble...when it's a final 3 of Triple H, Reigns and Balor... and Balor walks out the NXT and World champion thanks to his new/old friends... that could be this decades NWO moment...

 

[J.J.]

I agreed with everything you said up until the Balor winning the RR and title part. Halts everyone's momentum and I do not agree with that. Reigns a guy they've been building for over a year, makes his first true reign as champ practically meaningless. Makes failure to capitalize off Bray Wyatt's good run in the 2015 RR that could carry over into this year's RR meaningless while practically burying the likes of Owens and Ambrose.

 

[sMark]

I think the next big change, that already started, is women being equal to men.
While this change can be seen as just another pop culture kiss a** from WWE, there is a second side of this coin, that actually is what most IWC fans today wants - talented indy guys getting their pushes, because, you know Sasha Banks fighting Finn Balor is something believable, but Sasha Banks fighting Big Show longer than 1 minute is not, this means women getting more important roles will turn into more cruiserweights and talented guys dominating the male's division, and the rise of NXT.

Just like giant dinosaurs all died to give the way to smaller, but ultimately better life forms, so must super heavyweights - their time has gone...nobody using Big Show, Kane or Henry and only briefly Ryback and Rusev in "WM without Cena" thread is a further prove of this theory - fans doesn't care about big slow guys anymore.

 

[The Yes Guy]

I'm not really sold on the whole Bullet Club thing that everyone's been talking about.

These people have been immensely successful in the indy scene, but not 'Diesel' successful.. or 'Luger' successful where they suddenly appear on WWE TV and make an instant impact.

So the problem is that they can't be treated as huge names coming to WWE nor as rookies like NEXUS or Shield.

This makes me wonder about the impact these people would have in WWE.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

WWE seems reluctant to press the NXT panic button and call up Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Gable/Jordan and others to the main roster. Getting A.J Stylish and company from NJPW might keep that finger away from the button even more. What a program they could run when all the injuries clear up....

Seth Rollins
A.J Stylish and friends
Daniel Bryan
Samoa Joe
Finn Balor
John Cena
Cesaro
Randy Orton
Undertaker
Lesnar
Bray Wyatt
Roman Reigns
Ambrose
Big Van Vader


The argument after that is depleting the NXT brand, who cares? That's the function of NXT, its a developmental farm system. Just like in Hockey, Baseball and others, WWE's main roster should have dipped into the farm system and called up some important names to get them ready for WrestleMania. I'm sure lower card guys on NXT would get excited seeing the roster thin out a little so they could start climbing up NXT to get their chance. Plus, they could even send or trade some guys off the main roster who have gotten stale.

 

[Spencesc11]

With the Wyatt Family, League of Nations, and even the New Day the WWE has 3 heavy heel stables and needs a face stable to come in and be basically the "reverse" Shield from a few years ago when the were helping a heel Punk. It can even the odds for the Champion (Reigns) and give us some compelling new matchups. Balor & Styles will add so much excitement to Raw. Rumble should get down to Reigns against let's say Rusev & Del Rio. To ensure he loses HHH sends out Barrett & Sheamus to make sure Reigns doesn't retain. Just as it looks like it's over for Reigns, Styles, Balor, Zayn, & Neville hit the ring. These 4 guys could really work well together and play the David vs. Goliath role against the heel stables.

 

[J.D Lethal]

WWE seems reluctant to press the NXT panic button

Wouldnt you be the same, Lets look at the current NXT lot and remember what they have been saying publicly "They are happy in NXT and don't wanna leave" and would you blame them the only NXT guy to blossom is Kevin Owens second would now Kalisto everyone else isnt even worthy of a US title run. Add on that higher up's do see that HHH's product ((yes HHH's product)) is head over hills bettr than the weekly shit we've gotten..which if you believe in the 10 year cycle/curse it should hopefully change.

What a program they could run when all the injuries clear up....

lets break down how we should tier this roster and who should be champions in 2016-17.
HWT Champions
Roman Regins-C
Seth Rollins
Kevin Owens
A.J Styles
Shinsue Nakamura
Brock Lesnar
Samoa Joe
Sheamus

IC(Stepping stone to Main Card)
Finn Balor-C (look not gonna Hate on Finn he's great and i love him but he has never be a hwt champion he has always been known as a Jr Hwt)
John Cena*-can do what ever he wants
ADR
Cesaro-Mitb winner
Sami Zyan
Randy Orton*-can do what ever he wants
Ziggler
Bray Wyatt**(He doesn't need a title him and wyatts are..just...there..in the shadows..waiting as you.....RUN)
Apollo Crews

Tag Team
Karl Anderson&Gallows-C
New Day
Uso's
American Alpha (Gable and Jordan)
Enzo and Cass
Lucha Dragons
Cosmic Wasteland
Prime Time Players
Dash and Dawson
Blake and Murphy
The Vaudevillians

US
Neville-C
Miz*(honestly Miz's title run wasnt the worst..i really wish guys like EC3 and Mundo were here because that stable would be nice)
Ryback
Heath Slater
Titus O'neil
Big Show*
etc

Diva's
Asuka-C
Sasha Banks
Becky Lynch
Pagie
Lil miss Flair
Nikki Bella
Bailey

Your Unknowns
Hardy Boys
Kurt Angle
CM Punk and AJ Lee
Jay Lethal
Austin Aries
Chris Sabin and Alex Shelly
Johnny Mundo
Daniel Bryan

The argument after that is depleting the NXT brand, who cares? That's the function of NXT, its a developmental farm system. Just like in Hockey, Baseball and others, WWE's main roster should have dipped into the farm system and called up some important names to get them ready for WrestleMania. I'm sure lower card guys on NXT would get excited seeing the roster thin out a little so they could start climbing up NXT to get their chance. Plus, they could even send or trade some guys off the main roster who have gotten stale.

In premise i agree with this on how NXT under any different circumstance be ran..But since NXT has such fan fair it's hard...arguably NXT could be lie Lucha Underground and every season have a new champion or copy this years rumble and introduce the new talent during the match which would showcase all the talent in NXT and NEW and Old and with the new talent you can still have the buzz that current NXT..because if you really think about it..every champion after Bo Dallas NXT has be more a like a flavor of the month or in League of Legends terms a Different Rotation Cycle of Indy guys and Created guys that creates a whole new branching path of NXT.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The argument after that is depleting the NXT brand, who cares? That's the function of NXT, its a developmental farm system.

The problem in that is the same as in Major League Baseball. If ball teams deplete their farm systems by draining them and removing incentive for fans and sponsors to support them, they can dry up and leave the big team with nothing on which to draw.

Same with NXT. WWE is succeeding in making NXT able to stand alone as a brand, while serving as the ultimate step up for performers who work and develop there. If the main roster cleans out the minor league team, they won't be able to use them for these constructive purposes anymore. NXT has to stand on it's own....and that won't happen if all their top draws are taken out at the same time.

I'm intrigued by the OP theory of a 10-year cycle and can see the logic he espouses........and believe that maintaining a strong NXT system will go a long way toward mitigating the damage of the 'down' years inherent in that 10-year cycle.

At the same time, bringing in veterans who've never worked in WWE (or haven't for a long time) helps the company bridge the gap left by all the injured top stars; an immediate fix for the company that also allows the NXT people to continue to develop at the intended pace.

Ultimately, the mix of new veterans, returning stars and promoted minor league talent is going to bring about an exciting new era in WWE.

Yes, Creative has to book 'em right......but they'll have a wealth of talent to work with.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Wouldnt you be the same, Lets look at the current NXT lot and remember what they have been saying publicly "They are happy in NXT and don't wanna leave" and would you blame them the only NXT guy to blossom is Kevin Owens second would now Kalisto everyone else isnt even worthy of a US title run.

While I may be wrong, I think those statements were more about continuing to put over the excellence of the NXT brand rather than a genuine statement of truth. At most, wrestlers on the NXT roster make in the $25,000 to no more than $50,000 a year; if they were still staying in one place rather than touring, that'd actually be a pretty sweet gig, but they're not. NXT is touring more often and that looks highly likely to both continue and grow as time goes on; so that 25K to 50K range isn't looking so hot when you factor in travel expenses into the equation because there are a good deal of wrestlers on the main roster who make that or more in a month.

That's not to say that the talent might not be telling a big fat lie in that they're feeling good and are happy with the product they're helping to put out. I'm quite sure that some of them definitely feel that the NXT product, as a whole, outstrips the main roster. However, I don't know if I've ever read anything where any of those talents have come right out and said as much because there's no way Vince would allow them to get away with it. While Triple H is technically in charge of NXT and makes all the final decisions creatively, it only happens because Vince McMahon allows it; if Vince ever wants to step in and make some changes, there's nothing that can be done to stop him. Triple H himself might think NXT, as a whole, is better than the main roster but he's not gonna say that to Vince because he has some degree of common sense. I mean, Vince might be his father in law but he's also an egomaniacal control freak and Triple H knows that quite well; I think that's one reason why Triple H says that NXT caters to a different sort of audience because it's something that Vince himself either believes or can buy into.

Any wrestler signed to WWE who came out and publicly stated flat out during interviews, podcasts or whatever that NXT was better than the main roster would almost certainly find himself/herself jobbing out for quite a long while, fired, or jobbed out before eventually being fired; even if Trips himself wouldn't want to, he'd have no real alternative if Vince's mind was made up as he gets his marching orders just like any other executive in WWE.

 

[Azane]

I personally don't want people to go up from NXT, Im enjoying NXT more than anything else WWE puts out right now, and seeing people I feel are stars, interesting, and awesome right now, turn into Monday Night Jobbers, is not something I care to see.

I'd rather see Finn Balor fighting in NXT forever, than him getting the Tyler Breeze treatment (Granted. bad example, if the NJPW signings come into play, Balor has an immediate Main Event level story ready)


As far as the 10 year cycle, it definitely seems like it's repeating, I know people have said for a while that they try to hook kids for a few years, then switch over to a more adult products, the talent oscillation might just be a side effect of that, or vica versa. I don't remember WWE being quite this dead in '95, but I also have nostalgia goggles and can see the future legends that were on the roster then, that people might have not cared about so much in the moment.

Either way, It's painful right now how far the quality of WWE's main roster creative storytelling has fallen.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

For all Vince's hopes for Reigns... Balor is the guy who is gonna make these acquisitions work and, like Austin before him, be the catalyst for the next big sea change... Imagine if the new blood showed up at the end of the Rumble...when it's a final 3 of Triple H, Reigns and Balor... and Balor walks out the NXT and World champion thanks to his new/old friends... that could be this decades NWO moment...

As much as it would be good, never gona happen. Paige did it because she had virtually no competition and AJ wanted a vacation. No way anyone would just come out of NXT now and win Championship on first day in main roster of WWE.

As for cycle I agree. In every 10 years or so there comes a time for big change. In 2005 you had rise of Cena, Batista, Orton and the others who molded mainevent scene in a times that comed after that. Now Batista is gone, Orton kinda faided and injured and even Cena cant keep up anymore in terms that his body is slowly failing him eventhough he was known as someone really reliable in health department. So now you have Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose, you have rising star like Owens and someone like Balor in NXT who is inevatable gona come and have huge impact. So yes, cycle has indeed ended and new one has begun.

 

[J.J.]

While I may be wrong, I think those statements were more about continuing to put over the excellence of the NXT brand rather than a genuine statement of truth. At most, wrestlers on the NXT roster make in the $25,000 to no more than $50,000 a year; if they were still staying in one place rather than touring, that'd actually be a pretty sweet gig, but they're not. NXT is touring more often and that looks highly likely to both continue and grow as time goes on; so that 25K to 50K range isn't looking so hot when you factor in travel expenses into the equation because there are a good deal of wrestlers on the main roster who make that or more in a month.

That's not to say that the talent might not be telling a big fat lie in that they're feeling good and are happy with the product they're helping to put out. I'm quite sure that some of them definitely feel that the NXT product, as a whole, outstrips the main roster. However, I don't know if I've ever read anything where any of those talents have come right out and said as much because there's no way Vince would allow them to get away with it. While Triple H is technically in charge of NXT and makes all the final decisions creatively, it only happens because Vince McMahon allows it; if Vince ever wants to step in and make some changes, there's nothing that can be done to stop him. Triple H himself might think NXT, as a whole, is better than the main roster but he's not gonna say that to Vince because he has some degree of common sense. I mean, Vince might be his father in law but he's also an egomaniacal control freak and Triple H knows that quite well; I think that's one reason why Triple H says that NXT caters to a different sort of audience because it's something that Vince himself either believes or can buy into.

Any wrestler signed to WWE who came out and publicly stated flat out during interviews, podcasts or whatever that NXT was better than the main roster would almost certainly find himself/herself jobbing out for quite a long while, fired, or jobbed out before eventually being fired; even if Trips himself wouldn't want to, he'd have no real alternative if Vince's mind was made up as he gets his marching orders just like any other executive in WWE.

Didn't Finn Balor petsomally make these claims back during the Fall? Saying he thought NXT was a better product, wanting to be apart of it evolving and in no hurry to go up to the main roster? Maybe I am paraphrasing a bit but I do recall him saying this.

Mind you while he has said that, it has not effected his status. Apart from a potential higher salary do you think he'll get this treatment on the main roster? NXT Brooklyn Takeover was a sellout event a few months ago. In that sense I could understand his logic.

Which Balor had a valid point. When they are selling out venues on the road why is it such a demand they go up?