The Reason Why "We" Don't Get What We Want

[ChaseDavis]

Have you ever sat there in your big comphy lay-z-boy recliner, watching your big screen LCD television on Monday night around 9 in the evening eastern time, 8 in the evening central while tuned into the USA network watching WWE Monday Night Raw? I know I have. Have you ever gone two entire hours and when it was all over wanted that two hours of your life back? I know I have.

I have been a wrestling fan since I was a young lad. I remember learning about Pay Per View. You see, I was a Big Boss Man fan back in the day, not the bossman that some of you remember, but the Big Boss Man that fought for good and was dressed in his bright blue button down shirt and black slacks and night stick. That was the Big Boss Man I knew and loved. He was the hero a four year old boy needed.

I remember moving into my new home and changing channels franticly on our giant console television that weighed a couple hundred pounds yet only cased a 20 inch screen. Those my friends were the days. I changed channels without any real thought in my little head about what time it was or what channel I was looking for, only that I wanted to see the Big Boss Man and Macho Man Savage duke it out the way I was told they would. I look at my mother with my four year old eyes and said "Mom, I want to watch the Big Boss Man"...I tear up just thinking about it....my mother replied with much sorrow in her voice "I'm sorry honey, but you have to pay to watch that. Do you have the 39.95 and cable top box in order to watch such an event?" I wasn't quite sure what she had just asked me, but I could tell in her voice that I wasn't going to see the Big Boss Man fight tonight.


Have you ever sat there in front of your computer screen and wondered where is this thing going? I know I have.


I like many of you have been a wrestling fan for as long as I can remember, some fans are new to the buisness and only now discovering all the jewels that WWE can offer. I though have seen the Midnight Express, The Smoking Gunns along with Cade and Murdoch. I have seen Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and even Billy Gunn rise to the top and Marty Jannetty, Jim Neidhart and Bart Gunn fall into obscurity. I've been a fan and no matter how many time I might leave, I know I'll always come back and the sad thing is that Vince McMahon knows this too.


Ratings recently came back on the October 8th edition of Monday Night raw and the 2.8 rating left much to be desired. The 2.8 rating consists mainly of fans like you and I. Fans that will tune in no matter how many times we are fed JR giving birth to a head, HHH having sex with a manican dressed up as a dead girl while himself dressed up as Kane or John Cena given year long title runs. We have an addiction and the only cure is more cow bell...I mean, wrestling.

TNA exists but it doesn't cure our addiction the way that good ole fashion bad writing, bad acting and girls wearing the least amount of clothing that the FCC will allow does.

The reason why "we" don't get what we want is simple. We aren't profitable. While it is true that we are the ones who order the pay per views no matter how atrocious they may be, we are the ones who generate the ratings on a television show that gets less and less entertaining as the weeks go by and yes even some of us are the ones who buy the crappy merchandise that they shill out with our favorite wrestlers face on it. The money maker is the mainstream public who don't tune in week to week. The people who tune into Monday Night Football instead, the ones who tune into Heroes instead. The ones who sit down and eat dinner with their family and than enjoy a game of Parcheesi instead. These are the people Vince McMahon want to tune into his programming. The reason why a champion is crowned that most of the fan base despise is because he is marketable in a way that the other wrestlers are not. The reason why we get the same rehashed storylines over and over again is because if its too complicated the mainstream audience will not tune in.

As a fan for many many years, I do not see wrestling returning back to its glory days in the near future. Those who say the buisness is cyclical are correct but in order to turn the corner, something needs to force it. Ratings are dropping and that might be what is needed to bring a change, but as long as the Marks/Fan Boys/Loyalists/Real Fans tune in day in and day out regardless of the product that is pumped out, nothing will change.

We Don't Get What "We" What because according to VKM, we already have what we want. He has what he wants. The only way to make that change is to take away the one thing he thinks he has in the bag...

 

[terminusWSX]

nice post I agree Vince simply has no interest in the long time fans,he wants the mainstream audiance that was there during the boom of the 90's sadly they are not coming back no matter what VKM's creative teams tell him.

 

[TheGame82]

In a strange way, couldnt agree more. Wrestling fans always seem to tune in no matter what is happening. We love awaiting who the great new rising star (the new austin or rock) of our era will be but we also love to hate all the terrible gimicks/storylines hashed out just as much.

-I would say 75% of WWE is aimed at potentially 'new' viewers and get the un-eductated mind to tune in each week.
-The other 25% is what we love to watch, all be it a well worked match, new talent emerging, the unpredictable live tv situation.

At the end of the day, we love what we watch (either good or bad) and VKM is a genius for the way he has set his business up over the years. However, as the ratings decline, we will have to wait to see how long this plan lasts...

 

[LMaruko]

Even though I am a younger viewer, I was brought up on stories of Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, and all of the old wrestlers back in the day being the best of their kind. And of course, I do my research of the WWE back when the NWA was taken over and began anew as the WWF, and I know a bit of background. But Vince McMahon is a genius, because a lot of the older generation viewers have ultimately "grown up" and wouldn't pay for the merchandise made nowadays. Who would see a 40yr old man pick up and purchase a WWE Legends Hulk Hogan doll and say "OMG! I have to have this!!" Hardly anybody. I'm not saying it's not out there, but the mainstream audience pays the most money, and makes Vince McMahon the billionaire he is today.

But, ultimately, Vince Kennedy Sr.'s words are going to come back and bite Vince in the ass one day. WWE will get too big for one man to handle, and I don't believe Stephanie or Shane will be able to handle the responsibility when Vince passes the business on.

Now, Triple H, on the other hand...

 

[a7xoff]

I agree also that the majority of the WWE programs seem to be targeted more towards their newer fans. Take a look at the crowds. The days of people such as Kane are over. The newer fans really don't seem to take to him as well as the fans that knew Kane when he still was masked. From targeting people like Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Hell even Austin for that matter and the Rock to now people like Cena, Lashley, the new DX... As time goes by and people retire, WWE seems to just let the fans of Hogan, Hart and others just kind of fade out. VKM does give the fans what they want... However it sadly is at the expense of the older fans who wish for a return to a time where technical wrestling was what we watched. Not some giant like Khali just crushing people's heads in. However... The new breed of fans who don't even know what real wrestling is do enjoy big guys crusing people's skulls in over the really good technical stuff =/

 

[Agrex]

WWE is the number one wrestling promotion in the world and that's pretty sad as out of the two hours that RAW gets we get more or less 30 minutes of wrestling. Sure this crap is appealing to the 8 year olds with all the promos and flashy colours, but to us older fans we want quality wrestling. The problem is we might never get it because you're not gonna buy all the ******ed little merchandise, but the little kids will and that's why Vinnie Mac will want to appeal to the younger addiuences. The younger aduiences would be bored through a 30 minute match, that's why there are squash matches.

I also beleived like hillersto said that TNA would be a good wrestling show. I was right until like 2005 that's when it started getting a bit like WWE, now 2 years later it's almsot like WWE. TNA was good with their own ideas and own superstars, now most of their storylines are copying WWE's and the are taking alot of WWE's crappy stars (not all of the ex-WWE guys suck).

 

[ZCDarrah]

dont mean to spam with a quick reply but I have to go to work. But, what would happen if "we" boycotted the WWE for a while, think about it, 25-40% drop in the ratings, someone (Vince) would take notice. Just an idea to take back our wrestling

 

[ChaseDavis]

dont mean to spam with a quick reply but I have to go to work. But, what would happen if "we" boycotted the WWE for a while, think about it, 25-40% drop in the ratings, someone (Vince) would take notice. Just an idea to take back our wrestling

That was actually the general idea of my post. Boycotts is a term that is thrown around fairly loosely, and my feeling is that it wouldn't work because too many of fans like us are still addicted and would be unable to boycott. The idea of dropping ratings are in our favor and I myself haven't tuned into a Raw/Smackdown/ECW broadcast for a few months. I read the results and I can't emphasize to you how glad I've saved those hours upon hours upon hours of my time watching a mediocre show.

I never feel like I have missed anything, when you can read a recap and feel like you know everything you need to know, that is a sign that your product is lacking something and considering the product is showcased visually you would want your fans to tune in to actually be satisfied.

I wish I had an answer to what would fix the problem we have seen over the past few years...new writers, new stars, new management...all of the above....change is needed, a shakeup is needed. Casual fans come and go and eventually raw will be bringing in a consistent <3.0 rating. I'm not sure even that low of rating over the long haul is enough to deter him from his ego

If the desire to boycott the product was strong enough, that may be enough to cause a ripple effect all the way up to Vince himself and that might be enough of a message to realize he is catering to the wrong audience.

 

[bigshot316]

Good post man, too true.
I have been watching since Wrestlemania 8, and have been lucky enough to witness so many amazing wrestling moments. I remember when it was all real to me, and like you had the Boss Man, I had Bret Hart, and the Ultimate Warrior!
Bret Hart Vs the Beserker was the first match I ever saw, I had borrowed a tape of The Simpsons off my friend and his big brother had taped this one match over the top of it.
Well The Beserker won (!) but I remember being completely and utterly enthralled from the first bodyslam!
Right then and there I became a fan for life.
I got goosebumps when The Warrior returned. I was outraged when Sid turned on Hulk Hogan. I was seriously shocked when HBK threw Marty Jannetty through the Barbershop window!
Before the internet, I never knew what to expect, didn't know what Kayfabe was much less that the outcomes were predetermined.
Even when I found out, this just interested me even more; I was fascinated at how they put matches together, who wrote the feuds, and always, always what would happen next.
Every week i would tune into WWF Superstars, Mania, Action Zone, then Raw came along to the UK and it was like my birthdays all at once!!
When Raw entered the Attitude era it was not to everybodies tastes but to me it was T.V gold.
the birth of dX, the Hart foundation, Mankind arriving, Hell in a Cell being unveiled, slating the opposition, Stone Cold, The Rock, 'Mr. Mcmahon' being created, juice jobs and sexual innuendo, Pimps and Hos, the brief ECW crossover...
Wrestling had grown up with me, and I loved it.
Now somewhere along the line all this slowly died out...
Was it the day WCW went under?? Quite possibly, but even after this the WWE had so many golden oportunities that were blown, with all that talent and the back catalogue of tapes and events, WWE was sitting on a goldmine which it literally pissed all over, just to have some form of victory over the already defunct WCW!!
Just imagine instead of Raw and Smackdown, WCW vs WWE.
Bischoffs WCW vs Vinces WWE. They could of run with this for years, people betraying each other, jumping ship, factions such as the 4 Horsemen being reborn, Sting Vs The Undertaker, Goldberg Vs Stone Cold, there is no need for me to carry on as we all know what happened.
Every real fan knew how this storyline should of played out, but look what really happened all because of Vinces ego.
Or what about the HH/Angle/Stephanie love triangle story line??
That was awesome, the way it was playing out and every fan knew the direction they wanted it to go and I for one was salivating at the possibilities...
Except that never came to be because of Mr. Levesque and his paranoia!!!
When I look at my beloved WWE now, it upsets me so much. The product is, well its dull and unoriginal.
There are no Ultimate Warriors, Boss Men, Rocks or Austins.
Cena has improved no end recently but I just cannot feel any real emotions for him.
The only thing I can hope and pray for is that TNA keeps expanding and gathering fans and expanding its fan base until Vince stars to feel threatened.
Because everybody know that competition creates exciting viewing for ALL forms of wrestling fans, casual through to the biggest marks around.
So to sum it up, I do not understand why we cannot have what we want these days. I do not know why Vince/Stephanie etc. don't take a look around, at the internet, in the magazies..
Surely it doesn't take a genius to figure out that we are not happy.
Granted, dead wrestlers and drug allegations abound have not helped matters recently, but this problem has been going on since before Eddie passed away.
I just hope something changes soon.
Not that I will ever stop watching!!

 

[Low_Ki]

"We true wrestling" fans are a minority in this world. Yes, we are the loyal ones. But like ChaseDavis said, we are not profitable. That's the bottom line. Why does WWE keep pushing the talentless monsters and people who don't do technical wrestling is because the "majority" viewers wants to see them. As much as we all hate it, wrestling will always be a business to satisfy the desires of the majority. What can we do?

When TNA first started, I thought that it could finally be a real wrestling show. But heck, TNA is becoming like the WWE, literally and metaphorically.

I could not have said that better. In a weird way though, I kind of blame the creation of the internet for the lack of interest I have in wrestling now days. Sure I still watch RAW just on the off chance that I may in fact get something good out of watching it. I watched Cyber Sunday simply to see Stone Cold Steve Austin again, but that was the sole reason. Not because I was enthralled in Batista and Undertaker re-lighting their feud. The reason I blame the internet is purely because the suprises that we all loved back in the attitude era are no longer secret.

Some Tom, Dick or Harry will always 'leak' potential storylines or returns and they are always posted on the net long before they are scheduled to happen. Lets take the return of Chris Jericho for example. The SAVE_US222 promos were all that was needed to start the internet 'rumour mill' and its only a matter of time before he makes his return. The point I'm trying to make is that although it is my choice to read 'Spoilers' I just wish that some things could be kept completely secret. Does anyone understand what Im trying to get at?

 

[NYSandman]

Well, how come you can still buy cigarettes? Because the tobacco industry knows that if 5000 smokers die this year, there will be another 5000 teenagers starting the habit. Exactly the same with wrestling, but less self destructive. Vince doesn't give a damn about us old-ass fans because he knows that a newer generation of Cena loving kids will jump on board. Why did we keep seeing Cena until Kennedy, who should be given sainthood by the church, crippled him? Because 15 year old girls who just started puberty and don't know a damn thing about wrestling think he's cute.

But, there is a loop. A lot of the younger fans don't know a damn thing about "WRESTLING." They know about big, muscular guys coming out and talking for 2 hours straight, and then fighting in 3.5 minute matches that end in DQs. Vince molded these new fans by changing the product, not the other way around. Little kids have no more heroes in wrestling. Yeah, I liked Bossman too, (RIP, big man), and loved Hogan and Warrior. Okay, Warrior couldn't wrestle, but in the eyes of a little boy he was cool and different.

Fans no longer care about the moves and the passion. They care about girls stripping, (which is okay,) and characters having matches that suck. These fans don't know the matches suck, because they have no mentallity towards the technical end.

So, old-ass fans like us will just have to stick to WWE 24/7 and rent old DVDs. With tears in our eyes, we'll keep the memory of real wrestling alive. Vince calls old school "rasslin". Guess what, you rich, bloated egomaniac sellout, I'll take a "rasslin'" show over your weekly abortion anyday.

 

[Richard]

A lot of the WWE fans who attend the shows are little children and women who generally like the stereotypical face, the one who fights for the people with the people *cough* John Cena *cough* and Vince knows it.

Put simply, wrestling is a business and what does a business owner want? Money. To get money, Vince has to satisfy the majority of customers which means pushing Cena, pushing Batista etc. Not only the faces but he will also push the most hated wrestlers because people will pay money to see a wrestler get the hell kicked out of them such as Edge.

He also has to market their product effectively aswell. Many people have said that over 2005-2007 and possibly still now that John Cena and Batista are the faces for WWE and when WWE markets their product, they are going to put their faces in advertisements and for television appearances because they are child friendly characters and they would want to make their faces of the company look strong and almost like Superman, John Cena I'm looking at you.

Therefore we never get what we want because it's not what Vince wants.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I'm just going to say this. We really want the old ECW back don't we? Or at least, Paul Heyman as the head of the creative team yes?

Decent fast paced wrestling with the occassional blood bath, plenty of fan interaction and every one with an angle or gimmick that people want to watch, is what we got from Paul & co. As the Monday Night Wars progressed, WCW and WWE suddenly started drawing inspiration from them and WWF at least picked up on everyone having an angle worth watching rather than WCW just stealing the wrestlers and not giving them any direction.

WCW stole a load of the talent but few of the ideas, and WWF took a load of ideas and a few of the talent. By the time ECW had achieved a platform to be acknowledged by mainstream audiences, they looked like WWF/WCW knockoffs.

Suddenly all those ideas that WWE adopted from ECW, are no longer used, and Vince is back to his early 90's mentality, where instead of making a big deal of the guys we love and pushing them to please us, he tries to tell us who to cheer and thinks by shoving those guys in the main spots repeatedly that we'll accept them as our favourites, which for new fans obviously works, but if WWE ever want to get ratings above 5.0 again, they'll need to do more than just that. I guess that's why we're seeing more and more fans chanting for the heels and the faces who aren't getting anywhere, because those are the guys that Vince isn't forcing us to love.

The problem is in the 90's, the guys Vince pushed were guys we actually wanted to see i.e your Hogans, your Savages, your Warriors. Then we had your Hart's, your HBK's and your 'Taker's who got over because they were simply amazing wrestler's.

Then that's when things started to slip. All the Hogans/Savages/Pipers/Halls & Nash's left and they tried to tell us who to love and hate again, which is what led to 'Die Rocky Die' and the quick demise of the Ring Master, and we were wondering why a Greenwich Blueblood was winning titles and then getting squashed by the Ultimate Warrior in 3 minutes at WM.

Those 3 guys suddenly adopted new gimmicks, vented their frustrations or said what they liked and suddenly they became more popular than all those previous guys put together, and the Rock would still electrify if he hadn't changed careers, and Austin would still be headlining WM's if he didn't have a fucked neck, and HHH is still going strong (regardless of what we think the reasons for that are).

If more guys were given the ability to talk for even two minutes, and we didn't have 3 minute squash after 3 minute squash, imo it would make a hell of a difference. Look how over Santino is, and he doesn't do anything. He has a shorter moves list than Cena and everyone loves the guy including me. If more guys got the opportunities to talk and do segments etc like Santino, Kennedy and Kendrick are doing at the moment it would do WWE a world of good imo. I'm not saying give these guys loads of title runs, but give them decent length matches with a variety of guys and let the fans decide who the top guys are, instead of recycling the same old shit over and over again, and not contracting guys that you have no intention of utilising their full talents. Remeber Rey Mysterio and Psicosis having an amazin rivalry in ECW? I don't think either of them had an interview segment to hype their matches, people wanted to see them based on their talent alone.

WWE doesn't recognise that anymore, and that's the kind of thing the IWC miss imo. I can't talk for everyone, that's just my very long winded 2 cents.

 

[FoleyIsGod]

I rarely watch Raw nowadays and just stick to the ppvs. This is due to the fact on msot ppv, you get 20 minute long matches, or matches with crazy spots(Hardy), or just general matchbased classic(Y2J, HBK etc)

Raw now is just something thats there for the kids. Hence why Cena held thetitle for 18 months. ALll us grizzly veterans cant stand him, but the guy sells bucketloads of merchandise and the kids love it(and its the kids who will spend more cash on merch)

It would be nice for more proper wrestling on the shows, maybe first hour being for the kiddies and the second hour for the hardcore among us. Even a third hour, with little fluff and just pure action would be nice.

But it wont happen. Wrestling has moved on from when we were kids, its time to build a new generation at the expense of us lot.

As for the Y2J spoilers, come off it. First time I saw that I knew it was Y2J coming abck. It was cryptic, yes. But those of us who watched rassling when he first came back automatically knew who he was.

 

[thisisatest]

It will always be about what Vince McMahon wants...don't get me wrong, he's a genius and has more money in his left front pocket than I do in my checking account. That being said, he's never cared what the fans want. Think of the dream matches that could've been born out of the WCW/ECW invasion. To me, that last big swerve I can think of was the Dudleys, Raven & company coming to the rescue of the WWE superstars, only to turn around and jump them. That was the last shocking thing I saw on Raw or Smackdown. What do we get now? Deuce and Domino...FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TRACKS!?!?!?!?!...what in the Hell is this? The 50s? VKM is so insanely out of touch with his fan base it's very sad. Everybody wants Kane's mask back on, even if it means he's a heel again. Everybody wants to see DX back together. Everybody wants to see Sting in a WWE ring. Everybody wants to see Bret Hart back in some capacity (manager to a Canadian faction?). D-Lo (yes, I'm a huge D-Lo mark) gets an insane pop when he returns to Raw, then doesn't see tv time for what, 2-3 weeks? Same with Cryme Tyme. Instead we get Cena vs. JBL for the 1000th time. We get the same tired "is HBK going to retire or not" spiel. Jericho was the big savior? He jobs to JBL, puts on shorts and runs around with Lance Cade. Wow. Everybody laments the loss of the tag-team division, but all VKM and creative wants to do is split up Cade/Murdoch, we lost a great heel team in La Resistance (my God do any of you remember the horrible poodle incidents when Dupree went solo?), no more London/Kendrick, no more Hardy Boyz, no more Dudley Boyz, DiBiase Jr. and Cody Rhodes lose any respectibility they might have had by losing their titles to Batista and Cena (another tired storyline--these two are feuding and hate each other, what will they do now as tag champs?). The Highlanders are gone, as are Haas/Benjamin, even though I hated their gimmick Deuce and Domino are gone...Hell, bring back Godfather, team him with Val Venis and call them Supply & Demand lol. The problem also though isn't entirely with VKM and creative. The individual superstars have immense egos that won't allow them to share the spotlight with tag-team members. They all want individual gold and individual glory. Rome is falling all around Vince and he won't admit it, and won't take the steps necessary to remedy it.

 

[Richard]

It will always be about what Vince McMahon wants.

This supports what I said.

Vince McMahon is a business owner and business owners want to make money and how would one make money in the current WWE? You push all the family and children friendly superstars like John Cena so that when the show is at the intermission or over or before it has started, the children rush to the merchandise stands and beg their parents to buy them Cenas sweatbands or Cenas Super Nintendo Shirt (That was a stupid shirt btw). Why do you think that his first title reign was so long and he was only a non champion for about 3 weeks and then he took it back?

At the end of the day, Vince only cares about making his bank account grow and not giving the fans what they want.

Fine, we got DX back for a while, but why exactly did we get it back? Vince knew that DX merchandise would sell faster than lungs to a lung cancer patient.

 

[My$terio_Fan]

I have my own personal theory on why "we" don't get what "we" want. The theory is "we" all want different things. Their is no way in hell that Vince or the WWE could never satisfy "us" and they know that so they do what "they" want. We all complain about the WWE and about different things, but "we" all can't get what "we" want. Some of us want Cena as champ, some want HHH, some want Hardy, some want somone new(CM Punk). But whoever is champion not everyone will be satisfy. The WWE try's to throw us curve balls(Cena & the rumble, Kane & Mysterio's mask, ect) because "we" want surprises, but then half of the people don't like these surprises. The WWE will never be able to satisfy all our needs so why bother. They throw Kendrick & Benjamin into the mainevent, people complain, but then they also complain that WWE never makes new stars. I have come to terms that the WWE is never going to be they way I want it because the WWE is not trying to please me. People say the WWE caters to "new" fans or children but that's not the case. They no they could never do want all of us want, so why try when they can cater to a huge amount of fans that won't complain and will just take things as they go.

 

[JulesWagner]

As much as I don't want this to become a rant, I have a problem with people calling Vinnie Mac a genius. He's just taking advantage of the great 21st century ill: apathy. The same apathy that makes a president illegally invade another country without any darn repercussions. And months later that same said president condemns Russia for doing the same, again without the slightest political, social or global change. We, as a people, have been tamed or even dumbed down. We'll take any crap they throw our way and just live with it. In that way, modern governments have splendidly succeeded in their objective of distracting and calming the masses. WWE is not that much different. We have been getting questionable programing for how long now and still we take and watch it without much of a peep. We have been lowering our standards for so long, it's sad. They don't even have to try hard anymore. Vinnie Mac is not a genius, by far, he just has it easy. He has no real competition and kids somehow find a way to buy his 25$ t-shirts.

I was a fan 15 years ago. In the last year, being dissatisfied with the WWE product, I turned to TNA which in turn is going down the crapper fast. I guess it might just be time to move on to something else, grow up (shudder) and hope the powers that be end up making an effort to attract us back to what used to be a passion for a lot of us...

 

[Worlds_Greatest_Booker]

ChaseDavis if i know were you lived i would hunt you down and kiss you on the lips

i believe that the reason why vinnie is only fucusing on new wrestling fans (aged 10-13) is because he hates Smart Marks. he hates how they know what wrestlers are really like in real life and he hates how they talk to each other over the internet.

and what vince loves about new wrestling fans is that he can mold them into only watching the WWE and to shudder at the mere word of TNA or ROH (it took me four years to break out of the WWEs strangel hold). he can also trick them into buying crappy John Cena DVDs.

but the best thing that Vince loves about new fans is that if he were to tell them to cheer John Cena and to boo Batista they will do it.

 

[Mattyboy]

My unwavering opinion is that without Vince, wrestling would've died a long long time ago, back when it was territoral.

First point to get out of the way is the expected return of Sid looks to me as an attempt to draw longterm fans back [im 22 and remember Sid. I havent watched a show fully for a looooong time. I will to see Sid come back]

But as for bringing back DX? No thanks. When they first got together it was awesome TV, but its been done. The last comeback became old quickly, time to let that one lay.

I think we all can see where WWEs problems lie. Firstly, some poor booking and crap writers. However success in wrestling is always judged by buyrate, and no one bought in more money than SCSA. Was he the best mat wrestler of all time? Probably not. But he was one of the best all rounders and he made the company the most money-thats why when he reached the top, he stayed till he quit. Its the same with HHH at the moment.

Now if you were Vince, and HHH v Khali made you more money i.e. had more interest than Hardy v MVP, would then swap Hardy and MVP for HHH and Khali? No, because the buyrate is higher for what would be the poorer match [how HHH made that look good is a testament to the mans abilities]. My point is the days of pure ability getting you to the top are long dead, the days of charisma are in-its what appeals to todays generation and although i see myself as old school i have to say id rather watch the Rock v Austin than Shelton Benjamin v CM Punk, even though they may be better wrestlers.

But the main reason in my mind why WWE isnt as good is the end of WCW and true competition. TNA will never come close to WCW in terms of pushing WWE, no matter who they sign-Angle Sting Foley whoever, it wont matter. WCW had the money and the sheer depth in roster to put together varied shows with good story, highfyliers and wrestling. Turn on WCW and you may see Hogan, Nash, Sting, Hitman or whoever. Big big names in the industry, people you pay to watch. That pushed WWE and Vince and co came out fighting, reinvigorated the brand and kicked WCWs ass.

In an ideal world this would've forced Bischoff and co to up their game, but Turner sold it to Vince, who bought it to massage his [deserved frankly] ego. The invasion rocked. But a glut of wreslers later, and no body new what to do with most of them-DDP, Booker [for the most part] Kanyon etc. More importantly, WWE had won, they didnt have to try anymore. And really, they havent.

 

[LonelyPositionOfNeutral]

I agree as well. However, I still find myself tuning into Monday Night's as it seems as though Vince McMahon realizes that he can't keep shoving things done our throats like he used to with John Cena, or comedy skits, etc. I myself find Raw very entertaining as of these past few months after the draft, and I'm starting to watch Smackdown more due to Taker being back, and the Edge/Vickie storyline being pretty much all but gone. I think the reason we don't get what us fans desire is simply this: What's good for ratings, is what's good for Vince and the WWE. Even if we boycotted WWE for awhile, hoping Vince would notice, he'd still have the newer generation of fans, and also the young kids to watch his product, so I'm not sure if the ratings would be THAT effected...or, would they?..WWE over the years, has greatly matured from what it used to be, time, and a newer generation of fans, I think causes the need to adapt to that particular situation, but I could be wrong.

 

[Chelochi]

A fresh idea....There should be a 3 hour special Raw entitled Raw Retro or something of that nature. In this special, wrestlers will dress in old attire and use old ring music and video....Old factions will reunite with their ring entrances.....for example HBK in his old hearts pants or Kane back to using his back again or HHH in his long pants attire or Undertaker to his Corporate Ministry Days. We could see the reuninting of factions like DX, World's Greatest Tag Team, the Hardy's, NAtion of Domination (been thinking they should make a reincarnation of this with Farooq as manager and members including D'lo, Elijah Burke, Ron Killings, Shelton Benjamin, Mark Henry). This could be the opening to bring back Sid Vicious or Sycho Sid and use him temporarily as HBK's bodyguard in the Y2j feud to gain popularity and momentum. Brother's of Destruction reunion, etc. I think it would be a good idea...Boost ratings and fun to see wrestlers in old attire and music and videos to give us a good sense and warm feeling like we did in those old times

 

[abrahamclark]

Have you ever sat there in your big comphy lay-
The reason why "we" don't get what we want is simple. We aren't profitable. While it is true that we are the ones who order the pay per views no matter how atrocious they may be, we are the ones who generate the ratings on a television show that gets less and less entertaining as the weeks go by and yes even some of us are the ones who buy the crappy merchandise that they shill out with our favorite wrestlers face on it. The money maker is the mainstream public who don't tune in week to week. The people who tune into Monday Night Football instead, the ones who tune into Heroes instead. The ones who sit down and eat dinner with their family and than enjoy a game of Parcheesi instead. These are the people Vince McMahon want to tune into his programming. The reason why a champion is crowned that most of the fan base despise is because he is marketable in a way that the other wrestlers are not. The reason why we get the same rehashed storylines over and over again is because if its too complicated the mainstream audience will not tune in.

As a fan for many many years, I do not see wrestling returning back to its glory days in the near future. Those who say the buisness is cyclical are correct but in order to turn the corner, something needs to force it. Ratings are dropping and that might be what is needed to bring a change, but as long as the Marks/Fan Boys/Loyalists/Real Fans tune in day in and day out regardless of the product that is pumped out, nothing will change.

We Don't Get What "We" What because according to VKM, we already have what we want. He has what he wants. The only way to make that change is to take away the one thing he thinks he has in the bag...

I stopped watching it for almost two years after WCW was bought and then when I found out that I missed a whole lot of cool stuff, I vowed to never stop watching it again. I just can't help it, but my OCD will not allow me to miss any episodes of any free wrestling on tv.

However, I do DVR all of the shows. So the majority of the time I just forward through the shows and stop when I see a good match or something interesting happening. I often watch Raw live because it is live and it reminds me of the good ole days. I'd recommend you record the shows so you can just forward the stupid garbage (e.g. shark boy, rock n rave, etc.)