The reason WWE doesn't care...

[Jackal960]

Hi everyone,

I was going to make a thread about why WWE doesn't care about their tag-team division, especially when you compare them with TNA's. Basically tag-team division in WWE consists of 2 guys who were just irrelevant single competitors and formed a tag team. In most cases they don't even have a tag team name, nor they have combo moves. Funny thing is WWE isn't even pushing the division, they are acting like they couldn't care less.

Then i started thinking, tag-team division is not the only one that WWE doesn't care about. Divas are not the best as well, we have been seeing Lay-Cool everywhere and whoever their opponent is, becomes a relevant diva thats about it. Coincidentally TNA is pushing knockouts in their show as much as they can. Coincidently.

Another coincident was about the cruiserweights, WWE getting rid of the division whereas TNA pushed cruiserweights all the way until recently.

My question is are they all coincidents? Could there be a reason why WWE doesn't promote these divisions. Maybe it's WWE's way of saying "we don't care about TNA" and instead of making these divisions competitive, they don't push them at all. Or it can be some other reason. Maybe they don't want to push it in case they fail to attract. What do you think? What is your reason? Are these all coincidents?

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Them not caring has nothing to do with TNA. It has to do with the fact that Cruisers, Tag Teams, and Women dont draw in America, and certainley not in the modern landscape of wrestling. WWE could give a flying rat's ass about the mess that is TNA, or those divisions.

 

[Luther_Hull]

I think it's just because normal viewers don't care about these divisions, wrestling is all about story telling and not, despite what internet reporters would have you believe, "good wrestling skills". You could have two great Japanese cruiserweight tag teams, yet nobody would care because they can't speak a word of English and they can't tell a story.

Yes TNA promotes these divisions, but nobody really cares about TNA either do they? In the grand scheme of things.

 

[PhD]

Norcal is totally correct. In fact, the reason TNA emphasizes those 3 divisions is because it allows them to function as an alternative to the WWE, not the other way around.

And CM11: what a bold prediction! You are undoubtedly the first person to ever prophesy the demise of TNA on this message board.

 

[triple_b2k]

Tag matches in the WWE are the same 90% of the time. The face team starts off strong till the heel team capitalizes on a mistake or cheat - the heel team beats the crap out of one guy for ages - eventually the face makes a tag and the fresh guy cleans out - the match ends with the faces gaining momentum and hitting their finisher OR the heels cheat or distract the referee.
It's a simple formula the WWE has used for ages. It's boring and predictable. The matches are also often slower paced than Singles matches so the audience gets bored. The cool/great moves are either used at the beginning or ending. The middle is just boring filler.
The reason WWE doesn't have a strong Tag Team division anymore is because they don't know what to do with it.

p.s. I miss the times when the heel team would cheat a lot. either get into the match without tagging or help their teammate with a submission move to make it more damaging.

 

[Ultra Awesome]

Exactly as NorCal said, the fact that WWE does not care about TNA has nothing to do with them not showing tag team matches, cruiserweight matches, and diva's matches. It has to do with the fact that they do not draw anymore.

Cruiserweights have long since been a dying breed that quite frankly, weren't really drawing anymore. Not many were too interested in seeing such matches anymore. Most would generally tune in to see bigger guys such as Triple H, HBK, Undertaker (etc), not the cruiser weights. It's not until now, that a good amount of the IWC has started complaining about this; but I'm pretty certain that before hand, no one really gave a flying flip about the cruiserweights.

As for the tag teams. Well, in that I have my own opinion as to why they are a dying breed now. Tag teams were originally created so that young-lings could come out and do their stuff and not have to worry about fucking up in the ring or messing up in some form of way because if they were to "fuck up", they would have someone with them to [in a sense] cover for him. There is also the fact that some of the new guys feel presured to coming out alone to the ring as opposed to feeling more confortable when coming out with someone else. But now WWE has this concept in which they are pushing all the new stars to higher lengths; they even have places where these superstars can start-off without having any troubles at all. These places of course being FCW and NXT. But more importantly, the reason the tag-team division is a dying breed is because it doesn't really draw as much as it used to. It's safe to say it's a shadow of it's former self.

As for the Diva's division. Well, most of them can't even wrestle, so it's no surprise why the Diva's division is viewed as shit. Besides, with the exception of Lay-Cooll (and maybe Vickie if she counts), I cannot think of another Diva that is in the least bit entertaining in the mic. So it's really not that hard to believe that like the other two, the Diva's division does not draw as much.

Overall, the reason doesn't really show-off these divisions is not because WWE sees TNA as inferior, nor is it because they are mere coincidences. It is because these divisions do not draw as much as they once did. They just don't fit in well into the modern age [of wresling in America].

 

[J-Dogg]

Good cruiserweight wrestling and good female wrestler's only really are seen in the indy's, tag team wrestling is not really there in WWE anymore, the last time the tag team division was any good recently was back in 2005- late 2007 early 2008, then it started to die down. As for the Diva's division there are only a few good female wrestlers in WWE and thats the truth 905% percent of them can't really wrestle all that well.

And you can have great wrestling skills and al that but if you can't tell a story it, you won't draw, its that simple. I support a local indy promotion near my house, all the guys and girls who wrestler there are of various sizes and wrestling styles, each one of them can tell a story and can wrestle, and fans know who draws at these shows. If you draw well then you will get pushed. If your in a place where you know you can't draw, you shouldn't be wrestling there.

 

[StraightEdge for Life]

1st off the actually Cruiserweight division has been dead for the 3 years in the WWE when they had Hornswoggle the champ. Also the title was officially retired on March 4, 2008. WWE just doesn't have a quality division because there aren't many superstars under the 215 lbs. limit. And by the end of the Cruiserweight run, the top contenders were Jamie Noble and Chavo Guerrero. And today the best would be Rey Mysterio, but obviously he is more of a World Title contender and the Evan Bourne would be the other, but he's of after shoulder surgery. SO really it just wouldn't work.

As for the Tag Team division they just need to create some teams that can have good chemistry and keep them around for a while to gain recognition as a team.

The Women's division is shit. With just Lay-Cool always in the title picture and pushing me to the point of bashing my own head into the wall every time they speak.Natalya is decent but she can't be a fighting champion because there is really only 4 heel divas being McCool and Layla, then Maryse, and Alicia Fox. With both Maryse and Fox not really showing themselves as contenders, they can't really help Natalya sell as a true fighting champ unless she turns heel and sides with Tyson Kidd.

 

[Arkham Noir]

WWE doesn't care because the fans don't . It's as simple as that. People whine that there isn't a tag team division, but shit on all the tag-team matches and teams. They put women out there wrestling, and everyone takes a piss break. Everytime a crusier weight match takes place, the intrest of those watching at home dies. Look at that logic and ask me again. I think you'll see your answer.

Does it mean that we should hate these division? No. I appreciate all of them and there are good matches out there performed by all three categories, but people only care about the larger than life stars , so why would WWE bother putting time and energy in to something that is going to be poorly received?

It might not be fair or nice, but that's the honest truth.

 

[LSN80]

Because these arent considered to be draws anymore. It is a coincidence, because WWE doesn't care about what TNA does.

When's the last time you saw a tag team, women's, or cruiserweight match of importance headline a broadcast? It doesn't happen, because it would drive the fans away in droves. Fans want to see the stars. They want to see the John Cena's, the Randy Orton's, and the WWE Champion The Miz. They want to see those individual personalities, rather then watching guys do flips and dives, or make hot tags.

It's not that these things don't have their place in the product, they're simply just not as important anymore, at least in the grand scheme. Those divisions simply don't draw. Divisions in general don't draw, individuals and their personalities do. Fans want to see storytelling and storylines, and all the athletic ability in the world doesn't mean anything if you can't tell a story within the ring or on the mic. Thats why you've seen the de-emphasis or erradication of those divisions, in the case of the cruiserweight division. It has nothing to do with TNA.

 

[cwill18]

Everyone likes to say that tag team wrestling doesn't draw anymore. I don't think that's the case, rather the tag teams that are presented to the audience don't draw, and are often disbanded before they have had a chance to establish themselves as a team.

Singles wrestling wouldn't draw either if they got rid of every wrestler that didn't draw after 6-9 months and then brought in someone else who wouldn't draw in their first 6-9 months and then got rid of them.

It's not that tag team wrestling can't draw, it's that it's been a long time since tag team wrestling has been given a chance to draw.

 

[californiachef84]

I really think that many of you are missing the point. The tag team division doesn't draw BECAUSE WWE does not put any effort into it. You cannot say that NOBODY cares about a division that they do not put any effort into. That is unbelievable!!! Of course no one cares because the WWE does not care. There really has not been a "real" tag team division in the WWE for ten years.WWE never had a cruiserweight division. That bastardized version of WCW's cruiserweight division is what we all saw a few years back. That was worse than WWECW. Who cares about the divas?

 

[iamcountrymusic]

Its weird because a majority of main events on raw or at house shows are tag matches with the big stars. And there's no longer any real tag teams. The dudebusters were released, Harts broke up (not that anyone gave a shit), Cryme tyme.
The WWE tag titles are nothing but props used to fill time.

As for the divas, they keep trying to build a division around Mccool, who no one likes. Laycool is unbareable and not even that fine fly honey Layla can make it watchable. I don't see the appeal of Mccool. And its making me think the only reason she got her push was from boning Undertaker.
They never give the other divas mic time, and there might be a good reason for that after how this season of NXT has turned out.

And their cruiserweight division truly was shit. Today they have Bourne, Yoshi Tatsu and.... vince loves big men. Many of the older guys will say he's gay for them.

WWE is "sports entertainment", they don't consider themselves a wrestling company. So its not surprising they don't have any of the typical wrestling divisions. And they'll be unifying all the title in the near futures, so that may or may not help build them.

 

[Wrestling Free Thinker]

Wow I remember people complaining about how much the cruiserweight division sucked when it was going on.

And the tag team division has been beyond stale for a long time anyway with a few teams here and there. But when an actual tag team is introduced, people (internet fans) shit on them anyway.

I don't think the Divas division back in the day was as good as people are making it out to be. They still didn't get a lot of time, but they did put on better matches than now.

It's just they get like 2-3 minutes, so how can they honestly learn? Trish wasn't perfect when she started, AND she was a model before hand. They are also not over. They get barley a pop but then the match gets no reaction.

And it indeed has nothing to do with TNA

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As a fan, of course I'd like it if the WWE did put focus into something like the tag team division. Ideally, the WWE would have a great tag team division and women's division but it's not an ideal world and you have to go with what generally draws more attention.

The WWE does prefer to concentrate and create singles stars rather than tag teams. That seems to work out fine because most wrestlers want to be singles stars anyhow. Singles stars are primarily the ones that are remembered the most whereas a lot of guys that spend a lot of time in tag teams generally don't rise to the same level as singles stars. The Rock 'n' Roll Express, Stevie Ray from Harlem Heat, The Midnight Express, The Road Warriors, Jim Neidhart of The Hart Foundation, Marty Jannetty of The Rockers, The Dudley Boyz, etc. are all teams or members of a tag team that are mostly remembered for their contributions to tag team wrestling. That's not to say that those contributions haven't been spectacular but, let's face it, none of those guys will ever be thought of in the same way as a Ric Flair or a Shawn Michales or a Kurt Angle in the eyes of most fans. As singles competitors, the vast majority of them haven't accomplished much to crow about. The Dudleyz maybe 23 time World Tag Team Champions but, for whatever reason, it simply doesn't sound as impressive as a singles wrestler that's been a 10, 12 or 15 time World Heavyweight Champion. Perception is reality in pro wrestling and singles stars have historically been percieved in most situations as being the bigger and more memorable stars. Might not be fair, but that's how the mop flops.

As for a women's division, I agree that I would like the Divas to be more than a waste of time. If the WWE were to only have one women's match on television each week and it was a solid 5 minute match with women that can wrestle, I'd be satisfied with that. I don't mind filler as long as its good and the Divas are filler. As has been said, women's wrestling has never been a huge draw here in the states and it probably never will be. The WWE has legitimately tried to make a go of having a serious women's division in the past and it just never took.

As for the Cruiserweights, again, it's the perception of a fan. As a whole, most American fans see the term Cruiserweight and they think of a guy that simply isn't able to hang with the big boys. Historically, American fans have looked down on smaller sized wrestlers. Even right now, there are people complaing that The Miz is too small to be the WWE Champion even though he does weigh about 220 pounds. A lot of fans had the same complaint when it came to Rey Mysterio's World Championship runs. The WWE & TNA have both been working to change the ideal of what a star is supposed to look like and I think it's working. It's taking time, but it's working. Even though TNA's X-Division is mostly comprised of Cruiserweights, it's technically open to anyone of any weight. Why? Because TNA knows that most wrestling fans wouldn't take it seriously. Even though it's a Cruiserweight Division in everything except name, remember, perception is reality. They don't call it a Cruiserweight Division, the word Cruiserweight isn't even mentioned, so fans don't see it that way.

It'd be nice if a wrestling company was able to make a perfect product in which every "division" gets equal time to be built and everyone liked what they saw, yadda yadda. It's a pipe dream and pro wrestling isn't a fantasy league. Vince is ultimately going to decide what to focus on in the hopes of making as much money as he can. Sometimes he's right, sometimes he's wrong. Again, that's life.

 

[Eyebrows]

These divisions might not draw in and of themselves but they're important to create a variety in a wrestling company to help the 'brand' to draw. Outside of the top, top guys like Cena, Orton, Mysterio, 'Taker, Big Show, Edge nobody really draws money anymore compared to the old days. Adding a healthy tag, cruiserweight, women's division can help to keep a product from going stale and allow the undercard to draw as a collective rather than as individuals/teams.

 

[richunclescrooge]

I dont think it's fair to say the tag division doesn't draw, most wrestling fans do remember the hardys, the dudleys, edge and christian, even the APA and Too Cool, they were entertaining, were involved in good stories but most importantly they were over with the crowd.

There has been nothing extra done with tag teams aside from light storytelling in the ring or breaking them up. Remember Edge and Christian with the conqustadors gimmick? things like that can help bring interest to the tag division and give people a reason to care about the teams. I think the closest they got to that was have Cryme Tyme steal something from someone and give it away to the crowd or something like that. If they'd bring more of the character's personalities into it it would draw a lot more.

what have we had lately? 2 guys from nexus "won" the belts off of Otunga and Cena, where Cena single handedly beat the former tag champs the past night, who themselves were just thrown together randomly just to break up a few months down the road, just terrible. What does it say if Cena can beat the tag champs by himself? they arent worth crap. How tag teams should be booked is that they wrestle the best with their partner. For instance even though they just broke up lets take the hart dynasty and also Cena and Orton. Logically to put everyone over if Cena or Orton wrestled one of the hart dynasty members in a single match where no cheating was involved, Cena or Orton would definitley go over. If it wer the Hart Dynasty vs Cena AND Orton, the Hart Dynasty should win because they have better chemistry. All series of matches would be competitive but the end results should be the same, singles wrestlers will beat tag wrestlers in singles matches and tag teams will beat 2 guys who are just paired together. Of course there are some exceptions but they are very rare.

But back to getting teams over, with the way singles matches are built up on WWE tv, the tag division needs the same amount of time to build. (sidenote: I dont think the singles matches get built up enough either but thats a tale for another thread)

 

[GameOver]

Just slightly turn turn the tables. So TNA has a tag division, yes. Um how many teams are there that compete as a team? and what percentage of the show is dedicated to it?

Answers
A) 3 (Machine Guns, Ink Ink and Generation Me)
B) bout 10%

and it's the same 3 teams each week competing, and of that only the MCMG has any real talent. Gen. Me is ok i guess, but Ink Ink are awfull
and the last real dedicated Tag Team has been seperated yet again and Beer Money members don't even compete anymore let aknown tag up. Why? because we have the best Tag division in the business?

so how does that constitute a company that has a great tag division. WWE has more tag teams than that and has more tag matches sure they don't emphasize it but they have more.

The rest is as everyone has already said. It's not that Tag doesn't sell, cause it certainly could but they need people who are willing to be dedicated Tag Team members for more than a year and people who can gell in ring. in recent history it's just been a quick way to get to individuals over. That and i bet noone as a performer really wants to be known as a Tag Member, when they can be all for themselves and be a singles champion.

 

[stonecoldstv86]

I think it's the simple fact that creative and some of the wrestlers themselfs are just lazy and come up with no new ideas. Reason I throw the wrestlers in there is because if you remember there was an interview with Helms a few years back about the Hurricane charector. He said that he had to come up with it because when WWE bought out WCW everyone had to fight for a spot so you couldn't wait for the writes to come up with something for you. Which now the wrestlers don't seem to care anymore and are too lazy to sit down and come up with ideas for themselfs and characters. Which even when you have wrestlers that still care in the WWE Vince tends to pull the plug on the idea.

Back in the early or mid 2000's there was a storyline for about everyone on the card and very few just fillers. Now you have about 4 storylines at the most, in the WWE and all the rest is fillers or storylines that never seem to go anywhere. Which when it seemed to go down hill is when Vince brought in writers from Hollywood that didn't care or know much about wrestling.

The fans don't care now or never did about the Crusierweight, Tag and Divas because creative is just to lazy to come up with anything to get us into them. The old build system use to be crusierweights would start off and get the crusierweight belt then they would go for the US or IC which would be treated as their big belt. Then the people over crusier would start with the IC and US and go for the WWE title or WHC. Which after a while they just went away from that forula and the cruierwieght stories and matches more or less became jokes till they just got rid of the belt around 3 years ago. Now the IC and US titles just seem to somewhat be going the same way. Matches thrown together last minute, stories that never seem to go anywhere and the same matches over and over again.

The Cruiserweight is pretty much needed right now. You have Kofi, Bryan, Bourn, Kidd, Chavo, Kaval and a few others that could really benifit from the Cruiserweight belt back. Without it, these guys are just going to end up after a while being let go because there is nothing for them to do or be put in the good ol' jobber roll which you know they are going to loss as soon as you see them in that ring.

As for the tag division the WWE started doing the right thing by just going back to one set of belts so we wouldn't have the same 2 teams on each show going for the belts all the time. But then instead of keeping the teams that they had they started cutting and breaking up the teams. Which got more people going into the already over crowarded mid card area which not many people seem to get away from. We need tag teams to get people out of the mid card spots and help get more experiance under wrestlers that haven't been there very long. But creative dosen't seem to want to come up with stuff like the road warriors, rockers, even DX anymore for the tag division. They just more or less have 2 actual teams and the rest are just people they look as singles compeators and had nothing to do with but didn't want to give the we had nothing for you call.

As for the Divas division, that went down hill in 06 when Trish and Lita left. Back when they were with the company they fought for the spot and came up with ideas on what to do and how to make good matches and stories. They also had Fit which pushed them to work hard on their wrestling and come up with good angles. Now you have Divas that can wrestle and get let go or don't get pushed and girls that get pushed up to the roster from FCW wrestling just because they look good. Which they rush them out of FCW before they are ready and without Finley really helping them on the road like he did back in the early to mid 2000's the wrestling of the divas division is just going to be boring and the same old thing week in week out.

Now the laziness is hurting the product over all. We need the stories and divisions to help build wreslters instead of just throwing them in our face and exspect us to look at them as a Superstar right off the bat. Also we need them give us diffent styles so it's not the same feeling match all the time. We have these spring and fall cleanings of wrestlers getting let go because creative had nothing for them. Which shouldn't the ones get fired that aren't doing their job? Have these divisions and titles that there is no real build or stories for and the wrestlers are getting fired because the writers are too lazy to come up with a story for them.

I guess my wrap up to this long thought is that creative needs to stop being lazy with just throwing matchs together and actaully doing something with the belts and lower divisions instead of just worring about the two main titles and/or Cena all the time. If they would actaully put effort into coming up with stories for the tag teams, Divas and cruiserweight for us to actaully care about the wrestlers and divisions then they would sell. Without the good stories with twist and turns with more throught put into them, no one is going to care.

 

[excel_excel]

Well I think that they've never been truly interested in the crusierweight and diva's and tag team division for a long time is that they haven't drawn people to care about those divisions in a long while. That said I think its more WWE's booking of the divisions that has caused people to lose interest.

WWE SHOULD make these people care about these divisions because it increases the amount of things we can watch and get interested in on their shows. WWE have a hard time recently making every match on PPV seem important and having a reason for being there, and if they invest and build up the divisions, particularly the tag divison which during its heyday provided a solid backbone to PPV's and a guarenteed enjoyable match.

Put simply we don't care because WWE stopped putting effort into represnting the divisions and can't seem to be bothered to re-establish them. I think more then ever the tag team division could really be used for something for wrestlers to do while WWE figures out something to do with them. Swagger, Cody and Kofi and the rest of the guys stuck in the mid-card could really spice up the tag division.

 

[Disturbed]

My first thought that popped into my head was, "wow" What does TNA have to do with there tag division? Don't answer that because it is absolutely nothing. Vince could care less about TNA. If he wanted a good tag division then he would have one. If anything vince just doesn't care about the tag division in general anymore. I don't know why because I am not him. You never know he may have a good reason but I can guarantee you it has nothing to do with TNA,

 

[JuviJuiceIsLoose]

The belief that Tag Team Wrestling "doesn't sell" is complete bullshit, IMO. That's just the dumbass thought process of Vince McMahon because his creative team is too lazy to put any effort into it. Tag Team Wrestling has always sold when there was any emphasis on it.

It did in the 70's with the Wild Samoans
It did in the 80's during the Golden Era
It did in the 90's with LOD, Money Inc, etc.
It did in the Early 00's with Edge and Christian, the Hardy's, and the Dudleys

The reason why it doesn't sell now, is because the WWE doesn't care. They've shown they don't care by breaking up Tag Teams and this week releasing a lot of guys who were in Tag Teams.


As far as the Cruiserweights go, the WWE has never cared about having a good Light-Heavyweight/Cruiserweight Division.

Their original Light-Heavyweight title was so neglected that it went to Japan, and the Ultimo Dragon actually competed on WCW Pay Per View with it when he had it as part of the J-Crown Championship.

They caught wind of it, stripped Ultimo of the belt, and re-introduced it in late 90's.

For a little while, they actually pretended to care about it when they had guys like Taka Michinoku and Mr. Aguila holding the belt. Then, they showed that they didn't care about it when they let fucking Gillberg hold the belt for over a year.

It was pretty much the same when they got the Cruiserweight Title from WCW. For a few years, they had good matches with guys like Noble, Rey, and Chavo. It got a little weird when Matt Hardy had the belt, and he hasn't been a Cruiserweight since 5th Grade. But, the final Middle Finger was when they gave the belt to Hornswoggle.


Women's wrestling in the WWE is an interesting story. When I was growing up, they had the WWF Women's Title, and the women wrestling for it actually looked like wrestlers. They weren't exactly what you'd call hot, but they weren't trying to be. They were female wrestlers. They were athletes. Alundra Blayze, Bull Nakano, Bertha Faye. Going back a little further with Sensational Sherri, Rockin Robin, and Wendi Richter. She actually headlined a show in freakin MSG. There was a time were she was the 2nd biggest star in the WWF next to Hogan. Then, of course the late Great Fabulous Moolah held the belt for over 30 years.

What turned the Women's Division into what you see today is Sable. She won the title not having any wrestling skills, but she was extremely popular and really hot. So, pretty much the WWE has treated the Women's Title like that ever since then.

Sex Sells.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

If WWE didn't care at all about their Tag-Teams/Cruiserweights/Divas then we wouldn't be seeing it on television every week now would we?

Tag teams aren't in high demand; that's the cold hard truth. Neither are divas really. But to say they simply don't care is a bit harsh. This is a company we are talking about; one that has been around for a very, very long time. I think they know what they are doing when they don't bother with complex storylines for their side show. The money is on the big time players like Cena and Orton, never on a Hart Dynasty or a Cryme Tyme team. WWE knows that in the long run a single superstar is going to be a better draw then a division that was meant to be only another attraction. We care more for Shawn Michaels then we did The Rockers; sells prove it.

And although the Divas can be entertaining at times (ex. when Lita or whoever did aerial moves) once again sells prove that fans as a whole don't care so much for them and never have. Even when they were stripping down in matches and shaking their asses; fans were more prone to watching just about anything else going on other than that. Divas are an attraction, not something that could sell out an arena let alone Madison Square Garden.

As for The Cruiserweight Division, well that was more a WCW move then WWE. WWE just carried it around a bit just like they did ECW. And even before that fans didn't care so much for the Lightweight Division and once again for a third time sells proved it.

See the trend? WWE usually knows what we want more than we do. Lot of people come onto this site to gripe about said division but the truth of the matter is this:

We don't really need any division other than the heavy hitters. All others are there to fill in time and make a few bucks, as well as keep things fresh. I love tag-team wrestling. I love the small high-flying guys and most of all I love a woman who can wrestle. But if a show catered to nothing but one of these three, I wouldn't watch it. It wears out the novelty for me.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Hmm I agree in part. Tag teams and the like, the lower card filler stuff in the past doesn't draw well because it isn't where the best stories are told. But such is the action going on in the tag team divison in TNA that, and I'm speaking for myself here, but I believe that it could draw independantly now or at least I would pay to see just the guns and gen me go at it if not for the entire show.

I think the real reason that WWE doesn't care about those descisions is that it doesn't have to. Lets look at the Survivor Series card for a moment. OK if you study every match and evaluate it's build-up and drawing capacity. Kaval v ziggler, no build-up hence no draw. Daniel bryan v ted Dibiase, same story. Smackdown 10-man elimination match, built up fine, but leads nowhere in the long run, so no draw there. Natalya v laycool, the state of WWE's womens wrestling right now even without the past context of the fact women dont draw anyway makes a huge no draw there. Sheamus v morrison, set up fairly alright, weak prorogative but a story no less, minor draw.

In truth you could have had survivor series as a one match event (OK not in reality but for example purposes) and I guarantee that you would have lost a couple hundred people from the audience and thats it. People do, these days, put entirely too much emphasis on the ability of a man in the ring. I always say that a wrestler is 50% charisma, 30% ability and 20% looks, certainly if your uncharismatic you WILL not make it in WWE unless you fulfill a niche like khali with his size. The proof of this undoubtedly being ROH, great wrestling + shitty stories = hardcore group of followers. Whereas WWE/TNA + contreversy/stories = ratings, ask undertaker or brock lesnar.

So thats it, back in attitude times, it is well documented that beneath the main event scene the mid-card feuds were so intriguing that they alone could draw. That currently is not the case so there is no reason to worry about your tag divison, your women when you can just use them to enhance your stories. ie maryse with dibiase, bellas with bryan, melina with morrison and tamina with santino. Not to mention nexus having tag belts, making them look more of a threat. There is a reason why it's called sports entertainment, but the title weighs heavier on the entertainent side of things for certain.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

For the women, they are bad at what they do. If you look at the roster of Divas, how many of them try to present some sort of character in the ring? And how many of those actually get some heat for it? Maryse does and surprisingly, Nikki Bella on NXT has. Other than that, you got a bunch of chicks just doing spots. Pro wrestling is about drama, not who can do the shittiest version of an indy move or spot. Maybe if the babyfaces would show more emotion outside of 'smile like an idiot,' there might be more than just the sound of a lot of people watching going for a food break.


Most tag teams the WWE has brought up in the last few years have sucked. Period. The Hart Dynasty was suppose to be the focal point of that division, but they sucked. Both guys are as charismatic has falling rocks, but at least people move for the rocks. DH Smith is so anti-intensity, it isn't even funny. Why should the WWE care if the people they want to get over don't do anything to get over? But more importantly, so many tag teams DO NOT want to be tag teams.


And they did try with a cruiserweight division, but their centerpiece (Rey Rey) was too popular to be stifled with a bunch of guys who will never get past that size limit.