The Times They Are A'Changin...

[FromTheSouth]

Eh. The one thing I like about the Brand Split is that it gave more of a main event scene to be explored. If we end the brand split, we have what, 60 wrestlers on essentially one show? Tons will have to be cut/made into jobbers. Unless you're wanting one main event to flow through the shows with the mid-cards of the show being the main match makers? That's putting an awful lot on your mid-carders.

One thing about a static main event is that if you want someone to be tested in the main event, you have no chance to try things out on your other shows before giving them a big jump. No more giving Morrison the run on ECW before you move him to Raw, no more letting Swagger get into his own on ECW before giving him the pressure of the main event on Raw. It's all or nothing. You have to instantly throw them against one of your main eventers and hope they stick. SO much potential to Fail. But, then again, the same chance to succeed.

And thus you give real importance to the midcard titles. The IC would mean something if it was the springboard to the main event, as opposed to the sign that your head just hit the glass ceiling.

Eh.....I don't think the heavyweights are exactly why ratings are dropping. Are you sure you're arguing for the entire crowd or just what you and 50 people on these forums want to see? Because every time Cena steps into the ring he gets a hella pop. And he's no cruiserweight. For some reason Batista gets a reaction. As long as the heavyweights can still do their jobs, we shouldn't totally shove them out of the picture.

I agree. There is a lot of Batista hate on here, but honestly, what else is he supposed to do. They used him as the muscle in Evolution, and still reference evolution all the time. We complain about story lines being dropped, and revisionist history all the time on here. Batista has been consistently booked since day 1. He is hella over because he's the closest thing to Stone Cold in the WWE. He is his own man. He never panders to the fans, yet they love him.

The drop in ratings isn't a bad case of "Heavyweight Hatred." It's the fact that Orton has the title and just happens to be shit. The ratings were falling under Triple H, just as they did before Orton got the title the first time, and continue to fall under Orton. It's proven by the fact that Flair can raise the ratings .3 of a point. I guarantee you that jump wasn't "Oh, Orton is in his 2nd month as champ!?!?! Why haven't I been watching before?"

I don't think Orton is shit. I think the ratings drop has to do with nothing new happening. The only new feud on WWE TV is CM Punk and Umaga, and outside of forums, neither matters in the scheme of things. They didn't even pick a new MitB winner. The best way to get new feuds is to join the brands. They limit themselves with the split brands and it forces them to hold people back because of the limited balance between heels and faces (this is what happened to Kennedy and MVP) or force people to the top who aren't ready, over, or good (CM Punk).

Though, at the same time, we shouldn't completely ignore the cruiserweights. And the WWE, for the most part, isn't. We may not have cruiserweights dominating the Main Event scene, but they are having their representation in the mid-cards. We don't need all of one, or all of the other. A mix of styles will work just fine, as we do right now.

I don't care about the cruisers. They will never capture the audience the way the old WCW cruisers did. But if you do have to bring it back, here's what I would do. Hornswoggle was the last champion. His new angle seems to have he and Golddust united. I think that Swogs should keep getting saved by Dust. Everytime he does so, 'Swogs should give him something golden from under the ring. It doesn't matter what, a ring he finds under the ring, a gold plated trashcan lid, a new wig, and then, one Monday Night, he can hop out with Cruiserweight belt. Golddust could turn it down, and tells Hornswoggle that that belt belongs to the little guy. Golddust could get attacked by Brian Kendrick, who he just had a problem with, and Hornswoggle could save him, prompting a Cruiserweight Title match between Kendrick and Hornswoggle. Kendrick would win, of course, as Golddust wouldn't be able to save Hornswoggle in time because of (wrestler X) setting up a Superstars match for Dust, which he would lose and fade away, hopefully taking the Leprechaun with him.

I can see where you're coming from. They seem to want to keep the kayfabe around the titles intact, while at the same time doing shit like making fun of Hardy for having his dog die in a fire. Real life is real life, and only has a place in wrestling when real life directly conflicts. Like the recent Nuggets/Raw scheduling debacle. Perfect example of when wrestling should lash out at real life. Other than that? Keep home at home.

I agree with you here. I am all about Pop culture references. That is fine with me, but HHH and Stephanie is a little too real for me. I always thought HHH should keep the old DX womanizer thing going. It would be good for him, and now that's ruined. Shawn Michaels wife shouldn't be on TV. John Cena's dad shouldn't be on TV. Dusty Rhodes and Cody Rhodes or the Teds DiBiase is OK because their gimmick centers on their famous dads, which by the way, should be played up a bit more.

Makes sense. Though I don't know if it can be pulled off. I've always sorta liked the idea though. I got ya.

This is in reference to the off season. I disagree, respectfully. Everyone, except the Miz and Morrison, seems to take some time off during the year already, be it injuries, or jsut some time off of TV. WWE has prided itself on no re-runs, and does it's best numbers during TV rerun season. I think what the WWE should do is take six weeks after WM every year, and actually try something new. Instead of having a draft that conveniently leaves the same feuds together, start something new. Wrestlemania used to be the culmination of a year's worth of stories, now it's the culmination of the last four weeks. Plant seeds right after Wrestlemania and let them grow as the year goes. By SummerSlam there should be two feuds going which last all year in some capacity. Tito Santana didn't have to fight Rick Martel at every event, but they would get in each other's way, and eventually square off after some intense moments throughour the year.

A wrestler's union is touchy. A wrestling union would cost more money for the company, and Vince has an easy way to end the wrestler union. Whoever is in it and is in the WWE gets fired. Simple as. Vince treats the wrestlers as contractors, and I'm sure he believes most are expendable. Which, honestly, they are. If he can keep a hold of Cena/Triple H/HBK/Undertaker/Edge, he can stay afloat. And there are tons of wrestlers who will do anything to work for the WWE..that's including working without a Union.

A Union would make things worse. A union would serve to bankrupt the WWE. The guys know the risks they are taking when they sign up. All Vince really needs to do is provide aftercare for the performers. If you worked for Vince, the company should cover all health problem associated with the business. And that includes addiction counseling.

But the basic idea? Sounds really good. But that can be handled by WWE just doing it themselves. I'm not a business man, and that probably costs loads more money than is practical. ..Honestly, though, they really only have 70+ employees that they would have to cover with health insurance. But meh. Vince won't be having it.

The expense of health insurance would not even approach the firestorm he would receive if Hulk Hogan dies of a drug overdose tomorrow. What if the Rock's heart stopped on set? The expense of that bad press could be avoided by providing some kind of care for guys when they are done.

 

[Coco]

finneycom1, your solutions and explainations leave out some key things. First of all, Jim Ross has stated that the Batista rumor is being over-blown. I don't think he has ten years left in him, but I don't see him being gone in a year. In addition, Taker has no set retirement so don't count him out too quickly. And you can't push Mysterio and Jeff down the card. Both are just as popular or more-so than Triple H, not just on here but at live events. Add to that fact that both are major merch movers, and they can't just be made light of.

Putting Jeff and Rey in respective midcarder and curtain jerker for life roles won't cut it at this stage in either man's career and it would continue to just leave the good old boys club headlining.

 

[Razor Blade Dream]

finneycom1, your solutions and explainations leave out some key things. First of all, Jim Ross has stated that the Batista rumor is being over-blown. I don't think he has ten years left in him, but I don't see him being gone in a year. In addition, Taker has no set retirement so don't count him out too quickly. And you can't push Mysterio and Jeff down the card. Both are just as popular or more-so than Triple H, not just on here but at live events. Add to that fact that both are major merch movers, and they can't just be made light of.

Putting Jeff and Rey in respective midcarder and curtain jerker for life roles won't cut it at this stage in either man's career and it would continue to just leave the good old boys club headlining.

"The times they are a changin, Ron Burgundy has never heard of that song"

Anyway, I agree that Rey and Jeff deserve the spots they are at now. Those guys just pop wherever they go. Other than Cena, those two move merch like no tomorrow.
I see Taker being active for at least three more years or at least probably hold out until he hits 20 Wrestlemanias. I mean, he is damn near there, why not go for it? Even if he just does an extremely light schedule until then, he can totally do it.

 

[finneycom1]

Coco,
I see what you are saying about Rey and Jeff. Leaving them in the fold for ME status is cool, that still gives you only 7 men at ME. As far as 'Taker goes, he could still hold exactly his spot as he is now. As far as Batista goes, I just go by reports and the rumor mill.

What about this: could you still combine the shows and leave certain ME to wrestle on certain shows? For example:

Have Triple H, Edge, Jericho, Orton, Cena- the 5 I mentioned, basically be in the title hunt on both shows. Throw Batista in there as well. Have a storyline where 'Taker basically comes out and says, "Even though the brands are combined, Smackdown is My Yard." Then, 'Taker could stay on Smackdown, feud with the 6 guys mentioned above, that way 'Taker doesnt really wrestle a more physical schedule. Basically he stays where he is at. May sound stupid, but just a thought.

Also, do you consider the IC title, Main Event level? If so, then there would be plenty of room for all of the wrestler's mentioned and then some. You could break it down like this:
HW Title-Main Event
IC Title- Semi-Main Event
US Title-Where the IC title is now

 

[Slam Master]

The problem that they concentrate too much time into the bullshit. Since they have regressed to the family-oriented product, then they should make WWE TV more match oriented. Smackdown is moving in this direction. RAW's matches lack quality and psychology. I watch the program because I'm a fan of the wrestling. RAW matches are usually short and too choreographed. I think both roster's are balanced. HHH is off TV to see how it does without him, and the ratings have gone up. We all know Michaels will sign some kind of legends contract giving him a small, certain amount of dates. There is nothing wrong with that either cus he can still work. They need to get back into the kayfabe and values that made professional wrestling what it once was.