Things WWE are doing right

[Ashw825]

As opposed to the usual negative attitudes seen on these threads towards the WWE, I thought I might make a positive thread about the WWE. Now I love the WWE's current product unlike a lot of people even though there are a few things it could do to improve. However, talking about good things I wanted to suggest things that the WWE hae done recently that I have enjoyed and then wanted to see what you guys thought.

Firstly, the character development and use of talent over the past year to me has been astounding. I don't know if I'm the only one that thinks this but seeing John Cena take less of a role, Ryback & Sheamus pushed to be unstoppable beasts, Randy Orton helping talent more, the great face turn of Alberto Del Rio, the character transformation of Daniel Bryan and the better usage of Sin Cara in a tag team. And that is just to mention some of the faces. In terms of the heels, we have seen CM Punk become the only person in a long time that is truly competing with Cena as THE GUY. He has played such a huge role this year and I for one have loved every minute. We have Big Show and allthough I am not his biggest fan, you have to appreciate the consistency in the way they have booked him. We have seen Dolph Ziggler play a larger role, Antonio Cesaro & Wade Barret shoot up as top midcarders with bright futures, Mark Henry return and still be the dominating beast he was before, Jack Swagger playing a far bigger and more intriguing role in WWE programming. Not only that but we saw the fantastic trio of The Shield debut and they have beeten the biggest faces in the company. It seems like the WWE are using alot more of there talent which I believe is due to the 3 hour RAW's.

The 3 hour RAW's bored me to hell at first. I have watched Wrestling since 2004 and have studied the history since, and I struggled to make it through a RAW. However, now I hae come to appreciate everything the 3 hour RaW does. Better develops stories, gives more match time, gives new talent an opportunity and better builds to PPV's. I for one am a big fan of the 3 hour RAW's at the moment and hope to see them continue.

Bring prestige back to the Titles and more emphasis on divisions. This year we saw a huge WWE Title reign, a few long World Title reigns, long Tag Title reigns, long U.S Title reigns etc and I have loved it. It has helped make the Titles really mean something and in turn, the superstars who hold them mean something. Not only that, we finally got the tag division revival we have wanted for so long with Team Hell NO!, Sin Cara & Mysterio, Team Rhodes Scholars, The Primetime Players, The Usos & more. I have loved this.

These are just a few of the things I have loved over the past year and I can name so many more which I will but just not get into as much. I believe we have seen better quality PPV's, a huge amount of talent brought through from developmental, the rise in the Main Event TV show which is good, the rise of NXT which has become very fun to watch, the returns and usage of guys like The Rock & Brock Lesnar, the better quality of the commentary and the list goes on and on. I know a lot of people aren't going to agree with me, but compared to previous years, the WWE has done so much over the past year and a half it is ridiculous and I have loved it. I really want to know what you guys think but thanks a lot and sorry if I have bored you with that long story.

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

I think they are on the ball with the tag team division at the moment. Even Prime Time Players are a reliable team (Although I feel a Titus O'Neil singles push is in the works)

I like the unpredictability in the WHC scene. A face Del Rio taking on an unsuspected racist Jack Swagger at WM? I never would have saw that coming. Plus with Ziggler and his MITB contract lingering makes it interesting.

I'm excited to find out if Brock Lesnars new contract is as a weekly performer because if so, that could open up a lot of doors in itself.

 

[SydTinDad]

Hmm? Doing right?

You mean like Swagger vs Del Rio at WM.........Undertaker without an opponent.......a HHH-Brock rematch..........another fucking John Cena-Rock snoozefest..........boring assed Ryback and Shameus being shoved down our throats? Yeah, super job. They are doing SSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOO much right.

The ONLY thing I think they are doing right at the moment is keeping The Shield undefeated and making sure that they look dominant every week. Lets see how long that lasts before the fuck that up.

 

[The Butcher]

I'm just gonna go list style:

-new WWE Championship (Spinner had long overstayed its welcome)

-Zeb Colter (entertaining, controversial, and facial hair that can impregnate women on its own)

-Mark Henry (hasn't skipped a beat in his comeback)

-The Shield (ESPN's power rankings said so)

-Bruno Sammartino and Mr. Bob Backlund finally going into the HoF

-WMXXX in New Orleans (I'm so there)

-keeping the internet wrestling media off balance and keeping secrets secret

That's it for right now, but there are plenty more. WWE is a lot of fun right now, and if you don't think so then this probably isn't the thread for you. I'm with the OP; let's try to keep it positive.

 

[B.Ware]

Hmm? Doing right?

You mean like Swagger vs Del Rio at WM.........Undertaker without an opponent.......a HHH-Brock rematch..........another fucking John Cena-Rock snoozefest..........boring assed Ryback and Shameus being shoved down our throats? Yeah, super job. They are doing SSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOO much right.

The ONLY thing I think they are doing right at the moment is keeping The Shield undefeated and making sure that they look dominant every week. Lets see how long that lasts before the fuck that up.

If you consider Ryback to be boring then I really don't think professional wrestling is for you. He's been fantastic in my opinion. All of his recent matches have been entertaining and the support he has gained from the fans backs this argument up. Swagger vs Del Rio at WM is a match that would have seemed incredibly dull just a couple of weeks ago, but it now has the potential to be a thriller of a ride. What's the point in criticising something that hasn't happened yet? There's so much potential for this storyline to become a classic feud. There's some top notch stuff happening in WWE at the moment with exception to that dire match that Rock and CM Punk put on at Elimination chamber. The US Title has a great feud happening and I'm really enjoying Cesaro's character develop. The IC Title is most likely about to blow up into a big feud and the Tag Team division is full of strong teamings that need to get more air time.

With exception to the WWE Title I am enjoying almost every aspect of what the WWE is doing at the moment. Good times are ahead.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I'm just gonna go list style:

-new WWE Championship (Spinner had long overstayed its welcome)

-Zeb Colter (entertaining, controversial, and facial hair that can impregnate women on its own)

-Mark Henry (hasn't skipped a beat in his comeback)

-The Shield (ESPN's power rankings said so)

-Bruno Sammartino and Mr. Bob Backlund finally going into the HoF

-WMXXX in New Orleans (I'm so there)

-keeping the internet wrestling media off balance and keeping secrets secret

That's it for right now, but there are plenty more. WWE is a lot of fun right now, and if you don't think so then this probably isn't the thread for you. I'm with the OP; let's try to keep it positive.

I mostly agree with the good Doctor.

-No more spinner belt is the latest thing the WWE has gotten right.

-Bringing back Mantel was genius.
In fact the "rebirth" of the manager is a great thing altogether. Having Mantel and Heyman on my TV every week makes me a happy wrestling fan. Moreover, this extends to guys like Ricardo who makes Del Rio more interesting, or going back slightly to a guy like AW who got the Primetime Players noticed. Managers are a great thing when they have a good gimmick like AW or Ricardo, or are absolute legends who can cut promos better than 99% of the roster like Mantel and Heyman.

-The Shield.
The way the Shield has been booked is essentially perfect. They have been booked to look strong and they haven't been over-exposed despite often being involved in multiple segments of single episodes. As their motives have fleshed out, along with their ring time(first in-ring promo and then matches on consecutive nights), they appear to be in prime position to establish themselves as believable upper-card fixtures.

-Also this HOF class is spectacular. The video hype packages have been done masterfully. And seeing Bruno Sammartino allow himself to get re-embraced by the company and introduced to the younger fanbase is a joy to watch unfold.

A couple others I will add...

-NXT
The repackaging of developmental has been a massive success. NXT is a great wrestling show, it is preparing guys better than ever for the next step, and the training team they have established is awesome(especially bringing in Sara Del Rey). Combine that with a better strategy for signing new talent(read: signing top line indy talent like Generico and PAC instead of muscular guys they hope can be turned into wrestlers) and you have the makings of a great platform to mold future stars.

-Fresh Blood
Going hand-in-hand with the improvements in developmental has been the additon to the roster of the likes of not only The Shield, but also guys like Sandow and Cesaro who have been midcard heel workhorses since getting their pushes.

-Punk's title run
Allowing a guy(especially one that's not Cena) to have a 14 month WWE title reign seemed like a pipedream a couple years ago. To see it happen(especailly to a deserving talent like Punk) and have it turn out pretty successful is great progress for the status of the belts. Sheamus's extended title reign should be noted too(but it was hurt by the overly drawn out and stale Del Rio feud).

There is clearly alot of positive that can be cited, and it feels like there could be more on the horizon as the company wades through this transitional period.

 

[ADLegend21]

1.) Punk's title reigns. Having him legitimately winning the belt on his last day in the company was a ballsy move by Vince and Punk returning with Cult of personality was a great move as well sine it fits him. His feuds with Daniel Bryan and Jericho was by far the best wrestling the company has seen in the WWE title picture for a while and even having AJ thrown in the picture a few times was good for her development (though she should have had a better reason to be fired than for being romantic with a superstar and being accused by Vickie who had been "married" to edge when she was GM and he was WHC.) Even in the end when the shield was runing his epic matches by helping him out to make him lose a bit of credibility he still manages to make the title and matches mean something, falling to the peoples Elbow because he kne wit would be a jab at the fans he mocks, then having a 17 count on the Rock with no Ref to count was gold and still gives him reason for his character to think he can beat the rock after two losses. Pure gold.

2.) John Cena. Man, sometimes you can imagie him having a strangle hold on the company and being a diva, but then he goes through 2012 and helps guys like Dolph stay relevant with his MITB without cashing it in, Taking on Brock in his return and getting his ass kicked all over extreme rules, he helps AJ's storyline out, and Gave SKip sheff....Ryback a MAJOR over when he stepped down to let him get a shot at Punk and had the crowd chant Feed me more (could've sworn Ryback as gonna cry when this was going on.), and helping a bit with Miz's face turn The guy is great as a draw and as a person and it's easy to see why he's the company face.

3.) The face turns of the Miz and Del Rio. I honestly couldn't see anyone else as the heir apparent to flair than the Miz. They're both cocky as hell, they both have that superstar air about them and they can both back it up in the ring and work well in feuds with other people. In my opinion he' knocked this face turn out of the park especially after his match with Cena against Rhodes scholars which I saw live. Del Rio's face turn was also something because it was helped by how well Big Show had done his heel turn. MY friend is calling him the Mexican Shawn Michaels because he's pulling off all these super kick variants so well. Also can' forget to mention Ricardo Rodriguez's charisma because honestly he's made of it.

 

[klunderbunker]

Alberto Del Rio.

Del Rio has gone from very dull and the bane of the WWE to the hottest thing in the company. They've gone from having him say the same stuff over and over to being a changed man with a character that allows him to show off how talented he really is. He ties into the Hispanic audience far better than Sin Cara could and could serve as a replacement for Mysterio despite being in his mid-30s. He came out of nowhere with this character change and now he's one of the best on the roster. I'm rather impressed.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

Well, the TV shows start on time......that's something, right? Lol

Seriously, though:

- the Shield has been booked really well. They are booked as three badasses that work as one. It's the little things that make them great. I think these have more to do with Rollins and Ambrosethan the actual booking though. Watch when they are doing a beat down. Rollins and Ambrose are always looking to see what else is happening and reacting to any momentum shift. It's great stuff.
- I'm a fan of booking Thwagger and ADR. Dutch is a main reason for this. Oh, but now, Thwagger goes and screws this all up. Not sure who the bigger fool is: storyline Sting or real life Thwagger.
- the E has been good at creating hope in fans minds about tag team wrestling. There hasn't been great follow through, yet, but it could still happen.

 

[SacredMesa]

In order of what I feel has been the most successful...

1--The Shield--This is hands down the best damn thing going in WWE today and the booking as been so perfect for them I find myself looking for their segments every night and even when it was just sneak attacks all the time I never got sick of it. Their matches have been steller and the fact they have gone over in such perfect ways, IE in every match one of them took a fall for the greater good of the group, it really sells them as a collective willing to fight and sacrifice for a purpose they believe in instead of a couple of guys lead by one person.

2--CM Punk--His title reign was amazing, and I loved the fact someone so deserving got it. The only reason I don't put this #1 is because I still feel that a full time up and comer should of ended it and established himself. Even so it was a great run and his matches and promos afterwards have pretty much sold the importance of the title match at mania and he very well may not be a part of it. That speaks volumes to his talent and ability.

3--Paul Heyman--Dear God is this man ever been a blessing to the WWE. Every segment he has been a part of since returning has been 100% gold. He does so many little things others don't, be it something like telling Vince to get out of the ring when Lesner came down, to selling to Punk "you have to beat Vince into a vegitative state or he will make your life hell" comments. He sells everything so perfectly and makes it feel real when he's in the ring. I hope to God he continues to stay with RAW at 3 hours I could spend an hour watching Heyman, and hour watching Punk and an hour watching The Shield and never get bored. These guys make wrestling fun again.

4--John Cena--I will be the first to jump on the "I hate Cena" band wagon but honestly with how he's been booked this last year I find myself not hating him so much. I'm still not a fan by any means, but he's helped get Ziggler over and set up the power couple between Ziggler and AJ with Langston as their body guard. He stepped down for Ryback and helped establish him as a main eventer, frankly with todays audience Cena's support of Ryback probably helped Ryback more than anything. If it hadn't been for him being the one to send off Johnny Ace when it should of been Punk, and the fact I still find 90% of his mic work boring as hell I might of listed his higher.

5--Ryback--When Ryback was the power house guy I wasn't a fan and found him boring. The Shield has been the best damn thing to happen to him because it's forced him to face a real threat that he just can't seem to beat. I believe he should be an integral part of The Shields first loss and I am very interested to see how it plays out, my personal idea would be for Jericho to continue mentoring him and bring in Christian and between the two of them Ryback keeps his power game but develops a more logical aspect to his character so he isn't all about power and strength. He wouldn't have to become a Triple H/Edge style character but simply have him realize there is a place for his rage and anger I think could do wonders for him and really sell the fued and cullminate in a real first loss for the shield that wouldn't damage them and make Ryback come out looking even stronger.

 

[LascoX]

The past year WWE has been doing quite a bit right. Most of it has been previously mentioned already. The new talent they have been bringing in has been really good and the talent they have has really stepped up. Daniel Bryant, CM Punk, The Shield, Ryback , Chris Jerico , The Miz and everyone else on the roster have really brought it up a notch. They finally let Big Show off the chain and turned him into the angry giant instead of the comedy relief. It fits him, I mean seriously if that guy didn't let you pin him is there anyone on the roster that could get his shoulders down for a three count? Sure Big Show gets crap for his wrestling abilitys but for his size he is one of the best big men in the business and is an imposing figure in the ring.
The tag division has been improved and the fact they had decent runs with the belt instead of changing the belt holder every other week has given the belts more value.
The fact they are merging the brands more works for me and bringing back Heyman and Lesner has been good. Overall the product has been getting better and AD Ledgend21 pointed out Cena really put over tallent this past year and really put Punk over the top.And retiring the spiner belt was a greaat move!
It's nice to see a thread that looks at the positives instead of the negatives for a change.. Kudos Ashw825 on the thread

 

[enviousdominous]

The WWE has a fairly consistent ebb and flow in terms of their ability to be watchable versus being an absolute abomination in the eyes of even the most depraved fan. At a certain point, the assholes in charge swallow their pride and allow something other than an attempt to superficially placate their already grandiose egos to catch our attention.

Honestly, there's very little that a compulsive cynic like me can criticize about what I've been seeing every week.

I would suggest that they offer a little more of the three hours they insist on having to showcase more tag teams, instead of dropping feces on Dolph Ziggler. The popularity of The Funkadactyls almost teases a female tag team division.

I hate the new design of the belt more and more everytime I see it. It has all the flair of a bejeweled European road sign. Honestly, when did gold start taking a backseat to diamonds on a man's championship belt?

But yeah, not the usual diatribe of hatred and outrage. Good job WWE.


Posted from Wrestlezone.com App for Android

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The biggest thing WWE is doing well right now is laying foundations for the future. It is clear from Vince's recent appearances that he is getting on in years and as time goes on it is very clear he is not going to do as his father did and be carried out in a box from WWE.

So the process is twofold, they are laying foundations for the future of the corporate WWE and the talent. Triple H is not an inspired pick, but perhaps the right guy to take the reigns for a few years till the real heir is ready. I am a firm believer that Mark Callaway will end up a major part once the Undertaker gimmick is retired as a non McMahon figurehead.

WWE has revamped a lot of it's corporate structure, making it more "in house" with Triple H and Steph but also putting in people with real talent scouting credentials for athletes and TV production. The Full Sail University/NXT relationship is working really well, the next generation of wrestlers, writers AND production staff are all learning together so when the time comes for them all to move up - there will be synergy on the main roster, something that has always lacked since the Attitude era. The talent pool they have on NXT is perhaps the best since the class of 2001 which brought out Cena, Batista, Orton, Lesnar and their ilk. The talents are also importantly not of one style or experience level. Some like Ohno are veterans who could debut tomorrow - others like Richie Steamboat have less time served but instant marketability and others still like Adrian Neville (awful name) offer something exciting that's not really been seen since Rey's debut. Add in some like Bray Wyatt who could end up just a manager or a very strong heel and the future is very bright over the next 2 years for new stars.

There is more they can do to help "the business as a whole", they could do far worse than sell off some of the "name assets" like WCW or ECW. Let TNA have some of the excess fat and compete a little more - it cannot harm WWE's product at this stage, only help it as 12 years without competition has now got WWE to the point where the next 2 years is make or break, a lot of talent will be retiring/past their sell-by date in that time - Taker, Trips, Cena, Henry, Kane, Big Show - all could conceivably be done within the next 2 years or starting to lose their steam, someone like Jericho might be ok as he is being used so sporadically but without "the next big thing", WWE could struggle into the mid part of the decade like it did in the previous 2. If Punk decides to go in that time - god help them!

With the actual roster itself, they are using more of the younger talent in better spots and their veteran talents are being used to their best nearly exclusively, only really Orton is the odd man out and it's understandable why - he is still "on the bubble" when it comes to trust and it shows - again something WWE is doing right is being fair. People have made a lot of Swagger's arrest - at the end of the day it's a first offence and misdemeanor charges and a first Wellness violation. Sure he might lose at Mania now but on the totem of chances and cock ups he is still lower than an Orton or Rey is. By keeping Randy "down" for as long as they have and sending Rey home to let him sort his issues they have shown that if you are more trouble than you are worth then you can sit at home or down the card...sulking and moaning won't make it go away or get you your spot back!

While some see a Y2J 2 month deal as detracting, in that 2 months he can put someone younger over or maybe 2 guys, then in 4 months he'll do it again after a big win or two and he could conceivably do that for 3-4 more years. That's far better value than 5m for Brock to job to Cena and beating Trips. But even Brock has now come on board properly and will be used more to his strengths. How much of this is down to Trips and how much Vince is unknown at this point, but at least one person has stated Vince is winding down and pretty much Trips is making the calls at this point.

WWE is also acknowledging its past more, not just with Bruno and Backlund but making more reference to what talent have done in eras like Attitude. Things like Heath Slater's legends feud, Old School RAW and the return of guys like Heyman and mentioning their pasts and WHY they are important and in the positions they are rather than just "It's Paul Heyman - you might remember him from ECW if you're over 18." which they'd have done even a year or two ago. There's a good mix of vets on the roster - guys with 10+ years served with the company to help those young talents day to day but also remind them of the older times and not to get big heads - that one of "them" is their new boss is also telling, Trips ain't gonna take youngsters with egos cos he wasn't indulged - he was punished severely for the Curtain Call, learned and improved his attitude.

They are not doing EVERYTHING right. This Mania seems rushed in a way that it hasn't since WM13 - which really was "thrown together" in the final month before and it showed on the night.

Perhaps this is where the "duality" of having 2 guys in charge is coming into play. At this stage it seems almost like Undertaker/Punk is a waste of Punk who has shown he should be with Rock and Cena in this weeks match - that they can't decide what to do with Sheamus and Barrett/Shield and that guys you thought would really be on their way up on this show like Sandow and Rhodes are stalled. You can almost see which parts are Vince and which are Trips. Vince is all about The Rock and Cena, Trips seems to be focused on the others. For us to be so close to the show and only really have 2 matches so far is not a good sign and the rumored ones don't capture the imagination. Jericho v Henry isn't a good use of either - put Henry with Ryback and Jericho into MITB. Have The Shield attack Sheamus AND Barrett and have Wade go face for the night, only to turn on Sheamus right after.

Hopefully some of the "people power" shown in the last few months works - Jericho is over and it showed from the Rumble onwards and Vince must surely have heard the reaction Goldust recieved - I would love to see Sandow and Mr. Backlund v Goldust and Cody at Mania, we might just see something like that - as WWE finally seems to be listening to what WE want rather than what Vince wants.

 

[Wolver]

Lately The Shield, they're a perfect example of being booked correctly. Shield doesnt disappoint which is great.

 

[sportznutt]

The build up of CM Punk has been brilliant, and he is one of my all-time favorites. His music, his words, his actions......all fantastic.

 

[Toron]

Nothing. Absolutly nothing. This is funny because I was actually just thinking about this the other day.

In the past 5 years, going back to 2008, I could only think of one thing that I think was actually done well, and that was the way they handled Ric Flair's retirement at the hands of HBK at WM24, and that was at the beginning of 2008. After that, I couldn't think of anything else. Not one thing.

The WWE handled the initial re-introduction of Brock Lesnar back into the company last April well, when he came back the night after WM and I believe F5'd John Cena? That was the 1st time I can remember legitimately marking out in years. But that 5 minute segment, to close out that show, was the end of it. As soon as that segment finished, nothing good happened afterwards.

And I guess I have to include CM Punk's famous promo from back in 2011, but again, that 5-10 minute segment was good, and nothing good ever came after it. The good began and ended with that segment.

And that's it. I can't think of anything else? I guess I could maybe put down the Rock/Cena match from last year's WM, but I'm not including the build-up for it, because honestly, for an entire year, I thought that build-up sucked. But I guess the idea, the concept of having John Cena battle the Rock, and build it up for a year, was clever.

Other than that, there may have been some good matches, wrestling wise, but other than that, there's been nothing else.

 

[HHHsWetSpot]

Lately The Shield, they're a perfect example of being booked correctly. Shield doesnt disappoint which is great.

I disagree. They are bland and utterly unoriginal (they even stole the Bossman's attire!). I have no idea what they mean by justice because they just repeat the same thing without any explanation as to their motives. Do they think the WWE playing field is unequal? Do they think life is random and thus they should randomly attack everyone as a nihilistic statement on existence? Something beyond "we're the justice league and we right wrongs" would go a long way toward making me care about them. Not to mention that Ambrose cut much better promos everywhere else and doesn't work nearly as well with the scripted dreck he's been given. All three guys have potential, though Rollins is terrible on the mic and doesn't have nearly as high a ceiling as Reigns and Ambrose.

 

[HHHsWetSpot]

I also agree with the previous poster. WWE has done nothing right. In fact, WWE has done nothing right since Rikishi "DUD IT FUH DA PEEPO."

 

[theBec2101]

The Shield is one. I think they are doing a great job and they are winning and going over in televised matches. I know they take the loose on house shows but it’s not known.
I also like the tag team division. They have defiantly stepped up in that department. I hope they keep doing well. It seems they are not too sure sometimes as of late.

 

[Johnny Q Public]

Well things that the WWE is doing right.

Cena v Undertaker, yea they are pushing taste by using the legitimate death of William Moody to further the storyline, but they are pushing Punk in a way to make him seem like a legitimte threat to Taker. It's nice.

The build to Cena v Rock is also very well done, with Cena beating Punk in a straight match it makes Cena seem like a real threat to Rock, and Rock is doing a heckuva good job of shining Cena, and building him up in his promo's.

The Shield-this angle makes me real exicted, all The Shield needs is a established superstar for a stick man to join them and they could be a much needed push of young blood that the WWE needs, they could use them to shore up the floundering Tag Division, or the Intercontinental Titles, the tag possibilites are endless through some shady dealings institute the freebirds rules