Titles or Talent?

[DarkLordFett]

WWE has six titles being vied for right now. Two on each brand and two floating belts. The World and Heavyweight are both the top belt for each promotion so they get the best exposure. The IC title get's some good pushes, but the U.S. belt seems to have gotten buried a little. The Diva's belt get's a decent push here and there. Vince has all but burned the Tag titles for good. It's no secret he isn't a fan.

Is there simply a lack of depth on the rosters right now? I know where some people stand within the company, others I just don't know where they're going. Does the company need less titles or more talent? Or just have the current rosters step it up? Maybe it's time for the rosters to be combined again. Would it help for there was just one roster so there are more stories, more shots at the current titles?

 

[klipz.nbd]

Raw needs to go back to a 3 hour show. That way they will have an extra hour every week to build a US & Tag Title story line. 2 hours is only just enough time for the main event players to do their thing. Add another hour in and you can comfortably build a storyline for those other titles. The talent is there. They just need to use it! This is also a reason of why they have no new credible main event superstar's coming up. They are all still mid-carders because the majority of them still haven't even got decent tv time.

 

[deforty]

I think the problem is creative and Vince. They have plenty of talent they just are not using them as well. between the shows and FCW they have what around 80-100 members of the talent pool. I think that they are not writing to many compelling story lines other than for the major titles. They could still showcase the same titles without compromise if they made the secondary title seem more worthy. I know Sheamus is not using his King gimmick anymore but he could of held something like a Kings Court where he had someone as his guest (not an every week thing) and berate them for sucking start a good feud with someone by hitting them with his scepter and have it go on for a few months, but i want to see some hatred and strife in the matches.

I think the matches don't show enough of that, the only ones in the last few years that have done that have been UT vs HBK/HHH. Not so much the hatred part, but the how in the blue hell do I beat this guy type of things.

A good weaselly manager to help some of these guys would help too.

Imagine Cole as a manager like Heenan, Fuji, or Jimmy Hart reuniting the Nexus and taking them to the top by cheating, getting involved with the matches, and an occasional beatdown of a certain individual. They get the US title and tag titles and start a good story of how now that Cole is the leader they can beat anyone.

A good filled hatred between say Miz and JoMo like Jake the Snake and Macho had in the 80's would make a feud between them seem more believable and alot more interesting.

How about Christian facing say Big Show or Zeke. They have a four month build up with numerous matches where Christian can not beat either one of them. You see the anguish on his face every time he loses, he is ready to quit, some of the other Entertainers are there to support him telling him he can do it, he keeps trying, he learns new moves and finally he beats the person. This not only makes either Show or Zeke look like a big monster it also gets the crowd behind Christian as they keep hoping he will eventually win and when he does it makes it all the more special.

The problem is not the amount of talent or the amount of title but the lack of creative and Vince's desire to only push certain people and hold others back. I get the feeling at times Vince feels he has no competition so it's same old same old, and every once in awhile when something feels unscripted or real, it becomes really intriguing and interesting only for it to last for a month and then it dies. I really wished he would start to create decent tag teams like Demolition, LOD, Hart Foundation, or the Steiners. I think a good tag team division will also pick up some older fans and make the shows more interesting with a few great managers to help them out.

 

[LegendKiller716]

I think it comes down to time constraints. I think if Raw went to 3 hours permanently that would help a lot.

The talent is good, but they are underexposed. It's hard to build new stars without older stars to go over. I think WWE needs to put guys like HHH, Nash, Show, Kane, Booker, etc. back on top so younger guys can go over them.

Morrison beating Ziggler at Mania dose nothing, Morrison beating HHH at Mania is a career defining moment. They need older talent back in the spotlight for a little bit.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

First of all, definitely thought this said "tities or talent"... Which is a whole nother conversation we could be having on the divas division...

I don't think the problem lies in the amount of belts the company has. NWA Midwest has like 30 belts and they have some great indy product coming out of some of their leagues. Nor do I think the issue is a lack of talent or missing character depth. I think the issue is that Vince seems to like taking new talent and throwing them into the main event spot. If you win NXT you get an immediate main event push and a future title shot. Anybody can win MITB and walk away with a World title the same night. Alberto del Rio, Sheamus, Wade Barrett, etc. All guys that spent a few months dinking around while nobody cared...and then BAM...suddenly they're all contending for major titles and all over our television sets for months at a time. That's all well and good and can provide excellent entertainment. Del Rio has been great and the original Nexus was the best thing of 2010 by FAR. THe problem is that all these super pushes fade out and creative has nothing to fall back on. How do you continue somebody's super push once they've lost the "holy shit who is this guy" appeal? If they have no character, backstory, or history they've got nothing to fall back on... Brock Lesnar is one exception to this, but WWE refuses to dedicate any time to making lightning strike twice.Sheamus could have been the next big thing to fill Lesnar's role, but they pulled the plug and jobbed him to Evan Bourne... The WWE doesn't need less titles, they need patience and to remember how to build characters.

 

[DarkLordFett]

Taking RAW to a three hour program definitely has it's perks. There are a couple of three hour RAW's set for June, so I wonder if the company is testing the waters. It really would make a difference. I know Vince has creative chasing their tails trying to figure out what he wants. I think he needs to relax a bit. Let them do their jobs.

I really hate it when a guy get's over big as a face or heel and then gets squashed because "they've lost the "holy shit who is this guy" appeal". Sheamus is a prime example of that. I just hope Sin Cara doesn't suffer the same fate. While I didn't like Nexus, they had massive heat and could have done a lot, but were disemboweled, so to speak. I guess it's not really a talent issue, but management. Why can't they figure out what's good for the future of the company?

 

[blkshp]

The main problem at this point I think is Vince's over tweaking of the product. I agree we need to see more personal feuds, not just feuds over titles. Remember HBK vs. Y2J? Great feud, that got personal to get that extra push. Same with Orton vs. Triple H, when Randy was punting every member of the McMahon family, good personal stuff. Miz vs. Morrison could work because they have history (assuming Morrison didn't get himself buried). Orton vs. Punk shouldve been so much more IMO. Making it personal ads much more fuel to title matches too. We all would like to see a decent tag division too, but with Vince, who knows?

 

[Calderownz]

To me, it seems to be a number of things.

It's a bit of the time that they are given cutting into other storylines that don't involve the main event guys.

It's a bit of the fact that some of the greener/younger guys usually have the secondary titles.

It's a bit of the fact that WWE has style/looks over wrestling in terms of the divas.

It's a bit of the fact that WWE loves the ol' "split a tag team, it's a natural feud" routine. Which then limits the amount of tag teams and if the split doesn't get heat, it all but gets the tag team forgotten.

The easiest way to sort this would be interesting, for me, anyway.

In terms of the main championships: Just keep it the way it is. Easy, simply and mostly effective.

In terms of the secondary championships: Essentially build those feuds like you do the feuds at the main level. Make them matter. I could see them using certain writers for ONLY this portion of the show. It would let them pour all of what they can come up with into the mid-card area. It would allow the writers to explore different things as well as most fans pay attention to the main event, anyway.

In terms of the women's division: Simple. This isn't going to happen, but, it's very simple...... Don't just go for looks... hire the better workers. It's never going to be a draw for the company, but it doesn't have to be embarrassing, either. Try to find a balance and just keep the matches quick and relatively short. Hide the flaws and expose the strengths.

In terms of the tag team division: This might not be the most conventional idea, but it's interesting, I feel. I think the titles should be defended only four or five times a year. WrestleMania, Summerslam, and two other pay-per-views in between the big two. This way, it builds up momentum when you actually see the match ups.

Then, you have pre-PPV mini-tournaments to determine the top contenders. This would allow them to not need top teams, just one hot team. The competing teams could be made up at random at times and they could also have guys forming a team just to reach success. Also, while the champs await their next team opponents, they could feud with other singles wrestlers. So, it doesn't tie them up.

You could have situations where (let's say) Tag Team X are the champions. One member of the team is feuding with Daniel Bryan and the other is feuding with Evan Bourne, for example. Bourne and Daniel could then form a team and hope to win the tournament just to get their hands on the guys they hate.

Not the best idea, perhaps. I think it would make the tag team championships matter a bit more, while keeping most wrestlers able to focus on singles.

 

[Azane]

The title amount is perfect, classic WWF booking, Main Event, Midcard, Tag, Women's

The talent amount is about the same it's been since the 90's, right now WWE is transitioning. You're seeing the last of the 90's disappear, and with that, you're finding people who are going to be pushed to the main event, or lost in the shuffle. Right now, creative, Vince, the stars themselves, have no clue where they're going, it seems that right now they're testing new blood in the main event, and some of them have been working (Sheamus), and some of them haven't worked out so well (Jack Sthwagger). Alberto, Miz, Ziggler, these are the talent you're seeing in the ME for the next few years.

Midcard wise, it seems like they're trying to keep the wrestling matches to the midcard. Although Wade Barret breaks this mold, Daniel Bryan, Kofi, Ziggler, all of them showed great wrestling matches without having too strong a story of words (definitely stories in the ring).

More titles? no, Hardcore title was fun for a little bit, but doesn't fit at all in todays product.
Women's title? I'm glad its on the shelf right now, WWE doesn't even want to shame it's prestige with today's division (Although there's a few amazing athletic women still).
Seperate tag titles? Hell no, WWE can't even put the 1st set on the line at Wrestlemania!
Cruiserweight/Light Heavyweight? just not enough stars that fit the mold, and the title wouldn't get any time right now

Seperate World, Seperate Mid-Card, Womens, and Tag team. Feels like the perfect amount for today's product, Combining the IC/US is the only thing I would really look into, but in order to keep both shows interesting and "equal", they need to keep both world titles.

 

[TheMaskedNewton]

Titles are the best possible way of keeping the product interesting. It is a wrestling ring and there are only a few storylines possible and they've used them all. It's only going to be a repetition now. I believe, tournaments is one of the best possible storyline. You can use most of the roster and give only 1 or 2 of them the push. And despite being the same thing, it really does not feel old. That's the beauty of tournaments.

 

[whoopin' ass]

weekly 3 hour shows are too much. once in a while they are nice but week after week, they don't work. think of it like movies - most are around the 2 hour mark because of attention spans. there are some that are longer but they are few and far between. what the wwe really needs to do is 2 things - get rid of the "brands" and then combine some titles. the brand split is back to being a joke as wrestlers just appear where ever they need them. think of monday with the corre attacking cena and the rock. there are a ton of lower and midcard guys who are not doing anything on raw - could have done the same thing with them and gave them a little story line. eliminate the brands and you can have guys take time off and use other guys so the same 6 people are not always involved in the stories and the injury rate for the wrestlers will drop since they have time to recover. this would also allow you to combine the wwe/world title and the IC/US titles. having 2 top titles is just plain dumb. combine the IC and US title and you can bring back the cruiserweight title. but just bringing in or getting rid of titles alone isn't the answer.