I hate the breakdown of logic with some of the things that have been done. Here are some fine examples of this:
1. During the WCW Invasion, they actually had a Titantron graphic ready. How spontaneous is that? For how to do this type of thing correctly, see Scott Hall's entrance into WCW during the middle of a match. THAT was cool. No music, no announcement. He just came through the crowd and screwed up the show. THAT was a little slice of reality TV.
2. Horribly telegraphed promos in which the general manager or authority figure announces a match because of an apparent situation in the ring (people fighting or talking smack)...but we all can tell what the match is going to be from a mile away. No surprise. No intrigue. Just telegraphed stupidity for the average ******** in the audience. Insulting and just plain dumb. See this last week's Smackdown main event.
3. Selective ending changes due to video tape. Sometimes, instead of the usual screwjob ending where someone gets a fall by holding the ropes or hooking tights, the referee will be notified by someone in the back (i.e. another ref or authority figure) and the match will be ordered to restart. Other times, the match will just go down in the books. Now we all know that video tape machines are running through numerous points in the arena and EVERYONE in back can see. It's like they think that no one back there even notices when something up in the ring is happening and that everyone in the back is just playing Monopoly or some shit.
4. Predictable match endings. These are the worst. I can't stand the same boring Superman routine where a guy makes the comeback and always wins via a kickout and then performing his own finisher when you can see it coming from a mile away. This crap worked for me when I was five and Hulkamania was running wild in its original incarnation, but I'm not five anymore...and this crap sucks!
5. Non-title matches featuring champions. London and Kendrick. Benoit. These are some of the latest fine examples of champions fighting in their standard element (L & K in a tag team match against Douche and Dumbino, and Benoit against MVP in a singles encounter) but not defending their title?!? What kind of $hit is that? Why even put a belt on them?
6. Storyline changes that go against continuity. Christian and Edge being "brothers" for so long and then being split apart only to be referred to as a tag team down the line. Kane's situation with being in hiding and being "horribly burned" until 1997. Only to be subjected to the Katie Vick storyline (stupid in and of itself) which completely ruins continuity in Kane's character. Also, Kane having his mask taken off to reveal that he isn't really scarred...just a homely fellow?!? This crap sucks.
6. Repetitive DQ/Schmoz finishes. This devalues the spirit of competition that all wrestling should have. I don't want to watch a match that in the end is pointless because nobody gets a win. Somebody needs to be pinned or submit because that's what I pay to see...not this other crap where someone doesn't want to do the job and a damn run-in always takes place (thanks NWO!).
7. Squash matches that feature "Superstars" doing the light-speed job. This takes the value of the roster and flushes a majority of it down the toilet. It also makes it seem that much more implausible when said jobber gets a big push and starts to get some wins. This is one of the worst by-products of the nineties wrestling boom.
8. Short matches featuring talent that can definitely work longer. The average attention-span for a wrestling fan these days is microscopic compared to what it was years back. They only wait for the signature spots and aren't even interested in watching an actual match most times.
9. Redundant cliches in mic work. Randy Orton has been the posterboy for this as of recent. Every time someone threatens him he always replies with: "Well, we'll have to see, won't we?" That's the best comeback you can find?!? The youngest Champion in company history and that's it? Pathetic. I'm also glad that most of the wrestlers have phased out using the phrase "sick and tired." That one was so overused in the eighties and nineties that it nearly enacted a kill reflex in my brain.
9. Overly rehearsed mic work. You can tell typically when someone has their stuff spoonfed to them and doesn't have a remotely creative, on-the-fly, bone in their body. That's why a majority of the talent in the major companies these days has trouble speaking on their own. This is why they have to rely on Austin to come back and rock the mic every year or so.
10. One dimensional gimmicks. Stuff like Cryme Tyme, The Highlanders, Eugene, The Boogeyman, Abyss, Burchill's pirate gimmick, Kane, and The Undertaker's gimmicks all leave a rotten taste in my mouth. Very hollow, and not much dimension to the characters. As much as the novelty is there the first couple of times, the gimmick runs out of steam quickly and they're all left back at square one fishing for pops from a non-receptive audience. Thankfully for Abyss, he was saddled with Mitchell, who is a genius on the mic.
Anyhoo, these are all I can think of right now. If I can think of some more, I'll probably list them. Good thread.
