What If : The PG Era Kept All It's Stars

[AdamJumba]

I know the PG Era gets a lot of heat for being one of the worst eras in WWE history, but one big reason to blame is the lack of superstars, not particularly because of bad scouting but because of injury, departure to other companies, and death. During the Golden Era, Rock N Wrestling Era, New Generation, Attitude (except for those who left to WCW), and Ruthless Agression Era, WWE rarely lost it's top tier stars and thus thrived. So, what if WWE's main eventers hadn't left? The PG Era probably would've been a lot better. Assuming every wrestler retired at the age 42, this is what the PG Era's main event scene would've been looking like if none had left, retired, died, etc.

Here's who they already had during the era:

John Cena (2008-2014)
Randy Orton (2008-2014)
Daniel Bryan (2011-2014)
CM Punk (2008-2014)
Triple H (2008-2014)
The Undertaker (2008-2014)

Here is a list of people who missed most/all of the Pg Era. In parenthesis I put the years they could've potentially been active during the Era (assuming they retired at age 42.) As well as their reason for leaving.

Kurt Angle (2008-2014) Left to TNA.
Brock Lesnar (2008-2014) Left to start UFC career.
Eddie Guerrero (2008-2010) Passed away.
Goldberg (2008) Left due to disinterest.
Chris Benoit (2008-2010) Left because of some complications.
Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy (2008-2014) Left to TNA.
Batista (2008-2014) Left due to injury/MMA career.
Edge (2008-2014) Left due to injury.
The Rock (2008-2014) Left to be a movie star.
Chris Jericho (2008-2014) On and off so he could be in his band.
Rey Mysterio (2008-2014) Left to to injury and eventual contract disputes.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Every departure you mentioned could not be helped by WWE.

Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit passed away.
Rey Mysterio and Edge got injured.
The Rock went to Hollywood.
Jeff Hardy had issues with drugs.
Kurt Angle was getting older.
Brock Lesnar and Goldberg didn't care about the business.
Chris Jericho has his band.

The main problem of the PG Era has nothing to do with the lack of talent. It has more to do with WWE not having any competition. Vince and WWE Creative put little effort into their shows, but they still get good ratings and make good money. Until WWE stops making money or the ratings severely decline, then WWE will not be as good as was when WCW was around.

 

[AdamJumba]

Every departure you mentioned could not be helped by WWE.

Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit passed away.
Rey Mysterio and Edge got injured.
The Rock went to Hollywood.
Jeff Hardy had issues with drugs.
Kurt Angle was getting older.
Brock Lesnar and Goldberg didn't care about the business.
Chris Jericho has his band.

The main problem of the PG Era has nothing to do with the lack of talent. It has more to do with WWE not having any competition. Vince and WWE Creative put little effort into their shows, but they still get good ratings and make good money. Until WWE stops making money or the ratings severely decline, then WWE will not be as good as was when WCW was around.

Oh I know most of them weren't to the fault of the WWE, I was just saying. But I get that your saying Competition > Talent when it comes to what leads to a better WWE. I think it depends on the era and in this case I'd agree with you. The reason the Attitude Era was so great is cause WWE had both a top notch competitor and talent.

I guess it would've made more sense if I title the thread "What If the PG Era Hadn't Lost All Their Stars"

 

[Prince Vee]

I would have to disagree with the OP with just simple words. This isn't PG era, first of all. This is the Reality Era/Network Era, and I love it. Even the Internet Sports Entertainment Community (ISEC not IWC) loves it.

Cheers!!

 

[kumarjtk]

first thing wwe won't create multiple stars bcoz if they move to other promotion then those company became popular.
second thing they don't have any equal competition. the reason why TNA not popular as wcw is bcoz the wrestlers who came from wwe are not their top stars.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Of course, when we talk about what could have been done to retain the performers mentioned, we should remember that in the case of Rock, Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar, Vince McMahon's bending his business practice of insisting performers work only full-time is responsible for these guys being around at all. He changed with the times and allowed them to pursue other projects and come back at agreed periods. Handling it in his previous manner, all three would probably have been lost to WWE for good.

Instead, everyone gets to have their cake and eat it, too.

 

[Eyebrows]

The problem wasn't the stars they had, it was that the product was absolutely terrible. Even with the guys you've listed, the writing and booking teams would still have been the same. The guest-host period is by far the most shocking run of wrestling shows I've seen the WWE put out. Even if guys like Angle and Hardy stayed, we'd still have been putting up with Hornswoggle and similar crap.

A good comparison would be taking Pacino, DeNiro, Hoffman, Nicholson and Eastwood, but giving them a shit script and a shit director and expecting them to turn turd into gold.

 

[That N Word]

I know the PG Era gets a lot of heat for being one of the worst eras in WWE history, but one big reason to blame is the lack of superstars, not particularly because of bad scouting but because of injury, departure to other companies, and death. During the Golden Era, Rock N Wrestling Era, New Generation, Attitude (except for those who left to WCW), and Ruthless Agression Era, WWE rarely lost it's top tier stars and thus thrived. So, what if WWE's main eventers hadn't left? The PG Era probably would've been a lot better. Assuming every wrestler retired at the age 42, this is what the PG Era's main event scene would've been looking like if none had left, retired, died, etc.

Here's who they already had during the era:

John Cena (2008-2014)
Randy Orton (2008-2014)
Daniel Bryan (2011-2014)
CM Punk (2008-2014)
Triple H (2008-2014)
The Undertaker (2008-2014)

Here is a list of people who missed most/all of the Pg Era. In parenthesis I put the years they could've potentially been active during the Era (assuming they retired at age 42.) As well as their reason for leaving.

Kurt Angle (2008-2014) Left to TNA.
Brock Lesnar (2008-2014) Left to start UFC career.
Eddie Guerrero (2008-2010) Passed away.
Goldberg (2008) Left due to disinterest.
Chris Benoit (2008-2010) Left because of some complications.
Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy (2008-2014) Left to TNA.
Batista (2008-2014) Left due to injury/MMA career.
Edge (2008-2014) Left due to injury.
The Rock (2008-2014) Left to be a movie star.
Chris Jericho (2008-2014) On and off so he could be in his band.
Rey Mysterio (2008-2014) Left to to injury and eventual contract disputes.

You do realize your list is so wrong. Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero died before the PG Era. Hell,Benoit was arguably the reason for the era's start.Goldberg,Rock,and Lesnar left well before the PG era. Edge and Batista retired from the ring in 2010 not 2014 and by the time Batista returned it was the start of the Reality Era. Jericho left in 2010 but i'll let that slide because he did return in 2012 before the Reality Era. The Hardy Boyz left in 2009/2010.

 

[John McCass]

Then, there wouldn't have been The Reality Era. Wrestlers Define an era. Yes, they do. The factors which define an era are the kind of entertainment catered and the wrestlers who performed.

If you remember Stone Cold, Attitude Era pops up your mind. Remember Hulk Hogan, oh those golden days and the list goes on. Performers are much signifant to an era, or I should say a symbol of their respective era. Different era requires different performers. The performers right now are the perfect pick for The Reality Era.

And for the injury bug, that is a matter of time. Weren't wrestlers injured pre-Reality Era? On the main roster, only Daniel Bryan is a notable name that is injured. Sure, Jey Uso and Tyson Kidd are on the shelf too but that doesn't make me conclude that the WWE is missing. They are the mid-card guys only, who are just there.

Although, I would agree that WWE puts a lot of work on their shoulders. The same guys work about 5 to 6 days a week which is insane. Also, it's a tough task to reduce the number of events. So, I can't blame the management either.

 

[FromGlasgow]

Its always been the case where WWE or WWF has lost big name stars its when they cannot replace them with an established big name star where the problem is, I agree with the ones who said about lack of competition, Theres no more big name stars making the jump to the WWE from rival companies last one possibly ever being Sting I think that will hurt the WWE most of all in the future, Dream matches such as Hogan vs Flair whilst headling rival companies are also a thing of the past. Having all the talent built up from NXT all learning the same WWE style having the same stale matches, WWE just feels too big and powerful now for any new wrestling company to competitively compete with. I don't think its felt so much in WWE just now but rather in about 10 years when the part timers like HHH, Rock, Brock, Sting, Taker etc are all gone and the current most over like Cena and Orton are older when all that will be left is all former NXT guys vs former NXT guy all cut from the same mould, same style etc.

 

[AdamJumba]

You do realize your list is so wrong. Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero died before the PG Era. Hell,Benoit was arguably the reason for the era's start.Goldberg,Rock,and Lesnar left well before the PG era. Edge and Batista retired from the ring in 2010 not 2014 and by the time Batista returned it was the start of the Reality Era. Jericho left in 2010 but i'll let that slide because he did return in 2012 before the Reality Era. The Hardy Boyz left in 2009/2010.

I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I was showing the list of the the potential main event scene throughout the PG Era if those stars hadn't been injured/died/left and then I put year during the PG era they likely would've been activated.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I was showing the list of the the potential main event scene throughout the PG Era if those stars hadn't been injured/died/left and then I put year during the PG era they likely would've been activated.

You did, however, state the Benoit left due to 'some complications'; it's not complicated: he murdered his wife and son, then killed himself..

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

first thing wwe won't create multiple stars bcoz if they move to other promotion then those company became popular.
second thing they don't have any equal competition. the reason why TNA not popular as wcw is bcoz the wrestlers who came from wwe are not their top stars.

Completely incorrect. You are suggesting that a company wouldn't allow themselves to grow purely to avoid the competition growing. This would firstly make them actively miss out on any potential financial benefits, but also put them in a bad position IF a competitor suddenly got hot.

Also, remember that WWE is FAR AND AWAY the strongest promotion in the western world; it would be incredibly difficult for TNA, for example, to sign the likes of John Cena/Randy Orton etc, as the simply would not be able to afford them. So if WWE could effectively top load its roster, you could pretty much guarantee those wrestlers would be WWE 'lifers' like the Rock