What never was-WWE's main event mafia.

[AegonTargaryen]

In the year 2010, Raw had a pretty amazing and star-studded roster for the first time in years. Batista, John Cena, Chris Jericho ,Edge, Randy Orton, Sheamus(not that I consider him that big of a star, but still). Usually, we rarely see multiple men competing for a Raw title, unless if it's the Elimination Chamber. But in 2010, we got 2 big matches for the WWE title on account of this extra star-power. Fatal-4-way pay-per-view had John Cena, Randy Orton, Edge, and Sheamus battle for the WWE title, and few months later at Night of Champions, these 4 men combined with Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett battled in a six-pack challenge(somewhat of a rarity nowadays).

Overall, 2010 was a very flawed year for the WWE post-Wrestlemania because Shawn Michaels and HHH would retire permanently as regular active competitors and Undertaker would soon follow suit after his very underwhelming and untimly feud with Kane which never quite felt as epic and grand as it should have, considering they battled in not just the HIAC, but a buried alive match as well. WWE also lost for 4 years , a decent established star and world title contender in Batista. Chris Jericho's 2nd coming ended, and we saw him gone in September, and Edge was traded to Smackdown against CM Punk. And all of this happened within a mere six month stretch!

For what was gone was replaced by what was coming, in The Nexus gave us a handful of stars that we're used to right now, in Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, and Ryback, then known as Skip Sheffield, as well as Heath Slater and Darren Young. But the year 2010 in close will seem nothing but Wrestlers leaving or retiring as active performers, and big changes coming, and a lot of WWE's storyline was inconsistent. The WWE championship on Raw was traded between John Cena, Sheamus , Randy Orton, and finally in what was a huge abomination to anyone that had been a world champion, The Miz.

I'm not sure if someone else will agree, but the two big multi-man matches, despite involving stellar performers such as Edge and Chris Jericho never quite felt epic, and John Cena was playing his own role, Sheamus was once again despised as a heel champion, and Randy Orton as a face feuding with him in a series of matches including a HIAC never quite felt timely. Add to that, the fact that John Cena was feuding with an overrated rookie by the name of Wade Barrett. Before August 2010 , Nobody quite knew Wade Barrett. After being defeated at Summerslam, nobody quite knew Wade Barrett. And yet Wade Barrett was soon inserted into another untimely, ill-fated WWE title picture involving an awkward threesome between Randy Orton, John Cena, and Wade Barett. At least it'd have been a delectable threesome if the third man had been Shawn Michaels.

All of this seems like a clusterfuck and the only explanation is untimely departures(Jericho, Batista) and retirements(HHH, Shawn Michaels), as well as poorly written Raw episodes, no long-term direction or planning , and nonexistent foresight. It's one thing to make Sheamus the WWE champion at TLC '09, but The Miz??? Raw with Miz as champion was the biggest abomination to Wrestling after Rey mysterio as WHC and the fingerpoke of doom.

What I'd like to propose now is:- What if.
TNA(I know it just doesn't feel right to include TNA in such a humongous thread) had a storyline/faction where virtually all of its stars aligned in what looked on paper to be a very awesome/great assemblage of wrestlers together and truly the "main event" mafia.
Sting-Do I even need to say anything?
Kurt Angle-Do I even need to say anything?
Booker T, Kevin Nash, and Scott Steiner- all WCW mainstays and former being a huge success in the WWE as well.

The WWE's way of doing things over the years has been nothing short of ******ed and absurd. If you want a group of angry young men, a new breed, or the Nexus to invade you, then what do you do? Clusterfuck a bunch of wrestlers together, call them Team WWE , and have them battle together in 7-on-7 awkward bothfest featuring rookies at Summerslam. Sure, the WWE was trying to shake things up with the big Nexus angle, blah blah but like that? It ruined everything , the WWE title pic, Chris Jericho, Edge. It ruined what could've been potentially a very amazing year for Raw but Raw in 2010 was anything but amazing. Sheamus-Orton feud, Cena-Barrett feud, and the closing of the year with MIZ as champion?? Seriously.

Had the WWE had even little foresight, they could've made the Nexus angle huge, and the entire angle huge. What TNA looks great on paper but fails to produce on TV, WWE could've done it with tenfold impact. How?

First, why the fuck someone would include Bret Hart, a non-wrestler in a match featuring 7 hungry dangerous rookies? Anyways, and R-truth and John fucking Morrison? A heel Chris Jericho with the American Hero John Cena? and Rated-R Superstar Edge?? What a clusterfuck of a team.

WWE should've united the most unique temporarily organized faction in years. Studded with stars. John Cena, Randy Orton, Edge, and Chris Jericho. Have sheamus be champion of not. But imagine those 4 in the ring, or even the 3 minus Cena, as the WWE 's Main Event Mafia, or call them what you will. Edge and Jericho uniting again would've been shocking. Randy Orton, again shocking. Maybe add some decent mid-carder or tag-team of beefed-up idiot to it. It'd still have been main-event mafia for containing within it Randy Orton, Edge, and Chris Jericho. Nexus can still invade. But as faces. As "little boys". Have heel edge, jericho and Orton make fun of them. Call them short, fat, misfits.

John Cena would've aligned himself with the Nexus. Either ways done right , WWE would've given us an year of a two-faction war and it wouldn't have gotten boring until Survivor Series. What had instead happened was an abomination of a year and very boring Raws. After the likes of Batista, Edge , Jericho left Raw, look at what happened. The likes of John Morrison, R-truth and Miz were in the main events. It is no one but CM Punk who saved Raw for a very bleak time for the WWE in 2011. Imagine what would've happened without the Summer of Punk? John Cena would still be defending the title against the likes of R-truth. or John Morrison. or Miz. or Zack Ryder.

We'll never get to see something of a main-event mafia in the WWE. Without stars like Edge, Jericho, Orton(which was only possible in 2010 when they all had already been established as bonafide main-eventers), it can't be. You can't create a main event mafia using Wade Barrett or Damien Sandow. Why did TNA fail? It's main event mafia really looked gigantic and awesome. Kurt Angle, Sting, Booker T, Kevin Nash, and Scott Steiner in the same ring! TNA should've been a lot more today. Unfortunately, WWE will never have it.

Do you think Orton, Edge, and Jericho as Main Event Mafia would've been amazing TV in 2010? All heels, arrogant, cocky, demanding, whining, fighting, beating.
What're your opinions about 2010 on Raw? Wade Barrett? The Nexus debacle? Miz as champion in December '10?
Would you have wanted to see a real faction(Pro WWE) go against another(Nexus) until culminating into a proper match at Survivor Series? (and not like some mismatch and mismash of a team which includes on one hand Jericho, Cena and Edge, plus Bret Hart, Morrison, R-Truth)

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm glad that WWE didn't go this route. When I think of 2010, it struck me as a year in which WWE was turning itself around for the better, since 2009 was an abysmal year in WWE. When I think of 2010 for TNA, I think of what may have been the worst in the history of the company. Hulk Hogan was all over the place, wrestlers who were well into their 40s and/or 50s were being made the focus of the company and the Main Event Mafia seemed to exist for no real reason. All of the members were legends and established names. It seemed like some attempt to construct some sort of super faction when there really wasn't any need. TNA was already using much younger and/or "homegrown" talent to elevate the older guys, so it's not as if there was anyone that really came off as a threat. Just seeing big stars clumped together in a group for no real reason doesn't do much of anything for me.

When I look at factions like The Shield & The Wyatt Family, I see a reason for them being around. They're young, fresh faces that've gotten a lot of attention and are being elevated as long term players in the WWE. The idea of a WWE version of a Main Event Mafia, a super faction comprised of already made stars, doesn't strike me as particularly entertaining. One reason why D-Generation X worked in the Attitude Era was because they were young, fresh guys that were up & comers. For instance, in 1999, Triple H wasn't a 13 time World Champion. Having Orton & Cena as part of some super faction in 2010 wouldn't have worked because people bitch & moan about Cena & Randy Orton enough as it is. Can you imagine them as part of this big faction that's going to be front & center of the major happenings? As for Orton, Edge & Jericho, again, what's the point? Just the notion of having some super faction for no other purpose than to have it? These men were all multiple time World Champions by 2010. Again, the notion of putting heavily established guys together for some kind of super group isn't particularly exciting.

As far as Nexus goes, I do think WWE missed an opportunity. Vince McMahon can be extremely weird, downright irrational really at times. One week, he may be very firmly into something and his mind may be completely changed the next week. Nexus started out extremely strong and interesting. By the time the year was over, the faction was mostly jobbers that John Cena single handedly would beat the shit out of week in & week out.

As to why TNA failed with the Main Event Mafia, pretty much for the same reasons I already mentioned. Instead of trying to build up their own stars, TNA's primary strategy revolved around the hope that people would tune in to see these older guys, despite the fact that most of them weren't even remotely in their prime. They relied on the nostalgia factor and paid these guys big money in the hopes they could deliver big numbers. It's a strategy that TNA continued to employ really up until last year, not because older guys were no longer interested, but because the company was hemorrhaging money. Dixie Carter flushed a fortune down the tubes by hiring established veterans for contracts much greater than the vast majority of the roster, taking the show on the road and going live every other week all without any sign of a return on such a big investment. TV ratings didn't go up, attendance for most TV tapings almost never got above 2,000 or so, ppv buys didn't go up, etc.

Nostalgia can just go so far. There's not necessarily anything wrong with nostalgia as long as the older guys are both able to still deliver the goods and aren't the center of the universe.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I'm glad that WWE didn't go this route. When I think of 2010, it struck me as a year in which WWE was turning itself around for the better, since 2009 was an abysmal year in WWE. When I think of 2010 for TNA, I think of what may have been the worst in the history of the company. Hulk Hogan was all over the place, wrestlers who were well into their 40s and/or 50s were being made the focus of the company and the Main Event Mafia seemed to exist for no real reason. All of the members were legends and established names. It seemed like some attempt to construct some sort of super faction when there really wasn't any need. TNA was already using much younger and/or "homegrown" talent to elevate the older guys, so it's not as if there was anyone that really came off as a threat. Just seeing big stars clumped together in a group for no real reason doesn't do much of anything for me.

When I look at factions like The Shield & The Wyatt Family, I see a reason for them being around. They're young, fresh faces that've gotten a lot of attention and are being elevated as long term players in the WWE. The idea of a WWE version of a Main Event Mafia, a super faction comprised of already made stars, doesn't strike me as particularly entertaining. One reason why D-Generation X worked in the Attitude Era was because they were young, fresh guys that were up & comers. For instance, in 1999, Triple H wasn't a 13 time World Champion. Having Orton & Cena as part of some super faction in 2010 wouldn't have worked because people bitch & moan about Cena & Randy Orton enough as it is. Can you imagine them as part of this big faction that's going to be front & center of the major happenings? As for Orton, Edge & Jericho, again, what's the point? Just the notion of having some super faction for no other purpose than to have it? These men were all multiple time World Champions by 2010. Again, the notion of putting heavily established guys together for some kind of super group isn't particularly exciting.

As far as Nexus goes, I do think WWE missed an opportunity. Vince McMahon can be extremely weird, downright irrational really at times. One week, he may be very firmly into something and his mind may be completely changed the next week. Nexus started out extremely strong and interesting. By the time the year was over, the faction was mostly jobbers that John Cena single handedly would beat the shit out of week in & week out.

As to why TNA failed with the Main Event Mafia, pretty much for the same reasons I already mentioned. Instead of trying to build up their own stars, TNA's primary strategy revolved around the hope that people would tune in to see these older guys, despite the fact that most of them weren't even remotely in their prime. They relied on the nostalgia factor and paid these guys big money in the hopes they could deliver big numbers. It's a strategy that TNA continued to employ really up until last year, not because older guys were no longer interested, but because the company was hemorrhaging money. Dixie Carter flushed a fortune down the tubes by hiring established veterans for contracts much greater than the vast majority of the roster, taking the show on the road and going live every other week all without any sign of a return on such a big investment. TV ratings didn't go up, attendance for most TV tapings almost never got above 2,000 or so, ppv buys didn't go up, etc.

Nostalgia can just go so far. There's not necessarily anything wrong with nostalgia as long as the older guys are both able to still deliver the goods and aren't the center of the universe.

First off, it's not about TNA in 2010, but long ago in 2007. Those 5.
Secondly, I never said it would or should be like one fine day, Edge, Randy Orton, and Chris Jericho would wake up and decide to form a group. The whole faction thing would be in alliance with the upsurge of Nexus, only not as an invasion but as rookies trying to make a name, and then the storyline would be furthered. We're not making comparisons with how successful or unsuccessful TNA was in 2010. But WWE. Because the route they took in 2010 was simply terrible, and of course it's my opinion and it cannot be changed, no WWE year can be changed.

And why would you think 2009 was an abysmal year for the WWE? IMO, 2009 was the last exciting year in the WWE on both Raw and SD , as far as the brand extension years go. Raw featured what was the best John Cena-Orton feud in a series of matches, Orton punted Mcmahon, the anger management gimmick ,etc. Chris Jericho had an amazing feud and series of matches with Rey Mysterio, his holier-than-thou gimmick had finally been a must-see TV (Remember how everytime he'd call us all parasites?) his tag-team with Big Show was entertaining, I wouldn't say I liked DX vs Cody Rhodes and Ted Debiase , but over all it was a pretty solid year, IMO. For both Raw and SD.

Finally, The anti-Nexus team certainly wouldn't have been called Main Event Mafia but it'd be akin to that, all main-eventers and passionate achievers trying to teach the rookies a lesson and not like an abomination of a team in what we got at Summerslam, where Nexus was soon killed, and then it was all about Wade Barrett and John Cena being in his control.

I agree with most of what you said about Vince Mcmahon, Nexus being very weak, etc. That's why I'd think 2010 sucked so bad, but not 2009.