Where Has All The Personality Gone?

[Ronnie The Viper]

The only solution to this Great Tragic Situation , bring in a revolution , let a new Era evolve . Bring back an Era of dominance in WWE Wrestling which devoid of PG .

Rate wrestling for age above 18+ , then there would be justice done to wrestling .

And if possible , bring BACK The Attitude Era ( although that's not kinda possible {half-heartedly} ) !!

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I think that this has something to do with the decline of the midcard. In the 80's and the 90's the midcard was a really important scene. To be honest, there wasn't much of an upper midcard during those times. People would either feud for the WWF belt or for the midcard belt. In the 80's particularily, you could say that the IC champion was the most important wrestler after the World Champion and the number one contender. The value of the IC belt decreased a bit in the 90's with the rise of too many main eventers at the same time but yet they were able to keep the audience interested with the over the top storylines.

Today with there being two world titles and about half a dozen guys who remain in the main event no matter what, the person holding the IC belt is like the 10th most important wrestler in the company. As such when it is decided who would get airtime on a particular show, the midcard champ is 10th in the pecking order and usually ends up getting very little airtime. Now, in such a case how will he get any time to develop his personality? It is practice that makes you perfect but you are not getting that chance to practice. The very good ones do show some personality even in that limited time but the average ones who might not be talented on the mic but can really go in the ring, suffer in comparison.

I don't know if there is a solution to this problem to be honest. It would be too easy to say that it would all change if midcard belts are made more relevant again but does a method to do this really exist. You cannot have a show only for midcarders for no one would be interested in watching that. I don't really have too many ideas to rectify this situation but I would sure as hell like to hear a few.

 

[flawd101]

wwe seems to have cut out ridiculous stories and now have put emphasis on match results. i think the internet is partly to blame. storys get spoiled and fans complain when a story last more that a couple weeks. they need back stage skits to make even the mid card matches mean something. a promo or skit should be shown before or after every match. all the current fueds are new since SSlam so if they are developed through SSeries we can see some personality.

 

[Pink Wolf]

I agree with the OP. Many of the current talent, do lack talent. I always here JR say it takes about 2yrs to create a main eventer, but it has taken longer for current talent. Why is that? I see two factors: 1. Lack of experience 2. Lack of creativity.

Many of the talent from previous eras had years of experience before they came to WWE. They were able to master their craft and hone their skills. Now every wrestler is factory made. They don't have the opportunity to go to other promotions to get better. TNA is a wreck. The only other promotion out there is ROH. Where is before there were all of the teritories, WCW, and ECW.

With the lack of experience, talents must rely on the scripts they are given. Everyone knows the Creative Department is not the great. Wrestling is supposed to appear real. But when wrestlers cut promos, it sounds like they are reading script. It's bad acting. They are not developing their own personality.

Those are my 2 cents.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

I think that there can be a lack of personality when it comes to the current roster of wrestling talent, and the lack of developmental training centres, is one of the main reason's why.

The current training staff at FCW, the only developmental centre for the WWE, consist of: Ricky "The Dragon" Streamboat, Joey Mercury, Normal Smiley & Tom Prichard. When looking at the list of trainers, there isn't anyone that is in any position to really be teaching personality & character development.

Not only is there no one to act as a "personality coach" in FCW, but the trainers have a set way of how things should be done. Everyone who is moving through the ranks in FCW, and eventually onto the main roster, is being taught everything exactly in the same manner and no one is able to break out and be different.

I think that if the WWE was to invest in someone whose strength is teaching how to develop personality, that we would be able to see stronger & more unique personalities in wrestling.

Another thing that would work towards a more diverse and interesting number of personalities, is multiple training centres for the wrestlers in development to rotate throughout their training.

Each training centre would have different trainers, who would have different outlooks and approaches on teaching techniques in a wrestling ring & on the microphone.

I believe that if there was more than just one training centre for potential future WWE Superstars, as well as a dedicated "character coach" who focused on helping those in developmental perfecting their personality, there would be a visible difference in personality & character between wrestlers.

 

[Vega]

I don't think it's that easy.

First of all, I think a lot of us think the "new guys" have no personality because we've just grown older. As children, we expected larger than life characters. Adults were people to look up to and you automatically assumed they knew much more than you and had character. Now that we've become adults ourselves, we see other adults without that light of magic and "age respect". Of course we can't admire them like we did ten or twenty years ago, at least not for the same reasons or to the same degree.

And let's face it, it's not a one-way road. Some guys aren't just on top because they have personality, but we assume they have personality because they're showcased much more. You automatically think somebody has more personality the more you're around and know about him or her. Would anyone of you say your friends or family members have no personality? No, because everyone has a personality and you get comfortable with it and appreciate them the way they are. We adjust to the guys that are showcased, know who they are and accept them. The others don't really have a chance if they aren't given one.

The way I see it there are three main components which give a wrestler the image of having personality: being creative, having self-esteem and a unique character.
Let's got to the points at hand:

Being creative: That is something you don't learn. You either have it or not. But point at hand, how can you know if somebody is creative if he isn't allowed to show you? Plus, the current display of characters cuts individuals' creativity for the sake of one permanent style of the writers, so wrestlers can't develop and aren't unique, which hurts point three aswell.

Having self-esteem: This is something you CAN develop - by speaking in front of large audiences and getting comfortable with the position to present yourself and your point. This department was arguably better in the past - but the development of a young wrestler was totally different back then, having to practice and travel in the territories.

Unique character: A lot of this has to do with the gimmick a guy gets. Decade(s) before, gimmicks were much more over the top, making guys more distinguishable and memorable.

A lot of the problem has to do with how midcarders are presented. Let's think about it: how often have you heard promos by the guys you say have personality like Cena, Punk or Miz? 50 times? 100 times? Now, think about how often the guys "without personality" like Bryan, Bourne or Morrison got the chance. 0 times? 5 times at best? And how many times did it really fail? It's normal that you can't appreciate their character when you aren't confronted with them. And often I hear that those guys "surprised" us when they got the chance.
I don't say all guys in the WWE have a lot of personality. I just say it's unfair to assume they simply don't without getting a chance. The current WWE has other priorities than midcard development, and they can only judge themselves.

 

[Nada]

How often do you hear the exact same promos week in and week out for years now? How often do you hear a heel say "I am the best!", "I am better than all of you!" and "I am the WWE Champion" with a slimy smirk? Miz, Alberto Del Rio, Jericho, Sheamus etc etc have all done this shtick

You can litterally take Miz's run as WWE champion and replace him with ADR and it would have been the EXACT same thing, same lines, same everything. Replace Sheamus 2 WWE Champion runs with Miz and ergo: The same thing.

Either the talent isent allowed (most likely) to write their own material, or they simple cant (i refuse to believe this).

If i was a wrestler (or you) and i was doing 200 house shows a year (or however many they do) and i was driving around USA in my car for 5-6 hours a stretch, my mind would be racing with ideas and things i could say and do to get over.

While i have no proof or confirmation of anything, i simply refuse to believe most wrestlers in WWE are allowed to do their own thing, because what a coincidence then that they all chose to say the blandest things.

To me it just looks like Vince, HHH, Stephanie, Brian and all the higher ups simple have to zero to no faith in current talent. It is highly likely that they are just as jaded as the older fans are, "we cant allow Ziggler to say his own stuff, he aint the Rock!!"

It is impossible to show a ounce of personality when you are told to basically mimic the last, slimy, heel, WWE Champion who John Cena had to overcome.

 

[The Kayfabe Kid]

This is a great topic. I couldn't agree more. Back in the 80s, wrestlers used to cut promos like a Billy Mays commercial with all the screaming yet enthusiatic speeches. And if a wrestler(s) didn't work the mic well, they would let the manager do all the talking to buildup their stables. Nowadays, there are no managers (please dont say Vicki) and a wrestler will get in the ring and calmly say "One more match", and we wonder why the crowd won't connect with them. Can you imagine if a football coach talked to his team the way wrestlers talk to the crowd today? No wonder there is no personality nowadays.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

"where has all the personality gone"? Nowhere, you just keep it all in your memory of the past.

Seriously, go back and watch 1993 Raw, it sucks. WWE isn't "declining" in the ratings, there are simply more options. Looking at ratings compared to 10 years ago is fucking stupid. Like, if you use that as evidence, I literally think "this person is a ******" not a ****** as in a put-down, but as the absolute perfect abjective I can think of.

Saying Raw's lower ratings than in 2000 or even 2005 is evidence of their declining is stupid. Let's say I have a deck of 50 cards. At first there are 5 of us. I distribute them equally. Then there are 10 of us, I take the cards back, and redistribute them again equally. Saying Raw's numbers today should be where they were in 2000 makes as much sense as saying you should have had as many cards when there were 5 people as when there were 10. It's fucking dumb on a ******ation level. Like you just don't understand basic math or something.

 

[2BIGSHOWSIN1BED]

it's all wwe's fault there turning punk into cena 2.0 i mean whyy 1 cena is enough and your gonna turn wwe's top rising superstar into a new cena why?? remember that never give up speach punk gave i nealy chocked, why wwe why, who care's if he's the #2 babyface now id rather have the little jimmy's boo him and the men cheer him..

 

[makeitvab]

"where has all the personality gone"? Nowhere, you just keep it all in your memory of the past.

Seriously, go back and watch 1993 Raw, it sucks. WWE isn't "declining" in the ratings, there are simply more options. Looking at ratings compared to 10 years ago is fucking stupid. Like, if you use that as evidence, I literally think "this person is a ******" not a ****** as in a put-down, but as the absolute perfect abjective I can think of.

Saying Raw's lower ratings than in 2000 or even 2005 is evidence of their declining is stupid. Let's say I have a deck of 50 cards. At first there are 5 of us. I distribute them equally. Then there are 10 of us, I take the cards back, and redistribute them again equally. Saying Raw's numbers today should be where they were in 2000 makes as much sense as saying you should have had as many cards when there were 5 people as when there were 10. It's fucking dumb on a ******ation level. Like you just don't understand basic math or something.

^ So much... Many more channels, tivo, on demand, tv seasons on dvd.

The ratings game has changed, it's not the same so the numbers aren't comparable.

Also it's been stated earlier and I agree, over the top personalities wouldn't mesh well with what we expect on television in this day in age.

 

[2BIGSHOWSIN1BED]

^ So much... Many more channels, tivo, on demand, tv seasons on dvd.

The ratings game has changed, it's not the same so the numbers aren't comparable.

Also it's been stated earlier and I agree, over the top personalities wouldn't mesh well with what we expect on television in this day in age.

that's not a good excuse! raw last year was easily getting over 3's and shows like pawn stars beat it and two and a half men get's over 20 million viewers wwe can easily get higher viewers even higher then before but they never will because they don't take risks anymore so that's why there ratings are dieing

why should people tune in to see the same crap week in week out eg cena winning the main even or title.

luckily wwe might not keep the pg rating due to the bad ratings and im not an attitude era enthusiast! wwe just couldn't use the pg potential right.