Why do WWE make very bad booking decisions?

[Taker123]

Look at some of the bad booking decisons made by the WWE in recent years? Why do you think this is? I read here on these forums some of the ideas the internet fans come up with every day and they would make very compelling TV.

One example I will use is the illigetimate child storyline which resulted in it being hornswoggle and a very stupid storyline but yet had the potential to be something BIG.

Therefore why do you think that WWE does not use these better ideas and go with the same lame, timid, typical, predictable booking decisions?

 

[sports_fan_2007]

Sadly most of these mistakes are made because the WWE do not fully understand what it is the the WWE fan wants. When you look at most of the stories they currently have the fans are getting tired of the same thing but that being said no matter what they do its not really possible to cater to ALL of the different fans especially now in this stupid PG era where the main focus is on having a kid friendly business.

 

[HBK-aholic]

Bad booking decisions? The WWE is making great decisions, which is resulting in a great product which is only increasing in quality as the months go by. The 'bad' decisions may be things you disagree with, but they aren't bad at all. Almost everything makes sense, especially when you look at it in the long run.

 

[Blue Chipper]

Look at some of the bad booking decisons made by the WWE in recent years? Why do you think this is? I read here on these forums some of the ideas the internet fans come up with every day and they would make very compelling TV.

First you condemn the WWE booking department, and then say an ordinary guy could come up with more intriguing material than professionals whose sole job is to discuss and argue about possible success of given objective. Does that sound remotely smart?

One example I will use is the illigetimate child storyline which resulted in it being hornswoggle and a very stupid storyline but yet had the potential to be something BIG.

You bash it with saying it was "stupid", and I'm sure some internet fans would quickly agree, but fact is it was doing decent ratings as indicated by the ratings breakdown, and that's just your opinion, which doesn't matter like the collective opinions of fans.

Therefore why do you think that WWE does not use these better ideas and go with the same lame, timid, typical, predictable booking decisions?

the WWE officials do what's best for the business, regardless of it you don't like it, so I say the bookers will do their job rightfully to see what fans find as more entertaining, and use that.

 

[GJM316]

The thing with the illigetimate storyline was that it should have been huge and would have been if Kennedy hadn't let the cat out of the bag early which pissed off Vince and creative and I don't blame them, stupid thing to do. Kennedy was going to be billed as the illigetimate son, Vince's 'golden boy' which would have led to all kinds of greatness for him.

Edge wasn't supposed to get injured (obviously) and was in the process of a great storyline with Jericho which would have slowly turned him face, but creative have worked around it. An older example - back after Mania 18 when Austin quit in the middle of the nWo invasion, creative worked around it as best they could and made it all make sense without him.

Some storylines seem pointless and even stupid to some people, but to others it's good entertainment. A lot of people think Cena isn't good on the mic, I personally think he is very good and funny more often than not. He is no Rock or Jericho on the mic, but he gets a reaction and can only use what's given to him by creative. (Ok, going off topic a bit here, back to it.)

What I am trying to say here is that sometimes storylines just don't pan out like they are meant to. Although there have been some stinking storylines (Kane and the corpse, Mae Young giving birth to a hand, Kane and Lita's pregnancy...wow, poor Glen Jacobs, he's had a rough time) I do think the creative team does occasionally come up with some good storylines but its up to the wrestlers involved after its all been written to make it work.

 

[zags]

I agree alot of work is put into planning these storyline and unforseen circumstances lead to the end result not very good. I for one don't think Kane tonight being Jericho's partner is very good, but there isn't much from the big talent to pick from at the time. Would a Orton, or HBK or even Taker make a bigger impact on the show than Kane? Yes, but they won't do that because they don't want to take away from the bigger title matches. All in all more good storylines come than bad. Now repetitive main event matches is a different story.

 

[Wrath]

It's the worst thread in this forum I've seen since I joined this forum.You threw an idea that supports WWE makes bad booking decisions and haven't even given an example for that.What makes a great booking decision for you and what are the bad booking decisions WWE has done?The only bad ones I see right now is too much comedy skits on RAW and even it's not a bad one because children loves it.Other than that I can't say bad but very good booking decisions.Trying to create a program with two future superstars(MVP and Swagger),using the best main event option RAW can use right now(Instead of Cena vs Orton which should be kept to WM),making people care about dead tag division once again(Everyone wonders who is the mystery partner),giving huge pushes to Ziggler and Morrison,using celebrities for guest hosts to attract nonwrestling fans attraction etc.So tell me what are these bad booking decisions WWE are doing lately?Please at least give us an example lately not a storyline from 2 years ago or tell us what makes a good booking decision in your book.

 

[Decarow]

I think this is just a post by someone who wanted to sound like they knew what they were talking about. First off, the illegitimate storyline is from TWO YEARS AGO. Second, that was made because they had to cancel the Vince death-angle due to Benoit. Third, Kennedy was supposed to be the child but got busted. And when they said lil Horny was the child, that added a lot to Raw. So many weeks of Vince abusing him. Hell, Hornswoggle even kept the title on Cena on one Raw (even though he got injured right afterwards). You've got to remember, WWE is trying their best to appeal to multiple demographics. One of those demos happens to be children, so just deal with it when it comes to kiddy stuff. Plus the roster changes constantly. I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with you. The WWE is making very good booking decisions. These guys are professionals, you are not. If you want to try and bash against the WWE for bad booking decisions, try and bring up a recent example, not one from years ago.

 

[LokiCobain]

I don't think it's the booking, but Vince.

Someone mentioned that with illegitimate son storyline, Kennedy had let it out of the bag and that bothered Vince, so he changed it. When the attacks on Jeff Hardy were happening, once people found out that Christian was signing, Vince made the decision to not make it Christian as planned. I think the booking team is picking storylines that Vince will approve of, not necessarily the best ones. Vince isn't God, and has had his fair share of awful ideas, but at the end of the day, he picks what happens. The creative team is just there to do all the work, then Vince says "yes", or forces them to come up with something the day of (as been reported happening several times with Raw this year alone). Vince is an infant in regards to grudges, and would rather make decisions for personal reasons than for what's best for the company.

 

[The Lord of PPVs]

Completely FULL OF SHIT. The stuff on these forums is considered, listen to this one crucial word, FANTASY. Meaning that it WILL NOT happen. WWE makes good decisions, and although it may seem stale, it always, always works out in the long run.

 

[Southwind]

The only problem I've had with booking recently is the way they book their world champions. For example before Orton got the title he was gaining Austin like momentum he took out the Mcmahon family for god sakes and then when he gets the strap the WWE decides to turn him into a cowardly heel who loses to Ric Flair and Shane Mcmahon. It jus makes no sense and then that 8 minute glorified squash in which he lost his title to Batista made me scratch my head.

CM Punk is going down this road as well albeit it's still early into his title reign he's lost to John Morrison twice and was going to lose to Rey Mysterio as well instead of looking like a strong and believable champion he's losing momentum.

I mean how does this work if you get the world title nowadays you look worse then when you don't have it.

 

[awb25mn]

The WWE is making great decisions, which is resulting in a great product which is only increasing in quality as the months go by.

I totally agree with the first part of the that sentence, but the second...I mean come on really??? The quality has gone down and has been going down for quite some time now. The whole "PG" rating has really ruined the show for me. It was pretty bad before the "PG" change, but now its like...wtf am i watching and wheres that damn remote.

Anyways, any fan can say oh that guy doesn't get booked right and why doesn't this guy get more matches and why doesn't he have the belt. People are always going to complain. And nothing is ever going to change. WWE does things right and they are a million dollar company for a reason.

As far as crappy story lines, I have been watching WWE for many years and have seen bad story lines come and go. They will always be around because people still watch. If you want it to change so much then just don't watch the shows and read about it instead. There will always be bad story lines, that's what professional wrestling is.

 

[Razor]

Look at some of the bad booking decisons made by the WWE in recent years? Why do you think this is? I read here on these forums some of the ideas the internet fans come up with every day and they would make very compelling TV.

Because the WWE has a bigger idea in mind than the next PPV. Look back over the major booking decisions in the past 5 years, and you will be able to link various booking decisions to others, and see where they connect into the bigger picture.

One example I will use is the illigetimate child storyline which resulted in it being hornswoggle and a very stupid storyline but yet had the potential to be something BIG.

Right. It was supposed to be Kennedy, but Kennedy went and got busted for steroids. So McMahon had to scramble, and ended up with Hornswoggle. Blame it on Kennedy, the kid who either couldn't stay healthy or couldn't keep from injuring or almost injuring the company's top stars.

Therefore why do you think that WWE does not use these better ideas and go with the same lame, timid, typical, predictable booking decisions?

Because they're thinking of the future, for one.

Also, they don't need to take huge jumps that could potentially alienate fans. They know what they're doing, hence the millions upon millions they rake in annually. If their booking decisions truly sucked, they wouldn't have half the fans they have.

..but then again, all of us on this forum know way better than WWE creative. Most definitely.

 

[conradhunter]

there not making bad decisions but there not great decisions so ummm its in the middle

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The only way to tell if the current decisions are good or bad is to wait for the next financial report... if they are losing loads of cash, then they are bad...

Creatively and business wise WWE is simply working to its regular cycle... it has done the same for 30 years... it will go through a boom, then a lull/rebuilding phase before another boom... right now we are no different to 1995, PG gimmicks etc... why? cos the original Hulkamaniacs who were in their kiddie demographic at WM1 were starting to have kids of their own... now they too will be starting to have kids old enough to get into wrestling.... and many might not want their 5-10 year olds watching the violent wrestling they once loved quite yet... cos they are the parents now...

WWE is in its rebuilding phase, essential for survival of the business....the only difference now is that the product is more commented on...

 

[yoshi_doce2006]

A simple answer to this, complacency. They haven't HAD to really work to make sure they keep viewers because they have had no competition since the purchase of WCW.

That lack of competition is bound to breed complacency and writers are most likely going to book matches that amuse Vince and not put up much disagreement rather than tell him that the product wasn't getting the job done as it once did.

The ratings now adays are reflective of that. Consistent 3.5 Ratings now as compared to 5.5 or so during the Monday Night Wars shows that the show has had major declines that can be pointed to the fact that they have become complacent. Unfortunately TNA is the only company that could one day give them competition to break that complacency and they have their own internal problems right now that could really screw them over in the end. Therefore I don't see this complacency or the product improving anytime soon.

 

[SavageTaker]

If the WWE wasn't making good booking decisions, don’t you think more people would be turning their TV’s off or changing the channel to some other show? The fact of the matter is that people aren’t doing that which means that Vince and his creative team probably are doing something right. Sometimes somethings may seem strange or odd and we will question the decisions and booking made by the bookers and Vince McMahon. But guess what? There’s a method to Vince’s madness. Most of the time Vince does the things he does because he knows they will work. Vince has been a wrestling promoter for how many years now? I’m sure it’s over 20 years. Look how successful he has been. Like I said there’s a method to his madness. If there wasn’t then his company would have ended up being like some other wrestling companies did, for example the NWA. Or his company would have folded like WCW, ECW, AWA, and many others did.

 

[Southwind]

If the WWE wasn't making good booking decisions, don’t you think more people would be turning their TV’s off or changing the channel to some other show?

Oh but they are raw has had some of it's worst ratings in years and I believe it's worst in 5 during this PG era we all live in.

Wait for Monday night football and come back to me about people turning of their TV's or not.

The summer is supposed to be the WWE's domain but they can't even lock down ratings during these months anymore it's attributed to lots of things but booking may be the largest reason.

 

[The Lord of PPVs]

Oh but they are raw has had some of it's worst ratings in years and I believe it's worst in 5 during this PG era we all live in.

Number One: What the hell kind of grammar is that? Are You 9?
Number Two: No one cares. And the ratings aren't as bad as you make them sound. Ratings weren't much better when each PPV only had talent from one show.

Wait for Monday night football and come back to me about people turning of their TV's or not.

One thing people underestimate, is how many young kids and women enjoy RAW as well. Picture this situation: A man and his wife and two kids are watching RAW. The man says "Oops, I forgot. The Steelers are playing tonight." He changes the channel. His wife hates football. His sons were enjoying watching John Cena beat the shit out of Jack Swagger. They all protest. He changes it back.

This will happen, so they will not use as many viewers as you think.

 

[Southwind]

Number One: What the hell kind of grammar is that? Are You 9?

Sorry if it made my post harder to read my little brother was bugging me so it was a bit off.

But jeez calm down if you disagree an insult is not the way to go it makes you look bad almost like a little kid.

It's just my opinion take it for what it's worth obviously to you it means nothing but simply put the stats don't lie and they back up my claims.

 

[AzLunchbox]

Bad booking decisions? The WWE is making great decisions, which is resulting in a great product which is only increasing in quality as the months go by.

.....W........T..........F!!!!!!????????

Talk about a blind WWE Mark. What are you....12?

The WWE has been a horrible product for a bit now and it's been getting worse and worse with each passing weeks. Every now and then they have something that stands out as being good (or at least better in comparison) But the rest of the crap that you have to put up with makes the show bad.

Look up the ratings stats for the past decade and then tell me again that the product quality is getting BETTER. Because the facts don't lie.

 

[tLight]

The only thing they have done correctly from a booking stand point is leaving the WWE Title on Randy Orton.

I can’t begin to count how many different other booking problems have come up in the past month, let alone the past year, but I'll give it a shot.

They built up CM Punk to be this mega heel going into NOC vs. Hardy, but yet they have him lose to Hardy. Why? If Hardy hasn’t resigned and is leaving after Summerslam, what was the point in having him win the WHC and lose it a month later? This destroys everything they worked on by building up CM Punk, and pushing his "I'm better than you because I don’t..." gimmick.

Triple H is still in the WWE Title picture, he's lost 3 consecutive matches to Orton, but he still made it into the beat the clock challenge? WTF? He also was gone for two months, then came back and automatically became the number contender without doing a damn thing? Triple H won at WM25; don't even get me started on this because it was complete bullshit.

A 6-man tag match for the WWE Title featuring Triple H, Batista, and Shane vs. Legacy. Do I need to go any further than that? Does any title other than tag titles really need to be defended in a Tag match?

Diva's tag wrestling....ugh Santina....UGH......Comedy skits involving Hornswoggle, Chavo, Santino/Santina....UUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Batista vs. Orton in a Cage match, Batista wins only to be stripped of the title the next night because his big worthless ass can’t stay injury free. Didn’t he just come back from an injury, before this one happened?

The entire Tag Division.

 

[HypnotizedHero2010]

yes the title change hands WAYYYYYYYYYY too often. remeber when cena had a long reign. he faced a new oponent at every ppv. that was enteratining because the next person had a shot and the watches were fresh.

and people coming back from injury just to get the title right away makes no sense. they should atleas have a few matches and get involved in the title scene some how before just showing up and auomatically getting a shot. hell cena won it his first match back. thats so stupid. and batista winning it even though he was hurt. and if hardy didnt resign then they shouldnt have given him the belt. champs look weak when they dont hold the title for a decent amount of time.

 

[SavageTaker]

Oh but they are raw has had some of it's worst ratings in years and I believe it's worst in 5 during this PG era we all live in.

Are you kidding? Raw has had some of the best ratings in years. In case you didn’t know, Raw’s ratings dropped when the Benoit murder happened. Let’s see, that was 2 years ago and ever since Raw’s ratings have been increasing. They may not be the same ratings they were pulling during the Attitude Era but they are still getting some of the best ratings on prime time television. Also, the WWE changing to PG has got nothing to do with the ratings at all. Just because they went from PG-13 or 14 (whichever one they had) to PG it doesn’t mean that ratings go down because of that. I bet you most people don’t even notice or care that the show is rated as PG.

Wait for Monday night football and come back to me about people turning of their TV's or not.

And this is something new? Raw’s ratings slightly drop when Football seasons starts and that’s no secret. It has been this way for years and years and it will probably continue being this way for some time now.

The summer is supposed to be the WWE's domain but they can't even lock down ratings during these months anymore it's attributed to lots of things but booking may be the largest reason.

That statement is completely false. As a matter of fact, when summer comes around it’s usually the time that WWE’s ratings start to drop slightly. That hasn’t been the case this year. They’ve managed to keep their ratings up because of the celebrity guest hosts of Raw. This was the thing they did this year to keep rating from falling too much and they’ve done a great job at keeping the ratings up. Every year Vince does something to try and keep the ratings from dropping too much and this year he has done a great job.

 

[The Holy One]

The ONLY thing that I don't like is the title changes, and the only one of those I disagree with is CM Punk losing Sunday. While I wanted Cena to win, I understand Orton winning b/c he's getting quite a credible title reign unlike Punk. Other than that, WWE has done some good booking and I don't understand all the crap they are taking. I mean they're pushing new guys though some believe they should be involved with the main event, but I disagree that the only one ready is John Morrison. They're spicing up the tag division seeing how it was the main event on Raw last night. The diva matches at NOC were ok. As for Hornswoggle, he amuses somewhat still especially last night with the Shaq segment.