WWE Doesn't Need Part Timers Anymore

[edgehead113]

I've seen some people alluding to this topic on here, but I haven't come across a thread devoted to it. So here goes.

For the past 3-4 years the WWE has developed a reliance on bringing back part time big name workers to sell PPVs, especially Wrestlemania. Many people in the IWC were annoyed that guys who had worked hard all year to try and earn a spot on the WM card were pushed down a notch or two by the part timers. Many stated that they longed for the day WWE would have new stars to build around and wouldn't need to bring back the Rock or Brock Lesnar to main event the biggest night of the year.

I think we've reached that point. And WWE is (as we know) letting the opportunity slip.

Sure, it's great that guys are back and this year's WM will (as the 30th anniversary) have a lot of star power. It doesn't seem bad that there's "too much star power" in the WWE. However, the WWE has enough star power to live without the guys coming back for the payday.

As great as Y2J has been, they don't need him to come back, even to put over young talent. Y2J has become a little too predictable in that regard where he never wins big matches anymore.

They don't need the Rock. Simply put, the Rock was Dwayne Johnson each of the past 2 years he came back. Great talent, big time star power, but he was not "The Great One" that put the WWE over the top during the Attitude Era. Not even close.

They don't need Brock Lesnar. Lesnar came back because his days as a top MMA fighter are over. He's a bigger fish in WWE than anywhere else, and being Lesnar he just wants to be a big rich fish. He's over with fans, but that's because Paul Heyman is great with him. He's taking a main event spot someone else would be a better investment of.

They sure as hell don't need Batista. I'm in my early 20s so I saw Batista in his prime, but the man is 45 years old and a crappy in-ring wrestler. He always was a main eventer based on his look, but his look sucks now. Seriously, the man looks like Pitbull with his bald head, tight clothes, and black sunglasses. The fact that he has been received so poorly shows he isn't a big star anymore.

RVD? Snore. Sting? Maybe for one match, but not this year. Not with so little time for a proper build up. Hogan/Piper? If either of them wrestles this WM and real performers (maybe not stars, but they can at least move) like Zigger, Cesaro, Kofi don't, well...

Undertaker can come back for WM because he will always be welcomed back for a streak match as long as he can work a real match and not a rest hold fiasco. HHH is still on TV every week so if he wants to lace up the boots once or twice a year that's fine (but he shouldn't be in the Title picture ever again).

Keep Taker, HHH, and dump the rest. You could still have this WM card this year.


Rybaxel vs. The Big Show and Christian (Pre-Show)
Put Rybaxel over and let Ryabck shell shock Big Show for the win.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett
They seem to be building towards this anyway. They could bring up how Ziggler's botch caused Barrett's injury back 3 or 4 gimmicks ago to add fuel to the fire.

Divas Title Match
Whoever vs. AJ Lee. Got to include 1 Diva's match.

Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio
If they're serious about Kofi, bill this as his chance to knock off a multiple time world champ and let him go over.

Tag Team Titles: 4 Team Ladder Match: NAO (c) vs. The Uso's vs. Real Americans vs. R-Truth/Xavier Woods
Give the Uso's the rub at WM and have them finally get a shot with the straps.

Goldust vs. Cody Rhodes
Hey! There's actually room on the card for this easy to build, easy to sell match without part timers.

Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Big E Langston (c)
Unify your mid card titles with a good young face and a good young heel going toe to toe. Put Mark Henry in Langston's corner and Seth Rollins in Ambrose's to get them involved.

HHH vs. CM Punk
You can do your HHH/Authority vs. Punk story

Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns
The man eliminates 12 men from the Rumble and then gets a shot at the Streak. Either man could win this match and it'd look smart.

John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
They want to do this match anyway, go for it.

WWE World Title Match: Orton (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan
Put DB in the last match of the night against the 2 guys who beat him in his 2 world title reigns. That's an underdog subplot that writes itself. Put him over and you have your face of the company for the immediate future.



I don't think I'm forgetting anyone relevant, and that to me is a damn good 10 match card (plus the pre-show makes 11).


What do you guys think? Could WWE sell WM without part timers? Is the next wave of stars ready to carry the show?

 

[wwe fan2009]

^ yes. I mean the crowd has been dead for Batista since his return. no one wants Batisita back at all, when he gets Bryan chants that should tell you something. everyone wants Bryan in ME at WM and the chants have proven it.

 

[Pylon]

Agreed. That's a pretty good card. I actually feel kinda sorry for the part time guys who come back and aren't what they used to be. *cough*Batista*cough*

 

[A11oftheLights]

In the current situation, Batista & Roman Reigns are missing. I know you said drop part timers but Batista has won the Rumble and can't just be scrapped. Roman Reigns is a big miss on your card if the titles hadn't been unified he'd be fighting for the WHC or be involved in a shield breakup match

 

[wrestler36]

I think Batista coming back is fine, I just wish he continued his heel persona as when he left. Maybe they'll turn him after WM. I don't mind the part timers as they can teach wrestlers how to develop their characters and tell a story in the ring. Somebody like Jericho has wrestled in Germany, Mexico, Japan, Canada and has so many different styles under his belt. After DBryan, I don't think anybody has that kind of acumen. The Outlaws coming back are great for the tag team division because it adds credibility to the belt. If the part timers can get more people to buy the PPVs and add more hype to the events, I'm all for it. I think it was a hit for The Rock. Batista's return so far has been far underwhelming

 

[mlp420]

I think a lot of people don't understand the true value of part timers.

The real value of guys like The Rock, Batista, Taker, Triple H, etc is that WWE doesn't really have to do any heavy lifting creatively. Just have them pop up in January and people get excited about them being at WM.

Example: If WWE had decided the day after WM 29 they wanted Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler, Cena vs. Roman Reigns, and Bray Wyatt vs. CM Punk as the main events for WM 30, they would have to spend a year building all of this up. But with all these part timers at their disposal they can just get get by until January and then here comes Batista, Taker, Brock, RVD, Jericho, and whoever else.

Creatively WWE couldn't be deader IMO. I'd rather watch a year's worth of storylines culminate at WM than what they do now. There's literally no reason to watch WWE from April to December. It's like preseason until the Road to WM starts.

 

[subsouljah82]

I really don't get all the hate for so called part time guys because these are guys that have proven to make Vince money and fans want to see them all the up and coming are what they are but this is wrestlemania showcase of the iimmortals your d Bryans,zigglers, and whichever other flavor of the month you want get 11 other ppvs let wrestlemania be what it is a spectical and place to build dream cards and real names that have done something in this business hense why we want sting he is a real name and means something you want you young guys watch nxt but leave mania to the legends and stars

 

[Best in the World]

I really don't get all the hate for so called part time guys because these are guys that have proven to make Vince money and fans want to see them all the up and coming are what they are but this is wrestlemania showcase of the iimmortals your d Bryans,zigglers, and whichever other flavor of the month you want get 11 other ppvs let wrestlemania be what it is a spectical and place to build dream cards and real names that have done something in this business hense why we want sting he is a real name and means something you want you young guys watch nxt but leave mania to the legends and stars

I think most get that they are there just to generate those big-bucks and media attention for the WWE, it's just the problem of them doing that just about every single year. It's cool if you want them to be on the show sometimes, but the timing of it has been awful.

Or the way these people are coming back and automatically getting title shots. Like the Rock, who claims to have "busted his ass the last 8-years" when he was off making movies and hardly contributing to the WWE if at all. Or Batista coming back and immediately getting thrust into the Royal Rumble and winning the match, surviving "30 other men" when he came in at 28th in that Rumble.

It's fine if it's just a kind of Legend/Rookie kind of thing. But someone just coming in and getting a title-shot immediately as they walk in, regardless of past drawings or otherwise, while younger talent need to be groomed and prepped to be bigger stars. That's where the issue is. Having someone like Rock come back and put someone like Cena over, that's fine, but in the end Rock had to just about push Punk back to do so. Batista coming back and possibly (but very doubtfully) putting someone over at WrestleMania to do so is fine, but he pushed Bryan back to do so (so it seems at the moment anyway). Returning legends are fine, but have them at least work for the title, prove they can still go at the very least. I give credit to Rock at least for being apart of a some in-ring interaction before his matches with Cena, even if they were meh, but he still had to knock people off the card to do it. Batista? Nope, walks right in gets a title shot.

The problem is simple for people, they want to see new stars grow, they want new people at the top, they don't want to see people leave, come back and demand entitlement over people that have been there the years they weren't, who have been "busting their asses" for years to get those shots.

This wasn't an issue long ago, oh no, they didn't bring back people to make WrestleMania work, they built stars, sure you might get a legend fighting in a match against an up-and-coming star to get a rub, but other than that it was talent that was up and coming, that was trying to make themselves "immortal". How is anyone supposed to be "immortal" today when you have part-timers clogging up those cards? How are people like Ziggler, Punk, Bryan, Cody and all of them supposed to do that when they get dropped down the card, not one, not twice, but it's looking to be three times in the past three years for people like Rock and Batista? Now hopefully, they change it up this year, give Bryan the shot and the chance to make a big moment for himself, because he needs it. Batista had his WM moment, he's had his match with the Undertaker, now is the time to step aside and let others give it their shot, and have their moment.

 

[Softcore Holly]

I think a lot of people don't understand the true value of part timers.

The real value of guys like The Rock, Batista, Taker, Triple H, etc is that WWE doesn't really have to do any heavy lifting creatively. Just have them pop up in January and people get excited about them being at WM.

Example: If WWE had decided the day after WM 29 they wanted Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler, Cena vs. Roman Reigns, and Bray Wyatt vs. CM Punk as the main events for WM 30, they would have to spend a year building all of this up. But with all these part timers at their disposal they can just get get by until January and then here comes Batista, Taker, Brock, RVD, Jericho, and whoever else.

Creatively WWE couldn't be deader IMO. I'd rather watch a year's worth of storylines culminate at WM than what they do now. There's literally no reason to watch WWE from April to December. It's like preseason until the Road to WM starts.

I'm sorry but how is any of that good? Creative SHOULD be doing heavy lifting so there's plenty of reasons to watch from April to December. I know it feels like it's been forever, but once upon a time those part timers were full timers and they had the year of buildups that made them into big stars that people get excited about seeing again in 2014. You didn't see Taker, HHH and Lesnar taking backseats to older legends, because if they did we wouldn't be caring about them today.

The fact that you think that April to December is like a preseason means they're doing something horribly wrong, and one of those things is being too lazy creatively by relying on older legends for a few months instead of building up their current talent to become stars worth watching all year round.

 

[oldschool26]

Wrestlemania 30

Main event

Wwe heavyweight
Randy Orton vs Batista vs cm.punk
Punk wins(not Batista lol will make crowd happy)

Undertaker vs Brock lesnar
Taker wins(lights go out,sting appears for a face off)

Daniel Bryan vs triple h
Bryan wins

John cena vs bray Wyatt-hell in cell
Wyatt wins

U.s.a
Ambrose vs reigns vs Rollins
Reigns wins(mason Ryan comes out attacks reigns with shield)

Intercontinental
Big e Langston vs mark Henry
Langston wins

Tag team
New age outlawz vs real Americans vs the usos vs mysterio/sin cars
Usos win(cesaro turns on swagger, swagger turns face
With u.s.a chants Hogan comes out and leg drops cesaro,
Swagger needs it, Cesaro can turn face anytime)

Divas
Aj vs tamina vs natalya vs naomi
Natalya wins

Cody Rhodes vs goldust
Cody wins

Big show vs bad news Barrett
Barret wins

Sheamus vs ryback

M.I.b battle royal

Ziggler vs Kingston vs the miz vs Tyson Kidd
Brodus clay vs Damien sandow vs Curtis axel vs fandango
Rvd vs christian

 

[L@RISANO]

I'm sorry but how is any of that good? Creative SHOULD be doing heavy lifting so there's plenty of reasons to watch from April to December. I know it feels like it's been forever, but once upon a time those part timers were full timers and they had the year of buildups that made them into big stars that people get excited about seeing again in 2014. You didn't see Taker, HHH and Lesnar taking backseats to older legends, because if they did we wouldn't be caring about them today.

The fact that you think that April to December is like a preseason means they're doing something horribly wrong, and one of those things is being too lazy creatively by relying on older legends for a few months instead of building up their current talent to become stars worth watching all year round.

This comment right here. Perfect!

I touched on this topic in another thread earlier. As said above; there was a time when part-timers were not needed on a yearly basis to sell Wrestlemania. That was due to stars being properly built up whether face or heel and the storylines being engaging whether it was a ME feud or a Mid Card feud or some random bad blood feud.

Let's take a look at WM21;
It is where the Holy Trio(John Cena, Randy Orton and Batista) of this era officially became the Main Eventers of the company. In said WM; 2 of the 3 guys headlined WM whilst the other was in the Streak match which actually became Big that year.
Indeed some were disappointed with the actual MainEvent matches at WM21, but we know that the Trio did indeed become Huge Stars thereafter.

Saying all that, I do know that in the past couple of years the roster has been a bit low on quality, however in the past year there has been a few guys who have been elevated and lMO are ready to take over. Maybe not this WM being a special Decade edition, but with the available full-time roster now having obvious quality, it is time WWE Creative start working and elevating a few of them and the Holy Trio who got put over at WM21 can now do the same to the next batch. Trust me, with the quality available; if used correctly then Part-timers wont be needed to sell WM any longer.

 

[workhorse]

I think part-timers coming back for cameos and 'dream-matches' is great. Look at Mick Foley vs Edge at WrestleMania 22 as an example of how it can work well. What I don't agree with, is Part-timers returning around this time, every year, and walking into title matches. Now, reports are saying that Batista has signed a full-time contract, so it's not accurate to label him a part-timer. But the fact that 6 days after he comes back from a 4 year absence he wins the Royal Rumble is a slap in the face to the rest of the roster.
The Rock did it last year. In July/August, whenever RAW 1000 was, he just announced that he would face the WWE Champion at the Royal Rumble. He then goes away until 4 weeks before the Rumble before coming back and winning the title. The argument that he got tied down with his movie schedule is valid, he legitimately did. But if there was the slightest possibility that that would happen, he should not have been given the WWE title. I'm not a Rock-hater, I actually like seeing him return, but I don't think he deserved the WWE Championship and the WrestleMania main event. John Cena and CM Punk had had unfinished feuds in 2011 and 2012, they should've mainevented WrestleMania 29, in my opinion. It's a rematch, yes. I never said rematches can't work, but no one has ever complained about a CM Punk vs John Cena program. CM Punk would've had a 500 day reign vs John Cena's 'redemption'. If they put on a match as good as their #1 Match after EC, it would've been one of the greatest WM Mainevent matches in history. That would leave The Rock to face Undertaker in what realistically is more of a dream match then Cena vs Rock or Punk vs Taker.

But enough of that, I still do think bringing these guys back should be about the big matches. But they shouldn't be coming back to be the main guys, holding the main titles. Taker hasn't done it since he went part-time (by that I mean returning for 1/2 matches a year, about '10-onwards), and neither has Triple H.

What's stupid is that people say these guys have earned the right to come back and do what they like, because they've paid their dues and are bigger stars than todays wrestlers - doesn't that mean they don't need WWE Championships to give them credibility? Their careers given them credibility. Big stars don't need to return and win titles to prove themselves, they'll still make money for Vince just by being there. In a perfect world, Batista, Brock, Taker, Triple H, Rock etc. can come back at WrestleMania or Summerslam and face each other, or the occasional match against a full-time wrestler, to boost the buyrate and create more buzz. The 'Once in a Lifetime' match was executed perfectly. We shouldn't have seen The Rock, and we shouldn't see Batista win the WWE Championship, we should see them face Brock Lesnar or Undertaker, put over Daniel Bryan or Roman Reigns (for example). Not win WWE Championships.

That's my issue with part-time guys. Mainly what they did with The Rock last year and Batista so far this year. I feel for the guys that miss out on a Mania paycheque, but at the end of the day, Vince is going to do what sells - and that's well and truly the right business decision. I just think what they've done, and what they're doing, is stunting the growth and evolution of the guys who may very well be the next big stars. I hope they realise soon that they need to pull the trigger on guys who will be the next big stars, not rely on the former stars to keep them going.


A little unrelated, but in reference to the OP's 'Mania card without part-timers, my card would be:

Streak Match: John Cena vs Undertaker
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs Daniel Bryan/CM Punk
Triple H vs Daniel Bryan/CM Punk
The Shield vs The Wyatt Family
Goldust vs Cody Rhodes
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Big E Langston (c) vs Mark Henry
Sheamus vs Damien Sandow
WWE Tag Team Championships: Real Americans (c) vs The Usos vs Los Matadores vs Prime Time Players

 

[mlp420]

I'm sorry but how is any of that good?

I never said it was, just pointing out that it's easy for WWE to do things the way they do it. IMO WWE has the laziest writing in all of TV. But people go crazy for these guys that come back so they get away with it.

Edit: It's good to see people are finally catching on to the WWE's act. It took Daniel Bryan getting screwed for people to wake up. Bryan was just holding serve until WM season, and people actually thought WWE had some master plan where he'd get the title at WM.

 

[Softcore Holly]

I never said it was, just pointing out that it's easy for WWE to do things the way they do it. IMO WWE has the laziest writing in all of TV. But people go crazy for these guys that come back so they get away with it.

Yeah what you said is undeniable true, but considering the side effect of making people such as yourself not care about 8 months worth of product I wouldn't use the words "true value".

 

[shafe_41]

While the OP did put together a good card, that's not a WM card by any stretch of the imagination. At least not right now. Where's the match that I "need to see" on there? The can't miss match. The main event is sort of garbage. I think it's just me, but I don't care if I ever see Sheamus again. Just not a fan personally. And I really don't care to see Bryan/Orton anymore. Give me DB and virtually anybody else. Orton is just not exciting anymore. Kofi/Del Rio... who cares. They both need a gimmick change. I love the Reigns/Taker idea if you could build Reigns as some monster heel for the next six months. It's not believable just yet.

It's really not a bad card at all... but like I said... it's just not WM caliber in terms of what the fans are used to seeing at the biggest show of the year. They would all sell a B PPV, but not the biggest show of the year. Good thread though.

 

[thebarber]

In the current situation, Batista & Roman Reigns are missing. I know you said drop part timers but Batista has won the Rumble and can't just be scrapped. Roman Reigns is a big miss on your card if the titles hadn't been unified he'd be fighting for the WHC or be involved in a shield breakup match

He clearly has Undertaker vs Roman Reigns on his card, he didnt miss him at all, and Batista is a part timer, thus the topic so he can leave him out like Lesnar.

 

[Dirk]

The Outlaws coming back are great for the tag team division because it adds credibility to the belt.

You say that, but there are at least four full-time tag teams that can go and wouldn't be a bad pick as champions. I would think the NAO are suited to a Jericho-type of role.

 

[kumarjtk]

wwe used the part timers for old fans and international market. They used starpower for marketing and selling their ppv. Rock not wrestled for title in his comeback match, brock not wrestled for title until now, jericho, rvd are not winning championships, batista is not a part times, he come back for full timer.

They need part timers.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

Although many people gripe and moan about the part-timers, its Wrestlemania, the biggest event of the year which should feature the biggest matches WWE could possibly have.

Like it or not, part-timers are the ones selling the tickets.

Also, your Wrestlemania card absolutely sucks, its an okay card for a "B PPV" not Wrestlemania.

 

[lil steroid meat]

I definitely agree for the most part. Only thing I disagree on is Brock Lesnar. I love the old school dynamic that he and Heyman have.

Other than that, the part timers really contribute nothing to the show.

Batista wasn't anything special in his prime, so now, unless they plan to let him engage in full-fledged heel activities of the highest proportion of douche, then I see no point in him being there.

The Rock is really the only guy that was missed, but like you said, the Rock that came back was not the Rock of old and he didn't have that late 90's, Versace shirt and loafers, never-missed-a-beat, always-had-a-comeback aura about him. Pandered to the crowd too much, when before, he just did what he wanted and you had no choice but to like him.

Austin, I'd like to see him go at Punk on the mic with the straight-edge vs. Beer drinker gimmick. I don't know if that's worthy of a whole program though.

Sting-Taker would be cool just because we've always wanted to see it.

I do wish to see Angle return when he leaves TNA.

So basically, aside from Angle, Austin-Punk, Sting-Taker and Brock + Heyman, there really is nothing more for the part timers to offer.

And it's sad that now that the Attitude Era guys (and Brock) are the old timers, you don't really have anyone from the modern era that you would be hurting to return outside of Punk. What would Cena or Orton have to offer for a return when they decide to leave the company for an extended period of time?

 

[johnbragg]

For one thing, they have a LOT of part-timers these days.

HHH, Undertaker, The Rock, Lesnar, Batista, Jericho, RVD are all in the mix. You're probably adding Sting to that list, and Kurt Angle by the end of the year. Booker and Nash and Michaels are available for one or two matches a year.

This Wrestlemania, you're looking at Undertaker, HHH, LEsnar and Batista from that list. Undertaker is a WM fixture. No one's arguing with HHH vs Punk or Bryan or Cena, if Punk is "going home" and they do something else with Bryan. Lesnar is an attraction.

So that leaves Batista, who they vastly overrated. And they could fix that on the next show by having Batista come out and Batista Bomb Bryan, turning Batista heel and setting up Orton vs Batista vs Bryan for the title at Wrestlemania.

 

[jameswalsh292]

I have to admit that the OP's WM30 card is pretty decent and I would have no problem if that was the card for mania.

However, I have no problem with part timers coming back if they entertain me.
I love whenever Brock is back, he brings a lot of intensity and he makes for exciting physical matches. Im glued to the tv whenever he shows up.

I did enjoy the rocks return for the lead up to WM28, but I didnt like the lead up to WM29. The WM29 build was predictable and his matches with Punk and the Cena rematch were poor in my opinion.

Batista has just returned and I loved him as a heel around the time of WM26. Its too early to judge Batistas return, lets give it time before we shit all over his rumble win. We dont know what they have in store, so lets let it play out before we start going nuts.

So I will agree with the OP that WWE probably dont NEED the part timers and can do just fine without them. The fact is the part timers are entertaining and if for example i could swap a del rio v kofi match for two part timers in lesnar v rock/batista etc I think I would because it would be more exciting.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

WWE needs part timers to make the most money. The card you listed above is a solid card for any PPV other than the big 4 and especially not Wrestlemania. Part Timers, fair or not, draw the most money and the highest buyrates. That's how WWE makes the most money. It is what it is.