WWE General Complaints Thread

[SinCityBlitz]

WWE going PG is not all Linda and Mattel. It also has to do with USA. USA doesn't want the WWE to go back to the AE type shows. They would take a ton of heat and lose advertisers. Plus Vince likes PG better.

But WCW was PG so it's not the rating but how the show is booked.

 

[Mikechase69]

WWE going PG is not all Linda and Mattel. It also has to do with USA. USA doesn't want the WWE to go back to the AE type shows. They would take a ton of heat and lose advertisers. Plus Vince likes PG better.

But WCW was PG so it's not the rating but how the show is booked.

Correct this is what people forget at the end of the day it comes down to booking and right now WWE creative blows I mean they blew the return of Brock Lesnar sure you did a nice buyrate for the PPV but what after that? You poorly build up a match between HHH and Lesnar. That should have been a simple HHH playing the weak babyface trying to overcome the odds. Instead you make it seem like HHH could go toe to toe with a former UFC Heavyweight champion.

The funny thing is even with the bad build to the match they could of told a story of Brock just beating him down but instead they make Lesnar look like a typical heel and pretty much have him look like a coward and don't even get me started on the whole "This isn't the UFC Brock" crap by HHH.

 

[vikesfan]

Not trying to troll,but watching Ziggler the past 6 months or so,I dont see the big deal about him.Sure he can take great bumps,but how much damage will those do in the long run? Plus,while alot of the IWC make fun of Orton,Cena or Sheamus' move set,whats so exciting about Dolph's?

Take the tag match from Raw Monday. God was he a bore. Nothing but a neckbreaker,dropkick and headlocks.Watch his matches. He does nothing at all exciting yet gets praised for his work. Its nothing but elbowdrops,chinlocks(w/ the occasional headstand to wake the crowd up),dropkick,neckbreaker,famasser and thats about it.

And when will be the day he actually does "steal the show" like he and his fans say he'll do? Still waiting. Has he really wowed anyone w/ his PPV matches the past 6 months(w/ top workers like Jericho,Punk and Sheamus)?Has his matches ever 'stole the show?" No.And thats w/ top talent he's in there with.


The way the IWC talk he should be outdoing everyone and he hasn't.He almost destroyed Cara at the MITB match by slipping on the ladder. His matches w/Jericho were underwhelming. Now he's w/ Orton.Should be interesting to see what the IWC says if its a great match.

 

[roethlisberger78]

Please read this all before getting mad for what I'm trying to say because I dont want this to sound wrong.
First of all I along with probably everyone else wants nothing but Jerry to get completely healthy and return to the desk, I would never wish ill health on anyone.
My thing with this is, is anyone else kinda pissed that Vince is trying to make money off of Jerry's heart attack? Vince leaving to fill Jerry returning home to put on his show to try and raise ratings, telling people about the interview that probably dont even need to take place to raise ratings, the long live the king t-shirt for merch sales..... Couldnt they just give us an update weekly if need be and let him heal at his house and then return? But instead vince is trying to squeez dollars outta a mans heart attack. So I just want to ask is anyone else bothered by the way Vince is treating this? Turning it into as much Entertainment as the rest of the show when it was a real heart attack... Discuss.

 

[Why Always Me]

I am split. Half of me thinks they are taking it too far, the t-shirt, footage of him landing, the interview next week. But then the other half of me wants to know how he is getting on and was pleased to see him looking so good only a few days after nearly dying. Confused.

 

[justinsayne]

A.) Fans want to see Lawler up & moving around, they wanted to see the homecoming. It should also be noted that Vince drove Lawler, & flew him home on his private jet, to make sure the trip was as comfortable as possible for Lawler. Of that entire trip he only filmed a small portion of the homecoming.

B.)Lawler earns a percentage off all merch sales, so it's safe to say his earning a nice cut off the "Long Live the King" shirts, it's not like Vince is just pocketing all the money on them.

People need to get over this bullshit that Vince is the devil. Yeah Vince has done some shitty things in the past but he does have a human side, & the fact that people want to jump all over him & shit on him like he's Satan when he shows that human side, & does something good is just getting fucking old at this point.

 

[King Patrick Star]

I completely understand what you are trying to get across. The man almost died and a week later, the WWE releases a shirt, which regardless of the outcome of his heart attack, would have been sold anyway. It’s similar to Eddie Guerrero’s shirt that was released a few weeks after his untimely death. With that being said, I love the shirt and I will be purchasing one as soon as possible.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It's safe to bet that Jerry's money is directly linked to appearing on RAW. If he doesn't appear, he doesn't get paid, so by featuring footage of him (and selling shirts) then he is getting his full cash entitlement.

And for all you know he may have asked for the shirts to be sold so he can kick some money to the hospital as Canada is public health care...

I do agree though, they need to throttle back over the next weeks, so it doesn't seem like a work. The cynical part of me thinks they are siezing on it cos of the campaign, and the "not all wrestlers die" tack. But you have to remember that they don't get to "win one" very often and it is worth celebrating the guy is still around.

 

[Cereal Killer]

50/50.

First half: It's a tribute to him
Second: Exactly what you said, they are trying to make money out of a heart attack basically, it takes the piss in some way's.

 

[BigLuther]

The footage of him returning home is a nice thing to see for fans just one week after the incident happened. Do people think this was actually supposed to be a ratings boost? Get out of your ass. It's not like they were promoting on USA Network and their website all week long saying "EXCLUSIVE JERRY LAWLER FOOTAGE THIS MONDAY!" That would be silly. Wrestling fans (for the most part) are a family at times like this, and to actually see him arriving home was a good piece of video. The interview next week is no different.

As far as the shirt goes, I don't have a problem with that either because a good chunk of that money goes right into Jerry's pocket. I don't understand why people are all pissy about both of these things.

 

[Stormtrooper]

This is pretty much cut and dry.

Jerry Lawler being alive right now is nothing short of a miracle. If he was virtually anywhere else (where doctors and EMTs aren't right next to him), he would be dead right now. When it happened, WWE continued the show, and by doing so they were giving us a service, updating the viewers (who no doubt had some level of concern) on his condition. They continued that this week, since the situation was something the viewers wanted to know. If you noticed, the story was all over the news last week. Michael Cole did at least one national cable news interview about it, and countless other outlets picked up on the story.

The Long Live the King shirt was made because it fits the situation (and ironically also the CM Punk/Lawler storyline). He sees a fairly good chuck of the monies earned, so they're just making something that will end up getting King money. Knocking WWE for the Eddie Guerrero shirt isn't fair because, if I recall correctly, WWE was giving 100% of the proceeds to the family.

And how can you blame WWE for putting Lawlers homecoming on TV? WWE fans (and human beings who are still shocked that he's alive) want to see Jerry Lawler. It's arguable that he's the person they wanted to see most this week, even more then Cena. To be honest, I was kinda hoping they would have him make a pit-stop in Bridgeport and appear at RAW just to say hi and thank people for their support. And I know I will definitely be watching next week when they interview him.


In short, WWE is pushing this story because it's a story worth pushing.

 

[Slick21]

WWE going PG is not all Linda and Mattel. It also has to do with USA. USA doesn't want the WWE to go back to the AE type shows. They would take a ton of heat and lose advertisers. Plus Vince likes PG better.

But WCW was PG so it's not the rating but how the show is booked.

No shit because of how it's booked. And so what? It doesn't change anything. There's plenty of reasons why the product is being booked the way it is now a days. And one of the major ones is because creative has to work within the PG guidelines. That's why they only give us an edgy product like once a year.

As for WCW, same scenery, just because some of the PG programming was good, doesn't mean it was all the dam time.

I'm not going to continue to fall for the "it's the writers or bookings fault" BS dilemma as a scapegoat anymore, because at the end of the day, you know most of the angles are kids orientated(example: Brodus Clay) and that the wrestling/story lines are watered down to show case less violence.

 

[wwejunkie81]

I have been watching for going on 32 years now and I have noticed 1 thing in particular after all this time. has anyone else observed that, with few exceptions, whoever starts out winning ends up losing and vice versa. Also, the matches that are between 2 top guys are generally subject to a disqualification. Am I off here or has anyone else noticed this as well ?

 

[Radical]

I have been watching for going on 32 years now and I have noticed 1 thing in particular after all this time. has anyone else observed that, with few exceptions, whoever starts out winning ends up losing and vice versa. Also, the matches that are between 2 top guys are generally subject to a disqualification. Am I off here or has anyone else noticed this as well ?

Um... to put it simply ... Yes.

There are pretty clearly established methods and outcomes of matches that are practiced in pro wrestling.

Unless it his a straight up job, usually the guy who comes out with the upper hand in the match ends up losing. Any Cena fans should especially be worried if Cena ever starts out a match with any sustained domination.

And yes, most matches versus 'top' guys usually ends in no contest or disqualification... no doubt in order to preserve the status of both wrestlers so one doesn't look clearly better than the other and so that you'll be more compelled to buy the PPV so you can see a more clear finish.

And through basic Pro Wrestling logic you can fairly easily predict the outcome of the new Tag Team Tournament going on. Just look at which teams have been given any sort of recognition and you know they are going to go over the other team. Sadly, The Usos had no chance to win vs. Rhodes Scholars because they haven't been given enough recognition.

 

[Jatkuva]

Raw is still live. But the ratings are usually in the 3.0-4 range. But you can usually tell whe they are down as Mr. McMahon makes an apperance drives the ratings back up for a week or 2 and everything is on cruise control until they need him again. The thing about live tv is that it has the potential for the shocking suprises, But to me WWE doesn't use this to there advantage, when world title/wwe title matchs are announce i don't even bother to tune in I know who is going to win. The WWE title hasn't truely changed hands on live tv since July 3, 2006, other than that the title had usually been vacated or they're is an injury. The MITB has only been cashed in once on RAW by the MIZ.

I think this is one of the main issues with the current product it's lost it's unpredictability most of the ppv retains are predictable, I can think of two moments in recent pass in wrestling that made me say omg i have to tune in and see what happens next time, punk's pipebomb, and A double's win at Destination X.

Certainly the internet has taken some of the unpredictability away from it with the numerous rumor(nothing set in stone but they are usually right) websites on the web.

I think when you have something to draw in people, to make them talk like live tv, and your not using it right it shows that the products really suffering, and in my opinion it's time for them to get back to that have a title change on RAW, give people a reason to tune in make them think hey maybe anything can happen and title changes just don't have to occure on PPV.

 

[Y2JBL]

I've been thinking about this recently and the issue was brought back to mind when reading the news that the writers are struggling to come up with how to end the match between Punk and Ryback. This has been going on for a long time though. I always laugh when I picture the writers sitting around a table, faced with the paradox that WWE has been booking so many people in a way that it looks bad for them to lose, for so long. I'm just waiting for them to start using power outages and fires in the arena for match endings as a way to avoid having to figure out who goes over. This fear of letting someone lose is getting old and backs the storytelling into a corner.

Anyways I'm already getting side-tracked, match endings aren't the point. My point is that I think it's laughable that this huge company seems incredibly amateurish with the constant reports that they are running around on Monday nights with no idea what's going on. I believe Eve just did an interview where she mentioned not knowing what she's doing on Raw, at 4pm that evening.

WWE has no direct competition on Monday nights. No reason to be scrambling for last minute ideas just because they heard their competition has a big angle planned for the night. What other scripted show on television with such a large budget, with so much money put into travel and transportation to the next city, shows up on set and just wings it? I can remember people getting annoyed with the TV show LOST and accusing the writers that they had no idea where the story was headed and were just making it up as they went along, and many people were totally turned off from that show by the time it finished with season 6.

Now, a situation like Punk and Ryback might not be the best example, because this was really brought on by Cena needing surgery. So even if they had been booking far in advance, they'd still be faced with a sudden change (unless they could have better planned when to let Cena get the surgery). And I think a lot of you will use that as the number one excuse for not scripting ahead of time: injuries. But injuries are a random occurrence, putting on a show each and every Monday night is a constant. So why not only be faced with having to scramble for a story idea during the odd time that someone is hurt, rather than scrambling every single week? There might still be some times that the writers have to pull something out of thin air because someone got hurt or sick, but it wouldn't be on a such a constant basis. Make last minute adjustments only when you have to. It seems like backwards logic to say "well, let's just be in a constant state of chaos in case someone gets hurt this week cuz we'd have to change it anyway".

What's the other reason? Vince's hatred for spoilers? WWE themselves used Twitter to give away Heyman's return before it happened, Kofi's IC title win this week, and many other things. I'm not saying they have to book a year at a time (although I think that might make for some great storylines with better pacing if they really went that far ahead), but at least have the writing team one full week ahead of the real-time WWE universe. Or just start figuring out how to hire people who can stop selling what they know to dirt sheets. Not every show on the planet plays it by ear just because they want to avoid spoilers. I'm sure American Horror Story: Asylum is already written for the next few weeks, if not the entire season, but I don't know how I could get spoilers for the rest of the season already. How come other serial TV shows can keep their secrets? I would think the networks that WWE has contracts with would get sick of hearing what a mess the organization is. If I worked for USA Network I'd get a little tired of hearing that Vince was running around screaming on Monday night trying to put a show together, and then the 2.5 rating rolls in.

I can't see how the product wouldn't benefit from putting a stop to this cluster**** that we keep hearing goes on backstage most Monday nights. WWE shouldn't be weekly improv. It should be scripted television. We could get some really quality slow-burn storylines if they would put some effort into it. Can't you just imagine how much their work environment would change if everyone showed up at the arena on Monday, knowing what they need to do that night, and being able to calmly focus on putting on a good show?

Thoughts? Agree/disagree?

 

[Yawa]

Not trying to over dramatize this, believe me I know the world ending rhetoric that gets spewed on a daily basis from us in the IWC ( I say us because it is us, not you and them, if you post here you are a part of it, accept it and move on), but please hear me out.

This company is in trouble. Vince is not only out of touch, he is slowly becoming a danger to the future prosperity of his own machine. This is not the Vince McMahon of the middle 90's throwing every idea he hat at the wall to see what would stick. This is not the Vince who gave out opportunities to both past and present Superstars with the hail Mary mentality that someone would happen to get themselves over.

Finally and most disturbingly, this is not the Vince who, however begrudgingly, had the foresight to recognize a good thing when he had it, and remove himself from the process to let it find its wings and soar.

No, this Vince is completely blind to what he cannot understand or be bothered with. The bubble ( or world as Chris Jericho so aptly put it) that Vince has always occupied, and for better or worse served him extremely well over the years has finally become an impenetrable fortress. This is not a good thing.

His fortress once helped him filter new ideas, even from those who knew more about the business than him. This has stopped being the case. Even a few years ago I would say it still worked for him occasionally, though the decline was becoming apparent. Now it no longer serves the purpose of twisting those ideas around, taking great ideas and making them bland, grey, shadows of their former brilliance, but still palatable and functional.

No now I would venture to say most do not even penetrate, and those that do are quickly victims of his own internal, out of touch standards, or even worse his rampantly worsening ADHD.

Demoting Gerwitz was ultimately a good move. The man is obviously burned out, but having no one to replace him even with a few obvious choices in plain sight ( cough Heyman) is more than troubling, it is irresponsible. What hope do breakthrough talent have when the filter itself is broken and distracted.

I say the barrel of a gun because ultimately what happens with this Ryback/Punk situation is perhaps the most important thing we've seen since the summer of Punk last year, and nothing Vince has done since then gives me any confidence that he won't blow this. Ryback is not Punk, his rise cannot and will not survive inconsistent booking and it is in this that Goldberg comparison is valid. To blow this would be to completely deaden the excitement in the landscape of WWE working towards the Rumble and inevitable rise in ratings and revenue that comes with it.

In the end, I truly believe that Vince must recognize this and move himself aside, allowing another person for the first time to be that filter, or accept that blowing this whole thing ( which left unchecked, he is very, very, likely to do), could start the WWE on a downward spiral that the aforementioned Royal Rumble boom period, won't be able to stop.

Thoughts? Opinions?

 

[George Steele's Barber]

This is going to end up in the General WWE Complaints thread if not the trash.

WWE is fine and it will be fine after Ryback/Punk. You sound like a Punk mark but you don't even make a clear point so I'm not sure about that let alone what you are trying to say.

 

[Lburn]

WWE is dying no time soon, even if -all- of it's wrestling product were to "die", they would still be a HUGE production company in general, that has the tools and connections to be more of a juggernaut than it is now.

 

[Attitude Era Junkie]

The WWE isn't going anywhere anytime soon. No matter how bad things get, the WWE will survive. They have too much talent and too big of a stage and smart people working for them for the WWE to die out. They won't allow it to happen. They would take drastic measures to boost the ratings before it goes way downhill.

 

[thebarber]

whilever there are kids and WWE aiming towards that demographic, WWE is in no danger of dying. Yes it will continue to lose millions of adult fans, but WWE will just strengthen direction to their market base. Non-sensical storylines, disgraceful booking, adult fans are sick and tired of this. Adult fans are sick of seeing guys like HHH and Undertaker miraculously return around Mania time and take one of the major spots on the card. I have no issue with this, provided it elevates the day to day roster. But no, for the past four years, Taker has gotten himself over in the cocoon that is HBK , HHH and himself. There is zero rub for the future stars there. Daniel Bryan is now a comedy act, he should be utilised as the second main event face after Cena. Punk is brilliant, lets hope he isnt buried to the once a year The Rock. It would not hurt WWE to throw something out like a Cena heel turn, hell if Hulk Hogan can turn heel and become even huger in the process, surely a try with Cena isnt too silly. But again, it goes back to the child demographic WWE is aiming at. Vince has lost the plot, and is now sacking guys who have been his yes men. Bruce Pritchard, Brian Gewirtz gone in the past 18 months......sooner he puts Truple H in charge behind the scenes, the better for WWE's future as a brand of entertainment for adults

 

[dansaint]

not to mention that WWE is also EXPANDING outside of the "wrestling" genre. I'm not even talking about their movies. This production with the Rolling Stones could be the foundation of something even larger. Where WWE uses his knowledge and success of the Pay Per View market and does more concerts, sporting events, etc where they produce the event...market the event...and sell it. That could be a whole other revenue stream that will make the "wrestling purists and IWC" angry who think NOTHING should be bigger than their wrestling.

 

[Mike D]

The most telling fact for WWE's effort is the Age Demographics study WWE corporation released just before mania this year . The results weren't good at all . Dana White spoke of this as well . In short here they are .

22% is between the ages of 2-17

23% is between the ages of 18-34

26% is between the ages of 35-49

30% is age 50 or older.

Yes you read it . the largest group is OVER 50 years old . Next largest 35 to 49 years old . Regardless of their efforts they simply are not making NEW wrestling fans that stick around . The guys from the 70 s, 80's and 90's that fell in love with the product still have hope and are keeping WWE alive . Young fans come AND GO very quickly and this , to me , is the most telling sign that WWE is just not what it once was .

 

[HeenanGorilla]

Some things have been around forever...even though they were a good idea for a short time or never at all. Examples may be wrestlers coming down to do commerntary--aka waiting to get involved in a match--or "coming up" Wrestler X...to be finally seen hours later.

The one that drives me nuts is Josh Matthews' post-interview stare off into the distance. My God, what is the point of this?! Someone will end an interview with a threat or saying how they are going to destroy their opponent. They will then walk away. But the production doesn't end there. We now have a close up of this geek's concerned face, following the movement of the now off-screen wrestler. What a goof!

What are some things that irk you guys?

 

[Y2JBL]

What you mentioned about the way they stare off into space to end promos is my number one pet peeve. It looks SO STUPID. It's not just Josh, everyone does it.

Wrestling is "supposed" to be live action and real. Who in real life would have a camera man zooming into their face for 15 seconds as they just stare at a locker? Maybe that's more of a general sense of what my complaint is, stop acting like the cameras aren't there! Are we really supposed to believe two people are having a top secret conversation backstage and they don't care that a live camera and a production crew is staring right at them? If there's one thing TNA realizes, it's that. At least they try to make their action segments backstage look real, the camera man will shoot a conversation that they aren't supposed to be seeing from around the corner or something so it makes it seem like the talent don't realize it.

Last night with Heyman and Punk backstage they made Punk do one of these infamous stare-offs and I just sat there for what felt like an eternity, imagining how funny it would be if Punk or Heyman thought they were done shooting and moved or laughed too soon. It seems almost inevitable, one of these days someone is going to miss their cue and forget that the camera is still filming them for 6 minutes after they stop talking.

I can just imagine that this is yet another out-of-touch Vince thing. "Everyone stare for 15 seconds at the end of your promos. It's suspenseful! It creates drama! I didn't say cut dammit, keep staring!"