WWE looking to bring back former stars for the brand split

[TheMainEvent]

Rumors have the WWE looking at bringing back former stars to help fill the new split rosters. Now one could argue that this defeats the purpose of having the split to help push and establish new younger talent for a main event level. However it could be good to have established names to be used to elevate some of the talent. So my question is who would you like to see brought back and in what capacity, feuds, etc.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I think the one guy everyone wants to see again is Kurt Angle.

I'd love to see Kurt back in an in-ring capacity, but WWE have been reluctant to rehire Angle as an active wrestler due to his injury issues and personal problems, plus Angle's own admittance that he can't work a full-time schedule. Now, Angle still has the name value and talent to sell tickets, so even just a part-time return would be great to see for the fans.

An idea that a lot of people have talked about is Angle coming in as a manager/mentor to American Alpha if they are brought up to the main roster, as a type of Team Angle V.2. I think that could be a perfect use for Angle, as he could act as a mouthpiece for the team and could step into the ring when required in feuds, plus Gable and Jordan could learn from picking the brains of one of the all time best. Win win!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think the one guy everyone wants to see again is Kurt Angle.

I'd love to see Kurt back in an in-ring capacity, but WWE have been reluctant to rehire Angle as an active wrestler due to his injury issues and personal problems, plus Angle's own admittance that he can't work a full-time schedule. Now, Angle still has the name value and talent to sell tickets, so even just a part-time return would be great to see for the fans.

An idea that a lot of people have talked about is Angle coming in as a manager/mentor to American Alpha if they are brought up to the main roster, as a type of Team Angle V.2. I think that could be a perfect use for Angle, as he could act as a mouthpiece for the team and could step into the ring when required in feuds, plus Gable and Jordan could learn from picking the brains of one of the all time best. Win win!

I've had similar thoughts regarding Angle. Also, is it just me or does Jason Jordon bear a pretty fair physical resemblance to Angle, especially when he hulks up and pushes down the straps of his singlet?

At any rate, Angle is one of the few veterans I've got any interest in seeing as I've little desire in seeing WWE bring back a load of aging veterans and/or former stars that I wasn't particularly interested in when they were in WWE in the first place.

There's more than enough in-ring talent in WWE. From an in-ring perspective, WWE has one of the strongest rosters its ever had, especially when you also factor in the NXT roster. It's questionable as to whether Angle is physically fit enough, in WWE's collective eyes, to work in the ring, though I think they'd want him available for at least a few matches is possible. If so, then I'd rather see him in a feud with some young, fresh talent, use him to help elevate someone rather than go the route of trying to have one more "dream match" scenario as I've no interest really in Cena vs. Angle, Taker vs. Angle, Orton vs. Angle or Lesnar vs. Angle.

 

[Aquaman6686]

WWE needs to bring back veteran talents for the main event spots. The young talent needs to be kept OUT of the main events until they're ready.This Brand Extension could very well have been sabotaged already by the fact that all of WWE's actual top stars, the stars who put asses in seats, have been regularly jobbed out to young guys. Bringing back a star like Kurt Angle to be a top guy of a brand is a smart move, but only if he's used properly - have Angle steamroll through the young guys and only lose to other established veteran talent.

 

[BringThePain834]

This must mean that the day will be coming soon.

The day that WWE realizes that contacting and bringing back all these old talent is the reason that people can't get over in this generation like in previous generations and that there aren't many stars being created in today's WWE.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE needs to bring back veteran talents for the main event spots. The young talent needs to be kept OUT of the main events until they're ready.This Brand Extension could very well have been sabotaged already by the fact that all of WWE's actual top stars, the stars who put asses in seats, have been regularly jobbed out to young guys. Bringing back a star like Kurt Angle to be a top guy of a brand is a smart move, but only if he's used properly - have Angle steamroll through the young guys and only lose to other established veteran talent.

Who exactly are these veteran talents who've been jobbing out to young guys???? It's certainly not been guys like Taker, Brock Lesnar, John Cena or Randy Orton who've been jobbed out. If anything, it's been the other way around as over the last 5 years or so we've seen guys like Ziggler, Cesaro, the Wyatt Family, Dean Ambrose, Rusev, Seth Rollins and a few others ultimately jobbed out to or, in some cases, been outright fed to guys like Lesnar and Cena. Against some of these true top tier veterans, the only young guy that's really gotten some consistent protection has been Roman Reigns; he hasn't really faced guys like Orton & Cena yet, though it's coming, and don't be at all surprised if Reigns goes over them because it's common knowledge that Vince wants Reigns as his next Cena. Reigns is also one of the very few guys who hasn't been outright "defeated" by Brock Lesnar and WWE sometimes harps on that with Vince trying to have commentators revise history to make it seem as though his bout with Lesnar at WrestleMania XXXI was 50/50, before Seth Rollins cashed in his MITB briefcase, instead of what actually happened, which is Lesnar dominating 80 to 90% of the match with Reigns gaining a few flurries of offense at various points.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that these guys have been buried, though the argument can be made in some cases, since that would result in their careers hitting the skids. However, there has been ample opportunity for Vince to use some of these big name veterans to help elevate and further establish younger wrestlers, the wrestler who're going to be carrying the company for the next 10-12 years. In most cases, the younger wrestlers have been made to look good in defeat, which is something, but Vince is supremely reluctant to pull the trigger on having these guys gain definitive wins over them; in Cena's case, there's almost the pathological paranoia to Vince in which he feels he absolutely MUST protect Cena as if the magic is simply going to up and vanish.

 

[Navi]

WWE needs to bring back veteran talents for the main event spots. The young talent needs to be kept OUT of the main events until they're ready.This Brand Extension could very well have been sabotaged already by the fact that all of WWE's actual top stars, the stars who put asses in seats, have been regularly jobbed out to young guys. Bringing back a star like Kurt Angle to be a top guy of a brand is a smart move, but only if he's used properly - have Angle steamroll through the young guys and only lose to other established veteran talent.

But when do you think the new talent will be ready? And are you aware that most of the new talent, Rollins, Ambrose, Owens, Zayn and others actually have more experience under their belts than some of your WWE veterans?

They might not have got their training in the WWE, but they have the wrestling experience none the less. Stars like Cena, Orton, Taker, Kane and yes even Ziggler are not getting any younger. Orton has been on a part time contract for a long time now, Taker only wrestles once a year and Kane very seldom gets in the ring. Mark Henry and Big Show while still used, are used sparingly.

I think the last year with all the injuries have shown the WWE that relying on the older veterans isn't going to cut it anymore. They have to start elevating new stars and do it quickly. Bringing someone like Angle back is fine, but he shouldn't be steamrolling as you say through the younger guys, how does that help him? He if he does come back should be helping to put the young guys over with the crowd. Although in saying that some of the young guys are over with the crowd, Ambrose for one, and Vince kind of totally ignores that.

Anyway I can't think of many names out there that would be willing to come back and do what Chris Jericho is doing. I have a feeling that if you bring back Angle and Goldberg, they would want their last WWE moment of glory and then ride off into the sunset. In other words not help at all.

Can't believe they are looking to bring people back when they just got rid of Sandow and others. The WWE are idiots.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Who exactly are these veteran talents who've been jobbing out to young guys???? It's certainly not been guys like Taker, Brock Lesnar, John Cena or Randy Orton who've been jobbed out. If anything, it's been the other way around as over the last 5 years or so we've seen guys like Ziggler, Cesaro, the Wyatt Family, Dean Ambrose, Rusev, Seth Rollins and a few others ultimately jobbed out to or, in some cases, been outright fed to guys like Lesnar and Cena. Against some of these true top tier veterans, the only young guy that's really gotten some consistent protection has been Roman Reigns; he hasn't really faced guys like Orton & Cena yet, though it's coming, and don't be at all surprised if Reigns goes over them because it's common knowledge that Vince wants Reigns as his next Cena. Reigns is also one of the very few guys who hasn't been outright "defeated" by Brock Lesnar and WWE sometimes harps on that with Vince trying to have commentators revise history to make it seem as though his bout with Lesnar at WrestleMania XXXI was 50/50, before Seth Rollins cashed in his MITB briefcase, instead of what actually happened, which is Lesnar dominating 80 to 90% of the match with Reigns gaining a few flurries of offense at various points.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that these guys have been buried, though the argument can be made in some cases, since that would result in their careers hitting the skids. However, there has been ample opportunity for Vince to use some of these big name veterans to help elevate and further establish younger wrestlers, the wrestler who're going to be carrying the company for the next 10-12 years. In most cases, the younger wrestlers have been made to look good in defeat, which is something, but Vince is supremely reluctant to pull the trigger on having these guys gain definitive wins over them; in Cena's case, there's almost the pathological paranoia to Vince in which he feels he absolutely MUST protect Cena as if the magic is simply going to up and vanish.

Vince's biggest weakness has always been his inability to let babyfaces, especially the top ones, take clean losses. And Roman might be the biggest example. From what backstage sources are saying, Vince is higher on Roman Reigns than he's ever been on ANYONE. More than Hogan, more than Hart, more than Austin, more than Cena, Vince is so delusional that he believes Roman Reigns is the biggest thing in the history of wrestling.

For ridiculous babyface domination, look at the Orton/Christian feud from 2011. Christian had finally shattered the glass ceiling and become a legitimate main eventer, and was THE most over person on the roster - more over than John Cena or Randy Orton. So what did Vince do? Turn Christian heel, and COMPLETELY job him out to Randy Orton. Christian was booked to look 100% inferior to Randy Orton and incapable of defeating him. That feud killed Christian's career.

As for which veterans I'm talking about, I'm talking about guys like Chris Jericho, Kane, Big Show, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler (Miz and Ziggler are over ten year veterans in WWE now, they can't be grouped with "young guys"). Look at where Ziggler was at Survivor Series 2014 - headlining the event and taking down the Authority after overcoming a 3-on-1 deficit. One year later, he's jobbing to some nobody, Tyler Breeze, at the same event. Now, he's constantly jobbing to Baron Corbin, a feud in which Ziggler should be winning every match in two minutes. Ziggler was a megastar waiting to happen, but Vince didn't pick him, so he refused to allow it to happen and turned him into a jobber. Ziggler does nothing now but job to NXT nobodies. Ziggler should quit WWE and find work elsewhere, because he's been completely buried beyond the point of no return.

The Miz is finally being allowed to do something, so he's alright for now, but for most of the past 5 years since his main event run was prematurely ended, he's been used as an enhancement talent.

Randy Orton can't be taken seriously as a top talent anymore, which I trace squarely back to SummerSlam 2014 where they had Roman Reigns absolutely DESTROY him.

What does a victory over Chris Jericho mean in 2016? Nothing. Because all he does is job to everyone they put in front of him. It's great that they had him beat Styles clean at WrestleMania, but it was too little, too late. Jericho had already lost clean to Styles twice, so all that win meant was that Jericho finally got "lucky". Since then, Jericho has been Dean Ambrose's personal bitch. So it was all a waste.

The Dudley Boyz? Completely worthless. Why did they return? They came back, jobbed to The New Day a billion times, and now they're nothing. Nobody gives a rat's ass about them, they're lower than jobbers. There's a four team tag title match at Money in the Bank filled with nobodies, and those nobodies are more important now than the Dudleyz. The Dudleyz coming back to WWE accomplished nothing but throwing a big pile of crap all over their legacy.

WWE just doesn't understand. The veterans are the ones people are paying to see. Not the young guys. The veterans should be winning 95% of their matches, and then losing when it REALLY matters.

 

[Kyphael]

Okay, I've skimmed over the posts, and someone said have Kurt Angle steamroll over young talent? You must be higher than Vince on Roman Reigns. You're insinuating WWE should book Angle to tear through guys like Rollins, Zayn, Owens, Styles, and Cesaro who mind you, are veterans in the business themselves, but not as old as Angle and not broken down because it's Kurt Angle and he should only lose to guys like John Cena, Orton, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, and Triple H who don't even need wins at this point in their career?

That's so asinine I can't believe you're serious. If you are, you'd have been perfect to book WCW in 1997 and onward.

Kurt Angle left back in 2007 because he couldn't handle the full time schedule, good for him, but instead of taking an year off and coming back, he decided to jump ship to TNA. Good for him, it was a hot, promising brand back then, and he thought he'd be to TNA what Hogan was to WCW. He wasn't... no one can fault him, honest mistake. Besides, he wanted a fresh new roster to work with and was tired of putting Cena over.

However, instead of going back to WWE after getting getting it out of his system working with great young talent like Joe, Styles, and whoever else he worked with at the time... Angle kept on re-signing, and re-signing, showing misguided loyalty to Dixie even though WWE likely would have signed him back YEARS ago when he wasn't as old and run down but had gotten over his vises.

Now he's a 9 year TNA veteran and he'll be lucky if WWE takes him back. He needs WWE, not the other way around, so why would they hire him back and roll out the red carpet ho have him squash their promising young talent after he's shown more loyalty to Dixie Carter than the company that made him a household name in professional wrestling? If I was WWE I'd only sign him to a part-time contract to have guys like Rollins, Owens, Balor, Nakamura, and Zayn beat him and elevate themselves if beating Angle still means anything anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Kurt Angle, but his stint in TNA was so long it ruined his pro wrestling career. He over-stayed his tenure in the Impact Zone when he could have been back years ago when they needed him and it's biting him in the ass now because it decreased his stock.

I'll remember Kurt Angle for his contributions to the WWE and his epic run from 2000 to 2006 as the fastest rising, natural pro wrestler and entertainer in company history, but he showed no loyalty to his greatest employer and deserves no royal treatment for it. if he gets the Sting treatment, he'll be damn lucky.

I also do not want Kurt Angle anywhere NEAR American Alpha. They have a great thing going and do not need to associate themselves with Kurt Angle which would only turn them from what they can be to Team Angle version 2.0 which would turn them into a rehashed idea that would sink their careers once Angle is gone. Just because they're two all-American amateur wrestlers they HAVE to be Team Angle 2.0? No, they can be American Alpha and continue to get over with that. Remember Heindenreich in the Legion of Doom 2.0? Yeah, that was a great idea too.

On topic... I'd love for WWE to bring in guys like Carlito, MVP, Mr. Kennedy, and especially Shelton Benjamin, to work with the younger guys and get them over if their egos can be kept in check. MVP and Benjamin are the two most likely, with Benjamin even more likely since he's so good and has never had heat as far as I know. MVP is washed up and past his prime so WWE may not want him. Carlito is good, but he has a bad attitude about working with WWE and despite his talent can be lazy. Kennedy, I'd love to see back the most, but the way he left was so jaded, it's unlikely. But hey, never say never, right?

 

[BringThePain834]

People seem to forget that this is the same company that booked Hogan to beat both Michaels and Orton.

It wouldn't be good but I do think they would book Angle to go through all those guys mentioned.

 

[Hem]

I don't see any top guys like Batista returning but the mid carders or upper mid card guys will for sure get the call to come back.

Guys like JoMo, Hardy Brothers (Especially Jeff), Benjamin, The Brian Kendrick will be the kind of guys getting called upon because they are still at an age that isn't too high and still perform well. These guys can mesh with the current generation as well and can fit in basically anywhere on the card.

Other than that I think a majority of the time will be filled by WWE using more wrestlers in a better manner. Guys like Swagger, Mark Henry, Lucha Dragons, Big Show, maybe Ryback will all get bigger roles and may be the guys filling up the matches on the pre show or the undercard. Also a plethora of NXT talents are waiting in the wings to be called up.

Oh and Kurt would be cool to see.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Vince's biggest weakness has always been his inability to let babyfaces, especially the top ones, take clean losses. And Roman might be the biggest example. From what backstage sources are saying, Vince is higher on Roman Reigns than he's ever been on ANYONE. More than Hogan, more than Hart, more than Austin, more than Cena, Vince is so delusional that he believes Roman Reigns is the biggest thing in the history of wrestling.

For ridiculous babyface domination, look at the Orton/Christian feud from 2011. Christian had finally shattered the glass ceiling and become a legitimate main eventer, and was THE most over person on the roster - more over than John Cena or Randy Orton. So what did Vince do? Turn Christian heel, and COMPLETELY job him out to Randy Orton. Christian was booked to look 100% inferior to Randy Orton and incapable of defeating him. That feud killed Christian's career.

As for which veterans I'm talking about, I'm talking about guys like Chris Jericho, Kane, Big Show, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler (Miz and Ziggler are over ten year veterans in WWE now, they can't be grouped with "young guys"). Look at where Ziggler was at Survivor Series 2014 - headlining the event and taking down the Authority after overcoming a 3-on-1 deficit. One year later, he's jobbing to some nobody, Tyler Breeze, at the same event. Now, he's constantly jobbing to Baron Corbin, a feud in which Ziggler should be winning every match in two minutes. Ziggler was a megastar waiting to happen, but Vince didn't pick him, so he refused to allow it to happen and turned him into a jobber. Ziggler does nothing now but job to NXT nobodies. Ziggler should quit WWE and find work elsewhere, because he's been completely buried beyond the point of no return.

The Miz is finally being allowed to do something, so he's alright for now, but for most of the past 5 years since his main event run was prematurely ended, he's been used as an enhancement talent.

Randy Orton can't be taken seriously as a top talent anymore, which I trace squarely back to SummerSlam 2014 where they had Roman Reigns absolutely DESTROY him.

What does a victory over Chris Jericho mean in 2016? Nothing. Because all he does is job to everyone they put in front of him. It's great that they had him beat Styles clean at WrestleMania, but it was too little, too late. Jericho had already lost clean to Styles twice, so all that win meant was that Jericho finally got "lucky". Since then, Jericho has been Dean Ambrose's personal bitch. So it was all a waste.

The Dudley Boyz? Completely worthless. Why did they return? They came back, jobbed to The New Day a billion times, and now they're nothing. Nobody gives a rat's ass about them, they're lower than jobbers. There's a four team tag title match at Money in the Bank filled with nobodies, and those nobodies are more important now than the Dudleyz. The Dudleyz coming back to WWE accomplished nothing but throwing a big pile of crap all over their legacy.

WWE just doesn't understand. The veterans are the ones people are paying to see. Not the young guys. The veterans should be winning 95% of their matches, and then losing when it REALLY matters.

We're obviously on different ends of the spectrum. Part of the way you build new stars is by having older, established stars put them over. WWE has done a pretty good job at having mid-card and tag team guys do that, but they've been lousy with it in terms of main eventers.

And no, I very much have to disagree with the notions that the veterans are the ones people are paying to see because the numbers just don't show it. It shows in cases for top level guys like Cena or Taker obviously, but not for guys like Kane, Big Show, Miz, etc. For instance, if guys like the Dudley Boyz had been relevant draws in the last 10 years, why didn't they do any good for TNA? Bubba Ray in particular was one of THE top guys in TNA for the past 5 years, one of the company's biggest heels, but it didn't equal viewers and ppv buys for them. You've also seen and heard the sort of reaction Big Show has gotten for the past year or so, especially with the "please retire" chants so I don't see many people lining up to see Big Show taking on Sami Zayn, especially if you're of the opinion Zayn should job out to him despite the fact that he's one of a number of veterans that fans today are just bored with.

 

[Aquaman6686]

We're obviously on different ends of the spectrum. Part of the way you build new stars is by having older, established stars put them over. WWE has done a pretty good job at having mid-card and tag team guys do that, but they've been lousy with it in terms of main eventers.

And no, I very much have to disagree with the notions that the veterans are the ones people are paying to see because the numbers just don't show it. It shows in cases for top level guys like Cena or Taker obviously, but not for guys like Kane, Big Show, Miz, etc. For instance, if guys like the Dudley Boyz had been relevant draws in the last 10 years, why didn't they do any good for TNA? Bubba Ray in particular was one of THE top guys in TNA for the past 5 years, one of the company's biggest heels, but it didn't equal viewers and ppv buys for them. You've also seen and heard the sort of reaction Big Show has gotten for the past year or so, especially with the "please retire" chants so I don't see many people lining up to see Big Show taking on Sami Zayn, especially if you're of the opinion Zayn should job out to him despite the fact that he's one of a number of veterans that fans today are just bored with.

And yet it it's in today's "push the young guys and f*** veterans!!!" WWE that RAW is drawing historically low numbers, and live event attendance is dropping off a cliff. People aren't buying tickets to see guys like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and AJ Styles. That's a simple fact.

 

[TDFG]

I don't expect it to be the likes of Kurt Angle, Batista etc.

WWE has a few veterans already on the roster that haven't been used much lately i.e. Big Show, Mark Henry.

As for resigning some veterans, I would be thinking more along the likes of RVD had the same contract as Y2J, to work on/off for a few months, Brian Kendrick is a trainer at WWE. Hardcore Holly is a possibility as he's semi-retired, Perry Saturn perhaps.

 

[swallop]

If there looking for vets than why did they release sandow and cody Rhodes? Makes no sense sandow could have gotten some heels over, Cody could have changed back and been a heel like his 2010-11 run. WWE makes no sense to me. But bring back john morrison they should have never got rid of him, so much talent.

 

[Navi]

And yet it it's in today's "push the young guys and f*** veterans!!!" WWE that RAW is drawing historically low numbers, and live event attendance is dropping off a cliff. People aren't buying tickets to see guys like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and AJ Styles. That's a simple fact.

You know, what you call today's veterans where once the "young guys" themselves. How do you think they got to be where they are, by the veterans of the past helping to put them over. Wrestling isn't a sport that in today's environment you can do for years and years like wrestler's like Taker and Kane did. The human body just can't take the toll, as we're beginning to see.

Even stalwarts like Cena and Orton are starting to break down. They have served their time, and now it's up to them to put the Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose's of the company over for the next generation. And when it's time for them to move on, they will do the same thing. The creative department is what's causing people to tune out.

The biggest problem with the WWE right now is not the superstars on the roster, it's the guy making the decisions Vince McMahon. His refusal to let Cena lose a feud, keep Reigns in the top spot when he's getting boo'd out of the building are examples of that. Once he goes I think we will see a huge change and hopefully the viewers will come back. If they wait to long, they will have lost them.

You on the other hand are a different story. I seriously think you would be happy seeing them wrestling in wheelchairs just to prevent someone else from getting a push.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I'm not sure what to think about this. On one hand, you don't want to job your veterans out so much (see Jericho) or keep them off TV completely (see the Dudleys). However at the same time you want to give your new stars some quality wins and plenty of screen time.

I would like to see guys like Kurt Angle and Batista return, if only to put over some of the new stars. However don't have them lose so many times and turn into Jericho.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

Out of all the guys that have been mentioned. Kurt Angle is the one I would like see return the most. I Would not want him competing week in week out like some would, but the odd match now and then like Wrestlemania and Summerslam could be really good. I also think pairing him with American Alpha is a great Idea and a good way of keeping him on tv without having to have him compete every week.

As for other returning veterans, the only other ones I would have any interest in seeing return would be RVD ( I Think he could have some great matches with the likes of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and would help elevate either the US or IC title scene ) and Shelton Benjamin ( he's a fantastic worker and while I Would not have him on either raw or Smackdown, I would have him in NXT and use him much like Rhino was.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Guys stop arguing with Aquaman. You're not going to change his mind. Let him live in his fantasy world where Big Show and Kane are actual draws, and no new stars are ever created.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Guys stop arguing with Aquaman. You're not going to change his mind. Let him live in his fantasy world where Big Show and Kane are actual draws, and no new stars are ever created.

WWE's ratings and attendance are falling off a cliff during this "bury the veterans and push young guys to the moon" phase, and you say I'M the one living in a fantasy world? You don't understand how to build talent. Having the young guys constantly bury the veterans isn't building the future, it's destroying the present. Veterans winning most of their matches and then putting over the young guys when it MATTERS is how you build the future.

 

[Navi]

WWE's ratings and attendance are falling off a cliff during this "bury the veterans and push young guys to the moon" phase, and you say I'M the one living in a fantasy world? You don't understand how to build talent. Having the young guys constantly bury the veterans isn't building the future, it's destroying the present. Veterans winning most of their matches and then putting over the young guys when it MATTERS is how you build the future.

Well I say that nothing will kill ratings more than tuning in on Monday nights to watch, Cena, Kane, Big Show, Dudley's, Ziggler, Swagger and the rest of the veterans winning their matches. How is that supposed to put new talent over? It makes the new guys look like jobbers who end up having no credibility.

You gain credibility by beating veterans who have been around forever. How is it that you don't see this?

 

[Aquaman6686]

Well I say that nothing will kill ratings more than tuning in on Monday nights to watch, Cena, Kane, Big Show, Dudley's, Ziggler, Swagger and the rest of the veterans winning their matches. How is that supposed to put new talent over? It makes the new guys look like jobbers who end up having no credibility.

You gain credibility by beating veterans who have been around forever. How is it that you don't see this?

You don't gain credibility from beating guys that EVERYONE BEATS. How do YOU not see THAT? A win over Kane or Big Show doesn't mean a damn thing, because ALL THEY DO IS LOSE. Now, if you line up 10 young stars in front of Big Show, and he beats 9 of them, and the 10th one beats him, it means infinitely more than if all ten of them beat him. How do you not understand such a simple concept? The young guys should beat the veterans when it MATTERS. The rest of the time, it's the VETERANS who should be winning.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

You don't gain credibility from beating guys that EVERYONE BEATS. How do YOU not see THAT? A win over Kane or Big Show doesn't mean a damn thing, because ALL THEY DO IS LOSE.

But it's Kane and the Big Show. They are future hall of famers. Baron Corbin beating Kane still means more than if he beats Fandango even if Kane and Fandango have the same "winning percentage" the past couple of years.

Kane and Big Show don't need to be built back up again in order to then re-feed them to up-and-comers. If that was the case, that they needed to be put over more often so their losses would be more "valuable" in the future, than the WWE would just be better off not using either one of them on television.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

WWE's ratings and attendance are falling off a cliff during this "bury the veterans and push young guys to the moon" phase, and you say I'M the one living in a fantasy world? You don't understand how to build talent. Having the young guys constantly bury the veterans isn't building the future, it's destroying the present. Veterans winning most of their matches and then putting over the young guys when it MATTERS is how you build the future.

Let me get this straight - you think guys like Big Show, Kane, Jack Swagger, and Dolph Ziggler should go over guys like Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and A.J. Styles 95% of the time? If you do I'm done arguing because you clearly have zero idea about what you're talking about.

And you want to talk about ratings dying? Absolutely nothing will kill ratings more than Big Show, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, and the Dudley Boys being top stars and Cena and Orton being the only main eventers. Then ratings would really fall off a cliff. Also ratings aren't near as bad as you indicate. Consider how many people DVR Raw or watch it online. The Nielsen system is severely outdated.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Let me get this straight - you think guys like Big Show, Kane, Jack Swagger, and Dolph Ziggler should go over guys like Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and A.J. Styles 95% of the time? If you do I'm done arguing because you clearly have zero idea about what you're talking about.

And you want to talk about ratings dying? Absolutely nothing will kill ratings more than Big Show, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, and the Dudley Boys being top stars and Cena and Orton being the only main eventers. Then ratings would really fall off a cliff. Also ratings aren't near as bad as you indicate. Consider how many people DVR Raw or watch it online. The Nielsen system is severely outdated.

Jack Swagger never got to be a main event guy for more than a month at a time, so he really doesn't belong in that same group. If Kane fought Sami Zayn in a feud starting Monday? Kane should have the clear upper hand in that feud. Kane should be fed young guy after young guy for weeks to build him up, trade wins with Zayn in 50/50 matches, then Zayn wins the final match. That way it actually MEANS something. If they book it the current WWE way, which would be Zayn dominating and beating Kane in 5 consecutive matches, nothing is accomplished. It just further buries Kane, and does nothing whatsoever for Zayn because all he did was beat a guy who always loses anyway.

Dolph Ziggler as a top guy would only help WWE. It's been proven time and again that no matter how deep Vince buries him, Ziggler is still INSANELY over. Right now, the only guys in WWE who rival Ziggler's popularity are Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, who have both been booked much better than Ziggler. Ziggler has spent the last year jobbing to nobodies and still gets one of the biggest reactions of anyone on the roster. That's a top star, no matter how much Vince despises him.

The Dudley Boyz are done. They never should have come back to WWE, all it did was take a steaming load of crap all over their legacy and ruin their careers. They're buried so far down, they're never coming back. And that's because they came back, white-hot and super over, and were fed to every young team on the roster in glorified squash matches. An absolute waste and an insult to one of the best teams of all time. What did their comeback accomplish? Nothing. The way it SHOULD have been booked was The Dudleyz come back, feud with New Day, take the titles from them, and hold them for months, beating all the young teams put in front of them, until dropping the titles at WrestleMania. Whichever team beats them there, INSTANTLY become stars. That's the way to book it.

Cesaro's been in WWE for four years now, he's no longer one of the rookies, but he's not a veteran yet. So he doesn't belong in either category.

AJ Styles early WWE run has been handled ok, but not like it should have been. It definitely could have been worse, but it could have been so much better. They completely dropped the ball on the Jericho feud by having Styles beat Jericho clean twice, Jericho cheats to win one match, Styles goes over clean AGAIN, and then Jericho finally beats him clean at WrestleMania. By the time Jericho finally beat Styles, it didn't mean anything, because he'd already lost clean too many times. All it did was show that Jericho finally got "lucky" and won a match. But Jericho long ago made himself into the perfect example of how NOT to book a veteran talent, since all he does is come back for months at a time, lose every match, and then leave. What does a win over Chris Jericho mean? Absolutely nothing. Did Styles' very first win over Jericho make him into an instant megastar? No, because EVERYONE beats Chris Jericho. But, if Jericho had been booked CORRECTLY - i.e. winning 95% of his matches during his 2012-2015 runs - Styles beating him clean would have instantly skyrocketed AJ Styles to the top.

If you can't see how WWE's current method doesn't work, you're beyond help.