WWE: Losing the War?

[Shocky]

But it's not exclusive to the internet. There have been hotline after hotline set up for years for people to spend 3.99 a minute to listen to all of the new rumors and such. It's nothing new. Why do people read PWI when it's Kayfabe crap, because they are looking for potential storylines. People like the detective work aspect of the show. The WWE should be happy that their fans are trying to figure out storylines, it at least shows there is an interest in the company.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the WWE is going against the grain too much. Look at 2003ish era. You had shows like Confidential, guys were losing the gimmicks, people were interviewed behind the scenes and the WWE let us peak behind the curtain. The Wrestling community isn't stupid like the WWE likes to think we are. We are able to tell reality from fiction, and we know who to cheer and boo, even if we see someone out of character.

The WWE since has closed the doors to the IWC especially, and made them feel inferior. Instead of embracing the internet and using it as a tool, the WWE has reverted back to 1985 Rock and Wresting mentality, where everything is real. It's stupid, and insults the crowd. The WWE should embrace the internet, and not ignore it.

As far as great storylines. If you call the Mr. McMahon death angle great, it's not. It was a horrible idea that got them ripped in the media, and with the events that took place two weeks later showed how truly tasteless it was. It shows how low the company has gotten when it had to kill a main character off to generate any interest. When did Wrestling get to be like this is what I want to know? When did the show become about what goes on backstage as opposed to what happened in the ring?

This is the problem of the WWE. They are just so out of touch with everything that the fans are telling them. Ten years ago, it' bring your signs, express yourself. Now it's if you bring a sign that says Cena Sucks, it's confiscated. It's crap and the WWE routinely shits on it's fans now. The WWE, in my opinion, honestly feels that it is better then anyone. They feel they transcend the business of wrestling because there is no one else to compete with. It's a very dangerous and arrogant attitude to have. Plus, it's the wrong attitude to have, because it's simply not the truth. Wrestling itself is laughed at by people outside our little world, and anything with a WWE logo on it, whether it be a film or CD, is criticized and laughed at. The WWE should spend less time worrying about shitty movies and bad music, and put money into finding and creating talented new superstars and good story tellers.

And as far as the bad young talent, you can blame the WWE for that as well. The WWE has been a horrible discoverer of talent for as long as I remember. Almost all of it's major stars in its past were discovered by another promotion. Now there is no more AWA, gone is the NWA, no ECW, and no WCW. This is where the WWE's talent came from and why we are stuck with a bunch of muscle bound guys with limited in ring ability and lackluster mic skills. The WWE is horrible with finding raw, untrained talent. I'm not saying having a limited wrestler with average mic skills like John Cena is bad, it's obviously the guy that people want to see, but when you have an entire roster of guys like this, it's bad.

Look at WCW and the WWE back in it's day. The pay per view and monday night shows were built around guys that busted their asses off in the mid and lower cards and stole the show, all leading up to main events that were usually bad as far as matches, but good in entertainment. The WWE now simply has too many guys that do the same thing. They don't have anyone that can carry good matches to begin a show and build up to great main events. It's simply a matter of the WWE has no scouts that no what a good lower card wrestler or mid card wrestler is. And when the WWE gets their hands on someone, they strip them of everything that that person was in the indies, and they try to make them a generic WWE wrestler, again, bad for business.

 

[KingNick]

I agree with most of your posts. The WWE could be much better than they are. They just aren't listening to the fans anymore. When the guy they're promoting as the top babyface is getting booed out of the building on the continual basis, you have a problem, but they never acknolowdge it.

TNA has some amazing matches, but no real storylines that grab my interest. If TNA could step up its game, it'll force WWE to get back on theirs.

 

[bigcity]

I believe that I agree with most of you in the fact that WWE is getting realy boring adn predictable. But I would say the same thing about TNA. The only upside to watching either company, IMO, is the mid-card wrestlers. On Raw, Hardy, Kennedy, Carlito, London/Kendrick and Shetlon without Charlie. On SD! MVP and Matt Hardy have the most interesting rivalry in years that I believe will actually be worth the wait in the end when they face eachother again for the gold. ECW- Nothing besides Punk and Burke, the rest of the show sucks. And in TNA guys like Roode, Storm, Kaz, the X-divison, LAX, and some others are what I actually tune in to see.

I grown tired of seeing the same people fighting for the World Title week after week, month after month, and in the WWE year after year. There's talk that TNA is bring in Booker T and Scott Hall. They better be careful before TNA turns into the WCW reunion tour.

I've loved wrestling for years and it pains we to see the current state of the industry. I cant remember every watching so many shows and not caring who won any of the matches. The most excited and shocked I've been in the past 5 or 6 months was when HBK returned to RAW. Hopefully when Edge, Jericho, Lashley, Jarrett, and even Mesias return to action things will be a lot better. For all of sake, I sure hope so.

 

[Eternal Dragon]

I didn't even know there was a war going on... but if there is one, then no I don't think the WWE is losing. I actually don't think it's a question of "Is WWE losing the war," because obviously they still have a lot of fans worldwide. It's a bit overly-dramatic to say that Raw is going to stop coming on USA soon... it certainly doesn't seem like it just because a few choice fans in the IWC have lost interest. The wrestling world- fanwise, is about more than just these forums which we go on, and is made up of more than just the posters that we discuss with.

Oh and personally I think most of the fans in the IWC are kind of short-sighted(not talking to anyone specific here). Mostly they think they know who to cheer and boo for, because they think they know what a good or bad wrestler is, when really it's their own facade they like to create.

Flames Out
Dragon

 

[cubwannabear]

I quit watching wrestling in early 2000 because WCW beat the New World Order Gimmick to death (The Wolf Pack, Latino World Order anyone?). WCW didn't have a chance to make a comback because Time-Warner sold WCW unfortunately to WWE. When you watched WWE it was the The Rock and Steve Austin on every other segment or wrestling each other. So the WWE didn't capitalize on the purchase of their WCW wrestlers. Right then was the time to make their mark for having a Smackdown World Champion but they hesistated another few years. By this times Vince McMahon fired or let several WCW wreslters out of their respected contracts.
Now there is 3 different shows and WWE doesn't have the star power to keep all 3 shows entertaining. The Rock and Steve Austin wern't going to wrestle forever. Now with them both semi-retired, new talent hurt & Eddie Guerro and Cris Benoit (WWE misused them anyhow) deceased WWE has lost a good chunk of their star power.
So what does a wreslting fan to do?
TNA is fresh, new and getting better. They have new young wrestlers who go out and give their best as well as veterans to hold up the mic skills and give good promos. If we talked head to head which show is better right now, I would go 100% with TNA.

 

[TheRealLionheart089]

You guys have to give WWE a break....It must be pretty hard to come up with new, fresh storylines and angles to fill up 5 hours of TV time a week(not including PPV's), for like, how many years???

The internet also ruins things too. Honestly, if these 'insider' websites weren't around, we would have ALL been shocked when Chris Jericho eventually returned. Also we would have ALL been shocked to see Booker in TNA, thinking he was still with WWE. But because of all the headlines like "Breaking News: Booker T fired by WWE" and "SAVE_US.222 Could be Jericho's Return?", we already know whats gonna happen. Because I know for a fact that I would've pissed my self if I saw Booker on iMPACT, thinking he was with WWE.

Btw: If you dont like WWE, dont watch it. Plain and simple. Complaining about "stale storylines, promos, lack of wrestling etc," and still watching it on a weekly basis just sounds stupid.
It's like going into a restaurant, sitting down, ordering and eating the food, and saying "This food sucks...there needs to be more of a vareity....it's the same food over and over again... etc," But you eat at that same restaurant every week saying the same thing! Why keep going back to the same 'crappy' restaurant, when you can just go somewhere else??
Think about it.

 

[simonhirst]

hmmmm interesting post. i agree with alot of whats been said about how poor some of the matches are. I thought id wanna change the stance a little, one guy made me think of this idea but cant think who so sorry for not naming u but he pointed out there is 5 hours of creative a week and 8 if its a PPV week, 9 if wrestlemania i believe. Now i know WWE has a very big roster, so maybe fans are getting bored because WWE are stuggling to find a balance. I'll cut down to my point. Should there really be three rosters? I look back to the good old days and u had such an array of talent, austin rock, hhh, taker, kane, mankind, then i remember that people who wouldnt be given a lookin were fightin for the i.c and european titles such as goldust, d-lo, val, godfather, before that we had goldust, razor, marc mero, ahmed, ron simmons (cant spell faruke lol) who all had good long decent matches. all on the same roster and yet all of them got a fair crack so cutting down to one or two rosters. is that the way forward?
maybe thats another reason why WWE isnt as good, too many promos instead of good actual wrestling. i remember a ppv wud have either a build up video (which in my opinion reli got me pumped for the match by showing good clips of the feud with commentary to build it up) now i havent bought a ppv for a while so i wonder if its still happenin.
Totally agree that after santino austin was shown, the crows were GUTTED, even on the video on WWE.com, no1's interested after that, hugely let down, and even wen austin was announced, no1 cared because they were so disappointed austin wasnt there, this y2j stuff needs to happen soon as well, it was really interestin at first but after cyber sunday, its like an anti-climax now. i wish WWE would read this post and see how much they are losing control. i doubt they will as theyre probably more interested in thinkin up stupid jokes for santino to tell lamely about austin. if you hate santino marella and wish he'd die, give me a hell yeah!

 

[The Lyncha]

The reason why the storylines have been crap is due to internet rumour sites, anytime anyone posts a potential storyline the WWE deliberatly change the storyline to make it a surprize which is Exactly what we have been asking for. I am not saying it has been good by any means but just be patient because it at least looks like they are trying to change things, for example I personly dont think Hornswoggle was meant to be McMahons son but because of all the rumors they did something that no-one expected

 

[LMaruko]

As it has been running for the past three years, the creative team has gone downhill with ideas and such. And ever since Stephanie McMahon has taken a backseat from appearances on the WWE, she has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Talent and Creative Writing.

Therein lines your problem. Before Steph took over, the storylines and the writers were pretty damn good. I could make better matches and storylines than what has been going on lately in the WWE. Stephanie McMahon should have been in charge of Human Relations or something of that general nature. Not storyline writing. And it's more biased towards Triple H. Not that Triple H is a bad wrestler; he is worth what the WWE pays him. But Steph has been sticking her neck out a little too far for her hubby, making Triple H's stories more popular and more involved.

I believe to make storylines more interesting, have someone who isn't part of the McMahon family write the storylines, with no biased input. Chris Kreski, the man responsible for the awesome storylines of the 90's, still remained a part of the WWE crew after Stephanie McMahon replaced him, putting his two cents in and helping whenever Steph needed it. But he passed on back in 2005.

Whatever Vince is thinking, he better go back to the way his dad ran things and change his strategy. Quick.

 

[Shocky]

I love how people try to blame the IWC for the shortcomings of the WWE. Oh, the IWC is only 20,000 people, the IWC has no weight. I think people really downplay the significance of the IWC as a whole.

The IWC are the people that are buying the DVD's. The IWC is buying pay per views, the IWC buys WWE 24/7. The casual fan turns on Raw, but isn't emotionally attached to it. Members of the IWC are the ones willing to dish out the money. So as far as an actual number, the IWC is probably fewer then 1/3 of the viewing audience, but I would wager to say the IWC probably makes up most of the WWE's revenue.

People want to be WWE apologist, I understand that, that's there feelings. I don't see the world through rose tinted glasses and I call a spade a spade. I see talentless people getting pushes, I see very poor unorganized storytelling. I see stories with potential, but the endings get rushed to try and get a short burst for ratings.

Like I've said, the WWE is out of touch with it's fan base. If the WWE is happy pulling in 3.3's to 3.5's in a time of a monopoly, I guess more power to them. But where did the other 6.5 million households that tuned in between the two shows during the Monday Night War go? The WWE is down to 1/3 of the potential wrestling viewing audience. If people want to ignore that and say it's not a problem, go for it.

 

[Juddagieg]

I love how people try to blame the IWC for the shortcomings of the WWE. Oh, the IWC is only 20,000 people, the IWC has no weight. I think people really downplay the significance of the IWC as a whole.

The IWC are the people that are buying the DVD's. The IWC is buying pay per views, the IWC buys WWE 24/7. The casual fan turns on Raw, but isn't emotionally attached to it. Members of the IWC are the ones willing to dish out the money. So as far as an actual number, the IWC is probably fewer then 1/3 of the viewing audience, but I would wager to say the IWC probably makes up most of the WWE's revenue.

People want to be WWE apologist, I understand that, that's there feelings. I don't see the world through rose tinted glasses and I call a spade a spade. I see talentless people getting pushes, I see very poor unorganized storytelling. I see stories with potential, but the endings get rushed to try and get a short burst for ratings.

Like I've said, the WWE is out of touch with it's fan base. If the WWE is happy pulling in 3.3's to 3.5's in a time of a monopoly, I guess more power to them. But where did the other 6.5 million households that tuned in between the two shows during the Monday Night War go? The WWE is down to 1/3 of the potential wrestling viewing audience. If people want to ignore that and say it's not a problem, go for it.

I highly doubt that the Internet wrestling community makes up most of WWE's revenue. Sure everyone watched Cyber Sunday (to bitch about it) but how many people actually paid for it? How many internet fans actually watch RAW and how many read spoilers? HJell, even in this post you have peoplke who havent watched smackdown in a year because of it bad history, what kind of fair judgement it that? All I hear are TNA sheeps that read someones critique of RAW then comment on it.

As reference to your "out of touch" comment, perhaps WWE is not trying to get in touch with the IWC. It's trying to pull the people who watch other things on a monday night. maybe "crappy divas" and "bad storylines" are what interests the targeted dempgraphic. You bring up some valid points, however the times are a changin, with wrestling taking a back seat, for now

 

[simonhirst]

I agree that internet sites do have some part in wrestling losing its attraction as u no of any storylines beforehand. as someone sed, if it wasnt for internet sites, we would all be shocked at a y2j return, or wen booker appears on tna. i honestly believe the reason jericho has yet to return is because we were all expecting it and WWE are trying to mix it up a little. as the person said before and im included in this, people who havent watched the product in over a year, its hard to comment on it because all your keeping in touch with are storylines and not the wrestling which is what should be most important here. If you want to be suprised week in/week out then dont read potential storyline spoilers, but at the same time, u got to take the good shows with the bad. WWE isnt perfect and they wont produce the perfect show every week. WWE are losing the war because peoples expectations are too high and wen storylines get leaked, the suprise element is gone. i remember being on holiday, no internet, then comin home and Vince is "dead". whilst people have different views on this, it grabbed my attention because i didnt have a clue, the suprise element was there and made it much more interesting. whoever sed hornswoggle wasnt meant to be his son, i half agree with that because two weeks prior to him being named, mr kennedy was named as him, all the links fitted with a feud with hhh leadin to wrestlemania. ruined. so in my opinion, we are sufferin from this hornswoggle storyline shit because WWE didnt want to be predictable and its the internet sites fault and the people who are sufferin are those who religiously tune in week in week out.

 

[supergav67]

The problem seams to be Vince is running 3 shows a week,& they all look the same.He did not want the old anti-Vince EC f,n, ,W,He wanted the name on a T Shirt ,sandwich box ,.etc..Why else would he bother.If SCI FI had dumped ECW .It woulda probably ended up a Hardcore title on Smackdown ,replacing the conviniently vacant Cruiserweight title..The PartnershiP woulda ended up a merger,Which mighta been a blessing in disguise for the walking wounded of Smackdown.
Smackdown has always been made to feel inferior cause it aint live & any half decent talent (Cena,Carlito,Ken) suddenly end up on Raw while ageing names (Flair,Taker,) go the other way.So its done pretty good since the split & was even once credited in hurrying up the demise of Biscoff.
How much better it woulda been if Vince had given Smackdown to the incoming WCW mob now haunting him slightly on TNA..What a real rivalry that woulda made but it had to be seen as a takeover rather than a merger & THE problem was immediate.Theres no other TV wrestling shows to compete in or watch so ,,,You aint got no choice mate!
Sure. T & RVD can now say "I dont like the way my characters going,I MAY be going Somewhere elsE .But TNA aint so rosy.Already theres a power struggle about how wrestlers are booked for shows ,The males resent the females getting a look in,.Rikishi fatu quit over pay while Sting contemplates retirement & certain stars ,quietly vanish from the roster.But it gives the fans & wrestlers a choice & good luck to it.
As it stands there is nowhere for talented cruiserweights like SuperCrazy to go
on Raw.Theres nothing for wrestling Divas like Victoria to do on Smackdown but be eye candy.I hate to say it but.Now there IS A rival,Wouldnt it be better if there was just ONE WWE show.with A world champion,USA,Cruiser,Hardcore,Womans,& tag, (note;all 3 brands catered for) ,You know,like he had before.!! with A televised house show like Heat helping the lower card & development area types get TV exposure..
,With the cancelation of December To Dismember & New Year Revoloution.I guess it has to hit Vinces wallet for him to realise sometimes Less is More.,

 

[Loveless Chulita]

I have to agree with some parts as far as the internet "spoiling" some of the WWE affects but at the same time, that's MY fault for reading.
I actually had NO idea that the Save_Us commercials might have anything to do with Jericho until I stopped on WZ and saw a article about it. I just thought it was something random that was going on from another network or TV show. Did it spoil it for me? No. Just made me anticipate it more which is why in a previous post somewhere else I did say it was smart of the WWE not to bring whomever back Monday due to it was some leaks or maybe just some online speculating. The simple solution to those whom feel the internet is "ruining" (not quoting anyone) wrestling is to not read the spoilers, simple as that. Also, I do believe that WWE should pay more attention to the IWC if not just for simple insight of what WE the viewers would like to say. Are wrestling fans every fully happy? I doubt that. Everyone expects different outcomes from matches or would like to see different people in the spotlight. Yes, do we expect the best, of course because for previous years we got nothing but the best now we're subjected to matches and feuds being done with the same people over and over.
I tune into Raw on a weekly basis because it's out of habit, I don't watch football or Heroes but for the main reason, I want to see what COULD happen, what's something they might pull out of their sleeves that I haven't read already.
Another point someone brought up is wrestling is changing as the times change, I started watching wrestling when I was 9 then took a break and started back when I was 12 then took another break and now that I'm 24, maybe I am expecting blasts from the past that got me interested in the first place. Vince is targeting a different market now, I realized that when Jerry Lawler quit cheering the "bad guys" and now is all for the "good". I realized that when they defaced what used to be an honorable belt and added a spinner to it. I realized that when John Cena was STILL champion and I believe HHH lost to him (someone correct me if I'm wrong).
So.. yes wrestling is changing, do I like it? Hell no.
I can admit that, am I going to stop tuning into Raw? Probably not just yet, I do think WWE can and will shake things up eventually but hopefully it's not before they lose more viewers than they already lost.

*side note*
Can someone tell me if Raw's ratings have went down or up since John Cena was injured? I'm just curious about that.

 

[Mike1517r]

First of all WWE creates a far superior product to TNA. And its not like WWE has anything to worry about in TNA, losing a war, TNA haunting them, please. Raw has had "low" ratings over the past couple months in the 3-3.5 range, well TNA went to 2 hours and still gets the same horrible ratings they had before, what a 1-1.2, wow thats great. TNA may be right on par with ECW, but thats the C show, and now they are fixing that by letting Smackdown! stars wrestle on it. Sorry but The Rock and Steve Austin will never be full time wrestlers again in the WWE. They are too big for wrestling, I agree that the storylines are kinda lame, but its not that easy when every time you plan something somebody either gets hurt or caught on roids'. WWE is doing the best they can right now, in about a year, i know its a long time, it is possible for WWE to have a healthy roster. And a Raw featuring HBK, HHH, Orton, Cena, Jericho, Lashley, Kennedy, Hardy, ect. would be great. WWE may never be as good as they were during the Attitude Era, but they still are a lot better than TNA. The only former WWE star in TNA that WWE even cared about is Christian, and he is really the only one i like on the roster. TNA competition?, WWE losing the war, seriously, that is rediculous.

 

[ACTAFOOL]

as far as the ''creative war'' goes, id have to give the win to TNA, i dont care what every1 says ''TNA is just WWE rejects'' blah blah blah, TNA has kept me hooked every week, and when i watch TNA i actually enjoy the show, not to mention the exellent PPVs....it has a feeling of WCW and WWF at the attitude era, anything can happen

now, goin on to WWE, yes its stale has hell, ive always watched WWF/WWE and continue to watch every week RAW, ECW and SD, i cant help it lol, and the main problem is that there arent any storylines, i dont think its cuz of the roster, even though WWE has few main eventers right now, they could easily carry the show with great mid card storyline/feuds, they have many great mid carders that they dont know how to use right now

yes i know 5+ hours a week to come up with new storylines is hard, but if they cant do it, END THE DAMN BRAND EXTENSION.. its simple man, if u cant do something right, dont try to, its obvious WWE cant handle brand extensions, so end them, and no the roster wouldnt be ''too big'' cuz 70% of the WWE roster i could cut and still make a great show... there are many guys who dont even need TV time and could get by just with heat or some other crap like that

as far as everything being too ''predictable'' its because the IWC reads every damn spoiler that comes out, or every rumor, if u want to be suprised, STOP reading all the spoilers on the internet damn it, yes i come here at WZ but i dont read any spoilers, be it from TNA or WWE, i like to keep myself ignorant so i can be suprised from time to time

and another thing, 40 bucks is hard to dish out for a average PPV, i know i wouldnt pay that much to watch WWEs ppv nowadays, but whoever does pay, what u should do is just watch the show and relax, the IWC picks everything apart, be it in a promo or in a match, its like they watch wrestling just to critize it, no offense... but i enjoyed cyber sunday, maybe its cuz i didnt pay 40 bucks for it, but i remember i enjoyed the rey match a lot, so it had a botched ending, or some1 didnt sell something like they should, so what?

u guys pick on every little detail to the point where theres nothing left to entertain u, thats the main problem, the only problem with WWE nowadays is the storylines and better endings to matches IMO...

 

[Pet Shop Boy]

They are not lsing the war, because quite simply the war has not begun yet. The true war will be if/when TNA breaks through the 2.0 barrier. If TNA manages to do that then WWE will be forced to regonise it as a real threat. WWE is already weary of the TNA threat but few in WWE at this moment in time are worried, or paying too close an attention to what TNA is doing. Also this Jericho promo stunt could backfire if A)They drag it out too long, or B)Jericho was to get injured early in his return. That is the reason ratings at WWE are staying steady despite the crap shows, everyone is waiting for JEricho.

 

[EtherBoo]

Alright, I've been slowly reading the first two pages, and I want to get a word in as a response to the OP before I get the rest of the replies in...

The last time I tried watching TNA, most of their crap was filled with VKM running around Stamford at the WWE headquarters. I mean really, don't these guy know their business is fake? Is this really what I want to watch, a couple of guys that couldn't cut it on their own two feet in the WWE running back to Vince like angsty emo kids. If I recall correctly, the Road Dog (whatever his name is in TNA) was doing the same intro he was 10 years ago, as are a lot of guys in TNA. If I wanted to watch this stuff, I'd go back and watch some old tapes, or download old PPVs.

As for the WWE, I think their problem is that they're trying to do family programming now as opposed to what we got in the attitude era. I mean, just in the last year, think about what Mickie James would wear as opposed to now. No more skanky skirts or tops, just very low key skimpy tights. The amount of times I hear "Bitch" and "Ass" has gone down considerably as well. There is no edge to the programming, so for all of us that enjoyed the "Golden Age of Wrestling" (Attitude Era), this all seems very stale and bland because it is.

I think another problem is Vince. The UK Raw had a great start, and a solid hour of Wrestling, but then Vince came out, and the show went downhill.

If the WWE can get back to more risque proggramming, then I think it will get better from a story standpoint, and if they can cut a lot of these garbage stories that seem more forced then they do developed, that will also help with the stories.

The wrestling is another story. From my understanding, they have banned so many moves, that they're really limited to punches, kicks, clotheslines, and a few others. This is why a lot of people like TNA more because these simple moves that shouldn't be banned are out of sight in the WWE.

Realistically, I think if Spike grows a set of nuts and puts TNA on Monday night, then we'll see a big change. People associate Monday night with Wrestling, just as they do with football. As much as I would like to give TNA another try, I always forget about it, because I don't think Thursday and Wrestling.

 

[EtherBoo]

Btw: If you dont like WWE, dont watch it. Plain and simple. Complaining about "stale storylines, promos, lack of wrestling etc," and still watching it on a weekly basis just sounds stupid.
It's like going into a restaurant, sitting down, ordering and eating the food, and saying "This food sucks...there needs to be more of a vareity....it's the same food over and over again... etc," But you eat at that same restaurant every week saying the same thing! Why keep going back to the same 'crappy' restaurant, when you can just go somewhere else??
Think about it.

See, one thing I don't think you understand, is that Wrestling is a sport in the sense that when you're a fan, you're a fan. For example, the Dolphins are doing terrible this season, and they're my favorite and home team. I support them no matter what. When they get better, it will be better, but for now, watching a game is like dipping my balls into boiling water, but I watch 'em anyway in hopes they'll have a good game. Same goes for Wrestling, it's terrible right now, but I watch in case they have a good night, that I'll be there to watch and support them.

For the record, I don't think Wrestling has been anything amazing since the splitting of the brands, and with the times that it was good since then, it's still been mediocre at best. It really is time to remerge the brands, and I'm hoping, with Chris Jericho coming back, they'll do something like that since he was the one the unified the championship. I'm hoping the SAVE_US means he'll save by "reunifying" the company.

 

[ACTAFOOL]

ok another problem im already predicting is ppl actually think jericho will ''save'' the WWE... sorry but one guy cant save WWE.. just cuz jericho will come back doesnt mean the storylines/feuds will get better, doesnt mean that the wrestlers will get more depth like in the attitude era, it just means more entertaining matches and promos, while thats a good thing, it isnt enough to save WWE

and ppl should really stop thinking ''oh tonight's the night that jericho will come back'' honestly i knew he wouldnt be at cyber sunday, or this weeks raw for that matter, i think jericho will only come back after survivor series or something like that, right now ratings are goin up, they dont need jericho yet...

 

[kabby420]

well there is alot of good points made in this thread, i think the number one reason TNA is having better overall programs is because, the company as a whole is hungry. the talent wants to prove that they can support the underdog, and do what vince did for wwe way back in the day... have the big matches the top talent and offer something that other promotions just didn't have at the time, top knotch talent mixed with great story telling and an even better overall finish to the programs on a weekly basis. TNA offers all of this because they are out to prove that wwe isn't the only promotion that can survive in a big market.

Vince created a mecca, and then he just gave up. he was on top and then just stop trying almost... maybe it was because of the fact that there wasn't ever gunna be another rock or stone cold or jericho or undertaker, so he just rode the coat tales of these superstars until they got run into the ground. and we all stopped caring. Vince is afraid of change and only wants to stick to a proven formula that worked in the 90's. unfortunatly DX is not what it was. taker is no longer what he was. and all the stars that are actually up and comming such as WORLD'S GREATEST, or even to a certain extent carlito. these guys will never be used liek HBK was or HHH was or anything like that because vince just wants to stick to the big guy gets the belt, and re use the same matches and same talent over and over again....bottom line nothing new has come out of wwe in years, and that's whta hurting, it's always the same matches with the same end results.

as for TNA i don't watch it often but when i do it's all new ideas and new matches... i mean the x division is insane and that match where they have the x hanging above the ring.... is soo amazingly new and refreshing. and even all the old wwe guys that are over there have a chance to show off what they were never able to do in wwe.... i mean when christian left wwe and went to TNA he was finally able to show that he could be a main eventer and still do all the little things like promo's etc... and then look at guys like petey williams... his finisher is the craziest thing i've ever seen... and even abyss is pretty nuts, same with styles, and a few others, they are all guys that deserve to have a decent push and if they were in wwe they wouldn't get it... they would be stuck fighting for IC belts and that's about it.

WWE needs to make a total 360 change, they need to give the belt to someone totally surprising, and let them have a chance.. i mean honestly i think hardy deserves a good run as champ because he has done well for wwe. (all backstage politics aside) they need to have kennedy have a break out and dominate, they need lashley to turn heel as well as dx, there needs to be a complete turn around. Give kane the belt have him feud with taker in hell in a cell and street fights and fire matches and etc.... these are all ideas that will never happen, and if it does it will be too late.

bottom line. tna is doing well because they are hungry they want it more... wee is slacking because they are on top and don't care... they aren't hungry and it shows week in and week out.

 

[Eternal Dragon]

I love how people try to blame the IWC for the shortcomings of the WWE. Oh, the IWC is only 20,000 people, the IWC has no weight. I think people really downplay the significance of the IWC as a whole.

The IWC are the people that are buying the DVD's. The IWC is buying pay per views, the IWC buys WWE 24/7. The casual fan turns on Raw, but isn't emotionally attached to it. Members of the IWC are the ones willing to dish out the money. So as far as an actual number, the IWC is probably fewer then 1/3 of the viewing audience, but I would wager to say the IWC probably makes up most of the WWE's revenue.

If the IWC makes up such a small part of the total audience then how can we fairly judge if the WWE is losing anything, or if they're going down the wrong path? I know so many people who aren't part of the IWC, but do watch wrestling, and they rarely have any complaints, at least not compared to the barrage of faults that so many people in the IWC seem to spew out at any given moment.

And I know plenty of casual fans who are constantly buying PPVs and things from WWE.com. I doubt that if the IWC is as small as it's estimated to be that it would make up most of the WWE's revenue.

Flames Out
Dragon

 

[Eric Train]

WWE need to change things around as kabby420 said. If Lashley was heel i would be more interested in seeing him on tv cuz as a face he is getting boring. Defiantly push stars like MVP and Kennedy i can see these stars facing each other at a future Wrestlemania. IMO who cares about the hornswoggle crap no interest at all.
I loved when WWE produced 5 star matches and had very good storylines
bottom line: Vince needs 2 slowly change things

 

[NYSandman]

I've found myself taping RAW, as I hear many are doing now. It's nice because at 11:15, I can fast forward commercials and also the parts of the show that will be boring.

I find myself not looking forward to Monday nights anymore, with the bland storylines and a total of 7 minutes of wrestling. I am usually done with the tape, after fast forwarding the garbage parts, by 11:17.

I am still a wrestling fan, but I agree that the last few weeks have been bad. It is getting to the point where I may stop taping, and just read the results!

 

[KyleCobra]

Creatively, they are in a shit hole of a problem.

alot of people are throwing ''attitude'' era superstars names around. Would the Rock or Austin really bring the ratings up? You bet your ass they would. And im sure creative would bust a nut in their JC Pennies slacks to resign a name like The Rock.

But its not going to happen. They know that. So they are at quite the impass.

Keep Cena champ and retain the kids and chicks veiwership? or build up the new talent and risk losing that significant chunk of the ratings?

They are afriad I believe. Now Cena being champ for as long as he was obviously did not increase ratings. But it did keep the fans he had tuning in every week to see him magically pull a win out of his ass. If they shift focus on someone else the think they risk losing veiwership.

so creatively, they are afriad. They are not willing to let the stars grow naturally or aid them in any kind of way. They dont believe that we want it. For whatever reason, whatever VKM thinks is funny and entertaining, apparently we all feel the same. Does anyone that has a single hair on their balls think Coachman chasing Hornswaggle is funny? I dont.

If it's not broke, why fix it?...the only problem is, it is broke and they dont know if they have the tools to fix it. They do, but the need to realize it before its too late....dun dun dun