WWE - too much predictability?

[I'm A Vince Russo Guy]

I was reading this: http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=256021

And I realised the main thing that I hate about contemporary WWE.

The fact that we're talking about Money In The Bank already, even though we haven't seen the ending to Ryback/Cena yet. Of course, we all know Cena wins - but that's the whole problem.

Every single title match for about 8-9 moths, or more, has been utterly predictable. Out of the past 2 years, there have probably been about 2 or 3 where you didn't know which way it was going to go. I didn't buy CM Punk was going to lose the title except for two matches during his entire reign - the match with Cena at Night of Champions and the match with Ryback at Hell in a Cell.

I hate the fact that even back as far as December, we knew Rock would be winning the title in January, Cena would be winning it at WrestleMania. We knew Ryback had no chance last month and he has no chance this month.

Yeah, wrestling hasn't always been entirely unpredictable - but it would be nice if they through us a swerve now and then.. I'm just a Vince Russo fan asking for more swerves, I'm sure you're thinking, but think about it.. Why the hell should we be expected to pay for PPVs if we know the results beforehand?

People compare this problem to movies - saying we know when we see Superman or Batman that ultimately they're going to be the victor. But wrestling isn't a movie - it's meant to be a simulated sport. And what are the most compelling sports bouts? The ones where the game is in the balance and you don't know who's going to win.

So really, I would like to see Ryback win at the next PPV, purely for the sake of throwing us a curveball now and then, to keep things interesting.

 

[Leveller]

I dont mind swerves so long as they arent constant. Like some swerves are just stupid eg Hornswoggle being the GM.

Yeah WWE could do with mixing things up but recently I have felt the product hasnt been terrible and hopefully, so long as the new talent is booked correct it will get better anyway.

Plus even if you know the result of the match you should just enjoy the ride and see how it turns out

 

[bizonatch]

We all know that Ryback won't win the title because, since getting more freedom and independence as a character, he has been awful. This is one of the worst feuds I have ever seen, Ryback has 0 charisma and there is just no one to route for. Cena needs to win so this angle can DIE. Ryback still has potential, he wasn't always absolutely boring, but his time is not now.

 

[thesubverse]

I guarantee if you spend less time on internet news sites and message boards, it'll be a lot less predictable. Try it, you might actually enjoy it.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

You don't have to be on an internet message board to see the predictability of the past year.

They telegraphed their plans last Summer when the Rock announced he was going to win the title at Royal Rumble. From there, a 10 year old could predict what would happen from there on out.

Heck, I remember back in 1998 when Rock first won the title. Fans knew that the buildup to WrestleMania was going to be Rock Vs. Austin, but what kept things unpredictable was the inclusion of Mankind. At no point did anyone really expect Mankind to win the title from The Rock, and yet, we got treated to a great feud that built up to Austin-Rock (we still got that match in the end, but the road was a lot less predictable).

The WWE has been fearful of deviating from plans in the slightest. Undertaker is obviously going to win his matches at WrestleMania. Rock and Cena was going to be the headlining match the past two years, no matter what.

 

[thebowtiekiller]

I guarantee if you spend less time on internet news sites and message boards, it'll be a lot less predictable. Try it, you might actually enjoy it.

absolutely true the internet doesnt do wrestling much favours imo sites such as this one always have reports saying whos getting a push and whos inline for the title.because of this its easy to see whos going to win about 90 per cent of the time i wish bookies let you bet on pro wrestling lol.it can also ruin returns,twists,swerves,heel turns ect problem is its really hard not to check the internet especially when your bored.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I guarantee if you spend less time on internet news sites and message boards, it'll be a lot less predictable. Try it, you might actually enjoy it.

'Fuck you doing here then? I swear, there is nothing more pathetic than these "too cool for school" individuals who barge in message boards on the Internet and say how lame it is to be on a message board on the Internet.

Newsflash, Barbara - you're on the message board of a news site.

And to counter that idiotic statement you spewed out without thinking - it's not the Internet's fault we know what'll happen. It's WWE's fault. It's a common process - understanding patterns. Every person with a brain stem can do it.

Once you've been treated with the same kind of programming time and time again, you garner enough knowledge about how WWE does their storylines and you identify patterns and characteristics which immediately make you figure out what the rest of the story will be like. It's like trying to solve a crossword puzzle and you end up with the defintion of what you are - "CL_WN". You know the word, just like we know the storylines.

The same logic applies with matches. Do you know why people aren't really noisy anymore? They've seen hundreds and thousands of matches. They know how it goes. Have you ever noticed how you can call the next three moves they'll do, and it ends up being exactly like that? The Internet didn't do that for you. Your BRAIN did. Because it has seen this shit a million times.

On that note, yes, the WWE is very predictable. Now, predictability in general is IRRELEVANT in wrestling. We all knew Hogan was going to Hulk up and drop the leg. We all knew Rock would eventually win every major battle. We all knew Undertaker was going to retain his streak. Hell, in every single storyline the babyface wins in the end. We technically know how EVERY storyline will end. All of them.

Hell, I can even argue that the whole point of "Bad vs Good" is based on the hope that people WILL predict what will happen. You predict that the good guy will win, but you have to SEE it. Just guessing doesn't do it for you.

Unpredictability adds this little shocker that makes you go "oh shit" and pump up your adrenaline for a while. Ultimately, however, good quality trumps unpredictability every time. If something is good, it's good, regardless of whether we know what'll happen or not.

Here's the kicker, even if you know what will happen, you never know how good it actually will be. That's the difference.

So the problem with WWE isn't unpredictability, per-se. Fans think unpredictability adds quality. Nah uh. Unpredictability adds shock value. Shine that turd all you want, it's still a turd. Unless the actual match/story/promo is good, you can have every single plot twist in the world or the most predictable turn, it'll still suck in the end.

Conclusion: WWE's product isn't good, it's not thrilling, it's not exciting, it's not worth it. It's bad when it's predictable, it's bad when it's unpredictable. A few good things every now and then, or even on every single show, don't overwrite a summation of boring garbage. It's been ten years and their ratings have melted in half. They keep hitting annual lows in that area like it's nobody's business. Crowds aren't as hot and people just don't care.

So, in a way - yeah. You're right. People can predict what will happen. They predict that whatever it is, it'll suck and put me to sleep. Especially when it goes on for three hours. Cha ching! They were right again!

... I guess the Internet told them that one too, huh?

 

[I'm A Vince Russo Guy]

I guarantee if you spend less time on internet news sites and message boards, it'll be a lot less predictable. Try it, you might actually enjoy it.

That's true to an extent, but it's hard to stay away when it's one of your favourite hobbies

Still, I find TNA less predictable than WWE for the most part. I don't even mind a little predictability - but not to the point where the result of every PPV main event for the past couple of years has been obvious - sometimes months in advance.

'Fuck you doing here then? I swear, there is nothing more pathetic than these "too cool for school" individuals who barge in message boards on the Internet and say how lame it is to be on a message board on the Internet.

Newsflash, Barbara - you're on the message board of a news site.

And to counter that idiotic statement you spewed out without thinking - it's not the Internet's fault we know what'll happen. It's WWE's fault. It's a common process - understanding patterns. Every person with a brain stem can do it.

Once you've been treated with the same kind of programming time and time again, you garner enough knowledge about how WWE does their storylines and you identify patterns and characteristics which immediately make you figure out what the rest of the story will be like. It's like trying to solve a crossword puzzle and you end up with the defintion of what you are - "CL_WN". You know the word, just like we know the storylines.

The same logic applies with matches. Do you know why people aren't really noisy anymore? They've seen hundreds and thousands of matches. They know how it goes. Have you ever noticed how you can call the next three moves they'll do, and it ends up being exactly like that? The Internet didn't do that for you. Your BRAIN did. Because it has seen this shit a million times.

On that note, yes, the WWE is very predictable. Now, predictability in general is IRRELEVANT in wrestling. We all knew Hogan was going to Hulk up and drop the leg. We all knew Rock would eventually win every major battle. We all knew Undertaker was going to retain his streak. Hell, in every single storyline the babyface wins in the end. We technically know how EVERY storyline will end. All of them.

Hell, I can even argue that the whole point of "Bad vs Good" is based on the hope that people WILL predict what will happen. You predict that the good guy will win, but you have to SEE it. Just guessing doesn't do it for you.

Unpredictability adds this little shocker that makes you go "oh shit" and pump up your adrenaline for a while. Ultimately, however, good quality trumps unpredictability every time. If something is good, it's good, regardless of whether we know what'll happen or not.

Here's the kicker, even if you know what will happen, you never know how good it actually will be. That's the difference.

So the problem with WWE isn't unpredictability, per-se. Fans think unpredictability adds quality. Nah uh. Unpredictability adds shock value. Shine that turd all you want, it's still a turd. Unless the actual match/story/promo is good, you can have every single plot twist in the world or the most predictable turn, it'll still suck in the end.

Conclusion: WWE's product isn't good, it's not thrilling, it's not exciting, it's not worth it. It's bad when it's predictable, it's bad when it's unpredictable. A few good things every now and then, or even on every single show, don't overwrite a summation of boring garbage. It's been ten years and their ratings have melted in half. They keep hitting annual lows in that area like it's nobody's business. Crowds aren't as hot and people just don't care.

So, in a way - yeah. You're right. People can predict what will happen. They predict that whatever it is, it'll suck and put me to sleep. Especially when it goes on for three hours. Cha ching! They were right again!

... I guess the Internet told them that one too, huh?

Well said. I don't think it's entirely down to reading news stories - and I usually avoid these stories such as this Bryan one, anyway. I didn't need any news reports to realise from about November, if not earlier, that CM Punk would be losing to Rock, who would be losing to Cena. I didn't need anyone to tell me Triple H would be beating Lesnar to set up a rubber match. I think the most common word used to describe WM29 online was "predictable".

One of the most compelling angles they did in recent years was the Cena-Punk MITB match. The crowd was insane for that match.. partly because it was Punk's big hometown title match, but a lot because of the whole intrigue going into the match. And you don't even have to make stories that constantly break the 4th wall, or are full of convoluted plot twists.. just give us a bit of meat instead of the bare bones, something to get intrigued by.

Ryback/Cena has no purpose whatsoever, except to fill time. Is that not insulting to everyone who buys Payback on PPV? How can they expect people to shell out so much money every month when they don't even respect the product they're putting out.

You mention that as long good quality is there, predictability is unimportant.. that can be true partly. Taker/Punk stole the show at Mania, despite the obvious result of Taker winning, but you still need to have something to keep you coming back week to week. I would argue one of the biggest things that made WCW and WWE succesful in the mid-to-late nineties was because of the cliffhangers and "male soap opera" style. You don't even have to go all the way back to the Russo style either to make it enjoyable again, just add a little bit of thought here and there, throw us a curveball now and then.

It's like, they're creating a fake sport, but they somehow manage to make it a one-team league, when they have the liberty of being able to write who wins each match.

 

[Atrue1onewo1f]

I think someone said this already but I wanna add my part too. It's not that they (WWE) are predictable, I blame the dirt sheets and the spoilers. They get all their hopes up then they blame the WWE and say its predictable I say wrestling can become enjoyable again if everyone leaves the dirtsheets alone and take all rumors as just that... RUMORS!
Like this Bryan Danielson/MITB rumor Alot of people already are getting their panties wet for him to main event but one thing about the WWE nothing is set in stone and i think people fail to realize that... so when that doesn't happen they are gonna say its predictable and bash it because it doesn't gain the approval of our fans. So you want wrestling to be enjoyable and less predictable leave the dirtsheets alone and don't read the spoilers and don't believe everything you read and/or hear!

 

[thesubverse]

'Fuck you doing here then? I swear, there is nothing more pathetic than these "too cool for school" individuals who barge in message boards on the Internet and say how lame it is to be on a message board on the Internet.

Newsflash, Barbara - you're on the message board of a news site.

And to counter that idiotic statement you spewed out without thinking - it's not the Internet's fault we know what'll happen. It's WWE's fault. It's a common process - understanding patterns. Every person with a brain stem can do it.

Once you've been treated with the same kind of programming time and time again, you garner enough knowledge about how WWE does their storylines and you identify patterns and characteristics which immediately make you figure out what the rest of the story will be like. It's like trying to solve a crossword puzzle and you end up with the defintion of what you are - "CL_WN". You know the word, just like we know the storylines.

The same logic applies with matches. Do you know why people aren't really noisy anymore? They've seen hundreds and thousands of matches. They know how it goes. Have you ever noticed how you can call the next three moves they'll do, and it ends up being exactly like that? The Internet didn't do that for you. Your BRAIN did. Because it has seen this shit a million times.

On that note, yes, the WWE is very predictable. Now, predictability in general is IRRELEVANT in wrestling. We all knew Hogan was going to Hulk up and drop the leg. We all knew Rock would eventually win every major battle. We all knew Undertaker was going to retain his streak. Hell, in every single storyline the babyface wins in the end. We technically know how EVERY storyline will end. All of them.

Hell, I can even argue that the whole point of "Bad vs Good" is based on the hope that people WILL predict what will happen. You predict that the good guy will win, but you have to SEE it. Just guessing doesn't do it for you.

Unpredictability adds this little shocker that makes you go "oh shit" and pump up your adrenaline for a while. Ultimately, however, good quality trumps unpredictability every time. If something is good, it's good, regardless of whether we know what'll happen or not.

Here's the kicker, even if you know what will happen, you never know how good it actually will be. That's the difference.

So the problem with WWE isn't unpredictability, per-se. Fans think unpredictability adds quality. Nah uh. Unpredictability adds shock value. Shine that turd all you want, it's still a turd. Unless the actual match/story/promo is good, you can have every single plot twist in the world or the most predictable turn, it'll still suck in the end.

Conclusion: WWE's product isn't good, it's not thrilling, it's not exciting, it's not worth it. It's bad when it's predictable, it's bad when it's unpredictable. A few good things every now and then, or even on every single show, don't overwrite a summation of boring garbage. It's been ten years and their ratings have melted in half. They keep hitting annual lows in that area like it's nobody's business. Crowds aren't as hot and people just don't care.

So, in a way - yeah. You're right. People can predict what will happen. They predict that whatever it is, it'll suck and put me to sleep. Especially when it goes on for three hours. Cha ching! They were right again!

... I guess the Internet told them that one too, huh?

Hahahaha wow calm down drama queen. I'm not the one complaining about predictability, am I? I was offering advice. Unwad your panties, wash the sand out of your vagina, give your mother a hug, and I promise everything's gonna be okay.

The truth of the matter is if you don't like what's going on, either you do something to change it (like, for example, spending less time on the internet; I'm sure there are other possibilities, this is just the one I offered), or give it up and stop watching. What else can you do but bitch and moan? You sure seem to have that market cornered, so I'll pass.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

'Fuck you doing here then? I swear, there is nothing more pathetic than these "too cool for school" individuals who barge in message boards on the Internet and say how lame it is to be on a message board on the Internet.

Actually, that's not what the guy said at all. Looks like you're resorting to one of your time honored tactics of putting words in people's mouths in order to twist what they say in order to suit your own point of view. He never said or insinuated that it was lame, he merely pointed out a possible way to stem the timed of predictability.

And to counter that idiotic statement you spewed out without thinking - it's not the Internet's fault we know what'll happen. It's WWE's fault. It's a common process - understanding patterns. Every person with a brain stem can do it.

Once you've been treated with the same kind of programming time and time again, you garner enough knowledge about how WWE does their storylines and you identify patterns and characteristics which immediately make you figure out what the rest of the story will be like. It's like trying to solve a crossword puzzle and you end up with the defintion of what you are - "CL_WN". You know the word, just like we know the storylines.

So you're going to actually try to sit there and say that you knew that WWE had Daniel Bryan penciled in for a feud against John Cena without reading the link to the thread provided by the OP? That is compete and utter, 100% bullshit and you damn well know it. I do agree that if you're someone that watches pro wrestling very often and have done so for many years, you have an insight that can, sometimes, let you figure out what's ultimately going to happen in some situations. In spite of your insinuations, however, you know as well as I do that it's an issue with EVERY wrestling company.

So the problem with WWE isn't unpredictability, per-se. Fans think unpredictability adds quality. Nah uh. Unpredictability adds shock value. Shine that turd all you want, it's still a turd. Unless the actual match/story/promo is good, you can have every single plot twist in the world or the most predictable turn, it'll still suck in the end.

Conclusion: WWE's product isn't good, it's not thrilling, it's not exciting, it's not worth it. It's bad when it's predictable, it's bad when it's unpredictable. A few good things every now and then, or even on every single show, don't overwrite a summation of boring garbage. It's been ten years and their ratings have melted in half. They keep hitting annual lows in that area like it's nobody's business. Crowds aren't as hot and people just don't care.

So, in a way - yeah. You're right. People can predict what will happen. They predict that whatever it is, it'll suck and put me to sleep. Especially when it goes on for three hours. Cha ching! They were right again!

... I guess the Internet told them that one too, huh?

I agree with you completely on the first paragraph, the rest is the same nonsense you spew in an attempt to make it seem as though your opinion represents the opinion of the majority. I'm sure you'll have some sarcastic, insult filled comment about this next point, yet you won't be able to refute it. If WWE's product overall is half as bad as you claim it is, then why does WWE continue to perform in front of sell out crowds, often hot sell out crowds despite your claim that they aren't hot & people don't care, all over the world? If the product is so awful then, honestly, can you come up with some remotely logical reason, rather than generalizing insults, why WM drew over a million buys for the 3rd year in a row? If people don't care about what they're seeing, why did the Royal Rumble draw over 500,000 buys for the first time in 4 years? Why do people go nuts whenever CM Punk's music hits? Why do thousands of people chant "Yes!" night after night whenever Daniel Bryan is in the ring? Why does Raw usually draw well over 10,000 fans each Monday?

I wasn't planning on mentioning anything regarding TNA, as this isn't a WWE vs. TNA thing and congrats for not trying to turn a thread into that for once, but since you mentioned ratings and crowd size, I had to bring this up. WWE has been having a tough time in the ratings the past several weeks against the NBA Playoffs and, if memory serves, so has your personal favorite company. In fact, didn't TNA draw the lowest ratings its had since the days of the Monday Night Experiment last week? If I remember correction, last week's show had somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,017,000 viewers and that only 2 episodes in the past 2 months have managed to draw a 1.0 rating? When it comes to crowd size, why is it then that WWE crowds are much larger, whether it's television tapings or house shows, if most wrestling fans simply think the product is bad? I don't really think that old chestnuts like "they do it out of habit" are really going to cut it as a rebuttal, do you? Especially in this day and age with the economy being what it's been for the better part of half a decade, I don't see people throwing away money on something they don't enjoy just out of habit. It's a pro wrestling company, not crack cocaine.