WWE Worried About Lack Of Star Power

[klunderbunker]

- There is a feeling among WWE officials that the current roster is lacking the main event star power that previous generations had. The feeling is that there are a handful of guys that carry themselves like stars and have drawing power, but the feeling is that the locker room atmosphere is very different from a decade or so ago.

During the early part of the 2000's, the roster had talent like Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar as draws. Below them were another tier of talent that included guys like the Hardys, Edge and Eddie Guerrero who were considered hard workers and had the skills to stet up. While many feel that the roster and developmental guys have a lot of promising talent, the feeling is that WWE has gone several years without effectively building their mid-card.

Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Gee, maybe if you let someone get a strong push instead of pushing them for five minutes then jobbing them out to whatever established big name that was around, this wouldn't be an issue. But hey, Edge managed to get 12 title reigns or however many he had and Punk's push was wasted so that we could get that Nash vs. HHH feud that the world was waiting for right?

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Yeah, becuase Punk's being wasted as the dominant WWE Champion, right? Yeah, I don't buy that. WWE was worried about this before, and it prevailed. It was far worse in 2009 leading into 2010 when they forced there own hand and had to start pushing guys like Sheamus, Miz, Nexus and Del Rio. It's inevitable that they'll do it again.

 

[¡Roján!]

They've forgotten the art of how to get people over. No one gives a fuck about The Miz, no one gives a fuck about del Rio, no one gives a fuck about Sheamus or Daniel Bryan. They're never going to sell out a crowd. They need to start remembering how to do this because, PPVs are getting by on old timers coming back now. It was getting dangerously precarious for the WWE not take notice.

 

[CH David]

They've forgotten the art of how to get people over. No one gives a fuck about The Miz, no one gives a fuck about del Rio, no one gives a fuck about Sheamus or Daniel Bryan. They're never going to sell out a crowd. They need to start remembering how to do this because, PPVs are getting by on old timers coming back now. It was getting dangerously precarious for the WWE not take notice.

People love Sheamus.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

People love Sheamus.

And they're really starting to hate Bryan.

 

[¡Roján!]

People love Sheamus.

Name me one person that would buy a PPV just to see Sheamus. Exactly. He's a great wrestler, and massively over but he's no Randy Orton or John Cena. None of these new guys are.

 

[BaconBits]

I'd be worried about the current roster if I was them too. The current roster is shit.

 

[shattered dreams]

Hey cool I was right.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Top to bottom skill level? Best ever, overall, besides 89 - 92'

Top tier stars? Not high, at all. At all.

 

[Martin Gabriel]

I don't think it's so much the talent that is the problem as it is the storylines. I remember during the attitude era even the midcard and upper midcard had solid and interesting storylines that got you emotionally invested in those matches. You can't just have storylines for the main event and just throw together the rest of the card and expect people to get excited.

 

[CH David]

Name me one person that would buy a PPV just to see Sheamus. Exactly. He's a great wrestler, and massively over but he's no Randy Orton or John Cena. None of these new guys are.

I would. Hell I'm more excited for Sheamus going for the title at Mania than I am Rock vs. Cena. Truth.

I never said he was. But he is clearly better than Miz or Del Rio. Of course the mid-card sucks. You need to actually kinda put some focus there and build people. There are tiers to wrestling and when you only put focus on the top, the rest suffers and your future is fucked.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

Maybe I'm just a hipster, but I loved Dickbutt when he was on NXT, and I loved him when he first returned from being "fired." But now I don't give a shit about him, or anyone on Smackdown.

 

[Martin Gabriel]

CM Punk, John Cena and Randy Orton should be the cornerstones of the main event. I'm not adding Chris Jericho because he might not be around that much longer. Then I think Sheamus could easily join them at that top tier, whereas they can use Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes as infrequent main event wrestlers to develop into full fledged main eventers after a year or two.

Then Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett, The Miz and Kofi Kingston could be the upper mid-card talent that has non-title feuds with main eventers who aren't currently wrapped up in a world title scene. The mid-card could be improved by giving more solid pushes to guys like Jack Swagger, Zack Ryder, Hunico, Ted DiBiase as well as Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose once they finally come up. I believe those last two could definitely be elevated out of the mid-card very easily, but let them chill there for a while, rack up some mid-card title reigns and become the cornerstones of those title divisions so lesser talents can hone their craft working with them.

Then the tag team division has a good foundation in The Usos and Epico & Primo. Actually utilize Curt Hawkins & Tyler Rek and then bring up The Kings of Wrestling and we'd have a solid tag team division for the time being.

Fuck half the divas, just make it all Kharma, Beth Phoenix and Natalya.

 

[BaconBits]

I think the current WWE needs a Goldberg/Lesnar style character who mows down jobbers and midcarders all the way up to main event status and even becomes champion before he even speaks. Heel or face, it doesn't very much matter (though I think it's better for business if he's a face). He just has to be a massive impressive physical specimen who murks everybody.

Then, Vince needs to pay Goldberg or Lesnar whatever they want to come to Wrestlemania next year to put the guy over.

It would be a good start to building a main event dude with star power.

 

[CH David]

I think the current WWE needs a Goldberg/Lesnar style character who mows down jobbers and midcarders all the way up to main event status and even becomes champion before he even speaks. Heel or face, it doesn't very much matter (though I think it's better for business if he's a face). He just has to be a massive impressive physical specimen who murks everybody.

Then, Vince needs to pay Goldberg or Lesnar whatever they want to come to Wrestlemania next year to put the guy over.

It would be a good start to building a main event dude with star power.

That's when you get complaints about a guy having a streak and being the monster. There is only so far you can go until the guy has to lose.

 

[D-Man]

Their pushes are inconsistent. One day a star is hot, the next day he's freezing, ice cold. Either they need to write better storylines, stop the championship hot potato act, or tweak something BIG TIME. But I'm not a writer so I can't tell them how to do their jobs.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

They have such epileptic seizure pushes these days. You dont force the crowd to accept someone by pushing them out of nowere, the crowd accepts them over time, THEN you push them. They just throw these guys out there into these spots with no development, and in places that are FAR beyond their ability level...Miz, Del Rio, Swagger, Reks, Mason Ryan, Drew Mcynitre, Justin Gabriel, the list goes on and on. No mid card seasoning, no feuds, no character development, just one day, hey, im a world champion now.

You just dont get the territorial travels and building of a superstar over the years like you used to. You used to have guys spend a decade traveling the world honing their craft, getting over in various places various ways before they even touched the WWE, LET ALONE were thrust into a main event situation.

Now you have guys who are tossed out there and shoved down peoples throats about 3 years after stepping foot in a wrestling ring, and doing so in front of ten people in a WWE developmental program. What the fuck do they expect to happen? Not only that, but peoples pushes last for a fucking month, and consist of "squash a few jobbers, cut one promo about something like 'oh, im so great I won' and then drop it again, out of nowere"..the pushes come out of left fucking field, feel pre ordained regardless of merit, and are dropped like a sinking stone just as quickly.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Their pushes are inconsistent. One day a star is hot, the next day he's freezing, ice cold. Either they need to write better storylines, stop the championship hot potato act, or tweak something BIG TIME. But I'm not a writer so I can't tell them how to do their jobs.

They have such epileptic seizure pushes these days. You dont force the crowd to accept someone by pushing them out of nowere, the crowd accepts them over time, THEN you push them. They just throw these guys out there into these spots with no development, and in places that are FAR beyond their ability level...Miz, Del Rio, Swagger, Reks, Mason Ryan, Drew Mcynitre, Justin Gabriel, the list goes on and on. No mid card seasoning, no feuds, no character development, just one day, hey, im a world champion now.

You just dont get the territorial travels and building of a superstar over the years like you used to. You used to have guys spend a decade traveling the world honing their craft, getting over in various places various ways before they even touched the WWE, LET ALONE were thrust into a main event situation.

Now you have guys who are tossed out there and shoved down peoples throats about 3 years after stepping foot in a wrestling ring, and doing so in front of ten people in a WWE developmental program. What the fuck do they expect to happen? Not only that, but peoples pushes last for a fucking month, and consist of "squash a few jobbers, cut one promo about something like 'oh, im so great I won' and then drop it again, out of nowere"..the pushes come out of left fucking field, feel pre ordained regardless of merit, and are dropped like a sinking stone just as quickly.

.....great minds...

 

[BaconBits]

That's when you get complaints about a guy having a streak and being the monster. There is only so far you can go until the guy has to lose.

Yes, you do get those complaints, but to end the streak, instead of using some aging dude to end the streak like the WCW did, you elevate somebody who is just on the cup of being a main event star, like Seamus or something. You then have two main event mega stars and build from there.

 

[DirtyJosé]

Just so we can be clear that Rohan is full of shit, I did buy TLC a few years back just to see Cena vs Sheamus. I believe it was the first PPV I had bought since WM17. So please, go on talking about things you know nothing about. Makes you look cool and informed.

 

[Martin Gabriel]

Their pushes are inconsistent. One day a star is hot, the next day he's freezing, ice cold. Either they need to write better storylines, stop the championship hot potato act, or tweak something BIG TIME. But I'm not a writer so I can't tell them how to do their jobs.

I wish you were.

 

[The Brain]

They have such epileptic seizure pushes these days. You dont force the crowd to accept someone by pushing them out of nowere, the crowd accepts them over time, THEN you push them. They just throw these guys out there into these spots with no development, and in places that are FAR beyond their ability level...Miz, Del Rio, Swagger, Reks, Mason Ryan, Drew Mcynitre, Justin Gabriel, the list goes on and on. No mid card seasoning, no feuds, no character development, just one day, hey, im a world champion now.

You just dont get the territorial travels and building of a superstar over the years like you used to. You used to have guys spend a decade traveling the world honing their craft, getting over in various places various ways before they even touched the WWE, LET ALONE were thrust into a main event situation.

Now you have guys who are tossed out there and shoved down peoples throats about 3 years after stepping foot in a wrestling ring, and doing so in front of ten people in a WWE developmental program. What the fuck do they expect to happen? Not only that, but peoples pushes last for a fucking month, and consist of "squash a few jobbers, cut one promo about something like 'oh, im so great I won' and then drop it again, out of nowere"..the pushes come out of left fucking field, feel pre ordained regardless of merit, and are dropped like a sinking stone just as quickly.

Absolutely correct. I've said it here a million times. Over the past few years we have finally started to feel the effects of the death of the territories. Wrestlers traveling the world and benefiting from the knowledge of several different great wrestling minds is sorely missed. Every single guy who comes to WWE now learns the same things from in the same place from the same people. The death of the territories was just a natural part of the expansion of media and cable television but it has robbed wrestlers of the opportunity to really learn how to work and get over in different situations.

I use the term robbed loosely as even the lower mid card guy who struggles the most in WWE right now is probably making significantly more money than he would traveling through territories. A lot of guys are content to get a few minutes on tv and cash big pay checks. Back in the day if you weren't over you didn't get paid. People had to really work to earn their checks. It's like when Hank Aaron broke the home run record and was asked why he didn't retire. He responded that he needed the money. Now guys sign their big guaranteed contracts and go on the DL for a month with a sprained ankle. Guaranteed money eliminates motivation and desire for some people. As long as big checks keep coming in they don't need to work any harder or do anything differently.

 

[¡Roján!]

Just so we can be clear that Rohan is full of shit, I did buy TLC a few years back just to see Cena vs Sheamus. I believe it was the first PPV I had bought since WM17. So please, go on talking about things you know nothing about. Makes you look cool and informed.

Good to know you set the trend for every single other WWE fan out there. Are you really going to sit here and state that if Sheamus become champ, fans are going to buy a PPV to see a match with him vs. Alberto del Rio as the main event and all else filler? Fuck off. Just look at TLC 2011. Punk vs. Del Rio vs. The Miz in the main event with Orton in the mid-card and Cena not even on the card drew one of the lowest PPV buy rates of all time. Shall I continue or have I made myself look sufficiently more cooler and informed?

 

[Shocky]

Still say that the WWE has done a piss poor job overall since McMahon took over to actually create homegrown stars from scratch into superstars. McMahon did the best at taking the other companies talent of semi-established to established stars and pushing them to the moon.

So what they have now is a monopoly. They have a roster of guys that are all under 30. They have a roster of guys that have no sense of the wrestling world outside of the WWE developmental system. We have a roster of bland characters. What a direct reflection of what the WWE creative team has been for the last ten years.

You reap what you sow. The WWE created this stagnant product. This product that is more interested in being a pop culture show as opposed to being a wrestling product. Wrestlers that aren't wrestler, but just mouth pieces for the corporate machines. Damn I hate the monopoly and I hate TNA for putting on such a terrible product not to challenge this crap.

 

[jmt225]

WWE focuses way too hard on being mainstream rather than just putting the best product out there imaginable.

You don't need stars to have a successful show. Something like Lost or Glee, for example, what regular actors on their shows are megastars? The Walking Dead doesn't have one fucking actor recognizable on their show, yet it's by far the highest rated cable television show. There are more stars in the NBA than they are in the NFL, yet the NBA doesn't come close to getting the ratings the NFL does. Why? Because football is a better game than basketball, period.

With the talent and loyal fanbase they have, if WWE just simply worried about making compelling and entertaining television, rather than appealing to the mainstream, their ratings and pay-per-view buys would be much, much better.