Fixing WWE

[Sheppy]

Gimmick PPV's need to be abolished.

Hell In A Cell matches need to be rare, and it needs to END a hot feud.
Money In The Bank needs to kick off Wrestlemania.
TLC PPV also needs to go, as does Extreme Rules.

Rosters need to be merged.

Use the old "B shows" like Heat, Superstars for the people nobody cares about.

 

[Kaner9]

Ye the gimmick events need to be stopped or maybe special occasion. WWE runs anything good into the ground and needs to stop.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

At the end of the day, this really boils down to Vince needing to go. Everybody talks about the genius he is... Let's analyze this:

Hogan - Was created in the AWA and poached.

Austin - Was the Ringmaster under Vince. Had to outright as Vince to stop editing his promos before he could finally get over. Only got over when Vince stopped controlling him and let him run with it.

Rock - Was Rocky Maivia. The next big babyface getting go away heat... Didn't get over until Vince stopped controlling him and let him run with it. Matter of fact, didn't get over until the roster was burying him so bad that he was told, you can go off script, but you better make it good.

Cena - Most captivating character is when he was ghetto Cena, and he was told by numerous people Vince was going to fire him if he didn't stop. Ended up getting over and then became the kiddies favorite, which is the easiest group to entertain. Doesn't get nearly enough respect though, he's an A+ promo and A+ at putting together a match. He can't do a bunch of flippy shit, but he knows how to feel out the crowd and put on a show. He also wanted to go heel in like 2006 or 2007 and Vince wouldn't let him.

Roman - Carbon copy Cena. Who'll ever forget the gem, "Suffering Succotash", line Vince gave him that killed him for years. It sucked. We all know it sucked. As we found out years later from Ambrose/Moxley, Roman knew it sucked too. Didn't get over until Corona killed house shows and gave him the opportunity to go heel. He always had that potential. If you don't believe it watch his performance against Rollins at MITB, working his knee and bullying him around.

Only one you can really credit Vince for is Undertaker, and let's be honest, that's a dime a dozen garbage gimmick that got taken over by a one of a kind performer and made into something. Anybody else, it would've failed.

He's not the genius he's made out to be. He's a fantastic businessman and a dogshit wrestling booker.

 

[GKJ]

I wouldn't even say fantastic businessman. All of his other ventures tanked. It's something believed he is desperate to break out of.

 

[sabremike]

The biggest problem with WWE is all they give a shit about is "entertainment" and it barely qualifies as a sport. You need to make it like a sport


A few quick fixes

- Nuke the shitty gimmicks. Vince would look at a Chris Benoit today and think "Let's make him the goon's son! BRING BACK THE HOCKEY PLAYER!"

- Stop wasting so much energy on production value. It doesn't add to the product's legitimacy. Congratulations you've got the shittiest product in history and all you have to show for it are f***ing ring posts that are LED now

- Stop watering down the promos

- Stop the gimmick PPV's people liked Raw and Smackdown 20 years ago because they DIDN'T have to subscribe to a network to watch someone get slammed through a table and get their ass beat. If you need to bring back "In Your House" or something like Armageddon then do it. Making a "Hell in a Cell" PPV with some watered down version of the most violent match in WWE history ever is the stupidest thing I've ever seen

- Make the championship belts look like actual championships again not this whored out corporate emblem

Let the adults actually act like adults

1. Love affairs
2. The occasional calling the boss a POS
3. Resorting to ACTUAL violence -which goes back to a few points ago about not having to pay to watch someone go through a table
4. To further that point the announcers literally warn the TV audience what is going to happen "Ladies and gentlemen discretion is advised on this one. This match is going to be violent. This is going to be bloody. This is going to be barbaric" and the color commentator puts it over saying "Oh yeah Cole. This is gonna get nasty in a hurry. Anything goes in these situations. I can't stress enough that not everyone is gonna want to be part of this."

And the superstars deliver something out of ECW



Actual fixes aka: adapt to the fact people know wrestling is scripted. You need to blur the lines of reality again you f***ing idiot

- Sudden/unexpected endings to matches that DO NOT involve finishers. An example is a match finishes with a sudden inside cradle and the winner just "stole it"

1. Does not rely on finishers
2. It WILL catch the audience off guard
3. If you establish that matches can end at a moment's notice, the near-fall will become a tense work of art and any pinning situation will be seen as legitimate


- Bring back blood maybe 3 to 5 times a year. Ya know? Cuz athletes actually bleed in combat?

- Gear the commentary back to match strategy i.e "Weight advantage versus speed advantage" "Working on a limb to lead into a submission" all you get is pumping whatever drama. It would almost be as if people were watching a sport! Gotta give big kudos to Jim Ross for always doing this. Reason 300 why he is GOAT announcer


- Re-institute the time limit. You get a 2 minute warning and it will appear in the corner of the screen and a countdown begins

1. It will allow matches to actually go to a draw. Holy shit... like an actual sport!
2. It will produce tremendous heat for heel champions who "run out the clock"
3. Will allow for babyface "buzzer beater" moments
4. Will allow for 5 star non-title matches between 2 top talents without the need to resort to some shitty gimmick that "protects the talent" to put someone over. All you'd get is 30 minutes of "This is awesome!"

- Injuries

1. People get hurt in sports literally every day. Imagine if wrestlers "got hurt." People would no longer tell the difference between what is and is not happening
2. Can add a sympathy element to talent who may need it
3. An "injury" that stops a match suddenly can provide a finish that does not require any "protection" shenanigans in booking

- "Chokes" versus "Triumphs"

1. Find a way to book matches so that a talent "falters under pressure" or commits very serious mental errors. Examples can include outright missing an attack from the turnbuckle or forgets she/he set a table up in a corner and pays the price for it or drops their chair when going for an attack

2. Every now and again, guys just get it done in real life.

-An example of this is a mid-card talent not only kicks out of one finisher but then the match drags on. He's hit with another finisher and still has the wherewithal to grab the bottom rope. By this point the whole arena is gonna go f***ing crazy. "He's gonna do it! He's gonna do it!" is the mood and whaddaya know he actually pulls off the upset.

Tell me guys. How often do we see this in real life?

Is it REALLY that big of a deal if Roman Reigns loses a #1 contender's match in this fashion to a mid-card who needs to get over? The answer is no. You can do "clean as a whistle" upsets in WWE programming twice a year. It adds to the legitimacy of the product




I've carried on long enough. The point is wrestling needs to imitate what we see in real life. This recipe of 1995 wrestling with modern day athletes is not working. You can literally run a WWE product circa 2002 instead of the Attitude Era and you'd probably find the sweet spot in all of this

ECW was amazing and nothing either before or sense is anything like it. It also should never happen again because the physical cost is just far too great. Watch any ECW show and count all the guys who are dead. And one of the biggest reasons ECW died was that it's production looked second rate compared to WWF and WCW. In fact the Thunderdome stopped the ratings nosedive until the product stunk so bad even that couldn't save it.

The constant worked shoots were a Vince Russo staple and played a critical role in destroying WCW. Not everybody is on the internet and reads the Observer. Remember that time Bischoff used the line about a squeegee to Sid and literally nobody in the crowd reacted, so he said it again and.. Crickets?

Blood is not something they want to do, but not just because of violence. Several years back they did a segment involving Bob Orton and Taker where Orton bladed and bled all over Taker. Problem: Orton has Hepatitis B and didn't tell anyone. You can imagine Taker's reaction when he found that out. Also a blood borne illness ended the careers of Nigel McGuinness and Canadian indie wrestler Hannibal (who got it from Abdullah The Butcher. He sued Abby and won a judgement which he still has yet to receive).

The idea of occasional upsets is a good one, but the problem is that they do them as the heel slipping on a banana peel which gets nobody over.

The time limit cues I absolutely agree with. That's a very small touch that adds a lot to the product.

The point on announcing is also correct, but that is not how Vince wants his announcers to do their job.

To me the biggest thing that is killing them is simple: They have no idea how to book a babyface. All their babyfaces are idiots and losers who constantly get outsmarted by the heels. Stupid babyface = Not a babyface.

 

[dahrougem2]

I wouldn't even say fantastic businessman. All of his other ventures tanked. It's something believed he is desperate to break out of.

Yeah, beating WCW with the talent they had based on WCW's ability to constantly do the wrong thing over and over again doesn't make him a great businessman. It just makes him super ****ing lucky.

It's so strange how you hear all these guys talk about what a genius Vince is and how great he is like Austin, Rock, Cena, etc and then you hear guys like CM Punk, Ambrose, etc talk about what an utter ****ing moron he is.

Like... it can't possibly be both. How are you both a genius and an incompetent moron at the same time?

Part of me believes the people that talk Vince up are the ones he's been "good to" through the years by pushing them and paying them handsomely.

 

[GKJ]

Yeah, beating WCW with the talent they had based on WCW's ability to constantly do the wrong thing over and over again doesn't make him a great businessman. It just makes him super ****ing lucky.

It's so strange how you hear all these guys talk about what a genius Vince is and how great he is like Austin, Rock, Cena, etc and then you hear guys like CM Punk, Ambrose, etc talk about what an utter ****ing moron he is.

Like... it can't possibly be both. How are you both a genius and an incompetent moron at the same time?

Part of me believes the people that talk Vince up are the ones he's been "good to" through the years by pushing them and paying them handsomely.

Austin, Rock, and Cena think he's a genius because they got to a point where they've transcended the industry. Undertaker as well. They all can live off who they are. CM Punk and Ambrose do not. Roman Reigns cannot. And Vince doesn't really want them to. WWE is supposed to be the top-level, not the stepping stone. A bunch of those Eva Marie-Eve Torres "divas" thought they could do that and couldn't.

 

[Flyer lurker]

3 thoughts.
1) true competition. WWE was at their best in 90's when their lives were on the line. AEW taking off would put a kick in WWE's rear. Alas AEW bringing back 60 year old Sting to generate interest.
2) One show is pg-14. Did a lot of Russo ideas bomb? For sure. But at least there was an edge in the 90's. I would rofl when HHH would make fun of the rock or HHH and Shawn would make fun of the Mcmahon's (stand back)and spirit squad. Jericho making fun of Steph's boob job. Now its crickets chirping if you watch.
3) Hardest question to solve. Why would I watch pre planned wrestling when I can watch mma instead? All day every day I would watch mma over wwe.

 

[dahrougem2]

3 thoughts.
1) true competition. WWE was at their best in 90's when their lives were on the line. AEW taking off would put a kick in WWE's rear. Alas AEW bringing back 60 year old Sting to generate interest.
2) One show is pg-14. Did a lot of Russo ideas bomb? For sure. But at least there was an edge in the 90's. I would rofl when HHH would make fun of the rock or HHH and Shawn would make fun of the Mcmahon's (stand back)and spirit squad. Jericho making fun of Steph's boob job. Now its crickets chirping if you watch.
3) Hardest question to solve. Why would I watch pre planned wrestling when I can watch mma instead? All day every day I would watch mma over wwe.

Simple: the storytelling aspect to professional wrestling.

With MMA, anything can happen. It's legitimate. Nobody can argue it. Ditto boxing.

With pro wrestling, though, you have to allow yourself to get lost in the storyline during the buildup and then during the actual match itself. First matches that come to mind are Hogan/Rock at WM18 and Goldberg defeating Hogan to win the WCW Championship.

 

[Flyer lurker]

Simple: the storytelling aspect to professional wrestling.

With MMA, anything can happen. It's legitimate. Nobody can argue it. Ditto boxing.

With pro wrestling, though, you have to allow yourself to get lost in the storyline during the buildup and then during the actual match itself. First matches that come to mind are Hogan/Rock at WM18 and Goldberg defeating Hogan to win the WCW Championship.

Putting in front my likes/opinion and not all will agree.

Wrestling can out do boxing inside the ropes. Wrestling often is more action packed than an average run of the mill boxing match. I can't say that for an mma match. There is nothing aew or wwe could do to outperform the December MMA PPV for me. Moreno v Figueiredo was one of the best man v man battles I have seen in any sport and was one of the rare times I thought this is 100% a draw. No amount of wwe story telling for me could overtake that. Great mma over great wrestlemania 10 out of 10 for me. And if you disagree its cool.

Now does the plot and story telling need to improve a lot? ABSOLUTELY! The real life person Roman I cared about his health issues. The character Roman I can care less about. I don't care if he wins as a baby face. I don't care if he loses as a heel. I have more interest in Sasha Banks than a Roman match.

 

[TNT87]

Make RAW two hours again. Now just doing that won't make everything better obviously but cut it a hour like it used to be so people won't turn the channel if after two hours they are bored to death. During the Attitude Era those two hours flew by it seems. Now it drags and it seems like a chore to watch it all the way. The only way I wouldn't mind if RAW stayed at three hours is if they stopped brand split. And even then it might not help.

I miss the suspenseful cliffhangers of the last segments. The only one that immediately comes to my mind the past year is when Reigns joined Heyman. When Reigns recited Heyman's line of "that's not a prediction. that's a spoiler" my jaw dropped and then the camera shot slid over to Heyman. Perfect. I miss the days of wishing RAW or Smackdown was on the very next day to see what ramifications would be from the hot segment to end the previous shows.

Oh and I would send Kevin Dunn to Antarctica.

 

[HandsomeHollywood]

Cancel like 18 shows and many hours of content would be a good start.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

Austin, Rock, and Cena think he's a genius because they got to a point where they've transcended the industry. Undertaker as well. They all can live off who they are. CM Punk and Ambrose do not. Roman Reigns cannot. And Vince doesn't really want them to. WWE is supposed to be the top-level, not the stepping stone. A bunch of those Eva Marie-Eve Torres "divas" thought they could do that and couldn't.

Let's be honest, if Roman wants to, he's probably got the clearest path to Hollywood as anybody since The Rock.

Batista was kind of a surprise. I don't think anybody would be surprised by Roman.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

At the end of the day, this really boils down to Vince needing to go. Everybody talks about the genius he is... Let's analyze this:

Hogan - Was created in the AWA and poached.

Austin - Was the Ringmaster under Vince. Had to outright as Vince to stop editing his promos before he could finally get over. Only got over when Vince stopped controlling him and let him run with it.

Rock - Was Rocky Maivia. The next big babyface getting go away heat... Didn't get over until Vince stopped controlling him and let him run with it. Matter of fact, didn't get over until the roster was burying him so bad that he was told, you can go off script, but you better make it good.

Cena - Most captivating character is when he was ghetto Cena, and he was told by numerous people Vince was going to fire him if he didn't stop. Ended up getting over and then became the kiddies favorite, which is the easiest group to entertain. Doesn't get nearly enough respect though, he's an A+ promo and A+ at putting together a match. He can't do a bunch of flippy shit, but he knows how to feel out the crowd and put on a show. He also wanted to go heel in like 2006 or 2007 and Vince wouldn't let him.

Roman - Carbon copy Cena. Who'll ever forget the gem, "Suffering Succotash", line Vince gave him that killed him for years. It sucked. We all know it sucked. As we found out years later from Ambrose/Moxley, Roman knew it sucked too. Didn't get over until Corona killed house shows and gave him the opportunity to go heel. He always had that potential. If you don't believe it watch his performance against Rollins at MITB, working his knee and bullying him around.

Only one you can really credit Vince for is Undertaker, and let's be honest, that's a dime a dozen garbage gimmick that got taken over by a one of a kind performer and made into something. Anybody else, it would've failed.

He's not the genius he's made out to be. He's a fantastic businessman and a dogshit wrestling booker.

I didn't even consider this... Even Vince himself was created by accident. He wanted no part of being an on screen character beyond being an announcer, and just leaned into it after the Screwjob.

 

[nofehr]

Lots of great ideas in here. I'm on board with the 'less is more' thoughts - fewer PPV's, fewer shows, and 2-hour shows vs 3-hours.

For me, it was the nausea inducing camera work that made me stop watching for good. Do they still do that?

 

[IceColdOx]

Cut RAW to two hours and that will fix some of it. Trust your talent and give them bullet points a la Cornette mentions. Don't abandon pushes at the first sign of trouble from the crowd. Be willing to move your talent around because it seems like there's a logjam of guys in NXT that should have moved on, but are aware they'd be cannon fodder on the main roster.

 

[Kaner9]

Lots of great ideas in here. I'm on board with the 'less is more' thoughts - fewer PPV's, fewer shows, and 2-hour shows vs 3-hours.

For me, it was the nausea inducing camera work that made me stop watching for good. Do they still do that?

Those emmy winning camera shots are there until Dunn dies

 

[ColePens]

Fixing WWE is the easiest thing in the world. Tell stories. Tell stories that make sense. Give stories depth. Don't rush. Storyboard out 1 year and execute the plan.

But WWE will never have patience for that. They need 1-2 years of GOOD storytelling to even move up 500k viewers. This is about hitting singles for 1-3 years of great storytelling and good wrestling. They have ruined the wrestling fan so much that to regain their trust they need 1-3 years of consistency before people flock back. And AEW/NXT give us every reason not to.

 

[joestevens29]

Sadly the WWF and UFC ended up with the same issue and I was hoping UFC would've learned from WWF.

The day they bought out the competition was the beginning of the end. There just ended up being too much talent for one company and there was no real healthy competition. Resulted in too many shows, too many fighters to follow and the main PPV shows just lost their edge.

Was so much easier to follow storylines when there was WWF and WCW. Was if they were trying to jam too much into one. Would be like those tv shows that do crossovers. Not bad for a couple episodes, but if all of a sudden CSI and Hawaii Five O had stories from both shows combined into one, that it would lose it's edge.

UFC also killed it for me when they started having so many TUF's. Forcing guys into cards because they were on their TV show.

 

[Kaner9]

Sadly the WWF and UFC ended up with the same issue and I was hoping UFC would've learned from WWF.

The day they bought out the competition was the beginning of the end. There just ended up being too much talent for one company and there was no real healthy competition. Resulted in too many shows, too many fighters to follow and the main PPV shows just lost their edge.

Was so much easier to follow storylines when there was WWF and WCW. Was if they were trying to jam too much into one. Would be like those tv shows that do crossovers. Not bad for a couple episodes, but if all of a sudden CSI and Hawaii Five O had stories from both shows combined into one, that it would lose it's edge.

UFC also killed it for me when they started having so many TUF's. Forcing guys into cards because they were on their TV show.

Its like WWE thinks people dont want good wwe they just want MOAR wwe. Same with UFC tbh.

 

[These Are The Days]

ECW was amazing and nothing either before or sense is anything like it. It also should never happen again because the physical cost is just far too great. Watch any ECW show and count all the guys who are dead. And one of the biggest reasons ECW died was that it's production looked second rate compared to WWF and WCW. In fact the Thunderdome stopped the ratings nosedive until the product stunk so bad even that couldn't save it.

I'm not necessarily calling for the return of ECW. It's more like WWE has these gimmick matches and PPV's and then waters everything down. I think 4 to 8 matches a year that are quote "ECW" worthy more than enough. I guess the point I'm making is don't sell the idea you're gonna have a gruesome match and then not follow through. It is simple enough for WWE announcers to say for weeks in advance of a HIAC match to say "This match is not going to be for everyone. Discretion is advised and we beg of you to use it. Anything goes in HIAC and you should expect it to"

You won't destroy the talent if they work carefully. Not every match needs huge spots. But if you're gonna have "anything goes" on Raw then jumping off a ladder into the announce table is probably enough to make fans happy.

The constant worked shoots were a Vince Russo staple and played a critical role in destroying WCW. Not everybody is on the internet and reads the Observer. Remember that time Bischoff used the line about a squeegee to Sid and literally nobody in the crowd reacted, so he said it again and.. Crickets?

Agreed but worked shoots aren't necessary to sustain a product anyway. The realism required is can just be done with good booking. An affair angle done right or a talent no-showing because of "a family emergency" and being stripped of a title can add much needed refreshment because these are elements that are actually real. You don't necessarily have to go full Russo though. That we agree on.

Blood is not something they want to do, but not just because of violence. Several years back they did a segment involving Bob Orton and Taker where Orton bladed and bled all over Taker. Problem: Orton has Hepatitis B and didn't tell anyone. You can imagine Taker's reaction when he found that out. Also a blood borne illness ended the careers of Nigel McGuinness and Canadian indie wrestler Hannibal (who got it from Abdullah The Butcher. He sued Abby and won a judgement which he still has yet to receive).

I actually didn't know about the Orton/Taker incident. The guy is an absolute asshole for doing that and I was under the impression the talent went through routine testing to ensure they do not have blood-borne illnesses. My thought has always been so long as the talent is medically cleared, go for it. Guys bleed in real life. If you're gonna capture reality then do it. That more than anything is the goal as opposed to violence. WWE is so plastic they outright censor blood now.

The idea of occasional upsets is a good one, but the problem is that they do them as the heel slipping on a banana peel which gets nobody over.

Agreed but it needs to stop. The emergence of Lesnar was so unique back in 2002 because you had a legit unstoppable badass heel. WWE needs to get away from the 80's and let heels win clean as a whistle. Or (bad example) you have Dolph Ziggler legit beat Roman Reigns in an outcome no one expects and there is no need to slip on bananas.

The time limit cues I absolutely agree with. That's a very small touch that adds a lot to the product.

Imagine a babyface winning a title with 2 seconds left... it'll be a riot

The point on announcing is also correct, but that is not how Vince wants his announcers to do their job.

Unfortunately yes.... "Look at WWE trending on social media right now!" has been a staple for years and it probably won't stop til he dies. The only one who cares is him.

To me the biggest thing that is killing them is simple: They have no idea how to book a babyface. All their babyfaces are idiots and losers who constantly get outsmarted by the heels. Stupid babyface = Not a babyface.

Agreed. But a lot of it has to do with what Jim Cornette said once "f***in' go out there and get yourself over" and Vince simply refuses to do it anymore whether it's in the ring or on the mic. Roman never landed with the fans and got over because listening to him on the mic is like listening to the sound of paint trying. He doesn't excite anyone regardless of his booking.

Sadly we are stuck in New Generation 2.0 and I'm not gonna watch it til Vince is gone

I probably should have gotten back to you sooner on this but I just got done watching the first HIAC match between Taker and Michaels. It almost hurts that at any moment the product could be that good but because of PC purposes and Linda won't get out of politics, WWE refuses to.

edit: my responses are in bold in the quote

 

[CDJ]

Sadly the WWF and UFC ended up with the same issue and I was hoping UFC would've learned from WWF.

The day they bought out the competition was the beginning of the end. There just ended up being too much talent for one company and there was no real healthy competition. Resulted in too many shows, too many fighters to follow and the main PPV shows just lost their edge.

Was so much easier to follow storylines when there was WWF and WCW. Was if they were trying to jam too much into one. Would be like those tv shows that do crossovers. Not bad for a couple episodes, but if all of a sudden CSI and Hawaii Five O had stories from both shows combined into one, that it would lose it's edge.

UFC also killed it for me when they started having so many TUF's. Forcing guys into cards because they were on their TV show.

I don’t mind UFC cards every week because it’s a sport and I look at it as a sport


I do mind 3 hours of RAW and relentless amounts of programming from WWE because their creative sucks and it’s a bad show

espn is very happy with their ufc investment...I imagine if you ask Fox they’re probably not as high on their wwe investment (which is funny because they basically swapped UFC for WWE)

 

[67 others]

At the end of the day, this really boils down to Vince needing to go. Everybody talks about the genius he is... Let's analyze this:

Hogan - Was created in the AWA and poached.

Austin - Was the Ringmaster under Vince. Had to outright as Vince to stop editing his promos before he could finally get over. Only got over when Vince stopped controlling him and let him run with it.

Rock - Was Rocky Maivia. The next big babyface getting go away heat... Didn't get over until Vince stopped controlling him and let him run with it. Matter of fact, didn't get over until the roster was burying him so bad that he was told, you can go off script, but you better make it good.

Cena - Most captivating character is when he was ghetto Cena, and he was told by numerous people Vince was going to fire him if he didn't stop. Ended up getting over and then became the kiddies favorite, which is the easiest group to entertain. Doesn't get nearly enough respect though, he's an A+ promo and A+ at putting together a match. He can't do a bunch of flippy shit, but he knows how to feel out the crowd and put on a show. He also wanted to go heel in like 2006 or 2007 and Vince wouldn't let him.

Roman - Carbon copy Cena. Who'll ever forget the gem, "Suffering Succotash", line Vince gave him that killed him for years. It sucked. We all know it sucked. As we found out years later from Ambrose/Moxley, Roman knew it sucked too. Didn't get over until Corona killed house shows and gave him the opportunity to go heel. He always had that potential. If you don't believe it watch his performance against Rollins at MITB, working his knee and bullying him around.

Only one you can really credit Vince for is Undertaker, and let's be honest, that's a dime a dozen garbage gimmick that got taken over by a one of a kind performer and made into something. Anybody else, it would've failed.

He's not the genius he's made out to be. He's a fantastic businessman and a dogshit wrestling booker.

His booking and ideas have had their ups and downs. He's dogshit these days and should do away with the scripted promos and let's wrestlers get themselves over again that's for sure.

But Hogan's real American Schtick was at Vince's direction. you can credit the actor's performance making it work, but have to credit the scriptwriter too. He always made sure to build invincible monster heels for the real American to be the one guy who could stop them and it was able to be maintained for years and years. Turning Randy Savage into another super hero and then having the Mega Powers explode was also a stroke of genius. Back then Vince had the luxury of no internet and the ability to give guys slight pushes to see how the crowd reacts before breaking them into PPV stardom.

Austin was a mega star yes. Vince booking himself as the heel owner and Austin's foil was also genius and made for years of exciting TV. inserting the Rock into it during the Rock's rise and recognizing the need to turn one of them heel and align with the evil owner was also Vince M.

I won't pretend to know much about Cena other than casual viewer. I stopped watching WWE regularly in 2002 or 2003. Whenever Lesnar did that shooting star botch was the last time I watched an event until Wrestlemania 20 and then I went mega casual.

I still watch, but at my age, its more fun to watch with my kids than get interested myself.

 

[K Fleur]

Speaking only for myself; It’s way too late. Way to much bad faith.

I remember watching that Fiend/Rollins Hell in a Cell and being genuinely mad at myself for not turning that shit off and finding something not terrible to do with my time.

 

[Kaner9]

Here is another one more backstage segments bt not staged so its so obvious what is gonna happen. Think about all the great backstage Austin segments. Or Rock riffing. Also let the wrestlers act like they see the show not like characters in a play.