Fixing WWE

[ColePens]

Ugh, how about no more Legend nights.

I specifically refuse to watch due to stuff like that. And I just read about the ending.

 

[Sheppy]

Honestly, the more I look at it. You’re not fixing this f***ing mess.

 

[BruinDust]

Ugh, how about no more Legend nights.

I grew up watching in that era (88 through 2002) and it's time to cut the umbilical cord when it comes to their stars of yesteryear if they ever want to move the business forward. AEW has the same problem to some degree. Watching them roll out Tazz, Arn, Tully and now Sting in these mentor-like roles is cringeworthy.

No offense to the names mentioned, but can you imagine during 1998 the WWF holding a Legends night on Raw and dragging out Bruno and his contemporaries for brief cameo one-off comedic appearances? And then finishing the night with Backlund challenging the Rock for the World Championship at the Rumble?

Losing Savage and Hogan, then Nash/Hall, followed by Bret and HBK's hiatus, forced the WWF to move past them and create new stars and up their game. How sad is it that WWE creative didn't feel anyone on their roster (other than say Reigns and Orton his most recent opponents) was really worthy of facing McIntyre at the Rumble for the belt if reports are to be believed and had to resort to calling 54-year old Bill Goldberg.

Their just itching for a 47-year old, 2 matches in 9 years Edge to be ready to return and thrust him into the main event scene (likely picking up his feud with Orton).

 

[BruinDust]

Honestly, the more I look at it. You’re not fixing this f***ing mess.

Not with a bloated roster of mediocre talent, and 7 hours of TV time (minus PPVs) a week to fill. Just way to much quantity, not enough quality, of a homogeneous product across all 3 brands. Meanwhile, the demand is just not there IMO for that much WWE content.

I'd start by firing two thirds of the roster and going back to one 2-hour weekly show. But that will never happen.

 

[GOilers88]

You do what AEW has done. Build a promotion around WRESTLING, instead of this Sports Entertainment bullshit they hitched their wagon to years ago.

Vince McMahon is the biggest thing hurting the WWE and has been for a long time.

 

[Sega Dreamcast]

Why do they keep bringing back legends?

WWE RAW Legends Night Episode Draws Best Viewership And Rating Since March - Wrestling Inc.

Because it works, as short-sighted and bad for long-term booking it has proven to be over the years.

It's just like 3 hour Raw. It makes for a miserable slog and lower ratings, but it has 50% more advertising slots than a 2 hour Raw, so they will almost always make more money running a generally worse product.

As much as the product is a creative disaster and ratings are down, the company's quarterly revenues have breached 1 billion this year, which makes me question if they even have an incentive to improve.

 

[Ozz]

Re-enact the '80s.

 

[jcs0218]

I agree with some of the suggestions listed in this thread.

Particularly with respect to decreasing the amount of PPVs and television programming. You can't properly build a feud, or create appropriate hype around a main event or dream match, when things only last a month and you see constant interaction between the two wrestlers 1-3 times a week.

Plus, having too many PPVs and television programming burns through the amount of possible match combinations too quickly, so you end up having to recycle things too much.

Decreasing the amount of content won't happen though, due to financial reasons. They would be taking quite a big hit in advertising, ticket revenue, and PPV revenue if they were to decrease the amount of shows.

Going back to 80s or 90s style would be nice. But I don't ever see that happening. First, they are run by shareholders now, and shareholders aren't going to get behind anything too risky or too controversial. Second, society as a whole has changed, and wouldn't be as accepting as they were in the past.

Lastly, I want to say that despite any changes they could make, it is likely that wrestling would never get back to where it was before. Even if it became exactly identical to what it was before.

Wrestling is the type of thing that doesn't age well the older you get. The average 40 year old isn't likely to find it as interesting as the average 20 year old, even if the content and storylines and matches and everything were identical.

I was a huge fan of wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s.

But I can honestly say that even if you managed to create something similar to nWo, D-X, Austin vs. McMahon, etc., that it wouldn't engage me now the same way it did back then.

It may engage the current 15-24 year old demographic in similar ways though. Even then, the ratings may not ever return to previous levels due to more entertainment options being available now.

 

[ColePens]

Why do they keep bringing back legends?

WWE RAW Legends Night Episode Draws Best Viewership And Rating Since March - Wrestling Inc.

Because it works, as short-sighted and bad for long-term booking it has proven to be over the years.

It's just like 3 hour Raw. It makes for a miserable slog and lower ratings, but it has 50% more advertising slots than a 2 hour Raw, so they will almost always make more money running a generally worse product.

As much as the product is a creative disaster and ratings are down, the company's quarterly revenues have breached 1 billion this year, which makes me question if they even have an incentive to improve.

On the ratings - i disagree. First non MNF Raw. That boosts.

Everything else... Yep. They have zero incentive because money talks.

 

[mndbsstt]

There's a lot I want to fix when it comes to WWE. But mainly:

Particularly with respect to decreasing the amount of PPVs and television programming. You can't properly build a feud, or create appropriate hype around a main event or dream match, when things only last a month and you see constant interaction between the two wrestlers 1-3 times a week.

... So it's not just me, then, who would like to see feuding wrestlers keep their hands off of each other until PPVs. I've rewatched enough videos that I can safely remember some feuds in the early 90s going 2+ cards. The big ends, I think, were saved for Wrestlemania and Summerslam, because you really couldn't end something at the Rumble or Survivor Series sometimes (especially when the latter was purely nothing but a team format).

On another note (tying into what you're saying)...

The good thing about having that show like Superstars or Wrestling Challenge was that in however many hours of programming WWE was able to film in that era, they were able to not put the same guys on TV every week. The company has a lot of people on their roster, yet we don't see a good number of them because we're fed an unhealthy diet of the same faces on RAW or Smackdown. If Vince and crew take the time to say "hey, we're going to not show you on the program this week, because we want to come up with an innovative way of building your feud", then I would be happy with a brief name drop and highlight package of said feud.

Maybe if they invested their time and energy in wrestlers that don't get TV time, then I would be happy to welcome WWE back onto my TV.

 

[JayfromNB1219]

bring back the attitude era

no one in WWE has the charisma or appeal of the old stars. Stone Cold. The Rock. Even Shane was better.

Now the best we have is boring shit like Bray or Kevin Owens feuding or some crap like how Paul Heyman is an advocate for Roman now. The storylines suck.

KO taken off script I think has the potential to approach the attitude era guys...the guys is all around good to great, he’s always Believable and he can work...AJ styles is another guy who id take a script away from and tell him to say what he needs to

 

[JayfromNB1219]

So many things....I could probably write a novel about this lol.

First - you start at the top. Fans need a strong main eventer to rally around. Roman Reigns is fantastically cast in his current heel role (he was horribly booked/cast for years as a face) - but he's a heel, and fans won't rally around that. You need a strong face. You could create a new one, but that's hard and takes time, so in the short term you go with your proven commodity: Daniel Bryan.

Mount up a huge storyline/angle going into mania. Bryan wins the rumble (after shenanigans, re-involve HHH maybe even to try and block him, so his victory is even more of an underdog overcoming the odds). Bryan (face) vs Reigns (heel) is the biggest match they can do for mania. In addition to the match - book some very compelling tv angles going into mania to build hype for it. Don't throw them in random tag matches that no one cares about - instead book angles such as the time Bryan brought all the fans in the ring to "takeover" Raw. Or have Reigns go attack Bryan in his home. Try for compelling TV.

If/when Becky is able to return - and assuming Ronda is too - build towards that huge feud. It could be at mania with a rumble win - or not. But that's also a very compelling story that should be front and center.

That takes care of the top of the card.

Second - use your mega-star legends. Hulk Hogan? Stone Cold Steve Austin? Let's be honest - it's a bit sad to think that WWE isn't able to succeed on their own with today's stars without using past guys - but even though it's sad it's the situation we're in today. We need short-term help. So bring back either Stone Cold or Hogan (maybe both) to be regular characters on tv. They don't have to wrestle (though if they wanted to - 100% support it, for a big special mania match, or big event match. Can even make a 'cinematic' match to protect them if necessary). Stone Cold was great in the past as raw GM, or even 'Sheriff. Hogan could be fun as a commissioner - maybe a bit like the Jack Tunney role, where he doesn't show up every week, but shows up regularly and when he does you know it's a huge deal. Stone Cold could even be cast as a special enforcer - they bring him in to be a "special enforcer/outside ring ref" when feuds/matches get too violent, and they need someone like him to keep the law. So you'd bring him in to participate in big-time feuds only, here and there, could be a good fit. So if Edge/Orton rekindle their feud towards a 3rd match for example - bring in Stone Cold as enforcer, have him involved in some of the angles/promos leading to the match, and he's part of the match as "outside enforcer". It would certainly add to the feud.

Third - Just to be clear, long-term plan is to create new mega stars so you don't have to keep resorting to the likes of Stone Cold or Hogan for years. But in the short-term, 1-2 years, use guys like that as much as possible while you try to refresh your brand into being more popular. As for creating mega-stars - that's the obvious long-term goal, and won't go too much in detail as to how to do that here.

Fourth - So we've taken care of top of the card feud (which I think is essential to create a compelling product), we've brought in big-guns in important roles (Hogan/Austin) to bring in casuals - now the biggest thing, we have to ensure the overall show is compelling and entertaining to watch. Here's what I'd do, and it's a super simple golden rule:

Make Sure Every Single Match Has a Purpose.

I've been a wrestling fan for over 30 years, since I was a kid - and I've gotten bored with product. Too much content, and majority of matches have no meaning whatsoever, and therefore feel skippable. WWE needs each wrestler to explain why they're wrestling everytime there's a match - literally, so you can care about it.

- Is it a title match? Ok - that's a purpose
- Is it a #1 contender's match? That's a purpose
- Is it a tournament match? That's a purpose
- Is it simply a grudge match that has nothing to do with titles? Well - make sure each wrestlers cuts a promo prior to the match to explain why they're fighting. Makes you care about it more, if not it's a throwaway match. Is Miz fighting Drew? Ok - well Miz should cut a (serious) promo beforehand, explaining how even though he's had setbacks recently he knows he's still the wrestler who beat john Cena at mania and outshone the Rock - he's a 2x MITB winner and he knows he belongs at the top of WWE as the hardest working person there - and tonight on Raw he's going to beat Drew in a non-title match to prove to him he deserves a title shot and should be your future champ...or something like that. He cuts that promo - serious - all of a sudden it makes you care about the match, rather than it being a throwaway squash nobody cares about.

Do this throughout the mid-card and undercard too. Every match. Explain to viewers why there's a match.


Fifth: Give storylines & promos more of an edge (ie - not PG)

A huge part of giving every single match a purpose is allowing wrestlers promo time before every match. And in some cases - after a match, so they can gloat. If you do that - you definitely need to lift the pg restrictions. In the 90s sex, violence and attitude sold. I don't think today would be very different, so allow more of that to be mingled into your promos.


By doing all of the above you get:

- Very strong long-term main event story at top of card
- Make use of huge legends with great star power to bring back casual (Austin, Hogan)
- Plan to build new mega-stars in future for the long-term
- Give even 3hours of raw each week compelling content - since audiences will start to care about every match since they'll be able to relate to why the wrestlers are wrestling in a specific match
- More edge/attitude - bring back some cussing, shoot promos, more sex, violence, etc. It sells. Don't have to go overboard with it - but certainly bring it back to a certain degree

KO could be that guy booked properly, him and AJ Styles are simply put head and shoulders above the rest minus Bray Wyatt but the fiend can’t be seen very often so he’s a tricky guy to book if they want to keep the mystique behind the fiend...on that note TF are they doing having the fiend get dropped by people...he’s nothing special if a Reigns spear finishes him or an RKO...if the fiend is shown he needs to be damn near untouchable (to a degree of course) if we are going to buy into him being the demonic force he’s played as

 

[JackSlater]

KO taken off script I think has the potential to approach the attitude era guys...the guys is all around good to great, he’s always Believable and he can work...AJ styles is another guy who id take a script away from and tell him to say what he needs to

Owens might have the highest ceiling in WWE... him or Bryan. He would have been a better fit 20+ years ago given his look and especially his ability to talk. At this point it seems unlikely that he'll ever go beyond what he's been, which is disappointing even though he's been very good for years. He's one of the guys where all WWE would need to do is get out of its own way.

 

[CDJ]

Pretty sure they have the episodes of ROH on YouTube for free in the era when Steen/Owens took over with S.C.U.M and a feud with Cornette

the guy can carry a program if you let him, they’re just not gonna let him

 

[BostonBob]

You all know how much I hate Vince's circus but my solution is actually pretty simple:

 

[Nemesis Prime]

Give R-Truth a WWE Championship run. That dude has been carrying the company for years.

 

[DangeRouss]

WWE is so PREDICTABLE...and sometimes really RIDICULOUS (Edge winning RR21 without any tough job)

Faces of the organization are too smooth

The only one who has "excited" me last few years is Braun Strowman (some outstanding segments)

I must say the Fiend and his universe is also a great find

 

[Bondurant]

You do what AEW has done. Build a promotion around WRESTLING, instead of this Sports Entertainment bullshit they hitched their wagon to years ago.

Vince McMahon is the biggest thing hurting the WWE and has been for a long time.

Is AEW really about wrestling when Chris Jericho is wading in a kiddie pool filled with orange juice and one of their guys places his hands in his pockets and lazily kicks shins?

 

[CDJ]

WWE is so PREDICTABLE...and sometimes really RIDICULOUS (Edge winning RR21 without any tough job)

Faces of the organization are too smooth

The only one who has "excited" me last few years is Braun Strowman (some outstanding segments)

I must say the Fiend and his universe is also a great find

I think it *was* a great find. Since been ruined

all of the indie guys on the roster were so much more compelling on the indies, it’s honestly incredible. Everything is contrived or stale or just plain dumb.

 

[CHGoalie27]

Release the Bugenhagen

 

[Kaner9]

Release the Bugenhagen

Bring back Heidenreich too and make them a group. Print $$$$

 

[eXile3]

I know some of these are repeats.

1. Stop the brand split - It made sense when you added WCW & ECW talent coming into an already stacked roster but you don't have that anymore. This will also help..

• Make the belts mean something again
• Have a more concentrated product
• Hopefully encourage more competition from the talent

2. Align with reality -You can see some of the talent on Instagram and Twitter are entertaining people outside their ridiculous characters. Just let them be magnified versions of that. Yes, that means they need some artistic freedom.

3. Obviously the writing needs to better. Wrestling is at its best when it's a physical story telling medium. The scripted promo's are bad, the narratives make no sense, and there's no continuity.

The biggest thing is they need to acknowledge there is a problem. They have to get over that hump first.

 

[Nemesis Prime]

It's beyond repair now. Charlotte sums it up perfectly.

 

[Megahab]

This won't fix anything but a couple of changes I'd like to see is during backstage interviews.

The wrestler is usually looking at the interviewer while cutting their promo. They should be looking directly at the camera.

And when the interview is over, the interviewer should throw it back to the commentators. Instead, the interviewer just stands there looking stupidly off camera to the wrestler that is walking away.

When did all of this change? I feel like they started doing this in the last 10 years and I'm not sure why.

 

[Elvis P]

Force the fans to watch Young Rock every week to get a unique code that allows them to watch WWE.