How happy are you with WWE right now?

[Patrick B.]

Bitching about bitching about bitching.  Is this the looking glass?

[odessasteps]

[MORELOCK]

Bitching about bitching about bitching.  Is this the looking glass?

 

Oh, I think you've gotten enough threads closed for one week.

 

Are the people that kept saying "take The Authority off TV" ready to offer other solutions now, since RAW was Authority-free and still completely shitty?

[Jenalysis]

The real problem is they need to accept that fans like guys other than who they want.

 

Even WCW got behind La Parka because the fans did.

[The Man Known as Dan]

Look, the real problem with the WWE is that there are about 100 real problems with the WWE, and if you don't fix at least half of them, there will still be giant holes in the company.

[bink_winkleman]

The show actually is better without The Authority, but the problems are structural.

 

The "listen to what the fans want" is a big part of it, but it's more than that. You have to actually understand what fans want first, and then learn to seek out, develop, embrace and improve upon those wants in ways that will strengthen and build the fan base. Then you have to cultivate enough depth that you can right the ship in the face of injuries, fan reaction, contract disputes, suspensions and so forth. That's a completely different universe (no pun intended) from what WWE has got going on right now, and probably more than what they're capable of doing.

[Jiji]

Yeah, solving issue #21 on a list of 100+ issues isn't going to turn this sucker around. The Death of WCW wasn't a particularly good book, but it got one thing right. It takes a long time for the rot to set in on attendance and viewership but it takes even longer to right the ship once it's off course. It seemed, even with the stupid final angle, like this was a pretty wrestling heavy show which is a good step. Now they need to address the other 5,259 problems WWE has. 

[Craig H]

It goes beyond addressing those numerous issues. Even if you do address them all, you're just addressing symptoms of a larger problem. What really needs to happen, at a totally honest and objective level, is for serious root cause problem solving to take place. I can only imagine how insane the fishbone diagram of the journey to the root cause of all these problems would be, not to mention what a problem statement would even look like.

 

However, that's NEVER going to happen. Not in a million, billion years. It would take a group of people within WWE, from the top, to people from the writing staff, to those in marketing, to those in production, to the wrestlers themselves to adequately assess what the root cause is WITHOUT looking at solutions (because then you're just addressing symptoms) and without sabotaging the whole damn thing by digging in their heels or refusing to recognize they're a part of the problem. Beyond all of that, if a plan were then set into place to fix the problem, they actually have to stick to it.

 

It really doesn't matter how many symptoms of a larger problem exist in WWE. There could be thousands, but if you get to the root of all that (and no, that isn't Vince McMahon needs to go), then you would see those symptoms begin to quickly fall like dominoes. Again though, it's never going to happen, but it's what actually needs to take place within WWE.

[JohnnyJ]

WWE operates without a plan b, Instead of planting a lot of seeds by building alot of contenders, wwe always seems singularly focused on elevating one talent and making him "the guy." We saw it with Cena for years. Each and every heel on the roster (with the exception of lesnar) has been emasculated and weakened by him. They've now spent the last two years grooming and elevating Reigns at the expense of every other up and comer on the roster. 

 

Now that Cena is off and Roman is not over enough to carry the company, there is no obvious direction for them to take. 

 

Taking the authority off tv wont change that. Giving new day a few extra segments wont change that. 

[Brysynner]

WWE operates without a plan b, Instead of planting a lot of seeds by building alot of contenders, wwe always seems singularly focused on elevating one talent and making him "the guy." We saw it with Cena for years. Each and every heel on the roster (with the exception of lesnar) has been emasculated and weakened by him. They've now spent the last two years grooming and elevating Reigns at the expense of every other up and comer on the roster. 

 

Now that Cena is off and Roman is not over enough to carry the company, there is no obvious direction for them to take. 

 

Taking the authority off tv wont change that. Giving new day a few extra segments wont change that. 

 

The problem with Cena off is that Orton and Daniel Bryan are hurt while Brock is on a part time deal with the company and Batista is making movie money. WWE had options besides Cena the problem is somewhat of a new one for WWE where they never really built anyone up while bringing up Roman. They killed off Ambrose and Rusev. Owens is a heel. Your best plan B options for babyfaces are Ryback and Neville.

[Goodear]

With all the talk about how garbage WWE is, it is amazing just how better constructed NXT is.  Just on a very basic level, people are put in programs and are left in them to get over.  Bailey isn't facing Emma this week, Asuka hasn't jobbed to Nia Jax and the roster is deep enough that Alexa Bliss and Carmella are in the wings waiting for fresh programs while still being active on the show.  There is sense of purpose and direction that has room for the stories to breath so that matches get anticipated and people are eager to see what will happen next.  Meanwhile, Charlotte is turning heel on a person that turned heel on her and brought up her dead brother and Sasha isn't doing anything and...  SUCK, YOU SUCK!  ABUSE OF POWER!  

 

I blacked out there for a minute.

 

Compare typical WWE pattern booking to this Samoa Joe-Balor program.  Joe has beaten Balor every step of the way, choking him out 4 times.  Yet no one has mentioned the word burial because fuck you, that's how you build heat.  They haven't even mentioned the Demon thing in the build!  Will it come out?  Who knows!?  Either way works!  It's AMAZINGGGG...

 

FACE FUCK ME FI....

 

Blacked out again...

[Technico Support]

As much as I bag on WWE, you really can't compare it to NXT like that.  NXT is only one hour per week, so nobody gets overexposed and programs can't help but have time to build.  If NXT needed to fill 5+ hours every week, Finn and Joe would have already met in various tag matches and maybe even singles and we'd all be sick of them by the time Takeover came around.  The deep roster you speak of wouldn't seem so deep if they needed to fill that much time as well.  Also, having to generate that much content leads to awful writing and booking, which we don't see in NXT either.

 

If Raw was only an hour or 90 minutes every week and there was no Smackdown odds are it would be a better show.

[SirSmUgly]

I don't really buy that as an excuse. It's up to the creative minds there to figure out how to keep people away from one another and how to have segments that deviate from "twenty-minute in-ring promo," "video repeat of what we just showed you," and "repeated match from the past three weeks in twelve-minute segments." NXT has more variety in segments (control center, backstage promos, in-depth video packages to build face characters, in-ring promos, squashes, evenly-worked matches, etc.) with less time to fill than the main show does. 

 

Everything about the main show is just stale and stuck in a rut. There is a deep enough roster on the main shows that they could get seven hours of unique television a week out of them with creative booking and a re-imagining of how they present their segments. 

[piranesi]

It should be possible to integrate NXT people more slowly, no?  Let them wrestle once every month or so.  They can lose.  It won't hurt them. They're being presented as "just starting out."  I mean the heels can beg off and flee and babyfaces can put on a decent match and lose to guys you are trying to push.

 

But let them show up, but just a little, do a little promo work.  Like a new kid should.  And If the crowd likes them, they can show up more often and maybe win every so often as they "improve".  There's your group of people to beat to keep your midcard guys out of 50/50 booking and without doing damage to anyone that can't be undone because they're only showing up every few weeks and presented as rookies anyway.

 

 

that has to be better than debuting someone, forcing them out there every week to lose over and over and somehow hope they get over as a pathetic comedy heel?

[Hollywood Cibernetico]

I agree the 5 hours a week thing is a talking point that really doesn't hold up in my book. If Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose are going to have a match at TLC, what stops WWE from doing this:

 

Week 1: Wyatt attacks Ambrose backstage to setup the PPV match. Dean is attended to backstage. Wyatt vs. Goldust (Wyatt goes over).

 

Smackdown (Optional): Brief update on Ambrose by the announcers. Wyatt 2-3 minute promo from some off-site location.

 

Week 2: Dean is back and cuts a 2-3 minute promo from an undisclosed location. Wyatts cuts a 2-3 minute promo (in the swamps or wherever).

 

Smackdown (Optional): Dean interrupts the start of the show and calls out Wyatt. No response. Instead The Miz comes  out and tries to talk Ambrose down, but winds up just insulting him. Ambrose vs. The Miz (Ambrose goes over).

 

Week 3: Dean vs. Killings (Dean goes over). Dean calls out Wyatt. Wyatt appears on-stage (or screen) with his goons. Lights go out. Dean is surrounded by Harper, Rowan, and Strowman. Deans fights off all three until Wyatt calls of his goons.

 

Smackdown (Optional): Wyatt vs. Ryder. Dean arrives late. Dean vs. Harper/Rowan 2-on-1 or Dean/Reigns vs. Harper/Rowan. Dean gets the win. CUT TO the shadows of the arena and Bray and Strowman stare down Dean/Reigns and mouths "See you are TLC".

 

TLC PPV:  Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose.

 

 

This is just one match. Surely this can be done with 4-5 feuds at a time. Its also important for the babyfaces and heels to both have friends and allies, because when that happens (outside of factions). WWE can establish that someone like Rusev and Barrett are cool so if there is any beef between Neville and Barrett, Barrett/Neville doesn't have to happen even once because Barrett's good friend Rusen loves to hurt people and would like nothing more than to put Neville out to pasture. WWE could also do a 4-on-4 SS style match with Barrett/Rusev/ADR/Sheamus vs. Neville/Orton/Killings/Ziggler with Barrett and Ziggler/Neville being the last ones and Barrett decides to bail before Neville can be tagged in. Throw in some promos (that are NOT IN THE RING AND THAT DON'T TAKE 20 MINUTES), and thats another way WWE can keep people apart.

[Patrick B.]

They have a gazillion people on the payroll and a lot of them have jack squat to do in a given week.  Put some of them to use, even if it's just to get the guys on the next PPV over.

[SirSmUgly]

Just bought tickets to RAW in February because family wanted to go. I wonder if our crowd will be dead, or if the Road to WrestleMania will have people in the audience vociferously turning against the company?

[Dog]

I literally can't remember if I watched Smackdown last night.

[Cristobal]

Just bought tickets to RAW in February because family wanted to go. I wonder if our crowd will be dead, or if the Road to WrestleMania will have people in the audience vociferously turning against the company?

..."or"?

[Zakk_Sabbath]

I am on this board and reddit every day, but I kid you not, I did not realize TLC was tonight until I saw an ad for it when I fired up some Spring Stampede on the Network after the Steelers game

[The Nature Boy]

There are $25 tickets on StubHub for TLC. I almost bought a ticket and drove down. It's a 3.5 hour drive.

 

5 years ago, I would have. 10 years ago, there would not have been a question. 15 years ago, I would have already had tickets on the first day they went on sale. 

[evilwaldo]

Are "get rid of Vince" and "get rid of Kevin Dunn" separate or the same?

Vince is not the problem.  His daughter and son-in-law are the problems.  

 

Did anyone see the Smackdown commercial where The Authority is listening to ideas for people to promote the move to USA?  

 

How can people not see that Vince has given up the book and passed it over to his daughter and son-in-law?  If Vince was in charge he would put the talent out front to promote not the people with the book who continually put themselves over time and time again to the detriment of the rest of the roster.

 

That's ok though because Lucha Underground is starting soon.  

[The Nature Boy]

 

Are "get rid of Vince" and "get rid of Kevin Dunn" separate or the same?

Vince is not the problem.  His daughter and son-in-law are the problems.  

 

Did anyone see the Smackdown commercial where The Authority is listening to ideas for people to promote the move to USA?  

 

How can people not see that Vince has given up the book and passed it over to his daughter and son-in-law?  If Vince was in charge he would put the talent out front to promote not the people with the book who continually put themselves over time and time again to the detriment of the rest of the roster.

 

That's ok though because Lucha Underground is starting soon.  

 

 

Did you not watch SmackDown in 2003? Vince was all over the show then.

[Fallacy!]

I made the decision a month ago to stop watching the live shows. I'll DVR Raw and read a report of the show afterward so I can fast forward to anything that sounds interesting. Lately that's only been New Day segments. New Day and Brock Lesnar coming back are the only things keeping me interested in even reading the reports of the show.

 

I gave up on Smackdown MONTHS ago. I'll read the spoilers and that's about it.