Why does there only have to be *A* face of the WWE?

[Joe Neglia]

I've never understood this philosophy. I'm not talking about the storyline version of it, I'm talking the actual thing. WWE/WWF has always had this thing where they only push one guy as THE end-all, be-all, be it Bruno, Hulk, Austin or Cena, they've never figured out how to multi-task the main event situation. Seriously, have 3-4 guys that you push hard as hell at the top, put all your money on more than one guy. Look at comics. Marvel doesn't spend 90% of their marketing on Spider-Man and 10% on everyone else. DC isn't JUST Batman. Even when those two are the top dogs, the companies continue to push the hell out of Superman, Avengers and the X-Men and even potential flash in the pans (Deadpool) to the moon without ever thinking there's no room at the top for them too. With two main weekly shows and monthly PPVs, there's more than enough room to make sure Cena, Bryan and Punk can all get the major spotlight without stepping on each others' toes.

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

I guess people are just trained on the idea that "this is the main character, most of the show revolves around him/her". G.I. Joe had Duke, Transformers had Optimus Prime (he tried giving Hot Rod the rub but the dude got X-pac Heat), Buffy had... Buffy.

[Bub (BLM)]

I think the only time they ever found a good balance was with Rock and Austin. That being said, it may not have been the case had Austin not missed most of 2000.

[Deleted]

Jan 21, 2014 18:27:41 GMT -5 Joe Neglia said:

I've never understood this philosophy. I'm not talking about the storyline version of it, I'm talking the actual thing. WWE/WWF has always had this thing where they only push one guy as THE end-all, be-all, be it Bruno, Hulk, Austin or Cena, they've never figured out how to multi-task the main event situation. Seriously, have 3-4 guys that you push hard as hell at the top, put all your money on more than one guy. Look at comics. Marvel doesn't spend 90% of their marketing on Spider-Man and 10% on everyone else. DC isn't JUST Batman. Even when those two are the top dogs, the companies continue to push the hell out of Superman, Avengers and the X-Men and even potential flash in the pans (Deadpool) to the moon without ever thinking there's no room at the top for them too. With two main weekly shows and monthly PPVs, there's more than enough room to make sure Cena, Bryan and Punk can all get the major spotlight without stepping on each others' toes.

I honestly think this would be the best way if they had an actual sense of what to do with building their champions as must see exhibits.

I wish all high tier champions only fought on PPV and only showed up once every 3 weeks or so for a promo.

The more you see someone, the less likely you are to pay for their merchandise/PPV headlines due to the simple factor of economics and well, if we can see EVERY guy on Raw why should anyone pay to see them on PPV?

There's never usually a draw to any PPV these days, match quality is as stand out on Raw as it is on any given Sunday, and given the WWE's inability to write satisfactory endings consistently every time I've invested in a PPV the last year purchasing has left me frustrated and disappointed. If they stopped cramming every main eventer into every show I'm certain the writing would have to improve.

Make the champions the draw, make the fans pay to see them fight live, stop wearing them out or risking unnecessary injury 2 times a week, 3 times at the end of the month.

It'd also make the IC/US champions an important type of TV Champion for each show. Have the US title defended on Smackdown, have the IC on Raw. Right now the tag titles seem to be the most important titles in the entire WWE so let them main event once every two weeks etc. It'd raise the stock of the midcard and make the champions seem important.

[Deleted]

Because Vince is in the entertainment business and every form of entertainment needs a good leading man would be my guess.

[chazraps]

Jan 21, 2014 18:45:01 GMT -5 @akeem said:

Because Vince is in the entertainment business and every form of entertainment needs a good leading man would be my guess.

Yeah, its the idea of having a "Flagship" artist/performer.

[Deleted]

Jan 21, 2014 18:45:01 GMT -5 @akeem said:

Because Vince is in the entertainment business and every form of entertainment needs a good leading man would be my guess.

Unless you're running an ensemble cast which is what WWE really should be.

I look at DC and they're doing a bit of the same shit WWE does: they don't know how (or don't want) to push or promote any superhero other than their one so that's who we get. All Bat everything.
It seems like they begrudgingly push Superman.
The only reason Wonder Woman still has a fanbase is because the character's an icon that transcends whatever garbage DC does.

DC has the tools to one-up their biggest competition in Marvel, but never do.
It's very much like the WWE.

[Joe Neglia]

Jan 21, 2014 18:45:01 GMT -5 @akeem said:

Because Vince is in the entertainment business and every form of entertainment needs a good leading man would be my guess.

I'm blanking on naming even one other form of entertainment that sets everything it has on one person and doesn't show flexibility. Warner Bros didn't hedge all their promotions on just Humphrey Bogart films. When a minor character called Fonzie got audiences' attention on Happy Days, they didn't write him out or hinder his character; they embraced it. When Angel proved popular on Buffy, they spun him off onto his own show. None of the major music studios only promote one act.

[Vice honcho room temperature]

Because its easier to write that way

[Sparkybob]

Easier for marketing and advertisement. For example John Cena has this prestige as the WWE leading man so any time he does some tv appearance, that TV show will pump him up as the star of the WWE.

[HMARK Center]

I'm not sure how I'd fold Bruno into this, but Vince likely falls back on the notion that he rode Hogan to the top during the advent of widespread cable TV and then rode Austin to the top during the infancy of widespread faster speed Internet usage. Having two things like that happen closely together probably colors his perceptions.

Still, I'm inclined to agree: why force a square peg into a round hole (e.g. pushing Trips during the early '00s and Cena now as the end-all/be-alls) when you could go the ensemble route? WWE's heyday was arguably 2000 through the purchase of WCW, when the main event scene was thoroughly crowded with big name talent that combined to work, talk, and entertain (Austin, Rock, Angle, Foley, 'Taker, Trips, on and on).

[Boo!]

If you push 3-4 equally, nobody from that group stands out and if nobody stands out you lose a lot of the point and momentum of the push in the first place. With any marketing campaign there's usually one stand out feature/character. Ronald McDonald had friends but he was still 'the' guy. Most boybands have a main member. Most TV shows have the star and supporting cast. To get noticed you have to place someone above the others or else how are you going to get noticed?

I don't think it's as simple as sayng 'why not let 4 guys get noticed?' as by definition if 4 guys are getting noticed one guy isn't so nobody is really getting noticed it's just a collective push where nobody stands out and therefore nobody really gets pushed. Would WWE have got as big if in the 80s they had Hogan in a main event rotational routine with 3 or 4 others? I'd doubt it.

[EyeofTyr]

Always reminds me of NJPW and their Four Pillars concept.

Basic gist of it is that at any given time there are "Four Pillars", four top guys in NJPW. Usually they are booked evenly amongst each other and have storied pasts with one another, yet are visually & style wise radically different from one another. Each with their own engaging character and motivation.

This way, it allows the fanbase to somewhat choose who to rally behind and gives them options. As the four are pretty consistently in something high profile, if not feuding with one another and/or holding/chasing the title. Like, one might be apart of the tag champions while another's their top singles champion.

What helps all the more is that they traditionally have friends, allies, if not a stable surrounding them. Which elevates 4x the amount of wrestlers such a tactic usually would too. So, it gradually makes half the roster look important and ties them all together in ways that can produce neat little story elements.

["Magic" Mark Hurr]

Jan 22, 2014 6:58:05 GMT -5 EyeofTyr said:

Always reminds me of NJPW and their Four Pillars concept.

Basic gist of it is that at any given time there are "Four Pillars", four top guys in NJPW. Usually they are booked evenly amongst each other and have storied pasts with one another, yet are visually & style wise radically different from one another. Each with their own engaging character and motivation.

This way, it allows the fanbase to somewhat choose who to rally behind and gives them options. As the four are pretty consistently in something high profile, if not feuding with one another and/or holding/chasing the title. Like, one might be apart of the tag champions while another's their top singles champion.

What helps all the more is that they traditionally have friends, allies, if not a stable surrounding them. Which elevates 4x the amount of wrestlers such a tactic usually would too. So, it gradually makes half the roster look important and ties them all together in ways that can produce neat little story elements.

I'm jealous of how much they respect their fans just by doing this alone.

Room Temp may have the simplest point. Laziness. WWE sees a goal and they want the easiest nonwrestlingest route. It's like wrestling to them has come off a s necessary evil to get where they want to go that it's hard to allow any other thought process in terms of booking.

Commentary comes off as brainwashing amd we are repeatedly remind that x amount if guys just don't matter.

[hossfan]

I don't agree with the comic book analogy at all. Its pretty clear the Batman franchise is the face of DC, just like the Avengers are the face of Marvel. Those get the most titles, hype, and top of the line creators.

I'm at a loss to think of an entertainment medium that doesn't have a top dog who gets more of the spotlight than anyone else. Even in real sports, there is a face, whether its an individual athlete or an entire team.

[Throwback]

I've never actually agreed with this.

There was Bruno and Backlund,
Hulk, Warrior and Savage
Bret and Shawn
Austin, The Rock and HHH
Cena and Orton.

[ritt works hard fo da chickens]

Jan 22, 2014 8:13:49 GMT -5 hossfan said:

I don't agree with the comic book analogy at all. Its pretty clear the Batman franchise is the face of DC, just like the Avengers are the face of Marvel. Those get the most titles, hype, and top of the line creators.

I'm at a loss to think of an entertainment medium that doesn't have a top dog who gets more of the spotlight than anyone else. Even in real sports, there is a face, whether its an individual athlete or an entire team.

But see the Avengers are the face of Marvel but Wolverine and Spiderman who are not traditional Avengers and not going to sniff the movies make the most appearances in books. They both work spotlights and ensembles but for everything WWE is ensemble would be so much better. Every entertainment medium has both but ensembles have longevity.

There is the physical toll. I love John Cena and think he is underrated by the majority of the net, however I'd love for him to be able to take six months off. The guy pushes himself harder than he should and WWE should be able to step in and say take a couple months off John, go do some charity work, visit the talk shows, stop by for commentary duty here and there, Bryan and Punk can carry the summer. Then when Punk gets taken out for a couple months Cena can be back. I don't want to see Cena hobbling to the ring in five years. This also combats Cena's biggest perceptual problem. Overexposure. The fans don't appreciate something if it's always there and never special. Undertaker is the biggest story going into Mania the past couple of years and it has nothing to do with any title. A big part of it is the streak but also it's one of the few Taker appearances anymore. It also would create opportunities and necessitate growth. If the Simpsons had stuck to the formula of Bart is the star and everyone else exists to set up his comedy it would have died a decade ago. There is a reason Saturday night live has survived massive exoduses of huge name talent throughout the years.

[king1836]

Jan 21, 2014 18:27:41 GMT -5 Joe Neglia said:

I've never understood this philosophy. I'm not talking about the storyline version of it, I'm talking the actual thing. WWE/WWF has always had this thing where they only push one guy as THE end-all, be-all, be it Bruno, Hulk, Austin or Cena, they've never figured out how to multi-task the main event situation. Seriously, have 3-4 guys that you push hard as hell at the top, put all your money on more than one guy. Look at comics. Marvel doesn't spend 90% of their marketing on Spider-Man and 10% on everyone else. DC isn't JUST Batman. Even when those two are the top dogs, the companies continue to push the hell out of Superman, Avengers and the X-Men and even potential flash in the pans (Deadpool) to the moon without ever thinking there's no room at the top for them too. With two main weekly shows and monthly PPVs, there's more than enough room to make sure Cena, Bryan and Punk can all get the major spotlight without stepping on each others' toes.

An Ensemble would be a great idea! That way, nobody gets stale.

[Captain2]

Jan 22, 2014 0:14:28 GMT -5 Joe Neglia said:

Jan 21, 2014 18:45:01 GMT -5 @akeem said:

Because Vince is in the entertainment business and every form of entertainment needs a good leading man would be my guess.

When Angel proved popular on Buffy, they spun him off onto his own show.

True but let's say Angel is represented by Punk. Angel may have spun off and gotten his own show but it was never really as popular as Buffy was. In wrestling the closest thing you can get to a spinoff would be to bring the brand split back and make Smackdown the Punk show.

Although in terms of Buffy characters popularity = wrestling popularity. That would make Daniel Bryan into Spike wouldn't it?

Spike and Angel (hell, likely even Xander) would be more popular amongst fans of the show than Buffy herself, doesn't mean they still don't base the entire show around her.

[Allie Kitsune]

Jan 22, 2014 9:49:06 GMT -5 Captain2 said:

Spike and Angel (hell, likely even Xander) would be more popular amongst fans of the show than Buffy herself, doesn't mean they still don't base the entire show around her.

When you stop basing a show around its main character, you end up with Family Urkel Matters.

...and now the idea of Punk being Steve Urkel amuses me greatly.