Post by celtics543 on Jan 26, 2016 8:09:34 GMT -5
I've done a lot of reading on this board and we complain about things a lot. I've also realized that I rarely watch an entire Raw and really only keep up with WWE through the network and on here. Raw used to be must-see tv for me on Monday nights. I would guess that from 1997, when I was nine years old, until 2009 I could count the number of Raws I missed on one hand. Even when I would go away on vacation I would always have a relative tape the show for me so I could watch it when I got back. In the early days when I was too young to stay up that late I would simply tape the show and watch it after school the next day, then use the same tape and do it again the next week. I watched a LOT of Raws like that in the late 90's.
I say all that because the same guys I was watching on tape back when I was in elementary school are the same guys that are still getting main event spots right now. HHH is the world champion in 2016. I understand the storyline, I understand the reason he has the title, but just look at that sentence and tell me things are going well. The guy is 46 years old and only wrestles a few times a year, and he's the world champ. Not only is he the world champ but he just won the Royal Rumble and effectively got put over all the other young main event level guys.
Along with HHH, I'm also still watching Kane, Big Show, Jericho, the Dudley Boys, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Bradshaw, and Mark Henry each and every week. I have nothing against those guys as performers, they all have had their moments but they've also all been around since the 90's and don't add anything to the product anymore. I miss the Attitude Era and the edginess and, excuse the pun, Rawness of the 90's as much as anyone but they have to move on. Bringing in part timers like Jericho, HHH, RVD, Rock, Undertaker, and the rest isn't helping anyone. Jericho and RVD put everyone over so those wins don't mean anything anymore, and the other guys rarely put anyone over that isn't already over. I leave out Brock because he's more of a regular than any of those guys.
The part-timer craze didn't really become a thing until WCW went out of business. Before that both companies had to put out the best shows they could and the WWF was forced to push new talent. But it got me thinking, if WCW didn't exist, how long would Vince have kept bringing Hogan back to go over everyone else? Without WCW would I STILL be watching Bret Hart, Hogan, Diesel, and the guys? Would Steve Austin, Rock, Mankind, or even HHH have ever gotten a push to the top? Without WCW and that competition the part-timer thing would have started a long time ago and may have driven WWE out of business. Today, with only one major company and nowhere else for a guy to go, it makes it boring. If there was another place, like TNA tried to be when they restarted the Monday Night Wars, then a guy like RVD or Jericho debuting there would be much bigger because it would be fresh. Right now, part timers bring NOTHING to a show. Even a guy like Rock is just coming in for a short time between the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania to bury most of the guys at the top, not on purpose but he's the Rock and that's his schtick. No one on the current roster can match promos with the guy.
The part timer stuff should have stopped a long time ago, the WWE already lost a generation of potential stars like Carlito, Masters, Benjamin, etc. because they refused to put those guys over the established top guys. Now they have a HUGE roster with so much talent but if they keep bringing back HHH, Rock, Undertaker etc then that group will never get as over as they should and it will all be for naught. Instead of using Rock to put over a guy like CM Punk a couple years ago, they used him to put over Cena, the only guy on the roster that doesn't need it. It's not the 70's and 80's anymore, a competitive loss doesn't put a guy over anymore. Screwing a guy over doesn't really put them over either.
If the part timer revolution doesn't stop then the DVD will say the same thing about the WWE that they used to say about WCW. "In that entire lucrative run only one guy ever got a break, and it was Roman Reigns" Despite the fact that the fans demanded Daniel Bryan, then demanded Dean Ambrose, and popped huge for tons of other guys, Roman Reigns is the only one who they've really gotten behind. And I'd argue that he's been jerked around as much as anyone. I don't dislike Reigns, but they've booked him terribly. He had his moment at Survivor Series, just let him run with it. He's now had two title reigns that have lasted about two weeks total. While at the same time they completely undercut Sheamus.
I love pro wrestling. It's why I follow on the board and it's why I use the Network. I loved the 90's and every wrestler who competed at that time. I am a huge fan of Jericho, Rock, Kane, Big Show, Undertaker, HHH etc. but there time is over and they need to put over a new generation, just like the generation before them did. Every year it looks like they're phasing out the Attitude Era stars and every year they keep bringing them back to big roles. It's either going to stop or they're going to go until those guys can't wrestle anymore and there's no one to take their spots. Talent wise they have a great roster and plenty of guys that can take those spots, but it's about believability and right now they don't have anyone that is on those guys level in the fans eyes.
I say all that because the same guys I was watching on tape back when I was in elementary school are the same guys that are still getting main event spots right now. HHH is the world champion in 2016. I understand the storyline, I understand the reason he has the title, but just look at that sentence and tell me things are going well. The guy is 46 years old and only wrestles a few times a year, and he's the world champ. Not only is he the world champ but he just won the Royal Rumble and effectively got put over all the other young main event level guys.
Along with HHH, I'm also still watching Kane, Big Show, Jericho, the Dudley Boys, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Bradshaw, and Mark Henry each and every week. I have nothing against those guys as performers, they all have had their moments but they've also all been around since the 90's and don't add anything to the product anymore. I miss the Attitude Era and the edginess and, excuse the pun, Rawness of the 90's as much as anyone but they have to move on. Bringing in part timers like Jericho, HHH, RVD, Rock, Undertaker, and the rest isn't helping anyone. Jericho and RVD put everyone over so those wins don't mean anything anymore, and the other guys rarely put anyone over that isn't already over. I leave out Brock because he's more of a regular than any of those guys.
The part-timer craze didn't really become a thing until WCW went out of business. Before that both companies had to put out the best shows they could and the WWF was forced to push new talent. But it got me thinking, if WCW didn't exist, how long would Vince have kept bringing Hogan back to go over everyone else? Without WCW would I STILL be watching Bret Hart, Hogan, Diesel, and the guys? Would Steve Austin, Rock, Mankind, or even HHH have ever gotten a push to the top? Without WCW and that competition the part-timer thing would have started a long time ago and may have driven WWE out of business. Today, with only one major company and nowhere else for a guy to go, it makes it boring. If there was another place, like TNA tried to be when they restarted the Monday Night Wars, then a guy like RVD or Jericho debuting there would be much bigger because it would be fresh. Right now, part timers bring NOTHING to a show. Even a guy like Rock is just coming in for a short time between the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania to bury most of the guys at the top, not on purpose but he's the Rock and that's his schtick. No one on the current roster can match promos with the guy.
The part timer stuff should have stopped a long time ago, the WWE already lost a generation of potential stars like Carlito, Masters, Benjamin, etc. because they refused to put those guys over the established top guys. Now they have a HUGE roster with so much talent but if they keep bringing back HHH, Rock, Undertaker etc then that group will never get as over as they should and it will all be for naught. Instead of using Rock to put over a guy like CM Punk a couple years ago, they used him to put over Cena, the only guy on the roster that doesn't need it. It's not the 70's and 80's anymore, a competitive loss doesn't put a guy over anymore. Screwing a guy over doesn't really put them over either.
If the part timer revolution doesn't stop then the DVD will say the same thing about the WWE that they used to say about WCW. "In that entire lucrative run only one guy ever got a break, and it was Roman Reigns" Despite the fact that the fans demanded Daniel Bryan, then demanded Dean Ambrose, and popped huge for tons of other guys, Roman Reigns is the only one who they've really gotten behind. And I'd argue that he's been jerked around as much as anyone. I don't dislike Reigns, but they've booked him terribly. He had his moment at Survivor Series, just let him run with it. He's now had two title reigns that have lasted about two weeks total. While at the same time they completely undercut Sheamus.
I love pro wrestling. It's why I follow on the board and it's why I use the Network. I loved the 90's and every wrestler who competed at that time. I am a huge fan of Jericho, Rock, Kane, Big Show, Undertaker, HHH etc. but there time is over and they need to put over a new generation, just like the generation before them did. Every year it looks like they're phasing out the Attitude Era stars and every year they keep bringing them back to big roles. It's either going to stop or they're going to go until those guys can't wrestle anymore and there's no one to take their spots. Talent wise they have a great roster and plenty of guys that can take those spots, but it's about believability and right now they don't have anyone that is on those guys level in the fans eyes.