Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2019 19:37:19 GMT -5
I want more continuity and logic in the stories. I want the characters to have depth and a history to them. I don’t want faces teaming up with faces and heels teaming up with heels “just because” I want everyone to have shades of grey. I don’t want faces and heels anymore. I want the crowd to decide who they like and just run with that. I don’t like alignments and I don’t like when characters “change” when they swap alignments. For example, Elias got over as hell when he was trolling the crowd. Now? He’s doing singalongs. That’s not what got him popular! The crowd don’t like pandering. Those are just some small changes. For me, the biggest changes I want are in the production and overall “feel” of the show. I want new commentators. I don’t want Cole. I don’t want Saxton. I don’t want Phillips. I want over enthusiastic commentators like Mauro who get invested in the match and make it sound better than it probably actually is.... Jim Ross, Mauro, Matt Striker, Joey Styles and even Vince himself made you CARE about what you were watching. As for the feel of the show... it’s too clean for me. I don’t like the HD stages, I don’t like the camera work, I don’t like the repetitive formula they use week after week. Every Raw and SD starts the same. Promo in the ring which leads to the main event... people get sick of this. Let people know the card BEFORE the show and maybe you’ll attract some ratings and enough with the goddamn tag team main events. Give us something interesting as the main event even if it’s something like Tyler Breeze vs Seth Rollins. Everyone on the roster should have enough credibility to be thrown randomly in a match like that. That’s how it was in the 90s... I just watched a Raw from 1995 where The Stalker faced a young Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Give me more of that. The “big” wrestlers don’t have to wrestle every Monday. Make it more special when they do and if the crowd paid to see them, well that’s what dark matches are for. This is why Raw needs to be 2 hours again. Maybe even 1 hour would be enough. Lastly and this might be a little controversial... I want the trashyness back. I want blood back. I want sex, cursing and an overall adult themed show. This is just my personal preference. I would be content and happy watching Raw every week if it was booked and produced like NXT is. But I feel like we need blood and edgier stories and characters back. Even if it’s fake blood, give me SOMETHING. It adds so much to the show when done right. I think that’s it. That is the reason no matter how people shit on Mauro and Striker I still love then,they always seem like they genuily love the show and are always excited and giving a vibe it is really good. I can see why people would be annoyed by them but personally I always get a real positive “big time” feel off them. It sucked cause when Striker was on the main roster alongside King and Cole, they used to mug him off for being TOO into the show. Back in the day that really annoyed me. All I want are two commentators who call the matches and have a good knowledge of the business. It can really make or break a match, this.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2019 20:11:26 GMT -5
Thing is I don't think they have enough awareness of where their faults lie to really be able to do a whole lot about it. They need a regime change with more open minds to fix things up at this point.
I think their formula is pretty eternal, they just need better quality control, someone who has a grasp on what makes a character likeable, unlikeable, who doesn't let them half ass characters and all that. Most shitty things in WWE are a few adjustments away from being good but they never make those adjustments or think about details.
WWE have good shows every now and then that makes people feel a little better about things, but it more or less comes off as good luck because they fall apart again before long. But those occasional shows reveal that WWE isn't unsalvageable, they just need to be consistent.
|
|
|
Post by Tea & Crumpets on Jan 8, 2019 21:02:40 GMT -5
- Less scripting, more encouragement of guys to be off the cuff. Sure, some guys will sink in that, some guys will Jumpin Jeff Farmer it, but some will Austin it. You'll never get that organic lightning in a bottle if you also never have room for things to go a bit off-track & awry. Elias & KO getting ungodly heat in Seattle for the basketball line should not have seen them go back to getting through the lines for their "So about that John Cena huh?" script. If they're encouraged to ad lib, if Elias just does an off-the-dome song even if it's just one rhyming couplet, if wrestlers actually REACT to each other and the crowd, rather than being forced through an amateur-dramatics-society style script read, you'll get far more memorable moments. Plus, it means your roster & bookers can react on the fly better because they're used to it. Matches being carefully plotted out DDP-style is brilliant for big sequences & spots, but if you lose the ability to switch it up and respond to the audience, or an injury, you're losing a key aspect of the show- the interactivity and crowd dynamic.
- Switch up the look of the product. Every show looks pretty much the same, the standardised set and zero pyro or pizzaz has killed the spectacle. The reason some guys got over by having an entrance & nothing else is because they're the few guys who had actual spectacle entrances, but that was invariably all they had because apparently if you get that something else has to give. Give TV and PPVs a distinct aesthetic again, from the stage to the ring to the graphics. 2001-2004 WWE was killer for this- every PPV had a unique set and graphics, and they used 3 ringrope colours- Raw, SD, PPV. Nowadays, everything looks fundamentally the same, just with a different colour filter. And outside of a few guys, every entrance is the same. I'm not even just talking pyro, Id love that back but you can even do it cheaper just entrance EFFECTS- DX had their strobe and titantron flickering onscreen, Goldust had his cinematic, the more you do to make EVERY entrance stand out, the more grandiose it makes the entire product feel.
- Related to less scripting, the commentary is painfully artificial and inorganic. You'll struggle to get Heenan/Monsoon or JR/Lawler banter with the current obsession with social media plugs and oneupmanship sniping at whoever the easiest target in the booth is. You'll struggle to get an iconic call if everyone is so focused on WrestleMania Moments and on trying to produce a legendary call, rather than just responding to what they see in the way they feel. You can't fake emotion like that, or at least WWE's announcers sure can't.
- And related again to taking your foot off in terms of scripting...take more risks. Genuine gambles, genuine curveballs, not 'Woman headlines PPV'- that plays well in the headlines but that's not actually a gamble or shock, it's kind of a "...Okay, what's your point?". The core fanbase know women can wrestle, and I think the majority accept women's wrestling finally getting treated with respect. I'm talking doing something, anything, that really does deviate from the normal formula. This is why Goldberg squashing Brock in 80 seconds got a massive buzz- it was a genuine departure from the norm. You can't constantly deviate from the baseline or there is no baseline, but WWE play it SO safe- the best thing about the Attitude Era wasn't the trashiness blood & tits TV, it was the fact that each week you felt something huge might happen, because they did take risks and surprises- not every week they didn't, and again, you can't- but they did it enough to keep you on your toes and wonder What If. Now, WWE's become so safe that it's less excited bout what if, and more pessimistic daydreaming that they might NOT follow through on the expected plan- you're thinking about what you DONT want to happen rather than DO. It's more negative, more pessimistic, we feel like we can see where it's all going months in advance and worst of all, they do so many repeat matches that they burn on TV or nothing-shows that we've already seen it all before.
I don't hate WWE as a concept, I don't. I don't even HATE the product. I'm just really tired of it and basically have been on "read the recap, catch highlights of interesting bits" for years. WWE stopped trying because they don't need to, playing it safe, keeping it scripted and controlled and keeping everything samey and formualic, is cheaper, easier, and less liable to backfire. It's also much less enjoyable as a product, for me, which is why I hope AEW lights the fire under Vince's ass again.
|
|
|
Post by Jacy Derangement Syndrome on Jan 8, 2019 21:19:54 GMT -5
Different band performs Thorn In My Eye every week like the later seasons of Weeds when even your grandpa submitted a sick cover of Little Boxes
|
|
schma
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,744
|
Post by schma on Jan 9, 2019 0:25:17 GMT -5
Stop making people beat a champion in order to get a chance at that championship. It has never made sense.
|
|
MolotovMocktail
Grimlock
Home of the 5-time, 5-time, 5-time, 5-time 5-time Super Bowl Champion 49ers-and Wrestlemania 31
Posts: 13,965
|
Post by MolotovMocktail on Jan 9, 2019 0:30:27 GMT -5
Just off the top of my head:
1. Three hours is too many. Two at the most.
2. Champs can't disappear like Lesnar, but they don't have to be on-screen 85% of the show either.
3. Use the shows to build toward ppv's. If a match is booked, don't book the opponents in a tag match 6 days before.
4. Don't script promos and matches. Let the wrestlers get over on their own.
5. Don't try to force cool. Celebrity involvement and repeated buzzwords are blatantly phony.
|
|
|
Post by abjordans on Jan 9, 2019 5:21:41 GMT -5
The big things that would really help would be to get away from their formulas that they have stuck to for 20 years: shows centered around authority figures and their relationships with talent. Starting shows with long promos. Making all the matches as the show goes on.
A big production shakeup is obviously needed.
I think Smackdown has been good though, especially since Bryan took the belt. Raw just needs a spark. Like, Rollins is over, but the fans aren’t passionate about him. He doesn’t have that real connection in my opinion, the show badly needs that.
|
|
Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 235,488
|
Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Jan 9, 2019 5:40:48 GMT -5
Blackjack and Hookers
|
|
|
Post by HMARK Center on Jan 9, 2019 7:41:21 GMT -5
I'll repeat what others have said: what happens in the ring has to actually matter.
Many of us who were fans of promotions like ROH during the early to mid 00s were at times accused of "only liking flippy moves" and not enjoying storytelling or psychology; to this day, I'd fire back that WWE might be the most visible culprit contributing to the idea of "wrestling for wrestling's sake", putting a couple of guys in the ring and having them hit their signature spots for no other reason than to temporarily pop the crowd, rather than having the match they're in serve a narrative, character development, or psychological purpose.
The moves somebody uses should matter; their facial expressions and mannerisms in the ring should matter; they should be able to vary up how they approach each match to suit the larger story they're trying to tell. It's infinitely harder to do that when you just book the same matches over and over again every week or don't give anybody who's not in the main event even a minor, simple direction they could be taking their character in.
Basically, start reminding your viewers that what happens in the ring is important, and that they should pay attention to it. Big spots, signature spots, and "dream matchups" are fun, sure, but it's pretty meaningless if there's no greater purpose to any of it, since at that point you're just watching a predetermined performance with no hook to it. Nakamura low blowing Styles at Mania was a shocking moment to many, but where did it come from? Was there anything the two could've done during their match before that spot to make it seem logical? Or did it just happen because you want the cameras to catch shocked face reactions from around the front of the arena?
The marquee says "wrestling", so make the wrestling that happens in the ring actually accomplish something.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2019 7:47:00 GMT -5
Release anyone who's been there for 10+ years. Including developmental and total combined runs on any sort of the roster(s) they have.
|
|
Kalmia
King Koopa
Happy to be here
Posts: 11,679
|
Post by Kalmia on Jan 9, 2019 7:54:52 GMT -5
Just give me a reason to care about every wrestler that's on screen. Don't just put them on TV and have the commentators spout a few tired lines about them. It doesn't matter if it's the champion or a wrestler in his first day, they should all have a reason for being there and something that makes us want to see them. Use a combo of video packages, interviews, matches and storylines to try and get everyone over and the fans invested instead of putting all the eggs into the main event basket. That way, if something isn't clicking at the top of the card then at least you have the other 85% of the show to look forward to. Find a gimmick to fit the wrestler, and not a wrestler to find a gimmick. A lot of this is stuff they were doing in the Attitude Era and while I don't want a return to that style of TV, it definitely had its plus points. Get a new stage set, make the PPVs stand out more, and present it like it's important and not just the same old, same old.
But I think the main thing is that Vince needs to take his hands off the wheel and let someone else steer the ship. It's no use having new ideas if the same captain is just shooting them down all of the time.
|
|
Dub H
Crow T. Robot
Captain Pixel: the Game Master
I ❤ Aniki
Posts: 47,850
|
Post by Dub H on Jan 9, 2019 9:17:34 GMT -5
I'll repeat what others have said: what happens in the ring has to actually matter. Many of us who were fans of promotions like ROH during the early to mid 00s were at times accused of "only like flippy moves" and not enjoying storytelling or psychology; to this day, I'd fire back that WWE might be the most visible culprit contributing to the idea of "wrestling for wrestling's sake", putting a couple of guys in the ring and having them hit their signature spots for no other reason than to temporarily pop the crowd, rather than having the match they're in serve a narrative, character development, or psychological purpose. The moves somebody uses should matter; their facial expressions and mannerisms in the ring should matter; they should be able to vary up how they approach each match to suit the larger story they're trying to tell. It's infinitely harder to do that when you just book the same matches over and over again every week or don't give anybody who's not in the main event even a minor, simple direction they could be taking their character in. Basically, start reminding your viewers that what happens in the ring is important, and that they should pay attention to it. Big spots, signature spots, and "dream matchups" are fun, sure, but it's pretty meaningless if there's no greater purpose to any of it, since at that point you're just watching a predetermined performance with no hook to it. Nakamura low blowing Styles at Mania was a shocking moment to many, but where did it come from? Was there anything the two could've done during their match before that spot to make it seem logical? Or did it just happen because you want the cameras to catch shocked face reactions from around the front of the arena? The marquee says "wrestling", so make the wrestling that happens in the ring actually accomplish something. I would love for the commentator toe explain their strtaegis beyond "X is targeting the leg the whole match!" and "The lil guy doesnt want to be caught by the big guy!" Show the difference in styles between wrestlers. Make a character have a distinguished gameplan that they follow in their matches. Like Asuka,if she is a striking master point out that going in a "strong style" match against her is foolish.No one else should try to trade blows with her. If their finisher needs a setup like the 609 sell how the wrestler is avoiding being in the ropes. And that is only the ways someone that is just a fan sees it,surely people that have experience can go even more in depth Also,no more hot tags.
|
|
|
Post by HMARK Center on Jan 9, 2019 9:33:25 GMT -5
I'll repeat what others have said: what happens in the ring has to actually matter. Many of us who were fans of promotions like ROH during the early to mid 00s were at times accused of "only like flippy moves" and not enjoying storytelling or psychology; to this day, I'd fire back that WWE might be the most visible culprit contributing to the idea of "wrestling for wrestling's sake", putting a couple of guys in the ring and having them hit their signature spots for no other reason than to temporarily pop the crowd, rather than having the match they're in serve a narrative, character development, or psychological purpose. The moves somebody uses should matter; their facial expressions and mannerisms in the ring should matter; they should be able to vary up how they approach each match to suit the larger story they're trying to tell. It's infinitely harder to do that when you just book the same matches over and over again every week or don't give anybody who's not in the main event even a minor, simple direction they could be taking their character in. Basically, start reminding your viewers that what happens in the ring is important, and that they should pay attention to it. Big spots, signature spots, and "dream matchups" are fun, sure, but it's pretty meaningless if there's no greater purpose to any of it, since at that point you're just watching a predetermined performance with no hook to it. Nakamura low blowing Styles at Mania was a shocking moment to many, but where did it come from? Was there anything the two could've done during their match before that spot to make it seem logical? Or did it just happen because you want the cameras to catch shocked face reactions from around the front of the arena? The marquee says "wrestling", so make the wrestling that happens in the ring actually accomplish something. I would love for the commentator toe explain their strtaegis beyond "X is targeting the leg the whole match!" and "The lil guy doesnt want to be caught by the big guy!" Show the difference in styles between wrestlers. Make a character have a distinguished gameplan that they follow in their matches. Like Asuka,if she is a striking master point out that going in a "strong style" match against her is foolish.No one else should try to trade blows with her. If their finisher needs a setup like the 609 sell how the wrestler is avoiding being in the ropes. And that is only the ways someone that is just a fan sees it,surely people that have experience can go even more in depth Also,no more hot tags. And then beyond that, go into the characters' motivations for what they're doing and how they're doing it; don't just smash two action figures together and say "these guys are fighting now!", make it contribute to something greater, even if the story you're doing is incredibly simple (hell, simple is usually better in wrestling).
|
|
|
Post by TheMediocreWarrior on Jan 9, 2019 10:00:08 GMT -5
1) Matches need to be more important. Maybe the US and IC Title should be under "open challenge" rules all the time. Wins and losses need to be treated like they matter. More contendership tournaments could give the matches more meaning. Raw and Smackdown need to feel like must see shows week in and week out instead of filler in between PPVs.
2)Fewer rematches. Braun losing to Lesnar once is okay. Having him lose to Lesnar over and over makes him look like a choke artist.
3) I'd unify the tag team divisions. Men and women's tag titles are defended on Raw and Smackdown. I think it's okay to have a lot of championships, until you have so few contenders for an individual title. I think that's an issue for the men's tag team titles more than anything else.
|
|
thecrusherwi
El Dandy
the Financially Responsible Man
Brawl For All
Posts: 7,656
|
Post by thecrusherwi on Jan 9, 2019 10:01:39 GMT -5
Lots of good suggestions but here’s my addition: get rid of all scheduled gimmick PPVs with the exception of the Royal Rumble. Gimmick matches should be unexpected and used when needed. I think much of their lazy booking is derived from being so fixed to the PPV calendar that they don’t have to be bothered to build real feuds that escalate to a blowoff gimmick match. All they have to do is wait for the calendar to turn. And in the process, they’ve completely deluded all of their biggest attraction matches.
And to add some blasphemy, I’d even be willing to retire the Royal Rumble at this point. It seems to have lost it’s luster in recent years and I’d like them to have to actually come up with more creative and logical ways to get someone a title shot. Then maybe they’d actually have to build an interesting storyline/environment where a Royal Rumble was necessary instead of scheduled.
|
|
|
Post by TheMediocreWarrior on Jan 9, 2019 10:06:14 GMT -5
And to add some blasphemy, I’d even be willing to retire the Royal Rumble at this point. It seems to have lost it’s luster in recent years and I’d like them to have to actually come up with more creative and logical ways to get someone a title shot. Then maybe they’d actually have to build an interesting storyline/environment where a Royal Rumble was necessary instead of scheduled. The Royal Rumble is usually my favorite show of the year, so I think I might stop watching if they did that. I'd rather have them retire MITB. Outlasting 29 other wrestlers is cooler IMO than "I climbed a ladder and have a briefcase I can use to win the title in a sneaky way".
|
|
thecrusherwi
El Dandy
the Financially Responsible Man
Brawl For All
Posts: 7,656
|
Post by thecrusherwi on Jan 9, 2019 10:24:56 GMT -5
And to add some blasphemy, I’d even be willing to retire the Royal Rumble at this point. It seems to have lost it’s luster in recent years and I’d like them to have to actually come up with more creative and logical ways to get someone a title shot. Then maybe they’d actually have to build an interesting storyline/environment where a Royal Rumble was necessary instead of scheduled. The Royal Rumble is usually my favorite show of the year, so I think I might stop watching if they did that. I'd rather have them retire MITB. Outlasting 29 other wrestlers is cooler IMO than "I climbed a ladder and have a briefcase I can use to win the title in a sneaky way". Yeah I would be disappointed if the Rumble went away. Definitely would be ok with MITB being retired. The Rumble is just the most prominent example of how tied WWE’s storytelling is to their fixed schedule. One of the main things I miss about WCW is how fluid their PPVs were in their best years and how that opened up storytelling. They didn’t have a Wrestlemania show that was head and shoulders above all others. Nor did they have a match that produced a fixed challenger for a show. That way they could organically build to feuds at any time and it gave you incentive to watch all the time. Some years the biggest match was at Starrcade. Some years it was at the Great American Bash. Other years it was at SuperBrawl, Bash at the Beach, or Halloween Havoc. In WWE, it’s always going to be at Wrestlemania. So why even bother the rest of the year?
|
|
|
Post by SCCB Was Told To Do Steroids on Jan 9, 2019 12:44:47 GMT -5
Cut out the opening promos. Cut all promos to five minutes. More wrestling, and give the freedom back to the workers in the ring, or, if you want to save the creativity for the big matches, then let the middle wrestlers have freedom on the cable shows.
|
|
|
Post by OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 on Jan 9, 2019 14:49:59 GMT -5
Vince will never retire, he’ll croak on a random house show in a shit town.
|
|
|
Post by OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 on Jan 9, 2019 14:50:31 GMT -5
Vince will never retire, he’ll croak on a random house show in a shit town.
|
|