Face-Dominated Periods, and Feuds

[Deleted]

Only from last night did I finally realize the true harm of the face-dominated periods, and how they completely change what solid feuds could be. When I watched RAW, it seemed as though every major face was booked as a superman.

Not just Cena. Shawn Michaels, and even Jeff Hardy, a quiet midcarder.

All three of them are currently engaged in feuds; Cena with Umaga, Maichaels with Rated-RKO, and Jeff Hardy with Johnny Nitro. And all three of these feuds follow a similar pattern. Permit me to elaborate:

The heels and faces are booked to compete in a match, and in the match, promos, and ensuing matches, the faces seem to be almost completely dominating their opposition.

Cena/Umaga: Cena lays out Umaga, booked to be a monster, in a matter of seconds, and he proceeds to destroy the manager, Armando Estrada, as well. He then leaves, and it seems that in the future, he'll win again.

Michaels/Rated RKO: Michaels seems to be against the odds, and somehow manages to effectively fight back against two men, each being among the top of the heel pack. After they "bloody" Michaels and continuously annihilate him, he then proceeds to beat both of them down, and attack the both of them with 'sledgie.

Jeff Hardy/Johnny Nitro: What started out as a good, even feud, has degenerated into "Nitro lands some moves, then Jeff Hardy comes back, and swantons him for the win," but with a twist--this pattern has been happening for the past several months. I can't even recall a match where Nitro won without using a weapon or hooking the tights. Not via low blow, not via quick finisher, nothing. It's been the same old formula for a while now; much like Edge/Cena was. No, worse. At least Edge got a pin once every million times against Cena. And Jeff hasn't been much of a champ, either. I actually forgot he was IC champ. And that's no good.


While it may appeal to a number of fans, and yes, I know that's why it is, things become incredibly bland and tasteless since this face-dominated period on RAW began. Is it any wonder why common fans have become bored with things to a high degree, and to us smarks, wrestling has become incredibly emotionless and bland?

[heffer111]

it was one raw

edit: duggan killed, flair killed

[Ultimo Chocula]

See: WCW 1997. That is the same old stuff over and over.

[Deleted]

True, but have you noticed how this isn't just happening, but has BEEN happening for quite some time?

Nevermind, I think I read a reply wrong.

[MGH]

I HATE face dominated periods where they all hold the gold. Isn't the old motto in the business that "the money is in the chase."?

Can Cena put Umaga down for a ten count? Well he just did.

I hate a lot of the current face/heel dynamic though. Batista loses to Booker over and over again. Yeah he got screwed, but after 3 times shouldn't it be on HIM to prevent that? But when he CHEATS to win the title, Booker doesn't get a one on one rematch. No he "had his chance."

Why should I believe anyone can beat Cena?

Ugh.

[Cyberwoo]

mygreatesthour said:

I HATE face dominated periods where they all hold the gold. Isn't the old motto in the business that "the money is in the chase."?

Can Cena put Umaga down for a ten count? Well he just did.

I hate a lot of the current face/heel dynamic though. Batista loses to Booker over and over again. Yeah he got screwed, but after 3 times shouldn't it be on HIM to prevent that? But when he CHEATS to win the title, Booker doesn't get a one on one rematch. No he "had his chance."

Why should I believe anyone can beat Cena?

Ugh.

I agree with this post.

[mysterydriver]

We have one more Raw before the Rumble. I am going to guarentee (A hefty word if you think about it) that heels dominate most of next monday's Raw.

Umaga will lay out Cena.

Nitro will beat Hardy (Most likely non-title) or Mercury will show up for a post match beatdown to set up something for the Rumble.

For a straight up guess: I can see Kenny taking Orton's place next week allowing for a Kenny/Edge Vs. Flair/Michaels match where Kenny most likely gets another pin on Flair and Edge spears and stands over Michaels.

I agree that Face-dominated feuds are blah most of the time, but with 12 days until a PPV, I am guessing the heels will begin to show some...take it Vince..."Ruthless Agression!"

[JMA]

There are four main problems with WWE right now: the first, the mediocre (at best) writers; the second, the Clique 2.0 (Shawn, Hunter, Flair, Vince, and Stephanie); the third, physically imposing wrestlers that are brought up too early; the fourth, the lack of new stars.

If these problems were rectified then WWE would vastly improve. It's that "simple."

[Ace Diamond]

jma said:

There are four main problems with WWE right now: the first, the mediocre (at best) writers; the second, the Clique 2.0 (Shawn, Hunter, Flair, Vince, and Stephanie); the third, physically imposing wrestlers that are brought up too early; the fourth, the lack of new stars.

If these problems were rectified then WWE would vastly improve. It's that "simple."

Johnny Ace should also be considered part of the Clique 2.0, he's done plenty to wreck careers to keep his jerb.

EDIT: Also, I haven't forgotten that a "quiet midcarder" is the IC champion. Or that the feud they've had now encompasses their tag partners/brothers. (through an accident but still)

[JMA]

aodpilot said:

jma said:

There are four main problems with WWE right now: the first, the mediocre (at best) writers; the second, the Clique 2.0 (Shawn, Hunter, Flair, Vince, and Stephanie); the third, physically imposing wrestlers that are brought up too early; the fourth, the lack of new stars.

If these problems were rectified then WWE would vastly improve. It's that "simple."

Johnny Ace should also be considered part of the Clique 2.0, he's done plenty to wreck careers to keep his jerb.

Agreed. I definitely should've put him in that group.

[Loki]

Most people still cheer the face and boo the heel, so the goal is sending home (or to bed...) as much people as possible. So I don't really blame WWE for booking the faces in a stronger way.

What I don't agree with is the way this happens...

Back in the day, a heel was ready to resort to underhand tactics to win, but it happened in a "more subtle" way. Nowadays it's either a "out-of-the-blue" cheat to win, or it's the face himself taking shortcuts...

Either way the heels come off as weak and stupid, while they'd at least be the smart ones.

Add that heel promos are usually better and more sensible (and it's be the other way around this time as well).

It's no surprise WWE are lacking genuinely good heels... It's either real life heat turning into kayfabe heat (Edge, Orton) or plain lack of interest causing boos (every other heel currently employed).

In the end: faces wins all the time because most heels can't really work as credible Champions, thus making the whole "face chases the belt" angle ineffective.

[darthpipes]

I've got news for you...when you look at the history of the WWF/WWE, faces have dominated it throughout its histories. Till about 1998, heels didn't get long runs with the WWF Championship. Superstar Graham from 1977-78 and Yokozuna from 1993-94 are two notable exceptions. By the end of 1998, The Rock turned heel and became champion. HHH would become champion the following year as heel reigns with the title became more and more common.

[T.J. "the Crippler" Stevens]

darthpipes said:

I've got news for you...when you look at the history of the WWF/WWE, faces have dominated it throughout its histories. Till about 1998, heels didn't get long runs with the WWF Championship. Superstar Graham from 1977-78 and Yokozuna from 1993-94 are two notable exceptions. By the end of 1998, The Rock turned heel and became champion. HHH would become champion the following year as heel reigns with the title became more and more common.

This is true. But I think it misses the point. The faces may have been champion most of the time, but their feuds usually played out with the champ in danger of losing his title. It was despair. How can the champ possibly overcome this. Then he'd overcome the odds in the big match and retain the title.

The problem with today is, there is no despair, the face never looks like he's in danger of losing, and we know he's not going to lose because he just kicked his opponents ass on TV for the last 3 weeks.

[Ass Dan]

WWE has booked themselves in several corners. They focus so much on geting faces over that they spend no time on the heels.

[darthpipes]

crippler228 said:

darthpipes said:

I've got news for you...when you look at the history of the WWF/WWE, faces have dominated it throughout its histories. Till about 1998, heels didn't get long runs with the WWF Championship. Superstar Graham from 1977-78 and Yokozuna from 1993-94 are two notable exceptions. By the end of 1998, The Rock turned heel and became champion. HHH would become champion the following year as heel reigns with the title became more and more common.

This is true. But I think it misses the point. The faces may have been champion most of the time, but their feuds usually played out with the champ in danger of losing his title. It was despair. How can the champ possibly overcome this. Then he'd overcome the odds in the big match and retain the title.

The problem with today is, there is no despair, the face never looks like he's in danger of losing, and we know he's not going to lose because he just kicked his opponents ass on TV for the last 3 weeks.

I think that's a fair point.

Cena has been champion for way too long and has pretty much run out of challengers. If Cena's the next Austin or Rock he can survive without the title for a few months. Austin and Rock only had very short reigns.

[Sam Punk]

It's more fun to see the face win. Besides, when WWE was at their peak, their top guy was a face. Hogan. Rock. Even Austin. Who wants to pay their money for a show to see the bad guy win? Although I do agree that they should give the heels more of a chance.