1. No one likes watching humongous guys wrestle anymore.
In the 1970s when Andre The Giant made infinity dollars, the spectacle of seeing someone that big on TV or in person in a fight made it a "must see". In 2012 however we now have the NBA, UFC and more importantly the internet. How often does a crowd pop for a Great Khali match? How often does a crowd truly pop for a Big Show match (besides when the ring breaks)? How often does the crowd pop during a Kane match?
Things move fast in 2012, way too fucking fast, so in order to keep our attention the wrestling matches have to be exciting. The fans know immediately when a big guy comes out that odds are the match will be a snorefest. The real question is, why is this still going on?
2. Musclehead guys aren't nearly as impressive as they used to be.
Don't get me wrong physiques matter, but the over the top, "must be on steroids" look is far away from it's heyday of the 80's and early 90's. In 2012 guys with physiques like Ryback and Mason Ryan are at the level of well Ryback and Mason Ryan, which is the exact point. Fans have seen enough terrible matches with steroid freaks along with the fact that UFC made it obvious that physiques mean very little in combat. This will never go away because of Vince's huge hard on for steroids, which is bad for his business because the normal guys usually get over more.
3. Talent shines through pushes, burials and stupid gimmicks but should still be PUSHED.
Daniel Bryan has been getting some nice press lately appearing in a fantastic interview with GQ and on my favorite sports site Grantland as well. While trying not to sound like the stereotypical "internet fan", I want to explain why someone like Daniel Bryan is someone you want to keep pushing until you can't push anymore.
First, the traditional WWE fanbase can obviously tell that the guy never has a bad match, and almost always has the best match on the card. Second, he actually seems like someone I know and would hang out with. I don't know many people whose personality matches the gimmicks on WWE's roster, but I know plenty of bookish vegan record nerds who have other weird passions. This same explanation can be used for why CM Punk rose to prominence in the last year, he became someone you could relate to.
Vince clearly doesn't know the under 35 demographic at all, because the world to them looks a lot more like Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and Kofi Kingston than Cody Rhodes, Kane and Brodus Clay.
4. Start listening to your fans more.
The best kind of turns are the ones made by the crowd, this is a way to make stars that has worked in the past with Stone Cold, The Rock and John Cena. These turns are incredibly difficult to pull off though because it really depends more on the talent of the person in the ring than the creative direction given to him. It boggles my mind why the WWE would not change course if someone is being turned by the crowd, this is Wrestling 101.
5. STOP HATING THE INDIES!
WWE has always had this superiority complex about the indies and would often claim how terrible the wrestlers were coming out of those organizations. The WWE failed to realize things have changed since they originally stated a similar claim in the late 90's. Due to the lagging wrestling scene in America, the indies are currently overstocked with talent that exceed most of WWE's roster in match quality, promo ability and charisma. It's hard to believe The Briscoes, Prince Devitt, Low-Ki, Colt Cabana, Chuck Taylor, Shelton Benjamin, Kevin Steen, Davey Richards and a ton more aren't in one of the two big companies. The Briscoes are begging to make money on a national stage, one of the few gimmicks that is real and believable in this ridiculous world and very few are embracing it.
6. Let wrestlers keep their names when coming in from the indies
Remember CM Punk's debut on ECW at the Hammerstein Ballroom? If you don't then here. In my opinion, that is the best debut of a wrestler in the history of WWE. Paul Heyman understood that this guy meant something to a lot of people in Ring of Honor, so that changing his name would be a terrible idea because it would lose the momentum that the character already had. Heyman was also smart enough to debut Punk at the Hammerstein Ballroom for an early, yet to be too watered down ECW taping. Counting on a crowd full of indie fans and supporters, CM Punk came out and INSTANTLY felt like a star.
While I did always feel CM Punk could be a star in WWE, it seemed to me very unlikely until it actually happened. Punk himself has admitted that Paul Heyman saved his career on at least one occasion (I believe it may have been more). If Heyman wouldn't have protected Punk, the WWE would be significantly worse off now.
The point of all this is that when a wrestler builds his name on the indies, it is stupid to not let him try to use what he's worked his whole career for. There is also the advantage of awareness, when a guy gets big enough on the indies then the mainstream will start to notice in some way. Not every person in that ECW crowd knew who CM Punk was, but because he was in the right setting, majority of them did.
WWE's obvious reasoning for not allowing wrestlers to keep their names is due to the ownership of the character and gimmick, which I feel is petty and useless on the WWE's part. The "independent contractor" status of wrestlers sure doesn't leave them with much after they leave the company, they lose their name, gimmick, merchandise, marketing, etc. The WWE has really nothing to gain in retaining ownership of these gimmicks for use on the indies, the fact that they still do is a baffling dick move. The end result of allowing (successful) indie wrestlers to keep their name would be well worth the possible financial issues they may have with it in the future.
7. Improve the music.
The music across shows has been terrible for a long time. It's hard for me to convince any of my friends that this isn't the lamest thing on earth with Nickelback on all the time. There is no time better than now to get an awesome iconic theme for this show on the cheap, stop being lame and do it, Raw deserves it.
8. Stop talking/bragging about yourself.
Did you know facts, constant mentions of Twitter trends on screen and on audio, hypocritical "Be A Star" commercials and Michael Cole's nonstop bragging about Raw all happen on a weekly basis. What should be reserved for a special occasion (900th episode, 10th anniversary) is something that happens all the damn time. This comes off as extremely tacky and shitty on WWE's part, not to mention even more extremely fucking annoying. The casual viewer hears this and groans, every time.
9. I'm sick of everyone on the roster, and I shouldn't be.
WWE's roster is currently much better than the business they are generating seems to represent. There are many talented guys who have consistently great matches on every show, along with many terrible guys too but that is expected. My problem with this is that I am tired of seeing the same guys every week for years on end. Why doesn't the company rotate the roster? The fact that I have had to see Big Show matches for 15 years should provide a good enough reason for this. 3 months on, 3 months off for some guys, some could have other rotations in many different ways, the point being some guys would go away for a while. I'm sure the wrestlers could use an "off-season" break to rest and heal while knowing they will be secure in coming back with something fresh.
This could also work to the company's advantage creatively as well. If WWE assigned certain writers to a certain rotation, it would create an off season for the writers that would allow them time to develop deeper and more detailed storylines with the wrestler, rather than having them rushed for Monday's live show.
It seems this could be an answer to a lot of their problems. Although it's possible they may have to pick up talent to make this work efficiently with the live schedule, it seems with NXT and Superstars guys, along with the FCW crew they would have enough.
Just the idea of this makes me wish for something fresh, even if it's a Yoshi Tatsu/Kofi feud on Raw, at least it's not the same shit we see every week.
10. Put the Divas divison out of it's misery.
Why is this still around? Wouldn't the company be better off just keeping the hottest girls (Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, Layla) and the best wrestlers (Natalya, Beth Phoenix, Kharma, Tamina) and AJ just because I want to go on a date with her more than any other girl in WWE history. They can have the hot girls just be hot girls because eye candy is always fantastic and then have the talented wrestlers actually wrestle matches with each other that aren't shitty. They could always bring in the occasional talent but it isn't like they need a huge division for the regular 2 minute match on Raw.
Vince reportedly has said he does not like the Divas segments but he feels the need to do them because they attract a certain demographic. My simple response to that, WHAT DEMOGRAPHIC! No one watches these matches, I will bet Vince my balls that if you did a show without a Divas segment, no one would notice. I further this bet by saying that if you did a month's worth of shows without a Divas segment, barely anyone would notice, and the ratings would stay the absolute same (or quite possibly go up). See even wrestling fans don't like to watch shit so fake that it insults us as viewers of the show, and that is what is given to us. There is no reason with the talent out there that a woman's division needs to suck in such a fashion that they do now. Here is a small breakdown of the Divas division and my perception on April 13th, 2012:
Raw:
Beth Phoenix - She looks weird, but her matches always suck because they are with terrible wrestlers, she's definitely good enough to be in there but not good enough to carry a Kelly Kelly (but who really is?)
Bella Twins - They can't really wrestle, but they are twins! There should be a use for them somewhere, just not in matches.
Eve - Her heel turn saved her ass, too bad she's the only good thing in the angle. I'd keep her in the ring but only occasionally.
Kelly Kelly - She should be the Sable of WWE in 2012, the hottest woman on earth that doesn't wrestle but always looks stunning. Think Arianny Celeste more than Sable.
Kharma (Inactive) - The biggest keep in the company, Kong looks and feels different to anything anyone in WWE has ever seen. Her character was gaining a huge amount of steam before the pregnancy and then the Rumble return showed a ton of fire. Whenever she comes back, she should have the division built completely around her.
Smackdown:
AJ - The cutest girl on the roster by a long mile, the best actor on the roster and the best personality of almost any of the girls as well. With the whole gamer/comic nerd thing going on she goes for a different thing than all the other girls, which will honestly appeal to a certain type of guy (me) of which there are a lot of in the WWE fanbase. She stands out for sure, I'm not positive if her size is going to be a hindrance because she's a Diva and everything, it will be interesting to see how that plays out.
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| She's even adorable in public domain wikipedia photos |
Aksana - She looks hot in the whole dominatrix outfit but I really don't see a point to her existing on the show.
Alicia Fox - Okay she's near the top of my "all time hottest black chick" list, which I'm not sure is racist or not, but I can assure you I don't mean it in a racist way so it's definitely not. She's a 10 and only one girl that I actually know is above her, and the one I know is married to a white guy named Tony who I consider to be the luckiest guy to ever walk the earth. Either way, Alicia Fox stays because I would love to make out with her.
Kaitlyn - She won NXT or something right? She's really hot but serves no purpose on the show.
Natalya - WHY DOES THE BEST DIVA WRESTLER IN THE WWE HAVE A FARTING GIMMICK?
Rosa Mendes - She's in her perfect role shaking her ass for Primo & Epico.
Tamina Snuka - Getting better in the ring and has her own unique style, get more like her.
Other:
Maxine - Who?
Naomi - Nice ass, she was athletic on NXT and it's too bad she's a dancer now.
Cameron Lynn - Her favorite match in the history of wrestling was a Divas match with Alicia Fox, someone who earlier I said should not wrestle anymore, so that says something.
Vickie Guerrero - Okay I'm way into older chicks and Vickie as she looks right now is hot to me, I'm not even kidding. She gets great heat and I want to make out with her more than any diva on the roster other than AJ (legit). So Vickie, if you ever read this and are into younger guys who are intelligent and interesting please hit me up!
