EinBebop
06-28-2002, 07:04 PM
Let's be a bit more specific here than saying, "better writing"... what specific changes do you think need to be made to make WWE an exciting product again?
Revitalizing the Title Scene
The goal of every wrestler should to be the champion. Not to uphold law and order or any of the other crap gimmicks that have come and gone over the years. In wrestling, everyone wants to be the best... to be champion.
But what kind of champion? There are several titles to be had. Problem is, except for the world title, they mean nothing now. When I was a wee lad, you had your World Champ, you Intercontinental champ, and your tag champs. Any wrestling fan knew who each champion was at any given time. Now, the titles are numerous and dilluted; only a fraction of the value that they were then. For a title to have meaning, it has to have two things... it should be unique and significant.
A Look at the Titles
Tag Team, Cruiserweight, and Women's titles
Two to four competitors competiting for a division at a time is not a division, it's a sideshow. If we're going to have divisions, we need to devote ourselves to one match for every hour of programming in an average week. That means two womens matches on every Raw, and two cruiserweight and tag matches on every Smackown, and don't forget Heat and Velocity, either.
Cruiserweight division... I think they're just about they're already, they're just being a bit cautious. Just one thing. Your cruiserweight champion is the best wrestler in the world against guys his size, and should realistically do well against guys larger than him. In case I'm not being clear: Stop jobbing top cruiserweights to mid- or low-card "heavyweights"! It makes the cruisers look bad and sure doesn't help the heavyweights.
Women's division... Let's drop the whole "champion appears on both shows" idea... the women's division will never be big enough to split into two shows unless you keep trying to put the eye candy (Stacie, Torrie, Terri, Dawn Marie) in the ring.
Tag Team Division... I think they actually had three tag matches on Smackdown anyway; why wouldn't any of those other teams want a shot at the tag champions? What other reason do you have for wrestling a tag match? I've said it time and time again, there is SO much tag team potential on the Smackdown roster if we would just commit. Noone is going to care about Chuck and Billy until they have some legitimate competition. In a perfect world, being a tag team champion should be almost as prestigious as being a heavyweight champion.
European Title
I mentioned uniqueness before. This title has neither significance, since there's few European wrestlers or tours, or uniqueness. It's just another title that can be grapped.
Now one possible idea here is to change the rules for European title matches, and I'm thinking no off-the-top-rope moves, no rope breaks, and *strong reinforcement* of the outside of the ring ten-count rule. Are these European rules? Noone will know or care. But it would favor mat-based submission wrestlers like Regal and Benoit.
But even though it sounds like a cool idea, I don't think there's enough talent to make it beyond a sideshow. There is a place for sideshows, but they shouldn't have belts! It just takes away from the significance of the other belts. Be creative; have the European champion carry a trophy or an EU flag or something. And on the subject of sideshows...
Hardcore Title
"It's dead, Jim." Hardcore Trivia: There have been 78 title changes so far this year. Don't even get me started on 24/7.
When I heard that ECW had gone bankrupt in 2001 and that Rhyno was coming to the WWE, I had a dream for him. He would win the Hardcore title. And on April 1st, of that year, he beat Kane. But they didn't follow up on my dream. Rhyno was supposed to declare that the WWF Hardcore title was gone now, unified with the ECW Heavyweight title. The legacy could have lived on; the title would have some prestige. Fans would have an excuse to chant ECW everynight. Great storyline potential as well, expecially in light of the InVasion. But it didn't happen. And with ECW becoming more distant and the way that the InVasion crashed, fans wouldn't buy into it now.
It's a shame because it would have let hardcore hang on for a couple more years. The art is dead now. It will never progress past sideshow, so it's time to drop the belt, and if you still want a hardcore champion let them carry a golden trashcan as a trophy or something.
Intercontinental Title
Now here's where we have fun. I think that the days of the year-long title reigns are gone forever, so how do we make this title mean something? Guaranteed World title shot if you can hang onto this baby for 90 days! Not necessarily a PPV shot. The champ just has a month to put the title up.
For example: Poor Kane; he wants a title shot, but Shane has said "No chance in Hell!" (By the way, in my dream WWE, Vince has retired. He's just gotten to silly to be taken seriously anymore.) So instead Kane gets his hands on the Intercontinental title. Shane throws a couple of tough guys his way at the next two PPV's, but Kane gets by. Shane is getting desperate.
By making it one possible, definite path to the World title, you've just made it something that people want.
Defending the Title Every 30 Days
And no more. Yeah, you'll have you're "fighting" champions, and guys will make deals/ be tricked into defending more often, but a smart wrestler isn't going to defend the title any more than he has to. It'll give heels something to hide behind, and since every 30 days will mean every PPV in most cases, it will make someone defending the title on television that much more special.
The Split
It's not going away anytime soon. Smackdown can have much tag team and cruiserweight goodness, and Raw can have a women's division and stronger midcard competition for the World Title. We've just given these two shows a distinct flavor, and given wrestlers a reason to switch, since they might feel they fit better on one roster than another.
Revitalizing the Title Scene
The goal of every wrestler should to be the champion. Not to uphold law and order or any of the other crap gimmicks that have come and gone over the years. In wrestling, everyone wants to be the best... to be champion.
But what kind of champion? There are several titles to be had. Problem is, except for the world title, they mean nothing now. When I was a wee lad, you had your World Champ, you Intercontinental champ, and your tag champs. Any wrestling fan knew who each champion was at any given time. Now, the titles are numerous and dilluted; only a fraction of the value that they were then. For a title to have meaning, it has to have two things... it should be unique and significant.
A Look at the Titles
Tag Team, Cruiserweight, and Women's titles
Two to four competitors competiting for a division at a time is not a division, it's a sideshow. If we're going to have divisions, we need to devote ourselves to one match for every hour of programming in an average week. That means two womens matches on every Raw, and two cruiserweight and tag matches on every Smackown, and don't forget Heat and Velocity, either.
Cruiserweight division... I think they're just about they're already, they're just being a bit cautious. Just one thing. Your cruiserweight champion is the best wrestler in the world against guys his size, and should realistically do well against guys larger than him. In case I'm not being clear: Stop jobbing top cruiserweights to mid- or low-card "heavyweights"! It makes the cruisers look bad and sure doesn't help the heavyweights.
Women's division... Let's drop the whole "champion appears on both shows" idea... the women's division will never be big enough to split into two shows unless you keep trying to put the eye candy (Stacie, Torrie, Terri, Dawn Marie) in the ring.
Tag Team Division... I think they actually had three tag matches on Smackdown anyway; why wouldn't any of those other teams want a shot at the tag champions? What other reason do you have for wrestling a tag match? I've said it time and time again, there is SO much tag team potential on the Smackdown roster if we would just commit. Noone is going to care about Chuck and Billy until they have some legitimate competition. In a perfect world, being a tag team champion should be almost as prestigious as being a heavyweight champion.
European Title
I mentioned uniqueness before. This title has neither significance, since there's few European wrestlers or tours, or uniqueness. It's just another title that can be grapped.
Now one possible idea here is to change the rules for European title matches, and I'm thinking no off-the-top-rope moves, no rope breaks, and *strong reinforcement* of the outside of the ring ten-count rule. Are these European rules? Noone will know or care. But it would favor mat-based submission wrestlers like Regal and Benoit.
But even though it sounds like a cool idea, I don't think there's enough talent to make it beyond a sideshow. There is a place for sideshows, but they shouldn't have belts! It just takes away from the significance of the other belts. Be creative; have the European champion carry a trophy or an EU flag or something. And on the subject of sideshows...
Hardcore Title
"It's dead, Jim." Hardcore Trivia: There have been 78 title changes so far this year. Don't even get me started on 24/7.
When I heard that ECW had gone bankrupt in 2001 and that Rhyno was coming to the WWE, I had a dream for him. He would win the Hardcore title. And on April 1st, of that year, he beat Kane. But they didn't follow up on my dream. Rhyno was supposed to declare that the WWF Hardcore title was gone now, unified with the ECW Heavyweight title. The legacy could have lived on; the title would have some prestige. Fans would have an excuse to chant ECW everynight. Great storyline potential as well, expecially in light of the InVasion. But it didn't happen. And with ECW becoming more distant and the way that the InVasion crashed, fans wouldn't buy into it now.
It's a shame because it would have let hardcore hang on for a couple more years. The art is dead now. It will never progress past sideshow, so it's time to drop the belt, and if you still want a hardcore champion let them carry a golden trashcan as a trophy or something.
Intercontinental Title
Now here's where we have fun. I think that the days of the year-long title reigns are gone forever, so how do we make this title mean something? Guaranteed World title shot if you can hang onto this baby for 90 days! Not necessarily a PPV shot. The champ just has a month to put the title up.
For example: Poor Kane; he wants a title shot, but Shane has said "No chance in Hell!" (By the way, in my dream WWE, Vince has retired. He's just gotten to silly to be taken seriously anymore.) So instead Kane gets his hands on the Intercontinental title. Shane throws a couple of tough guys his way at the next two PPV's, but Kane gets by. Shane is getting desperate.
By making it one possible, definite path to the World title, you've just made it something that people want.
Defending the Title Every 30 Days
And no more. Yeah, you'll have you're "fighting" champions, and guys will make deals/ be tricked into defending more often, but a smart wrestler isn't going to defend the title any more than he has to. It'll give heels something to hide behind, and since every 30 days will mean every PPV in most cases, it will make someone defending the title on television that much more special.
The Split
It's not going away anytime soon. Smackdown can have much tag team and cruiserweight goodness, and Raw can have a women's division and stronger midcard competition for the World Title. We've just given these two shows a distinct flavor, and given wrestlers a reason to switch, since they might feel they fit better on one roster than another.