Everything Wrong with the WWE in 2018

[OVER]

Looking at the Lesnar Universal title situation makes me think about what people in the wrestling business have said about Andre the giants lack of world titles "He didn't need it and if he won it who could really beat him?" that's the thought process they should've taken with Lesnar he could still be the legit MMA badass who beat The Undertaker and retired Goldberg and that would be more than enough to keep his heat.

I wouldn't mind if they made a storyline out of the fact that he barely defends it. How hard would it be to show Paul Heyman collude with HHH to give Brock preferential treatment showing that yes he is getting special treatment here is why instead of talking about him surpassing CM Punk's record for the longest modern reign.

It's borderline impressive that some of y'all still haven't caught on to the fact that Brock doesn't give a shyt and y'all favs would be food in these Lesnar dream matches y'all continue to fantasize about.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

The thing about the apprehension to create new crossover stars because they don't want anyone to be bigger than the brand is that it's WWE trying to fix a problem they created. If we go all the way back to when Austin and Rock were on their way out, there was a clear transition period where just about everybody could pick out who had next: Booker, RVD, Jericho, etc. Those guys were posed to take over and become the new top draws, but the company didn't pull the trigger and killed them off, instead chosing to rely on proven favorites.

Then Cena happens, and WWE puts ALL of their eggs into that basket. Cena bascially becomes the WWE as far as the mainstream mindshare is concerned and no one is pushed over him or groomed to take his place. So now that they're faced with him actually leaving, there's no heir to the throne to garner mainstream attention for them. So instead they just move to make the WWE brand itself the draw and hopefully avoid ever being in this situation again while also ensuring that talent has nothing to leverage over them.

The problem is that the wrestlers were always the reason the brand was a draw. Think of it like a comic book company. Sure people have brand loyalty to DC and Marvel, but that loyalty is because people love their characters like Spider-Man and Superman. WWE is trying to get fans to care about a logo, essentially.

Funny thing is, I think they know it doesn't work. Which is why they keep trotting out nostalgia acts, and why it feels like they're panicking as the nostalgia is losing its impact.

It’s this. Vince is basically the Donald trump of pro wrestling. He has the most fragile ego I’ve ever seen in someone who legit made a ton of money and possibly did it through non criminal means. He is as insecure in his success as anyone you will ever see. He’s perpetually terrified of getting burned like when flair and hogan left in the early 90’s and how they lost rock and Austin in 2002. These guys moved the needle in a major way and left on their own terms. Vince was left to figure it out on his own and that scared the shyt out of him. Even though they could have pushed guys like booker and van dam who clearly had next along Brock, Mysterio, and others, the problem is that Vince needs to feel like he’s 100% in control and that matters more to him than the ship running smoothly and then seamlessly transitioning to a new period of stars when the previous ones move on. In his mind it has to happen solely because he made it so and the demand of the paying customer just isn’t important to him.

The irony of this is that it hurts the brand irreparably. He chased almost a third of the raw audience away by the end of the invasion angle. Ratings have steadily dropped for 17 years now as he refuses to let characters progress and move up the card organically, showing the crowd that nothing really matters unless it’s what he wants, so they tune out. Just look at how punk’s long run with the title was booked. 75% of the time, he was going on early in the show because Vince wanted Cena and not punk. Look at how long it’s been since that title closed a co branded show because Roman isn’t competing for it. They’re in a lot of trouble 5-10 years from now when all the old guys can’t go or in the cases of guys like Brock just don’t want to be there out of boredom anymore. Aside from Roman, all the top spots at Wrestlemania every year end up going to guys who are 45 or older. Some of them are pushing 50 or just past it. At some point, they won’t be able to rely on nostalgia and will have to let guys become stars again. A brand is only as good as its stars. If there’s no X-men or Deadpool or hulk or iron man or captain America, marvel loses a lot of its luster. If DC loses Batman, Superman, and the villains that go with them, is the brand really worth that much?

 

[Playaz Eyez]

Just posting up so I can come back to read

 

[Lord Scion]

*puts instrumental on*



*reads*

 

[Berniewood Hogan]

The impending market crash will likely force Vince to cancel his stupid XFL reboot, shatter the illusion that he's a billionaire, and maybe even give him a lethal heart attack.

NXT proves that we're in good hands with Goater Goatst Goatsley.

 

[Straw Hat Luffy]

Great thread, OP. I fukking hate the WWE. How do you have so much talent and yet, have the company be the worst it has ever been in its existence?
The logic behind "they make money so they don't have to try," is dumb logic to me.
This company brings the most fukkery I have ever seen, when it comes to insulting fans/customers.

The other day on twitter someone told Road Dogg that Asuka vs Becky Lynch needs to happen at Summerslam. His response was, "why does everything have to happen right now?" That shyt pissed me off. nikka said that like the company actually gives us what we want. Besides AJ Styles being WWE champion, nothing on their main shows is even remotely close to what we want.

- No Universal title defenses
-Braun was at his hottest but they cooled him off
- Seth is on fire but hes feuding with Ziggler
- After 5 years of Flop they are still forcing Roman down even more
- Alexa and Carmella are champions yet they claim its a womans revolution while avoiding all must see feuds/ also treating the best talent like shyt
- having obsessions with nikkas like big cass and baron corbin
- obviously dont care about tag division

I can't stand these nikkas, man. They are evil af for no god damn reason. I haven't watched RAW in over a month but I read the news.
They really had lashley and Roman vs Rival 3 weeks in a row.

Vince just doesn't care anymore....

And the worst thing of all they will rewrite history in documentaries as if we cant just go back and watch shyt

 

[Straw Hat Luffy]

You really only got one life to live and WWE just be wasting everybodys hours weekly.

 

[2CT]

@TheGreatShowtime finally back with another one

i agree with all points, the E is blander than some uncooked Ramen noodles right now and it seems like they don't have any intentions on changing that at all

but on the flip side there definitely are some bright spots in the company with cats like DB, Cedric, Gargano, Rollins, AJ and Rusev all having incredible runs right now

i'll be watching NXT closely the next few months to see what they do with Ricochet and Kairi

and i'll keep my network sub at least until they bring Hogan back, not because the product is good but because that thing is just dope and convenient as hell plus $10 a month for a video streaming service really ain't shyt to me i got NJPW World on deck too and i barely even watch it

 

[julesocean]

Honestly, the internet drastically changed (or ruined, depending on your viewpoint) wrestling. More people got access to Dave Meltzer & Wade Keller to find out the inner workings of the industry. More people started armchair quarterbacking with this limited knowledge and became vocal on the Internet & at shows. More people are stuck in nostalgia land thinking the product they grew up in was the best and current day wrestling needs to fit in that mold. There's no way to appease all of these "smart" (really dumb) wrestling fans today like you could appease all of the "mark" wrestling fans from 20-25 years ago.

WHAT YOU JUST WROTE HERE IS EXACTLY THE shyt YOU RANTED ON IN YOUR FIRST POST.

Not hating, just pointing it out.

Basically, we all have our ideas of what we want from a big budget wresting show. Not every fan is alike, and some like different things than others. I'm gonna rep you cuz I like when people actually do thought out posts in TSC, but usually when you know enough about the current product to write a manifesto critiquing it, that is the most "armchair nostalgia" thing you can do. There are plenty of companies doing exactly what you long for in your OP, and if you stop marking out for just one company, you can enjoy them.

WWE is corporate, we can't change that, but we can put more energy into other promotions so the E don't have to live in our heads 24/7 making us disgruntled.

 

[Francis White]

The problem is Roman. Until he moved down the card no other wrestler can move up. The endless push is boring.
In the last 2 years he has been surpassed by:
AJ
Seth
Rusev
KO
Asuka
Alexa Bliss not ring wise but she has charisma and character.
Charlotte, love or hate her she is the definition of champion.
Sasha
USO brothers I used to hate them but they have done a 180 and are fantastic.
DB
Now before everyone says Brook is holding everyone back we’ll its Roman always getting the major title shots. Bobby Lashley should be facing Brock next not the fukking Big Dawg.Feuds need to be more intense.
Elias is so over now but has no belt. He needs a face turn or become a tweener.
Sasha vs Bayley needs to be hell in a cell.
They need to cut some dead weight.
Titus goes to NXT to become a manager
Dana cut
No way Jose back to NXT
Alicia Fox cut, it’s time.
Randy Orton cut
Lana NXT or cut she isn’t progressing as a wrestler
Liv Morgan cut
Mandy Rose back to NXT
Everyone from 205 cut or back to NXT.
Almas and Vega a real fued with DB
Kane cut
Booby Roode heel turn
B team back to NXT
Revival cut or back to NXT
AOP need a manager edit Titus could manage them.
Mickie NXT trainer
Nattie cut, it’s over.
Total waste of space Tamina and Nia are useless Nia back to NXT, Tamina cut.

 

[2CT]

WHAT YOU JUST WROTE HERE IS EXACTLY THE shyt YOU RANTED ON IN YOUR FIRST POST.
.

why are you yelling

 

[trick]

Honestly, the internet drastically changed (or ruined, depending on your viewpoint) wrestling. More people got access to Dave Meltzer & Wade Keller to find out the inner workings of the industry. More people started armchair quarterbacking with this limited knowledge and became vocal on the Internet & at shows. More people are stuck in nostalgia land thinking the product they grew up in was the best and current day wrestling needs to fit in that mold. There's no way to appease all of these "smart" (really dumb) wrestling fans today like you could appease all of the "mark" wrestling fans from 20-25 years ago.

I've always been fascinated with this idea. I mean in our real lives or even in the media we consume, we want progress. We want to get to somewhere. But in wrestling, it's different. Once you get to a certain point, there's no need to progress or do anything differently. People are conditioned to accept mediocrity in wrestling.

People will eat this shyt up if they see their favourites wrestling or put on good matches, just look at the cacs on reddit

 

[thaKEAF]

Company is horrible. I’ve been back watching since 2010 but I’ve checked back out now. Unsubbed network, unfollowed on social media and haven’t watched a show since GRR. At this point watching this shyt is like being in an abusive relationship. OP makes a lot of great points. In the end the main thing to me is it isn’t entertaining at all. There’s no wrestlers or storylines that make me want to tune in and see what’s gonna happen from week to week. The stories and bigger than life personalities are what brought people in during the hogan and attitude eras. You can have all the in ring technicians you want but that doesn’t mean shyt without good writing and booking - which they are incapable of delivering. I know a lot of heads are super into the matches and that’s fine, but I’m speaking from my POV and the POV of all the fans they’ve lost the past 20 years.

 

[TheGreatShowtime]

WHAT YOU JUST WROTE HERE IS EXACTLY THE shyt YOU RANTED ON IN YOUR FIRST POST.

Not hating, just pointing it out.

Basically, we all have our ideas of what we want from a big budget wresting show. Not every fan is alike, and some like different things than others. I'm gonna rep you cuz I like when people actually do thought out posts in TSC, but usually when you know enough about the current product to write a manifesto critiquing it, that is the most "armchair nostalgia" thing you can do. There are plenty of companies doing exactly what you long for in your OP, and if you stop marking out for just one company, you can enjoy them.

WWE is corporate, we can't change that, but we can put more energy into other promotions so the E don't have to live in our heads 24/7 making us disgruntled.

I knew someone would call out my armchair QB'ing with this thread

Let me clarify what I meant by that. When I was in college and would go to Gator football games, I'd always end up sitting next to some frat boy who spent most of the day playing NCAA Football or Madden. This guy would be the most obnoxious fanboy and start yelling plays he'd learn from video games saying we needed to run those plays instead of the ones being called on the field. Throwing on first down? Nah, we needed to run I-formation HB split instead. Punting on 4th down? Nah, we gotta go for it! We see the same sorts of things online by saying Roman Reigns needs to lose every match he's in in because some people don't like the way he's been pushed over the years. The 205 Live Guys need to be main eventing because they're the best in-ring workers. The fans saying these things aren't aware of all of the negative consequences the changes they're suggesting would make. There's no logic behind it. That's not what I was trying to do with my post. My thread was just pointing out all the things that have made me lose interest over the years, and how the WWE has turned a blind eye or been hypocritical with all of these faults

 

[Silkk]

Just read the Raw results

This company has the best wrestlers in the world in fukking droves, there is ZERO reason for that show to be as consistently bad as it has been smh