Post by Sedition: Gladiator on Feb 13, 2011 23:40:33 GMT -6
Welcome friends, foes, and any other loser that wastes there time reading my ramblings. Allow me to begin this entry by stating an important truth:
Gladiator Rant Fact #1- There are two kinds of opinions in this world, my opinion and the wrong opinion.
Bearing this in mind, all who have the misfortune of reading my rants must hold the truths within to be self evident. Remembering that though all men were created equal, Gladiator is more than just a man, and therefore was created to be better than you. So please enjoy my latest Wrestling rant.
It is quite obvious to me that wrestling is not what it used to be. I remember the glory days of 1997-2000 when both WCW and WWF (Now WWE) were both going strong. Even in the weakest moments of both companies during this time, it was still more entertaining than the rubbish we are saddled with today. In this edition I will discuss what I believe to be the biggest issues with the WWE. I was going to address TNA as well, but the issues with TNA may need to be told in a trilogy of it's own.
Allow me to address the problems of the WWE.
Underdeveloped talent.
For too many years WWE put all their eggs in a few baskets, or should I say one basket... the John Cena basket. They have spent so many years trying to make John Cena the next Hulk Hogan, that they have missed out on some big opportunities. They spent so much time pushing their well developed talent, that now they have too many guys who were ready for the main event, but now have been buried in the mid card for too long to be taken seriously. WWE has seriously dropped the ball with guys like Christian, Matt Hardy, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, and others as well. These guys drew cheers, or heat from the fans no matter what they were doing. Christian was able to be one of the most popular guys on Smackdown before his injury without any mic time. Give the guy a mic, and he could be there #1 guy. Instead they wasted years on cramming John Cena and Batista down our throats. John Cena does not need the exposure he gets. He does not always have to appear as Superman. For over 6 years in the mid 90's, The Undertaker was one of the top draws of the WWF. During this time he had ZERO title reigns. Yet he was consistently one of the top guys they had. This is where I believe John Cena should be right now. Or perhaps he is due for a heel turn (Which I'll address later).
Because of this mismanagement, WWE is left with so few big draws at the moment. If we look at their biggest stars at the moment, only John Cena and Randy Orton can be considered big draws. CM Punk is well on his way. They have been doing a good job getting him over this time, but they have dropped the ball with him in the past so I'm not holding my breath this time. Edge has been weak ever since his return at last years Rumble. His initial babyface run was laughably bad. In his big match versus ultra heel Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 26 I swear I heard more cheers for Jericho than I did for him. This was followed by a mediocre heel run on Raw, and a mediocre face run on Smackdown. Other than that, all they have to work with are underdeveloped new guys. WWE has done a good job of building some new guys, but they have a long way to go before they start making the big money off of them.
The following are the guys I believe WWE needs to develop.
Smackdown
1) Wade Barrett - I believe Wade Barrett is the brightest new star the WWE has. With the right development he could easily be the next Triple H. He has flawless mic ability, he has a great look, his background in Bare Knuckle Boxing gives him a legitimate toughness, and he has good in ring ability. He should be made to be the #1 heel on Smackdown and eventually the #1 heel in the business. The key with Barrett is giving him some legit wins. He needs to be made to look as strong as he is.
2) Alberto Del Rio - When I saw that he won the Royal Rumble, I was ecstatic. I was dreading what seemed like an inevitable John Cena win, and I was pleasantly surprised. Again, here is a guy with flawless mic ability. He is perhaps the best talker to ever come out of the Lucha Libre background. He carries himself with a confidence in the ring rarely seen in veterans, let alone rookies. They seem to be doing the right thing with him so far. They are giving him legit wins over upper mid card faces like, R-Truth, and Kofi Kingston. They are making him a legitimate in ring threat, which will pay dividends in his inevitable World Title run. WWE needed to learn that it's ok to make a heel a legitimate threat. If they are as ignorant and obnoxious as Del Rio you don't have to make them cheat to draw the hatred of the fans. They will earn that hatred by insulting the fans.
3) Christian - I know he's not as young as the other guys, but he is still in his prime. When at 100% health he can carry even the weakest performer to a quality match (see his series of matches with Tommy Dreamer). He can take a run at the top as a heel or a face. I think that he would have to run as a face due to the lack of babyfaces on Smackdown who can cut decent promos. They could run him as a Bret Hart type underdog. The fans will get behind him, and he could be a major player. That being said, WWE really missed the boat with him when he came back from TNA. He came as a confident performer with a huge following, and WWE buried him in the graveyard that was ECW. He still can rebound, but they need to make there move fast or it will be too late.
4) Dolph Ziggler - Though I do not see him being as big as the one's mentioned above, I think he has a very Chris Jericho quality to him. His matches are consistently among the best in the business today. He has great charisma, but he needs to work on his mic work some. He's good, but he has a weak voice. No one will take promos seriously when someone with a wimpy voice is delivering them. I don't care how much you look like a star, if you sound like Mike Tyson when you open your mouth, you will be laughed at. It's like the first time you hear Mark Wahlberg talk. He looks cool and tough, but he sounds like a whiny little girl.He should take notes from Ric Flair. If you don't have the toughest sounding voice, just cut your promos like you've just had your 10th cup of coffee.
RAW
1) John Morrison - If there was ever a guy the fans were ready to route for in an underdog situation it's him. The only thing missing for him is the mic work. Again, like Ziggler he has a weak voice. Plus WWE's PG enviroment has reduced him to cutting corny comedy promos. He needs to be angrier, edgier and have more attitude. He is the next Shawn Michaels, but needs to work on his promos. There is no one in the WWE who puts on a better show in the ring, now all he needs is to be able to cut a 4 star promo and he will be the biggest fish in the pond.
2) The Miz - Ok, so he's already reached the top by winning the title, but his reign so far has been very unremarkable. He has looked weak, and pathetic as champion. It reminds me of Chris Jericho's first instantly forgettable run as World Champion. Every match he won had a screwy finish, and he was made to look weak next to the rest of the main event crew. I still think WWE has a long way to go before The Miz can be a big money draw. The idea of Mix vs. Cena headlining Wrestlemania doesn't exactly spell money. They need to give him a legitimate run as Champion. Like say maybe one where his main rival is someone besides Jerry Lawler. Granted, Lawler has done well with the build up, but come on, the guy is over 60. They don't have to make him look strong, but they do need to give him some real wins in order for people to take him seriously as champ. Even his matches with Lawler had screwy finishes... like Vince Russo style screwy.
3) Ted Dibease - He's confident in promos, great in the ring, and the son of one of the greatest heels the business had ever seen. He shows so much intensity and agression in the ring. Lately every match he's had has been a classic. He's got all the tools to be a top star, but WWE seems to be floundering with him. He could be a star as either a heel or a face. He has been buried on the undercard of Raw, lost in rivalries with R-Truth and the terribly mispromoted Daniel Bryan. Making Maryse his valet has hurt him instead of helping him. I think the best bet for him is to transfer him to Smackdown and give him a fresh start.
Now onto the guys they need to remove or repackage.
1) John Cena - The fact is though he appears to be very popular, he is only really liked by children and women. Most men actually despise him. The same thing happened to The Rock. I remember when Brock Lesnar beat him for the WWE Title. Lesnar was the heel, but the fans cheered when he won because they were tired of The Rock's act. WWE then decided to turn him heel, and he was better than ever. Though I am not sure that Cena needs to be made a heel, they do need to do something with him to regain some of the people they have lost due to his silliness.
2) The Big Show - Seriously, does anyone take him seriously anymore. He is pathetic. He sucks in the ring, and he is lame on the mic. You can almost here the collective groan of wrestling fans everytime they give Big Show a storyline. I think they need to put him on the shelf for a while, and get him off TV until they figure out something new to do with him. And please, for the love of all that is good in the world, get rid of that terrible music. "Well, it's the big bad sho tonight" that was never cool.
3) Drew McIntyre - A year ago he appeared to be a rising star, and WWE tried to cram him down peoples throats. Unfortunately for him, people spit him out. He never lived up to the hype. He never gave off a vibe that he was the star creative was trying to tell us he was. Now they have him involved in this stupid love story with Kelly Kelly, and people still couldn't care any less about him.
4) Kane - WWE waited for 12 years for Kane to actually deliver on the hype he always received. Somewhere between his 1 day WWF Championship reign and his tag team with XPac they began to lose faith in him. Finally in 2010, Kane finally came through. He delivered some of the best promos I had ever seen. For this, WWE rewards him with the World Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately they forgot that Kane couldn't put on a good show in the ring if his life depended on it. Therefore we were subjected to 5 months of some of the worst main event matches known to man. For this WWE rewarded Kane with the silliest story to ever grace a main event program, Edge's kidnapping of Paul Bearer. Week after week Kane would come out and whine and cry about how much he needed his Father back. So Kane essentially went from looking like the strongest heel champion we've seen in a long time, to looking like a pathetic 40 year old who can't be seperated from his dad. How sad. The show where Kane cut a promo stating, "Even monsters need a Father" he lost all the credibility he had gained this year.
Join me next week as I will discuss the shortcomings of TNA Wrestling, and let me warn you, there are many shortcomings.
Gladiator Rant Fact #1- There are two kinds of opinions in this world, my opinion and the wrong opinion.
Bearing this in mind, all who have the misfortune of reading my rants must hold the truths within to be self evident. Remembering that though all men were created equal, Gladiator is more than just a man, and therefore was created to be better than you. So please enjoy my latest Wrestling rant.
It is quite obvious to me that wrestling is not what it used to be. I remember the glory days of 1997-2000 when both WCW and WWF (Now WWE) were both going strong. Even in the weakest moments of both companies during this time, it was still more entertaining than the rubbish we are saddled with today. In this edition I will discuss what I believe to be the biggest issues with the WWE. I was going to address TNA as well, but the issues with TNA may need to be told in a trilogy of it's own.
Allow me to address the problems of the WWE.
Underdeveloped talent.
For too many years WWE put all their eggs in a few baskets, or should I say one basket... the John Cena basket. They have spent so many years trying to make John Cena the next Hulk Hogan, that they have missed out on some big opportunities. They spent so much time pushing their well developed talent, that now they have too many guys who were ready for the main event, but now have been buried in the mid card for too long to be taken seriously. WWE has seriously dropped the ball with guys like Christian, Matt Hardy, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, and others as well. These guys drew cheers, or heat from the fans no matter what they were doing. Christian was able to be one of the most popular guys on Smackdown before his injury without any mic time. Give the guy a mic, and he could be there #1 guy. Instead they wasted years on cramming John Cena and Batista down our throats. John Cena does not need the exposure he gets. He does not always have to appear as Superman. For over 6 years in the mid 90's, The Undertaker was one of the top draws of the WWF. During this time he had ZERO title reigns. Yet he was consistently one of the top guys they had. This is where I believe John Cena should be right now. Or perhaps he is due for a heel turn (Which I'll address later).
Because of this mismanagement, WWE is left with so few big draws at the moment. If we look at their biggest stars at the moment, only John Cena and Randy Orton can be considered big draws. CM Punk is well on his way. They have been doing a good job getting him over this time, but they have dropped the ball with him in the past so I'm not holding my breath this time. Edge has been weak ever since his return at last years Rumble. His initial babyface run was laughably bad. In his big match versus ultra heel Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 26 I swear I heard more cheers for Jericho than I did for him. This was followed by a mediocre heel run on Raw, and a mediocre face run on Smackdown. Other than that, all they have to work with are underdeveloped new guys. WWE has done a good job of building some new guys, but they have a long way to go before they start making the big money off of them.
The following are the guys I believe WWE needs to develop.
Smackdown
1) Wade Barrett - I believe Wade Barrett is the brightest new star the WWE has. With the right development he could easily be the next Triple H. He has flawless mic ability, he has a great look, his background in Bare Knuckle Boxing gives him a legitimate toughness, and he has good in ring ability. He should be made to be the #1 heel on Smackdown and eventually the #1 heel in the business. The key with Barrett is giving him some legit wins. He needs to be made to look as strong as he is.
2) Alberto Del Rio - When I saw that he won the Royal Rumble, I was ecstatic. I was dreading what seemed like an inevitable John Cena win, and I was pleasantly surprised. Again, here is a guy with flawless mic ability. He is perhaps the best talker to ever come out of the Lucha Libre background. He carries himself with a confidence in the ring rarely seen in veterans, let alone rookies. They seem to be doing the right thing with him so far. They are giving him legit wins over upper mid card faces like, R-Truth, and Kofi Kingston. They are making him a legitimate in ring threat, which will pay dividends in his inevitable World Title run. WWE needed to learn that it's ok to make a heel a legitimate threat. If they are as ignorant and obnoxious as Del Rio you don't have to make them cheat to draw the hatred of the fans. They will earn that hatred by insulting the fans.
3) Christian - I know he's not as young as the other guys, but he is still in his prime. When at 100% health he can carry even the weakest performer to a quality match (see his series of matches with Tommy Dreamer). He can take a run at the top as a heel or a face. I think that he would have to run as a face due to the lack of babyfaces on Smackdown who can cut decent promos. They could run him as a Bret Hart type underdog. The fans will get behind him, and he could be a major player. That being said, WWE really missed the boat with him when he came back from TNA. He came as a confident performer with a huge following, and WWE buried him in the graveyard that was ECW. He still can rebound, but they need to make there move fast or it will be too late.
4) Dolph Ziggler - Though I do not see him being as big as the one's mentioned above, I think he has a very Chris Jericho quality to him. His matches are consistently among the best in the business today. He has great charisma, but he needs to work on his mic work some. He's good, but he has a weak voice. No one will take promos seriously when someone with a wimpy voice is delivering them. I don't care how much you look like a star, if you sound like Mike Tyson when you open your mouth, you will be laughed at. It's like the first time you hear Mark Wahlberg talk. He looks cool and tough, but he sounds like a whiny little girl.He should take notes from Ric Flair. If you don't have the toughest sounding voice, just cut your promos like you've just had your 10th cup of coffee.
RAW
1) John Morrison - If there was ever a guy the fans were ready to route for in an underdog situation it's him. The only thing missing for him is the mic work. Again, like Ziggler he has a weak voice. Plus WWE's PG enviroment has reduced him to cutting corny comedy promos. He needs to be angrier, edgier and have more attitude. He is the next Shawn Michaels, but needs to work on his promos. There is no one in the WWE who puts on a better show in the ring, now all he needs is to be able to cut a 4 star promo and he will be the biggest fish in the pond.
2) The Miz - Ok, so he's already reached the top by winning the title, but his reign so far has been very unremarkable. He has looked weak, and pathetic as champion. It reminds me of Chris Jericho's first instantly forgettable run as World Champion. Every match he won had a screwy finish, and he was made to look weak next to the rest of the main event crew. I still think WWE has a long way to go before The Miz can be a big money draw. The idea of Mix vs. Cena headlining Wrestlemania doesn't exactly spell money. They need to give him a legitimate run as Champion. Like say maybe one where his main rival is someone besides Jerry Lawler. Granted, Lawler has done well with the build up, but come on, the guy is over 60. They don't have to make him look strong, but they do need to give him some real wins in order for people to take him seriously as champ. Even his matches with Lawler had screwy finishes... like Vince Russo style screwy.
3) Ted Dibease - He's confident in promos, great in the ring, and the son of one of the greatest heels the business had ever seen. He shows so much intensity and agression in the ring. Lately every match he's had has been a classic. He's got all the tools to be a top star, but WWE seems to be floundering with him. He could be a star as either a heel or a face. He has been buried on the undercard of Raw, lost in rivalries with R-Truth and the terribly mispromoted Daniel Bryan. Making Maryse his valet has hurt him instead of helping him. I think the best bet for him is to transfer him to Smackdown and give him a fresh start.
Now onto the guys they need to remove or repackage.
1) John Cena - The fact is though he appears to be very popular, he is only really liked by children and women. Most men actually despise him. The same thing happened to The Rock. I remember when Brock Lesnar beat him for the WWE Title. Lesnar was the heel, but the fans cheered when he won because they were tired of The Rock's act. WWE then decided to turn him heel, and he was better than ever. Though I am not sure that Cena needs to be made a heel, they do need to do something with him to regain some of the people they have lost due to his silliness.
2) The Big Show - Seriously, does anyone take him seriously anymore. He is pathetic. He sucks in the ring, and he is lame on the mic. You can almost here the collective groan of wrestling fans everytime they give Big Show a storyline. I think they need to put him on the shelf for a while, and get him off TV until they figure out something new to do with him. And please, for the love of all that is good in the world, get rid of that terrible music. "Well, it's the big bad sho tonight" that was never cool.
3) Drew McIntyre - A year ago he appeared to be a rising star, and WWE tried to cram him down peoples throats. Unfortunately for him, people spit him out. He never lived up to the hype. He never gave off a vibe that he was the star creative was trying to tell us he was. Now they have him involved in this stupid love story with Kelly Kelly, and people still couldn't care any less about him.
4) Kane - WWE waited for 12 years for Kane to actually deliver on the hype he always received. Somewhere between his 1 day WWF Championship reign and his tag team with XPac they began to lose faith in him. Finally in 2010, Kane finally came through. He delivered some of the best promos I had ever seen. For this, WWE rewards him with the World Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately they forgot that Kane couldn't put on a good show in the ring if his life depended on it. Therefore we were subjected to 5 months of some of the worst main event matches known to man. For this WWE rewarded Kane with the silliest story to ever grace a main event program, Edge's kidnapping of Paul Bearer. Week after week Kane would come out and whine and cry about how much he needed his Father back. So Kane essentially went from looking like the strongest heel champion we've seen in a long time, to looking like a pathetic 40 year old who can't be seperated from his dad. How sad. The show where Kane cut a promo stating, "Even monsters need a Father" he lost all the credibility he had gained this year.
Join me next week as I will discuss the shortcomings of TNA Wrestling, and let me warn you, there are many shortcomings.
