Has the WWE painted themselves in a corner?

In the 1980’s, Hulk Hogan held the WWE World Heavyweight Title for 4 consecutive years plus one full year.  In 1991, he held it for more than 8 months.   In 1993, he held it for more than 3 months.  The total number of days he held the title before Vince McMahon decided to push the younger talent and before Hulk Hogan jumped to WCW was 2157 days.  When holding the title for those many days meant that anybody he was up against him was doomed to lose.  Why has he held such long title runs?  Because it was good business.  For those who can recollect the 1980s Hulk Hogan era, they will remember that there were hundreds and hundreds of marketing schemes to maximize on his popularity.  As long as Hulk Hogan was on a lunch box, pencil case, t-shirt, etc., the WWF (now WWE) was making money outside of the wrestling events.  Hulk Hogan did talk shows, interviews, and guest appearances in promoting the WWF.  Amongst the kids, he was the biggest living hero around.  Among the adults, they tolerated him because of his positive messages of “eat your vegetables, take vitamins and say your prayers”.  So, in keeping Hulk Hogan as the WWE champion made a lot of business sense.

In the early 1990s, when Hogan and his contemporaries where getting older and deemed less relevant to the next generation of wrestling fans, fresher and younger talents became the center of the WWE.  Unlike the 1980s where the company was primarily centered on Hulk Hogan, the WWE developed many superstars whose popularity was big enough to hold the title and carry on the WWE marketing scheme.   Superstars like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, and the Rock, were thrusted into the spotlight and because each could hold their own in the ring and on the mic, it was easy for the WWE Heavyweight Title to change hands frequently.  During this time, no one held the title close to a year (with the exception of Diesel who held it for 358 days) before having to lose it to someone else.  One big factor why no one title reign was longer than a year is because the WWE shifted the shows format from a pursuit for the championship to non-title storylines with on-going drama.

In the early 2000s, this tactic of creating a new generation of Superstars that can hold the WWE Heavyweight Title continued on with the cycle being around 5-7 years cycle.  As Bret left in the mid-90s for WCW, as Shawn and Austin’s injuries kept them out of the ring for longer periods of time throughout the late-90s to early 2000s, and as the Rock decided to pursue an acting career in the early 2000s, the title bounced around from Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, the Big Show, and Brock Lesnar.  The difference now is that they really focused on story lines than fighting for the title.  The title played more and more as a second fiddle to the non-title storylines.  The problem with focusing on a story line is that there is only a few people who can be featured.  Another effect is that more time is spent on promos and other non-in-ring action.  When there is less in-ring action, then there is at least 2 to 4 people (single and tag-team matches) who is not regularly getting on TV.  With less people on TV, then less people are getting over in front of the crowd.  Because of this, those who are in main event storylines have to work double time in order to fill out a show.

By the mid-2000s, many of the main event workers were either injured or burnt out from all the travel and extra work that was expected of them.  People like Jeff Hard resorted to drugs.  Chris Benoit basically went insane.  Edge was constantly working in pain, which led to his mandatory in-ring retirement.  Brock left to pursue MMA.  Batista left for other ventures.  Jericho left so as to have a break, in which he did return, but left the company again.  These are a few examples of main event Superstars who are no longer with the company, but could have picked up the slack and keep the WWE in it’s success until now.  Now with less of them there, that responsibility has fallen on the few.

So now in 2011, who does the WWE rely to hold the title and carry the company on his back?  John Cena.  John Cena is in the position he is in with always winning the title and being in the center of Main Event storylines because for the past 3 years, they stopped creating future Main Eventers.  Because of the major focus of John Cena, they stopped allotting time in creating good undercard matches.  Not creating good undercard matches means less camera and promo time, which means less Superstars have the chance to get over with the crowd.  So, if anything were to ever happen to John Cena that will be huge blow to their revenues.  In short, the WWE has seemed to paint themselves into a corner.

Though I will admit that they have given opportunities to a few who have dropped the ball like Jack Swagger and Ted Dibiase, they still have other people with whom they can try to get over with the audience.  At this point, CM Punk, the Miz, and R-Truth are being positioned for the main spotlight.  Sheamus and Cody Rhodes are also on their way up.  I could add Mark Henry (who is for the moment the World Heavyweight Champion) and Christian, but they are more on the down slope of their careers because of their longevity.  Though these Superstars are currently working the Main Event storylines, they still haven’t reached the “John Cena” level, and this is due to lack of a push to make them main event stars.

It is a fact that there is only one Hulk Hogan, one Randy Savage, one Bret Hart, one Shawn Michaels, one Stone Cold Steve Austin, one Rock, one Edge, etc.  They had the character, in-ring psychology and mic skills that brought them to the level they were at, but it was only through an investment of time, which brought them higher and higher.  This investment is need now for the current talents.  They to test their limitations by investing time for them to pursue the lower titles like the Intercontinental and US Championship or pair some up to battle for the Tag Team titles.  Except for Hulk Hogan, the rest of those mentioned above followed that path.  They held those title as if that was the most important title in the company.  The result of that investment of time is that when it was time for them to step-up, they did step up and rose higher than even they themselves ever expected. 

In order for power to change, there is a transition.  So far, the WWE transition to promote future main eventers has been slow.  The main title always falls on Cena.  The minor titles have rarely been showcased.  Even when someone like Alberto Del Rio is introduced to the main storyline, they find a way for Cena to retain the title or to regain it if it’s lost.  With no Big Show, Kane, Edge, and Rey Mysterio (who are the biggest draws after John Cena, Randy Orton, and CM Punk), they need to speed up this transition period.  They need to start building the future main eventers, because there is only so much that they can do with Cena and Orton before the crowd starts turning away (with some already have turned away by not tuning in or just staying dedicated to Impact Wrestling or ROH).

I have no doubt the WWE will revive our attention to their product.  Like everything in life, there is their ups-and-downs, but there has to be that time when you shift into second gear when you’re climbing that mountain.  Recently, there has been some mix-up for the better with Raw and Smackdown, which has caught my attention, but we will have to wait and see as to where they go from there.

Is Sheamus The Next Cena?

It’s undeniable that John Cena is the “face of the WWE”.  Being the WWE Champion, his responsibilities extend beyond the ring.  He does the talk show circuit.  He represents the WWE in special events.  He does guest appearances on various TV shows.  As it is right now, no one on the WWE roster does as much marketing outside the ring for the WWE than John Cena.  That is why the championship belt continues to fall on his lap.  It’s good business that he is the “face of the WWE”.

Now, take a look at the WWE roster and we will see that the only active faces who are main event worthy (aside from Cena and Orton) is CM Punk and Sheamus.  If anything were to happen to Cena or Orton (like an extended injury), CM Punk deserves to be the WWE Heavyweight or the World Heavyweight Champion.  He’s been with the company since 2006.  He’s won numerous titles both as a heel and face.  It was only when he threatened to not return after his contract was about to expire that they started to really pay attention to what he can bring to the company.  As a result, he’s in the top main non-title storyline every week.  But to be the face of the WWE is more than just holding the WWE Heavyweight or the World Heavyweight Title.  There’s a certain look and presence that the face of the WWE must have to represent the company beyond the squared circle.  Though I do like CM Punk and I think he has a great personality in doing interviews outside the WWE, he doesn’t have the look that Vince McMahon would want as a representative to do the talk show circuit and guest appearances.  CM Punk prides himself in being the “anti-establishment” type of guy, and no one else since Austin has been able to pull that character to much applause.  I wouldn’t change a thing about CM Punk, but there’s a sense of a “professional” look that he will never have and that will hinder him in being that “face of the WWE”.

Randy Orton is great in the ring.  He has developed one of the best in-ring psychology in the WWE, but he has a very, very dry character when on the mic or in front of a camera.  He reminds me a lot of Bret Hart.  Bret Hart had great technical skills and good in-ring psychology, but the problem with Bret was that it took him a long time to look comfortable on the mic.  But people loved his wrestling matches so much that they didn’t care about how mediocre his mic skills were.  It was only toward the end of his stint with the WWE when he looked comfortable handling the mic.  That is how I view Randy Orton.  He is mediocre at cutting promos.  So, for him to do the talk show circuit would not be exciting because I don’t think he’s an exciting character outside the ring.  This is why he won’t be the “face of the WWE”.

One person I didn’t mention earlier but is worth mentioning is the Miz.  If you ever seen Miz do a talk show, or be a special guest on a morning show, or even hear him be interviewed on radio show, he is very entertaining on the mic.  The Miz will give the viewers 90%-Michael Mizanin and 10%-Miz.  Michael Mizanin is a funny, smart-ass character that is ready to crack a joke at any time, while the Miz is a heel that believes he is AWESOME.  He will be funny and entertaining and pull glimpses of being a heel, which makes everyone laugh.  He can possibly be a future “face of the WWE” but he has yet to be commanding character in the ring for him to hold the title for a extended period of time. 

This all brings me to Sheamus.  Only until a couple months ago did Sheamus turn from a heel to a face.  As a result of his turn, he has been getting more cheers as a face than boos as a heel.  Every time he defeats a heel, the audience is getting louder and louder, which means they are slowly accepting him as a face.  For a person who is 6’6”, he moves very well inside the ring.  He has a huge physique and is powerful in the ring.  He has a smirk-like smile that he knows he bigger and stronger than his opponent that leads to say, “I’m gonna hurt you now, fella!”.  In his promos, he sounds like a big that’s trying to be friendly, but still hold the demeanor that you shouldn’t piss him off.  Though he is as pale as mayonnaise, he doesn’t have any tattoos, so this subliminally sends a message to kids that you don’t need a tattoo to be tough.  With his Irish accent, hearing him call people “fella” is actually pretty entertaining.  When you hear him say it, it makes you want to imitate him, which kind of leads toward a form of a catch phrase.  Now how is he outside of the ring?  I’ve only seen him twice doing an interview.  He dresses well in non-ring attire.  He’s my not be quite exciting on the mic, but you can tell that he’s comfortable chatting with anyone.  With more practice, he can fluid while talking on a podium or with an interviewer.

As a recap, unlike CM Punk, he doesn’t have any tattoos or piercing.  Unlike Randy Orton, he has a more appealing character.  Unlike the Miz, he has a dominating presence in the ring.  As it is right now, aside from John Cena, there is no face-wrestler on the WWE roster that is in the same position as Sheamus.  If Sheamus continues on the path that he is in now, within a years time, he could be in the same spotlight as John Cena.  This why I believe that Sheamus can be the next John Cena.  He can be the next “face of the WWE”.

Who Needs Who?

Vickie Guerrero is currently the only the person in the WWE who plays the role of a manager.  The talent she manages is Dolph Ziggler.  Now, why does the WWE still keep Vickie and Dolph together?  It seems like Vickie needs Dolph more than Dolph needs Vickie.

If we examine the role of a manager in professional wrestling, we can say that they have the following responsibility:

1. Guide the wrestler in his matches
2. Be the distraction/outside help to gain the win
3. Be the mouthpiece on behalf of the wrestler
4. OVERALL, to get the wrestler over

Based on the general purposes, Vickie does none of them.  In matches, she’s more of a cheerleader than anything.  Dolph has great skill in the ring.  His ring psychology is good with pulling out a win when a win isn’t expected.  Vickie has contributed nothing as far as helping Dolph win matches.

When it comes to being a distraction or giving outside help for Dolph, as far as the storyline goes, she distracts Dolph more than his opponent.  She causes more drama for Dolph than need be.  This part of her work may help the storyline, but if you’re trying to build up talent, then this hinders Dolph from reaching a higher level.

Being the mouthpiece for a wrestler is usually done when the wrestler either can’t talk, don’t speak English, or doesn’t have an promo skills.  She does gain a lot of heel heat with her “Excuse Me!  EXCUSE ME!” but does that translate as heel heat for Dolph?  No, it doesn’t.  It gains heat for herself, and Dolph is only gaining heat by association.  Now, if Dolph didn’t speak English or can’t cut a promo, then this makes perfect sense, but he does speak English and has cut good heel promos in the past.

Now, though Vickie being very popular as a heel may have helped Dolph when they started, Dolph is already over as a heel.  He has the arrogance.  He cheats if he needs to cheat for the win.  He takes advantage of the moment when it arises.  He does the things that heels do and does it very well.

So why are they still teamed up?  Because Vickie needs Dolph more than Dolph needs Vickie.  If Vickie didn’t have Dolph, then there’s no point for her to be on TV.  Vickie is a good heel manager but she needs to be with someone who needs a heel manager.  It’s a great idea that Jack Swagger now has  Vickie as his manager, but it took forever for that to happen.  Swagger would gain a lot if he had Vickie because he really can’t draw heat when he’s on the mic.  I'm hoping that this leads to Dolph to breaking away from Vickie.

I’m a Dolph Ziggler fan.  He actually has great verbal skills, which is something that is hard to come by with the current up-and-coming talent.  He has the look of arrogance that makes you want to boo.  I believe if he just gets rid of Vickie, his character will grow much more, and become one of the greater heels on the roster today.  I hope that the WWE can give him the shot to be on his own.

Where Did The Surprise Factor Go?

Night of Champions has come and gone.  It was a good pay per view.  The last match with Triple H and CM Punk had a lot of surprises like R-Truth and Miz running in and attacking Triple H, CM Punk, and the ref; John Laurinaitis running down with a new ref only to hold him back until CM Punk was on top of Triple H; and Kevin Nash runs in through the crowd to the ring and fighting both CM Punk and Triple H.  These were great moments and it left the audience with more questions than answers, but if people remember back to the Attitude Era, WCW/NWO Invasion, and the Monday Night Wars, these tactics were a staple to RAW and Nitro.  Every week, there was always some kind of surprise on each of these show, which made these shows awesome to watch.  Why did it change?  Why is it only on PPV that we get these “surprise factors”?

Reason 1 – There’s no more competition to WWE programming.  This isn’t a new assessment.  Many people attribute the blandness of WWE programming because there is no one alternative to their shows.  During the Monday Night Wars, WCW always pushed the envelope, which made the WWE step up in creating shock and awe in their shows.  Since there’s no challenging market to draw viewers away to alternatives, the WWE can show whatever they want and we as the audience just have to accept it.

Reason 2 – When everything is a surprise, then nothing is a surprise.  Even magicians, after using all the tricks up their sleeve, have a difficult time coming with new stunts.  If they do everything over and over again, then the audience will eventually be turned off.  To keep the audience off guard, certain big tricks are seldom used so that when they are used, it still excites people.  Same with WWE programming.  They have to pick-and-choose when to spring the surprise factor.

Reason 3 – Why give it away for free, when you can sell it?  The WWE is a business.  As a business, they have to save the big stunts for their pay-per-views.  This is another reason why major feuds are in a suspended animation until the pay-per-view.  So many skits promos are shown in order to hype feud.  The negative of all this is that the fans get tried of seeing the same hype-work show after show that sometimes, we get tired of waiting.  Now, when the feud culminates at the pay-per-view, we don’t care to it done over and over again.  This is why the surprise factor is launched at the pay per view so that we watch resolve of the conflict on Raw or Smackdown.

Reason 4 – Too pay per views to hype.  During the Monday Night Wars, the WWE had an average of 4 pay per views per year.  This allowed for a lot more run-ins and back-and-forth turns during Raw and Smackdown.  They constantly sprung the surprise factor throughout the episodes, which leads the feud to culminate at the pay per view.  Now with too many pay per views, Raw and Smackdown gets more watered down to mediocre storylines and we lose the surprise factor.

There is no 100% proven formula on what to keep ratings strong.  If there were, no TV shows would be cancelled, and the viewers would be watching the same thing over and over again.  As a wrestling fan, it would be great to be pleasantly surprised on Raw and Smackdown every week, but that’s not necessarily the case.  The Triple H and CM Punk match at Night of Champions showed that the WWE is aware of how to spring a new surprise on the audience.  Now, how to do it just enough to continue to grab more viewers is still the question.  Hopefully, there’s more intriguing storylines yet to come.  I’m eager to see where they go from here.

The WWE Network: Session 6 – Alternative Programs

It still boggles my mind that all that the WWE will show on the WWE Network is WWE wrestling for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Yes, they have the library to fill the time.  Yes, they will have much flexibility in airing Raw and Smackdown, but there has to be more than just wrestling for the channel to survive.  Though I have no idea what the plans are for the WWE Network, I believe that they will still keep their contracts with the USA channel and Syfy channel.  Why?  Because they still garner strong ratings for those channels and with the ratings come the sponsors, and with the sponsors come the money.  But, what they can do is do a simultaneous airing along with those channels.  I don’t know if there are any legal ramifications if such happen, but it would make no sense to have a WWE channel and not air RAW and Smackdown at the same time when they air on the USA channel and Syfy channel.  Now, this blog isn’t about whether or not it will air on those channels.  I want to speculate possible alternative-but-WWE-oriented programs that the WWE can pursue.  My first speculation has to do with how they differentiate their airing of RAW and Smackdown from those channels.

Pre- and post- RAW and Smackdown Shows – Just like other professional sporting events, the WWE Network will have time to air pre- and post- RAW and Smackdown shows.  They can run the majority of the show from the WWE headquarters with back and forth live interviews with the talents and fans.  The pre-show can recap past events with the post-show recapping the show that aired.

Make NXT and Superstars it’s own brand – Because the WWE puts their best wrestlers on Raw and Smackdown, lower to mid card wrestlers have less and less opportunity to be on TV.  Giving them their own show would allow them to be on camera and develop their characters so that they will be ready to go when they are transferred to Raw or Smackdown.

Revive/Redevelop WWE Livewire/Byte This! – Shows like Livewire/Byte This! has an interesting concept of interacting with the fans.  This concept can be used along with a pre- and post- RAW and Smackdown show or it can be it’s own program.

Revive/Redevelop WWE Confidential – unlike the other shows that recap RAW or Smackdown, the WWE can revive/redevelop WWE Confidential in showing the behind-the-scenes of what wrestlers do to put on a show.  This can be modified as “24 Hours In The Life of ____” following a particular Superstar or Diva.  Also, this can have a regular 20 episode run per season.

Flashback show with Commentators – If you watched Scott Halls Youtube channel when he was still doing it, Scott Hall with either Larry Zbyscko or X-Pac would watch old wrestling matches and they would comment on it.  If WWE just shows old footage, that would be boring.  Now if any of there was 2 former WWE Superstars like Hall and X-Pac in a small box at the bottom of the screen talking about the match and comment on the wrestling time of that era, that would be very, very entertaining.

WWE fitness show – With Trish Stratus and Diamond Dallas Page still on good terms with the WWE and now that they have branched out to the Nutrition/Fitness market, having a fitness show would be inline with the theme of the WWE.

Comedy Skit Show – Whether you like him as a wrestler or not, Zack Ryder’s Youtube show is entertaining.  Give him a budget with a staff and camera crew, I believe that they can create a comedy skit show good enough for 20 episodes for a full season.  If not Zack Ryder, try Mick Foley.  If not Mick Foley, hire Colt Cabana as a TV show talent.  A comedy skit show would be funny and you can give more exposure to the WWE talents outside of the ring.

Diva Oriented Shows – The WWE Divas are hot.  They are great eye candy.  A Diva oriented show doesn’t necessarily have to be a bikini photo shoot show.  They can do a talk show interviewing not only wrestlers but celebrity fans.  They can do a fashion show where they visit designers and try on their clothes.  Anything with a hot WWE Diva in front of a camera will always grab someone’s attention.

Create a Boxing Promotion – There are a lot of hungry boxers out there just looking for exposure, and since no sporting promotion or sports entertainment company can compare to the promoting prowess of the WWE, it is a possible venture for the WWE Network.  Plus, unlike wrestling, a boxing promotion doesn’t need to tour the nation.  If they had one location for all their boxing shows, it would make it cost effective and I believe people will watch.  This can also happen if they pursued an MMA promotion to battle UFC.  These types of show might gain viewers who are not initially fans of wrestling.

Revive the XFL – Though this is highly unlikely to happen, the XFL did have viewers and it did sell tickets.  The downfall of the XFL is that it was NOT the NFL.  Though comparing the XFL to the NFL is like comparing TNA to WWE, there were still people that found the XFL entertaining. 

There are many possibilities for the WWE Network.  It will be interesting to see how this channel develops.  How much time will be about wrestling?  How do they expand their programming beyond wrestling?  What steps will they take to move from a wrestling oriented company to a multi-media company?  Only time will tell.

Time To Move On

Rick Flair – born February 25, 1949 – age 62

Started Wrestling Career in 1972

First NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1981

Hulk Hogan – born August 11, 1952 – age 58

Started Wrestling Career in 1977

First WWF Heavyweight Championship in 1984

Sting – born March 20, 1959 – age 52

Started Wrestling Career in 1985

First NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1990

First Sting vs Flair feud – 1988

First Flair vs. Hogan feud – 1996 (from the NWO storyline)

First Hogan vs. Sting feud – 1996 (from the NWO storyline)

Looking at the statistics above, each wrestler won their first championship within 5-9 years of being in the business.  When a person wins the Heavyweight Championship title, the company trusts that he can be their spokesperson and grab the attention of the public in hyping up their events.  After each of the above wrestlers had their first title run, the popularity they generated made them one of the main talents for their company.  By 1996, when all 3 talents were signed to the WCW, their popularity was undeniably huge in the wrestling world.  By 2001 when WCW was sold to the WWE, they were 3 of the biggest names in wrestling history.  Roughly, within 15-20 years of their career, these 3 wrestlers have reached levels in the wrestling business that only few have ever reached.  Why?  Were they at the right place at the right time?  Were they just too unique and exceptional at what they do?  Were they the results of great promotion work from the company they were with?  The answer is Yes to all the above.  There is no one reason why they became popular.  The time came when someone chose to put them in the center of the company and they stayed with that decision and invested in their popularity.

How long can Impact Wrestling rely on these 3 wrestlers to promote their company?  It’s great that these 3 wrestlers have an active wrestling career until now, but to constantly give them main event angles then means less and less time for any up-and-coming talent.  The sad thing is that many of these Impact Wrestling up-and-coming talents have been in the business for over 10 years, but haven’t come close to the level of Hogan, Flair, and Sting  Here are some statistics:

Aside from AJ Styles who one the World Heavyweight Championship 3 times and Abyss who won it 1 time and Samoa Joe who won it 1 time, no other wrestler on this list had ever held the World Heavyweight title.  

Why haven’t any of these wrestlers been able to reach the heights of Hogan, Flair, and Sting?  Some say that Hogan, Flair, and Sting do not want to give up their main event status.  Others say that Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo don’t know how to promote wrestlers to the next level.  And others also say that Dixie Carter let’s everyone else run the company, which she owns.  Who is right?  I think they are all right to a degree.  Until Hogan, Flair, and Sting can just use their popularity to promote the company instead of their in-ring ability to help the company move forward, they will not grow.  Until Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo can move the other wrestlers into significant storylines, they will not grow.  Until Dixie Carter takes a stand and realize that they all work for her and if they can’t create something unique or original to gain fans and viewership and make money for the company, then they just have to part ways. 

Let me describe this way.  To have your own unique house, it’s easier to build a house from scratch according to your own specifications rather than buying an existing house and renovate it and be stuck with its parameters.  Impact Wrestling has been riding on the existing popularity of their talents like Hogan, Flair, and Sting. They’ve been riding on remnant WCW fan base who never liked WWE.  What they should do is create the next Hogan, the next Flair, and the next Sting.  They need to build a different look with a variety of characters to match-up against each other.  Until this happens, Impact Wrestling will never grow.

Overall, Impact Wrestling is not that bad.  It’s only bad when compared to WWE.  The in-ring wrestling is pretty good sometimes.  They do have good talent on their roster.  They have the ingredients to create a unique promotion that isn’t compared to the Old WCW and the current WWE.  But, as Hogan, Flair, and Sting continue to dominate a good part of their storylines, they will never escape the comparison.  They will never promote other wrestlers to be the next best thing. 

Personally, I hope that one day someone will decide that Hogan, Flair, and Sting’s time in the spotlight as in-ring competitors is finally over.  They do have name value, but I think it’s time for them to be PR representatives than active wrestlers.  I have great respect and admiration for those 3 competitors, but this isn’t the 80s/90s.  The WCW is done.  The Crow is an old movie and the next Batman movie won’t feature the Joker.  We have entered the next decade of this new century.  It’s time for Impact Wrestling to do the same thing.

Bring Back the Glory of the Tag-Team Division

It is a sad state of the WWE that they haven’t focused on the WWE Tag Team Division for the past couple of years. Last year of 2010, the WWE Tag-Team Championship Title has changed hands 6 times. So far this year of 2011, the WWE Tag-Team Championship Title has changed hands 5 times. In the last two years, the promoted NXT wrestlers collectively have held of the titles the most. Though professional wrestling is a scripted sporting event and the winners are predetermined, not every wrestler is given the honor to hold the title. To hold the title put’s a tag-team in the same category of The Hart Foundation, The Rockers, The British Bulldogs, The Hardy Boys, Edge and Christian, The Dudley Boys and other great tag-teams of the WWE. But for the past two years, the prestige of the Tag-Team Titles has lost its luster.

Though the multiple holders of the tag-team belts still defended the title to the best of their performing ability, the over-all WWE tag-team division has played second fiddle to everything else in the WWE. Very little storylines were written which centered on the belts. The ones holding the belt were usually tied to a faction, specifically the Nexus and the Corre factions, so the tag-teams bare spoke a word and rarely vocalized that they were the best tag-team around. The negative impact in all of this is that it made the tag-team belts became just mere jewelry instead of the symbolic meaning of being a champion.

I remember a time when tag-teams of the WWE aggressively pursued the Tag-Team Championship belts. These teams were not mere “put-together” teams just to form a tag-team, but instead, they were wrestling partners who had great chemistry tagging in-and-out of the ring. They played the role that no one was better than them. They held the titles high and protected it from anyone who dared snatch it from them. But now, it’s not like that. Very rarely do we see the teams brag about being the champions. Very rarely do we see them walk with the swag of champions. Oh how far we come from those great days of when the titles meant something.

There are many arguments as to why it’s like that, and there are many arguments on how to fix it. The bottom-line is this: the WWE has to make a conscious decision to focus on these belts. Is it possible to say that there is no time on TV to create a story for the tag-team division? Impossible! For every 60 minutes of TV programming, approximately 20 minutes are allotted for sponsors. The following chart breaks down the total number of minutes of pure WWE Programming:

Number of Active Titles in the WWE:
1 - WWE Heavyweight Championship Title
1 - World Heavyweight Championship Title
3 - Intercontinental Championship Title
4 - US Championship Title
5 - WWE Tag-Team Championship Title
6 - Divas Championship Title.

6 Titles/Division Storyline plus 1 Non-Title storyline divided by 210 minutes (210/7) equals a possible 30 minutes per storyline. Theoretically, there is no reason for the WWE to NOT raise the level of the Tag-Team Division. Even if each division storyline is given a solid 20-minutes each week (since 10 minutes could be used to promote other events), it is still enough time for promo and actual wrestling.

The WWE roster is stacked, so there’s more than enough wrestlers to form teams for the Tag-Team Division. Plus, current hall of famers like Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and possibly future Hall of Famer Edge proves that being in a tag-team can elevate you to main event status. Now only if the WWE just can sit back and realize that they can return the tag team division to its prominence if they wanted to. All we can do is wait and hope that the WWE see’s what we see. Hopefully it will all work out in the end.

Thanks for reading this blog. Like always, I’d love to read your comments.

Wrestling Always Matters Podcast 9/06/11

In todays podcast, I'm going to discuss the latest wrestling news inside and outside the ring that is floating around the web. Topics being discussed:

- Kurt Angles DWI
- CM Punk and John Cena sings Country Road
- FCW Stable and FCW Injury Report
- Hugh Jackman to host Raw
- Mick Foley does a Raffle
- John Morrison's tweet
- Jeff Katz's Wrestling Revolution Project
- WWE's cable channel

Feel free to give me your comments.

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Wrestling On The Web

So gone are the days when the wrestling landscape comprised of numerous wrestling promotions were scattered across the nation. They held and promoted their events within their territory and did not invade their fellow promoters territory. These territorial promotions would be threaded together via a governing body called the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Through membership in the NWA, a territory would get support in promoting their events and had access to using the recognized NWA World Heavyweight Champion to hype up their events. Many attribute the downfall of the territorial system to the up rise of the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE) whereas Vincent K. McMahon would sign to an exclusive contract the best wrestlers in these territories and invade their area by holding WWF sponsored events. But, the less known recognized reason, which is the other part of the failure of the territorial system was the regional promotions could not keep up with the times. During the 1980’s, VHS tape sharing and cable television was beginning to expand across the nation. Because of this, fans saw the discrepancies between the storyline of one wrestler in one promotion and the storyline of the same wrestler in another promotion. Also, with the growth of Pay Per View programs of which the WWF took advantage, the fans became more interested with the popular promotions so as to be aware of the build up leading to the Pay Per View event. After years of promotions trying to compete at this level of wrestling business, it’s only the WWF (now WWE) that was left standing. After the fall of WCW and ECW, it is only TNA/Impact Wrestling that is the closest at competing with the WWE. Because the WWE and TNA/Impact Wrestling are the most recognized wrestling promotion, many people are not aware that independent wrestling promotions still exist, and their presence can be found on the web.

With the creation of video hosting websites like Youtube and Blip.tv, many independent wrestling promotions have taken to the world wide web to promote their brand of wrestling. Their product may not be at the same level of the WWE and TNA, but that’s not to say that the quality of their wrestling is not at par with these two companies. Many of these promotions are started by or in partnership with veteran wrestlers who may or may not have made it to the WWE or TNA. Many of the up-and-coming wrestlers who perform on these shows have been trained by veterans so it’s not as sloppy as one would think of when they think of a non-WWE or non-TNA show. Because of the advancement of video cameras, video editing equipment, recording equipment, graphic design programs, and other audio-video equipment, many of these wrestling companies are able to produce a very tolerable show worth watching.

Unlike the territorial system, many of these promotions do not need to be a member of a governing body like the NWA in order for them to be successful. Many of them hold weekly events in their area with some having airtime on their local TV station. But because of the advancement of computers, Internet, and social media, these companies are reaching a larger market in promoting their own events, using their own homegrown talent, shooting and editing their own video, and marketing their product to the public with a fair degree of success. Their special events are put on a DVD and sold on-line, with some beginning to offer live stream Internet Pay Per Views (iPPV) and Video On Demand (VOD). This phenomenon of using Internet videos and social media is relatively new and is the sign times as of where promotions have to go in order to expand their product. In the next 10 years, no one should be amazed to see 3 or 4 wrestling companies that are at the competitive level with the WWE or TNA. Like everything in life, you must learn to walk before you run.

One has to admire the effort that these small companies have in trying to compete with the wrestling company giants. From the west coast to the east coast, there are many people aspiring to become the next break out wrestling superstar. It is in these small promotions that they are honing their skills in the ring, on the mic, and in front of a camera. We should realize that many of the owners and talent grew-up or were around watching the pre-Attitude Era, the Attitude Era, the NWO/WCW Invasion angle, Extreme Championship Wrestling, the fall of WCW and ECW, and the post Attitude Era. The mid-90s to early 2000s was a time when wrestling reached levels that no one could have imagined. It is the knowledge that they gained from watching wrestling TV shows during this period, which gives the new wrestling promotions the edge over other promotions prior to the mid-90s. Because of this, we can expect that they are doing their best with the limitations in trying to give the fans what they want.

One website that is innovative in their approach to wrestling is the Territory League (www.territoryleague.com) which is ran by Knokx Pro Entertainment out of Sun Valley, California. Their concept of a wrestling show is for wrestlers to be grouped in teams in order to represent a specific city. The winner of a best of a series of 4 Matches wins that series/taping. The wins and losses of the teams are recorded. At the end of the year, the top 4 teams with best record will battle for the Rodney Anoa’i Cup and be declared the Territory League Champions of that year. Videos of their weekly matches can be viewed on their website. Many on the roster have twitter accounts to interact with their fans. This is one example of an independent promotion trying something new with wrestling and getting their product out to the public via the world wide web and social media.

There is no need for the wrestling fan to feel that there is no variety of wrestling shows for them to watch. The WWE will be around for a long time. Though TNA/Impact wrestling is having their ups and downs, they most likely will be around for a while. Now, if you need an alternative to these shows, just surf the web for “independent wrestling promotions” and you will discover that there are many wrestling promotions with websites with videos of their matches on-line for you to view. Who knows? You might be watching the next big promotion or the next big wrestling superstar.

Wrestling Website Spotlight - The Territory League

Territory League

Sun Valley, CA

The wrestling website I’m spotlighting this week is the Territory League which can be found in www.territoryleague.com  This wrestling promotion takes a different approach to sports entertainment.  It is a fusion league based sports and wrestling.  The Territory League is ran by Knokx Promotions and boast that this is the first professional wrestling league. The Territory League is divided into teams representing a particular city.  The cities divided by regions:  West, East, Central, and International.  Each week, two teams will face off against each other in a series of matches in either the Lucha Libre Division, Tag-Team Division, Heavy Weight The first Territory team to win the best of 4 matches, wins the series.  The wins – losses are recorded in order to determine the top 4 teams who will enter the Rodney Anoa’i Cup Tournament.  The winner of the tournament will be named that years Territory League Champions.

Currently, there are 7 teams:

The Anchorage Raptures represents Anchorage, Alaska

The Nor Cal Posse represents the areas north of SF

The Bay City Union represents the San Francisco Bay Area

The Hollister Hooligans represents Hollister, CA

The Templars of City of Angels represent Los Angeles, CA

The Las Vegas High Rollers represents Las Vegas, NV

The Reno Scum represents Reno, Nevada

The number of teams will expand as more cities formulate their teams.

Former WWE talents wrestle in this league such as Gangrel, Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, Gene Snitsky also are a part of this wrestling promotion

There are videos of their matches on-line.  Just go to www.territoryleague.com to get your wrestling fix.

Is the "Rawkdown" really the answer for the WWE?

It appears that the WWE has done away with the split-brand concept, with them having some on the Raw roster appear on Smackdown and vice versa. Now, I’m going to play devil’s advocate (well, sort of devil’s advocate) for keeping the Split-Brand concept. It seems that one of the main reasons for combining the two shows, which I collectively call the “Rawkdown” is to get better ratings for Smackdown. Now the fact is the hottest draws will always be on Raw and they will always be on Raw because that’s the WWE’s bread and butter. The hot draws that are thrown to Smackdown are there for the reason is to help the shows ratings, but in turn, it’s to free up space on the Raw Roster to continue hyping the main wrestler Vince wants to center his company around. That is perfectly understandable. If Raw ratings go down, then the business will go down. Because of this, Smackdown will always be the inferior show.

Now if combining the shows is due to ratings, we must take the other factors into account which is why they are low. First of all, Smackdown is on the Sy-Fy channel. Over all, the Sy-Fy channel does not have the same ratings as the USA channel. So, comparing the RAW ratings versus the Smackdown ratings isn’t really fair because they both are aired on two different channels.

NXT 2.0?

With NXT not showing any sign that it will come to an end and have a definitive winner, is it time to move on to the next level of NXT?

THE HISTORY:
When Vince McMahon and the WWE conceptualized the NXT show, is it possible that they had no end game in sight? NXT started in February 23, 2010, replacing ECW. After a 4 year run, ECW was not producing the same ratings, which prompted Vince McMahon to make a decision that ECW was going to be replaced by a new show which would be the “next evolution of WWE; the next evolution of television history”. On February 9, 2010, it was announced that the title of the new show was going to be NXT, and that the last ECW show will be on February 16. So on February 23, the world was introduced to NXT.

NXT is a hybrid of reality television and WWE scripted programming.

Be A Bully… oops, I mean Star!

In recent news after Summerslam, on August 19, 2011, Lisa Wright, Managing Director of Council for Unity, wrote a letter to the be a STAR Alliance (beastaralliance.org) questioning their affiliation with the WWE.  The letter was sent after she received an e-mail, which pointed out the “fat jokes” regarding Vickie Guerrero, apparently referring to Monday Night Raw when Vickie Guerrero was at the announcer’s booth and Jerry Lawler was making fun of her weight.  Ms. Wright was showing her concerns because the Council for Unity is one of many companies which affiliated with the be a STAR Alliance.  The following is her statement:

Greatest of All Time – Vincent K. McMahon, Jr.

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted my first blog to be about.  I thought that it was only fitting that it be about Vince McMahon.

Vincent K. McMahon, Jr. = Greatest of All Time?  When it comes to professional wrestling, none is his equal.  Many have tried to imitate, but they can never duplicate the same success as that of Vince McMahon’s WWE (formerly known as World Wrestling Entertainment which was previously known as World Wrestling Federation).  Born and raised in the age of professional wrestling where wrestlers belonged to territories, he learned the business under his father, Vincent J. McMahon, Sr., who owned Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which became World Wide Wrestling Federation and eventually just World Wrestling Federation and then World Wrestling Entertainment and finally WWE.  Now, I don’t dare to reiterate the history of the WWE, which would end up being a rehash of something on Wikipedia.  What I’m here to state is that Vincent K. McMahon is the GREATEST OF ALL TIME.

When people think of the Greatest of All Time in professional wrestling,