Do Main Eventers Need A Wider Variety of Challengers?
Thanks to reader Stephen Asante, aka Lazar for sending in this rant. He makes a very good point about the current product:
I was thinking of writing this as an article but then though it would probably be a waste of time. Therefore i just tell you what i think…
I was lying on my bed yesterday night thinking what exactly is wrong with WWE and it hit me, its not really the fact that JC is still allowed to work there (:p) or the fact they have gone PG (it has its issues but isn’t the main focus) but the fact that WWE has segregated its stars.
I did a little research and i notice that 1997 – 2000 WWE had a lack of main event talent but it didn’t hamper the show, why? Cause main eventers where not cut off from the rest of the roster. When actually was the last time a main event star had a feud with someone on a mid card? (The pitiful excuse Miz vs Cena makes me vomit thinking about it)? 2008, although a great year for this current era of WWE showed the biggest part of segregation. Not a single mid carder had a match with a main eventer n the 14 ppvs they had. Not even Wrestlemania (if I’m correct).
- I hate when I lose my train of thought, I had so much more -
This may be why the audience (mainly smarks) have such a problem with the main event scene and title picture. I recall in 1997 what made certain PPVs was the fact that two main event stars were clashing and in the middle of these feuds B-list wrestlers received title shots and recognition…
During the undertakers longest title during 1997 reign he took on challengers from Farooq and Austin and I don’t believe anyone had a problem with it.
- this little rant is becoming more unorganized as I write on -
The point I’m making is would it actually be a bad thing if John Cena next challenger for his WWE title was Swagger which could of been built around a little story that made a little sense and not just some random pick by people who clearly shouldn’t have anything to do with the decision (DX? seriously?). And can midcarders not have wrestling matches with main eventers on Raw and SD? Since the draft other then Miz vs Cena, Legacy vs HHH, HBK and Orton and MVP vs Orton no other match has involved any star tier in the show which produces the same main events and normal matches over and over and over again.
- this seems to be getting worse as i continue and im proberly losing my point so im just gonna post this now, lol -
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I agree with all you have wrote. Would be nice to have mid carders a shot at the championship. I am so sick of Orton and Cena over and over. Giving mid carders a chance will give us different matches and make the title important. Ric Flair back in the day defended the belt against everyone. If a mid carder has a great match may get a push to main eventer. Look what it did for Sting.
Yep.
Great job on your rant by the way Lazar. Nice one!
TBH, its the mid carders that keep me watching the current product right now. I notice better matches on Smackdown with guys trying to shine through their ring work as opposed to Raw where you have to be humiliated by DX or Cena during any confrontations. I dont know if its Vince not bothering so much with the supposed ‘B’ show and letting them actually get on with wrestling (which is what its all about, right?), but it works since its not an over the top, cringeworthy drama fest that is Raw, and the entire guest host segments so far.
I have wayyyyy more interest in the US, Intercontintel and Tag title matches than any of the World title matches as of late. Credit to JeriShow though for doing a good job so far with their matches against mid card tag teams – they havent made anyone look weak while going over.
Miz, Morrison, Swagger, Ziggler, Kofi, Legacy, Bourne and MVP are for me personally, the guys who should be having main event spots on TV, and eventually PPV. Jericho, Edge, Christian, Rey and CM Punk seem to me like guys who have no problem putting these younger guys over, and would one day pass the torch the right way. DX going over Legacy at two PPVs out of three was lame, Orton/Cena XXXXXXIV can go to hell, and for the life of me I dont know why the belt gets put on Taker at this stage in his career, and especially after 6 months of sitting on his arse nursing his broken old body.
On a slightly different note, young talent that almost definately WILL be feuding with top guys soon is Sheamus. From interviews reported as of late, it seems Triple Douche is big on Sheamus. Who’s suddenly getting a push on the ‘A’ show and getting rammed down our throats as unstoppable (see: Snitsky, Umaga, Khali, McIntyre, Kozlov, Mark Henry v6 etc.) Nobody cares about this guy. I have Irish friends who watch the show and they dont give a damn about him. Mostly cause hes sickly pale, and got Orange hair, not ginger.
am im not sure if you watched raw the last few weeks kofi kingston orton not ringing a bell
Another example other than Sting, look at Bret Hart’s 1992/1993 run.. Royal Rumble versus Razor Ramon, Survivor Series versus Shawn Michaels. Shawn Michaels run in 1996 versus Vader, Bulldog, Mankind.
One Reason Why mid-carders are not given a chance to go up against the guys at the top is because of Vince, He keeps them down for as long as he wants, it could be years before they are moved up, if Triple H don’t like them or think there ready, that makes the time even longer. Look at Tommy Dreamer he has been in it since The early days of ECW, After all these years they still have him on the mid-card losing to everybody else. Rey Mysterio Jr., Chavo Guerrero, Benjamin – a few other guys that have been with WWE for years and have all the talent but are kept out of the main event matches and have them do gimmicks or put someone over.
Sports-Entertainment has taken full effect. No more heel announcers, no more managers, no more awsome promos, and ironically, no more entertainment, just a bunch of cuteness. As big, bright, and pretty as everything looks, the WWE has been crumbling since around 2004, some would say before that, but the brand-extension, the “E”, and the loss of Rock and Austin wasn’t really all that bad. Other tha the fact that it stopped evolving, WWE seems to have gotten too big for its britches, almost as if the actual promotion turned heel and literally turned it’s back on the core audience in order to draw in people who hate, or don’t get wresting. All the Kid Rock concerts in the world can’t do that. Even those Nascar guys were no help! WWE is just missing the point. This “segregation” thing is just one of the many problems, and sadly. it’s not even the worst. DX is painful to watch, I’d rather watch The Outsiders walk old ladies across the street. And the guest celebrity thing is getting more and more irritating every week, although Ozzy is always awsome. If the WWE would end this obsession with not being a rasslin promotion, and maybe ease up on the talent, and give them a little freedom in the ring, and especially on the mic. And stealing the fans “Cena Sucks” signs is truly a new low. Vince has complete control over the wrestling world, now he’s trying to control the fans. It’s pathetic. With this new attitude within the WWE, the future looks real bleak, after all, this is the promotion that threw away a perfectly good Kennedy, so there may actually be no hope. In the end, all us fans can do is support TNA and pray Hogan and Bischoff don’t screw it up.
P.S. I hate Hornswoggle!!!
Thanks for the positive responses people, i had no intention of this getting posted but now it has makes me wish i had wrote it more formally lol.
Paul: that feud has only just started and only had match (4 days ago) i wrote this before i kew about RAW
Power: i feel the same, if the Miz (and Jericho) and acouple of others werent on raw i would stop watching it completely. I couldnt careless about the main eventers on both shows and ECW is kinda given bad press cause wrestling wise its probably the best show about but rather mediocre.
And Tromafreak: i never thought of it like that, WWE has already hit its peak and is now declining in its Product Life Cycle and i guess the Guest Host is a extention strategy (which cant last forever). If that is the case then its only actually a matter of time before its all over
If you guys actually like this then if there is a next time ill write proberly
I do have to say that Hornswaggle cracks me up pretty much every time but I can see why people wouldn’t like him in the shows. I think the comedy aspect has gotten pretty good lately and I’ve been pretty entertained by it.
Main events are basically the rivalries that regulate through the show more than any other, hence the constant involvement of the brand’s leading championship.
Anyway my point is that Main eventers in any company should and usually will be the best actors in the company whereas every other devision will be tailored to its fan base.
On the subject I would say that it was a bad idea to take AJ styles into the main event picture and out of the X devision (no matter what he was always the face of the company). Also I strongly believe MVP should be in the main event (next to Morrison and Orton he would be the best main eventer on roster)
I completly agree with this. Im tired of watching the same ones over and over. They need to give the other superstars a shot.
I agree with all of the above which is why i’m pleased to see Kofi Kingston v’s Orton. Just hope WWE have the guts to keep with it until Survivor Series, but they probably wont and will just end up on different teams