WWE: A Love and Hate Relationship
Where to begin. WWE is a company I love and hate at the same time. I love it because I love wrestling. Since I was a little kid I couldn’t wait for the next episode of Monday night Raw. The superstars, the feuds, and the announcers I loved every minute of it. I hate it because sometimes WWE seems to go against the basics of booking.
First why do I have to put up with the constant change of champions? Why did John Cena win the belt on September 13, 2009 to give the belt back to Randy Orton 21 days later? Why not just let Orton keep the belt? Was anyone really excited when Cena won the belt? Did anyone care when he lost it? From 2002 to 2007 (5 years) the world title’s changed hands 33 times. From 2007 to 2009 (3 years) the world title’s have changed hands 34 times. So if the pattern here continues how many more champions will have in 2 years?
In the last 3 years there have been 11 champions. Undertaker (3), Edge (7), Great Khali (1), Batista (3), Cm Punk (3), Chris Jericho (2), John Cena (3), Jeff Hardy (3), Randy Orton (5), and Triple H (3). Of these 32 title changes (I can’t count Randy Orton’s or Undertaker’s current reigns) 10 have been for or over 50 days (Longest belonging to Triple H with 210 days), and 22 have been for less then 50 days (A tie for lowest Randy Orton & Triple H with a 0 day title reign). None of these rapid title changes have helped the title. In my opinion it hurts the belts prestige. The belt used to be seen as a representation of the best WWE had to offer. Now there nothing more then a way to pad the stats of WWE stars.
What ever happened to good long feuds? Recently WWE has held more and more pay per views. Each year there are 14 pay-per views. These pay per views are a little under a month apart. Not enough time to build a proper feud. I will give an example. Randy Orton vs. John Cena. John Cena won a beat the clock challenge to become Randy Orton’s opponent at Summer Slam. At the next pay per view Breaking point 20 days later (2 Raw Episodes) they fought again in an “I Quit” match. 21 Days later At Hell in the Cell they fought again in a Hell in the Cell match. They will face off again this Sunday. There is no real hatred in this feud. There is no feeling of “Oh my God this feud is good”. Its just there. Reason why WWE did not allow build up. Also the hot potato title changes have hindered the feud momentum. Let Orton hold the title for a few months. Have Cena chase the belt but come up short do to Orton’s dirty dealings and stable members. THEN put them in a Hell in the Cell to end the feud. Hell in the cell is the final stop in a heated feud, not a throw away match. But no instead we are subjected to weak championship reign after weak championship reign.
Another short feud is Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown at Bragging Rights. I personally enjoy Brand vs. Brand feuds. I loved WWF vs. The Invasion and Raw vs. Smackdown from a few years ago. But 3 weeks is not enough time to build this feud. In the past Brand vs. Brand feuds there were weeks of run-ins and inter-brand matches. An eventual hatred was formed and when the big match came it was a climatic finish. But this feud well I don’t feel any real brand tension and the participants suck ass. Well most of them anyway.
Smackdown is average at best and no one on Raw really excites me. Given more build up this match could have been a big deal but it is destined to be a throw away match forgotten as soon as it ends.
Another thing I dislike is the WWE name changes. No Mercy, Cyber Sunday, Armageddon, and No Way Out have been dropped. All of these names’ were good and were original. We now have Hell in the Cell, Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Elimination Chamber, and Breaking Point. Except for Breaking Point these name suck. It’s like Hell in the Cell is going to be they next pay per view I wonder if there will be a ladder match? These name are so stupid I had no problem with the old names and don’t see how changing them helps. Also I actually enjoyed not knowing when a gimmick match would take place. Its part of the Excitement. Now I know when Hell in the Cell comes there will be a……. you guessed it Hell in the Cell Match. And another thing, Breaking Point. Who wants to see a show of submission matches? Not me. Not every WWE wrestler has a signature finishing move and submission matches that don’t involve technical wrestlers suck.
In closing even though I have said many negative things about WWE in this blog I want to end it with a positive note. There is one man who goes above and beyond in WWE and that man is Chris Jericho. His promo skills are superb, his in-ring ability unmatched, and he is willing to do a job. Most WWE top dogs can take a job to put over the younger talent but never do it. Jericho is the exception to the rule. He is prepared to take a loss to help the young talent and I applaud him for that.
Thanks for reading my Rant and hope to hear some comments on your feelings about WWE and any comment you wish to make over my statements.
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“There is no feeling of, ‘Oh my God this feud is good.’ It’s just there.”
These days, you could exchange feud with about 50 other wrestling related nouns (and “It’s” with the proper corresponding pronoun)…like: wrestler, match, show, commentator, promo, diva, pay-per-view, etc.
It’s ALL “just there”.
I remember when whatever happened a week before, the next week it’s as if it never happened. It’s getting to that point again of where what happens, doesn’t matter.
I have to say.. I disagree about the Cena Vs Orton feud… If I recall right them two have been feuding on and off quite a time, they kept crossing peoples paths.. Yes this last leg of the feud has been pushed together rather suddenly and needlessly but it isn’t totally void of hatred. Please correct me if I am wrong about the feud being off and on, as you say the shows do all tend to blur together these days so I maybe mistaken. I’m guessing it may go something like Cena loses (Poor Smackdown), and Orton and HHH may finally settle their feud as it’s kind of dwindled off since the reformation of DX. Instead of them “Cutting off the tail” and slaying the actual dragon, they’ve cut off the tail and got involved in this match at Bragging Rights. The way it has been done made sense for Orton and Cena to finish their feud as Orton’s main opponent was focusing on the rest of Legacy. Batista has gone, Orton looks stronger than ever ready for the final blow off series with HHH, probably ending with Dibease turning on Orton setting up a feud between them two.
Of course WWE could ruin all of this and do the Dibease turn at Bragging Rights ruin what could be one of the best storylines they have done in a long time and Cena will stay on Raw.
I’ve completely forgotten what point I was trying to make and ended up ranting.. So, I’ll just shut up now. If this makes no sense I apologise.
First off, good blog Hank. Some of your gripes I feel the same. As with me, I grew up watching WWF/E as a child. During the early 90’s to 2001, I found myself leaning toward WCW. And always thought WCW was better, that is until the last two years before their demise.
The problem with WWE is that they KNOW they’re the best promotion out there. They KNOW that there’s no other promotion strong enough to get them a threat. TNA is in a transitional phrase right now. They’re letting go of the “veterans” and concentrating on the real stars of the show. It’s a good start, and I see them become very popular in about a year or so.
So, you can expect WWE to put on the same crap until TNA becomes TRUE COMPETITION.
If you remember, WWE ran into a creative wall back in the early 90’s. It wasn’t until ECW came on the scene that WWE started transitioning and adopting the Attitude Era.
Same here. When TNA starts becoming a true power, you’ll see WWE changing up again to compete. I just don’t see it happening until then.
Sir,
I will tell you are correct on 99% of your observations. The rant was fantastic. I wanted to add some comments. First off, how can you have a Hell In The Cell match and nobody bleeds? Let alone 3 of them and there is no crimson red flowing. VKM reminds me of the promoter in Ready To Rumble, where he stated, “The fans will like who I chooses”, or something to that affect.
If you are going to have a PG rating (understandable) have PG matches, not Hell In A Cell, or War Games. Another item you failed to mention is the quality of the wrestling. To be honest, the women of TNA have better matches than most of WWE men, let alone the “divas”. You can also spot the outcome of matches before they even take place in WWE. TNA does not give it away. I have been a wrestling fan since the early 70’s and the quality of wrestling is horrible in WWE. Yet, I still watch in hopes of catching something fleeting, which should be standard; like a good match.
Chris Jericho is the best performer in WWE. Yet, TNA has many who perform to the level of C.J. Story lines are great and it reminds me of old Georgia Championship Wrestling. An example is what happened with The M.E.M. on the ppv Sunday night. Who saw all of that coming? They leave you wanting more and that is a vital aspect of sports entertainment. Do I agree with everything they do? Of course not, but the actual product is better. I will take product over entrances, crappy promo’s, and production value any day of the year.
The belt changing is abhorent. It took Ric Flair 20+ years to be a 16 time champion. Randy Orton is in his late 20’s and has held the belt more than he should have on varying occasions. It is sad that they have 2 world championship belts. Their tagteam issues are for another time….
My last issue is knockouts/divas. Like I metioned before, the knockouts are some of the best performers in all of wrestling; male or female. It is sad when I prefer a knockouts match to 95% of WWE male matches. As for the divas; learn how to take a bump and execute moves properly. They are alos misusing Gail Kim’s talent as a wrestler. Then again, if one is a great performer and the other isn’t the match will suck anyways. Other than Ms. Kim, the only women I care to see in the ring wrestling is Beth Phoenix regarding divas.
I agree 100% on your blog. I tell my friends all the time about how many ppvs the WWE have. I feel it is hurting them not helping. I remender when they use to have only four. Survior Series, Summerslam,Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. Then the war with WCW pushed it to 12 one a month.
Magnum T.A. said it best ” You can’t have a super bowl every month” Imagine the world cup every month. Losess it’s meaning. PPV mean nothing
Having a champion hold the belt longer then a month will be great as well. So when the champion losses the belt it mean something like when Hogan lost the title to Warrior back at Wrestlmania. Before Hogan was champion for 5 years.
Well that was my rant. Thanks Hank for the blog. Take care.
Great blog. I lost fait in WWE a long time ago. The fact they have two world championships is a joke and what Cena done to the Raw championship is shocking. A child could design something better than that. There should be only ONE heavyweight champion, ONE set of tag team champions. The belts mean nothing now. A few years ago they had a PPV to combined the tag team belts and the heavyweight championships but months later they came out with more belts again, whats the point ? Vince is only in it to make a quick buck now and couldnt careless about the fans. Not surpriced Shane wants out to do other things.
Big TNA fan now but since the pushed Jim Cornett out the show has gone sour. Not liking whats going on now at all. They gave the legends title to Eric Young. Why call it a legends belt if theyre going to let anyone win it. Its going to turn into the Intercontnental Belt already, not worth shit now. Why are they pushing Eric Young. I cant even listen to him. His voice does my head in. I find myself fast fowarding alot of TNA now. Used to do that with WWE till i just gave up on it. Bring back Jim Cornett, get rid of Russo and TNA will once again be the best show on television
Just a quick response. One i like the unfied tag titles better then when the belts were seperate. the tag division in the wwe has been weak and to have the few tag teams you do have split is stupid. two i never minded when there was two titles when there was no cross band interaction. now though with no real brand restrictions i think two belts are pointless.
eddie i pretty much agree with u all the way, although i have to say i still watch raw, never ecw and fast forward most of smackdown, as far as TNA goes it is a better show with, for the most part, superior talent. eric young as the legends champ makes the title and the belt a non championship really, much like the old wwe hardcore title turned into once molly holly held it.
as for the main blog by hank, i again fully agree with everything, i would only add one thing to the cons of wwe, the half assed pushes some of the newer talent gets if moved up from ecw.
if the ppv’s wre further apart we wouldn’t ave to see john cena vs randy orton time after time. constant matches at these ppv’s are the only way to build rivalries now.
Excellent rant. I have bee watching wrestling since 79 when fueds were fueds. Back when the Four Horsemen wrestled, I really thought they were a bunch of creeps. I hated them, and wanted to cry when they destroyed Dusty Rhodes and Sam Adams. Or when Jimmy ” Boogie Woogie man” Valient got the hell beat out of him by Paul Jones and The Raging Bull Manny Fernandez. You know, I know it has been typed, but altercations like that were settled in PPVS maybe 3 times a year. Every time you would think that Ole and Arn did the damndest thing to Dusty, Flair or Blanchard would do something worse. You would get the feeling that, in the PPV, things would be different. The PPV, or closed circuit , as it was called back then, was THE DEAL. The match would be in a steel cage. Ole and Arn vs. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express for the tag titles, Tully Blanchard vs. Dusty Rhodes for the Television title (first blood match), Jimmy “Boogie Woogie Man” Valient vs. ” The Ragin Bull” Manny Fernandez with Paul Jones ( hair vs. hair match), Ric Flair vs. Nikita Kohloff (I quit match) N.W.A. world heavyweight title match.
Now thats the kinda stuff feuds are made of. I would watch that PPV anyday. Vincent McMahon could learn a few things from history. Thats my rant. I have been thinking of starting a blog page of wrestling history, but it is still a thought. Anyways, there is a little rant from yers truly.
Johnny Flash
I agree with you. Just I really disliked Orton – Cena feud. Enough is enough!
And yea, Jericho IS the man!
If you only watch Raw it’s no wonder you find the WWE as being crap. ECW has some of the best talent, and if they had a 2 hour show the matches they could have would be outstanding. Smackdown likewise you get some really good and well wrestled matches on it. Seriously try them out, don’t judge WWE on Raw.