anarchistxx

You don't need to replace most of them. Half of these workers aren't even on television most of the time, the ones who are just make up filler roles. Shorten Raw would be the obvious solution, but since there is no chance of that happening then invest more time in the ones you have left on the roster. Less squash matches, less pointless matches and more actual feuds, well written, well booked that play out over a few weeks. The roster is unbelievably bloated, and really needs some fresh blood. Give some young wrestlers a chance, and introduce them properly and slowly, rather than push them to the moon and then job them out to the moon which is the current ridiculous cycle. I'll respond to some of the more specific points later.

I've been calling for one for ages. Far too many homogenous, bland wrestlers that have been pushed and depushed too strongly and are effectively ruined if they stay hanging around making up all the spare hours of television needed for advertising, losing one week and winning the next and who are never going to get to the level needed. The problem has been rectified with some workers; Jack Swagger has a nice niche in the tag division now and a fairly over gimmick. There are also now guys like The Shield and The Wyatt Family who have distinguishable looks and personalities, whether you enjoy the work or not. Dolph Ziggler is still pretty over - he makes a good, solid mid card performer providing he is booked right, which he never is. Only last December he was getting a landmark victory over John Cena, only a few months later he had an insanely over cash in to win the belt. Then in the ensuing months he gets battered by Del Rio over and over and ends up drifting, losing to all and sundry. They should give him a female valet, give him a lengthy run with the intercontinental title and more than anything put him in some proper feuds. Are WWE incapable of booking more than one feud at a time? Midcard feuds can be really fun, you can be more experimental with the writers, give the performers some leeway and take a chance on making a new star. Who I would cull: Brodus Clay Curt Hawkins Curtis Axel Damien Sandow David Otunga Drew Mcintyre Primo Epico Ezekiel Jackson Fandango The Great Khali Hornswoggle Jinder Mahal Heath Slater Justin Gabriel JTG Kofi Kingston The Miz R-Truth Ricardo Rodriguez Santino Marella Tensai Sin Cara Jesus, they have some deadwood. How much are they paying these guys? More controversially I would also bin Alberto del Rio. This guy isn't over at all, especially in comparison to his push level. He has little to no charisma, seems utterly forced and fake, cuts awful, at times cringe worthy promos, isn't believable and his matches are often boring as well. I don't like his look either. Vicki Guerrero should also be culled; she has been getting X-Pac heat for years. Everything she does is awful, and not in a 'being a good heel' way. Honestly the most annoying, horrible character they have ever put on television, and she's been there for nearly a decade! Unbelievable, she has to have something on them. That would freshen shit up.

Surely the nest step for Daniel Bryan is a feud with Kane? It is a natural continuation to his feud with the authority, and it makes sense given they used to be a team. Danielson could certainly get some good matches out of him.

I went off it about six or seven years ago and never fully got the bug back. Oversaturated myself with DVDs and footage to the point that none of it got watched; going travelling and moving to university etc interrupted any regular viewing habits. I really get nothing out of almost all wrestling now, which makes me wonder why I even tune into WWE occasionally. Probably because we got cable again and I have a decent amount of time on my hands right now. Even so, the only thing I ever watch is Raw if I happen to be up and the PPVs if the card looks alright. I also don't really like the product now, yet that doesn't excuse the fact that I pay no attention to other, possibly better products like NJPW. I came in at the Attitude Era, so I'm probably different to people here in that wrestling was most enjoyable to me between 2001 and 2006. WWE, ROH, NOAH, CZW, IWA, Dragon Gate and others consistently put out stuff I dug in that era. There will never be a time I'll be into it like I was. Too many other interests like music and film and books and socialising. Ironically even when I wasn't watching I sporadically browsed wrestling forums. I prefer reading and contributing to discussions about it than actually watching it.

Loss makes some excellent points there. It is a strong argument that Hogan's look is more iconic than Hogan himself. These days Hogan is mainly famous for being famous.. Nope. But your average person on the street couldn't name three Molly Ringwald films either.

Emma Watson is a poor comparison; the Harry Potter films grossed far, far more than any Ringwald films ever did. The first Harry Potter film made twenty times more at the box office than The Breakfast Club. Close to $1 billion, compared to $50 million. Even adjusted for inflation, there is no real comparison. The Harry Potter films appealed to a massive demographic - who watched brat pack films in the 80s except for people between the ages of 10 and, say, 35? Someone like Sarah Bolger is a better comparison to Ringwald, or at best Vanessa Hudgens or somebody, but that is being generous. As for who is Hulk Hogan in 2013, nobody is. The television landscape has changed dramatically; with the domination of reality television and the success of realistic, intelligent dramas like Mad Men and The Sopranos you don't get those larger than life, cartoon character icons. They seem pretty exclusive to the 80s, where everything was more colorful and brash.

I remember that Nash/HHH main event being alright. They brought a toolbox out at one point which I seemed to think was pretty cool at the time, and Foley added to the match with a couple of nice bumps against the cage. Not seen it since it aired though. The HHH/HBK cell match was truly awful though, made worse by the unsurprising fact the crowd was totally silent through all of it, especially the end sequence which was clearly meant to be 'epic' and sell the exhaustion of the match but failed on all counts. There was perhaps the best shoulder to post bump ever in that match though. I can get down with that. Even as an Attitude Era mark in 2003 tracking down all the old shows I hated that match. Austin/Undertaker at Judgement Day 2001 is another of the same ilk, just endless punch exchanges and total boredom, amazing to think it was the same two wrestlers who had that great Summerslam main event in 1998. Diesel/Mabel at SS95 would be another candidate for worst main event; did it go on last after the ladder match? I recall it did. Those early In Your House events also had their fair share of bad main events.

Roman Reigns could really get over in a Batista/Goldberg type of way. Still far too early to turn any of The Shield in my opinion though. Rollins could eventually work his way up into the CM Punk position, if his mic work improves, but he is best suited to staying a heel at the moment. Ambrose could go in any direction - he would probably have done better a few years back when he could have tons of garbage matches with loads of blood and high spots. Not saying he can't work regular matches, far from it, but his psychotic, out of control character would really be aided by some nasty, bloody brawls.

It can certainly make a match; whether it can ruin one is debatable. I have seen plenty of enjoyable heatless matches, but for something to really stick with me there has to be some level of crowd reaction.

BJ Whitmer used to bore the shit out of me. He'd be working these go-go-go matches with a load of highspots and dozens of near falls and it would still be ridiculously dull and tiresome. So little natural charisma or personality, horrible look as well. One of the blandest, paint by numbers indie wrestlers you will ever see. He had no concept of pacing either - he'd work the second match on the card exactly the same as the main event, with a million false finishes and spots. Or maybe that was just the whole of ROH at that time. Still, he was and presumably is completely soporific. Not seen him for years, but he was involved in some great matches from 2004-2006. The two title bouts with Danielson especially stand out, and there were a ton of fun Generation Next tags, as well as his team with Jack Evans which was really fun while it lasted. That those matches being great was majorly down to his opponents and partners, true, but can someone be the most boring wrestler of all time and be in so many enjoyable matches?

Cilla Black has the advantage of being "there" twice. She could be part of the memory for her fairly average pop career in the 60s, or she could be part of the memory for all the families who sat and watched Blind Date of a Saturday night in the 90s. Perhaps Sandie Shaw is a better example, or Twiggy?

The fact that Hogan is popular as a fancy dress choice shows that his image has entered cultural iconography. Nobody ever asks "Who have you come as?" to people dressed as Hulk, because they just know. I would argue that if you showed 1,000 random people in the world a picture of Hulk Hogan, and 1,000 people a picture of Jack Nicholson, more people would be able to name and recognize Hogan. Whether that makes him a bigger star is debatable.

What a strange comparison. Hulk Hogan is a cartoon character, instantly recognizable. Molly Ringwald is an actress who was in some cool, popular teen movies. Small, unrepresentative sample size, and I imagine she is much bigger in America, but very few of my friends would know who Molly Ringwald is. All of them would know who Hulk Hogan is. Hogan Knows Best increased his profile a lot, at the very least brought his name and image back into the public consciousness. People go to fancy dress parties as Hogan, nobody ever dresses up as Molly Ringwald. Would there be any market for a Molly Ringwald related reality show today? It certainly wouldn't draw as high rating as Hogan's shows. Hogan has been in movies like Rocky III that have grossed way more money than any Ringwald films. I don't think Molly Ringwald is at all famous or relevant to many people who weren't around in the 80s. Or even to anyone who wasn't young (Aged 10-30) in the 80s. Hulk Hogan crosses generations; he is known by both sixty year olds and forty year olds and twenty year olds.

When CM Punk and Daniel Bryan were in ROH, nobody would have dreamed they would ascend to "The Jericho Role". The "Jamie Knoble Role" was about the best we could have dared to hope. Most people assumed that if they signed with WWE they would be mishandled completely and be jobbers in a year or less, before being wished all the best in their future endeavors, with an RF Shoot to look forward to a few months later. It is a fucking awesome position for those two guys to be in; they are comparatively small, with looks, personalities and wrestling styles not usually favored by the WWE. They and we should be thrilled that they are in a strong place at the top of the card, working with the premier wrestlers on the roster, given extensive performance time on the marquee show every Monday night. It is a minor miracle that they have both made it so far, obviously due to their own skills in getting themselves over and learning to adapt to the environment. But also credit the WWE for pushing them instead of bringing them down like other people who have got themselves over. Problem is, it looked as if Daniel Bryan was about to be pushed into "The Steve Austin Role". He had beaten the superman top face clean, was getting monster pops and was opening and closing most shows in extended segments. In that respect, "The Jericho Role" seems slightly disappointing; but in a wider context, it is still an amazing position for someone like him, and also fantastic for the fans who have followed him for the last twelve years and never dreamed he would get this big. We've still won the lottery; it's just that due to machine complications our prize has been downgraded slightly.

I honestly can't believe that in 2013 they are pushing Big Show as a major main event star in their biggest angle of the year. He is decent in the role, no question about that, it just seems so backwards thinking.

I see him more as a Chris Jericho. A solid hand who is extremely over, and can work a passable match/feud with almost anyone, and someone who isn't especially hurt by multiple losses. People definitely buy CM Punk as a lower upper tier guy at the very least, as an RVD type figure who the fans respect for the in ring ability, who will always get great reactions live but will never really make huge money for the company on a wider scale. It certainly isn't seen as a 'joke' that he can hang with John Cena or Randy Orton or even The Rock. The only matches that looked a little ridiculous were the Lesnar and Taker bouts, and at Summerslam they kind of got around it by having Punk use a strategy to try and beat a guy he could never go toe to toe with on his own terms. If Rey Mysterio is credible against those guys then CM Punk is.

Fairly horrible show both in terms of booking and wrestling. The opener was fantastic, one of the funnest matches all year, the faces were over, the heels played their roles perfectly, there were a load of cool spots that all worked in the context of the match. Exactly what an opener should be; fast paced, exciting, with people the fans care about. Then we get Miz, The Wyatt Family, Kane, Fandango and Great Khali, and suddenly you wish there was a real time fast forward button. Completely boring, each and every one of them. Why not just give the bigger matches more time instead of this shit? Ambrose/Big E was a decent little match, considering they didn't have anything to work with. Punk vs Ryback was absolutely horrible. Punk/Heyman has to be a lock for worst feud of the year, full of bad matches, long winded and interminably dull promos, embarrassing moments (the segment where Punk was tied to the ropes and Heyman was screaming 'I loved you' was a particular example of how misguided the writing has been). I fucking hope this was the payoff, bad as it was. Punk really needs to freshen up, he has been bad all year, and his character has got stale. Matadores/Real Americans was just kind of there, as was Cena/Del Rio, but at least the belt is off ADR, and hopefully his role will be scaled back. Can't remember a thing about the divas match. The main event was very poor. Bryan/Orton don't seem to have good chemistry at all, and the ending was predictable but still came across badly. At this point it feels like they are working towards Cena vs Orton in a title unification match at WMXXX, with maybe HHH/Bryan and Taker/Lesnar on the undercard.

I don't have any data to back it up, but as a nine/ten year old in the boom years every single person I knew watched WWF, and even your parents would know characters like The Rock and Steve Austin. It was crazy popular around that time.

Edge wasn't nearly a big enough name at that point to be taking out Lesnar and Goldberg. The fans would have shit on that just as much. Edge only really became anything resembling a star after the Matt Hardy/Lita stuff and the shocking first Money In The Bank cash in against Cena, followed up by 'live sex' and the other bullshit they put out for his Rated R gimmick.

I don't think HHH has been particularly special, it just seems like his usual smug long winded promos meshed with the tired old authority figure gimmick. Vince is far more entertaining whenever he shows up. Sleazy Bischoff was a lot more fun. I'm starting to think this all ends with HHH v Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania; Trips gets a great match at the big show, Bryan presumably gets a crowning moment. Probably blind optimism on my part though, we'll likely end up with Randy Orton vs Big Show for the strap whilst Cena/Taker closes the show.

The UK seemed to trend towards short lived fads in the teenage market during the 80s and 90s. There was one year where YoYos were inexplicably popular, to the point where every single kid at school would have one and be doing the tricks and obscenely expensive models were coming on the market. Then there was the WWF boom from 99-00 that just suddenly dissipated, one month it was cool to watch the next month wrestling had become a total social faux pas. Pokemon cards were another trend that lasted a few months. The Tamagochi. Pogs. Live & Kicking. Spice Girls. It doesn't seem to happen as much anymore but back then trends would come and ago without much rhyme or reason, ending just as suddenly as they had begun.

Are you missing that awesome Smackdown tag where Daniel Bryan got the victory and the place exploded?

No way, that is probably Kerry's best performance that I have seen. The Flair Hawaii match would be a better example, but even there Kerry more than holds his own.

Reigns has the look and aura of Batista along with being way better in the ring. No reason he shouldn't be main eventing in a couple of years time. He just has that it factor that is so sorely lacking in other guys they have pushed like Miz and Del Rio. He combines the visual coolness of a Kevin Nash with the intimidating aura of a Goldberg, and can go in the ring as well. They should keep The Shield together though, far too often these groups are just broken up for the sake of a face turn and a short term feud. It would be nice if they had a group that stuck at it for a few years. They broke Ziggler/AJ/Big E up really soon, when they could have had them remain friends and played up a face/heel/tweener dynamic for a few months. Way more interesting than the mechanical, black and white face/heel feud they went for. On a sidenote, Swagger/Cesaro/Colter are really over now, or their catchphrase is at the very least. They should move them up a card, they are a good distraction for higher level workers who aren't involved in the title picture.

Tonight is prime evidence that Raw is way too long. Crap like Fandango/Santino and El Matadors/3MB would have been thrown away on Heat in the past, or just put as the pre show entertainment. It does not belong on your massive primetime flagship show. With the amount of adverts and pointless stuff the show becomes so fucking messy and aimless.