fakeplastictrees

I think now is a good time. WWE can REALLY benefit from two different directors, two different booking teams, etc. The brand split brought us a lot of good stuff that damn sure wouldn't have happened with the top heavy roster of the early 2000's. Remember WWE in that time looked like this: Hogan Nash Hall Austin HHH Cena Orton Batista Flair Booker T Steiner Goldberg Undertaker Kane Big Show Angle Benoit Jericho The Rock etc. It was fucking stacked. There are guys who are doing absolutely jack shit who could make WWE a little money (or lord forbid actually get over and make WWE tons of money) if they were allowed time to run rampart on Smackdown. Also all the people complaining about The Divas 'not getting enough time' (granted that has silenced a bit since the 'revolution' ) I am sure will be appeased if The Divas title was brand specific. The same with the tag team titles (as it was in 2002- but this time with better teams). The IC and the US champion could function much like the WWE/World champion did back during the original brand split and the main champion can pop between brands while maintaining a Brock Lesnar type of aura by not being at EVERY SHOW. It should definitely happen.

Vince McMahon is the greatest promoter of all time! Its shit like this that makes me love this man! I was cracking up the entire time. Its all so over-the-top. And the fact that the plaque was written in 'Vince Speak' made it all even better. MSG wasn't putting up with it and you can hear people in the audience flat out not buying it and seeing right through the con. LOVE IT!

Wow! For being a heel, Brie Bella really got the crowd rooting for her!

My thinking is this. If there is no hard camera, then there is no camera to 'play to'. Right now the wrestlers are trained to do everything FACING the camera. Its the action trying to catch the camera instead of the camera trying to catch the action. If wrestlers aren't forced to play to just one side- I believe this will help with the audience interaction and make things seem not as hokey (in championship match where his career is on the line, why is John Cena making sure he turns to face the hard cam before hitting the AA instead of just hitting it?). This will also force WWE out of its comfort zone and be FORCED to film differently and make the overall product look different.

I would honestly be fine with just shit-canning Smackdown, but I know WWE would never do that. The show just seems so pointless & unimportant. I mean, you can literally skip it every single week & not miss a single segment that matters. I agree. I honestly wouldn't care if Smackdown goes away. However, we both know its not- so why not spice it up? If WWE REALLY wants to keep its current setup for Raw (set, director, commentators, etc.) then fine. Let Vince keep Raw in the dark ages. Smackdown on the other hand shouldn't be that way. If Smackdown is just one big exhibition where nothing important really happens- then its time to experiment. Example: as Smackdown is pre-taped I think WWE should use the slow-motion camera used during replays and edit those shots into the live action. It would be matrix-like and help the show standout against Raw. The trick would be not to over-gimmick it and it should only be used on 'once-in-a-lifetime-spots' i.e. Riegns running down the ramp and spearing Big Show. Getting rid of the hard camera and getting a completely new director outside of WWE would be pretty awesome as well. I can't remember the last time I watched a Smackdown from start-to-finish. When did this show become the Raw clip show?

The biggest problem for me is the overall presentation. WWE needs a reboot. No more authority figures, all new commentators, new set for Raw & Smackdown, new color scheme and theme for both shows, no more magic camera man, no more show openings with 20 minutes promos, etc. If they do this and set a hierarchy things should (hopefully) work itself out from there.

Rick Rude cannot be apart of this list.

I was talking with a buddy about an hour ago and he said the same thing about the guns. Perhaps just batons and maybe a cop or two pulling out a taser.

It’s amazing that TNA killed MVP. MVP was really excited to join and sound like he was ready to bring it to a new level...but TNA has done one thing really well since its inception: killing the enthusiasm of its fans and employees. MVP became dis-enchanted (and for good reason) and left. I don’t see anyone with true options would not stay with this company.

Ouch! Why not move closer to the edge to ensure safety? I know he is a strong guy and all but shit!

So it took nearly the entire roster to hold back a 50 year old man with a bad knee? I don't mind pull apart brawls, but I have always believed that these types of brawls should keep the top guys out. The Tag Team Champions should not have been out there. Cesaro, Rusev, Ambrose and KO should not have been out there. Mark Henry (you know- THE WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN) should not have been out there. Big Show, Cena, Orton, Reigns, and Wyatt all not being out there was smart. Save the pull apart brawls for Ryder,Axel, Sandow, Dallas,Slater, Fernando, Diego, Swagger..you know...THE GUYS THE COMPANY ARE DOING NOTHING WITH. Those are the guys who should be jobbing and made to look like fools.You toss those guys out there and maybe The Ascension, R-Truth, J&J Security, and a whole bunch of refs and other 'officials' and WWE can easily claim that the WWE locker room wasn't very effective in seperating the brawling parts without making people look bad in the process. I also agree that guns should have been pulled on Lesnar. WWE needs some shocking moments and that would have been it. It would have put Lesnar over and also provided an 'Oh Shit!' moment for the viewing audience. Remember the gasp when the cops pulled guns on Hogan on an episode of Nitro? WCW immediately cut away. TNA even had a good roster brawl one day when the police showed up and Cute Kip (Billy Gunn) was left to clean up after everyone. WWE should bring back some edge (and not in the Russo way) to the product. This has been my main issue with some of the WWE's "Lesnar is a Monster" segments. The premise is good, but the overall details are completely ignored while WWE makes sure to hit only the major bullet points. Re: Rusev It's amazing that Rusev is a heel looking solely at the way he has been booked for the last two years or so. He is being booked like Hogan and yet some how (despite his heroic efforts in matches) still comes off like a heel. Its amazing the fans haven't gotten behind him yet. Last night was another great expect of WWE booking Rusev like a face (which some how manges to keep him heel). In all honesty, I would like to see more of this bizzaro booking as we have seen faces act like heels (Hogan,Cena), but never a heel be a true-blood babyface.

A number of times. Remember Wyatt/Ambrose were trading wins in a unofficial best of 7 series.

Is there a reason (not that I am REALLY looking forward to it) that the WWE movies aren't on The Network? By my count WWE has about 25-30 movies they should be able to add to The Network without issue.

I don't want to de-rail the thread, but I would like to hear more on this. I always heard that WWE kept Khali around for the Indian market. How big was his over there? Were people digging the gimmick? When we has champion were people showing up to bars to see him defend his title? Was his making the TV rounds showing off the belt and people TV hosts in headlocks? What about Sonjay Dutt? JJ and others act as if they are going into India then he must be around.

This probably isn't at the top of any real list (as seriously we are talking about the sleazy world of pro wrestling), but during the Warrior/Goldust match at IYH 96, Goldust goes to the outside for some reason and the entire arena begins chanting the "F" word while Warrior 'conducts' the crowd. The recent "You Suck [insert wrestler Diva is dating/engaged to/married to ] !" Was silly and immature. I am not one of these DIVAS = SERIOUZZ WRESTLING~! guys, but Fucking Krishna! Really!? To go with the homophobia...The crowd's reaction during the Billing And Chuck wedding. From the "Just Say No" chants, the constant boos, and finally one of the biggest pops of the night when Billy announced him and Chuck are not actually gay.

I don't understand this Barrett project. WWE has thrown him into a number of main events, gave him 5 IC title reigns, and position him at the front runner (and eventual winner) of NXT Season 1...and yet he still isn't as over as he should be. Some may blame this on his injuries which have resulted in his stop-start pushes, but in reality he should be more over than he currently is.

This thread is going to include a lot of HHH. When I read the title my first three thoughts all involved HHH. 1. Sting/HHH at WM31 2. Booker T/HHH WM19 3. Punk/HHH NOC 11 Is HHH the single biggest example of someone refusing to lose in situations that wouldn't have hurt him in the long run? These are three situations where HHH won and didn't come out looking good and neither did his opponent.

I once sat at a round table with some old and new mates (who have girlfriends/wives, etc.) and we were talking about wrestling. We started talking about The Attitude Era and that lead into a conversation about Goldust. 8/10 guys at that table admitted that in 1996 Goldust looked pretty good and they were turned on by him at least one time. Non of this was said in jest and all was said as matter-of-factly as someone telling you the weather. This went into other (less comfortable) conversations about wrestling and then into current MMA and boxing. Next thing you know we are all watching the fight and talking about the fight on PPV and everyone is completely no-selling the conversation that took place about an hour ago. My personal confessions? I ALWAYS thought CM Punk was overrated. When people talked about ROH and I first started to get into indie wrestling, I got the hype behind AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Low Ki, Christopher Daniels, Teddy Hart, Paul London, etc. But CM Punk did nothing for me and even in WWE I feel like he was always "Macho Man" and not (nor should be) "Hulk Hogan". I wouldn't be upset if WWE segregated the Divas division. WWE can have the faux workrate group i.e. The Bellas, Paige, Naomi, Nattie (when she is not being complete shit), and any of the NXT calls up. Smackdown should be filled with the women with zero in-ring talent (Summer Rae, Cameron, Eva Marie, etc.) doing 2002 Smackdown bikini showdowns, dance contests, pillow fights, etc. Why pretend? I still love watching Benoit matches and seek them out often. Kevin Nash is hands down one of the smartest men in the business.

As I child I didn't give a shit what was 'new' on VHS. I would cared about the wrestling section in the local video stores. If it was TOO OLD...I wouldn't watch it and it if was TOO NEW, I would avoid it as I most likely already saw it. But that stuff in the middle (and there was a lot) was all fair game. My mom would go to the video store every Friday so I would grab two-three wrestling tapes and watch them over the weekend. If I didn't have VHS in my life I would have missed every single PPV and big event within the WCW and WWE tape library. I also would have never got to sit down with two buddies of mine to find out (all together) what the fuck was the big deal about ECW. The importance of VHS cannot be understated enough. There are some wrestling promotions (ECW) who can attribute a significant portion of its success to the tape trading.

I approve of the above photo. Good fine.

Pet Peeves eh? Some of mine have already been mentioned in the thread (i.e. tons of guys laying outside the ring during a multi-man match). THE WET LOOK I don't mind someone like Sid coming out drenched in water as it makes him look 'Psycho' (which is his gimmick), nor do I mind Lesnar coming to the ring drenched in water as it looks like he just finished lifting weights and is ready to kick ass. But what is Bo Dallas's excuse? The guy looks like he just took a lap in the pool before coming to the ring to cut a promo (I am surprised he hasn't been electrocuted ). Seth Rollins comes out in his pleather-spandex getup SOAKED in water! Why? It doesn't make him look tough or sleazy or like an architect, but rather someone just coming out a dunk tank. Its time for this to drastically be scaled back. Every Rock, more or less, is him coming out in a super-soaked top as if he is auditioning for Magic Mike III. FIREFLIES~! AND OTHER WEEKLY TAGLINES This is WWE specific. EVERYTIME Bray Wyatt makes his entrance SOMEONE on the announce team says "He calls them his fireflies!". Every damn time. There is some variation of it. This is the same with the announcers going over certain points about a character time and time again. Ignoring recent events, the announcers make a wrestler's history to be A, B, and C. Nothing more and nothing less. Oh the current stuff is happening and that's reported- but the character is the ring is A, B, and C, and NOTHING MORE. It annoying as its the same narrative. EVERY week for the majority of guys. INTERNET HATE IN 2015 WWE will run a graphic to talk about how many Twitter and Facebook followers the company has. WWE will also release a graphic touting how socially interactive WM 31 was. WWE will make trips to Google, Facebook, and Twitter HQ and then after all of this will have one or more personalities cut a promo about how STUPID the internet fans are and how the internet doesn't matter. This is not said or done in a cheeky way- everyone tossing out this opinion is dead serious. But then again if you are not subscribed to The Network (no fiber in your area, etc.) then you are a moron and are laughed at by the lead commentators every week. # I am tired of seeing this on t-shirts that come out. Its okay to have a classic and timeless t-shirt. The Axelmania shirt would have been so much better with the hashtag. WRESTLER'S GETTING EMOTIONAL AT MANIA WM has become (in large part) a glorified Raw. Plain and simple. Outside of a few instances, Mania is just Raw held in a bigger arena on a Sunday. John Cena hugging his dad, Paige lipping the words to her theme song and then give her mother a post match hug, Seth Rollins thanking Roman Reigns...all of this stuff doesn't jive with me. This all goes hand-in-hand with the 'WrestleMania Moment', JBL's gunslinger commentary (as mentioned earlier), and retirement matches out-the-ass. Its all too much and feels unauthentic. FORCING PLUGS WWE is terrible when it comes to this. WWE has a new Flinstones movie and a commercial runs for it. CUT BACK TO THE ARENA and Brie and Nikki are watching the monitors and talking about something (I cannot remember what), and one of them decides to end the promo with Fred Flintstone's catchphrase. Its all just too forced and unnatural.

I hate to say it, but I would tell him that the modern product is more reality based and not in a WWF 1994 'everyone has a real job gimmick' either. Punk's pipebomb, The Daniel Bryan Saga, former UFC Champion Brock Lesnar returning, etc. The sell would, and again I hate to say this, would be how meta the WWE product is today. Pretty much it will be a HHH shill of 'The Reality Era'.

Man, there are a ton of great ones and its amazing that the majority of them have come from one man. Some of my favorites: Razor Ramon HBK The Ultimate Warrior Roddy Piper Mr. Perfect Hulk Hogan's 'Real American' DX NWO The Undertaker SCSA The Rock The Four Horsemen Goldberg Wolfpack Sting's WCW 'Crow' theme Harlem Heat Ric Flair The Model Rick Martel * Evolution Lita's 'Lovefurypassionengery' *and by extension Val Venis' theme which is just a remix of Martel's theme. That's just a quick top twenty, but jesus there are so much more...I will definitely take a listen to this podcast. Also, if Devon's preach theme, Mark Henry's Sexual Chocolate, and Billy Gunn's 'Ass Man' themes did not make the cut...I am going to question the host(s)'s sanity.

Glad she is gone. One of the most overrated Divas of the 5 years or so. Didn't like her geek-chic gimmick and HATED her CM Punk- lite gimmick. AJ went from a pedestrian worker who overall was non-offensive to one of the worse forced work-shoot gimmicks today. She will not be missed and I hope this is a permanent retirement from WWE.

Everyone enjoy the trading head butt spot from Bryan/Ziggler? The commentators mentioned Bryan's neck surgery and Dolph's multiple concussions and these two decide to do the unprotected head butt exchange rehash from Mania? Why?