WWE Midcard Purges

[vicious&delicious]

The problem with the diva's division is that the company and fans have minimal interest in it.

 

This ultimately makes every diva replaceable. This makes the title a joke (see JBL mocking AJ). This makes the model v. wrestler argument redundant.

 

I know for myself I don't want to see women beat each other up.

[NintendoLogic]

I've said in the past that WWE should go the 80s AJW route with the women's division and market it toward young girls. Someone like AJ could totally be the centerpiece of that effort.

[Badlittlekitten]

I know for myself I don't want to see women beat each other up.

How about women pretending to beat each other up?

 

It remains to be seen what happens with the women. I agree that they should market more towards young girls. They already have some fun, simple characters in the NXT women's division. I'm sceptical the good work in NXT will translate to the main roster though.

 

Ideally I would scrap all of the divas except;

 

NXT girls

AJ

Natalya

Bella's

 

As for the men, well there's a lot of deadwood but a lot of that can be blamed on the absolutely shit booking. A lot of guys could be saved if they could be arsed.

 

Still, I'd sack off;

 

Brodus Clay

Tensai

Curtis Axel

Jinder Mahal

JTG

R Truth

Ezekiel Jackson

Yoshi Tatsu

Hunico

Alex Riley (get him off the fucking commentary too)

Zack Ryder

Curt Hawkins

Ted Dibiase Jr (he still there?)

Mason Ryan

Sin Cara

Camacho

 

I think it is madness to want to get rid of Santino, and Heath Slater and Drew Mac are two of the most fun job guys that have come along in years. Bump champions.

[Coffey]

I disagree with the praise Natalya receives & think she's one of the worse off Divas. I don't think it would be a terrible loss if WWE parted ways with her.

[Badlittlekitten]

I disagree with the praise Natalya receives & think she's one of the worse off Divas. I don't think it would be a terrible loss if WWE parted ways with her.

I agree and I think she's pretty crap most of the time. I was struggling to choose between keeping her and Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn's fairly over but she's been MIA for a few months now. Natalya's one of the stars of their hit reality show and seems to be connecting with people. I could take or leave either one to be honest. I wouldn't keep both though, there's far too many divas.

[Mini Bennett]

I'm a little disappointed to see the Alex Riley criticism. Say what you want about his 2011 Feud with Miz, but to me he seems like the only guy sitting behind the desk who genuinely gives a shit these days.

[Alucard]

I'm a little disappointed to see the Alex Riley criticism. Say what you want about his 2011 Feud with Miz, but to me he seems like the only guy sitting behind the desk who genuinely gives a shit these days.

Same here. I thought he was going to be a real breakout star of 2011 after the excellent face turn on Miz and when he was tagging in six mans with Cena & Orton.

[Badlittlekitten]

I don't know how anyone can listen to Alex Riley's clueless drivel on NXT without wanting to put a power drill into their face. He's weird and creepy around Renee Young as well. He makes me pine for the good old days of Maddox.

[Dylan Waco]

Natalya is weird because I've seen her have really good matches on house shows, where she was clearly the best person in the match, if not one of the best two or three people on the show. But she is generally AWFUL on tv, especially the last few years.

[Jimmy Redman]

I pretty much have the same view. She's always worked really well when I've seen her live (although I think generally speaking all of the girls do, simply for having so much more time and being able to work a real match), but on TV she is surprisingly disappointing when she's working with anyone other than Alicia Fox, with whom she has amazing and inexplicable chemistry.

 

Although for what it's worth, I thought her Summerslam match (with a Bella?) and the AJ match from this week were pretty good.

[Matt D]

I love Maddox on commentary. He's a riot.

[Sidebottom]

White knighting is an annoying phrase. Sorry, playing catch up with the previous page.

[efrim]

Definitely agree with the sentiment of marketing the Divas division to young girls. As it is now, its just a self-perpetuating cycle between WWE not caring about the divas and the fans not caring about the divas. They need to give it some reliable time and consistency and reach out to that demographic. It probably won't set the ratings sheet on fire or anything, but its an investment in a fanbase that will be more robust. Total Divas is getting some fresh eyes on that product too, so its an ideal time to do something. Getting your announcers to not completely shit on every divas match would also be a step in the right direction. Between the main roster and NXT there's enough talent to do something real.

[rzombie1988]

Haven't watched in a month and honestly have tried to go without thinking about wrestling for a month but saw everything, literally, everything for the last year. Here are my thoughts on who goes and stays:

 

Brodus Clay - He's useless. Just another guy who has a job for being big. He will forever be a bad worker and will forever be clumsy. We have enough people doing dancing gimmicks anyway. DROP.

 

Curt Hawkins - He's there because Rock likes him and I think he is mostly an extra body to have around at the development center. He's never going to be anywhere or do anything but if you need someone to help out the youngsters, maybe he can stay. DROP as a full-time wrestler, keep as your El Local/Local Veteran type to help the rook's and get an odd match or two.

 

Curtis Axel - He is a 2013 poor man's version of a Bobby Eaton or a Tim Horner. Good worker who has been in a lot of solid stuff and the midcard is about as far as he can get. No reason to fire him. KEEP.

 

Damien Sandow - He does have potential but he still needs work in ring. He's one of the few who can go on the mic and can do their character well. KEEP.

 

David Otunga - Maybe has the best build on the roster. Not very good in ring but good on the mic and he can play his character well. You don't really need him but he's someone you keep around in the hopes that they can pick it up in the ring someday. KEEP.

 

Drew Mcintyre - One of the best workers in the WWE and has the looks of a star. I'm not sure if he can ever get past the 3MB gimmick or get a decent gimmick and I don't know about his mic work, but he's worth it for the other things. KEEP.

 

Primo & Epico - Tough one here. Decent to good workers but they can't be stars and they won't be stars. Primo is good to have around for the younger guys and he bumps his butt off but Epico is no Primo and you don't need both. Primo - KEEP, Epico - DROP.

 

Ezekiel Jackson - He did show some potential at one point in time but WWE has a million guys like him. DROP.

 

Fandango - He has the look and is secretly a good in-ring worker. He's done pretty well with his character as a mid-card act. KEEP.

 

The Great Khali - The worst wrestler in the company and one of the worst wrestlers of all-time. He can't move, he's constantly injured, you can't understand a word he says and the big guy who dances gimmick is already taken. DROP.

 

Hornswoggle - He serves no purpose aside from the occasional Rey Mysterio lawn-dart spot. DROP.

 

Jinder Mahal - He's there because he is Indian. That's all. He's below-average , will always be stuck with a Middle-Eastern gimmick and won't ever be anything more than what he is. DROP.

 

Heath Slater - I used to hate him but he's really underrated and under-appreciated as your opening match goof. He's very good in his role and he's very easy to hate. KEEP.

 

Justin Gabriel - He's good but not great. I think he is a weak AJ Styles, he doesn't have any mic or character skills and is droppable. DROP.

 

JTG - Useless. Not over, not a good worker and is lucky to have stuck around as long as he did. DROP.

 

Kofi Kingston - He's your 2013 poor-man's Tito Santana. When given the chance, he has shown up but he's just always going to be in the midcard. KEEP.

 

The Miz - Never going to be a great worker but is WWE's go to PR boy and seems willing to do whatever they want. WWE could KEEP him but I would DROP him.

 

R-Truth - He's your older vet. He has good matches some times and is over with the crowd a little. No reason to get rid of him. KEEP.

 

Ricardo Rodriguez - Good in the ring and his lackey character was pretty good. He got over so I'll KEEP him.

 

Santino Marella - He is a dream face for WWE. They can embarass him until they are fulfilled and he stays over. KEEP.

 

Tensai - Needs a name change and believe it or not, this is his second or third run as a dancing sidekick. He's good for putting younger guys over and having hoss matches, but not much use otherwise. Might just be best putting him in a mask. KEEP.

 

Sin Cara - Useless. One of the best workers turned into one of the laziest workers. He's collecting a paycheck. DROP.

 

The PTP's - Both are good workers are fine in the roles. KEEP.

 

Natalya - Good but not great worker. Useless other than the "Victoria" role. KEEP.

 

AJ Lee - She hit a home run with her character and has a following. One of the few diva's who is over and has an angle. KEEP.

 

Kaitlyn - Useless and dangerous. DROP.

 

Layla - Secretly WWE's best female face worker on the main shows. Please turn her face again because she is fun to watch. KEEP.

 

Aksana - She did improve but she's always going to be sub-par. DROP.

 

Naomi - Good worker and has potential. KEEP.

 

Cameron - Is a total airhead on TV and off. She seems like one of those people that just attracts trouble. DROP.

 

Jo Jo - I have no idea why they have her. She's too small, she's terrible on the mic and the last thing WWE needs is another smiling diva. She's also too young for them to do anything with until she turns 21. Something will not end well with her. DROP.

 

Rosa - DROP.

 

The Bella's - Well I mean they aren't even that good at being twins. I guess you keep them around to keep DB and JC happy but they will always be bad workers. I'd DROP but WWE should KEEP.

 

Tamina - Awful worker with negative charisma. DROP.

 

Summer Rae - ProWresBlog's 2013 Rookie of the Year. KEEP.

 

Renee Young - Awesome in her role. Reminds me of that one TNA announcer they had(maybe Lauren?) who actually had a good personality. KEEP.

 

Eva Marie - This is why you don't hire a ring rat. DROP.

 

Top 5 Keepers:

Summer Rae

Renee Young

Heath Slater

Drew McIntyre

Santino Marella

 

Top 5 Droppers:

Khali

Eva Marie

Rosa Mendes

Brodus Clay

Sin Cara

[Coffey]

Even calling Kofi a poor-man's Tito sounds like a slight to Santana to me. Chico was so many miles above Kofi it's ridiculous. I would compare Kofi more to someone like Buff Bagwell.

[Slasher]

See this is where people lose the plot here. You are telling me if we went and dropped Kofi Kingston as presently constructed into Tito Santana's era (80s to early 90s) people would prefer Tito? Get the fuck out of here with that garbage. Kofi sucks in comparison to his contemporaries but let's not embarrass ourselves here. He would be taken over Tito in a heartbeat. Tito is more technically proficient but Kofi is clearly more flashier. Let's be real here.

[Coffey]

I think you're delusional. All Kofi has ever done is a few spots in gimmick matches. Walking on ladder stilts or falling off a ladder or jumping to the guardrail in a Rumble. He's a worse Shelton Benjamin.

 

Meanwhile, I consider Tito Santana one of the best babyfaces of all-time. Tito kills Shelton & Shelton is above Kofi, so there ya go. Tito's feud with Valentine might be better than Kofi's entire career.

 

Kofi is dreadful & one of the first people I would fire if I could. He's the poster boy, to me, of everything wrong with modern WWE. But that's another rant altogether.

 

So, no, you can "get the fuck out of here with that garbage."

[efrim]

From the standpoint of just about anything I value, Kofi is absolutely dreadful. Easily one of my least favorites in the WWE. Oddly though, I think his tireless mediocrity has a certain value to the company. Its pretty clear at this point that he's got no issues with having a middling career and its nice in a way to just have reliable space filler like that. For whatever reason (HIGH JUMPING) he connects well enough with casual fans and children, moves a decent amount of merch (based on shows I've been too), doesn't rock the boat..you can see why they keep him around despite a terrible grasp of psychology and some generally sloppy ring work.

[Slasher]

Meanwhile, I consider Tito Santana one of the best babyfaces of all-time.

I see the problem here.

[Timbo Slice]

Yeah, I find it really funny that people are trying to purge the mid card based on work and work alone. Half the people that have been listed offer more to the company than work. WWE building a mid card based on the work biases of what people like us enjoy is pretty hilarious to me. A bunch of those guys are nigh untouchable because of the things they do outside the ring.

[Jimmy Redman]

I agree that Kofi can be sloppy, but I think he has a pretty good grasp of psychology. He knows how to get the people behind him, he sells well when called to, he throws in nifty counters and always works a series of matches by building off previous ones (there's a phrase for that isn't there? 'Learned psychology' or some shit?) and he has a lot of interesting finishes.

 

Of course, this is all speaking of when he actually has something to do. And a lot of the time, he has nothing to do.

 

I get people having problems with Kofi physically, because he's super sloppy and isn't a guy who looks like he's hurting the other guy. But I find it hard to fault him for the psychological aspects of working.

[Matt D]

Tito had a massive connection to the crowd for years

[Grimmas]

See this is where people lose the plot here. You are telling me if we went and dropped Kofi Kingston as presently constructed into Tito Santana's era (80s to early 90s) people would prefer Tito? Get the fuck out of here with that garbage. Kofi sucks in comparison to his contemporaries but let's not embarrass ourselves here. He would be taken over Tito in a heartbeat. Tito is more technically proficient but Kofi is clearly more flashier. Let's be real here.

Wait, you are serious?

 

So by this logic Davey Richards is better than Ric Flair, right?

[Slasher]

See this is where people lose the plot here. You are telling me if we went and dropped Kofi Kingston as presently constructed into Tito Santana's era (80s to early 90s) people would prefer Tito? Get the fuck out of here with that garbage. Kofi sucks in comparison to his contemporaries but let's not embarrass ourselves here. He would be taken over Tito in a heartbeat. Tito is more technically proficient but Kofi is clearly more flashier. Let's be real here.

Wait, you are serious?

 

So by this logic Davey Richards is better than Ric Flair, right?

 

No. Obviously not. I dislike Flair but I know he is a guy who can connect in ways Richards could never. That is my point though. Kingston is not this unover guy that no one in the audience wants to see. There is a market for Kofi and what he brings to the table. I have to imagine if he gets teleported to the era of which Tito worked, he'd have more success as well because he is doing stuff that pops the crowds today and would pop the crowds back then. Again, I am not even backing Kofi. I just think it's disingenuous to sit there and act like it's a big insult to Tito F'N Santana for having Kofi compared to him, which I actually happen to think is an excellent comparison when you want to take your head out of your ass here. Davey Richards is a Benoit cosplayer and considering Benoit was basically a DK cosplayer himself, the fans have DK in the era and they clearly prefer Flair, so let's not twist anything here.

[Loss]

I don't understand why this is so heated.