BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) YOUTH MOVEMENT
This has begun. Sheamus, Wade Barrett, Miz, Morrison, Alberto, Punk, Bryan, Ziggler, Kofi, Swagger, and others have all made their cases clear that they are in fact worthy of our attention. A few of the newer dudes have been given the ball to run with via big feud, title run, title shots, and just by getting camera time and time to evolve. I tend to be a little annoyed by a few of those who were given the belt really too soon, but for the most part the somewhat slower up rise is good. More of this, please.
(THREE) MOVE ON
The Rock and Austin are gone. Shawn Michaels, and thus DX, is retired. Hogan and Flair continue to embarrass themselves on TNA. Triple H is a stubbed toe away from having robotic legs, Undertaker has a year or two left tops, and things are changing. Jericho is off taking on other challenges. The Hardy Boys are on their way to being the new era of Von Ericks. Batista is pretending he’s going to really fight. Angle and Foley are cool with being “rebellious” in the shitty fed. Rey and Edge have both expressed the fact they’re not too far from being done. Big Show, Mark Henry, and Kane can’t keep going forever. So that pretty leaves Orton and Cena, two stars who still have a hard time staying injury free. The old regime is gone. Wrestling as we have known it is different. Every time there is a big event, anniversary, retrospective, milestone, or anything with backstory we are forced to acknowledge the past. Why? I loved wrestling during the past 25 years as much as anyone, but if you keep reminding us how great it was when we were all starry eyed little marks then you’re not going to get much response on what’s going on today.
(TWO) PUSH THE ENVELOPE
PG13 wrestling should be reserved to Saturday afternoons. Its two dudes beating each other up… what the hell do you want from us? The more watered down it is, the less likely anyone watching is going to believe or care about the show. If I had it my way the shows would be adult content only, but I get the concept of having a bigger fan base. Even at TV14, WWE can push the envelope. Let’s start with bringing blood back, cussing, and some real personality. The times of barbedwire and tables from ECW are gone, but there needs to be some edge (no pun intended) put back into the show.
(ONE) KILL THE BRANDS
RAW, Smackdown, and ECW. When that first started, it had potential. I enjoyed the slip of the brands. RAW was the glitz and glamour, Smackdown had the really good wrestling, and when ECW came around it was a great launching pad for new potential superstars and a few disenfranchised veterans. This is obviously a thing of the past. Get on with it. I’m not saying the idea is dead, but the “Brands” are dead as we know them. Maybe do something crazy and start WCW up again, or whatever. I understand this keeps more people employed on the roster, but so what? WWF was so much better with an exclusive roster of awesome talent. My theory is to combine the rosters, have one world title, one IC or US, one tag, one womens, Maybe a TV or even a “RAW Title” and a “Smackdown Title”, but treat them as TV titles defended only on those weekly shows. Then once a year the two champions can face off at Mania or Night of Champions or some shit. The Main Event would be strong as hell, the mid card even stronger, and some dead weight could be cut and let go. This also opens the doors for more tag team wrestling. With a tighter roster talent would have to be put in long term teams. At this point there is nothing to lose. This would be the ultimate reset button.
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