Your thoughts on the WWE atm

[Eelementary]

These are just my opinions. Feel free to add your own and discuss:

* I'm enjoying the Kane-Khali feud. I know Kane's getting on and Khali isn't the world's greatest wrestler, but I feel they've done it right.

* Good to see Mike Knox back.

* The young talent is amazing - Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, John Morrison, Evan Bourne, The Miz...Great talent.

* Really loving CM Punk as a heel.

* Never liked Jeff Hardy before, but imo he's improved out of sight and I actually enjoy watching him now.

* Jericho is just...Wow.

 

[Engine]

Im liking Jack Swagger atm...I hope they have big plans for him.

I've never really liked the worlds strongest man before....Im becoming a big fan of his now.

 

[Marshall_magic]

I think the big problem they have at the moment is Raw has all the big guns, Smackdown has all the next tier down then ECW has the worst. For this reason, SD is the best show. Guys like MVP, Borne and Swagger will just get lost in the RAW picture because they have all the big guns. Guys like Morrison, Truth, Ziggler etc are getting pushes because Smackdown can accomodate this. I'm loving Smackdown, Raw is alright, ECW is far to skinny for talent. I would just love to see Morrison turn heel again soon.

 

[Big Pete]

Being made up of three brands it's impossible to judge the WWE conclusively without dividing the assesment into each brand. So without further ado...

Monday Night Raw
Still considered as the leading source of 'sports entertainment' by those in the know, Monday Night Raw has continued to explore different avenues to deliver a healthy dose of violence.

I consider the introduction of the 'Guest Host' to be one of the best idea's in Raw's long history. The episodes with Batista and Seth Green were highly entertaining and while ZZ Top felt out of place, you have to admit 2/3 ain't bad.

Currently, the main event scene is rather dull with the same four faces constantly dominating the top of the card. I feel sorry for Randy Orton, the man opened the year in stunning fashion knocking out Vince McMahon yet he finds himself constantly playing the chicken s**t heel when he should really be like Triple H in 2000. Speaking of Hunter I hope after Night of Champions he gracefully leaves the main event for awhile and begins to feud with some of the up and comers and actually puts somebody like MVP or Jack Swagger over. The man has achieved more than enough, it's time for a break, for both him and the fans.

I don't mind Cena, he seriously is the face of the brand right now. Honestly, I hope for Cena/Orton at Summer Slam. As for the forth man, Batista, honestly I hope he's released. There's nothing more for him unless he decides to turn heel.

As I made mention with my opinion on Hunter, the Raw mid-card scene is blistering with talent. MVP, Swagger, Bourne, Kingston, The Miz and Henry have all impressed me in recent weeks and I hope most of them explore other area's of their career and drop out of the pursuit for the United States title. A feud with the likes of Orton, Batista, Hunter or Cena could really do wonders for them if they're given a decent push.

On the flip side, I'm getting sick of some of the novelty wrestlers. Hornswaggle should be released, without Finlay he's irrelevant and I can't believe they're jobbing out a talent like Chavo to the likes of him. Also The Brian Kendrick could be doing so much better, why isn't he on ECW feuding with Christian?

Ultimately, I'd say Raw has been solid. Neither great nor terribly bad.

ECW
The Americans sure do love their Summer. Long ass holidays, blockbuster movies and for ECW the Superstar Initiative! The Superstar Initiative allows a lot of wrestlers from FCW to take the step up to global television which in the process rejuvinates the ECW brand.

Currently the main event scene is Christian, Dreamer and Kozlov with Benjamin and Regal not too far behind. It's not a bad main event scene but obviously only Christian stands out at this point in time and for good reason. The man has been a machine since his return to the WWE and his matches with Swagger and Kozlov have really impressed me.

So far two wrestlers have really impressed me with their debuts. They're Toshi Katsu (I may of butchered his name) and Seamus. Seamus is essentially the Scottish Test (RIP) with an impressive physique coupled with an impressive arsenal of moves. Toshi on the other hand brings an oriental flavor to the Land of Extreme and his style will surely mesh well with other superstars. Sadly, I feel it won't be too long before we see the inevitable pairing between him and Funaki.

On the other side of things Abraham Washington has done nothing for me as of late. I know his shtick is to be a pathetic talk show host but to be a superstar in the WWE I believe you have to actually be entertaining to some degree. Currently the writers haven't done a great job and he hasn't been able to deliver as a result. Not to mention he reminds me of The Coach...enough said.

Smackdown
By far the best brand in the WWE currently - Smackdown has it all from realistic feuds to awesome wrestling.

With the talents of Punk, Hardy, Mysterio, Jericho, Ziggler, Edge and Morrison Smackdown has been a constant at my house and since the draft I'm yet to be dissapointed.

If I could critique anything though, it'd be the booking of Punk. His character is perfect, but I wish he'd win more matches and look more legitimate as opposed to vulnerable. Aside from that I've enjoyed the majority of the product except for...

The commentary, can Grish please go?

 

[Marshall_magic]

you did indeed butcher his name. Yoshi Tatsu.

 

[joel caine number 1 fan]

im finding it hard to get back into wrestling and wwe is the cause of it

raw is horrible i mean itsalmost the same main event scene as 3-4 years ago
orton is ok but hes not great
triple h still main eventing ater 10 years ,isnt it time for him to step down ???
cena is up and down hes entertaining one segment than boring the next


smackdown - im loving the new Hart Foundation but the rest is just boring

ecw - meh shelton is fine but the rest of the show is not ecw so why call it that

i flicked through some of my tapes and found me a old raw from 97 after wrestlemaina ,bret heel turn much better than now days

 

[Eelementary]

BTW Seamus is friggin' awesome - but he's Irish.

 

[Big Pete]

Is he now?

God I should pay more attention to ECW - thanks guys. :lol:

 

[Eelementary]

One thing is for sure, though - he kicks serious arse. And his intro music rocks!

 

[pennywisealfie]

ECW was all i watched. love christian, loved the new hart foundation now the hart foundation is gone, i just dont watch anymore. everything else in wwe sucks ass.

 

[Ladmate]

I liked the WWE in 2003...that and 2002, 2001 and 2000 were the best years in the WWE this decade. Downhill ever since IMO.

 

[IanG]

"Too much rootin' not enough shootin'"

Translation


"Too much storyline not enough wrestling"

 

[joel caine number 1 fan]

"Too much rootin' not enough shootin'"

Translation


"Too much storyline not enough wrestling"

wwe was awesome in 98-99 and there wasnt much wrestling than either

i dont think it matters its just gotta have a good mix i perfer what tna is doing right now with the style that russo brings its more fun and exciting

wwe is the same everyweek and will be until tna gets its ratings up to around 3

 

[Big Pete]

The in-ring work from 98-99 was dreadful. The main event was always an exagerated brawl and the undercards were mostly tainted by poor wrestling or dirty finishes. In all honesty, they relied on the characters and storylines which for the most part were engaging.

I hated the WWE in 2003. In my mind, it's the most dissapointing year in WWE history with both brands being dominated by one personality.

On Raw you had Triple H dominate everybody from WCW. It was pathetic and instead of pushing the likes of Jericho, Christian, Booker T, Rob Van Dam or Test we got stuck with Steiner, Nash and Goldberg...*yawn*.

Smackdown on the other hand was dominated by the baby face version of Goldberg, Brock Lesnar. When Lesnar first came in I was impressed, he had a nice arsenal of moves and he could take one hell of a chair shot. Unfortunately I started getting bored of Lesnar and by the time he won the Royal Rumble I didn't really give a s**t.

His run to the title was stupid as well considering they gave away the main event for Wrestlemania on an edition of Smackdown. Then once Lesnar won it, his characters sexuality came into question, especially once Angle returned and the two of them became best buds. Fortunately Vince thought it would be a good idea to turn Lesnar heel again where he could use all his strengths, good work Vinny!

Unfortunately, Lesnar's 2nd heel run was no where near as good as his first. With mic. responsibilities they made Lesnar into Vinny's b**** by having him parade around the ring and beg Vince for matches. It was pathetic.

Aside from storylines though, Lesnar was getting better and better in the ring. His matches with Angle and Benoit were fantastic and he was really developing as a technician.

Also don't forget, aside from Lesnar, Smackdown gave us some exciting moments such as:

*Vince McMahon vs. Stephanie McMahon
*Zach Gowan
*The Return of Ernest Miller
*The Sacking of Ernest Miller

and worse of all

*Australian's missed out on Smackdown until August.

Yep, for about a year, Australian wrestling fans were kept in the dark about Smackdown and only had Monday Night Raw to watch (which for those playing at home was on Fox Sports).

 

[Special K]

The in-ring work from 98-99 was dreadful.

That is purely your opinion. 98 - 99 imo had some of the best workers in their absolute prime. WCW had guys like Jericho, Rey, Eddie, Benoit and co breaking through while ECW was basically living off the RVD/Jerry Lynn fued (with some great workers like Taz, Awesome, Tanaka thrown in). The WWE also had a strong three level singles championship structure.

Sure you had some clunky workers thrown in however I think 98-99 was far from dreadful. Very far!

The main event was always an exagerated brawl and the undercards were mostly tainted by poor wrestling or dirty finishes. In all honesty, they relied on the characters and storylines which for the most part were engaging.

The brawls were highly engaing! Look at Undertaker/Austin at SS 98 or any of the brutal Rock/Foley matches. Like I said before the under cards were the highlight of the shows esp in WCW. While in the WWF, I personally loved the fued between N.O.D and DX during 98

On Raw you had Triple H dominate everybody from WCW. It was pathetic and instead of pushing the likes of Jericho, Christian, Booker T, Rob Van Dam or Test we got stuck with Steiner, Nash and Goldberg...*yawn*.

In terms of marketability and ability to draw money surely you can see why they went for established names while they were trying to establish two different "brands"

His run to the title was stupid as well considering they gave away the main event for Wrestlemania on an edition of Smackdown.

That was because of Kurts neck. Then Kurt spoke to his disabled neighbour(or something) who had a TV guide with Kurt's photo on it and he thought if this was going to be it and he would never wrestle again he might aswell go out at Mania.. His shoot interview covers it - very interesting.


I personally don't watch much WWE. The Taker/HBK fued had me interested and the CM Punk heel turn makes me want to watch smackdown when it is on but other than that it is boring. I'd rather catch TNA on replay when I can. Even if Nash, Steiner, Sting, Foley and co can barely walk..

 

[Big Pete]

Obviously I was refering to the WWE in 98-99 Special K when their undercard was made up of such in-ring 'dynamo's' as Road Dogg, Godfather, Hardcore Holly and Goldust. They had some shining lights in Triple H and D'Lo Brown but for the most part the WWE's undercard during that period of time was s**t.

And before anybody brings Owen Hart to my attention, the man was a joke in the WWE after his feud with Hunter. Had absolutely nothing going for him in the WWE who treated him horribly until the day he died.

Some of the brawls were decent but once you'd seen one Austin brawl, you'd seen them all.

On paper it looks like a great idea but the WWE stuffed it with their piss poor execution. Scott Steiner is NOT a face, Nash should've been released after his second knee injury and Bill Goldberg should've been handled differently. Mind you the main point I was trying to make is that Triple H dominated the brand which made it absolutely boring and he buried any shred of Booker T's integrity with that piss poor finish at Mania XIX.

I know about the change in plans for the Mania XIX event but still at the time it was a bizarre move and it hurt the lead up to Mania.

 

[Utey]

You cannot compare 1999 to now, it's obvious that it's become utter rubbish in that time. 1998/1999, those were the days.

 

[Manurewa_Marlins]

WWF's in ring product did suck sh*t during that time period. The one thing it had going for it was the Undertaker's stint as Lord of Darkness. That, for mine, was one of the most engaging characters in a long long time in pro wrestling, possibly since Raven's original ECW run, and Austin's 1997 run.

By the end of 1999, on the back of the recrutiment of Jericho and the Radicalz, aswell as the Dudley Boyz, the advent of Edge and Christian, the Hardyz, Kurt Angle, and Triple H's push/subsequent fued with Mick Foley, the WWE entered into its second golden era. Seriously, go back and watch the PPVs from 2000, and you will see great in ring product, the return of tag team wrestling, great storylines, and fresh faces at the top.

I compare that to what we get today, and just shake my head in disbelief. They're falling victim to what they were escaping in the early 90s. The same people at the top month in month out.

And f**k TNA. I recently watched Ultimate X from Final Resolution in 2005...jesus they've butchered the product since then.

 

[Albie]

Smackdown is by far the best show, has people with wrestling ability and they can all carry storylines. Jericho, Morrison, Punk, Hardy, Rey, Ziggler, Edge ( even though he is out for a long time) etc. I would like to see a Jericho/Morrison fued for the World Heavyweight Championship soon and also Ziggler to get the IC soon would be interesting to see him hold a title he has a great gimmick.

On the other hand Raw is so boring now, Legacy is getting old, Randy is a great wrestler though don't get me wrong. John Cena is the worst thing to happen to wrestling I can not stand story lines where he is involved or watching him wrestle. Every wrestling match he is involved in goes like this... Shoulder Charge, Shoulder Charge, Shoulder Charge, Some Kind of slam, 5 knuckle Shuffle, Waits for them to get up FU gets reversed opponent takes control until that happens again and he gets the FU. Triple HHH needs to take a step down agreed.

Don't watch much ECW but with Shelton on there they have to give him a push for the ECW title he is to good of a wrestler to be wasted doing mid-card stuff once a week on ECW. How he hasn't had a title push is beyond me.

 

[Marshall_magic]

I think the WWE need to take a punt with Taker, Cena, HHH, HBK or Batista and turn them heel. They've all been faces for years, they need to turn a few of them heel because we are just getting the same stuff over and over again. It's getting boring. The Raw main event every week is Cena+HHH vs Legacy with some variation. Also, it's blocking a lot of the younger talent from making the step up. MVP is the 4th highest face on Raw but if say Cena and Batista turned, all of a sudden he'd be the second highest. All these kids can only really get over as a heel, where they have to job out to the likes of HHH.