As long as I’ve been a fan of the WWE, I can remember there being one overwhelming problem in the organization. Injuries? Yeah, there are tons of people on the injured list, but that’s not the decade-old problem. Silly gimmicks? Oh yes, that is a big issue and some people (who refuse to believe the truth about the Tommy Dreamer gimmick) still think that that is a plague in the WWE. That’s not my issue, though. So I must be talking about the dominant fist that Mighty McMahon wields over his product – while I do think that this domination is an issue, there is something else that has always been a problem for me, as a fan, in the WWE.
For as far back as I can remember, the WWE has had a major issue tying up the loose ends. What loose ends you ask? Well, let me explain! I’ll pick a completely random subject – the marriage of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. I have some issues that I would like answered about this situation. Is the divorce final yet? Who gets what? Yeah, they are stupid, downright meaningless plot issues, but they are there just the same.
Let me explain this further. The WWE is notorious for cutting things short and forgetting about them. While I believe that this cut-short and forget it attitude is 100% Vince McMahon’s doing (not wanting an old storyline to linger in his fans’ eyes), it weakens the product and while it might not be a big enough issue to turn people away, it does NOT help the position of the WWE.
Before I delve deeper into this issue and how it is bringing down an already weakened product, let me congratulate the WWE on certain points. The Bret Hart screw-job in Montreal: yeah, it has been written about and talked about and reported about to no end. However, think back to the RAW after Survivor Series 1997. Think back to the WWE programming after that incident. The WWE actually tied up the loose ends. Vince McMahon laid it all out on the line and the entire Bret Hart/WWE Saga came to an end. Period. There was nothing left to know (storyline-wise), there was no thoughts of “what happened” by the fans (due to Vince’ explanation – albeit a slanted one), and there was no wonder going around the wrestling world. It was tied up at the ends like any storyline – real or fake – should be.
So there is some credit for them on a job well done. Another good example of them tying up the ends is, ironically, the Survivor Series hit and run by Rikishi on Steve Austin. This one took a year, but it was still tied up (even though I hated the end of the storyline, it still got its ending). Nice, tight conclusion to a storyline in the WWE.
How is this effecting today’s product? Well, let’s take a look at RAW (mainly because I really don’t watch Smackdown). Scott Hall and the WWE part ways. Alright. Why? Well, Flair says that it is because he couldn’t take care of Austin. Alright, not a bad storyline, but could be better. Go down the card a bit. Raven gets mad at the WWE for making him an announcer and he “quits.” Then we see him sitting in the back stage area two weeks ago saying something about Austin. What the hell is going on here? Where is the explanation? Am I, as a fan, supposed to accept seeing Raven completely normal one week as an announcer and then the next week accept him as the dark, mysterious Raven of ECW? Nah…not going to work. At least give us a sign of his purpose! That is what it all comes down to – the purpose of the action. And this stuff about not wanting to be an announcer and all of that bull doesn’t cut it.
Planet Stasiak is a crazy man. Alright, fine. Why? Too many head-first shots into steel armor? Nah…not going to happen. Where are the vignettes about him going to a psychologist and the psychologist suggesting to the WWE that he take some time off? Why is there no explanation about this Stasiak character? I would love to hear a description of “Planet Stasiak” from Sean himself. Lord knows that would be more hilarious than Eddie Guerrero singing karaoke at a bar.
The Big Show turned on Steve Austin and joined the nWo. He claimed that it was because he was at The World while Austin was at WrestleMania or something along those lines. It was a good explanation. I liked it. However, the aftermath has been a joke. Why is The Big Show not interfering in every one of Austin’s matches? So Austin beat him at the pay per view – does that mean that the years of frustration that are built inside of The Big Show are gone now? I don’t buy that one bit. Perhaps the issue is Austin himself, since we all now know that he doesn’t particularly like jobbing to people. Hey, if there was ever a time for Vince to use that iron fist, it is now. He already lost Jeff Jarrett (an underrated talent in the WWE) to Austin’s refusal to fight him and I think we can all come to the conclusion that Scott Hall’s stay in the WWE wasn’t helped by Austin’s reluctance to put him over – so why not “give it” to Austin? He sells merchandise, he sells this, he does that, these people love him, everyone loves him – oh enough of the bullshit already! The man has a job and that job is to entertain. He was put in a situation where he could have helped a HUGE investment (The Big Show) get over as a monster heel. He refused to do it. He did this to Scott Hall and he did this to Jeff Jarrett in the past. Perhaps this rattlesnake does have venom in his bite – maybe that lethal does that McMahon talked about on Smackdown all those months ago…
Brock Lesnar (my new favorite wrestler) used to have his matches ended by the referee because of the beating he gave his opponents. Someone in the back didn’t like that and it was stopped. No! Are you kidding me? One of the “Superstars” in the WWE didn’t like the fact that Lesnar was getting over as a huge heel and so the storyline was stopped? What the hell is that? The better ending to that stage of his early career would have been Heyman brainwashing him into wanting to not knock his opponents out so they could suffer more in the ring by being attacked by him.
I could go on and on, but that’s enough for now. Let me hear your thoughts. I figure I’ll get some negative feedback on this, but I think that long-time fans will hear my issue about the storylines and probably give me even more examples! Thanks.
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