No need to panic, I’m back. Your Wrestling God is back, just for you. The computer is fixed and we’re ready to roll again. I thought as you’ve waited so long to hear from me, why not treat you to a topic which everyone knows is happening under our noses. The development of the stars of tomorrow.
If you read my SummerSlam preview, then you’ll have read about the promise that Triple H made about youth development in WWE and what he was going to do about the scarce main event players in WWE at the moment. What we’re going to do now is take a look at how WWE could improve their main event scene with the wrestlers they already have and then take a look to see what Triple H could and maybe should be doing, off of the back of his promise.
Let us start with the best options WWE has right now. Jack Swagger in 2010 was one of the hottest properties in wrestling. He had the look, the build, the talent to go all the way. In FCW, WWE’s Florida based training camp Swagger outshone all of his other competitors. Anyone who saw him on an FCW or OVW card knew that Swagger was tipped for the biggest spot in wrestling history. It all looked peachy when Jack Swagger took the Money in the Bank briefcase at Wrestlemania 26 and then forty eight hours later when Swagger cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and won the World Heavyweight Championship, it genuinely looked like Jack Swagger was WWE’s next big thing.
As per usual in WWE, Jack Swagger was pushed until WWE lost interest in him. It’s a common story which has happened with numerous wrestlers over the years. One minute they look set to be the next Stone Cold and the next minute WWE loses interest in them and goes back to pushing its old, tired stars. Jack Swagger was a victim of the stop-start push. After complaining that it had no new stars to push into the main event and sell out arenas, WWE did the unthinkable and buried Swagger so deep, that it’s now going to take another few years at least to dig him back out.
As World Heavyweight Champion Swagger should have been given free roam of WWE’s main event scene. Instead Jack Swagger, World Heavyweight Champion was given the Big Show. As if that wasn’t bad enough, in his pay per view matches and television angles with Show, Swagger wasn’t allowed to show any strength or any sign that he was a match for the Big Bore. Big Show was given the green light to make a mockery of Swagger and his World Championship reign. In their pay per view matches Swagger was only permitted a limited amount of offensive and wasn’t even allowed to win the match strongly. WWE portrayed Swagger as a cowardly heel who couldn’t hold his own in the main event and whose World Title win was nothing more than a fluke.
Swagger’s World Heavyweight Championship reign ended at the hands of Rey Mysterio in a few decent matches. Even they couldn’t undo what WWE had already done to Swagger. Ideally Swagger would have outsmarted the Big Show at every turn. Injuring him, attacking the knees, costing him chances and titles before out wrestling Big Show and forcing him to tap out on pay per view wit the ankle lock. WWE had the ideal opportunity to push Swagger’s height and weight over Mysterio and his small frame. They didn’t. No effort was made to make Swagger look like a champion. After dropping the gold WWE relegated Swagger to Superstars where he languished for the next two years, doing nothing of note and facing no one important.
In 2012, Jack Swagger is a bit part player in a company that desperately needed his skills and talent to carry the ‘B’ level pay per views. Jack Swagger could have been a wonderful foil for Sheamus and produced more interesting matches than Alberto Del Rio ever could. Swagger should have asked for his release a year ago, that way he could have travelled the world, got even more experience and then come back to WWE for a second punt at the goal. Instead he naively thought that he could make a difference when WWE finally got back around to him.
The final kick in the ribs came at Wrestlemania 28 in the twelve man tag team match. Swagger hardly got any exposure from the outing when, on commentary, Jerry Lawler was instructed to say “Jack Swagger? What’s he ever done at Wrestlemania?” And just like that, Jack Swagger’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match win and World Heavyweight Championship victory meant nothing. For fans who only discovered WWE after 2011, they’d have though that Swagger was nothing more than a squash performer. Judging by his diminishing state in WWE, they might not be far wrong.
WWE could do so much with Swagger still. It’s going to take years to rebuild him but they could start now. Before all interest disappears completely. The best option right now for Jack Swagger would be for WWE to pair him with another wrestler who has been languishing in the lower leagues for a while. Give them a run in the tag team division before dethroning the current WWE Tag Team Champions. Swagger and a partner could be a huge force to be reckoned with as a tag team. They could be giants among pretenders. Any team going against them, allowed to fight their corner and have a really good showing against Team Swagger would benefit hugely. From there, Swagger could move on the Intercontinental Championship and dominate there for a few months, racking up a memorable reign and then finally Swagger would be seen in the audiences’ eyes as a contender for the WWE or World Championship. All that went before would be erased if WWE made Swagger a demon in the Tag Team and Intercontinental division and could add a new colour to the tired main event scene.
The Miz has proclaimed to the WWE Universe that he is ‘Awesome’. Indeed he is. There can be no disputing that. He is a great talent with such a bright future. That is if WWE gave a damn about anyone but John Cena. Yes, we’re back on this subject again. When Miz became WWE Champion the last thing WWE should have done was put him against the one man who could do nothing for him. Yet, they thought that a Miz and John Cena feud would sell pay per view figures, despite the knowledge that Cena can’t handle anyone who can’t carry him. Cena made the Miz look like a moron. No selling for him, demolishing him with the same old shit that he’s used for the past ten years.
After the feud with John Cena had ended, Miz was left treading water for far too long. He lost to everyone and anyone who was about. Alex Riley, Brodus Clay, the very worst of the worst. It was like WWE were punishing him for something. Miz was never given any offense and his matches were often short and forgettable. You can’t have a wrestler proclaim how ‘Awesome’ he is and then go on a mammoth losing streak.
The comeback looked like it was beginning to build momentum when the Miz snatched the pinfall at Wrestlemania 28, his first in a very long time. But then once again it suddenly stopped when Miz was used as bait for Brodus Clay and worst still, the final straw, Santino. How is that going to build Miz for the future? Fans need a heel they can believe in as well and boo and cheer for in the right circumstances. We cannot buy into someone who WWE gives the impression of that they don’t see as a serious star. If WWE were serious about building stars for the future, then they wouldn’t have done this to the Miz.
It must have been a slap in the face for Miz, who spends most of his spare time, when he’s not wrestling, going to press functions and representing WWE in the outside world. Is that how little WWE thinks of its talent? If so, then it may as well give up now.
Fortunately, taking Randy Orton’s place in ‘The Marine 3’ was the rebirth of the Miz. Disappearing off of T.V for a month did the Miz the world of good. People forgot that he was being buried every week and when he made his return at Money in the Bank 2012 he was welcomed back into the WWE family like he was a the champion. It’s clear to me that the fans are willing to forget the past mistakes as long as WWE are willing to stop wasting our time. The Miz should have won that match at Money in the Bank 2012 and instantly claimed the case. It would have cemented how serious the Miz was about reclaiming his place. Even better would have been claiming the case after a strong beat down of Cena, the man who started the downfall, and a ‘Skull crushing finale’ from the top of the ladder.
That didn’t happen, but WWE giant leap forward with the Miz when he turned up on raw, complete with designer stubble and a brand new attitude. It was a step up from the arrogant, self approving character who had left WWE to go in front of the cameras. Don’t get me wrong, Miz still has those traits in his repertoire, but now he looks like he’s serious about his future. His superb match with Christian on the thousandth episode of Raw, where Miz captured the Intercontinental Championship was hopefully a sign that this current push won’t die away after ‘Marine 3’ has been released. If it does and WWE goes back to burying the Miz, then someone needs firing.
From a strong Intercontinental Championship reign the Miz should be in position to be catapulted right back into the main event picture. The best that could happen to the Miz would be to put him on Smackdown full time and keep him well away from John Cena. As I.C champion, one match against John Cena could undo all of the good work Miz could accomplish as I.C Champion. If Miz can see out the year in great matches with Christian and the rest of the undercard, coming out on top in clean finishes that promote the Miz’s wrestling abilities instead of passing him off as a cowardly heel, then Miz could be a strong contender for Royal Rumble winner in January, if the WWE aren’t going to go with the Rock. I can guarantee you that a Miz Royal Rumble victory would get twice the reaction a Sheamus victory got. That’s that Miz’s path back to the top. Instead of having a returning legend on screen as Wrestlemania goes off air in 2013, just think how much better it would be for WWE’s future if it was the Miz holding the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship aloft as Wrestlemania 29 faded out.
Dolph Ziggler is going to be huge. We all know it. The guy exudes charisma and talent beyond the normal. Compared to Mr. Perfect in his prime, Ziggler would be the logical bet to put your money on, to end 2012 as World Heavyweight Champion. There’s nothing that can stop that happening. WWE can stop the event having an impact though, and they will if they don’t stop treating Ziggler like a rookie.
It happened in his feud with Rey Mysterio in 2009, WWE were too scared to pull the trigger on a Ziggler victory even though it was apparent that the fans wanted it. We’ve let our feelings be known about Ziggler. We want him as champion. He’s the future of this business whether you like him or not and WWE will be all the better for it. And if WWE can avoid treating him like they did Jack Swagger, WWE could be heading for bright shores.
In the right here, right now though, WWE aren’t treating Ziggler’s push correctly, again. On the thousandth episode of Raw, Ziggler was on the losing team of a six man tag team match, which Sheamus’ team won. Since then there’s been hardly any build up for a cashing in of the briefcase or a feud with Sheamus which has to happen soon. The triple threat match on Smackdown between Kane, Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio should have had Ziggler replace Kane and win. If Ziggler had won a number one contender’s match whilst still in possession of the briefcase then he would have been seen as a serious contender. Naturally Ziggler would have had to lose at SummerSlam to Sheamus had the match gone ahead, otherwise the briefcase he owns wouldn’t have been worth a damn. If the match had have been first class then Ziggler would have come out of it in a stronger position than Sheamus.
At the moment though it feels like Ziggler is in the main event scene by accident. Because fans love him and not because WWE see him as a future talent. Too many times the guy who cashes in the Money in the Bank contract has been made out to be a fluke without any build up whatsoever. Ziggler needs to be made a major player and contender before he walks away with gold. If not, he’ll fall prey to the trap WWE fell into with Swagger. It’s not often you get a second chance at something like this, but WWE have it with Ziggler. Let’s just hope this time they get it right.
Cody Rhodes was going to be huge. A great run with the Intercontinental Championship and great matches against Randy Orton all pointed to a success story in the making. But then WWE thought it wise to cut Rhodes down just to pad out Big Show’s title record. Dumb, is the only word I can use for it. To cut short a great career just as it gets going only goes to show how stupid WWE can be. But to sacrifice it just for an over the hill wrestler who you plan to try and once more make into something, is just slapping us all in the face.
As if the Wrestlemania 28 debacle wasn’t bad enough, WWE decide the best way to get Rhodes back on track is to have him defeat Big Show in a dire tables match four weeks later, which my fellow minions, Rhodes wasn’t allowed to have any offence in at all. The match ended when Big Show stepped through a table and the ref rang the bell for the decision. I wonder sometimes who is using the business brain cell at titan towers. However booked this storyline to go as far as it did and to do as much damage as it did needs their marching orders now! The person in question should be writing for BBC – where all manner of tat passes through the channel as long as it’s from known writers. In fact BBC are much like WWE. They just don’t want to give anyone new a chance and you can take that from someone who has been told so many times before by the broadcasting company in question. BBC see new people as a threat and think that anyone new couldn’t possible be as good as the tired rubbish they trawl out week after week. They prefer writers with broadcast experience, yet they’re dumb to the fact that without their help and giving new people the chance no one will get broadcast experience. What a bunch of blind morons they really are. Look at your ratings people – sorry I forgot, BBC, like WWE, don’t like to hear the truth because it may destroy the idyllic image they have of themselves if they saw what they really were.
Anyway, back to wrestling. I went off on one then. Cody Rhodes was sacrificed to the Big Show so WWE could tread the same waters over and over again. After Extreme Rules the damage to Rhodes was so severe that not even a feud with Christian could build him back up. Now, WWE seem to have given up on Rhodes and lumbered him on Superstars to be defeated week after week by Sin Cara and the wrestler who currently languish in WWE’s version of ‘The Bargain Bin’.
The Tag Teams are the last of my points. Once a thriving division, WWE was known an applauded for its diverse tag team scene. Yet in 2012, they have the talent there but never utilise it. Primo and Epico are a tremendous tag team unit that could be something huge. The Usos are great in the ring and have so much untapped potential it almost hurts to see them wasted. The Prime Time Players though are who we’re going to look at along with the current WWE Tag Team Champions, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth.
The Prime Time Players and Kingston and Truth looked to be on the way to rebuilding the tag team division. Ok the players aren’t great, but they’re watchable in short stints. Tag Team Championship material they’re not, but challenger material they could excel at if given the chance. I thought WWE had turned a corner when the Prime Time Players won a Number One Contenders match, but then the promised match was given away free in T.V and not showcased at a pay per view event. From there the Players were beaten by Epico and Primo and A.W, their manager was released from his WWE contract.
Kingston and Truth were slung on the undercard at Money in the Bank 2012 when their number one contenders were given pay per view time. How is that showcasing the Tag Team Division? Once again, it’s an easy remedy. If WWE cycle the tag team division around so everyone gets a shot at the gold, showcase the tag team championship matches on pay per view in a prominent spot with enough time for the wrestlers to get their talent and message across, then WWE would have a thriving tag team division once again. Along with the Usos, Primo and Epico, WWE also have Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Jack Swagger who could do something great in a tag team and a roster as long as my...well, I’ll leave that to your imagination – that could add their wealth of talent, knowledge and experience to a division that needs a make over, instead of wasting these guys on superstars.
So here’s what I propose. WWE hold a tag team tournament, much like King of the Ring once a year, dedicate a pay per view to it, dedicate an entire episode of Raw to it, just do something to illuminate it so we see it as important again. The winners would get an automatic title shot and be pushed like the true challengers they are. The Tag Team Champions would be under tremendous pressure and be the underdogs should WWE use this idea to create some truly talented tandems. Then on the big shows like Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble and Survivor Series the tag teams could be brought out in four corner matches to determine the new contenders once the winners of the tournament had their shot. That way you could introduce new tag teams at huge events, get them over and make us believe in them.
That way, in the tag teams that don’t work out, you’re bound to find one or two new singles stars which the WWE Universe like. If WWE did this then the belts that Kingston and Truth currently wear might not be so worthless. WWE could even, on occasion have a headline star enter the chase for the coveted tag team titles. In the 1990’s, when he wasn’t fighting for the WWF Championship, Yokozuna fought for the Tag Team Championships. It made the tag gold look just as important as the WWF Championship, that a headline star wanted the belts that much. Then when Yoko went back to fighting for the WWF Championship the tag division was left refreshed with a new perspective.
The singles roster is a different matter. WWE need to banish the stop start pushes and focus their gaze and efforts onto three or four young guys. Push the oldies to the back and make way for the future. For the talent already on WWE’s roster, it might be a great idea to hold a pay per view once a year which only showcases the abilities on the young stars. No John Cena, no C.M Punk, no Big Show, no one to rain on their parade. Look how good WWE TLC 2011 was without any Cena. A pay per view solely for the up and comers, like TNA’s Destination X would allow WWE to try out new stars, stars that languish on NXT and Superstars and see what the public think of them on a bigger stage. Zack Ryder, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, all of them could do with this kind of exposure. After the pay per view you take the five best and you make them stars.
This doesn’t mean losing to Cena at every pay per view for three months. This means having Cena sacrifice himself for them for a change. For people like Cena to do for the new generation what the old on did for him. If WWE keeps having a glass ceiling which it cages the young talent under, then this vicious cycle is going to keep going on forever.
Another idea is to have a tournament to decide a number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship. I’m skirting around the real point here, which is, WWE, bring back King of the Ring! It was wonderful and made genuine stars of people who might not have been otherwise. WWE could adopt a TNA approach. The winner of the Ultimate X match in TNA has the opportunity to surrender the X Division Championship for a one off shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. WWE could do that with the Intercontinental Championship or the King of the Ring crown. This would guarantee at least two stars a year come through the glass ceiling and make it big. You see if WWE put half as much effort into the tag team division and its younger wrestlers as it did John Cena then all these problems would disappear before we knew it.
Sticking with the tournament idea, WWE could shake up Survivor Series each year and change the rules a little. Go back to the very first Survivor Series event and retread old ground if it must. Where every match was a Survivor Series Elimination match and the survivors from th winning teams advanced to a huge Survivor Series match in the main event, good guys vs bad guys. Even if it ended up as a six on two match. This would do wonders for the young guns and allow them to showcase their talent on a major pay per view, where they wouldn’t normally get the chance. WWE could book the survivors of each match to meet a team of headline stars in the main event where the young guys would go over the headline stars the first year. They couldn’t do it every year but as long as they were given a stage to perform on, and the headliners sold convincingly for the up and comers it would do everyone a lot of good.
Bret Hart made Diesel look like a star at King of the Ring 1994, that what the WWE headliners should be doing for the stars of tomorrow, today.
Instead of burying their talent on commentary WWE should be instructing its commentators to big them up like Jim Ross used to in the 1990’s. Ross got all manner of wrestlers over by commentary alone. He’d talk to them before the events, get to know them so he could say something good about them on air. WWE don’t do that these days. Jerry Lawler is more bothered about seeing a pair of tits and Michael Cole has to be the single most boring man I have ever sat and listened to. In the past WWE have hired commentators who didn’t have a clue what they were talking about. Mike Adamle, Matt Striker, Josh Matthews anyone? If WWE want an example of why it shouldn’t hire people or celebrities to commentate on its product then it needs to look no further than King of the Ring 1994.
For those of you who don’t remember, then you’re lucky you didn’t have sit through three hours of Art Donovan. For those of you who did witness the train crash that was the King of the Ring 1994 commentary, then you’ll know how grim it actually was. Art Donovan, in 1994 was an American Football commentator who WWE thought it wise to bring in to commentate on a sport he’d never watched and knew nothing about. He was appalling and kept coming out with the most stupid and inane questions and comments you’ve ever heard. Things like: “How much does he weight?” over and over and over and over and over again, after it had been announced by the ring announcer. “How can Mabel weigh so much and jump around?”, “Whose the guy in the white suit?” Who, when told it was Oscar, Mable’s manager thought it important to come out with the line “I thought he had come to take him to hospital!” Where does that factor on a wrestling pay per view? But Donovan wasn’t finished there, he went on to come out with such lines as “These guys need a helmet with a face mask!”, “He knocked the hell out of the ring poste!” and “These guys are going to kill each other!” as Owen Hart had a sleeper hold applied to Tatanka. And his all time favourite which I lost of how many times he said it “I can’t believe this!”
During Razor Ramon’s King of the Ring matches, Donovan for some reason kept calling him ‘The Razor Man!’ and worse, Gorilla Monsoon who was on commentary with Donovan and Macho Man Randy Savage, took to calling Razor Ramon ‘The Razor Man’. But get this, Donovan had back Ramon to win the 1994 King of the Ring tournament, had already seen him wrestle Bam Bam Bigelow in the opening round, yet when Razor came out for his semi-final match with I.R.S, Donovan turned to Savage and asked; “Is this Razor?’ unbelievable. The calamity wasn’t done after that because at the start of the semi-final matches Donovan then asked “The Semi-finals and then the final. That’s it?” Well yes! That’s what usually happens when you get to a final, it’s over then. There’s nothing after it. Donovan shouldn’t have even asked that as a football commentator.
During the WWF Championship Match between Diesel and Bret Hart, Donovan singled out Shawn Michaels and asked “Is he a wrestler?” During said encounter, it had been explained to Donovan that the previous year Bret Hart took a beating and won the King the of the Ring Tournament. This wasn’t going in to Art Donovan’s head and before Diesel had even handed out a great deal of punishment to Bret, Donovan piped in and said; “There’s now way he (Hart) can win this match now after the way that guy has beaten him up!” It totally ruined the match. When the match had finished and Hart had won by disqualification, it had been explained to Donovan that the WWF Championship only changes hands by pin fall or submission, and the referee took the WWF Championship from Diesel, the fool asked; “Why is the ref stealing the belt?
Through the whole event Art Donovan even kept calling everyone in the ring “This guy!” Even though he’d heard their names be announced seconds before. It was lunacy! Macho Man Randy Savage for some reason thought he had to dumb his commentary and wrestling knowledge down to suit Donovan’s and the Macho Man, one of the greatest wrestlers and play by play men in the industry sounded simple in agreeing with Donovan and the stupid things e said. If you haven’t seen it, then go back an watch King of the Ring 1994. In the ring, the pay per view was superb. There wasn’t a bad match on the card. But the commentary was a train wreck of epic proportions. It’s cringe worthy to sit and listen to with a non wrestling fan. Even watching it by yourself you’ll find you’re balling your fist up ready to cringe. It’s the equivalent of walking up to a fat woman and asking “When’s it due!” That kind of cringe moment.
Which I think is a perfect example of why WWE shouldn’t hire people who don’t know the business to commentate or even write for it. JBL, Mick Foley, Booker T, they’re the reasons why WWE should hire former wrestlers as commentators, not celebrities who have no place around a wrestling ring.
I touched up the territorial development system in my SummerSlam preview blog. How Triple H vowed to put more money in. I suggested WWE open development and training camps in L.A, Washington, New York and Stamford Connecticut where WWE headquarters is based. This would be a great idea for introducing some really good wrestlers to business who don’t know they’re really good. Out there some where is the next Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Undertaker, Triple H and so on. How do these people know if they have it in them unless someone introduces them to the business?
WWE also needs to pay its talent in its main development system, Florida Championship Wrestling more. These guys, though you might not know it, get paid a pittance. They have to live, eat, pay bills and put their body on the line all for nothing. WWE makes a mint each quarter, would it really hurt to pay these guys two thousand dollars a week rather than seven hundred? More money would represent better performances in the ring. Wrestlers who are looking for the break in FCW wouldn’t become as depressed because of their financial state and maybe WWE would see some real comeback on their investment.
But in the end it’s all down to Vince and Triple H. WWE need to take a look at TNA in 2012 and see how good their product is becoming and how well they exhibit and push new talent. For years WWE has said how much better it is than TNA and how TNA aren’t a threat. Well, if this carries on for much longer WWE may be eating their words. And for a company that don’t like to be wrong, that would leave a very sour taste indeed.
It’s good to be back.
Onwards and upwards...
