LOOKING AT GOOD IDEAS AND BAD IDEAS IN WWE
By Doug Brown on 4/8/2009 1:32 PM
Wrestlemania 25 is in the books, and now the focus in World Wrestling Entertainment shifts to the 2009 Draft and their next pay-per-view, Backlash. Wrestlemania has long been known as the end of the WWE calendar year. This past Monday night on RAW started the build toward next year's Wrestlemania in Phoenix. With that in mind (and the fact that I had not written a column in several weeks), I thought I'd take a look at both the good ideas and bad ideas that have been coming out of Titan Towers lately.
GOOD IDEA: Replacing Vickie Guerrero with Teddy Long on Smackdown
BAD IDEA: Replacing Stephanie McMahon with Vickie Guerrero on RAW
Vickie Guerrero has been a heel authority figure for over a year and half. She regularly gets the loudest amount of boos for any heel character in WWE. I have raised the debate in past columns that I believe Vickie's response is more "X-Pac" heat than "a good heel who we want to see get her comeuppance" heat. I just do not think she is a good on air character. She talked about RAW being stale, but I think it is the whole Edge-Vickie relationship that is the most stale thing on WWE programming. The ratings have supported that. While Smackdown is getting the highest ratings in the history of MyNetworkTV, the ratings are the lowest in the show's history. Prior to Vickie taking over, Smackdown was regularly doing upper 2's and lower 3's. They now regularly struggle to get a 2.0. Since ridiculously being named interim GM of RAW, the ratings under Vickie dropped each week from a 4.1 down to a 3.6. They did get the post-Mania bump this past week to a 3.9, but we will see next week if that was just a one time thing. I think Teddy Long should have never been removed as Smackdown General Manager. I like that he just makes the matches and let's the wrestlers wrestle. Hopefully, this will help get Smackdown back to being an entertaining wrestling show rather than focusing on the melodrama.
GOOD IDEA: Moving Teddy Long back to Smackdown
BAD IDEA: Making Tiffany the interim ECW General Manager
Why not just make Hornswoggle the general manager? While I am happy for Teddy that he's going back to Smackdown, his replacement is a total joke. You have a backstage list of road agents that includes Arn Anderson, Dean Malenko, and Ricky Steamboat, but instead you put one of your FCW developmental talents in charge of the brand. Are you guys insane? The only thing Tiffany has going for her is her looks. How do they expect us to take the brand seriously, when it is pretty clear that they don't. Maybe they are just holding the position until Tommy Dreamer retires in June. What? You don't think they are actually going to let him win the title do you?
GOOD IDEA: Making Josh Matthews the new lead announcer on ECW
BAD IDEA: Moving Todd Grisham to Smackdown
Matthews showed a lot of promise back when he used to co-host WWE Velocity. He's been off TV for so long that I was not sure if he was still with the company. Given that Matthews is as a big a "wrestling nerd" as Matt Striker, it should make for some interesting commentary on Tuesday nights. Plus, unlike Michael Cole, Matthews actually knows the names of the moves. As for Grisham, I thought he did a nice job on ECW. I don't like the move to Smackdown, because WWE has tried the two play-by-play guys in the booth before, and it never works. The loss of Tazz is a big one, because he is the best color commentator in the business. You can bet that should Tazz return to wrestling one day, his services will be in demand by TNA, ROH, or maybe even should that much rumored Hogan-Bischoff promotion ever come to fruition.
BAD IDEA: Having Edge steal the World Title at No Way Out
GOOD IDEA: Having John Cena regain the World Title at Wrestlemania
By having a Smackdown star, Edge, win the World Title, it gave the flagship brand, RAW, several weeks of having no champion. I thought the entire thing was handled very poorly. We were then subjected to weeks of the Edge-Vickie-Big Show love triangle on both shows. Then instead of waiting for Wrestlemania for these three to lock up, they repeatedly gave away matches between each of the competitors (Cena-Edge, Cena-Show, Edge-Show) for free on RAW and Smackdown. Why should people spend $54.95 and tax on a pay-per-view, when they've been seeing these guys face each other for free? In the past, these guys would not have touched each other until Wrestlemania. We don't know what is going to happen in the draft. I am just glad that (at least for right now) one of the major titles is back on RAW.
GOOD IDEA: Having Batista replace Vince McMahon in the six man tag at Backlash
BAD IDEA: Putting the WWE Title on the line in the six man tag
Batista gives the six man tag a better chance of being good than having a 60-something year old Vince in there. I thought something was up when Batista's appearance at Fan Axxess was replaced by Mr. Kennedy and Cryme Tyme. It was good to seem him return. I like the idea of the six man tag. I do not like the idea of the WWE Title being on the line in that match. Like Buck pointed out in the RAW Thoughts, the idea that Cody Rhodes could pin Shane McMahon, and Randy Orton would become the champion is beyond absurd. It's ideas like this that further cheapen the value of their titles. Plus, Vince said that Orton would not be getting another title shot, and Vickie comes out an hour later to make this a title match. Since when can Vickie (or any GM) overrule Vince on anything? Judging from the lack of reaction, this is a storyline that needs to end quickly. After all, this is the third time in less than two years that Triple H is feuding with Orton, and I think the fifth time overall that they have feuded.
GOOD IDEA: Letting more ECW Stars than ever compete in matches at Wrestlemania
BAD IDEA: Not putting an ECW Title Match on the Wrestlemania card
I like that ECW got more of a presence at Wrestlemania this year, being a part of three matches (the tag team title match, Money in the Bank, and the Divas battle royal). However, why was there no ECW Title match on the show? Apparently, WWE Creative did not feel that Jack Swagger was ready for a Wrestlemania match. This is just bull. Just look at his matches with Tommy Dreamer, Fit Finlay, and Christian. Swagger proved he can handle himself. Swagger's matches with Christian have been ranked the best matches on the recent RAW/ECW house show reports. Rather than a Kid Rock concert and the seemingly endless amount of recap footage, I would have loved to see Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne for the ECW Title. If you didn't trust Bourne, then how about R-Truth? If they didn't have confidence in Swagger to compete at Wrestlemania, then he should not be ECW Champion.
GOOD IDEA: Rey Mysterio winning the Intercontinental Title and MVP winning the U.S. Title
Mysterio winning the Intercontinental Title could be the best thing to happen to that belt in recent years. If they will get behind him, Mysterio has the chance to build that championship back to the glory days of Steamboat-Savage. MVP winning the U.S. Title was a good move, because it had really gotten stale around the waist of Shelton Benjamin. Don't get me wrong, I love Shelton, but the way they were booking him as champion was idiotic. Look at all the non-title matches he lost. It got to where if the belt was on the line, he was going to win, if it was not on the line, he was going to lose.
BAD IDEA: Unifying the Tag Team Titles
I didn't like the idea of unifying the tag team titles. I like the idea of each brand having their own tag team belts. I think ECW ought to have their own tag team titles. The hope is that the title unification will increase interest in the division. I think they ought to take the guys they have nothing for right now and form some tag teams with them. If you want to create interest in tag team wrestling, how about putting an emphasis on tag team wrestling?
GOOD IDEA: C.M. Punk wins Money in the Bank
Really, he was the only logical choice.
BAD IDEA: Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker tear down the house at Wrestlemania 25, and then do not appear on TV this week.
I don't know if it is to sell how much the match took out of each of them, but they should have been on one show or the other to discuss the match. Given how well this match was received compared to the others, I would have built on this feud with DX against the Brothers of Destruction as the Backlash main event.
BAD IDEA: Santino Morella has a "twin sister"
While for some unknown reason this garbage was getting cheered, this was by far the stupidest, lamest, most unfunny thing I've ever seen on WWE TV. This was Katie Vick-Al Wilson-Bastion Booger bad. How can anyone take Santino seriously as a wrestler after that? Wrestlecrap.com has an early contender for their "Gooker of the Year" award.
GOOD IDEA: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy
I will admit when I am wrong, and I was wrong about this feud. Unlike in the past, when WWE has tried to put the Hardys against each other, this time Matt and Jeff seem committed to making it work.
BAD IDEA: Burying Jesse and Festus
Jesse and Festus were at one point the most entertaining tag team in WWE. Now after not letting them win the tag team titles, they lost a lot of momentum, and now seem to barely get on TV anymore. The one time they did get on, they were destroyed by the Big Show.
GOOD IDEA: Gail Kim joins the Smackdown Women's Division
Smackdown really needed a strong female babyface to combat Divas Champion Maryse, Michelle McCool, and Natalya. Let's face it, nobody was taking Maria, Eve Torres, or either of the Bella Twins as serious threats. Gail Kim makes the division stronger just by showing up for work.
BAD IDEA: Assigning Low-Ki/Senshi/Kaval (whatever you choose to call him) to FCW
Here you have a star with extensive international experience, who can outwrestle the majority of their roster, and instead they send him to the developmental league. Given his track record of not staying in one place too long, I'm surprised he has not left yet. Kaval would be an asset to any of the three rosters, so it would be in WWE's best interest to call him up immediately.
