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I last wrote a column a few weeks ago discussing things from WWE's past that I think should be brought back to the current product.  I got some really good feedback to the column and some suggestions that I missed like the use of managers, heels being more heelish, and having the heels make their ring entrances first to rile up the crowd, and then the babyfaces come down to shut the heel up.  One of my readers challenged me to go the other way with this, and discuss things in the current product that I would like to see removed.  I came up with things from RAW, ECW, Smackdown, and stuff that the company does on all three brands.

 

 

Overusage of the term WWE Universe - I am so sick of hearing that term over and over again.  It's like when John Cena first started and they kept saying Ruthless Aggression over and over.  WWE loves to get a term or catchphrase and just beat it into the ground.

 

Bad Comedy - There are some internet columnists and TV show reviewers that seem to think wrestling should be all serious all the time.  I think comedy definitely has a place in wrestling, but the problem is WWE has been doing way too much comedy lately, and most of it just isn't very funny.  Several of these items will be discussed individually later in the column.

  

Too many handicap matches - Back when I first started watching wrestling in 1986, the only ones who participated in handicap matches were guys like Andre the Giant, Big John Studd, and King Kong Bundy.  Nowadays, we have handicap matches seemingly all the time.  My biggest reason for hating handicap matches is that no matter what happens the tag team ends up looking weak.  If the tag team wins, people will say, well it took two of them to beat one guy.  If the tag team loses, they look weak because the two of them can't beat that one guy who is out there on his own.

 

Two guys who are feuding are forced to team up - I am surprised Sgt. Slaughter did not make Monday's main event into a tag team title match.  The two guys feuding and then being forced to team up is something WWE has done over and over again.  Ten of those teams ended up winning tag team gold.  Don't get me wrong, I think Cena and Orton actually make a heck of a team, but WWE has done this sort of storyline so often that I just have gotten tired of seeing it.

 

The one footed diva dropkicks - I am begging whoever the agent is that runs the WWE Divas division to please stop having them do the one footed dropkicks in their matches.  They look terrible, and most of the time are missed completely.  To me, if the young lady cannot get both feet up to do a proper dropkick, then she should not be attempting one.

 

Giving away first time encounters on free TV - When two superstars are meeting for the very first time, or have not wrestled each other in so long that it feels like the first time, it is insane to give away that match on free television.  Case in point, Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho.  That is a match with big time pay-per-view potential.  When they wrestled each other on RAW shortly after this year's draft, I just cringed.  They have wrestled several times since then, and all on free television. (Sigh)  In addition to that, there has even been talk of Shaquille O'Neal coming back to face the Big Show in a match, and putting it on a special three hour RAW, rather than a pay-per-view.  This is just flushing money right down the toilet.

 

Doing turns with little to no explanation given - Back in the olden days, when a wrestler went from face to heel, or heel to face it was a big deal.  Nowadays, wrestlers shift their loyalties at the drop of a hat.  If you are going to turn somebody, there needs to be an incident that leads to that turn rather than just having a face start wrestling other faces, or a heel just start wrestling other heels. 

 

The announce teams need realignment - The WWE announce teams used to be a strength of the company, but not anymore.  Probably the strongest announcing period was when they had Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler on RAW, Michael Cole and JBL on Smackdown, and Joey Styles and Tazz on ECW.  Tazz is now in TNA, JBL is retired, Styles is relegated to wwe.com, and Ross and Cole switched places.  I would like to see Ross and Lawler back together on RAW, Todd Grisham and Matt Striker back together on ECW, and if they can get him to return, Cole and JBL back together on Smackdown.  While I think Josh Matthews has the potential to be a good announcer in the future, this stint with ECW has proven that he's not ready yet.  Grisham and Striker had much better chemistry, while Matthews and Striker come across really awkward at times.  Cole and Lawler are terrible together, but both have worked well with other partners.

 

Bringing up guys too early - The WWE Talent Relations Department needs to do a better job of evaluating talent.  With all the releases, WWE has been giving some of their younger guys a chance to work matches on the main rosters.  Some of these have worked out well, while with others, it's obvious even to the casual observer that they are not ready.  The recently released Ricky Ortiz was a prime example.  He had a great look, but did not have the charisma or the in-ring skills to make it in WWE.  For his sake, I hope he takes what he learned, applies his trade elsewhere, and if he can make some improvements, maybe one day he'll get a second chance.              

 

Sending new signees from TNA or ROH down to FCW - This is just mind boggling to me.  It's no secret that while WWE will sign stars from another company, they tend not to do much with stars that were created elsewhere.  It is ridiculous that they signed Low-Ki and Lance Hoyt to contracts, and instead of them helping out right away on one of the three brands, they ship them down to FCW to learn the "WWE Style."  Scotty Goldman was at FCW a long while and then when he finally got the call to join the Smackdown crew, they turned him into a jobber, and then finally released him.

 

Picking arenas that do not give a favorable response - I have often wondered if WWE monitors the fan reaction when they schedule their live events.  Without naming names, there are some cities that I often wonder why they keep going back to.  These cities have fans that either dump all over everything WWE does (whether they deserve it or not), or they sit on their hands the entire time.  To me, it makes for a better television presentation when you have a good energetic crowd that is into what you are doing.  I've never understood why people that don't like WWE would buy a ticket to one of their events.  If you don't like them, then why go?

 

WWE Films - While it has faired better that the WBF and the XFL, the WWE Films Division can hardly be considered a smashing success.  I enjoyed 12 Rounds, The Marine, and The Condemned, and thought some of the criticisms of those movies were unfair.  That being said, none of these movies has exactly set the box office on fire.  I also think that their point about there being some critics that trash their movies simply because a wrestler stars in them is a valid one.  Vince has always wanted WWE to branch out and be more than just a wrestling company.  Personally, I think WWE would be better off trying to get their wrestlers acting gigs in more mainstream movies and TV shows.   

 

Shortening the "Tribute to the Troops" Show to only one hour  - While it was great that this show got to be on national broadcast TV last year, I was very disappointed that it was reduced to only one hour.  Political disagreements with NBC aside, if they cannot give the show two hours, then I would like to see it go back to USA or MyNetworkTV.  Given what those brave men and women do for us, they deserve that extra hour to have their story told.

 

 

Hornswoggle beating full sized wrestlers - While he's not a favorite of the internet crowd, I like Hornswoggle.  That being said, I do not think he should be beating full sized wrestlers.  It kills what little credibility the business has, not to mention what it is doing to poor Chavo.  Suddenly pushing Aunt Vickie around doesn't seem so bad does it?  Hornswoggle has earned his place on the show, but they ought to be bringing in some heel midget wrestlers to work with him. 

 

Jack Swagger losing to lower card guys - This guy has a tremendous upside to him.  They ought to be strapping a rocket to him, and launching their next great heel's career.  Instead, he has been lucky to break even since losing the ECW Title to Christian.

 

Jillian Hall Singing - It's not funny anymore. As a matter of fact, it was not all that funny to begin with.  Here they have a beautiful woman that actually can wrestle, and they have saddled her with this lame gimmick for quite a long while.

 

Guest hosts that don't regularly follow the product - Jeremy Piven and Dr. Ken get my vote for worst guest hosts thus far.  Dr. Ken was not funny.  (Although, I am told apparently Vince laughed his butt off at all of Dr. Ken's bits.)  Then, you have Piven, who did not even know the name of the next pay-per-view.  It was an embarrassing night, and steps need to be taken to make sure it does not happen again.

 

 

The Abraham Washington Show - This has been a disaster from the start.  His jokes are not funny, he cannot keep up with the better talkers, and when they were in Long Island, there was a loud "This is Stupid" chant that was edited off the broadcast.  Washington is one of those that has been called up before he is ready.  They should send him back to FCW, and so he can get some more experience.

 

Tommy Dreamer's excessive jobbing - Apparently they have learned nothing from Dreamer's brief run as ECW Champion.  They have something special with him.  He could be their next "Working Man's Champion."  Christian is the only real main event level babyface on the roster so Dreamer losing the title back to him makes sense.  However, Dreamer has proven that he should not go back to being the job guy that he once was.  I even advocate bringing back the Hardcore Title for him to defend, and making it exclusive to the ECW roster. 

 

Bringing in new superstars with no build - I love the New Superstar Initiative.  The program has had its successes like Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, the Hart Dynasty, and most recently Yoshi Tatsu.  It has also had its misfires like D.J. Gabriel, Braden Walker, and Ricky Ortiz.  I think the program would be better if they do some vignettes building up the arrival of these new superstars rather than just throwing them to the wolves.  WWE needs to give the fans a reason to care about their arrival.

 

Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov not doing anything to each other - For about five or six weeks now,  Big Zeke and Bad Vlad have been taking turns squashing jobbers.  One will win.  The other will come after the match is over, and hit their finisher on the same jobber.  The other will respond by hitting his finisher a second time.  Either fight each other, or start a new tag team.  I know they are building anticipation, but it is actually getting boring, because it has drug on so long. 

 

Jobber Squash Matches - Given that ECW is only an hour long, and you have 13 men and three women fighting for airtime, why are we wasting it on no-name jobbers?

 

"Boring" Shelton Benjamin - I hope that what we saw on the Abraham Washington show is not a sign of things to come.  WWE likes to think that just because a guy is a great technical wrestler, and not an over-the-top promo that he is "boring."  They have done this in the past with Lance Storm, as well as the team of Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon.  I would hate to see them do this to Shelton Benjamin also.  I like the face turn they have done, because when it comes to the ECW roster, he has better opponents on the heel side.

 

 

Constantly bringing up Jeff's history with drugs - I do not see why they are constantly harping on this.  Jeff is the top babyface on Smackdown, and has stayed clean for over a year now.  It kind of reminds me of when they kept having Steve Austin pour beer on Scott Hall.  It's almost as if they were trying to make him relapse.  There is nothing to be gained by doing this, and if they are not careful, it could have a reverse effect.

 

The Undertaker's extended absences - I know that in November he will begin his 20th year with the company.  However, the Undertaker has been off TV for four months now.  His presence is greatly missed especially now that Triple H is back on RAW, and that there is chance Edge may not come back at all.

 

Teddy Long on probation - Considering what all Vickie Guerrero did during her tenure, Teddy Long being on probation is ridiculous.  Yet, this is the third time they have done this storyline.  Teddy Long is one of the few authority figures the fans like, and respect.  Why break something that does not need to be fixed?

 

Rey Mysterio losing his mask - This is an idea that needs to be placed in the nearest trashcan.  WCW tried having Rey compete without his mask, and it was a colossal failure.  The mask is his identity in the ring.  It is what sets him apart from the other guys in the locker room.  Not to mention that he looks 15 years old without it.  They did the mask storyline during his feuds with Kane and Jericho.  Rey is more popular now than at any point in his career, but it will hit a downward spiral if they take that mask off. 

 

Pretty Ricky - What's the point of this?

 

Slam Master J - The fans chanting "Let's go Charlie!" during his appearance should be your first clue as to how this gimmick is going to go.  R.D. Reynolds has his latest nominee for Wrestlecrap.com 's "Gooker of the Year."  As one half of the Jesse and Festus tag team, he got a great response.  As the Slam Master, he is getting nothing.  If anything, they should have paired him up with Jimmy Wang Yang as a new Georgia Redneck tag team, or reunited him with Festus on RAW.

 

Under appreciating Charlie Haas - This is a guy they should be doing so much more with.  He's won one match since switching to Smackdown, and if it weren't for Shelton Benjamin, he wouldn't even have that.  Haas is one of the most gifted wrestlers on the roster, and is relegated to jobber duty, and most weeks does not even get on TV.  While I don't know that he would ever be a main eventer, he should definitely be in contention for Rey Mysterio's Intercontinental Title.  Those two could have some awesome matches together.

 

Feedback may be sent to Doug at brownsbros3@yahoo.com.