However, I want to make it clear that while I understand why WWE does things the way they do, I believer that there are indeed BETTER WAYS to accomplish the same goal of MAKING MONEY.
That paragraph is going to be the most important one in this entire post so if you're going to get halfway through this and forget what I just said, you might as well stop reading now. It is important that you understand that I am not simply a MARK who thinks WWE should book their product based on whatever I or anyone else thinks would be "cool." I realize the goal in all of this is to MAKE MONEY. I'm not suggesting otherwise. However, what I am about to suggest is that perhaps actually booking what fans like myself think would be "cool" might just be the BEST way to do that.
Clearly, WWE is trying to find their next "Next Big Thing." You can't say they haven't turned over their share of rocks looking for it. They're tweeting and touting and tubing right along with the rest of society. They're making movies and having movie stars as guest hosts. They're even giving one a title shot! They're boasting more original programming on tv now than they ever have before.
And yet, you listen to the people who used to come out in droves to sit and cheer as teens and young adults during the "Attitude Era" or stayed up late to watch Saturday Night's Main Event as kids, people like myself, and the consensus seems to be, the mainstream product has lost its appeal.
I'm not saying the current product doesn't still have an audience. There are over four million people watching Raw every week. Four million. And here I have the audacity to suggest that they could do better??
You betcha.
WWE has always had this audience. These are the lemmings who are simply out to have a good time at the Vince McMahon's dog and pony show. If that's you, no offense but you're probably not reading this anyway. But these are the rank-and-file members of the "WWE Universe" who are essentially marks that root for the "good guys" and boo the "bad guys." If you've ever had a conversation with one of these people you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Not that they don't have their place in society. The product needs people like them because they're always going to be there no matter what. I think the closest WWE ever got to alienating this particular type of fan was during the aforementioned "Attitude Era" when the raunch factor really got turned up and families with young kids began to turn away.
I believe that was bad business then and I believe it's bad business now. Wrestling doesn't need to be raunchy to be good. Not that it can't be. The occasional character who swears and flips people off, when done at the right time and for the right reason, can become a real money maker (i.e. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin). But that doesn't need to be, nor should it be, the norm.
So what should be the norm on a professional wrestling show? Brace yourselves. How about wrestling?
For all the tv time WWE is currently filling, there's an awful lot of filler and not nearly as much wrestling as there could be.
Before you try and come at me with statistics that suggest most of the actual show time is wrestling, understand that such statistics can be misleading, especially when you realize that the average match time is about five minutes (see PWInsider's "By The Numbers").
Now that we've gotten all the potential arguments out of the way, let's look at how I believe WWE could improve their bottom line by answering three simple questions: WHY, WHEN, and WHO?
WHY should WWE make wrestling more of a focal point?
In a recent Facebook conversation I had, someone made a point that WWE's most prosperous eras were defined by the appetites of their audience. During the Hulkamania days, larger-than-life action heroes like Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and Van Damme were the rage. Then, in the Attitude Era, society in general had developed its own attitude and tv had become edgier across the board. Whether by accident, or by having their finger on the pulse, WWE was able to capitalize on these societal trends.
A "trend" of similar lucrativeness has yet to be identified in today's society. For all the widespread influence of social media, an effective way to make money with things like Facebook and Twitter, has yet to be found.
But there is a less obvious trend developing in the world of independent wrestling. The indys are making a quiet but steady resurgence with groups like Beyond Wrestling making an impact via YouTube, and Pro Wrestling Syndicate using Twitter and stacked lineups for their regular house shows featuring a touch of nostalgia with names of the past as well as thrilling action provided by a fresh crop of young talent. Longer-tenured groups like Ring of Honor, CHIKARA, Dragon Gate USA and Evolve, Combat Zone Wrestling, and East Coast Wrestling Association are still going strong. And upstarts paying homage to the glory days of Extreme Championship Wrestling, Shane Douglas' Extreme Reunion and Tommy Dreamer's House of Hardcore have quickly garnered a significant following.
The point is, despite what seems like an oversaturation of independent wrestling promotions, interest in hasn't waned. It has in fact, grown. Which can only mean one thing: people want to watch wrestling, and are willing to pay money to do so.
That's why WWE exists, isn't it? Is the goal not to make money? Does the second "W" not still stand for Wrestling?
The fact is, fans of professional wrestling, even those who have given up on the current mainstream product, still consider WWE to be the premier wrestling company. They would love to go to WWE for their fix, but they know they're more likely to walk away frustrated rather than fulfilled because of how little actual wrestling they're going to be fed.
So they choose to do something else with their time rather than tune in when WWE is on television. They chose to stay home when a WWE house show comes to town. They're not opening their wallets when WWE is on pay-per-view.
But these same people, these WRESTLING FANS, are spending money on DVDs, tickets, even merchandise, for often more than one of the independent wrestling promotions I've listed above.
That's money WWE isn't making. Seems to me, someone has lost sight of the goal. It's not like I'm asking a movie studio to go after those dollars. Or a ballet troupe. I'm talking about a fucking wrestling company providing what wrestling fans are ALREADY PAYING FOR!
And that is WHY WWE can improve their bottom line by making wrestling more of a focal point. Next question.
WHEN should WWE make wrestling more of a focal point?
How about during their eight and half hours of programming they're running every week? Not that wrestling isn't taking place on these shows (and I'll admit, not so much a problem on Main Event and NXT from what I understand; I'll confess, I rarely watch those shows because I just ain't got that kind of time. WWE better count themselves lucky if they get three hours out of me for Raw!). It's just the quality of wrestling that they're offering.
Even the most jaded fan will have to admit that the action, when it's there, is as good, if not better, than it's ever been. Athletes today, not hindered by a lack of athleticism as well as steroid and drug abuse, are able to perform at a significantly higher level than our heroes of the past.
But when the booking is illogical, or just plain stupid, it cancels out the athleticism that we fans might normally marvel at. Blame Super Cena kicking out of everything short of a ground zero nuclear detonation, and one and a half minute matches featuring "champions" for the current disdain among wrestling fans for WWE's in-ring "action."
So rather than try to cram seven matches onto an hour and half show (Raw's approximate running time minus commercials) to the point that five of them end up timing out at five minutes or less, how about instead, give us three or four matches that are booked logically and given enough time to tell a complete story. I realize this isn't true of every fan, but there are still plenty of paying customers out there who are still willing, yay eager, to sit through an intelligently-crafted wrestling match, appreciate it, applaud it, and fork out money to see it again.
And that is WHEN WWE should make wrestling more of a focal point. Final question.
WHO should WWE use to make wrestling more of a focal point?
How about the talented individuals ALREADY ON THE ROSTER?
Since the same people are being used in every main event on every fucking show, the rest of the roster is forced to accept whatever crumbs are left over. These crumbs manifest themselves in the form of those detestable one and a half minute matches mentioned earlier.
The extent of what someone like Daniel Bryan can do inside a wrestling ring, cannot be expressed in one and a half minutes. With the exception of Khali and Hornswoggle, who no one wants to see anyway, there isn't a Superstar on WWE's roster than can exhaust their repertoire in one and a half minutes.
So since we're now cutting down on the number of matches per show, how about we also cut down on the number of appearances by the same people per show, per week?
Here's how it SHOULD work: if I've seen Damien Sandow on Raw that week, I shouldn't see him on Main Event that week. Nor should I see him on Superstars, Smackdown, or Slam. I shouldn't even see him on NXT.
Why? Because when I do, that means I'm most likely going to see him winning and losing matches arbitrarily, and I'm going to start not caring about Damien Sandow.
*******Break out your calculators, boys and girls, because it's time for Fun With Numbers! YAY!!!******
There are currently 64 male wrestlers and 10 female wrestlers who are part of WWE's regular roster. If WWE's weekly programming (all of it; not just Raw and Smackdown) were to feature nothing but in-ring wrestling and each match was to average approximately ten minutes bell-to-bell not including intros, that would amount to approximately 25 matches per week. If those were all singles matches, even using different wrestlers in every match, that would still leave over a dozen members of the regular roster without a match for that week.
The point is, there are more than enough bodies to put in the ring. PUT THEM IN THE FUCKING RING!!! Cycling through the talent would keep appearances by the top talent to a minimum, saving their bodies some wear and tear, and making the times that they do appear more significant. And it would also give the midcard and lower-level guys much needed exposure and experience. "Mini-feuds" between lower-level wrestlers have traditionally always been a great way to build a following for those performers.
Say WWE considers CM Punk, John Cena, The Rock, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Big Show, Alberto Del Rio, and Ryback their main eventers. Fine, feature them in the main events of the weekly shows but only once per week. So in other words, if the main event of Raw is John Cena vs. ADR, the main event of Smackdown can't be a tag match featuring ADR or John Cena.
Instead, how about someone like R-Truth working a midcard program with 3MB? Or the tag team of Santino and Zack Ryder (back when they were still a thing) working a program with Rhodes Scholars? Wrestling fans remember good matches. Put those four guys in the ring and give them some time and fans are going to be talking about the match. Fans talking creates buzz, and buzz results in more people tuning in, which results in more people ordering pay-per-views, buying tickets, buying merch, etc., etc., and yeah I know, I'm sick of me always being right too!
And THAT, my friends, is WHO WWE should use to make wrestling the focal point.
So while WWE is wasting their time trying to answer the question of "What's the next big thing that's going to be all the rage?" I've answered the much more important questions. The questions that matter.
WWE need look no further than the wrestling fans to find "all the rage." But the "rage" is in their hearts, built up over years of frustration with the mainstream product. If WWE will just take the time to look, they won't find some hot new social trend. What they'll find is the same thing that's been there all along. The same thing that has worked before and will always work. Satisfy the WHY, WHEN, and WHO that the people want. The people want WRESTLING.
And whether World Wrestling Entertainment likes it or not, THAT is the Last Word. Until next time, ya freaks.............DISCUSS!
[Our intrepid author, "Handsome" Dan Lopez, is mentioned regularly on his two favorite wrestling shows, The Shining Wizards Wrestling Podcast, and Turnbuckle Throwbacks. Follow him on Twitter, @DansLastWord.]
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