unpossibl1
07-16-2004, 05:15 AM
Reading Between The Ropes
Welcome back to another edition of Reading Between The Ropes. Man, it’s been a busy week for me! The load at work has doubled, wrestlepower (http://www.wrestlepower.com) is almost ready to roll, and I am now about 3 weeks away from being a married man. In addition, I am working on a project with a friend of mine to get a basketball website running…it’s called halfcourtpress.com…I am very pleased with the name, now it’s time for the hard part: making the site. Out here in Laker Land, Shaq has been traded to the Miami Heat of all places. The Lakers are getting Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a first round draft pick in return, which sure doesn’t sound like much for the Diesel, but I suppose it will have to do. Kobe just re-signed with the Lakers today, so that’s some good news! Of course, in the world of wrestling, Bradshaw has become the WWE champion …wait…Bradshaw has become the WWE champion…Bradshaw has become the WWE Champion….nope, no matter how many times I say it, it still just doesn’t sound right.
So last time I made the bold claim that I could save SmackDown and make it enjoyable again. At this point, that’s kind of like saying I could turn the Clippers into NBA champions, make Rosie O’Donnell skinny, and Jessica Simpson somewhat intelligent all while I juggle flaming chainsaws…in other words, it’s not easy to do. But I shall try anyway, although I warn you that I may wind up laying on the ground bleeding from chainsaw wounds with a “basketball team”, a fat lesbian, and an idiot standing over me.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I am in a bit of an odd mood right now…I suppose it’s probably from exhaustion. Anyway, enough babbling, on with the show!
Saving SmackDown
SmackDown has a variety of problems that are becoming worse every week. Watching the show is almost like watching a drug-addict trying to fight their addiction, but every time they show signs of pulling out of their downward spiral, they suddenly regress back into the depths. That being the case, I have devised a 12-step program to help get SmackDown sober and back on its feet.
1. Unfortunately, JBL has the title at this point and is at the beginning of his title run, which means that he has to be given at least a few months with the belt. So let JBL continue his little feud with Eddie for a few months and get through this title reign, then start the rebuilding process by having Taker defeat JBL for the belt.
It’s obvious that Taker is on the last leg of his career, but it’s equally obvious that he is the best wrestler that SmackDown has. Give Taker one last run with the belt…say a 6-month reign. Sure, Taker can’t compete night in and night out, but he can still draw a crowd as well as anyone in the WWE and his storyline is compelling enough to make nightly in ring work unnecessary; he can draw simply by cutting promos and remaining a central figure like he did during his Ministry of Darkness days.
Of course, for pay per views they should let loose with the full repertoire of Taker matches-Casket, Inferno, Hell in a Cell, etc. That would be plenty to keep the WWE Title scene interesting for at least 6 months, if not longer.
This effectively gives SmackDown a 6 month window to work with in building up their up and coming wrestlers without having to worry about establishing one as a champion before they are ready…like the situation JBL is in now. Guys like the returning Big Show, Booker T, and occasionally Kurt Angle can act as opponents for Taker during his reign, allowing the up and coming stars to develop into full fledged superstars.
2. SmackDown doesn’t have the biggest names or the most physically dominant wrestlers, so they need to make up for their deficiencies by putting on matches that really cook. We need to see the SmackDown superstars give everything they have night in and night out, which is why there needs to be an incentive system in place backstage. Perhaps something like a “match of the week” named every week, where whoever puts on the best match of the week gets a set amount of cash. That little extra incentive could be enough to take the match quality up a notch.
3. Ok, so far we have a Champion in place that can keep interest in the title and essentially be the focal point of the show, and we also have an added incentive for quality matches. So what do we do with the up and coming stars exactly?
Well, guys like John Cena, JBL, RVD, Rene Dupree, and Charlie Haas would all need to turn the volume up on their characters a bit. Have RVD show the intensity that he did about a year ago when he took on Triple H for the World Title. Dupree and JBL could continue their current heel roles, but Dupree needs a little work on his in ring skills and JBL needs a new in ring style to match his new character. Haas would need to show how dangerous he could be as a technical wrestling expert.
Of course, pushing all of these guys at once is asking a lot, but if they can work some interesting fatal four way matches in and interweave some feuds it could be done. Eventually, the cream will rise and two or three of these guys could make the jump to the main event, while the remaining few would be left fighting over the US title.
4. Evolution has taken over Raw as the main heel group and dominates the storylines. While some are growing tired of Triple H and his “hogging the spotlight”, their success as a faction cannot be discounted. SmackDown could use a good heel group, and I think they may be in the process of developing it now.
While the WWE has flirted with having a Paul Heyman-led ECW mini-faction for years, now wouldn’t be a bad time to finally follow through with the idea (By the way, the whole “Invasion” angle doesn’t count…it was just too poorly done). In the group would obviously be the Dudleys, Rhyno (if they could work out a trade), and possibly Spike.
As for the leader, I think it would be a perfect time to turn John Cena heel once again and put him in charge of Heyman’s thugs. Cena and the ECW crew would definitely bring a certain “Extreme” style to the ring, and would be a great way to catapult Cena to the top. Yes, Cena is selling T-Shirts as a face, but his true role is as a heel. Remember when the Rock took over The Nation? Same idea here.
5. Next on the list is Champion Development. Yes, the Undertaker would be the champ according to my plan, but he still needs to be given quality opponents to face. He needs to beat established guys like Kurt Angle, Booker T, and The Big Show during his title reign.
This is not for the benefit of the Undertaker, (he will be over no matter who he faces), but rather for the benefit of whoever eventually beats the Undertaker. If Taker has defeated Kurt Angle and the Big Show, then having, for example, John Cena take the belt off of him is a much bigger accomplishment compared to having Taker defeat lesser opponents like the Basham brothers before losing to Cena. It’s all about building for the future people!
6. So the champ is lined up, we are establishing the young talent, now what? SmackDown can’t get by on Taker and the young guns alone. There needs to be a solid feud that doesn’t require a title to be involved to draw heat.
This feud is one that has been brewing for the past few months, even though it’s been sitting on the back burner…The Big Show vs. Kurt Angle. Let’s not forget that Show threw Angle off of a balcony the last time we saw him. As soon as he returns from injury, a Big Show/ Angle feud should have plenty of heat to draw a good amount of interest. Sick Booker T on the Undertaker for a little while, and throw in the #1 contender spot to the winner of a Show vs. Angle Last Man Standing match to culminate the feud…I would pay to see that.
7. The US title has recently been given a more prominent role on SmackDown since Cena had the belt, and it is imperative that it continues to receive reverence from SmackDown’s GM and talent. The belt may be a launching pad to bigger and better things, but it needs to have value on it’s own as well. Guys like JBL, Dupree, RVD, and possibly Mordecai when he returns would be able to keep the light shining on the US title as long as they have the necessary storylines to do so.
8. Now let’s work on the cruiserweights. Anyone who has followed my work in the past had to know this one was coming. Nothing annoys me more than seeing all the talented cruisers that the WWE has going to waste. They need time, decent storylines, and most of all, permission to actually cut loose in the ring. Check out some of the cruiser matches that Ring of Honor and TNA have and you will see what I mean.
The Cruiserweight title in the WWE is unique in that it isn’t really a stepping-stone to anything. Cruiserweights rarely become contenders for the IC/ US titles, not to mention the heavyweight belts. So the Cruiserweight title needs to be treated with more prestige to give it it’s own identity, sort of like what I was suggesting for the US title.
The WWE cruisers look like they are handcuffed by having to wrestle in the “WWE style”. So how do we fix this problem? Simple: bring in the one guy who made Cruisers the cornerstone of the top rated wrestling promotion for a good part of the 90’s.
That’s right, I am talking about Eric Bischoff. A storyline with Bishoff moving to SmackDown would not be hard to come up with, and Shane McMahon would make an excellent GM for Raw. With Bischoff in charge, the cruisers would shine like we all know they can.
9. Let’s see, what else is wrong with SmackDown…hmmm, all this fixing things is making me tired. Ah yes! Long ago, there was something called tag team wrestling. It hasn’t been seen for centuries, but I think that this long lost ancient art could actually benefit SmackDown!
All kidding aside, SmackDown has made a big step in the right direction by making Kidman and London the champs, although a decent build up for them would have been nice.
SmackDown has arguably the greatest tag team of all time in the Dudley’s, but it’s going to take more than that to really revive the division. The Hardcore Holly/Billy Gunn team has potential, and I think that Mark Jindrak may be better off moving back into tag team wrestling, perhaps alongside someone like Kenzo Suzuki, who I don’t think is ready for his US title push just yet.
In addition, the Bashams have to be rejuvenated, as they were a great young tag team for a while, but seem to be fading away lately. SmackDown has the pieces to make a great tag division, now they just need to put it all together.
10. Ok, this is arguably the most important phase of my plan. I already said that Taker would be champ, and then lose the belt to one of the up and comers to cap his career. However, that doesn’t mean that Taker should be gone altogether. After his title run, Taker needs to assume the role that Michael Cole mentioned a few months ago but never continued with: The Conscience of SmackDown. Taker can still be a big benefit to SmackDown on a part time basis, making appearances every once in awhile to right the wrongs or lend a helping hand in his own unique way. It keeps things interesting by making Taker’s appearances unpredictable, which leads me perfectly into phase 11…
11. How many of you read the spoilers on SmackDown? I try not to myself, but every once in awhile I give in and read them…it’s kind of a guilty pleasure. Don’t you feel cheated once you watch the actual show? I sure do…knowing what’s coming up is no fun. One solution would obviously be to just not read the spoilers. An even better solution would be to go live with SmackDown every once in awhile.
Live shows add a certain air of unpredictability that translates to the viewers at home. If you want to make a big surprise return, it often looks more credible when even the camera crew gets caught off guard at times.
12. Finally! The last phase of my twelve step SmackDown detox program. The split pay per views were a good idea for a little while, but lately SmackDown’s pay per views haven’t exactly been must see TV. In order for SmackDown to be successful hosting pay per views on it’s own they have to learn how to spice things up a bit. Aside from the Undertaker, SmackDown doesn’t have the big name starts to draw viewers on name recognition alone.
In order to compensate they need to get creative with their matches. The must make sure that each time they are giving the audience something that they haven’t seen before, something that will really draw attention. The recent cement casket match with Paul Bearer was a good start, now they need to continue along that vain.
See Ya
Ok gang, that’s it for me. Be sure to check out my site,wrestlepower (http://www.wrestlepower.com)! Until next time, see ya!
Trevor Lane
trevor@wrestlepower.com
Welcome back to another edition of Reading Between The Ropes. Man, it’s been a busy week for me! The load at work has doubled, wrestlepower (http://www.wrestlepower.com) is almost ready to roll, and I am now about 3 weeks away from being a married man. In addition, I am working on a project with a friend of mine to get a basketball website running…it’s called halfcourtpress.com…I am very pleased with the name, now it’s time for the hard part: making the site. Out here in Laker Land, Shaq has been traded to the Miami Heat of all places. The Lakers are getting Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a first round draft pick in return, which sure doesn’t sound like much for the Diesel, but I suppose it will have to do. Kobe just re-signed with the Lakers today, so that’s some good news! Of course, in the world of wrestling, Bradshaw has become the WWE champion …wait…Bradshaw has become the WWE champion…Bradshaw has become the WWE Champion….nope, no matter how many times I say it, it still just doesn’t sound right.
So last time I made the bold claim that I could save SmackDown and make it enjoyable again. At this point, that’s kind of like saying I could turn the Clippers into NBA champions, make Rosie O’Donnell skinny, and Jessica Simpson somewhat intelligent all while I juggle flaming chainsaws…in other words, it’s not easy to do. But I shall try anyway, although I warn you that I may wind up laying on the ground bleeding from chainsaw wounds with a “basketball team”, a fat lesbian, and an idiot standing over me.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I am in a bit of an odd mood right now…I suppose it’s probably from exhaustion. Anyway, enough babbling, on with the show!
Saving SmackDown
SmackDown has a variety of problems that are becoming worse every week. Watching the show is almost like watching a drug-addict trying to fight their addiction, but every time they show signs of pulling out of their downward spiral, they suddenly regress back into the depths. That being the case, I have devised a 12-step program to help get SmackDown sober and back on its feet.
1. Unfortunately, JBL has the title at this point and is at the beginning of his title run, which means that he has to be given at least a few months with the belt. So let JBL continue his little feud with Eddie for a few months and get through this title reign, then start the rebuilding process by having Taker defeat JBL for the belt.
It’s obvious that Taker is on the last leg of his career, but it’s equally obvious that he is the best wrestler that SmackDown has. Give Taker one last run with the belt…say a 6-month reign. Sure, Taker can’t compete night in and night out, but he can still draw a crowd as well as anyone in the WWE and his storyline is compelling enough to make nightly in ring work unnecessary; he can draw simply by cutting promos and remaining a central figure like he did during his Ministry of Darkness days.
Of course, for pay per views they should let loose with the full repertoire of Taker matches-Casket, Inferno, Hell in a Cell, etc. That would be plenty to keep the WWE Title scene interesting for at least 6 months, if not longer.
This effectively gives SmackDown a 6 month window to work with in building up their up and coming wrestlers without having to worry about establishing one as a champion before they are ready…like the situation JBL is in now. Guys like the returning Big Show, Booker T, and occasionally Kurt Angle can act as opponents for Taker during his reign, allowing the up and coming stars to develop into full fledged superstars.
2. SmackDown doesn’t have the biggest names or the most physically dominant wrestlers, so they need to make up for their deficiencies by putting on matches that really cook. We need to see the SmackDown superstars give everything they have night in and night out, which is why there needs to be an incentive system in place backstage. Perhaps something like a “match of the week” named every week, where whoever puts on the best match of the week gets a set amount of cash. That little extra incentive could be enough to take the match quality up a notch.
3. Ok, so far we have a Champion in place that can keep interest in the title and essentially be the focal point of the show, and we also have an added incentive for quality matches. So what do we do with the up and coming stars exactly?
Well, guys like John Cena, JBL, RVD, Rene Dupree, and Charlie Haas would all need to turn the volume up on their characters a bit. Have RVD show the intensity that he did about a year ago when he took on Triple H for the World Title. Dupree and JBL could continue their current heel roles, but Dupree needs a little work on his in ring skills and JBL needs a new in ring style to match his new character. Haas would need to show how dangerous he could be as a technical wrestling expert.
Of course, pushing all of these guys at once is asking a lot, but if they can work some interesting fatal four way matches in and interweave some feuds it could be done. Eventually, the cream will rise and two or three of these guys could make the jump to the main event, while the remaining few would be left fighting over the US title.
4. Evolution has taken over Raw as the main heel group and dominates the storylines. While some are growing tired of Triple H and his “hogging the spotlight”, their success as a faction cannot be discounted. SmackDown could use a good heel group, and I think they may be in the process of developing it now.
While the WWE has flirted with having a Paul Heyman-led ECW mini-faction for years, now wouldn’t be a bad time to finally follow through with the idea (By the way, the whole “Invasion” angle doesn’t count…it was just too poorly done). In the group would obviously be the Dudleys, Rhyno (if they could work out a trade), and possibly Spike.
As for the leader, I think it would be a perfect time to turn John Cena heel once again and put him in charge of Heyman’s thugs. Cena and the ECW crew would definitely bring a certain “Extreme” style to the ring, and would be a great way to catapult Cena to the top. Yes, Cena is selling T-Shirts as a face, but his true role is as a heel. Remember when the Rock took over The Nation? Same idea here.
5. Next on the list is Champion Development. Yes, the Undertaker would be the champ according to my plan, but he still needs to be given quality opponents to face. He needs to beat established guys like Kurt Angle, Booker T, and The Big Show during his title reign.
This is not for the benefit of the Undertaker, (he will be over no matter who he faces), but rather for the benefit of whoever eventually beats the Undertaker. If Taker has defeated Kurt Angle and the Big Show, then having, for example, John Cena take the belt off of him is a much bigger accomplishment compared to having Taker defeat lesser opponents like the Basham brothers before losing to Cena. It’s all about building for the future people!
6. So the champ is lined up, we are establishing the young talent, now what? SmackDown can’t get by on Taker and the young guns alone. There needs to be a solid feud that doesn’t require a title to be involved to draw heat.
This feud is one that has been brewing for the past few months, even though it’s been sitting on the back burner…The Big Show vs. Kurt Angle. Let’s not forget that Show threw Angle off of a balcony the last time we saw him. As soon as he returns from injury, a Big Show/ Angle feud should have plenty of heat to draw a good amount of interest. Sick Booker T on the Undertaker for a little while, and throw in the #1 contender spot to the winner of a Show vs. Angle Last Man Standing match to culminate the feud…I would pay to see that.
7. The US title has recently been given a more prominent role on SmackDown since Cena had the belt, and it is imperative that it continues to receive reverence from SmackDown’s GM and talent. The belt may be a launching pad to bigger and better things, but it needs to have value on it’s own as well. Guys like JBL, Dupree, RVD, and possibly Mordecai when he returns would be able to keep the light shining on the US title as long as they have the necessary storylines to do so.
8. Now let’s work on the cruiserweights. Anyone who has followed my work in the past had to know this one was coming. Nothing annoys me more than seeing all the talented cruisers that the WWE has going to waste. They need time, decent storylines, and most of all, permission to actually cut loose in the ring. Check out some of the cruiser matches that Ring of Honor and TNA have and you will see what I mean.
The Cruiserweight title in the WWE is unique in that it isn’t really a stepping-stone to anything. Cruiserweights rarely become contenders for the IC/ US titles, not to mention the heavyweight belts. So the Cruiserweight title needs to be treated with more prestige to give it it’s own identity, sort of like what I was suggesting for the US title.
The WWE cruisers look like they are handcuffed by having to wrestle in the “WWE style”. So how do we fix this problem? Simple: bring in the one guy who made Cruisers the cornerstone of the top rated wrestling promotion for a good part of the 90’s.
That’s right, I am talking about Eric Bischoff. A storyline with Bishoff moving to SmackDown would not be hard to come up with, and Shane McMahon would make an excellent GM for Raw. With Bischoff in charge, the cruisers would shine like we all know they can.
9. Let’s see, what else is wrong with SmackDown…hmmm, all this fixing things is making me tired. Ah yes! Long ago, there was something called tag team wrestling. It hasn’t been seen for centuries, but I think that this long lost ancient art could actually benefit SmackDown!
All kidding aside, SmackDown has made a big step in the right direction by making Kidman and London the champs, although a decent build up for them would have been nice.
SmackDown has arguably the greatest tag team of all time in the Dudley’s, but it’s going to take more than that to really revive the division. The Hardcore Holly/Billy Gunn team has potential, and I think that Mark Jindrak may be better off moving back into tag team wrestling, perhaps alongside someone like Kenzo Suzuki, who I don’t think is ready for his US title push just yet.
In addition, the Bashams have to be rejuvenated, as they were a great young tag team for a while, but seem to be fading away lately. SmackDown has the pieces to make a great tag division, now they just need to put it all together.
10. Ok, this is arguably the most important phase of my plan. I already said that Taker would be champ, and then lose the belt to one of the up and comers to cap his career. However, that doesn’t mean that Taker should be gone altogether. After his title run, Taker needs to assume the role that Michael Cole mentioned a few months ago but never continued with: The Conscience of SmackDown. Taker can still be a big benefit to SmackDown on a part time basis, making appearances every once in awhile to right the wrongs or lend a helping hand in his own unique way. It keeps things interesting by making Taker’s appearances unpredictable, which leads me perfectly into phase 11…
11. How many of you read the spoilers on SmackDown? I try not to myself, but every once in awhile I give in and read them…it’s kind of a guilty pleasure. Don’t you feel cheated once you watch the actual show? I sure do…knowing what’s coming up is no fun. One solution would obviously be to just not read the spoilers. An even better solution would be to go live with SmackDown every once in awhile.
Live shows add a certain air of unpredictability that translates to the viewers at home. If you want to make a big surprise return, it often looks more credible when even the camera crew gets caught off guard at times.
12. Finally! The last phase of my twelve step SmackDown detox program. The split pay per views were a good idea for a little while, but lately SmackDown’s pay per views haven’t exactly been must see TV. In order for SmackDown to be successful hosting pay per views on it’s own they have to learn how to spice things up a bit. Aside from the Undertaker, SmackDown doesn’t have the big name starts to draw viewers on name recognition alone.
In order to compensate they need to get creative with their matches. The must make sure that each time they are giving the audience something that they haven’t seen before, something that will really draw attention. The recent cement casket match with Paul Bearer was a good start, now they need to continue along that vain.
See Ya
Ok gang, that’s it for me. Be sure to check out my site,wrestlepower (http://www.wrestlepower.com)! Until next time, see ya!
Trevor Lane
trevor@wrestlepower.com