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View Full Version : Reshuffling the deck...how I'd save SD



Unknown
05-23-2004, 02:46 PM
It is no secret that Smackdown is in a bad way. I didn't even bother to open my usual thread this week where I rundown the show because quite honestly, the only good I saw was my clock saying 10:00. Now it really doesn't seem as if the WWE is learning from its mistakes but is rather trying to kill the show even more. I opened a thread like this over at IOW and I'll post all of what I put from that thread and a followup. I really don't have the time or energy to do fantasy booking like I used to so this is the next best thing.

1. Form a strong heel stable – I feel that Raw is benefiting from having Evolution because there are constant chances for new feuds with a strong heel stable. Here is what I would do to form it. I think Paul Heyman should come back and manage Booker T, Charlie Haas, and the Dudley Boyz. Dawn could also become part of the mix as Heyman’s assistant just like when he was GM. He could use them to bring him back to the top saying that he saw them as people who were tired of being overlooked and tired of trying to please the fans. Booker T could say that he is gonna make Smackdown his show and he’ll show that he is the best thing Smackdown has to offer by becoming WWE Champion. He could use this storyline of being the best SD has to offer as a way to have people trying to prove him wrong (sort of like the heel version of Benoit in 2000) when he gets the title. This could be a good storyline that not only gets him over better than downgrading Smackdown and will at the same time give the title more importance because people would be constantly challenging him to try and get the belt off of him and prove him wrong. I’d also have Booker T use the Bookend and the Houston Hangover as finishers instead of the axe kick because it doesn’t seem as if it is a finishing move. Charlie Haas could be out at first to show that Smackdown has the better member of the WGTT but then from that develop into a strong heel character sort of like Kurt Angle became while feuding with Brock Lesnar the first time around. The Haas of Pain finisher could get him over just like the Ankle Lock did for Angle and the Crossface does for Benoit. The Dudley Boyz could say that they’re tired of making the fans happy and having nothing to show for it. They could become the tag team champions and take over the tag division. A long heel run with the tag titles could maybe bring some credibility into the sorry tag division that we have today. This stable could be Paul Heyman’s way of trying to get payback for the people who have wronged him during his time in the WWE and a way to give SD the extra edge of having a strong stable to build storylines around.


2. Use the cruiserweights – Haven’t these guys suffered enough? The title has become like the Hardcore title changing hands three times within the space of three weeks. It’s time for Vince to realize their worth and build them up as good as WCW did (the one thing I feel WCW actually did right). I say give these guys atleast a half an hour each show. You can’t go wrong with them. Give them a chance to develop strong storylines, feuds, and TV matches that last longer than five minutes. Atleast one 15 minute matchup a week would be good for Smackdown. There is so much talent that could keep the fans excited week after week including Paul London, Billy Kidman, Ultimo Dragon, Jamie Noble, and Nunzio. These guys are all gifted and the high flying action is a nice change of pace during the shows.

3. More superstars – In my opinion Rhyno should be brought back over to the Smackdown side. He is not benefiting at all from being on Raw and a change of scenery would do wonders for him. Rhyno can work as a main event talent sort of like Smackdown’s version of Kane. A loose cannon with no remorse for anyone who just looks to leave destruction in his path. Rhyno at the beginning of his feud of Benoit last summer is how he should be portrayed today. If they do this it would be a major boost to the lack of a main event scene that SD currently has. Rhyno could also once in a while revert back to his ECW ways of goring someone through a table or piledriving them through tables making him seem that more sadistic. The perfect storyline to get him back on Smackdown would be my storyline in the Bad Blood Prediction thread. Here it is if you haven’t seen it.



This could be a matchup in order to give both men a chance to be on the card. I’d have them schedule a TV match for Tyson Tomko vs. Rhyno on a Raw and have Rhyno be close to going over but Christian cheating to give Tomko the win. From there I’ll have Christian say something like there is no way you almost beat my problem solver Rhyno. I just realized that you’re a problem that I’ll have to solve myself. He could then say that ever since he’s come to Raw he hasn’t been the same man beast. He has become a shell of the man who used to help he and Edge stay on top of the tag team division. He could say that in a way Rhyno was his old problem solver and he isn’t fit to solve his problems anymore. He could then challenge Rhyno to a match at Bad Blood. If I had my way it would be Christian saying that if he can beat Rhyno then he can’t show his face on Raw again. This would setup a loser leaves Raw matchup in which I’d make Rhyno lose and go back over to Smackdown to help them with their lack of superstars.



That’s just how I’d do it. The matchup would actually have a back story and they’d be addressing history, which the WWE hardly does anymore.



4. Change the set…slightly atleast – I don’t know if it’s just me but the fact that there is no ramp to walk down makes SD arenas feel smaller. When you walk down that ramp, the entrance seems more important. Walking down the ramp gives SD that big show atmosphere that Raw has. I say have a complete makeover of the SD set. Give the arena more lighting so it feels like Raw and not Velocity, with a ramp make a stage so that once in a while we could have those angles with wrestlers being thrown off of the side of the stage.



5. Make the show live – I know that this one may be one of those easier said than done things but the show being live gives you that must see and can’t miss feel. Knowing that the show isn’t live doesn’t do much for it. With Smackdown all you have to do is read the spoilers and see if it is worth watching. I used to read them but it became boring knowing what was gonna happen while watching the show. There are many people out there who still do read them though and I think that a smart business move of sorts would be for people to have to see the show on TV before they know what is going to happen. A live show will definitely help to boost the quality of the show.



6. Bring Smackdown to Spike TV – UPN just doesn’t feel like a wrestling network. This would also give it the chance to have the live overruns that Raw has which usually produce pretty good ratings. Cable will give it more of a gotta see feel to it also.



7. Fix the tag division - With my stable idea I'd have the heel Dudley's get the tag titles then start to build new tag teams. I had an idea a while back to form a team of Hardcore Holly and Bill DeMott and call them Anger Management. With the recent pairing of Holly and Gunn, this idea could still be pulled off. I’ll have more on the roster in my reshuffling the decks a little further down in the post



8. Make the titles seem more prestigious – This is where Raw shines. The WWE title shouldn’t be sought after by just one person but rather a couple. Superstars could continue to be jealous that they aren’t being given a chance to go for the title causing them to attack the champ to get his attention. This should not only be done to the WWE title but all of the belts. Put more focus on the belts than the storylines.



9. Hire Heyman as head writer of the SD writing team – I’m betting that the Judgment Day buyrates are in the 100,000 – 150,000 range. The show is just booked so poorly right now. Nothing at all seems to make sense from the Booker T voodoo crap down to Renee Dupree wanting to count out himself rather than win the title when he had it won. Honestly who actually booked that angle thinking that it remotely made any type of sense. When Heyman was booking SD it was one of the best booked wrestling shows in a while. I don’t know why they fired him from that position but hopefully someone in the front office can suck up their pride and give this man back the job.



10. Don’t allow Taker to squash any main event level talent – Right now Taker has been reduced to a part time superstar. Not only did he unnecessarily win a matchup last year against John Cena but he has already killed most of the steam Booker has gained by winning a match he did not need to win. IMO, Taker is nearing retirement and should take the lead of Mick Foley and Ric Flair and try to get talent over for the next generation. Honestly, loose Paul Bearer and go back to the bike Taker who talked more. This way he could use his promos to help build towards a match, doesn’t have to make the person he is feuding with seem like a bitch running scared all of the time, and he could make wrestlers look more credible like they actually have a chance against him.



11. New general manager – It’s very sad to see one of my favorite superstars suffer in a role that he shouldn’t be playing. I say go and have the fusion surgery stay out a year and come back fresh. It’s not Kurt’s fault that he can’t play general manager it’s just that people don’t take to wrestlers playing the boss because there is always that expectation for them to step back into the ring. Shane McMahon would be the best possible option out there. He could bring so much energy to the shows and could play the GM who’s neither a face nor heel to perfection. It would such a breath of fresh air to have an authority figure that favors no superstars at all and only makes the careers of those who go against him harder.



12. Fix the announce team – Why mess up a winning formula? When these two first started together they did such a good job with each other and Tazz helped to hide some of Cole’s obvious major flaws. I say keep them like that instead of trying to make Tazz a heel announcer making he and Cole argue sometimes ala JR and King. They were even at one point better than King and JR



13. Cut out the serious angles – Ok, this is wrestling and everyone knows it’s scripted. So why try and use angles like the Guerrero blackout, Eddie’s mom’s heart attack, etc. to add heat to an angle? No one believes it and it hurts the show more than it helps it. Also, if these kind of angles are needed to make the fans care about a character or a feud then quite honestly, the character should be built better before being given a chance at the top spot of the show (Bradshaw). Also, how do expect someone to take the show serious if they have Booker going around looking for help from a psychic? Just let the wrestling and the superstars get the show over. No over the top angles can be a substitute for good booking.

Reshuffling the decks

Main Event Level Talent

Faces: Eddie Guerrero, RVD, John Cena (He needs to be booked like Austin before he reaches this level because his character is beyond stale right now. He had something good going with his disrespecting of Vince and Heyman but he has just become your regular face. His in ring work has also become uninteresting and uninspired as a result of that. Have him like he was around Survivor Series when he was turning. He was a face but he always defied authority and was more of a rebel. He would be good again if he was like that.), Undertaker (only as a special attraction meaning he'll feud to get younger stars over. His career is nearing its end and it's time he gave back to the company who made him a star by making sure that there are enough stars of the future to help the SD brand go on after he is gone. For this to happen I would probably have him use the biker gimmick. This version of the deadman gimmick is just too unbelievable as is any other version of this gimmick in 2004)

Heels: Booker T, Rhyno (he is needed badly on SD), Big Show (when he comes back from his injury)

Midcard Talent

Faces: Rey Mysterio (he has become too big so to speak for the cruiserweight division and he would bring some excitement to the US title division), Mark Jindrak (The Reflection of Perfection gimmick could work well as a face character. I’d have him continue to work as a heel on SD, build a few impressive wins, after a while start to become less conceited and more focused on his in ring work to the point where he and Theodore Long start to argue with each other week in and week out until the point where Theodore Long brings Orlando Jordan as his new project to feud with Jindrak. It would be killing two birds with one stone, you’d get both men on SD and give the gimmickless Orlando Jordan a direction), Rico (I'd have the two loose the belts maybe in a month or two to the Dudley Boyz. I'd then have Haas snap and destroy Rico turning Haas back heel and giving both a feud.), Rikishi (his character was at its peak during 2000. He was a heel then but I feel that he could play that evil character as a face. He could use the Rikishi Driver and the Banzi Drop more and use the Stink Face only once in a while. He could come out complete with his music he had when he was a heel but feud and go after the heels. I think that he would definitely get face pops for playing the evil face and would freshen up his character rather than having him dancing around.)

Heels: Charlie Haas (Simply put, this guy could be the next Kurt Angle if used right. Their similarities are so easily seen and there is nothing stopping him from becoming as good as Angle.), Bradshaw (This gimmick is a midcard level gimmick and imagine how much more over he would be as a heel if he wasn’t forced down the fans throats…also, after some good building maybe he could be moved up the card into the main event level where he can get over as a main eventer without help from other superstars), Renee Dupree, Kenzo Suzuki (if this guy is any good in the ring he could take Tajiri’s place as the head of the little stable with Akio and Sakoda, Orlando Jordan (continued from my Jindrak idea…I’d have Jordan come out in a boxing robe and boxing shorts. They could continue to play up his boxing background and build up a punch sequence as one of his main moves. It could easily work for him as long as he shows some personality.)

Cruiserweight Division

Faces: Paul London, Shannon Moore, Spike Dudley, Funaki, Juventeud Guerrera (He would be so much of a boost to the cruiserweight division if hired just like Rey was because of their similarities in style and ability to play to the crowd. They could even bring him back with the mask like they did with Rey and market it.)

Heels: Chavo Guerrero (Rey was once the posterboy of this division but now I think that job has been given to Chavo. He could be the main attraction of the division), Jamie Noble (the thing they had going with him becoming more civilized and focused on his wrestling more was good. If they keep going with that they could have a pretty good gimmick of the guy in no time, Nunzio (needs a gimmick maybe a resurgence of ECW’s Guido), Ultimo Dragon (when he comes back at the end of the year…he could play a pretty decent heel if given the chance), Billy Kidman (a heel turn could give the gimmickless Billy Kidman a new identity), Scotty Too Hotty (another guy who should be repackaged with a new idenity. A heel turn could freshen up his character and he could tease the worm and then not do it which would get him major heel heat. He is improving in the ring judging by his Velocity matchups and could work a heel pretty well)

Tag Division

Faces: Billy Gunn and Hardcore Holly (with a proper gimmick these guys could be a pretty good tag team…I’d call them Anger Management), The Bashams (They’re gimmickless right now and I think a face turn with some good booking could get them over as faces. The fans could even start to cheer them for their switch bit. Cheating gets Eddie a face reaction could just as easily get them one just as long as they spoke on the mic more to give themselves personalities), Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli (I found this pairing very entertaining. Their Kiss of Death finisher was sick looking. I would have Chuck come back to SD, have them break away from Nunzio maybe even calling themselves the FBI still.)

Heels: The Dudley Boyz, Akio and Sakoda (Call them the Yakuza which was the supposed stable name with Tajiri. It would give them a tag team name)


I tried to send something like this to the WWE before in the feedback section but I doubt they read it or even care what a net fan thinks. Feedback? I know it’s long but it’s worth a read.

The Kid
05-23-2004, 03:48 PM
I agree with everything you said. I really can't see Jindrak as a face though. I find the Luger-esque gimmick works perfectly for him and I don't really think that they should mess with a good thing.

Another thing is the Heyman stable. If you are going to have a dominant heel stable and you want them to bring Rhyno over anyway then in my opinion Rhyno should join the stable with the Dudleys. I think that this stable should be RVD, Rhyno and The Dudleys and Heyman. It would have history and wouldn't look like a bunch of wrestlers randomly thrown together.

About Tazz and Cole, I totally agree. I think that both should be faces sort of. It was much better when Tazz would cheer for both faces and heels. While on the subject of Tazz, when there is a beat down going on in the ring and Tazz is saying where is someone to help or something along those lines, I think that he should run into the ring and pick up for the face. Jerry Lawler does things like that from time to time so I don't see why Tazz couldn't do the same thing. He doesn't need to return to wrestling full-time but it would be good to get a glimpse of what was.

I don't think that the WWE will ever use the cruiserweights to their full potentials which hurts Smackdown as a whole. I'd have Jamie Noble or someone like him go out and make it his mission to carry the cruiserweight title back to respectibility. He'd win the title and defend it every week against a different opponent and have a very legnthy title reign. This would not only bring more credibility back to the title but it would also give a greater number of cruiserweights a chance to apear on Smackdown rather than being wasted on Velocity.

Unknown
05-23-2004, 06:17 PM
I was debating whether to put Booker or Rhyno as the head of the stable and I ended up choosing Booker. I decided to choose him because he has the potential to be top heel of SD. He has the complete package and it would get him over that much more as top dog if he had a stable behind him. I like the ECW idea though. The only problem I have is that it would be nearly impossible to turn RVD heel. It would be kinda like Austin when he was heel. The fans would continue to cheer him no matter what. Also, with that idea it would be hard to see who would be the main event level talent. I chose Charlie Haas to be in the stable because he has all of the tools to be big but just like Randy Orton, he needs the chance to showcase them and to learn from some of the best before he gets to the next level. He needs an established star to put him over after he builds his credibility as a singles wrestler. Maybe Undertaker (yeah like that will happen). I just feel like stables should be put together with a guy who has already reached the main event level and guys who have the potential to climb the ladder. That way a future feud between Booker and Haas would be that much mroe special. RVD and Rhyno have passed that stage. Haas is still in the developmental stage of becoming a future main eventer. That's why I did it.

I like your cruiserweight title idea. I had an idea I posted in the thread titled "My Judgment Day Thoughts" but the WWE killed any chance of that happening by giving Chavo Classic the belt (does the guy even weigh in under the limit?). I think that would be good because it would just give the guys the chance to just showcase their in ring work without ridiculous angles getting in the way. I would still have him feud with someone going into PPV's though but have little mini feuds on the side with guys who want the belt. That would definitely make the division seem important.

The Great One
05-24-2004, 01:30 PM
I would push younger talent onto Smackdown. The cruiserweight division i would try and revive it, and make it bigger than it is. The CW division could/can be the big thing for Smackdown, if used correctly this could be an exiciting thing for Smackdown. But at the moment they are pissing all over the belt by giving it to anyone, Jackie, Chavo Sr come on thats a joke! If they have no plans on being serious for the decision then release all CW and kill the division because it is no point in keep it running if they have no plans on using it correctly! I would get Ryhno of Raw and push him into the main event as one of the unstoppable heels because he is doing nothing for Raw. I would also bring Sting in, and push him into a feud with Taker, problem is both are faces, and it would be a face vs face matchup. Unless letting it slide or turning either Sting or Taker heel. Thats what i would do for now. Just to see what happens and what changes before i go and plan for storylines that could help Smackdown.

The Kid
05-24-2004, 01:34 PM
Ok I now think that your Charlie Haas is a great one. They could also play off of his former relationship with Paul Heyman to bring him into this group. I don't really think that Haas will become like Angle, I think that he will be someone like Dean Malenko in WCW, an amazing wrestler who isn't quite a main eventer but capable of winning secondary titles.

I don't really think that Chavo Classic winning the title is a bad thing for my cruiserweight idea. A cruiser could come out and say that the CW title is now a joke and that he's going to take the title back to respectibility. After a long title reign the cruiser will have accomplished this goal. I also agree that there should also be fueds between the cruisers but the title should still be the central focus. One such example could be a wrestler like Paul London saying he wants a title shot. The champ will then say London hasn't earned it. London would be hell bent on earning the title then at a PPV the champ and London have a match which the champ wins. This storyline makes the title seem more important because London wants it so bad, gives a new wrestler (London) some TV time and it makes the champion appear to be very strong because he ended up beating London in the end.

Unknown
05-24-2004, 06:29 PM
Yeah that's true about the Haas thing. He doesn't really seem to have the it factor to get him to the World Title Picture. You could always develop these skills over time though.Yeah I think your storyline could still work. BTW, that kind of looks like my London storyline in the thread titled "My Judgment Day Thoughts" (plug). You must have stolen it. :D Nah just kidding. It shows that we agree that he could be one of the wrestlers who could bring some credibility back to the belt. I wish the WWE didn't look down on net fans. They'd have so many ideas to save the Smackdown brand if they'd just listen to people like us.

The Kid
05-24-2004, 11:21 PM
Good point about Haas developing those skills. Now that I think back, Angle didn't excatly have the mic skills and the it factor that he has now when he first broke into wrestling. I think at the very least, Haas will have a solid career, but I can't see him ( as he is now) making it into the main event scene.

And after reading your Judgement Day thread, I gotta admit it does look like I stole that London idea. Great minds think alike I guess. And about the writers looking down on us, that'll never change because of the writer's pride and ego. If they listened to us, they'd feel they'd be admitting a regular fan has better ideas than someone who gets paid to do this. We can wish but it'll never happen.

Sunshine
05-28-2004, 12:29 AM
it will be good if Charlie Haas needs more time to develope all his skills to be a main-eventer. Because we would just hate seeing him accomplish everything and then getting a big ego like someone we know that was pushed too fast. I say, let him stay in the tag team division for a few more months. Then let him feud in the US division after that. And the next year, he should be in the main-event status like Kurt Angle. But not win it yet. Maybe a title shot, lose, one more title shot, then win!

The Great One
05-28-2004, 07:03 PM
it will be good if Charlie Haas needs more time to develope all his skills to be a main-eventer. Because we would just hate seeing him accomplish everything and then getting a big ego like someone we know that was pushed too fast. I say, let him stay in the tag team division for a few more months. Then let him feud in the US division after that. And the next year, he should be in the main-event status like Kurt Angle. But not win it yet. Maybe a title shot, lose, one more title shot, then win!

Agreed, we do not need to have another Brock Lesnar winnign everything in little time. Rest assured that will not happen, i would like to see him stick in the tag division for a bit so that he can get over with the crowd. Once he is over with the crowd i would push him into the US division so that he can get over as a singles competitor, once that is done he will be ready for the main event.

Sunshine
06-04-2004, 02:12 AM
5. Make the show live – I know that this one may be one of those easier said than done things but the show being live gives you that must see and can’t miss feel. Knowing that the show isn’t live doesn’t do much for it. With Smackdown all you have to do is read the spoilers and see if it is worth watching. I used to read them but it became boring knowing what was gonna happen while watching the show. There are many people out there who still do read them though and I think that a smart business move of sorts would be for people to have to see the show on TV before they know what is going to happen. A live show will definitely help to boost the quality of the show.[/color]


6. Bring Smackdown to Spike TV – UPN just doesn’t feel like a wrestling network. This would also give it the chance to have the live overruns that Raw has which usually produce pretty good ratings. Cable will give it more of a gotta see feel to it also.

5.I say it shouldnt be live. It would be nice but it would cost a lot of money and there would be some problems. I think that it just shouldnt be on Tuesday. Maybe on Thursday morning? Just so that spoilers wont be released on time to let people know what happens.

6.Again, i disagree. TV ratings are already low enough. Probaly a third of its ratings come from people that dont have cable. I for one, thank God i got it. Dont know if i can live without it. I would have to stick with the 2nd rate show only. But UPN is kind of a bad network. So..i think it should goto FOX. That network gets a lot of good ratings from its good shows and show do good with Smackdown. I remember when FOX traded with UPN some shows and Smackdown got traded. Everytime at 8:00 i flipped the channel to 12, only so i could remember that its changed to 49.

Superman33
06-04-2004, 02:38 AM
WWE dropped the ball by sending Matt Hardy to Raw. Matt Hardy could have been a perfect opponent for Cena and the U.S. Title. The draft didn't really help much either. Dupree coming over was a good thing, and maybe Booker, but that's about it.

Unknown
06-05-2004, 10:49 PM
5.I say it shouldnt be live. It would be nice but it would cost a lot of money and there would be some problems. I think that it just shouldnt be on Tuesday. Maybe on Thursday morning? Just so that spoilers wont be released on time to let people know what happens.

6.Again, i disagree. TV ratings are already low enough. Probaly a third of its ratings come from people that dont have cable. I for one, thank God i got it. Dont know if i can live without it. I would have to stick with the 2nd rate show only. But UPN is kind of a bad network. So..i think it should goto FOX. That network gets a lot of good ratings from its good shows and show do good with Smackdown. I remember when FOX traded with UPN some shows and Smackdown got traded. Everytime at 8:00 i flipped the channel to 12, only so i could remember that its changed to 49.I agree with you on the show not going live but not for the reasons you stated. The show wouldn't cost more. I don't think at this point and time the show being live would help as the show was getting good ratings when it was actually good back when Heyman was writing it. Spoilers have an effect but not a big one. Also, Raw's ratings are higher than SD. The show is on cable so that obviously doesn't have an effect on the ratings of the show. The show could produce overruns even if it isn't live. They could just make the show run a little longer in order to generate higher ratings. It would make it seem as if the show isn't completely planned (even though it is) because it would be a welcome change of pace to not have the show end right on the 10 o'clock hour.

Orton Rko
06-05-2004, 11:55 PM
I would have Heyman as GM again and head writer(whatever he was when SD was good)

Sunshine
06-11-2004, 12:07 AM
For Smackdown to compare to RAW? I want that. Just as long as their not complete reflections of eachother.

Lets just say no one is injured so theres 100% health in everyone. Then the main-eventers would be...
Smackdown
Kurt Angle
Big Show
Taker
RVD
Booker
Eddie
JBL(i dont want him in here, but he indeed IS)
Cena(now is the time)
RAW
Kane
HHH
Jericho
Benoit
HBK
Orton(now is the time)
Edge
Steiner
The Rock?
Foley?

Smackdown=8
RAW=10, and the last 2 shouldnt even count since they only come every few months.

Good feuds Smackdown can have...
heck! Just mix and match all of them maineventers. And whatever happened to a triple threat? Or Fatal four way? Smackdown havent had those for a long time since Lesnar/Show/Angle.