Quote:
Originally Posted by Noid
The benefits have already been summed up by The Undertaker, but you do make a good point about John Cena being someone special. That being said, you cannot deny that the booking for some guys has done its absolute best to fuck up the momentum of a lot of guys, possibly so they don't get too hot because the WWE wants everyone to be luke-warm so no one has the confidence to do a Bobby Lashley or whatever.
The WWE actually does have a lot of guys who could potentially serve as hooks and get people more invested in the product. Dean Ambrose was getting really hot last year, and was almost as equally important to the show as John Cena was. Then they had Ambrose lose any sense of direction and start losing on basically every PPV until Extreme Rules. Bray Wyatt could have been a new era's top heel, but instead he's spent the last two WrestleMania events losing, proving that he's all talk. Cesaro was presented as a world-beater at WrestleMania XXX, then had the world beat him.
Not one of those guys is John Cena, but not one of those guys needs to be -- after all, they still have John Cena. There's no reason you cannot present them in a way that allows fans who like them to feel that their emotional investment is going to lead to memories being made -- memories that invariably fuel their fandom of the product.
Earlier this year -- despite me thinking it was possibly the stupidest direction to take a once great personality -- Damien Sandow got really fucking over building up tension between himself and The Miz. Where is Sandow now? He's nowhere. Don't tell me that guy wouldn't benefit by being on a different show right now.
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See again, and I hate harping on this, but you sound like you are parroting the dirt sheet writers. Like as though the WWE decision makers have some fascination with pissing money away. The sports entertainment business is very subjective. There is no metric like their time in a 40 yard dash to tell you "yes, this guy will get over". But why would WWE prevent someone who could be a Steve Austin or a John Cena from reaching those heights? Its in their best interest to have that happen. The problem is fans and critics get too wrapped up in a few talents, and it clouds their judgment.
I remember when I made my highly anticipated return here, and read a post about how great Ryback was. I was shocked. I couldnt believe ANYONE saw Ryback as a potential headliner. But someone did. To me, he's just another guy, he's no better or worse than The Miz or a Dolph Ziggler. Nice hands, but they'll never take you to the promise land. Now, are they caught up in some glass ceiling BS or do they just lack all the tools you need to be elite in this game? In my view, I can see the massive holes in the respective games. But other people will say "oh Triple H this or Stephanie that or Vince is old, blah blah blah". I guess its open to interpretation.
The issue I think people have with the booking is there is a segment of the audience that wants to see the next guy breakthrough, and they want it to happen NOW. The problem is if you look at history, even the all time greats took YEARS to get established. The Rock is probably the greatest pure talent in the history of the game, but it took him 2 years of middling programs before they put the big belt on them, and probably another 4 months before he was booked as a strong main eventer and not a chicken shit heel. Same with HHH, actually longer with him, and Austin as well. You cant push Cesaro, Owens, Reigns, Rollins, Ambrose, Wyatt, and Ryback as main eventers all at the same time. There's not enough main event spots for that. Its Rollins time, its Reigns' time. In time, some of these other guys will get a shot.
Sandow is just a comedy act. Its like saying why didnt Paul Heyman take it to the next level with the Blue Meanie. He's just a joke guy. Thats all he will ever be. Have you ever seen him work an actual match? He cant hold the crowd for more than 2 minutes. You want him headlining PPVs?