I'm sorry guys, I don't need a PPV caliber line-up every time I tune in to watch WWE or TNA shows. I loved the old Georgia Championship Wrestling or WWF days of watching great wrestlers go in and beat the tar out of someone. As much as I remember the greats, I can still remember the Mulkey's, Mike Williams, Barry Horowitz. They made the greats look even greater, and they helped promote the mid-card guys into legit contenders.
We see no squash matches today. Instead, we get CM Punk pinning cleanly Del Rio in a 4 minute match on RAW. Punk goes on to be Cena in a PPV. And then Del Rio comes back a couple of weeks later and wins the title? Hunh? How did that make any sense to squash Del Rio and then have him come back a few weeks later and be the World Heavyweight Champ?
Yeah, it's great to see the stars on every week, by the reality is that no one is special any more. PPV's are no better than what you will see the next night for free! Give me jobbers again who are not fodder in the industry, but truly valuable marketers! It's the jobber who made guys like Sid Vicious look like a real monster, only to get exposed when he we get to the Main Event match-up. But, the jobbers made Sid look like a legitimate monster who could destroy anything in his path! Plus, I don't want to see credible wrestlers get destroyed! Does it make any sense to have Mark Henry destroy credible wrestlers? Have the WSM destroy jobbers and you get the exact same affect!
Thoughts?
The first reason for me would be that Monday Night Raw and Nitro killed the idea of the jobber because people will not watch those matches now, which results in them turning the channel and, as a result, ratings go down the tubes. Both shows were throwing their top guys out there every week in an effort to one up each other in the ratings. In the past, Georgia Championship Wrestling and other territories used their tv shows to, not just showcase the wrestlers, but to draw people to their live events. WWE knows people will keep coming to those events,even though the numbers are dropping. Therefore, they don't see the need to use enhancement talent to elevate their wrestlers, which is a flawed theory from the standpoint that you need "jobbers" to establish who your top guys are.
Another huge reason would be that there are no more wrestlers out there that are trained well enough to become a jobber. Being a jobber takes skill. More times than not, the job guy is a better in ring talent than the guy they have to put over. Today, the WWE signs guys in their early twenties, send them to Florida for a few months and then bring them up to TV and let them sink or swim(more times than not, they sink). Then, they cut them by the time they are 28 if they don't get over. All of these guys are trained with the notion that they are going to be a big star and if they don't make it, they get cut. They do not get the amount of in ring time to develop the mental part of the sport, which is where a jobber excels. Because most of these guys are signed with the notion that they are going to be a big star, learning that aspect isn't important to them. The main guys doing the training in Florida are Steve Keirn and Tom Pritchard. Pritchard and Keirn know wrestling inside and out, but the workers aren't getting enough experience before they get the call-up because all they do is run house shows in that little FCW arena and don't get the experience that guys used to get in the territories from working in front of different crowds 7 nights a week. All WWE cares about is that they look good and be able to get in the ring without killing themselves or their opponent, which is the basic premise of "Sports Entertainment" and that is style over substance.
You've put me on my soap box. lol.
^ Awesome post and one that I really respect for the reason you gave!
As for people not watching, I'd argue that something is not working now! Squashes are entertaining and for people switching the channel because of them, I don't buy it! Rates are not hovering between 2.7 and 3.0. During the heyday of the Monday Night Wars, ratings for both shows were hovering around 11-12, so people have already lost interest. I don't think anyone will lose any more interest than they already have just because they get to see monsters destroy the innocents, or we see a "Barry Horowitz" type taunt John Cena, and Cena destroys him quickly! How do we create faces and heels without giving them legitimate forums to do so.
Your second argument is more legit, but something that can be overcome. There are quality guys in the Indy's today that either do not have the "look" - Size, Weight, Physique, or the "Personna" ability to talk! But, we have good (pardon me using your username) work! There are workers that will never make it that are already in WWE development. These guys can bump, but that's all they can do. What is the definition of a good jobber - a guy who can bump like a PRO! The top guys can't even bump anymore. There are guys out there, but there just is not a role for them any longer!
There is still a big time jobber still around.
His name is Job Morrison.
ROFL.
^ LOL, well that is true now!
You could put some of the blame on Melina, since she was such a problem with everyone, and he's being punished for it.
But nah, I just think the guy is just a big softee IMO.