10-11-2011, 09:21 PM
As much as I love the CM Punk character and his mission for change in the WWE, there is no change that will fix the true issue, at the core of the WWE: The Developmental System. Look back to the years from (I'd say) 1996 to 2005-ish. This time period saw the popularity of Pro Wrestling at an all-time high. Why? Because until WWE bought WCW, there was competition, and after WWE bought WCW, the WWE had a massively deep roster. Everybody felt like they were, could be, or had at one point been a Main Eventer, and it kept them relevant and made even mid-card storylines matter.
Michaels
Undertaker
Kane
Austin
Rock
Foley
Triple H
Big Show
Jericho
Guerrero
Benoit
Angle
Goldberg
Lesnar
Edge
That list is massive, and every single one of those men relevant at one time or another between 1999 and 2005. I'm using 1999 as my starting point because it's a good six year comparison. Since 2005, what main eventers have we had?
Cena
Orton
Batista
Mysterio
Jericho
Triple H
JBL
Jeff Hardy
Edge
CM Punk
...and that's it. It seems like a decent sized list. Obviously not as bulky as the first one, but still decent. Now think about this: LITERALLY NONE of the names on EITHER LIST was a product of the FCW system. Not a single one. Mysterio, Triple H, Jericho, JBL, Hardy and Edge are all carry-overs from the Attitude Era and aren't relevant today. You could say Triple H is, and Jericho will be when he comes back, but Mysterio is done AT LEAST for another 6 months, JBL isn't coming back, and neither are Hardy or Edge. Cena, Orton and Batista are products of the Jim Cornette-run OVW and got put over by the stars in that first list. CM Punk stands out because he's the only one who established a name for himself outside of the WWE over the last 6 years who is now relevant in the main event picture. On the other hand, look at THIS list:
Benoit
Mysterio
Guerrero
Austin
Foley
Angle
Jericho
CM Punk
All eight of those men worked around the world before they got into the WWE. They built up a reputation and honed their skills before signing. If you want to know what is wrong with the WWE today and why they aren't creating any more superstars, it's because of their developmental system. The problem with only using ONE federation (FCW) as your developmental "system" (how can you call it a system? It's a goddamned farm team, for christ's sake) is that there is no room for growth. There's never going to be anyone in that system who ever grows because you can only ever get as good as the best guy who's already there. And if the WWE keeps on calling up the best guys there, the talent level just keeps getting lower and lower, slowly but surely.
That's exactly why there was such a boom in the late 90s and early 2000s. Talented guys who were working to get into wrestling in the 90s were found, but not necessarily ONLY by WWE; some were found and developed by WWE (Kane, Taker, Edge, Hardy, Rock, Austin) but some were found and established by WCW (Mysterio, Jericho, Benoit, Jericho, Goldberg) and it created a boom of huge wrestling stars when WWE bought WCW because now they had a stacked card. WWE can't create a ton of new stars NOW because they never did in the first place. That's exactly why it's so vital that WWE has competition. With no competition, the WWE has monopolized the wrestling industry and now has its own pipeline that all of its stars run through. Sin Cara was out-popping Orton, so the WWE slapped a 30 day suspension on him to put a stop to that. That's what happens when the WWE brings in somebody who built up their prestige somewhere else - they out-pop WWE's already established so-called "stars". Pro Wrestling can not be monopolized - it will die. And it isn't immune just because it will always have fans. Fans will stop watching if a product gets bad. What would happen if John Cena would die in a tragic accident tomorrow? There IS NO back-up plan for that. Cena, and to a MUCH lesser degree, Orton, is the only lifeline the WWE has left. That's why it's so important to have competition, because competition creates controversy, and controversy creates interest. Interest creates cash. Bischoff leaves the interest part out, but **** him.
The way I see it, one of two things needs to happen in order to literally SAVE the wrestling business from a slow, but inevitable death. Option one is that the WWE needs to re-work its developmental system so that it has multiple territories COMPETING with EACH OTHER, while sharing talent and allowing everybody to grow within the system. Option two is that somehow, some way, a legitimate threat to the WWE needs to rise up and create some goddamned competition for the first time in over ten years. Without one of those two things happening, the WRESTLING BUSINESS AS A WHOLE WILL DIE. I'm not saying that because I like being dramatic, I don't - you guys should know that by now. I'm saying that because it's true. The WWE's so-called "stars" have been getting less and less relevant as time goes on, and when Cena and Orton retire, the audience will cut in half. Just like it did when Rock and Austin left. When Vince McMahon said "I can create another John Cena", he was talking out his ass. You probably thought you could create another Rock, too, didn't you, Vince? And another Austin? How's that going for you? Not so well.
What I, personally, would like to see, is a multiple promotion developmental system. Keep FCW and keep Keirn and Smiley there, but at the same time give Jim Ross a promotion to run in Oklahoma, give Lawler a promotion in Tennesee, give Booker T a promotion in Texas, and for God's sake get in touch with the guys at OVW and re-attach them to your pipeline, keeping Cornette as the head guy there. If you can agree to terms, give Paul Heyman a promotion in Philadelphia - Heyman would love to have an opportunity to re-do ECW his way without needing to be the guy handling the money, I'm sure. There needs to be at least 4-5 promotions that all work together, competing to see who can make the most money and the most stars. If the WWE funds these promotions AND picks up all of the proceeds, I see no downfall. In the simplest way I can put it, re-create the territory system where the WWE still owns every territory, but they're at least creating the illusion of competition, AND allowing its talents to work with a broader range of talents, styles and audiences.
That being said, what do you guys think would be a good solution to the WWE's developmental system? I'm telling you there's a problem, and I've already stated what my solution to said problem would be, but I'm interested in hearing everybody else's opinion - what would you do to improve this piece of shit system that the WWE has been using for four years now?
Michaels
Undertaker
Kane
Austin
Rock
Foley
Triple H
Big Show
Jericho
Guerrero
Benoit
Angle
Goldberg
Lesnar
Edge
That list is massive, and every single one of those men relevant at one time or another between 1999 and 2005. I'm using 1999 as my starting point because it's a good six year comparison. Since 2005, what main eventers have we had?
Cena
Orton
Batista
Mysterio
Jericho
Triple H
JBL
Jeff Hardy
Edge
CM Punk
...and that's it. It seems like a decent sized list. Obviously not as bulky as the first one, but still decent. Now think about this: LITERALLY NONE of the names on EITHER LIST was a product of the FCW system. Not a single one. Mysterio, Triple H, Jericho, JBL, Hardy and Edge are all carry-overs from the Attitude Era and aren't relevant today. You could say Triple H is, and Jericho will be when he comes back, but Mysterio is done AT LEAST for another 6 months, JBL isn't coming back, and neither are Hardy or Edge. Cena, Orton and Batista are products of the Jim Cornette-run OVW and got put over by the stars in that first list. CM Punk stands out because he's the only one who established a name for himself outside of the WWE over the last 6 years who is now relevant in the main event picture. On the other hand, look at THIS list:
Benoit
Mysterio
Guerrero
Austin
Foley
Angle
Jericho
CM Punk
All eight of those men worked around the world before they got into the WWE. They built up a reputation and honed their skills before signing. If you want to know what is wrong with the WWE today and why they aren't creating any more superstars, it's because of their developmental system. The problem with only using ONE federation (FCW) as your developmental "system" (how can you call it a system? It's a goddamned farm team, for christ's sake) is that there is no room for growth. There's never going to be anyone in that system who ever grows because you can only ever get as good as the best guy who's already there. And if the WWE keeps on calling up the best guys there, the talent level just keeps getting lower and lower, slowly but surely.
That's exactly why there was such a boom in the late 90s and early 2000s. Talented guys who were working to get into wrestling in the 90s were found, but not necessarily ONLY by WWE; some were found and developed by WWE (Kane, Taker, Edge, Hardy, Rock, Austin) but some were found and established by WCW (Mysterio, Jericho, Benoit, Jericho, Goldberg) and it created a boom of huge wrestling stars when WWE bought WCW because now they had a stacked card. WWE can't create a ton of new stars NOW because they never did in the first place. That's exactly why it's so vital that WWE has competition. With no competition, the WWE has monopolized the wrestling industry and now has its own pipeline that all of its stars run through. Sin Cara was out-popping Orton, so the WWE slapped a 30 day suspension on him to put a stop to that. That's what happens when the WWE brings in somebody who built up their prestige somewhere else - they out-pop WWE's already established so-called "stars". Pro Wrestling can not be monopolized - it will die. And it isn't immune just because it will always have fans. Fans will stop watching if a product gets bad. What would happen if John Cena would die in a tragic accident tomorrow? There IS NO back-up plan for that. Cena, and to a MUCH lesser degree, Orton, is the only lifeline the WWE has left. That's why it's so important to have competition, because competition creates controversy, and controversy creates interest. Interest creates cash. Bischoff leaves the interest part out, but **** him.
The way I see it, one of two things needs to happen in order to literally SAVE the wrestling business from a slow, but inevitable death. Option one is that the WWE needs to re-work its developmental system so that it has multiple territories COMPETING with EACH OTHER, while sharing talent and allowing everybody to grow within the system. Option two is that somehow, some way, a legitimate threat to the WWE needs to rise up and create some goddamned competition for the first time in over ten years. Without one of those two things happening, the WRESTLING BUSINESS AS A WHOLE WILL DIE. I'm not saying that because I like being dramatic, I don't - you guys should know that by now. I'm saying that because it's true. The WWE's so-called "stars" have been getting less and less relevant as time goes on, and when Cena and Orton retire, the audience will cut in half. Just like it did when Rock and Austin left. When Vince McMahon said "I can create another John Cena", he was talking out his ass. You probably thought you could create another Rock, too, didn't you, Vince? And another Austin? How's that going for you? Not so well.
What I, personally, would like to see, is a multiple promotion developmental system. Keep FCW and keep Keirn and Smiley there, but at the same time give Jim Ross a promotion to run in Oklahoma, give Lawler a promotion in Tennesee, give Booker T a promotion in Texas, and for God's sake get in touch with the guys at OVW and re-attach them to your pipeline, keeping Cornette as the head guy there. If you can agree to terms, give Paul Heyman a promotion in Philadelphia - Heyman would love to have an opportunity to re-do ECW his way without needing to be the guy handling the money, I'm sure. There needs to be at least 4-5 promotions that all work together, competing to see who can make the most money and the most stars. If the WWE funds these promotions AND picks up all of the proceeds, I see no downfall. In the simplest way I can put it, re-create the territory system where the WWE still owns every territory, but they're at least creating the illusion of competition, AND allowing its talents to work with a broader range of talents, styles and audiences.
That being said, what do you guys think would be a good solution to the WWE's developmental system? I'm telling you there's a problem, and I've already stated what my solution to said problem would be, but I'm interested in hearing everybody else's opinion - what would you do to improve this piece of shit system that the WWE has been using for four years now?