“We don’t have any plans for you.”

WWE creative has one main job, to keep fans watching the product. They do this by providing a compelling story and making the superstars as interesting as possible. What bugs me is when I hear stories of someone being released because creative “has no plans for your character.”

Why is creative not actively working with talent and creating a long term plan? Long term can be a couple months or even a couple years. I understand some superstars don’t want to hear the immediate plan is to simply squash their character, but sometimes it is needed. When that happens though, a long term goal needs to be set with the result being positive growth. Continual jobbing isn’t good for individual stars or the business in general.

When I hear of a star being released due to a lack of creative direction, I can’t help but wonder why? Many talented stars have been let go because of this lame excuse. Take recently MVP. MVP has decent all around skills. He could work a mic and perform in ring. He was let go because he was floundering. A simple push would have been fairly easy, even if it was just making him more popular with the fans.

Obviously not everybody can work the main event regularly. This is understandable. There is more to a push than a title shot. Good feuds that showcase talent and let a character grow to potentially one day contend for the title is what everyone wants. It is what wrestlers want, and it is what fans want to see. Not being able to write these feuds is a clear fault on creative and should be addressed.

I am unaware if meetings take place between creative and superstars, but a discussion every month or two to discuss the path or a wrestler would be appropriate. Get an idea of where they want to go with their character and where creative wants to take it. Work out a balance between the shows needs, creative’s goal, and where superstars want to go themselves. Stars should know they are appreciated and will be used at some point. Ideally there will never be a release due to a lack of vision from creative.

Dangerous ground with CM Punk

WWE is heading into dangerous grounds with CM Punk taking over the Nexus. Punk on his own is a great superstar and a great heel. As the leader of a stable, he hasn’t been great. The straight edge society never took off on Smackdown. Punk and his group were squashed by everyone and never taken as a real threat.

Now combine another failing stable, the Nexus. Nexus broke out as a stable to be feared. They destroyed Raw for weeks, and Wade Barret was given multiple title shots. All of this was for nothing as they never had one decent win. They were squashed at Summer Slam and after that, they never really took off again.

We are left with the remnants of two failed stables that both had huge potential. Now creative is combining them in a desperate hope to rekindle interest in Nexus. I’m left wondering how two failed stables will suddenly transform into a great one. The way I see it, there are a few simple solutions.

Nexus needs credibility. They have been destroyed by just about everyone. They can get this with titles. They need to win them quickly. The WWE title is set to be between Miz and Orton. CM Punk will likely not be involved directly in this match. To get into the title picture Punk needs to either interfere in this match or win the Royal Rumble. Either option would be plausible. Having his army of Nexus behind him, Punk could easily be seen as a legitimate threat to win the rumble. Any interference in the title match would also set him up to fight in the Elimination Chamber.

As for the other members, Harris and McGillicutty need to challenge for the tag title belts. Gabriel and Slater have already held them and their reign was dismal. The tag division is already fairly weak and this could help establish Harris and McGillicutty as legitimate superstars. Otunga could even be used in a similar manner to the way Laycool defended the titles. Nexus are the tag team champions and any member can defend on any given day. This allows all members to stay active.

Slater and/or Gabriel need to contend for other titles. I’m not sure if the time is right for Daniel Bryan to drop the US title, but I imagine a feud between him and Justin Gabriel would have show stealing potential. Even though Gabriel hasn’t been built up to title shot level, the threat of Nexus behind him and the pull of CM Punk could help make this match happen. Slater could almost be turned into his lackey, similar to how Alex Riley aids the Miz.

With an established new order of the Nexus, the former leader is in a tough spot. Few would question the ability of Wade Barret. He grew into a main event role very quickly. He had three title shots, yet managed to lose all of them. Since then he has fallen off the radar and fans’ opinions of him are dropping. Once seen as a dominant heel, what can be done to save him?

WWE is trying by moving him to Smackdown and having him feud with the Big Show. I fear another squash coming. Barret will gain nothing from this feud unless he completely obliterates Big Show, something I don’t think WWE will allow. If Barret could not win the title with the help of Cena and five other men, what chance does he have on his own? I fear WWE may have sunk this character a little too far. Barret needs to dominate someone established. If WWE wants Barret to remain a main event contender, he will defeat the Big Show at the Rumble and earn a spot in the elimination chamber.

Barret could also start a program with the Undertaker when he returns. He did lead the assault and burial of the Taker. Unfortunately, I am not sure when he is set to return, but this could be set to be a match at Wrestlemania. Keep Barret in mediocre feuds until then.

Two failed stables combine and one former leader is sent packing. The results could be great, but only if WWE is willing to try new things. Cena destroying this new Nexus will lose viewers and be a bad idea. An actually dominant stable can create new stars and change the main event scene for a while, both are great for business.

John Morrison's Title Loss Raw 01/03/11

Not many people are happy with the way John Morrison is being used on Raw. We finally saw him break out of the “mid-card” level and earn a WWE title shot. Fans were horrified to learn he was cashing it in on Raw, as titles hardly even change hands on Raw. We were even more horrified to learn it would open the show. The chances of a win for Morrison were slim to none in most people’s minds. While he did in fact end up losing, I contend that his loss was not necessarily a bad thing.

John Morrison showed he can be in the main event. His match versus the Miz was incredible. Morrison held his own and stole the show. Many are even arguing he carried the Miz through the 20+ minute bought. Until you are given the opportunity to be in the main event, fans and management can’t actually predict the quality of the feud and interest of the WWE universe. By showing he can hold his own and getting a positive reaction from most, Morrison can easily contend again at a later time. Nobody will even blink if one day Morrison is announced to be the new #1 contender. That is huge for any superstar’s future career.

John Morrison now has every single option open to him. Before this match he was going to contend for the title once and potentially be buried again. By having the match early in the month, Morrison now has time to rebuild his image, start another feud, or enter the Royal Rumble. With Randy Orton set as the #1 contender for the WWE title, a rematch between Miz and Morrison is unlikely to happen before the Royal Rumble. Daniel Bryan hasn’t been used frequently on Raw recently. Morrison could easily start a feud with Daniel Bryan for the US title. Morrison could have a match with Alex Riley at the Royal Rumble to continue his feud with Miz. He could even win the Royal Rumble to gain another title shot. While there was an immediate downside of losing the match, a whole new world opened for Morrison.

Keep in mind that Elimination chamber is the next PPV. That match will require six competitors that fans can accept as legitimate threats to the title. Right now on Raw there aren’t many, especially with Cena injured, Jericho touring, and many who have departed the company. Morrison has now almost guaranteed himself a spot in that match. I could easily see the match as:

The Miz vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Morrison vs. CM Punk vs. Cena (or Barret is Cena is still out)

There are heated rivalries throughout that match and a good mix of faces and heels. As a fan I would love to see those six superstars compete. Any one of them could win, and Morrison’s performance Monday proved it.

Don’t count Morrison out just yet. He proved he can handle being in the WWE title picture. I expect to remain a big player and come back from this loss. Morrison will be a champion one day, but for now he is better used as the underdog. He’s a fan favorite many want to see win. Having him as champ, he would no longer be the underdog and would run the risk of growing stale.

Low PPV Buys

I recently saw a post stating WWE PPV's were down in buys. I posted a quick response I'll share here.

The PPV's don't get buys because:

1 - Matches aren't announced. Buying a PPV is partially because of the matches and when half of them aren't announced til the day before or the day of, why should anyone care?

2 - Feuds aren't developed. Why are people fighting? A belt? For fun? We need to care about the feud as the story is more interesting than the match half the time. Orton punting Stephanie? Stone Cold being fired? The rock turning corporate? The closest thing we have to a story now is John Cena being fired where he isn't really fired and then rehired in 2 weeks. Who writes this stuff?

3 - UFC. They may not be the same, but it is similar. Nobody wants to see a scripted slugfest when we can just watch UFC. Hence, two big guys who used to be huge draws simply aren't anymore. Taker vs Kane is a perfect example. Put them in a different type of match and it can be cool, but them boxing for 20 minutes isn't.

4 - Stories don't go anywhere. Check Survivor Series. Now check TLC. How many storylines continued or even evolved. Just Jomo vs Sheamus. The rest of the matches or feuds were dropped.


WWE is losing viewers because of their writers and view on the product, plain and simple.

Current WWE angles

Recent pay per views have been pretty good. Survivor Series put on some amazing matches as did TLC. I applaud the superstars for stepping it up and delivering some amazing matches. Unfortunately the writing has gone the other direction. Storylines are uninteresting and change randomly. I will illustrate this following each match from Survivor Series to the superstars’ current roles in WWE.

Match 1 – Daniel Bryan vs. Ted Dibiase

This was arguably the match of the night. Why weren’t matches for either of these superstars made for TLC? Bryan has been stealing the show since he won the US title. He has been in a weird angle with the Bellas and left off of the TLC card. Dibiase can put on a pretty good match himself. Even a rematch would have been better. I read they had one as the dark match, but why? This could have easily filled the time the Big Show and Cody Rhodes segment had.

Match 2 – John Morrison vs. Sheamus

Arguably the only feud that has progressed since SS. One does have to wonder though, why book Sheamus to win the King of the Ring if they weren’t going to use that immediately. Having him lose his first PPV after winning makes him look weak. I approve of the Morrison vs. Miz fight for the Rumble, but Sheamus has once again been lost in the mix. I would have been fine with the feud ending if Sheamus could have used his crown.

Match 3 – Dolph vs. Kaval

Another amazing match. Rumors are that Kaval was injured, which would explain his absence. Kaval though has had an interesting run in WWE. He has won a total of one match and wasted his NXT title match. Fans enjoy his matches. I hope he returns soon and could see a great match vs. Rey Mysterio when both are recovered. As for Dolph, his TLC match was good. The ending was weird. I would have liked to see it turn into just a regular match when the belt fell, maybe with Dolph having the sleeper on Swagger while Kofi was in the ankle lock. Again, a decent match, but writing was kind of weird.

Match 4 – Survivor Series Match!

In this match Big Show and Rey Mysterio were the survivors. Surely something good would happen for them right? Well, partially. Mysterio did get put into a title match, but only because writers had botched the writing of the Edge vs. Kane feud. Big Show got to dress up like Santa and beat up Cody Rhodes. Why wasn’t Survivor Series used to push someone? Have these two get a tag title shot. Have these two in the world title match instead of Del Rio. Have

Fake a Firing

With all the recent releases by WWE, an interesting idea came up. WWE should supposedly release someone only to bring them back at the Royal Rumble. The likely conclusion being they win the rumble. This idea came about from the actual release of MVP. Obviously if he was willing to come back and get this push, I’d welcome it. Assuming he won’t though, I see a great candidate in Christian. This would work for multiple reasons.

First, Christian is injured so he’s already out of action. He won’t miss any TV time. He has tweeted that he will be able to return around the Rumble. Many fans would love to see him back then. A simple return was done by Edge last year and the fans loved it. I see no reason it wouldn’t work with Christian. Adding the fake firing would make it that much more epic.

Next, a return from a firing helps create a star. I was at Summer Slam. When Cena said the mystery partner was Daniel Bryan I was amazed. Bryan was supposed to be gone. If the return can be kept secret, every fan will be standing in the arena and those at home will have their jaws drop. The fact the WWE would bring a superstar back after termination makes the fans think he has talent.

His former tag partner Edge is in the title hunt. An Edge vs. Christian match at Wrestlemania would be epic. Every fan would want to see this, even if it isn’t for the belt. Add the world title and it’s an instant selling point.

Both the firing and return would generate a huge buzz on the internet. People would be talking about it until the Rumble. When lesser stars are released there is a buzz. Someone of Christian’s caliber would generate discussion bigger than when Miz won the title. Raw and Smackdown after his return would guarantee huge ratings. It would be a huge talking point and watching point.

Finally, Christian has always been over with fans. Winning the Rumble and a title would do wonders for his career and bring another person to the top tier. Top tier stars are lacking now and having more would never hurt. This could finally be Christian’s time and this angle, if done properly, could turn out amazing.

Late PPV Builds

Something has been bugging about recent WWE PPV’s. A pay per view is supposed to be approximately three hours. Assume that about 30 minutes of that PPV will be advertisements, promos, or highlights, that leaves you with 150 minutes of wrestling. That leaves seven 20+ minute matches or eight 18 minute matches. 15-20 minutes for a match is probably average. Some go longer, but many (especially diva’s matches) go shorter. There is plenty of room for eight matches on a PPV card, yet two weeks before any pay per view the average card only has two to three. Three matches on a card that should hold eight. The question then becomes…why?

Why are there so few advertised matches? I feel it comes down to laziness on creative’s part. Writing feuds early you then have to come up with reasons for the feud to extend two to three weeks. It takes work to keep it fresh. Writing feuds the Raw or Smackdown before a PPV, you can create it and end it in one fell swoop. Setting them up weeks ahead of time you have to be sure of your storylines. You don’t have much room to change the angles. You have to have confidence the storyline will work and build it up.

Do people enjoy seeing matches created the Saturday before a PPV and only announced on wwe.com? I don’t know. I don’t have any statistics on buy rates. Personally I don’t like it. If a match didn’t have any relevance the entire month preceding the PPV, why should anyone shell out money to buy the match? How often do people considering buying PPV’s check wwe.com compared to watching a weekly show? I’d wager the shows reach more potential buyers.

Sometimes the late added matches steal the shows. Take for example the Daniel Bryan vs. Ted Dibiase match at Survivor Series. It was hinted at the Raw before the PPV but not added until a few hours before the show. It was arguably the best match. Bryan has consistently been putting on quality matches and WWE should have known this. Almost anyone could have started a feud with him. A feud for the title would have been a major selling point.

Granted, Bryan isn’t the best on the microphone. But with a contender for the title set early, a few good matches on a Raw, and proper build up this match could have easily been a top selling point for the PPV. We would want to see the match for the wrestling. We would be interested in who wins the title. We would want some finality to the feud. Instead the WWE universe hears about it online the day of the PPV and the feud expired before the next Raw. That isn’t worth $50 to most people.

Even looking at wwe.com now, there is little on the site for TLC. The PPV is two weeks away, and until today there were no advertised matches. There are now two matches set, Edge vs. Kane and Rey vs. Del Rio. Even understanding Randy Orton is likely considered the #1 contender for the WWE title and he might be injured, there is no reason other matches couldn’t be added. I made a full card weeks ago. The biggest things to change are Miz winning the title, Sheamus winning KOTR, and MVP leaving the company. None of these change a great card extremely. The WWE title match could be changed to Miz vs. Sheamus and a replacement could be found for the TLC elimination match. There are always options and replacements. Even if Orton vs. Sheamus were set for TLC at Survivor Series, it could have easily been swapped to Miz vs. Sheamus.

One vital thing now is the economy. A set card gives people something to expect and look forward to. It lets them budget PPV funds for the week. They might be short funded for the weekend, but expecting a good PPV they can save $50 dollars for Sunday that they might spend at a bar on Saturday. They could also plan a party with their friends a week in advance. If a PPV has no hype, people will just go out for the weekend and be unable to buy a show on Sunday.

To conclude, matches for the following PPV should be set the Raw or Smackdown following a PPV, two shows away at most. Fans will purchase more PPV’s knowing they can look forward to an entertaining card on Sunday. With no hype, there is nothing to buy. Nothing to buy means no bottom line for WWE.