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Post by ringsyde on Jan 21, 2005 3:05:17 GMT -5
It's getting harder and harder to watch WWE Smackdown these days. As often, I chat either online or over the phone with a friend during the show. As we were watching last week's show, he shared a profound piece of wisdom that I believe may be the key to this show sucking out loud. After spending the last three years and a few million dollars making us feel like fools for being fans of eighties WWF, the powers-that-be in McMahon Land have turned Smackdown into . . . an Eighties inspired gimmick show.
Think about it; we've got a dead man, an evil Texan, a gutless Frenchman, an evil (Fu Manchu looking) Asian with an infatuation for blondes, a smooth talking Caribbean, a bouncing luchadore, a Giant, a whiteboy rapper (no offense to my caucasian brothers out there) . . . and Kurt Angle. Hmmm, let's see. During the eighties and early nineties, we had the exact same thing (Quebecers, Andre, Maxx Moon, Razor Ramone, and the list goes on). The wrestlers on the current SD roster, aside from being minimally talented, are all trying to build reputations and fan interest on the backs of tired gimmicks.
Poor Kurt Angle. Aside from Eddie Guerrero (who he has now wrestled almost as much as Taker battled Austin), there's no one compelling enough to put in a ring with him. If Raw and the whole Triple H. issue has taught us nothing else, it shows that building credible rosters and generating emotions has to start somewhere!
As for Smackdown, there isn't a single angle that can be generated between now and Wrestlemania that can inspire enough interest simply because we've seen all this roster has to offer, and the gimmick train zaps any credibility anyone on the show has. Almost makes you miss Brock, don't it?
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Post by Tournament Master on Jan 21, 2005 15:54:09 GMT -5
Can't they just rename Smackdown as Thunder and completely kill off the show.
Remember back when the Brand Extension started and Raw was the show that sucked, and Smackdown was the show to watch?
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Post by Swarm on Jan 22, 2005 2:48:32 GMT -5
Brock Lesner is a wrestling God and anyone who says otherwise is (as spoken by south park's resident pissed off union red-neck) a "fucking retard."
No offense.
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Post by ringsyde on Jan 22, 2005 9:35:09 GMT -5
Let me help you out, Swarm. Brock Lesnar WAS a wrestling God. Then, he screwed his fiance and 4 month old daughter over by having an open affair with Sable. Then he moved Sable into the house his fiance and child were STILL living in. He thought that the pressure and temptation of the wrestling business was too much (instead of the obvious fact that he had no respect for his family and too much weakness for forty-year-old, plastic enhanced women) SO . . . he turns down millions of dollars and a set-in-stone wrestling career to make a run at pro football, all the while knowing that Michael Jordan had a better chance at becoming a baseball star than he did at ever seeing an NFL field.
By doing these things, he proved Triple H, Hogan, Undertaker and other "wrestling traditionalists" right: the young guys have no staying power, no matter how talented they seem, so why build around them? Hence, we have two brands who can't let go of the "veteran" talent becuase of fear of getting burned by the next "next big thing".
Simply put, I LOVED Brock Lesnar's in-ring talent. But, frankly, the man's an idiot of the highest order, and I'm certain that his imminent return . . . and subsequent pinfall losses to Taker, Bradshaw and anyone else who felt screwed for getting him over only to watch him leave the business high and dry to outrun a bad situation he put himself in . . . will only further prove this. Guess I'm a retard . . . A damned proud one.
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Post by Big Bri on Jan 22, 2005 15:47:25 GMT -5
Let me help you out, Swarm. Brock Lesnar WAS a wrestling God. Then, he screwed his fiance and 4 month old daughter over by having an open affair with Sable. Then he moved Sable into the house his fiance and child were STILL living in. He thought that the pressure and temptation of the wrestling business was too much (instead of the obvious fact that he had no respect for his family and too much weakness for forty-year-old, plastic enhanced women) SO . . . he turns down millions of dollars and a set-in-stone wrestling career to make a run at pro football, all the while knowing that Michael Jordan had a better chance at becoming a baseball star than he did at ever seeing an NFL field. By doing these things, he proved Triple H, Hogan, Undertaker and other "wrestling traditionalists" right: the young guys have no staying power, no matter how talented they seem, so why build around them? Hence, we have two brands who can't let go of the "veteran" talent becuase of fear of getting burned by the next "next big thing". Simply put, I LOVED Brock Lesnar's in-ring talent. But, frankly, the man's an idiot of the highest order, and I'm certain that his imminent return . . . and subsequent pinfall losses to Taker, Bradshaw and anyone else who felt screwed for getting him over only to watch him leave the business high and dry to outrun a bad situation he put himself in . . . will only further prove this. Guess I'm a retard . . . A darned proud one. That was beautiful. I liked what Lesnar brought to Smackdown, but after reading some of his shoot interviews, one could paint the picture that the man has the IQ of a 6th grader and has been catered to most of his life due to his talent. I almost feel sorry for the guy. Although I'm not a fan of his, I would like to see him come back to SD, as they desperately need a jolt of energy to save the show. |
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Post by Joe on Jan 22, 2005 16:06:18 GMT -5
I agree that Lesnar is not the smartest guy in the world, but in-ring, the man possessed something far too few wrestlers have these days: The ability to make the viewer suspend reality. Even the most closed-minded, know-it-all internet fan had to watch him and think, "Darn, this guy is a serious ass-kicker!"
As for the story about Lensar "family", it's interesting, but I have heard contrasting stories. I read somewhere, not quite sure where but it was around the time that ESPN did feature stories on him that his child's mother was not his fiancee, at all, but rather somebody he had messed with off and on for a few years and got pregnant. Also, this is the first I have heard of him having all of them living in the same house. I have also seen that he does take care of his daughter and is a good enough father.
All this is irrelevant, however. What is relevant however is how far Smackdown has fallen since Brock's departure. He had a chance to go down in history as one of the best to ever do it, and sadly it appears that opportunity may have passed.
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Post by josharpie99 on Jan 26, 2005 1:40:05 GMT -5
Brock Lesnar deserved the razzing he got in Madison Square Garden upon his WWE exit. What a jerk and first-class moron. Anyone who actually thinks he can make an NFL team with absolutely no semi-professional or college experience deserves poor treatment from the wrestling fans he left behind. Lesnar is a big, muscle-headed fool who got where he's at because of his physic. Unfortunately, that is the WWE's credo these days -- who cares if you can't cut a promo, as long as you have Snitsky looks, you're in. Well, WWE, I hate to say this, but no one cares about your product anymore because you produce no talented roid ragers who can't talk to the crowd nor generate a crowd pop and you're writing team and booking is abysmal at best. If the WWE ever got serious about their product again, they would contact some of the people writing their own GWF feds. The imaginations here are the best and are far more intuned than what's being produce on WWE TV these days. The Diva search? Snitsky/Kane/Lita?? HHH and Evolution??? Does anyone even care about WWE? And don't get me started on Smackdown!!! JBL is the weakest champion of all-time. Even Bob Blacklund had more intrigue in his 40s and acting like a jacka$$ when he won the belt from Bret Hart. Kurt Angle doesn't inspire anymore and Eddie Gurerrero has been buried.
I'm 29 years old and the WWE has done nothing in the past year to keep me interested except for the enjoyment of watching Chris Benoit wrestle or the occassional Rock appearances. Hell, the WWE blew Randy Orton's big push and I'm sure it'll do the same with Batista. Quite sad.
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Post by Swarm on Jan 26, 2005 2:52:09 GMT -5
Brock Lesnar deserved the razzing he got in Madison Square Garden upon his WWE exit. What a jerk and first-class moron. Anyone who actually thinks he can make an NFL team with absolutely no semi-professional or college experience deserves poor treatment from the wrestling fans he left behind. Lesnar is a big, muscle-headed fool who got where he's at because of his physic. Unfortunately, that is the WWE's credo these days -- who cares if you can't cut a promo, as long as you have Snitsky looks, you're in. Well, WWE, I hate to say this, but no one cares about your product anymore because you produce no talented roid ragers who can't talk to the crowd nor generate a crowd pop and you're writing team and booking is abysmal at best. If the WWE ever got serious about their product again, they would contact some of the people writing their own GWF feds. The imaginations here are the best and are far more intuned than what's being produce on WWE TV these days. The Diva search? Snitsky/Kane/Lita?? HHH and Evolution??? Does anyone even care about WWE? And don't get me started on Smackdown!!! JBL is the weakest champion of all-time. Even Bob Blacklund had more intrigue in his 40s and acting like a jacka$$ when he won the belt from Bret Hart. Kurt Angle doesn't inspire anymore and Eddie Gurerrero has been buried. I'm 29 years old and the WWE has done nothing in the past year to keep me interested except for the enjoyment of watching Chris Benoit wrestle or the occassional Rock appearances. Hell, the WWE blew Randy Orton's big push and I'm sure it'll do the same with Batista. Quite sad. please go back to wrestlecrap.com where you came from. |
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Post by Swarm on Jan 26, 2005 2:58:02 GMT -5
Let me help you out, Swarm. Brock Lesnar WAS a wrestling God. Then, he screwed his fiance and 4 month old daughter over by having an open affair with Sable. Then he moved Sable into the house his fiance and child were STILL living in. He thought that the pressure and temptation of the wrestling business was too much (instead of the obvious fact that he had no respect for his family and too much weakness for forty-year-old, plastic enhanced women) SO . . . he turns down millions of dollars and a set-in-stone wrestling career to make a run at pro football, all the while knowing that Michael Jordan had a better chance at becoming a baseball star than he did at ever seeing an NFL field. By doing these things, he proved Triple H, Hogan, Undertaker and other "wrestling traditionalists" right: the young guys have no staying power, no matter how talented they seem, so why build around them? Hence, we have two brands who can't let go of the "veteran" talent becuase of fear of getting burned by the next "next big thing". Simply put, I LOVED Brock Lesnar's in-ring talent. But, frankly, the man's an idiot of the highest order, and I'm certain that his imminent return . . . and subsequent pinfall losses to Taker, Bradshaw and anyone else who felt screwed for getting him over only to watch him leave the business high and dry to outrun a bad situation he put himself in . . . will only further prove this. Guess I'm a retard . . . A darned proud one. If you knew of every bad thing all of your sports hero's have ever done... And you can hardly blame a man for chasing a dream. Brock Lesner is Top 5. All-Time. |
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Post by ringsyde on Jan 26, 2005 8:41:05 GMT -5
Well, I can't argue the point that what athletes do in their time away from the game would make most of us think they're jaca$$es. I also can't argue with Lesnar's in-ring talent. I can, however, say with confidence that he wasn't in the business long enough to be placed ahead of Kurt Angle, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Chris Benoit, Keiji Mutoh, Rick Steamboat and about a half dozen other guys. Also, his personal decisions clearly affected his in-ring work and, ultimately, his wrestling career. Was I imagining things, or were his last 20 or so matches some of the worst in wrestling history (anyone remember Brock/Goldberg)?
Sorry, I do dig the guy and I would trade my left eye to get him back on Smackdown right now (he certainly could add some much needed intrigue to the show by facing off against JBL, Taker or Cena right now). I just think he let issues hurt his in-ring product, and he made some bad decisions that have probably hurt his potential for some time to come.
By the way, josharpie99 suggested that the WWE should hire GWF writers (and/or fans) to write WWE storylines. I have to say that, although many involved with the product are very talented, this idea is ludicrous. Why? Simply because GWF/CPC superstars don't complain, have an off night or use their influences to either change or delete storylines when something comes across that they don't agree with. The writers always catch hell for the product, but it's the in-ring talent and one Vincent Kennedy McMahon that have absolute power in deciding what ultimately airs on TV. With respect to all, no one here is prepared to deal with the egos and overcome the traditionally ensconced obstacles in putting a wrestling show on the air. If it were that easy, the WWE wouldn't have spent the last 5 years constantly replacing writers, and every writer wouldn't complain about the same dillemas when preparing the product. If it helps, I don't think the best college football team could beat the worst NFL team either.
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Post by josharpie99 on Jan 26, 2005 22:05:52 GMT -5
Well, I was just venting about today's WWE storylines which don't take into account that the audience doesn't really care about them. I know us GWFers couldn't compete, but then again, would it really hurt the WWE's product as it is right now? I doubt it. I don't think anyone cares much for the booking in today's wrestling climate. It's God awful. If HHH is such a pain in the a$$, then someone should can him. He doesn't perform well anymore. The ratings are terrible, the PPV buys are at a low, and the company continues to slash and cut its way through these problems. Of course, HHH owns the company because he's married to the boss' wife. Why don't the so-called brainiac writers use that real life angle inside the ring. Maybe people would buy into HHH's crap then because right now, let's face it, wrestling isn't worth watching. It's not believable and there is no longer any shock value. Name one angle you really care about or could be more successful than what was on TV just four years ago?  You can't. Brock Lesnar would be a short-term fix to a long-term problem on Smackdown. The company needs to find atheletes who can perform. Not just a bunch of muscle-headed weirdos who don't care for the business. I don't care if they're fat and out-of-shape like George Steel or the Honkey Tonk Man. If they can bump and give a promo, then give em a shot!! I demand to be entertained with my wrestling and right now, I'm not even close to it. |
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Post by thefamoustommyz on Jan 26, 2005 22:17:09 GMT -5
Snitsky is a guilty pleasure. Better actor than Lita, at least.
WWE is keeping him out matches and making him look menacing. It could work in the short term, at least.
Smackdown is dead now, as I assume most of you have heard, cancelled by UPN at least.
But there's lots in the WWE to love right now...in a word, Batista. He's winning people over by, shock-shock, performing. The creative purpose of Evolution was to use Flair and HHH to build two new stars and it worked. It worked because Flair and HHH gave Batista and Orton a chance and it worked because they ran with their chance.
Mohammad Hassan is incredibly entertaining every time I see him and Daivari.
But there is lots to hate, I'll grant you. Lack of a tag division on either brand. The gutting of the women's division just as Trish had worked her way into an honest to goodness main event spot. Simon Dean. Lawler. Michael Cole. Faceless Divas.
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Post by Allensh on Jan 27, 2005 0:20:38 GMT -5
Snitsky is a guilty pleasure. Better actor than Lita, at least. WWE is keeping him out matches and making him look menacing. It could work in the short term, at least. Smackdown is dead now, as I assume most of you have heard, cancelled by UPN at least. But there's lots in the WWE to love right now...in a word, Batista. He's winning people over by, shock-shock, performing. The creative purpose of Evolution was to use Flair and HHH to build two new stars and it worked. It worked because Flair and HHH gave Batista and Orton a chance and it worked because they ran with their chance. Mohammad Hassan is incredibly entertaining every time I see him and Daivari. But there is lots to hate, I'll grant you. Lack of a tag division on either brand. The gutting of the women's division just as Trish had worked her way into an honest to goodness main event spot. Simon Dean. Lawler. Michael Cole. Faceless Divas. Wrestling Observer.com says that Smackdown has not been cancelled. After reading the article about the so-called cancellation on 1Wrestling.com, the first thing I thought was "I smell a hoax". Wrestling sites need to do a better job of fact-checking before they go with a story like that. Not that I would care if they did cancel Smackdown-I never watch it anyway. Allen |
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Post by gamtime247 on Jan 27, 2005 8:46:51 GMT -5
Well, I was just venting about today's WWE storylines which don't take into account that the audience doesn't really care about them. I know us GWFers couldn't compete, but then again, would it really hurt the WWE's product as it is right now? I doubt it. I don't think anyone cares much for the booking in today's wrestling climate. It's God awful. If HHH is such a pain in the a$$, then someone should can him. He doesn't perform well anymore. The ratings are terrible, the PPV buys are at a low, and the company continues to slash and cut its way through these problems. Of course, HHH owns the company because he's married to the boss' wife. Why don't the so-called brainiac writers use that real life angle inside the ring. Maybe people would buy into HHH's crap then because right now, let's face it, wrestling isn't worth watching. It's not believable and there is no longer any shock value. Name one angle you really care about or could be more successful than what was on TV just four years ago? You can't. Brock Lesnar would be a short-term fix to a long-term problem on Smackdown. The company needs to find atheletes who can perform. Not just a bunch of muscle-headed weirdos who don't care for the business. I don't care if they're fat and out-of-shape like George Steel or the Honkey Tonk Man. If they can bump and give a promo, then give em a shot!! I demand to be entertained with my wrestling and right now, I'm not even close to it. I love when the problems of the entire wwe seem to fall squarely on hhh for marrying the boss's daughter. Fact is if people take the blinders off they could see hhh is easily one of the top 3 most well rounded performers still in the business. No one could convince me that if hhh came up with a bad idea, a guy like vince mcmahon wouldn't shoot it down if he had that big of a problem with it. The guy can still perform regardless of what anyone says, I know PWI isn't the magazine it once was but wasn't he 1/3 of the match of the year in it? I mean yeah wrestling has more problems today that it has in its boom periods, but contrary to popular belief it doesn't fall solely on hhh just because he is married to stephanie. If you remember he was beating guys like Austin, Foley, and the Rock, and winning world titles before he married Vinnie's little girl. |
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Post by thefamoustommyz on Jan 27, 2005 8:55:29 GMT -5
YEah, just read about the mixed Smackdown stories, so I stand corrected.
Onto HHH...I watched Raw raptly recently...until the HHH-Orton and Flair-Orton matches. Then I lost interest.
Reality is, some people are not entertained by HHH and that has nothing to do with him being the Boss' son in law either.
I wouldn't pay money to see HHH wrestle...unless it's Batista he's wrestling, then maybe...=P
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You can't. 
