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Line in the sand for WWE

Scott,

Is there a line in the sand that you have drawn for WWE? Is there a point at which you would ever stop watching RAW or WWE PPV's again? It seems now that the product is much worse than it was when you stopped watching in the early 2000's. The dance contests, the pizza ordering, the tug-of-war contests, the five or so 2-minute matches per episode of RAW, the fact that Triple H beat up a former UFC Heavyweight Champion inside of a steel cage, the burying of Cesaro, the non-progression of the midcard, Christian's return being delayed constantly even though he is healthy, the weekly dose of Hustle, Loyaly, and Respect, stars stuck in purgatory (i.e. Orton, Henry, Sheamus, etc), the tag team division being re-created then destroyed again, the US/IC titles being ignored with their champions being squashed each week, I could go on fr hours....

Thanks!

Yeah, but the blog does pretty well, and car payments won't make themselves, so no, I'm not likely to stop at this point.  Everyone's concern for my well-being is much appreciated, though.  

Comments

  1. Honestly Scott, the only way that I keep up on WWE is through your rants. I can't even be bothered to watch their product much anymore.

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  2. I'll always have the curiosity to see what is going on. Because if Owen and Benoit didn't do it, nothing will. We are addicts.

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  3. "I SEE YOUR LIIIINE IN THE SAAAAND..."

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  4. I those Owen and especially Benoit turned a lot of us off the product. I know it did for me. I haven't had the same passionate enjoyment for a very long time.

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  5. The product actually being good would be antithetical to the purpose of this blog and it's commenters in every way.

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  6. "JUST LOOK AT ME....AIN'T I A SIGHT TO SEE?"

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  7. Im surprised Scott can even sit thru the show to give a review. Raw has been an embarrassing train wreck for so long.


    I recently downloaded all of the RAW's from 2003, a known down year for the company, and it outshines this current product from start to finish, even with Al Snow and The Coach on commentary...

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  8. "WE'RE NOT THE MOUNTIES"

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  9. The main matches are still good. In terms of pure talent, I think the WWE is pretty near its peak. I agree storyline wise, its a bit rubbish though.

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  10. I've been watching since around 86 or so. The longest I've gone without watching is almost three years in the mid 2000s. The product overall is bland, with the more than occasional shiny little nugget of hope when it comes to match quality. It would probably take a lot to turn me off. Like, say, the in ring action becomes near non-existent and replaced by celebrities...recaps...tweets....touts....say a 3 hour Raw is about 12 minutes of action and 2 hours and 48 minutes of blah blah blah recap blah blah Twitter blah blah etc.

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  11. I keep watching because you never know when things can go nuts in a hurry. Or when you can get a match of the year like we got with Punk vs. Cena earlier this year. It does indeed suck a lot of the time. This past week's show was a chore to sit through.

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  12. I constantly hear complaints about the product and professional wrestling in general from people who don't watch New Japan in 2013. I would assume that if the language barrier and lack of skits are what prevents someone from following the product, than WWE wouldn't be that far of the mark of what one is looking for in the first place..

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  13. Yeh, the rants do definitely ease the pain.

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  14. ....you think you know me....

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  15. Since I'm a glutton for other peoples punishment, i'd love to see Scott go back and recap some Raws from his dark period, particularly 09 or so.

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  16. "And that's why I kicked your leg outta your leg!"

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voa2sXaKqk4

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  17. I guess I'm in the IWC minority, but I enjoy RAW most weeks (though this week's RAW sucked). The Shield push has been going amazingly well.

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  18. My biggest problem with the current product is the lack of variety. We're pretty much seeing the same 12-15 guys in different combinations for 6 hours/3 shows a week.
    I remember when a Superstars taping came to town they would advertise 40 superstars and that's what you got - with a few jobbers.
    If they were to have a 30 man Royal Rumble this weekend, I don't know how they could do it.
    Every Raw has the same look. They recently did a 3 hour show where they never even mentioned what city they were in. At least the celebrity guest hosts added something different to their episode.

    I'm really liking Fandango simply because he's not Cena/Orton/Big Show/Miz.

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  19. Do you people not even read his rants? He barely pays attention to the show as is.

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  20. Easy fix, replace RAW with this...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GRt7irbtgA&feature=player_embedded

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  21. "YOU LOOKIN' AT THE REAL DEAL NOW... GONNA KICK YOUR SORRY ASS OUT ON THE STREET!!!"

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  22. the problem is we see the same matches over and over and over and over now and the results never matter. especially since they'll just have another match the next week. the 3rd hour has really run its course. i'd hate to be the one try to to come up with these matches week after week.

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  23. I figure that that best way to watch Raw is to watch Smackdown. On each Smackdown you get glorious recaps of the previous week's Raw, as well as the ability to watch all of the matches that will happen on the next week's Raw.


    Also, Scott you should do a 2013 Scott Sez on this week's Raw just so you can be more like WWE.

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  24. I'm really bad with episodic content. I lose interest very easily. It happens with TV shows, wrestling, comic books. I just hate getting a small increment so I'll usually fall really behind and marathon it.


    With wrestling I tend to go through a yearly pattern where I don't watch for about 3-4 months. Last year it was July-October. 2011 was January-April.


    I think I just entered one of those phases. I haven't watched the last 2 or 3 Raw's. Not really interested in anything.

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  25. "I'M BACK... AND I'M BETTER THAN EVER!


    (So underrated a theme IMO)

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  26. CHRISTIAN! CHRISTIAN! AT LAST YOU'RE ON YOUR OWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNN!

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  27. I would even buy a book of those in Kindle format. If it was fairly cheap. But I'd BUY it, Scott!

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  28. I'm probably in the minority, but I see them as being in a good position because they have a very strong roster right now, they just need to get the mix right. Daniel Bryan, Antonio Cesaro, Cody Rhodes, the Shield (who they appear to try to be giving opportunities to develop separate personas), Wade Barrett, even Fandango bring a lot of talent to the table. The veterans on the roster, like Jericho, Mark Henry, or even Big Show, will put young talent over all day long and have good-to-great matches doing it; Orton puts people over all the time. It seems to me that the biggest problem they have is really getting anyone over as a face. All the face wrestlers are either devoid of personality (like Kofi) or annoying (like Miz). They struggled with Punk as a face because he doesn't fit the cookie-cutter; and they banished Zach Ryder because he dared get over. Their story formula seems to only allow for one face with personality on the entire roster; this makes most of their secondary stories unappealing, and the primary story gets old from over-exposure.

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  29. I'm watching 1998 RAW right now and the comparison is just sad. Like completely different companies.

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  30. Oh I don't either, but I can't ever see myself quitting cold turkey.

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  31. They don't have good faces because all they give a shit about is Cena.

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  32. Seeing the same guys on Raw every week makes for a tedious show. Would it kill them to mix in some of the lower card guys like Santino, Yoshi, Epico/Primo, etc. on occasion?

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  33. I generally do the same with the taking-months-off-at-a-time approach.

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  34. Don't forget about the overrun.

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  35. I haven't watched any WWE since WM.
    I'm thinking of cutting the cable, so it just might be more or less permanent.

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  36. With the exception of Daniel Bryan and Kane all of WWE's babyfaces are smiling douchebags. WWE's rationale with babyfaces has turned into "you should cheer for them because the announcers like them"

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  37. Near its peak? Not even close.

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  38. Scott's making money that's the only reason. BOD is over with the smarks.

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  39. To build and nurture talent, you need a long-term plan. I don't think Vince is all about long-term planning. I mean, how many times have we heard as fans about how the writers don't really push for their own ideas because Vince will just change the storyline at the last minute

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  40. I'm in the same boat. I stopped watching weekly programming in 2002 and have only followed the product through SK rants and the blog. Nothing has caught my interest enough to draw me back in. The Summer of Punk stuff was dead (HHH, Nash, etc) before I could even start watching again.

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  41. Yeah. Even when Nitro was a disjointed mess, it at least had some variety

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  42. Well, he's all about long-term planning in regards to stuff like Rock-Cena (twice), but not with committing to building new talent

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  43. I feel the same way. I almost *listen* to RAW more than I watch it now, because I'm off doing other things when it's on, and I'll leave it on in the background. But all it takes is that one guy to have that one crowd reaction. That one thing to happen to make the federation think, "We can make a shitload of money off this," and bring the business and fan side completely in sync again.

    Of course, that's probably BS. Look at how insufferable they made "Fandangoing" after a bloody week. With its current obsession with social media, the next big thing will have a hashtag slapped on it and shoved down our throats before we know what we're eating.

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  44. I feel totally burned out on all the Swagger/Del Rio/Ziggler combos. It probably hasn't been that long but it sure feels like it.

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  45. HERECOMESCHRISBENOIT ANDHESREALLYMAD!
    HERECOMESCHRISBENOIT ANDHESREALLY AN-GRYYYY!!!

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  46. Funny how that rationale has never built any stars

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  47. Even then though, that was just long-term goal setting, not long term PLANNING.


    It's not like they actually BUILT the match for a year each time. Far from it. They went about their normal business for 10+ months and then WHOA ABORT MISSION TIME FOR CENA VS ROCK.

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  48. It really helps for me. Usually when I do come back after taking a few months off I'm really into the product and I enjoy it a lot. For instance in 2011 after coming back after WrestleMania, I really enjoyed WWE in Spring and Summer. SmackDown was awesome in 2011 and Raw was gathering momentum and I enjoyed it much more than I might have had I been around for 2010 and early 2011.

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  49. Scream09_HartKillerMay 15, 2013 at 10:08 PM

    I either come here to discuss wrestling or watch wrestling, or both, every day - it's still very much something I'm interested in, but I have no interest in the current product and simply don't watch it. I used to watch it out of habit even though I was enjoying less and less of the show, but by now it's just not something I bother with. I still follow it enough to know what's going on and will youtube segments featuring the few guys I enjoy but I just don't see me ever being a serious fan again - there's fewer and fewer guys that interest me and eventually the Jericho's, Brock's, HHH's, Rock's, Undertaker's will be gone all together and as much as I might enjoy Bryan, Punk, Ziggler, etc, either they don't have or aren't allowed to show anything that would keep me watching strictly for them...It's weird, it's like being a baseball fan that just watches old games from my childhood and can't be bothered to turn a game on now.

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  50. I'M JUST A SEXY KURT! SEXY KUUUUUURT!
    I'LL MAKE YOUR ANKLE HURT! ANKLE HUUUURT!

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  51. I think this is a win/win. We get to keep reading, and Scott is going to melt down at some point and bust out another WWE draft/comic book rant again.

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  52. I agree wholeheartedly with this. It's fun interacting with people here, but I mostly watch old stuff on youtube and/or DVD now.

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  53. SEX BOMB! SEX BOMB! YOU'RE A SEX BOMB!

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  54. Cutting the cable was one of the smartest things I've ever done, financially. You won't miss it for a second.

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  55. all of you have won free pizza for an entire year.

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  56. Someone Photoshop Edge & Christian with the kazoos right behind Jack Nicholson in The Shining, STAT.

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  57. "I'M JUST A BOOKER T! BOOKER TEEEEEEEEEE!
    I'M NOT A SUCKA! SUUUUUCKAAAAAAA!"

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  58. I've heard a lot of people question why fans aren't more virulent at WWE events towards John Cena. Yes, they boo him, and yes, they cheer his opponents, but for a majority of the audience to be sick of his act, they certainly don't react with any WCW-style indignation. This could be for one of two reasons: either the majority of the audience is a silent majority and we just can't make heads of it, which is left up to the imagination. Audibly unless they're piping in negative heat, it would seem that this isn't an option.

    The other reason is that it's still trendy to 'hate' John Cena by rooting for his opponents. This only works though under two conditions, though: first, there cannot be any other people in the company who the fans are willing to get behind as a top-level face so as to supplant the need for Cena's superman act. And second, there has to be a perpetual feel of mediocrity to the product in terms of match rotation so that everything becomes homogenized, keeping the revolving door going to prevent anything from eclipsing his story arcs. So as you can see, this can't wor—

    Oh, wait, that totally works...

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  59. Not that anyone cares what I say but I stopped watching the Raw after Mania. The product is just so terrible right now. Actually, that is a lie, I watched for like an hour a couple weeks ago cause nothing else was on but then I smarted up and decided that I should re-watch Arrested Development before its relaunch on May 26!

    Also, I've stopped supporting the WWE all together even though the only things I ever bought were DVD's. I haven't bought a DVD since the nWo set last fall(and even then I almost resold it on ebay but decided I might watch the matches again someday). If I ever decide to buy a DVD or Blu Ray again and it isn't streaming on Netflix I'll buy them used on ebay or amazon used. I'm tired of supporting the Vince McMahon's three ring circus....

    I know I won't make a difference but if more people quit watching and buying all the merchandise maybe, just maybe someone in the company will finally figure out that product is garbage.

    I won't hold my breath....#wweisboring

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  60. I'm looking for a new place and I think that'll be my big cable cut. As time goes on I'll figure on what else to do but honestly, I don't think I'm gonna miss it.

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  61. I seem to have less of a problem with the current product than most people here. I watch RAW every week (granted, I fast forward through a lot of it Tuesday mornings), but I feel like I find a lot more humor in it from week to week than most here.

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  62. I feel the same way. It's not even "Fuck the WWE, this sucks", it's more like "Whatever, call me when something interesting happens". Odd thing is that I've never considered myself a CM Punk fan (I respect his talents but think he's an asshole) but now I can't wait for him to come back. Really I'm just waiting for the next round of developmental guys to get called up.

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  63. it's really not that much about the roster but more about the booking. 1997 is one of the best years although the roster wasn't that strong.

    but just as the poster of the question rightfully mentions, there are dozens of things that seem like they somehow have "forgotten" how to book a wrestling promotion (stuff like the 50/50 booking, the almost complete devaluation of the minor titles, etc.).

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  64. "not even close"? the roster they have at the moment blows years like 1998 totally out of the water.

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  65. you make it sound like you need to apologize. if you enjoy it, good thing for you.

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  66. unfortunately yes.

    just the thought of how horrible they might mess up the rise of Austin or The Rock if it would happen today makes me cringe.

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  67. Yeah, between Netflix & Hulu, along with stuff I can watch on youtube via my bluray player, and torre...I mean, legal means of watching programs, I don't miss cable at all. Matter of fact, I'm sure it has a great effect on my health now that my blood pressure isn't shooting through the roof as I see promos for Big Bang Theory, commercials for things Kardashian related, and all other sorts of crap.

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  68. If it weren't for sports, I would've cut the cord on my satellite years ago.

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  69. amazon prime adds a few options and is so far the easiest rental streaming setup for when I want to watch a movie. there's a few shows that I miss, but nothing super noteworthy. biggest issue is being able to watch sports, especially late night stuff.

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  70. This is pretty much the greatest thing ever.

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  71. That's a horrible thing to say...

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  72. I was about to say the same thing. I gotta have my sports (baseball, football, MMA), and I do like watching the news.

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  73. Hell, my breaking point came almost 6 years ago. I have no idea how you guys have managed to soldier on this long.

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  74. I fully tuned out at about 2002-2003.

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  75. Never got the sentiment of not being able to watch Benoit matches anymore.



    I still watch them and I still enjoy them.

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