By Cool McCain(The Average Sports Guy)
What would YOU change?
The WWE is in a very stale place right now. The storylines are predictable to anyone over age 13. The same people are always on the shows and it feels like no new stars are being developed. There are whole divisions in the company that are not even being addressed by creative and the company. It has been years since a powerful group or faction has emerged and there have been no real OMG moments besides what CM Punk did on the 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw. Before people begin to decide to tune out or tune into Impact (TNA) Wrestling here are 15 things that can be done to improve the product. I will be revealing the list from 15 to 1 over the coming months.
14. The Pay Per View Schedule, Names and Pricing
Building upon the Brand Separation and Yearly Draft, the next item that is in need of fixing is the Pay Per View Problem. Currently the WWE does 13 pay per views a year. These are all priced the same even though they are not all viewed equally by the company. The SuperBowl of the WWE is WrestleMania and the other big 4 shows are SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series. Themes are important in the PPV events because that is how die-hard and casual fans are able to relate to the weekly shows which are essentially just build up to the PPV events while helping to develop new angles and keep us fans into the product. Current Pay Per View events such as Over The Limit, TLC (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs), Hell in a Cell, and Money in the Bank are too specific and cliché to be recurring themes.
There truly needs to be only one PPV a month which equates to 12 not 13 a year. There also should be three tiers of pricing for the events Tier 1 clearly would be WrestleMania at $59.99 this would show fans and everyone that this is the Big Time event. Also this has become a huge 4 hour spectacle and is the longest PPV of all. Tier 2 should be the other Big 3 events at 49.99 SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series this would make them the other big shows but still establish that there is one Big Time show. Tier 3 would be the other 8 events on the schedule at 39.99 which is a good price but low enough where casual fans and die-hards alike may consider purchasing them verses going to places that show them because of the high cost. Also some of these events are themed and can be used to build up new talent and continue storylines that can be finished at a Big 4 PPV. The WWE has the opportunity to put on more flexible events by changing some names and readjusting their PPV schedule. Below is my list month by month:
Jan.-New Years Revolution (1st Sunday of the New Year)
Feb.-No Way Out(all matches in cages)
March-WrestleMania(last Sunday of the Month) (Money in the Bank Matches)
April-Vengeance
May-King of the Ring (All non single Champions in an EliminationTournament)
June-Survivor Series (matches contested in 4 on 4 or 5 on 5 Elimination Tag Matches)
July-The Great American Bash(1st Sunday of the Month)(US Title in the Main Event)
August-SummerSlam
September-Clash of the Champions
October- Halloween Havoc (last Sunday of the month)
November-Extreme Rules
December-Royal Rumble
There are a few odes to World Championship Wrestling in The Great American Bash, Clash of the Champions and Halloween Havoc. Since they were absorbed by WWE they should have a few of their events be used also. Most die-hard wrestling fans will not be happy with the move of Survivor Series to June but it has no real build anymore and a move could allow for the a return to the purpose of the event. Royal Rumble in December instead of January gives a little longer build for the winner until WrestleMania. Some events have certain times they during the month ie New Years Revolution, WrestleMania, The Great American Bash, and Halloween Havoc. These were done to this way to give time for builds and/or to get them close to theHolidaythey are named for.
We also have a few instances of events having stipulations as to what type of match or main event will happen. These were done to break the monotony of WWE and World Championship Rivalries being forced every month and to keep John Cena from overshadowing everything else ( including the championships) every month. Themed events can help fans that may not watch regularly get interested as well as bring back fans who have stopped watching or are contemplating it. The name changes allow for specialty matches to be used when they make sense from a storyline perspective verses needing to do a match just because that event is coming up. Leave your comments on how you feel about this lineup.
