Fixing the WWE

Let me first preference this column by saying, I love wrestling. It is part rock concert/Broadway show. I have always loved the characters and the theatrics of wrestling shows. It hooked me from an early age, I haven't been able to let go.

I remember being hooked to the T.V. whenever Hulk Hogan wrestled. I loved the old "Barbershop" segments with Brutus the Barber Beefcake. I remember especially being hooked when Shawn Michaels threw his old tag team partner Marty Jannetty through a window on the "Barbershop" segment. I remember relentlessly routing for Jannetty in the matches he had with Michaels afterword.

But what really got me into wrestling, where I had to watch it every week was during the Monday Night Wars. I know I am not alone here, because of the huge ratings both WWE Monday Night Raw and WCW Nitro both pulled during this time. The wrestlers and storylines drew people in to a point, where you couldn't miss either show(too bad DVR didn't exist during this period).

Think about the personalities during this time period? In the WWE you had Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Mr. McMahon, Mankind, and a host of others. In the WCW they had Ric Flair, Sting, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and the rest of the NWO. You were fascinated in which wrestler would jump to the other company. Hogan, Hall, and Nash started this trend by jumping from WWE to WCW. Then you had Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, and The Big Show jumping from WCW to WWE. The Attitude Era was an exciting time.

Well these days have been long gone. WWE bought out WCW and the Attitude Era died after the Wrestlemania 17 match between Stone Cold and the Rock. The WWE since has tried a different approach since then, that has just not replicated what wrestling used to be. They tried the Invasion angle, which did not go over that well. And they have been falling flat out their face since then.

It hasn't helped though the WWE doesn't have any competition. In the 80's they were competing to a lesser extent with WCW and the old NWA territories. In the 90's the had the Monday Night Wars with WCW. Today though there really isn't competition. I don't count TNA because A) they rely on old wrestlers who are not relevant anymore B) they use too many gimmick matches.

The WWE hasn't gotten lazy since the days of the Rock and Stone Cold. It seemed like for three years Triple H and Shawn Michaels were fighting for the Heavyweight Championship. And really besides Batista, John Cena, Edge, and maybe Randy Orton who has the WWE pushed as a championship contender?

So the WWE needs to be fixed(no pun intended, I do realize all the matches are fixed) and I am the person to fix the WWE.

1. Quite shoving Randy Orton and Legacy down our throats!: For over a year now the WWE has pushed Randy Orton down our throats as a legitimate heel. Only one problem, he is wooden during promos. I can't stand listening to anymore Randy Orton promos. Anytime I see him with a microphone, I change the channel.

Also the WWE has been shoving down our throats handicap matches with Legacy members Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes. I am tired of watching Rhodes and DiBiase take on Shane McMahon, Batista, or whoever they throw out their with these two. Also I just don't see Rhodes as a heel. Every time I see him, I am always thinking about Dusty Rhodes and his everyman-type of personality. It's distracting.

Git rid of the stupid Legacy angle, and have Orton work on his mic skills before you push him as a heel. But after reading many wrestling sites and blogs, that isn't going to happen. Orton has it in with Vince so badly, he can get Mr. Kennedy fired after a little incident.

2. Get rid of the heel General Manager on Raw: Monday Night Raw seems like it has had a heel general manager since the Brett Hart, Montreal Screwjob. But it was cool seeing a person(Vince McMahon) be the boss we have all had sometime during our lives at work. He was over barring and craved power. His feud with Stone Cold might go down as the greatest feud of all-time in wrestling history. But that feud eventually died down and it seems Raw has tried to recreate it many different times.

Eric Bischoff worked as a heel general manager because A) he could bring nuclear heat to himself and B) he was the former rival of WWE(he was the head of WCW during the Monday Night Wars). But after Bischoff it has been a disaster. William Regal and Vickie Guerrero have both been in the role as the heel GM of Raw, but it just doesn't bring the same pizazz as McMahon. Either bring back the McMahons, who had a great rivalry with the re-birth of DX back in 06, or get rid of the heel GM altogether.

3. Way too many shows: That was one thing looking back at the Monday Night Wars that was special. Between WCW and WWE there was only one show between them. You craved each show, because it was you got. Eventually WCW ruined this by adding Thunder and the WWE eventually ruined it by creating Smackdown. And now today the WWE has four shows on each week.

Yes four shows the WWE produces. They produce Raw, Smackdown, ECW(which is a shame, because the old ECW was so much better), and a new show called Superstars. And I have even heard rumors that the WWE wants to create a fifth show to fill a timeslot on Wednesdays.

Have they ever heard the old saying, "less is more?" With this many shows they have created so many different titles(more on this) and characters it is hard to keep up with. With one show there can be more emphasis on the wrestlers and the titles they are fighting for.

4. Way too many titles: Back in the day the only titles in the WWE were the WWE Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, the Tag Team titles, and the Women's Championship. Now there is so many titles that I can't even list them all here. All I can tell you is that their is two different main Championships. You still have the WWE Championship and the Heavyweight Championship. Once again have the ever heard of "less is more" argument?

I do realize they need more championships because off the many different shows. But they were able to use the original four titles for both Raw and Smackdown. Why not use the same four belts for all the shows and put more emphasis on them? Create a the perception that the four belts are everything in the world to the audience. What can go wrong with this idea?

Other quick fixes:

- Why do all the female wrestlers have to wrestle? I wouldn't mind seeing some of them become managers. Sensational Sherri was great as a manager. We could use some more female managers. Besides Beth Phoenix and Mickie James, is there a female talent you want to watch wrestle?

- Too many gimmick matches. The WWE's next PPV will feature every match as a gimmick match. Like the shows and belts, gimmick matches used to have meaning. Now there is no emphasis on these matches.

I know this is all a pipe dream, but can't a fan dream?

Sorry for the Bill Simmons Esq. type of column, but I had to get this off my chest.