If you inherited WWE tomorrow

[M0rtonfc]

I forgot one main change, I'm shocked I forgot this actually!

I would sack Teddy Long, get him off my screen PLEASE!

[DA Baracus]

It would stop being the John Cena show. The world title would be the top thing in the company. If Cena held it, fine, he would be top guy, but if not he would not be getting top billing.

Raw would stay 2 hours.

I would keep the brand split. What I would do is fire a whole load of shite and hire a lot of guys. I would raid a lot of TNA talent like Joe, Storm, Roode, Ray, Aries and maybe AJ. I'd also raid a fair few ROH guys and guys working in Japan. New talent that are already established wrestlers would NOT be sent to development. They would be allowed to keep thier own style to make matches a bit more variable.

Guys like Khali, Hornswoggle, Brodus Clay, Curt Hawkins, David Otunga, Ezekiel Jackson, Jinder Mahal, JTG, Mason Ryan, Mark Henry, Ryback, Tensai and other pish would be immediately punted (not as if Randy Orton punted, but fired).

I would unify the WWE and Heavyweight titles, with the champion and the tag champs being the only guys who can appear on both brands.

The 'traditions' of all heels having to be cowards who always cheat would be scrapped. Some may still be like that, but many would be guys who would be portrayed as ligitimately tough guys who get plenty of clean wins but are utter b*****ds. They would get heat by being pretty awful people.

JR, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole and Booker T would be punted. William Regal would be one of the top guys, and I'd bring in guys like Don West and Mike Tenay if possible. Road Dogg is a good shout as well. Matt Striker can stay.

Vince, Shane and Stephanie McMahon would never appear on TV again. They're old hat, boring and pointless. Shane isn't there anymore anyway, but the point stands.

I'd bring back the Hardcore title, but in it's comedy form. Comedy is a part of wrestling; it's not a major part, but it's enjoyable, and I'm sure many of enjoyed the Hardcore matches in the 99-01 period. Santino would the first titel holder, as he's the perfect type of character. There would be plenty of others to compete in it.

The tag team division would be sorted. I'd bring in as many good teams as I could. MCMG, WGTT, The Briscoes, Apollo 55, and others would be brought in, as well as teams being formed with existing talent. There would be a good pool on both brands. The champs would work both brands.

I would only have 12 PPVs at most, getting rid of gimmicky ones. Things like MITB, HIAC and TLC can be good, but should be used sparingly. MITB would only be used at Mania for me, HIAC no more than once a yar (if that) and the same with TLC.

Cage matches would be sorted, i.e. they will no longer have loads of folk somehow getting in to the cage and interfering.

The women wrestler would have to prove that they actually can wrestle or they would be fired. And women's matches would be a bit longer, but not much, and would have to be of good quality.

[M0rtonfc]

See this Ryback chap, I recon if someone ordered the following then he could be excellent:

1. Change your entrance, that arm thing then the thunder / evil eyes thing is RUBBISH! Instead just have the music he has now and have him charge to the ring Stone Cold style.

2. Tell him to stop that stomping thing he does before his finisher, it looks horrendous.

3. Have him in better matches, at least have him around the United States belt or something although something like a match v Kane or someone like that would be good.

4. Ask him to get rid of the rubbish shouts, FINISH HIM, what? FEED ME MORE (I think he says?), Excuse me, what?

Is that too much to ask?

[Marshmallo]

tI'm going to avoid saying "I'd take x, y and z" from TNA since I'd take about half their roster if I could.

The brand split could end, but SD would remain very much the B show, with a greater focus on there being longer matches with less promos. Raw would be used to advance the main storylines and would contain some wrestling. On SD there would be a wide variety of different guys wrestling, not just the Kofi/Ziggler/Swagger/Ryder endless repetitions we've had for the last 2 years.

I'd shake up the commentary team. Lawler would be fired and I wouldn't be bringing back JR any time soon. I'd have Cole become a mega heel again and have him on both shows with Josh Matthews. The third man on Raw would be Kevin Nash, and the third on SD would be Booker T. Both Nash and Booker would be occasional wrestlers.

I'd have GMs on both shows. On Raw I'd have HHH, who would occasionally wrestle. His involvement in the main storylines would be fairly minimal so as not to overshadow the main event players (who aren't as over as him or as big stars as him (with the exception of Cena)). On SD I'd have Scott Steiner (yes, seriously). I'd basically let him have free reign on the mic and give him a fair amount of screen time. This would be gold IMO, f**k the lot of you!

I'd make the tag team division a focus again. The wrestling heavy SD would be a good place to showcase the tag team talent. I actually think they have some decent teams there already in the Usos, O'Neill and Young, & Primo and Epico. I'd sign the Motor City Machine Guns (Shelley's a free agent, so it doesn't count as part of my "no TNA rule" ) and promote the Ascension from NXT. I'd bring back the New Age Outlaws for one more run to help drum up some interest in the division, for about 9-12 months to help get the younger guys over. Tag teams who faced a combination of singles wrestlers on the shows would go over 99% of the time since they are specialists. There's no need to put singles wrestlers together here, the tag team division would essentially be a division to itself.

With the women's division, I think they need to make their mind up as to whether it's a legit division or if they're just hiring eye candy. Both are fine by me, but the dreadful middle ground we're in just now isn't. Either push Natalya, Beth, Kharma and Layla and bring in some workers from Japan, or go back to putting the females in bikini contests and having them as valets.

I'd get rid of the US title and make the IC title the midcard strap. The focus with this title would be on workhorses like Christian, Kofi Kingston and Jack Swagger who can have solid matches without ever needing to trouble the main event, as well as younger guys who have potential to be in the main event. Essentially what the IC title used to be back in the day. I'd have actual storylines for these feuds as well, with the title defended primarily on PPVs. Chris Masters would be brought back and put straight in at this level.

Below that level I would introduce a TV title. This would be defended on every Raw and SD and never on PPV. This is primarily to give the lower card guys something to. Tyson Kidd would be my first TV champ. Occasionally legends could be brought in to challenge for this title.

I'd go back to having one world title, which would be the focus of the show. There simply aren't enough guys at the top level just now to maintain two world titles. I'm fine with Cena being the main man because he makes the money but the main feud would be on the title. Guys could feud on a personal level but the ultimate goal would always be to win and to move closer to the title. I'd obviously just go with one MITB match a year rather than the current 2.

I'd turn Punk and Sheamus heel. I'd push Ziggler to the moon as a hard bumping babyface. I'm not sure if I'd turn anyone else tbh.

I'd use Kane and the Big Show much less than they are currently being used but they'd still be part of the company. Jericho may move to this type of contract but I'd most likely just fire him.

Part-time megastars like Brock Lesnar, the Rock and Taker would be very much welcome. I'd get as much as I could out of those three, and I'd add Goldberg to the mix as well. As they'd need to be used sparingly they'd only feud with each other, or if they could go on longer runs they'd go after the title.

The main focus of the calendar would remain Wrestlemania. I'd look to get all my megastars mentioned in the last paragraph on that card. The Royal Rumble would get much more of a push and that would definitely be the biggest PPV outside Mania. There would be much more focus on where guys entered, with matches to determine numbers etc. The focuses are Wrestlemania and the title, therefore winning the Rumble would be huge. I'd cut to 9 PPVs, I'd keep MITB as the only gimmick PPV. The Elimination Chamber match would be used as a special attraction sparingly, as would Hell in a Cell or TLC.

The set needs freshened up on all shows but I'm not sure how I'd go about doing that.

[forehead7]

Unify the world titles and officially remove the brand split. I'd bring back this title design;

Bring back King of the Ring!

Get rid of the stipulation PPVs and bring back the old names (Backlash and the like).

I'll add more if I remember any.

None of that has changed.

Similar to Marshmallo, I'm not gonna really bother with mentioning who I'd bring in from other companies. I don't know what sort of contracts TNA and ROH put out (open or written) or whether those guys who even want to come over.

I'd probably bring back Steiner as well, Flair would definitely be brought in.

I'd have Styles and Cole on Raw. Probably Matthews and Stryker on SD. Although JR has been fantastic on NXT with Regal so I'd probably make them my Smackdown team. Depending on Heyman's commitments, I'd offer him Regal's slot as he's got a great way of knowing how to push JR's buttons.

I'd still unify the World titles to the above. I'd push the IC title to more of an "upper midcard" level where it's really the last stop before the main event. Maybe even guys who have dropped out the main scene could challenge for it to keep them busy. The US title would remain a midcard title. I'd try and get younger guys involved in the IC title matches and the US one could be reserved for older guys who aren't likely to step up to the main event again.

The card splits would probably be;

Main event - Punk, Bryan, Cena, Jericho, Miz, Ziggler, Orton, Barrett, Sheamus and Rey. Possibly with Show or Henry drafted in if they need someone to feud with to keep them relevant while the title feud wraps up and becomes free.

IC title - Sandow, Kingston, Ryback, Cesaro, Rhodes, Kidd, Gabriel, Sin Cara, Christian and Del Rio(f**k you, you're shite at promos). I've probably forgotten some.

US title - Truth, Santino, Khali(I'd love to punt him but his draw in India is apparently massive), Slater, McIntyre.

The tag division just needs more time and some actual promos and whatnot. I don't think I've ever heard Kingston or either of Primo or Epico cut a promo since they went into the division. The introduction of AW and him stealing clients is good and gives it some actual storyline. That's what the whole undercard needs, some actual storylines rather than just random matches and very little reason to it.

The list of guys who'd be punted would be pretty huge. And as such, there probably isn't a need for Superstars anymore, but I'd keep NXT since that's been decent and that would work as a way of introducing raw guys to the company before making the jump up to the main two shows.

Not sure who I'd have as GM. Triple H sounds like a good shout but he's probably wanting to be more involved in the off-screen running, rather than on-screen. Regal and Foley were great and I'd love to have them back on-screen full time.(Regal obviously only if he's not on commentary).

[JamieStevenson]

First of all & most importantly, I'd have to get tag teams back on the map because they've all just disappeared. Tag team wrestling doesn't even make it on the main bill for PPV's anymore, Pre-show online matches...? Come on seriously, people want to see exciting tag teams that put on a show. I'm only 17 and I have seen some brilliant tag teams in my life.

The Dudley Boyz

The Hardy Boyz

D-Generation X

Edge & Christian

The Brothers of Destruction

Those are my favourites over the past 10 years. There are none like these anymore. They seem to have abandoned tag teams, they sometimes feature on Smackdown but are usually punted to NXT. which I'm sure nobody watches?

I'd also like to point out that the women/"divas" rarely get an appearence. When they do, they're not very good are they? They don't show that they can really wrestle. Really girly they all are now. Trish Stratus, Sable, Molly Holly, Lita & of course Chyna well all brilliant wrestlers. Chyna would even take on most men....

I blame the storyline writers for only focusing the spotlight on 2-3 main stars. They have slowly let good entertainers slip away to other companies. Many have gone to TNA Impact, which I think has a better watch recently IMO.

Another thing, as much as I am a fan of Good Ol' JR, I don't think he'd fit in now. By now we are all used to Jerry & Michael Cole's bickering & rivalry, I happen to find it quite entertaining.... As long as they don't keep trying to make them fight.

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

I'd also like to point out that the women/"divas" rarely get an appearence. When they do, they're not very good are they? They don't show that they can really wrestle. Really girly they all are now. Trish Stratus, Sable, Molly Holly, Lita & of course Chyna well all brilliant wrestlers. Chyna would even take on most men....

Sable, Lita and Chyna were all terrible wrestlers, even by the fairly low standards of the WWE Womens division. In fact a lot of people who worked with Chyna from 1997-2001 said she was nearly impossible to work with due her lack of ability and the fact she was shagging Hunter throughout most of her stint. At least the women you metioned all had charisma, which makes them memorable to fans from back then. I doubt anyone will be talking about Alicia Fox or Aksana in 10 years time.

[JamieStevenson]

Sable, Lita and Chyna were all terrible wrestlers, even by the fairly low standards of the WWE Womens division. In fact a lot of people who worked with Chyna from 1997-2001 said she was nearly impossible to work with due her lack of ability and the fact she was shagging Hunter throughout most of her stint. At least the women you metioned all had charisma, which makes them memorable to fans from back then. I doubt anyone will be talking about Alicia Fox or Aksana in 10 years time.

Probably should have said they were all round performers. They certainly got the crowd going unlike the women of today. Nobody is interested.

I remember they used to do a sort of beauty contest judged by the crowd when they'd strip off & Jerry would be absolutely loving it. There was always some appeal for the women back then. They don't do that now.

And you're right nobody will be talking about them in 10 years time, in fact nobody really talks about them now, except AJ due to the Bryan-Punk storyline. I don't even know the names of half of them on the shows today.

Basically the women are getting boring, there are no real tough characters. Honestly I'd like to see them scrapped but they obviously won't do that. They have a one minute hair pull and that's the matches over. I'd rather watch more adverts than watch the occasional women's segment of a show.

[RobbieD]

Do any of you realise they went PG because the Attitude era cost them a ton of major sponsors?

[forehead7]

Basically the women are getting boring, there are no real tough characters.

Tough? Kharma and Beth Phoenix would destroy most of the Divas in the past.

Do any of you realise they went PG because the Attitude era cost them a ton of major sponsors?

Exactly. That's why they won't do the stripping contests or bring back the hardcore title.

[JamieStevenson]

Do any of you realise they went PG because the Attitude era cost them a ton of major sponsors?

Yup, was just merely making some points about the past. PG sucks. Keeping it simple & shit for the kids.

[AsimButtHitsASix]

This Attitude/PG shit is nonsense. Alright some of the promos they cut were legendary but CM Punk's proven you can still have the gift of the gab and get over without needing to resort to swearing and knob jokes. All that matters is the wrestling in the ring. What fucking difference does it make if the "characters" are aimed at kids, teenagers or adults as long as you get a good match out of it?

[JamieStevenson]

I think the proportion of a show is all wrong too. I'd say in a 2 hour 15 mins Raw show that 50 mins of Ads, 40 mins Wrestling & 45 mins of backstage/in-ring chit chat.

[The OP]

One simple change from the very limited wrestling I've seen in recent years - fucking-well bin the door in cage matches. You're supposed to win by climbing out of the cage. No pins or submissions allowed either, but most of all no wandering out of a fucking door.

I don't think this will win over millions of skeptical adults, change the direction of wrestling, earn a huge sum of money or provide a huge amount of entertainment, but it would save me being annoyed to f**k if I ever see another cage match.

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

I don't think this will win over millions of skeptical adults, change the direction of wrestling, earn a huge sum of money or provide a huge amount of entertainment, but it would save me being annoyed to f**k if I ever see another cage match.

To be fair to your suggestion, internet fans were banging on for years about how the business would be saved if Kane put his mask back on. We all know how well that one has turned out.

These days I think the causes célèbres for internet smarks are to put Benoit in the Hall of Fame, to turn Cena heel and bring back the Hardcore title. Then the business will definately be saved.

My own cage match suggestion is to bring back the cage with the thick blue bars. That looked far more deadly than the girly mesh fence they have now.

[banterman86]

Sve for Wrestlemania and tivo'ing odd PPV that's been hyped up hugely, i don;t watch a lot of wrestling these days. Bizzarely, I still buy Powerslam and check out 411mania regulalrly, it;s almost as if I enjoy reading about it more, rather than watching it Thus, the follwoing suggestions may be completely unsuitable.

I;d keep the brand split and get back to the days of giving the shows seprate identitiies, Raw the Soap Opera,Smackdown the more wrestling orientated show. I would however Unify the World and WWE titles. Not right away obviously, but after a huge build up and a Wrestlemania blow off. The WWE World Champion would be appear on both shows, and perhaps have a little bit of an NWA vibe, moving from program to program between the two "territories"

I;d also have the Tag titles on both shows as well, and, as other s have said, attempt to make them mean something again by booking them as major, main event attractions.

I'd retain the Intercontinental title on Raw, and the US title on Smackdown and build them up to a level where'd they could conceivaby main event their show if the tag titles or world title feuds aren't avaliable. To add a little spice, i;d entice Paul Heyman and Jim Cornette back to WWE given Heyman the IC belt to book and Cornette the US title, along with their mini rosters, and tell them to go with for it. They'd also consult on other parts of both shows, bnoth those titles are for them to book.

Depending on the state of the roster, I;d bring back the Crusierweight title and Hardcore title to Smackdown and Raw respectively. The harcore belt was a really flexible belt in the past, going from a comedy gimmick in the 24/7 days, to having a slight semi-main event prestige when Rob Van Dam held it in 2001, so it would give Raw some options of what they could do with the belt. The cruiserweight belt depends on the willingness of WWE to actually let the guys wrestle a crusierweight style, but in my world they would. i'd hand it some prestige by having the top smaller guys go after it at first - Punk, Bryan, Rey,Jericho say, to make it clear it has its own attraction, and isn;t just a throwaway belt.

I'd bring back the general managers gimmick, but play up the rivalry some more, not unlike the Bischoff v Stephanie McMahon days - Heyman and Cornette would be good choices, but I'd like a revolving door perhaps going from draft to draft, the potential for old feuds to be rekindled is great

Wrestlemania would of course remain the centrepiece, and the special attractions such as Rock,. Brock and Taker would have a place. the Royal Rumble would remain a huge event, but i;d try to play up Summerlsam and survivor Series more, with huge matches and gimmicks- Summerslam could take advantage of it;s timing and locations by being a real festival type event - perhaps more of an all round entertainment event with a big gig on the saturday. Survivor Series may be the brand v brand event , with a Survivor Series match between them headlining it

I've kept away from naming particular wrestlers because im not that up to speed, but I'd call time on generic debuting wrestler - promos and vignettes to hype the incomers! I thinkt he lead in to the title unification would be a rehash of the Two Man Power Trip with orton and Cena holding the two big belts and the tag title, perhaps with HHH in the Vince McMahon role.

[Shuggie_Murray7]

Depending on the state of the roster, I;d bring back the Crusierweight title and Hardcore title to Smackdown and Raw respectively.

This. It'd give guys like Tyson Kidd, Evan Bourne, Justin Gabriel, Kofi Kingston, Sin Cara, Hunico, Hawkins, Primo etc something to do whilst actually having great matches.

[M0rtonfc]

I know we have spoken about this many a time but the Cena turning heel thing, I think they blew it when all the Kane stuff was happening. If it was me I would have had Kane beat him in a few PPV and kinda make it out like Cena had "lost his mind" and have beat up guys left right and centre and interact with the crowd as a heel for say 1 month, just to see how it goes as you could always change the story so that he kinda snaps out being a "heel" and returns as superman and all the kids are happy again.

Crazy wee idea I suppose.

Why can't WWE just grow some balls?

[banterman86]

I know we have spoken about this many a time but the Cena turning heel thing, I think they blew it when all the Kane stuff was happening. If it was me I would have had Kane beat him in a few PPV and kinda make it out like Cena had "lost his mind" and have beat up guys left right and centre and interact with the crowd as a heel for say 1 month, just to see how it goes as you could always change the story so that he kinda snaps out being a "heel" and returns as superman and all the kids are happy again.

Crazy wee idea I suppose.

Why can't WWE just grow some balls?

The 'E won;t heel Cena until he someone is capable of repalcing him in every aspect - as the #1 face and merchandise mover. The spot doesn't need to be filled by one guy, and this just underlines how much they need to build a number of credible new stars.

Not to talk about how great things were in 2000, but that year exemplifies a number of credible stars - Jericho and the Hardy's would have sold huge amounst of merchandise and credibly main evented despite being several rungs below Rock and the returning Austin

Edit to add- meant to say, i read an interesting article the other day about how Vince's last attempt to recreate Hollywood Hogan and turn his lead face heel was steve Austin in 2001, and whilst Austin was awesome that year, and his charcater very entertaining, it dodn;t prove effect, he had to resort to real cheap heat to get over as a heel because people wouldn;t boo him,and then found himself without a credible long term opponent once HHH got injured. Kurt Angle would have a strong feud with him taht year, but it was tied into the invasion and comedy, it didn't propel Angle to the number 1 face slot in the company

[Shuggie_Murray7]

The 'E won;t heel Cena until he someone is capable of repalcing him in every aspect - as the #1 face and merchandise mover. The spot doesn't need to be filled by one guy, and this just underlines how much they need to build a number of credible new stars.

But they constantly cut their own throats by having Cena destroy/annihilate/embarrass any up and coming credible new stars. (See Cena vs Nexus)