How to get more "attitude" into WWE?

[tiger_rick]

I've been thinking about starting this topic for a while. I've spent the last couple of years making my way through Raw from 1997 and recently been watching the early 1998 Raws on the award-winning WWE Network (only 9.99). I can't help but miss some of the spunk those shows add and really feel like it's missing from modern WWE.

 

This isn't a suggestion that PG needs to go because we all know that's irrelevant. Nor do I think it's simple to back to that time because WWE have many more hours to fill these days, more people to answer to and more sponsors to please.

 

Now seems like a good time to have the discussion because of a couple of things. The first being Dean Ambrose's Stone cold tribute this week on Raw. That sort of shit used to be a weekly occurrence. I don't want it to be but it as cool to see the babyface overcome the odds in a cool and creative way for the first time in a while. It gave Ambrose a real edge that has been missing.

 

The second being the debate on the last couple of pages of the Raw thread about whether a short title reign for Ambrose would be good. The belts jumped around in the Attitude era, definitely too much, but we've lost some of the surprise factor these days. They used to say "Anything can happen in the WWF" but things are so predictable these days. Rarely does anything happen that you weren't expecting. That was one of the things Russo really understood - he just didn't have the brains to see that if you keep doing it,it's no longer unpredictable because the swerve is more likely than not.

 

So unpredictability is a big thing for me. That was key in the attitude era. Something kept happening that you weren't expecting. A surprise return, a backstage brawl, mass interference, etc.

 

Babyfaces causing shit against the odds is great. The first Raw of 1998, first scene, Steve Austin promises to raise hell. Right of the bat, you're on the edge of your seat.

 

I'd throw in another one. I don't think there are enough stables. Stables can be ace. The Shield. Ace. Wyatt Family. Ace. New Day. Getting ace. Stables can really break up the tedium, particularly in the mid-card where they can stop you having to watch the same match each week. And if you feud two stables, you've got a million combinations of matches, reasons for wild finishes, etc.

 

I've got more but I'll put it out there. Still PG, more attitude. Possible?

[Surf Digby]

If you think of Attitude as a presentation style, rather than just the extremity of the content, then it's certainly possible.

 

One think I always notice is the how it looks physically. Not just the image quality from the technology they were using, but the lighting. Nowadays, they have too many lights. Everything is too evenly lit and it becomes very flat and sterile, which is why Batista used to look so awesome when he had the single spotlight leading him to the ring. Shadow is almost a dirty word, and yet it's what gives the older episodes a more dramatic look, a bit of moodiness, a bit of grit.

[Your Fight Site]

on the WWE Network (only 9.99).

 

You forgot “award-winning”

[tiger_rick]

 

on the WWE Network (only 9.99).

 

You forgot “award-winning”

 

Fixed!

[Pinc]

Now seems like a good time to have the discussion because of a couple of things. The first being Dean Ambrose's Stone cold tribute this week on Raw. That sort of shit used to be a weekly occurrence. I don't want it to be but it as cool to see the babyface overcome the odds in a cool and creative way for the first time in a while. It gave Ambrose a real edge that has been missing.

 

This is very true. 'Austin and Rock used to...' has become the WWE equivalent of 'Simpsons did it', but a big part of their appeal was that no one ever seemed to get the better of them for long. Modern day babyfaces seem to take every misfortune on the chin. Dolph '90 Days' Ziggler being the worst offender.

 

Regarding getting some Attitude back into WWE I'd like to see babyfaces at the top of the card who come out on top the majority of the time, and who are therefore worth supporting. Chris Morris's big rule on Nathan Barley was 'Nathan always wins', and if I was Vince I'd be printing off a load of pieces of A4 with 'Ambrose always wins' in big fuck off WordArt and sticking them all over the writer's rooms. I don't necessarily mean his matches of course - though he should be protected there too - more that he should always be one step ahead of his enemies in angles and feuds. Try to encourage a perception that he's the smartest guy in the room who always gets his own back in the end. This Monday was a good start.

[Mr.Showtime]

First things that come to mind for me:

- Cliffhanger endings. My favourite episodes of Raw are the endings which make you go "aw man, what's gonna happen on the next show?" Although this would mean having to either bring SmackDown back up to Raw's level, or split the rosters again. Austin's increasing paranoia in 2001 being a good example.

- More inventive backstage segments. Someone elsewhere here pointed out how bland and boring most backstage bits are these days. Think of all the types of rooms/corridors/spaces in and out the building that can be utilized. Not difficult, or expensive.

 

- A few more ref bumps in important matches would be nice.

- It would be easy to build more excitement and unpredictability by not having pre-set gimmick PPVs every bloody month. Part of the fun is not knowing how two rivals were going to settle the feud after months of war. Does it deserve a cage match? A last man standing? Can it only be settled in a Cell? We'll find out at the end of their feud, not at the start three months previous.

- Get a long-term face commissioner in to prevent the Authority going overboard with presence. Let's try a face authority figure for a good long while (like Foley's stint) and make some of the top superstars who compete in the ring the main bad guys.

[Pinc]

The second being the debate on the last couple of pages of the Raw thread about whether a short title reign for Ambrose would be good. The belts jumped around in the Attitude era, definitely too much, but we've lost some of the surprise factor these days. They used to say "Anything can happen in the WWF" but things are so predictable these days. Rarely does anything happen that you weren't expecting. That was one of the things Russo really understood - he just didn't have the brains to see that if you keep doing it,it's no longer unpredictable because the swerve is more likely than not.

 

So unpredictability is a big thing for me. That was key in the attitude era. Something kept happening that you weren't expecting. A surprise return, a backstage brawl, mass interference, etc.

 

WrestleMania dominates their booking so much now that there's no room for spontaneity with the title, as they're always trying (and usually failing) to set up their ideal Mania main event. It's been this way since Punk's 434 day reign began at the back end of 2011. Everyone knew Rock was the one who'd end it months in advance, and so when a hot new babyface emerged in the shape of Ryback they weren't able to pull the trigger. A quick Mankind-in-1999 title reign would do Ambrose the world of good over the summer, but everyone knows the title is being held until Brock comes back.

 

There are benefits to this kind of long term planning - the last two WrestleManias have been fucking great, even if neither main event went to the original plan - but the lack of flexibility with the belt through the summer can leave the TV shows feeling really stagnant. The last title win which felt unpredictable was Punk at Money in the Bank, and it's probably still the most memorable title change of the decade.

[DCW]

They could definitely try to make the way they present things look a bit gritty, or failing that, even do simple things like change camera angles, lighting and decoration in backstage areas from show to show. Every fucking Raw backstage looks identical, especially the authority segments. I'd definitely be into Linda McMahon randomly appointing a face, Foley-esque type commissioner for a while, even just for the summer where nothing of consequence happens anyway. Feels like The Authority has been around forever, with little or no challenge from anyone.

[Supremo]

Great idea for a thread. It's something that I've been thinking and harping on about for ages. There's no doubt that things got too crazy and stupid during the Attitude Era, but in trying to rebrand the product and recondition their audience they've definitely abandoned a tonne of ideas that could still work.

 

I'm not saying that I want Mark Henry having sex with men, or Val Venis getting his dick chopped off, or the World Title changing hands on every episode of RAW, but as I mentioned in the Raw thread the other day, it now feels like they've taken everything to the other extreme and nothing feels surprising or exciting anymore. It's just matches after matches after matches, everyone has a one-note character that never develops or goes anywhere and there's a dearth of silly, fun backstage vignettes. It would definitely benefit them greatly if they could figure out some type of balance. Guys don't need to be tricking each other into eating their dogs, or gate crashing funerals, but there needs to be something other than another fucking match between Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus.

 

However, it almost feels as if we're a week or two late in having this discussion because this week's RAW felt like a huge step in the right direction. I could always be seeing something that isn't there, but if that show is any indication then the writers themselves have been watching the same shows on the Network and coming to the same conclusions that we have.

 

The show-long Dean Ambrose storyline was excellent in that uniquely pro-wrestling way. It was goofy as fuck, wouldn't hold up to any type of scrutiny, every character acted in a ridiculously stupid way if you stop and properly think about it, and yet it worked perfectly and I absolutely loved it. I loved the Lana and Rusev angle as well. A proper storyline that drove a plot forward and developed the characters, taking them in new, interesting directions. It felt like something of importance was actually happening, instead of everyone and everything just running on a treadmill. Brilliant. I know it's been going on for a while now, but I also think Cena's Open Challenge is really great too. It's a staple part of every show now, where there's intrigue in who's going to come out, and excitement over the possibility of him one night losing. It's also elevated the title itself massively. So yeah; all credit to them for already incorporating some of the stuff I've wanted to see for ages.

 

There's definitely things I'd still like to see them add though. That Dean Ambrose title change we discussed the other day would be the first thing. Nobody expects Seth to lose the belt until Brock comes back, but where's the harm in bouncing it around a little bit between now and then? Provided the end goal is still for Seth to be holding it when Brock gets back I actually think it would do both he and Dean the world of good for them to trade it back and forth a few times. It'll also give them a reason to keep feuding, without Dean having to constantly lose all of the time and look like an idiot, like he did with Wyatt.

 

I'd also like for them to do a World Title main event on RAW every now and then. Isn't Austin vs. Taker for the title one of the highest rated segments of all time? Yeah. Again, I understand that they wanted to slow everything down and make the title matches feel special by only having them on pay per views, but that shouldn't mean they never do one on RAW. Imagine how fresh it would feel if Dean won the title at Elimination Chamber and then they had a rematch the next night, or the following week on RAW. That used to be why I tuned in all of the time as a kid; it felt like things of importance were truly going to happen on every episode. I shouldn't feel as if I can skip the TV shows because the important stuff is only going to happen once a month on the Network. Genuinely, when was the last time the World title was defended on RAW? It feels like forever ago. The typical Smackdown tag team main event has slowly become the norm on RAW as well. Teddy Long has a lot to answer for!

 

It doesn't even have to be against two top guys either. I still remember the Triple H title matches against TAKA and Rikishi. They should do more of that, where undercard guys get mixed in with the main eventers every now and then. For Rikishi in particular it felt like that helped his stature massively.

 

I feel like I've said it a thousand times, but backstage vignettes and sit-down interviews need to come back in a big, big way. Anything to flesh these characters out and give them feuds worth investing in. All of that good stuff they show on the Network with guys talking about their past and how they got into the business should be shown in small segments on RAW. Split that Roman Reigns 24/7 show into five segments. It'll do more for his character and storyline than anything they've done since the Rumble. Let someone like Zack Ryder have three minutes on RAW to produce his own little show to try and get over. Adam Rose should be throwing parties. Fandango should be sleazing on women. Ziggler should be getting attacked earlier today at the tanning salon. Now that he's lost Lana and looks to be genuinely injured we should see skits of Rusev going back to Bulgaria and training in the woods for a couple of weeks to explain his absence and build up his return. More limos need to be arriving backstage. They should be getting YouTube footage, "sent in from fans," of guys attacking one another at airports or something. Or even in the ring just do something different or surprising. When was the last time someone broke the ring in WWE? It'd be cool if someone jumped onto Roman Reigns from the top rope, he caught them, and then speared them so hard to the mat that they broke the canvas. I dunno, just anything other than more long, drawn out matches that all feel the same.

 

Finally, I think I miss guys having catchphrases and music that really connect with the crowd. It's why I love Enzo and Big Cas in NXT so much and think they'd make an excellent addition to the main roster. They're a total throw back to what the majority of the Attitude Era was about. Cool catchphrase, awesome music, a fun little pre-match routine that gets over massively, and then because of all of that you can't help but root for them. I was actually disappointed when they didn't win the tag titles last week. Seemed almost weird to care about something like that in this day and age.

 

Jesus, I've written a lot here. Apologies!

 

Above all else though, I can't wait for them to start showing RAWs from the year 2000 on the Network. That's the stuff today's writers should be watching for inspiration. Never has the product been better. What was the name of the guy writing it back then who has since died? Whatever his name was he was a fucking genius!

[DeanoTheGame]

 Genuinely, when was the last time the World title was defended on RAW? It feels like forever ago. 

 

It was 'defended' on the Raw after Mania last year by Bryan against Triple H, but the actual match never got started and was just an angle to start the Shield/Evolution feud. I think the last proper defense may have been Punk defending against Ryback on the first Raw of 2013. 

[Linus]

The only thing I think is truly missing is blood. You can't tell a truly-compelling story using FIGHTING without the full range of consequences from that fight. I don't want First Blood Battle Royales or anything, but the odd blade job would do wonders for the dramatic tension at times.

 

As for the rest of it, a quick watch of the Jerry Springer show on the Network will quickly remind you how bad the Attitude Era often was.

[tiger_rick]

As for the rest of it, a quick watch of the Jerry Springer show on the Network will quickly remind you how bad the Attitude Era often was.

Good job nobody has come remotely close to suggesting they go back to those days then, eh?

[Undefeated Steak]

Good idea for a thread and some really good posts already.

 

I'd like to see a lot more emphasis on promos. We're seeing great matches on an almost weekly basis in NXT and LU; even Raw and SD have really good matches. But it's rare that we get a top drawer promo nowadays.

 

Zayn, Owens, Sheamus etc are as good in the ring as Dusty, Funk, Lawler were on the mic (well, not quite but you get the point). Over the past ten years promo quality has dropped in relation to the quality of matches growing. It's probably why so many events seem underwhelming in the build up and end up being so good.

 

Promos and skits (not just a guy standing in the ring with a mic) were one of the staples of the attitude era. Everything from Angle and Austin singing with a guitar to those backstage angles with the APA playing cards were entertaining. It'd certainly brighten up these 3 hour Raws.

[LaGoosh]

Proper backstage skits is the first thing that needs to be changed in WWE over everything else as far as I'm concerned. Wrestlers in a real environment not some fucking glowing blue curtained area that appears to exist purely in a vacuum outside of space and time where people randomly appear and disappear from at will and no one can see anything off camera and they all have to stand in the exact same positions. The WWE "universe" needs to feel like an actual real space where the wrestlers live and interact naturally with eachother. It should feel like if you ever went backstage every corner you turn you'd find something crazy, exciting or interesting going on.

 

Real long term storylines which flow naturally into each other and intertwine with other stories where characters grow and develop would be the other main and obvious thing to change. For an example, I'm going to run you through the booking of upper mid-carder Kane throughout 1997-2000 (WARNING: a bit long):

 

- Late 1997. While fueding with his former manager, Paul Bearer, Undertaker is shocked to find out that his brother Kane is still alive and coming to destroy him.

- Kane arrives. Beats the shit out of Undertaker and everyone else quickly becoming a new ruthless monster. Undertaker refuses to fight his younger brother so Kane locks him in a coffin and sets it on fire.

- Months later in 1998 Undertaker comes back and they fight. Undertaker wins twice amid loads of crazy angles with lightning, fire and graveyards.

- Kane beats Stone Cold for the title, but sadly loses it in the next night. He begins to hang around with fellow lost soul and deranged lunatic Mankind.

- Rumours abound that Kane and Undertaker have now united so that Undertaker can defeat Stone Cold for the WWF title.

- The rumours are true and Vince McMahon puts these two unstoppable forces in a triple threat match with Stone Cold so that Austin is guaranteed to lose the title. He does, but there is no clear winner due to a double pin.

- After snapping Vince McMahon's ankle when he insulted Undertaker, Vince makes Kane and Undertaker face eachother for the title so they can destroy eachother and end their unstoppable unity.

- When neither win the title, Paul Bearer returns and turns on Kane to rejoin Undertaker. Both say Kane is weak.

- Kane goes on an unstoppable rampage on Raw one night, chokeslamming everyone. Vince McMahon is in the process of creating The Corporation. He needs strong people around him to protect his new corporate champion, The Rock, from Mankind and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Vince McMahon forces Kane to join the Coporation under threat of having him incarcarated in a mental hospital.

- 1999. While Kane is initially angry about being in the Corporation he strikes up a relationship with Chyna and she shows him compassion and loyalty, keeping him under control of the Corporation.

- Chyna turns on Kane to get back together with Triple H who also then joins the Corporation, booting Kane out for good.

- Now directionless, Kane goes wild again. Attacking people randomly. Triple H's best friend X-Pac also feeling similarly rejected forms an unlikely team with Kane for revenge.

- Kane and X-Pac are successful tag team and the sheer babyface goodness of X-Pac brings out a different side of Kane, a side of kindness and friendship.

- Undertaker, fueding with Stone Cold, tries to recruit his younger brother again so that together they can again defeat Austin like they did the previous year. X-Pac begs Kane not to return to his old ways. Kane goes with X-Pac and chokeslams Undertaker straight to hell. As revenge, X-Pac interferes in Undertaker's title match, helping Austin win the belt!

- Furious with X-Pac, Undertaker brutally attacks him and Kane. Big Show, who has issues with Kane, comes out and both men realise that they will be even more dangerous together. Undertaker and Big Show unite and take the tag belts from Kane and X-Pac.

- X-Pac feeling shame at losing the tag belts and having to be constantly rescued by Kane from various beatdowns shows frustration and anger and that people don't take him seriously. Despite his orders, Kane continues to rescue and bail out X-Pac because he's his best buddy so gosh darn it he has to help him out when he's in trouble. X-Pac continues to get fed up. meanwhile Kane has started a relationship with Tori on the side.

- Meanwhile, Triple H, X-Pac's old running buddy is new Champion and decides to put DX back together. Out of frustration and the habit of getting back with his old pals and the new power at their grasp X-Pac turns on his best buddy Kane.

- Due to some fucked up makes no sense situation, Tori is forced to spend Christmas with X-Pac and it turns out she prefers the taste of DX dick and turns on Kane too.

- 2000. Kane disappears out of heart break. 

- Kane returns, this time with his father Paul Bearer to lead him. He's back and he's full of anger and vengeance bah gawd!

 

There you go, that's just one character over a two year span with constant storylines that flow naturally into eachother, character development and keeps the audience interested and engrossed. They did the same with Austin, Rock, Mankind, Triple H, Undertaker...fucking everyone really. That's what they need to be doing with Sheamus, Barrett, Bray Wyatt, Ambrose...no excuses.

[Cannibal Man]

Commentary team needs a big fucking overhaul. Those three useless sacks of shit behind the announce desk need to either be canned entirely or step themselves up and decide on a character or way or presenting themselves. JBL's dead eyed half arsed heel attempts and flip flopping back to his HAHA I LOVE IT MAGGLE WE HAVE FUN HERE TONIGHT YESSIR, Booker T's insane rambling that's good for a laugh transcribed but fucking painful to listen to, and whatever the fuck it is Michael Cole's been doing for all these years. 

 

JR and Lawler worked beautifully for what was being shown at the time because they were two clear, distinct sides. So much of the Attitude Era was definite utter bastards vs clear cut fan favourites and you knew you could rely on Lawler to always go for the bellends and rather than back it up with any kind of fact or logic, he'd cut them, the crowd and JR himself down with some sort of vicious, twatty one liner or cod, hypocritical logic that wound you up and JR was the voice of reason, the play by play and the voice of what anybody sensible watching was thinking, so you knew that when the right thing happened he'd go FUCKING BERZERK and the lot of you would follow in suit. It made an already engaging, mental product red fucking hot. You can't do that with three reanimated corpses sleepwalking through three hours of app plugs in between taking snide shots at each other for no reason other than them probably being horrible people.

 

What played into that, and another thing they need to improve, was during the Attitude era you had a reason to give a fuck about everybody on the card when they were on screen, and commentators not drifting off into talking about app's or Leeds United generally helps that. It's one of the benefits of stables, mentioned above. If someone midcard, lowercard or curtain jerker isn't great on the mic or doesn't have much of a defined character or whatever else is wrong with them, you had them in a stable with a mouthpiece and had them causing chaos for everybody else. You wanted to see them get beat. 

 

I usually think about Summerslam '98 being the perfect example of that. Off the top of my head 17 years later I can't remember why D'Lo and Venis opened the show, but the crowd went mad, I went mad, my mates went mad. Everyone gave a toss. Everything up and down that card had people caring. 

 

So aye, commentary is a huge part of it for me. You can have all the wild action and near 5 star matches you can manage which Raw has been doing for ages now, but if nobody gives a fuck about who's in there doing it and the commentary aren't doing anything help it, then what's the point?