Jump The Shark Moments

[DoinkBrah]

Any kind of evil authority figure angle that has been done post the Vince v Austin feud.  At the time it was original, unique and interesting with the evil McMahon trying to screw Stone Cold Steve Austin at every turn.  Constantly stacking the deck against Austin having the stooges and back room staff as special referee's and time keepers etc just to try and get the title off him.

 

We've had a hoard of Authority figures since then and none have ever had the gravitas or interest that that had, yet it has been run into the ground by countless other promotions, all to no effect.

[DraxSpago]

Any kind of evil authority figure angle that has been done post the Vince v Austin feud.  At the time it was original, unique and interesting with the evil McMahon trying to screw Stone Cold Steve Austin at every turn.  Constantly stacking the deck against Austin having the stooges and back room staff as special referee's and time keepers etc just to try and get the title off him.

 

We've had a hoard of Authority figures since then and none have ever had the gravitas or interest that that had, yet it has been run into the ground by countless other promotions, all to no effect.

 

Couldn't agree with that more, Austin/McMahon made sense on pretty much every level, Austin was a rising star who wouldn't do what the owner wanted, Everyone knew Vince was actually the owner so it had that bit of realism, and I seem to remember early on in the storyline that Vince wouldn't sack him because of his popularity but at the same time didn't want him to be the face of the company, all made sense

 

As you say, every time it's been recycled it's been shite, worst ones I can think of are Bischoff/Cena (why would Bischoff have it in for the massive star who's just joined his brand?) and Johnny Ace/Punk (though at least that one had its roots in the MITB title match), it's just horrendously lazy to go "Authority Figure doesn't like the champ/top babyface" without any of the background that made Austin/McMahon work

 

The other problem with Authority angles is you're unlikely to get a blow off match that people will pay to see, even Austin/McMahon in the cage happened months before the proper end to Austin/McMahon (Fully Loaded '99), Bischoff being F-U'd into a rubbish truck on Raw? Didn't draw a penny, Johnny Ace against Cena (?!) Didn't draw a penny

 

The other thing is, if I was a young fan nowadays, I'd wonder why WWE, the company I love to watch and who have all these larger than life heroes (or at least should have), would always be run by a set of cunts, I know the brand name is so strong it's bulletproof but for nearly 20 years the company itself has kind of been booked as a heel, it's ridiculous

[garynysmon]

Every company needs an authority figure to a degree, but why can't they be more along the lines of the Stanley Blackburn, Jack Tunney, JJ Dillon etc? Just popping up when necessary to resolve a conflict.

[boytoy]

Raw numbers suggest that it is somewhere around WM17 for WWE, although for me it wasn’t Austin’s heel turn - while the timing was stupid did kind of make sense. I'd go with the invasion angle once everyone realised that none of the big names were coming in and it became secondary to more McMahon family drama was it for me. Should have been the biggest angle ever and was the first sign that without any competition things would never be the same.

[unfitfinlay]

As an addition to the above discussion, the idea that a multi-billion dollar company that trades on the stock market would do it's weekly TV show on the fly is pretty ridiculous as well. It was one thing during the Monday Night Wars, or specifically during Austin vs McMahon, where Vince was changing the show at the last minute to hurt Austin, but it's been done so much now that it's completely normal for the Authority figure to just pull matches out their arse at the last minute. Imagine actual sports doing that? "Well, Jose, you thought Chelsea were playing Aston Villa today but, instead, on this very pitch, you'll be playing MANCHESTER CITY!"

 

It's not really a specific moment or promotion, I suppose, but the concept of the "authority figure" has certainly jumped the shark.
 

Every company needs an authority figure to a degree, but why can't they be more along the lines of the Stanley Blackburn, Jack Tunney, JJ Dillon etc? Just popping up when necessary to resolve a conflict.

 

Totally agree with that. Tunney wasn't very good but I remember it always feeling like a huge deal when he appeared.

[DraxSpago]

As an addition to the above discussion, the idea that a multi-billion dollar company that trades on the stock market would do it's weekly TV show on the fly is pretty ridiculous as well. It was one thing during the Monday Night Wars, or specifically during Austin vs McMahon, where Vince was changing the show at the last minute to hurt Austin, but it's been done so much now that it's completely normal for the Authority figure to just pull matches out their arse at the last minute. Imagine actual sports doing that? "Well, Jose, you thought Chelsea were playing Aston Villa today but, instead, on this very pitch, you'll be playing MANCHESTER CITY!"

 

It's not really a specific moment or promotion, I suppose, but the concept of the "authority figure" has certainly jumped the shark.

 

Every company needs an authority figure to a degree, but why can't they be more along the lines of the Stanley Blackburn, Jack Tunney, JJ Dillon etc? Just popping up when necessary to resolve a conflict.

 

Totally agree with that. Tunney wasn't very good but I remember it always feeling like a huge deal when he appeared.

 

Yeah 100%, I know they're going for a anything can happen type atmosphere and they might think it'll hurt the opening segment rating if people know in advance what the main event etc. is but it's barmy, plus it takes away from when they have a genuine heel authority figure in charge, as you say Vince would throw things at Austin last minute to try and make him lose, how much sense does/did it make when Triple H and Steph would come out with Rollins and stick him in a match with a couple of hours notice? He's the heel champion who is best mates with the people running the show and yet he gets no warning to whom he'll be facing that night? 

[GPW Kristian Zane]

Kane and Big Show, Royal Rumble 2015

[Pinc]

The WWF jumped the shark when Triple H hit The Rock with a sledgehammer the night after WrestleMania X7.

 

The execution of Austin's heel turn was great, largely because of Jim Ross's efforts at getting it over, and if I remember rightly the Raw after Mania X7 drew a million more viewers than had the previous one. There was big interest in where they were going with a baddy Austin as champ.

 

The two man power trip was never the way to proceed when they were so obviously lacking in top babyfaces. If Rock was sticking around or Shawn Michaels hadn't been on a gary the previous month or Goldberg was coming straight in after the WCW buy out then it could've been great. But they needlessly painted themselves into a boring Undertaker and Kane shaped corner by aligning Triple H and Austin straight away.

 

If Triple H had come down and gone for Austin then you have a legitimate babyface challenger to Austin that can see you through to the Rock's return in time for SummerSlam. I think you extend the boom period by a good few months with a babyface H against heel Austin, which maybe even means you have the nWo and Flair in place to lead the invasion when it begins some months later.

[tiger_rick]

I thought the Invasion jumped the shark the moment Stephanie McMahon walked out as "owner of ECW". I went from being ultra pumped to utterly deflated in about five seconds. The Invasion had some decent moments afterwards, don't get me wrong, but it was just a question of how long from that point. I think an alliance headed by Shane and Paul E. with the focus on the guys fighting rather than the shitty McMahon soap opera retread would have had more longevity and there'd have been an opportunity to get guys over enough not to have to rely on WWF defectors. It had no chance once she got involved.

[garynysmon]

Its more of an ego thing I suspect. The likes of Kevin Dunn and probably at least Vince from the McMahon family, felt that they were needed to get WCW and ECW over, which is complete balderdash of course.

[Dirty Eddie]

The Invasion is barmy, looking back.

 

Just consider what we got in 2001 and imagine if they'd managed somehow to drag things out and launch the Invasion in 2002. You could have had Triple H, Austin, HBK, Angle, Taker and Kane against the likes of Hogan, Nash, Hall, Flair, Booker and DDP at the top, with a wealth of "could choose to be on either side"  people like Jericho, Eddie, Rey, Benoit etc...

 

Madness.

[King Pitcos]

There was no way to hold off doing the invasion though, was there? With the contracts and fan interest, they had to pull the trigger on it. But I wonder if they could've just not ended it at Survivor Series 2001 and kept the story going for another year or so. Probably not, really.

 

Every company needs an authority figure to a degree, but why can't they be more along the lines of the Stanley Blackburn, Jack Tunney, JJ Dillon etc? Just popping up when necessary to resolve a conflict.

Because wrestling isn't a one-hour Saturday morning squash match show that only needs to build a PPV four times a year. Nobody in WWE or on here has ever come up with a decent replacement for the authority figure showrunner role in the last 15 years, and until someone does, they're a far lesser evil than even more Ziggler vs Del Rio type shite filling the TV time.

 

Wrestling's big problem is that it hasn't really evolved since about 1997, but "make everything like it was in 1990" is no solution.

[garynysmon]

Because wrestling isn't a one-hour Saturday morning squash match show that only needs to build a PPV four times a year. Nobody in WWE or on here has ever come up with a decent replacement for the authority figure showrunner role in the last 15 years, and until someone does, they're a far lesser evil than even more Ziggler vs Del Rio type shite filling the TV time.

Wrestling's big problem is that it hasn't really evolved since about 1997, but "make everything like it was in 1990" is no solution.

 

They haven't even tried to though. Authority figures, in their present form, plainly aren't working. Its not going back to 1990, its just retreating from a concept that's passed its sell by date.  

[unfitfinlay]

I think the maddest thing about the Invasion is that the storyline they DID do could've been done without the WCW or ECW trademarks. As Rick said, as soon as Stephanie walked out, it went from being an Invasion to just another McMahon family drama. They could've just said Steph and Shane hired a bunch of free agents to take over the company and it would've hardly changed a thing. It might've been better too since adding all the WCW titles really hurt the credibility of the WWF's own belts.
 
A couple of others I've thought about: Stephanie turning on Angle at Unforgiven 2000. It's been spoken about on the show before, I'm sure, but it was the end of the glory days for me. The WWF was absolutely amazing at the time, and that was shaping up to be one of the best storylines they've ever done. They just chucked it away though, and for no reason, since Stephanie continued to manage Angle for a bit afterwards, just without the heat they'd have had as a couple. It wasn't enough to stop me watching all together but it's safe to say that my interest has never been as high as that again.

[Pinc]

Having an authority figure of some kind is necessary to give the shows some focus. What's stale is the heel authority figure fucking with all the top babyfaces.

 

Raw has seldom been as fun as it was during the commissioner Foley era in 2000. I'm surprised there haven't been more attempts to re-visit the babyface authority figure since then.