The Forzese View - Vince Pay Attention
Submitted by Jim Forzese on Wednesday, December 24, 2003 at 8:07 AM EST



Vince Pay Attention

I don’t know if Vince watches Sports center but he should lately. The biggest story making the rounds is that my Red Sox are trying to land the AL MVP Alex Rodriguez. The Sox management team has made a commitment to Boston, which is to win at all costs, and so management feels that this move is the best for them to win the championship. A-rod will come in and displace current all-star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra.Now what this has to do with wrestling is this, Sox ownership are not going after A-rod to play outfield, they are kicking out there (homegrown) star to replace him with someone who is the best at their position from another company.

Vince’s biggest mistake is not allowing wrestlers to be themselves when they arrive in WWE from other companies, therefore these wrestlers either fail or remain extremely unhappy while they’re with WWE.Goldberg right now is a prime example of someone who is so discontent with being in WWE because of the way he is booked. Goldberg feels that he should be booked to show his strength and hide his inabilities like in WCW.This is not a forgivable mistake from WWE because it no longer matters where a wrestler came from, it is not an admittance by Vince that other companies are better than his, all this is about is winning and that is all that should matter to WWE.By winning I mean in the ratings department and through buy rates.

Vince does not even use the gimmicks that are created in his own developmental territory down in OVW.That attitude just renders everything that Jim Cornette and Danny Davis does useless. Jim and Danny are grooming the wrestlers with all the fundamental knowledge that they need to be effective in the WWE but they also are creating gimmicks for them that are catching on with fans that see OVW regularly. Some of those gimmicks could be helping certain wrestlers get over better than they currently are. Orlando Jordan for instance is called, I believe, The Black Tiger in OVW.Wouldn’t that be more marketable for WWE than just Orlando Jordan? Even if it sold just five more t-shirts for WWE it is worth doing.

Batista as Leviathan, his former gimmick in OVW could have been over immediately by itself so that someone else could have got the spot in Evolution he now occupies. Now Vince feels that by giving Evolution all the titles that it will help the faces. Vince feels that fans will rally behind the faces that will be facing Evolution in their effort to dethrone them. My question is who the hell is going to be a credible opponent on the Raw brand to defeat HHH.I understand that HHH is trying to emulate Ric Flair and that he is going to try and win the title sixteen times but, does HHH need to win it eight more times in 2004?The next tag team to be ready to win the titles on Raw over Flair/Batista are Cade and Jindrak, who are also now heels so what did that theory prove?

There is nobody besides maybe a face Chris Jericho with Trish Stratus by his side that would even be considered as a viable option to defeat HHH for the world title. Who else besides Jericho and another Goldberg run would be capable of holding the title and carrying it as a draw against someone other than HHH? Booker T could win and then lose it to HHH, RVD could win it and then drop it to HHH, Jericho could hold it and then drop it to HHH.Point being that everyone will always lose to HHH thus rendering everyone a step below HHH forever. Vince needs someone to defeat HHH and then move HHH away from the title for the whole year of 2004.We know how that would go over already so what does it matter if fans rally behind a face that will be beaten for the title within one to two months by HHH?

The titles on both brands keep on centering around the same few wrestlers every month. HHH, Lesner, Angle, Goldberg, Taker and Vince himself. When are other wrestlers going to get the chance to fight for the title and not face any of those above names? How about for the year of 2004 only Jericho, RVD, Benoit, Geurrero, Booker T, Cena, and Edge can go for the titles, would that make everyone happy? I think it would but Vince does not agree and or does not feel that his creative team could make those wrestlers worthy draws to be capable of holding the main events. That is the most disturbing thing of all because when will it be other wrestlers turn to be the best in the company? Cena and Orton will be there very soon but will they hold on to the top spot for an extended period of time or will their first PPV buy rate be there undoing if it comes in low? Again ammunition HHH can use to regain power.

Vince, Watch sports center and understand that you can get a wrestler who is an established superstar and put him over your (homegrown) heroes without compromising the integrity of your company. That is just smart business and not admitting any incompetence in your creative team. Goldberg might have an inflated sense of self worth but he did draw very well for WCW so he does have a proven track record to boast about. Let him be what you are paying him to be because otherwise what the hell did you hire him for? To prove that HHH is the best that this sport ever produced and that no one in this business can dethrone him? What if HHH goes down with a near career ending injury again? There is nobody ready to step up and fill his shoes adequately and HHH knows and demands it. I don’t blame HHH; I do blame Vince for allowing it to happen.

Bottom Line:

2004 is here and so should the new crop of WWE superstars that will carry the ball this year. If one of those new stars is an established name coming in from another company then Vince, let him be the man that impressed you enough to hire him in the first place. The one thing that TNA has going for it, it’s that a star is a star whatever company that they do or did work for. Embrace the talent as opposed to rejecting them because it was not a “WWE” idea. Even OVW can’t get Vince to accept that maybe they could create a character better.

WWE has a huge list of stars that could be in the main event and draw well if they are not made to look like fodder for HHH or Brock Lesner.Stop basing the company around Rock, Austin and Foley who are only part time wrestlers, start to focus on the stars of today, Edge, Matt Hardy, Cena, Orton, Jericho, Rey Mysterio, and Eddie. It’s time to stop pushing based on size alone. I can appreciate the fact that perception does hurts as it relates to size but some wrestlers have the ability to transcend that ie. Bret Hart, Ric Flair, and Shawn Michaels. If WWE asked everyone whether they would like to see in the main event Edge vs. Matt Hardy or Matt Morgan vs. Mark Henry, I think I could safely say that one would be a no brainer.

Lastly, Vince needs to stop the hard-on he has for humiliating wrestlers in their hometown. It serves no purpose other than to piss off every paying customer that came to the event. It serves no purpose on TV and does not help anyone’s credibility whatsoever. Even if the win is tainted somehow the hometown hero should prevail in front of friends and family because it makes for better TV. It is also setting a precedent to every hometown that your hometown boy will get his ass kicked in front of you live so be prepared to leave disappointed. That is just a stupid business practice if you ask me. Let the local favorite have his spotlight at home and watch a crowd leave happy and return in droves the next time that WWE is there again. That my friend is a smart business practice.

Have a very merry Christmas and please be safe. Until next time that’s just my view.

Jim Forzese
forzeseview@yahoo.com









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