Black and White Report for January 12, 2010: "Riding the Cycle"

In the world of wrestling, there’s been a lot of talk in recent weeks about the flashbacks to the late-90s and the Monday Night War. With the nWo reunion, Bret/Vince, Mike Tyson, Sting in the rafters, and the now the announcement that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is guest hosting Raw, these comments aren’t unwarranted. I think that the nostalgic trips to the decade of flannel shirts and magic eye posters are both positive and negative.

Vince McMahon often says that the wrestling business is cyclical. There’s a lot of truth to that. I think that the resurgence of angles and characters from the last boom period is no coincidence. We’re at a time in the cycle of wrestling’s popularity when rehash can equal success, or at least the start of it. Flashback fifteen years ago. The then-WWF was cartoony, marketed to kids while the McMahons were embroiled in high profile government issues. WCW was promoting Hogan, Savage, Mr. T, and other rehash WWF storylines mixed with the company’s current stars. And ECW was making its pissed off noise in Philly.

Today, WWE is cartoony, marketed to kids. Even the most controversial characters of the “Attitude” era—Goldust, DX, even Bret Hart—are family friendly. Poop jokes are the standard of promos. And the McMahons are embroiled in a government issue—Linda’s running for senate. TNA is doing rehash angles mixed with their current stars. And Ring of Honor is making some pissed off noise in Philly. And I think this is a good thing.

If the wrestling business is indeed cyclical, and I believe there is strong evidence to support that, then the next phase of the cycle is that things are going to get really good really soon.

To break out of the cartoony elements fifteen years ago, WWE focused on a New Generation and an Attitude. Sheamus, Kofi, et al. are the modern New Generation. And while I don’t see an end to the kid marketing (I’m sure deals with kid giant Mattel and Linda McMahon’s senate run will keep that element firmly in place), I think WWE is making efforts to upgrade the property just as they did the last time the cycle reached this point.

TNA, meanwhile, is doing what WCW needed to do back then, as well—making their stories more realistic, less cartoony. Hogan has spoken to the press about wanting to make TNA more like a UFC-environment. I think it’s a great direction to go. We’ll see how it can go.

And ROH, like its ECW ancestor, is doing its unique thing. Right now, the big two may not be watching closely, but just as ECW was raided for talent, ROH is finding that having the nest wrestlers in the world can cause you to lose your stars.

Both big companies need fresh blood to augment the familiar. It worked fifteen years ago, and it’s important now. There are a lot of free agents/up-and-comers on the market who would benefit WWE and TNA.

Who are they?

TNA needs Rob Van Dam. The challenge is, though, that RVD isn’t interested in wrestling much these days. But I, and I think a lot of fans, would love to see RVD battle AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and others in the company.

Tommy Dreamer would be a fantastic addition to TNA, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
If TNA could snag the Briscoes, Tyler Black, and Necro Butcher, there are numerous matches that would be off the charts, and really go a long way in building the company.

TNA needs to dump a few a guys, too—mostly the older generation. I’m all about tradition, and old school. I love Sting, Flair, and Hogan. But I’m not sure the Nasty Boys, Hall and Waltman, the former Val Venis, and a few other of the former WWE midcarders of a decade-plus ago are who you want to build your company around. I hope these are short-term nostalgia acts, which is fine with me if they are. But once the short nostalgia moments pass, get rid of them. WCW, at the point in the cycle we’re repeating, was similar. Ray Traylor, John Tenta, Ed Leslie, and others were repeating their gimmicks from the WWF. Eventually they faded away, and I think/hope that’s what will happen with these guys. I imagine so. I trust Bischoff and Hogan. I really do.

WWE, meanwhile, has a tremendous roster of talent in the FCW developmental territory. New stars are there ready to be made. There are, of course, guys like Austin Aires in ROH who could contribute a lot to WWE. Depends on how they’re used. If they’re destroyed like Matt “Evan Bourne” Sydal, then there’s a great miscarriage of justice. And the product is stale.

I don’t have a problem with John Cena. In fact, I called him being the next big thing in 2004 when he was just starting his white rapper character on SmackDown. I was having breakfast with some of the WWE’s boys, and said to them that if I were Vince, I’d build the company around Cena. I understand why people don’t like him. I get it. But I think a lot of the hatred has to do with overexposure more than lack of charisma or talent or whatever. WWE has made a good move in elevating Sheamus, Kofi, and some of the younger stars. Yet, they’re still overexposing Cena, DX, and Orton. Time for these guys to take a slightly smaller role onscreen. I hope that happens, so the new stars can be made into the superstars they’re portrayed to be. I wish I trusted Vince McMahon as much as I do the gang in TNA. But I hope.

There are a couple of other major free agents that could be major game changers if they got involved with TNA or ROH…Ted Turner, Paul Heyman, and Shane McMahon. While none of these guys has expressed interest in being a part of the industry, each of them would make such a massive impact with whatever company they were a part of, the WWE would really have to up their game. I know that none of them will be involved in TNA or ROH in the near future, but it sure would do a lot to up the ante. Imagine Shane McMahon in the Impact Zone essentially repeating his promo from the Raw/Nitro simulcast in March 2001. Paul Heyman’s creativity is unparalleled. Anything he writes I want to be a part of. And Ted Turner’s money (he’s still loaded even though he’s not the boss of the big corporation) could really make a difference in production values and talent. A guy can dream, right?

Wrestling is cyclical. And we’re at a point in the cycle where fantastic things loom just over the horizon. WWE and TNA (and ROH for that matter) just need to repeat the successful decisions behind the scenes that they made fifteen years ago.

And there it is in black and white.