According to those close to the situation, it appears WWE will be addressing the much discussed problems with the creative end of the company at this time. From what is known, the general feeling is that many are aware that current storylines haven't been up to par as of late and plan on putting forth changes in hopes of fixing the overall problem.
One major change that they reportedly want to put forth is bringing in someone in the position of an editor or manager who would work with the McMahon's and the creative time itself. This position would oversee the long-term direction of the company and would take on something of a hands-on type role of the actual writers, having them report to this new hire directly.
The overall job would be to take a view of the "big picture" so to speak concerning the product, something that is often looked at as difficult for people that are currently handling the day-to-day and week-to-week schedule. The interview process for this new position has reportedly already begun.
In addition, the company has also come to realize that their current creative time is too small to do the job required and are said to be looking to add more quality people to the current set up. The general feeling among others is this new direction is needed in order to improve the product overall.
... and somewhere, Vince Russo is updating his resume.
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senzu piu scosse. Ma per cio che giammai di questo fondo non torno vivo alcun, s'i'odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
Triple H is getting a new job! Seriously though do you think it will somebody already involved in wrestling or will they bring in somebody from another TV show?
They could hire the best writers in the world, as long as a McMahon signs the paycheck and has the last word/veto power, things won't significantly change (for better or worse).
Are we allowed to use the voices in our heads as sources?
Haven't they tried a similar thing before, only to fire the guy because he was saying stuff sucked and there were holes in the plots all over the place?
So they're looking for a yes man who will bridge the gap between Vince and the creative team.
Give me a six figure salary and a case of Whiskey and I'll take the job.
"If you want sumpin' a little stronger, homes, you gotta sip on some Mexican water. It's a little cloudy, and has an odd smell that makes you think it's not really for human consumption. But HOOOOOOOOOOOO-EEEEEEY! What a kick! Arriba~!"-LOP Board Member Uncle Eddy
For nearly three years the writing has been shit, with a few exceptions.
They fucked up the WCW stuff, Goldberg, Hogan, NWO, and Austin.
And you really can't blame the performers. In each of these cases the wrestlers came in with a lot of momentum, with nowhere to go with the characters.
If anything, the writing as of late has been better (Eugene, getting the belt off HHH for a few months, Foley's saga).
I know the mods are going to hate this post, as it's nothing that hasn't been said a billion times, but by looking at my calendar its time for the wrestling "peak" to come again...and I dont see the manpower to carry it.
Instead of building characters, the thing that brought the WWF to glory in the 80's and again in 1998, we've got $250,000 blown on a slut contest that no one cares about and will bring nothing but another set of tits in an already crowded room of 'em. You just can't justify cutting guys that could potentially deliver strong characters, ie: Raven, D-Lo, eventually Rodney Mack, etc. You just can't justify headlining THE ROYAL FUCKING RUMBLE with Lesnar V. BOB HOLLY in a seven minute match.
Drop the split if you can't think of better challengers than Bob Holly or Justin Bradshaw for NEARLY SIX MONTHS.
Edit: And they destroyed the only interseting Women's character outside of Evil Trish; Victoria. Who in the writing room thought "Hey, we could use another Ivory...for the 21st century!!! She'll dance!!!"? ARGHHH....
Originally posted by StevieRichardsAnd they destroyed the only interseting Women's character outside of Evil Trish; Victoria. Who in the writing room thought "Hey, we could use another Ivory...for the 21st century!!! She'll dance!!!"?
According to Meltzer, Victoria herself came up with the dancing schtick. Everyone has a few bad ideas in them.
Originally posted by Y2J 420Until they remove Stephanie from the Creative Team, no major change will occur...
Yeah, because we all know Stephanie only allows crap to show up on tv, and she wasn't in the room when they discussed the long and pretty cool Trish/Jericho/Christian angle and she is taking a bathroom break every week when they figure out how to handle the brilliantly handle Eugene push. Or when they figured let's push Benoit the way he should be pushed, as a bad ass who outwrestles AND brawls all of them. Or when they decided to give Eddie the belt at the height of his popularity because of a feud where Lesnar totally ruled in his asshole role, etc..
(edited by dMp on 24.6.04 1735) *sigh* Why bother?
I hate how everyone just assumes that Vince McMahon has NEVER let anyone else besides his daughter give creative input.
Let's not forget that, for years, Vince Russo (love him or hate him, it doesn't matter in this case) gave McMahon tons of new concepts, ideas and storylines. Although I'm sure many of them were tinkered with, many made it to television.
Just because Scherer (and a small, disgruntled group of WWE rejects) constantly writes that Vince surrounds himself with a group of "yes men", doesn't necessarily make it true.
For once, let's just see if this new creative process actually helps before dismissing it as "Well, Vince won't listen to anyone anyways, so who cares?"
And as dMp mentioned, WWE has come up with a few really interesting ideas over the past year or so. And sure, maybe there are still two "Pregnant Lita" angles for every "Eugene", but at least that's a better ratio than it used to be a year ago....
6/4/04: One-time, one-time, one-time, one-time, one-time W of the Day!!!
THey already have three guys who know how to book long term, how to get the most out of people and how to write good TV. Jim Cornette, Paul Heyman and Jerry Lawler. Now, before you boo the Lawler inclusion, remember he was mainly responsible for writing all the Memphis stuff at least 50% of the time, and they were selling out the collesium in Memphis every week for about a 15 year span. I am sure it wouldnt tax him too much in his anouncing duties, since all he does is make fun of JR anyhow. Give those three the reigns for a six month trial and see how they can do things.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeTHey already have three guys who know how to book long term, how to get the most out of people and how to write good TV. Jim Cornette, Paul Heyman and Jerry Lawler. Now, before you boo the Lawler inclusion, remember he was mainly responsible for writing all the Memphis stuff at least 50% of the time, and they were selling out the collesium in Memphis every week for about a 15 year span. I am sure it wouldnt tax him too much in his anouncing duties, since all he does is make fun of JR anyhow. Give those three the reigns for a six month trial and see how they can do things.
The only thing is that Cornette and Heyman hate each other, and it sounds like Lawler and Heyman aren't on the best of terms.
But I'll agree with you -- all or any of these three would make fantastic head writers. Hell, Heyman WAS fantastic writing SmackDown.
6/4/04: One-time, one-time, one-time, one-time, one-time W of the Day!!!
Originally posted by Blanket JacksonI'm not defending Steph, but at the same time a head writer is like a head coach: they get too much credit for wins and too much blame for losses.
Except Steph only gets too much blame for the losses, she doesn't get too much credit or any credit at all for something good.
(edited by Quezzy on 24.6.04 0934) Lance's Response:
-Trish/Jericho/Christian was originally being written by Jericho & Trish. WWE creative took over towards the end.
-Benoit has been treated like a midcarder ever since the 2nd triple threat (between himself & HHH/HBK) ended.
-Giving Eddie the belt was a no-brainer. He was the most over face, and the biggest draw on the SD roster, especially in the Hispanic demographic (which is a big portion of SD's audience). If anything, they waited too late to give him the belt, as he was even more over prior to that.
Let's not pretend everything is peaches & cream in the WWE. Apart from the top couple angles on each show, there's nothing else going on. The tag scene is bad, the midcard is a bunch of guys doing nothing (on both shows), and the cruisers are wasted (should be holding up SD's midcard and/or tag scene). Until Chavo Sr. got fired, creative had nothing for Rey Misterio to do. Nothing for Rey to do! As head of creative, Steph can & should take a lot of the blame. Sure, the people on the creative team can be blamed, but if Steph (and Vince) continues to allow them to do so without making any changes, she (and Vince) should be held accountable.
As for the original topic, I don't think it's a question of bringing in more writers, it's a question of hiring good writers. The current team is nothing more than a bunch of yes-men (Tommy Dreamer got to sit in on creative meetings, started pointing out flaws & problems, and was quickly dismissed from the creative team; IIRC, the same happened to Edge when he was injured) for the McMahon's, and until that changes (and until Vince & Co. are willing to take the advice & ideas of guys who may have ideas contrary to their's), things aren't going to change.
Well, that is a big part about wrestling anyway, is there are never really more than three or four storylines anyhow. Then you factor in how many wrestlers there are, and the lack of writing skills/storyline ideas becomes apparent. They need to come up with two or three people to write the stories surrounding the titles. THen have one or two working on the Sports Entertainment angles. Then have a few more working on getting everybody else in the show.
Have Fit Finley handle all the women, have Lawler handle the Sports Entertainment portion. Have Vinnie Mac and another writer in charge of the main eventers, and have cornett in charge of everything that is in between.
On SMACKDOWN, have heyman in charge of the Sports Entertainment, have Steph in charge of main eventers, have Tommy Dreamer in charge of the cruisers (since he has an eye for the stories, let him build stories and let the cruisers do the match building/booking aspect)
It doesnt matter if the Heyman/Cornett/Lawler hate each other, as long as they handle thier own portion of the show. Tell each department ahead of time how much TV time each is going to get, and let him fill it up. Nobody gets left behind, nobody gets thier spot taken away for others to be on TV.
And, last but not least, KILL THE FRIEKING DIVA SEARCH!
Well the best work usualy comes from people who want to kill each other.
From what I learned in my Television Production classes in college, the Executive Producer is always the one at fault.
That's why I always blame Vince. He has to approve every last frame that goes on the air. Just because he doesn't have WCW to beat up anymore is no excuse for phoning it in so to speak.
I have hope for the Lita/Kane/Hardy angle. I think it's still going to turn out good.
Tommy Dreamer could work wonders on Smackdown. It's like I've said, it's just a shame Raven and Sabu aren't there because their angle would be a goldmine for Smackdown right now.
"If you want sumpin' a little stronger, homes, you gotta sip on some Mexican water. It's a little cloudy, and has an odd smell that makes you think it's not really for human consumption. But HOOOOOOOOOOOO-EEEEEEY! What a kick! Arriba~!"-LOP Board Member Uncle Eddy
Well, well well, what a surprise! It turns out that our New Year's Day episode is an actual episode! The show gets right down to business, and so too shall we. Our first match is the Lucha Dragons vs. Ty Dillinger and Jason Jordan.
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