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PWINSIDER Q&A: WWE CREATIVE, STING VS. KURT ANGLE, HOGAN'S HEEL TURN AND MORE

Answered on 4/25

We’re always talking about the big problem with WWE is the creative. Surely the biggest problem in all of it, and what I can’t understand, is why WWE never seem to focus on giving wrestlers characters/personalities anymore? Allow me to clarify.

The best way to get a wrestler or a tag team over aside from there in ring work, is to give them backstage features and or mic spots that show us, the audience, what they’re all about and emphasize their unique behavior. The three rules of good story telling in establishing a person’s character are What do they want? Why do they want it? And how are they going to get it? These rules are fundamental to any writer when creating characters and giving them relevance. So when Person A fights Person B we the audience care about what happens. So my question is, despite the obviousness of this basic rule, why does WWE so boldly and unapologetically ignore it? Somehow expecting us to care about people who we never see or hear outside of the ring and know nothing about!?!? 

UFC, by contrast, creates hours and hours of features on their talents to build up their profile with the audience to make the fights seems more interesting and get the people watching to care. And their show isn’t even fictional in the first place.

Your thoughts guys?

I agree.  It doesn't take a lot to get the fans to care.  In all honesty, a simple one minute interview prior to a match is sometimes all you need to get those points across.  To use an example, if Gregory Helms did a one minute interview explaining how he wants to be U.S. Champion and beat Chris Benoit, but to get a title shot he has to go through someone like Matt Hardy (his opponent that night) then you now know what Helms wants, what his intentions are, and why he is wrestling Hardy that night.  WWE too often piles interview time on someone like Vince McMahon, who says the same things over and over, and leaves nothing for the lower card wrestlers, putting the commentators in the difficult position of trying to get over a character that never gets to put itself over. 

I know she had a baby not too long ago, but is Jackie Gayda still signed with TNA?

Yes, despite the fact that she hasn't made any appearances since taking maternity leave, Jackie is still a part of TNA.  From what I understand, she looks fantastic, so I imagine it is simply a case of TNA letting her have some time with her newborn before bringing her back into a storyline. 

Hey guys whenever I read the results of Raw, I notice that the 7th quarter hour usually has a meaningless match that can best be described as filler. I read somewhere that it was because it has consistently been the worst performing part of Raw, but I was wondering is there any specific reason the audience leaves during this time?

Personally, I always felt that fans left BECAUSE WWE always puts something weak on before the main event or final angle of the show.  However, there is something to be said for the idea that fans "channel surf" during that quarter to see what else is on before flipping back to catch the main event or closing angle.  People had a tendency to want to flip, and knowing that they don't want to change channels during "the good stuff", the 7th quarter is the time to check out other shows. 

I heard that the reason that TNA is putting on the Sting vs. Kurt Angle match away for free on Impact this week is likely due to the fact that they are in negotiations with SpikeTV to expand their timeslot and stronger ratings will help their cause. I know that this is wasting a "dream" and potential money-making match that should be put on PPV, but is this really an unwise decision? I know that long-term this may not be the best decision, but I think that getting a two-hour timeslot is necessary for them to get bigger as well.

Is it unwise to do it for that reason?  Of course not.  However, TNA announced the match last week, so they only gave it seven days of buildup. If TNA really wanted to make sure people knew about the match and would tune in for it, they would give it at least two weeks of hype, and take out some ads specifically pushing the match.  Also, without giving too much away, TNA Impact will open with Sting vs. Angle, and given the length of the match, it won't even get out of the first quarter.  So, TNA will be giving away their big draw at the top of the show, rather than teasing it throughout the hour to build a higher overall rating. In other words, if TNA is doing this to pull a huge rating, they are going about it totally backwards. 

At Bash at the Beach when Hogan ran down to supposedly help WCW and Bobby Heenan said "who's side is he on?", do you think WCW told him to say this to soften the blow, or do you think Heenan botched it. I kinda thought it lost it's surprise because when I originally watched it and he said that, the thought hadn't even crossed my mind, although I was 15 at the time.

I doubt WCW told him to say it, and I don't see it as Heenan botching it either.  If you go back to that period, one of Heenan's bits at the time was that you couldn't trust anyone.  He was playing up that anyone could be the third member of the team, so it made sense for him to say it about Hogan, since he was saying it about everyone else. 

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