What do you miss most?

[marktaggart]

Why wasn't good tag teams with a manager an option? It's a toss-up between the two. Managers wins out for me at the moment, subject to change in the next moment. A good manager could solve the problem by talking you into believing two guys thrown together haphazardly are the greatest team ever assembled.

It also feels like big matches don't happen on non-ppv shows anymore.

On the contrary, they give away so many main event type matches every week that it makes NO match feel important. When PPVs are being headlined by matches they gave away for free weeks beforehand and champion versus champion matches are treated like no big deal on the first hour of RAW, why bother watching ANY of it; much less paying for a PPV?

There's another option: more undercard "enhancement" matches. When supposed stars beat stars in this sort of "quid pro quo" booking all the time, none of them end up coming off as special. They've run out of new PPV main event style matches because every combination imaginable is seen for free on television. They need to firmly establish an undercard, midcard, and main event situation and not be afraid to move guys up and down the card as warranted.

[pikemojo]

They may have shown you a ppv quality match on free tv (champion vs champion or whatever) but that match probably ended in a dq, run-in or on the off chance that it ends with a pin fall it was only a 7 minute match (if we are lucky) anyway. That is not a good match by anybody's standard.

[marktaggart]

Yes, and in that case you've got ANOTHER point: not only are they expecting people to pay for something they've already seen, when they saw it the match was no good or had a bad finish. They used to build to big confrontations and now they build to rematches of previous TV encounters. This is why they've had to resort to bringing back The Rock; they've burned out every other imaginable big match for Cena by giving them away on TV or just by simply not elevating anyone new to be a credible main event by watering everyone down with the "win one, lose one; win one, lose ten" booking formula.

[Vegas]

This is a good poll.

The WWE is definitely lacking tag teams, managers, and good announcers. But because I am so into ROH and PWG, I personally don't really miss those things as much because I can easily find them in other feds:

tag teams- ROH and PWG has good tag teams such as Super Dragon and Kevin Steen, Young Bucks, American Wolves, Briscoes, All Night Express, Future Shock, Super Smash Brothers, RockNES Monsters, etc

managers- ROH has good managers such as Truth Martini and Price Nana

announcers- Excalibur in PWG along with many of his commentary guests (if you haven't yet heard Davey Richards do commentary on DVD then you really need to check it out!)


For the WWE right now, the thing I miss the most is an actual brand extension when different brands actually meant something- something which has been missing since after Wrestlemania 23 in 2007. Granted due to injuries and other factors the roster depth currently isn't there IMO, but that is still the thing I personally really miss the most in the WWE.

[jcr48]

I miss the shows like Prime Time Wrestling on USA network with the hilarious banter between Monsoon and Heenan.

[Mr. Jimmyface]

Of the three options, I'd have to vote for tag team wrestling. Given how the industry has changed of late, there is a lot more focus on an individual performer as a market draw. However, as a way of introducing new talent and getting performers a chance to shine, tag teams are very necessary and could be brought back with relative ease. It is a necessary component in the history of professional wrestling, and even though it goes against the current direction of the product, it needs to make a comeback.

As far as what is not listed that I miss, I miss real booking. Today, it is all writers and creative teams, and that is not the best way to present professional wrestling. We need to get back to one booker in charge, and a writing team that helps both them and the talent get the message over. It should be the booker as the engine, and creative as the wheels to get them where they need to go. But today, the wheels turn without direction, making the product seem all over the place.