I pulled a few random excerpts from several columns over the past few years and let’s see if we can detect a trend:

“My proposal for the PPV dilemma is to cut the amount of PPVs to five (maybe six). This way the writers actual have some time to take a breath and look at a bigger picture rather than having to poop up something every three-four weeks to charge fans for. Also make these PPVs have the mixed Brand matches alone. This will still make the big one special as they can say only they have the brand mixing of matches, like a PPV should.” - K-Zone: 20th Article, PPV Traditions Dated 5-8-2007

I’m sure every current WWE fan has similar thoughts today. Hell we just got through “Breaking Point” and already have the “Hell in a Cell” PPV in just 3 weeks!! But this ain’t changing. I can promise you that in another 3 years, I can come back to this column, and once again pull out the K-Zone quote, we’ll still be arguing that there are too many PPV’s..the only thing that is likely to change is the pricing..which will most likely go up.

“So where am I going with this? The year is 2007 WWE is separated into two
main brands, with each having its own set of talent, but something just
doesn't feel right. Something is missing. In Vince's ultimate wisdom of
splitting the brands has it cost him what we all loved about WWE? I believe
so” – The Bird: Where has the Magic Gone Dated 5-17-2007

The Brand Split. Yes it’s basically a failure, the only good thing to come out of it are the series of “Raw vs. Smackdown” video games. Even the annual RAW Draft episode was disappointing in 2009. This actually may change one day, as the split brand means less than nothing these days. Superstars show up on whatever show WWE creative deems their needed, and with little to no explanation. On Raw this past week Batista announced he was heading to Smackdown…so what? Does anyone reading this believe we won’t see Batista back on Raw, if only occasionally, before Christmas??

“You can’t depend on John Cena, Triple H, Batista, etc. forever.” - The Amazing Grace: WWE and it’s Young Talent Dated 6-30-2007

Amazing Grace……wanna bet? 2 years later and these guys are still taking up the top spots.

“Welcome one and all to the newest rendition of the Chaos Theory. The WWE rating are down and they do not look like they are going to be turning around anytime soon.” – The Chaos Theory Dated 8-6-2007

I hear ya on that one! The funny thing is Vince would LOVE to be sniffing at a regular 3.8 rating on Raw these days which was where the flagship show was sitting when this Chaos Theory article was written.

“Speaking of Triple H, what persona is he using? Is the Cerebral Assassin or part of DX? I know they are running him as a face, but make up your minds. One minute he’s cracking childish jokes and doing crotch chops, the next he’s trying to play mind games. Pick one and stick with it already!” – It’s Just Wrestling: Random Raw Thoughts Dated 9-25-2007

No surprise Triple H was stale a year ago…no surprise DX was stale a year ago, what is surprising is that this column could have been written today, and still would be relevant. And Vince wonders why the ratings continue to slide.

“The Raw rating for the attitude flashback episode of Raw is in and it was good news for the WWE. After a dismal 2.8 and then a decent recover to the low 3’s, the episode that featured the return of both DX and Steve Austin pulled in a 3.8 rating. This was great for the WWE and told Vince that fans still want to see nostalgia like this on the show. Unfortunately, it is probably bad news for a lot of the fans, and for the future of the company, as we may well now see a lack of development of the younger wrestlers as Vince relies, once again, on his older stars to push up the ratings.” – Fly on the Wall #6 – Dated 11-15-2007

Lack of development of the younger wrestlers seems to be a recurring theme in most of the old columns. I had to admit I got a kick out of folks calling Bobby Lashley the “next Brock Lesnar”…I guess that’s kind of true if you follow MMA..not wrestling. Also please note that within a 4 month timeframe a 3.8 was seen as a “pop” in the Raw rating, when just a couple months earlier 3.8 was considered a “slide in the ratings”…hmmmm.

“Next it will be HHH versus Cena at WM 24, mark my words. Haven't we seen this already? They should put Hardy in a three way dance at least to get the title at WM. Cena, HHH, Hardy. That would be a good match. I have yet to see a bad match with Hardy in it. Does it sound as if I am pro-Hardy? Probably so, probably so. The time for Cena to be champ is slowly passing and getting old to watch. Give it to him until WM and then let some new blood have it for awhile. HHH has had it enough, Cena had it for his year-plus run, Hardy is stuck with the I-C championship” – Dragon’s Corner – Dated 2-10-2008

I love how Trev asks “Haven’t we seen this already?”…unfortunately yes we had seen it already…and unfortunately we have seen it again in some combination multiple times since then!

“Let’s examine RAW first. There is no way, and the Mulch means… NO WAY… that HHH would agree to drop the title to CM Punk, even after being beaten and battered against Randy Orton. So that would mean that Randy Orton would have to win the match and then lose to CM Punk. I think Orton is fantastic in his current role and I actually hope he beats HHH and the two continue their feud for a while. Long, bitter feuds don’t exist much in the WWE anymore, as they’re always trying to keep our interest.” The Mulch Pile – Your New Champion – Dated 5-16-2008

Good news Mulch, you hoped to see Orton and HHH feud for awhile…have about the feud dragging on since then for about another 18 months beyond your articles publication!!?

“What will we have to look forward to for 2008?
You have to know that the day after Wrestlemania the picture will look something like this (at least what I predict), HHH Heavyweight champion for Raw, Undertaker World Champion for Smackdown, Chris Jericho or Ken Kennedy the winners of the ladder match. Okay, now what? Where will this all lead to? What are the new things to come for us wrestling fans? I don’t know about you but I am tired of the whole scene of professional wrestling as it is right now.” – Dragon’s Corner: Things to Come? Dated 5-26-2008

Well when the “new things” come our way please let me know…as of now it’s still the same thing over and over again.

“Will CM Punk have a successful reign? Who knows, he’s been champion for almost a month and finally got his first clean win just this past Monday night. Is he a transitional champ, will he hold the belt past SummerSlam? Only WWE creative (Freddie Prinze Jr....the hell??) and Vince can answer that. Hopefully CM Punk can issue in a new era for Raw, an era where young stars can shine, and an era where we don’t just see the same five men fighting for the title week after week. I think Punk could be the sign of new talent finally getting a shot, and a new generation of WWE superstars for us to cheer for?.” 1st What the Hell Do I Know – Dated 8-1-2008

Even in my first column I was harping on how stale the WWE has become. Yes I joined the whiny legions of columnists attacking the low hanging fruit right from the get-go.

“And so, as a fan of the technical skill and ability that a wrestler can bring, I am consigned to the fact that wrestling, more and more, year after year, becomes more of a sideshow spectacle, wrought with bizarre and contrived storylines and less impressive technical skill that first hooked me.” – The Breakdown: Travesty – Dated 10-22-2008

I disagree with this column completely. WWE is not losing it’s technical skill, just look at the Tag Team match from Raw with Mark Henry and Big Show…ummm…I mean look at Kane vs. Khali…umm never mind.

“Wait, is it 2008, almost 2009, and Goldust is back on WWE programming? While at the same time Paul London, Elijah Burke, and Kenny Dykstra are let go and Charlie Haas languishes on the edge of future-endeavorhood? I guess some things, scratch, a lot of things are more important in the WWE than talent and in-ring ability.” With Turgidity: A Little Something off my Chest – Dated 11-29-2008

What ever happened to Haas? I remember him doing those impersonation gimmicks…then just gone? Is he still around?

“WWE is a stale brand, just going through the motions until the next "boom" cycle hits. The true question people should look at is if they have they burnt out the audience on adult storylines. One would cite the Katie Vick storyline as the true burst of the Crash TV bubble (and hey, let's face it, the IWC always pulls out the Katie Vick card. You could be talking about literature and somehow, the IWC junkies will try to slip in a Katie Vick anecdote whenever; WHERE ever possible). While the Smackdown Six did a phenominal job at retaining enough Smackdown viewers in 2003, Raw's viewership tanked after Katie Vick, HLA and the uninspired HHH title run that turned off smarts and marks. People clamouredfor someone new, which WWF/E refused to acknowldge.” – We Are the Romans – Dated 12-25-2008

Before D-Ray Moton got all whack-a-do about days in which columnists’ post, or how often, he made quite a few poignant observations. I wanted to include this little snipped just to remind folks of how abysmal Raw was in 2003. The thing is we are now 6 years removed from what most folks consider the beginning of the current “down” cycle!!!!

“The internet wrestling community, the thorn in the side of Vince McMahon. Rumor has it Vince is outraged over net leaks and his story lines being exposed in advance. I have to wonder though does Vince realize these aren’t all leaks getting some could be the fact that his product is sometimes so predictable anyone could see these story lines in advance.….While some spoilers do on occasion kill story lines a lot of the time Vince needs to look at himself to see why ratings are down and people are losing interest. He doesn’t allow story lines to build up enough anymore. And he is really out of touch on guys he should push and who he shouldn’t. It may be very well time for Vinnie to step down from being the end all be all of the creative team.” Chaos Theory – Dated 3-7-2009

Just earlier this year and the Chaos Theory was throwing out the same arguments from 2007 and before. We just have a new “spin” on Vince and his hate of the IWC.

“The WWE's ratings have absolutely tanked because of The McMahons. Shane, Stephanie, Linda and Vince have all caused the downfall, when they thought they were improving the product. There's an excellent thesis on WCW's downfall in Eric Bischoff's book and in Flair's book. I'm going to paraphrase "WCW's demise was because their brand was extremely weakened by a sub-par product, because of WCW's notorious stigma of screwjob endings, which happened every week. Fans would tune in for a quick pop, but ultimately left even more dissatisfied than before they tuned in". Kind of like that David Arquette situation, they popped the ratings for a week by having a celebrity win the belt, but meanwhile, pissed off their entire core audience.” – THR vs VKM vs DRM – Dated 3-28-2009

The comparisons to the dying days of WCW were numerous in the old columns..but it bears repeating with the current product.

“Oh yippee, I just can’t wait to see another Randy Orton and HHH match on Raw again. YAWN….been there, done that. It’s time to move on with something else WWE. I know you think that HHH is your golden boy, but to tell ya the truth something else needs to come along for the fans to tune in. HHH isn’t the answer. Cena isn’t it either.” Winter’s Storm – Dated 4-20-2009

Just a reminder of who was on top of WWE programming 5 months ago…not much change..obviously.

“I still love the WWE and greatly admire the genius of Vince McMahon (hey, I am in marketing and he marketed the old school territories right out of business). With that said, he is still my dad’s age and as sharp as my old man is, he is not getting any younger and neither is Vince. Sometimes you have to change your ways and put your guard down. Even my father has been open to change when it comes to politics, the internet Web 2.0 age and even fashion sense. With that said, we all know the product has its ups and downs, but by and large it has been kind of stale (which is why I do NOT write a weekly column). Mick Foley, in the Legends of Wrestling roundtable discussions, mentioned that in 1997 Vince admitted that some of the ideas they had been trying were not working, hence the attitude era was formed. 12 years later, must we still be stubborn, especially during rough economic times for most businesses?” The Luscious Truth: New Rules – Dated 5-10-2009

Love how Foley pointed out things needed changing in 1997, and the beginning of “Attitude”…and now 20 years later we still have the watered-down remains of “Attitude” every week! Ready for that big DX Match everybody???

“I read Feras Ballout’s report about Orton, Cena and HHH main eventing WWE program 24 times over the past couple years, and then saw a later report about Vince being frustrated with WWE programming. I’m wondering why is Vince not making that simple connection almost every other wrestling fan has? WWE programming is stale. Not only at the main event level, but across the board, the mid card feuds are just as dull.” – Summerfest, Dr. Ken & Random Thoughts – Dated 8-4-2009

24 Times!!! I’m sure we are pushing 30 times now, and that’s just a month’s worth of TV gone by!!

“So John Cena is the WWE Champion once again…ugh…I was hoping the writers were going to keep the title on Randy Orton. Now in three weeks there will be another PPV with Orton going against Cena. Is anyone really interested in this? I could careless that it’s a Hell in the Cell match. I’ve stated this for the record and I will say it again, Randy Orton should have kept the title if only to give some credence to being the champion for an extended amount of time. But instead, once again for the bazilliant time, Cena is champ. Even HHH took time away from having the belt.” Winter’s Storm – Dated 9-15-2009

Trev’s column from yesterday that got me thinking about the past couple years, and the inspiration for this column today.

So there you have it. Snapshots of where things stood over the past couple of years according to a variety of columnists. Really when you break it all down it comes to just 1 thing:

CREATE NEW STARS

People are sick of the same guys on top. Want proof..just peruse the archives, column after column state the same thing. WWE programming is stale.

On a side note, it was great reading through all of the old columns. Seeing the columns by The Mulch Pile, Phoenix, Luscious Jonny F, hell even D Ray Moton’s stuff was great to re-visit. If you want further proof that the wrestling fans are going away, just look at the lack of columns on this board. When hardcore fans like The Shadow no longer have an interest in following the product, you know there is something seriously wrong.