The first being the most obvious reason. The storylines are just getting stale. The WWF is now a monopoly, and they are now pre-occupied with other business ventures. The XFL flop and Vince’s refusal to give it up is costing the WWF money and it’s owner’s time. Its attempt to get WCW running again is distracting from its WWF time. All this leaves the WWF as a third priority, which is costing them even more.

Now, their storylines are getting old. The reason. . . lack of big faces is my theory. With the Rock out doing movies, this leaves the Undertaker and Kane as the top faces. Now, in my opinion, the Undertaker and Kane are two very impressive veterans, and the Undertaker vs. HHH match at Wrestlemania was by far the best. The problem is, the Undertaker’s gimmick isn’t all that different than Stone Cold’s. It’s been done, and it’s boring. In my opinion, if the Undertaker were to be given his original gimmick back, it would be great. I know I’d watch more.

Also, they are really under-utilizing HHH. I think HHH is by far the best wrestler in the sport right now, and him being the Intercontinental champion is really not a good idea. For one, nobody at IC level could realistically take the belt off him. Also, this leaves him with nobody to feud with. . .He’s just following Austin around. They need to turn HHH face, methinks.

Now on to the more subtle aspects of the industry’s downturn. I think pro wrestling is exhausting its fuel. There are only so many things that can be physically done in the ring, and the WWF has done most of them. We watch these matches and marvel at the moves more for their spontaneity and shock value than the move itself. Take, for example, the Undertaker and Mankind’s infamous Hell in a Cell match. When we say Mankind get chokeslammed on the thumbtacks, we didn’t say to ourselves. . . “Wow, he just got tossed on those tacks.” We thought “HOLY SH*T, He just got chokeslammed on a bed of F’ing tacks!!!” There is a difference. The pain was bad, but it was the shock of it. Watch it again, and again, as I have, and it simply becomes “Damn, I’ll bet that hurt.”

Now take the Hardys vs. Edge and Christian ladder matches. The first of which, I believe, was at Wrestlemania 16. We saw some great stuff. It was a great match. Then, they did the TLC match. Then another. And another. And two of them two nights in a row. These were great matches, and the guys that did them deserve a lot of credit for putting themselves through that. But after we saw Edge spear Jeff Hardy from ten feet above the ring twice, the second time wasn’t as impressive. They both were the same thing, they both hurt those guys just as much. But when we saw it the first time, it was shocking, and pretty damn cool. The second time, it’s “I’ll bet that hurt.”

The point to all this is, there is only so much that can be done, and perhaps we’ve seen it all. Maybe the WWF isn’t being original because they have done everything they can. The repeat effect comes down to even single moves. . . if HHH hits a pedigree, the crowd goes “OOH!” If he hits it again, there’s no reaction. We wince at the sight of it because it looks painful, but also because it’s unexpected. When he does it again, it loses its effect. Any move done twice gets a lesser reaction the second time. Test me on this. . . Watch closely for someone to do this, and you’ll hear the difference.

Now, what is the answer to all of this? Well, if it were me, as it should be, (hehe) I’d change things up. They may think it’s all been done, but they just aren’t working hard enough. What they need to do is that rather than going to Undertaker and Kane for big faces (though UT and Kane are great athletes) They need to go to guys like Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. They need to start circulating the newer guys to the top, and give the fans something new. This doesn’t mean Undertaker and Kane have to stop main eventing… I love those guys, and think Kane is very underrated. But we’ve seen the Undertaker and Kane face each other and fight each other, and it’s just too predictable. Hell, I sit and watch RAW every Monday, and call the damn thing before the moves happen. Come on, guys, you can do better than that.

So my answer to save pro wrestling. . . Hire me. More realistically. . . Give us something we haven’t seen. Get guys like Rhyno and Raven who are great stars with loads of talent, and push them to really highlight the cards. Allow these guys to do what they are best at. Let a guy like HHH be champion. . . Stone Cold isn’t drawing as a heel. HHH can draw as either a heel or a face, though as a face it would be different, and therefore better. I suggest the WWF get their act together, bail out on the disappointing XFL, and focus on what they used to be so good at. . . Maybe they were best in the past because there were so many possibilities. Now, to create fun TV it requires thought, which may be too much. I think Paul Heyman can turn things around, and he already has made a big difference.

To close, I’d like to give Mr. Vince McMahon a word of advice. When in doubt, you went to the guys you knew had drawn money in the past, with the logic that they would do the same now. I think the Undertaker and Kane are great athletes, but they are not who you need now. We’ve seen these feuds before, Vince. Give us something new.