Who to Watch in the WWE "Contest Entry"

[Good Ole Jim]

2012 needs to be a better year financially for the WWE than 2011. The entertainment company only came in at $25,000,000 revenue, which is 50% less than 2010. What's to blame for this? In many fan's opinion, this year was the best year entertainment wise since the days where The Rock was active full time. The answer is WWE Studios. WWE Studios is an expansion business off of the WWE that we know. Its drive is movies, starring their superstars, targeting WWE fans as its primary target. Unfortunately, these movies have been busts across the board, and has drained revenue from WWE since its start. But who are we to question Vince McMahon, its hard to argue with his knowledge on building entertainment empires, but not even he can be mad at us for being skeptical about a 50% revenue loss.

So where should WWE turn? Well, I came up with a list of things I believe WWE should do in 2012 to generate more revenue. After all, the more we're entertained, the more Pay Per Views we buy, thus the more revenue WWE makes.

1.Push Your Future Stars
I've been saying for a year now, that Dolph Ziggler is the real deal. He's the perfect mix of charisma and talent that the WWE needs in its heel brand. The WWE apparently didn't learn when Dolph Ziggler and CM Punk put on a couple of the best matches of the year in 2011. Ziggler showcased his skills in ways we haven't seen before. Sure, CM Punk brought him up a bit, he does that with everyone, but Ziggler showed me a set of skills that champions have. Until WWE realizes this, and realizes that being a heel is all about charisma, than the heel brand will continue to suffer, and new rivalries will never be created.

The other star I want to see pushed this year is Kofi Kingston. Kofi had an incredible 2011, with some of the most impressive moves the WWE has seen in years. Kofi knows when to be electrifying, when to open up the can to something more, taking the match to the next level. He's got championship caliber skills, now all he needs is a little more character development. I think the WWE needs to get Kofi out of the dry tag division, and in to a big rivalry that not only develops his character, but carries him to the top. I think Kofi can be a huge main event star, especially if we continue to see the electrifying move set he's been using as of late.

2.Make Another John Cena
The WWE Universe has finally gotten sick of John Cena, well at least the hardcore fans. Cena is something the WWE does need, he brings more emotion that anyone, and brings a ton of revenue to the WWE each year by every kid in the stands buying his shirts. But even Vince McMahon has to know that it will eventually end, even if Cena has put on some big matches this past year. My match of the year, CM Punk vs. John Cena at Money in the bank was simply amazing.

The billion dollar question for WWE is, who can match John Cena? My answer is simple, we're already seeing it. In my opinion, CM Punk has everything needed to be at the John Cena level. He has a fun to watch move set. Almost all of his matches would be a solid main event on any card. He has the best microphone skills since The Rock. Most importantly, he can apply to the mass of kids that power the WWE's global money chain. He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, and he doesn't do drugs, which is the perfect model to apply to kids. CM Punk is rough around the edges, but Vince can make any character he wants, we've seen it time and time again. If anyone can do it in today's WWE, it's Punk.

3.Save the Diva's Division
The days of the Diva's division being relevant are over. At its current state, I don't think anyone would even notice if it was scratched entirely, which is bad given the history of it. Today's Diva is a woman who is only beautiful, uses pointless moves, and can't wrestle herself out of a paper bag. I'm talking about the likes of Kelly Kelly, and anything comparable to her. Her move set is honestly an insult to the fans of the Diva division. I sure hope Trish Stratus or Lita don't watch her matches, but it would make them shake their head in agony at the sight of what their profession has now become. This is all excluding Beth Phoenix of course, who is a very good wrestler, she just has no competition.

In my opinion, the only way to fix this is to either get Kharma back to face Beth Phoenix, or develop one of the few Divas that have talent, into a high caliber wrestler. Those choices are limited to Eve Torres, and Kaitlyn in my honest opinion. Something needs to be done though, or else we may see the days of the Diva's division permanently leave.


In closing, WWE may need more than what I've stated, probably to the extent of offering big money to past big talent. Their clone of Goldberg in Ryback could be just the kind of thing to get Goldberg back in the ring, which could be Wrestlemania worthy if Rybak develops a bit more, and Bill Goldberg is up to it. The WWE also needs to develop the tag team division into something special again. Us hardcore fans miss the times where a tag team match could easily main event. We'll see what WWE has to offer for 2012 though, after all, if there's anyone that can turn around a bad year, it's the man that started with nothing and built it to what it is.

[Pheebs888]

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