This angle is dead, finished, over, killed, done.
I shouldn't be surprised that they blew it, because they drop the ball on anything that is gift wrapped and easy to book.
-WCW invasion
-ECW revival
-NWO return
-Goldberg
-Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan
-Summer of Punk II
All paint-by-numbers, million dollar angles HANDED TO THEM ON A SILVER PLATTER, all blown to varying degrees because they tried to get too cute and put their personal stamp on every single one.
-WCW, booked to look like geeks, dominted by WWE side at every turn, burned through months of storylines in ONE NIGHT at the RAW where the "merged" with ECW. Oh, and Stephanie McMahon was involved, killing it for the demo the needed to capture to make it work. FAIL.
-ECW, monster DVD sales, monster PPV burate, ZERO follow up for nearly ONE YEAR because they did not want to admit the success. Then Vince declared that "only 1,000 east coast fans care about the old ECW", choosing to ignore that waaaay more than 1,000 people bought the DVD and the PPV. FAIL.
-NWO, no edge and booked in goofy storylines like hitting The Rock with a truck. FAIL.
-Goldberg, all they had to do was repeat the winning streak and leave him alone. The people wanted it. Instead, they changed his music, changed his tights, and had him doing comedy skits with Goldust on his first night. How the hell do you whiff on GOLDBERG? FAIL.
-Ric Flair vs Hulk Hogan, the most anticipated match possibly ever. Easy to book, just have the heel Flair talk shit about Hogan until WrestleMania, keep them apart until then, and boom, one million buys minimum. Nope. Wrestled every night on a house show loop, killing the novelty of the first match. Flair's character WWE-ized by dropping the trash talking playboy act, and turning up the volume on the insane wildman act all the way up. Flair, imo, never recovered from this and was never the same.
-Summer of Punk II, another layup, just keep the guy away for a couple of months, let him do more "shoots" at random indy shows and public appearances, and have him tell the world that he is showing up at SummerSlam. NEVER MENTION HIS NAME ON TV. It's 2011, viral marketing does the work for you, especially for the hardcores who fell for the gimmick hook, line, and sinker. Instead, they keep him away ONE FUCKING WEEK, and all of the edge and "coolness" of the angle is sucked away when he walks out on RAW 8 days after MITB. Innovative, cutting edge angle dead, same old boring uninteresting shit alive and well. Punk went from breaking through to pop culture to latest McMahon family TV foil. It's over.
What connects it all? None of these things were created by Vince, so in his mind, they can't possibly be good ideas or work unless they manipulate them. What connects and doesnt connect with the audience is subtle. Ringmaster fails, Stone Cold is the biggest star ever. Tom Magee fails, Hogan is an icon. You change the dynamic, ever so slightly, you yield different results. By changing the dynamic of these simple stories, Vince McMahon has left millions on the table, and its why I always say he's the least successful sometimes billionaire ever. If it wasnt for Hogan, and then Stone Cold, Vince is likely out of business like everyone else.
