Competing with the #1 company

[HWRP]

How do YOU compete with the #1 company/WWE in your real-world games? (I've never played the cornellverse games so I don't understand them too well).

 

For example, if you was TNA in 2016, how long realistically would it take to compete with the WWE, and when you do finally get to that level would you go head-to-head with them on a Monday night like WCW did in reality?

 

I use TNA 2016 as an example as I'm a believer in the 'you need stars to make stars' philosophy, and TNA only has Jeff Hardy (now I guess that Angle has left). I just can't imagine anyone from the WWE jumping ship to TNA like they occasionally did pre-Hogan era anymore (on the game or real life) with the current state that TNA is in.

 

Also I'd be interested to know if anyone's ever put a company out of business when competing against WWF, WCW or whoever in TEW

[Bigpapa42]

Prototypical answer, but it depends.

 

It varies because mods vary. Not just in terms of how balanced or accurate they are, but quite literally the top company can vary in type, size, and so on. An AI run SE promotion has different issues than a performance-based company.

 

Generally speaking, the AI running Sports Entertainment companies (like the WWE should invariably be) have long term issues due to building popularity less efficiently than a human user. How much of an effect that has varies significantly - a company with plenty of good young prospects in the midcard and upper midcard might be okay. Again, the mod factors in - a young CM Punk who is a Super Junior or a Daniel Bryan who is a Technician will be limited somewhat in a company like the WWE based on their style. Still, the WWE always - ALWAYS - has a huge roster with plenty of high-potential guys.

 

In plenty of mods, the AI will manage to drop a big company like the WWE from National or International down to Cult by being overambitious. They will run shows in regions where they have popularity but not enough, which results in the show grade being below the required level to maintain and that causes them to drop. However, their Importance is still likely to keep them at #1 even at Cult.

 

There is also the game-to-game variable of who the AI picks to really push. This has a bigger effect if the WWE doesn't have a huge roster with a lot of main event stars to pick from. But if the AI latches onto the Big Show to be a main headliner in a 2016 game, that can work in your favor (quite obviously).

 

The balance of the mod matters quite significantly. A mod where the worker popularity is carefully levelled with the size of the company gives the AI less margin to make mistakes. But a mod where the popularity is on the high side - so ever WWE main eventer is at A, and you have upper midcard guys at B or even B+.... that is going to give the AI much more margin and make it harder for them to fail. Its also easier to book (which some people prefer), but the balance is off.

 

If you want to completely sink the rival company, that can be very hard. A top company often starts with a big bank roll (rightfully so), and if they have a whole host of TV and PPV deals, then they will rake in the money, even if they do drop to Cult.

 

Now as for what you can do.... I don't see any real value on trying to go head-to-head with them. Someone can correct me if I'm not seeing a good in-game reason for that.

 

Building your own stars is usually preferable to poaching. Even if you afford to overpay talent, that can have knock-on effects for you. Although truth be told, forcing the AI to overpay to keep guys is fun and helpful. One thing you can do is try to focus on building the kind of talent that won't interest the competition as much, although does depend on your own product. Using a CornellVerse example, the SWF doesn't have a women's division, so that's where USPW can really build. And since the SWF has an edgy product that means really conservative workers won't join them, that could help TCW if they intentionally go after and build workers who will stick with them for that reason. If you are a performance based company (ROH more than TNA), then you could focus on in-ring guys who lack SQ and the entertainment skills. You could focus on building a cruiserweight division, for example.

 

So it comes back to "it depends". One trick I like to use with almost any mod is to run a 3-4 year test sim watcher game. Sometimes more than one. If you have a decent PC, it doesn't take that long to get through a year. And if you do it a couple of times, you can get a pretty good handle on how that particular mod unfolds over time.

[Sigilistic]

How do YOU compete with the #1 company/WWE in your real-world games? (I've never played the cornellverse games so I don't understand them too well).

 

For example, if you was TNA in 2016, how long realistically would it take to compete with the WWE, and when you do finally get to that level would you go head-to-head with them on a Monday night like WCW did in reality?

 

Realistically? Never. Never ever. Even if TNA's management wasn't a clown car, the WWE engine is just unstoppable. It's too big, too wealthy, too ingrained in the public consciousness.

 

Thankfully, that's one area where TEW abandons realism, and BigPapa's advice would serve you well.

[HWRP]

Thanks so much for your help Bigpapa.

 

For example, if I was Jeff Jarrett's GFW and we didn't have much in the way of star power but our product was more ROH-style as opposed to Sports Entertainment, and we hired good or great in-ring workers would they get over in time? Because you see, I've always thought of things in the way of you need stars to make stars. Another example in my question is say if Adam Cole was at 55 popularity in the US, and the most over star was say 70 - is Cole's glass ceiling 70 once I start pushing him?

 

I've truthfully never stuck at a TEW save long enough pre-Monday Night Wars or post-MNW to end up moving on the same time lot as Raw or another WWF/E show. I guess the in-game reason would be to divide the audience and hurt the opposing company enough for a cancellation on their TV deal? I guess that many will just stick to their TV slot for the best possible viewership but personally I love the thought of competing as for me it makes things more interesting.

 

 

 

Realistically? Never. Never ever. Even if TNA's management wasn't a clown car, the WWE engine is just unstoppable. It's too big, too wealthy, too ingrained in the public consciousness.

 

Thankfully, that's one area where TEW abandons realism, and BigPapa's advice would serve you well.

 

You're right, I guess for the 90's (especially mid to late) real world mods the WWE weren't as far ahead as they are today. I'm actually put off booking TNA in TEW13 for the March '16 data as TNA's brand is so damaged, it's beyond repair for me anyway. I would much rather book another company or even GFW as a start-up rather than try TNA.

 

Have any of you tried to run a start-up company before? I would guess that NWA:TNA 2002 would be fun, creating your own legacy & eventually closing that gap between the WWE and NWA:TNA.

[Oregano Jensen]

You can make stars with time, sure. Even big ones. If the company expands to the point where it's being taken seriously, and you're putting on good matches and good shows, your main eventers' popularity will grow accordingly. It's probably a little faster to increase popularity with a more performance-based product, because a good worker who's less over will have higher-rated matches than he/she would in a more popularity-based promotion. But anyone who wins enough and does well enough will keep increasing in popularity.

 

I don't think having multiple promotions' shows in the same time slot affects much of anything. (Correct me if I'm wrong, here.) The main way you can harm your opponents is by beating them in national battles, but that won't bankrupt them -- it'll just push them down to cult. (Which might theoretically threaten them a bit if they were short of money, but promotions tend to stockpile money.)

 

The one point where promotions can be in danger is if they have a lot of aging workers who won't retire. TEW2013 is not great at recognizing when a guy's past his prime, and will often push workers well past the point where they could reasonably be expected to have good matches. (Not that that's a totally unrealistic scenario...) Even so, bankruptcy is very unlikely, but I've seen promotions seriously limping a decade after the game starts on account of having too many 45-50-year-old workers and not putting the next generation over them.

[Bigpapa42]

Thanks so much for your help Bigpapa.

 

For example, if I was Jeff Jarrett's GFW and we didn't have much in the way of star power but our product was more ROH-style as opposed to Sports Entertainment, and we hired good or great in-ring workers would they get over in time? Because you see, I've always thought of things in the way of you need stars to make stars. Another example in my question is say if Adam Cole was at 55 popularity in the US, and the most over star was say 70 - is Cole's glass ceiling 70 once I start pushing him?

 

I've truthfully never stuck at a TEW save long enough pre-Monday Night Wars or post-MNW to end up moving on the same time lot as Raw or another WWF/E show. I guess the in-game reason would be to divide the audience and hurt the opposing company enough for a cancellation on their TV deal? I guess that many will just stick to their TV slot for the best possible viewership but personally I love the thought of competing as for me it makes things more interesting.

 

You're right, I guess for the 90's (especially mid to late) real world mods the WWE weren't as far ahead as they are today. I'm actually put off booking TNA in TEW13 for the March '16 data as TNA's brand is so damaged, it's beyond repair for me anyway. I would much rather book another company or even GFW as a start-up rather than try TNA.

 

Have any of you tried to run a start-up company before? I would guess that NWA:TNA 2002 would be fun, creating your own legacy & eventually closing that gap between the WWE and NWA:TNA.

 

The idea of "having stars to make stars" isn't absolute in TEW. It helps, definitely, but its not absolutely required. Its more required when it comes to building in-ring skills. Popularity can be built out of nothing, with the right kind of worker. Someone who is very menacing or a great talker can create popularity without having to leach it from someone more popular. Even if the worker who can generate popularity out of nothing isn't who you are intending to build up, that can then be transferred to other workers.

 

There is no single one way to build a star in TEW. There are multiple, and it depends just as much on the worker themselves as the company. But product definitely matters. In a performance-based product, in ring skill matters more, where as popularity matters more in popularity products. But its not absolute - an atrocious worker with good popularity is going to struggle to put on decent matches against anyone but great opponents in an SE product, and a fantastic worker with zero popularity is not exactly going to headline for a performance-focused company. So don't think of it as one mattering and the other not, but rather a shift in which matters more in terms of match grades.

[mitsukaikira]

I was going to post up a good reply but now I don't have to. Excellent advice, Bigpapa.

 

When I start a new save with the intent on taking over the world, I will play like there is no #1. That way I'm not exactly trying to conquer the king of the mountain but I can still make my product global. With the resources the #1 companies have and the time it takes to make enough money to compete with them economically, I don't even try. I've seen global companies with plenty of money fall to cult by not utilizing new talent properly and losing their established main eventers. I want to see a global AI company succeed when the crop of big name main eventers retire/die/get abducted by aliens.

 

By succeed I mean keep their #1 spot. I can always overtake them with enough time and patience... but I never try to do so.

[Remianen]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Bigpapa42" data-cite="Bigpapa42" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41022" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Now as for what you can do.... I don't see any real value on trying to go head-to-head with them. Someone can correct me if I'm not seeing a good in-game reason for that. <p> </p><p> Building your own stars is usually preferable to poaching. Even if you afford to overpay talent, that can have knock-on effects for you. Although truth be told, forcing the AI to overpay to keep guys is fun and helpful. One thing you can do is try to focus on building the kind of talent that won't interest the competition as much, although does depend on your own product. Using a CornellVerse example, the SWF doesn't have a women's division, so that's where USPW can really build. And since the SWF has an edgy product that means really conservative workers won't join them, that could help TCW if they intentionally go after and build workers who will stick with them for that reason. If you are a performance based company (ROH more than TNA), then you could focus on in-ring guys who lack SQ and the entertainment skills. You could focus on building a cruiserweight division, for example.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> There is no codified ingame reason to go head to head with ANY company (regardless of size), with regard to scheduling shows against them. You don't get a prize or anything for beating their ratings, for example. The 'in your head' reward is pretty much the only thing.</p><p> </p><p> Secondly, as you say, since I rarely compete with the #1 company in the world, I'm often free to do whatever I want without much concern about talent poaching or the like. Heck, I even get to steal talent a lot of times because the bigger companies don't value the workers I go after. I had AAA lock up Sexy Star to a written and then fire her eight months into the deal. The divas that I want (Sasha, Bayley, Becky, Nia Jax, Billie Kay, Asuka, etc) don't ever get over enough to actually be expensive so I have my pick whenever their contracts come up. I do like inflating their prices though, along with adding viral clauses (creative control, wage matching, etc) but even that doesn't have the effect I want it to have.</p><p> </p><p> I think it might be cool to have a carrot to chase after, to become 'better than' other promotions. But as it stands, the promotion rankings are it.</p>

[Dolfanar]

I've seen promotions seriously limping a decade after the game starts on account of having too many 45-50-year-old workers and not putting the next generation over them.

 

Sounds about right to me...

 

AWA

WCW

 

even modern day WWE

[Sons of Kohral]

Sounds about right to me...

 

AWA

WCW

 

even modern day WWE

 

I'm currently in 2019 and SWF is definitely suffering with their main event all over 40

[Big Mark Smark]

How do YOU compete with the #1 company/WWE in your real-world games? (I've never played the cornellverse games so I don't understand them too well).

 

For example, if you was TNA in 2016, how long realistically would it take to compete with the WWE, and when you do finally get to that level would you go head-to-head with them on a Monday night like WCW did in reality?

 

I use TNA 2016 as an example as I'm a believer in the 'you need stars to make stars' philosophy, and TNA only has Jeff Hardy (now I guess that Angle has left). I just can't imagine anyone from the WWE jumping ship to TNA like they occasionally did pre-Hogan era anymore (on the game or real life) with the current state that TNA is in.

 

This is my current project in the Dynasties forum. Right now, competing with WWE is a distant prospect because I need to make sure that TNA will survive into 2017 first. However, I do have the E's whole Roster on my Shortlist so that I can put in a counter-offer and inflate their wages each time contracts are renegotiated. From the way things are going at the moment, I'd say that breaking through to National is going to take something like a year depending on how the Industry moves.

 

One thing to bear in mind about the real-world situation is that workers do leave WWE and end up in TNA, even in 2016. But it's not the 90s situation of guys at the top of the card going looking for higher wages. Instead you see people leaving WWE's development system (for whatever reason) and finding their way onto TNA's main roster as a way to get over. Derrick Bateman's a good example of how that can work.

[TeemuFoundation]

Realistically? Never. Never ever. Even if TNA's management wasn't a clown car, the WWE engine is just unstoppable. It's too big, too wealthy, too ingrained in the public consciousness.

 

Thankfully, that's one area where TEW abandons realism, and BigPapa's advice would serve you well.

The landscape was different back then, but few people could have guessed in 1991 that in a few years WCW would be the most lucrative wrestling company in the history of the Earth. The entire history of the planet, and WCW was the most lucrative.

 

Does TNA stand a chance? No. But if an alternative managed to get the financial backing, it would be possible to challenge the WWE.

 

The biggest problem is that the wrestling industry in general is a terrible industry for multiple reasons, and people willing to invest in wrestling are extremely few and far between.

[lowki02]

The landscape was different back then, but few people could have guessed in 1991 that in a few years WCW would be the most lucrative wrestling company in the history of the Earth. The entire history of the planet, and WCW was the most lucrative.

 

Does TNA stand a chance? No. But if an alternative managed to get the financial backing, it would be possible to challenge the WWE.

 

The biggest problem is that the wrestling industry in general is a terrible industry for multiple reasons, and people willing to invest in wrestling are extremely few and far between.

 

TNA has had the financial backing for many years through Panda Energy and they still suffered, mainly because of promotion leadership. Jeff Jarrett is running Global Force Wrestling, but even he is having an issue drawing crowds to compete with WWE.

 

After the fall of WCW, I don't think any company will ever have the correct leadership and support team to compete with WWE on any scale.

[soxfan93]

The landscape was different back then, but few people could have guessed in 1991 that in a few years WCW would be the most lucrative wrestling company in the history of the Earth. The entire history of the planet, and WCW was the most lucrative.

 

Does TNA stand a chance? No. But if an alternative managed to get the financial backing, it would be possible to challenge the WWE.

 

The biggest problem is that the wrestling industry in general is a terrible industry for multiple reasons, and people willing to invest in wrestling are extremely few and far between.

 

Not completely related to the topic, but I finally - I know, I'm way behind - watched the Paul Heyman blu-ray today, and as the show came to a close, I sat there wondering if he would ever try again. Not necessarily start a company, but take the book of a small, hungry, talented company that he could mold in whatever incredible new vision he has. With his success in the business world over the last 15 years... Could he do it? Is he ready to be as successful as he wanted ECW to be?

[Big Mark Smark]

After the fall of WCW, I don't think any company will ever have the correct leadership and support team to compete with WWE on any scale.

 

Looking at other sports, I wouldn't be surprised to see big money thrown at an India-based promotion in the next few years.

[Winter8905]

This is slightly relevant as I am the no 1 company.

 

As WWF in the 1987-1993 game my roster is stacked with the major young talent.

 

WCW has failed to develop young talent for the most part aside from Booker T. They have aging stars and in Zurich later save they still have much of the same roster 6 years later.

 

Guys like Hogan, Kevin and Kerry Von Eric and Bill Dundee Barry Dorsaw Main eventing through most of the 90s. The only new blood they get are guys I release who tend to be old. Blanchard, Flair, Steamboat, Piper.

 

My point is you can overtake WWE but it will takeep at least a decade. Be pretty much snap up all of the great young talent and steal any promising talent they have especially younger guys pluss any guy with top pop. Until they have a Main event filled with old declining worker lowering there grades and status.

[Brak]

<p>I'm playing a TNA game myself in some real world mod (forget which). TNA's Cult level, so I'm obviously not going to compete with WWE immediately, but I'm gaining ground.</p><p> </p><p>

The two main things I've done is hired Ronda Rousey (who was in the mod, and pretty over) to basically be the Brock Lesnar of the Knockout's Division. I also stole The Miz from WWE about 3 months in, so he quickly became my top heel.</p><p> </p><p>

I hate playing as WWE in real world mods because once you're at the top, what else is there to do? If I'm trying to take them on (even a little bit) I try to chip away at their Upper Midcard. This forces WWE to fill that hole in the Upper Midcard, so they bump up midcarders that aren't ready and demote Main Eventers (which impacts morale and makes them easier to sign/more likely to quit). Also sniping old timers at the tail end of their careers but are still over (a la WCW) helps. I managed to grab The Undertaker in a game, who then retired like a month into his contract.</p><p> </p><p>

It can backfire though if the midcarders actually <em>are</em> ready for a push. I once watched the AI start to push Jey Uso to fill up the Upper Midcard, who very quickly became a Main Event star in a matter of months. Same with Curtis Axel (or Michael McGuillicutty, as he was at that point).</p>

[HWRP]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="lowki02" data-cite="lowki02" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41022" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>TNA has had the financial backing for many years through Panda Energy and they still suffered, mainly because of promotion leadership. Jeff Jarrett is running Global Force Wrestling, but even he is having an issue drawing crowds to compete with WWE.<p> </p><p> After the fall of WCW, I don't think any company will ever have the correct leadership and support team to compete with WWE on any scale.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I'm looking forward to GFW, I have faith that JJ will provide a great alternative and build the company like he did with TNA. I have my doubts on the company getting a really good network over there in the US though, due to wrestling not really being that hot any more. Saying that, it's good that he is in talks with TV stations all around the world but the domestic one is the most important you would say. Looking forward to being GFW on TEW16 once Global Force gets on TV as well</p>

[HWRP]

<p>Thanks everyone for your helpful replies</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Brak" data-cite="Brak" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41022" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I'm playing a TNA game myself in some real world mod (forget which). TNA's Cult level, so I'm obviously not going to compete with WWE immediately, but I'm gaining ground.<p> </p><p> The two main things I've done is hired Ronda Rousey (who was in the mod, and pretty over) to basically be the Brock Lesnar of the Knockout's Division. I also stole The Miz from WWE about 3 months in, so he quickly became my top heel.</p><p> </p><p> I hate playing as WWE in real world mods because once you're at the top, what else is there to do? If I'm trying to take them on (even a little bit) I try to chip away at their Upper Midcard. This forces WWE to fill that hole in the Upper Midcard, so they bump up midcarders that aren't ready and demote Main Eventers (which impacts morale and makes them easier to sign/more likely to quit). Also sniping old timers at the tail end of their careers but are still over (a la WCW) helps. I managed to grab The Undertaker in a game, who then retired like a month into his contract.</p><p> </p><p> It can backfire though if the midcarders actually <em>are</em> ready for a push. I once watched the AI start to push Jey Uso to fill up the Upper Midcard, who very quickly became a Main Event star in a matter of months. Same with Curtis Axel (or Michael McGuillicutty, as he was at that point).</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Which data are you playing? I agree with you, I've never found it fun playing as the WWE unless it's a MNW-era data. Have you ever built TNA to a level of competing with WWE? I found it interesting that there's no point in competing head-to-head. I thought it would hurt their rating once the war starts and force their Network to cancel them further into it, due to poor ratings</p>

[Remianen]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Brak" data-cite="Brak" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41022" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I hate playing as WWE in real world mods because once you're at the top, what else is there to do?</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Stay there. The bigger you get, the harder it typically is to maintain and/or advance. When your promotion popularity is 90 (for example), that means you basically have to produce shows rated (roughly) 92 or higher just to keep from losing popularity. That is crazy difficult to do once you're 10 years into the game (and your previously automatic main eventers retire and/or fall off). True, most people don't get 10 years into a game, but that's the challenge. Especially with a WWE that has, what, five shows a week to book? There are pitfalls to being WWE where, if you take your eye off the ball, you find yourself at Cult. Now you have six months to "think about what you've done" and it's often during this time that your biggest names' contracts come up.</p><p> </p><p> Playing as WWE can be challenging and that's even beyond the tedium of booking all those shows. There can often be little margin for error. Get hit with bad luck on a PPV main event (someone's "off their game" or bad chemistry or both) and there can be serious consequences you have to deal with.</p>

[Captain2]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="HWRP" data-cite="HWRP" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41022" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Thanks everyone for your helpful replies<p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Which data are you playing? I agree with you, I've never found it fun playing as the WWE unless it's a MNW-era data. Have you ever built TNA to a level of competing with WWE? I found it interesting that there's no point in competing head-to-head. I thought it would hurt their rating once the war starts and force their Network to cancel them further into it, due to poor ratings</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I did once. Had a TNA game where my main stars were Austin Aries, Chris Hero and Shelton Benjamin. I got to the same level as the WWE and was even getting better consistant show ratings. The game file then corrupted and I got so mad I didn't play again for months.</p>

[mrwhippy]

One of my earlier TEW13 saves was TNA and I got to the same level as WWE. It wasn't fun in the end though. I was spamming my two or three major stars to ensure 85-90 rated Impact shows and the WWE roster was so bloated they didn't know who to main event so on the weeks Wade Barrett or Big Show closed RAW I tended to close the gap a bit more.

[Captain2]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="mrwhippy" data-cite="mrwhippy" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41022" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>on the weeks Wade Barrett or Big Show closed RAW I tended to close the gap a bit more.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <img alt=":mad:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/mad.png.69834f23b9a8bf290d98375f56f1c794.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Wade Barrett should have closed more Raws than he has.</p>

[mrwhippy]

Haha, being English I am very much a Barrett fan. But TEW mods don't reflect too kindly!

[Remianen]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Captain2" data-cite="Captain2" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41022" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><img alt=":mad:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/mad.png.69834f23b9a8bf290d98375f56f1c794.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Wade Barrett should have closed more Raws than he has.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Wade Barrett just needs to be built. In my opinion, he'd make a perfect foil for someone like Cesaro (who also needs to be built). One of the things I try to find in every game is good matchups between workers I'm trying to develop. I want my Flair-Steamboat pairings from lower midcarder to main eventer. These are workers that hand you a top storyline you can use forever. </p><p> </p><p> mrwhippy, it's okay to spam your top workers because that's what's done in real life. That's the whole point. No one's going to tune in to Raw to see Zach Ryder fight Tyler Breeze in the main event, even now. But after the US Open Challenge thing, people are more than willing to sit through a match where Cena fights someone they've never heard of (I'm talking casual fans here). Your top names should be over enough and skilled enough to carry a 'nobody' (read: midcarder) to a main event TV match that rates high enough to at least maintain your pop. And then they're willing to pay money to watch two of those top names go head-to-head.</p><p> </p><p> I'm willing to bet that, with the proper build, you could have a main event scene that features people like Barrett (assuming he can stay off the shelf), Cesaro, Cena, Owens, Bray, Zayn, Reigns, Rollins, Ambrose and the leftover remnants that are the part-timers. Actually, replace Zayn with Orton, at least until someone retires. He'd probably be best suited to raise the prestige on one or both of the midcard titles initially. That's what's so frustrating to me about today's WWE. SO much talent but poor utilization makes it seem like a talent deficiency.</p>