Gone are the days of faces struggling to keep the company name honored while the NWO spray paints their letters on your back and throws up the wolf pack hand sign. Here are the days of wrestlers winning by sock puppet knockout and the return of cartoon character entertainers. True, there are many more choices in today’s television era, but the quality of professional wrestling has dropped to a point similar to the days before Ted Turner purchased WCW, creating the Monday Night Wars. During the peak of 90′s wrestling viewership would reach 8 million people per show. Now Monday Night Raw struggles to hit 3 million while TNA Impact and Smackdown hover around the 1 million range. Can professional wrestling recover and once again provide the water cooler chat on Tuesdays built from an exciting storyline or has the audience permanently moved on?

The Problem:

WWE has embraced the PG “attitude” in an attempt to grow a new audience, an audience of 9 year olds. If the show doesn’t appeal to the 9 year old’s parents does the channel change to USA? The ratings would say, “No.” Characters like The Goon (an angry hockey player), Viscera (a tattooed big man that switched between face and heel), Koko B. Ware (a parrot loving bright tight performer) and Doink the Clown have been replaced by Antonio Cesaro (a disgruntled rugby player), Brodus Clay (a tattooed big man that switched between heel and face), Kofi Kingston (a former Jamaican bright tight performer) and Santino Marrella ( a clown with sock puppets). The days of Vince McMahon fondling Trish Stratus in a backstage vignette have been replace by curtain jerking Superstars dancing in unison to another Superstars entrance music.

TNA is filmed in the same studio where Mickey Mouse performs. They have a history of scooping up the trash that WWE leaves behind after their best days are behind them (Ken Shamrock, RVD, Matt and Jeff Hardy and more). An inability or lack of creativity has kept them from growing their own Superstars. Bad influences have effected their direction. Guys like Vince Russo, who no longer works for TNA and Eric Bischoff have failed to live up to high expectations.

The Resolution:

AJ Styles

For the WWE the first move should be to drop the cartoon gimmicks. Today’s TV audience is all about reality. The UFC provides real fighting with real people. WWE should allow the wrestlers to be as much like the everyman as possible. No more dancing Punjabi Playboys, dancing disco ball dinosaurs or dancing with kids. Take the role serious and give the fans a short moment to forget the show is scripted. There is evidence of this type of booking being the best method based on current WWE storylines. The best reasons to turn into Raw are CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan and HHH Vs. Brock Lesnar. Neither story involves outlandish angles where nobody believes in the slightest bit of reality. Pink vs. Bryan is about who’s the most talented while HHH vs. Lesnar is about company honor. Neither story involves a man talking to an imaginary lil’ friend.

TNA keeps taking small steps in the right direction. The removal of Vince Russo and his incomplete writing along with going live each week (through the summer) are good moves. The promotion of their own grown talent (Roode, Storm, Styles, Samoa Joe and more) will help to build a longtime solid fan base. They can’t stop the momentum gained from these moves. Keeping the show live, promoting more young talent and most importantly, taking the show on the road need to be a top priority.

Stories That Would Return Interest:

As much as some may believe it’s a bad idea, turn John Cena heel. Perhaps one of the most talked about angles in wrestling history and the jump start of Monday Night Wars was the Hulk Hogan turn on WCW. Wrestling is bigger than any one talent and a shock to the system is exactly what the industry is missing. Use the real life info about his divorce as the turning point. Rumor has it that Cena’s wife filed for divorce based on Cena’s infidelity. Have him say he can no longer carry on this fake gimmick. He’s not as squeaky clean as people want to believe. Bring his mistress to the WWE (Mickie James) and have the most booed tandem since Hogan and company. WWE has done a good job of building the characters of CM Punk and Sheamus. Let them carry the torch of the company and let the new John Cena angle create fresh storylines.

Bring back stables. The Four Horseman, NWO, Nation of Domination, DX, Evolution and more all took mid-card talents and turned them into main event talents by pairing up established stars with younger talent. Allow the younger talent to prosper by working with other main event wrestlers through countless matches and stories. With all the injuries and drug suspensions by top draws recently, the WWE is struggling to find enough talent to fill a card that will draw viewers. The worst part of this is the fact that Raw goes to 3 hours in a couple weeks! They struggle to keep a two hour show entertaining. How in the world will they hold an audience for another hour?

Speaking of drug suspensions, WWE should cut ties with Randy Orton. Do it knowing he’ll sign with TNA. The best writing and most effort in wrestling came when WWE had to compete with WCW based on the two promotions having similar talent. Randy Orton is still in his prime, unlike most former WWE talents signed by TNA. Give the constantly improved writing of TNA an established megastar and watch the company boom. Competition pushes creativity and provides a better product for all involved.

In conclusion it takes shock to create interest. Once the interest is created rely on good writing and proven formulas from the past to help put professional wrestling back on the map. What would you like to see in today’s pro wrestling?