Ruth > Diana, Eoghan & the tits that vote for them
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Preston, UK
Posts: 2,298
WWE: A Strong Response
WWE: A STRONG RESPONSE
The Backstory
Following No Mercy last night and after a difficult year with ratings and pay-per-view buys taking a downward turn, the steroids and Chris Benoit scandal, the WWE have been forced to take the company in a different direction, starting immediately.
Stephanie McMahon has been ****ed by Shane McMahon and Nigel Smith to head up the creative team that will see Smith take charge of writing both Raw and Smackdown. Vince McMahon has decided that wrestling and competition must become the main focus of the shows ahead of over the top storylines that have left viewers frustrated and fed up with WWE programming. It must be noted that the McMahon’s may still make appearances on television as Vince in particular sees himself as a top ratings puller.
If things couldn’t have been going much worse for the company, their top star John Cena was injured last week and will be out injured for around 7 to 12 months. With Cena pulling in a lot of ratings and being by far the top seller in regards to merchandise, it is expected that he may have some kind of role in the television shows, but that is only being discussed at the moment.
With regards to the low PPV buys, the WWE have decided that only five pay-per-views will remain in place for the next calendar year at bigger arena’s with the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, King of the Ring making its return, Summerslam and Survivor Series being the five to add importance to the shows that were lacking in meaning and were rushed like the shows that have been in place this year. With this in mind, Saturday Nights Main Event will return in March and August, but we will also see the show at the end of December too, which will start at the end of this year. By doing this, the WWE are trying to make the TV shows seem more important and to add some more credibility to them and the company in the process.
Another one of several major decisions has seen ECW scrapped immediately due to its poor ratings and feedback from agents. This was seen to be coming for a long time and with its small roster, they have been split between both Raw and Smackdown rosters, which have also seen some changes between them, but none of any major note this far.
However, several workers have been removed from the rosters on WWE.com with Ric Flair and King Booker along with his wife Queen Sharmell apparently leaving the company after lots of speculation around their current situations. This is not seen as a big surprise as Flair and Booker had made themselves very unpopular with management in the build up to their disappearance from television tapings. It must be noted that it has NOT been confirmed by either parties that they have indeed left the company. The other main departure sees Vickie Guerrero leave her role as General Manager of Smackdown, but this is due mainly to family reasons with Vickie missing her children and vice versa. No replacement has been announced yet but Teddy Long will not be making a return to television in the near future. The Major Brothers have been removed from the roster but remain in Ohio Valley Wrestling since their disastrous debut on Smackdown after leaving ECW. Mike Knox has also been released from his WWE contract while ECW General Manager Armando Alejandro Estrada’s profile is no longer on the WWE website, but he has not been released, this is the same situation that Tazz, Joey Styles, Kelly Kelly, Layla and Brooke find themselves in since ECW’s demise.
On the injury front, John Cena as we know is out for the considerable future, Edge is recovering well and is set to return in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Bobby Lashley is pushing for a return at the end of the year and Gregory Helms is the only other long term absentee with a severe neck injury that will see him out until around June next year. Shawn Michaels remains on the sidelines at home following knee surgery several months ago, but there is no word on whether he is ready to return just yet.
On the TNA front, Bound For Glory takes place in six days time boosted by the news that they have signed former WWE superstars Rob Conway and Rob Van Dam. Any WWE return for Van Dam has officially gone out of the window now. However, the Chris Jericho debate continues to go on with neither Jericho or the WWE confirming that he has indeed signed a contract following the cryptic messages that have been displayed on Raw over the last few weeks.
Here are the roster updates that the WWE have released on their website earlier today with Raw being taped tonight
RAW
Head of Authority: Eric Bischoff
Announce Team: Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler
Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia
Backstage Interviewers: Todd Grisham & Leticia Cline
WWE Champion
Kane
***Won a triple threat match at Wrestlemania 24 (30/3/08)***
PREVIOUS CHAMPION: Randy Orton
Intercontinental Champion
Kofi Kingston
***Won a 4 team elimination match on Raw (31/3/08)***
PREVIOUS CHAMPION: CM Punk
World Tag Team Champions
Paul London & Brian Kendrick
***Defeated Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch at the Survivor Series (18/11/07)***
WWE Womens Champion
Victoria
***Defeated Beth Phoenix at Wrestlemania 24 (30/3/08)***
Million Dollar Champion
Ted DiBiase Jr
***Given to him by his father, Ted DiBiase Sr on his Raw debut (31/3/08)***
Batista
Paul Bearer - Manager of Kane
Colt Cabana
Lance Cade
Carlito
John Cena
Eddie Colon
Ted DiBiase Jr
Kenny Dykstra
Eugene
Finlay
Ric Flair
Shad Gaspard
Jeff Hardy – Back Injury (No return date specified)
Hardcore Holly
JTG
Kane
Brian Kendrick
Mr. Kennedy
Kofi Kingston
Bobby Lashley – Minor Knee Injury (Expected back by mid to late March)
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
Paul London
Santino Marella
Mr. McMahon
Shane McMahon
The Miz
John Morrison
Trevor Murdoch
Rey Mysterio – Minor Ankle Injury (Expected back by mid to late March)
Randy Orton
Eric Perez – Friend/Bodyguard of The Colon Brothers
William Regal
Cody Rhodes
Triple H
Val Venis
Jimmy Yang
Divas
Jillian Hall
Kelly Kelly
"The Million Dollar Woman" Maryse - Valet of Ted DiBiase Jr
Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley - Currently Off Screen due to pregnancy
Melina
Candice Michelle
Natalya Neidhart
Victoria
Tag Teams/Stables
Cody Rhodes & Kofi Kingston with Kelly Kelly
Cryme Time
Evolution (Triple H, Batista & Ric Flair)
John Morrison & The Miz
Paul London & Brian Kendrick
The Colon Brothers with Eric Perez
The McMahon Men (Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon & JBL)
FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN
General Manager: William Regal (Awaiting Clarification)
Announce Team: Michael Cole and The Coach
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Backstage Interviewers: Josh Matthews & Maria
World Heavyweight Champion
Shawn Michaels
***Defeated Batista at Saturday Night's Main Event (22/12/07)***
WWE United States Champion
Matt Hardy
***Defeated MVP at Saturday Night's Main Event (22/12/07)***
WWE Tag Team Champions
The UK Pack (Paul Burchill & Harry Smith)
***Defeated The World's Greatest Tag Team on Smackdown (14/12/07)***
WWE Cruiserweight Champion
Michael Shane
***Won a fatal fourway at Wrestlemania 24 (30/3/08)***
PREVIOUS CHAMPION: Kenny Dykstra
Holder of Money in the Bank
Montel Vontavious Porter
Shelton Benjamin
Paul Burchill
Elijah Burke
Super Crazy
Tommy Dreamer
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
Edge
Armando Alejandro Estrada - Manager of Umaga
Funaki
Chavo Guerrero
Matt Hardy
Charlie Haas
Gregory Helms - Major neck injury (Out until April/May 2008)
Chris Jericho – Taking time off to let injuries heel
Johnny Jeter
Orlando Jordan
Kid Kash
Ron Killings
Chris Masters
Shawn Michaels
Shannon Moore
Jamie Noble – Minor Neck Injury (No return date specified)
Montel Vontavious Porter
CM Punk
Stevie Richards
Michael Shane
Harry Smith
Matt Striker
Matt Sydal
Tazz - Non Wrestling Role
The Undertaker
Umaga – Shoulder Injury (Out for 2-4 months)
Divas
Mickie James
Layla
Maria
Michelle McCool
Beth Phoenix
Tag Teams/Stables
Matt Sydal & Johnny Jeter
The Extremists (Tommy Dreamer & Stevie Richards)
The Masters of the Mat (Chris Masters & Charlie Haas)
The Pitbulls
The UK Pack (Paul Burchill & Harry Smith)
FLORIDA CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING
FCW Heavyweight Champion
James Reiher
***Defeated Jake Hager & Vladimir Kozlov at the Wrestlemania pre show (30/3/08)***
FCW Tag Team Champions
Vacant
FCW Womens Champions
Shantelle Taylor
***Defeated Cherry on "FCW" (1/3/08)***
FCW Television Champion
Vacant
Afa Jr. (Afa Anoa'i, Jr.)
"Campus Legend" Brad Allen (Mariusz Puczko)
Arran Banderas (Gilbert Cosme) – Currently off screen (Being repackaged)
Brie Bella
Nicole Bella
Jay Bradley (Brad Bradley)
Matt Cross (Matthew Capiccioni) - Yet to debut
Brett DiBiase
Mike DiBiase
Festus (Andrew Hankinson)
Reid Flair (Reid Fliehr) - Yet to debut
Jake Hager
Teddy Hart (Ted Annis)
Daizy Haze - Yet to debut
Joe Hennig - Yet to debut
Jesse (Terry Gordy Jr)
Vladimir Kozlov (Oleg Prudius)
Mike Kruel
Katie Lea (Katarina Waters)
Joey Matthews (Adam Birch) - Yet to debut
Drew McIntyre
"The Natural" Nic Nemeth
Amber O'Neal (Kimberley Davis) - Yet to debut
Sheamus O'Shaunessy
Ricky Ortiz (Rich Young)
CJ Red (Jonathan Figueroa)
James Reiher
Roucka (Milena Roucka) - Valet of Mike Kruel
Stu Sanders (Stuart Bennett)
"The Canadian Bad Boy" Shawn Spears (Ronnie Arniell)
Ryklon Stephens
Shantelle Taylor (Shantelle Malawski)
Hade Vansen
"The Stampede Kid" TJ Wilson
Christian York (Jason Spence) - Yet to debut
Tag Teams/Stables
Christian York & Joey Matthews - Yet to debut
Jesse & Festus
Teddy Hart & TJ Wilson
The Bella Twins (Brie & Nicole)
The Empire (Drew McIntyre & Stu Sanders) with Katie Lea
The Million Dollar Family (Brett & Mike DiBiase)
UNASSIGNED BUT UNDER CONTRACT
Teddy Long
Billy Kidman
Bonnie Maxon
The Big Show
Gail Kim
If anyone didn’t catch the No Mercy results from last night, here they are:
Triple H defeated Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship (11:15)
Mr. Kennedy and Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch defeated Jeff Hardy, Paul London and Brian Kendrick (8:06)
CM Punk defeated Big Daddy V (w/Matt Striker) by disqualification to retain the ECW Championship (1:37)
Triple H defeated Umaga to retain the WWE Championship (6:33)
Finlay fought Rey Mysterio to a no-contest (9:08)
Beth Phoenix defeated Candice Michelle to win the WWE Women's Championship (4:32)
Batista defeated The Great Khali (w/Ranjin Singh) in a Punjabi Prison match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (14:47)
Randy Orton defeated Triple H in a Last Man Standing match to win the WWE Championship (20:25)
PAY-PER-VIEW SCHEDULE 2008 (INCLUDING SATURDAY NIGHTS MAIN EVENT)
Here is the finalised pay-per-view schedule for 2008, including the Saturday Nights Main Event’s that will continue to air Live on NBC:
RAW PRESENTS
Backlash
April 27, 2008
Pepsi Center ~ Denver, Colorado
SMACKDOWN PRESENTS
Judgment Day
May 25, 2008
Florence Civic Center ~ Florence, South Carolina
King of the Ring
June 15, 2008
Staples Center ~ Los Angeles, California
RAW PRESENTS
Vengeance
June 29, 2008
Joe Louis Arena ~ Detroit, Michigan
SMACKDOWN PRESENTS
The Great American Bash
July 12, 2008
Nassau Coliseum ~ Uniondale, New York
SummerSlam
August 17, 2008
Compaq Center ~ Houston, TX
RAW PRESENTS
Unforgiven
September 21, 2008
Cow Palace ~ San Francisco, California
SMACKDOWN PRESENTS
No Mercy
October 5, 2008
First Union Center ~ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Survivor Series
November 9, 2008
Air Canada Center ~ Toronto, CANADA
Night of Champions
December 21, 2008
Gund Arena ~ Cleveland, OH
HO-LY SHIT!! NIGE IS BACK BITCHES!!! Lol welcome back homeostasis!! Your backstory is sexeh, and your rosters are too amigo. Can't wait to see the first RAW, and you know, I wish you nothing but the best!!
And uhm, as far as you being back...I think I just nut myself.
__________________
DID YOU MISS ME? WELL, I'M COMING BACK ANYWAY.
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May 2008's "Most Improved" Booker!
------------------------------------- Avatar Credit; Rez
YEAHHHHH! HE'S BACK! You're one of my favorite booker's on here, and one of my good friends too, so I'm glad that you're back to BTB. Good luck with the thread, and you know I'll be following
Great to see you back. I was in love with your old thread and hope this one is as good. I can see developing some good storylines from these rosters, and use your creative mind. Good luck Nige!
Looks good. Solid rosters and a better backstory. Shame you won't be writing full shows since quite a few of the more established bookers seem to have nothing but good things to say about your ability.
I enjoyed reading your previous BTB, and I'm sure this thread will be great too. Solid backstory and rosters.. I'd really like to see Jericho take part in this thread, hopefully you build up the anticipation well, if there'll be any
Good luck with this thread man.
__________________
Believe in me, I know you've waited for so long
Believe in me, sometimes the weak become the strong
Believe in me, this life's not always what it seems
Believe in me, cos I was made for chasing dreams
The MAN is back WOOOOOOOO! Ehem... anyways nice backstory, shame only 5 PPV's a year, I would have chosen a PPV every 5 weeks or something. You have Cyber Sunday which is good and I am begging for a HBK return.
Ruth > Diana, Eoghan & the tits that vote for them
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Preston, UK
Posts: 2,298
Re: WWE: A Strong Response
Thanks for the comments guys, i hope to get my Raw preview up tomorrow
I feel i need to address the Jericho and Michaels comments, Jericho inparticular as the Save_US.222 is something which i am not totally sure i want to include as i hope to head in a different direction as is on TV. Some things will have to continue but as for the Jericho & Michaels situations, they will be handled differently and in Jericho's case, possibly dealt with at all
Again, thanks for the support and i will try and get about the section again in the next week
WWE: A Strong Response
WWE: A Strong Response
