"Perfection is an Opinion"
"why ROH will be better than the WWE One day"
Part 1
Does anyone remember the NWA? The AWA? WCW? ECW? I ask this question because all of my past favorite organizations have crumbled. Why? Its a business. Nothing last forever, Everything goes in cycles. Vince Mcmahon is the heart and soul of the WWE, is he not human. There is only two things certain in life, and that’s taxes and death and you can’t cheat either. The wwe is an Empire with almost unlimited funds, at the moment. Many would think it would be near impossible for such successful business to roll over and die, and that’s human nature. The economy changes, society changes, and with ongoing drug related issues currently affecting the WWE product, their successful formula is bound to change. Change isn’t bad, but it must be accepted. Remember when the WWE changed its name from WWF to WWE. The WWE lost that battle, one of the few battles its lost, but it is not invincible. At that point in time, it was more than just a name change. Its was a change in mind state and attitude. It was a change in the product. No longer would they be associated with “wrasslin†but they are “sports entertainment†Slowly die hard “wrestling†fans turn their back on a company they once admired. Even in the early to mid 90’s fans questioned the WWF and its performers. All it took was Hulk Hogan to jump to WCW for the fans to turn the channel. Now here in 2008, the WWE is still transforming their product to a more entertainment based show.
Now to the question at hand, Why will ROH be better than the WWE one day? Ethics, Morals, Values, and a Wrestling Based Product. Its called ring of HONOR, for a reason. They respect the business, wrestlers, and their fans. ROH listens to their fans 100% of the time. It doesn’t take a ratings slip, to do what the fans like. ROH wrestlers have a work ethic which is unmatched in north American wrestling. I dare ANYONE to not say ROH is better than the WWE right now, IF you have been to a live ROH show. Sure, ROH started off as a small indy, which is now a super Indy, but why grow overnight? Companies that grow too fast are bound to fall. ROH is not going to make the same mistakes ECW Made. ROH is basically an upgraded version of ECW. Their problem was they grew too fast. ROH isn’t making that mistake. They are going city to city, earning fans respect. ROH already has great attendance numbers for their main locations in the Midwest. Their show WM weekend boosted almost 2,000 fans. Not bad for a small indy going up against TNA and the Hall of Fame. One by One, ROH adds new locations each year to make their stomping grounds. Soon they are stepping up to the Hammerstein Ballroom which holds 2,500+. A big step for a company was isn’t on television in the US. I think we all remember what happened the last time the WWE went there? If not, they practically got boo’d out of the building on live television. Don’t believe me, just watch Big show vs Batista. Several ROH shirts and signs were spotted in attendance. ROH is also now doing PPV’s and have gotten a deal to sell select DVD titles in Best Buy and FYE slowly getting their name out there. So lets assume ROH will slowly grow and one day make it to television. Who’s going to be the big stars in the WWE/TNA? Lets see, CM Punk recently won the Money in the Bank, so that means he will likely win the wwe championship. Who’s the TNA Champ? Samoa Joe? Where did those guys come from? Oh yeah, ROH. What happens when ROH steals back some of their original talent? The wrestlers the fans actually care about will be retired. HBK and Undertaker won’t last forever. When those guys retire and Vince steps down, the WWE is going to have to undergo drastic changes to stay atop of business. As we know, One major jump can change Everything.
The main difference between the WWE and ROH is the product. In terms of wrestling the WWE can’t compete with ROH on any level. But, Im assuming by “better†you mean more money/fan base. Look at boxing, that used to be the main fighting sport. They did not care about competition and the UFC is kicking their behinds right now. ROH has some similar characteristics to UFC. ROH uses a strong style wrestling, means generally when they hit you. They really hit you. I was watching an old dvd the other day and you could see AJ throws a REAL closed fist to Samoa Joe’s jaw. There is more emotion and attitude in the ROH product. All the money in the world doesn’t mean anything if don’t have the respect of the fans. Lets look at TNA at the moment. This is saying “what if†but lets say they do go out of business. Who’s going to benefit the most? ROH can realistically piggy back off of all of TNA’s success and jump right into their mold and start off with a 1.1 rating. But as I said before, it all comes down to product. Stale is Stale. Once fans see the full ROH product, and not just a match here and there, they will see it is the complete wrestling organization. Every form of wrestling is represented. You have something for everyone, even the “entertaining†gimmicks. Wrestling can still be wrestling, and be entertaining and ROH is a perfect example of that. Just having this discussion, means there is a chance in the back of some peoples mind. Has the WWE ever really been compared to a Indy?
I pulled out my crystal ball for the last part. Here how I think wwe/roh will do over the next few years. The WWE is going to be WWE, but they will move and move towards entertainment. It wouldn’t surprise if one of their main programming show ends up on MTV. I’m thinking 2013 the wwe is going to start to become desperate. Around 2013 TNA will be cutting major cost corners left and right and their demise is near, and ROH will be moving onto a better channel and distribution of there product. 2016 the wwe is become alright with lower ratings and try to get back the original wrestling fans, but by this time, the war will have already started. Wrestling vs Entertainment. A few jumps to ROH puts them out there with ratings near 1.5 compared to a WWE 2.25. Finally they head to head in 2018, and come 2020 ROH will have more viewers. That’s how I see things. A break up in between Wrestling and Entertainment.
