Let me go in another direction concerning how I would do things. Building stars is also important. I have spoken a little about that before when I mentioned that I think it is better to invest creative interest in someone to get them over, then hype them up as something great after fans are already buying into them. Let me expand on that more. Let me list out the steps.
Step 1: Invest creatively to get them over.
Step 2: Hype them to help them draw.
Step 3: Rinse & Repeat: Be consistent.
I know I have spoken about consistency, hype, and creative interest before when it related to what to look for when analyzing how the WWE is pushing a diva to help understand what type of career that diva is getting. I am now using it in a related matter, how to actually build stars.
I think it is pretty easy to understand. Come up with a great gimmick or storyline for whomever you want to develop as a star. Once that person is getting over, really start promoting them more so they can make money for you and possibly draw in more fans. And once you have the ball rolling with this person and things are working well, keep it going.
There is an unwritten rule or unwritten step in all that. If at anytime you see the person you are trying to develop into a star just cannot connect with the fans, do not force the issue. That will likely end up doing more harm than good. If someone is just not charismatic at all, no gimmick in the world might get them over. If you force someone down the fans' throats that they just don't care about, they may tune out. And if you are always being consistent with something not working out, you are just screwing yourself. Move on to something else. You don't just put someone through a process to make them a star and see how they end up. You pay attention to how they are progressing. What exactly is getting them over? Are they just getting a good reaction in front of their hometown? In front of certain types of fans and not others? The person in charge has to pay attention to things. I am not applying for a job here, but I am just saying how I think those who are in a position to do this kind of job in wrestling promotions should do it.
There are obviously some people that didn't follow my steps when they became stars. You have guys like Goldberg and Brock Lesnar. They didn't have any gimmicks to connect them with the fans. At the same time, I wouldn't say they were all hype. They just went out there and crushed people. Their dominance and power is what connected them with the fans. You will sometimes find people that are unique and great enough in the ring that they can connect with the fans like that. After that, you can hype them to draw for you and just be consistent in letting them perform their style. Rob Van Dam and John Morrison are two guys that are amazing in the ring. If you want to develop a guy that is more generic in his wrestling ability, then you might want to follow a process. Mickie James isn't the product of being developed to be a star by an process. The WWE was definitely pushing her with a clear intention throughout her career, but that was to use her to put over others and be used as filler when the stars weren't around. She succeeded against the process that defines the diva agenda.
In terms of the steps I would follow to develop stars, what do I think the WWE's mistake is? It can be found in that unwritten step. They obviously know how to make stars. The problem is, they are very likely to push things hard that just are not working out. They go in the direction of what they want to work out, not what necessarily is working out. Some people say the WWE does not listen to the fans or are out of touch with the fans. That is one way to put it. Another way of putting it is that they are listening to what the fans are saying, but shutting out what they don't like hearing and only gravitating towards what they want to hear. That's not how you should be running a wrestling company.
TNA's problem is obvious. I have said it multiple times. They fail to be consistent. They can follow every right step to develop a star and feature them to draw for a period of time, but then they just unplug what they were doing and go in a direction with developing new stars? From what I have seen, it isn't because the person they are unplugging has failed to connect with the fans. That is just the way TNA does things. Instead of rinsing & repeating for that person you want to be a star, TNA is likely to just pick out another set of clothes from the closet. You should not drop a star like that unless they legitimately cannot connect well with the fans anymore or someone better comes along.
I would say that the WWE needs a real GM. Get someone that will be in charge of determining which wrestlers get developed as the top stars and how they get that development, as well as being in charge of monitoring their progress. Vince McMahon or Triple H should not have that job. Some sports teams have an owner that also happens to be the GM, while others obviously do not. The Dallas Cowboys are owned by Jerry Jones. He also happens to be the GM. A lot of people blame him for the decline of the team in the last few years. They blame the decisions he is making. How many people blame Vince McMahon for what has become of the WWE product? When the owner and the GM are the same guy, how likely is it that the owner will fire himself as the GM for making bad decisions? When the GM and owner are separate, then the GM knows he has to make good decisions or risk getting fired. Well, assuming he isn't the owner's son-in-law.
I may make things sound so easy. I know they are not that easy. You may never have perfection, but that does not mean you shouldn't aim for perfection, right? Put your best foot forward. Aim to do the best job you can. This doesn't just apply to the wrestlers when they go out there to perform. This applies to the people behind the scenes that determine which wrestlers get pushed how. These people have just as much responsibility as the wrestlers in making a promotion a success. Some might say they have more responsibility. They have the real power. They control so much. Because of that, I think it is better to have some kind of game plan or process planned to do your job as best as you can.
Since I am on the subject of consistency, hype, and creative interest, let me just go completely out of my mind and put it as a math equation.
S = C (H + I)
S= Success
C= Consistency
H= Hype
I= Creative Interest
Math? Really? Yeah, that's what I do when I go completely out of my mind. Don't even consider it math. It is more theory than anything else. Consider it a diagram. Basically, when a wrestling promotion wants to develop someone to be a success, success (S) is based on consistency (C) and how well that someone is being pushed (H + I). It is basically what I listed out in the three steps earlier on. Why bother putting it in terms of an equation? Some people might understand it better if they visualize it. Besides that, I think it shows how creative interest and hype can go hand in hand, but consistency is something else. Whether you are hyping them up to make them look amazing or giving them creative investment to make them look entertaining, these two things combined are what you really have to give for those you care about making into stars. And you have to give it to them over time. I think that diagram/equation shows how much consistency can really command what is going on.
Again, it is really just another way to put the steps I was talking about earlier. Don't try plugging numbers in or solving for C. If you are a math genius and can make the equation work or come up with a better equation, go have fun with that. The point I wanted to make was that thought should be put into developing stars. Maybe not as much as I have put in here, but I did that to make the point. Egos should not be running the show and you have to actually work for the good of the workers, the fans, and the company.
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