After watching and reporting on Raw last night, I've come to the conclusion that WWE needs plenty of changes to be made between now and Wrestlemania 27 on April 3 in Atlanta, most of them to be made well before January's Royal Rumble. In no particular order, here are some ideas:
1. Take Michael Cole off the broadcast team.
Ever since NXT launched in February, Cole has been honing a heel persona that mysteriously disappears when it's time to shill a PPV. Last night, while the mystery GM decreed that there would be no physical violence between Cole, who has been with WWE for 13 years, and 61 year old Jerry Lawler, whom Cole screwed out of the WWE title a week ago, that didn't stop Randy Orton from flatlining Cole with the RKO. If Cole shows up on Smackdown on Friday, not even wearing a cervical collar on his neck, a la Vickie Guerrero or even Bobby Heenan, then the purpose is defeated already.
Once upon a time, they tried to reinvent Jim Ross as a heel, and it didn't work. For Cole to make it work, he has to leave the desk for the duration. Lawler & CM Punk & Josh Mathews were ragging on Cole last night, and you have to assume that Cole will get more of the same abuse from Mathews tonight on NXT. For all intents & purposes, Cole crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed between announcers and competitors. The GM didn't punish him, which was a mistake, but then, there's an explanation for that, which I'll get to. On Smackdown, his former home, Cole is the square peg that doesn't belong. Enough said there. Mathews, Punk (who's a short-term analyst), & Lawler meshed last night and should be given a chance.
2. The GM's identity needs to be revealed before the year is out.
5 1/2 months later, the gimmick has long since jumped enough sharks. Fans can see right through the red herring teases that it might be anyone from Roddy Piper to Stephanie McMahon to Steve Austin, all of whom have pre-established images as being up front when dealing with talent in the ring. Maybe last night's RKO from Randy Orton to Michael Cole was a step toward revealing what some people have already concluded, that Cole secretly is the GM. He's been around long enough, and as a former radio news reporter, would have a keen enough memory to use catchphrases associated with Piper, Austin, Triple H, et al, or adopt the fan-friendly, sugary sweet tone Stephanie used on Smackdown during her tenure as GM. Enough of the silly games. At next week's Slammy Awards, it'd be as good a time as any to do the reveal, which would ensure #1 happens.
3. The Miz needs to be established as a credible champion, or his title reign is a failure.
I'm putting this up because unless Randy Orton puts him over big time at TLC, Miz is going to look like a chump who can't win without help. Miz needs to win, but if he remains champion going into April, who does he drop the title to? Orton? Cena? HHH? It's pretty obvious that Miz is a caretaker champion, likely through the winter at the most, but he needs to be taken seriously after all the work he's put in. It's time for Michael Mizanin to cut the clowning and take this gig very, very seriously. MTV, TMZ, et al can wait.
4. Vickie Guerrero must lose what little power she has.
A consultant? Excuse me, I don't think so. She's little more than a pompous, selfish, power-mad widow, a 1-trick pony who was an embarassment at Wrestlemania because the creative idiots decided to have her go over in a women's tag match she had no business being in. She is not long for being Dolph Ziggler's armpiece, that much is inevitable, but it's time to write the final chapter on her on camera persona, because it hasn't improved at all. She belongs in an office, not in front of the cameras, to save further embarassment.
5. WWE needs to emphasize fresher faces and depush others.
Pretty obvious, isn't it? The women's division is stagnating, and the single biggest reason why is Mrs. Undertaker, Michelle McCool. She & Layla appeared on Raw, and it was apparent they're not done with Natalya, even though their gimmick jumped the shark a while ago. They're ignoring the fact that Beth Phoenix has returned and is gunning for them, but putting the divas title back on either Michelle or Layla is a major mistake.
So, who should be pushed, and who should be de-pushed, as we enter 2011? Consider:
Pushed:
Tyson Kidd. Jackson Andrews was called up from FCW to be the Diesel to Kidd's HBK, for however long that lasts. I see them splitting in the 2011 draft, with Kidd heading back to Smackdown. A feud with Rey Mysterio would be money.
David Hart Smith. The sooner he finishes his business with Kidd & Andrews, the sooner Smith can focus on other matters, like maybe the US title.
Ezekiel Jackson: The last ECW champ was a "captain's pick" credited to Miz at Bragging Rights, but now he's a face and could be a player for Miz's WWE title. I see him more as a tag partner for Mark Henry.
De-pushed:
LayCool: Real talk! The act is stale. It's time to split these two up and have them feud.
Nexus: Predictably, the creative team fumbled the ball with this bunch, and with Skip Sheffield due back from the DL during the winter, a civil war within the group is likely the final nail in the coffin before the gang is broken up in the draft.
Drew McIntyre: The "Chosen One" has lost some of his lustre after the tag titles were taken from him & Cody Rhodes, but he needs to regroup before a fresh push. And I wish they would admit he came up 3 years ago as a protege of Dave Taylor.......
Now, if you've got some ideas, I'd like to hear about them.
