WWE has never been huge on rule enforcement. Yes there are many rules regarding what a wrestler can do, how a title can change hands and so forth, but if it behooves a storyline for something to go a different way, any rules that might get in that way go straight out the window. I tend to be willing to overlook inconsistencies with rule enforcement if it can help further the storyline, but often times it doesn’t. and these below are the ones that bug me the most.
Video Replay: You can complain about the poor booking of your favorite underdog wrestler all you want, nobody in the WWE is made to look more incompetent that the referees. We can’t go a week without at least one match outcome being affected in some way by a referee getting distracted. These victories are shown on the screen after the match is over but in some recent cases, the ref has seen some cheating on the replay and restarted the match. So do video replays count now? The cheating is always shown on the replay and talked about it in commentary. Why is it that the referee only using this information occasionally? Fixing it: For the sake of storyline heels need to be able to cheat. They also need to be able to get away with it. If referees can reverse a decision based on video replay, one of the easiest ways to get heel heat is gone forever. Make a firm stance on the subject, what the ref says goes, no new information can change the initial decision.
Booking Matches: We’ve never been given too much detail as to what goes into the booking of a match. Each week we’re simply told the lineup of matches and that’s it. But my problem with this stemmed from earlier last year. At the beginning of 2011 there was a storyline where Jerry Lawler was lamenting that he had never gotten a match at WrestleMania and beating Miz was his only chance. Then when that didn’t work out he got a match by…simply saying he wanted one? Is that all it takes to get a match at WrestleMania? I guess so since the only reason that Rock and Cena have a match this year is because they said they were going to get one. Fixing it: I don’t actually want that much here, just a throwaway comment at some point saying that the current GM approved the matchup.
The Number One Contender: What does one half to do to be the number one contender for a title? It seems that the requirements are in a constant state of change. Some guys have to defeating the champion in a non-title match, beating several opponents in multiple matches or a battle Royale while others get to be the number one contender just by saying that they want a title shot. The Number one Contender is one of the biggest examples of rules being bent to serve story, and while I don’t mind frequent change here if it serves the story, I wish there was a standard path to attempt to get number one contendership. Fixing it: This may be far more complex that WWE has any desire to be but I always wanted to use the weekly matches to determine this. Each week both Raw and Smackdown are filled with “just cause” matches that seem to be there to fill time. I would love it if these matches formed a tournament or point system or judging process, or something where wrestlers were working toward a chance to be number one contender. After all, isn’t that the theoretical goal of everyone in the company? It seems that far too many of them only remember that they want a title shot around Royal Rumble time.
The Rematch Clause: I like the idea of a rematch clause. It’s an easy way to keep a feud going past the first PPV where a title changes hands. The only problem is that the rules for how one goes about getting a rematch varies from month to month. Sometimes it’s as simple as a wrestler saying he wants a match next PPV, but other times he has to first beat another wrestler who is also making a bid for number one containership. Sometimes he get’s his rematch but it’s not in a standard match but rather as part of a triple threat. And sometimes the idea that he gets a match is dropped all together with the rematch never being fulfilled. Fixing it: This one doesn’t seem all that difficult. Just make sure that everyone who loses a belt gets a rematch. If the storyline is done and you have different plans for the next PPV, then just have the rematch on an episode of Raw so that it can fill some time there.
Interference: People interfere with matches all the time. Tag team partners, rival wrestlers, managers, even the commentators on occasion can’t help but get involved in a match that is supposed to be one on one. But what happens when someone interferes? (And keep in mind, this only when the referee catches the interference) Sometimes the match ends right away. Daniel Bryan was declared the winner this week after a single push from Mark Henry. Sometimes the offending interferer is thrown out of the ring by the ref but the damage is done and the match continues till we have a winner. Sometimes that doesn’t even happen and we get nothing more than a stern look from the ref if even that. The match carries on with everyone ignoring that major rules were broken just a few seconds earlier. (See tag team matches for the worst offenders in this case) Fixing it: We already know that when employing referees, WWE looks for the most easily distracted people on the planet. So if interference is suppose to happen but not end a match, can’t something shining in the corner of the ring distract the ref long enough for that to happen? It’s not like that would be the most far fetched thing to ever happen in a ring.
Unrelated thought: Throughout the second half of 2011 several people were all making a statement along the lines of “I never thought I would say it but, Mark Henry is one of the best characters in the company right now. Who would have thought that his new heel character would work out so well?” Well adding something else to the list of things I never thought I would say, but Mark Henry is apparently also really good on commentary. Everything about his stint in at the announcer’s table during the main event last week on Smackdown was great. Yelling at the competitors to get back into the ring was entertaining, but shutting down every attempt by Cole to bond over being heels was even better.
