This is my newest series that I hope will go over well. I thank you in advance for reading.

This is a roundtable discussion that I hope to engage all readers. In this initial article I have questioned six very well-informed writers their thoughts on certain aspects in the world of professional wrestling.

Moderator: "Welcome all to the first installment of The Wrestling Council. Today we have three hard-hitting topics that will cause our panel to reach back into the deep recesses of their mind and deliver a well-thought out response.

The men and woman who makes up today's panel are some of the very best here on Bleacher Report. With us today is: "The man who's got planes on his mind" Krut; "The riddle wrapped in an enigma masked as a mystery," M; "Mr. Inferno" AkD; "The Editing Guru" Ray Bogusz; "The Eloquent One" Mina; and finally, "The owner of RNN Productions" Jason Le Blanc.

Thank you all for taking the time out to take part. With that, let us begin."

1) The current state of the WWE's Tag Team Division is one in need of FEMA-type assistance. The same can be said of its Women's Division. Which division is in the most need of saving, and what is one idea that you would do to fix it?

Krut:  “The Women’s division has its ups and downs but always seems to get out of whatever rut it falls into. The Tag Division, on the other hand, has fallen so far that only Vince himself can save it. 

WWE needs to save the tag division; without it, the company lacks one of the avenues it once used to continue the developmental process of new talent.

WWE need to start building tag teams at the developmental level. Some [of] the biggest stars in the industry held tag team gold first. Austin, Michaels, and Hart all held tag gold before moving on to bigger and better things.

If they can develop even two worth bringing in that would help the division greatly. If they could do so on a regular basis, it would be even better.”

M:  “The Tag Team Division is in grave need of serious attention and assistance at this point. WWE has a virtual monopoly on professional wrestling at a global level. They have gradually and effectively marginalized tag team wrestling over the course of a number of years, opting to promote individual competitors almost exclusively.

It’s hard to say why this might be.  Some reports suggest that the McMahon family just doesn’t see tag team wrestling as interesting, but I’m not sure if this view is based on their opinions as promoters or if they’re trying to speak from the audience’s collective.

In my opinion, it’s just a marketing strategy on the part of WWE in that they find it easier to “sell” individual personalities (as well as associated merchandise) to fans. 

In WWE, I think there is also an apparent inability to write for tag teams these days. I think this really materialized during the extended reign of London and Kendrick on SD!, but someone who is a little better versed in recent WWE history might be able to trace it back a bit farther. 

There seems to be a basic formula to all WWE tag team matches these days.  Well, really, there’s like a “face formula” and a “heel formula.” I could explain this in some detail, I suppose.

But most of the folks reading this will understand what I’m getting at. Just check out a few matches from the Cryme Tyme/Miz & Morrison feud and you’ll get my drift.

The thing is, tag team wrestling doesn’t have to be formulaic. In fact, tag team matches have proven to be exciting and dynamic at a number of levels for decades.  Tag team matches and feuds have the potential to be more compelling than individual competition and history has shown this time and again.

For some good examples, have a look at The Fabulous Ones, The Sheepherders, The Rock and Roll Express , The Midnight Rockers, The Legion of Doom, The Brothers of Destruction, Los Guerreros, MNM… Really, the list goes on and on.

I think time is of the essence to re-boot the Tag Team Division for the simple fact that WWE is the primary influence and trend-setting authority in the industry.

If smaller promotions buy into WWE’s logic and follow their lead, tag team wrestling will ultimately fade from cards all around the world.

Besides, WWE could easily fix the Women’s Division by taking some cues from the old Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling promotion. In my opinion, GLOW was women’s wrestling at its finest.”

AkD:  “I'll say the Tag Team division. It's obvious that they're in dire need of aid due to the unification of the WWE and World Tag team championships amongst other conflicts. Legacy has to let DiBiase and Rhodes run the tag team scene a bit since their ultimate goal is to be top stars, so build them up teaming.

There isn't a cruiserweight title anymore, so some lightweights should be experimented with and form teams (e.g., Bourne and Mysterio).  

As for the matches, it has to be more than just a "tag" match. Tornado tag team matches seem to only exist in the video games. There are superstars who are just lost in transition and a tag team could help steer them in the right direction and get the exposure they need.

Matt Hardy and MVP tagging was quite interesting though it didn't last long. Does anyone remember Jericho and Benoit? Kane and RVD?

WWE likes throwing curveballs so much, why not throw one in the tag team division? What about tag team gauntlets? WWE doesn' t have to go all out, but some flavor needs to be added to this Kool-aid.”

Ray:  “The uniqueness that Tag Team wrestling brings to the table is really making me want to pick them, but the Women’s division needs far more saving. Right now, Tag Team wrestling would be saved simply by having it happen frequently, and with all the teams—not just The Colons vs. The Dirt Sheet week after week.

SmackDown alone had about five legit teams this past year: Jesse & Festus, Hawkins & Ryder, The Colons, frequent appearances by Miz & Morrison, sometimes TBK and Jackson, not to mention the host of teams the broke up due to injury, retirement, or were one shot deals; however, only the Colons and MNM2 ever made it to air.

The women’s division, however, is almost non-existent. I can’t remember the last time a women’s belt was defended on a PPV, on air, and most of the time their matches on TV are during the times the “B-movies” of wrestling matches take place.

Whether they’re eye-candy who can wrestle, or wrestlers who look really damn good, the women’s division attracts demographics not normally brought in by what’s on WWE programming right now—something the business needs.

The way to solve it: Push the girls who are both. Right now, there are about nine legitimate title holders for women’s belts: Beth Phoenix, Melina, Natalya, Maryse, Mickie James, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, and maybe Katie Burchill depending on what you’re going for.

Put those women into real feuds and let them battle, while at the same time letting them “skeeze out” so to speak. Not only would both sides of the aisle be happy, but the division would get some desperately needed attention not involved with Playboy.”

Mina:  “Both divisions are in dire need of tender care by the creative team. While there seems to have been more of an effort made to establish the Women's Division as a place for serious wrestling lately, it has a long ways to go and I have several ideas on how to formulate a plan to provide credibility.

 The days of Alundra Blayze and, later, Trish Stratus can be possible again.  That being said, my focus today is on the Tag Team Division.

On the surface, it seems like it should be an easy fix.  Take six superstars per the two largest brands, RAW and Smackdown!, and four superstars from ECW, and viola! 

Eight tag teams, whose sole responsibilities are to wrestle tag team matches and vie for the now Unified Tag Team titles.  Those teams will have unique names, coordinated outfits, and an entrance theme specifically for the team. 

It is not, however, enough to just throw the teams out there.  Each team needs a story. A reason why they are together.  They must have promo time. They must have genuine programs with other tag teams. 

The best way to build a quick foundation for the Tag Team Division and make the Tag Titles mean something again might be to run a tournament, similar to the Gold Rush Tournament of 2005 for the World Title.

This would allow individual stories to be told for each team that puts them together and plant the seeds for future programs that would continue beyond the tournament, and beyond the eventual Tag Team title match resulting from the tournament.”

JLB:  “I struggle to name every tag team in the WWE right now.  Today’s tag team division is a joke by comparison to the divisions of the past. The Unified Tag Team Champions, Primo and Carlito Colon, just dropped a non-title match to Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase this past Friday on Smackdown, not one week after they unified every tag team championship belt in the company.

The WWE turned around and jobbed the Legacy duo on the following Raw for the sole purpose of setting up a Triple H vs. Randy Orton match on Raw next week.

This move doesn’t surprise me, particularly when you think about Batista and Cena winning the World Tag Team Championships from Rhodes and DiBiase last year as a way of advancing their storyline at the time. If the tag team division is ever going to be treated as legitimate, this sort of booking has to stop.

It would help if there were actually tag teams.  Pending the finish of the draft, it appears Ryder and Hawkins has been split up, as have Jesse and Festus.  Cryme Tyme's popularity seems to be the only reason they're kept around. 

Current FCW Tag Team Champions, Tyler Reks and Johnny Curtis don’t appear to be ready for the big time yet.  It’s always possible that the company could choose to reunite Tyson Kidd with DH Smith as the New Hart Foundation tag team.  With Smith and Natalya being drafted to ECW, it stands a good chance of happening.

I suggest taking the Miz and Morrison approach: put together young, promising talents that can help each other improve.  Miz’s charisma and mic skills have rubbed off on John Morrison the same way that Morrison’s in ring ability and style rubbed off on Miz.  Find wrestlers who can benefit from being in a tag team that have complementary talents.

There are plenty of talents not being utilized properly: Jimmy Wang Yang, Ezekiel Jackson, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Hurricane Helms, Mike Knox, THE Brian Kendrick, and Sim Snuka are just some of the names.  I’m betting somewhere in the pool of underutilized talent is a good tag team waiting to happen.”

2) In your honest opinion, can the WWE's PG product last for the foreseeable future? Explain your reasoning.

Krut:  “Yes. The PG product will usher in the next generation of wrestling fans. To maintain success the company had enjoyed, WWE had to create a product that is based more on the 80’s product than the Attitude Era.  

The sex and violence of the Attitude Era was a direct reaction not only to the world at the time, but to the ratings war WWE was involved in at the time. Without that direct competition, Vince and Co. don’t need to push the envelope as much as they have in the past.

Vince can’t help himself though, he has to push buttons and get under the skin of his detractors.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the PG rating will disappear once it has served its purpose.”

M:  “I don’t think the rating is as big of a factor as people might make it out to be.  It’s the quality of the writing that is a larger issue. There are plenty of great “PG” movies and shows out there that have done well with audiences from a wide array of age groups.

It’s worth noting that I am not one of those people who follows the “competition makes everything better” mantra. But the sustainability of WWE’s product is largely related to how long they can keep the market cornered. 

If smaller promotions can figure out how to write better scripts, attract some decent talent and then carve a niche in the market that gives them some kind of regional (and potentially national) exposure, then this will have a direct effect on where WWE goes from here.

This is all dependent on whether or not WWE pays attention, of course. If WWE continues to lumber about like an elderly dinosaur as times continue to change around them, their influence might finally begin to fade at some point.

They have been lucky to stave off major challenges from ECW, WCW and MMA over the years but if they continue on their current course, then I think someone or something will eventually present a substantial challenge to their dominance in the industry.

ROH apparently has some potential in this respect and they are gaining a bit of momentum, but making a real impact on the business is a long-term project. “

AkD:  “As long as TNA doesn't become a threat, WWE will uphold that PG rating. When WCW became a threat, WWE went to the edge of the world to come out on top. Cursing, violence, Hell in a Cell matches on RAW (there were two). They're still making money and the fans are still loyal.

There is a saying that goes "Don't fix something if it's not broken" and WWE doesn't seem to "broken." TNA seems to be pushing the envelope, but isn't getting the messaged mailed. With that, WWE will remain PG for the foreseeable future.”

Ray:  “No I don’t. The PG label will come back to bite them on three levels:

• Sex sells: I can’t stress this enough. Not having the PB spread and essentially ripping the sex appeal from the divas has hampered their progress with the “horny teenage boy” demographic. The longer they decide that women aren’t allowed to…err…display the “goods” the longer they lose viewership and money there.
• Violence sells: Call me messed up, but I love a good, blood-filled match. Not only does it help with the key concept of suspension of disbelief, but it helps drive the storyline and makes it seem far more realistic to skeptical viewers. You and I have known wrestling is booked for a while, but a younger viewer might look at the TV and say “What the hell? That dude just jumped off a ladder and landed face first on the table, but there’s no blood? Fail.” They’ll lose a fan.
• TV-14 and TV-MA (God Willing) offer better promos. You can curse more, hit more, and sex it up more. It’s flat out better TV, damnit.”

Mina:  “Foreseeable future is somewhat open to interpretation.  I don't necessarily feel like I have prescience for what the WWE is going to do from week to week, though I certainly have an educated guess every now and then.

Right at this moment, the PG product is the absolutely correct choice to make on the part of the office.  Why?  Because the WWE is suffering the brunt of the hatred aimed at professional wrestling. 

Unwarranted though much of it may be, the WWE is a publicly traded company that has to answer to shareholders.  They cannot afford to have advertising pulled or otherwise removed due to a concern about image. 

In a way, it is forcing the WWE to be more creative.  The Shawn Michaels/Chris Jericho storyline did not need to push the boundaries of the current product rating to be in-depth, successful, and compelling.  Nor did the Michaels/Undertaker build or the Orton/Triple H story. 

Someday, the edginess of the Attitude Era will likely return.  Until that time, enjoy the product for what it is, not what you wish it would be.”

JLB:  “For the foreseeable future, yes it can.  The WWE has no reason to use an edgier approach.  They have a desire to get in good with the mainstream media and win over some corporate sponsors, which they can’t do if they’re cursing, stripping naked, and spraying blood everywhere.

They don’t have a legitimate competitor right now and the closest promotion to competing with them, TNA, is using an edgier approach and their ratings are moving upward at a slower than molasses pace.

The key is to be entertaining and interesting, and you don’t need to be edgy to be entertaining or interesting.  Does being edgy make the product more realistic?  Certainly, but edgy doesn’t always equal entertaining.  Just look at the HLA fiasco awhile back.  Anyone remember Triple H having “sex” with a “corpse” on live television? 

Some are upset about the PG rating, but I don’t know that many even know what a PG rating entails.  A PG rating is defined by the TV Parental Guidelines system as a program may be unsuitable for children without the guidance of a parent. 

The program may contain “suggestive dialogue, suggestive humor, coarse language, mild flirtatious dialogue (including sexual themes), mild to moderate language, suggestive humor, and moderate violence, including blood, bullying, gunshots, and guns.”

A PG rating isn’t an episode of the Care Bears or Dora the Explorer folks.  It’s all about what the creative team and Vinnie Mac come up with, and the PG rating still allows for them to put out an entertaining product.  If they fail to do so, blame Vince and his creative team, not the PG rating.”

3) Out of the top 3 promotions, WWE, TNA, ROH, Identify your choice of the most underutilized talent and why the wrestling world should know about him/her.

Krut:  “Just one? As far as underutilized talent goes its hard to look past TNA’s Frankie Kazarian.

To have a guy the caliber of Kaz signed is a great thing.  To constantly undermine his career is a travesty! The guy has proved he can work with the big name over at TNA. He has put on fantastic matches with Christian and Kurt Angle, the latter being one of my favourite matches I have ever seen on Impact.

Kaz has the look, the mic skills and the ability to become a World Champion, yet is stuck in TNA’s midcard right now. Why they have him under a hood as Suicide is beyond me, if someone can fill me in that would be great.”

M:  “I have watched a minimal amount of TNA, but I think it’s safe to say that pretty much everyone in their talent roster is either underutilized or poorly utilized, right? It might seem like an odd choice, but I have seen Jim Cornette’s potential back in the 1980’s and I wish he had a more prominent pole as some kind of crazy, over-the-top zealot, either as a heel manager or promoter.

It’s probably been done (maybe even with TNA, I don’t know for sure) but he is so good at this particular type of character that I could watch him do it all the time and not get tired of it. I think he’d be able to keep it pretty fresh, too.

I wish I knew more about ROH, but I don’t have a lot of opportunities to watch their live events where I live, whether they are on television or at local venues. The prospect of buying or trading DVDs isn’t something that’s terribly appealing to me at this point.

I really think that WWE has just scratched the surface with Santino Marella’s potential.  Interestingly enough, Jev Thorpe recently posted a piece on Santino here on B/R.

Not only is Santino a brilliant comedic heel, but he has some tremendous background as a wrestler and his style includes a bit of from his MMA background.  But we’ve yet to see that in his time with WWE.

If I remember correctly, Santino is Paul Heyman’s last big discovery for WWE and Heyman deserves some praise for bringing such a talented performer to the forefront.  But where I differ with Heyman is with Heyman’s belief that Santino should lose every time he wrestles.

For over a year now, Marella has honed his ability to work an audience, refining his talent and reaching new heights with his promotional spots and theatrics.

Combining his in-ring skills with his character acting should prove to be a winning combination and I sincerely hope he gets a decent and credible push as a “real” wrestler one of these days.”

AkD:  “You know I'm going with Benjamin. I'll look like a babbling mark, but what the heck, I'm one already.

All-American, national track champion in HS (100 meter dash). He wrestled for the University of Minnesota, where he went 36-6. He placed sixth in the Big Ten championship. He moved on to OVW and trained with Brock Lesnar. He was a four-time tag champion with Lesnar there. They were the Minnesota Stretching Crew.

He retained the tag titles at WM19 with [Charlie] Haas. He is technically sound...the best wrestler in WWE hands down. He has masterfully blended speed, power, submission, and high-flying stunts.

The fifth-longest reigning IC champ (one reign) and he's 10th overall. He turned down a chance to go to the 2000 Olympics to wrestle. He is definitely a sometimes hidden and overlooked talent.”

Ray:  “I’m going to focus on WWE here. ROH actually does a good job of utilizing talent. This isn’t to say ‘TNA doesn’t have underutilized talent’ but picking the most underutilized TNA star is like picking the ‘most starving Ethiopian child.’

Part of me wants to say Shelton Benjamin here, but there’s one name I’d like to throw out before him: Kofi Kingston.

When Mike Mooneyham was giving his WMXXV recap on HTR Radio, he eventually got to the concept of the true ‘babyface’ and how Ricky Steamboat could really catch on as one given the nature of the business now, and the nature of the world at large.

Kingston is everything WWE wants Cena to be but isn’t. He’s charismatic and over with the fans in a way that boggles the mind given he’s a mid-carder. He’s got great in-ring skills and the accent doesn’t affect his mic skills.

Speaking of those mic skills, they’re laced with language that isn’t crude, salty, or backhanded. It’s like he’s the ultimate nice guy.

Getting Kingston a real push (not the kind Edge gave him to get in the Raw Elimination Chamber at No Way Out) is a win-win situation for WWE.

Either, they found their first true babyface in over a decade (you read that right) and he’s in the WWE or World Heavyweight Title picture from there on out, or you see he’s not main-event material and he can have a nice career as a very over mid-carder a la Steamboat or Savage.”

Mina:  “I am, under protest, choosing just one person.  (Please note my official protest that I can only choose one person.)  Because of that limit, I am going to select a female wrestler from the WWE.

Mickie James is one of the most beloved wrestlers to walk into an arena.  Not only does she get audible and raucous reactions from the live crowds, she is one of the few female wrestlers remaining who has experience with "real" wrestling matches in the WWE and real wrestling stories. 

Involved in the last serious WWE Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 22, Mickie has held the Women's title four times.  That doesn't sound underutilized, does it?  Yet, somehow, Mickie seems to be called on to bear the division on her back when they don't have anything else to do. 

More often than not, we see her in tag action, or small spots in battle royals.  Her program with Trish Stratus was off the charts for entertaining television.  She can act, she can wrestle, and she inspires genuine crowd reaction.

I know wrestlers in the Indy scene whose first reaction at seeing Mickie wrestle is that she is a wrestler that happens to be female.

Stop calling on her in an emergency.  Give her a storyline, give her promos, give her time for her matches.  Then, perhaps, the WWE fans won't have to bemoan the loss of Trish Stratus, Lita, and the other women who have proved that they can hang with the boys.”

JLB:  “The most underutilized talent in the world of professional wrestling is the entire TNA roster.

The company has no long term booking plans in place. Right now, the main event for the upcoming Lockdown Pay-Per-View is slated to be Sting vs. Mick Foley, the same two guys who were main eventing WCW back in 1992.

There are people writing for the B/R pro wrestling section WHO WEREN’T EVEN BORN YET in 1992. This is happening in a company with a roster that includes the likes of Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, the Motor City Machine Guns, Kurt Angle, and LAX.

The Gov. Palin angle, the Jackass angle with Sabin, Lethal and Dutt, Lethal’s portrayal of a Macho Man Randy Savage rip off, a reverse battle royal, the involvement of Danny frickin’ Bonaduce, Team Pacman, and Kurt Angle’s offer to corrupt Chicago politician Rod Blagojevich to join the Main Event Mafia are examples of how atrocious the writing for TNA television really is. 

TNA has no ability to market. There’s a reason why John Cena is sitting down for interviews with the likes of Leno, Regis, Conan, and Kimmel, and why TNA wrestlers like Kurt Angle aren’t.

TNA has their wrestlers go on Bubba the Love Sponge or Mancow in the Morning. TNA also has a habit of using the same promo videos repeatedly, featuring wrestlers inexplicably standing in the rain. “Cross the Line” is a slogan meant to excite viewers, but in reality it seems like an uncreative, trite phrase.

The bottom line here is that elite, hard working talents are being wasted by a promotion that has failed to expand their audience. Some are excited that the ratings have "risen" to 1.3 when they’ve been floating between 0.8 and 1.1 for a number of years now.

Call me when TNA finally reaches 2.0.  For the caliber of talent on the TNA roster, the promotion should be more successful, especially considering their resources.”

The articles that will follow in this series will be kept to three or four writers. I plan on getting as many writers involved as possible so I will contact those I hope to work with as we progress. For those that hope to take part, don't hesitate to let your voice be heard. I will drop notes on profiles to those I hope to work with.

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