Are WWE helping or hindering the Indys?

During the past few years there's been a shift of emphasis in new talent within WWE.
Sure we're still being force fed the traditional Vince pet projects such as Ryback and other bodybuilders first wrestlers second such as the strong and fast Big E Langston but now more than ever we're seeing guys coming onto the scene that honed their craft not in a WWE factory but in a 2bit hall in front of eight sweaty smarks who've only ever had relationships with their right hand.
CM Punk is the forebearer without question, allowed to keep his Indy name and is now a bonafide main event star, probably only Cena ahead in the pecking order yet he spent many a year in ROH as an Indy darling.
Daniel Bryan, again another ROH champion is a several month tag champ and again one of the most over stars in WWE.
And then the Shield, Ambrose, probably one of the most hyped yet to debut stars living up to the pressure as part of the trio with another ROH champ in Seth Rollins. Others too like Cesaro and Evan Bourne have already shown us different styles to the normal force fed brawling.
In NXT we have the next wave, Adrian Neville, Kassius Ohno, Sami Zayn, all three guys who the IWC have bleated from their keyboards for years, and currently going through his medicals is Sami Callihan, once a partner of Dean Ambrose as part of Switchblade Conspiracy, another to join the ranks.

But my question is this, is WWE's and the wider audiences gain at the detriment to the Indys or can it benefit them by raising awareness?
Do we see an Ambrose for example and then wiki his history, YouTube his past matches and become interested in his opponents? Or are WWE removing the creme and as a result removing the interest?

Strong and fast he is

To an extent I don't think WWE are that bothered about raising the awareness of the indys. If they did would they really bother changing everybody's name (bar punk)?

obviously the IWC would know about the wrestlers previous history in a different company but to the kids, which WWE is primarily aimed at these days, I doubt they would even know the names of the other organisations let alone the wrestlers.

Personally I don't see the harm in having a continued name throughout a wrestling career as then it would generate interest in the smaller companies thus creating more money for them which means they can attract better talent before the E pick them up.

Obviouslyichneumon of the above will result in a challenge to WWE's position as top dog but it would make the whole wrestling scene a little bit healthier.

Wow I really should've read that message before I hit send.

'Obviouslyichneumon' was meant to say obviously none.

I was about to question if that was the new name WWE were giving the next Indy guy when he joined? Some weird Pokemon gimmick or something?

Vkm isn't stupid, celebs and big names for mainstream, old stars for older fans, wwe big guys for kids and Indy guys for Internet smarks.

Either way he makes money, look at the cash one subgroup gave him based on one promo 2 years ago.

Should WWE care? Its an interesting debate. They have their own areas for this kind of thing but they generally create a certain type of wrestler. In fact, they are perfectly good at wrestling training, but character wise they cant recreate what the Indy scene has because its about standing up on your own and sink or swim. WWE doesnt have that even with NXT.

Do these indy companies want a partnership with WWE as well?

Obviouslyichneumon I know nothing about Indy wrestling, but from a pure business point of view you would expect WWE to just carry on as it does. Its the way of the world. Both groups are used to this kind of thing happening and seem to live with it. In some ways I would compare it to Premier League clubs giving funding to the football league, but I think the difference is that theres some duty to a national governing body with football and there isnt in wrestling.

I always see business as working on exposure. 100 people might go watch Sami Callihan now, 20 might want to watch more, 15 might want to watch the where he was 'trained' for the big time. If 5 carry on watching then those are 5 new viewers from one success. Considering the numbers in the WWE audience then 5% of a figure could be massive.

I don't think it'll be a conscious decision by WWE to sign these guys up to improve the Indys, it's simply a perk of it. They sign up these guys, who are already trained wrestlers, have done it for years and will probably bring a small fanbase with them to WWE. They don't have to stick them in development for years because they're too green, Ambrose, Rollins have both been called up much quicker than WWE's homemade guys often are.

From the indys point of view, one way in which it'll definitely help them is when it comes to attracting new talent. In the past, I imagine a lot of people would be put off signing for the likes of Ring of Honour because nobody ever really made the jump to WWE, Punk was probably one of the first, but in recent years it's been happening a lot more. Importantly this will attract so many more people into indy wrestling in the United States, rather than them going to Japan or just not going into wrestling.

I'm not sure as to what extent it will lead people to watching the Indys more, but it will certainly bring a little more attention to it, more people keeping an eye on it to see if they can spot the next big thing.

I think it’s a natural progression, just like in football if you compete and excel at a lower level then the bigger teams will become interested. I wouldn’t say the recent recruitment by WWE from the indy’s is hindering it, if anything it will help it to flourish, more independent wrestlers will be attracted to the likes of ROH with the end goal of a WWE contract if they perform and impress, this should lead to a more competitive, entertaining product as more and more guys step up their game with the knowledge that the likes of Punk, Bryan, Rollins and Ambrose once stood in this ring and are now operating at the top of the card in the top company in the world.

I can't speak for everyone but I'll be honest I only watch WWE (and NXT) when it comes to wrestling as I don't really have the time to watch anything else but I have found myself checking the wiki pages of some of the wrestlers and reading about their past "personas" and watching older matches on Youtube...I don't know if WWE care about the indies but by hiring these guys they've gotten me a bit more interested in them.

I might not watch ROH every week or even every month but I will check in on them every now and then and that's all down to the WWE for me.

Let's answer this question from an Indy fan's prospective.

First off, I really resent marks and comments that put down the indy promotions or the indy fans for that matter. I really don't have the time to watch wrestling on a weekly basis anymore and haven't really enjoyed WWE's product for some time now hence why I rarely comment on current and trending threads & topics. Following an indy promotion is so much easier to follow, the wrestling isn't restricted and the storylines are a lot more edgier, we're not treated like idiots. The PPV's are far less frequent and there's only a handful of them that actually have a TV deal of any kind and that includes TNA, so like I said it's a lot more easier to follow....

Are WWE helping the Indy's?

I don't see how they are. When they join, they assigned new identities & gimmicks and forced to become somebody else. When they debut or interact in storylines do you hear Michael Cole state where they have come from? or what their past is? The only way WWE would support or help any Indy promotion is either by buying them out so they become a training promotion (OVW) for their own stars, or to buy the video library of a company that was struggling.

Are WWE hindering the Indy's?

No, every independent wrestler out there as that dream of making it to the top, they want the better life, more exposure, more money so they can support their families and retire with a better life, Indy fans aren't stupid, they're a loyal bunch and will continue to back and support them regardless. They'll continue to attend shows, buy the dvd's, t-shirts...etc but when a wrestler is called up to the big league's, they'll normally get the approval from the fans because they've earned it, but when they do leave, they leave a hole for the next talent to come along and and become the next indy "darling" it's a cycle that's happened year after year and will continue to do so.

Enigma,

As an indy fan who doesnt watch WWE much, I have one question:

What do you think of The Shield?

Is this just another thread designed for people to cream over Ambrose?

Shot 21 LCFC wrote:Enigma,

As an indy fan who doesnt watch WWE much, I have one question:

What do you think of The Shield?

No question they've got talent and are highly thought of by management as so far they've been booked quite considerably strong in what they have had to do. But I feel that their storyline doesn't have a clear direction, a clear motive or goal. Almost like the writers aren't quite sure what to do with them long term and book things on a weekly basis. I mean it works for now as a stable invasion storyline is quite easy and simple to book but I guess time will tell...

Rino - I'm more of a Seth Rollins kind of guy. Kid's got talent

RinoGattuso wrote:Is this just another thread designed for people to cream over Ambrose?

If I'd designed it with that in mind I wouldn't have been beating around the bush, I don't do subtle in my admiration for Ambrose.