Interesting read....

Brandon has an idea about a WWE off season. I think its worthwhile reading.

In light of the WWE’s steroid/pain killer problem, I think an off season in 2008 must be applied. I know someone raised that issue already, but here's the plan.

If Wrestlemania is the Super Bowl of wrestling the WWE should off-season after Wrestlemania (early April) until at least mid June (eliminating Backlash, Judgment Day and One night Stand). But not EVERYONE gets the break. It’d be cool if WWE used that time as a sort of a "spring training" period.

At the RAW before Wrestlemania Vince should slap someone with the Spring Training Championship (STC) belt. Let's say Carlito pissed off the boss (in character or real life), so Vince slaps it to Carlito. That means Carlito must report to spring training. Oh crap.

Spring training would be filled with the best and brightest from OVW and any other superstars who want in the WWE, but may not be good enough yet. Add Kenny Dykstra (Smackdown!) and Miz (ECW) and any other under used primetime star who is healthy enough to continue.

At spring training the STC belt must be defended each and ever week, but the key is the STC belt holder at the finale gets an automatic RAW contract for a year (maybe even first shot at the IC title). So boom, Carlito is already a marked man.

For 2-3 months we'll watch young talent eat each other alive for an hour every Saturday morning (wrestling needs to have a Saturday show again to attract youngsters), while WWE Superstars like Randy Orton, Jericho, Edge, etc... do interviews, air video of off season training and guest ref from time to time. Basically keeping the major players on TV and relevant AND you allow the fans time to miss seeing them in action.

I think what makes baseball’s opening day and the start of the NFL season (hell even the season premiere of our favorite primetime TV shows) so great is the fact that, we the fans, get a chance to miss the action. WWE is there every Monday, Tuesday and Friday. We take it for granted. So now stars have time to recoup physically and mentally, be with family, and maybe slows down the need for pain killers and steroids.

At the return of WWE's "regular season", everyone else from spring training not the STC...better luck next year. Or at least free agency. This always bothered me. I remember Randy Orton jumping back to Raw (or was it Smackdown) claiming he was a free agent. What the hell? Who in WWE is actually a free agent to the average fan's knowledge? So let’s say Kenny Dykstra is NOT the final STC winner and thus a real free agent. Well now if say, ECW picked him up during the year…your average fan would know, “oh yea, he lost at spring training.”

I think this works because every superstar already named to a WWE roster would fear getting the STC belt before Wrestemania…but every superstar at WWE Spring Training would salivate for it. Maybe it won't get the ratings (then again does ECW?), but it will make for a better, healthier, therefore more profitable product for WWE the other 9 months of the year.