History SoYouWantTo / BeABooker

** Where possible, programs and angles should be respectful and tasteful. Shock storylines lose their power if they happen every week. Say the word [[PrecisionFStrike "fuck"]] once, and it's a powerful phrase. [[ClusterFBomb Say it 1,000 times, and it's just a meaningless sound.]] Teach your audience to expect a largely similar product each week; make them feel safe, secure, comfortable... then blow them out of the water with a logically-plotted event (''extra emphasis'' on "logically-plotted" -- poorly-thought-out {{Ass Pull}}s are what torpedoed Wrestling/{{WCW}} and weakened [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] to the point of needing a rebrand) that they'll never see coming.

** For an example of this done right, consider Wrestling/SamiZayn's storyline around the 2022/2023 Wrestlemania season. WWE was in a quandry, because the plan was for Wrestling/CodyRhodes to win the Royal Rumble and challenge Roman Reigns for the title belts at Wrestlemania, but Sami's lovable turn as part of Roman's Bloodline stable had become the most popular thing in the company, with Sami's charismatic and hilarious promos, coupled with his endearingly genuine personality and talented wrestling abilities, getting huge reactions from the audience. The story was saved by, first, having Roman force Sami not to participate in the Royal Rumble in advance, so that Cody's victory wasn't tainted by the crowd's anticipation of Zayn's arrival or reaction to his defeat, then, after Reigns finally drove Sami to turn against him by cruelly attempting to test his loyalty one time too many, having Cody repeatedly support Sami in the aftermath, first complementing Zayn's abilities and suggesting he would be just as honored to face Sami at Wrestlemania, then by having Sami wrestle a great match against Reigns at a secondary pay-per-view in advance of Wrestlemania in front of a hometown Canadian crowd desperate to see him win, and giving him a good storyline afterwards that complemented rather than competed with Rhodes's coming showdown with Reigns. In fact, Cody Rhodes was actively participated in Zayn's attempts to get his redemption back, something which made Cody look both [[EnlightenedSelfInterest clever and good-hearted]], since Zayn putting in a good showing against Roman's henchmen would be as much a blow against Roman's attempts to cheat as a moral victory. As a result, crowds were completely behind both of them without resenting either, and it was hailed as not only a great storytelling triumph but one of the best ways WWE has handled this sort of problem in its history. While WWE's controversial decision not to pull the trigger at [=WrestleMania=] proper (although Sami and Kevin Owens won the Tag Team titles from the Usos, Roman still wound up beating Cody the same way he always does) overshadowed the win and angered the IWC, the frustration only served to demonstrate how good the build-up really was.

** Also, as we'll cover under the Product, rule #20, last minute changes to your card already make a lot of your fans very unhappy. Wanna know what a major reason is for lots of last minute changes? Wrestlers simply being unable to compete, either because of substance abuse issues (we'll get to the drugs) or severe injuries that keep them on the shelf. And that's setting aside what having to suddenly do without a major performer will do to your long-term plans! [=AEW=] has suffered from frequent, serious injuries in its main event scene for basically its entire existence as a promotion, partially due to the very creative freedom it promises its performers, often requiring last-minute card changes for big pay-per-view/premium events. (That's not to say WWE has been ''without'' such injuries, just that its overall "house style" is much safer.)

*** Sidenote: History has shown that legends such as UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli and UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan earned their statuses not only through to their own talent, but by the caliber of their competition. Ali had George Foreman and Joe Frazier, and Jordan and his Bulls had UsefulNotes/MagicJohnson's Lakers, Patrick Ewing's Knicks, Isiah Thomas' Pistons, and the John Stockton/Karl Malone Jazz. Creator/MikeTyson has a lesser reputation because despite his technical prowess and power, there was never anyone credible enough to match him in his prime (Evander Holyfield came along, but that was ruined when Tyson bit his ear off). The WWE was at its strongest when the upper-tier roster was packed with talent, and at its lowest when it wasn't (King Mabel vs Savio Vega as your main event, anyone?[[note]]Mabel vs. Savio was just the Wrestling/KingOfTheRing tournament final, the actual main event was [[Wrestling/KevinNash Diesel]] and Wrestling/BamBamBigelow defeating [[Wrestling/SidEudy Sycho Sid]] and Wrestling/{{Tatanka}} in a tag match, which still didn't set the world on fire and was a pretty crappy match to boot[[/note]]). The point here is that the more people you build and sustain to compete for your championships, the more you stand a chance of creating exciting matches, long feuds, and other money-making opportunities. %% Thomas' first name is indeed Isiah, not Isaiah.

*** Reigns was much more obviously hand-picked from the jump, winning most of his matches in FCW, being talked-up as a superstar during his brief run on NXT, being the essential closer for The Shield, and being slated to beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship less than a year after The Shield's breakup. While the DesignatedHero business was certainly cut down upon since he wasn't as gifted on the microphone as Cena and was carrying a persona that was more fierce warrior than boy scout, his contrived invincibility and inability to project a real persona besides occasional smugness still had a way of putting people off. It didn't help that he was constantly beating guys who were better than him at both cutting promos and working matches in a way that made fans connect with the moves he was doing. The most glaring indication of Reigns' anointed position as The Guy regardless of his readiness or the talent around him was him being repeatedly pushed above everyone who gained a hot hand with the fans over the years as being the one destined to dethrone Brock Lesnar for good to herald the arrival of the new era. This failed every single time, resulting in Vince stalling and going for alternate options, before finally pulling the trigger in the middle of 2018 after months of cynically-conceived worked shoots and false starts due to fear of Reigns getting booed had rendered the whole thing meaningless.

*** With Vince returning the product to its pre-Attitude norm of family-friendly programming and role-model hero babyfaces, this abolition of respect for the enemy in promos clashes so badly with the company's stated values that John Cena would often be accused of hypocritically undercutting his rivals with every Rock-reminiscent barb or Heyman-esque worked shoot he delivered on the mic.
*** For good examples, ironically, Paul Heyman himself is one of the best there is at this today; despite being most known as the advocate for ''Brock Lesnar'', one of the most freakishly-dominant wrestlers the world has ever seen, Heyman was known for invoking VillainRespect towards Lesnar's challengers, making the case that against anyone else they could be victorious to emphasise exactly how much Lesnar stood apart from everyone else. He even praised the courage of famous jobber Wrestling/HeathSlater when he came out and got in Lesnar's face during Heath's "free agent" storyline, despite Brock predictably squashing Heath flat.[[note]]On the other hand, Paul Heyman can and has been absolutely brutal in his promos. He was the final nail in the coffin of Jinder Mahal as WWE Champion, completely burying him as "not even being a worthy pretender to the throne" and not being anywhere near the same league as Lesnar. However, as the multiple references on this page would support, this was one case where everyone agrees that [[JerkassHasAPoint Heyman was entirely right]], and Jinder quickly losing the title so Brock could face AJ Styles instead was seen as an incomparable upgrade.[[/note]]

** A special caveat goes to the role of backstage interviewers. As they're asking the wrestlers questions during their scheduled interviews, they can provide a very valuable resource for guiding a promo and making sure that the wrestler/manager being interviewed gets across what you want them to get across. Compare interviews with the legendary Wrestling/GeneOkerlund, where he asks wrestlers pointed questions designed to launch them into their promo, summarizes their responses, and even reacts with outrage to heel antics [[EveryoneHasStandards he finds especially distasteful]] to the endless cast of rotating [=WWE=] interviewers, whose role can be summarized as standing holding the microphone while the wrestler recites a scripted promo--or even worse, AEW's "interviews", which usually barely last a second before the wrestler grabs the mic and starts cutting a promo himself while the beleaguered interviewer (usually Wrestling/TonySchiavone) just stands there looking confused. If you're not actually going to ''use'' backstage interviewers, you're better off just not having them.

Not to be outdone in ''The Death of WWE'' pre-production material department, 2021 saw not one, not two, but ''three'' massive "Black Wednesday" roster and personnel cuts in the immediate months following a Wrestling/WrestleMania that had seen the first live gate in over a year. These releases included talents any company worth its salt would've pushed as top tier. The first round of cuts, which included the likes of Wrestling/SamoaJoe, Wrestling/MickieJames, and [[Wrestling/BillieKay The II]][[Wrestling/PeytonRoyce conics]], took place less than two weeks after [=WrestleMania=] and narrowly preceded the first teaser vignette for Wrestling/EvaMarie's return. This caused fans to bitterly assume WWE's "budget cuts" were made so they could rehire Eva, cratering any chance she had of getting over as an inspirational model-turned-wrestler babyface (despite the fact that news of her rehiring was reported as early as October 2020). The second round of cuts, headlined by Wrestling/BraunStrowman, Wrestling/AleisterBlack, and [[Wrestling/RusevAndLana Lana]], took place less than 48 hours after the May 31 episode of RAW, which had hit a non-December record low rating of ''1.41''. In response to this, the speculation bubbling underground as to whether Vince was looking to sell WWE to the highest bidder suddenly burst to the surface as the primary point of conversation about the company, completely dwarfing even the career-defining championship heel runs of Wrestling/BobbyLashley and Wrestling/RomanReigns. The third round of cuts on the 4th of November saw them dropping another 18 wrestlers, including Wrestling/KeithLee, Wrestling/KarrionKross, Wrestling/NiaJax, Wrestling/EmberMoon and, ironically, Eva Marie. The release of Jax in particular shocked fans, who had assumed that she had a permanent position because of her family ties to Wrestling/DwayneJohnson, and proved that almost ''nobody'' on the roster was safe, driving locker room morale and faith in the company to an all-time low. (Scuttlebutt suggests that all three firings were ''intended'' to make their workforce feel unsafe, to display management's power over their workforce, but it's backfiring hard.)

*** Sidenote: History has shown that legends such as UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli and UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan earned their statuses not only through to their own talent, but by the caliber of their competition. Ali had George Foreman and Joe Frazier, and Jordan and his Bulls had UsefulNotes/MagicJohnson's Lakers, Patrick Ewing's Knicks, Isiah Thomas' Pistons, and the John Stockton/Karl Malone Jazz. Creator/MikeTyson has a lesser reputation because despite his technical prowess and power, there was never anyone credible enough to match him in his prime (Evander Holyfield came along, but that was ruined when Tyson bit his ear off). The WWE was at its strongest when the upper-tier roster was packed with talent, and at its lowest when it wasn't (King Mabel vs Savio Vega as your main event, anyone?). The point here is that the more people you build and sustain to compete for your championships, the more you stand a chance of creating exciting matches, long feuds, and other money-making opportunities. %% Thomas' first name is indeed Isiah, not Isaiah.

** And then there's Wrestling/VinceMcMahon. Even after [[KarmaHoudini all the shady things he's done, all the radioactive skeletons dancing in his closet]], he was ultimately brought down by a series of sex scandals involving various members of his workforce.

** [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling AEW]] did this right at the 2018 ''All In'' show[[labelnote:*]] ''All In'' was technically an independent show. It would from a promotional standpoint be considered a Wrestling/RingOfHonor show, as they provided much of the promotion and technical knowhow, and it was sold as a PPV on their website, but it was booked and constructed by Wrestling/CodyRhodes and Wrestling/TheYoungBucks, who would later be founding members and executives for AEW upon its launch, and over half of the ''All In'' participants would be on the AEW roster within the next 12 months.[[/labelnote]] with Creator/StephenAmell, known for his role on ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. This worked because Amell is a famously fit individual, he spent much of his free time leading up to the event training specifically in pro wrestling (as mentioned above, you could have abs on top of abs and still be hurt incredibly easily in the ring if you don't know what you're doing), he was a close friend of Cody Rhodes, as the latter had guest starred on ''Arrow'' and the two have wrestled in Wrestling/{{WWE}} once, and his opponent was Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels, a veteran of well over 20 years and possibly the safest worker to ever be placed with in a ring on this good Earth. Daniels won the match, Amell played well the role of precocious rookie, and the whole match became possibly the best worked celebrity bout in wrestling history.

** And then there's Wrestling/VinceMcMahon. Even after [[KarmaHoudini all the shady things he's done, all the radioactive skeletons dancing in his closet]], he wasultimately brought down by a series of sex scandals involving various members of his workforce.

** And then there's Wrestling/VinceMcMahon. Even after [[KarmaHoudini all the shady things he's done, all the radioactive skeletons dancing in his closet]], he was (at least initially) ultimately brought down by a series of sex scandals involving various members of his workforce.

** Wrestlers are going to leave your promotion for other ones, whether for better pay, better wrestling opportunity, or [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs both]], and this is a fact of life. It's fine to use their last few months in the company to put over new talent, but do not, under any circumstances, bury them on-air for choosing to leave, even if they've done something legitimately underhanded like no-showing. Giving your wrestlers respectable send-offs if they do choose to leave will make sure your promotion is still in the good graces of not only them but the new promotion they choose to go to (see The Product, rule #15), and leaves the door open to them returning to your promotion in the future. In contrast, treating a long-tenured employee like trash just because they decided to change jobs will do nothing but piss them and the fans off, and all but ensure they will never work for you again. The list of wrestlers who have been buried by Wrestling/{{WWE}} after demanding their releases, and then showed up in another company cutting promos bashing their former employer, could fill a phone book, while Wrestling/BobbyHeenan's respectful and fitting send-off (masterminded by the Brain himself) meant that even when Bischoff or other commentators tried teeing him up to take potshots at the company in wartime, he refused to.

** So if you really, really, ''really'' want to put them in a match, don't have celebrities beat your wrestlers unless you have some way to get the heat back on the talent--perhaps the loss was a dirty finish, or perhaps the celebrity sticks around a little longer to put the other wrestler back over. The only wrestlers who can lose cleanly to non-wrestlers and not be affected are {{jobber}}s and {{joke character}}s who aren't supposed to be taken seriously as wrestlers in the first place. Wrestling/BamBamBigelow may have actually carried [[UsefulNotes/NFLDefensiveAndSpecialTeamsPlayers New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor]] to a pretty good match in the main event of ''[=WrestleMania=] XI'' (and Taylor, himself a wrestling fan who wanted to do the sport justice, put in the work and commitment to pull as much of his weight as he could), but it still damaged the poor guy's career long-term.[[note]]Fun little factoid: even though that was a [=WrestleMania=] main event it wasn't the biggest payoff of his career. He earned $125,000 for the LT match (not at all bad for one night's work, especially when the wrestling business as a whole was in the toilet), but would later receive $250,000 to take a dive in a worked MMA match against UFC fighter Kimo.[[/note]]

# And although it ''should'' go without saying, ''hold yourself'' to a similar standard of professionalism as your workforce and refrain from sexual misconduct. ''Your wrestlers and crew are your employees, '''not''' your toys''. Even setting aside the uncomfortable moral problems with treating people this way, hush money adds up quick, [[ValuesDissonance and we're not in]] TheEighties anymore. In the Internet age, [[StreisandEffect people will find out if you're abusing your power to squeeze the people under you into servicing you]] and, far from celebrating your rock star charisma, all but a tiny handful of horrible people will see you for the sleazy creep you are.

** Just like regular wrestling matches, the rules of GimmickMatches should be easy to understand. Matches like the ladder match, no-disqualification match, and steel cage match have been contested for many decades because of the simplicity of their rules, whether that be using everything at ringside to hurt your opponent or being the first to retrieve a prize. But when you have a [[ComplexityAddiction Contract-On-a-Pole, Two Out of Three Falls, lumberjack match contested in a steel cage under a time limit]], it gets ridiculous. The more swerves, {{gimmick|Matches}}s, run-ins, etc. you add to a match, [[GambitPileup the more confusing it becomes]]. Confused audiences are bored audiences, and bored audiences don't come back, costing you both fans and money. Just look at WWE's Punjabi Prison match and TNA's King of the Mountain match for examples of overcomplicated gimmick matches that failed to do anything for the companies or angles except for earn them places in Website/{{WrestleCrap}}.

*** It's not even necessarily the audience alone you'll have to worry about; WWE lost Dean Ambrose (likely forever) and their competitors gained Wrestling/JonMoxley because he found the promo material he was given as part of his heel turn (saying truly despicable things about real-life friend Roman Reigns' leukemia) so tasteless and unpleasant that he decided then and there he was leaving for keeps as soon as his contract was up and never coming back.