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Great News About Your WWE Network Subscription

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  1. Time to push Cena more. Maybe get some Cena docs up on the network. Free tiny towel when you sign up for the network.

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  2. What are the chances the Network subscription won't include Wrestlemania 31?

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  3. This is being done so that people can jump on board for Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. They want people to be able to subscribe to these two shows without commitment. Of course this means there will be a mad exodus after Wrestemania (and if they don't have Mid-South up by then, I'll be one of the departers), but it's not like WWE does long term planning.

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  4. Needs more Cena. FAST!

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  5. It reflects the fact that WWE have no commitment to adding most of the content people really want.

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  6. I know they're in for a penny, in for a pound, but at what point to they realize this is a failure and what's the next step?

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  7. "Everything is fiiiine, Maggle!"

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  8. They need to have ppvs people want to see, not ppvs that make people never want to see wrestling again.

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  9. The next step is hiring Vince Jordan to convince them everyone loves their product and they are doing a great job and the roster is super strong. Everyone not subscribing are just sad souls.

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  10. They can't. They've told the PPV companies to perform an anatomical impossibility. They HAVE to make this thing work.

    Which is bad, because the service itself is good enough. The way they've presented it has been terribawful.

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  11. So since they can't get this thing over I wonder how bad the ppv pay outs have been? Probably complete shit, this could be the worst situation mid to low talent has ever been in financially.

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  12. Still doing better than TNA's midcard for money.

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  13. Sad to say, that is probably what Vince is hearing from his inner circle already.

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  14. Florida might increase its state welfare benefits pretty soon though.

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  15. It's becoming pretty clear that incremental changes are not going to make it work. If the thing doesn't have a million subscribers now, what in the world could they possibly do to get a million at any point in the future?

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  16. I'll bet Bray's ghost scared them off...

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  17. There is one way out of this Undisputed unified World/Intercontinental/US/Solo Tag Team Champion John Cena....or and some new competitor who looks strangely familiar named Jen Cena as Diva champion.

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  18. The thing is, since the Network started they've mostly had main events I wanted to see (aside from that weak-ass Cena/Reigns/Kane/Orton fatal four-way). WrestleMania was obviously awesome, Shield/Evolution, the MITB matches, Cena/Lesnar, Ambrose/Rollins....even if the rest of some of these cards were weak, I've been hyped enough for the main events that I still watched the shows even though the Raws leading up and the rest of the card have been mediocre.
    Part of me almost wishes we'd get some shit main events so I could cease caring altogether, if even for a short time before WM season gets going. I don't know, man. Even though I love the overall talent level on the roster I think it just goes back to something that was being discussed yesterday: you don't lose two guys like Punk and Bryan within a couple months of each other and not feel the hurt on your cards for some time to come.

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  19. Stranger in the AlpsOctober 30, 2014 at 8:25 AM

    Daily Update is posted. 731k, no more 6-month commitment and TNA is fine.

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  20. I feel like the fanbase just isn't aware of the amazing price point and they just need to emphasize it EVEN MORE.

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  21. ........not sure if serious.....

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  22. This kind of pisses me off. I had a small stipend available to pre-pay the network for six months two weeks ago, because adding on a monthly draft was going to be tough with our finances right now. Now I'm down $60 when I could've dropped the $10 for a month and burn through the content.

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  23. This product is colder than John Heidenreich's frozen caveman Nazi body.

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  24. Is there some reason they haven't advertised it on non-WWE programming? Have they just made the determination that there aren't enough would-be buyers outside of their existing fanbase to make purchasing the ad time on, say, Sunday/Monday Night Football or even NBA on TNT to be financially feasible?

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  25. If there's anything more annoying than a troll (which I don't think Vince is, I think he's a mostly reasonable person who just happens to be more positive about something we all purportedly enjoy than the rest of us are), it's the person who calls out a troll when they aren't even around.

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  26. I will say this as someone who went from working in traditional media to almost exclusively digital media: You will never see more shock than what you get when people who are used to measuring audiences with traditional media metrics (ratings points, demo shares, etc) are confronted with the precision of new media metrics. It's like they realize their entire careers were based on a pile of lies.


    I have a very strong feeling that the 700k number is much closer to the mean of the truly engaged WWE audience than anything over 1 million or whatever bullshit numbers they justify because of social networks.


    And apart from the true boom periods, it's probably always been like that. Wrestling is a niche. Always.

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  27. Here's the problem. WWE is all in on the Network. BUT they also have the RAW deal which is forcing them to produce three hours of content a week. They are overexposed and to fill 3 hours a week they are giving us Dust Bros Vs Usos 100 times in six weeks. It is really hard to keep fresh matches for the big shows when you have that.


    A lot of people have suggested giving NXT the first hour of RAW, but then you lose one of the big Network exclusives.


    Also, RAW not being available on the Network is killing them. More and more people are cutting cable altogether, and Live Raws could be a big selling point.

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  28. The money from the TV contracts basically prop the company up, and you think it would be better to put those shows on the Network? No chance. And you can't even say "show them on both USA and WWE Network", because there's no way the TV partners would allow that.

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  29. I mean...731k is at least up, isn't it? I'm no financial expert, but it seems to me the biggest mistake here was the way Vince sold it to investors from the beginning. Had he presented this as a short-term loss leader that's a long-term investment in being at the cutting edge of content distribution, wouldn't things be way better for them right now? Combined with boasting that the new TV deal would be 2-3x bigger and then ending up with one that was only 1.5x bigger, it seems to me that the biggest problem is Vince thinking he's still the old-school carnival barker while running a company that very much lives in the modern financial world.

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  30. Yeah, even if WWE Network becomes a massive success- which, if they ride this out and put up more content that lapsed fans and even their core base wants to see, I absolutely would not rule out- we're so far away from them taking Raw off cable it's not even worth entertaining the thought.

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  31. The problem with this specific # today as far as growth is that last quarter there were 698k domestic sub's. Now there are 703k. Thats basically zero growth here in the usa. That is bad. The other problem is that the international rollout only added 28k new subscribers. That large international fan base some thought would easily catch the network up only added 28 thousand subscriptions. Maybe they can grow that over time but to me, that's an alarmingly low level of intital interest.

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  32. Jen Cena?

    ....yeah, I'd do her.

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  33. I think the other thing, and I believe Scott made this point months ago, that would have helped would have been to have the Network ready to debut no more than a few days after the announcement.

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  34. And the scary part is, what can they really do about it at this point? If they put every Attitude Era Raw, every episode of Superstars and Challenge, every Mid-South and WCCW show, every Prime Time, every single compelling thing in their library, how much would the subscriber rate really increase? At this point, adding that stuff would probably only prevent them from LOSING subscribers, but I doubt it would help them in adding many.


    The problem is two words and the Network isn't getting fixed until the problem is getting fixed:


    Current product.

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  35. What worries me is that the product was actually good and had a nuclear-hot main event storyline AND it was WrestleMania season, and the initial number was still what it was. So I don't know how much an improved product will really help, though it sure as hell can't hurt.

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  36. Don't you mean, "Oh, TAG!"?

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  37. Hey, sorry I ruined your morning. I hope things pick up for you.

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  38. I still think they're missing the boat with the format. They focus too much on additional content to the current product. With 3 hours of raw and then smackdown on top of that, do ppl really need all the other current programming on the network? it's overkill I think. attention spans are shorter and companies now compete for the first screen of peoples phones. Once they figure that out then they should be fine, but easier said than done

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  39. Here's the tricky thing, though: the lack of commitment COULD wind up leading to a lot of people who balked at the commitment signing up, possibly around RR or Mania, and then forgetting to cancel. People do that sort of thing, and WWE could benefit

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  40. It's beyond retarded how they don't (seem to) realise that improving the current product will help Network subs big time. It's not all about saying $9.99 at every available opportunity

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  41. Didn't say that. I said that was the problem. They have TV requirements that conflict with expanding the Network.

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  42. Stop being so short sighted and cynical. They can easily add randy orton content as well. And Kane and the Big show. There is no shortage of new talent.

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  43. No way. She'd never go down.

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  44. Definitely need more Big Show. His hands are the size of FRYING PANS!!! You need to see him live.

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  45. Yeah, but they'd only pay for an extra month or two (if they were going to cancel and just forgot, and assuming "auto-renew" is default selected; I'll find out when I sign up for the Rumble), whereas someone who forgets to cancel with the six-month commitment would theoretically be charged for another six months.

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  46. Well she certainly never swallows...see she has this little towel and...

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  47. "They are overexposed and to fill 3 hours a week they are giving us Dust Bros Vs Usos 100 times in six weeks. It is really hard to keep fresh matches for the big shows when you have that."

    They are overexposed, but the latter half of this is bullshit. What are Luke Harper and Erick Rowan doing? There's nothing inherently comedic about Slater Gator that couldn't be fixed with a strong win and a competitive match or two. How about Xavier Woods' new Nation?

    It's not hard to keep matches fresh. The problem is that "champion(s) take a pinfall from challenger(s) to set up PPV match" is the only storytelling device the creative team remembers.

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  48. Agreed. If they had one weekly show- even at the bloated three hours- then I'd gladly eat up the additional content. If, say, Main Event was the only place I'd see a 15-minute Dolph match? Fuck yes, I'm watching it. As it is, I don't think I've watched that show since Shield v. Wyatts in April.

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  49. Another problem is that the Network is sold on getting the PPV's. I typically order Rumble and Mania every year and RARELY anything else. That means I was spending around $80 on PPV annually. If I get the Network for a year I'm spending $120. Now that there is no commitment, I can just get the Network for those two months for $20.


    The obvious solution is to make the shows better. I bought SummerSlam last year because I wanted to see Bryan Vs Cena. Before that I had never bought SummerSlam. They have to make the PPV's worth $10 a month and honestly, I don't even want to pay that most months.

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  50. Not only did Wall Street likely expect to much after buying Vince's promoter hype, I would guess WWE did as well, with start-up and content and programming costs for the Network assuming it would have millions of subs (remember the alleged millions and millions of US households with an "affinity" for WWE and the large amount of "lapsed fans" who wanted to relive their memories?). It would be like buying a $50,000 car thinking your parents were going to give you that money only to find out they were only giving you $30,000.

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  51. There's a big gulf between "you're annoying" and "you ruined my day." You're firmly on the side of the former, friend.

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  52. This. A common comment in favor of the Network is its "great value", but, for a lot of WWE fans (not unlike the 1 million TNA viewers of whom only 10k would buy a PPV), the Network is viewed not as "I'm saving $35 on a PPV by paying $9.99" but as "I'm having to spend $9.99 I wouldn't otherwise have spent", meaning the "value" isn't there for them, because instead of viewing PPVs at $45 as too expensive, they just view $9.99 as still not worth it.

    Did WWE confirm that Wrestlemania would be on the Network for the single-month $9.99 price?

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  53. Speed Force is being held back until Fast Lane.

    The Masked Man's latest Grantland article suggests that deemphasizing the titles is freeing creative from the monthly championship challenger cycle, allowing it to develop compelling feuds like Show-Henry and Alicia-Paige.

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  54. This is the stuff I get frustrated by. They have talent they aren't even using. Put them into matches or angles. Who cares if those are silly or not? Let the crowd determine if they like it or not.


    Give Miz an entourage because he's an "A" lister.
    Have Kofi shill new WWE action figures.
    Sheamus and Ziggler can talk about how they are better at WWE 15 than the other.


    I am suggesting throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. They have 3 hours to fill. It's not hard to fill that up if they used more wrestlers in random things.

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  55. I think I said like 743. Somewhat close.

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  56. Just trying to be sensible like Vince Jordan. Sorry my follow up post ruined your week. Hang in there.

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  57. Not only that, but you have five to eight guys in NXT who are ready right the fuck now to make serious main roster contributions.

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  58. You're quickly crossing over from having just made an annoying post to me thinking you're just a sad, annoying dude in general.

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  59. Right, but you'd be robbing Peter to pay Paul, big time. The TV 'requirements' are far more valuable than a 100% profitable Network. What needs to happen is that this thing becomes profitable and the TV model does NOT change. That's the only way for the ship to be righted.

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  60. I could be wrong, but anyone that gets on TV gets paid. I want to say this was the reason the tag division got gutted. Why pay 4 guys when you can pay two for the same amount of time? It also begs the question of why is someone on the roster if you're not going to use them?
    They have the quantity of talent needed to fill 3 hours. Quality might be a concern, but even painful segments could be short. They are in a catch 22. It doesn't make a lot of sense to put talent on TV who isn't over, but you can't get talent over unless they are on TV.
    And the ME talent is overexposed. Cena is in what 2-3 long segments as well as 2-3 other places in the show. Ambrose/Orton/Rollins too.

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  61. My problem with the network is the content available on there. They have not even touched half of the footage this company owns. Where is Saturday Night? Prime Time? Thunder? AWA? Mid-South? More WCCW content? NWA shows?

    Come on add more WWE.

    Also it doesn't help that the current booking has completely turned me off from even watching anything related to professional grappling.

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  62. Wow what a disappointing number.

    Someone at WWE needs to take a step back from the whole $9.99 catchphrase and think, what are we offering that makes paying $9.99 a month worth it? $9.99 a month may be worth it to get the PPV cheaper than you would if you bought it for $60+ on cable or DirecTV, but what about if you have absolutely no interest in buying the PPV?

    If their business hinges on the network, they need to make providing content for the network the first priority.

    - IMMEDIATELY restructure the writing teams with the direction of mapping out cohesive overarching storylines building to WrestleMania. If you want to compare the WWE to shows on Netflix or HBO Go, you need to look at what those showrunners are doing. Vince Gilligan didn't do re-writes of Breaking Bad on Sunday Nights at 2pm.

    - Re-evaluate John Cena. Again, if WWE Network is the primary avenue of growth for the company, they can't be afraid to turn John Cena heel because T-Shirt sales would go down. The most immediate thing they can do to make WWE programming must-see is turn Cena heel and follow through on it. Turn him into the Tony Soprano of the WWE.

    If they don't want to risk the T-Shirt sales, then turn him into a past his prime hero who's best days are behind him (they've started to do this with him and Brock but haven't followed through). Kobe Bryant is still a compelling figure even though he's past his prime and not winning titles anymore. So were Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali. A great character's downfall is more interesting than their rise or their reign.


    Either way, the status quo of SuperCena >>>>> everyone is unacceptable.

    - Build and promote NXT and Main Event as a must-see shows EVERY WEEK, not just when a Takeover event is happen to juice subscription numbers. These are two original WRESTLING shows that people can only watch on the Network. Make wrestling fans feel dumb if they don't watch them.

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  63. That's sad.

    Sorry for ruining your month. I hope something good in your life comes along to cheer you up. This is just a wrestling site and you're obviously taking this way too seriously. I hope there's something in your life to get you out of this downward spiral you're going through.

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  64. Maybe they can give Big Show a cooking show on the Network where he puts on protective gloves and cooks everything in his hands.

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  65. Is it possible that might not even be true?
    I almost think they might be damned either way. If Raw and Smackdown were
    awesome every week, I wouldn’t feel the need to wallow in nostalgia. I’d
    happily devote the (not-infinite) amount of time I devote to watching wrestling
    TO the current product.

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  66. davidbonzaisaldanamontgomeryOctober 30, 2014 at 10:42 AM

    They can keep Thunder in the vault, IMO...

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  67. davidbonzaisaldanamontgomeryOctober 30, 2014 at 10:45 AM

    Folks are sitting through a months-long arc of Bella nonsense when just about every chick in NXT is far superior to them in every way except fellating a main event superstar

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  68. It'd get me back, so it'd add at least one

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  69. The statistical modeling on this is already amazing and we only have 3 data points to build it from. (I would kill to see the actual model based on month-to-month numbers.) The Network essentially started at one number and plateaued there with very little change since then. That's staggering. It's impossible to capture an entire market at launch, but somehow they did it. The amount of growth is so low, it's almost statistical noise. I don't understand how this is happening from a math perspective. The number should grow out of inertia if nothing else or there should be a dip.

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  70. yes the default is auto-renew.

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  71. that to me seems to be the next step. Obviously the right content mix to please a wider fanbase and a compelling current product are priority 1A and 1B, but since that is not working, at some point you have to throw a hail mary and start trying to advertise anywhere you might find lapsed fans or even attrace a few new ones. Which of course leads to more one week free trials.

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  72. while I agree that trolling Vince Jordan is hardly the answer, your assessment of his posting is laughable.

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  73. I think you are right. They seem to believe that putting up more older content is not going to help at all. I realize message boards on wrestling are far from a perfect sampling, but I have literally seen well over a 100 people say they are canceling due to a lack of older content being posted. While putting up all the old stuff may not suddenly bring in 300k, not having it is costing them renewals. I look at it similar to Netflix. Few buy Netflix just for Magic School Bus (a show my daughter discovered on there), little known documentaries, B movies, etc. But enough people like each of these niche categories so that it adds up to a tapestry that brings in subscribers. If Netflix just carried Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, BIg Bang Theory, and a couple other top new shows and said screw it on stuff that may not bring as many eyeballs but provides diverse content, people would cancel. That is what WWE is doing. They are missing opportunities to have a diverse tapestry to both bring in new customers and let existing subscribers discover new things to keep them coming back month after month.

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  74. The fallen hero narrative would have been perfect right after 28. then he beat Brock and the beating he took was nullified by lack of follow up

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  75. They can't possibly think that leaving Rumble, WM, and SS at $9.99 is smart, can they?

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  76. Yep. They still tried to tell the "annus horribilis" story heading into the Rock rematch, but the Brock win really undercut it.

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  77. Bingo. Hell, take the lower midcard talent and make risky angles and longer matches for them. Let them showcase their talents in a different environment than the 10-minute-max RAW environment. It not only will juice the numbers, but it'll help build those talents into bigger stars (that you could then feed to John Cena, but still.)

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  78. You study statistics or just a fan of them?

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  79. There is a disproportionately large amount Of anime on Netflix. And it's SUBBED.

    Anime+Futurama+Archer is why I got netflix.

    It's my cartoon pit these days. Most people wouldn't come for that, but I don't care about the other niche stuff. WWE should be ripping off all the Netflix it can.

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