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RAW is...very low rated

From today's WON update:


"Raw did 3.51 million viewers last night, the lowest rating for the show since a Christmas Eve show in 2012.  It was the lowest non-holiday audience for Raw since December 3, 2012, a show that did 3.43 million viewers, and one of the lowest rated non-holiday episodes since 1997."

So again, what is the benefit of having Brock Lesnar at this point?  He no longer moves buyrates, or Network subs, or ratings apparently, and has buried the World title deep in the ground for months until no one even mentions it any longer.  And just wait until next week's Xmas show, where they'll set a newer and better level for rock bottom.  

I bet Vince is gonna freak out any day now.  

Comments

  1. Wrestlemania XXXI - John Cena Vs John Cena's Hologram

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  2. Somehow this is Bryan's fault, I just KNOW it.

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  3. Lower ratings than Arrow. VINCE MCMAHON! YOU HAVE FAILED THIS CITY!

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  4. I'm guessing Brock drops the title at RR. It would just be for the best at this point.

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  5. This really makes Vince's diplomatic but dumb SCSA podcast interview even more tone deaf.

    "We try to give the audience what they want."
    "What about Cesaro?"
    "He's not connecting with the audience, he lacks something with charisma, he doesn't have IT"
    "But people were cheering for him then you paired him with a heel manager--"
    "He doesn't grab the brass ring, I want all our guys to go on a limb, you say everyone's walking on eggshells around me, Steve, but there's no reason to be afraid...oh yeah, we did send Punk his firing papers on his wedding day, sorry about that jk Punk."

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  6. The cartoon atmosphere is killing the ratings. Kids are fickle and easily bored. Also they go to bed earlier than adults. Maybe make the show something for everyone, eh?

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  7. Good, frankly. Only way things can be rebuilt is by completely destroying them at this point. Or just replacing RAW with NXT. Actually, just do that.

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  8. Yeah, I think Reigns/Cena might just have become set in stone at this point.

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  9. It's going to be worse when Dean Ambrose is wandering about Cleveland still lost, but looking for Sister Abigail. He finds her.... IN THE MIRROR! Bray, finish, pin.

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  10. What a mistake. We want to see Archie fight Reggie, not Jughead! Might as well keep the belt on Moose.


    I wish that analogy weren't the first that came to mind.

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  11. >The first hour of Raw averaged 3.703 million viewers. Hour two drew 3.477 million viewers. The final hour of the show averaged 3.385 million.



    Get rid of the 3rd hour already! Christ it aint rocket science.

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  12. USA will wield that Bonhammer until the show is dead

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  13. - “When a forest grows too wild, a purging fire is inevitable and natural."

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  14. Or Jericho's.. :/

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  15. You can't now. USA makes too much money off it, and killing the third hour is both admitting that it was a bad idea and throwing away millions of dollars a year after signing WWE to an inflated new contract just a few months ago. There is literally no benefit in the network taking the show back to 2 hours.

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  16. Best Part: You can't blame Ambrose, Bray Wyatt or Cesaro.

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  17. And actually, to use another real world example, Vince Russo pushed TNT to take Nitro from 3 hours back to 2 hours when he took over, and the result was a GIANT loss in revenue that helped to kill the company. Now, clearly going to 3 hours is a bad idea in the first place, but once it's been expanded you can't just go back.

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  18. But what colour hologram? Red Cena, Orange Cena, Black and Green Cena, Green Cena, Purple Cena??

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  19. In other words.. No use crying over spilled milk, the cat is out of the bag, and you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube.

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  20. Well they've done a smashing job at turning away hundreds of thousands of wrestling fans like myself.

    I know that I really have no real reason to watch RAW at all, well except for the RAW after WM.

    I know its going to start with a dull 20 minute promo, be cluttered with shit 2-5 minute matches with the like of Adam Rose, Los Matadores, the divas, etc. HORRIBLE COMMENTARY that makes me embarrassed to be a wrestling fan, maybe a good 3 star match that thanks to the 50/50 booking means jack shit, super toned-down WACKY PG non-sense and a main event that is 80% of the time Cena/Random hot babyface vs. 3 heels in a handicap match with either Super Cena defying odds or just a shmozz finish.

    No fucking thanks. I'll watch NFL or a movie instead.

    And then the PPVs, which aside from like 3, have been hot garbage all year and give me even more reason to avoid RAW and further push me away from their product and onto NXT and PWG who actually know how to do a wrestling show right and provide great wrestling and entertainment.

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  21. Three hours is easy if they let it be.


    'Hey wrestlers, go call 20 minutes in the ring. You're going over!' Easy.


    'Let's write 20 minutes of dialogue for a show that has to appeal to every demographic!' Not easy.

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  22. So is there any way to watch NXT without needing the network?

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  23. IIRC, a few weeks ago, we were at 24 out of 48 RAW main events that ended in a no finish. If they can't care about the show to give it a proper end, why should we?

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  24. It doesn't surprise me. What was the hook to get you watching after TLC? After a PPV should be the highest ratings to see the fallout but the audience know it will just be the same old. The big programme now is Cena on top again versus Lesnar who hasn't been here in months which we've already seen twice this year.

    Unless of course you really want to see the fallout from Ambrose and the exploding tv...

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  25. Thanks. For some reason I was thinking it wasn't on hulu any more since they keep saying "exclusively on the wwe network".

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  26. That's WWE speak for "exclusively available at this particular time until Hulu airs it a few hours later".

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  27. That first line about the opening 20 minute promo. Since i'm a Saints fan, I don't watch Raw on Monday nights at all if the Saints are playing on a Monday night, and will catch the replay on Hulu if there's anything worth checking out.. About 15 minutes after Raw started, ESPN's pregame went to commercial, and I said to myself "I bet Raw is still in the middle of some middling promo." I switched over to Raw, and yes, there were about four people in the ring yammering on about God knows what. It's just the same old shit in an endless cycle, and WWE has done a great job at just beating down their audience to the point of having no reason to give a shit.

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  28. Is it possible to slowly turn the 1st hour into a pregame show with a booth like they do for the network by having backstage interviews and video packages leading into this weeks show plus a low level match or two? Clearly the start off with a big promo/match followed "other stuff" for hours then end with a big promo/match formula isn't working.

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  29. Funny how Vince is all "we tell stories so people will care" and yet for all their 20 minute promos, they cant tell a logical story that will make people give a shit

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  30. Are the NXT Specials only on the Network?

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  31. Sexy Flexy Biff KensingtonDecember 17, 2014 at 12:15 AM

    This is an unmitigated disaster for Vince and Co.—a disaster they themselves have created. At some point, you have to look in the mirror and face reality. John Cena's reactions are declining in the live crowds. His total merchandise sales are dropping at a slow but steady rate, and television ratings are now declining at a near-consistent level over the last twenty-four months. John Cena simply does not have the box office draw to prop up the shows any longer; his original fan base is beginning to grow out of their fandom, and new fans aren't coming in fast enough to replace the exodus.


    This is where a new, fresh top babyface is needed to step in and pick up the slack, only one problem: they don't have another one. Daniel Bryan could be that guy, but he's out injured. They're trying to build Roman Reigns up to fill the role, but he's still a few months away. Even if you get Bryan back healthy or Reigns really excels, you have an even bigger problem if you're Vince, and that is the glut of faces in the company right now. Roman Reigns, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan are all currently or will be vying for prominent roster spots in the next six months.



    These high-level faces have virtually no fresh opponents left to face; only Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt are over enough and fresh enough to provide a change in direction. Cesaro has been completely buried and is no longer considered a threat; Big Show and Kane are tapped out, Luke Harper is still a work in progress, and Rusev will lose most of his heat upon the conclusion of this jingoistic program at WrestleMania. Outside of turning some of your faces heel or bringing up new talent from NXT, even if someone like Roman Reigns gets the big WrestleMania moment, there's no one waiting in the wings hardly for him to draw money against.

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  32. I keep pointing this out to people who think Vince McMahon can just magically go to USA and ask the show to go back to two hours. The WWE doesn't want to do three hours either, but they are beholden to the network keeping them afloat

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  33. Random thought: how much does this moment weigh in, because if I weren't reviewing Raw, it would've been the end of watching it live for me? When Daniel Bryan vacated the WWE Title, the first thing HHH said was: "We told you he was nothing but a B+ Player who could never be franchise material." In other words, THE ENTIRE LAST NINE MONTHS of WWE programming, culminating in the biggest omelette on HHH's face as 75,000 people chanted YES in an electric, guaranteed WM moment... didn't count. HHH won anyway. The Authority was right. We fans are too stupid to make decisions.

    I have never been more tempted to quit Raw.

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  34. That's why Hunter, for all the great things he's done overseeing NXT, doesn't get it when he's in front of the camera.

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  35. Still below HHH/Booker for me.


    /still bitter

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  36. 22 minutes into Amazing Spider-Man 2. I wish it was just a whole movie full of Spidey patrolling the city and walking around in his costume buying flu medicine.

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  37. Pretty Pretty Pretty Pretty Pretty Dumb.

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  38. The Bonhammer will say no and then demand Cena appear in every hour.

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  39. It was great booking. They just didn't do anything with it afterward.

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  40. At least Henry came to work every week.

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  41. Yeah, after watching a PPV end with your main event face get fried pulling on the cord of a $99 Black Friday flat screen.......I didnt give a crap about RAW either.

    This is just a mess right now. With 6 weeks until the Rumble, and THAT PPV finish, I would love to see how many subs they lose this week.

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  42. How is Cena going to shift the blame to younger talents THIS time?

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  43. XFL? Off topic, but that had to be 8 figures.

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  44. In all fairness that's still a lot if people watching a bad product.

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  45. Rollins' fault, Ambrose's fault, Ziggler's fault.

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  46. Deep down he doesn't genuinely believe it, or else he wouldn't work so hard to make others believe it with the constant HHHistory bullshit.

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  47. WWE is decreasing year to year

    That's how shows get cancelled.

    One just wonders what rock botTom is before ratings finaly swing up again.

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  48. TV is decreasing year-to-year. What's funny is all of these news boards post overnight ratings without considering 1) Live+7 ratings 2) RAW is now 3-hours and people are less inclined to watch it live....especially against Monday Night Football.

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  49. Holy crap. Had I known that, I wouldn't have bothered re-signing up (I just assumed they were Network-only -- I KNOW the show is on Hulu Plus).


    Well, $9.99 lesson learned.

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  50. You've never seen any of the interviews he's done answering negative questions of the popularity of the business with boilerplate Vincespeak of the "nobody wants to grab the brass ring" variety? Just because he's not explicitly shit talking like Hogan's crack about flea markets and Billy Kidman doesn't mean it's not the same guy-on-top shit as always.

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  51. Understandable though. Very few businesses survive by listening to what their customers want and providing said desired item to the customers...

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  52. I would like to continue enjoying NXT actually.


    Though I must say...I skipped Raw and Smackdown this week and it felt really good. I played bass and Sim City 2000 and drank wine and it was a really good Monday.


    -In Before, "ZOMG, IF you didn't watch RAW you can't comment!"

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  53. I­'v­e sta­rt­ed <-a­­­v­era­ging ­­­$­8­5/h s­in­­­c­e i ­­­sta­rt­ed t­o fre­ela­nce­­­ov­e­r t­he in­ter­net s­­­­ix ­­­mont­­­­hs a­go... A­ll i ha­­­­ve t­o d­o i­s t­o wo­r­k a­t h­om­e fe­w h­rs e­a­c­­­h d­a­­­y a­nd d­o sim­pl­e jo­b­­­s i g­et fr­o­­­m th­is co­­­­mp­any­­­ th­at i di­sco­vered­­­ o­nli­ne... I-> a­m ve­ry ex­cit­ed t­o sha­re th­is ­­­ w­it­h yo­u... I­t's a­n ­­­aw­es­om­e s­­­i­d­e j­o­b t­­­­o h­av­e .have a peek here... ,.

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  54. He's a company guy......to a HUGE fault. Meaning if Vince says this, he'll say it even if he's thinking "old man, you wack". Didn't Punk even allude to Cena being one of the few that will stand up to Vince in private or did I interpret the write up all wrong?

    By the way, Hogan was right.

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  55. If you tell a lie enough times, it eventually becomes the truth.

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  56. We wish the WWE network the best in their future endeavors.

    I would say see you again at mania, but I can't even get excited for that.

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  57. 99.9% of people watching (or not watching) didn't even know he was gonna there, so I doubt this says anything about him.

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  58. More importantly, we need to consider that EVERYTHING IS FINE.

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  59. My god. Imagine those Nitros from 2000 being 3 hours long.

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  60. I agree with the notion that TV is decreasing. There are so many ways to watch now that watching live is 3rd option. You can watch OnDemand, Hulu, stream, torrent, wait for Netflix/DVD, the official website. Same goes with WWE.

    Only reason I still have cable is to watch football.

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  61. The solution is obvious: The show needs more HHH, Stephanie and Vince.

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  62. Hogan was totally right about Kidman as well.

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  63. If other aspects of the business were steady or improving, then we could say that declining ratings were just due to diversity of viewing options. But since attendance is down, buys were plummeting before the network, and the network numbers were massively disappointing, it has to be looked at as part of a bigger picture. And diversity of viewing options doesn't explain the shedding of viewers as the night goes on. I know I can DVR a show and watch it later, sure, but if I sit down on my sofa to watch something, I typically plan to watch till the end unless it really sucks.

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  64. Kidman drew about as well as Hogan that year.

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  65. @Art Vandelay You're right. Which is why it's sort of the wild west right now in terms of
    audience measurement. I know so many people that only watch RAW on Hulu
    now. I myself DVR it. I'm not saying there's just as many people
    watching now than during the Attitude era, I'm just saying the TV rating
    updates on wrestling sites are very "small picture." We're talking about a show that instantly loses 30% of its viewership during football season. Add hulu, torrent, illegal live feed streaming, the network....

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  66. Fair enough, though Hogan not drawing well that year (programmed against Kidman, no less) doesn't mean Hogan was wrong about Kidman's ability to draw...

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  67. Hogan being right or wrong about Kidman is beside the point, it was an example of another top guy blaming others when the ratings suck done in a much cruder way. Punk's comment about Cena standing up to Vince had nothing to do with any of this, he said Cena told Vince he wouldn't do stuff if he felt it was dumb. As far as Cena saying it and not believing it, there's no reason to stretch to get Cena off the hook of just being another top guy who wants to find someone else to blame. It's just a natural self-preservation instinct, that's all.

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  68. I DVR it and watch it in 30 minutes or less. I assumed everyone else did, too...

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  69. I thought they pushed Brock coming back prety hard?

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  70. Except that NFL game did a low number, too.

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  71. Coming back, yeah, but not for this past Raw.

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  72. What dis the "F" in XFL stand for? Pro wrestling?

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  73. This. Vince will still panic because that's what he does, but the WWE is still pulling strong ratings for USA.

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  74. Well, at least that epic promo by the reigning, defending WWE World Heavyweight Champion was a great hook to bring people in next week.

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  75. I'm not really sure what I thought the follow up should be to the streak ending. I'm not sure I gave it much thought at all, but I definitely didn't think it should be "Huh. OK. That was a thing that happened. ALRIGHT, WELL, UP NEXT, TEN DIVA TAG ACTION."

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  76. Who was Hogan to dispute Kidman's drawing ability? I've seen some of Kidman's sketches. He was a hell of an artist.

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  77. In all fairness, I don't think Lesnar was announced for RAW, so we can't really blame low ratings on his lack of ability to get a boost in ratings. Now if you don't like that the title has disappeared since he won it, then that's a different thing.

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  78. Well, don't give them any ideas. Now I'm concerned about the "lunatic fringe." I never thought about this before, but corn dogs could actually be very dangerous placed in the wrong hands.

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  79. I think Spiderman 3 was an all around tank job, from directing to acting. I remember hearing something at the time that the Rami and the actors didn't want to do it, so you got emo Spidey and the Anchorman-esque jazz club scene.

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  80. I can give you an example.


    Heroes. Which started out great with high numbers, even against MNF and actually grew during that year. It then dropped considerably in terms of story quality and Nielson ratings on a yearly basis, until they were cancelled for bringing in an average 2.3 Nielson rating in its last season.

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  81. And Arrow is on Break!

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  82. True, but when shit goes south(which it kind of is for WWE's standard), you can't sit there and wonder what's wrong.

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  83. Not that I even disagree necessarily, but did anyone know that Lesnar was going to be on the show? I didn't hear about it.

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  84. Vince has been a little much 1984. This is just doublespeak at its finest.

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  85. I look forward to shitting all over that match live.

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  86. Big Bang Theory pretty much got to where it's at right now by competing with MNF for the first three or four years.

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  87. But people continued to switch off even after he showed up, even though it was fairly certain he'd show up again

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  88. Better break the news to Vince that pushing a hologram and an exploding television isn't what people mean when they talk about embracing technology.

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  89. 250,000,000 is a nine figure number

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  90. If you BOlieve........YOU DON'T KNOW DIDDLEY!

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  91. Shane wants no part of that train wreck

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  92. Ideas for new shows on the Network:


    "Road To Nowhere: the very best of WWE's talking heads! THRILL as you see the same clips of Eric Bischoff with an arena behind him! SQUEAL as you see WWE superstars such as Jim Ross, CM Punk and Vince Russo comment on what they thought when they first saw those clips! GUESS whether Hogan is just kayfabing or if he really does believe the shit he says. WONDER why The Rock is never on these things despite being part of the WWE forever etc. etc."


    "The Monday Night Snores: which were the biggest blunders in Sports Entertainment history? WWE normally brings you a golden egg every Monday night - but we admit we've brought you a few gobbldey-gookin turkeys along the way! RELIVE the excitement of the John Laurenei-eiit.. Johnny Ace years, with all his classic promos! WATCH countless hours of General Managers being given on-the-job performance evaluations - and then WE GO BACKSTAGE to view all the paper-work and mailing of envelopes that you DIDN'T get to see on TV! Not enough? We revisit all of the awful stories that have brought down the company, as written by the same idiots who run it now but who won't let other people improvise! KATIE VICK! HLA! LIMO EXPLOSION! 9/!!"


    and finally,"They did Goldberg Vs Hogan on TV, LOL": join your favourite WWE superstars such as Matt Striker, as we look back at that time that WCW aired Goldberg vs Hogan on TV with scarcely any build to it. Plus, see Dolph Ziggler, Zach Ryder anyone else who keeps pissing us off, as they fearfully suggest some of the WWE's worst booking and are told NO GOLDBERG VS HOGAN WAS STUPIDER MAN WCW WAS LIKE SO LAME GAHHHH YOU JUST DON'T GET IT!!!! until they learn to keep their damn mouths shut and toe the line like that punk Jericho eventually did."

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  93. Give Vince a break. He's just seen the first every night of MTV. There's going to be an astronaut jobbing out Ambrose next.

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  94. It was probably mentioned on a news item a few months ago that he'd be popping up on (some dates in the vague neverland that is the future). That's how I always process that stuff anyway. But I don't think the WWE in any way promoted it.

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  95. Has anyone suggested to Dean that if he trimmed his fringe, maybe he'd have more luck seeing and avoiding TVs and corn dogs?

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  96. Its Philly, and Brock has Heyman as his manager. Cena is going to get booed out of the building. About the only way they are booing Brock is if he goes and burn down the original ECW building, with Heyman and the entire ECW roster in it.

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  97. If you do, I OFFER MY SERVICES as a replacement.


    1) Our names are similar, so that's going to be comforting to the readership.
    2) I'm British so I can talk about how many stones The Big Show weighs and how he packs a right wallop when he clobbers someone especially if he really gives it some welly in the bread basket. Years of watching American TV have informed me that apparently this is hilarious. SMELL THE PAGEVIEWS.
    3) Although it will be 24 hours late due to my not watching Raw typically until Tuesday, I usually watch it in female company. What my reviews will lack in wit or brevity, they will make up in long and uncomfortable fan-fiction about Seth Rollins splitting his trousers!

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  98. They didn't promote him for this past Raw, though. We all read spoilers and things they have planned and whatnot, so of course we knew it, but they didn't advertise his return on television (or anywhere else) as far as I know...

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  99. Does anyone remember the Mr Show sketch on 'Rap The Musical'?

    After seeing NXT last week, watching TLC on Sunday reminded me of that. It's wrestling but with all of that nasty wrestling taken out which gets in the way of one's enjoyment of people arranging furniture and talking about that time that D-X went down a ramp whilst wearing army helmets which changed the business forever.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG_rEqCivn4

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  100. Looks like Hogan is getting the belt at WM now for sure.

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  101. Another theory - In the quest to hook/brainwash younger viewers by constantly repeating the words 'WWE Network/app' and buzzwords and all the things they want you to think are important, they are at the same time turning off the older fan (16+) by repeatedly insulting their intelligence. I switched off TLC after the announce team wouldn't STFU about Ziggler/Harper being the greatest ladder match ever. It was just so phony and embarrassing that I couldn't take it anymore. Then, I turned off Raw when the Fan Vote App listed 3 EXACT SAME MATCHES for fans to choose from (No Dq, Extreme Rules, Street Fight). Can someone literally trap HHH/Vince in a room with a camera and ask them to explain that one? Then come to find when I read the results that the match didn't even happen - it was pointlessness on top of pointlessness on top of pointlessness. I find myself thinking 'people with brains do not watch this shit' too often.


    It's the older fans (the biggest demographic) that are switching off - if I was a 12-years-old I would be lapping all this shit up

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