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New WWE Geographic Strategy?


Scott:

Just wondering if you think Sunday's Rumble crowd is going to force the WWE to re-think where they book major events? I mean, we all know they sure as hell aren't gonna change how they book. But would a final four of Reigns, Show, THEDEMONKANE, and Rusev played better somewhere in fly-over country? Is the company going to try and avoid these kind of reactions by avoiding smark cities?

Been a fan for a while--thanks for all the information and entertainment!

Ryan

Yeah, but how many excuses can they make for this stuff before they run out of cities?  We've now heard "It's not us, it's Philly" and "It's not us, it's Pittsburgh" and "It's not us, it's Toronto" and "It's not us, it's New York" and "It's not us, it's Chicago".  How many places can they burn through before they find the idealized smark-free city that will happily accept the Roman Empire as their conqueror? Plus, as noted, that Rumble was basically booked to get the worst reactions in every conceivable way, so it's not like putting it in, say, St. Louis was going to save it.  It just happened that the Philly crowd was much less shy about expressing their frustrations with the product.  

Comments

  1. Just have a permanent arena at a theme park and just let any schmo get in for free. I hear that works.

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  2. In fairness, Cena got booed out of every smark building (and most others), it seemed, in 2005 and 2006 and that didn't stop them then. Like Cena, Reigns does fine with women and kids.

    And, again, this appears to be deliberate on their part, as they've taken away all of Reigns' strengths and are accentuating his weaknesses.

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  3. I agree with your line of thinking, BUT nobody really cancelled their network subscriptions Sunday night and I, for one, have no plans to do so regardless of how bad the current product gets.


    So I can kind of understand, in a backhanded way, where they're coming from.

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  4. I'm still surprised (and disappointed) they have never held the Royal Rumble here in Chicago...we've had every other Big Four PPV, but not that one...shame too, our crowds are the best...

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  5. Yeah I think they would've figured that out by now. I honestly think they just don't give a shit, and as mentioned they'll do what they can to make you hate even harder, because they know we've got the pro wrestling disease and won't stop watching no matter what happens

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  6. They like to think most of the people who are dissatisfied with their product are a minority of internet nerds without realizing that "minority" of internet nerds are all who are left that still follow this bullshit. Everyone else simply didn't care enough to voice dissatisfaction with the product, they just left.

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  7. How many places can they burn through before they find the idealized
    smark-free city that will happily accept the Roman Empire as their
    conqueror?

    Pretty cool line.

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  8. Durr those are just Internet fans. Real fans don't even know to use a computer.

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  9. The reaction would have been bad anywhere, maybe somewhat worse in Philly/Chicago than Ohio or Arizona.


    There is a difference between TV/PPV crowds and house show crowds; the Torch had a house show report from one of its editors that said Reigns was getting an 80-85% babyface reaction. But even if some of the crowd would have cheered Reigns, most weren't going to cheer him over Bryan in general (even though he was off for months, brought back with no hype, and lost to Bray Wyatt on Raw), and definitely not with how badly Bryan (and Ambrose and Ziggler) were treated as afterthoughts and how weakly Reigns was booked in this match.


    WWE live crowds are very much sheep, in that they will repeat what they've heard in other places on Raw or what a small portion of the show they are at starts: remember Fandango's theme going crazy? The "boo Reigns" group of fans (wherever they are in the country) are strongly motivated to boo now, and the issue is whether fans who might otherwise cheer for Reigns when opposed to Lesnar/Heyman will now stay quiet or even boo Reigns because "it's just what you do at a live show."

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  10. WWE management mocks crowds who don't eat up their shit booking according to that podcast Punk did.

    Every fault within WWE is someone else's fault and not their own.

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  11. Ironic that they're trying to marginalize the Northeast area (NY/NJ/Philly etc.), which were historically the (W)WWF territory. MSG was their place, and now it's "Those crazy New Yorkers"

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  12. Atlanta: Home of the world's most apathetic fans.

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  13. I did. Didn't see any need to give a company that takes delight in pissing off its fans to get me money.

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  14. Come to the UK we cheer all wrestling.

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  15. Boring is boring no matter where they go. Forget about whether or not Reigns is a good choice to win, the rumble match was just dull and had no good flow or heat to it. I was barely paying attention to it personally. Even if the crowd didn't boo it out of the building, if they keep putting out a lackluster product then people will tune out at some point.

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  16. I live in Omaha, and I would've booed the shit out of them.

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  17. I'm from Atlanta, and couldn't agree with you more. Lots of good sheeple fans.

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  18. i liked the kane/show teaming-up aspect and even the slapstick finish(es) but i dont know if u can throw the top babyface out 1/2 way through and not get booed out in any place

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  19. St. Louis is a classic wrestling city! That garbage would have gotten the Minneapolis/Bootista treatment had it gone down at the Kiel.

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  20. Awesome heel stable name. Trademark that SK, post haste!

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  21. I thought the problem was Canada

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  22. But that didn't start until after he was well into his first title reign.

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  23. Pfft, like there's some sort of huge number of legendary wrestlers from the South, or several major promotions that ran the South, or that to this day WWE is not close to capturing the fanbase of old Southern promotions in the region.



    Oh, wait...

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  24. They made shitloads of money off of those booers. Why would they change anything?

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  25. YankeesHoganTripleHFanJanuary 28, 2015 at 1:02 PM

    I wonder how the New York crowd would react to Reigns? They have historically liked bigger guys, (see Sid vs Michaels from the Garden at SS 96, and Hogan will always be a favorite there.)

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  26. The WWE has to realize that smarks are becoming good leading indicators on what fans in 6 months will think of the product. This isn't the 90s and Billy Kidman love. They've been right on Batista, Reigns, Punk and Bryan.

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  27. I said in this Rumble thread, but the biggest issue I had with it is their total lack of conviction with their decision. They were so afraid of the crowd reaction that they let it hurt the quality of the match.


    For there to be drama in the Rumble, there have to be multiple people at the end that legitimately could win the match. There were only two genuinely legit contenders to win the match in Reigns and Bryan and then some guys that the crowd could probably talk themselves into, like Bray, Ambrose and Ziggler. Those guys should have been there at the end, but Bryan needed to be there.


    The only hope they had to overcome the crowd's disapproval of the Bryan elimination was to provide good drama down the stretch and that wasn't going to happen with Kane and Big Show as the possible winners. If they would have ended it with Bryan and Reigns, the crowd would have still booed the shit out of the winner, but at least would have been into the drama of the match.

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  28. I assume you mean Rome, Georgia.

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  29. Soon they're going to have to stick to Fayetteville and Des Moines.

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  30. Part of the problem with looking for a less smarky city is that those places often have the crowds that sit on their hands. I'd think a silent crowd that doesn't react to anything would be worse in many ways. I just don't think there's this mythical place where fans cheer what WWE wants them to and doesn't offer any smarky chants.


    Oh wait, there is a place: Taped episodes of Smackdown.

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  31. Booers tend to go away. People who cheer means more money longer.

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  32. It's Diesel Power all over again!

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  33. Yay!! Denver just got 52 weeks of Monday Night Raw!!

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  34. What about Los Angeles? Has that crowd been smarked up? Obviouisly I mean the Staples Center crowd instead of the Anaheim folks. After all the OC crowd still remembers the Roddy Piper-Goldust skit from WM XII.

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  35. Virgil's Gimmick TableJanuary 28, 2015 at 1:26 PM

    India. There will be a sea of Jihn Cina and Romon Rains signs.

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  36. Roman empire would be a pretty good heel stable for him...

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  37. There is also a Paris and Dublin tx. They could do a fake European tour through the state

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  38. Psh. Canada has been turning against the product since 2004. You Yankees are just playing catch-up.

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  39. Fly Over Country. SMDH

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  40. And khali would be useful again!

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  41. "How many places can they burn through before they find the idealized
    smark-free city that will happily accept the Roman Empire as their
    conqueror?"

    They could always try Rome.

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  42. Dude, the booers are the ones that never go away.

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  43. Yep, we're up here secretly pulling ALL the strings. Don't tell anyone, though.

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  44. I'd say having a hard time giving away PPVs at $9.99 instead of $50 is reason enough not to stay whatever course you're on.

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  45. YankeesHoganTripleHFanJanuary 28, 2015 at 1:27 PM

    To be fair, during my tween years, the Disney taping's DID give me something to watch on Saturday night's when I was allowed to stay up late but needed something to do after Are You Afraid of the Dark was over.

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  46. It depends which booers you mean. Regardless, not having a person or people to cheer means the casuals and kids don't watch. The Network is being propped up by hardcores and is not growing because of hamfisted booking.

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  47. "It's not like putting it in, say, St. Louis was going to save it."


    The St. Louis crowd would have been wondering where Randy Orton was, not realizing that he's been given the "Creative has nothing for you" spiel for the last couple of weeks.

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  48. I believe he was referring to Rhome, TX. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhome,_Texas

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  49. LA crowds are the worst in all sports.

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  50. It just grew to a million subscribers.

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  51. Oh no we're still too scared to buy tickets because of the Ferguson unrest! Survivor Series didn't sell so hot here. The problem with "nice" cities like us is that we just don't bother to show up if it's a bad product. Philly is that 20% of customers who will complain.

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  52. After adding several countries. Spin this how you want, but let's see where we are in six months when yes it is Vince's libido above his paying customers.

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  53. I realize they drool for Kobe Bryant and Blake Griffin, so why won't they drool over the Rock's cousin?

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  54. I'm looking forward to the live episode of Smackdown this week.

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  55. The good thing about a crowd that sits on their hands is that they can be manipulated by audio sweetening to the TV audience.

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  56. Mark Madden on JR's podcast also brought up Reign's pouting over getting booed. It was something I could sense but couldn't quite put my finger on until I watched the replay. The booing is something you can't control as a performer, but your reaction to it is something you can control. Madden brought up a great point - in spite of not being a Cena mark, you have to respect Cena's ability to not be butt-hurt by the boos and to stay in-character. That's something that Reigns lacks due to his level of experience. He may eventually get there, as this could be a "Rocky Miavia" situation, but he's not there yet.

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  57. The booers will never stop paying. Look at all of the comments since Sunday. That's why they don't give a fuck about what you all think. Because you're not going anywhere.

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  58. AIN'T NO STREET CORNERS LIKE THAT IN ROME (puts up the Horsemen hand gesture)

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  59. I swear... they run Corpus Christi, Texas about every three weeks.

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  60. In 2006 he was already champion for a while. Look at the second ECW PPV.

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  61. WWE big company! Big company need lots of fans. Neckbeards small number of fans. Shit booking drive away non-neckbeard. Neckbeard only mean less money. Less money BAD for Vince.

    Get your social worker to read that for you.

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  62. I almost like Cena as a character when I see his reactions to the boos in smark cities. He has the BIGGEST shit eating grin on his face that's almost impossible to hate.

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  63. I have a different take on this, and pouting is the wrong reaction (unless the ultimate plan is for him to turn heel). I think it's OK to show some suprise/disgust/confusion over the crowd's reaction to you. It shows you're not a robot, and gives you the ability to pivot to different angles rather than the John Cena "ignore and move on" strategy.

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  64. Man, you're dumb. You're the neckbeards. You're the ones complaining. You're the ones that never leave. That's why they book for little kids and try and get casuals back. Do you think Cesaro, Kevin Steen and Ambrose are going to do that? I'm sorry if this is beyond your comprehension.

    I'll dumb it down. You no like show? Why you watch show you know like? You am dumb.

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  65. L.A. wrestling crowds are pretty quiet overall, aren't they? That's not a good thing either.

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  66. Have you tried shaving?

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  67. No, I'm just amused that you think "neckbeards" is clever.

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  68. Fair enough. I forgot that you've been calling people fat and ugly. So instead of using a mid-2010s insult, you're ripping off Rick Rude's material from 1988.

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  69. Did you see that PPV? The crowd won't have them back after that one!

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  70. Adam "Colorado" CurryJanuary 28, 2015 at 1:58 PM

    Miami is worse, but L.A. is a close second.

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  71. I think a "Barrow, Alaska street fight" would get my vote on the app.

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  72. Adam "Colorado" CurryJanuary 28, 2015 at 2:01 PM

    I think that had more to do with Shawn's babyface car being staler than month old bread than Sid's size.

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  73. But Canada still gets Danko Jones tours and Relic Hunter reruns on TV so they still win.

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  74. "WWE RAW, coming to you from the entertainment capital of the world...Branson, Missouri!"

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  75. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonJanuary 28, 2015 at 2:11 PM

    Hell, I don't think the crowd in the Impact Zone would have accepted that ending, and they cheer everything.

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  76. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonJanuary 28, 2015 at 2:13 PM

    "Our main event is the fist ever empty arena Royal Rumble!!"

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  77. British crowds tend not to boo or get sullen - but they often start cheering for the heel. I've been in quite a few British crowds where old school "lets go ...." chants have broken out only with the name of the heel there.

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  78. You're the first person I've ever heard call st louis nice lol

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  79. The neckbeards? In 2015? Really?

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  80. A buddy of mine brought up Diesel when he was WWF champ (I wasn't watching at that time) saying that the fans that wore his glove, he knew were with him, everyone else can essentially GFT. I think if they had Reigns respond to the question about being booed with something like, "I walk through the crowd every week if you have a problem with me," instead of stealing's Cena line about paying fans.


    And then have him just talk a lot less and be badass a lot more.

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  81. You realize comments on Scott's blog don't equal dollars to the WWE, right?

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  82. He brought up the term. I just went with his example.

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  83. The last WWE PPV to be held in Canada was Breaking Point in September 2009.


    So clearly being blackballed by the company can happen.

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  84. Also a good representation of the worst cities in America.

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  85. I have no idea what this is in refernce to

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  86. Smarks just threaten to go away while never fulfilling the promise.

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  87. "I tell you Maggle, this is so excitin', it's too much excitement for even the WWE Universe to handle!"

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  88. "You've still got it!"
    - Chanted at a horribly out of shape Jim Neidhart.

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