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Indys on the Network?

Hey Scott,

This is regarding the sudden change occurring in the company with showing independent promotion footage with Balor, letting Joe use his name, interest with working with Evolve, etc.

Do you think there's any chance they are setting up a similar deal to what UFC is doing? For anyone that doesn't follow MMA, the UFC also has their own network and has been signing other MMA promotions to exclusive broadcast deals to their network. They also have a working agreement that they could send fighters to these promotions or take fighters from them. In addition, the UFC has the entire tape library of these promotions in their fight library section.

For how crazy this year has been, would you be shocked if this is in the future? Do you think it would be neat to see the business go full circle and have territories on the network?

I would not be shocked at all.  There is literally no downside for anyone.  Indy guys get huge exposure, WWE gets reams of content they can run and probably buys up the library tapes anyway.  If one of these goofs suddenly becomes a huge star, WWE owns their footage and produces a DVD and everyone makes money.  Plus they lock up the competition into soul-crushing exclusivity deals and prevent anyone from going to Spike TV and launching a new hour of wrestling.  I bet it'll happen within our lifetimes, if not sooner.  

Comments

  1. Drunksuke "Dock" MuracoJune 19, 2015 at 8:37 AM

    Sooner than within our lifetimes? That's quite the angle, Glen.

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  2. Worst_in_the_WorldJune 19, 2015 at 9:05 AM

    I'd be really surprised if WWE ever just straight up put Evolve or PWG or ROH or whoever on the Network as a new show, but maybe they could create consistent working relationships with the groups to keep a flow of new talent into NXT? Since HHH seems hellbent on making NXT a hot brand, I'd think that'd be the best bet--- using indie talent to prop up NXT TV and live shows.


    That said, I wonder if WWE would ever license or outright purchase the TV catalogs of the indies and/or ROH to air on the Network. How well could these groups be monetizing their back catalogs right now? Seems like a great idea for them to agree on a fee with WWE so that WWE could air their old stuff on the Network. Full episodes, old iPPVs, best-of collections, and specials on guys like Ambrose/Rollins/Owens/Zayn etc.

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  3. They already monetize their back catalogs through WWN Live. A lot of indies surprisingly have an on demand service.

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  4. They would probably need to edit the music more but otherwise its content ready to go on the WWE Network if they wanted to go that way.

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  5. A thought that comes to mind: if an indie promotion, airing on the network, would stumble upon a hot angle, would WWE interfere and stop it to use it themselves?

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  6. No, because 1. WWE would have no power of their booking, and 2. WWE always thinks indies are beneath them, so they would never admit they are doing something better than them.

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  7. Wouldn't the indy fed be totally at their mercy though? How could they say no to the WWE and risk losing exposure?

    But yeah, I see what you're saying.

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  8. "I would not be shocked at all."

    well, I would. really, at this point I don't see this happening AT ALL. they pretty much created their own "independent", which is arguebly even hotter than every of the other promotions out there.

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  9. AverageJoeEverymanJune 19, 2015 at 10:00 AM

    You've got to go back Marty!! Back . . . to before our lifetimes!!

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  10. AverageJoeEverymanJune 19, 2015 at 10:02 AM

    no they would stop it and not use it themselves. wrestlers can only get over if they decide they can and more importantly HOW they can.

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  11. No fed would be that dumb, it wouldn't be worth it.

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  12. I don't believe the part about UFC having talent exchanges with these promotions is correct. It kinda happened with Strikeforce at the end, but Zuffa owned that. And all of the Invicta fighters that came into UFC were signed to UFC contracts. I don't think UFC would do that sort of exchange.

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  13. I personally think it makes WWE look better and more important when they present themselves as the biggest thing in wrestling, rather than the only wrestling that exists.

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  14. "Before you do something you'll regret, or worse..."

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  15. On the other hand, WWE is all butt-hurt over ROH making a figure of one of their stars before he was one of their stars (from a contract signed when they had no interest in him in the first place).

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  16. Including the main promotion.

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  17. http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/6/15/8785959/titan-fc-signs-long-term-broadcast-partnership-with-ufc-fight-pass

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  18. Cool; I hadn't heard that part when I read about it on MMA Junkie. Titan can be their Ohio Valley!

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  19. SHOWS WHAT YOU KNOW, PAL! THEYRE IN THE WRESTLING BUSINESS, IM IN THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS GODDAMMIT

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  20. I've been saying exactly this for a while now, it would be great for the WWE Network. Also get some Japanese promotions on their as well. They can even set up The Network where if one of these companies has a huge show, you can buy that show live on the network. WWE gets 50% and everybody is happy.

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  21. Wouldn't they want to have control over the indie's so as to not give the impression that any style of wrestling exists other than WWE's style?

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  22. Making movies!

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  23. "Do you think it would be neat to see the business go full circle and have territories on the network?"

    Absolutely, yes, more WCCW, AWA. NWA would be tremendous.

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  24. The thought of that makes me want to puke.

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  25. Sooner than within our lifetimes? I wish there was a time-travelling wrestler I could reference for a joke here

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  26. not a chance this happens. The logistics would be insane. Vince wouldn't want anything he can't control, the indies wouldn't want to give up control. Imagine having every show scrutinized for choking, or movies to the head, or angles WWE doesn't like. Just a major headache. And for what? The off chance they need footage down the road for the next CM Punk or Daniel Bryan? They can just buy it when they need it. And putting on these indies, even adding stuff from Japan wouldn't get more than 5k subscribers. In other words finding the next hot angle (not sure Vince, Steph and Kevin Dunn are capable of that) would bring in about 100 times that many subscribers with a lot fewer headaches.

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  27. The New Breed.

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  28. Joey Jo-Jo Junior ShabbadooJune 19, 2015 at 3:23 PM

    the indies wouldn't want to give up control.

    "Everybody's got a price." -- Ted DiBiase.

    If WWE offers an indy that's barely keep the lights on a financial life raft, they would not only be foolish but fiscally negligent to turn up their noses at the offer. That said, you're right about everything else. Vince is too much of a control freak to let this happen on his watch.

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  29. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJune 19, 2015 at 6:38 PM

    No way. They aren't going to risk being the ones who host a show that gets popular outside the "WWE Brand".

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  30. I think that Trips would do it. He seems to be pretty relaxed and it'd appeal to the nerd in him to effectively recreate the NWA.


    Vince? Eh, probably not.


    And there would be problems on content. Beyond how WWE mandates how good of a match people are allowed to have (good as in extravagant, not everybody is allowed to kick out of as many finishers as Owens and Cena or try as many crazy fucking moves as them) and not wanting their main-events shown up, I think WWE would have content restrictions (no hitting women, no crazy spots, no blood, no piledrivers) and if they didn't, family interest groups would get pissed at them for letting kids log on the network and watch Necro Butcher scalp somebody. It isn't a 'real' network/channel so I think that they'd avoid FCC regulations and the like, but I still think that having part of your programming be completely out of your control is a tad crazy.


    Honestly instead of airing like weekly TV. I'd try to get PPVs/big shows and air them live with the explicit threat that if they get out of hand it's done, or air them with a delay and censor some stuff as needed. Like, have access to RoH's iPPVs on the Network and kick back them some money for the right to do so. Lots of wrestling shows have TV deals set up, and getting around that might piss off whatever channel they're on, but Destination America/El Rey doesn't have a financial interest in the PPV market, do they?


    A strong wrestling industry is in the interest of every wrestling company.

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  31. Yup. After all, they've passed on countless "good" Indy guys because they don't fit into the WWE's style and HHH has openly talked about his dislike for guys who have picked up too many "bad habits" in-ring on the Indy circuit.

    No downside for anyone? Uh, unless the WWE BUYS an Indy promotion, they're giving free airtime and exposure to their competition under this system.

    Not a chance this happens. They have more than enough content to fill the network as is and if they ever want pictures or video to help promote some Indy guy who breaks big, there's not an Indy on Earth that will turn down a WWE check to send them a highlight reel.

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  32. Coke doesn't let RC Cola advertise on their bottles and cans.

    Adidas didn't let Under Armour put flyers in their shoeboxes.

    There's a reason.

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  33. Under Armour is a legitimate competitor to Adidas (and to some degree Coke to RC Cola.) When Rickey Henderson came to the Dodgers after having been playing in some semi-pro league in New Jersey, MLB didn't hesitate to mention that league by name and show the footage because there's no threat there.

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  34. And RoH and various indies are competitors to the WWE, just with far more limited exposure. If you're selling the same product to the same consumer base, you're a competitor.

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  35. Daniel Bryan

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