Hey, so Dave was talking about the TNA sale on the radio show yesterday (and a bit more in the new WON) and it sounds like everyone's guessing wrong. He was doing the usual Dave "I can't talk about but we know it's not this" dance routine, but apparently you can eliminate the following suspects:
- WWE
- The Jarretts
- Viacom / Spike TV
- Eric Bischoff
It's apparently people outside of the wrestling business, so anyone's guess now who wants to buy this company. I would have bet that WWE would wait until their lowest point and then buy them up for peanuts, but I guess Vince really isn't interested. So let the money mark guessing game commence!
I mean, I'm checking around the internet so it SEEMS that serious talks happening is completely legit but I just can't think of who outside of Viacom would have an interest in buying this company? The only thing I can think of is a casino based mega corporation like MGM or Harrah's picking them up and using existing venues and existing infrastructure to eliminate TNA's overhead costs which seem to be significant given how much they've (supposedly) lost on their touring idea. Has this been ruled out yet?
ReplyDeleteAgain though, even MGM owning TNA wouldn't make as much sense as Viacom. That's a huge shocker to me.
Jakks Pacific maybe since they make the TNA toys?
ReplyDeleteLikely? As mentioned below casinos are a good bet.
ReplyDeleteWho would I want to buy it in a fantasy world? Dana White.
Just read on a facebook status update that someone who is friends with a few MMA writers seems to believe the mystery celeb is Billy Corgan (sp?) from Smashing Pumpkins. Take that for what it is, just a rumor.
ReplyDeleteactually could be much worse. He's actually promoted wrestling.
ReplyDeleteVivid Entertainment, id buy their diva product
ReplyDeleteThis is like Tom trying to figure out who opened a competing Rent-a-Swag shop across the street from his own.
ReplyDeleteDiddy?
ReplyDeleteI want it to be Ted Turner or Mark Cuban so bad.
ReplyDeleteShane-O-Mac, baby!
ReplyDeleteMark Cuban is actually the one person who might be able to turn TNA into something good. His money and marketing genius would be tremendous. The key would be getting good people around him like Jim Ross.
ReplyDeleteThat would be kind of cool, a hardcore sex scene (boy, girl) could break out during a backstage promo.
ReplyDeleteI think he gets it, so Mark would be my nod.
ReplyDeleteI think he is smart enough to know better than to purchase a dead wrestling company.
ReplyDeleteCuban would be the shit. Smart dude with a healthy enough ego to put money into the product to make it respectable.
ReplyDeleteHe seems like too nice of a guy to actually compete with Vince.
ReplyDeleteThat was my first thought since he already owns that other promotion
ReplyDeleteBilly Corrigan is far from a nice guy
ReplyDeleteIts clearly Elvy
ReplyDeleteOh I'm sure he's made some enemies, the music industry is kill or be killed business.
ReplyDelete"Casinos are a good bet" I see what you did there!
ReplyDeleteI remember reading a few years ago that the family that owns the Mets wanted to break into the wrestling business. A legit sports owner buying TNA would open alot of possiblities...if they were hands on enough they might bring the "sport" feel back as opposed to the "entertainment" feel the E presents. At least it would differentiate the product for them and give them a niche audience to grow off of.
ReplyDeleteSeeing how wrestling isnt very popular and that it is incredibly tough to go up against the WWE, I dont know who can buy TNA and make it profitable enough to run as a national company into the future. As much as I love wrestling and want to see another promotion thrive, there just isn't a market for it now. The talent is lacking and stars are very hard to create.
ReplyDeleteI think pro wrestling is a huge untapped market right now. TNA as a brand is worthless, I wish someone would just start something completely new.
ReplyDeleteDude, in fantasy basketball does it matter if I beat someone 8-2 or 6-4? Basically if I win the weekly matchup do I just get credit for 1 win or do they keep track of the individual breakdown within each week?
ReplyDeleteIts indivual breakdown. For instance if you win the week 6-4, it shows up in the standings as 6-4.
ReplyDeleteDamn, thanks. It looks like there are 3 categories im routinely gonna get killed in.
ReplyDeleteYeah, my FG% is dogshit. Plus, I have a lot of turnovers.
ReplyDeleteGun to my head? I'd guess either Trump or more likely Mark Cuban.
ReplyDeleteI was reading on one the newz sitez that John Rich (of Big & Rich fame) and the owner of the Mets are interested. Sounds like bullshit to me, but I figured I'd share that.
ReplyDeleteTrump crossed my mind, but i figured since he and Vince are so tight it wasn't likely
ReplyDeleteIf it is Bain Capital everyone here has to send me a Pizza
ReplyDeleteAren't he and Vince pretty tight though?
ReplyDeleteI read a short biography on the family that owns the Mets a few years ago, and those fuckers love wrestling. They kept talking about how itd be a great side endeavor to get into the wrestling biz.
ReplyDeletepleasebeshanemcmahonpleasebeshanemcmahonpleasebeshanemcmahon
ReplyDeleteThis thread is just setting us up for disappointmet when its like a D- celeb like Bruce Jenner. Thanks Scott.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the article mentions that Fred Wilpon tried starting a promotion in 2011 but it never got off the ground. Here's a link, BTW:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ewrestlingnews.com/news/21639/rumor-on-the-potential-tna-buyer-who-is-it
I hear it's some Bank named "Rupt" or "Bank Rupt."
ReplyDeleteI think the right person is someone with enough money to lose money for several years and keep pumping money into it. Is enough of a wrestling fan to have some idea about the business and what works/doesn't, but not so much of a wrestling fan that they book for what they find entertaining but instead run the promotion as a business whose goal is to make money and therefore hire legitimate business people to run it and keep the wrestling people in check from doing the stupid shit that good wrestling minds often do, and hold them accountable when they fuck up... no matter who they are and how many dues they have paid, or what they have done in the past... just focus on running a profitable business that produces a good product... sadly there isn't anyone that I can think of that fits that description.
ReplyDeleteJosh Reddick is a possibility. That dude is a huge wrestling mark, he even uses Bret Hart's entrance music when he comes to the plate.
ReplyDeleteJosh Reddick isn't buying TNA.
ReplyDeleteNeither is Shane McMahon. In all seriousness, I can't see it being anyone other than Viacom.
ReplyDeleteReddick isn't even in the realm of possibility.
ReplyDeleteThe people NOT on the list tell us all we need to know about the state of TNA. The fact that life long promoters, Jarretts and Vince, and TV guys like Bischoff and Spike see no value in TNA lets us know that its a deadhorse.
ReplyDeleteWhy not? He's got the money.
ReplyDeleteHe makes the major league minimum.
ReplyDeleteMuch like Jake Taylor.
ReplyDeleteDo you know what Bain Capital does?
ReplyDeleteBut Shane is?
ReplyDeleteYou could have at least said you were with the Yankees!
ReplyDeleteYes. Not a very good one.
ReplyDeleteI still think Viacom will own it when all is said and done. The Jarretts wouldn't have sold the company in the first place if they wanted to own it. I don't blame Vince for not wanting to buy it. There's no ego thing with crushing your arch-enemy like there was with WCW, and it's tape library is practically worthless, unless TNA is selling a lot more DVD's than I think they are. Bischoff not being interested is odd, though. Maybe he just doesn't have the money.
ReplyDeleteIt'd be dreadfully dull.
ReplyDeleteHe does? OK then, keep in mind I'm a casual baseball fan at best.
ReplyDeletePacman Jones?
Please explain to me what series of events could possibly lead to Shane having ANY interest in doing something like that?
ReplyDeleteGreat insight. The point is to not make it WWE lite. They dont do entertainment or storytelling as well as WWE so why would anybody watch them? Plus they have no stars. They have to differentiate themselves somehow.
ReplyDeleteSon of the world's most famous promoter, got passed over, and has the money for it. Sounds like a better chance than a active baseball player who can't even afford it.
ReplyDeleteYou know the inVasion storyline was a work right?
ReplyDeleteYou realize Shane has nothing to do with WWE right?
ReplyDeleteYes... that clearly shows his desire to be in the wrestling business.
ReplyDeleteShows that he wanted to run the WWE.
ReplyDeleteWhoever buys it has to drop the TNA name. It was corny in 2002 and worthless now.
ReplyDelete...or that he didn't want to be there in the first place
ReplyDeleteThat's it. He spent 20+ years there held at gun point.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, it was the very first case in recorded history of someone taking a job that was handed to them because it pays well and they can't be fired.
ReplyDeleteDon't lump Dylan in with Bruce Jenner.
ReplyDeleteThat's Johnny Drama's brother for fucks sake!
ReplyDeleteI was slways a Steve Sanders man
ReplyDeleteIt would be cool if Dave Mustaine bought TNA and gave all the pay per views Megadeth song titles as their names.
ReplyDeleteIt's fucking Joel Osteen Ministries, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteHe was so happy to be just collecting a paycheck that he bolted as soon as he learned he wasn't getting the reins to the company.
ReplyDeleteYou are right again. It was the very minute that he saw he wasn't taking over up until that time it wasn't obvious to everyone, most notably him. It certainly wasn't when he finally decided to try and do something of his own that he may have found more interesting/fulfilling.
ReplyDeleteThe problem would be that the Wilpons are atrocious owners, and without the cushion of the overall MLB printing press would probably put the company out of business in short order. Plus they have no cash.
ReplyDeleteBut overall I do tend to agree that TNA would do well to bring some 'rasslin back to TV, if only to fit into a market WWE isn't bothering to serve.
Well they've already got a national television deal on basic cable, and they don't need to worry about competing with WWE so much as making themselves something that enough people are interested in watching as to make them a stable company. They've got the talent to do that, I think, but I don't know what they could do to generate an initial bump in interest short of throwing a shit ton of money at CM Punk or something.
ReplyDeleteI would have to think Shane of all people would know that buying TNA is not a wise investment.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that that necessarily shows anything, really. Who knows what the Jarretts/Vince think about it/the asking price, I can't imagine how Bischoff could get the investors to buy it, and Spike/Viacom would likely only buy it as a last resort, and would certainly prefer that someone else own the promotion itself.
ReplyDeleteFunny you bring up a rock-star as somewhere in the part of my brain I was wondering if Billy Corgan is a possibility.
ReplyDeleteI know they lost money to Madoff, your post made me curious about Wilpons net worth. In 2012 they have him worth an estimated 500 million. That could float a small wrestling company for awhile, although any owner is gonna have to be satisfied with breaking even (best case scenario IMO) for the first few years.
ReplyDeleteLike I said though, Im not sure where all the Madoff stuff stands in litigation.
They settled it all, I'm pretty sure, but as far as I know they're still repaying a bunch of MLB loans and, again, they've done a pretty crappy job of managing the Mets given their market strength, team's assets, and the $50 million+ they get out of MLB central revenues before they even sell a ticket.
ReplyDeleteI guess I shouldn't say they don't have any cash, though, as they could probably buy the company free and clear with earnings from SNY.
Not true.
ReplyDeleteWhy buy it (and Im just throwing out numbers) at 100 million, when you can buy it at 50 million 3 months later.
The Jarrets have been invested since day 1, for them to just cut the chord at this pount they must think its a deadhorse.
ReplyDeleteBischoff has always wanted the keys to a wrestling company since his WcW days, if he thought TNA was a viable option hed find investors.
If the video library, roster or brand had any vslue Vince would take a look.
Im not convinced Viacom is out.
True. I was taking Scotts above not interested list as "absolute" in having no interest.
ReplyDelete*yea I know vince did the wait and see thing for wcw
Well on Vince/Jarrett, it could be as simple as the price being more than they want to pay for it. Especially Vince since the only reason he'd want it in the first place would be for the library. And Viacom probably buys the company if the only alternative is having the windows boarded up, but short of that it's easier for them to subcontract the programming, so to speak. I guess I'd think Bischoff would want it, I just don't understand why anyone would give him the money, given that he's proven that he's awful at running wrestling businesses.
ReplyDeleteAs for TNA's value, I don't see how it could possibly be worthless to any prospective buyer who wants to own a wrestling company, provided that they aren't taking on a whopping pre-existing debt load and Spike isn't looking to cancel their television slot. Outside of that, you're getting a company that has a two hour primetime show on basic cable, which makes it about the most valuable wrestling property you could get this side of WWE.
I wonder if Sinclair Broadcasting is interested. That would be nuts, almost like if Paul Heyman bought WCW.
ReplyDeleteDemarcus Cousins is a beast in fantasy hoops. Boogie!!
ReplyDeleteT.D Jakes, and he would be a sweet evil boss.
ReplyDeleteMake pizza?
ReplyDeleteyeah, but I could see if they're tight maybe in that "we're rich and smile at each other, but I really want to beat you at your own game" ball swinging way.
ReplyDeleteNot that I think Trump would do it or would be a good idea, but I figure the friendship is the least of the issues with those two.
Yea, the tv timeslot is such an asset for them. The fact that they have a timeslot on cable and still not drawing interest from buyers makes me just think that potential buyers are afraid of some preexisting debt, or some long term liabilities.
ReplyDeleteI took Scotts not interested list as "absolutes" for being not interested. But sure, its feasible Vince and the Jarretts could just be waiting for it to bottom out.
bankrupts Wayne Industries, funds silly face masks?
ReplyDeleteThere would be something fun about a WWE HoF'er competing with WWE
ReplyDeleteIf someone from outside of wrestling buys TNA, one of the first things they're going to do is hire someone with wrestling experience to help run the wrestling operations. And off the top of my head, the list of people with major promoting experience who don't work for WWE and who haven't already tried to run TNA and failed is awfully blank. (Seriously, the only guy I can think of is Mike Quackenbush. Who else would be on that list?) So it doesn't really matter where the money's coming from, I'd say the odds of TNA turning around under new ownership are pretty slim.
ReplyDeleteWho would I want to buy it in a fantasy world? Bushiroad, the company that owns New Japan. That's the only outfit I can think of that would make Vince break a sweat when he heard the news.
I would assume that the asking price is too high at the moment, or there's something really bad on their books that has people not even wanting to bother with them. Or this could be a lot of smoke and little fire.
ReplyDeleteNo idea what the Jarretts might want these days, but Vince's issue has to be asking price. There's just no way he'd be so anti-TNA that he'd turn down buying the library at any price.
I could see Trump trying to build up TNA against the WWE with the same business model he used with the USFL, and with the same endgame of making a quick buck off of the competition either by selling or by finding some excuse to sue.
ReplyDeleteLet's just hope whoever buys it finally breaks free of the major thing that's harmed TNA from the start: That the folks in charge are under the delusion that they keep Vince awake at night when the truth is WWE barely acknowledges TNA exists.
ReplyDeleteHHH will buy it, pin the entire roster simultaneously, shut down the promotion, then claim he killed off an entire promotion by himself..."this is something even Austin and Rock couldnt do singlehandedly. "
ReplyDeleteThat's my thinking. Plus since he thinks he should be President, owning a pro wrestling company might be "beneath him" or something.
ReplyDeleteIs the point also to dull all of your viewers?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, wrestling without angles more complex than "Me want title" will not work, at all.
Alternative to WWE doesn't mean pure sports, make more complex characters and heavier continuity and complex relationships that grow and develop in an interesting manner. Think HBO, not ESPN.
I'd mark out for this pretty hard. But yea, no, he plays for the A's, he doesn't have that kind of money.
ReplyDeleteI hope it winds up being Henry Winkler in this case, too.
ReplyDeleteLike I said below, I'm not really a baseball fan, and just kind of assumed that because he's an MLB player he's probably loaded.
ReplyDeleteYou have to think Gabe Sapolsky would be a name to consider if they're serious.
ReplyDeleteWasn't there talk of Mark Cuban wanting to enter THIS BUSINESS?
ReplyDeleteBilly Corgan, perhaps? He's a big wrestling fan with tons of money, and has his own small indy fed in Chicago.
ReplyDeleteAccording to baseball reference he's made a total of 1,395,000 for his whole career. Still I bet he could get a loan or something
ReplyDeleteCan someone please explain to me, in a REAL, VIABLE reason, why Vince would even want to own the TNA tape library? Other than showing highlights of Sting in the last 10 years (IF Sting would sign after the "purchase"), or to introduce TNA lifers like Samoa Joe or AJ Styles (Pending whether or not Vince would even sign THEM)....Why would he even fork down the money for a purchase, regardless of the price? Even if he COULD get the company for pennies on the dollar, why would he even want it? It's not a competitor to him, so WHY? It has never made any sense to me....
ReplyDeleteDVD's=money
ReplyDeleteI'm from Houston so that.made me laugh
ReplyDelete"9/11 Was An Inside Job"
ReplyDelete"I'm a Christian Now"
"Fuck Lars Ulrich"
Shane McMahon
ReplyDeleteHere comes da money
ReplyDeleteJim Ross
ReplyDeleteAre the Shane McMahon comments work or shoot? Clearly he didn't want to be a wrestling promoter, and I'm sure the door is open at anytime for his WWE return.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be fine. Im not saying do entirely away with storylines, just go back to a sports based philosophy as opposed to entertainment based philosophy.
ReplyDeleteIf you have just 2 hours a week of tv to fill, you can get rid of convulated authority figure storylines, alot of the comedy stuff, talk show segments etc.
Wrestling has/will always work best when it positions clear cut faces vs clear cut heels fighting for good and evil and over a belt.
Im in the "Shane saw the HHH/Steph writing on the wall and got out due to pride and being hurt" camp. Dont see any chance of him buying TNA though. He was fairly young when he left so always thought hed return to the WWE though, after he tried other shit and time healed some wounds. I dont think you do some of the crazy spots he did, to help people get or to sell the product, if you dont really have an affection for it.
ReplyDeleteFalling 50 feet to put over Steve Blackman. It's obvious he never cared or wanted to be there.
ReplyDeleteScott mentioned the numbers on another thread, but based on what he paid for the WCW library, it wouldn't take very many DVD sales to make a profit.
ReplyDeleteMets fans would burn down Citi Field if they found out the Wilpons bought a wrestling promotion instead of signing a fucking power-hitting outfielder.
ReplyDeleteJust bring back Bobby Bonilla. Hes still on the payroll
ReplyDeleteI think that Shane was upset about being pushed aside in favour of StepHHHanie, but unless he's totally estranged from his family I really can't see him buying TNA.
ReplyDeleteBecause it would be a cheap pick up and he'd be able to recoup it on DVD releases.
ReplyDeleteWhy would he let someone else have it?
I'm not so sure Shane was ever interested in the creative part of the business. He worked closely with his mother on the business side of things. I'm sure he could have a cushy desk job Titan Towers or be an on air talent at the word "go". Chance of Shane buying TNA = 0.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking more for the new network.
ReplyDeleteYea, no chance in hell. Corny pun not intended
ReplyDeleteSure, yeah.
ReplyDeleteStupid guess I'm sure but Ted Turner?
ReplyDeleteI'll guess a joint venture between Andrew McManus and David McLane
ReplyDeleteTommy Dreamer has done pretty well with the House of Hardcore shows, though the one coming up is only the 3rd or 4th card.
ReplyDeleteIf they REALLY want to be different from WWE, there's always Super Dragon...
The advantage to making it seem more like a sport isn't so much the removal of angles, but that it makes everything have some importance. Even the most random mid-card match can be meaningful in terms of moving up rankings and getting closer to a title shot. Feuds can still happen as they always have with people who have personal issues.
ReplyDeleteFrom there you have the base to explore deeper relationships and give the characters more nuance. Right now there are no stakes in wrestling except for the top angles revolving around the main title, control of the company, or being the Cenaweight champion of the Cenaverse. The idea of everyone having a single goal and then many individual goals concurrent with the desire to be champ anchors the storytelling the same way the desire for the Iron Throne anchors GoT.
Billy Corgan: Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins.
ReplyDeleteDixie Carter: Dixie Carter, smiling politely!
I heard the Corrigan rumor. (I've seen him at TNA events before) but part of me wished it was Mark Cuban.
ReplyDeleteThere hasn't been a rich dude that blew money on dumb shit in wrestling for a long time and it's overdue.
This guy gets it
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately he's a moron in real life.
ReplyDeleteHe wants to prove to his dad he was wrong for not giving him the company!
ReplyDeleteNot intended? Really?
ReplyDeleteIt's probably for the best that he wasn't into that side of things because from multiple stories, Shane's few proposed creative ideas were mind-bogglingly stupid and always seemed to involve him, somehow, diving/jumping/falling off something really tall.
ReplyDeleteDude was always willing to take an ass-kicking and bump, though. Can't take that away from him or Vince.
This is like watching a long set in a tennis match.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I had always heard that he was instrumental in pushing the product into Attitude, though I suppose he wouldn't have had to be involved in the details of "creative" just the general direction of the company.
ReplyDeleteIt's worth it just for the Angle 3-blu ray set by itself, but there's lot of options to recoup the money and then some: Ultimate X sets, a Sting set like you said, the 308th Foley set (This one actually complete! For real this time!) RVD, Hardy, all these guys that, for good or ill, do have fanbases that would go out and buy a collection of DVD's.
ReplyDeleteAnd seriously, Vince can probably get the rights to the whole company for low six figures, it's almost worth it just so he can finally say he owns all of North America, which has been the mission since 1985.
Samoa Joe and AJ Styles pretty much exemplify the "bad indie habits" Triple H has mentioned needing to snap the WWE's new hires out of.
ReplyDeletePlus, AJ is 36 and with the style he works, won't be going for much longer. Joe is 34 and hasn't looked even the slightest bit motivated (not that I blame him) in years. By the time AJ and Joe were comfortable with the WWE style and properly promoted to be familiar with the fans, if it ever even happened, you're talking about an AJ who's pushing 40 and a Joe who's in his late 30s.
There's no upside there. No point in hiring them to get 3 or 4 years out of them when 95% of the WWE audience has no clue who they are.
As far as the video library, IS it worth it? Sting's pretty much always treated TNA as an easy paycheck and a place to cosplay as Heath Ledger's Joker. I can't remember any truly classic/must-see matches he had there and there definitely weren't any during his "wrestling in a t-shirt" era.
The TNA video library contains a bunch of matches that are the exact kind of matches Triple H DOESN'T want new guys having and some of the worst matches that ex-WWE guys (Angle, Jeff, etc.) and guys they never could get (Sting) have ever had.
I'm with you. If it ever became available for dirt cheap, the WWE could maybe prune a DVD or two out of it, but otherwise, it's not worth Vince spending anything on.
I don't think so. Vince has never really sweat over Japan and with good reason. Japanese wrestling and US wrestling are the same thing in the way that tomatoes and fire trucks are both red. That's all they have in common.
ReplyDeleteTNA being bought is sort of baffling, because you'd figure that no one is buying it because it's considered super profitable or as having a ton of potential. Therefore, you'd assume whoever is buying it knows wrestling (a little bit, anyway) and has a plan to put all the pieces together and right the ship.
But, like you said, who?
I think it is probably more than low 6 figures.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that Shane has even said that he left because as he was getting older, he realized he wanted to challenge himself and have something to his name that was "his" rather than just be another name in the WWE Corporate website's history section.
ReplyDeleteIf Shane really wanted the reigns to the company, especially given that he's clearly smarter than Stephanie, he would have taken a much bigger backstage role and inserted himself into the company's business side far more than he did.
At the end of the day, he was a dude who liked falling off tall stuff and bumping with the boys, but decided he was too old for that anymore and went off to do something else. Simple as that.
Everything I've read suggests Vince bought WCW for right around 2.5 mil. And WCW actually had a brand that people were aware of. Outside of the timeslot, TNA has literally zero value.
ReplyDeleteYup. What he's advocating there sounds an awful lot like Bill Watts' WCW, which would die a painful death in 2013 if it did in 1992.
ReplyDeleteBeing different is great, but there's good different and awful different.
Ah, yea the A's are bottom 5 teams when it comes to payroll. Justin Verlander make's like a third of the entire A's payroll. I hate that guy.
ReplyDeleteI watch a lot of Shark Tank and it doesn't seem like something he'd be interested in.
ReplyDeleteIt might be worth less. For all we know the Carters might be willing to sell it for $1 if the buyer is willing to pick up the company's debt.
ReplyDeleteBilly Coorigan isn't the worst guess in the world. Turner has to be too old by now. What about ICP? Not that I would want that on any level, but they have done promoting and have to have piles of jugaloo money.
ReplyDeleteSide question: Who would you WANT to buy it based on the above criterea?
ReplyDeleteICP could forget about ever getting a TV deal.
ReplyDeleteA ROH/TNA merger (by merger I mean Sinclair buys TNA, kills it, then takes all the worthwhile workers and the Spike TV timeslot) would be pretty sweet.
ReplyDeleteAs a WM celeb maybe, but I've never heard anything about him wanting to actually own a promotion or anything.
ReplyDeleteOnly if they fire ALL the production people and start from scratch. RoH's TV production looks a D- high school AV class project.
ReplyDeleteHow much does he need, like 10 bucks? Even though I don't normally loan money to anyone (especially someone I've never met) I think I can spare it.
ReplyDeleteComedy has always had a place in wrestling. The issue isn't comedy or no comedy, it's good comedy or bad comedy. Pretty much every guy with some ability for wrestling has stretched the need for variety.
ReplyDeleteAnd you say wrestling has always worked best with clear cut faces and heels? Uh...let's look at 1997-2001 for a second.
Sports make things matter? Speaking as a pretty average person, I couldn't give two fucks about sports.
ReplyDeletePeople care about sports because it's a social experience and you can root for the home team. The Sabermetrics guys are not a huge proportion of the audience, most people just want to get plastered and scream for touchdowns.
Wrestling will never be considered real. And while yes, its possible to make the mid-card matter more that's not a real sports issue. There are plenty of sports teams that nobody gives a SHIT about.
There is a place for comedy. I agree, I just dont want to see it more then once a show.
ReplyDeleteI dont get your 97-2001 comparison. Austin was a CLEARCUT babyface, sure he had an edge, but he was a babyface all the way. Austin vs ccorporte Foley, heel HBK, heel Rock, heel Vince.
Face Austin vs facw rocked worked for 5 weeks, like Hogan Warrior. They turned Austin bc they knew they couldnt run their top 2 guys being faces, hence the Austin turn
What's really sad about that is that ROH's production has improved a lot over the past year, and yet it still looks worse than ECW.
ReplyDeleteAnd this guy's dead!
ReplyDeleteWell, cross him off, then.
And get rid of 80% of the ROH roster.
ReplyDeleteThere were rumors around the time he bought the Mavs but I think it was more wishful thinking from fans.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that they should buy TNA and use it as the basis for a puro fed in the U.S. But regardless of the wrestling style, they are a non-wrestling parent company that owns and operates a profitable and high-quality wrestling organization. That would make me wonder what they know that the Panda or Turner/AOL or every other potential money mark doesn't know.
ReplyDeleteWho ever said he wanted it?
ReplyDeleteI don't normally agree with anything you say but I had to post and say that I loved this rebuttal.
ReplyDeleteAustin beat up women (he also attacked fellow female wrestlers) and defenseless old men. How exactly is that a clear-cut babyface?
ReplyDeleteIf you're just talking about reactions...well I'd say that Punk vs. Cena a year ago was a pretty clear case of Babyface vs. Heel.
The faces of today are no more douchey than than Hulk Hogan or Austin or the Rock or Jericho or Cena. They've been assholes ever since Mr. Backlund.
CHIKARA'S BUYING TNA! THE ANGLE CONTINUES! Seriously, I made this point before- why would any of those guys buy TNA?
ReplyDeleteThat would be the best day of my life...
ReplyDeleteCuban is a mark for himself though, I bet it would be the Mark Cuban Show in short order.
ReplyDeleteThat waa my first thought, but hes got enough outside endeavors to keep him from being Vince McMahon level involved.
ReplyDeleteI do agree hed be on tv, but thatd draw ratings and I THINK hed be smart enough to uee his celebrity to help get his talent over. Could be wrong tho.
Just think hes smart enough to "get" how to promote or run a wrestling company
Yes, but why do they give a fuck about touchdowns or home runs? Sure they're cool to see in and of themselves, but in the end they are part of the attempt to win games that lead to trying to win the title. If you're a fan of your local team, you want them to win the Super Bowl or World Series or Greater Albertan Curling Cup.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of any overarching structure or rationale for why wrestlers wrestle ends up leading to every match needing some awful storyline that is barely fleshed out and often changes from week to week as writers lose focus.
Right now there's no reason for 90% of the people on Raw to actually be there. Let the creative team focus on a few really strong ideas at a time to deal with personal feuds and deeper stories and give the other time-filling wrestling the explanation that "they are fighting to try and get closer to a title/#1 ranking/whatever" and 2 hours of the show is written.