I recently watched the shoot interview Matt Stiker did with RFVideo, and something he said caught my attention. While dicussing the WWE product, he said that WWE isn't aiming itself towards "guys in their 30's who wear black t-shirts". As someone who fits all of those criteria, I had to agree. I don't watch the show regularly, but do read reviews in some twisted need to stay current. I've honestly found much better product on the indies (shameless PWG plug!). Is WWE doing what's best for business? What are your thoughts on this? Agree, disagree?Keep up the great writing!Wes
Us guys in our 30s who wear black t-shirts give our money to UFC on PPV instead, which by the way did 1.1 MILLION buys on that dying industry last time. That's probably why WWE is so anxious to move to the Network, since they're fixing a problem they created themselves. People will buy something they want to see.
And Floyd Mayweather did 2.2 million buys in September. The notion that PPV is dying is absurd.
ReplyDeleteIf the wrestling shows I have attended are any indication, here are the WWE's core fanbase:
ReplyDelete1. Children under the age of 12.
2. The Mentally Retarded
3. Hicks that dress like it's 1999 (wallet chains go with anything!)
It's weird, because online you think everyone is super smarky, but they are a tiny minority at best, like hipsters at a GWAR concert. It's humbling when you spend all your time watching Botchamania videos and you go to an event and about five minutes are spent withTyler Reks arguing with a large contingent of retarded adults from a local home.
BTW, the weirdest fans I have seen at a show were a couple, in their late 30s, dressed in matching white shirts/purple sweat pants/fanny packs, who were bouncing and squealing like teenyboppers when the Big Show made his appearance.
I went to a strip club to watch extreme rules. Sitting there were 3 adult men with autism or some other mental handicap. They were dressed in head to toe in Cena gear. Oddest wrestling viewing experience in my life. Sometimes I'm embarrassed to be a fan
ReplyDeleteStriker is pretty much stating the obvious. When the ultimate pg babyface is the face of your company it's pretty obvious whom you are targeting.
ReplyDeletethis will get in the daily update, but apparently direct tv is considering dropping wwe ppvs b/c of the network. direct tv's statement is pretty much a veiled "fuck us? fuck you!"
ReplyDeletebet wwe didnt see that coming. you have to believe that they were counting on still getting pure ppv business
http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/309441/Direct-TV-Considering-Canceling-WWE-PPV-Events-.htm
People are pointing to the Floyd Mayweather and some UFC fights as an example that PPV isn't dying. But you can't just look at a couple of big events. You have to look at the entire industry and all events, not just cherry-pick a few examples.
ReplyDeleteKatie Perry sold a ton of music in 2010. Adele sold a ton of music in 2012. The music industry (at least as we know it) has still been dying for years.
This is hilarious to me
ReplyDeletefor who?
ReplyDeleteJust the entire thing. You'd think that wwe and it's ppv distributors would be on the same page and would have worked something out prior to the launch of the network. It's not like it was a huge secret.
ReplyDeleteAh, so THOSE were the 2 people who bought Survivor Series! *rimshot*
ReplyDeleteFavorite (bad) Matt Striker quote:
ReplyDelete"If Husky Harris looks like that at 23, imagine what he'll look like at 33!"
But that is a different complaint then
ReplyDeleteRic Flair makes me sad.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have the link to the list of Ric Flair's troubled legal history? That made for a sad read.
ReplyDeleteSlight TJ: I'm watching the Legends of Mid South DVD and I can't believe the way the ring is lit for some of the matches. Flair vs. Terry Taylor and Snowman vs. Jake, the arena is dark and there are 3 or 4 spotlights in the ring...but otherwise the ring is dark. It's really weird.
ReplyDeleteThen they should move on.
ReplyDeletethat's the point: "(at least as we know it)". it is very likely that the "music industry" isn't dying but just changing.
ReplyDeletein 2011 (I must admit I didn't get any more current results within the first seconds of using google and didn't bother to search more) more than half of the music sales in the US were downloads. so of course the overall turnover is less because downloads are usually cheaper than a cd.
I read a story about it a year or two ago and it was just crazy. Between bad financial decisions and getting married and divorced over and over, he has put himself in a bad place.
ReplyDeleteUgh. Bill Simmons is the worst. Luckily his 15 minutes were up like 2 years ago.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6891795/the-wrestler-real-life -- there is one story.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard being a 60yo frat boy.
ReplyDeleteFucking Flair man...
ReplyDeleteHe just cant chill out with his money when he does get it.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how much of it was clearly scripted for television, but him on Wife Swap with Piper and him just blowing thousands everywhere he goes, and then you see shit like this today...
Yeah, this is true.
ReplyDeleteStop getting married Ric. Seriously, you're not cut out for the married life and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just stop.
ReplyDeleteHe's the lead studio guy for espns NBA coverage, runs a very popular sports website and has the #1 sports podcast in the world. Meanwhile matt striker is accepting Indy bookings
ReplyDeleteMost (not all, most) wrestling fans I've met in real life are dumber then a sack of bricks.
ReplyDeleteThe rest are smarks.
Take from that what you will
Is it bad that my pity of Ric Flair would be much higher if he didn't always talk with chewing tobacco in his mouth? He sounds like he had a stroke.
ReplyDeleteits funny in the weeks leading up to this I was wondering why she picked now to be on tv when her looks were going away a bit and she was nearing gramma neck territory. She did look better tonight though.
ReplyDeleteThis might be the medical side of me spit ballin but knowing he had/has adult adhd makes alot of sense in examining his life. Typically real low self esteem, probably why he over compensates with the "nature boy" persona. Typically don't think about long term consequences, hence some of the legal troubles. Typically rash with decision making, etc. Or I'm just over thinking it
ReplyDeleteIts pathetic being a 60 year old frat boy
ReplyDeleteIt's all about paying to see. PPV as an industry is fine because boxing & UFC are--for lack of a better term--real. Especially UFC, which worked hard to be accepted as a mainstream sport; move away from the "human cockfight" image of its early days. Its footprint on network & cable TV exists solely to legitimize it and hype its continued existence as a PPV entity.
ReplyDeleteWrestling stopped being "real" a long time ago (you all know what I mean), but was replaced by something that included PPV as an important part of its storytelling process. Whereas TV was once used to draw you out to live events near you, and the PPV's, it all became part of a large, focused (sometimes), ongoing story where PPV would offer a payoff, turning point, plot twist, etc. 12 PPV's a year.
Jump to the mid 2000's. Superstar draws like the Rock & Stone Cold were gone. The Monday Night Wars had ended. WWE slowly morphed into what we see today: Branded Product. The business became toned-down, family-friendly material presented in a homogenized form. John Cena became the face of the company, and the ever-expanding roster is presented in a 50/50 booking style. What were once Wrestlers, later Sports Entertainers, are now just Characters in an ongoing living video game. Actual video game available at stores everywhere. Along with t-shirts, action figures and lunch boxes. Merchandising: No longer a by-product, but The Product of World Wrestling Entertainment.
As such PPV was becoming a dying revenue stream for WWE. Every year--every month--fewer and fewer fans have been willing to pay to see what little specialness might take place on a PPV. Because story and emotion and all those things that hooked fans in the larger-than-life 80's and again in the Attitude Era 90's were no longer the focus of the company. It's making sure that fans--while having their favorites to be sure--see guys like Dolph Ziggler, Brodus Clay, Kofi Kingston, Seamus & C.M. Punk as all being at roughly the same level, worthy of being included in that year's video game, and taking up peg space in the action figure aisle.
WWE hasn't found their next superstar because, frankly, they aren't looking. Vince McMahon doesn't need to deal with a new millionaire. He needs 10 warm bodies every few years to keep the roster stocked.
It's in this light that the WWE Network makes perfect sense. If they get the subscribers it will supplant PPV as a revenue stream without having to destroy it outright. Technology is at the point where it can work, and you can bet the bulk of early subscribers will come from those able to easily access it via PlayStation & Xbox consoles.
Aw hellz... I do tend to run on sometimes... what was I talking about?
He also is the producer/creator of ESPN's 30 for 30 series.
ReplyDeleteWhy do these women marry him? He's not rich, he's not good-looking anymore, and he appears to be a bit of a drunk. Confusing...
ReplyDeleteLooks like it's time for the Nature Boy to sell those HOF rings, along with those cool pants he was wearing on Monday night...
They just said on espn Ric Flair is getting death threats from panther fans after his pregame speech last week.
ReplyDeleteIf you "his 15 minutes were up" you mean "he has become more famous and influential in the past few years", then yes, you're correct.
ReplyDeleteSo he says. He's just getting his name out there
ReplyDeleteHe's the lead studio guy on a show that gets lower ratings than raw? Meanwhile his visibility has plummeted over the last couple of years. He used to be a go to non athlete guest on all of those espn shows. Now he's not even in the top ten. And he has a podcast? Wow, what a huge celeb!
ReplyDeleteHis influence at ESPN has grown by quite a lot over the past few years. They gave him his own website. They gave him his own TV show (30 for 30). And as much as you mock his podcast, it's not only the most successful sports podcasts, it's one of the most successful podcasts period. The NBA show is now built around him.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, surprisingly enough as ESPN has given him more stuff that's directly his, that limits his availability to do random guest spots. Funny how that works.
Wow yeah what loser. He's the #1 guy on some channel and website no one watches or has ever heard of called ESPN.
ReplyDeleteGood call. I forgot about that one.
ReplyDeleteI said this in another thread but it's mind boggling to me that wwe and it's ppv distributors didn't come to some kind of agreement before the network was announced. Is this just a power play by direct tv and we think eventually they'll work something out?
ReplyDeleteThat's probably part of it, but he was The Nature Boy for a long time. In the spotlight, etc. Probably tough to turn that switch off. You hear a lot of wrestlers (and other athletes for that matter) talk about how hard it is to step out of the spotlight.
ReplyDeleteI hate to agree, but I kinda do. I enjoy watching Raw as much as the next guy (well, maybe not quite as much), but I'm not buying t-shirts or action figures or that stupid thing where the action figures flip around in spasms and knock each other all over the place. I don't know what that's called. Sin Cara?
ReplyDeleteI'm a dual member of the chain gang and cenation
ReplyDelete... hmm, well after the news out of DirecTV, maybe this was a more gutsy move on WWE's part than we initially thought.
ReplyDeleteSo TNA goes with yet ANOTHER heel champion/stable on top? I mean Jesus H. Christ this is the absolute worst wrestling company of all-time. Would it kill them--- I mean honestly, would it actually cause them to die--- if for one year they just went with a babyface champion on top? From Jarret through Angle's heel stables through Heel Hardy/Immortal through Roode through Ray/Aces and now Magnus/Dixie it's the SAME SHIT for 10 years.
ReplyDelete- Heel forms stable to win title
- Heel wins weak-ass screwjob match after match
- Heel stable either never gets defeated and implodes, or heel finally loses title...but the face champ loses it to another heel almost IMMEDIATELY
Just look at the last two years! Heel Angle basically loses it to Heel Roode, then Roode holds it for almost a year to finally get beat by super popular Austin Aries...who TURNS HEEL! Then a quick transitional run by Hardy, who loses it to Ray who holds it fo fucking ever... to finally lose to AJ, who leaves teh company and never defends the title!
It's at a point where they have to be writing this shit with the purpose of turning people off. Again, who it have fucking killed them to just put the title on Austin Aries here (or Joe or Storm or Magnus as a face) and let the fans actually root for their champion? Put the title on Aries, let him knock off heels for a year, and see how that goes. Guarantee it'd make for better programming than this channel-changing Dixie/Magnus shit will be.
Speaking of Mid-South, why hasn't anyone brought painting the face yellow to generate heel heat? That stuff was great!
ReplyDeleteand is trying to get a Von Erich family 30 for 30 on the air very soon. Also those docs are fucking amazing.
ReplyDeleteWell I doubt that he's marrying young, intelligent women with a good head on their shoulders, and a promising future.
ReplyDeleteHe's marrying chicks that would be impressed with Ric Flair in 2014.
Wow interesting group of news stories this morning.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit but that's very true. Remember that drawing Bret Hart did of him? Bleeding from his forehead? His whole TNA run = SMH.
ReplyDeleteWoooooo!
ReplyDeleteYou can argue that they did a good job of getting to the worst possible outcome possible. But the fact still is, they're going with ANOTHER heel stable on top, with Dixie as the lead heel and Magnus as her Randy Orton clone. It's a terrible finish that's exactly the same as everything they've ever done and people are not gonna be into it.
ReplyDeletehttp://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m145/edge_head_101/Untitled-1.jpg
ReplyDeleteYea. You'd think by at age of 60 or however old he is he would have made the proper life adjustments. It's just really sad at this point bc he seems like a good dude at heart who just makes the worst decisions possible
ReplyDeleteSo, in other words, the worst gold diggers ever...
ReplyDeleteI sort of assumed they had brought it up with them before too. You would think that DirecTV would let it play out for a while to see what happens.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of a Diamond Dallas Page quote from WCW,
ReplyDelete"Dallas, you're 45, but you look 35 and wrestle like you're 25"
Yeah, like DirecTV isn't losing enough subscribers already.
ReplyDeleteThey heard he got a lot of gold 16 times.
ReplyDeleteHe may not know what else to do/have any other marketable skill other than being Ric Flair. If you read that grantland article, he does come off as a pretty good guy (from what I remember about it), just not so great with the decisions.
ReplyDeleteDougie doesn't like him. Therefore his influence must be shrinking.
ReplyDeleteWrestling fans are fucking shit. That's why I keep my watching habits locked up in the closet.
ReplyDeleteIt's all in the yoga....
ReplyDeleteHe was on Coumadin and still didnt slow down his partying lifestyle. He doesnt give a fuck, basically.
ReplyDeleteCable and Satelitte's entire business model is now to strongarm content providers as much as possible to stop them from internet streaming. Cable and Satellitte are both dying forms of entertainment, so its a fool's cause. They know that there will be many more "cord cutters" come this decade. However, they have a lot of money, so they can probably keep this tactic up for years. Internet streaming is probably already superior technology to cable-satellitte, or will certainly be by the end of the decade, as bandwidth speeds increase, and bandwidth caps disappear.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid I thought Ric Flair was the coolest. But while I thought it was cool as a character, it's pathetic in real life, especially as a senior citizen.
ReplyDeleteWe could proudly proclaim we are wrestling fans without people looking at us funny.
ReplyDeletealthough I am pretty sure that this isn't the same way worldwide (I guess that's one of the few benefits of wrestling being a niche interest in many parts of the world)
ReplyDeleteThey may just be saber-rattling as a way to renegotiate the deal with the WWE to be more in their favor.
ReplyDeleteWell, sadly they do consider the majority of fans to be red necks.
ReplyDeleteHe'll never let kayfabe die!
ReplyDeleteIt is spread across several servers due to its massive size
ReplyDeleteLike the chop joke in there. Considering how Bret doesn't like them.
ReplyDeleteLast time this came up you said you thought he was ADD
ReplyDeleteI can't even look at him now without shaking my head. Such an embarrassment.
ReplyDeleteIf it was scripted on Wife Swap, the source material wasn't probably that far off.
ReplyDeleteThe World's Most Dangerous Stooge.
ReplyDeleteTheyre basically the same thing.
ReplyDeleteAnd through all this, Ken Shamrock gets no love for his new job.
ReplyDeleteTJ: Jen Selters ass. Over 1.3 million instagram followers. Google it. You. Are. Welcome
ReplyDeleteOf course, DirecTV is known for this posturing nonsense. See: the Viacom issue from 2 years ago.
ReplyDeleteFunny, but if everyone moved on, this blog wouldn't be as fun.
ReplyDeleteWrestling is, has, and always will be built around heel stables on top.
ReplyDeleteAlso, they could go with anything and people wouldn't be into it
I also find it ironic that 2 years ago, every WWE pay par view poster had a little DirecTV logo at the bottom
ReplyDeleteI'd rather sit with marks than smarts at a show. It's more fun to be in on the joke.
ReplyDelete"His 15 minutes were up?" What world do you live in? He's the most important figure at ESPN.
ReplyDeleteShe's been all over 411 for the past month. Fit.
ReplyDeleteBut the smarts make it funny.
ReplyDelete"Kids, meet your new mom, Fifi the Maid!"
ReplyDeleteHe's lived a life of excess almost all his life, so he doesn't really know anything else. He probably needs a LOT of help, like counselling, but has never gotten it.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of funny that he kept Fifi on the back burner for a good 20 years.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see a good old fashioned tar and feather job on someone.
ReplyDeleteCan we get DDP to help Ric next.
ReplyDeleteDirecTV always does this posturing nonsense, like in 2012 when they stopped showing Viacom channels for like, 3 days while trying to rally subscribers on its side in a petty war of words that made high school cafeteria battles look dignified by comparison.
ReplyDeleteTheres two sides to every story but its easier to just trash a guy without having all the facts I guess
ReplyDeleteHe wrote about getting that kind of help in his book, actually. I guess it didn't stick.
ReplyDeleteI can not wait until Shamrock snaps and Belly-to-Belly Suplexes 50's entire entourage, then screams "Get out of my way!!!" Mr. Cent will sample this battle cry for his next track.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Flair? His lifestyle is what gets him into trouble. That is pretty much it.
ReplyDeleteI fucking despise Forrest gump, but I had the privilege to catch Rodger rabbit in the theatre
ReplyDeleteWhat does DirectTV think they're going to replace wwe ppvs with in the lineup for revenue?
ReplyDeleteIf they don't have guns, he could take them all out.
ReplyDeleteUFC?
ReplyDeleteIt's one of my favorites up until the last 10 minutes. Then there's a tearful scene in the rain that just really chaps my hide. It's such a pandering feel-good moment that my reaction to it has always been "God damn, Hollywood. Give me a fucking break." I would have rather had a sadder, more realistic, and subtler scene.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, Hanks is phenomenal. I think it was a better performance than Hanks had in Forrest Gump and also better than Russel Crowe's Oscar-winning performance in Gladiator.
This may sound bad, but at this point... Why bother changing? He's basically the real life Randy "The Ram", he'll keep this up until the day he dies.
ReplyDeletewhen i think of forrest gump, i always remember how it was promoted as an all around feel-good movie, and in the end i walked away feeling like it was anything but that
ReplyDeleteps - jenny's a ho
I would imagine that in the grand scheme of DirectTV, WWE PPV revenue is a totally inconsequential number.
ReplyDeleteAll we know is a warrant went out. We don't know any facts from either side, and lots of time stuff like is this done for legal posturing. We just don't have all the information, and these divorce/ spousal support things can get crazy ugly but its really just between those two people.
ReplyDeleteFlair's horrible track record when it comes to well, everything, doesn't help his cause
ReplyDeleteThey will take over as TNA's sole PPV provider.
ReplyDeleteSo his final moment in the ring will forever be a mystery and the Springsteen is going to sing.
ReplyDeleteYeah guys. It's not like flair has a history of skipping out on his obligations. Cut him a break.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt about things getting ugly in a relationship but he has had financial problems for far too long and still does whatever he wants in terms of spending and by now and has had issues with Highspots. He needs to grow up
ReplyDeleteDDP is not a magician.
ReplyDeleteHe'll climb to the top rope, and juuust as he's about to get slammed off... RAW will tune out.
ReplyDeleteLook at what he did to Jake.
ReplyDeleteroger rabbit actually doesnt have much personal meaning to me, even in light of the fact that i love the 80's (same goes with princess bride).
ReplyDeletei've seen it, if it was what everyone was watching i wouldnt fight it, but past that, i can take it or leave it
now back to the future, that i definitely have an attachment to. i saw it at a b'day party when it came out, and i remember all of my friends and i were riding in the back of the station wagon (of course facing backwards, towards the cars behind us), pretending we were in the delorean. i frickin' love that movie (and the franchise). michael j fox was perfect for it; not sure how good it would have been with eric stoltz
also saw that zemekis was involved with tales from the crypt throughout its run. thats another one that i definitely do have fond memories of. in fact, just the other night i was looking up clips for eps i remember, like the one where jon lovitz was auditioning for a role in hamlet, and another one centered around an ice cream man
i also really like polar express. when i go home for the holidays we always make sure to watch it. i swear the annoying kid in glasses grew up and moved in next door to me
Ok, he's a magician, but he's not a miracle worker.
ReplyDeleteWhy were women chasing Elvis after his was fat and out of his mind on drugs?
ReplyDeleteIn a match against Ernest "The Cat" Miller.
ReplyDeletenever saw flight because denzel tends to play the same character in every movie he's in
ReplyDeletenow if it had had denzel's buddy in it, then yeah, i'd watch it
Jake was willing. Flair is not.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see DDP work with a few people. THAT is a show that should be on the WWE channel.
"Ric? Ric are you alright?"
ReplyDeleteYes, now that's a reality show.
ReplyDelete:holding his chest:
ReplyDelete"Yeah, keep going."
i saw romancing the stone in the theater but have no real memory of it. my mom had taken me and a friend to see a movie and she picked that b/c she was told it was like indiana jones. i should probably watch both it and jewel of the nile again
ReplyDeletewhat i remember most about it is the title song by eddy 'electric avenue' grant
I don't think Charles Xavier has the power to fix a mind as fucked up as Flair's.
ReplyDeletehttp://niketalk.com/content/type/61/id/730556/width/350/height/700/flags/LL
ReplyDeletehe did contact? great movie, even better book. the matthew mcconaughey character is trivial in the book
ReplyDeleteDTV is posturing as per usual, but I don't imagine that losing WWE PPV money would keep them up at night anyhow.
ReplyDeleteDDP never looked younger than his age. Doesn't mean he looked old, just not younger.
ReplyDeletelike i said elsewhere, i have no desire to see it since denzel tends to play the same character in every movie
ReplyDeleteSo Flair, who has the biggest track sheet ever when it comes to financial unreliability deserves the benefit of the doubt, while any potentially negative rumor about HHH, he is automatically guilty as sin. Gotcha!
ReplyDeleteFact: Ric Flair has defaulted on many past obligations.
ReplyDeleteFact: Most of the obligations were to ex-wives.
Fact: He keeps marrying, so he keeps adding ex-wives to pay.
Not a huge stretch to go ahead and believe this one.
Now he has to be an accountant too? I think Flair needs IRS more than he needs DDP
ReplyDeleteThat's some pretty solid long-term planning.
ReplyDeleteI love how everyone assumed every single thing stated in the grantland article was 100% accurate fact. Anyone who has been through a divorce should now how messy a situation like that can become. You can have a warrant issued for not paying a traffic violation, this is being over dramatized.
ReplyDeleteI'm the first one to give a guy the benefit of the doubt in this type of situation, and if it was the first time that something like this had come up around Flair then I would agree with you completely.
ReplyDeleteBut it's NOT the first time, and he has a well documented history of money and domestic issues.
If this was the first time you'd be 100% correct. And maybe there is nothing to this one. But there's enough of a history where it's not unreasonable to think this might be true.
ReplyDeleteThe hair.
ReplyDeleteThe Shamrock thing is just weird. Obviously he could beat the crap out of anything that comes near 50 Cent, but ultimately it just strikes me as 50 Cent wanting someone famous to hire and be in his posse. 'Real' bodyguards do have some training in crowd observation, spotting potential threats ahead of time, etc. that I'm going to assume Kenny doesn't have.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous. Love this one also...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pinterest.com/pin/29695678766493651/
if direct tv does stop carrying ppv's, it will affect a fair enough chunk of people who go to sports bars. i know the blast areas are not are plentiful as they once were, but there's a place near me that shows the ppv's via direct tv, and it tends to be pretty full in the little area they have set aside
ReplyDeletekinda weird, though, when i think about it, b/c i've seen groups as large as 6 or 7 hanging out watching the shows. if they all went to one of their places, they could spend a lot less per person (the place charges $5 cover plus their shitty food is overpriced). maybe they just want to watch it via a projector onto a huge screen
All your information is based on a grant land article that didn't cite and 90% of these disputes come from divorce proceedings and these types of payments are constantly disputed by people from all walks of life.
ReplyDelete'You would think that DirecTV would let it play out for a while to see what happens.'
ReplyDeletethey dont read the blog
WWE made their bed when they decided that using PPV to hype TV was a better model than the other way around. They want ad revenue. So, throw it on the Network, and see if you can get more people watching the PPV that they're using to drive ratings.
ReplyDeletetake note, roddy strong's character
ReplyDeleteThat Grantland article absolutely cited its sources. Most of those disputes did not come from divorce proceedings.
ReplyDeleteFlair, in his own book, has talked about his problems with his finances and alcohol.
What's his track record? One thing you read on the internet that had numbers taken out of context. Unless you know flair and his ex wife your speculating on a financial dispute between two people, that has two sides, which is none of your business
ReplyDeleteWhat my first thought was. Sure he could fuck people up but it just seems like 50 wants him there for show or maybe because he's a fan of his mma career
ReplyDeleteHe has been divorced four times, clearly has problems with money and alcohol. He's been taken to court numerous times, not just by his ex-wives, for nonpayment and there have been many documented problems of his alcohol problems, some of which Flair spells out in his own book.
ReplyDeleteThere's also been instances of sexual harassment. Oh, and his son, who was Flair's running buddy in several proposed reality shows, died of an OD.
Wooooo
someone in the 411 comments mentioned that per their contract, wwe cant sell ppv's for less than what direct tv charges
ReplyDeleteThis is a different situation than the high spots thing though. Imagine getting dragged into court by your ex wife for something you disagree with and then being told you have to pay her legal fees. You might try and skirt that too, and it wouldn't make you a bad person.
ReplyDelete"...but I just gave her alimony 6 months ago!"
ReplyDeleteImagine having a track record of this stuff happening all the time. You wouldn't get the benefit of the doubt either
ReplyDeleteAlways carry a spare.
ReplyDeletemaybe he fancies ken's "sister"
ReplyDeleteMost of it wasn't cited and the parts that were linked back to material that was far from black and white. I'm just saying there is context and two sides to every dispute.
ReplyDeleteFuck direct tv
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has been through a messy divorce, I know that the way to take care of it if you're disputing it is to get back in front of a judge. Clearly, Ric thought that not paying was a better option - otherwise he wouldn't have a warrant.
ReplyDeleteThe Mecklenburg County courthouse in Charlotte contains thousands of pages documenting Fliehr's legal adventures.
ReplyDeleteYour credit score must be over a 700 to be popular among the iwc
ReplyDeleteI've seen this spousal support shit play out in real life, its far from being as black and white and some people think. Just remember if someone called the news about this they probably have an axe to grind
ReplyDeleteI'm shocked that jobber leaps to the defense of an irresponsible jock with substance abuse issues.
ReplyDeleteWord on the street is that Rick Ross just hired Steve Blackman as his bodyguard.. I can't wait until they all meet at the next BET Awards.. can you say "Lion's Den Weapons Match??
ReplyDeleteSomeone called Mike Johnson at PWInsider?
ReplyDeleteHave we read every page of it, and then interviewed flair and all the other witnesses about what happened? If we did I guarantee you our take wouldn't be as simple as flairs a bum.
ReplyDeleteWe all love Naitch, but unfortunately we love him like we love the drunk uncle at the reunion now. You don't want anything bad to happen to him, you want him to get his shit together, but you don't really care to have him around anymore, and you know you're gonna get a tragic phone call about him someday.
ReplyDeleteFlair refused to comment for the article
ReplyDeleteI think even ken fancied his "sister"
ReplyDeleteDirectv can go to hell along with the other subscribers.
ReplyDeleteEveryone around these parts are butt-hurt over Flair riding with the 49ers. I mean really pissed off. Wouldn't be surprised that the judge who issued the warrant was pissed about it too.
I don't listen to rap like that so is 50 cent still relevant? I'm not sure why he'd hire Shamrock. Kenny isn't really the most stable guy in the world.
Only in Russo's dreams and wishes.
ReplyDeleteYou're the first one to jump on people for white knighting for AJ. Why are you doing the same for Flair?
ReplyDeleteFlair's not going to fuck you Dude. Unless maybe you pick up the tab for all of the drinks that he's been buying you.
Correction: TNA Wrestling is, has, and always will be built around heel stables on top.
ReplyDeleteBut pro wrestling that has actually drawn money--- think WWF with Bruno, Hulkamania, Cena, Batista——— has often had long runs with a dominant babyface champion. Hell, WWF's MO used to be almost non-stop babyface title runs with heels as the transitional champs. TNA does the exact opposite.
Even in the Attitude Era days, when it was Austin and later Rock fighting the Corporation and hot-shotting was big, you still had Austin and Rock getting the belt for months at a time. (Austin had the belt for all but one day from Mania 14 through that September.) The other difference there is that for TNA the focus of the company is always the heel—— but when wrestling works, even with a heel champ, the focus is on the babyface who we all know will soon defeat him. The guy that fans are cheering for, that's where the money is. But with TNA it's always been "here's this guy you hate as the focus of every fucking show."
Yeah the NWA went with heel champ Flair for the 80s, and they got their ass kicked by Hulkamania. WCW struck gold with the nWo, but then they rode that for way too long and made it clear that the babyfaces would never be on top, and look what happened to them.
And TNA has given fans TEN YEARS without ever once building the promotion around someone popular. Dude, that's fucking terrible and their business desrves to be in the shitter. It's not "they could go with anything and people wouldn't be into it", that's a cop-out. It's that they've consistently done the exact same thing over and over again, and people haven't been into it, and they just keep doing it.
Jobber's clearly trolling. he's done this a few times now. The pattern of his trolling is more obvious than Flair's money handling issues.
ReplyDeleteSo have I, and I had 3 choices:
ReplyDelete1) Pay as agreed.
2) Dispute it, get in front of a judge, and get it amended, then pay as agreed.
3) Go to jail.
I chose door number 2.
Why's that?
ReplyDelete'I don't listen to rap like that so is 50 cent still relevant?'
ReplyDeletewith today's economic climate, isn't he really more like 30 cent?
I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.. If you think Time Warner Cable, Comcast and Cox are going to sit by and watch their PPV revenue go up in smoke.. you got another think coming. What happens when ALL of them get together and decide to drop the WWE PPV's?? Does Vince become "Mr McMahon" and go it alone or does he cave in and remove the PPV incentive from the WWE Network.. my guess is he caves in and pisses off some potential customers, but still ends up making money from hard core fans.
ReplyDeleteWrestling fans in general have a certain stigma/stereotype for a reason...
ReplyDeleteWitty reply by your sir, You get an upvote!
ReplyDeleteI'm too lazy to do the math but it's going there in the future so why not now? The PPV market isn't going to die tomorrow but it is going to die.
ReplyDeleteSaid it below but it just strikes me as him wanting shamrock around for "show" or because he's a fan of his. He can still fuck people up I'm sure but don't most bodyguards need training with guns, crowds, etc? I bet 50 just thinks it's cool he's in his crew now
ReplyDeleteFair enough but we don't know how insane his situation has gotten. There is a strong chance this isn't all flairs fault.
ReplyDeleteWWE has made it clear that they want to be an ad sales driven business. If having the big shows on the network lead to higher ratings and more ad revenue, and it was sustainable, he'd definitely tell them to go fuck themselves.
ReplyDeletePlus, the PPV numbers for each individual company outside of Mania and the Rumble aren't enough for them to give much of a shit.
I was just going to post the same thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's a publicity stunt. Fiddy was probably a fan and just wants to hang out.
So is cable tv.. the newer generation doesn't watch traditional cable, and if the power companies ever get off their asses and create high speed internet through power lines then the cable companies may cease to exist.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I would think the most important part of being a bodyguard is to protect. It's cool if he knows 100 different forms of martial arts but it's 100x better if he can keep you out of harms way.
ReplyDeleteOK that gave me a nice laugh. But I'm not technically white knighting here. I'm just saying there are 2 sides to this kind of situation, and to just remember that before you trash flair for this specific event
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised that you view this as a black and white issue. Fits with your simple minded pattern of posting
ReplyDeleteThat's true also. That's why I applaud Vince for being proactive about this. The cable thing is coming to an end. Maybe not for 5 or 10 years but it's coming and I don't think they want/need to be lagging behind this internet revolution, whoever it takes shape.
ReplyDeleteSee also: the Dean from "Community" has an Oscar; Jonathan from "Buffy" has two Emmys.
ReplyDeleteTotal threadjack since nobody talks TNA anymore, but just in case anyone does...
ReplyDeleteHow mind-blowingly stupid is it that TNA is AGAIN going with a heel champion/stable on top? Have they ever, ever done anything besides that? A year of Aces & 8s and the pay-off is... Magnus & Dixie on top?
Also, is there even a babyface that's over in the company anymore? Who's even in a position to be the hero a YEAR FROM NOW at BFG? Abyss? Hardy? Sting?
Holy shit they're the absolute worst. Wish they'd just go out of business already and everyone goes to ROH. Toby Keith's Country Wrestling Federation would stand a better shot at this point.
ANYWAY....
Fun pattern:
ReplyDeleteAWA died with a super long heel reign by Larry Z...
ECW died mostly with a super long heel reign by Justin Credible...
WCW died during a super long heel reign by Scott Steiner...
TNA seems obsessed with a dominating heel reign/heel stable... It's the kiss of death.
And that's where KingFarva's Cena/Taker WM Main Event suicide pact was formed.
ReplyDeleteI watched impact last night for the first time in months and it was worse than any raw or nitro I've ever seen. They did a skit where ken Kennedy met bubba in a church where there was a coffin with towels in it. Bubba threatened him with a lighter and then mysteriously disappeared. It was 100x than cheatum blowing up stings boat. The main event match had 10 Indy goofs run in and attack aj and ended with Dixie carter celebrating in a ring. I cannot comprehend that 1 million people watch that show. Its bad
ReplyDeleteVince just double the price to twenty bucks and tell these cable companies to fuck off. We'll all pay it gladly. This is what happens when you give loyal fans something we want. We pay you for it.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Hey, if you can't trust 3 adult autistic men dressed in Cena gear that you meet in a strip club to make a suicide pact with, who can you trust?
ReplyDeleteHe really did, or are you thinking that is what he will do.
ReplyDelete