If another season means Stone Cold cutting promos on the young 'uns for the last 5 minutes of the show, then hell yeah. If it's just Demott and an infomercial for the performance center, then no.
If people will watch Total Divas, I'm not surprised they are taking another stab at TE. Can't check that website at work, but I'm interested to hear how they explained having the net income drop from approx. $32 million to less than $3 million.
Because the last TE was such a success that the first one cut is the only one to have a regular gig in the company, and it's a fucking Funkadactyl. MY FAVORITE MATCH WAS MELINA VS ALICIA FOX!
Yeah. Because the last season of Tough Enough was awesome -- Stone Cold cutting badass promos about how useless they were every week. If it's that again, I'll never miss an episode. That show was more entertaining than Raw or Smackdown at the time.
Why isn't this more of a thing? I mean, we're still doing jokes about Luger's t-shirts being too tight and Booker T calling Hogan the n-word, but somehow this one has managed to slip through the cracks.
(1) TV Revenue - $40.6 million (2) Live Events - $21.7 million (3) Licensing - $14.0 million (4) PPV Revenue - $13.8 million (5) DVD Revenue - $10.5 million (6) Digital Media - $6.7 million (7) Venue Merch - $5.0 million (8) WWE Network - $4.4 million (9) WWE Studios - $4.3 million (10) WWEShop - $4.2 million
I'm amazed that WWE Studios is now officially a money making division.
It got pretty good ratings too, IIRC. Not sure why USA killed it off.
Of course, the WWE proceeded to only hire 1 person from the whole show and that was the girl who knew nothing about wrestling. The guy that won was dead in the water when he sold a Vince slap like being blasted by a shotgun. Figures.
I always found it impressive that Vader, despite being billed as a super heavyweight, allowed himself to get slammed and suplexed around by smaller dudes. I think even Shawn Michaels bodyslammed him.
which as I understand is one reason Punk walked. He was not happy with the vague answers on how pay was going to be made up from the decreased ppv payoffs to talent. My guess is Vince and the WWE, being a virtual monopoly, are using the network as a way to cut pay
Sadly you're right, they truly feel the audience for those old shows are dwarfed by interest in stuff like Legends House.
They'll go up eventually but for now their focus will be on new original "shows" because deep down Vince is still embarrassed to be a wrassling promoter.
It was easily WWE's best show at the time and really cleansed my palate regarding Stone Cold after years of being a drunk woman beating redneck who came on WWE television riding his stupid lil atv.
I had almost forgotten that this was the same man who transformed the business. Tough Enough and now his Podcast has reminded me how great he truly was at his peak.
Austin is an industry treasure. The fact that he doesn't have his own show on the network just doing random stuff over the course of his day is a travesty.
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I've always enjoyed Tough Enough both the old version with Al Snow and the last one with SCSA. That said the fact that this is a big enough deal to mention in an investors call continues to show the direction that the Network is headed and that IMO our worst fears about what WWE plans for the Network vs. what we (as vault lovers with a desire for additional content not focused on the current 2-3 year roster) our wanting to see.
I think I'd rather see something different than TE. Maybe something innovative like a doc-reality show about unheralded NXT signing and his training over the course of his first year.
Well done, sir. I have to say, I really enjoy Vince on commentary. He may not be JR at his best, but I think the excitement in his voice on near falls is outstanding.
that is the million dollar question. Many of us hold out hope that they will drop a ton right before the 6 month reup point or right after (advertising it ahead of time to get reups). Barring that though there isn't an answer other than what L. Scisco said. The fact that Tough Enough (while generally entertaining) is a big enough project to warrant mention on an investor call makes me think that the focus is almost completely on new content and entertainment based content rather original shows that might feature retired wrestlers (best of, bios, etc.) or putting up more vault content. What's annoying is that they could do both. There is a shitload of already sanitized for 24/7 shows that could be put up right now by unpaid interns. 24/7 had entire runs of WCW saturday night, primetime, nitro, mid-atlantic, and ECW. They had a ton of house shows (and that werent' trimmed to 53 minutes) too.
Well as far as we know an exclusive show (legends house) is the most watched show on the network so yeah those "chappy exclusive shows" is what people are watching.
OKC was simply not going to pay the luxury tax. Amnestying Perkins would have had them paying both him and Harden big bucks as well as having Ibaka coming up for a 10 million plus deal.
I don't fault them for this, but if they gave Harden a 4 year/58 million (or something similar to that), I think they would be under the tax still, due to the cap being higher than anybody thought.
Or amnesty Perk and keep Harden.
They should fire Brooks regardless and get a different coach. I don't have a good candidate in mind actually. Maybe D'Antoni? lololol (I hate D'Antoni).
gotta factor in cost and ad revenue not just ratings. wrestling makes far less per rating point (or rating tenth in the case of Impact) than most other shows. It also costs Spike more to run than an umpteenth rerun of Cops or Bar Rescue.
and a higher cost than most other programs and a lower ad rate. And the stink. At best TNA might grab onto a late night slot on a sportschannel package or maybe WGN America (a dying network).
reruns get cheaper the more they air. At this point a rerun of Bar rescue or CSI is very cheap. Royalty rates for cast and crew get less each time too. Seinfeld had an episode about this where Jerry was getting 12 cent checks for being a quick part of the credits for a Japanese show. Also SNL writers are on the record saying that when Comedy Central was running reruns constantly they were getting 7 cent checks by the end.
agreed about Brooks but OKC is a team dead set against paying any luxury tax. amnestying Perkins while having Durant, Ibaka, Westbrook, and Harden eating up payroll (and let's face it limiting flexibility to bring in a Caron Butler, Derek Fisher, etc.) would have been more than they wanted to pay. Chicago is the same way even though they are in the 3rd biggest market in the league.
and the original programming for any of the "good" networks like USA get far more than 1 million viewers, thus comparing Impact to them is kinda silly.
The segment where IRS beats the shit out of Tatanka and Strongbow and rips the headdress apart because Tatanka didn't pay the "gift tax" is one of the most underrated angles of 1994.
Sorta irrelevant though, right? If it's the most watched, it's the most watched. I highly doubt there are a huge population of people who haven't subscribed to the network because they don't have old episodes of Prime Time Wrestling on....so it's still a pretty accurate measuring stick.
the followinig networks AVERAGED more than a million viewers per all 7 nights in primetime last week:
TNT, USA, Disney, History, ESPN, Foxnews, TBS, Home and Garden, Discovery, NAN (not sure what that is), ADSM (not sure what that is), A&E, TLC, FX. Spike averaged 923k, which is only slightly below what Impact gets. At that point we really have to discuss cost.
I don't really care about wwes current financial state. Selfishly, as long as they are self sustaining and giving me my fix of wrestling, I don't care.
The network and WM buyrate analysis stuff was interesting for awhile buy unless you have money invested, who really cares what their financials are
see my post above about what networks AVERAGE in primetime. Impact would hardly be earth shattering to add to a cable network lineup and again has the stigma of being wrestling and the issue with getting lower ad rates than comparable shows.
I think, what we can see here, is that TNA would be best served by not having their wrestlers wrestle at all, but instead open a pawn shop or open storage lockers or some shit like that.
You're mostly correct. However, when it comes to the newish sports channels, NBCSN and FS1 and whatever other new ones you get down there in Yankeeland, they're scrambling to snap up everything sports-like that isn't already nailed down. So TNA could, hypothetically, be picked up in that process.
But probably not, because as we all know, TNA is fucked.
anything on the live feed, much less something that is one about 20 times in a week is going to be the #1 show on the network. The better comparision would be how many people are watching old Raws vs. Legends house. IMO a better comparison would be to aggregate WCW ppvs or old raws or ECW hardcore TV episodes and compare the interest there to Legends house. But again, you promote the thing like crazy and put it on constantly with it being in your face every time you open the app, it's kinda a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Did it ever get blown off on tv or was it one of thiose houeshow feuds? I vaguely remember them doing a tag match consisting of IRS/Jarrett v Tatanka/Doink, which will probably go down as one of the weirdest and colorful (in terms of their costume designs) tag team matches ever devised.
unfortunately you are right. I loved TNA when Christian was there but frankly the show has sucked for going on 7-8 years. It isn't going to suddenly catch the world on fire. People love scripted "reality" shit and procedural dramas. I used to think wrestling might get hot again but at this point WWE lacks the courage to do what it takes to do that (and with investors has to be "safe") and TNA is damaged goods. I don't forsee any changes in the business. WWE will be the 20/20 or Dateline or wrestling, going on for decades with little change in the ratings and little to get excited about.
1993 WCW is such a fustercluck of wasted star potential,booking plans gone awry,business exposing tv tapings, attempted murder and yet this shoot is boring as hell.
THIS. I am so tired of being expected to care about what makes the company money and what doesn't. I get it Cena sells a lot of shirts and shit... but I usually find him boring or irritating, don't want to see the way he currently is so when the subject comes up I am going to complain about it.
I honestly hope that either TNA or Jeff Jarrett's new promotion get picked up simply to give guys another option to work and keep Vince from completely fucking the talent over. The problem with any regional networks is that their schedules are all over the map due to games. For example a show that runs at 11 pm Friday nights may be pre-empted due to the baseball team being on the west coast that week or extra innings. It's real dicey to be at a decent time. Other wise you get buried at 3 pm on thursday afternoons like poker and no one is watching (and you still are subject to preemption due to day baseball or whatnot). FS1 or NBCSN might be a good fit but NBC has always had a decent relationship with Vince so I doubt they go that route.
That's one of my first memories of my mother threatening to write a letter to Vince McMahon because she was disgusted with the content of the WWF. Here it is...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfbGDO6CAVs
If WWE were a privately held company, it wouldn't matter, but as a publicly traded corporation it does matter. Do I think WWE will fold any time soon? No, but they invested heavily in the Network and if it doesn't succeed, investors are going to pull out. Companies have gone done hill a lot quicker for a lot less.
But how many people will stay 6 months from now if they're still barely putting up any historical content? Or a year from now? If even a sizable minority of the original subscribers jumped on to get old content and are not feeling satisfied the bleed from those people could negate any gains they make.
Besides Austin's awesomeness (should he be so inclined to host again), a new season of Tough Enough would likely be their best yet. WWE production - Bonnie Hammer/USA or MTV's input = quality.
Austin alluded to it in a few different interviews or podcasts--they had to keep certain people on the show because of pressure from USA and the entertainmentz factor. If that wasn't the case, then maybe we would have had a Matt Cross and Martin/Donny Osmond showdown at the end. Instead, they were stuck with undersized douche and mediocre big man as their finalists.
I'd really like to see a Network version of his podcast - he's a shockingly good interviewer. Of course, that's unfiltered, while I'm sure anything on the Network wouldn't be
I would contend that those people overachieved and are, perhaps, a testament to the benefits of TE. Miz has helped make them more money (and save on labor costs for all the stupid little things/jobs he does) than they probably ever dreamed.
I was also a fan of Chris Nowinski and John Morrison, TE alumni.
If Goldberg has anything left in the tank, they could have a good match. I think they would've had a good one in 2004, but neither knew how to deal with the crowd abjectly dismissing them the way they did.
Part of me is hoping that this new TV deal gets them off USA and onto to something like AMC. Seriously, Bonnie Hammer's obsession with people in suits is outrageous.
You could really tell from his last Blu Ray that he is just an incredible talker and storyteller so anything involving talking about wrestling and most other things would be a winner. Also he loves to describe things as "hellacious".
Another point with everyone complaining about "crappy exclusive shows" if you want to deny or convince yourself that legends house being the most watched program on the network doesn't mean anything that's fine. But nobody here can deny the success of their other original content show total divas. The show does well over a million viewers and has hit a million and a half a few times. It's highly successful. So I'm not sure why they wouldn't go for more original content. As I said earlier it's not like they ar e not uploading stuff. A RAW every day and now starting to upload Clashes as well. I enjoyed the original tough enough the most. But I don't see why people are even close to being bothered by it.
How successful would it be if it was on regular cable? I mean, the show is one of the few new pieces of content on the Network right now. Not surprising that it's getting viewers.
And how is it getting over 1m viewers when less than that have the Network?
The subscriber potential for watching old episodes of Prime Time is pretty limited. They obviously hope to do a litle better than that, and original programming is their shot.
You have a good point, I can't argue against the passion for the business that Miz and Matthews have, and at least Cameron is the "comic relief" for Total Divas. I do find it sad that other than John Morrison, none of the winners ever amounted to much in the business.
WWE should honestly look into maybe getting the rights to broadcast some minor league sports or something. It seems they have a built-in audience for that already.
Total divas gets over a million viewers. I'm saying if total divas is doing incredible on basic cable and legends house is highly watched on the network it seems like a no brained to continue in that direction.
It's ridiculous how I'm hearing the house shows are being trimmed down and such, which wasn't a problem on 24/7. As people on this blog know, I've not subscribed, but I still consider myself on the fence and have followed the threads about what content is being rolled out. What I'm seeing, though, isn't making me excited. If WWE goes in the direction of making this Network all reality and entertainment and neglect the hardcore fans they are going to be in trouble. Yes, people might just put up with it for the "free specials" and I guess we'll just have to see how this pans out over the next 6 months.
They go hand-in-hand. I want good TV, but part of me wonders if WWE lost sight that good TV will drive the rest of their business. If I were an investor in WWE (which I am not), I'd be concerned that revenue has been flat for awhile, ratings don't fluctuate, and the same with PPV buys. This shows that while the company isn't losing ground, its not gaining any new viewers/revenue either.
As a fan, this is verified by what I see on TV. Cena Wins LOL. More Randy Orton, same shit, different week/year/whatever. Take all of the valid complaints about TV product and they are backed up by their financial records.
Now the WWE is trying something new on the corporate front (the network) and on TV (DB, Shield, Wyatts) but it will be awhile to see if it pays off for them.
Bingo, which is why I follow the financials. It seems to me that the company made money hand over first in 1998-2001 or whatever when they had a really hot TV product that was popular with the mainstream. Their unwillingness to really elevate a lot of guys because of a fear they are going to bolt (and who really cares anyway? Just rebuild! Plus, it's free publicity when a guy like Brock goes to MMA and people know he's a wrestler or when people still see the Rock in movies) is just very, very stupid.
Yeah I don't get it. Someone bolts and blows up in Hollywood and that's a bad thing? Plus very few guys are going to MMA and going to succeed. Brock is a freak of nature in that regard.
Where do you get off givinga reasonable, well explained response to a question? This is the internet for fucks sake! Are you trying to plunge us into anarchy? Now call me a fag and get things back to normal!
You also need to add in stability. I imagine a network would do a little research and when the research guy comes back with ...uhm...everyone on the internet has been talking about this company is going out of business within the next year...for the past couple years...that is a bit more stink.
You deserve a medal for sitting through this. Lasted about half an hour (whilst playing games on my phone), and gave up. It's even worse than the Val Venis Timeline content-wise, which is saying something - although I'd probably still say the 99 edition is the worst, because Val is just so fucking annoying.
He's honestly one half-botched move from crippled, IMO. I don't mean a Brock "OH MY GOD HE BROKE HIS NECK" SSP, or even a Japanese DANGEROUS! head drop... but even something basic that's just a little off could be ugly.
There is no way, in his current state, he'd pass a WWE physical to be cleared for in-ring action. Not without MONTHS of recuperation.
You pretty much nailed it - he's clearly a compulsive liar and generally unpleasant person, but the guy can actually talk and has a knack for anecdotes (even if/when they're obviously BS).
They'd really just bring in Goldberg to bury Ryback once and for all, really. Have Ryback openly reference the Goldberg chants and then "THE MAN" comes through the crowd, say's "You're NEXT!" spears the shit out of him, and calls it a day. They could do it annually and be the new Pete Rose/Kane WM gimmick.
Same, I didn't even last through it. Vader is awful in every shoot, he just puts over himself and doesn't add a thing. I didn't mind Val as much, because I share his nutso libertarian views which he boasts too many times.
True. Although the 99-01 was when he was first starting out. The Finlay one from 2006 is kinda full but so was the subject.
Between this, the awful Balls Mahoney Shoot and the Piper Timeline, KC has been slipping. Even the KC Pom-Pom boy over at 411 Mania is no longer reviewing their releases. Guess they are too embarrassed to send out promotional copies of this for review?
Wow...just breezed through an episode on YouTube. The funniest thing is that they advertise a Christmas show where they'll be giving away pairs of tickets for a TNA house show to all kids in attendance. I think this Southern States partnership is exactly what TNA needs to gain better national prominence.
Pretty sure it was house shows. They kept running it despite TV being all about Tatanka calling out Lex for "selling out." I think IRS won most of the Strap matches they did around the horn.
Everyone's entitled to their views (and there are strands of the Libertarian platform I'm thoroughly on board with - in fact, I myself would identify as a Libertarian, but the classical kind). I just find his insistence on somehow linking every question he's asked or anecdote he relays back to politics (specifically, his politics) in some way or another grinding in the extreme.
"So Val, how did it feel going over Mick Foley?" "Well, Mick's a good guy, but I find it difficult to respect him given that he's a Democrat. The Democrats are just as much a part of the system out to rob us and subjugate us as the Republicans, if not more so. They line the pockets of society's unproductive scroungers, the GOP line the pockets of their friends in big business. A reversion to the principles of Hayekian endogenous growth theory would kill dependency wherever it exists in the economy overall, making work pay, and forcing failing companies to go to the wall. No bailouts for banks, no bailouts for human beings. It's that simple. I mean, the entire notion of personal responsibility for one's own actions and lot in life has been consistently degraded by a century of perpetual war and perpetual welfare, but it's possible to reverse the tide. The road to serfdom is not a one way street." "Erm..."
There's also roughly the same lack of interesting insight or decent gossip, the same self-censored and politically conscious answers etc.
Yeah, I've noticed the downward trajectory in quality and it's a real shame, because KC were so ahead of the curve and their production values are actually, y'know, approaching professional.
I think their problems are manifold.
For a start, the YouShoot series has become a magnet for fucking marks who try and put themselves over with the questions, and there are way too many in-jokes and meta-references (Batista's dick, etc.). This invariably detracts from the interview, and at the worst makes watching them interminable.
The second biggie is largely out of their control, unfortunately. There just aren't that many people who'd be ready, willing and/or able to conduct a shoot interview left. Many people will be reluctant to shoot for vocational reasons. Because the wrestling world is so incestuous, the chances are if you just started unloading on a particular individual or group of individuals, you'd be doing yourself out of some kind of job with some promotion or other. Others just wouldn't want anything to do with them anyway. Of those left, many presumably aren't very good at them, and many won't be able to offer anything substantive.
IMO they can't split the WWE again, because they haven't got enough star power to carry two different (equal) brands.
They would need the TNA guys. Ok, if they buy TNA and make a new WCW with the former TNA wrestlers, it would be ok for me, but if they split the current WWE roster, they would have to push new guys too soon for the titles and we will get the same problems we've had from 2002 to 2012.
I feel sort of lucky compared to the other posts as the only thing I ever experienced like this was a taping for 2 weeks of WCW Saturday Night in 99. In a packed house of 200 people at most (that's around the max capacity of the place too) that had two dark match main events after the taping that featured DDP vs The Giant and Goldberg vs Meng, none of whom made an actual appearance on the Saturday Night taping.
The only things I really remember outside of the string of jobber matches that had my friend screaming out "Who the fuck is that!?" during their entrances was two Disciple/Lenny Lane squash matches, a Jericho/Psicosis match that featured a Jericho promo that incited several cup throwers that eventually got cut from the show when it aired followed by a Jericho/Eddie Guerrero match with the LWO being strangely the most over thing going for those tapings outside of Goldberg.
How are TNA guys over enough to carry a separate company on WWE's level? Excluding ring work and just looking at actual ability to draw, nobody at TNA is as over as the Wyatts and Shield. Both came from NXT. You could say Angle but he won't pass a WWE physical and still can't draw for TNA. Austin Aries, Eric Young and Magnus are at the exact same level of "over" as anyone else that would be brought up from NXT on Raw. I guarantee that if they had Samoa Joe, Aries, Bubba and Angle show up on Raw most fans would think "a retired world champ, a tag teamer and two geeks." They could get them over but they could just sign those guys without the stench of TNA attached.
If i were running TNA i would be shopping around for another channel to broadcast on & investors so they can better there product with new wrestlers & find someone for creative that actually knows something about pro wrestling.
How can you be over in a company, that nobody knows? But I think if you put guys like Samoa Joe, Mr Kennedy, Bubba Ray Dudley, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Christopher Daniels, Bobby Lashley, MVP and Sting in the WWE ring on monday night RAW, they would be over as the Wyatts or Shield or Cesaro.
Maybe not Magnus or Eric Young or Gunner or Rockstar Spud or Ethan Carter III, but TNA has enough guys a WWE fan could know.
That's my point: if nobody knows of TNA why buy it? You could create another company or relaunch a brand you own. If there was really someone worth getting at TNA they could sign them without buying. Sting is already signed by WWE as he's been appearing on the Network and Daniels is a free agent and Angle becomes one soon.
Name me one other network that has shown any interest in TNA whatsoever. A million viewers is not considered a great number for most tv networks. Then add to the fact that TNA was supposed to have 2 million viewers by now and their numbers are on a trending decline, and no network would ever want to take a gamble on them.
If another season means Stone Cold cutting promos on the young 'uns for the last 5 minutes of the show, then hell yeah. If it's just Demott and an infomercial for the performance center, then no.
ReplyDeleteIf people will watch Total Divas, I'm not surprised they are taking another stab at TE. Can't check that website at work, but I'm interested to hear how they explained having the net income drop from approx. $32 million to less than $3 million.
ReplyDeleteIf it's on anything other than "Network set-up", then Barrett had better be available.
ReplyDeleteBecause the last TE was such a success that the first one cut is the only one to have a regular gig in the company, and it's a fucking Funkadactyl. MY FAVORITE MATCH WAS MELINA VS ALICIA FOX!
ReplyDeleteYeah. Because the last season of Tough Enough was awesome -- Stone Cold cutting badass promos about how useless they were every week. If it's that again, I'll never miss an episode. That show was more entertaining than Raw or Smackdown at the time.
ReplyDelete"MY FAVORITE MATCH WAS MELINA VS ALICIA FOX!"
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't this more of a thing? I mean, we're still doing jokes about Luger's t-shirts being too tight and Booker T calling Hogan the n-word, but somehow this one has managed to slip through the cracks.
Yeah Bruno's is great too. Very educational.
ReplyDeleteTop Revenue Sources - Q1-2014
ReplyDelete(1) TV Revenue - $40.6 million
(2) Live Events - $21.7 million
(3) Licensing - $14.0 million
(4) PPV Revenue - $13.8 million
(5) DVD Revenue - $10.5 million
(6) Digital Media - $6.7 million
(7) Venue Merch - $5.0 million
(8) WWE Network - $4.4 million
(9) WWE Studios - $4.3 million
(10) WWEShop - $4.2 million
I'm amazed that WWE Studios is now officially a money making division.
Because this is WWE, who is an "entertainment" company!
ReplyDeleteOh, you wanted more money to go into dividends and retained earnings? Well, I'm afraid I've got some BAD NEWS!
ReplyDeleteIt got pretty good ratings too, IIRC. Not sure why USA killed it off.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the WWE proceeded to only hire 1 person from the whole show and that was the girl who knew nothing about wrestling. The guy that won was dead in the water when he sold a Vince slap like being blasted by a shotgun. Figures.
Most of the names from that year are under contract to WWE unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI always found it impressive that Vader, despite being billed as a super heavyweight, allowed himself to get slammed and suplexed around by smaller dudes. I think even Shawn Michaels bodyslammed him.
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeletewhich as I understand is one reason Punk walked. He was not happy with the vague answers on how pay was going to be made up from the decreased ppv payoffs to talent. My guess is Vince and the WWE, being a virtual monopoly, are using the network as a way to cut pay
ReplyDeleteSadly you're right, they truly feel the audience for those old shows are dwarfed by interest in stuff like Legends House.
ReplyDeleteThey'll go up eventually but for now their focus will be on new original "shows" because deep down Vince is still embarrassed to be a wrassling promoter.
It was easily WWE's best show at the time and really cleansed my palate regarding Stone Cold after years of being a drunk woman beating redneck who came on WWE television riding his stupid lil atv.
ReplyDeleteI had almost forgotten that this was the same man who transformed the business. Tough Enough and now his Podcast has reminded me how great he truly was at his peak.
Vince and Ted are all “Let’s see what’s in the news this week” to show how totally not taped this show is.
ReplyDelete"Looks like those clowns in Congress did it again. What a bunch of clowns."
"How does he keep up with the news like that?"
Austin is an industry treasure. The fact that he doesn't have his own show on the network just doing random stuff over the course of his day is a travesty.
ReplyDeleteStill needs a WHAT?
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I've always enjoyed Tough Enough both the old version with Al Snow and the last one with SCSA. That said the fact that this is a big enough deal to mention in an investors call continues to show the direction that the Network is headed and that IMO our worst fears about what WWE plans for the Network vs. what we (as vault lovers with a desire for additional content not focused on the current 2-3 year roster) our wanting to see.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd rather see something different than TE. Maybe something innovative like a doc-reality show about unheralded NXT signing and his training over the course of his first year.
ReplyDeleteA main event in any arena in the world!
ReplyDeleteWell done, sir. I have to say, I really enjoy Vince on commentary. He may not be JR at his best, but I think the excitement in his voice on near falls is outstanding.
ReplyDeletethat is the million dollar question. Many of us hold out hope that they will drop a ton right before the 6 month reup point or right after (advertising it ahead of time to get reups). Barring that though there isn't an answer other than what L. Scisco said. The fact that Tough Enough (while generally entertaining) is a big enough project to warrant mention on an investor call makes me think that the focus is almost completely on new content and entertainment based content rather original shows that might feature retired wrestlers (best of, bios, etc.) or putting up more vault content. What's annoying is that they could do both. There is a shitload of already sanitized for 24/7 shows that could be put up right now by unpaid interns. 24/7 had entire runs of WCW saturday night, primetime, nitro, mid-atlantic, and ECW. They had a ton of house shows (and that werent' trimmed to 53 minutes) too.
ReplyDeleteWell as far as we know an exclusive show (legends house) is the most watched show on the network so yeah those "chappy exclusive shows" is what people are watching.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Vince Sr. ever yelled at Vince Jr. through a headset?
ReplyDelete"'What-a-maneuver'? Jesus, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. And stop that fake laughing, you sound like a putz."
Flawless victory.
ReplyDeleteOKC was simply not going to pay the luxury tax. Amnestying Perkins would have had them paying both him and Harden big bucks as well as having Ibaka coming up for a 10 million plus deal.
ReplyDeleteI don't fault them for this, but if they gave Harden a 4 year/58 million (or something similar to that), I think they would be under the tax still, due to the cap being higher than anybody thought.
ReplyDeleteOr amnesty Perk and keep Harden.
They should fire Brooks regardless and get a different coach. I don't have a good candidate in mind actually. Maybe D'Antoni? lololol (I hate D'Antoni).
Except we don't know what the actual numbers are.
ReplyDeletegotta factor in cost and ad revenue not just ratings. wrestling makes far less per rating point (or rating tenth in the case of Impact) than most other shows. It also costs Spike more to run than an umpteenth rerun of Cops or Bar Rescue.
ReplyDeleteand a higher cost than most other programs and a lower ad rate. And the stink. At best TNA might grab onto a late night slot on a sportschannel package or maybe WGN America (a dying network).
ReplyDeleteDon't praise the marchine!
ReplyDelete"a higher cost than most other programs"
ReplyDeletewhut
Here is what Vader did in Europe:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/0427/574538/backstage-news-on-bad-news-barrett-status/
reruns get cheaper the more they air. At this point a rerun of Bar rescue or CSI is very cheap. Royalty rates for cast and crew get less each time too. Seinfeld had an episode about this where Jerry was getting 12 cent checks for being a quick part of the credits for a Japanese show. Also SNL writers are on the record saying that when Comedy Central was running reruns constantly they were getting 7 cent checks by the end.
ReplyDeleteI think it's kind of silly to compare reruns to (sometimes live) original programming, whether it's on the same network or not.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of *original programming*, TNA is amongst the cheapest available.
agreed about Brooks but OKC is a team dead set against paying any luxury tax. amnestying Perkins while having Durant, Ibaka, Westbrook, and Harden eating up payroll (and let's face it limiting flexibility to bring in a Caron Butler, Derek Fisher, etc.) would have been more than they wanted to pay. Chicago is the same way even though they are in the 3rd biggest market in the league.
ReplyDeleteWhat would be better for TNA:
ReplyDeleteFS1 or the Fox Sports Regional network (IF they can get into all of them, that is.)
and the original programming for any of the "good" networks like USA get far more than 1 million viewers, thus comparing Impact to them is kinda silly.
ReplyDeleteThe segment where IRS beats the shit out of Tatanka and Strongbow and rips the headdress apart because Tatanka didn't pay the "gift tax" is one of the most underrated angles of 1994.
ReplyDeleteUmmmm it was in a "Did you know?" that it was the #1 show on the Network and those are always completely above board.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteI did not learn a thing either
Sorta irrelevant though, right? If it's the most watched, it's the most watched. I highly doubt there are a huge population of people who haven't subscribed to the network because they don't have old episodes of Prime Time Wrestling on....so it's still a pretty accurate measuring stick.
ReplyDeletethe followinig networks AVERAGED more than a million viewers per all 7 nights in primetime last week:
ReplyDeleteTNT, USA, Disney, History, ESPN, Foxnews, TBS, Home and Garden, Discovery, NAN (not sure what that is), ADSM (not sure what that is), A&E, TLC, FX. Spike averaged 923k, which is only slightly below what Impact gets. At that point we really have to discuss cost.
I don't really care about wwes current financial state. Selfishly, as long as they are self sustaining and giving me my fix of wrestling, I don't care.
ReplyDeleteThe network and WM buyrate analysis stuff was interesting for awhile buy unless you have money invested, who really cares what their financials are
Well, I wasn't. I think we're starting to see how Impact is not directly comparable, in a business sense, to, really, anything else on TV.
ReplyDeleteI think Ventura bashed the WM6 fans for cheering for Duggan even though he was saying USA
ReplyDeletesee my post above about what networks AVERAGE in primetime. Impact would hardly be earth shattering to add to a cable network lineup and again has the stigma of being wrestling and the issue with getting lower ad rates than comparable shows.
ReplyDeleteit would be awesome if this was video report, and it started with the version of dx's music that cuts in immediately with "break it down!"
ReplyDeleteI think, what we can see here, is that TNA would be best served by not having their wrestlers wrestle at all, but instead open a pawn shop or open storage lockers or some shit like that.
ReplyDeleteYou're mostly correct. However, when it comes to the newish sports channels, NBCSN and FS1 and whatever other new ones you get down there in Yankeeland, they're scrambling to snap up everything sports-like that isn't already nailed down. So TNA could, hypothetically, be picked up in that process.
ReplyDeleteBut probably not, because as we all know, TNA is fucked.
anything on the live feed, much less something that is one about 20 times in a week is going to be the #1 show on the network. The better comparision would be how many people are watching old Raws vs. Legends house. IMO a better comparison would be to aggregate WCW ppvs or old raws or ECW hardcore TV episodes and compare the interest there to Legends house. But again, you promote the thing like crazy and put it on constantly with it being in your face every time you open the app, it's kinda a self-fulfilling prophecy.
ReplyDeleteMan you took my response WAAAAAAAY to seriously
ReplyDeleteDid it ever get blown off on tv or was it one of thiose houeshow feuds? I vaguely remember them doing a tag match consisting of IRS/Jarrett v Tatanka/Doink, which will probably go down as one of the weirdest and colorful (in terms of their costume designs) tag team matches ever devised.
ReplyDeleteunfortunately you are right. I loved TNA when Christian was there but frankly the show has sucked for going on 7-8 years. It isn't going to suddenly catch the world on fire. People love scripted "reality" shit and procedural dramas. I used to think wrestling might get hot again but at this point WWE lacks the courage to do what it takes to do that (and with investors has to be "safe") and TNA is damaged goods. I don't forsee any changes in the business. WWE will be the 20/20 or Dateline or wrestling, going on for decades with little change in the ratings and little to get excited about.
ReplyDelete1993 WCW is such a fustercluck of wasted star potential,booking plans gone awry,business exposing tv tapings, attempted murder and yet this shoot is boring as hell.
ReplyDeleteDubya-See-Dubya in a nutshell i guess.
I tend to do that. :)
ReplyDeleteTHIS. I am so tired of being expected to care about what makes the company money and what doesn't. I get it Cena sells a lot of shirts and shit... but I usually find him boring or irritating, don't want to see the way he currently is so when the subject comes up I am going to complain about it.
ReplyDeleteFuck yeah!
ReplyDeleteI honestly hope that either TNA or Jeff Jarrett's new promotion get picked up simply to give guys another option to work and keep Vince from completely fucking the talent over. The problem with any regional networks is that their schedules are all over the map due to games. For example a show that runs at 11 pm Friday nights may be pre-empted due to the baseball team being on the west coast that week or extra innings. It's real dicey to be at a decent time. Other wise you get buried at 3 pm on thursday afternoons like poker and no one is watching (and you still are subject to preemption due to day baseball or whatnot). FS1 or NBCSN might be a good fit but NBC has always had a decent relationship with Vince so I doubt they go that route.
ReplyDeleteAnd no matter how many birth certificates he releases to the contrary he will always be a Kenyan
ReplyDeletethis should be stickied at the top of every wrestling board on the internet.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am going to spend a Saturday Night complaining about it online!
ReplyDelete"Trouble in the middle east..."
ReplyDeleteIsn't he Muslim too?
ReplyDeleteExcept when he's an Atheist.
ReplyDeleteYou can walk just about anywhere in America and get a USA chant going.
ReplyDeleteThat's one of my first memories of my mother threatening to write a letter to Vince McMahon because she was disgusted with the content of the WWF. Here it is...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfbGDO6CAVs
ReplyDeleteIf WWE were a privately held company, it wouldn't matter, but as a publicly traded corporation it does matter. Do I think WWE will fold any time soon? No, but they invested heavily in the Network and if it doesn't succeed, investors are going to pull out. Companies have gone done hill a lot quicker for a lot less.
ReplyDeleteHe was near orgasm during many of Shawn's 1996 entrances.
ReplyDeleteOf course people need another season of Tough Enough, we need more dancing Divas!
ReplyDeleteBut how many people will stay 6 months from now if they're still barely putting up any historical content? Or a year from now? If even a sizable minority of the original subscribers jumped on to get old content and are not feeling satisfied the bleed from those people could negate any gains they make.
ReplyDeleteSure it's relevant. If it's not bringing in enough viewers or growing the subscriber base it's a waste.
ReplyDelete"No, he didn't get him. It was a two count, you moron.
ReplyDeleteSilly Scott, stopwatches have been built-in to iOS for years
ReplyDeleteFair enough... but why do YOU care? Like are you ok with them putting out shit you don't want to see if it is profitable?
ReplyDeleteBesides Austin's awesomeness (should he be so inclined to host again), a new season of Tough Enough would likely be their best yet. WWE production - Bonnie Hammer/USA or MTV's input = quality.
ReplyDeleteAustin alluded to it in a few different interviews or podcasts--they had to keep certain people on the show because of pressure from USA and the entertainmentz factor. If that wasn't the case, then maybe we would have had a Matt Cross and Martin/Donny Osmond showdown at the end. Instead, they were stuck with undersized douche and mediocre big man as their finalists.
Cameron, Josh Matthews, and The Miz are the legacy of Tough Enough. Think about that for a second.
ReplyDeleteI'd really like to see a Network version of his podcast - he's a shockingly good interviewer. Of course, that's unfiltered, while I'm sure anything on the Network wouldn't be
ReplyDeleteMaven lives on the street, he's always talking about it.
ReplyDeleteI would contend that those people overachieved and are, perhaps, a testament to the benefits of TE. Miz has helped make them more money (and save on labor costs for all the stupid little things/jobs he does) than they probably ever dreamed.
ReplyDeleteI was also a fan of Chris Nowinski and John Morrison, TE alumni.
If you read live threads, you'd see it pop up during half the divas matches. It's not dying anytime soon. Don't worry.
ReplyDeleteOculus did really well for them.
ReplyDeleteNobody drinks from a water cooler any more - they use bottles.
ReplyDeleteI think people would be talking about Tough Enough at the coffee machines.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it would do any good if people just didn't watch it. They have to get data on who watches what shows, right?
ReplyDeleteOf course, who am I kidding. They'll just say we're too stupid to enjoy the entertaining TV they are putting out and keep rolling along.
Can't wait till they flood the Network one day with Triple H and Marine films!
He does do a family-friendly version of his podcast. I agree with you, though. WWE should utilize his talents more.
ReplyDeleteI just wrote a whole article for P2B while at work today.
ReplyDeleteIf Goldberg has anything left in the tank, they could have a good match. I think they would've had a good one in 2004, but neither knew how to deal with the crowd abjectly dismissing them the way they did.
ReplyDeleteSort of an NXT Hard Knocks show. That would be cool.
ReplyDeletePart of me is hoping that this new TV deal gets them off USA and onto to something like AMC. Seriously, Bonnie Hammer's obsession with people in suits is outrageous.
ReplyDeleteYou could really tell from his last Blu Ray that he is just an incredible talker and storyteller so anything involving talking about wrestling and most other things would be a winner. Also he loves to describe things as "hellacious".
ReplyDeleteAnother point with everyone complaining about "crappy exclusive shows" if you want to deny or convince yourself that legends house being the most watched program on the network doesn't mean anything that's fine. But nobody here can deny the success of their other original content show total divas. The show does well over a million viewers and has hit a million and a half a few times. It's highly successful. So I'm not sure why they wouldn't go for more original content. As I said earlier it's not like they ar e not uploading stuff. A RAW every day and now starting to upload Clashes as well. I enjoyed the original tough enough the most. But I don't see why people are even close to being bothered by it.
ReplyDeleteHow successful would it be if it was on regular cable? I mean, the show is one of the few new pieces of content on the Network right now. Not surprising that it's getting viewers.
ReplyDeleteAnd how is it getting over 1m viewers when less than that have the Network?
The subscriber potential for watching old episodes of Prime Time is pretty limited. They obviously hope to do a litle better than that, and original programming is their shot.
ReplyDeleteYou have a good point, I can't argue against the passion for the business that Miz and Matthews have, and at least Cameron is the "comic relief" for Total Divas. I do find it sad that other than John Morrison, none of the winners ever amounted to much in the business.
ReplyDeleteAs long as they are putting up the stuff I really want to see, I don't care what exclusive crap they throw up.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side: The crowd in that case boo'ed him.
ReplyDeleteWWE should honestly look into maybe getting the rights to broadcast some minor league sports or something. It seems they have a built-in audience for that already.
ReplyDeleteTotal divas gets over a million viewers. I'm saying if total divas is doing incredible on basic cable and legends house is highly watched on the network it seems like a no brained to continue in that direction.
ReplyDeleteShe's also a big John Cena fan, so that would be another step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteIt's ridiculous how I'm hearing the house shows are being trimmed down and such, which wasn't a problem on 24/7. As people on this blog know, I've not subscribed, but I still consider myself on the fence and have followed the threads about what content is being rolled out. What I'm seeing, though, isn't making me excited. If WWE goes in the direction of making this Network all reality and entertainment and neglect the hardcore fans they are going to be in trouble. Yes, people might just put up with it for the "free specials" and I guess we'll just have to see how this pans out over the next 6 months.
ReplyDeleteThey go hand-in-hand. I want good TV, but part of me wonders if WWE lost sight that good TV will drive the rest of their business. If I were an investor in WWE (which I am not), I'd be concerned that revenue has been flat for awhile, ratings don't fluctuate, and the same with PPV buys. This shows that while the company isn't losing ground, its not gaining any new viewers/revenue either.
ReplyDeleteAs a fan, this is verified by what I see on TV. Cena Wins LOL. More Randy Orton, same shit, different week/year/whatever. Take all of the valid complaints about TV product and they are backed up by their financial records.
Now the WWE is trying something new on the corporate front (the network) and on TV (DB, Shield, Wyatts) but it will be awhile to see if it pays off for them.
The Austin season gave us the hysterical "who?" reaction to Melina vs. Alicia Fox...that if nothing else justified that year of the show.
ReplyDeleteBingo, which is why I follow the financials. It seems to me that the company made money hand over first in 1998-2001 or whatever when they had a really hot TV product that was popular with the mainstream. Their unwillingness to really elevate a lot of guys because of a fear they are going to bolt (and who really cares anyway? Just rebuild! Plus, it's free publicity when a guy like Brock goes to MMA and people know he's a wrestler or when people still see the Rock in movies) is just very, very stupid.
ReplyDeleteYeah I don't get it. Someone bolts and blows up in Hollywood and that's a bad thing? Plus very few guys are going to MMA and going to succeed. Brock is a freak of nature in that regard.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you get off givinga reasonable, well explained response to a question? This is the internet for fucks sake! Are you trying to plunge us into anarchy? Now call me a fag and get things back to normal!
ReplyDeleteSUCK MY DICK AND HANG YOURSELF
ReplyDeleteYou got to see that live? That's actually pretty cool. I loved that segment as a kid.
ReplyDeleteVader in ECW would have been a perfect fit.
ReplyDeleteExactly
ReplyDeleteHe is in the ring now for TNA isn't he (I don't watch) is it that bad?
ReplyDeleteYeah, the online discussion part definitely plays into it. It turns into "old news" a lot faster now than it used to.
ReplyDeleteWrote it for a friend who wants to do it with people he knows, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed.
ReplyDelete"A salmon-coloured sport coat? Really? You'll have to pry this company from my cold, nearly-dead hands to get that on TV again!"
ReplyDeleteholy hell, that sounds awesome.
ReplyDeleteYou also need to add in stability. I imagine a network would do a little research and when the research guy comes back with ...uhm...everyone on the internet has been talking about this company is going out of business within the next year...for the past couple years...that is a bit more stink.
ReplyDeleteOh Scott stop being so damn smarky. They chant "USA" at Crush because he aligned himself with evil foreigner Yokozuna. Come on, you know that.
ReplyDeleteYou deserve a medal for sitting through this. Lasted about half an hour (whilst playing games on my phone), and gave up. It's even worse than the Val Venis Timeline content-wise, which is saying something - although I'd probably still say the 99 edition is the worst, because Val is just so fucking annoying.
ReplyDeleteHe's honestly one half-botched move from crippled, IMO. I don't mean a Brock "OH MY GOD HE BROKE HIS NECK" SSP, or even a Japanese DANGEROUS! head drop... but even something basic that's just a little off could be ugly.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way, in his current state, he'd pass a WWE physical to be cleared for in-ring action. Not without MONTHS of recuperation.
You pretty much nailed it - he's clearly a compulsive liar and generally unpleasant person, but the guy can actually talk and has a knack for anecdotes (even if/when they're obviously BS).
ReplyDelete"Seriously? Tell that jackass next to you to stop wearing that King outfit. This isn't Memphis."
ReplyDeleteWasn't it Vince Sr. that pointed Kaufman towards Lawler and Memphis?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I went to Smackdown recently, which had the Outlaws and Punk vs. The Shield. I was ready to tap out by the time Smackdown started.
ReplyDeleteIndeed he was. I just couldn't resist calling Lawler a jackass.
ReplyDeleteAlways a noble goal.
ReplyDeleteYou mean the guy from American Samoa?
ReplyDeleteHe lives in New Jersey
ReplyDeleteDoesn't anybody enjoy kayfabing anymore? Bret was right. Shawn and Hunter ruined all the fun.
ReplyDeleteweren't they juking the numbers somehow?
ReplyDeleteAre you implying there are no streets in New Jersey?
ReplyDelete;)
Isn't it Tessmacher's other body part that we are all concerned with? That's real right? Jef, tell me that's not fake too
ReplyDeleteHis commentary in the last few moments of Michaels/Sid at Royal Rumble is like a 5 minute orgasm.
ReplyDeleteYou want kayfabe, check out Southern States Wrestling on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteMore kayfabe than you can shake a stick at, and the fanbase to match!
They'd really just bring in Goldberg to bury Ryback once and for all, really. Have Ryback openly reference the Goldberg chants and then "THE MAN" comes through the crowd, say's "You're NEXT!" spears the shit out of him, and calls it a day. They could do it annually and be the new Pete Rose/Kane WM gimmick.
ReplyDeleteSo...Vince Sr.speaks from the grave?
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to Ring Ka King?
ReplyDeleteI'm really disappointed at the Piper trailer, Sean Oliver's better than that.
ReplyDeleteSame, I didn't even last through it. Vader is awful in every shoot, he just puts over himself and doesn't add a thing. I didn't mind Val as much, because I share his nutso libertarian views which he boasts too many times.
ReplyDeleteAnd any WWF timeline after the early 90s
ReplyDeleteIf only we could get one PPV with Vince and David Crockett. Comedy gold.
ReplyDeleteI always loved when Heenan would go 'we know what country we're in' when Duggan did his thing.
ReplyDeleteVader says that Pillman wasn't the best choice as Austin's partner. Um, who would have been better?
ReplyDeleteI remember on The Weird Al BTM episode where Emo Phillips shows off his $0.37 check he got for residuals for being in UHF
ReplyDeleteOr make duck calls.
ReplyDeleteNope, I don't see any roller derby on FS1, Universal Sports, or CBS Sports Net
ReplyDeleteAccording to Vader, it was he .
ReplyDeleteIt would explain why he later joined The Nation
ReplyDeleteTrue. Although the 99-01 was when he was first starting out. The Finlay one from 2006 is kinda full but so was the subject.
ReplyDeleteBetween this, the awful Balls Mahoney Shoot and the Piper Timeline, KC has been slipping. Even the KC Pom-Pom boy over at 411 Mania is no longer reviewing their releases. Guess they are too embarrassed to send out promotional copies of this for review?
Wow...just breezed through an episode on YouTube. The funniest thing is that they advertise a Christmas show where they'll be giving away pairs of tickets for a TNA house show to all kids in attendance. I think this Southern States partnership is exactly what TNA needs to gain better national prominence.
ReplyDeleteHe was the champ, why would he want to be in tag matches?
ReplyDeletePretty sure it was house shows. They kept running it despite TV being all about Tatanka calling out Lex for "selling out." I think IRS won most of the Strap matches they did around the horn.
ReplyDeleteEveryone's entitled to their views (and there are strands of the Libertarian platform I'm thoroughly on board with - in fact, I myself would identify as a Libertarian, but the classical kind). I just find his insistence on somehow linking every question he's asked or anecdote he relays back to politics (specifically, his politics) in some way or another grinding in the extreme.
ReplyDelete"So Val, how did it feel going over Mick Foley?"
"Well, Mick's a good guy, but I find it difficult to respect him given that he's a Democrat. The Democrats are just as much a part of the system out to rob us and subjugate us as the Republicans, if not more so. They line the pockets of society's unproductive scroungers, the GOP line the pockets of their friends in big business. A reversion to the principles of Hayekian endogenous growth theory would kill dependency wherever it exists in the economy overall, making work pay, and forcing failing companies to go to the wall. No bailouts for banks, no bailouts for human beings. It's that simple. I mean, the entire notion of personal responsibility for one's own actions and lot in life has been consistently degraded by a century of perpetual war and perpetual welfare, but it's possible to reverse the tide. The road to serfdom is not a one way street."
"Erm..."
There's also roughly the same lack of interesting insight or decent gossip, the same self-censored and politically conscious answers etc.
Yeah, I've noticed the downward trajectory in quality and it's a real shame, because KC were so ahead of the curve and their production values are actually, y'know, approaching professional.
ReplyDeleteI think their problems are manifold.
For a start, the YouShoot series has become a magnet for fucking marks who try and put themselves over with the questions, and there are way too many in-jokes and meta-references (Batista's dick, etc.). This invariably detracts from the interview, and at the worst makes watching them interminable.
The second biggie is largely out of their control, unfortunately. There just aren't that many people who'd be ready, willing and/or able to conduct a shoot interview left. Many people will be reluctant to shoot for vocational reasons. Because the wrestling world is so incestuous, the chances are if you just started unloading on a particular individual or group of individuals, you'd be doing yourself out of some kind of job with some promotion or other. Others just wouldn't want anything to do with them anyway. Of those left, many presumably aren't very good at them, and many won't be able to offer anything substantive.
That Hess Express guy from the YouShoot videos is the worst. The absolute worst.
ReplyDeleteIMO they can't split the WWE again, because they haven't got enough star power to carry two different (equal) brands.
ReplyDeleteThey would need the TNA guys. Ok, if they buy TNA and make a new WCW with the former TNA wrestlers, it would be ok for me, but if they split the current WWE roster, they would have to push new guys too soon for the titles and we will get the same problems we've had from 2002 to 2012.
I feel sort of lucky compared to the other posts as the only thing I ever experienced like this was a taping for 2 weeks of WCW Saturday Night in 99. In a packed house of 200 people at most (that's around the max capacity of the place too) that had two dark match main events after the taping that featured DDP vs The Giant and Goldberg vs Meng, none of whom made an actual appearance on the Saturday Night taping.
ReplyDeleteThe only things I really remember outside of the string of jobber matches that had my friend screaming out "Who the fuck is that!?" during their entrances was two Disciple/Lenny Lane squash matches, a Jericho/Psicosis match that featured a Jericho promo that incited several cup throwers that eventually got cut from the show when it aired followed by a Jericho/Eddie Guerrero match with the LWO being strangely the most over thing going for those tapings outside of Goldberg.
I was about to say, that was a hell of a thing for '94 WWF.
ReplyDeleteHis mocking HEY-HOW-ARE-YA complete with hand over the mouth was fairly amazing too.
Scroll down and click the "Strongbow- Ernie Ladd incident". This was a rehash of that clearly. Still great stuff however
ReplyDeleteHow are TNA guys over enough to carry a separate company on WWE's level? Excluding ring work and just looking at actual ability to draw, nobody at TNA is as over as the Wyatts and Shield. Both came from NXT. You could say Angle but he won't pass a WWE physical and still can't draw for TNA. Austin Aries, Eric Young and Magnus are at the exact same level of "over" as anyone else that would be brought up from NXT on Raw. I guarantee that if they had Samoa Joe, Aries, Bubba and Angle show up on Raw most fans would think "a retired world champ, a tag teamer and two geeks." They could get them over but they could just sign those guys without the stench of TNA attached.
ReplyDeleteIf i were running TNA i would be shopping around for another channel to broadcast on & investors so they can better there product with new wrestlers & find someone for creative that actually knows something about pro wrestling.
ReplyDeleteHow can you be over in a company, that nobody knows? But I think if you put guys like Samoa Joe, Mr Kennedy, Bubba Ray Dudley, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Christopher Daniels, Bobby Lashley, MVP and Sting in the WWE ring on monday night RAW, they would be over as the Wyatts or Shield or Cesaro.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not Magnus or Eric Young or Gunner or Rockstar Spud or Ethan Carter III, but TNA has enough guys a WWE fan could know.
That's my point: if nobody knows of TNA why buy it? You could create another company or relaunch a brand you own. If there was really someone worth getting at TNA they could sign them without buying. Sting is already signed by WWE as he's been appearing on the Network and Daniels is a free agent and Angle becomes one soon.
ReplyDeleteYup.
ReplyDeletehttp://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/04/25/thursday-cable-ratings-nba-basketball-leads-night-vikings-inside-the-nba-playoffs-the-challenge-more/257353/
Last Thursday, COPS drew a 0.4, Impact a 0.3.
Wow, great segment. Ernie Ladd was a massive dude. He looked about as wide as the Chief was tall.
ReplyDeleteName me one other network that has shown any interest in TNA whatsoever. A million viewers is not considered a great number for most tv networks. Then add to the fact that TNA was supposed to have 2 million viewers by now and their numbers are on a trending decline, and no network would ever want to take a gamble on them.
ReplyDeleteHell yea, Ladd was a beast
ReplyDelete