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April Wrasslin |OT| D.Brine collects his P45

E

El Pescado

Member
Aiii said:
CqZI1.gif
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What the fuck? Why would they cut to that guy?! The things I miss when I watch Smackdown while posting here and playing Kid Icarus at the same time. XD
 
T

tm24

Member
i love twitter. Rikishi went off on twitter about not being invited to Old School Smackdown


"I wanted to be there with my sons @WWEUSOS but you know the deal. #NoDeal I want what I want @WWE!!! Sry fans maybe next time on @TERRITORYLEAGUE"

"U can't play this . I put in my time to call my own shots in this business.. find another SUCKER !!! You loss I WIN ..."

"Dnt be scared to put me on TV . I won't steal the show. But you know I'm damn sho gonna give the ppl what they wanna see.POP GOES THE CROWD"

"You say #blastfromthepast . I say #blastmyazz .. I'm too legit to quit !!! Dancin off u can't touch this !! Ppls request ,, #kidgames"

"The ppl are NOT stupid !! I see all ur tweets... I'm not a greedy man . I'm a fair man !! But I'm NOT dumb either. POP GOES THE CROWD !!"
 
M

Mr. Luchador

Member
Just watched up to March (+WM 2000) on my rewatch.

WCW
Its horrible. Its a real effort to even have it on in the background while I do uni work and pay attention. Jeff Jarrett is all over my TV. Why? WHY?! Oh he's 'The Chosen One'. No wonder people chose to switch over and watch something else. He's boring. OK, its funny listening to him calling people Slapnuts, but he's just bland.

I only watched this last week and I'm not sure I can even remember who has the belt without looking on the internet. Oh. Sid has the belt. I think. I'm going to check. Oh right, yeah. Sid has the belt after Hulk Hogan helped him defeat Jeff Jarrett.

Lex Luger is back as the total package. The gimmick he had in the late 80s/early 90s. He has an old man's head on top of a totally ripped body. It looks odd. Its OK though as he's a heel so we can boo him for looking totally stupid. He's been breaking people's arms, which has led to a lot of people in a cast. Naturally Sting has had nothing to do so he's came back (AGAIN) to feud with Luger in a Lumberjack Cast match. Lumberjacks are those people who have had their arms broken by Luger. Only Luger has his friends around there too to make it fair. To make it completely fair they also have a cast on their arms. Only Luger never broke their arms. So its not really fair. But he's a heel with an old man's head on a stupid looking body. So its OK, we can boo that.

You know what the big story line is?

VINCE RUSSO AND ERIC BISCHOFF MIGHT BE RETURNING TO WCW TO TEAM TOGETHER! Not as a tag team. But as a CREATIVE TEAM!!!!

Meanwhile in the ring. Nothing is happen.

So I'm going to share this clip of Stacy Keibler instead.

Miss Hancock (Stacy Keibler) WCW Uncensored 2000 March 19, 2000

WWF
Its actually been really entertaining. I'd go as far as to say this period has been better to watch then the much fabled 'attitude era'. HHH has become a powerhouse, and actually deserves to be on the screen all the time. His matches are decent too as he can still move about the ring, as he hasn't ripped his quads 4 times and came back like he's been pumping iron every waking minute of the day.

He's been feuding with... well... everyone.

Big Show
Rock
Shane McMahon
Vince McMahon
Mick Foley

Its been fun to watch. McMahon-Hemlsey era.

Shane has aligned himself with Big Show.
Stephanie is with HHH.
Vince McMahon has aligned himself with The Rock.
... and Linda McMahon aligned herself with Mick Foley.

Steph slapped Linda.
Vince and Shane had a fight.
Everyone is fighting.

This match has been class, the crowd were so into it and it was the last Raw before WM. How hot is that crowd?!

WWF RAW 3/27/2000 The Rock & Vince vs Big Show & Shane.(Special Referee: HHH and Mick Foley) Part 1

Al Snow has been a personal mission to get Steve Blackman over, which has led to a whole host of stupid gimmick ideas.

The Hardcore title has went 24/7.

Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero & Chyna have been feuding for the IC and Title. Kurt Angle held both the European and IC title at one point.

Rikishi and Too Cool continue to get some of the loudest reactions in the WWF. All he does his shake his big fat ass and dance. Brutas Clay needs to take notes.

Wrestlemania 2000 was amazing.

WWE Wrestlemania 16 (2000) Highlights.mp4

Hardyz/Edge & Christian/Dudley Boyz continue to light the tag scene up.

ECW
Its fun, but I feel like I'm missing too much just watching the PPVs. They got a TV deal in 1999 so a lot of progression was made on that. However, in terms of wrestling they're offering the best there is to watch.
 
V

ViewtifulJC

Banned
I thought WM2000 was kinda meh, but that's maybe because so many of the other PPVs from 2000 are fucking GODLIKE. NWO, Backlash, JD, SS, FL, UF. 2000 was a hell of a year for WWE, even if Jericho is totally wasted after the HHH/Y2J match from FL. HHH feud aside, they just did NOT know what to do with that guy besides rehashing his WCW character and spilling coffee on Kane.
 
R

RBH

Member
In the segment-by-segment, Brodus Clay & Santino Marella vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger lost 99,000 viewers. Backstage with Laurinaitis with Miz an Cena, Marella looking for the Three Stooges and R-Truth vs. Cody Rhodes gained 255,000 viewers. Lord Tensai vs. Yoshi Tatsu lost 415,000 viewers. The mic work between C.M. Punk and Chris Jericho in the top of the hour segment gained 379,000 viewers to a 3.19. Punk vs. Henry and the post-match with Jericho pouring beer all over Punk, as well as the quick Del Rio vs. Ryder match lost 169,000 viewers. The Three Stooges in-ring segment lost 240,000 viewers and was the low point of the show at 2.90. The Brock Lesnar interview gained 423,000 viewers. And the Cena vs. Otunga match with Lesnar run-in gained 301,000 viewers, which is a very weak overrun number, finishing at 3.42.
 
N

Nocturnowl

Member
ViewtifulJC said:
I thought WM2000 was kinda meh, but that's maybe because so many of the other PPVs from 2000 are fucking GODLIKE. NWO, Backlash, JD, SS, FL, UF. 2000 was a hell of a year for WWE, even if Jericho is totally wasted after the HHH/Y2J match from FL. HHH feud aside, they just did NOT know what to do with that guy besides rehashing his WCW character and spilling coffee on Kane.
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Yeah, it's funny how WM2000 is in fact one of the weaker events of the year, Fully Loaded, Judgement Day, Backlash and Summerslam being the best ones in my opinion.

Jericho's 2nd book pretty much reveals as such regarding his lack of direction, now as for Kane and the coffee I wonder if anyone actually remembers the feud actually had more basis than spilt coffee
 
M

Mr. Luchador

Member
ViewtifulJC said:
I thought WM2000 was kinda meh, but that's maybe because so many of the other PPVs from 2000 are fucking GODLIKE. NWO, Backlash, JD, SS, FL, UF. 2000 was a hell of a year for WWE, even if Jericho is totally wasted after the HHH/Y2J match from FL. HHH feud aside, they just did NOT know what to do with that guy besides rehashing his WCW character and spilling coffee on Kane.
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Well, I'm just taking each show as it comes. WM2000 was a good watch. Agree that Jericho isn't really doing anything basically the same as he was in WCW just floating around. He gets screen time, but its mainly been him coming down calling out 'Kirk Angle'.

He had a brief feud with Chyna where they shared the IC Title and then Chyna started to protect him, and they developed a mutual respect for each other. But that was months ago. Fans clearly are interested in him, but he doesn't get to do much.

Was surprised how much time Bob and Crash Holly got in general. At least 10 minutes a Raw/Smackdown.

OH T&A have just formed too. Trish doesn't look nearly as hot as I remember. Maybe she improved with age. Lita looks rough too. Kat looks the nicest. Wonder if that's because she's the most 'natural'. Diva division is starting to pick up a bit now.

What I found funny was during a WM2000 promo package for fan access they showed Austin and The Undertaker (Biker Gimmicked up) talking to fans and signing autographs, even though they've both been off the screen for months. Was more surprised Undertaker would be out and about like that.
 
N

Net_Wrecker

Member
RBH said:
In the segment-by-segment, Brodus Clay & Santino Marella vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger lost 99,000 viewers. Backstage with Laurinaitis with Miz an Cena, Marella looking for the Three Stooges and R-Truth vs. Cody Rhodes gained 255,000 viewers. Lord Tensai vs. Yoshi Tatsu lost 415,000 viewers. The mic work between C.M. Punk and Chris Jericho in the top of the hour segment gained 379,000 viewers to a 3.19. Punk vs. Henry and the post-match with Jericho pouring beer all over Punk, as well as the quick Del Rio vs. Ryder match lost 169,000 viewers. The Three Stooges in-ring segment lost 240,000 viewers and was the low point of the show at 2.90. The Brock Lesnar interview gained 423,000 viewers. And the Cena vs. Otunga match with Lesnar run-in gained 301,000 viewers, which is a very weak overrun number, finishing at 3.42.
Click to expand...

Lesnar interview was the biggest gain and 'UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION" got the biggest pop.

Yup.
 
B

BoboBrazil

Member
WWE's live Super Smackdown: Blast from the Past drew a 1.5 rating, down from the 1.9 rating from last week's recorded show that aired on Friday, and down from the 1.67 the last live Smackdown earned on February 21.

prowrestling.net



People want Daniel Bryan as champ.
 
B

Biggest-Geek-Ever

Member
WM 2000 was probably the first WWF VHS I ever owned, for some reason. The Triangle Ladder Match is my favorite of the three matches those tag teams did, and seeing Pete Gas legitimately busted open by a fan was also a highlight.
 
K

Kyoufu

Member
1.5 is justice for being the worst babyface I've ever seen. Sheamus is just a special breed of bad.

WWE hasn't got a clue. Turn him heel and ride the YES! wave.
 
dream

dream

Member
Brock Lesnar has his first match in a WWE ring in more than eight years as the main event of the 4/29 Extreme Rules show in Chicago against John Cena.

The match seemed inevitable from the angle shot at the end of the 4/2 show. The date, which also seemed inevitable last week, raises a lot of questions. The big one is if WWE can market Lesnar as a consistent mover of business, something that nobody truly has been in the company since Batista’s brief run as a mover in 2005, which really only lasted through his program with HHH. Since then, they have brought back legends like The Rock, who made a difference short-term in almost every metric last year, and even if he didn’t move ratings much this year, likely helped the buy rate at Mania and ticket sales for the shows he appeared on over the last two months. They’ve created John Cena as the closest thing to a near mainstream face of the company since the days when wrestling was far more popular. And they’ve done things that have caught on briefly and led to a lot of talk, the C.M. Punk angle last summer being the most notable example.

But for better or worse, and you can argue both sides, WWE has created an entertainment business based far more on brand appeal than individual appeal, making them unique in that at the top level of combat individual sports and entertainment. Individuals do make a difference, in the sense they sell more merchandise and to a degree sell more tickets. The string of Raw sellouts both this year and last at the same time people thought Rock was appearing last year, and did weekly this year, shows the days of an individual selling tickets may not be over. But in this year’s sellout run, it was not just Rock, but Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and HHH in various combinations also being advertised on those shows. And with Punk, while in a sense it was disappointing the PPV numbers of the Chicago match with Cena, but they showed two things. Business was up significantly from what it would have been. But the hottest match of 2011, because it was booked on the wrong show, ended up finishing in 7th place out of 13 PPVs during the calender year.

The lesson of Cena vs. Punk, which if the same angle was done for SummerSlam, it likely would have made the company twice as much money, is the key thing here. And it’s not a new lesson.

The first time it was talked about was November 1, 2005, when Steve Austin was scheduled to return on a PPV in a match with Jonathan Coachman, where Jim Ross’ job as Raw announcer was at stake. The idea that after more than two years retired, that Austin would come back for a match with Coachman, and be booked to lose it (due to outside interference) seems mind-boggling in hindsight. Actually, it was equally as mind-boggling at the time. As it turned out, Austin pulled out, claiming he hurt his back moving furniture a few days before the show. But all of the advertising was out and everywhere regarding Austin’s return. The show bombed, doing what at the time was the lowest number for a PPV show in almost nine years.

Granted, that argument is similar to the results this year of The Rock’s first match in more than eight years, at Survivor Series. The Punk vs. Cena match saw 41,000 buys above the previous year’s show, although that was also comparing it to a unusually low base show figure from the year since Money in the Bank proved to be a weak concept to build a PPV around. Two years earlier, the same July show beat Punk vs. Cena by 62,000 buys. Unlike the Rock’s return, which featured a tag team match with the one guy nobody wanted to see him team with, against two heels that nobody saw on his level, built up with bad creative and no reason for the hated enemies to team, Punk vs. Cena came off as creative genius. It was some of the best build to a match WWE did in years. Granted, much of it was Punk’s delivery of his promos, and a unique storyline which could be learned from, but couldn’t be duplicated again for many years because it’s something that wouldn’t work the second time. If anything, the PPV numbers showed that when you have something special, if you don’t save it for a big show, you’re not getting anywhere near the value of it that you should.

Survivor Series is notable in the sense it is historically a big show, because after WrestleMania, that was the second annual PPV the company did, dating back to 1987. It was always considered one of the big four, but the reality is, that perception is based on nostalgia. In 2009, Survivor Series was No. 8 out of 13 shows. In 2010, it was No. 5, a little better. The point being, it’s only a “major” show to those who view “major” based on nostalgia. To the current fan base, the major shows are WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam. In 2011, because Rock was on it, it did move up to No. 4, but still didn’t do anywhere close to what Rock’s first wrestling match, no matter what the circumstances were, should have done. There is more on that in the WWE news section. All of these are lessons, one after the other, that if you’ve got an attraction that can move numbers, and you put it on anything but the big three shows, you aren’t getting anywhere close to the value for it that you should.

In both of those cases last year, there was emotion involved. Punk did his match in Chicago, his home town. Without question, being in Chicago made a huge difference in the match. You could argue it was worth doing it in Chicago instead of Los Angeles, giving up the PPV buys because long-term it brought Punk to a new level of stardom. But the company’s inability to keep Punk at the level he was that night kind of negates that.

For Rock, it was more about the fact Survivor Series was from Madison Square Garden. He watched his father and grandfather headline there, and with his grandfather dying when he was only 10, and him being something of his hero, that meant something. Then add to that, Madison Square Garden was where he had his first major WWF match, it was the building he was wrestling in when it first became obvious he was going to actually be a major force (a 1997 ladder match that he lost to HHH, where he was the heel but the MSG crowd went with him), and also the site of his last match (at WrestleMania XX in 2004). You can say he earned the right based on what he brought to the table at Mania earlier in the year. And again, from a WWE standpoint, they likely felt they could get the big boost from Rock’s match and Survivor Series was still a major show even if the past few years told you differently, and still not sacrifice Mania, since it was the match-up, Rock vs. Cena, that was the big draw and not just Rock being on the show.

Brock Lesnar has no such emotions. There is no tie to Chicago, WWE, childhood dreams of the crowd going crazy in MSG or in his home city. As noted last week, Lesnar is the first pure mercenary main eventer WWE has had. There is nothing wrong with it. He’s in for business. It’s a profession he can make a lot of money in for a short period of time. Historically, WWE is in it for business, while its wrestlers are in it for emotion, ego, business and dreams, all in varying degrees. In a sense, it’s the first main event business relationship with a relatively even emotional playing field.

It’s impossible to predict how the Lesnar experiment will work out in the long run. It’s a big money investment. It’s not C.M. Punk who if he sells some merchandise but doesn’t move PPV, TV or house show numbers, and becomes one of the two or three biggest stars among the full-time regulars, that he is a big success for the company and for himself. Here, with the limited dates, and bigger guarantee, Lesnar has to be a different kind of over. The kind of over that Rock was at WrestleMania this year and last, that Batista was at WrestleMania XI, the kind Steve Austin and The Rock were during the boom period from 1998 to 2001. Will he be? He’s got certain things going for him. He’s got a name that is huge. He’s got a certain physical charisma or being a badass, that his UFC losses don’t seem to have hurt (just like how many losses Chuck Liddell survived and could still draw) past a few people who still try to cling to the belief that run was a failure. But we don’t know.

What we do know is that for all the reaction Lesnar got for his “surprise” return, it meant nothing in the ratings. The 4/9 Raw did a 3.10 rating and the 4.29 million viewers was the lowest for a Raw episode since 2/13, before Rock returned. The bad thing of the rating was that one would have thought Lesnar giving Cena the F-5 to end the show the previous week would have created double curiosity, first, people curious about Lesnar, and others curious about where they were going for Lesnar. Ratings and drawing power are different animals and this doesn’t mean Lesnar won’t draw on PPV, but if in week one he meant nothing for ratings, that was a bad sign. The first quarter, which would be expected to be large even if there was any short-term curiosity, plus Lesnar was featured in the quarter in a big brawl with Cena, only did a 3.11. What this seems to indicate is whatever major fan base that drew ratings (Lesnar shows, with the exception of Ultimate Fighter, did far higher ratings than anyone else during his UFC run except for the Jackson vs. Evans Countdown numbers) and PPV for him in UFC was either people who were wrestling fans who already watched Raw, or wrestling fans who had lost interest in wrestling and didn’t care to see him on Raw. Normally one week ratings is nothing to make a fuss over, but that first quarter, and the overall show, had to be a huge disappointment on a lot of levels, doing the lowest rating in two months for a show that followed the highest rating of the year and was considered by many as the best episode of Raw of the year. It was also on a night with no sports competition whatsoever.

The best bet is that his first major match on PPV, and his WrestleMania match, are the two bouts that have the most potential. With Cena, they gave him the right opponent for a first blow out match. Putting it on Extreme Rules, it appears they put it on the wrong show. That is, unless they can do what Punk vs. Cena with a great build up and the right match on that day, Austin’s return on the wrong show with the wrong opponent, and Rock’s return on the wrong show with the wrong match, all couldn’t do.

The creative decision was made to bring Lesnar in as a hit man for John Laurinaitis. The WWE has never done the “outsider” character, even at times, such as with the NWO in 2002, Ric Flair in 1991, WCW in 2001, Nexus in 2010 and even Punk last year, where such a characteristic would seem to be screaming out for it. Ironically, it was that very characteristic in the eyes of the public, Lesnar as the UFC outsider coming from WWE, that made Lesnar into the biggest draw UFC ever had and elevated their entire business. If you were in the building for his two Frank Mir fights and the Randy Couture fight, it was his physical charisma, sure, but it was that he represented pro wrestling with a fan base that would tell their friends how UFC fighters were superior to pro wrestlers because they were real. Even today, there are likely MMA fans who still hate him for almost ruining their religious beliefs, and having to justify that everything they thought they knew about the world being flat or the Sun revolving around the Earth was really not true.

But I didn’t expect that. At the same time, nothing against David Otunga, but should Lesnar be in the ring this early in the game with Otunga in his bow tie in the same ring, or Laurinaitis? There is a lot that people who didn’t follow the business in 1991 don’t realize when in hindsight they say how WrestleMania in 1992 should have been Hogan vs. Flair and not Hogan vs. Sid Vicious. Hogan vs. Flair was very big in September, 1991, when they started on the road. It was not Hogan’s record setting feud as many expected, but Hogan was years past his true drawing power prime of 1984-87. It was his best numbers, at first, in a few years. For a number of reasons, Flair vs. Hogan had no staying power, and by January, it was dead. To the audience in early 1992, Hogan vs. Sid Vicious was considerably bigger by that time. It wasn’t bigger than Hogan vs. Flair in September, but it was a lot bigger than Hogan vs. Flair two months later. What was the reason?

Well, there were many. But the moment I knew the program had been hurt was in the build to the 1991 Survivor Series, when Flair would stand there and do promos with Ted DiBiase, The Warlord and The Mountie with a cartoon design in the background. What led to Hogan vs. Flair doing big numbers in Oakland with a few promos, some great newspaper ads and no angles on television, were that it was something you weren’t supposed to ever see. World’s colliding that were supposed to be separate. Steve Austin vs. Bill Goldberg in 1998 that never happened. The first WCW vs. WWF Invasion PPV that is still the single most successful pro wrestling event that wasn’t a WrestleMania. The Sheik vs. The Bruiser in Detroit after their promotional war. The Baba vs. Inoki singles match that never happened in the 70s or the 80s or the Nobuhiko Takada vs. Keiji Muto and Shinya Hashimoto matches that did. In another era, Lesnar vs. Cena, even more than Rock vs. Cena, would be that match. But when Flair stood next to The Mountie in his garb and was cutting a promo, Hogan vs. Flair lost the edge.

But does that mean it was a bad move linking Lesnar with Laurinaitis. It’s not as emphatic a no as some would think. It’s called playing the percentages. Lesnar isn’t Flair. He’s as far away from it as you could be. Nobody knows what Lesnar will do in the long-run, including most likely Lesnar. He may like an easy schedule and big money, and draw like crazy, and stay for years. He may do 100,000 buys on his third or fourth PPV in because it’s just what happens in today’s PPV environment of going monthly. He may have a run in between, and after a year, both sides fulfilled their end and the relationship ends, although that one is rarely how wrestling relationships end.

Or, because they present his character in a way that he’s just a guy on a television show as opposed to something different from anyone else. At that point, then WWE will question if he’s worth it and who knows where that tension goes. There are so many things that can go right, and wrong here. If the big storyline heat is on Laurinaitis as the heel authority figure, and Lesnar is just his paid assassin, Lesnar can leave at any time and the key storyline keeps going. The upside isn’t nearly as big, but you also don’t get caught in a lurch if he gets hurt or decides to go home.

Lesnar’s second week of television on 4/9 in Washington, DC opened with Laurinaitis introducing him as the man to bring legitimacy back to WWE. Lesnar got about a sentence out, before Cena, with an ear-to-ear grin, came out. He slapped Lesnar in the face, Lesnar double legged him and did some ground and pound, including a punch that may have caused Cena to bite his lip or fattened his lip. It was a great visual of Cena, blood coming out of his mouth, with a big pull-apart, which included even the higher-end level competitors joining in. The usual rule of thumb in wrestler pull-aparts is the real stars aren’t to be trivialized by being pull apart guys. And it’s a good rule, And this was the perfect time to violate the rule.

The company’s original doctrine of not mentioning UFC was changed, and it was for the better. It felt forced and fake to have Lesnar on TV, and skirt around the UFC mentions, particularly his being heavyweight champion. He did an interview, acknowledging his leaving, going to UFC, bringing that company to new levels, and then Laurinaitis bringing him back. It would have been better if he had a reason he wanted to come back, even hinting at something (which could be his Mania tease) that would play into the future. But he doesn’t have to do that week one. His interview late in the show didn’t compromise the character, which is probably the most important aspect if it is possible this can be a real difference maker. It is very possible that even doing everything perfectly, that it’s pro wrestling in 2012 and that emotion won’t work as far as money (it will work as far as to the people who are there, as Lesnar’s appearances, reactions, and even the reaction to his saying UFC all showed, but the money is in broadening that audience, not servicing the audience already there).

The show ended with Cena beating Otunga with the STF in a quick and not particularly good match. Lesnar came from behind and gave Cena a low blow, before hitting the F-5. That was brilliant in a subtle way. Everyone believes Lesnar is legit and they know he’s tough. When the guy you know is tough resorts to a low blow from behind, it’s a lot more heat than just the typical heel de jour doing the move. That was a lesson of how much heat Don Frye in New Japan would get for simply not breaking on the ropes. That was something every heel wrestler does, but when you had Frye, who came to New Japan right after winning the Ultimate Ultimate tournament, a legit guy, who was cheating and doing the very subtle heel facials, it got more heat than anyone else in the same situation.

At the end of the day, it’s still another show built at portraying Lesnar as a heel by affiliating him with the evil boss, and Cena as the face. The biggest money would be Cena representing WWE, and even the heel boss being on his side against the unstoppable and scary force who isn’t supposed to be there and that nobody is confident in anyone to stop. But for reasons already given, that wasn’t going to be the portrayal.

But, in Chicago, Lesnar is still likely to be the one cheered like crazy and Cena booed out of the building, unless you have a match involving lots of shenanigans from Laurinaitis. But if you have that match storyline, you’re risking killing off the emotion that is supposed to be the key in Lesnar drawing money in the first place.

The most notable thing is, and it shouldn’t happen for a number of months, because you really need to get the mileage out of the potential money opponents, but long-term, Lesnar is a babyface. Quite frankly, if he wanted to live the life, and he doesn’t, he’s the babyface that they’ve been missing for years. The same thing he was going to end up as in UFC if he could have continued to win at the high level, just as Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop ended up being in Japan. The beauty of WWE is that when you have that guy, he can be there for years, and you can protect him and you aren’t limited by reality in what stories you can tell. The bad is that with a unique character, the lack of understanding of the character and what things in storyline need to be avoided, often those hampered by reality are actually blessed by it. Ultimately, in a year or two, that comparison will be able to be made at the highest level.
 
K

Kyoufu

Member
Wow suddenly this makes so much sense.

When Daniel Bryan tasted the mint chocolate ice cream from AJ's lips he couldn't bring himself to kick out of Sheamus's pin.

No wonder he lost in 18 seconds.

Fuck you AJ!
 
dream

dream

Member
Scott Hall, 53, was arrested once again on 4/6 and charged with domestic violence, although the case may not move forward, because girlfriend Lisa Howell has refused to press charges. Police were called at about 5 p.m. that day to Hall’s home in Chuluota, FL about a domestic disturbance. When they arrived, Howell told them that Hall had been drinking for days and the two had gotten into an argument. She got in her car and tried to leave, and alleged that Hall, in a blind rage, grabbed her by the throat and tried to pull her out of the car. The Seminole County police report stated that officers confronted Hall. The report said Hall appeared to be heavily intoxicated and had an unknown white secretion flowing from both sides of his mouth. Hall denied any violence toward Howell. However, officers noticed bruising on Howell as well as red marks around her neck, consistent with her story, and arrested Hall. When Hall arrived at the police station, they refused to book him due to concern with how intoxicated he was, and instead took him to a hospital. Several hours later, at about 9 p.m. that night, he was brought back from the hospital to jail where he was booked. He was released the next day on $500 bond.

:) :) :)

Maven Huffman, 35, who was arrested last week for going to multiple doctors for the same ailment and thus getting multiple prescriptions totaling more than 1,000 pain killers, has consented to go into WWE-sponsored rehab. His lawyer, James Flynn, said that Maven is not admitting to any criminal wrongdoing, but intends to cooperate with law enforcement officials. “Maven would also like his supporters to know that he is humbled by the outpouring of support he has received over the past week and he sincerely apologizes to any of his family members, friends and fans who have had to read the press surrounding recent events,” said his lawyer.

:) :) :)

Early reports indicate U.S. numbers for WrestleMania were up from last year. The prelim number is 636,000 in the U.S. (Although one source has it as high as 700,000), which would not include Canada. Last years’s domestic was 679,000, but that also includes Canada and Puerto Rico). Keep in mind again this is a first week estimate and thus it could vary greatly, and WWE won’t be releasing a number until the end of May most likely. I would expect international to be down from last year because WWE has had major declines internationally on PPV over the past year (mostly due to the fall in Mexico and Italy, which are your strong Rey Mysterio markets). But it should be the biggest revenue producing event in pro wrestling history. The show did 15,000 buys last year in Germany, and did 9,000 this year, which coincides with international PPV declining almost everywhere. The number was fine with cable but DirecTV homes were a disappointment. The best markets in the U.S. (Only place we have feedback from at this point) were Miami (Rock’s home town/home city of show, is to be expected), Philadelphia, San Antonio, New York, Minneapolis (Lesnar’s home market although I can’t believe there was enough pub out where this is more than just coincidence), Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbus, OH and Boston (Cena’s home market).

Nicole and Stephanie (Brie) Garcia, both 28, known as the Bella Twins, appear to be leaving in a few weeks. Their contracts expire on 4/30 and as of right now, they have not signed a new contract nor are expected to. Sean Jacoby of American Icon Autographs is booking them for shows after the contract expires. Word got out on 4/9 when an autograph show set for 5/19 at Frank & Sons’s Collectibles at the City of Industry, CA, listed “Brianna and Nicole, formerly the Bella Twins in WWE” as appearing. In addition, we were also told that a convention in the Northeast was going to feature the Twins, and it is one that WWE forbids talent to attend, but they were unable to officially release the information yet. The Twins grew up as very good soccer players in Scottsdale, AZ, starring at the youth level and in high school. They both became models doing a lot of work in places that were looking for twins. When WWE was going through modeling agencies looking for contestants for the 2006 Diva Search, they were sent, but failed to make the top ten. However, John Laurinaitis signed them in June, 2007, and they were brought to the main roster in August, 2008. Little was being done with them until Vince McMahon directly chastised the writing staff on why they weren’t doing more with them, and they started getting more television time at that point. It was strange that Nikki pinned Phoenix on the Smackdown show on 4/6 when they were both unsigned and scheduled to leave, but the writing team was likely not aware of the contractual situation. On the 4/10 live Smackdown they dropped that direction and just jobbed them out.

Regarding the cost of having Dwayne Johnson at Survivor Series and was it worth it financially to WWE, the answer was, at least if you were judging for the night alone, probably not. The WWE doesn’t break down profit and loss by show, but for the fourth quarter, the increase in Survivor Series numbers led to revenue increasing on PPV for the last three shows of the year (Vengeance, Survivor Series and TLC) from $13.8 million to $14.6 million. That‘s an increase during a period where Vengeance and TLC were each down 16,000 from the prior year–if we figure Survivor Series would have dropped incrementally a little more because it’s a bigger show, say 20-25,000 based on the fact most shows drop year-to-year and they had nothing for the show if Rock wasn’t there, and instead it was up 27,000. So Johnson wrestling realistically added in the range of 50,000 buys to the show, or just under $1 million just in PPV revenue. There is also some added merchandise and other revenue. The house show in Madison Square Garden probably was selling out either way. It’s possible they would have charged slightly lower tickets because they knew his wrestling would make it a hotter ticket but even then we’re probably talking $100,000ish. However, the expenses in producing those three shows, which would include both the increase in advertising for Johnson’s appearance and his payoff, increased from $5.4 million last year to $8.2 million. That’s not to say Johnson was paid $2.8 million (he wasn’t), or even that entire $2.8 million difference was only money spent on Survivor Series, although most of it would have been. But the total extra money spent on that show would probably be not far from that number. There has been no show specific breakdown released but there were people internally saying Survivor Series was the first actual money losing PPV they’ve done, because of all the expenses. But going through the numbers, that is likely misinterpretation in the sense that they lost money on the deal of having Johnson in, not that the entire show was in the red. But for sure the profit margin on the show if they didn’t actually lose money would have been lower than even the shows that bomb, because of the added expense. If we figure $5 million in costs for this year’s show, that would be 265,000 worldwide buys as break even, and the show’s latest estimate was 281,000, so it’s more like a very modest profit. A show like Vengeance that totally tanked still did high-six figures in profits because WWE has cut way back in spending and advertising on the shows they don’t expect to do well. As far as value of ratings increases, you could argue there was some of that as well, but when the contract with USA is for a fixed amount, it’s only value would be in renegotiation that the company would have a microscopically higher average over a period of time based on the appearances and whatever boost they gave and what that is worth in the value of a new contract. And when that time comes, nobody cares one bit about ratings years ago. The only ratings that really matter financially to WWE are the ratings in the final year of the contract, because when negotiations come up, in the TV industry, nobody looks back two years at ratings. Johnson’s appearances as a wrestler as far as doing matches should be limited to WrestleMania and possibly SummerSlam or Royal Rumble.

Besides Lesnar vs. Cena, it appears Extreme Rules on 4/29 in Chicago will have Jericho vs. Punk, Orton vs. Kane (originally scheduled as a cage match) and probably some kind of Rhodes vs. Show gimmick match. Officially the only match is Sheamus vs. Bryan 2/3 falls, and that was likely a change since last week it was all geared toward moving Bryan down and moving Del Rio into the spot, and then Del Rio won the match to earn the spot, yet Bryan was given the shot. So that would indicate a plan change based on crowd reaction. Nothing else right now is being strongly teased.

Even though when they presented the Undertaker vs. HHH from Mania package on Raw with many of the top guys giving comment, and seemingly this is going to be presented as “the greatest match in the history of wrestling,” in WWE versions of history. It’s also said to be the end of an era. The impression we are getting is Undertaker at this point is expected to work next year’s Mania. That could be his last match, as there was thought a few months ago that this could be. His left shoulder was in bad shape and he was banged up when the match was over, but the reports were he came out of this match less injured than he came out of the match a year earlier. HHH will wrestle sparingly from this point forward with his office work taking priority, but it is also felt he would do some matches from time-to-time.

If you’re looking for more strange goings on regarding WWE and developmental, WWE called Bright House (the network that carries FCW that they canceled a few weeks back saying they were pulling out of Florida and moving everything to Stamford, then denied it when we reported it), and asked if they could continue airing the shows in the same time slot for the time being. WWE gave them the impression this is only a short-term thing but didn’t outright say it. No new deal has been signed and the feeling is that right now they have no idea what they are doing, and that the story getting out the way it did forced a panic change of plans. They did three weeks of taping on 4/5 and do have future tapings scheduled at the FCW gym every three weeks for the next two months, although that can change in an instant. Keep in mind that they were not paying for the time slot, and for a wrestling show when it comes to local television, that is rare nowadays, and Bright House was happy with the ratings the show delivered. Another key thing is that there are no reports that the person in programming who made the call and said it was because they were pulling out of Florida for Stamford was not fired. It’s either one of two things. WWE programming that made the call and told Bright House either had a miscommunication within the company, told them a story that wasn’t true (yet the talk of hiring Taylor for Stamford indicates there was at least some truth to something), but how would he avoid the ax given how the scenario played out publicly, or the story of them pulling out was true, and thus he couldn’t be fired for saying it, only that they never expected it would get out before Mania and now, because it got out, they are stuck with not being able to make the move, or at least not for a long enough period until it wouldn’t leave the company looking bad to everyone they’ve told that they aren’t making the move. The end result is still the idea of an expanded facility, but setting up such a thing, finding a place, hiring new specialized coaches (with the idea of including the kind of a specialized coaching staff including trainers who specifically would tailor eating and lifting/workout programs for improving both the look, athletic ability and for injury prevention, again, the idea is to have a facility similar to the kind of system for Division I major sports or a high-level MMA camp) is not something that is going to happen overnight. The talent doesn’t know anything and has been given the impressions they aren’t leaving Florida, but nobody is really giving any straight answers. There are rumors they would be moving the tapings out of Tampa to Orlando, as has been talked about, and taping in HD, but Orlando is still an area covered by Bright House and wouldn’t explain WWE’s actions and not making anything past a short-term commitment. Everyone there is asking questions and getting no answers. The only thing is that major changes are expected to be made in the developmental program under HHH.

WWE stock closed at $8.22 per share at press time, at its lowest level in a decade.
 
R

RBH

Member
When asked at WrestleReunion about why he was no longer with ROH, Colt Cabana said that when Sinclair was offering contracts, they gave him an offer, he thought it was low, and he asked if they were serious. Apparently, they felt insulted he made that remark because he was never given a counter offer, nor ever talked with about being used again. He said that even though he’s friends with Punk, he doesn’t think he’ll ever be signed by WWE because HHH, Stephanie, Kevin Dunn and John Laurinaitis don’t get his character, and that they were more interested in having people like Alex Riley. He noted that when he was making $500 a week in developmental, they liked Riley and offered him the same $500 a week deal. Riley said that was too little. Then they offered him $1,000 a week to start and he wasn’t going to start for that little, so he started in developmental at $1,500 per week because they liked his look. And he was a guy who had never worked indies, simply because of his look, was starting out at triple what most of those starting out, including someone like Cabana with years of experience around the world, was getting.
Click to expand...
Feel bad for Colt.
 
J

Jeff Albertson

Member
Reading Rikishis tweets it sounds like he just wanted more money than WWE wanted to pay POP GOES THE CROWD

I'm liking the Ambrose / Foley stuff it's a clever way to build the lad before his debut
 
B

Biggest-Geek-Ever

Member
Thanks dream.

Maven Huffman, 35, who was arrested last week for going to multiple doctors for the same ailment and thus getting multiple prescriptions totaling more than 1,000 pain killers, has consented to go into WWE-sponsored rehab. His lawyer, James Flynn, said that Maven is not admitting to any criminal wrongdoing, but intends to cooperate with law enforcement officials. “Maven would also like his supporters to know that he is humbled by the outpouring of support he has received over the past week and he sincerely apologizes to any of his family members, friends and fans who have had to read the press surrounding recent events,” said his lawyer.
Click to expand...
Maven pulling a Dr. House?
 
B

British Monsoon

Member
Alex Riley is the definition of worthless.

Colt Cabana is one of the most gifted and dedicated technical wrestlers out there, with a ton of charisma and a proven character that has gotten over the world over.

WWE's loss. I'm sure they're super pleased with A-Ry's progress as of late. I'm sure he's a future Hall of Famer in the making.

And Sinclair? If there's one thing that ROH is lacking in 2012, it's personality, so undervaluing and effectively blackballing Colt, well that's just plain dumb.
 
K

Kaladin

Member
RBH said:
Feel bad for Colt.
Click to expand...

During the luncheon I had with Colt, he basically said that he felt like Cornette didn't get his character either. He said that Cornette is stuck in the Smokey Mountain Wrestling tradition and that in ROH, his way of doing things is the only way. Colt felt like it was probably the same thing he encountered in WWE where they just didn't know how to use him. He also said that the Kevin Steen angle is heavily based on reality. Cornette really wanted to fire Steen but the fans were so behind him that he couldn't. Colt said guys like Davey Richards and Shelton Benjamin are Cornette's ideal champions and if you don't fit that mold you probably won't get a run with the belt in ROH.
 
C

cr_blah_blah

Member
RBH said:
In the segment-by-segment, Brodus Clay & Santino Marella vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger lost 99,000 viewers. Backstage with Laurinaitis with Miz an Cena, Marella looking for the Three Stooges and R-Truth vs. Cody Rhodes gained 255,000 viewers. Lord Tensai vs. Yoshi Tatsu lost 415,000 viewers. The mic work between C.M. Punk and Chris Jericho in the top of the hour segment gained 379,000 viewers to a 3.19. Punk vs. Henry and the post-match with Jericho pouring beer all over Punk, as well as the quick Del Rio vs. Ryder match lost 169,000 viewers. The Three Stooges in-ring segment lost 240,000 viewers and was the low point of the show at 2.90. The Brock Lesnar interview gained 423,000 viewers. And the Cena vs. Otunga match with Lesnar run-in gained 301,000 viewers, which is a very weak overrun number, finishing at 3.42.
Click to expand...

They made me wait for the very last line but they snuck it in there.
 
V

ViewtifulJC

Banned
Nocturnowl said:
Jericho's 2nd book pretty much reveals as such regarding his lack of direction, now as for Kane and the coffee I wonder if anyone actually remembers the feud actually had more basis than spilt coffee
Click to expand...

Yeah, he came in 1999 with so much promise and hype, and he doesn't get to live up to it. Main event scene was so crowded in 2000, though, so I didn't really expect him to shoot up immediately. He had FANTASTIC feud with that other Chris in the middle of 2000 over the IC title, and an amazing match with HHH at FL, so it wasn't a total loss.

Also, watching that promo makes me miss Jericho's hair/ring attire. I aint digging this Albert Wesker look with the leather pants.

Wesker.jpg
 
F

funkystudent

Member
Random idea.

Do you think enough time has passed for WWE to try and talk to the WWF to let them use the old WWF scratch logo when releasing old videos and merch and stuff.


WWE would still be WWE but they could use they just wouldnt have to blur 30% of the image every time they release a video from that era.


Its silly they can use the classic WWF logo but not the scratch one.

Also that Cabana story is fucking depressing. Sometimes this industry is just :(

Heck he made it all the way to WWE TV once... hopefully he can do it again. He would make a cool announcer / backstage interviewer at the very least.
 
B

bean breath

Member
Bootaaay said:
Alex Riley is the definition of worthless.

Colt Cabana is one of the most gifted and dedicated technical wrestlers out there, with a ton of charisma and a proven character that has gotten over the world over.

WWE's loss. I'm sure they're super pleased with A-Ry's progress as of late. I'm sure he's a future Hall of Famer in the making.

And Sinclair? If there's one thing that ROH is lacking in 2012, it's personality, so undervaluing and effectively blackballing Colt, well that's just plain dumb.
Click to expand...

Are you serious?
 
R

RBH

Member
djsandman said:
During the luncheon I had with Colt, he basically said that he felt like Cornette didn't get his character either. He said that Cornette is stuck in the Smokey Mountain Wrestling tradition and that in ROH, his way of doing things is the only way. Colt felt like it was probably the same thing he encountered in WWE where they just didn't know how to use him. He also said that the Kevin Steen angle is heavily based on reality. Cornette really wanted to fire Steen but the fans were so behind him that he couldn't. Colt said guys like Davey Richards and Shelton Benjamin are Cornette's ideal champions and if you don't fit that mold you probably won't get a run with the belt in ROH.
Click to expand...

Yuck.
 
B

bean breath

Member
I'm reading a lot of buzz in the Twittersphere® about this Tyson Kidd v. Michael McGillicutty match on NXT.

I don't know shit about wrestling or what makes a good match. I've been indoctrinated to think that matches were they do their finishing move a bunch, then use the opponents finishing move, then kick out of finishing moves, are classic match material.

Now if only I knew what Kidd and McGillicutty's finishing moves are?
 
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