Re: The Official WWE Thread - Part 15

[Onyx]

Vince Russo has a new blog on his official website titled, "Stop The Bull: The 'REAL' Reason Behind The RAW Ratings." Here's part of what Russo wrote:

But HERE is where the problem with the WWE and its current ratings lie.
Moments after the baby bull was decapitated from behind, John Cena was in the middle of the ring telling Bray Wyatt, "Payback is a *****!". Whoa—now wait a minute. If I brought little Johnny, and he came to see the baby bull—what do I do now? Do I cover his ears? Do I up and leave? Do I never come back to see another WWE event live? Do I stop watching the show all together? What do I do with this BLATANT MIXED MESSAGE THAT WAS JUST THROWN MY WAY?!!!

"You can't be half pregnant".

Vince McMahon said that to me many, many years ago, and it has become my #1 rule when scripting wrestling. What Vince meant was that when you make the decision to do something—YOU GO ALL THE WAY WITH IT! So, the WWE made the decision to go family friendly—they told us all–however, the problem is that they're not going all the way with it—-they are BEING HALF PREGNANT. Is this because in reality they, themselves as a company, haven't bought 100% into it, and are just trying to "appease" the board, or, are there other reasons simply steaming from greediness?

Could the reason they haven't committed one way, or the other, be this simple—from a philosophic point of view—the WWE is trying to capture EVERYONE!? Whereas networks these days are going for the demo P (people) 18-49, the WWE is going for P 5-65. In other words—in typical Vince fashion—they want it ALL!!! And, in theory, there is nothing wrong with that—it's how Vince made all that money. Go for it all—and leave nothing behind. But that's only in "theory".

Back in 2002, I almost went back to the WWE because I took it personally that, within the matter of a little over a two-year span, their ratings had split in half from the time that I had left–they had fallen below a 3.0. Today–a DOZEN years later—the ratings are still where they were then. When it comes to eyeballs on TVs every Monday night—half of the people are watching now, compared to when the "Attitude Era" was in full stride. Yeah—they'll fling every excuse at you. Primarily—the television landscape has changed with the internet, iphones, ipads, whatever–OK, good argument. HOWEVER–if that were the case, then why hasn't the NFL lost half its audience in the last 12 years? They're on TV, right? Other ways to watch their product are out there—just like in the WWE's case.

No–that's a BS excuse. We saw within a five-minute span on "Raw" last night why the ratings are HALF of what they used to be. In attempting to obtain ALL—the WWE has literally alienated, or "turned off" half their audience in the process. Don't believe me—see what the IWS community has to say about last night's "Raw" today. Yeah—they loved the Shield brawling with Evolution at the end—but, the baby bull—not so much. And what about the "families"? Oh, yeah, that bull thing was "cute", but John Cena swearing—not so much. Now, if you keep doing this week in, and week out, the things you "don't like" will eventually start to build, or add up—until all of a sudden—it's OK if we miss "Raw" this week. Well, this week turns into next week, and the next week—until they're not watching anymore.

By trying to be "all things to all people"–which they can't be—nobody can–the WWE has shot themselves in the boot. For every kid they are gaining, they are losing an adult, and for every adult they are gaining—they are losing a kid. It a switch-off, an exchange, a vicious cycle."

You can check out the full post by clicking here.

[Onyx]

Triple H thinks Adrian Neville is a future WWE Champion.

Triple H ‏@TripleH  5m
“@Frantxu_36: What #NXTTakeover superstar is the future @WWE champion?” they will all be prepared for it. Right now? Adrian Neville.

[Onyx]

Sami Zayn new theme:

Spoiler:

[Onyx]

Anyone watching NXT Takeover?

[Onyx]

Sami Zayn needs a gimmick imo. Right now he's like a rich mans Evan Bourne.

[Onyx]

Adrian Neville's finisher.

[zizzle]

MT, every other wrestler needs a gimmick in your opinion

[M99]

How was NXT Takeover?

[Onyx]

Decent show, good matches.

Also yeh, I think both Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn need some sort of a character/gimmick. Right now they're just generic faces. Both are good in the ring, however being good on the mic/having a character is just as important if not more.

[Casciavit]

Not many high flyers have gimmicks anyways lol

[Onyx]

Highflyers never get past the midcard either. However both Neville and Zayn have potential to main event, which is why a gimmick/character will help.

[Onyx]

There are a lot of people within WWE that expect Bray Wyatt to be a full-on babyface some time before the end of this year.

[Onyx]

It turns out that some of the WWE live event listings for June that advertised WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan may have been done before his surgery and just “fell through the cracks” in regards to being published by arenas.

It’s said that Bryan wrestling a match before the June 29th Money In the Bank pay-per-view is highly unlikely. Bryan’s return is still very much up in the air.

If Bryan’s not ready to do the Buried Alive Match against Kane at Money In the Bank, they’re hoping to do it at the Battleground pay-per-view on July 20th in Tampa.

[M99]

Highflyers never get past the midcard either. However both Neville and Zayn have potential to main event, which is why a gimmick/character will help.

Tell that to Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio.

[Onyx]

Hardy was a spot monkey though, not just a high flyer. Plus he had a unique look, moveset and was part of the AE. Similar to Rey Mysterio who was unique, was part of the ruthless aggression era and being friends with Eddie I guess helped too. Both were charismatic as well. Were Jeff and Rey elite main eventers? Not really.

Right imo Zayn and Neville are too generic. Long term storylines are much better if superstars are good on the mic and have some sort of a character.

[Onyx]

Ric Flair recently spoke with Mike Mooneyham of The Charleston Post & Courier. Flair noted that he's down to 228 pounds and is in the best shape he's been in since his TNA run.

The article confirms a recent report that Flair is scheduled to wrestle for a Japanese promotion in September.

Flair also talked about his daughter, NXT Women's Champion Charlotte:

"She will be the greatest Flair of all time. Her credentials speak for themselves," says Flair. "I'd put her resume up against anybody. She's Rey Mysterio but bigger. She is going to be the greatest female wrestler and the most famous diva in the history of the WWE."

Flair also talked about wanting to manage Dolph Ziggler when he returns to WWE soon. Flair commented on Ziggler:

"I think he's awesome. He'd be a great guy to manage. He looks like a million bucks. He just can't find his gimmick. He needs to work on his entrance. I could help him with that."

[Onyx]

[Onyx]

F4WOnline noted that the story from within WWE is that Sunday's Payback will be a good show because they can't let the developmental show, NXT Takeover, outshine the main roster pay-per-view.

[Casciavit]

El Torito vs Hornswoggle, mask vs hair match

Anyone gonna watch Payback btw?

[M99]

Not me. MT probably will.

[Onyx]

Yeh watching it.

[Onyx]

[Onyx]

Final card for Payback:

WWE United States Title Match
Cesaro vs. Sheamus

WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Rob Van Dam vs. Bad News Barrett

WWE Divas Title Match
Alicia Fox vs. Paige

No Holds Barred Elimination Match
The Shield vs. Evolution

Last Man Standing Match
Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena

Rusev vs. Big E

* An in-ring segment with Stephanie McMahon, Brie Bella and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan

Mask vs. Hair Kickoff Pre-show Match
El Torito vs. Hornswoggle

[zizzle]

Stupid card, only Shield vs Evolution to care about. If Cesaro jobs im gonna be pissed

[Onyx]

Yeh hopefully there's some new storylines after Payback. Can see Sheamus turning heel if he loses to Cesaro.

[Onyx]

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