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PWINSIDER Q&A: DELAYS IN PPVS BEING RELEASED ON DVD, MARCUS COR VON, EDGE'S WRESTLEMANIA STREAK & MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2007-05-13 11:16:00

I'm an older wrestling fan who tries to be positive, but can be cynical at times. However, I was recently thinking about how important it is to try and see wrestling from the perspectives of all ages. For example, I know some older fans don't like seeing The Great Khali wrestle and are dissatisfied he is entering WWE Title contention. But I know of very young wrestling fans who love seeing The Great Khali on TV or PPV because, to their young eyes, he is larger-than-life.  Also, a very young family member of mine (aged 7) goes crazy whenever The Boogeyman comes on TV. My point is, some of us older fans may not appreciate the larger-than-life, cartoon characters on WWE TV, but some of the time, should we not try and remember that there are still young fans out there who appreciate the entertainment aspects more than the actual wrestling?

You bring up a good point that is often overlooked.  While diehard fans may roll their eyes at characters like the ones you mentioned, they often captivate and capture the imagination of younger fans in the same vein Andre the Giant or Papa Shango (OK, bad example) did to previous generations.  

I was wondering since WWE gets their PPV's on DVD in about a month and it takes TNA about 3-4 months is the reason because of the PPV contract both of them signed? Did TNA sign a really bad PPV contract just to get on PPV which results in the DVD's being released so late? Does ROH have a similar deal where they have to wait several months after the Respect is Earned has aired on PPV or will they be able to release at at about the same time they normally would release a DVD?

Obviously, WWE has more leverage than a TNA or ROH in that they are a established PPV force and in many ways, help put the PPV industry on the map with their early events.  TNA's PPVs being released so late has to do with their PPV contracts although I am told they are working on getting that process hastened.  ROH will have to wait until the PPV airs to release the DVD of the show, but I'm not sure on how long of a delay it would be.
 
Do you ever see WWE one day releasing a say "best of 2007" DVD where they put all of their best matches on TV and PPV on one or sevaral DVD's?  

It's possible, but I think you are more likely to see those matches spread out over different DVDs over time that are devoted to those talents or as extras to the PPV event DVD releases.

Was there ever any thought backstage before Wrestlemania 23 concerning Edge's WM streak while booking the MitB match? After Edge was touting his 5-0 record at Wrestlemania in the weeks leading up to the match, it seemed so anticlimactic to have him just lose the match. It seemed that no thought was put into his streak; he wasn't in the final two, and the announcers made no mention of the fact that his streak was on the line when they could have made it a driving story point. (Given that he was injured before the match
anyway, it would have been easy to take him out of the match if they wanted Kennedy to win; they even went as far as doing so on Raw, before he won his shot back.) Did backstage think that his 5-0 streak wasn't long enough to be worth a storyline, or did they just simply not even think about it at all and pissed it away unthinkingly? Of course, no one could have foreseen then the injuries that occurred since WM, but given that Edge ended up with the MitB anyway, it's a huge shame that his streak wasn't better protected: a
story where the Undertaker returns for revenge that leads up to a match with Edge -- streak versus streak -- would have been a great buildup for WM24. Why did creative have Edge just lose his streak so meaninglessly at WM23?

It was probably discussed but in the end, the Wrestlemania streak is Undertaker's domain and having another would take away from the uniqueness of it.  As you pointed out, it didn't hurt Edge in the least as he's ended up the WWE World champion in the end.  Hindsight is always 20/20 but in this case, I don't see it as a major negative.

I understand one of the main purposes of the New Breed is to get Elijah Burke over with the fans, but is it me, or do you feel Marcus Cor Von has breakout star written all over him? He's got that heavyweight size, an awesome finisher, and that certain walk/look that is different from all the other wrestlers. I think WWE might be wise to distance Cor Von from Elijah, and allow Cor Von to evolve on his own.

Cor Von does have a lot of potential but it's going to take time for him to prove himself.  Inside the ring, he never moved beyond a certain level in TNA despite being given big pushes.  He certainly doesn't need Burke to talk for him but since Burke is being designed as one of the top performers in ECW, it's smart to attach him to Cor Von and others in order to give all of them some history between them that will add to eventual storylines involving them.


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