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I had just watched the Cactus Jack VS Triple H Hell in a Cell match, and I'm not sure about something. Cactus Jack fell through the cell [like in 1998], but this time, he "sunk" in the ring. Does this mean that this particular fall was planned?
Yes, it was planned.
I just recently started watching wrestling and reading PWInsider again after a couple years break. It was just too hard for me to watch a match after such a close string of the tragic young deaths of so many great athletes, but I digress… I’m reading about how much criticism the WWE’s TVPG policy is getting from the fans and personally, I think it’s a smart idea. There are a number of older fans like myself who were captivated and turned into life-long fans because of the whole cartoon era in the WWF that lasted from Wrestlemania into the mid 90s, and as The original ECW and WWF Attitude era took hold, it was more a matter of the product maturing with us 18-20-something fans that grew up with the sport. I think it’s wise to have a kid-friendly wrestling program in order to bring in the next generation of fans. Where WWE is dropping the ball is by not making use of their various brands to diversify their programming. Raw and Smackdown are basically the same show and the new so-called “ECW” is little more than a vehicle to promote Raw. Why can’t the McMahons see that it would be in the business’s best interest to diversify these shows? Keep Raw as their flagship TVPG show, turn Smackdown into a Crockett/ROH style sports show that caters to a more mature crowd, and make ECW a show that caters to the Hardcore/Attitude era fans. That would make the most sense and the WWE would be developing new fans across all age brackets.
First off, when we complain about the TVPG concept it's because we are all in our thirties here (and me in my forties). We don't want to see the product marketed to kids because we are adults. We want something that is more intelligent and fun to watch that something marketed to children.
I understand what you are saying and I agree. If the company can create new fans in kids, they can (in theory) grow with the product. That is fine. But I don't think John Cena is Hulk Hogan, and you need a special guy like Hogan to captivate the kids from their early years into adulthood. Cena is the kind of guy that is so sugary that I think a lot of the kids will turn on him as they age because Cena isn't cool. Hogan was.
I also agree that WWE is dropping the ball with the sameness they have in their product. They have a history of doing that. They bought WCW and killed it right away. They got a chance to resurrect ECW and Vince McMahon made the decision to make it WWE-lite and it's a decision he made before he ever ran the first ECW show. The sad fact is that he thinks there is only one way to present the business. I fully believe that if he let the brands be different, the company could make a lot more money.
Since WM has turned to the stadium only bookings, I wonder whether they realize that they could sell more tickets if they would reduce the size of the entrance sets. I was at WM23 in Detroit and my "seats" were literally behind the huge set and backdrop. Yet they decided to boost attendance by selling standing room tickets and got 80,000+. I thought "Wouldn't they seat more people if they had a more reasonable entrance set like at WM19"? Or will WWE production progress each year in a "top this" kind of way?
Part of the allure of Mania is in the presentation and they feel the sets are a big part of that. They want it to be larger than life, and the sets are usually very cool. Also, given that Mania has become a bit harder of a sell, it may be a moot point anyway.
My questions deal with ECW. To me it appears from the lack of an ECW title fight at Hell In A Cell and the Bragging Rights main event being a super RAW vs. Smackdown tag team match that WWE views ECW as a lesser brand. How come no one from the ECW creative team spoke up when they came up with the Bragging Rights brand vs. brand idea? The optimist in me hopes that William Regal rallies the extreme forces (including the babyface ECW Champion) and invades the PPV and helps WWE fans realize there is an ECW brand they can watch. I'm a sucker for an invasion type angle. =) The pessimist in me thinks that WWE is going to give up on the brand within a years time or so and nothing will change other than ECW title matches being on Smackdown. What do you think lies in store for ECW in 2010?
ECW IS a lesser brand. It's one step above developmental and that is how Vince and company look at it. And they should look it at like that because they made it that way. ECW creative people don't speak up because they know what the brand is and there is no need to get their head handed to them in meetings by Vince McMahon. At this point, I see ECW remaining exactly what it is, and that is a huge shame. When it started, the brand did mid-twos in the ratings. Now, it's half of that or less. It's not hard for me to see that they have made a big mistake with the brand but apparently it is for them.
What with the WWE's annual television tapings in England coming up shortly, who do you think will be the RAW guest host for that night? Due to being English myself I've had no idea who a good portion of the people to play Guest Host are (Bob Barker, Ben Roethlisburger, Nancy O'Dell, Cedric the Entertainer) and I'm sure the majority of English wrestling fans would agree. So with that said, does the WWE already have someone in place/mind to Guest Host who would also be familiar with an English audience rather than a B to Z-list celebrity who's really only known in the States? Maybe a current/former wrestler? Or perhaps a B to Z-list celeb only known in the UK?
The word I am getting is that they have asked Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter, to do the show. Whether he accepts it or not, you have to keep in mind that WWE's main audience is in North America so the they will always focus on the audience here first. If I were WWE, I would try and see if I could get Ozzy Osbourne to do his guest hosting spot in the UK. At least them it would be one of your countrymen in charge for the night.
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