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It felt with the recent debuts of Raquel Gonzalez (in NXT) and Butcher and Blade (in AEW) I saw lots of talk of the segments "falling flat" and people on the internet saying "who is this?" in a negative. In prior years it felt like the debut of new monster wiping someone out was met with "who is this?... we want to see more"and they were judged on the merit of their actions in the debut not who they were. So my question is do fans (in your opinion) these days think they are so smart that if they don't know who someone is before they (the wrestler) even debut they (the wrestler) are automatically a nobody?
I think there is an element to that, for sure. And that is understandable since AEW and NXT draw a well informed fan base. In the case of Butcher and The Blade, the issue I saw was that they weren’t explained. On TV, that need to happen IMO. If it’s not, it has to turn into “Who the hell are they? What they hell are they doing here?” to have a chance in getting over. In the case of NXT, the problem was two fold. One, most people didn’t know who she was. Two, she ruined the ending of a Takeover match, so that fell flat to the fans. I think in 2020, we need more explanation. The world is so connected now that if they are going to do surprises like that, they need to do it with people the fans will know. Viewers tend to expect that now.
Out of all the ECW super shows on the network, which ones do you recommend?
It’s all so subjective. There are a ton of great ones and the TV should be watched first so you understand the feuds. So I would say start in early 1994 and work your way into the shows. I don’t ever recommend just watching a show to watch it. The quality is fine but the stories add so much more to me.
With Finn Balor as a full heel in NXT, does that mean we will not see the Demon persona for quite some time? Or can you see any way of making the Demon character work while maintaining Finn's heel status?
I could see ways to book The Demon as a super heel, just like WWE has done with Bray Wyatt and The Fiend. I don’t know if they will, but it could be done.
If WWE does end up moving their major PPV shows off the WWE Network and onto another one of the major streaming services, would that impact the late end times of some of their major shows, like Wrestlemania? In other words, would we see the return of a hard cut-off time like the satellite providers used to impose before the PPV shows were moved onto the WWE Network?
It’s to be determined by I don’t see why they would need to. They have an open ended schedule, unlike the old PPV model.
In regard to your comments on the Reffing of the AEW match 16/02/2020 - sorry I'm English! Until recentlyI was a Ref in England, on a vastly lower rung of the ladder I admit. My only input into a match was to ask, what their finish was, did they want me to bump, and was there anything I was supposed not to see. So do Ref's in the big leagues get a say, or like me?
The refs are the conduit from the back. They get cues from the bookers. In WWE, they have been told in the past to call what they see. They are an important cog in the machine.
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