The General Wrestling Thread

[EmpireWF]

Ironically, Ziggler was being moved up to feud with Orton since Jericho was suspended.

[Guest]

I bet WWE is feeling some kind of shitty they've buried quality guys for too long.

No depth yet again.

I don't think they have a clue what they are doing. At the very least, Ziggler will be put out on his own. The Miz.....I don't know. They just finished a mini feud that had him jobbing to Brodus Clay, and it seems his star has fallen.

If there was any way they could just "reboot" that would be best.

[Leftwich]

Time to Shine

Looks like the same lettering and color scheme as Brazzers.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Real talk...writing for, essentially 7 hours of television per week, 31 hours of total on-screen wrestling per week is too much for the guys writing...it is beyond their ability. They already suck at writing wrestling, but when you incorporate 3 hours of RAW, 2 hours of Smackdown, an hour of NXT, an hour of Superstars plus a 3 hour PPV every month you really need the best of the best writing these things to keep that much TV going.

WCW learned the hard way. That is simply too much TV time for wrestling, nevermind having to create all of this content for that many hours of programming.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

I want you to answer this question.

Why should we still give any fucks about North American wrestling?

Good luck.

Punk and Danielson just had a ****1/2 star match.
Steen and Richards just had a **** star match.

Plus, over the last two months, a flurry of top matches...WrestleMania Weekend was loaded with elite level wrestling.

Unfortunately, out of the 100 hours of wrestling in the past two months, you might get 5-10 hours of stuff worth watching.

Wade through the shit, friend-o...its still worth watching, but its best to catch up after the fact so you don't waste valuable Kuzzo hours.

[EmpireWF]

There is always at least solid wrestling going on somewhere in the world.

[IamMedellin]

Here are highlights from TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter's media conference call promoting Impact Wrestling going live on SpikeTV. Quotes edited for brevity. The full audio will go online in the coming days on www.WrestleShark.com.

On bringing in Brooke Hogan: “This division is very important to me…for women to get out there and do this, I feel like we have to set a certain standard that needs to be better than anything else that’s out there. We have the best female wrestlers on the planet…she has been living and breathing wrestling her entire life…she has gotten to learn and see…I remember being seven sitting there as my dad was talking business. She has always learned from this, she is a big star in her own right. We need somebody to help give them more exposure. She is not going to wrestle. One of the biggest things she will do for us is give the spotlight they deserve.”

Biggest Challenge over the last 10 years: “if you’re smart you listen to your fans and your criticism, you learn from it and you grow…I am so proud that in just a few short days we will be celebrating our ten years anniversary in this business…I have never been more proud to be associated with something in my professional career. I truly love the men and women who make up our roster…we have achieved so much in ten years. There isn’t a person in this call who would have thought we’d be in business ten months, we almost didn’t make ten weeks. More importantly right now, where we’re going…I look back, we’ve made a ton of mistakes…both creatively and how we’ve approached certain things…. I think we’re on a very good road…I don’t think we’ve ever produced as quality television as we are right now.”

New Format, PPV Plans, three hour specials? “Spike asked us last thanksgiving to take Impact to three hours. We thought quality over quantity…I think we’re very comfortable with our programming being two hours. Do we need more programming? Absolutely.”

PPV Format: “I’m not a fan of 12 PPV’s…we’ve got some contracts we’re looking to negotiate right now…every one will be something new and unique. We’re hoping to evolve our PPV’s”

Florida’s wrestling history and going on the road: “It’s interesting, I think there’s all corners of the state that have rich history in the westling…as far as Orlando is concerned, I would rather be able to go live and stay there. Ultimately the plan is to go live and on the road…but I wanna be in business in another ten years and having this conversation with you….the touring market is soft right now. The live format will allow us to use the Universal format to it’s full capacity and then take the viewers on a greater journey….”

Monday Night Live experiment: “We’ve got an incredible competitor with a 25 year head start on us…people watch television different from they did in the old Monday night Wars…I practically don’t watch any shows during their first broadcast….I think there’s going to be a shift in how we look at our ratings…”

WWE’s attitude toward TNA? “To not acknowledge competition is ridiculous. Competition is absolutely critical to the success of any business…it doesn’t matter what industry youre in, it makes you better, it makes you work harder…"

“Our thought is instead of trying to compete in the same form…lets try to be different, let’s try to be unique, try to present our product…wrestling matters…it’s not a dirty word. We’re very excited about taking whats we do best …”

Wrestling company vs Entertainment company…are you under any pressure to tone down the product? “I think we do take all of those elements very seriouisly and try to present them in the right way, I think it is business as usual….to do something that is sexually offensive for it to be that way is ridiculous…too much blood means nothing, too much language means nothing…whatever happens has got to have meaning."

On their fan interaction: “One thing we do best is give people that personal experience up close. When they walk away, the comments that I read…that’s the sentiment that I hear over and over again.”

On the number of established stars on the independent circuit: “If it’s a guy or a female who already have an established career…yes we are always looking at them. If it’s a new person, that’s what gut-check does so well…It’s great television.”

Do you expect the ratings to get better? “I don’t expect that, I expect it will help us gain attention quicker in a new timeslot…”

"Created a six month story arc, such a commitment to structure and story…I think that’s going to have an effect…it’s just going to take some time. It’s going to take some time for people to find us in the new timeslot, but it’ll happen faster than it would any other way.”

Ric Flair and Alex Shelley: “We really work hard to protect the privacy of our performers…with regards to Alex, the door is always open, we would love to see him back with us. With regard to Ric, I cannot say anything further.”

Major Changes…the biggest challenge has been follow up. How do you intend to follow this? What would you like to see in the next ten years? “Who kidnapped Samoa Joe, what happened to the Jackie Gayda video tape?...that attention to detail is critical if we are to do our best work. There have been times in the past when we HAVE NOT been consistent in our follow up…being more consistent is going to be critical to our growth…I’m confident we can continue that.”

Next step for growth: “Tomorrow is the new evolution of where our product is going…I;m just as excited as anyone to see where this is going to take us…It’s going to be a journey, I’m excited about that Journey…this is an evolution, we will be evolving over time and I am excited about seeing where that is going to take us.

Was there anything that precipitated this change in direction? “No, it wasn’t any one thing…we have some of the greatest characters on television, we just need to …give them free reign to cut loose. I think there will be a whole new slew of viewers who are proud to watch that wrestling show!”

On trying to avoid concussions: “It’s a concerted effort and decision on the companies part…when people say wrestling is fake, I’m offended…I see the unbelievable pain these people go through….we’ve got to try and make what we do as safe as we possibly can.”

After the success of Ring Ka King, is there any chance of a UK based promotion or spin off? “We’re working on something as we speak. We’re hoping to make an announcement very soon.”

Lack of X Division: “We’ve had a lot of injuries which have effected some long term plans we have had…this is not a division you can just put anybody in…it’s been disheartening for all of us over the last 12-13 months. Gutcheck, we are specifically looking for X-Division type wrestlers”

Why did TNA decide to bring the Lockdown Cage to the UK Tour? “We wanted to do something different…the UK tour is the beginning to our road to Lockdown…we wanted to give people a first hand live taste of just how exciting those could be.”

“The United states fans can go to Univesal at any point…the UK is incredibly special for us, it’s trul one of the highlights of the year. It’s the first country that has given us a stamp of approval. We will never forget what the UK has done for our business and we will always give back in a big way.”

Do you want to tour UK more? “Maybe twice a year or different cities every six months….more fan parties over there…I’d love to see a second tour every year in different cities.”

Will we see more talent from the UK appearing on TNA?: “Doug Williams to some extent and Magnus he started on our UK Tour, Mark Haskins the same thing so I hope we do see local talent on this tour. Hopefully we’ll continue to pick up more talent on that tour.”

Six-sided Ring: “The truth of it is the wrestlers prefer the four sided ring…the more popularity MMA gets then there will be some confusion…We may use it when it’s fitting.”

Has she noticed a difference with Vince Russo gone? “I think Vince is a brilliant writer, I think he has a great creative mind…sometimes its just time for change, for somebody’s life and for their company…I’m very happy with Vince’s contribution to the company. I wish him nothing but the best.”

“The change isn’t Vince related…It’s time to look at this with fresh eyes…it’s time to take our product to a new level.”

On first getting involved in TNA: “I was meant to do this…I was meant for Jeff Jarrett to walk into my life to take a meeting with him…I was blown away by the passion of these people…I just feel lucky to be a part of it.”

Biggest contributor to success: “Quality of talent…I happen to think we have the best roster on the planet.”

If you overtook WWE, would you hire Vince McMahon? “I’d consider that. I think he would have something to contribute, I’m not sure he would fit into our new structure though [laughs]…I think we already are the better company we’re just not the biggest.”

“There is always a good time to step back and have somebody come back fresh…try and take there character to another level. The single biggest challenge we have is we have so many people who deserve to be on TV every week. We’ve got to be more consciences about telling the story the right way.”

On the talent and television product: “We’re working very hard to make sure that whoever is on the show is on there for a reason…we’ve been guilty of not doing this in the past.”

Who could be the next big star we haven’t seen yet? “Where Bobby Roode is going…James Storm, I saw things in him that truly gave me goosebumps. I love the work he is doing. I think Bully is a fantastic example of someone reinventing himself.”

Next step? “TNA as a brand we need to expand outside of wrestling…We’ve had a tremendous 10 years, we’ve overcome a lot of adversity and I think we are set to have a bright future.”

If you could sign one WWE star, who? “The Rock…I think he’s great, I love what he does in movies, I love the kind of exposure he brings to wrestling outside of what we do on television and I think that’s magic."

From the full time roster: “I dunno, there’s a lot of talented people, but I’m pretty content with who we have.”

http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/tna/Highlights_From_Dixie_Carter_Conference_Call_-_Which_WWE_Star_She_Would_Sign.html

[EmpireWF]

On bringing in Brooke Hogan: “This division is very important to me…for women to get out there and do this, I feel like we have to set a certain standard that needs to be better than anything else that’s out there. We have the best female wrestlers on the planet…she has been living and breathing wrestling her entire life…she has gotten to learn and see…I remember being seven sitting there as my dad was talking business. She has always learned from this, she is a big star in her own right. We need somebody to help give them more exposure. She is not going to wrestle. One of the biggest things she will do for us is give the spotlight they deserve.”

What a blatant load of bullshit. Brooke Hogan is no bigger a star for whatever it is she does than Nick Hogan is a star for wrecking a car and fucking up his friend's life. Ms. Hogan will not add one buy to any TNA PPV nor will they get any entertainment TV coverage out of it after MAYBE the first show…if that. So daddy's girl remembers being around her daddy's business as a kid…who gives a flying fuck?

Biggest Challenge over the last 10 years: “if you’re smart you listen to your fans and your criticism, you learn from it and you grow…I am so proud that in just a few short days we will be celebrating our ten years anniversary in this business…I have never been more proud to be associated with something in my professional career. I truly love the men and women who make up our roster…we have achieved so much in ten years. There isn’t a person in this call who would have thought we’d be in business ten months, we almost didn’t make ten weeks. More importantly right now, where we’re going…I look back, we’ve made a ton of mistakes…both creatively and how we’ve approached certain things…. I think we’re on a very good road…I don’t think we’ve ever produced as quality television as we are right now.”

Holy shit that's hysterical. Obviously, TNA has been dumber than a brick for the majority of their existence. Unfortunately, Mr. Carter may actually be the dumbest person in the whole organization because it's his money that's been wasted on the product all these years with barely any return (IF ANY RETURN). It's funny that the same exact criticisms have been thrown at TNA for literally at least 5 years if not longer and yet, the promotion continues chugging along like their shit does not stink.

It's nice that TNA has survived for 10 years, it gives a lot more opportunities to a section of talent that they otherwise would definitely not have. But you look at the course they've been on since jumping to Spike in 2005 and where they are now in 2012. There is not a significant upgrade in any sense. Their TV business is practically exactly where it's always been as far as ratings go (which don't even fucking matter to be honest)…their PPV business is still abysmal. Apparently, the only reason their house show business had been anything close to a success was because they were able to sell a shitload of merchandise. They're a glorified indy promotion who happen to have international television.

New Format, PPV Plans, three hour specials? “Spike asked us last thanksgiving to take Impact to three hours. We thought quality over quantity…I think we’re very comfortable with our programming being two hours. Do we need more programming? Absolutely.”

PPV Format: “I’m not a fan of 12 PPV’s…we’ve got some contracts we’re looking to negotiate right now…every one will be something new and unique. We’re hoping to evolve our PPV’s”

What the fuck is up with all these networks requesting wrestling shows to go to 3 hours? On the bright side, if this is true, send some credit TNAs way for actually saying fuck no. WWE cowered to the USA Network and my oh my are they gonna be in for a world of hurt (LANCESTORM) this summer because of it.

Does TNA need MORE programming?

If she's alluding to something like a Smackdown for them….holy shit they are dumb as a rock. They can't get anyone over with the 2 hours they have already, what makes anyone think adding another hour or two to their TV work is a good idea beyond whatever payments they may get?

The stuff about PPVs is pretty interesting. I don't think anyone is a fan of 12 PPVs, not even Vince McMahon or Dana White. You know what they're a fan of? $$$$. Making money. The only reason the WWE does a billion PPVs a year and the only reason the UFC does a trillion PPVs a year is because they are turning a profit.

Evidently, TNA is not (duh) so they're looking to "evolve" which is carny for figure out a way they can make money. At least there was some honesty there for a change.

Monday Night Live experiment: “We’ve got an incredible competitor with a 25 year head start on us…people watch television different from they did in the old Monday night Wars…I practically don’t watch any shows during their first broadcast….I think there’s going to be a shift in how we look at our ratings…”

A shift in how they look at their ratings? Excuse me…

WWE’s attitude toward TNA? “To not acknowledge competition is ridiculous. Competition is absolutely critical to the success of any business…it doesn’t matter what industry you're in, it makes you better, it makes you work harder…"

“Our thought is instead of trying to compete in the same form…lets try to be different, let’s try to be unique, try to present our product…wrestling matters…it’s not a dirty word. We’re very excited about taking whats we do best …”

First, she is such a mark.

Second, that last line is such utter bullshit. TNA has attempted to legitimately be different than WWE for all of 2-4 moths over the past 7 years. When the Kurt Angle/Samoa Joe feud was at its height a few years back, they actually did some fun, different and interesting things. Then they stopped and went back to the same 'ol shit we've come to expect from mainstream American pro wrestling in the 21st century.

Wrestling company vs Entertainment company…are you under any pressure to tone down the product? “I think we do take all of those elements very seriouisly and try to present them in the right way, I think it is business as usual….to do something that is sexually offensive for it to be that way is ridiculous…too much blood means nothing, too much language means nothing…whatever happens has got to have meaning."

More blatant bullshit. Whatever happens must have meaning is nice in theory. TNA should practice what the 'boss' preaches. Nothing on your average TNA Impact episode has any meaning whatsoever. There's more useless swearing than there is logic, for fuck sake.[/quote]

On their fan interaction: “One thing we do best is give people that personal experience up close. When they walk away, the comments that I read…that’s the sentiment that I hear over and over again.”

True. TNA's live house shows are generally fun and entertaining and have a great family atmosphere. It's got a different vibe than a WWE house show for sure. Imagine that…different = great feedback.

That's enough of this…I'm just indifferent at this point to them because of terrible management for all these years. Just being around for 10 years shouldn't considered such a success. It's nice, sure and yes, there were plenty of times (especially early on) that TNA just as easily could have gone out of business. But where's the desire to get everything right, to be the total opposite of what WWE is at a time when WWE is viewed as the most stale its been in a decade?

Instead of talking about wanting to extend the brand outside of wrasslin or wanting to expand TV, this or that….get your shit on lockdown. Build TV so it's legit can't miss television each week, slowly build up your PPV business and (keyword SLOWLY) get people people talking about TNA? And you certainly as hell don't do that by sending out the same old shit as your main stars (Hogan, Jeff Hardy, plain old authority figures in general, failed WWE acts, etc.).



An interesting question….this year, both TNA and ROH are celebrating their 10-year anniversaries. Which would you classify as the biggest success as of today?

[IamMedellin]

[JayDizzle]

7 years ago, people still gave a shit about Ric Flair.

It's disheartening.

[youtube]80AiJFYegq0[/youtube]

All the match is is a sequence of chops, punches, ball shots, a set of Figure-Fours and some skullduggery with a cage but damned if it wasn't entertaining at the time.

7 years later and one guy's shilling pisswater in a bottle with a fake belt from K-Mart while the other is schtooping his Boss' Daughter and running the company. :gayrod:

[SHOGUN]

Sheamus/Ziggler was fantastic and CM Punk/Kane was very good before the shenanigans.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

It puts the WOOOOOOOOOOOOO in my WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

LAFF!

[SuperKevin]

Ric Flair's lisp is dangerously approaching Lou Holtz territory

[SHOGUN]

[NAHSTE]