The General Wrestling Thread

[JimLeavy59]

Will Rey Mysterio ever do the clean job?

[Warner2BruceTD]

So why did they let him come back on Raw the week after?

WWF may not have embraced something like that, would have made him apologize but that would have been the end of it. Probably few people would have cared anyway.

I'm not defending it, just saying what happened.

They are making an example out of him. At the end of the day, they probably figure he's insignificant in the grand scheme.

Remember too, Linda McMahon is running for senate. This type of humor, on what they claim is a PG product, does not play well in what has become a nasty senate race. She is taking a lot of heat for the past raunchiness of the product.

[EmpireWF]

Big Show told a similar joke a few years ago.

Washington apparently did it on the fly, off the top of his head.

Big Show's joke was almost definitely written for him plus, they didn't pretend to be a kiddy show while the boss' wife is running for elected office.

[Guest]

I'm not defending it, just saying what happened.

They are making an example out of him. At the end of the day, they probably figure he's insignificant in the grand scheme.

Remember too, Linda McMahon is running for senate. This type of humor, on what they claim is a PG product, does not play well in what has become a nasty senate race. She is taking a lot of heat for the past raunchiness of the product.

I understand the Linda thing, I had forgotten about that. The problem is, AW would have been a fit even five years ago. I think someone posted a viewer graph over the last decade, and up to a few years ago, there were 8 million people tuning in (am not a 100% certain on that but I do remember something similar) Raw 1000 didn't even get that much. That is a huge problem, and one would think that this change of direction has hurt the company. Unless of course, they are making up for it in event and mercy sales which is a good possibility.

[EmpireWF]

I understand the Linda thing, I had forgotten about that. The problem is, AW would have been a fit even five years ago. I think someone posted a viewer graph over the last decade, and up to a few years ago, there were 8 million people tuning in (am not a 100% certain on that but I do remember something similar) Raw 1000 didn't even get that much. That is a huge problem, and one would think that this change of direction has hurt the company. Unless of course, they are making up for it in event and mercy sales which is a good possibility.

Not exactly, 8 million is too high over the last decade. Put it this way, the most watched/highest rated match/segment in American pro wrestling history was from June 1999 when Austin beat Taker for the title.

Combined with Nitro, the total pro wrestling audience watching Monday nights at the height of the war was over 11-12 million. It dwindled a bit when WCW turned into total shit and then after it died, a large sector of the wrestling audience never returned.

For the majority of the past decade, WWE's top number has been around the 5 million mark (give or take a few hundred thousand). Ironically, the modern WWE audience skews older (much older than their audience during their most successful period) as far as TV & PPV viewers go but they market towards kids who are the bulk of their live event business. They're leaving a ton of money on the table with their current format, but at the same time, I guess they're happier being known as kid friendly and in bed with companies like Mattel.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Not exactly, 8 million is too high over the last decade. Put it this way, the most watched/highest rated match/segment in American pro wrestling history was from June 1999 when Austin beat Taker for the title.

Wait, isn't it Hogan/Andre with the Hebner screwjob? Or the Mankind match during the Super Bowl halftime?

[EmpireWF]

Wait, isn't it Hogan/Andre with the Hebner screwjob? Or the Mankind match during the Super Bowl halftime?

June 28, 1999: A match where Steve Austin won the WWF title from The Undertaker in Charlotte drew the largest rating and audience to ever witness a pro wrestling match or for that matter, any pro wrestling segment, ever on U.S. cable television. The match did a 9.5 rating, which was 10.72 million viewers. Perhaps the most impressive is that one out of every six television sets in the U.S. that had cable that was on during that time was watching that match. Because for more than a decade, Vince Russo has made it a talking point to say how the “The Is Your Life: Rock,” segment was the highest rated segment in history (it did an 8.4 quarter), to show how skits outdraw matches, it’s become a talking point how that was the highest rated segment in Raw history. Actually there were a handful of different quarter hours that beat that total, including most of the second hour of the May 10, 1999 show.

-Meltzer

[Warner2BruceTD]

A match where Steve Austin won the WWF title from The Undertaker in Charlotte drew the largest rating and audience to ever witness a pro wrestling match or for that matter, any pro wrestling segment, ever on U.S. cable television.

Cable.

That would eliminate the Mankind match (that was on MTV), but i'm almost positive the Hogan/Andre on NBC did significantly more viewers.

[EmpireWF]

Ah yeah, the match was the highest rated cable. Hogan/Andre did a 15.2 rating on NBC.

The War to Settle the Score did a 9.2 on MTV in 1985.

[JimLeavy59]

Not exactly, 8 million is too high over the last decade. Put it this way, the most watched/highest rated match/segment in American pro wrestling history was from June 1999 when Austin beat Taker for the title.

Combined with Nitro, the total pro wrestling audience watching Monday nights at the height of the war was over 11-12 million. It dwindled a bit when WCW turned into total shit and then after it died, a large sector of the wrestling audience never returned.

For the majority of the past decade, WWE's top number has been around the 5 million mark (give or take a few hundred thousand). Ironically, the modern WWE audience skews older (much older than their audience during their most successful period) as far as TV & PPV viewers go but they market towards kids who are the bulk of their live event business. They're leaving a ton of money on the table with their current format, but at the same time, I guess they're happier being known as kid friendly and in bed with companies like Mattel.

Thats what I don't get the WWE is leaving so much money on the table just to be PG and sell crappy action figures, It makes no sense and their stock is also falling the more we get into this PG-era. When Linda loses her upcoming election I really hope the WWE starts to have a borderline TV-14 product.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

ROH should sign Washington to manage Caprice Coleman & that other black guy. That team is so dry. Washington can do a parody of himself and run around the ring cutting uncouth jokes. It would be fantastic.

When I read that AW was released I thought the SAME EXACT THING. A parody of himself as a promoter that cuts awful jokes and lines. It would go over like gold.

We really need to get involved in writing wrestling storylines.

[Bigpapa42]

Thats what I don't get the WWE is leaving so much money on the table just to be PG and sell crappy action figures, It makes no sense and their stock is also falling the more we get into this PG-era. When Linda loses her upcoming election I really hope the WWE starts to have a borderline TV-14 product.

Trying to figure out the business logic of the WWE will just make your head hurt. They are alienating a significant part of their fanbase and they have to be doing so knowingly. But holding out hope that it will change is just gonna leave you frustrated. After Linda lost in 2010, lots of long-time fans convinced themsleves the WWE would move the product back a bit. Didn't happen. Since there is more involved than just Linda's political aspirations, it may not when she loses this year.

The the WWE problems aren't limited to being PG. You can create a PG product and still book things so that the stories and characters will appeal to those who aren't children. The WWE doesn't and aren't trying to. They are doing everything targeted at 8 year olds. As adults who want some degree of logic and continuity, a tiny bit of depth to characters, and actual wrestling... we aren't who they are trying to appease.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

IT'S BACK!

W2BTD'S "How many of these mid card geeks can you name?" GAME!

 

Alright, I won last time...let's see how I do for Round 2

Jack Swagger
Rey Mysterio
The FCW referee is in the middle - I don't know his name, but he's one of their main ones.
Epico
Kofi Kingston
Santino
Referee Mike Chioda
Zack Ryder

Dude in the way back, I'd guess Evan Bourne from the haircut.

Only guy I can't fully identify is the gook in the foreground...the dudes without faces, I can't.

[FedEx227]

PG doesn't mean it has to be illogical, stupid and boring. PG is perfectly fine, most the TV-14 things were terrible. Does it really matter if HHH is allowed to make a penis joke? Cena/Punk was PG and it was awesome.

[EmpireWF]

Isn't that Primo in the back, not Bourne?