The General Wrestling Thread

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

and old

Black people don't age.

Titus O'Neil looked exactly the same at UF when he was playing there, SRS.

FWIW, O'Neil has really improved and found his character. PrimeTime Players are not featured nearly enough.

I have no idea how his "Pancake" Patterson gimmick didn't take off. One of the more natural funny things someone in the WWE has done, so it surely flew over all of WWE Corporate's head. It could have been a niche thing to hit the urban audience, but Vince nor Triple H got it, so surely the subtlety hammer stayed in their pocket.

 

[CrimsonGhost56]

so what is this gigantic, earth-shattering announcement the WWE is teasing for tonight? they are doing some big press conference at 9:30pm

the wwe network thing?

 

[FedEx227]

WWE Network, yup.

Online-only, app-based.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

WWE Network, yup.

Online-only, app-based.

Pretty awesome.

 

[BigBiss]

Pretty awesome.

if its like the new UFC stuff it will be pretty cool

 

[Ravin]

So basically with this WWE Network, you might as well just buy it if you ever want to watch one PPV. Get 6 months of WWE Network for the price of one PPV. Well played WWE.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

So basically with this WWE Network, you might as well just buy it if you ever want to watch one PPV. Get 6 months of WWE Network for the price of one PPV. Well played WWE.

So I can continue to pay for an individual PPV on my TV, or get six months of the network for the same cost?

The only thing is that it's online only, and I'd have to stream it through my TV through any number of ways.

 

[SuperKevin]

Will be buying. No doubt about it

 

[Leftwich]

Yeah, as a wrestling fan i see no reason not to get it.

 

[Ravin]

So I can continue to pay for an individual PPV on my TV, or get six months of the network for the same cost?

The only thing is that it's online only, and I'd have to stream it through my TV through any number of ways.

I've streamed things from my computer to a TV and never lost quality. For $10 a month, hell I'll watch a PPV at 720p and then watch wrestling for 8+ hours a day if I want for the next 30 days every month on a computer.

Seems like a no brainer if you are a good fan and want to see a lot of stuff you haven't seen.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I've streamed things from my computer to a TV and never lost quality. For $10 a month, hell I'll watch a PPV at 720p and then watch wrestling for 8+ hours a day if I want for the next 30 days every month on a computer.

Seems like a no brainer if you are a good fan and want to see a lot of stuff you haven't seen.

Yeah, I've got a Mac and Apple TV so that's no problem for me. Also have a laptop with an HDMI if needed so I'd be set.

It's a great deal, no doubting that. Going to make all of the missed PPV revenue up with ads and such, and with that they are likely to make more money anyway. You also stand a chance of getting some people off illegal web streams as well.

 

[Ramiel]

From reports from JR's twitter, WWE HOFer Mae Young has been off life support.

 

[dave]

So basically with this WWE Network, you might as well just buy it if you ever want to watch one PPV. Get 6 months of WWE Network for the price of one PPV. Well played WWE.

Even with the bandwidth caps we face in Canada, I have to get this. I have Apple TV, gonna use that.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Wet blanket time.

They will yank WrestleMania off of this next year. They aren't going to take that massive financial hit. They are using Mania as a hook this year to get people to sample it. But you have to buy six months up front to get Mania, so they are still getting that $60 this year. But it's still a great value because you are getting five other PPV's & the rest of the content, essentially for "free".

Having the other 11 PPV's on here sounds great, and it will be at first. But since the price of the PPV's is essentially dropping to $9.99, eventually there will be far less of a focus on them, and the quality of the shows will drop significantly. That's just business. TV rights fees is the new game and top revenue producer, so you will see a slow swing towards TV getting the juice, and "PPV" getting the step child treatment. Not overnight, but eventually they will butter their bread.

If you are a regular PPV buyer, it's a no brainer.

The first six months is a no brainer for everybody, since you get 6 PPV's (including Mania) for $60.

For me personally, I don't care about old RAW's or PPV's, I will never watch that stuff. I don't really care about the live PPV's either, I skip most of those for free, but they are nice icing on the cake. I need to see first run content I can't get otherwise (NXT & Superstars), and a deep historical library (including non WWE stuff) before I go past six months. The rumored cruiserweight show makes it a lock if it happens.

They need something like a million subscribers to break even. Their stat of one fan in half of all homes is comical, considering the ratings RAW does.

 

[dave]

Wet blanket time.e

Having the other 11 PPV's on here sounds great, and it will be at first. But since the price of the PPV's is essentially dropping to $9.99, eventually there will be far less of a focus on them, and the quality of the shows will drop significantly. That's just business. TV rights fees is the new game and top revenue producer, so you will see a slow swing towards TV getting the juice, and "PPV" getting the step child treatment. Not overnight, but eventually they will butter their bread.

Honestly, hasn't that already happened? Other than the Rumble and WM, does any PPV really stand out?

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Honestly, hasn't that already happened? Other than the Rumble and WM, does any PPV really stand out?

Every year there are a few tier three shows that standout. Like Money in the Bank, Hell in a Cell, and throw in a random.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

$60 for the first 6-months? Includes PPVs and Mania?

Best deal on planet earth, sign me up.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Honestly, hasn't that already happened? Other than the Rumble and WM, does any PPV really stand out?

They'll eventually be glorified RAW's. As in, they won't even attempt to make them special at all. They aren't going to waste valuable TV time pushing shows that aren't driving the bus.

Shit is evolving before our eyes. It used to be TV setting up the house show business, then TV setting up PPV. Soon it will be TV as the #1 priority.

This is a bold move. PPV is dying aside from Mania. Vince is gambling by giving up his $20 (or so) split on traditional PPV in hopes that enough people paying $10 will make up the difference by eliminating the middle man. A big, big key is the next TV deal.

You should really check out Chris Harrington's stuff on our site if you are interested in all this. He has his finger on the pulse of it all as much as anybody: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/author/chris-harrington/

 

[s@ppisgod]

They'll eventually be glorified RAW's. As in, they won't even attempt to make them special at all. They aren't going to waste valuable TV time pushing shows that aren't driving the bus.

Shit is evolving before our eyes. It used to be TV setting up the house show business, then TV setting up PPV. Soon it will be TV as the #1 priority.

This is a bold move. PPV is dying aside from Mania. Vince is gambling by giving up his $20 (or so) split on traditional PPV in hopes that enough people paying $10 will make up the difference by eliminating the middle man. A big, big key is the next TV deal.

You should really check out Chris Harrington's stuff on our site if you are interested in all this. He has his finger on the pulse of it all as much as anybody: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/author/chris-harrington/

That's a pretty steep risk. I would have held off on Rumble, Mania, and SS rights. By giving away the PPVs at that price, you're essentially killing the PPV business. Which is fine until they don't hit their bottom line. IMO, you gotta hedge your bets on the PPVs. Give away all the ones people don't buy anyway, but good luck geting people to come back and pay $60 for Mania or $50 for Rumble if they get it for free with the app. You're jeopordizing a portion of one of your biggest revenue producers of the year. Mania is a lock good buyrate for IMO entirely too much money per pop. And they've gotten it time and again. Don't give people a reaspn to fuck with the golden goose.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

That's a pretty steep risk. I would have held off on Rumble, Mania, and SS rights. By giving away the PPVs at that price, you're essentially killing the PPV business. Which is fine until they don't hit their bottom line. IMO, you gotta hedge your bets on the PPVs. Give away all the ones people don't buy anyway, but good luck geting people to come back and pay $60 for Mania or $50 for Rumble if they get it for free with the app. You're jeopordizing a portion of one of your biggest revenue producers of the year. Mania is a lock good buyrate for IMO entirely too much money per pop. And they've gotten it time and again. Don't give people a reaspn to fuck with the golden goose.

This year's Mania is a hook to get people to buy, and they are requiring a 6-month commitment to get it. So they are still (kind of) getting their $60 for it.

Next year, they are yanking Mania off of the app. The rest will stay, and yes, it's a dice roll.

They are getting about 100,000 domestic buys per show, and the break even on the network is 800k-1m subscribers. That 100k base is obviously buying this. But where are they adding 700-900k buyers?