The Steve Austin Show

[The Nature Boy]

Stephanie always comes across as someone who is cosplaying as a business executive. That was exhibit A. 

[Big Fresh]

Steph did an interview for Inc magazine.  Here is a quote regarding connecting with an audience.

 

“Developing your brand is different than marketing your brand. I think developing your brand, you have to know what you stand for, you know, what are your goals. What are you trying to achieve? Then you need to make sure you know your audience. Who are you trying to engage, what are you trying to get them to do and how are your reaching them. What are the relevant platforms, you know, are they on particular social platforms, are they watching television, what day parts? So know your audience, know how to communicate your messaging and know what you want them to do and then activate. You have to activate and you have to have a brand that’s worthwhile. You need to make sure that you’re delivering quality results.”

 

[JCM]

JonnyLaw, on 03 Dec 2014 - 3:02 PM, said:

 

Technico Support, on 03 Dec 2014 - 2:04 PM, said:

That's what I meant when I said they can make anybody a star.  Reigns didn't "grab a brass ring" or have "it."  Reigns was a guy they saw as a star due to his looks, hair and physique so they did their best to make him a star.  He got the star push and the star booking.  That's what's so maddening and phony about this "brass ring" talk.  Put anyone in that same spot and -- let's do a conservative estimate -- I'd guess half would do just as well as him, probably more.

 

Reigns wasn't necessarily getting all of that when the Shield debuted.  Ambrose was presented as the leader at first, but Reigns over time seemed to win the crowd over more.

 

Probably because he was the guy getting 90% of the pins for The Shield. I never even knew Ambrose had a finisher until they broke up. I think it's pretty clear the number 1 goal Vince had in mind when The Shield was formed was to use it as a platform to make Reigns a star.

 

Now I'm not saying they had no plans for the other two, but perhaps Rollins and Ambrose did their jobs a little too well and fooled people into thinking Reigns was ready to be a singles star. Reigns certainly added a lot to the group, by bringing the physical presence and being the clean up hitter. However, let's face it Rollins and Ambrose were doing a majority of the heavy lifting in and out of the ring.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

I don't know why Reigns doesn't just use the powerbomb since The Shield was so strongly associated with him doing it...unless he's unable to lift guys without the assistance of two other people or something.

Like people aren't making enough comparisons between him and Kevin Nash.

People are making comparisons between Roman Reigns and Kevin Nash? That's news to me.

It's because Nash had glorious hair and Reigns has glorious hair.

[Cristobal]

JonnyLaw, on 03 Dec 2014 - 3:02 PM, said:

 

Technico Support, on 03 Dec 2014 - 2:04 PM, said:

That's what I meant when I said they can make anybody a star.  Reigns didn't "grab a brass ring" or have "it."  Reigns was a guy they saw as a star due to his looks, hair and physique so they did their best to make him a star.  He got the star push and the star booking.  That's what's so maddening and phony about this "brass ring" talk.  Put anyone in that same spot and -- let's do a conservative estimate -- I'd guess half would do just as well as him, probably more.

 

Reigns wasn't necessarily getting all of that when the Shield debuted.  Ambrose was presented as the leader at first, but Reigns over time seemed to win the crowd over more.

Probably because he was the guy getting 90% of the pins for The Shield. I never even knew Ambrose had a finisher until they broke up. I think it's pretty clear the number 1 goal Vince had in mind when The Shield was formed was to use it as a platform to make Reigns a star.

 

Now I'm not saying they had no plans for the other two, but perhaps Rollins and Ambrose did their jobs a little too well and fooled people into thinking Reigns was ready to be a singles star. Reigns certainly added a lot to the group, by bringing the physical presence and being the clean up hitter. However, let's face it Rollins and Ambrose were doing a majority of the heavy lifting in and out of the ring.

Literally. Even the freaking triple power bomb was Ambrose and Rollins lifting whoever up and then Roman shouting "OOO-WAAAHHH!" after.

[AxB]

CM Punk says "The WWE is run by an out of touch old man".

Vince says he hasn't listened to that interview. Then ends his Austin interview by saying "I'm old, but I'm not out of touch".

 

What an incredible coincidence.

[The Nature Boy]

Vince has a billion dollar company to run. Listening to a disgruntled ex-employee on his buddy's podcast is not something that he SHOULD be rushing to do.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

He probably got bullet points from somebody, though he may of course be lying.

[The Nature Boy]

I honestly think people overestimate how much time Vince McMahon has. He is the President and CEO of a billion dollar company that not only runs a wrestling company but also a film studio, an online streaming channel and whatever other projects he dips into. He likely spends most of his days meeting with employees, working numbers, making calls to build relationships and being a businessman. 

 

Honestly, Vince McMahon is a GIFTED businessman. That is what he's good at. Even when he fucks up (XFL, WBF), he still manages to pick up, dust himself off and move on. The man has overcome multiple PR fiascos (steroid indictment, Benoit to name a few) and he's still going. 

[Ziggy]

Razor Ramon was basically a WWFs Tony Montana and Vince had never seen Scarface at the time he started the gimmick

[piranesi]

But I think there's an amount of cocaine you can do that automatically uploads it into your brain.

[Ziggy]

That or Murracco's Powdered Doughnuts

[jstout]

Having WWE wrestlers on a "shoot" podcast on the WWE network would be a disaster. If, as Austin says, everybody in the back is walking on eggshells afraid of pissing off the bosses, are they gonna get on a podcast and say "the office is misusing me, I deserve a better push. So-and-so has all the backstage power, and he's got Hunter's ear, and nothing's gonna change..."? Hell no. I wouldn't wanna see a kayfabe "shoot-style" podcast: "Bray, tell us about your big match at TLC with Dean Ambose..."

 

And here's how I see "over" and where people stand:

 

You can look at some guys and say "they could be big if they're handled well." Reigns fits in this category. Has the look and some charisma, but has some deficiencies charisma-wise and ring-wise the WWE needs to work to cover up. It can be done. He's not dead in the water, but not a sure thing.

 

Ryback was the same way when he was big. Has the look and some charisma, but the WWE booked his streak into that hole where Punk had his own streak they couldn't interrupt, and it cost him. He could've been big if handled well. He wasn't.

 

Then there are guys who graduate from "could be big" to "it will be very hard for WWE to screw them up at this point." They're so over that they can actually take the hit of some booking fuckups and rebound well. Bryan went from "could be big" to "the only way he's not gonna be big is if the WWE seriously screws the pooch."

 

The only new person in this state is Ambrose. He went from "he could be somebody" to "he's becoming bulletproof." Rollins could be somebody, but he's lacking the charisma he needs to hit that "bulletproof" status and still needs to be booked smartly. Reigns is still at that same level. So is Wyatt. 

[Cristobal]

Then there are guys who graduate from "could be big" to "it will be very hard for WWE to screw them up at this point." They're so over that they can actually take the hit of some booking fuckups and rebound well. Bryan went from "could be big" to "the only way he's not gonna be big is if the WWE seriously screws the pooch."

You could argue they were on that path with Kane, but I'm presuming that would've been just a placeholder feud until Lesnar came back.

[thee Reverend Axl Future]

Random thoughts on VKM&SCSA and points discussed:

- Listen to yourselves: TV shows that didn't have recaps made you go back and watch the whole series. That's what they wanted you to do. The program was emotionally compelling enough to make you want to take the effort to get mentally involved. It's OK to go over what happened last week but if you have to dumb down the commentary or characters so every casual viewer can feel like he/she is not missing anything, then it's too simple.

- Mr. McMahon's ears were fascinatingly grotesque. In twenty more years, they may have "it" and deserve a major push, if they have the grapefruits to grab the brass ring.

- The questions were definitely vetted but the show seemed spontaneous. However, that "it's my network, we get 15 more minutes" was carny as all getout.

- I secretly just want to watch Austin and Mr. McMahon just give commentary to their own as well as random matches whilst they drink whiskey. The shows always end in a drunken argument and/or brawl.

- Mr. McMahon is, how you say, tres coy about the '80s expansion of the WWF . He didn't kill the territories, he merely offered them money to disappear. They did it to themselves. He might have repeated this line of thinking (to himself in the mirror?) so many times that he actually believes it by now.

- The Cesaro situation is a festive one to parlay upon, because he is well liked and respected by a near total majority of fans, vets and co-workers but he really hasn't been given a true push, let alone a ball to run with. It's the ultimate "it's not if, it's when" scenario. They trust him enough to do lotsa overseas publicity and YouTube shenanigans, as well as work with the big boys on TV. Maybe he's too complacent? If someone gets a gimmick they dig, it gets time: Adam Rose, Thee Brian Kendrick, Mr. Kennedy, Uncle Zeb. We are all confident it will turn out well for the the lug. Hey, it's Cesaro, right? (note: I am mark for Mr. Castagnoli. He is a class act, has good taste and is an awesome worker).

randomly,

RAF

[username]

 

The only new person in this state is Ambrose. He went from "he could be somebody" to "he's becoming bulletproof." Rollins could be somebody, but he's lacking the charisma he needs to hit that "bulletproof" status and still needs to be booked smartly. Reigns is still at that same level. So is Wyatt. 

 

The past month or so calls this into question as Ambrose seems less over every week since the Rollins feud ended while Rollins has maintained very well.  I think their feud worked less because of people truly buying into Ambrose and more because of people wanting to see Rollins get his.

[Big Fresh]

CM Punk says "The WWE is run by an out of touch old man".

Vince says he hasn't listened to that interview. Then ends his Austin interview by saying "I'm old, but I'm not out of touch".

What an incredible coincidence.

I don't believe for a minute that he didn't listen.

[piranesi]

 

CM Punk says "The WWE is run by an out of touch old man".

Vince says he hasn't listened to that interview. Then ends his Austin interview by saying "I'm old, but I'm not out of touch".

What an incredible coincidence.

I don't believe for a minute that he didn't listen.

 

 

 

He has the part about the wedding-day Fedex on a loop played through four speakers during his evening prostate massage.

 

sometimes you gotta treat yourself.

[Niners Fan in CT]

I cannot imagine Vince browsing the web and typing in the address to Colt's podcast or heading over to YouTube to give it a listen. There's no way that happened. I'm guessing some intern gave him a sheet with a brief overview.

[Big Fresh]

I cannot imagine Vince browsing the web and typing in the address to Colt's podcast or heading over to YouTube to give it a listen. There's no way that happened. I'm guessing some intern gave him a sheet with a brief overview.

 

Why couldn't the intern just put it on an iPod for him to listen to while he worked out? Rage is a great motivator.

[Overly Critical Man]

 

I cannot imagine Vince browsing the web and typing in the address to Colt's podcast or heading over to YouTube to give it a listen. There's no way that happened. I'm guessing some intern gave him a sheet with a brief overview.

 

Why couldn't the intern just put it on an iPod for him to listen to while he worked out? Rage is a great motivator.

 

I can't imagine Vince's ipod playing anything but "Stand Back" on infinite loop.

[mco543]

"This isn't The Rolling Stones, dammit!"

[ebbie]

I think it's unfair to call Vince out if touch. He's known to be a non stop workaholic and all, but maybe he just doesn't give a shit about some things?

[Technico Support]

Stephanie always comes across as someone who is cosplaying as a business executive. That was exhibit A. 

 

Exactly.  That was some marketing person bullshit bingo right there.  If she'd discussed WWE's "ecosystem of content and brand initiatives," I would have won.

[mco543]

Nothing she said is unique to her or about "pretending to be an executive". It's ridiculous shit but it's legitimately the way these people will talk and word answers. I've heard variations of what Stephanie said more times than I can count in my industry. I look at it as the industry's way of speaking carny, if you can understand any of it or think that way you're probably in the industry and if you can't understand it or think it's all nonsensical bullshit you're probably better off.