Matt D Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 WWE's two fandoms issue is a Center/Periphery thing and a huge problem for them moving forward. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTTW Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 All this talk about buzz reminds me of something I just fundamentally don't understand about the WWE. They go out and spend big money on talent who have proven themselves to be able to draw and get over elsewhere...yet they build the focus of the company around a guy who never proved his ability to draw or generate money. He had the look. And history has repeatedly proven those guys fail miserably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrolCB Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 13 minutes ago, DTTW said: All this talk about buzz reminds me of something I just fundamentally don't understand about the WWE. They go out and spend big money on talent who have proven themselves to be able to draw and get over elsewhere...yet they build the focus of the company around a guy who never proved his ability to draw or generate money. He had the look. And history has repeatedly proven those guys fail miserably. Don't ask why, but for some reason this made me want to see a Vince cover of the Roxette song, done "Stand Back" style. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy LaRue Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 1 hour ago, SorceressKnight said: Someone like, say, an Austin Aries may have the online buzz and a big fanbase...but at the same time, it also has to be asked: If Austin Aries had what it took to become the mainstream superstar who'd lead WWE to a new boom period in him, then why couldn't he take ROH or TNA to those heights when he was a main eventer in those promotions? Or why didn't he find his way into WWE before now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyMax46 Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 NXT's biggest problem is that it serves two purposes, developmental and touring. It's hard to do one. Let alone both at the same time. My honest opinion is that Smackdown and NXT should be combined into a new show, called "NXT" Give NXT the Thursday time slot on USA and just go with it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 When Aries won the TNA title, everyone perked up and thought the company was going to turn things around. They immediately undermined him by making the focus of the company a Sons of Anarchy-esque NWO retread and shuffling him and the title into the midcard. I don't even like Aries that much, but the idea that he could've created a TNA boom when some of the biggest names and creative figures in wrestling history couldn't isn't fair. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 31 minutes ago, CrazyMax46 said: NXT's biggest problem is that it serves two purposes, developmental and touring. It's hard to do one. Let a lone both at the same time. My honest opinion is that Smackdown and NXT should be combined into a new show, called "NXT" Give NXT the Thursday time slot on USA and just go with it. I see this one come up a lot, along with "make the first/last hour of Raw an NXT showcase!" and I couldn't disagree more. It would take away everything special about NXT. It would be WWECW part II (and not when it got kinda fun at the end, either). Could I see padding the NXT tours with some guys who are traditionally slotted on Smackdown, or using a couple top NXT guys at some B-town house shows? Sure. That would make sense. Another idea would be making Smackdown the bridge from NXT to the main roster-- similar to what they did with having the Vaudevillians debut there instead of Raw last week-- but with a little more character development. This way you have some familiarity with the non-NXT viewer fan once they're on Raw and PPV, and you can give some potential matches a dry run there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyMax46 Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 So like Raw is the majors, Smackdown is AAA, NXT is AA and EVOLVE is A? Did they do that with the brand extension where ECW was AA and OVW/FCW was A? It's not a bad idea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Smackdown is the same talent. Obviously, NJPW is AA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2Sleep Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 3 hours ago, SorceressKnight said: Someone like, say, an Austin Aries may have the online buzz and a big fanbase...but at the same time, it also has to be asked: If Austin Aries had what it took to become the mainstream superstar who'd lead WWE to a new boom period in him, then why couldn't he take ROH or TNA to those heights when he was a main eventer in those promotions? Come on, this is one of the most blatantly unfair arguments ever. Anyone working in WWE is seen by millions more people much more frequently than someone working anywhere else. Do you really think John Cena would've become an international superstar if he stayed in UPW? And not for nothing, ROH did expand its reach pretty considerably, even working up to low-level tv deal which would've seemed impossible in 2002 thanks to the work of guys like Punk, Joe, Bryan, Owens, Zayn, etc. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 I'm still shocked that ROH hasn't tried to monetize their own tape library either on their website or via another Sinclair syndicated show, featuring a half hour or hour of classic matches with guys that later became stars in WWE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamBroken Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 2 hours ago, (BP) said: When Aries won the TNA title, everyone perked up and thought the company was going to turn things around. They immediately undermined him by making the focus of the company a Sons of Anarchy-esque NWO retread and shuffling him and the title into the midcard. I don't even like Aries that much, but the idea that he could've created a TNA boom when some of the biggest names and creative figures in wrestling history couldn't isn't fair. Agreed. My all time favorite TNA moment and at the time felt like TNA was making a star. He was booked perfectly for a year from his return to the title win. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 8 minutes ago, Zakk_Sabbath said: I'm still shocked that ROH hasn't tried to monetize their own tape library either on their website or via another Sinclair syndicated show, featuring a half hour or hour of classic matches with guys that later became stars in WWE. ROH must have some kind of syndicated deal like that in place because one of those antennae TV channels (that skews mostly towards SciFi/Horror) plays classic ROH tapings, with the big names heavily featured, in the middle of the night. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 1 minute ago, (BP) said: ROH must have some kind of syndicated deal like that in place because one of those antennae TV channels (that skews mostly towards SciFi/Horror) plays classic ROH tapings, with the big names heavily featured, in the middle of the night. Part of me feels like an idiot for assuming they haven't done it, and part of me puts the blame on them based purely on the words "antenna TV" and "middle of the night" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallacy! Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Bret's podcast is a thing of beauty. He might need his own thread like, on the main forum page. Last week, after taking a shit on the IC title match and most of Wrestlemania, this week's gem is that wrestling Vader "was like wrestling with a cement truck filled with barf." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrolCB Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 How long has he had one? This is the first I've heard about it. Does he have a co-host to reign him in like Flair? I love Bret, but I can't imagine it being anything other than an "Old Man Yells At Cloud" approach towards everything. I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Yeah, Bret is pretty funny. His one line review of WrestleMania was hysterical. "Uh, logic didn't prevail." We may also need to get that bitch about Meltzer thread going again. Tonight on Twitter, 40 minutes ago actually, someone asked if Tanahashi was the best wrestler in the last 10 years. Dave's reply? "Best big match wrestler." To which numerous people predictably responded with, "uh, John Cena?" Look. I'm not the biggest John Cena fan. I've become more of one recently, but saying Tanahashi is a better big match wrestler doesn't feel right. Anyone who has watched a ton of Tanahashi and Cena matches care to weigh in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 3 minutes ago, PetrolCB said: How long has he had one? This is the first I've about it. Does he have a co-host to reign him in like Flair? I love Bret, but I can't imagine it being anything other than an "Old Man Yells At Cloud" approach towards everything. I could be wrong. For the WM review, his co-hosts were Blade, his other son, and his producer I think. Bret actually doesn't need a whole lot of reigning in on his podcast. He sounds pretty subdued and doesn't rant like you'd expect he would when reading statements he's made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie M. Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Depends on what you like. I'm not huge on Tanahashi but there are a great many fans out there who are and would definitely have him above Cena. I'd be surprised if Dave didn't say Tanahashi based on his love of New Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyMax46 Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Tanahashi is way better because he has more than one type of match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 8 hours ago, Burgundy LaRue said: Or why didn't he find his way into WWE before now. Because they didn't really start hiring independent "names" until NXT came along? Bryan and Punk were the only ones before that. Once NXT came around and was it's own thing, the flood gates opened. Austin Aries in 2007-2010 WWE doesn't really make any sense, because they weren't really looking for that type of wrestler. Hell, even CM Punk was treading water until they kind of switched mindsets (a little) and came into his own in 2010/2011. Then, y'know, there was that whole pesky "having a contract" issue in 2011 to 2015 for Aries with TNA. Goddamn contracts, right? This entire argument seems really one sided. But by all means, you two go ahead and continue it. It makes for an entertaining read at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 5 hours ago, Go2Sleep said: Come on, this is one of the most blatantly unfair arguments ever. Anyone working in WWE is seen by millions more people much more frequently than someone working anywhere else. Do you really think John Cena would've become an international superstar if he stayed in UPW? And not for nothing, ROH did expand its reach pretty considerably, even working up to low-level tv deal which would've seemed impossible in 2002 thanks to the work of guys like Punk, Joe, Bryan, Owens, Zayn, etc. On the contrary- it'd be unfair to compare someone like an Owens or Zayn in IWS...or even, say, Johnny Gargano in EVOLVE, to a top star because of how much smaller they are. By contrast- TNA has been the number two promotion for the last 14 years and ROH the number 3 promotion. The ROH rise is fair enough- but it's absolutely fair to compare a TNA performer who failed to break out there to a WWE person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caley Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 8 hours ago, DTTW said: All this talk about buzz reminds me of something I just fundamentally don't understand about the WWE. They go out and spend big money on talent who have proven themselves to be able to draw and get over elsewhere...yet they build the focus of the company around a guy who never proved his ability to draw or generate money. He had the look. And history has repeatedly proven those guys fail miserably. Hulk Hogan? The Rock? John Cena? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2Sleep Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 I think it's still pretty disingenuous to compare TNA to WWE, when at its peak, it got maybe 25% of the viewership WWE had. Sting didn't even move the needle in TNA. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted April 15, 2016 Author Share Posted April 15, 2016 8 hours ago, Fallacy! said: Bret's podcast is a thing of beauty. He might need his own thread like, on the main forum page. Last week, after taking a shit on the IC title match and most of Wrestlemania, this week's gem is that wrestling Vader "was like wrestling with a cement truck filled with barf." Someone on Twitter told Vader and he wasn't.... pleased Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts