TheVileOne Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 5 hours ago, Technico Support said: It's obvious Renee's non-answer is because they have no clue how to reconcile a heel character who is IRL married to a babyface announcer, and no interest in dealing with it in any creative way. Just to be clear, I thought that Raw segment where they go after Renee Young for her Ambrose relationship was awful. And yeah, pretty much what Technico Support says. They should never have acknowledged on TV that Ambrose and Renee Young are married IRL. Because now you have all these dumb awkward moments on TV where Corey Graves is "confronting" her about her relationship with Dean Ambrose, and Renee Young doesn't know how to respond. Because 1) when Renee Young is in love with a man who proudly proclaims that Roman Reigns deserves to die of leukemia and having almost no reaction to that, it sort of makes her look like a scumbag or 2) it makes her look like a bleeding idiot when she is married to Dean and has no idea what's going on with him and never talks with him about it or 3) it makes her look like a poor abused victim of evil Dean Ambrose like Miss Elizabeth and Macho Man. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo2653 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Regarding Hideo, I thought he was actually getting over with the crowd pretty good right up until the first NXT injury and then Finn just slid right in there and the rest is history. I did really like his match with Roode at the first Chicago Takeover. But he's still pretty dope and he'll do some dope stuff wherever he goes next. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I broke out my Hideo Itami shirt today. One of my favorite designs WWE has had in recent years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Did they reveal who attacked him in NXT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 1 hour ago, RolandTHTG said: Did they reveal who attacked him in NXT? The problem is I thought it was obvious in retrospect: Samoa Joe debuted that night as Finn Balor's friend in the main event. (He was never sold as Itami's friend.) Joe put himself in the title picture, and the second Balor won the title, Joe turned heel for a title shot, and stayed a heel since then. It was obvious it had to be Samoa Joe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf&Subs Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 So where’s Bray Wyatt? He did some house shows, but hasn’t been seen since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 1 minute ago, LoneWolf&Subs said: So where’s Bray Wyatt? He did some house shows, but hasn’t been seen since. Reportedly waiting on creative to have a plan for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 22 minutes ago, Brian Fowler said: Reportedly waiting on creative to have a plan for him. Are we sure he's not Bryan's Mania opponent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice Guy Eddie Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Brian Fowler said: Reportedly waiting on creative to have a plan for him. In that case, we're never seeing him again. 2 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph2112 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in the world that recognizes that wrestling has always been at it's hottest when the characters and storylines of the program align with current cultural climate/themes. And it's also not a secret that almost every single person walking today thinks that there are two groups of people in the world and that one side is trying to gaslight the other side (and their own) to gain power. And somehow this company has a character that is a "cult leader" in Bray Wyatt and they can't figure out how to make that work. And that story doesn't have to be political in the slightest. Whatever. 7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf&Subs Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I remember when it came out that Kane was super into politics, and was a Libertarian, I wanted them to repackage him, and incorporate that into an angle. Something like him using his real first name, and doing a Piper Pit parody of The Glen Beck Show. Then somehow moving it into a story where Glenn runs for Mayor of Death Valley, which results in him winning, and then you can have years of angles where they use topical political stories to fuel it. Also re-elections, impeachments, etc... Too late now! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thibs Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 1 hour ago, joseph2112 said: I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in the world that recognizes that wrestling has always been at it's hottest when the characters and storylines of the program align with current cultural climate/themes. And it's also not a secret that almost every single person walking today thinks that there are two groups of people in the world and that one side is trying to gaslight the other side (and their own) to gain power. And somehow this company has a character that is a "cult leader" in Bray Wyatt and they can't figure out how to make that work. And that story doesn't have to be political in the slightest. Whatever. I don’t think you’re the only one that recognizes it. The problem is that anytime companies try to do something topical they’re immediately flamed online by dirtsheet writers and their sheep among others. When Killer Kross debuted for Impact in that vignette where he was dressed as a fake cop and took out “Peter” Williams... I wanted them to go full bore with it and have him be a former corrupt, sociopathic cop who was kicked off the force for crossing too many lines. Can’t imagine that would go over too well. And I can only imagine the reactions online to the above Kane idea— which I really like. Whenever wrestling does anything out of the box its immediately shat on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beech27 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 The problem with running angles that alienate hardcore fans is that the hardcore fans are the only ones left watching--for better and worse--and casuals essentially no longer exist as a market. Also, WWE has gotten a business-shifting TV deal and massive ad revenue compared to their more crash-TV, politically controversial days. Playing it safer has worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godfrey Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Pretty sure DDP said on Jericho’s pod that Bray was rehabbing at his PC. I think after Matt Hardy half-retired he took the opportunity to take care of some lingering injuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thibs Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 The problem is that this new TV network has higher ratings expectations and WWE has not shown an ability to grow a TV audience with the play it safe approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beech27 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 2 minutes ago, Thibs said: The problem is that this new TV network has higher ratings expectations and WWE has not shown an ability to grow a TV audience with the play it safe approach. All of the reporting indicates FOX wants them trending in a more "real sport" direction, not less. That may not be your preference and it may be a disaster, but they knew what they were buying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thibs Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Just now, Beech27 said: All of the reporting indicates FOX wants them trending in a more "real sport" direction, not less. That may not be your preference and it may be a disaster, but they knew what they were buying. I think Meltzer was the one that said that. IMO that sounds like him continuing to push what he wants. Either way, they want ratings. And higher ratings then they’re getting now. So I guess we’ll have to wait and see what kind of ratings a real sport presentation will get if that’s indeed what they want. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 This @EN090 renaissance is the shits. 5 5 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beech27 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 16 minutes ago, Thibs said: I think Meltzer was the one that said that. IMO that sounds like him continuing to push what he wants. Either way, they want ratings. And higher ratings then they’re getting now. So I guess we’ll have to wait and see what kind of ratings a real sport presentation will get if that’s indeed what they want. All other things being equal, higher ratings are better. But it wasn't just Meltzer reporting this--even if you want to hand wave him away because he's reporting something you don't like. You can look to various other MMA outlets talking about Cormier announcing, football writers talking about Miz cross promoting on NFL pregame shows, and even the official press release quoting Vince and FOX execs saying Smackdown will be a part of their "sports portfolio" and "FOX sports family." It's pretty clear they think the way to ratings is to leverage a live sports audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thibs Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 6 minutes ago, Beech27 said: All other things being equal, higher ratings are better. But it wasn't just Meltzer reporting this--even if you want to hand wave him away because he's reporting something you don't like. You can look to various other MMA outlets talking about Cormier announcing, football writers talking about Miz cross promoting on NFL pregame shows, and even the official press release quoting Vince and FOX execs saying Smackdown will be a part of their "sports portfolio" and "FOX sports family." It's pretty clear they think the way to ratings is to leverage a live sports audience. And those examples are fair. We’ll have to see if it draws. I don’t think it will be we’ll see. Regarding Meltzer— not hand waving him away because he reported something I don’t like. More so because he’s got a history of pushing a narrative based on what he likes. The other examples you gave make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf&Subs Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Is that Meltzer “Reporting”, or is that Dave giving an opinion. Because sometimes I think people confuse the two. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 2 hours ago, joseph2112 said: I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in the world that recognizes that wrestling has always been at it's hottest when the characters and storylines of the program align with current cultural climate/themes. And it's also not a secret that almost every single person walking today thinks that there are two groups of people in the world and that one side is trying to gaslight the other side (and their own) to gain power. And somehow this company has a character that is a "cult leader" in Bray Wyatt and they can't figure out how to make that work. And that story doesn't have to be political in the slightest. Whatever. Problem with that is that WWE doesn't do nuance, and that kind of thing is required for storylines that reflect current events. Exhibit A: "We're two American-born men of Middle Eastern descent who are fed up with how our people have been portrayed since 9/11!" TITLE CARD: Two weeks later... "Alalalalalala death to American infidels! Where are my pointy toed boots and kaffiyeh!? Let's round up some dudes to do some clever gang attacks that look suspiciously like those beheading videos!" 4 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bustronaut Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Holy shit, yes! I saw your first sentence and was coming to post about Muhammad Hassan as the perfect example of WWE's butchering of nuance. Such a wasted opportunity! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 This is what was said by the WON re: Fox and more sports oriented Quote “Regarding FOX, because wrestling is being positioned as part of the sports block, a Thursday through Sunday thing FOX is looking at starting in 2019, especially during football season, FOX wants the SmackDown show to be less comedy and more in a sports direction.” Oh and here is a quote from FOX's CFO Quote FOX CFO John Nallen said, “It’s a 50 to 52-week-a-year sport with no repeats. It’s a new novella every week. For us to have that kind of appointment programming, that audience, every week of the year, is a really unique opportunity for us." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 23 minutes ago, Technico Support said: Problem with that is that WWE doesn't do nuance, and that kind of thing is required for storylines that reflect current events. Exhibit A: "We're two American-born men of Middle Eastern descent who are fed up with how our people have been portrayed since 9/11!" TITLE CARD: Two weeks later... "Alalalalalala death to American infidels! Where are my pointy toed boots and kaffiyeh!? Let's round up some dudes to do some clever gang attacks that look suspiciously like those beheading videos!" The Muhammad Hassan episode of Something to Wrestle was eye opening for how much of a clusterfuck that all was. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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