The Official WWE / NXT Discussion Thread *May Contain Spoilers*

[Linsolv]

I really, really don't like tea. I'm kinda picky about what I eat/drink.

[Self]

I think I just traded one addiction for another. I'm totally into my tea right now. I've become even more of a British stereotype.

[moon_lit_tears]

McDonalds makes a pretty good iced tea.

 

Ive pretty well quit soda over the last year or so. Maybe less than one every couple of weeks when the options are completely limited or I get a craving for Barq's Root Beer.

I love Barq's Root Beer. YUMMM! I like to add it to my Kahlua and creame.

McDonalds Tea is the second best Tea I ever drink. No lemon though.

 

I think I just traded one addiction for another. I'm totally into my tea right now. I've become even more of a British stereotype.

 

Tea is awesome!!!!!

[ampulator]

It takes some effort if you don't drink it regularly. I (99%) quit six months back, but yesterday when the water was cut off at work I was forced to drink a can. It was... intolerable. An actual effort. I couldn't imagine having to drink as much of those rookies did.

 

Actually, that's not surprising. My mother had to quit soda for health. And now, she can't drink soda properly. Ever. It's not so much the taste as much she doesn't know to do with the carbonation. She burps it out like she's choking.

 

And drinking soda's... it's not the liquid so much the carbonation screws it up. You have to burp it out.

[D16NJD16]

Yeah, it's pretty jarring to think about how good a commentator he was for most of the 90's, and how terrible he's been for the last 12 years or so.

 

Lawler was never a good commentator. Ross made him him tolerable, and people have good memories of the two of them because of the memorable era of the 90's. Although I am glad now that for his sake and his age Vince is no longer instructing him to shriek like a woman and do a phony voice on commentary.

[ampulator]

The problem with Lawler is doesn't really try or cares for the job. The guy can cut a great promo when he wants to, but being a color commentator is just a job to ohim. He does the same thing over and over.

 

With JR gone, he has lost what motivation he had, which wasn't much.

[The Final Countdown]

Lawler was never a good commentator. Ross made him him tolerable, and people have good memories of the two of them because of the memorable era of the 90's. Although I am glad now that for his sake and his age Vince is no longer instructing him to shriek like a woman and do a phony voice on commentary.

I don't remember Lawler and Ross announcing together all that much in the period of time I'm talking about. Not by themselves, at least. I'm talking pre-Attitude era.

[ampulator]

It was mostly Vince McMahon and Lawler. Oh man, Vince, was a terrible PBP announcer. It wasn't exactly the best of teams.

[The Final Countdown]

It was mostly Vince McMahon and Lawler. Oh man, Vince, was a terrible PBP announcer. It wasn't exactly the best of teams.

Yeah, Vince was pretty bad. I think I'd still take him over Michael Cole, though.

[fatallylost]

No one was better than the team of Monsoon and The Brain. One of the reasons I'm OK with my age is, I lived through that.

[Stennick]

I really don't think Vince as that bad of a pbp guy. He wasn't Gordon Solie, or Jim Ross but he wasn't too bad.

 

"Uppppppp and dooooown", "the uuuuuuuuuuultimate warrior" I loved Vince's little sayings.

[Remianen]

Since when is drinking soda so difficult?

 

You can drink 24oz of soda (fountain drink style, no less) in less than 15-30 seconds? I make the distinction because soda from a can/bottle isn't the same thing as soda from those fountains. Some places load up on the soda water to use less syrup. That makes it taste 'off' which can make some people gag. It's even worse when you're not used to drinking copious amounts of it.

 

To some people, it would be like telling a vegetarian to eat a steak.

[ampulator]

I really don't think Vince as that bad of a pbp guy. He wasn't Gordon Solie, or Jim Ross but he wasn't too bad.

 

"Uppppppp and dooooown", "the uuuuuuuuuuultimate warrior" I loved Vince's little sayings.

That's what I hated about Vince. He was way too distracting. As much as I dislike Cole, at least he knows when to be quiet. Also, Vince trying to be a "face" felt so... forced, even back then. He only put Jim Ross on RAW because he could no longer announce (Montreal screwjob) and because of the Monday Night Wars (he needed the best).

 

Seriously, the way Jim Ross was treated in WCW and WWE is astounding to me. He's a nice guy, he likes wrestling, he understood wrestling, and he was team player.

[Hive]

I just watched the last episode of RAW, it was surprisingly good. Jericho and Miz together as unified tag team champions so they can get to Smackdown and beat on Big Show can only be good, based on the involved people. Orton vs. Edge came off to a good start. Ted DiBiase looks promising as a singles star. Cena will obviously choose a career vs. title match as stipulation against Batista, after which he'll feud with Sheamus again. Can't care much about that, but I expect Sheamus to take the belt after which Triple H comes back and feuds with him for it. John Morrison looks like someone who could make it big time, preferably without R-Truth.

 

With such an exciting and stacked lineup at RAW, they just need to get rid of the dreadful guest host concept. But even with that, it's probably a very wise move of TNA to go thursdays again...

[BurningHamster]

You can drink 24oz of soda (fountain drink style, no less) in less than 15-30 seconds? I make the distinction because soda from a can/bottle isn't the same thing as soda from those fountains. Some places load up on the soda water to use less syrup. That makes it taste 'off' which can make some people gag. It's even worse when you're not used to drinking copious amounts of it.

 

To some people, it would be like telling a vegetarian to eat a steak.

 

Never tried forcing myself to drink anything in any given amount of time, but the fact drinking soda is part of an obstacle course and proved to be the hardest part of it on a televised wrestling show just blows my mind.

[Linsolv]

Now, for the record, vegan doesn't mean that he doesn't drink soda. That's just separate. I wonder if him and CM Punk could have a storyline feud over Pepsi.

[Hyde Hill]

That's what I hated about Vince. He was way too distracting. As much as I dislike Cole, at least he knows when to be quiet. Also, Vince trying to be a "face" felt so... forced, even back then. He only put Jim Ross on RAW because he could no longer announce (Montreal screwjob) and because of the Monday Night Wars (he needed the best).

 

Seriously, the way Jim Ross was treated in WCW and WWE is astounding to me. He's a nice guy, he likes wrestling, he understood wrestling, and he was team player.

 

JR asked for his release at WCW after they moved him to another backstage role post Bill Watts who he was the strongest supporter of. At least according to Bisch's book. So that is not being treated badly in my book.

[PeterHilton]

Enough of that nonsense..let's talk business:

 

WWE released it's quarterly numbers.

 

http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/138240/WWE-First-Quarter-Financial-Results-For-2010.htm

 

SPOILER ALERT: THEY MADE AN ASS TON OF MONEY.

 

Hard to say how successful they really were, because WM was in the second quarter last year and the first quarter this year, so it will skew high. Really can't tell for sure until the midway point of the fiscal year.

 

Vince did his stockholder thing and here are the posted highlights

 

WWE released their First Quarter Financials for 2010 earlier today. At 11AM, they had their quarterly conference call. Here are some highlights from that call…

 

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon, Chief Financial Officer George Barrios and Chief Operating Officer Donna Goldsmith were on hand for today's conference call.

 

Vince started off with the good news that the profit margin for the quarter was one of the highest in company history. The bad news was that WrestleMania dropped in buys. McMahon did admit that the event may not have been "exactly what everyone wanted to see," but also said that communal viewing of the event could have hurt it as well.

 

The move of Smackdown to SyFy was discussed, which he felt was a good move and could add to the international business growth. He is also happy about the new toy line from Mattel. Chief Financial Officer George Barrios did a quick review of the First Quarter Financials, and then we had some question and answer time.

 

On WrestleMania dropping buys, Vince said that he felt the branding of last year's event as the "25th Anniversary" created nostalgia. WrestleMania did add greatly to the quarterly numbers, but was not quite what they hoped for. It was down 12% from last year's event. He noted that, "it was a good attraction, not a great attraction and sometimes you just don't give them great attractions all the time. It's the creative process, and that's the process we're in."

 

As for Phoenix as a host city, he felt that the city out performed as the host, and said all involved should be applauded.

 

Vince would not blame the economy for the drop in WrestleMania, stating that too many use that as an excuse. He related that many promoters would always make excuses for not drawing, with he exception of Bobo Brazil, because he did not believe in excuses. Bobo would say that you just can't blame it on anything else people may have decided to go with that night.

 

Chief Financial Officer George Barrios and Chief Operating Officer Donna Goldsmith said that they are constantly evaluating how many PPVs and live events that the company runs. They did note that there are less PPVs this year as opposed to last year.

 

They discussed the WWE Studios projects, noting that they were aiming for projects in the $5 million range from now on.

 

On the decline in video game sales, they said that it was due to "the changeover in game platforms."

 

Vince noted that the Rumble and Elimination Chamber did increase buys, and was asked if competition (UFC 111 on the same weekend) hurt WrestleMania. Vince stated, "We're not sure if it has or not, you're talking about two relatively different audiences, completely. The UFC audience, which I guess is what you are referring to, is more of a boxing audience than an entertainment thing, like we are. Nonetheless, there has been some of that, but from a scheduling standpoint, we can't control that. Going forward, I don't see any on the schedule at the moment."

 

The final thing discussed was the WWE Cable Network. They have the model set, and are now going to cable providers to see what the interest in it is.

 

Vince saying WM wasn't the event they hoped for was interesting.

 

Also, you can continue to see that WM is going to do everything possible (the whole PG thing) to avoid 'competing' with the UFC directly.

[ampulator]

JR asked for his release at WCW after they moved him to another backstage role post Bill Watts who he was the strongest supporter of. At least according to Bisch's book. So that is not being treated badly in my book.

I hate to say this, but Bischoff is a known liar and obfuscater. Are you taking Bischoff's words over Jim Ross's? Seriously? Really? Really? Just listen or read anything Jim Ross has to say about his time in WCW. The guy is usually very gentle and soft-spoken, but not when referring to WCW. Why do you think he left WCW? WCW could have paid him more than WWF could have, but he left anyway.

[Hyde Hill]

Have not heard Ross's side of what happened there so if you have a link I would be happy to read it. Preferably not shortly after the event as bad blood clouds judgement imho. Bisch's explanation sounded logical and reasonable imho.

[Remianen]

Enough of that nonsense..let's talk business:

 

WWE released it's quarterly numbers.

 

http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/138240/WWE-First-Quarter-Financial-Results-For-2010.htm

 

SPOILER ALERT: THEY MADE AN ASS TON OF MONEY.

 

By whose estimation?

 

I've seen their numbers and they're still a dog of a stock, with radioactive fleas.

 

You said you wanted to talk business, let's talk about it.

 

Vince doesn't want to make excuses but the fact of the matter is, WWE's "base" was heavily affected by the economic downturn. That's not an excuse, it's facing facts. While yes, it's possible to get people to buy what they can't afford (which was partially why we got into this mess in the first place), there shouldn't be the expectation of that occurring (unless you're running a strip....err, sorry "gentleman's" club....or selling narcotics).

 

Personally, I think they need to attack their core audience more effectively. Sign a deal with someone to develop a cartoon (which might give them more content for their supposed network). Do a reality show with the lessons (hopefully) learned from Tough Enough. Maybe something like BET did with Keyshia Cole and Monica or MTV's 'Diary' series.

 

I'm wondering how their pitch meetings will go for the network though. I know DISH did a survey on whether they should add the Big Ten Network with the almost required "slight" increase in rate. I voted hells no. While making it a premium channel seems a no brainer, most of these networks want to be a part of the first tier basic packages (for more subscriber exposure). That's going to be a seriously hard sell, I think. Not many people are likely to be willing to pay $2 a month more for whatever WWE is peddling.

[ampulator]

Have not heard Ross's side of what happened there so if you have a link I would be happy to read it. Preferably not shortly after the event as bad blood clouds judgement imho. Bisch's explanation sounded logical and reasonable imho.

He makes a lot of things he did some logical, prima facie.

[Hyde Hill]

He makes a lot of things he did some logical, prima facie.

 

Did not say that was not possibly the case just want the other side of the story and if possible one from a "neutral" perspective, and no Meltzer, Reynolds, Alvarez and Keller do not count in that regard.

[PeterHilton]

By whose estimation?

 

I've seen their numbers and they're still a dog of a stock, with radioactive fleas.

 

They are. i do think they are smart in that they constantly working to increase profitability and create new revenue sources.

 

 

Vince doesn't want to make excuses but the fact of the matter is, WWE's "base" was heavily affected by the economic downturn. That's not an excuse, it's facing facts. While yes, it's possible to get people to buy what they can't afford (which was partially why we got into this mess in the first place), there shouldn't be the expectation of that occurring (unless you're running a strip....err, sorry "gentleman's" club....or selling narcotics).

 

Agreed. I think that 'make no excuses' deal is more of rah-rah deal to feed the stockholders.

 

Personally, I think they need to attack their core audience more effectively. Sign a deal with someone to develop a cartoon (which might give them more content for their supposed network). Do a reality show with the lessons (hopefully) learned from Tough Enough. Maybe something like BET did with Keyshia Cole and Monica or MTV's 'Diary' series.

 

I'm wondering how their pitch meetings will go for the network though. I know DISH did a survey on whether they should add the Big Ten Network with the almost required "slight" increase in rate. I voted hells no. While making it a premium channel seems a no brainer, most of these networks want to be a part of the first tier basic packages (for more subscriber exposure). That's going to be a seriously hard sell, I think. Not many people are likely to be willing to pay $2 a month more for whatever WWE is peddling.

 

Content is going to be a must.

 

And I know I wouldn't pay much more to add a WWE network unless they included tons of classic and PPV replays.

 

Did not say that was not possibly the case just want the other side of the story and if possible one from a "neutral" perspective, and no Meltzer, Reynolds, Alvarez and Keller do not count in that regard.

 

Bischoff is - for the most part - a lying piece of crap who's never admitted any personal responsibility for any situation ever. So I'd take the story of all four of those guys loooong before I'd take his word on things.

[Hyde Hill]

Bischoff is - for the most part - a lying piece of crap who's never admitted any personal responsibility for any situation ever. So I'd take the story of all four of those guys loooong before I'd take his word on things.

 

I do not trust either one as always the "truth" is in the middle imho. Read both Controversy and Death of WCW and think the truth is in the middle. Tried finding another source on how Ross was treated by WCW but could not find one, so if anyone knows one I would love to have it.