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

[Slagaholic]

Part of Abyss' gimmick has been that he does that type of stuff. After becoming a teddy bear for half a year, I think it's understandable that they remind the fans of what a heel Abyss means. Was it a bit far? Yes. Was it so far that TNA should be chastised? Not yet.

 

Now if they have a pane of glass death match on the next episode of Impact or are putting people on top of glass every week, I'll call foul.

[alden]

abyss is a bump machine. I remember a few years ago he was attacked with barbwire on tv and got a HUGE cut on his arm......it was gushing from what i remember. I remember his angle with mitchel being his father was spot after spot week after week. I think abyss should be using glass...babr wire....tumb tacks......and all that stuff.

[Stennick]

How is being cut with sharp objects a bump machine? A bump machine is (usually) a smaller guy that spends his time being knocked around the ring by (usually) a bigger guy.

 

Shannon Moore on Smackdown in 03 was a bump machine. Shawn Michaels in the earlier Undertaker matches in 97 was a bump machine.

 

Abyss being cut with sharp objects isn't even a bump.

[borman_48]

I thought everything they did besides the glass got the point across fine. I didn't think it was needed whether it was real glass or not.

 

I think they wanted Abyss to use some sort of weaponry/big weapon spot to make a statement; his old "monster" side is back. In terms of useing the black hole slam, it was glass or thumbtacks. A table is too high for that move. And I doubt Anderson would use thumbtacks. Sugar glass is something i could possibly see. Honestly, that made a bigger statement than throwing Hardy off the stage. Hell, Hardy would jump himself off the stage. Slamming Anderson onto the glass made a statement that hitting him over the head with a chair wouldn't have done as well.

 

That said... if I dont see glass for another good long while I certainly wont miss it.

[LoganRodzen]

No doubt it was a big statement and a heck of a way to say goodbye to the crap Abyss character. The question I have is... did Kane need stuff like glass to get over as The Big Red Monster?

 

I guess what I didn't like about it is how when I was freakin' 9-14 years old watching the Attitude Era you wouldn't have seen glass - if I had it probably would have scared me away. A lot of the vulgar stuff they did I didn't even understand so that's well and fine. If someone around that age was flipping through the channel before bedtime they'd be pretty scared to tune back in regularly because that's pretty scary stuff. I think TNA can have a younger audience than it does and that would help them, but things like that can't happen.

 

Just so you guys understand that my folks weren't loony tunes, they didn't let me stay up late to watch wrestling - I had a TV in my room that I shared with my older brother (4 years older than me, my oldest brother had his own room), he was a wrestling fanatic so even though he kept the volume down and had the TV pointed "away from me" as my parents ordered, I would stay up and watch anyway.

 

There's the argument about how WWE being PG sucks, but TV-14 is what TNA should strive for every week in my opinion. Don't stray from the 18-34, but don't exclude the younger audience who can contribute A LOT... especially considering they just signed that new deal with Jakks and they have a ton of new toys and crap to sell.

[Teh_Showtime]

and on top of that, if you keep the kids hooked, then by the time they become adults with jobs, they'll buy your product. Thats the one thing WWE knows and they are doing it as we speak

[Stennick]

and on top of that, if you keep the kids hooked, then by the time they become adults with jobs, they'll buy your product. Thats the one thing WWE knows and they are doing it as we speak

 

Actually I think you got that backwards. When kids become adults with real jobs (most) of them turn to other things other than pro wrestling and paying 40 bucks a month to watch some entertainment.

 

Especially with the UFC, movie prices going up etc.

 

When presumabley most of us were in our teens and early twenties the "golden years" of 95-01 money didn't mean as much to us. We didn't have house payments, and car payments, and families to feed. Now that (most) of us are in our late twenties, early to mid 30's we have these things and so we've moved on from watching a form of entertainment that in order to fully enjoy it you need to throw down 40-60 bucks a month.

 

They hooked us as kids in the 80s and then followed us all the way until we stopped watching the product. When that happened they reverted back to the kids and are following the same formula again.

 

In 2000 RAW was getting 6.0's and Nitro was still getting close to 3.0's. So thats a total of a 9.0 rating, skip ahead ten years and they have one third of that. Other things have been factored in but a large part of that audience they "hooked' as kids have moved on.

[Teh_Showtime]

touche but the marketing is still genious. Kids are the most important thing for WWE because kids will want to see the shows which means adults also have to pay to see the shows. That's a 2 for 1 right there as opposed to having a sitter for the kids while you watch it with a few buddies or something

[LoganRodzen]

Even though I dislike the direction of WWE's product I can't say I outright hate it because I've been able to bring my six year old nephew to two house shows and he's had a blast. I'm not sure if I had more fun watching the show or watching him boo who he hated and cheer who he liked. It was fun seeing his reaction to everything. I took him to a TNA house show (when AJ was face) and it was cool to see him notice the six-sided ring and the differences between the two companies at such a young age.

 

It's embarrassing to admit, but he's way smarter than I was at his age. And kids in todays world communicate nonstop with each other (more so than the 90's kids) so if you can get a couple of kids hooked on TNA then you can really get some usage out of the younger demographic.

 

Feels weird to be talking about TNA so much in a WWE thread, but there's been bits and pieces of both.

[Self]

Random question: Why is everyone so high on Percy Watson? Are we watching the same person? The goofy Dudley-Urkle amalgam glasses and a goofy look on his face constantly really equals charisma? I don't see it.

 

The something different probably explains it. I dunno, I don't hate him. I mean, I've only seen him wrestle once. I don't know how good/bad he is in the ring quite yet. He may grow on me, but I hope he's given a chance to grow on me. I'm becoming a little more open minded as I get older(I'm only 23, but still). I try not to let first impressions last

 

Personally, how "good/bad he is in the ring" has nothing to do with how much I like a guy. I appreciate good wrestling skills, but they're by no means a pre-requisite to my support. Good example, I love Zack Ryder. Not a 'great worker', but I LOVE his gimmick. He's my favourite wrestler right now. No exceptions.

 

Second, Percy Watson is just... he's SO goofy. He's like the goofiest thing I've ever seen. Which I like. I love wacky comedy in my wrestling (just keep it to the midcard) so Percy Watson is right up my alley. I'm not saying he's a great wrestler (he isn't) or that he's going to a future world champion (not with that gimmick) he just entertains me, and he's different. Different strokes for different folks. Honestly I expected the rest of the IWC to hate the guy, for the exact same reasons I love him.

 

He did get the crowd into it two weeks ago. MVP tagged him in, he danced, he clapped, the crowd clapped along. He had the crowd. How often have rookies been able to do that within seconds of their debut?

[Hyde Hill]

Most people know about TNA Wrestling "now"... Hogan made sure of it. People are just not liking something about it... The majority probably never will. At some point fans of TNA are going to have to just admit that the rest of the world does not agree with what they think wrestling should be... no matter if some think it's the "bestest" or not. I watched a couple of ROH shows because of all the hype about them here on this board, for example.... My over-all thoughts (at that time) was... Wow, looks like a circus formed a wrestling promotion... Not a bad thing since that is where it's roots come from, carny talk vs. kafabe talk... bassically the same thing. But people pay to see the midget take on the giant, they watch gymnast perform at the olympics and school auditoriums (their kids school

).

 

 

Everyone says "dropping the ball", but I think they have found their niche... They don't ever have to get better ratings, because they chose who they wish to appease, and for the most part they do. It's just not as many people as the people wish it were.

 

Personally, I find TNA fun to watch most of the time... as opposed to a few years ago the first time I tried watching them. I think they can expand and grow, I just don't think they ever will because they don't think that far ahead. One person being signed will change up everything on the show so they can showcase that ONE person. It's how they do it everytime, and there will always be that ONE person that signs in the middle of when people actually are starting to get into it.

 

Actually no, most people do not know about TNA wrestling now. Most people that are current wrestling fans do but casual fans definitely do not.

 

Also it is not the rest of the world but the US as there are some countries where for whatever reason Impact out draws or draws close to the WWE.

[Hyde Hill]

Only in the IWC do 1,000,000 weekly viewers = nobody watches it.

 

2 mill if you include the DVR figures probably even more if you include streamers and downloaders. And DVR figures do get included in the ratings when presented to advertisers as Dixie has stated so.

[Hyde Hill]

That's not my IWC kicking in. It's drawing, what, a 0.8? That's not especially good. A year ago they were pulling a 1.0! It's a lot of people if I were to meet them all, sure, but statistically they're doing poorly.

 

averaging a 1.2/1.1 actually lolz. And they are back to a 1.0 now on Thursday. With Spike's total prime time average being way below that.

[Hyde Hill]

touche but the marketing is still genious. Kids are the most important thing for WWE because kids will want to see the shows which means adults also have to pay to see the shows. That's a 2 for 1 right there as opposed to having a sitter for the kids while you watch it with a few buddies or something

 

Yeah I have been talking about the fact that TNA could do with a PG edited Saturday noon Impact for a while now. Past the cartoons and the other traditional wrestling day. Then make a ppv available the next day or week with the option of ordering the PG version. Just cut/blackout/beep out/blur stuff that isn't pg and replace lost time with video packages/entrances/xplosion or web matches etc.

 

I know it would be an increased cost and is not Spike's target demographic and it would be thinking long term, not TNA's strong point, but I really think it could work.

 

Ok going to try and end mentioning them here now.

[djthefunkchris]

Actually no, most people do not know about TNA wrestling now. Most people that are current wrestling fans do but casual fans definitely do not.

 

Also it is not the rest of the world but the US as there are some countries where for whatever reason Impact out draws or draws close to the WWE.

 

I'm not going to mention those reasons, because I'm almost positive this was a discussion before, that you were a part of. The "whatever" reasons part is a BIG reason and understandable reason of why.

 

And I'm pretty sure most people know that Hogan is wrestling again, is in TNA if they bother to check, and thus most know about TNA. Believe it or not, I know quite a few people that watch, or sometimes flip, between WWE Superstars and TNA at this time. The one's I'm talking about didn't know about TNA 2 years ago, so it's probably an important point.

[Linsolv]

And I'm pretty sure most people know that Hogan is wrestling again, is in TNA if they bother to check, and thus most know about TNA. Believe it or not, I know quite a few people that watch, or sometimes flip, between WWE Superstars and TNA at this time. The one's I'm talking about didn't know about TNA 2 years ago, so it's probably an important point.

 

Ouch. Flipping between iMPACT and Superstars? If that's not a negative review then I don't know what is. Maybe everyone else can disagree, but I don't like Superstars at ALL. It's more Todd Grisham than I want, with not enough storyline. If it were even just more-or-less coherent in-ring story, I'd be happy with it, but no. It's three random matches.

 

Unless they've changed the formatting since January.

[Self]

I like Superstars. It's a fine 'B' show, and often has matches with a lot of young guys I like and I haven't been over-exposed to. Zack Ryder. Primo. Yoshi Tatsu. There was a Dudebusters vs Hart Dynasty match a few weeks back that was awesome. I rarely watch the whole show, but I usually look it up on a Friday or Saturday and cherry pick any matches that interest me... and it's only an hour long, which is still what I consider the ideal length of a wrestling show.

[juggaloninjalee]

When is Superstars on and what channel? I havent seen it.

[Stennick]

Its on Thursday nights on WGN but I don't know what time.

[CQI13]

NItro wasn't killed for low ratings, Nitro had higher ratings than that when it was dying. In fact it had almost three times that. The lowest rating they had was a 2.1 in 2001. Six years after they debuted. They highest they had in 1995 was a 2.9 and the lowest they had in their white hot year of 96 was still a 1.9

 

So in their dying year they nearly tripled the TNA rating and in one of their hottest years they still beat it by 2 and a half.

 

My point isn't "hahaha omg tna suks". My point is most network or cable television shows would kill to have the numbers they started with at the end of their run. Now sure the ideal is to have higher but to have not lost any viewers (roughly) from when you first started is pretty impressive.

 

Nitro was cancelled because they were owned by AOL and Time Warner. The merger happened and nobody wanted wrestling on their television shows anymore. With WCW bleeding money it gave them the excuse they needed to cancel it.

 

So Nitro being cancelled had nothing to do with ratings and everything to do with finances and politics.

 

I wasn't making a point that it would be canceled. Or comparing the ratings between the two. Different eras.

 

The statement I was responding to was the fact that much like then, the opposition is faring poorly compared to WWE, but compared to other cable shows, they're doing very well. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Could also be said that WWE now is struggling against WWE then. But that'd be an asinine point to make (much like comparing the ratings of Nitro and Impact directly). The 2.1 to 2.2 that Nitro was pulling at the end was half what WWE was pulling, but still double what TNT's best show was at the time.

[dvdWarrior]

Believe it or not, I know quite a few people that watch, or sometimes flip, between WWE Superstars and TNA at this time.

 

Not sure how folks are flipping back and forth between Superstars and Impact, but in my neck of the woods, Superstars comes on at 8 PM and goes off at 9, just in time for Impact.

 

No flipping required. But I guess different places might have different air times.

[crownsy]

In case there was any doubt about Bryan Danielson's release being a work, WWE is asking fans if they want him back on their facebook account.

 

And Wrestlezone is reporting Chris Jericho was originally planned to be the leader of NXT, but now that they're unhappy with him because of his game show, it might be Triple H.

 

Makes no sense, the game show is being hyped on WWE TV. A WWE worker hosting a show and everyone knowing he's a WWE wrestler is bad for the WWE how?

 

and there ticked he's the host on a major network, so pissed they are promoting the snot out of it?

 

Pull the other one.

[Jaysin]

Makes no sense, the game show is being hyped on WWE TV. A WWE worker hosting a show and everyone knowing he's a WWE wrestler is bad for the WWE how?

 

and there ticked he's the host on a major network, so pissed they are promoting the snot out of it?

 

Pull the other one.

 

It's from wrestlezone, believing something from that site is just idiotic. Any site that promotes Mark Madden needs to be banned from the internet.

[LoganRodzen]

I like Superstars. It's a fine 'B' show, and often has matches with a lot of young guys I like and I haven't been over-exposed to. Zack Ryder. Primo. Yoshi Tatsu. There was a Dudebusters vs Hart Dynasty match a few weeks back that was awesome. I rarely watch the whole show, but I usually look it up on a Friday or Saturday and cherry pick any matches that interest me... and it's only an hour long, which is still what I consider the ideal length of a wrestling show.

 

I voted for the Dudebusters during the "Viewers Choice" RAW to face Hart Dynasty. Too bad they didn't win the vote. I don't even know who they are or even seen a match, but the 7 seconds they got to talk on that RAW made me laugh and I wanted to see more.

[Slim Jim]

Soooo... Eli Cottonwood... anyone else think he looks like a genetically modified Matt Hardy?