Pro Wrestling Discussion Thread **Spoilers Possible**

[Suicane75]

God rest his soul, but man was he awful.

[PilotMan]

Matt Dillon's character in Something About Mary reminded me of ol' Lee after he got the veneers on his teeth. RIP Lee.

[Toddzilla]

That Lee Marshall deal is strange. He passed away back in April and it was reported weeks ago on the wrestling sites - DDP did a nice little video for him - but it took more then 2 weeks to get picked up mainstream.

[Toddzilla]

something else cool from that article from TMZ - the original Tony the Tiger voice was the guy who sang the Grinch song.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

something else cool from that article from TMZ - the original Tony the Tiger voice was the guy who sang the Grinch song.

Thurl Ravenscroft is also associated with several iconic Disney attractions including The Haunted Mansion (the narrator and the lead singer of the singing busts near the graveyard) and The Enchanted Tiki Room (he's the voice of Fritz the singing parrot).

[PurdueBrad]

I had read about the Daniel Bryan surgery earlier today and how it has set the WWE creative team scrambling. I have to admit, I'm not sure it's a bad thing if they truly let it turn everything on its head.

I think the first thing I would do to help keep The Authority relevant is strip Bryan of the titles and begin a battle for them between The Shield and the members of Evolution (particularly given the supposed problems with Batista's promises) and I would climax it with a battle between Roman Reigns and HHH. I may even, in the meantime, give the titles to Kane as a reward for putting Bryan out and the winner of a Reigns-HHH battle gets the shot.

That allows them to bring Bryan back at the bottom and trying to struggle back up, perhaps against Roman Reigns which would be fascinating from a fan standpoint as they're both pretty popular characters.

[PurdueBrad]

Oh, and I loved Bryan's improv when the crowd was split on him, "Now I know how John Cena feels."

[Neuqua]

Bad news for me since I had purchased tickets for the next PPV, Payback, in Chicago. Without him and Punk, I am getting less excited.

[PurdueBrad]

Sorry Neuqua. I really wanted to take my 5 year old but held off and given that his favorite is Bryan it may end up being an okay choice.

[INDalltheway]

I got tickets to the next night in Indy for Raw, so I was disappointed as well.

[Matthean]

Vince McMahon Loses Nearly 1/3 Of Fortune - Business Insider

[Suicane75]

That's what you get when you try to play the carny in the real world.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Vince McMahon Loses Nearly 1/3 Of Fortune - Business Insider

Did that surprise anyone who knew what they were talking about, or even read this thread? No. Which begs the question... who is hyping these stock prices?

[molson]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Did that surprise anyone who knew what they were talking about, or even read this thread? No. Which begs the question... who is hyping these stock prices?

It gives you hope that if you actually know something about an industry, even as an observer, you can beat wall street and make good stock picks.

[dubb93]

Has the network taken a drastic reduction in quality for anyone else tonight? I'm getting dizzy from it swapping in and out of HD and I've gotten spots where is has gotten stuck in a loop and I see the same 5 seconds repeated three times in a row. The first two PPV events were basically flawless for me. This is borderline valueless.

EDIT: Shut it off. Can't watch it tonight apparently.

[IlliniCub]

I'm getting the same thing started during the Cena match for me. It seems to be getting better though.

[PurdueBrad]

Sorry dubb, this is actually the best quality viewing I've had (none have been bad but I haven't had the slightest slip, jump or stutter).

Unfortunately, the PPV itself isn't as good. At this point, really 1 good match: Cena v. Wyatt.

I'm geared up for Evolution though and it's next...

[IlliniCub]

So far the NXT show earlier this week was better IMO.

[INDalltheway]

I was in attendance tonight in Indy. Interesting ending to the show.

Spoiler

I was in attendance for the debut and the breaking up of The Shield

[PurdueBrad]

The end of the show caught me completely off-guard. I'm a fan of Evolution and after the way the show began, I was pretty disappointed even though I'm not a Batista fan. The end...sheesh!

I had assumed

Spoiler

that Orton was going to get beat up pretty bad and that Hunter would walk away while it was happening which would be the final nail in the coffin of Evolution. I never saw Rollins' flip coming particularly because, from a story-telling standpoint, it was his move at Extreme Rules and then again at Payback that swung the matches back to The Shield. Certainly an interesting twist.

[Comey]

Reports are Daniel Bryan is being stripped of the title tonight, due to not being cleared for MiTB.

[JonInMiddleGA]

What did Damian Sandow do to get this gimmick, sleep with Linda McMahon or something?

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

What did Damian Sandow do to get this gimmick, sleep with Linda McMahon or something?

Vince should be kept as far away from creative as possible.

[molson]

Damien Sandow was born to be a comedy low-card heel.

[molson]

First WWE roster bloodletting in a few years today: Camacho, Brodus Clay, Evan Bourne, Yoshi Tatsu, Aksana, Curt Hawkins, Jinder Mahal, JTG, Teddy Long, Drew McIntyre released (could be more on the way). Obviously, none of those guys are super significant, but for the last 3 or 4 years, the WWE hardly released anybody, and just waited until their contracts expired instead. I guess they figure with the stock already in the toilet, a few firings can't hurt them now. The NXT roster is loaded, I think this was pretty overdue.

[Matthean]

I can see Teddy Long being around for so long as a reason to keep or dismiss him.

[Mota]

I agree. Once a wrestler is done, get rid of him. There's plenty of up and comers lined up to take their place.

Wrestling fans definitely appreciate some fresh blood once in a while. It's definitely better than seeing the Big Show vs. Kane again.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'm not sure I could stay in the same room with Jim Cornette for more than five minutes without a brawl erupting (his politics & mine don't jibe at all) but damned if the SOB can't tell a story better than just about anybody.

[stevew]

I like barely follow wrestling at all, and it's been like 10+ years since I watched it, but like didn't everyone in the world know that Pat Patterson was gay? I guess at some point richard simmons is going to come out and everyone is going to act all flabbergasted.

[IlliniCub]

Yeah as far as I know Patterson was out. My guess is it was done as a way for WWE to get some media attention to the network.

[miami_fan]

This happened a couple of weeks ago but I have not seen it posted.

Devon 'Hannibal' Nicholson wins case against 'Abdullah the Butcher'

[PilotMan]

Well, after all the hype over the WWE network I can safely say that I will be letting my sub run out in August. I imagine that there will be many others like me as well. So is it a success or failure at this point?

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Well, after all the hype over the WWE network I can safely say that I will be letting my sub run out in August. I imagine that there will be many others like me as well. So is it a success or failure at this point?

They still haven't met their intended sub numbers and I would assume they will have a really hard time getting people to pay full price for a pay-per-view broadcast again at this point.

I'm keeping my sub though. No reason for me not to keep it. I'm a big fan of the network. Even without any other shows I am enjoying the PPV broadcasts enough alone to keep my sub up(I watch other shows too).

[molson]

The network numbers have pretty much been a disaster, especially when you consider that many of them are definitely from international customers who know how to work around the location requirements.

It kills that old argument that if you make these PPVs cheaper, lots of people will buy them. It's a good lesson for UFC.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Well, after all the hype over the WWE network I can safely say that I will be letting my sub run out in August. I imagine that there will be many others like me as well. So is it a success or failure at this point?

Failure after what it helped do to the stock. They promised everyone a lot more subscribers and won't come close even if they open to international.

I didn't get the sub but I've heard mixed reviews on the network. From what I understand NXT is pretty much the only reason people are keeping it.

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by molson

The network numbers have pretty much been a disaster, especially when you consider that many of them are definitely from international customers who know how to work around the location requirements.

It kills that old argument that if you make these PPVs cheaper, lots of people will buy them. It's a good lesson for UFC.

maybe WWE can do something they havnt done in quiet some time, improve the quality of the shows from top to bottom. theyve increased the production values as much as possible, but the story lines, fueds, bookings are really lacking for over a decade

[bigdawg2003]

The network, combined with Grantland articles about WWE have gotten me back on the bandwagon. The most recent big NXT show was outstanding, as was Wrestlemania and the MITB match last night.

Will be keeping my subscription, provided the price point remains the same.

[RainMaker]

I'll probably be cancelling my subscription. I still love the idea of it, but not sure it holds the value. Going through some old PPVs was cool but they still lack a lot of the old Raws, Smackdowns, Nitros and so on that I was expecting.

NXT is really good but not worth $10/month. The WWE PPVs have been crap lately and I've watched Cena and Orton go at it for nearly 10 years and they don't seem to be interested in changing that.

[twothree]

I will keep my subscription for now.

I haven't had cable TV for over five years, so I don't watch Raw, Smackdown, or PPV's on TV. However, from Jan. 2009 until Feb. 2013 I was buying every PPV on DVD when it came out. So, I think $9.99 a month is a good price point.

I stopped buying PPV DVDs after the 2013 Elimination Chamber event. I looked at the schedule card for the 2013 Wrestlemania and saw Rock vs Cena part two. Hell, no! I was not going to spend my money on that again. Haven't bought a WWE DVD since.

[Mota]

I'm in Canada and I still don't have access to the network. I'm sure I will subscribe. I'm about 3 months behind on my wrestling viewing, I haven't even seen Wrestlemania yet. Honestly, I've been in and out of wrestling my entire life, even though I will always be around it. There's just times where I can't bear to spend hour after after watching programming that isn't all that good. Then there will be a big angle like the Shield, or the ascent of Daniel Bryan and I will be hooked again. I currently look forward to seeing the next big thing, I think it may happen with the influx of new guys recently. THey just need to find that magic formula and run with it.

[Carman Bulldog]

Originally Posted by bigdawg2003

The network, combined with Grantland articles about WWE have gotten me back on the bandwagon. The most recent big NXT show was outstanding, as was Wrestlemania and the MITB match last night.

Will be keeping my subscription, provided the price point remains the same.

This. To a T. I haven't watched wrestling since the botched Invasion. David Shoemaker's (aka The Masked Man) articles on Grantland got me interested again and since then I've got the Network and started watching Raw semi-regularly. I love the Legends of Wrestling round table, the NXT big events and the PPV's. I'm hoping for the addition of Saturday Night's Main Event and would also like some Mid-South. At the current price point, I think it's worth it.

As an aside, for those that like Shoemaker, be sure to check out his book and Cheap Heat podcast.

[RainMaker]

If you cancel and re-sign up, do you have to make a 6-month commitment again? Like I wouldn't mind cancelling after Summerslam and signing back up before the Rumble.

I still really love the idea of the Network. I would have killed for this 10 years ago when I was more into it.

[Scarecrow]

Oops...

WWE Diva Emma FIRED For Stealing iPad Case


I actually like her

[bulletsponge]

and Emma just got rehired. yes she was unemployed by wwe for less than half a day

[Matthean]

They probably accepted the fact that they had a freebie for a story line.

[Matthean]

WWE Shop: Sting

[JonInMiddleGA]

Happy for Sting (since presumably he's happy with whatever agreement they've reached) but it sort of begs a question to me: who does this sell pre-orders to, me?

I have a tough time thinking it does much at all to entice anyone (okay, aside from a fractional percentage of fans) under the age of 35 or maybe even 40.

[Neuqua]

I have to think Seth Rollins got legit hurt. Either that or these guys are way better actors than I thought. Assuming injury, wonder what they do for the upcoming Battleground PPV.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Happy for Sting (since presumably he's happy with whatever agreement they've reached) but it sort of begs a question to me: who does this sell pre-orders to, me?

I have a tough time thinking it does much at all to entice anyone (okay, aside from a fractional percentage of fans) under the age of 35 or maybe even 40.

Over half of WWE's audience is over 35 IIRC.

Or heck, here's a link:

WWE News: Breakdown of Ages of WWE Audience Illustrates Interesting Trend | Bleacher Report

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Over half of WWE's audience is over 35 IIRC.

Oh absolutely.

But are many of us (okay, I'm 47, definitely "over 35") buying games that are typically a morass of button stabbing? I'm just not seeing it.