Pro Wrestling Discussion Thread **Spoilers Possible**

[SirFozzie]

What better first day: HealthCare.Gov signups or WWE Network signups?

Hint: They're both awful.

[PilotMan]

Well you knew the site was going to go down today. It was only a matter of time.

[Neuqua]

I signed up for the free trial, am going to play around with it this afternoon.

[miami_fan]

Jake 'The Snake' Roberts faces cancer surgery | FOX Sports on MSN

ake "The Snake" Roberts told TMZ that he has a cancerous tumor behind his knee and will need emergency surgery to have the growth removed.

This marks the latest battle in a series of challenges that has seen the wrestling legend overcome drug and alcohol abuse. Much of his rehab has come through his friend and colleague Diamond Dallas Page's efforts.

Roberts told TMZ he is scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday to remove the tumor, which is growing into his muscle.

"If the devil can't defeat me, cancer doesn't stand a chance in hell! Pray for sick children who face this horrible disease 'cause The Snake will be just fine," Roberts told the entertainment site.

Roberts also says he will be at his WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New Orleans, prior to WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans April 6.

[jbergey22]

Here is the schedule for today and for future days.

schedule | WWE

[PilotMan]

I finally got in and paid. Watching the live programming. Right now it's a sit down discussion with Shawn Michaels and Brett Hart talking about their careers and coming up together with JR.

Looking at the on demand stuff. There are a lot of sections there, but some of it is thin. There are a lot of the PPV's already loaded, with RR being the most recent.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I finally got in and paid. Watching the live programming. Right now it's a sit down discussion with Shawn Michaels and Brett Hart talking about their careers and coming up together with JR.

Looking at the on demand stuff. There are a lot of sections there, but some of it is thin. There are a lot of the PPV's already loaded, with RR being the most recent.

I am thinking things will get added to the vault as they play for the first time on the live stream. At this point I am seeing a lot of value to this. In 6-12 months I wonder if they will have enough new stuff to keep people paying.

I thought this wasnt suppose to go live until after RAW tonight? Did they get impatient?

[molson]

It's letting me browse around the content but I can't actually sign up or see anything yet. The Live PPVs and every WCW, ECW, WWE PPV ever is the selling point once it gets up and running for everyone. But it doesn't look like there's a lot of older TV and territory stuff. Maybe the'll put new stuff up every week like WWE 24/7 did. So don't buy this thinking you're getting access to Mid-South TV shows or something.

The new PPVs alone are an amazing value. But I think Dana White might have a point that the WWE is devaluing their content some here. If we had never heard of the Network, and the WWE, through DirecTV or whatever, offered a deal where you could buy 6 PPVs, including Wrestlemania, for $60 TOTAL, that would be a real game changer and seen as a great deal. But once you put it all out there in this format....you're left wanting more. Something about a higher cost increasing desirability. I heard Dave Meltzer make the point - he used to go to NHL games in the 80s, it was $6 and there was 5,000 people in the stands. Now the tickets are $100 and there's 15,000 people in the stands. I think the WWE might have the reverse issue, throwing ALL of this content out there for so little cost. It looks great though. Can't wait to watch some random 80s Starcades and such.

The tech problems are disappointing though. I guess I should have expected them, but, everything I heard was, "no, this isn't like Ring of Honor and all those rinky dink promotions that can't get their IPPVs to work - WWE is using the MLB.TV company, and they never have any problem." But instead....

"Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM), WWE’s technology partner, was overwhelmed and their systems have been unable to process most orders since 9 a.m. ET due to demand for WWE Network. MLBAM has been working aggressively to resolve this issue. Your order will be processed as soon as possible."

They have to be really concerned about Mania actually working live on this system for potentially a million people or more at once.

[molson]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I thought this wasnt suppose to go live until after RAW tonight? Did they get impatient?

They quietly changed the launch time sometime in the last few weeks. I wonder if they were trying to stagger sign-ups some to ease the problems they're having now with the overload. I read that it also actually opened up to the public an hour or two earlier than the official kickoff, maybe for the same reason.

[jbergey22]

I had to try 2-3 times but mine eventually got through around 1 hour ago.

Anyone know what percentage PPV providers take from the PPV revenues? If Dish/DirectTV were taking out 50 percent I can certainly see this working out well for WWE since they will get the customers to make up for the difference and get to keep most of the stream revenue.

[molson]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Anyone know what percentage PPV providers take from the PPV revenues? If Dish/DirectTV were taking out 50 percent I can certainly see this working out well for WWE since they will get the customers to make up for the difference and get to keep most of the stream revenue.

It's about 50%. The providers are pissed. DISH refused to carry Elimination Chamber over it.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by molson

It's about 50%. The providers are pissed. DISH refused to carry Elimination Chamber over it.

I guess I can understand WWE going this direction. Seems like the PPV carriers used their leverage to get such a great rate and Vince just took that away.

I cant wait to hear the Dish spin on this. I am sure they will blame the WWE for being greedy and wanting to keep their current customers rate low like usual.

[molson]

Well I can't even get to a signup screen so I guess I'll try again later. It let me create WWE.com account (but never asked for my credit card info), but any screen within the WWE Network just says "Media Error: Video not available".

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I am thinking things will get added to the vault as they play for the first time on the live stream. At this point I am seeing a lot of value to this. In 6-12 months I wonder if they will have enough new stuff to keep people paying.

I thought this wasnt suppose to go live until after RAW tonight? Did they get impatient?

Oh I'm sure that more stuff will get added to the on demand. It was scheduled for 9a this morning for the start.

This interview though is top shelf stuff and very interesting with both of them together and a lot of tension still in the room despite that both have come so far from it.

[molson]

Finally got it working. Watched a few minutes of Starrcade 1990 and World War 3 1996 (which was random) and everything looked and streamed great. I will enjoy this. I do hope they make some upgrades to the system over the months and years, like having chapter headings in some of these shows so its easier to jump around, and having easy access to matches, not just entire shows. But it looks like it will be a pretty great service, and it's exactly where this company should go.

Should be a big RAW tonight. Hogan is there. No announcement that he'll actually be on TV, but it seems likely.

[BigDPW]

Has anyone got the WWE Network to work on X360 yet? I can watch on my PC and IPad but can't login on the X360 app without it saying my username or password is not recognized. I have seen the same issue on some other sites reported for 360 also.

[dubb93]

Are the shows that were supposed to be there actually there? IE every WWE/ECW/WCW Pay Per View ever? The list that was linked earlier in this thread.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Are the shows that were supposed to be there actually there? IE every WWE/ECW/WCW Pay Per View ever? The list that was linked earlier in this thread.

I didn't look in depth, but one I wanted to watch for perverse reasons, Great American Bash '91, isn't there currently

[molson]

I saw this list of missing PPVs somewhere else - I actually wouldn't have expected any of these to be on there at this point except for Bash '91 and Royal Rumble 2011. Seems like something that might be just an oversight, I'd expect them to pop up sometime.

WWE
* No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie (1989)
* Insurrextion (2000)
* Royal Rumble (2011)
* Royal Rumble (2014)

WCW
* The Great American Bash (1991)
* Japan Supershow (1991)
* Japan Supershow (1992)
* Japan Supershow (1993)
* When World's Collide (1994)
* Collision In Korea (1995)
* Millenium Final (2000, German only)

ECW
* Massacre On 34th Street

I peeked in at the RAW pre-show. I kind of like how they were taping superstars in the background and at one point cut to Jerry Lawler interviewing Kofi Kingston on his way back to the locker room after a win. But I can't imagine being able to watch Flair/Booker/Alex Riley/Josh Matthews blabbing about angles for more than 10 seconds. But hopefully they'll eventually have more ridiculous backstage skits and whatnot. There's potential there for wackiness, which is what I generally want in my wrestling.

The old PPVs are fun, I've only looked in at a couple but it does look like the original PPV broadcasts and not the edited home release versions.

The rumor about every ECW Hardcore TV being there at launch were wrong. There's like 6 episodes. But the PPVs are there.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by molson

WWE
* No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie (1989)
* Insurrextion (2000)
* Royal Rumble (2011)
* Royal Rumble (2014)

First two I'm not sure anyone expected to be on there. The last two were probably an oversight.

WCW
* The Great American Bash (1991)
* Japan Supershow (1991)
* Japan Supershow (1992)
* Japan Supershow (1993)
* When World's Collide (1994)
* Collision In Korea (1995)
* Millenium Final (2000, German only)

The Great American Bash is the only real oversight here. Sure it will be added. Not sure why anyone expected the rest of that garbage to be on there. They were relevant to nothing and never aired in the US. Many of them were co-promoted.

ECW
* Massacre On 34th Street

Just an odd oversight. Definitely happy with this list. Will be buying this tonight. Thanks for finding it.

[DaddyTorgo]

I wants all my episodes of ECW Hardcore TV. Then I can go back and watch ECW from beginning to end and really make it worthwhile.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I wants all my episodes of ECW Hardcore TV. Then I can go back and watch ECW from beginning to end and really make it worthwhile.

Yeah, without out those my interest in pretty limited honestly. That was the one thing that had me at least giving this some thought, as much for my son as for me.

The promos at the end of the original TV alone were better than most of their PPV's IMO. Without that context, it just becomes sort of ... eh.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Yeah, without out those my interest in pretty limited honestly. That was the one thing that had me at least giving this some thought, as much for my son as for me.

The promos at the end of the original TV alone were better than most of their PPV's IMO. Without that context, it just becomes sort of ... eh.

Yeah...totally. Guess I'll keep my eyes peeled.

[RainMaker]

Did they say how fast PPVs would be going up? There might be a 2-3 month window before they go into the archives which is the reason RR 2014 isn't on there.

They might want to go through the PPVs and edit them to their liking. Like I'm sure they'll filter out the boos for Batista like they do on Smackdown.

[twothree]

There was only one ECW PPV that I purchased live on PPV, WrestlePalooza 98. And, I just got done rewatching it. My one memory of it was Sabu vomitting over the side of the ring. And, I just got to rewatch that. Thank you, WWE.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by twothree

There was only one ECW PPV that I purchased live on PPV, WrestlePalooza 98. And, I just got done rewatching it. My one memory of it was Sabu vomitting over the side of the ring. And, I just got to rewatch that. Thank you, WWE.

The only one I ever purchased was November 2 Remember '98. But I used to watch Hardcore TV all the time. Was just too cheap as a HS senior to shell out for those...plus had no friends to split the cost with and hadn't found the online-communities yet.

[SirFozzie]

I just watched a Freebirds (Gordy/Hayes) vs Von Erichs (Kerry/Kevin) tornado tag match. Such heat,

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I just watched a Freebirds (Gordy/Hayes) vs Von Erichs (Kerry/Kevin) tornado tag match. Such heat,

Yeah, I was back watching Wrestlemania I today and I was amazed at how gritty and raw it felt as opposed to the sterile environment of today's show. Camera angles not perfect, people stepping over Hogan outside the ring plus the general lack of angles and worse resolution just gave it a more real feel.

I just can't seem to find that in today's product. Am I just reminiscing here or does anyone else feel like that too?

[DaddyTorgo]

Then again - if you know what to google you can find most of this stuff on youtube.

[SirFozzie]

Well now... THAT was interesting. I didn't see anything at Cena's leg, which might mean he just blew up his leg.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I just watched a Freebirds (Gordy/Hayes) vs Von Erichs (Kerry/Kevin) tornado tag match. Such heat,

That's fucking awesome.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by dubb93

First two I'm not sure anyone expected to be on there. The last two were probably an oversight.



The Great American Bash is the only real oversight here. Sure it will be added. Not sure why anyone expected the rest of that garbage to be on there. They were relevant to nothing and never aired in the US. Many of them were co-promoted.



Just an odd oversight. Definitely happy with this list. Will be buying this tonight. Thanks for finding it.

I don't know why you wouldn't expect Insurrextion to be on there, as all the rest of the WWF UK only PPVs are on there. I wouldn't call the WCW/NJPW Supershows or When Worlds Collide garbage. They are definitely things I would want to watch, but I get there are probably rights as far as NJPW and AAA owning the rights to the footage.

[RainMaker]

I can't wait to Batista-Orton at Mania. Batista booed out of the arena again and looked horrible. Orton came out and got a tepid reaction. Then a huge CM Punk chant breaks out while Batista tries to give a face promo.

[SirFozzie]

And Cena's officially injured (for real, apparently)

[RainMaker]

Cena comes out to give a face promo and gets booed heavily.

Also holy shit is Bray Wyatt good on the mic.

[IlliniCub]

Doesn't seem to be working very well on the PS3 app. Anyone else having problems? I start ppvs and get a blank screen

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Well now... THAT was interesting. I didn't see anything at Cena's leg, which might mean he just blew up his leg.

Huh. I wasn't buying the legit injury angle, but they just showed the replay, and you can see Cena actually trying to wave them off mid-attack before he grabs the ropes and tries to bail.

[SirFozzie]

*BONG*

Instant reaction.

[SirFozzie]

Dola: Question for you legal folks who are also wrestling fans.. is stabbing someone in the hand and then chokeslamming them through a table a legal way of signing a contract for a match?

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Yeah, I was back watching Wrestlemania I today and I was amazed at how gritty and raw it felt as opposed to the sterile environment of today's show. Camera angles not perfect, people stepping over Hogan outside the ring plus the general lack of angles and worse resolution just gave it a more real feel.

I just can't seem to find that in today's product. Am I just reminiscing here or does anyone else feel like that too?

nope. wwe is way overproduced. theres always a camera in the exact right spot. nothing feel spontaneous or authentic. too much "pretty" lighting. but i guess when they target 10 yo thats what you get

[CU Tiger]

Only the stab was horrible...they zoomed in and the pen was probably 6 inches behind his hand.

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Dola: Question for you legal folks who are also wrestling fans.. is stabbing someone in the hand and then chokeslamming them through a table a legal way of signing a contract for a match?

its the Undertaker. Brock is lucky he didnt cut him and sign in his blood (they did that in the attitude era)

[RainMaker]

Cena's injury also looks like a work as he "refused an MRI". Wonder if he'll be able to defy the odds again!

[Toddzilla]

Anyone notice Big E almost paralyzing himself when he botched taking the Neutralizer from Cesaro?

[dubb93]

Two amazingly annoying technical issues.

1. Exiting a viewing session does not save your progress where you left off like something like Netflix would. You have to start over from the start the next time you load it up.

2. Fast Forward has resulted in a 100% disconnect rate for me so far.

Combine the two and this loses alot of value.

[dubb93]

It's entirely possible that the fast forwarding issue has to do with "technical problems" that MLBAM is having with this product according the WWE Network twitter. I assume that technical problems is code for our servers are taking a beating. Still annoying to get kicked out of the app every time I try to fast forward. The first complaint stands.

[jbergey22]

Yeah, I am having issues the library content as well. The live stream is working great but anything I try to watch from the vault is just stopping every 20-30 seconds.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Yeah, I am having issues the library content as well. The live stream is working great but anything I try to watch from the vault is just stopping every 20-30 seconds.

Tried a few others than the one I started last night. You are right, VoD is completely broken right now. WWE Network Day 2 worse than Day 1 so far. Atleast video on demand was watchable yesterday.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Tried a few others than the one I started last night. You are right, VoD is completely broken right now. WWE Network Day 2 worse than Day 1 so far. Atleast video on demand was watchable yesterday.

With giving out that free trial I am hoping they are just having server issues and will calm down later this week and at the latest next Tuesday. I will give it until WM and if that works fine and streams fine I will keep it, if the WM stream is messed up I will give up on it.

I imagine the Comcasts, Dish, and DTV's are sweating this out. If this goes well for the WWE the providers are going to lose a lot of leverage in the future in their negotiations with any larger company.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

With giving out that free trial I am hoping they are just having server issues and will calm down later this week and at the latest next Tuesday. I will give it until WM and if that works fine and streams fine I will keep it, if the WM stream is messed up I will give up on it.

I imagine the Comcasts, Dish, and DTV's are sweating this out. If this goes well for the WWE the providers are going to lose a lot of leverage in the future in their negotiations with any larger company.

If Wrestlemania doesn't go off flawless, they are in serious trouble as a company. I don't mean from a quality standpoint, I mean from a technical standpoint. They are transitioning the customers to a new method of paying for Pay-Per-View content, if they boggle it they are boned. I thought they should have lead with Elimination Chamber rather than Wrestlemania. You can piss your base off over Elimination Chamber and promise to make amends. You piss them off over your Super Bowl, you have dug a hole.

Something tells me if they screw this up, they don't get very favorable deals with the PPV providers next time around.

WWE has also done a very good job of passing the entire blame for this debacle off on the Major League Baseball Advanced Media(who they hired to host the service). Every time there is an issue they name them by name and say that MLBAM is working on a fix. They are trying to completely pass the blame. The last two tweets from @WWENetwork name MLBAM by name as well as all the negative press releases so far.