anarchistxx

I don't know I've seen a fair bit of Cena and he only ever seems to hit finishers to me. It's like his entire offensive arsenal is built around the idea of the false finish. Product of the time I guess, but as I've watched more 70s wrestling, I've become less and less enamoured at the very concept of a finisher and here's a guy who seems to be only finisher. That is just the WWE style though, especially in big matches. First half of the match is generally just dull filler, as they waste time until they can start trading finishers and cheap popping the crowd for near falls. I can count on one hand probably the amount of WWE main event level matches with good pacing, build and structure over the last few years. Unfortunately the fans have become conditioned to it also, so unless they are really into the feud or it is a particularly hot crowd they sit on their hands and wait for the big moves to start dropping. I would have rated it around that also. It was good for what it was i.e. a WWE main event spot fest. Plenty of action, exciting, well laid out, believable near falls. An example of the style done well. It will probably lose a lot watched on tape as oppose to live, because with the drama and uncertainty taken away you are left with incoherent structure, bad/inconsistent selling and over reliance on finishers. It is like NOAH in the first half of the last decade, you expect endless bomb sequences, lack of selling/fighting spirit, lots of chops and strikes that are often brushed off. It is just the style, and at this point there isn't much use complaining about it because the discussions have been raked over again and again. It is a bit different - Brock is booked as an unstoppable monster throwing these guys around. There is a purpose to it, and by and large the suplexes are sold like death. Kurt Angle would be doing trading German suplex spots every week until they meant nothing and the move lost any impact.

That criticism of John Cena is straight out of 2005, Jerry. How long have you been out the WWE loop? Criticizing a WWE worker for lack of moves is an old and outdated trope. It is true they are often limited in that respect but that is down to the style. Cena has a serviceable amount of offense for a main eventer, especially since he spends a lot of time selling. It is a strange criticism of him last night when he randomly used a Powerbomb and Michinoku Driver. His range of offense is far greater than that of his predecessors Hogan & Austin. He regularly uses a flying leg drop, diving shoulder block, sit out back drop, STF, release fisherman, cross body.

Cena loses to Rusev at Fast Lane, Daniel Bryan vs Rusev at Wrestlemania. A far more likely scenario being: Bryan loses to Rusev at Fast Lane, John Cena vs Rusev at Wrestlemania... Pretty sure he countered with curb stomp into the STF at one point on Rollins.

They have wrestled many times - think there are matches on tape going back to 2000/2001. Thy definitely worked 1on1 at least twice in ROH, 01/11/03 [Ascension] and 28/01/06 [Dissension].

Why can't they turn to live attendance? It really isn't massively down and can be improved. What? Annual domestic television revenue grew from $100 million a year to $150 million in their last negotiation. A 50% rise is a pretty damn healthy upward growth, even if it was below forecasts. Television revenue. Live show revenue. Merchandise revenue. PPV revenue. Home media/on demand revenue. International revenue. All the things that made them hundreds of millions of dollars before. A $50 million annual increase is not 'diminishing returns'. The fans didn't listen. Wrestlemania did a huge number of traditional buys.

And Kane wins.

On the pre show.

It is huge news when a company as stable, popular and high revenue as WWE goes out of business. Rarely happens. The only thing they necessarily lack is a lot of traditional assets that they could sell off if they got in trouble. Most of their assets are things only of interest to the wrestling business like tape libraries, memorabilia, equipment etc, and there is no real buyer for that. Again, rubbish, 700,000 people bought Wrestlemania on PPV for $60 last year despite it being a sixth of the price on the Network, They could easily go back to a PPV model, although it might not be as profitable. Sorry, but WWE is not 'done as a company' if X happens. They will be around for our lifetime in some form or another.

There is no huge change needed. They have lost money for one year, not year after year. It is completely false to say they are regularly losing money - they just negotiated the most lucrative television deal in their history. Hardly in trouble. As a company their income will comfortably cover their overheads. If the network continues to be mediocre or starts to flatline they will ditch it. They will cut costs and make the company leaner and more streamlined. They are an immensely stable, well structured company with an extremely loyal fanbase. Those sorts of companies don't just go out of business, barring major disasters and ineptitude. They have proven time and time again that bad booking is no barrier to profit and success.

WWE make $150 million annually from domestic television rights. The company still makes a healthy profit. It is the stock that fluctuates massively [As low as $8 and as high as $32 just in one year] giving the impression of a loss. The first quarter of 2014, WWE reported a $8-million loss because of the advent of the WWE Network, part of the new venture’s growing pains. That’s a quarterly loss. The company did not make a profit. Not good. Is there reason for concern or panic? Not right now. Prior, the company has been profiting consistently. The report also did not factor the new TV deal with NBCUniversal which increased WWE revenue about $60-million annually. That’s very important, and here’s why. Do the math. WWE lost $8-million for the quarter. There are four quarters in a year. Hypothetical, if WWE continued to lose $8-million a quarter because of the WWE Network, that’s a $32-million loss for the year. Not good. But factor the new TV deal raise of about $60-million annually. Take the $60-million gain and subtract the $32-million loss, and you still profit about $28-million for the year between the two. Via http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/fighting/article1964905.html#storylink=cpy

I think you're reading that all wrong. They have the stars, they have the talent that the fans have shown they want to get behind. The fans have cheered/booed vocally for Barrett, Ziggler, Cesaro, Rusev, Ambrose, and even Reigns once upon a time. Yet at the end of the match when most of them were in the ring the fans did not care. That's not really because of booking, it's because of a fan base that feels their cheers/boos don't matter. Barrett, Cesaro and Rusev aren't 'stars'. They are solid midcard acts. Not sure there is much money to be made with any of them on top.

Utter rubbish. It is more profitable than ever. WWE lost more money this past year than WCW did in any year of its existence except for 2000. Stock is down and the rights were lower than expected...but this year is an anomaly with the network which lost them $50 million, and revenues are still huge. They still made a healthy operating profit as far as I can ascertain.

I always laugh at hyperbolic posts like this. WWE will be alive for decades if not centuries, it is a huge multinational corporation with an incredibly loyal fanbase who tune in every week despite the consistently awful booking. Every person in this thread has probably vowed never to watch again after some terrible show that wasted their time or unfair treatment of a worker ofr awful booking decision. How many new fans are they getting though? How many kids tuning in for John Cena keep up with the product after they turn, say, 12 without the memories the older fans have that keep them loyal. A lot of kids probably are tuning out at age twelve. That is nothing new, all my friends did in 2001/2002 when we turned that age and the attitude era died down. They will always get new fans, especially the children of the adults who are fans. The product is still aimed towards the PG market, so they are likely content having children and diehards as the consistent fanbase. They know they can do virtually whatever and maintain steady ratings and revenue. The problem with your stance is that this is what companies say when the tide is slowly turning against them. "Don't worry about customer complaints guys, we've been around for years and will be for many years to come. We'll just keep doing what we do and eventually things will even out." Now, I'm not saying WWE will go out of business today, tomorrow, or even ten years from now. However, they are presently showing to be a company that is tone deaf when it comes to delivering a product their fans want to see. There's already been a slow trickle of fans online posting pics of their cancellation screens from the Network. They aren't making a difference now, but over time as fans continue to turn away and they continue to not make new fans things could get bad for them. Heck, WWE may be around forever, but is it really that hard to look at the history of the business world and not think that a company who is experiencing relatively rough times and continues to shit on their fans could possibly be heading towards a future where they go belly up? I don't think it is, and to dismiss it is hubris. WWE is way different from most companies. It has proved for years that it can survive and thrive despite shoddy booking that goes against the wishes of hardcore fans. They have exploited other forms of revenue and maximised the existing streams like advertising. This business is unique - TNA can survive for over a decade despite losing money and putting out an awful product, and they don't have half the infrastructure. Most of all there is zero competition and it is still a market that reaches out to millions. It is ridiculous hyperbole to say a booking decision like this will have any major effect of the future survival or even profitability of WWE.

What is more worrying for the company is the complete lack of star power in that match. They have zero depth whatsoever when the part timers are away and they have injuries. Unsurprising given the appalling booking of the midcard for years. No consistency, no sustained pushes, no long term plan with anyone, very few workers with natural charisma, terrible scripts when they do get to talk, losing and regaining faith in workers in the space of weeks leading to those with huge pushes becoming jobbers and vice versa.

Utter rubbish. It is more profitable than ever. If you think the WWE is going anywhere in the next ten or twenty years you are completely deluded. Even when they run out of nostalgia superstars to wheel out every year the wheel we keep on turning, as a corporation they are a well oiled machine. TNA have survived for over a decade and they fucking lose money, not to mention being one of the worst professional wrestling shows ever aired.

I always laugh at hyperbolic posts like this. WWE will be alive for decades if not centuries, it is a huge multinational corporation with an incredibly loyal fanbase who tune in every week despite the consistently awful booking. Every person in this thread has probably vowed never to watch again after some terrible show that wasted their time or unfair treatment of a worker ofr awful booking decision. How many new fans are they getting though? How many kids tuning in for John Cena keep up with the product after they turn, say, 12 without the memories the older fans have that keep them loyal. A lot of kids probably are tuning out at age twelve. That is nothing new, all my friends did in 2001/2002 when we turned that age and the attitude era died down. They will always get new fans, especially the children of the adults who are fans. The product is still aimed towards the PG market, so they are likely content having children and diehards as the consistent fanbase. They know they can do virtually whatever and maintain steady ratings and revenue.

It is funny because in every documentary they do on Steve Austin they have Vince as a talking head saying "In the end the crowd decides, the crowd makes the decision for us. And they always make the right decision." Wonder where that policy went.

I always laugh at hyperbolic posts like this. WWE will be alive for decades if not centuries, it is a huge multinational corporation with an incredibly loyal fanbase who tune in every week despite the consistently awful booking. Every person in this thread has probably vowed never to watch again after some terrible show that wasted their time or unfair treatment of a worker ofr awful booking decision.

Reigns has no idea how to deal with this.

Brock Lesnar is face now whether they meant him to be or not. No way they recover Roman Reigns in time for Wrestlemania.

The Rock cleaning house on Big Show and Kane, is this 1999? Depressing. Brief pop and back to booing.

So The Rock comes out, saves the day and coronates Reigns? "We want refund" chants

Has to be the worst Royal Rumble match in history. Wasn't even a hot mess like last year, it is purely predictable, heatless and boring as fuck.

Random surprise nostalgia acts would have been so much better than Kane and Big Show stinking it up for yet another year.

People are clutching at straws, it won't happen. No Rock either by the looks of it, this could get nasty. One of the most heatless Rumbles ever. JBL "the mood just changed" when Big Show came out....stayed exactly the same. Zero reaction. They are banking on Dlph Ziggler to bring the crowd back then.