fakeplastictrees

This is what happens when you have guys who are not salesmen try to sell something. WWE should have their own Don West. Seriously. If I was WWE, I would get Don West on board to sell The Network. WWE should also look into shooting 'funny' commercials for The Network and have these shown on TV channels throughout the country. But yeah, King, Cole, JBL, HHH, and Hogan all need to shut up about The Network. They are all killing it.

This is another production thing that WWE does that other promotions should look into NOT doing. It's just the little things really. I don't want to turn this into a TNA thread by any means, but if I was head of production of TNA I would make sure to never do a few things: 1. No theme music, pyro, lights, etc. for distractions. 2. If someone 'shouldn't be there', don't have them show up in wrestling gear. Scott Hall showing up on Nitro is the correct dress code for these situations. Not Michael Tarver sitting in the stands in full WWE approved shirt and his wrestling gear -- entirely incorrect. 3. The entire roster should never come out to stage on the stage and do NOTHING unless tribute is being payed. Either a death or a legit retirement of a legend. Are these all Kevin Dunn staples? People talk about how 'bad' Dunn is and how he is trying to make the production into 'fast food', but no one ever provides detailed examples. Okay he is 'bad', I get it. How so? What are the bad production tropes that have stayed under the years. Is there anything specifically Dunn brought into WWE?

I honestly believe that if Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit died while WWE wasn't a publicly traded company -- much wouldn't have changed. As cynical as it sounds and as much as WWE would like for us to believe that sanctions became tighter due to the love and lessons of these two tragedies, its all bullshit really. It comes down to the dollar. The next major change in WWE will come due to the next major lawsuit, death, public shaming, etc. Something BIG will have to happen before WWE (and pro wrestling in general) cuts some of the shit. Imagine if Mark Henry sued WWE after Michael Hayes called him the N word. What is Patterson snapped one day and decided to expose WWE and all of its discriminatory practices against homosexuals? What if one of the women came out tomorrow and stated that WWE forced her to take drugs?

I think both of you got it.Instead of the whole '$9.99' gimmick, WWE should definitely be using the woman who are on Total Divas to help sell The Network. I don't want to see these women pandering, but making references to Total Divas to explain Eva Marie's actions (since she can't do it in the ring) would be great. Two women going at it can harken back to something that happened on Total Divas. The best advertising for The Network without making it cringeworthy is to advertise it as meta as possible. All of this is part of The WWE Universe and I feel WWE can/should define/expand 'The Universe' to include more than just the fans. When Michael Cole starts screaming about the WWE Universe- the fans should be conditioned to think of it as The Marvel Universe. WWE isn't just Raw and Smackdown. Its Raw, Smackdown, Main Event, Superstars, Total Divas, See No Evil, The Marine movies, Twitter, Slam City, etc. It's all of it. WWE featuring Brie and Nikki Bella is a smart move. WWE should look into given more TV face time to the women who are on the hit E! show.

Damn you for posting this now! It's past midnight here and I have work tomorrow (today) and now I'm listening to this podcast. I guess 2 shots of espresso in my coffee tomorrow! Been lookign forward to this. Should be a good listen.

SS 2000 and SS 2002 are two of my favorite WWE PPVs of all time. With The Network, I am glad to see that both still hold up today.

Looks like I will bite the bullet on this one and give the show a listen. I don't expect much.

WWE is good at keeping its mythology strong. HHH is aware that for the WWE library to mean anything EVERYTHING in the past cannot be surpassed. Some monuments must be left standing. Five years from now, someone hearing about the 16 time WHC Ric Flair for the first time might capture that person's attention. The person might become a fan based off the personality of Flair and the greatest of the 16time accomplishment that others have come close to but never been able to replicate. The Undertaker's 21 year streak at WrestleMania is another example. Austin winning 3 Royal Rumble matches. Hulk Hogan's four year title reign. All of this stuff still has to mean SOMETHING 5,10,15,20 years from now. How are you going to sell the new generation on the importance of these figures (and in doing so try to sell The Network) if all of these guys are truly yesterday's news and all accomplishments have been surpassed tenfold. Michael Jackson, Elvis, and The Beatles STILL mean something today for a reason. They all have records that has not been passed. Perhaps I am giving everyone too much credit, but I don't think it will happen. Not only are we talking about the past, but let's talk about the present. Does Cena NEED another title reign? Him winning the title most recently came off so forced and un-needed. The guy IS the top star. It doesn't matter who holds the title. Cena holding the belt isn't going to make him or make him seem more important. If anything another title reign, at this point-in-time, will possibility hurt others more than Flair's 16th title reign did to Flair's peers at the time of Flair's reign.

It all comes down to the positioning of the ref. The camera usually tells the full story so its easy for me to give a ref a pass. If the ref is in a clear position to see the pin and still fucks up, then that is a totally different story. I think the peformers should have a plan B. If the finished is botch they go right into the 'doomsday' finish. If a ref count is obviously fucked then its time to go into that situation's plan B. WCW 2000 had a lot of instances where the ref makes a count and a wrestler's shoulders are no where near the mat. Both the Goldberg vs. Kronick match and the match where Kevin Nash runs the NB gauntlet come to mind.

1. Hulkamania begins 2. The Rock vs. Hogan (for the reasons mentioned above) 3. WrestleMania 1 4. WrestleMania 10 ladder match 5. Austin KOTR 1996 promo 6. The Screw Job 7. Brock Lesnar beating The Streak 8. Lesnar/Big Show breaking the Smackdown ring 9. Tyson/Austin on Raw 10. WWE becomes a publicly traded company Honorable mentions: - The unfortunate deaths of Owen Hart, Eddie, and Benoit and how all three of those shaped the business for the better. - WWF buys out WCW. - Austin clears the ring of The Alliance and 'saves' the WWE. - Flair shows up with the WCW title - HIAC 1998 - The launch of The WWE Network - Chris Jericho becomes the first Undisputed Champion - WWF becomes WWE - The infamous Piper's Pit episode - Raw becoming the longest running episodic tele....aw fuck it!

Speaking of which...when is WWE going to do a legit gay/lesbian romance angle. I'm not talking about a Billy & Chuck swerve. I mean a legit romance angle. Too forward thinking? WWE has 3 exclusive Network only shows, why not get Darren Young and someone else together and run with it for 3 months and see what happens. Worse case scenerio is it doesn't get over with the fans, WWE gets praised in the mainstream media for being progressive, and WWE quitely cancels the angle that the majority of the fans will never have seen anyways.

Which I find completely weird. Cornette, and others, will praise MMA and be quick to say pro wrestling could learn a thing from MMA, but then these same guys ignore the fact that people like Royce Gracie exist and were kicking ass back in the day. The biggest draws in combat sports (Anderson Silva, Ronda Rousey, Manny, Money Mayweather) all look like whimps if you really think about it. Yet, these people are kicking ass and taking names. It just amazes me that some pro wrestling fans see Money Mayweather is one of the baddest men on the planet who can probably stand-to-toe with some of the best in the heavyweight division, but think that Rey Mysterio beating The Big Show fair-and-square is a little to out-of-the-realm of possibility.

Before WWE became the only show in town, this was the case. Now that WWE has a farm system and all the wrestlers look,act, promo, and wrestle the same- focusing slightly (and I do mean slightly) on a wrestler's heritage isn't such a bad thing. The Uso's are probably the best examples in modern day WWE. The Usos make a nod to their culture without making it their entire gimmick. I've know about 3 Samoans in my life and they were kinda like The Usos. The traditional tribal music going into the hip-hop music, the call and response, and the face paint are all good stuff that doesn't feel patronizing. WWE managed to work culture into the gimmick without making the culture the gimmick.

The Benoit stuff had no impact on my viewing habits. None at all. What DID happen though is I stopped enjoying a lot of stupid stuff I would see wrestlers do. Jeff Hardy doing a Swanton Bomb on steel steps in 2014 is pretty fucking stupid and left me shaking his head. Everytime DB would do the diving headbutt and the top rope drop kick where he lands on his head left me dumbfounded on more than one occasion. Nigel was one of my favorite wrestlers in ROH, but the stupid shit he did in ROH caught up to him. I know wrestling isn't ballet, but it took Beniot death for me to really think about the 'wrestlers are not wimps! we don't need any days off!' talking points, made by people in the business, and how much bullshit those talking points are today. I find myself asking 'Why?' alot during matches these days. Seth Rollins, Cesaro, and Sheamus acting like complete idiots at MITB 2014 is a recent example.

I think the WWE writers need to watch El Rey and hire some Latin/Latina writers. Does anyone know the cultural makeup of the writing team? Are there any women on the team? Any agnostics? What is the average age of the WWE writers? All of this plays into the booking of a Hispanic star. Now the question is- HOW should he be booked? Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio are the best examples. They drew tons of money and ratings throughout their careers. They both were super over at one point and sold tons of merchandise. Why? Because at some point the bookers, writers, producers, etc. realized focusing on Eddie and Mysterio's characters rather than skin color made everyone richer. ADR came in and was hot. The cars, the personal ring announcer, the suits. It all worked. ADR is a LONG cry from The Mexicools. So what happened? WWE, for whatever reason, stopped focusing on his character and started focusing on his skin color. Now, this is where a diverse writing staff comes into play. If there were some Latin/Latina writers on the writing staff--someone would be able to tell Vince what being Hispanic/Latin in America means in the 21st century. Who are the hottest singers? What is the latest fashion trends? What is the day-to-day life like? etc. Because these questions were not asked we got the 'Made In America' run from ADR. I can't think of a face run within the last 5 years that just killed someone dead like the 'Made in America' gimmick did to ADR. There was no coming back from it because he was officially 1991 Hulk Hogan corny. I know a lot of Hispanics and I live in an area where there are tons. I can tell you right now- I don't know ANYONE who is cutting 'Made In America' promos or acting even remotely like ADR was during that time. I'd go as far as saying he was borderline an 'Uncle Tom' version of a Mexican. Stop with the 'Latin Heartthrob' shit and inserting Hispanic tropes into promos, etc. Having your multi-time WHC and RR winning cutting promos as the white man's version of American through a Lation's eyes while talking about burritos is pretty fucking stupid and isn't going to do that person nor the company any favors in the long run. ADR is the cautionary tale. Also, stop having these guys all hail from Mexico or Spain. The audience is not stupid and the product is international. Why only focus on one country when promotion latinos? WWE has two Puerto Ricans playing Spaniards and at one point TNA had a stable called "Mexican American" that consisted of a Puerto Rican, a Mexican, a Canadian, and a Dominican. Why was Rosita representing Mexico? This factors into the booking. If someone is Puerto Rican...let them be Puerto Rican. Announce they are from Puerto Rico and it better not be San Juan. If someone doesn't know where Toa Alta is, then let those people bring out a map and find out just like I did when I was just 6 years old and heard The Undertaker was from Death Valley! I keep wanting to end this post, but then I think of something else. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the U.S. The commentators should at least PRETEND to know Spanish. I'm not saying Michael Cole should break out his Spanish 101 on the next Raw broadcast. But if someone is in the ring (Rose, Fernando, etc.) cutting a promo in Spanish-- Cole and company should chime in with someone smart and not 'what did they just say!?". Again, I am not asking for anyone to be a human Rosetta Stone or anything, but a simple "Fernando just laid down a heavy challenge to anyone in the back and he means business!" will suffice. It's late and I'm rambling. I hope I have in some way answered your question Will.

Dave had a post a few days ago about someone being released soon and that it would 'surprise' a lot of people. The first person I thought of was ADR. The constant Main Event appearances by someone with his resume, should send red flags flagging. Regardless of whether or not this situation happened, I didn't see ADR finishing out the year working for WWE.

I had every single WWF magazine from 1996-1999. I feel like I had a few some 2000, but at some point I stopped. All these magazines sat in the basement and one day the basement flooded....memories washed away. I haven't picked up a WWE magazine in years.I will definitely get the final issue. Out of all the covers I remember the Bret/Bart Simpson one, Goldust/Mankind, the beyond tacky WM13 cover, and Val Venis serving up hot dogs with the ladies from Scores.

Re: Mainevent I feel bad for ADR. 4 time WHC and the winner of the biggest RR in the history of WWE comes down to the ring to OPEN Main Event. Not only that but the crowd couldn't have given two shits. Its like Zack Ryder was announced or something? The Swagger/ADR stuff was confusing at first glance but made sense. Swagger never actually turned face. He is just a de-facto face in his feud with Russev. The guy is still a heel and him and Zeb have their own agenta. They do not like people from other countries. Plain and simple. Sometimes the fans will agree (Russev) and sometimes the fans will disagree (ADR), but Team Zeb's message is unwavering. Swagger is the only guy in WWE who can be a heel and get massive face heat and then the following night continue to do the SAME routine and get massive amounts of boos. An interesting dynamic.

If WWE wants to do special presentations of PPVs, then that's fine. However, WWE needs to add something to the presentations. WWE SummerSlam 98 on Sunday at 5pm? No thank you. WWE SummerSlam 98 on Sunday at 5pm featuring never before seen backstage footage, a complete commentary overdub with the team of Booker T and Kevin Nash, and alternate camera angles?! As I subscriber I'd go out of my way to see something like the second option. The first option. No way. I also couldn't agree more with WWE treating The Network like the fan clubs of the 90's. Special discounts on merch, first access to Live Event tickets, automatically entered into a 'Date a Diva' contest (and other random contest that pop up), VIP backstage access to a Live WWE event that comes to your town (this would be like a 30 minute meet and great backstage before/after the show), Special autograph signing with John Cena (again, must have proof of purchase of The Network or you are sent home), etc. The gimmicks will definitely increase subscriptions and from there the WWE can tone down the gimmicks (i.e. meet and greet backstage). The majority of the gimmicks proposed will not cost WWE any money and will increase the chances for them to make a nice buck on The Network.

Re: Attitude Era Praise FWIW, I've noticed the most people singing the prase of 98-99 haven't watched that period since 98-99. They are picking out the memorable points and romantiziing the entire thing. I don't know ANYONE who has watch that period with fresh eyes (with the last five years) and rated it highly. Its always the opposite. So the next time someone starts praising 98-99 WWF, ask them- when was the last time they saw 98-99 WWF? Not just certain moments. Not just certain matches. I'm talking aout the episodes. I'm talking about WATCHING 98-99 WWF.

Comparing TNA to socks. Very apt. Good show guys.

According to WWE's website it employes 700 plus. So 70 guys are going to go? How many of those are going to come from the main roster? Ricardo getting the axe really sucks as I feel he was making a good contribution to the Spanish commentating team. I would say that this would be the year for Rosa Mendes, but she is going to be on Total Divas Season 3. I can see Tamina and Cameron getting the axe.

Its about that time to renew and in all honesty- I am most likely going to renew. Wrestling has always been apart of my life and I am the type of guy (as in my brother and best friend when they are around) who likes to randomly pop in a show, get a big ass sandwich, and just sit and watch. I doubt WWE is going to get a million more people like me, but godspeed. WWE prides themselves on being ENTERTAINMENT and more than pro wrestling, but The Network doesn't reflect that. I am surprised that the WWE hasn't been purchasing cancelled TV shows for the last couple of years. I'm not saying WWE needs to go entirely left field and purchase the rights to The Golden Palace, but shit. At least TRY to acquire something like Running Wilde, Zach Stone Is Going to be Famous, Party Down, Awake, Space, and maybe throw in two cartoons.

The Highs: The Concepts. TNA has a lot of good concepts that made them stand out from WWE. The X Division, Ultimate X, King Of The Mountain, Gut Check, Global Impact, Terror Dome, LAX, The champion can lose the title on a DQ, KO Tag Team Titles, The Bound For Glory Series, etc. The Lows: The Execution of The Concepts. Million dollar ideas mean absolutely nothing, if there isn't a million dollar execution. A good Example of this is Gut Check. What happens when you mix American Idol and WWE's Tough Enough? You get Gut Check. And that is NOT a knock on the idea - as its a good idea. Why did it fail? TNA put the stakes way too high by promising a TNA contract to the winners of Gut Check. Not only that, but TNA wanted every single wrestler to be presented in the exact same way. Joey Ryan wasn't being sleazy in his Gut Check promo because he was too busy talking about how much of a Hulk Hogan fan he was. And this was the same for everyone. Personal stories of tradegy and triumph is cool for American idol- but in a business where people care more about the character than the person (if we are going to be honest), its time to bring the A game. Everyone taking in a montone voice and being on the verge of tears at time was really lame. But let's get past the introduction intereview segments for Gut Check. Gut Check had some good names like Velez, Pearce, Cage, Bradley, and Ryan. But in other cases there were some suspect names involved and matches worked. If you are a company and are REALLY looking for the best in the world, why would you bring in Tapa?Kris Lewie? The Big O? etc. Why would a wrestler being 'too experienced' and 'not making it elsewhere' (which is code for 'WWE'), be a hinderance? The selection and the judging process was utterly whacky during the entire history of The Gut Check. The matches themselves often times were nothing to write home about and some of those guys/girls receiving a contract at the end of a performance in-ring performance (and accompanied by a weak sauce promo which of course featured brown-nosing and begging) made the entire thing come full circle as being a 2 dollar execution on a million dollar idea. I don't want to take up this whole thread, but I could go on... As far as moments when I thought TNA was going to be something special/high moments: Victory Road 2004 Kurt Angle's Debut 1/4/10 episode of Impact The build to Joe/Steiner Hogan's arrival Sting's return in 2005 Austin Aries winning the WHC

That's a great idea. The ONLY person who is able to end Dallas' undefeated streak is someone from his old stomping around. Someone who watched him develope and knows all his weaknesses. To even further your angle- Sami can do a few" You may have these people fooled, but I know the REAL BO DALLAS!" promos and show footage of Bo acting like a complete dick in NXT. Bo tries to fight the bad press and even has some of the videos re-edited and some of the fans from NXT give 'honest' testimony about the very inspirational Bo Dallas. They can keep this going until Tyson/Justin get the call up and become The Bad Influence of WWE. I can see (and want to see) a Bo/Tyson/Justin team go against Sami and two WWE guys that BO just kept fucking with prior to Sami coming in.