fakeplastictrees

So that's a little over 40 million dollars. Not too bad. What will be interesting is to compare the numbers 6 months from now to the PPVs of 2013 from the same time period and see if WWE made close to or about the same. Of course there will be factors to consider.

WWE's reaction to Lesnar leaving the first time tells me that they want to keep their top guys from joining The NFL, UFC, and anything else that WWE feels is in direct competition with their brand. Also, you never know what the future of pro wrestling holds. The AAA North American expansion may go extremely well. No compete clause would suck for WWE. It will also prevent WWE from planting stories about former employees (Victoria as Benoit's mistree, Jeff Hardy's drug bust, Mike Knox having tons of substances in his attic), etc.

Goldberg and Michelle McCool had the most obvious piped pops in pro wrestling during their respective eras. I am not sure who WWE has to 'cue the cheers' for in 2014.

It started after the buy outs? I believe this also happened in part because all three promotions had their own promo styles and some people still goes massively over by being bad promos. Perhaps Vince felt the stakes were way to high being the only game in town and everyone needed to be as sharp as possible. Vince moving from wrestling to entertainment (before the name change there were reports that WWE wanted to change their name and eventually get rid of 'federation' to help expand their brand) definitely played a part, but I can't help but feel it also had to do with Vince not believing that the WCW or ECW guys had the chops needed to make money. Having 1 or 2 guys on the roster staring into the camera and doing their best Roderick Strong impressionation is bad. Having 20 guys do that can be even worse. Looking at the 2001 roster I see 11 guys who were completely suspect when it came to promo ability. I am sure the thinking was that work doesn't get you over in WWE (look at Dean Malenko's crowd reactions in WCW vs. WWE) and everyone has to have some character.

I don't buy DVDs. I can't remember the last DVD I purchased, but it has been over 10 years. I Stream everything. I do not have cable, only internet. What would it take for me to buy a WWE DVD? It has to be something I DO NOT have access to at all. Plain and simple. WWE docs are usually good, but feel too corporate and fake at times. I think the money is in the real stories. Something so meta that it will not be on Netflix or available through Redbox. A DVD of CM Punk walking out of WWE post Royal Rumble 2014 would be interesting as would a 4 hour documentary on Vince McMahon's life minus the kayfabe and bullshit. I'd love if WWE took a page out of Kayfabe commentaries and brought some of the writers in to talk about certain years and the angles of those years and how they came about, again I think this will only be successful if there was no bullshit. If WWE wants to get Vince, Ed, Russo, and some others together to talk WWE 1997-1999 booking in a 3 hour documentary, it would be very interesting. None of this will happen.

I alwayed liked his reactions in WCW during big moments. Nick Patrick losing his shit during Luger/Hogan from Nitro - enhanced the ending for me.

It sounds like Dixie wanted to maintain her position as she definitely wanted to still have power within the company. I would not be surprised if Dixie's contract had some stipulation to it that prevented her from being removed from his position before 10 years unless something screwy happened (Carter selling meth to Hardy, pimping out Rockstar Spud in Dupont, etc.).JJ/Keith did the right thing not to play into the delusion because it would have just been headaches for everyone involved. I've given up hope for TNA and so have a ton of others. 1500 people went to Lockdown because TNA feels that its smart to: 1. Have Jeff Hardy (the company's biggest merch seller and one of their biggest acts) play his "Williow" character. 2. Book Magnus as a 'paper champion' with zero credible wins since winning the belt 3. Run another company takeover angle. 4. Have a ton of former WHC come off as jobbers/non-factors due to booking/presentation/etc. 5. !!!!!AUTHORITY FIGURES!!!! 6. Keep Mike Tenay and Taz as the voice or the product and keep the overal presentation of the WWE as WWE lit as possible.

Can't go wrong with the TLC match from WMX7. If he like Angle/Benoit/Mysterio/Guerrero then he should check out the triple threat match featuring Angle/Benoit vs. Eddie/Chavo vs. Edge/Mysterio from Survivor Series 2002.

Of course he's justified. As long as they're not paying him, he doesn't owe anyone anything. He was being paid at the time of his walk ou. If WWE stopped payment to his account, then yes, by all means all out. But that didn't happen. This reminds me of Rampage Jackson complaining about getting the short stick in UFC despite being one of UFC's most promoted personalities and making 14 million while fighting for UFC post Pride.

Absolutely. He has every right to be upset. Not getting your questions answered from the higher ups is bullshit. But when you have been given ALL that Punk has been given and you hold the position he holds, there are better ways to handle it. I am sure if Punk wanted to he could have called a meeting with his lawyer and Vince (or Stephanie, HHH, Ace, etc.) to hammer out some details. Maybe he did? Maybe it really did get to the point where he tried everything he could think of and had sit down meetings with everyoe could and didn't get an answer. Maybe WWE is hiding something or...maybe they just don't know. WWE is most likely in a position where they do not want to promise anything to anyone in case The Network under performs. I am sure WWE has an idea of how its going to work but hasn't come to a system that will work well for the company as well as the wrestlers. With all that said, Punk is still not justified for getting in his car and going home.

I would like to say that I am in no way hating on the guy. He has worked for everything he has in life and deserves what he has based off his hardwork and dedication. With that said, I am not a supporter of the gimmick of someone saying 'Fuck This!' and leaving. If it was someone who felt they were getting the shaft performing on Main Event knowing damn well they should be in the main events of Raw (let's assume this person has the fan support and merch sales to back it up) then that is one thing. But when the millionarie who has been a central part of WWE TV for YEARS runs the 'I'm leaving' gimmick two times in just a matter of years...I just roll my eyes. This isn't the story of the steel worker who isn't putting up with bullshit wages anymore because he has a family to support. This is the story of a fat cat on wall street getting deciding to vacate his place of business because his favorite steak restaraunt across the street has stopped serving the fried shrimp stuffed with crab meat and brie. Again, the guy is talented, but how many times does he need to walkout until people wake up and see that CM Punk isn't 'fighting the good fight' and is just a carny doing the exact same shit Hogan, Nash, and Michaels did in the past.

So what's the difference between Michaels being a baby in 1996 and Punk being a baby in 2014? Michaels 'loses his smile' and is criticized while Punk loses his and doesn't get the same flack. I know I am in the minority here, but I don't see Punk as a hero or anything or than a prima donna. I honestly hope he doesn't come back as I'm tired of his crybaby gimmick. The millionaire, who is working his dream job, is complaining because he isn't in the number one spot 24/7/365.

Going to wrestling shows are always fun. Watching what's in the ring is awesome, but watching and listening to what's happening outside the ring is even better. It helps put things in perspective and reminds me that before the 23 page DVDVR threads about Harley Race's armwork and flame wars starting over disagreement over Tito Santan's actual drawing power with the Hispanic popular during rhe 80's, we were all hardcore marks just absorbed completely and unbashfully in the product. If there's anyone who hasn't been to a show recently, do yourself a favor and go.

A few thoughts: The promo video for Bo Dallas was awesome. kNOw Bo and passing out cookies is great babyface stuff done even better by a heel. What's going on with the random So Cal Val sighting? Is she back to her old ways now that TNA has canned her? I also find it amazing how WWE gets damn good production values out of Full Sail while TNA struggles to make a Universal Studios Soundstage look relevant. I am still not sold on Paige, Emma, or any new Diva that has recently (Summer Rae) come out of NXT or is currently in NXT. Hopefully that changes. Pac maineventing a landmark WWE show, being in the mainevent of that show, and winning the title while John Cena, HBK, HHH, and other applaud. was an amazing visual and moment. Final assesment: Sure there were some stinkers, but an overall good show. I hope as NXT continues we see less of guys like HBK, Cena, HHH, etc. I would like to see 100% new guys if possible.

The Sami match was really good. Simply amazing how good Generico has been for years. Never get tired of seeing that guy work. He was able to emote while wearing a mask (only Mysterio is comparable) and now that he has it off...its gone up another level. There is no way this guy is going to be a huge babyface in WWE.

Fake epicness/Drama is one of the things that I have HATED about a lot of Taker's recent Mania matches ESPECIALLY with HBK. HBK is the king of being OTT with the 'emotion' that just comes off as 100% acting and nothing more. HBK takes away from a lot of his matches the emotional stuff. I literally cringe and become LESS interested in something when I hear Michaels is going to be a ref of a match due to his OTT version of true emotion and the stuff he is being SO EMOTIONALLY invested in doesn't make that much sense to me for a guy to have THAT MUCH emotion. So yeah...shit like that takes me out of matches as well.

In the mid 90's WWF didn't give a shit about going to commercial during a main event title match. I believe WCW Nitro was the first wrestling program in the later 90's to not have their main event interrupted by commercials. In all reality, that is all I care about. The big match. If the entire night has been building up to Batista/Undetaker...take all the commericals breaks BEFORE the match. You want to go to commericals do it during a Divas match or do like The Grammys and run a commercial before Lawler can finish a lame joke. Has this ever killed a match for me? Yep. Rhino vs. Angle vs Christian (?) in a triple threat match. It was the main event of Impact and this was shortly after WWE did an Iron Man match on free tv (HBK vs. Cena?). Everyone was raving about that match so of course, not to be outdone, TNA did their own..and it was good. There was NOTHING wrong with the match with the exception that it went to commercial like 3 times.

ADR punched Batista and started attacking him after Batista flat out told ADR he has no issue with him.

I don't believe Punk quit. I think he is just taking a break to collect himself. I don't see a wrestler WILLINGLY walking away from WWE before that wrestler's biggest payday of the year. After Mania? Sure! Before? No way. Even if this is an extended break- he will be back within 6 months.

It will be a news story if Cena left. Cena has proven he is the only one who constantly moves the needle for WWE. How many times have WWE rushed Cena back to TV due to low ratings? If/When Punk leaves the IWC will cry foul and that TERRIBLE website cagesideseats.com will post a million markish articles by their idiotic staff on how this is the biggest WWE fumble in the history of the company and how the WWE will go out of business within a year. The reality of a Punk departure? WWE business will keep on trucking upwards and ROH might get a special Punk appearance here-and-there. That will be the state of the world when Punk leaves WWE.

I honestly believe that TNA has no ideas outside of power struggle angles and company take over angles. Mike Foley was the mystery TNA investor. until the Immortal angle. TNA went into a little break and then kicked in the A&E angle. Now they are back at the mystery TNA investor angle. Amazing. In 4 years they hit the same two angles TWICE each and wonder why their ratings are down. Rewind a couple years back and JJ ran the same angle two years in a row himself.

I would like to see a Brock/Batista match, but at the same time I wouldn't be upset if WWE continues to build toward the future. Brock, Taker, HHH, and Batista will all be apart of WM. Jericho has mentioned he would like to be apart as well and RVD is within WWE contract but considers himself part of the WWE family. In that case I wouldn't mind seeing the top 4 matches of WM: Brock vs. Danielson Taker vs. Cena HHH vs. Punk Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio toss in Mysterio, Orton, Jericho, RVD , and Hogan and it will be a pretty star-studded show.

What more does he have to say? I can understand people listening to his podcast every Thursday or going to his site occasionally to check out his latest rant- but who would PAY to hear this man talk at this point? The guy is a carny but has been shooting for YEARS over a decade at this point. There is nothing left in the tank and it can all be summed up with " I wish it was 1989 and I hate the current state of pro wrestling because Santino is a star while Matt Morgan is standing in the unemployment line".

Finally got around to listening to the Billy Jack Haynes shoot...and man...what a disappointment. I was expecting enlightening. A shoot linking a bunch shit and occurrences in a logic way that makes me believe everything Jack says is true...not the case. Just a crazy, old, bitter man wanting to get everything off his chest because he is not a star anymore and lost millions of dollars. This shoot got me curious in his work and the guy sucked.

The properly written blurb on the TNA website is just the icing on the cake. On November 23, 2013 Kurt Angle was a part of One Direction's 1DDay promoting their upcoming album release "Midnight Memories". The 7 hour event was hosted for the most part by the band and saw the likes of people such as Simon Cowel, Jerry Springer, Piers Morgan and more. It was streamed live from Los Angeles, CA to the world on YouTube and was seen by over 650,000 people at any given time. As part of the event Kurt came in to wrestle with the Liam where he started things off fairly simple, however, it seemed that Kurt had underestimated Liam's abilities abilities and the band member had a few tricks up his sleaves. I guess 'abilities' had to be in there back-to-back. What if someone wanted to check out TNA because of that event and was met with a 3rd rate site, a bad blurb on the event, and Garrett Bischoff being from 'Parks Unknown'. Seriously, the site fucking sucks. For some reason there is a disconnect. I am not sure why. TNA likes to talk about Twitter, Facebook, Instragram, and other social media, but refuses to SHOW THIS STUFF ON TV. Angle doing stuff with One Direction is BIG. I am not a fan of those guys but I recognize they are superstars and massively popular. Its good they have it on the website, but I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't on TV. Christopher Daniels being on Epic Meal Time is another thing that shouldn't just get mentioned...but should be shown. If there is some kind of copyright law I am unaware of that prevents people from just showing Youtube videos (without paying the copyright owner some cash), then plug the shit out of it on TV and tell everyone to go to TNA's Youtube page, etc. Just from a presentation standpoint, people would think TNA wrestlers do NOTHING outside TNA and have no presence while WWE workers have tons of stuff going on and side projects. Hopefully TNA realizes that social media interactive doesn't stop and end with the plugging of Dixie's Twitter or Bubba Ray telling people to add him on Myspace. TNA keeps bringing itself to social media (which is a good thing) but isn't bringing social media to TNA.