vicious&delicious

my alienation has to do with the amount of programming increasing exponentially coinciding with a large decrease in my free time. i don't understand how a fan with a full time job, family and kids can have the time in the day to be a fully engaged wrestling fan these days. during my peak (single, easy commute, access to dvr and wwe 24/7) i was watching 7-10 hours a week. today, (married, kid, longer commute) i'm down to maybe 3 hours. the wwe alone wants 7+ hours of your week for original programming. that's before you get started with their classic content. that's before you get started with the other streaming services. that's before you go down a youtube rabbit hole. the hours in the day just don't exist. and i'm not alone. i would say i always had a rotation of 3-4 friends who would keep up and watch consistently. maybe less than me but enough to be fully versed in what was going on. one by one as each of us reached our 30s and the time-constraints of adulthood took hold. it seems like its one of the first things to go. they still consider themselves fans but don't watch anymore on a weekly basis. i'm of the belief that raw ratings are indicative of the current level of people who view wwe programming as can't miss tv. it is not an effective barometer of the number of people who consider themselves wrestling fans. there are wrestling nomads all over the place. people who don't have the time to watch. who are bored with three hour raws. people waiting for the next punk to come along. the wwe twitter feed has 9 million followers. even a hhh or an orton have over 5 million. those are big numbers when you consider how many people are actually tuning in,

Bray is great. The question of whether he is ready depends on whether he can get people to boo him and cheer Cena. That's not a small order.

I'm just waiting for Vince to throw Bryan under the bus again at the next conference call. "Pushing Bryan was a swing and a miss. Now Raw is on the Food Network after Rachel Ray."

It seems like a failure for WWE to come to a deal with NBCU during the negotiating window was expected. WWE wants a lot more money than what is currently being paid. As NBCU has the right to match any deal, they have no incentive to give the WWE what they want without seeing if someone else will do it first. The only downside to NBCU is a bidding war. While, they have a long established relationship, Raw on USA doesn't make much sense anymore. It is a premier television show on a network that really has little use for it. None of its other programming appeals to WWE viewers and vice versa. I also can't imagine USA is getting significantly higher cable rights fees because they carry WWE programming. So they're not getting much value out of the programming. What makes the most sense is for a FXX station to step in and make a run at Raw. A station that has dreams of being a big time player in cable who overnight will be able to charge higher rights fees.

HHH v. Punk would've been terrible. The last decent feud HHH had was with Sheamus. If you recall that ended with HHH squashing Sheamus (a la Batista on ADR) and stripping him of any/all credibility to show that he was back!!

The key to all of this is that WWE is a self-contained world. Outside of WrestleMania, which draws in casual viewers, they don't need much promotion. They do enough promotion on their own programming. The cable companies have acted for years simply as the distribution channel and have collected hundreds of millions of dollars because of it. A lot of these giant cable companies don't make enormous profits. The WWE ppvs were a consistent revenue stream which required little to no effort on their part. I can certainly understand why a DirectTV would be pissed. However, they had an ample opportunity to get in on the ground floor with the network and chose not to. Can't wait for the hypothetical Raw Post-Show hosted by the Miz...for when 3 hours of live programming just isn't enough wrestling.

Punk had a great 2012 and was my favorite wrestler on the roster. In 2013 he has had his moments (Taker/Brock) but on a week to week basis he has been completely overshadowed by the rise of Bryan, the Shield, Cesaro, Rhodes brothers, etc. I think I'm spoiled now, a little bored of his moveset and have become accustomed to seeing classics on a weekly basis. Punk is only giving me 3-4 classics with incredible build a year. After writing that sentence with complete sincerity, I can see why Punk would have little patience for wrestling fans.

The complete collapse of the authority angle left a very sour taste in my mouth. It was Bryan's story but so many wrestlers came along for the ride. Suddenly half the roster was wrestling with purpose. The downfall of the angle and the problem with creative is/was a lack of patience. The WWE creative model is madness. It is very difficult to get a wrestler over long-term without a prolonged push. But if when the push begins the guy is not an immediate draw he gets dropped down the card. The result is there is one draw and five over guys on the entire roster. The writing needs to be less reactionary. You're going to have no idea what will draw 2 years in the future by looking at this weeks quarter-hour ratings. Dropping an untested draw (Bryan) into four consecutive ppv main events and watching him struggle only shows that he is not there yet. Not that he never will be. Traditional scripted tv shows are written and filmed in a vacuum. A big chunk of the season is in the can before ratings come out. Before the critics/fans can tell the writers what they think. The writers can do what they have to do without constant fear that the rug will be pulled out from under them by a loss of viewers between commercial breaks.

Is there any reason why the WWE has to give away their B-ppvs for free on the WWE Network? Wouldn't a combination of classic programming, new programming, hyped like only WWE can (APP APP APP APP TOUT TOUT TOUT) bring in a huge chunk of subscribers? Maybe sprinkle in a big time ppv once or twice a year? Why not set it up where if you subscribe to the network the B-ppvs are discounted? Thus you are giving people incentive to purchase the subscription and incentive to purchase the ppv. I know if a well-booked ppv was $25 bucks I would be much more likely to purchase it.

I wish this ppv would teach them to stop trying to tell the fans what they want to see. Judging by the reaction less pose down to end the show, nothing was learned.

I don't want to pile up on Natalya. I probably pay more attention to her matches and may be overly critical because she is a common topic of discussion. However, her smackdown match last friday with tamina was terrible. Natalya hit one offensive move (a clothesline) and spent 15 seconds trying to awkwardly get Tamina's long legs into a sharp shooter. It was bad. Miz applying the figure four bad.

The problem with the diva's division is that the company and fans have minimal interest in it. This ultimately makes every diva replaceable. This makes the title a joke (see JBL mocking AJ). This makes the model v. wrestler argument redundant. I know for myself I don't want to see women beat each other up.

The difference between 1998 WCW and 2013 WWE is in the old WCW days the inmates were running the asylum. There was a glut of older established main eventers who were all very protective of their spots and rarely did jobs or made someone beneath them look good. In today's WWE there are only a handful of guys who are protected by WWE creative and Cena, the top dog, comes off as a team player who loves to make people (see Punk, Bryan and now Cesaro). Orton, the second most protected active wrestler just spent the last 4+ months making Bryan look good. Creative just has no idea what they're doing.

I blame most of the roster issues on poor booking. I would divide the roster into five categories. 1. -Who has not had a feud in a year. 2. -Who has not cut a promo in a year. 3. -Who loses a lot and has lost credibility. 4. -Who suffers from 50/50 booking. 5. List of guys I do not find entertaining. When I went through the roster, its obvious that most of the roster has been gimmickless and directionless for over a year. Sometimes being fed to the main eventers to fill up tv time. Other times trading wins/losses I see talent in a lot of these guys and most of them are redeemable. It just takes (wait for it) a gimmick, direction and some protection of their credibility. 1. List of guys who have not had a feud on Raw/Smackdown in the last year: ◾The Great Khali ◾R-Truth ◾Kofi Kingston ◾Zack Ryder ◾Justin Gabriel ◾Alex Riley ◾Brodus Clay ◾Yoshi Tatsu ◾Sin Cara ◾JTG ◾Hornswoggle ◾Drew McIntyre ◾Heath Slater ◾Jinder Mahal ◾Hunico ◾Camacho ◾Primo ◾Epico ◾Hawkins 2. List of guys who I have not heard talk on Raw/Smackdown in over a year: ◾Kofi Kingston ◾Zack Ryder ◾Justin Gabriel ◾Alex Riley ◾Brodus Clay ◾Darren Young ◾Yoshi Tatsu ◾Sin Cara ◾JTG ◾Tensai ◾Hornswoggle ◾Drew McIntyre ◾Heath Slater ◾Jinder Mahal ◾Hunico ◾Camacho ◾Primo ◾Epico ◾Hawkins 3. List of guys who lose all the time and are no longer credible: ◾The Great Khali ◾R-Truth ◾Kofi Kingston ◾Zack Ryder ◾Justin Gabriel ◾Brodus Clay ◾Yoshi Tatsu ◾JTG ◾Dolph Ziggler ◾The Miz ◾Tensai ◾Ryback ◾Alberto Del Rio ◾Jack Swagger ◾Wade Barrett ◾Drew McIntyre ◾Heath Slater ◾Jinder Mahal ◾Hunico ◾Camacho ◾Hawkins 4. List of guys in the mid-card who suffer from 50/50 booking. ◾R-Truth ◾Kofi Kingston ◾Darren Young ◾Titus O’Neal ◾Cody Rhodes ◾Dolph Ziggler ◾The Miz ◾Alberto Del Rio ◾Fandango (?) ◾Jack Swagger ◾Wade Barrett ◾Primo ◾Epico 5. List of guys who have never entertained me. ◾The Great Khali ◾Darren Young ◾Sin Cara ◾Curtis Axel ◾Jinder Mahal ◾Erick Rowan Not on my lists: ◾Jey Uso ◾Jimmy Uso ◾John Cena ◾CM Punk ◾Daniel Bryan ◾Randy Orton ◾Christian ◾The Big Show ◾Kane ◾Triple H ◾Brock Lesnar ◾Mark Henry ◾Antonio Cesaro ◾Roman Reigns ◾Seth Rollins ◾Dean Ambrose ◾Big E Langston ◾Luke Harper ◾Bray Wyatt ◾Goldust ◾Sheamus ◾Undertaker

Is the answer Wrath?

The way I see it is the WWE doesn’t know what to do with its very vocal older fan base. The older fan base is made up of diehard fans who buy ppvs, attend shows and will watch the product no matter what. This is the part of the crowd that crowned Punk and Bryan and that briefly made Zack Ryder and Fandango hot. When we hear someone like Bryan get a massive pop, to us that means you’re a draw. But in WWE land, all it means is you are appealing to the small subset of people (mostly older, diehard fans) who actually attend shows. This is why Bryan lights up the live crowds and Cena lights up the nielsen ratings. The WWE may flirt with the idea of making Punk or Bryan the center of the promotion but will pull the rug out from under them because WWE wants mainstream appeal and the only guy on the roster who has it is Cena.

My impression has always been that JR is a little more outspoken (similar to Heyman) than the usual stooge in management/creative. People like JR don't typically get to hang around for very long. But due to a variety of reasons, JR has been invaluable to the company and they were stuck with him. I think this is where the hatred/mocking comes from. It's still sad and pathetic that JR isn't calling one of the main shows. I recall that Oklahoma Raw in October of 2011 when Laurenitis fired him on air. It was distasteful and embarrassing. I couldn't locate the quarter hour breakdown for the show but I recall the segment starting at around 5 million viewers and ending up losing over 500,000 viewers. Raw didn't get anywhere near 5 million viewers again for months. A perfect example of Vince's petty garbage turning off viewers.

How about the Road Warriors? When I was a kid I remember thinking that either of them could be NWA champ if they weren't so focused on tag team gold. Their aura went shortly after they stepped foot in a WWE ring. My two lasting memories of the Legion of Doom are Rocko and Sunny flashing the crowd as their manager.

Current WWE is confusing because at least 50% of the roster is in a constant mid-card holding pattern. They have limited angles and are forever trading wins and losses. These wins and losses have no meaning. They don't help and they don't hurt. The main event scene is a place where most of the focus is and wins and losses can make or break you. In the main event, people actually get a chance to cut promos on each other. Chunks of storyline are recapped for weeks on tv leading up to ppvs. If you are in a main event program you better hope creative has a plan for you. If creative has a plan for you following a tough loss to keep you hot, the loss does not matter and you can keep your spot and maybe even move on to better things. Bryan is a great example. The loss at Summerslam to Orton is part of a larger storyline. Henrys loss at Money in the Bank was followed up by a face turn the following night against the Shield which made him look badass. Thus the loss did not hurt him. Now, lets look at someone like Ryback. They spent a year building him up as an unstoppable monster. Cena clearly got the better of him in their feud and afterwards there was no storyline for him. He immediately slid down the card. Overnight the poor guy got zero reactions and now they're building him up almost from scratch. Dolph is another example. His championship feud with Del Rio was pretty hot. The storyline about Dolphs concussion and Del Rio taking advantage of it was playing out nicely. The WWE then decided to lazily drop Dolph back down to the mid-card and put him in a never-ending feud with Big E. Now, in order to build him up a main event player, they are going to have to push him al over again.

Cena's work is fine. Some things he does look a little sloppy, but Punk is way sloppier. The issue with Cena is directly related to the split demographics of wrestling fans. Cena is booked for 9 year olds and the older audience has rebelled against it. Cena the character is essentially Hogan 2.0. He's big. He's muscular. He always overcomes the odds. And at the end of the day everything that happens to him is insignificant. There is no progression to his character. No matter what happens to him, in a week or two, it will be long forgotten and he will move on to his next 3 week feud. For example, on the post-summerslam raw, after losing the title, Cena comes out smiling and making cute comments to the cameraman. It did not seem like it mattered at all that he just lost the title. It reminds me of a great Simpsons quote: "Lisa: Don't worry, Bart. It seems like every week something odd happens to the Simpsons. My advice is to ride it out, make the occasional smart-alec quip, and by next week we'll be back to where we started from, ready for another wacky adventure. Bart: Ay, caramba! Lisa: That's the spirit." Now compare him to Punk. Over the last three years Punk has had very clear chapters of his career with different looks and tweaks to his character. He went from Straight Edge Society to leader of the Nexis to uber face world champ to heel turn on the rock to Heyman guy to face turn against Heyman. You can debate the merits of Punk all you want, but they at least try to keep him interesting.

I specifically remember watching NWO Souled Out from 1997 on classics a few months back. There was a Miss NWO competition. It was pretty brutal. Can't find screen caps online.

I think the premise is incorrect. We no longer live in a music album age. We live in a digital singles age. The only people who still buy full albums on the regular are the middle aged. That's why Bruce Springsteen still tops the charts. That's why mid-90s also rans Cake of all bands topped the charts last year. Pitbull sells tens of million of singles. So I think the focus should be on inconsistent, highly regarded performers who have very high peaks but overall a rather unimpressive rarely focused on body of work.

The WWEs revisionist history regarding Sheik has gone on since Hogan's title win. People well-versed in WWF history may recognize Sheik as a transitional heel champion but that is not how he was presented in the 80s. When I first got into wrestling in 87 or 88, I tried to get my hands on every WWF related product and still was not aware of Bob Backlunds existence until the early 90s. I recall being under the impression that Sheik was a long-time champion who our savior soundly defeated for the title to launch Hulkamania.

Wyattts promos are great but his group is not imposing at all. They have the boring, soft hitting big man offense of late 90s wwf. It's like I'm watching D.O.A. Last night I felt bad that Brodus had to sell Harpers weak lariat finisher like death.

Barrett is a guy who can't gain any traction. It seems like most of the time he is in the midcard trading wins with the likes of the Miz and Kofi. When he's actually on a winning streak, his renewed credibility is used to feed him to main event types like Orton or Sheamus. It reminds me a lot of the spot Ziggler had prior to cashing in the briefcase. I considered posting about Barrett in the biggest fall from grace thread. Barrett debuts and is immediately front and center in an angle with Cena. Totally looks like he belongs. His mic work was fantastic. I attended a November 2010 Raw (the one where Sheamus won King of the Ring) and I just remember Barrett getting booed out of the building. Today the guy barely touches a mic and hasn't been in a memorable angle of note since the Nexus.