I think there is a difference between hardcore fans and the smarks. I have known some hardcore fans who I would not label a smark in any shape or form. Like Loss, I agree the term smark needs to go but not for the reasons he stated.
I am a couple of chapters into Bobby Heenan's 2nd book Chair Shots and Other Obstacles. I guess tis is Bobby Heenan's attempt as a self-help book. However, there are enough wrestling antecdotes and situations in which the advice portion does not overpower the reader.
My favorite part so far: Bobby Heenan compares promoters to pimps and wrestlers to whores. He says they are the only 2 occupations that are even comparable to each other.
Yeah, keep in mind that the creative dept. is currently run by a woman... a woman who told Molly Holly, one of the few skilled workers the Fed had, that she was too fat.
I know you were discussing business models but I was discussing the quality of the TV shows. When WCW was featuring big main events in their TV and WWF followed suit, both companies were really just following what Watts had already done in the 80s. Watts TV was just as likely to feature a big match at the beginning of the show as they would at the end.
I really want to find out what sek was implying since it didn't really fit in with what I was getting at.