Sean Liska Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 They tend to ignore PPV buys/TV ratings when it shows someone they have a hard on over isn't working, but seem to be quick to use them as an excuse to torpedo a guy they didn't intend to get behind. What's the last example of this happening? I remember people freaking out after each bad RAW number that CM Punk's push was going to be killed, and he only got pushed stronger. MITB 2011 really didn't do that crazy of a number, and SummerSlam 2011 did a bad number, and ratings didn't jump much, and they still pushed him big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 They must have blamed the Survivor Series number on Big Show because there isn't one number that is favorable to Orton in any of these shows. It reminds me of how Orton didn't move numbers but Mark Henry clearly did. I think the bigger issue is that Orton on top is the flop, not Bryan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 That, plus they didn't have an out plan for Orton on top. They basically accepted him as a flop but didn't want to devalue the title by having it jump around before WrestleMania. They seemed to be locked in with their plan (obvious due to Batista and him still being the title match with basically universal opposition from the fan base) and didn't want to deviate from it. Booked themselves into a corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 Would have they been better off if they didn't unify the belts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 With Cena as a separate champ, you could have at least had him run on top for a bit, I guess. A unification match at WrestleMania doesn't mean much because WM itself is a draw. That's a good question. I think them unifying the belts the way they did looks like a bad idea in retrospect, and if I remember right, that decision was made to try and give Orton more of a rub to be accepted on top by going over Cena in a "historically significant" match. Now it looks like it all didn't matter at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 Big Show was on the Smackdown post-game show last night. Not really a spot for people they keep in the mix. He has nothing going on right now. The HHH buying his house stuff was supposed to lead to a match between the two. They dropped it because it wasn't getting over at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 I thought the fans were responding to him huge for a while thre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 Well, the Survivor Series buyrate came in and they killed whatever they had planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 By the way, Big Show looks sort of suave and cool dressed up, but that disappears when he's in his wrestling gear for whatever reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 My secret wish is to see a Orton/Batista/Bryan triple threat at Mania where Orton & Batista double pin Bryan, split the titles between them and re-do the Two Man Power Trip. I'm sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 I don't get this whole "who's on top" equals who's responsible for ratings thinking in 2014. This isn't MSG 1980. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Trying to give Big Show the Yes chant has to be one of the more comical booking decisions in recent memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 I hate saying this because there's so much room for it to be wrong, but for the first time in ages, I kind of feel like we might be on the tipping point of a potential boom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Well, I feel like if WWE gets their booking act together (the biggest if ever spoken) we could be on the tipping point of one of the greatest overall runs any promotion has ever had. The focus on ring-work is there and the right style and super talented guys are coming together to take big advantage of that. There are lots of interesting top stars who are unique and fresh and some great guys coming up from NXT. If the creative side can match up to what the wrestling side has been doing it'll really be something special. That said, I really don't see how it translates into a "boom." The 80s and late 90s boom came because they had something unique to offer -- the 80s, the first national wrestling product with a big cartoony and over the top presentation, the late 90s with edginess and line-pushing to appeal to the kids. What do they have now to offer potentially, other than a great product, which doesn't spell 'mainstream' success in the way they had in the last two booms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Well, I feel like if WWE gets their booking act together (the biggest if ever spoken) we could be on the tipping point of one of the greatest overall runs any promotion has ever had. The focus on ring-work is there and the right style and super talented guys are coming together to take big advantage of that. There are lots of interesting top stars who are unique and fresh and some great guys coming up from NXT. If the creative side can match up to what the wrestling side has been doing it'll really be something special. That said, I really don't see how it translates into a "boom." The 80s and late 90s boom came because they had something unique to offer -- the 80s, the first national wrestling product with a big cartoony and over the top presentation, the late 90s with edginess and line-pushing to appeal to the kids. What do they have now to offer potentially, other than a great product, which doesn't spell 'mainstream' success in the way they had in the last two booms. I think the medium is the key. It depends on how popular the network is on some level, but this does feel heavily above the curve and I think it's something casuals might jump on either for nostalgia reasons or because they got one PPV a year anyway, and it might get more steady eyes on the product, which, as you said, is pretty hot, in-ring, at least. It's also the sort of character training that's coming in to play with the training center though. I think for the the first time ever, WWE is really investing for the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Yeah, I think we're potentially on the verge of something special too. The thing is, they are setting up a business model where the likelihood of them having a profitability boom is pretty strong, even if there's no popularity boom to go with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 I didn't listen to the how but according to Meltz Punk will be returning tomorrow night. He said a top star said "100 percent" he will show up. I bet he gets added to the title match and after this week will get booed out of the building. That's if this is true and Dave hasn't had his usual winning percentage lately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 I don't think Punk is coming back, but throwing him into the title match to make it Orton vs. Batista vs. Punk would be...really anticlimactic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 I could see them adding Punk for two reasons. 1.) It might be Punk's terms for coming back. 2.) It is a way for Vince to say "ultimately, I am not giving you (the crowd) what you want, but instead I'm giving you what I say you want, which is Punk, not Bryan." Basically, a nutty guy's illusion of control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Big Show was on the Smackdown post-game show last night. Not really a spot for people they keep in the mix. He has nothing going on right now. The HHH buying his house stuff was supposed to lead to a match between the two. They dropped it because it wasn't getting over at all. Big Show was getting over. His crowd responses were pretty great. The problem was that they were leading to Big Show vs. HHH, which should have been the Survivor Series match. I thought the fans were responding to him huge for a while thre. They were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 I hate saying this because there's so much room for it to be wrong, but for the first time in ages, I kind of feel like we might be on the tipping point of a potential boom. Usually in booms, they give the people what they want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 WWE is now following Punk on twitter again. Inserting him into the title match would be a colossal mistake Show was getting over pretty strongly and I remember not being bothered by his push. The SS main event killed his character dead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 i guess the big story of the year will be the tv deal and if it makes them bulletproof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Why would inserting him be worse than running it heel vs heel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Because it eliminates the possibility of doing what people actually want, which is inserting Bryan into the match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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