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WWE Network... It's Here


goodhelmet

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Yeah--every time I can recall any GCW being used by WWE, it looks VHS terrible, like they don't have real masters to work from. I would expect some Mid Atlantic as part of all this, though, as they've readily used it in the past and it's full of future legends if that's the angle they're going with.

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So I'm watching the USWA, and it brings me to a question I've meant to ask the historians/knowledgable folk here at PWO for some time. It would probably be better suited to the old "comments that don't warrant a thread" thread, but alas that is gone, so I will ask here.

 

My Texas/Memphis exposure was limited to what I saw on ESPN as a child and read in Apter magazines, and while I have caught some stuff as an adult it was mostly the early Texas years, leaving me to ask this question....

 

Why the fuck was Eric Embry so over, and pushed as a top guy?

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What territories are left for them to draw from now? Just Florida and ECW?

 

There's also OVW. I'm surprised there hasn't been somewhat of a push for that considering that Cena, Batista, Brock and Orton were there in the early 00s.

 

Sooner and later they will probably buy Memphis and WWC. I'm not sure what would they do with the latter, though.

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Watching the second episode of Stampede. Really bizarre seeing Ed Whalen interview "Minnesota Fats" at ringside with Fats lying his ass off. JYD is an awesome heel promo too.

 

JYD looked fantastic dressing as a pimped up version of Black Caesar. You could see why Jake thought that he was something special.

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What territories are left for them to draw from now? Just Florida and ECW?

 

There's also OVW. I'm surprised there hasn't been somewhat of a push for that considering that Cena, Batista, Brock and Orton were there in the early 00s.

 

Sooner and later they will probably buy Memphis and WWC. I'm not sure what would they do with the latter, though.

 

 

I thought they'd already bought WWC, part of why they put Carlos in the HOF.

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What territories are left for them to draw from now? Just Florida and ECW?

 

There's also OVW. I'm surprised there hasn't been somewhat of a push for that considering that Cena, Batista, Brock and Orton were there in the early 00s.

 

Sooner and later they will probably buy Memphis and WWC. I'm not sure what would they do with the latter, though.

 

 

In 2014, a little after the launch of the network, Meltzer was claiming that WWE was really interested in (or even in the process of attempting to) acquiring the WWC library. Haven't heard anything since, but it was also when Colon was about to be inducted into the WWE HOF.

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I also assumed they did not buy it because I have not heard anything else about it (press release or otherwise). That's when they were apparently trying to buy stuff in Spanish to appeal to that "Latin" audience that in WWE terms means anybody that speaks Spanish. Maybe somebody told them that Mexicans won't give a shit about 80s Puerto Rican wrestling.

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I also assumed they did not buy it because I have not heard anything else about it (press release or otherwise). That's when they were apparently trying to buy stuff in Spanish to appeal to that "Latin" audience that in WWE terms means anybody that speaks Spanish. Maybe somebody told them that Mexicans won't give a shit about 80s Puerto Rican wrestling.

I think their biggest problem with the footage is that they don't understand who actually wants to watch it. The only people who want to watch all of this stuff are people like us, people who love wrestling as an artform. Not fans who watch the product when it is hot, not the people who remember watching as a kid, but people who watch wrestling when the aren't doing anything else. I was talking with my coworker who is an avid golfer. He was telling me how he wakes up on a Saturday and he calls a couple friends to see if they want to play a round or two. If they don't he goes to the range or goes to practice his putting. Golf is how he spends the time in his life when the bills are paid and the work is done. Those are the types of wrestling fans they need to think about when posting their video archives. Not the ones who watch their product, but the ones who want to see all of the good stuff from the past. So instead of just putting up the stuff from people who made a name in their company, they need to post the biggest moments from all of those other promotions. The people who want to see Puerto Rican wrestling are the same people who want to watch Mid South and Smokey Mountain Wrestling, the true hard core wrestling fans.

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IIRC Nelson's book, he specifically said he goofed off with weird stuff on that show. I thought the name was an error on the network until these posts jogged my memory.

 

Began watching the next AWA Superstars episode. There's definitely a sense of "Verne left for the evening and we are unsupervised" feel to the wraparounds, as the next episode begins with Larry Nelson sitting on the floor with a woman named Kathleen (another Gagne daughter?) who is covering his face with Shamrock stickers because it's St. Patrick's Day.

 

 

It's been said on many a shoot by different former AWA guys that Verne didn't even watch the TV when it was hot. So, Nelson et al doing whatever they pleased makes a lot of sense. Why not have fun with it?

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Am I correct in remembering there was an angle where someone (maybe The Moondogs) tossed battery acid into his eyes and blinded him? I swear I remember that from an old PWI.

 

Yes, in 1992 USWA.

 

And yeah, I think they should consider local advertising. If they're going to put up Mid South and want to earnestly gauge interest in it, then they should advertise in sports bars that attract an older demographic in places like New Orleans and Tulsa, for example.

 

I've always thought that they should have a field sales force that does these types of things, does special events at bars where if people show up an hour ahead of a pay-per-view and make a focus group, they'll give them some free merchandise for participating, and has a kiosk at house shows where people can sign up for the Network right then and there.

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I was wondering, do any bars show PPV post network? I remember seeing quite a few back in the day as a way to save money with friends but I have no clue how that would work now. I know the bar has to pay a pretty sum to show them.

I remember me and about 15-20 friends would be cramped around a table for 6 at Hooters back in the early 2000s. I believe that is where I watched Wrestlemania X8. I wonder if any bars around me still do that, because wrestling is always more fun with a crowd. I just hope they have better food than Hooters.

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I went to the Squared Circle restaurant last summer and they had the PPV. Granted this place is owned or was by Lisa Marie Varon. I actually left before it even started as I went there earlier in the day.

 

Most bars don't even get UFC or boxing anymore because of the huge price they have to dish out. I have friends that own two bars and for them they barely made even when they would get them, so they just stopped all together.

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I was wondering, do any bars show PPV post network? I remember seeing quite a few back in the day as a way to save money with friends but I have no clue how that would work now. I know the bar has to pay a pretty sum to show them.

I'm in Northwest Ohio, and the BW3 in my town still does Mania's.

 

Watching Mid-South on the Network, and Joel Watts is doing commentary. He makes Byron Saxton look like Jim Ross, in comparison.

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