The Trial Of Paul Heyman (Podcast question)

[JaymeFuture]

I want to thank everyone for the responses in this thread, we got to read a good few of them on the show, which is now available to listen to at the following link:

 

http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/8y4eda/SCGRadio43-TheTrialOfPaulHeyman.mp3

 

The Heyman Trial has occured, as both prosecution and defence debate the hardcore style, the human toll, drugs, ECW's influence on WWF Attitude and impact on the Monday Night War, just how key they really were to the stars that got signed by the Big Two, his role booking Smackdown, eye for talent and much more in an effort to convince our neutral judge, and of course reading your statements on Paul E as well. Will he be found guilty? These shows are always fun, check it out and let us know what you think~!

[Johnny Sorrow]

Johnny Sorrow in defending something against criticism shocker!

How so? How does me writing what I wrote there equate to your simplification of how I feel about criticism that apparently for some bonkers reason gets your knickers up your ass? 😄

[daveprazak]

- The brand being the true star: With talent constantly being poached by the big two (mostly WCW), this was quite frankly smart business.

This cannot be emphasized enough. For a company such as ECW, or in a later time period a group like ROH, where the guys who get the most over and display the most potential are going to leave for a company that can offer better money and exposure (whether that is WWE, Japan, or anywhere else), it is absolutely essential for the company to make the brand the draw rather than any single individual wrestler. It's one thing if it's a company that is the highest paying or top of the ladder within the industry, and you know your top stars are going to continue to be your top stars for many years into the future. It's another when it's a smaller, stepping-stone promotion, where the best guys are basically expected to move on, sometimes very quickly.

 

[Sean Liska]

Yep. That's why HHH has been smart to brand NXT so strongly. When he comes out and does his promos on the live shows, he doesn't mention specific wrestlers or feuds, he puts over the NXT brand and how it's the future of wrestling and they're all part of a family together. He encourages the crowd to chant "NXT". Because he knows the brand will have to carry them once all their stars leave.

[Laz]

Good podcast. Loved the trial format. I'm definitely going to be listening to more.

 

Re: branding

That's the way almost everything started going around the late '80s or so. The WWF and WCW even branded themselves over the talent (though I'll relent and say they advertised more as "the only place to see such stars as so-and-so" more than just the initials until later on), so while ECW branding itself as a promotion over its collection of talent may have been the most severe case of it (in wrestling, at least) there was no doubt that it was going to happen in an ever-globalizing society that's more about niche marketing and brand loyalty. Your average consumer buys Tide and Kleenex over store brand detergent and facial tissue.

[Coffey]

You don't promote your wrestling product thinking about how it may effect the future, you promote your show for the time it's happening.

 

I actually think this alone would make a great thread. You can't be short-sighted but where does it all fit on the timeline? How far ahead should a company look? Long-term booking & writing is something I'm a fan of but I agree no one is thinking about five or ten years down the road. Six months to a year though? Absolutely. Also, if people in pro-wrestling thought about the ramifications of their decisions more, would things be better or worse? A lot of it is obviously hindsight but it's interesting to think about.

 

There's also a lot of very selfish people in the industry that just care about themselves. Not just the wrestlers.