KawadaSmile Posted March 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 I think Cena kinda addressed that himself on Raw. All the routes to the big championship matches are closed. He lost the Rumble, and lost the Elimination Chamber. The only option he had was to challenge the biggest opponent possible - The Undertaker. But, alas, this match is not possible. Can Cena find a way to wrestle in the Grandest Stage of them All in a match that suits his status as an icon in the business? This is what led to him going for the WWE Title at Fastlane. If he loses that, he gets nothing of importance at all. OR DOES HE? It's something different, at the very least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 The "dream match" concept should be the new twist they use to freshen up the Money in the Bank. Make it an open contract for "any match" the winner desires, at any place & time they want it. Stop limiting it to the singles belts. Inject the premise with some new possibilities. Making it more of a "genie in a bottle" deal, centered around wish fulfillment, could at least create some speculation & anticipation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Liska Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 Raw on the Fox Network is a wild possibility. UPN doesn't county, that would be the best exposure for wrestling since the days of the Dumont Network. Could really legitimize them further with important people. The rapid decline of TV ratings on cable and network TV has put WWE in one of its healthiest spots ever. Who knows how long this era lasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 They should bring back Neville and have Cena face him on the pre-show and leave it off the dvd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted March 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 The "dream match" concept should be the new twist they use to freshen up the Money in the Bank. Make it an open contract for "any match" the winner desires, at any place & time they want it. Stop limiting it to the singles belts. Inject the premise with some new possibilities. Making it more of a "genie in a bottle" deal, centered around wish fulfillment, could at least create some speculation & anticipation. I could do with someone using the briefcase to challenge the IC title holder, but what you just said is alright too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 They should bring back Neville and have Cena face him on the pre-show and leave it off the dvd. 😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Enthusiast Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 I think Cena kinda addressed that himself on Raw. All the routes to the big championship matches are closed. He lost the Rumble, and lost the Elimination Chamber. The only option he had was to challenge the biggest opponent possible - The Undertaker. But, alas, this match is not possible. Can Cena find a way to wrestle in the Grandest Stage of them All in a match that suits his status as an icon in the business? This is what led to him going for the WWE Title at Fastlane. If he loses that, he gets nothing of importance at all. OR DOES HE? It's something different, at the very least. I have actually really enjoyed it. The hand-wringing about how it’s not real just seems dumb to me. It’s a wrestling storyline and Cena is committed to it and has made it enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted March 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 The fact that you could see traces of his frustation at least ever since his match against Finn proves that the narrative has been there for a while, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeplastictrees Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 I see and understand the perspective. It makes sense. Fair enough. However, as pointed out earlier, WWE really need to get on the same page as far as presentation is concerned. The disconnect is real. The problem with all of this John Cena stuff is that WWE will need to deconstruct the "WrestleMania Moment" stuff. For the past decade, WWE has advertised that wrestlers doing the EXACT SAME SPOTS they do on Raw/Smackdown is a 'WrestleMania Moment", etc. WWE has also featured passionated promos from Zack Ryder speaking about how walking out to Mania is his personal WM Moment. With all of this, its easy for fans to say--HEY~! If John Cena just makes an entrance during the ATGMBR or the multiple-man IC title match/Ladder match---then he is good! Maybe it will come in the next few weeks, but the start has been shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMKK Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 In fairness, I think it's probably implicit that John Cena should have higher standards than Zack Ryder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 Raw on the Fox Network is a wild possibility. UPN doesn't county, that would be the best exposure for wrestling since the days of the Dumont Network. Could really legitimize them further with important people. The rapid decline of TV ratings on cable and network TV has put WWE in one of its healthiest spots ever. Who knows how long this era lasts. This interests me too. A lot of chatter about WWE on Fox in 2019 lately. This obviously would be huge if it were to happen. Any thoughts from those out there with more insight than myself on TV dealings and such? The future of WWE fascinates me, either with something like this happening or it being bought by a major conglomerate, or both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 I would think WWE is going to end up staying with USA/NBC Universal unless someone like Fox makes a stupidly large money offer. That only happens if they lose UFC, and I don't know if there's anyone really lining up to steal them away. As fans though we should be hoping and praying that happens since WWE on Fox stations would mean the end of 3 hour death slog Raws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 They've been putting on good to great 3 hour Raws for a year now. Going back to two hours would pretty much kill the depth of the women's division on Raw and would ensure that slow burn pushes like we've seen for Elias won't happen anymore. And obviously that would stop the trend of having one, often two, really good 10+ minute TV matches on Raw every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 They'd also likely be hard capped at 2 hours due to local news commitments on Fox. In which case you're talking about going from an approximately 190 minutes show to one that's 120. Quite the readjustment for creative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 I think with all the potential benefits of network exposure they would find a way to make it work as a two hour show. (I guess I'm totally out of touch, because this is the first I've seen anyone actually say three hours is ideal) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 I think with all the potential benefits of network exposure they would find a way to make it work as a two hour show. (I guess I'm totally out of touch, because this is the first I've seen anyone actually say three hours is ideal) I'm not sure what's ideal, but think it'd make for a very different process. Various show lengths certainly have their pluses and minuses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 Not sure I see any plus for a weekly 3-hour wrestling show. Nobody benefits from it creatively, and I can't be convinced otherwise. Even the argument that lower guys get more exposure doesn't hold up, because everything reaches a point of OVERexposure on a weekly 3-hour program. It's become an endless treadmill of television rematches, with very little ever getting the chance to feel fresh or special - simply because everything under the sun has been done to death, just for the sake of filling those 3 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 The three hours show was the death of Nitro. There's already way too fucking much WWE on TV for anything to seem fresh or special. There's no point of doing these boring-ass, poorly written 3 hours shows except, well, the sweet TV rights money, which they badly need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Liska Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 The three hours show was the death of Nitro. There's already way too fucking much WWE on TV for anything to seem fresh or special. There's no point of doing these boring-ass, poorly written 3 hours shows except, well, the sweet TV rights money, which they badly need. I don't know if they badly need it, I think Vince could find a way to structure WWE to make money with $700 million in revenue instead of $800 million, he's a sharp business guy, but when someone is offering you that much extra pure profit, requiring barely any extra expenses on your part, hard to turn down. Everyone knows the show is too long. HHH even admitted it on Austin's podcast. But it's a lot of pure cash profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 If Vince made a decision that resulted in WWE losing $100 million in revenue, the stock would tank and the shareholders would revolt. Don't forget they are the most important customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyin' Brian Posted March 3, 2018 Report Share Posted March 3, 2018 They'd also likely be hard capped at 2 hours due to local news commitments on Fox. In which case you're talking about going from an approximately 190 minutes show to one that's 120. Quite the readjustment for creative. I think the networks make exceptions for live sports, which even though it's scripted WWE certainly falls into the category. If they allow overruns for the NFL and MLB I believe they would allow it for WWE if needed. It is less opportunity for the talent, but Smackdown is two hours and they do fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted March 3, 2018 Report Share Posted March 3, 2018 But live sports don't happen on every single particular weekday. Affiliates are okay with sports on the weekend or the occasional deal for Thursday Night Football, March Madness, or championships being played in prime time on weekdays, but local news and syndication is where the affiliates really make their own money. I'm not sure how many affiliates would be happy on losing out on 52 Mondays' worth of local programming. I'd also be curious as to what would happen if there was a conflict with the World Series. Okay, maybe you just schedule Monday as an off-day, but what if there's a rainout? How happy would Vince be about the possibility or reality of a late-October Raw getting moved back to cable at the last minute? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Enthusiast Posted March 3, 2018 Report Share Posted March 3, 2018 Re: switching from three hours to two, there are other entanglements that would need to be cleared up when it comes to their international TV deals in making that change. That kind of stuff makes it much more likely to me that they just maintain the status quo simply because it’s easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted March 3, 2018 Report Share Posted March 3, 2018 It's been stated that moving to Fox would mean two hours, local affiliates are not going to stand for having their local news (that they get the money for) get pre empted for rasslin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 3, 2018 Report Share Posted March 3, 2018 It's been stated that moving to Fox would mean two hours, local affiliates are not going to stand for having their local news (that they get the money for) get pre empted for rasslin'. Isn't one element of this that Fox is losing all of their programming except for sports if the sale to Disney goes through? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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