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WWE TV 08/05 - 08/11 Comedy can truly help in dark times


KawadaSmile

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Shanya Baszler has some pretty cool ones as well. She wore a Bolt Thrower shirt earlier this year. And she was wearing a Bad Religion shirt when she knocked over Kairi's treasure chest last year.

Anyway, the latest Observer contains the following tidbit:

“Hobbs and Shaw” with Johnson and Jason Statham as stars was, by far, the top box office movie both U.S. and international this past weekend for its open. The movie did $60,038,950 in the U.S. and $119 million outside the U.S. It was No. 1 in 52 out of 63 countries that it was in. The movie did well, with it rated A- on average, with 90 percent positive reviews and drew a 58/42 male skew. The audience makeup across the board was right on target with The Fast & Furious movies. Six of the eight Fast & Furious movies had a better opening weekend. I saw the movie. It was a lot of fun because you know what to expect and that’s what it is. Reigns had a small role as one of Johnson’s brothers. He didn’t have any lines. He was listed as Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoai in the credits. One thing I saw, and everyone I spoke with who saw it mentioned the same thing was that when he was on the screen and delivered his Samoan drop and had a close-up, or even was shown, there was no reaction. Here’s the most pushed guy and considered top guy in the company. I’ve seen wrestlers with name recognition who have small parts in movies and there’s always a buzz when they are on the screen, even in a cameo. It really shows how far off the mainstream radar wrestling is to the non-wrestling audience

WWE has moved heaven and earth to try to make Reigns a star and he's not even a blip on the pop culture radar screen. Meanwhile, when something they can't take complete credit for like the Yes chants breaks into the mainstream, they go out of their way to avoid acknowledging it. Their star-making process is fundamentally broken. But I'm not telling any of you anything you don't already know.

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15 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

Reigns had a small role as one of Johnson’s brothers. He didn’t have any lines. He was listed as Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoai in the credits. One thing I saw, and everyone I spoke with who saw it mentioned the same thing was that when he was on the screen and delivered his Samoan drop and had a close-up, or even was shown, there was no reaction. Here’s the most pushed guy and considered top guy in the company. I’ve seen wrestlers with name recognition who have small parts in movies and there’s always a buzz when they are on the screen, even in a cameo. It really shows how far off the mainstream radar wrestling is to the non-wrestling audience

WWE has moved heaven and earth to try to make Reigns a star and he's not even a blip on the pop culture radar screen. Meanwhile, when something they can't take complete credit for like the Yes chants breaks into the mainstream, they go out of their way to avoid acknowledging it. Their star-making process is fundamentally broken. But I'm not telling any of you anything you don't already know.

In my experience, this isn't true. He was part of a lot of the movie's media junkets. He's been covered in some way by several mainstream media outlets (Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly's website, LA Times, Popsugar). He also got non-wrestling coverage when he returned after getting his leukemia into remission. A number of movie reviewers knew who he was when watching the film's second trailers, so it stands to reason he's at least recognizable to a decent chunk of the audience.

I haven't seen the movie yet, so I can't say what is happening there. From others I've spoken with, Roman's getting a good response. I can't personally confirm or deny that. But from what I can see, he's on the mainstream radar enough to where he can build toward a Hollywood career, which Reigns seems to be going for within the next 4-5 years.

 

 

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1 minute ago, Strummer said:

I think he's recognizable but nowhere near Cena (yet).  I think wwe thought by this time he would have surpassed Cena or at least be on the same level but looking at it objectively he isn't really close (yet)

Agreed and a fair take. I think there are several reasons for that, with WWE being in the Brand Era probably at the top of the list.

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56 minutes ago, Strummer said:

I think he's recognizable but nowhere near Cena (yet).  I think wwe thought by this time he would have surpassed Cena or at least be on the same level but looking at it objectively he isn't really close (yet)

I disagree. If anything, them keeping Roman on TV every week, headlining PPVs, and doing WWE-centric media appearances makes it clear to me that they don't even want him to "surpass Cena" and become a more mainstream star. When a WWE guy becomes a mainstream star, in Vince's eyes, it means that they are going to leave the company or demand a limited schedule. 

If you check out the wikipedia page about WWE Studios, you might be as surprised as I was to learn that they're still putting out non-Marine movies, that one of them featured Seth Rollins, and that Roman Reigns did not appear in any of the live-action ones (I'm guessing he did do voiceover for the Jetsons/Scooby Doo/Flinstone crossover movies). The company clearly sees him as more valuable in-ring, touring, than on a movie set.

I also don't think that the people at the top are so naive as to think anyoneespecially Roman Reigns, in 2019, is going to touch Cena's level of popularity when you think about historical context. Cena debuted at a time when RAW and SD were consistently drawing ratings that the WWE would dream of getting today, with ratings still in the 3s and 4s through the first decade of the 2000s. As the company expanded into more global markets, Cena was the company face (and a much more kid-friendly one than Reigns ever was or will be).

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To be fair, if your cousin is the biggest movie star in the world, you're not going to bother doing 12 Rounds Part 6: Half Dozen of the Other. :lol:

As far as who can become a mainstream star for WWE, they've got Roman. Becky, perhaps? Charlotte has some cache, with being sent to do PR for the SmackDown move to FOX along with being a Flair. No one else feels remotely close.

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I know this is way off track now, but I'd be curious if someone were to do a real, thorough, legit survey if The Miz was more well known than Roman Reigns. Or if they'd be equal. I lean towards thinking The Miz is more famous/well known. 

The survey could be something where you show someone a picture of each and ask them to name them. Part of me thinks that anyone who could name Roman Reigns would be very, very likely (maybe even 99%) be able to name The Miz. It makes sense too because Roman Reigns is most famous for being a WWE Superstar. If you know Roman Reigns as a WWE Superstar, you probably know a whole bunch of WWE Superstars and The Miz has been around for a long time in many high-profile positions.

But is the inverse true? You might laugh at The Marine or 12 Rounds or even wonder how people who don't watch WWE could possibly watch Miz and Mrs., but there are certainly people who, even if they don't watch these things, are at least exposed to them peripherally. And that would mean, even if they only know his name and his (often mugging) face, The Miz is more famous than Roman Reigns.

To make another comparison, around 2007-08, I technically became aware of who Madea was without trying. It was just a character I'd see randomly on the cover of a DVD at the checkout counter or on a Redbox screen or in a commercial. At this point, Perry was not remotely in the mainstream and I'm not even sure the Madea films were theatrically released until a bit later (maybe 2009?. I wasn't a fan, I wasn't someone who regularly consumed "urban" media, I didn't have any interest in Tyler Perry or Madea, but over time, I (and millions of other uninterested people in America) became aware of it just because it had been on the periphery of the mainstream for so long.

The Miz, from The Real World to Real World/Road Rules Challenge to Tough Enough to WWE TV to schlocky straight-to-DVD movies and back to another reality show has been on the periphery of the mainstream for what? 20 years now? So, yeah, I'm wagering that The Miz is more famous than Reigns too.
 

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3 hours ago, Log said:

Wait. Is Dave saying that Roman’s not a big star because no one “popped” in the movie theater for his Samoan Drop?

Do people 'pop' in general during movies in the US? It's not really something that happens at all over here in my experience.

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1 hour ago, FMKK said:

Do people 'pop' in general during movies in the US? It's not really something that happens at all over here in my experience.

I still think they do for comedy. Last one I remember was during Avengers when Hulk beat the slop out of Loki & said "puny god." That got a reaction in the theater. 

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I think Dave was trying to say that sometimes when there are surprise cameos in movies the crowds will react with positive shock and cheer, etc. Like Will Ferrell in Wedding Crashers for example.  But Reigns wasn't really a surprise since it's been established he's in the film.  Again I don't think he meant it as a slight on Roman just that wrestling' popularity has severely subsided the last few years.  Tv rights aside. Again I think that's what he meant

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8 hours ago, FMKK said:

Do people 'pop' in general during movies in the US? It's not really something that happens at all over here in my experience.

I only see a movie about 2-3 times a year and every single time the crowd absolutely "pops" for major moments in movies.  Even Get Out had more than one moment where the audience got up and cheered in the theater.

The best example for this for me was the recent Dragon Ball Z Super Broly movie. :D  That was a fun crowd to be in.

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People in theaters definitely popped and applauded when Captain America was revealed to be capable of lifting Thor's hammer in Avengers: Endgame just recently. Talk of that shit was everywhere.

So yeah. It still happens.

I don't know why anyone in this life or any other would expect the general moviegoing masses to pop for a Roman Reigns cameo in a Fast & Furious flick though.

Maybe Dave was hoping they'd confuse him for Jason Momoa. Hell if I know.

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19 minutes ago, Strummer said:

Announced that the SD debut on FOX on Oct. 4 will be a 20th anniversary show with all the old stars coming back

They've already done that so recently that I'm not sure if it means anything without Rock being there

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