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WWE TV - 1/29 - 2/2 - BROCK PURDY IS THE HEAD OF THE TABLE


Timbo Slice

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I mean from a monetary and marketing perspective, not taking advantage of The Rock being available and willing to face Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania would be kind of absurd. There are absolutely lapsed fans who will subscribe to Peacock just to watch that, and they’re going to have to start building a portfolio of successful attraction of interest if they’re going to get Netflix to re-up after five years or find a comparably lucrative replacement if they don’t. In a world where mass media is going to increasingly become an archipelago of competing streaming services, the game is going to be demonstrating that you can either get people to subscribe for extended periods or pop big numbers for more limited periods.
 

What’s funny is streaming may be bad for them in that the percentage of the audience that doesn’t *already* have Netflix that will subscribe or stay subscribed just to watch them may not be as large as Netflix hopes, which would not only kibosh that deal but demonstrate to advertisers that WWE fans are not reliable targets of marketing and damage the amount they can squeeze out of other networks and services.

 

Edit: Also, I don’t think it’s wildly out of character or stupid for Cody to decide to prove he’s better than the guy he beat three times who’s now claiming to be the workhorse and backbone of the company, when that in fact is what Cody is right now. A babyface allowing a beloved conquering hero to come back and stick it to a cheating bastard like Roman Reigns in a much more personal, intimate way is kind of old school, in a sense. In terms of day to day booking of Cody while he’s still so popular, him being the champ that shows up on television every week might be better than having to compete against Seth or the guy who beat Seth while they try to expand or establish their own reign. I hate that there’s a second world title, but if there’s going to be one, it’s perhaps more useful that it’s sort understood as “the one that’s there every week” vis a vis the one that makes more infrequent appearances. Kind of a #2 with a bullet - not technically *the* guy, but the one tasked with the arguably more difficult task of sustaining interest week to week.

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2 hours ago, NintendoLogic said:

I saw the segment where Bayley challenged Iyo. Between recognizing that Damage CTRL was going to turn on her and having a weapon ready when things went sideways, Bayley has to be the smartest babyface in WWE history.

The crowd going OOOOOOOH when Bayley dropped some Japanese on Iyo (thus revealing she was on to their bullshit) was excellent pro wrestling. Bayley has always been good in ring but she really flipped a switch during the Damage Control run and is just Getting It now. Calling it now, that match is gonna bang so hard since it will be two good workers paying off a well done long term storyline.

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1 hour ago, Embrodak said:

I mean from a monetary and marketing perspective, not taking advantage of The Rock being available and willing to face Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania would be kind of absurd. There are absolutely lapsed fans who will subscribe to Peacock just to watch that, and they’re going to have to start building a portfolio of successful attraction of interest if they’re going to get Netflix to re-up after five years or find a comparably lucrative replacement if they don’t. In a world where mass media is going to increasingly become an archipelago of competing streaming services, the game is going to be demonstrating that you can either get people to subscribe for extended periods or pop big numbers for more limited periods.
 

What’s funny is streaming may be bad for them in that the percentage of the audience that doesn’t *already* have Netflix that will subscribe or stay subscribed just to watch them may not be as large as Netflix hopes, which would not only kibosh that deal but demonstrate to advertisers that WWE fans are not reliable targets of marketing and damage the amount they can squeeze out of other networks and services.

 

Edit: Also, I don’t think it’s wildly out of character or stupid for Cody to decide to prove he’s better than the guy he beat three times who’s now claiming to be the workhorse and backbone of the company, when that in fact is what Cody is right now. A babyface allowing a beloved conquering hero to come back and stick it to a cheating bastard like Roman Reigns in a much more personal, intimate way is kind of old school, in a sense. In terms of day to day booking of Cody while he’s still so popular, him being the champ that shows up on television every week might be better than having to compete against Seth or the guy who beat Seth while they try to expand or establish their own reign. I hate that there’s a second world title, but if there’s going to be one, it’s perhaps more useful that it’s sort understood as “the one that’s there every week” vis a vis the one that makes more infrequent appearances. Kind of a #2 with a bullet - not technically *the* guy, but the one tasked with the arguably more difficult task of sustaining interest week to week.

Yes, even before the swerve tonight I was thinking Rock/Roman just works better for the time/place, and that it would be better for both the prestige of the Raw title and Cody's match-up prospects to slot him into the Seth match. The problem is really the weird flip-floppy booking with going back-and-forth teasing Cody/Roman and Rock/Roman. If Dave isn't BSing when he claimed that Cody/Roman was the plan before the Punk injury and Vince allegations, and the Rock/Roman build wasn't going to get paid off until a possible later date, the company looks incredibly stupid. Just dragging their feet for no reason on doing the biggest match in history while the company is as hot as it's ever been. Leaves the impression that the booking isn't going to get any smarter just because Vince's guys are gone.

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34 minutes ago, fxnj said:

Leaves the impression that the booking isn't going to get any smarter just because Vince's guys are gone.

I would say the booking is already vastly smarter just because it doesn't change every week at the whims of a possibly senile old man.

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3 hours ago, Dale Wolfe said:

I have a feeling this juiced to the gills incarnation of the Rock will tear a muscle early and the match becomes a car crash. Just posting that for posterity

Roman being that big of a talent came at a price of having to deal with the Attitude Era stars with the most inflated egos. Triple H wanted to do NWA tributes, Undertaker wanted to do a throwback to the days he was a zombie-like character, and now Rock will go through body horror like Tetsuo in Akira.

 

KO got Austin who was willing to do a way less taxing match. Unfair.

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It's a straight out diversion at this point. "Yeah, people, be very angry at this, don't think about.... the other thing going on."

Not that the WWE Univers (tm), would care anyway, but the wrestling medias now talk about it like it's a legitimate story worth being talked about. 

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I doubt Roman would have to do any heavy lifting to make Dwayne look OK. Between the staring contests in the opening minutes, the mid-match Bond villain monologues, and the power naps while half the world runs in, just about any ambulatory human being is physically capable of working a Roman Reigns match.

As for the backlash, this is pure speculation on my part, but I think it comes down to a couple of things. One, the stars of the past aren't nearly as appealing when the current product is as hot as it is. Fans are genuinely into the stars of today and don't want to see part-timers steal their thunder. Two, I suspect fatigue is starting to set in for Roman's title reign and people are ready for it to finally be over. A detour with The Rock means the finish line remains out of sight.

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13 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

I doubt Roman would have to do any heavy lifting to make Dwayne look OK. Between the staring contests in the opening minutes, the mid-match Bond villain monologues, and the power naps while half the world runs in, just about any ambulatory human being is physically capable of working a Roman Reigns match.

Wow. Brutal. But accurate.

13 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

Two, I suspect fatigue is starting to set in for Roman's title reign and people are ready for it to finally be over. 

Also accurate. Looking from the outside in, I have no idea how you can't be sick and tired of Roman Reigns reign at this point. It only got really hot when Sami put fire under the Bloodline storyline, and by then it was already, how many years old ? People were ready for it to end at Montreal last year. Then at Mania last year. The apathy with which the SummerSlam match this year was received is a testament that people are just tired of Roman and will only get excited if they really believe he's gonna lose. 

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I promise you Reigns as champ is still super over. Dude shows up and the atmosphere changes, people are throwing up Ones in the air, the crowd is always engaged to the max. The apparent issue isn't that the title reign is going long, but that Cody might not win it for another YEAR, if that.

 

Now, SRS is saying that Rock was pushing to BEAT Roman at Wrestlemania. That is, by far, the dumbest fucking decision they would make in a decade.

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Loss (who rarely posts here anymore despite owning the place) has a theory that as long as business is strong, they're going to keep it on Roman indefinitely, until he beats Bruno's record. I wouldn't go that far, but since Hogan's record is in reach (I think around September?) Cody is smart to let Rock lose to him at Wrestlemania and wait until the fall to get his win back.

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