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Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:24 pm
by famicommander
Given WWE's overall talent, history, money, platform, experience, etc pretty much everything they do ought to be much, much better than it is. People seem most forgiving of the company with the fewest hurdles, for whatever reason.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:44 pm
by Wilson
Thelone wrote: Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:45 pm
Wilson wrote: Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:52 am If we’re at the point where we’re just accepting a sub-seven-minute main event match, that’s one thing—a somewhat depressing thing--but there’s no reason to gladly accept an abbreviated version of what should’ve been a WWE MOTYC. Putting Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar at a stage like SummerSlam--benefit of hindsight being that Joe is a capable enough storyteller for the audience to buy this as a major PPV match--in a fifteen to twenty minute match tells a better match and leaves both of them the better for it.
But that's the thing : it wasn't a SummerSlam or WM, just a random B-level PPV with a stupid name.
I can't tell if you're defending the booking or are tampering what should have been set expectations. I am not a subscriber to the Network. I didn't think there was a strong chance that this would be given the opportunity to be a great match (though there was a decent chance, as both seemed so motivated). The results from the show seem like they put two main event guys and let them perform half a match. I'm not going to praise Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe for being at all inspiring.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 7:48 pm
by Mr. Mojo Risin
If anything should there be a Lesnar/Joe 2, a longer match is a given. I think Joe is more than capable of pulling a longer match out of Brock without​ the match suffering at all. But with the ending of Raw this past Monday I don't think that match is happening anytime soon.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 4:42 am
by supersonic
Combination of a lame duck supercard and a major weekend being just 6 months away. Not too far away from next month's supercard weekend either.

Observer:
With so many tickets left on sale, they discounted Battleground’s least expensive tickets last week. The $125 seats have been cut to $75. The $75 tickets have been cut to $55 and the $55 tickets have been cut to $25. They are pushing you can get into see the show for just $25. Even with Cena, the Smackdown PPV shows are harder to sell tickets for than the Raw shows, and even though Philadelphia is an historically good wrestling market, the Wells Fargo Center would hold around 15,000 seats for a PPV making it larger than most venues they run in.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:20 am
by Thelone
Wilson wrote: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:44 pmI can't tell if you're defending the booking or are tampering what should have been set expectations. I am not a subscriber to the Network. I didn't think there was a strong chance that this would be given the opportunity to be a great match (though there was a decent chance, as both seemed so motivated). The results from the show seem like they put two main event guys and let them perform half a match. I'm not going to praise Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe for being at all inspiring.
I guess my point is that you should know better basically, and also that most dream matches don't mean anything in a big company unless there's the storyline to back it up. In WWE's eyes, Joe vs. Lesnar wasn't this epic encounter between two monsters (in an Austin vs. Rock kind of way), but more like we're feeding "monster heel of the month" to this bigger star so it means more when our top guy finally beats him later.

Look, I can understand some people being frustrated because "Oh man, we're finally getting Joe vs. Lesnar" and then it's just a 7-minute match on a goofy B-PPV, but you know they have other plans for Lesnar down the road and it's not like he squashed Joe like a jobber anyway.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 3:06 am
by ShaunSperling
I'd love to see Joe / Brock again. Brock matches were getting a little tired with the formula, the Goldberg series was great as things got refreshed, the Joe match was also a breathe of fresh air. So yeah, hope to see it again.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:29 pm
by supersonic
There is a Royal Rumble on-line pre-sale going on today, if it isn't already sold out, for the 1/28 show in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center using the code word: RUMBLE

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 6:03 am
by supersonic
Who'd have thought that after being completely left off WrestleMania, Samoa Joe would be booked for the SummerSlam main event? Who'd have thought there'd be ANY chance of him winning it too considering the opponents?

Image

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 9:33 am
by Big Red Machine
Thelone wrote: Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:27 am
Big Red Machine wrote: Wed Jul 19, 2017 8:00 amI thought Hunter vs. Rollins was a far superior match, and most crowds nowadays a f*cking stupid. Did you hear those idiots on Raw last night? They chanted "YES!" when Rollins asked Ambrose if they could be friends again, then they chanted "YES!" when Ambrose was considering whether or not he should hit Seth with the chair and booed when he didn't. Those short attention-span motherf*ckers who can't appreciate a guy working a limb for twenty minutes can be ignored because it's not going to make them not come back next time. Building a match up as a f*cking dream match and basing almost all of the build for the PPV around this one match and then having it go less than ten minutes IS the sort of thing that will kill drawing power.
It's Lesnar (you know, the part-timer they're building up to be fed to Reigns at WM for his billionth coronation) vs. "Monster heel of the month" at fucking GREAT BALLS OF FIRE, did you seriously expect them to go long for THAT?
Yes. Because it's the main event of a f*cking PPV in a match they built up extremely well and Brock isn't working with an old man who rarely had good long matches when he was younger anymore.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 9:46 am
by Big Red Machine
Thelone wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:20 am
Wilson wrote: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:44 pmI can't tell if you're defending the booking or are tampering what should have been set expectations. I am not a subscriber to the Network. I didn't think there was a strong chance that this would be given the opportunity to be a great match (though there was a decent chance, as both seemed so motivated). The results from the show seem like they put two main event guys and let them perform half a match. I'm not going to praise Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe for being at all inspiring.
I guess my point is that you should know better basically, and also that most dream matches don't mean anything in a big company unless there's the storyline to back it up. In WWE's eyes, Joe vs. Lesnar wasn't this epic encounter between two monsters (in an Austin vs. Rock kind of way), but more like we're feeding "monster heel of the month" to this bigger star so it means more when our top guy finally beats him later.

Look, I can understand some people being frustrated because "Oh man, we're finally getting Joe vs. Lesnar" and then it's just a 7-minute match on a goofy B-PPV, but you know they have other plans for Lesnar down the road and it's not like he squashed Joe like a jobber anyway.
Why should we "know better?" Even Brock's squash of Cena went longer than this. Yes, it's not a top-level PPV and yes it has a stupid name, but they had one of those back in December with a main event that ended in a f*cking disqualification and it still got almost twenty-five minutes. For a WWE PPV main event to not got at least fifteen minutes is exceedingly rare, so I don't think it is in any way illegitimate to feel exceedingly disappointed and annoyed here.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 10:53 am
by Thelone
Big Red Machine wrote: Wed Jul 26, 2017 9:46 amWhy should we "know better?"
Because I'm sure you're aware of the plans for Reigns at the next Wrestlemania. Sure, they could have gone long for this Joe vs. Lesnar match, but WWE didn't see that match as a huge deal. I mean, this is a company that will have the first Cena vs. Nakamura on a random Smackdown with a mere week of build-up. I'm sure they'll give them time until the painfully obvious DQ when Corbin attacks Nak/Jinder attacks Cena/both/whatever because THOSE FEUDS MUST CONTINUE and ORIGINALITY (and probably a tag match of some sort the week after, which actually could move things forward for all involved now that I think about it), but just because the hardcore fans see a certain match-up as a dream match doesn't mean that Vince sees it that way at all.
Even Brock's squash of Cena went longer than this.
1. That was three years ago
2. At Summerslam
3. Against CENA.

You know, apples and oranges.
Yes, it's not a top-level PPV and yes it has a stupid name, but they had one of those back in December with a main event that ended in a f*cking disqualification and it still got almost twenty-five minutes.
The fact that I had to check what was even the match should show you how unimportant that was.
For a WWE PPV main event to not got at least fifteen minutes is exceedingly rare, so I don't think it is in any way illegitimate to feel exceedingly disappointed and annoyed here.
I'm not disagreeing with you and I get that some people can be pissed by how short that was, but that just wasn't meant to be that way in WWE at least.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 12:12 am
by supersonic
Observer:
While it would seem way early to do this again, Mike Johnson at PW Insider reported the idea of a Superstar shakeup coming again after SummerSlam and others have confirmed to us that there is definitely talk of roster moves in the fall and even some tentative proposed ideas. The one thing is the Superstar shakeup did great ratings both nights, but there was a big drop afterwards as the shakeups seemed to make for less interesting rosters

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 9:32 am
by famicommander
Record revenue for WWE in Q2 2017 but only 5.1 million in net income.

2015 Q1 + Q2 profits: $24.5 million
2016 Q1 + Q2 profits: $14.7 million
2017 Q1 + Q2 profits: $6 million

Only 6 million in net income this year total on over 400 million in revenue.

It's possible NJPW is more profitable than WWE right now. Obviously their actual revenue number is orders of magnitude smaller but the profit could be pretty close.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 2:03 pm
by Mr. Mojo Risin
Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated is reporting that Paul Heyman is heavily pushing for Samoa Joe to win the WWE Universal title at SummerSlam. If the rumors of Brock Lesnar are true about him going back to UFC are true, this match is the perfect way to get the belt off of him.

Side note: My head might explode if Joe and Nakamura both win the titles at SummerSlam...in a good way.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 10:13 am
by ShaunSperling
Just watched an Enzo botch compilation on YouTube. Man, how have I never realized how badly this guy sucks?

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 2:28 pm
by supersonic

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 6:18 pm
by Mr. Mojo Risin
That's fucking crazy. The Revival can get no traction whatsoever.

I feel bad for Bayley.

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 5:05 am
by supersonic
Observer:
There have been reports of Ronda Rousey training with Kendrick. The company is very high on the Horsewoman vs. Horsewoman idea, and most figure the next chapter will be on the 9/12 show in Las Vegas. Because it’s live TV, Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane will be heavily working on their match, and they have worked together in the past in Japan. We’ve seen photos of Jessamyn Duke training with Kendrick in recent weeks, so the Rousey story is more than plausible and that is the story going around. Rousey has teased that she has a big announcement coming up

There are now questions as to the severity of Bayley’s injury and what that means. The angle probably wasn’t for any time soon, probably November at the earliest and WrestleMania makes the most sense

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 6:15 am
by ShaunSperling
Has there ever been a Summerslam card which has ever looked so weak on paper than this years card?

Re: The WWE Thread

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 9:14 pm
by supersonic
Meltzer:
Scott Dawson had the surgery for his torn right biceps this week and the current timetable for a return is early December. Pro Wrestling Sheet reported this earlier today and WWE has confirmed it.