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Post by Henry Mark on Dec 27, 2011 11:59:23 GMT -5
I've just gotta ask, and I wouldn't be surprised if you all here don't have a good answer because we're all clearly die-hards since we're on a wrestling message board, but anyways...
Sites are reporting WWE may be taking the title off Punk due to lower ratings.
Who stops watching based off who the champion is? What type of fan does this? I'd get it in other sports, if your favorite team constantly loses, you're probably less likely to watch them play, and when they're on a winning streak you're more likely to tune in. But this is wrestling, where wins and loses don't really mean anything.
I don't get this. Is there a segment of super-casual fans that only watch if the guy they like is champion, even if he's just as featured on the show when not champion as he would be if he were champion?
To take a Seinfeld line, "who are these people?"
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BigWill
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by BigWill on Dec 27, 2011 12:00:13 GMT -5
How many of these threads are going to be made?
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Post by wwebrandon2007 on Dec 27, 2011 12:17:07 GMT -5
How many of these threads are going to be made? 5 more before the end of the day
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Post by HMARK Center on Dec 27, 2011 12:31:01 GMT -5
In fairness, this thread isn't really about Punk and his title reign; it's more about amazement that fans will actually tune out based on who's wearing the title.
I'm inclined to agree that it's very strange, at least up to a point; this isn't 1988, where Hulk Hogan losing the title meant he'd likely be on TV less and/or that he was leaving to go film a movie and thus wouldn't be seen for awhile. In a case like that, where your big #1 star is off screen and out of storylines for awhile, I could understand it.
This is different, though. This is an era where everybody is on TV every damn week, to the point that you're sick of them within six months. Just because Cena, Orton, or whomever isn't holding a big title doesn't mean they won't be heavily featured on the next week's episode.
It's also not a wrestling world where the type of champion you have dictates what style of show you put on, or what kinds of matches you emphasize; the show remains pretty much the same regardless of who's holding what belt, at least in terms of tone and style.
This doesn't mean a poor title change can't hurt ratings; fans could go "Really? THIS guy?", and take it as a sign that the company isn't doing the right thing, and thus lose confidence in the product. Or maybe they'll be tired of a certain type of guy always being in the main event, and thus get tired of the champ that way. These aren't typical situations, however.
So yeah, I'd be curious about it, too, if there are truly fans out there who'll tune out over who's champion, barring a really severe situation. For example, I quit watching years ago after Triple H won the belt back after losing it a week before, because I took it as a sign of whom the company would be pushing, and what kind of show it'd be: one that didn't appeal to me. It wasn't just "Triple H is champion, @#$% this company!".
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 12:33:01 GMT -5
How many of these threads are going to be made? Until there's new fake heat news on Punk to post about
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 13:10:31 GMT -5
So now we know Punk is retaining until mania, unifying ALL the titles, and then he will be carried out on the shoulders of every raw and smackdown member of the roster while confetti falls.
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543Y2J
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Post by 543Y2J on Dec 27, 2011 13:33:07 GMT -5
It took them years to build up Cena to be the main guy, it will take a long time for Punk to settle into the role enough to create a difference in the ratings. Ratings and stars cant be changed/made overnight
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Post by lizardking on Dec 27, 2011 13:37:15 GMT -5
It took them years to build up Cena to be the main guy, it will take a long time for Punk to settle into the role enough to create a difference in the ratings. Ratings and stars cant be changed/made overnight Hit the nail on the head. Alot of people forget this part.
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Post by moneyman20 on Dec 27, 2011 13:44:38 GMT -5
It took them years to build up Cena to be the main guy, it will take a long time for Punk to settle into the role enough to create a difference in the ratings. Ratings and stars cant be changed/made overnight People also forget that Austin didn't become the biggest star in the business the night after Austin 3:16 either. Making a new star takes time. That's why people get annoyed when WWE pushes someone and then pulls the plug on them because the ratings might have gone down slightly, because we know from history that a megastar isn't created sometimes in one year, much less overnight.
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MrBRulzOK
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Post by MrBRulzOK on Dec 27, 2011 13:51:35 GMT -5
It's very telling that after being in the main event the past two weeks Punk was taken out of the main event slot tonight in Chicago of all places. I guarantee you that it had something to do with that awful number he, Bryan, and Ryder, Miz, Del Rio, and Ziggler drew the week before.
Of course the problem could also be that right now there really is nothing compelling going on Punk as a character right now. Sure, there's the Laurinaitis feud, but that's honestly never been anything that really grabs your attention. And nowadays aside from Cena there aren't very many people who can draw a huge number ratings wise simply by showing up on television.
It also didn't help that his feud with Triple H awhile back basically ended without him ever getting any sort of revenge for losing as well as him never getting revenge on Kevin Nash for the same thing.
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riseofsetian1981
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Post by riseofsetian1981 on Dec 27, 2011 13:59:05 GMT -5
It's very telling that after being in the main event the past two weeks Punk was taken out of the main event slot tonight in Chicago of all places. I guarantee you that it had something to do with that awful number he, Bryan, and Ryder, Miz, Del Rio, and Ziggler drew the week before. Of course the problem could also be that right now there really is nothing compelling going on Punk as a character right now. Sure, there's the Laurinaitis feud, but that's honestly never been anything that really grabs your attention. And nowadays aside from Cena there aren't very many people who can draw a huge number ratings wise simply by showing up on television. It also didn't help that his feud with Triple H awhile back basically ended without him ever getting any sort of revenge for losing as well as him never getting revenge on Kevin Nash for the same thing. Yep, also how they took a great potential storyline with the corporate conspiracy angle and just dropped it with no explanation didn't help either.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 14:22:34 GMT -5
I still think that last week's bad rating was due to multiple reasons, not just because of Punk:
Orton/Barrett has dragged on now for a while and I think the fans are stating to get bored of it.
Primo/Epico vs. The Uso's is one of the most jobberific matches thats been on Raw in a while.
Cody Rhodes squashing Santino was a formality everyone saw coming.
The 6 man tag main event was obviously just a fun throw away match on the show where nothing of significance was going to happen.
The only segment that really had any meaning to it was the Cena/Kane one, which showed by the ratings jump during that promo.
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Post by El Hijo del Havoc on Dec 27, 2011 19:02:11 GMT -5
You say ratings slump, I say ratings are meaningless /sarcasm
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Bo Rida
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Post by Bo Rida on Dec 27, 2011 19:11:06 GMT -5
It may have something to do with the rise of the DVR/Sky+/whatever recording device people use these days.
Usually the champion is featured heavily so if you don't like that person but still want to watch the rest of the show it makes sense to record it and fast-forward the bits you don't want to see (or conversely just watch your favourite).
So they still watch but don't count in the ratings.
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saintpat
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Post by saintpat on Dec 27, 2011 20:32:54 GMT -5
They can break down the ratings by segment -- 15-minute blocks, I think -- for Raw and any other show.
If CMP opens the show and closes the show and the ratings slump when he's on, then it's not people tuning out because he's champ -- it's people tuning out because he's on TV. And if people tune out when he's on TV, it would make sense for WWE to not want him to carry the title because the guy with the strap generally gets more TV time AND is usually in the important opening and closing segments.
And for those who are going to point out that other people are also in those segments, being the champ means you get closer examination and held to a higher standard. It's true now and has always been so. If, for example, Punk is on at the opening segment with Johnny Ace and people tune out and he comes back at the end of the show for a segment with ADR and people tune out, WWE would rightly conclude that it's not Johnny Ace and ADR that are the problem -- it's the common denominator.
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Krazee
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Post by Krazee on Dec 27, 2011 20:35:43 GMT -5
WWE needs to realize that it aint about ratings anymore, it's about TRENDING!
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Post by lildude8218 on Dec 27, 2011 20:41:01 GMT -5
Ratings punk = Stump, Patrick
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Post by "American Cream" Dusty Loads on Dec 27, 2011 20:42:48 GMT -5
I love the current lineup of champions and just the overall creative direction they seem to be heading in, but I haven't watched in months simply cuz I'm superstitious and think that as soon as I finally tune in, Triple H is gonna unify all the titles in an 11 year reign. (I'm not a HHHater, just using hyperbole.)
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Post by jivesoulbrah on Dec 27, 2011 20:43:17 GMT -5
Rating slump probably has to do more with the quality of the actual product. I haven't watched a whole episode of Raw since 2004, nor do I plan to anytime soon, regardless of who the champion is.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2011 22:47:53 GMT -5
Punk needs someone who people can see can go toe to toe with him. The Miz? Del Rio? Now Ziggler? Regardless how good Ziggler is no one believes he's up to Punk's level. Punk is just "that guy" right now. He's just beating these guys up. This is the equivalent of Michaels squashing guys during his 96' title reign each and every week when no one could compete with him until a formidable challenger stepped up. Once he gets someone up to his level that people think should be able to compete then ratings will probably increase. No one took Del Rio and Miz seriously at all. If it's Jericho we'll believe it, if it's Cena in the future we'll believe it, not these guys.
He has to be built as the champion. I mean we just can't keep having Punk do this stuff and expect ratings to increase as he beats guys we know aren't up to his level.
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