Big Dog Looks Strong In WWE Marketability Study

[Deleted]

I saw the results of a marketability study regarding the top WWE characters and it’s probably one of the reasons they are strong on Reigns. And this was a current fan-based study and not a general public study, which saw Reigns as the fourth highest ranking wrestler on the roster, trailing Cena (who scored much higher than anyone else), Undertaker and Lesnar. Others faring strongly among the active wrestlers were Orton, HHH and Styles, the latter of which probably surprised people. Ambrose also did well, but was far behind the guys mentioned and Owens didn’t fare well at all. That may be why they are reluctant to listen to crowd reactions and think they should push someone else.

One major retailer noted that, in order, the top five selling T-shirts at their national chain for 2015 were Cena, Bryan, Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose, in that order.

Source: WON

[Bang Bang Bart]

I'd guess the major retailer is Hot Topic, which has carried shirts featuring Cena, DB, Roman, Seth, and Dean at their stores.

[taker1990]

I'm not shocked by the top 5 but AJ is a nice surprise.

[Deleted]

Eh, even if true, 1), surveys tend to not actually do much to prove much of anything and tend to involve the company seeking out a particular answer from a particular kind of person, and 2), even if in theory he's marketable, in practice he's clearly not as he's been the face of the company for over a year now and he's not only not attracting new viewers, the existing ones are leaving in droves.

[Deleted]

So how many seconds did it take people reading this thread to realize if Ambrose was pushed the way Reigns is, he'd be outselling him in merch and ALSO not making the show look dumb with a bunch of face boos?

I got it in about 2 seconds. Think WWE will figure it out by 2018?

[Deleted]

Mar 31, 2016 13:24:51 GMT -5 taker1990 said:

I'm not shocked by the top 5 but AJ is a nice surprise.

Yeah AJ Styles is surprising but I imagine being known for the best wrestler to never wrestle in the WWE for nearly 15 years (minus Sting) has helped a lot.

Plus AJ Styles looks way more marketable being clean cut and shaven since he looks pretty goofy with his borderline mullet and immaculate groomed facial hair

[Deleted]

Mar 31, 2016 13:47:43 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

Mar 31, 2016 13:24:51 GMT -5 taker1990 said:

I'm not shocked by the top 5 but AJ is a nice surprise.

Yeah AJ Styles is surprising but I imagine being known for the best wrestler to never wrestle in the WWE for nearly 15 years (minus Sting) has helped a lot.

Plus AJ Styles looks way more marketable being clean cut and shaven since he looks pretty goofy with his borderline mullet and immaculate groomed facial hair

He's also popular within specific communities.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

I call bullshit on AJ being on the list. I've been lead to believe that they don't want none.

[Sparkybob]

Mar 31, 2016 13:48:53 GMT -5 @bootytime said:

Mar 31, 2016 13:47:43 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

Yeah AJ Styles is surprising but I imagine being known for the best wrestler to never wrestle in the WWE for nearly 15 years (minus Sting) has helped a lot.

Plus AJ Styles looks way more marketable being clean cut and shaven since he looks pretty goofy with his borderline mullet and immaculate groomed facial hair

He's also popular within specific communities.

We in the baseball cap no t-shirt community appreciate his support.

[Bang Bang Bart]

Mar 31, 2016 13:37:19 GMT -5 Lizuka #BLM said:

Eh, even if true, 1), surveys tend to not actually do much to prove much of anything and tend to involve the company seeking out a particular answer from a particular kind of person, and 2), even if in theory he's marketable, in practice he's clearly not as he's been the face of the company for over a year now and he's not only not attracting new viewers, the existing ones are leaving in droves.

Not to mention having the live audiences booing him in a feud where he's supposedly the good guy fighting against the evil corporate overlords.

[Sparkybob]

Mar 31, 2016 13:49:55 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

I call bullshit on AJ being on the list. I've been lead to believe that they don't want none.

AJ Style not AJ Lee so put the pitch forks away.

[xCompackx]

I'm sorry, but all of this "marketability" stuff is bullshit. If you book a guy to be a top star, then he's going to be viewed as marketable. It's not like Reigns wasn't being pushed and fans saw something in him that they aspired to be or something, he's been in all of the high-profile storylines on Raw since Royal Rumble 2015.

[Boozeman]

Reigns marketability is a product of his push. If you put someone else in that spot, I guarantee kids and casual fans will view them the same way.

Interesting that Rollins had a top-selling shirt even as a heel though. And that "SR" shirt was pretty crappy too.

[Deleted]

Mar 31, 2016 13:51:25 GMT -5 Sparkybob said:

Mar 31, 2016 13:49:55 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

I call bullshit on AJ being on the list. I've been lead to believe that they don't want none.

AJ Style not AJ Lee so put the pitch forks away.

Think about his exact wording for a moment

[Mayonnaise]

Mar 31, 2016 13:44:59 GMT -5 @bootytime said:

So how many seconds did it take people reading this thread to realize if Ambrose was pushed the way Reigns is, he'd be outselling him in merch and ALSO not making the show look dumb with a bunch of face boos?

I got it in about 2 seconds. Think WWE will figure it out by 2018?

I was too busy wondering how they blew it with Owens. Sells enough merch and is over enough to the point they rocketed him to the main roster and put him over Cena clean, then tucked tail and ran less than 2 weeks later. There is zero reason for them to be afraid to push him other than their booking. Despite all that he is still over!

Damn that makes my head hurt.

[Deleted]

Mar 31, 2016 13:44:59 GMT -5 @bootytime said:

So how many seconds did it take people reading this thread to realize if Ambrose was pushed the way Reigns is, he'd be outselling him in merch and ALSO not making the show look dumb with a bunch of face boos?

I got it in about 2 seconds. Think WWE will figure it out by 2018?

Ambrose has gotten pushed like Reigns, for the most part, and Rollins got a bigger push than either guy combined. Reigns still outsold both of them.

[carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army)]

Pointless to discuss without knowing more details about the methodology.

[Deleted]

Mar 31, 2016 13:57:24 GMT -5 carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army) said:

Pointless to discuss without knowing more details about the methodology.

But what fun is that?

[Deleted]

The most pushed guys in the company and arguably the best wrestler this past decade are at the top of the list.

No shit.

Anyone expected any different?

[Sicho100]

Mar 31, 2016 13:53:32 GMT -5 xCompackx said:

I'm sorry, but all of this "marketability" stuff is bullshit. If you book a guy to be a top star, then he's going to be viewed as marketable. It's not like Reigns wasn't being pushed and fans saw something in him that they aspired to be or something, he's been in all of the high-profile storylines on Raw since Royal Rumble 2015.

Wouldn't it be great if, say, Fandango was in the top 5 most marketable guys?

Mar 31, 2016 13:56:27 GMT -5 Mayonnaise said:

Mar 31, 2016 13:44:59 GMT -5 @bootytime said:

So how many seconds did it take people reading this thread to realize if Ambrose was pushed the way Reigns is, he'd be outselling him in merch and ALSO not making the show look dumb with a bunch of face boos?

I got it in about 2 seconds. Think WWE will figure it out by 2018?

I was too busy wondering how they blew it with Owens. Sells enough merch and is over enough to the point they rocketed him to the main roster and put him over Cena clean, then tucked tail and ran less than 2 weeks later. There is zero reason for them to be afraid to push him other than their booking. Despite all that he is still over!

Damn that makes my head hurt.

Here, let me help you: