Mae Young Classic finale depreciation

[Slanted and Enchanted]

This thread is not for knocking the actual match itself because it was a solid affair that showed off the strengths of both immensely talented wrestlers.

No, this thread is dedicated to the terrible and hastened presentation of the finale. As I said before the MYC finale was without a doubt sabotaged by someone in the back who hates women's wrestling. It was presented as something way less important than the CWC finale considering it was condensed from 2 hours to 30 minutes. I get that maybe you didn't need to put the semi-finals on the same night but it would have been nice to have several exhibition matches from the other competitors and interviews with former females greats as opposed to quick camera shots of them in the crowd. The greatest disservice was not giving the finale its own dedicated night and just sandwiching it between SDL and 205 Live. Also the crowd was dead after the KO/Vince segment and a part of me can't help but think it was somewhat intentional because SDL usually concludes with a wrestling match that doesn't involve any type of major segment.

Also, with the short runtime the final match was condensed to the standard 10-12 minutes and it should have gone close to 30 considering the importance of the match and capable talent involved. There was also the lack of an actual coronation and interviews which also made this whole thing feel so insignificant. So yeah, considering how the CW division has been treated as an afterthought I shudder to imagine how the MYC signees, aside from Kairi and Shayna, will be treated once they are on WWE TV.

[saintpat]

Sept 13, 2017 10:14:07 GMT -5 Slanted and Enchanted said:

This thread is not for knocking the actual match itself because it was a solid affair that showed off the strengths of both immensely talented wrestlers.

No, this thread is dedicated to the terrible and hastened presentation of the finale. As I said before the MYC finale was without a doubt sabotaged by someone in the back who hates women's wrestling. It was presented as something way less important than the CWC finale considering it was condensed from 2 hours to 30 minutes. I get that maybe you didn't need to put the semi-finals on the same night but it would have been nice to have several exhibition matches from the other competitors and interviews with former females greats as opposed to quick camera shots of them in the crowd. The greatest disservice was not giving the finale its own dedicated night and just sandwiching it between SDL and 205 Live. Also the crowd was dead after the KO/Vince segment and a part of me can't help but think it was somewhat intentional because SDL usually concludes with a wrestling match that doesn't involve any type of major segment.

Also, with the short runtime the final match was condensed to the standard 10-12 minutes and it should have gone close to 30 considering the importance of the match and capable talent involved. There was also the lack of an actual coronation and interviews which also made this whole thing feel so insignificant. So yeah, considering how the CW division has been treated as an afterthought I shudder to imagine how the MYC signees, aside from Kairi and Shayna, will be treated once they are on WWE TV.

I disagree. The match needed eyeballs on it, not some boring filler buildup to pad it out and take it past midnight on the east coast. Go straight to it so people can see. The buildup happened leading up to the match, didn't need to do anything more but say "Here's what you've been waiting for" and get to it.

I wouldn't have stayed up 2 hours or even an hour waiting for it. I turned it on after SD and watched because they did it right away.

[Allie Kitsune]

Sept 13, 2017 10:14:07 GMT -5 Slanted and Enchanted said:

Also the crowd was dead after the KO/Vince segment and a part of me can't help but think it was somewhat intentional because SDL usually concludes with a wrestling match that doesn't involve any type of major segment.

Even Jesse Ventura thinks this conspiracy theory is a bit of a stretch.

[Slanted and Enchanted]

Sept 13, 2017 10:23:35 GMT -5 saintpat said:

Sept 13, 2017 10:14:07 GMT -5 Slanted and Enchanted said:

This thread is not for knocking the actual match itself because it was a solid affair that showed off the strengths of both immensely talented wrestlers.

No, this thread is dedicated to the terrible and hastened presentation of the finale. As I said before the MYC finale was without a doubt sabotaged by someone in the back who hates women's wrestling. It was presented as something way less important than the CWC finale considering it was condensed from 2 hours to 30 minutes. I get that maybe you didn't need to put the semi-finals on the same night but it would have been nice to have several exhibition matches from the other competitors and interviews with former females greats as opposed to quick camera shots of them in the crowd. The greatest disservice was not giving the finale its own dedicated night and just sandwiching it between SDL and 205 Live. Also the crowd was dead after the KO/Vince segment and a part of me can't help but think it was somewhat intentional because SDL usually concludes with a wrestling match that doesn't involve any type of major segment.

Also, with the short runtime the final match was condensed to the standard 10-12 minutes and it should have gone close to 30 considering the importance of the match and capable talent involved. There was also the lack of an actual coronation and interviews which also made this whole thing feel so insignificant. So yeah, considering how the CW division has been treated as an afterthought I shudder to imagine how the MYC signees, aside from Kairi and Shayna, will be treated once they are on WWE TV.

I disagree. The match needed eyeballs on it, not some boring filler buildup to pad it out and take it past midnight on the east coast. Go straight to it so people can see. The buildup happened leading up to the match, didn't need to do anything more but say "Here's what you've been waiting for" and get to it.

I wouldn't have stayed up 2 hours or even an hour waiting for it. I turned it on after SD and watched because they did it right away.

I don't think it required two hours as I mentioned before that I didn't have any issue with excluding the semi-finals from the final night. But it should have had a dedicated night (such as tonight for instance) in front the of the Full Sail crowd and it could have been a one-hour show giving enough time for vignettes, a tag match, a solid 20 minute match, and post-match presentation and interviews. It could have aired at 8 and ended at 9.

[This Player Hating Mothman]

I don't think it was any kind of intentional sabotage; Full Sail is fine looking but it's a much more intimate sort of venue; the big arena setting and the chance to run their media hype red carpet and shit gave it a Little bit something. They wanted to let the final be a big thing, and the scope and scale of the place they run developmental TV just doesn't have that; I suspect it's part of why we don't get any Takeovers in Full Sail anymore. But especially the stuff about the 'intentional' overshadowing and all of that, I feel like you may be reading too much into it. All of last night was meant to be a ratings hook with the three title matches and Vince appearance, and I think that was all meant to keep people hanging on. Vince at the end of the show was a way to try and hold onto ratings the whole two hours and keep peoples' attention moving into the special; they even used the promo packages and announcement stuff as a buffer segment to let the audience recover from that a little bit.

Whether it worked for you or not, I can see where WWE was going with this; giving the finals a big time feel in front of a big crowd as the crown jewel of a Smackdown they went all out on. They're not always super on the mark when it comes to expectation versus result, and obviously you would have preferred a different setting and a different way to do it, but to say that feels like sabotage for not being that feels a little bit conspiracy theory-ey

[Mike Bockwinkel]

It should have just been after RAW, but still at Full Sail.

[Rican]

I wish they had done the tournament later and had the final at the next NXT Takeover, but last night was ok. I get what they were going for. I was worried about crowd reaction but they ended up winning the crowd over by the end which was impressive.

[Deleted]

Really the only problems I had with the presentation were how they waited forever to start, the commentary, and the black apron made it look like a house show. It felt like beyond that they did everything they could to make it feel like a big deal even within the rather limited set-up they had doing it as part of the SmackDown taping, it was a very good match, and the crowd was into it.

[lucas_lee]

The crowd came alive during the match so I have to disagree

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

It would have been nice to have it an hour, but having eyeballs on it helped both women out, crowd was really hot for the match especially near the end, and they wanted most of the crowd to stay for 205 Live afterward so I'd say it did its job just fine.

Now we'll see how many of the gals get signed.

[saintpat]

Full Sail was not an option.

The school was closed due to the hurricane and the NXT taping was moved back a couple of days due to that.

Millions of people in Florida without power. They didn't even determine until Tuesday morning that the University of Florida in Gainesville, which wasn't hit as hard, can hold a football game on SATURDAY.

Trying to hold an entertainment event there during all this is a needless use of resources and literally thumbing their noses at those affected. Flying in people for an event, trying to get people (fans) to attend who were more worried about basic needs and the aftermath of the big storm would have been absolutely ridiculous.

Having it in front of a large, hot crowd and getting on ASAP after SD was the way to go. The buildup had already taken place, the tournament is the highest rated thing on the WWE Network so it had a built in audience.

[Zone Was Wrong]

I agree it should have been longer (match wise) but my main problem was the end. The ending felt very rushed and didn't have the same epic feel the CWC or even the UK tournament did. Granted those ones gave out new titles but we could have still had time for the announcement of her challenging for the title at Takeover and Sane's reaction to that. Maybe even a promo by Sane with an interpreter (if needed, not sure how strong her english is).

[Super Duper Dragunov]

at the very least make it a full hour, and give us that 6-woman tag we got on the "Road to the Finals" show, and a 10 minute match with each of the semi-finalists that lost on either bracket against each other.


Hell they had some of the women in the crowd.
Give them a damned match or two. let them work in front of a huge crowd.

there is SO much freaking talent now that they could have easily showcased it instead of having vignette after vignette and just stalling for 20 minutes.
It was pointless.

I had zero problems with the actual match, and think a couple more exhibition matches wouldn't have detracted from the Finals whatsoever.
If anything it would have enhanced what was to come.

[thetower52]

Crowd was pretty hot for it

[trollrogue]

I will give OP a small nod, the entrance themes for either women didn't receive much of a pop when they hit the ring. Partly due to I guess the casual WWE live show fan not being a Full Sail alum who would know these women. But after the match went on for awhile and they stole the show (best match of the night close ahead of the New Day/Usos III match) the crowd fired up.

Comparitively, that TJP/Swann match got 'this is awful' chants when it dragged on for over 10 minutes and too many false finishes. I think shorter was better for the women and whoever called the audible to make it a short match probably was correct (Vince?)

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

I think this may have been better for them in the long run. They had to work to get a post-SmackDown crowd, most of whom have likely never seen these two wrestle, into them after such a shock moment in Owens laying out Vince and succeeded in doing so. That could do wonders for their confidence as wrestlers, earning their pops like that in a tough situation.

[Tenshigure]

Sept 13, 2017 22:00:52 GMT -5 thetower52 said:

Crowd was pretty hot for it

Not until the girls were hitting their high spots. Just look at the entrances of both girls and see how dead the crowd was for them. Yes, it was post Vince destruction, but people need to stop using that as an excuse, especially considering that simply SEEING Rousey in attendance got a larger pop than either until they were midway through their match. Even then, there was no real "feel good" moment to encapsulate the whole thing, because they had to rush everyone off-stage so that 205 Live could run. 

As I said in the main thread, they've wasted more time on repeated (and tired) promo segments with wrestlers than they did that finale. With the precedence of the CWC and how well they set that up with a proper semi-final and undercard exhibition match, this just felt like a throwaway moment that should have established two stars quickly. Instead, I get the feeling they're going to be an afterthought as they head on to NXT until they get called up.