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Post by Joe Neglia on Jun 28, 2007 4:40:02 GMT -5
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Post by Drillbit Taylor on Jun 28, 2007 4:44:32 GMT -5
Yeah, but do other businesses have 300 pound men crashing into each other on a nightly basis, and then cram all of their employees into tiny cars, have them drive 500 miles, and then do it all over again? There's a big difference between pro wrestling and real world business. You can't compare the two. I don't know about you, but I don't run the risk of broken ribs, concussions, and getting dropped onto cement on a daily basis. The problem is that the WWE needs to start recognizing for themselves that yes, this is a physical sport, not just a business. Thats the whole root of the problem. If they can continue to say that they are just a business, then they can continue to operate as a normal business would, without regard for their employees. An off season would work for the company if they would just take the time to sit and plan for it. You also have to be willing to take a bit of a hit the first time around, and then adjust for the status quo. They'd still make money, just not as much.....but its better than everyone dying off at the age of 45, or having problems. I did not say NO to time off, I said no to everyone off. You let them choose there own mounth so that you get some personal time but there is still others wrestlering. EX It is WM weekend,Saturday, they get every one in a hall and have a meting about the following year. Then you break them into lvls( Cena, HHH, Taker, Booker types are LVL 1, Hardys, Cade, Murdoch, Londrick, Punk, Burke, LVL2 Divas' lvl 3, Rest LVL 4) They have a giant Calender that has cretin dates that everyone needs to be there for, IE 3 weeks before SS, Survior, RR and a mounth beofre WM. Then You have the Top Guys choose first when they want off, and Seniority in the company plays when you get to choose in your group so HHH gets to choose before Cena but after Taker, That also is a perk to staying. Say Taker wants June15-July 15 off and he is the most senoir one there, that goes down. That means that No one else in that LVl can have those EXACT days off, HHH can have May 30-June 30th but there is still an overlap of talent so there would not be a hole to fill.
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Mr. Zombie
Don Corleone
The Original Chris Farley
Posts: 1,526
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Post by Mr. Zombie on Jun 28, 2007 4:52:36 GMT -5
Yeah, but then what if someone gets hot right before their planned time off? In this day and age, wouldn't it kind of ruin it for us fans, knowing that a guy has time off and when he has it? We would find out the schedule one way or another.
I don't see how an off season wouldn't work. The product would be so much better from top to bottom if everyone had 2 months off to go rest and recharge their batteries, from the writing staff and production team to the wrestlers themselves. Plus WWE has a huge archive that they could air all sorts of stuff for 2 months. They could air best of cage matches, best of summerslam, best ladder matches......you could promote the hell out of DVDs and merch for 2 months. Hell, give Mick Foley 2 hours one Monday night, have a draft week during the off season, air old edited pay per views, put on documentaries.....there's so much.
Since there are brands now, you could even alternate a brands' off season. with anothers. Smackdown could have April-May after WM, RAW gets Sept-Oct, ECW gets an overlap of Mid May to Mid July......
An off season would work fine. Its just that WWE has to be willing to take the hit and they have to be willing to recognize that they are a sport, and if they want to be recognized as one, they need to treat their guys like legit athletes.
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Post by Drillbit Taylor on Jun 28, 2007 4:59:58 GMT -5
But you would also know that a certin brand has off too would we not? writers can plan accordingly to know when the Hardy's will be off to kinda not have them in a major fued with anyone
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dpg
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,477
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Post by dpg on Jun 28, 2007 5:10:23 GMT -5
The main thing is WWE has created it's own problems. Vince needs to make money in order to keep the shareholders happy, so he runs far more house shows than his wrestlers can safely handle. They wrestle 4-5 times a week, with travelling inbetween. Nobody can handle that amount of stress, both mentally and physically. You end up with wrestlers taking tablets (painkillers, steroids etc etc) in order to keep going. They need to cut down on house shows and give people time off sometimes in order to recover. However, unless Vince has no choice, he won't do it. He hasn't done before, which proves that.
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Post by Dynamic Dude Johnny on Jun 28, 2007 5:49:24 GMT -5
I remember a story from history class about a "missing pahraoh" in ancient egypt. For reason I wont bore people with after his reign was over he was more or less removed from history as much as possible. I would bet Benoit will suffer the same fate in WWE history. He will be mentioned when it is absoultly needed(Say if the WWE did a history of the US title dvd) but only mentioned in name. You will never see another match of his on video, on WWE 24/7 or on WWE tv in any form. He will never be in the HOF because of the situation reguarding his families demise. I would bet the remaining Benoit shirts and his DVD(Hard knocks the chris benoit story) will likely be destroyed or at least dumped in such a way that the WWE can not be held responsible for their sale. He is on other DVD releases but that can not be helped(the ladder match dvd for example). From here on in though it will be as if he never existed, as much as possible anyway.
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EJS
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 18,857
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Post by EJS on Jun 28, 2007 6:01:52 GMT -5
McMahon will be interviewed on NBC's Today show very soon.
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Post by Girth Brooks on Jun 28, 2007 6:03:06 GMT -5
He looks nervous
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Post by Bubble Lead on Jun 28, 2007 6:03:33 GMT -5
I agree that the best thing for WWE to do would have a 2-3 month off season where they just air best ofs, career retrospectives, etc.
If they lose money so be it. Human lives should be more important than profit. If Vince can't see that and be willing to do that for the safety of his workers, than theres blood on his hands too.
I'm not saying Vince is at fault for the Benoit tragedy, but all these wrestlers dying or killing themselves cannot be denied, or be considered a "coincidence." Something is very wrong here.
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Post by Old School Heel mark4Morishima on Jun 28, 2007 6:25:48 GMT -5
I remember a story from history class about a "missing pahraoh" in ancient egypt. For reason I wont bore people with after his reign was over he was more or less removed from history as much as possible. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhenaten
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dpg
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,477
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Post by dpg on Jun 28, 2007 6:28:38 GMT -5
I agree that the best thing for WWE to do would have a 2-3 month off season where they just air best ofs, career retrospectives, etc. If they lose money so be it. Human lives should be more important than profit. If Vince can't see that and be willing to do that for the safety of his workers, than theres blood on his hands too. I'm not saying Vince is at fault for the Benoit tragedy, but all these wrestlers dying or killing themselves cannot be denied, or be considered a "coincidence." Something is very wrong here. He won't do it unless he's put under intense pressure, because it would mean admitting that he's been wrong in pushing them so hard up to this point.
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Post by willywonka666 on Jun 28, 2007 6:28:59 GMT -5
Another reason to cut back on ppv's. though I still think Benoit made it even harder on himself with his work ethic among other things
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Post by sunwukong on Jun 28, 2007 7:03:42 GMT -5
I'd say cut back on the number of house shows. They just aren't necessary in this day and age. Everyone knows nothing major is going to happen, and they put unneccessary stain on your workers.
I realize it gives smaller markets a chance to see a live show, but they haven't been a profitable endeavor in years. They made sense during the old days. Now, not so much.
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Post by Drillbit Taylor on Jun 28, 2007 7:05:38 GMT -5
I agree that the best thing for WWE to do would have a 2-3 month off season where they just air best ofs, career retrospectives, etc. If they lose money so be it. Human lives should be more important than profit. If Vince can't see that and be willing to do that for the safety of his workers, than theres blood on his hands too. I'm not saying Vince is at fault for the Benoit tragedy, but all these wrestlers dying or killing themselves cannot be denied, or be considered a "coincidence." Something is very wrong here. If you shut down and air reruns you might loose your TV time. A reason that they have wrestling is because it is contanat new progtaming year long. A wrestler by wrestler time off is a lot better idea even if it is like 2 weeks here 2 weeks there. Its better to go 2 weeks without Cena (ratings wise) then 2 solid months
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Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,184
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Post by Mozenrath on Jun 28, 2007 7:07:55 GMT -5
You people seem to be forgetting that the wrestlers like getting paid for doing shows. What you propose is a really big pay cut.
I agree, shaving off house shows would be a good move, but not drastically. Just a few here and there. They still need to do shows to get experience, since many wrestlers these days don't spend much time in the indies.
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Post by Old School Heel mark4Morishima on Jun 28, 2007 7:18:49 GMT -5
PWTorch Blames the Retarded Kid. www.pwtorch.com/artman/publish/article_20689.shtmlThe Torch has a page of letters by readers allegedly in the know, talking about how the son's developmental problems were to blame. I find the lengths some of these responses go to to place the burden on the son pretty disgusting. Sample: Oh damn. So the retarded kid was a sociopath. Not the guy with a history of domestic abuse and drunk driving. And obviously the most relevant strain was the one caused by the kid being sick, not the father's career choice. That being said, there are some good suggestions on the page, like the WWE should probably raise some cash for Fragile X research.
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Post by Drillbit Taylor on Jun 28, 2007 7:21:34 GMT -5
Lol Vince owned Meridith a Few times. She was like over 60 wrestlers have died since 1985 being under the age 65, what cause do you think drugs had. Vince told her her only 5 of those were current employs but she kept saying drugs killed most of them.
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Post by sunwukong on Jun 28, 2007 7:22:44 GMT -5
PWTorch Blames the Retarded Kid. www.pwtorch.com/artman/publish/article_20689.shtmlThe Torch has a page of letters by readers allegedly in the know, talking about how the son's developmental problems were to blame. I find the lengths some of these responses go to to place the burden on the son pretty disgusting. Sample: Oh damn. So the retarded kid was a sociopath. Not the guy with a history of domestic abuse and drunk driving. And obviously the most relevant strain was the one caused by the kid being sick, not the father's career choice. That being said, there are some good suggestions on the page, like the WWE should probably raise some cash for Fragile X research. Just a hero worshipper trying to justify the actions of a piece of crap. That's all. That post, however, is an insult to the thousands of families with special needs children who provide a loving environment and try to get their child the best help possible. Absolutely disgusting.
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Post by Andrew is Good on Jun 28, 2007 7:23:52 GMT -5
Matt Hardy comments on his myspace blog My brief comments on this week's tragedy
Hello my friends. I hope all of you and your families are doing well. I wanted to post something based on all of the events that have taken place over the last few days. Many of you have sent me messages worrying about me and asking if I'm ok. Just so you know--I'm good, thanks for asking. I have quite a bit that I actually wanna discuss concerning the Benoit tragedy, the media's coverage of it, and what this means for the future of the business. If I am given the blessing of the powers that be in the WWE, I will write a very detailed, in-depth blog stating my unedited opinions. For now, I just wanted to address all of my friends, fans, and supporters with a summary of my feelings and thoughts.
I haven't always agreed with every decision Vince McMahon has made, but I do agree with everything he's done dealing with this situation thus far. Out of respect for the sudden death of Benoit's family and his contributions to the business, I think Vince did the right thing by canceling the scheduled Raw. When the decision was made to make Raw a Chris Benoit tribute show, the WWE was only doing what seemed respectful and right at that time. When more information was discovered, the WWE took a different and appropriate stance towards their programming. The ECW and Smackdown shows this week were dedicated to our great fans. Wrestling fans who were grieving and confused over this tragedy needed us, including me, to entertain them. I feel it is my responsibility, as well as my pleasure, to put smiles on people's faces and give them an escape from reality. I know Vince feels that way as well.
Chris Benoit was always kind, considerate, and professional when I interacted with him. Like everyone else, I was shocked when everything came out. I can't believe Chris Benoit and his wife and child are dead as I type this. As of now, all of the strange pieces of this puzzle haven't been put together yet. My thoughts and prayers go out to Benoit's other two children as well as the immediate family and friends of the deceased. More than anything, I feel terrible for little Daniel--he was as innocent as any human being could possibly be. This is a terrible and sad tragedy.
I am very disappointed with how many media outlets are lapping the entire population of professional wrestlers into this situation. There are many outstanding, wonderful people that do so many great things for the world that I work and wrestle with. It's not fair or accurate.
Tell the people you love that you love them, and never lose sight of what's really important in life. We may not ever understand why this tragedy happened, but we have to learn from it. Stay strong--life is too precious and too short. I have much more I want to say about the activities of the last few days. If it's appropriate, I definitely will. Be well my friends, I'll talk to you soon...
Quote of the day - "I won't let this build up inside of me" - Slipknot, Vermillionblog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=152686889&blogID=281545099
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Post by jonstone on Jun 28, 2007 7:40:51 GMT -5
Just think about the field day the media would have with the Benoit story if it didnt have to share airtime with Paris getting out of jail.
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