dpg
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,480
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Post by dpg on Jan 28, 2013 17:40:03 GMT -5
Exactly. Rock vs. Cena II is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Is it going to draw? Most definitely. Will it draw as much as last year? I can't see any way it does. Last year, untold hundreds of thousands tuned in to see The Rock vanquish John Cena. How many of those people are going to order this year's WrestleMania to see The Rock lose? But the bigger problem is that the people who are going to tune in to see the special attraction of The Rock at WrestleMania aren't going to watch Extreme Rules or Over the Limit. That's the problem. The WWE needs to sell these new and/or returning eyes on the current product. Sure, ratings and buyrates will skyrocket between now and April, but unless they make substantial, long-term changes, those numbers will fall back to where they were last October, November and December. Penny wise and pound foolish. I've been saying this for years now, but it seems only now people are really starting to get it. The WWE has done a terrible job of creating new stars and their actions over the years scream of a company that has no long term solution to their problems. In 2009 Raw ratings were fledgling so instead of building stars they brought in Donald Trump and 'celebrity guest hosts'. They also brought back D-X and had their feud with fellow 40 year old attitude era stars Jeri-Show be the highlight of the show. The build-up to Wrestlemania 26 was dominated by Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels and Mr. McMahon vs. Bret Hart, four guys who were 45+ years old. Then throughout 2010 on Smackdown the main event scene revolved around Kane, Undertaker, Edge and Rey Mysterio. Again, attitude era stars nearing retirement who didn't put anyone over. In 2011 they somehow took the Summer of Punk angle and managed to focus it around Triple H and Kevin Nash. Then you had Lesnar returning last year, followed by John Laurinaitis main-eventing a PPV, Big Show getting another main event push, bringing back Vince McMahon for a ratings boost etc etc. The build-up to both WM27 and WM28 were completely consumed by Rock, Cena, Undertaker and Triple H. And it seems this year we're getting Rock vs. Cena again, along with guests appearances from Lesnar, Jericho and possibly HHH. I just find it funny that if we had a Wrestlemania now with nothing but active full-time roster members, it would probably be hard-pressed to break 800k buys. WWE has been a very nostalgia based company for a few years now, but its begun to become a LOT more so over the last year. The constant references to the Attitude era (and this is from someone who only watches WWE shows when he's bored or channel hopping) make the current company feel second rate, as if WWE are saying 'yeah, the attitude era was cool, whats now is just filler, go buy another attitude era dvd!'. WWE has booked itself into a corner pretty much, any time an old guy comes back to wrestle they get put over the active roster so much that no-one see's the younger guys as being on the older guys levels. C M Punk losing legit to the Rock is a good move for this wrestlemania, but what about next year? And the year after?
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Post by Straight Edge Scrotum on Jan 28, 2013 18:04:13 GMT -5
Vince: "Remember your place, kid.!Otherwise it's another 18-second showing for you at Mania, just like last year!"
Bryan: "......."
Vince: "Good. Now get back out there and shill some more merchandise and be quick about it!"
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Post by Metalheadbanger Man on Jan 28, 2013 18:07:47 GMT -5
The song for this match should be "Once In A Lifetime" by Talking Heads, just for fun.
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segaz
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,381
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Post by segaz on Jan 28, 2013 18:14:14 GMT -5
This is sadly the short and skinny of it all. He doesn't have to care about what fans think any longer. There's no serious competition for the fans to flock to instead of the WWE. The thing is the people here are just a microcosm of the actual fanbase. How many people here actually buy WWE merchandise, watch their programming, go to house shows, and order the ppvs? If you go by responses, not that many. So why cater to a group who won't spend their money even when they like the product vs the ones who gladly spend their money? Rock brings in a base who knows him and will spend money to see him. So does Cena. It's not a sexy match up but it will make the most money. It's the reason why the NCAA loved the Alabama/Norte Dame matchup. That's why the NBA loved the Heat making the Finals. Some people here don't realise THEY are the problem. They talk about how much they hate the WWE and they're 'done' with it, but y'know, if all they do is watch raw, if the never buy merchandise, or even a freaking DVD, if they hate every WWE PPV then why should the WWE cater to them? But.......if they blindly support everything the WWE does....then the WWE says 'Alright guys, we're doing everything right!' They need to really talk with their money and voices. If R-Truth regularly outpopped Cena every night....ok maybe that's a little unrealistic, maybe even if his DVD sales started to rise significantly, or he had a lot more followers on Twitter, or I dunno, people at least appreciated what they liked to see, then Vince isn't completely deaf. Just partially deaf in one ear, and fully deaf in the other. He doesn't really hear what people want so well, although rarely he'll seemingly get the gist, only to muck it up in a new way. Some people will say "HEY! I buy old DVD's when the WWE was good!" Problem is....a lot of those DVD's feature Rock, Austin, Taker, HHH.....so the E will think "ah they'll tune in for these same big stars to return and headline this years WM!" And a lot of those other superstars like Bret, Hogan, Angle, Edge etc, can't or won't return, or in Stings case won't ever sign up. And then you get Nash who gets a loud pop at the Rumble, but then doesn't do so well when inserted into a feud with the hottest thing at the time, CM Punk. I dunno. People can hate the WWe and I guess show their opinion by speaking with their wallet and not supporting current WWE at all if they don't like it. I just don't feel that unless something changes drastically, that the WWE will even feel the need to really shake things up. I still am in shock how they kinda teased big changes during summer 2011...and then same old, same old.
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Post by The Portable Stove on Jan 28, 2013 18:29:10 GMT -5
You know what just struck me? The worst part of all of this? Not the match itself. THE BUILD. Starting tonight, we could potentially be looking at ten weeks of The Rock making food and/or testicle references and John Cena complaining for ten weeks about how The Rock's been gone for over a year and doesn't care about the people or the company. That alone is enough for me to desperately want them to shoehorn CM Punk into a triple threat match. This is my problem too. What's left for them to say to each other? They'll pretend that nothing happened last year. NEVER BEFORE, NEVER AGAIN ONCE IN A LIFETIME TITLE MATCH!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2013 18:46:27 GMT -5
The song for this match should be "Once In A Lifetime" by Talking Heads, just for fun. Given the apparent nature of Rock and Cena's relationship, "Once in a Lifetime" by Sarah Brightman would be more appropriate.
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No Longer a Produceman
Dennis Stamp
Will Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse
Evolving into Geckoman
Posts: 4,413
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Post by No Longer a Produceman on Jan 28, 2013 19:08:50 GMT -5
I'm calling it now. Ziggler cashes in on Del Rio and its going to be Cena/Ziggler at Mania
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Post by DZ: WF Legacy on Jan 28, 2013 19:11:26 GMT -5
I reallllllly hope they don't treat us like we're stupid and pretend that Cena/Del Rio even stands a remote chance of happening. Nobody - not even the casuals - are going to buy that.
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Post by Andy Martin on Jan 28, 2013 19:17:08 GMT -5
@thehistoryofwwe "Predictable" isn't always a bad thing. You could tell 6 months earlier that we would get Rock/Austin at WM15. It still sold out. Mania is ALWAYS going to sell out though.
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Post by Snaptastic on Jan 28, 2013 19:27:53 GMT -5
As previously mentioned, they could pull off the swerve of all swerves and have Rock retain the belt at Mania, only to drop it at ER to Ryback or something. Sets up a sort of three match "saga" between Rock & Cena. Rock wins 2, Cena wins 1...same as Rock/Austin with Rock 1 - 2 Austin.
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khali
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,887
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Post by khali on Jan 28, 2013 19:58:20 GMT -5
Austin/Rock 2 Austin/Rock 3 Taker/Triple H 2 Taker/Triple H 3 Taker/HBK 1 Taker/HBK 2 WWE doing Cena/Rock 2 at Wrestlemania is not the first time (and it's sure as hell not the last time) that they have the same main event matches at two Wrestlemania's Andre/Hogan too. But really, at this point, it's a little bit presumptuous to say the show is either gonna do really well or not very well at all. The build hasn't even started yet. There is (I think many would agree) a chance that the build will suck and hurt interest in the match a lot. Or maybe it will be a good build and people on the fence will decide to buy it. It's not just this match that is gonna decide how well it does, either. What Taker does is going to be important. If he's not on the show at all, that probably hurts the buyrate right there since he's one of the top draws at Mania now. How well Lesnar/HHH is built (if they do that) is gonna factor in to how well the show does too.
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Post by thelonewolf527 on Jan 28, 2013 19:59:45 GMT -5
You all complained when Triple H and Undertaker wrestled again last year and that match stole the show. I have no doubt something similar will happen this year again. Maybe not a show stealer, but one of the best matches of the night
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543Y2J
Patti Mayonnaise
Seventh level .gif Master
Posts: 38,794
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Post by 543Y2J on Jan 28, 2013 20:20:32 GMT -5
Jim Ross Breaks Down This Year's Royal Rumble Event Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 01.28.2013 What did JR think? - Jim Ross has updated his JRsBarBq blog with his thoughts on the Royal rumble event. Here are some highlights: On CM Punk losing the WWE title: " CM Punk reign as WWE Champion added more stature and credibility to the WWE Title than any other reign that I can recall in recent memory because of the amount of days Punk spent on top. My hat's off to him. Punk was another Royal Rumble MVP in my eyes." His thoughts on The Rock's performance: "The Rock's Performance: @therock wrestling the amount of time that he did in a show closing performance considering his lack of in ring time over the past several months was pretty amazing. Ring rust only is removed inside the ring and Rock showed his natural athletic skills and his desire to be the best in the long, physical match with Punk." His thoughts on Rock vs. Cena at Wrestlemania again: "Rock vs Cena 2 is potentially HUGE money and that is and always has been the bottom line in this genre...money."411mania.com
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saintpat
El Dandy
Release the hounds!!!
Posts: 7,664
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Post by saintpat on Jan 28, 2013 22:00:05 GMT -5
I love this whole "the people of NY and NJ aren't going to be happy" if Cena wins.
So the people of NY and NJ are going to be the only marks on earth stupid enough to think Rock is going to win, and they're going to spend big money to go see it and get disappointed.
If they're that dumb that they can't see what any fool with half a brain can see, I can only laugh at their reaction. It won't hurt WWE if they throw a fit as much as it will give the rest of us the same glee we have watching the Yankees fail.
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Paco
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 7,145
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Post by Paco on Jan 28, 2013 22:28:08 GMT -5
His thoughts on Rock vs. Cena at Wrestlemania again: "Rock vs Cena 2 is potentially HUGE money and that is and always has been the bottom line in this genre...money."= Ain't getting my money. $60 for a foregone conclusion? You're NOT gonna beat last year's Mania buyrate with a crappy rematch for Cena to get his win back.
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saintpat
El Dandy
Release the hounds!!!
Posts: 7,664
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Post by saintpat on Jan 28, 2013 22:32:54 GMT -5
His thoughts on Rock vs. Cena at Wrestlemania again: "Rock vs Cena 2 is potentially HUGE money and that is and always has been the bottom line in this genre...money."= Ain't getting my money. $60 for a foregone conclusion? You're NOT gonna beat last year's Mania buyrate with a crappy rematch for Cena to get his win back. Considering last year's 1.3 million was a record, it's a good guess that they won't break the record. If it falls below 1 million, it would be in WM XXV or XXVI territory and possibly above both, so not a huge deal. But if it draws 1.2M or 1.1M, it's still a HUGE success.
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Post by Andrew is Good on Jan 28, 2013 23:13:24 GMT -5
To be fair, seeing their first match up was only a once in a lifetime deal.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2013 1:32:39 GMT -5
To be fair, seeing their first match up was only a once in a lifetime deal. NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE
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Post by joebob27 on Jan 29, 2013 1:41:14 GMT -5
The WM 15 analogy was pretty bad. First off, Austin was so hot he could have faced me in the ME of WM and "sold out" the building.
Secondly, the Rock was a pretty damn hot act too.
Bottom line is to make money, though, so it's obvious why they're doing it, on that front. My problem with it is that it's not really creative.
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Post by memphis25 on Jan 29, 2013 1:46:04 GMT -5
I don't mind Cena/Rock II. I just wish they didn't have to sacrifice Punk's reign to set it up. The only reason Punk had a reign that long was to lose the title to the Rock at the Rumble. People who think the Rock somehow screwed over Punk should be happy with the Rock since he's the only reason Punk had the title anywhere close to that long.
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