Abdullah
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Post by Abdullah on Dec 25, 2014 4:44:57 GMT -5
The big test for WWE will come if something happens to Cena. One career ending injury and they will really struggle, because they've been so dependent on him. They've failed to build stars because as soon as someone gets some momentum, they become Cena's buddy or enemy and are immediately derailed. Eh. I'm doubting that as well. WWE is showing us right now that if Cena was gone, it wouldn't change much. They'd struggle but their response would just be to put a new guy in his place - Reigns or even Ambrose or even Ziggler. Who cares? They'd push one guy, maybe two guys, and the rest of RAW would be the same variety land with a watered down midcard and pointless 'comedy' bits. Cena being gone would not bring about fundamental change because Vince isn't capable of thinking in terms of fundamental change. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2014 4:51:37 GMT -5
The big test for WWE will come if something happens to Cena. One career ending injury and they will really struggle, because they've been so dependent on him. They've failed to build stars because as soon as someone gets some momentum, they become Cena's buddy or enemy and are immediately derailed. Eh. I'm doubting that as well. WWE is showing us right now that if Cena was gone, it wouldn't change much. They'd struggle but their response would just be to put a new guy in his place - Reigns or even Ambrose or even Ziggler. Who cares? They'd push one guy, maybe two guys, and the rest of RAW would be the same variety land with a watered down midcard and pointless 'comedy' bits. Cena being gone would not bring about fundamental change because Vince isn't capable of thinking in terms of fundamental change. I'm under the impression that Cena has HAD a few career-ending injuries and that he's just held together with stem cells, ace bandages and cortisone shots. |
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Post by CATCH_US IS the Conversation on Dec 25, 2014 4:58:28 GMT -5
I don't wish to appear entirely unsympathetic to their grievances but many do earn 6-figure sums and most could make a decent living outside WWE working independent dates. They're not Joe six-pack living off minimum wage who is terrified of saying boo to a goose because working and not is the difference between eating that week or not. A lot of them earn more in a year than most people do in 10. I'm not saying this doesn't give them the right to be unhappy at work but I do sort of dismiss the insinuation that they have no choice and that they're poor, enslaved, serfs. Even if TV competition doesn't exist, practically all of them have the opportunity to make far more than most average people on the indy scene and those that don't want to have the financial security to go back to college and train to be something else. I really don't have much sympathy for the 'they can't say anything for fear of losing their jobs' argument. They have far more security behind them to stand up to their boss than the vast majority, and others without their security manage it. You want to see low morale - speak to the kid at Burger King who's been told unless he works his 17th consecutive night shift he can wave the job goodbye. Not a wrestler with $750,000 in the bank and a $200,000 downside guarantee with a 'woe is me' attitude. If you earn that sort of money, or even half or even a quarter, and you're terrified of standing up to your boss - grow a pair. The only people making a "decent living" on the indies are guys who are either already fairly well known "elite" indy wrestlers working in the bigger indies that people actually care about/know exist (e.g. someone like an Adam Cole, Michael Elgin, Young Bucks, etc.) or long time veterans who made their names during the "boom period" (e.g. X-Pac, ECW guys, etc.). Anyone else is the exception that proves the rule. If you aren't an already well known "name" on the indies or a WWF/WCW/ECW "legend", you're probably only making $200 per appearance at most, and that's if you're getting paid at all. And yes, TV competition not existing is a big deal. You can get booked all over the country in a bunch of obscure backwater promotions. But since no one cares about these promotions or even knows they exist, you're for the most part, persona non grata if you aren't wrestling for WWE (or TNA, Lucha Underground, RoH, PWG, CZW, Dragon Gate/Evolve, NJPW/AJPW/NOAH, or AAA/CMLL). The wrestling public at large will just think these guys retired from wrestling Because someone like Jack Swagger, Zack Ryder, or Kofi Kingston got fired because he decided to "grow a set", maybe that kid working at Burger King can't watch his favorite wrestler work anymore. Swagger might be getting booked all over the place, but none of his fans are actually getting to watch him work because no one knows that the promotions booking him actually exist. For all they know he retired from wrestling. And even if he wanted to watch him work, he can't afford to drop $10-20 to see Swagger wrestle a skinny fat ass wearing a Bane mask and cargo shorts in a high school gym in front of 40 people, nor can he afford to drop $20 on a DVD of a show that actually happened two months before it was released, with shitty ass camera work that looks like it was shot on a cell phone by a five year old. No the wrestlers do not have that kind of security. Their field is a lot more limited than that of our normal civilian world. A wrestler has $750,000 in the bank, but they could end up with no actual income and that savings will run out eventually. And most of these wrestlers already have degrees. If they wanted to be "something else", they already would be. |
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Welfare Willis
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Post by Welfare Willis on Dec 25, 2014 5:00:26 GMT -5
The big test for WWE will come if something happens to Cena. One career ending injury and they will really struggle, because they've been so dependent on him. They've failed to build stars because as soon as someone gets some momentum, they become Cena's buddy or enemy and are immediately derailed. Eh. I'm doubting that as well. WWE is showing us right now that if Cena was gone, it wouldn't change much. They'd struggle but their response would just be to put a new guy in his place - Reigns or even Ambrose or even Ziggler. Who cares? They'd push one guy, maybe two guys, and the rest of RAW would be the same variety land with a watered down midcard and pointless 'comedy' bits. Cena being gone would not bring about fundamental change because Vince isn't capable of thinking in terms of fundamental change. That's another thing as well. I was speaking to a cousin whose a lapped WWE viewer and he was talking about how great the Attitude Era was. I told him right now watching Raw is just such a chore because it's three hours and really doesn't make you feel like anything except maybe a storyline or two is important. It's not appointment television. Again if your show and commentary doesn't give a f*** what's going on in the ring why should we? |
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Abdullah
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Post by Abdullah on Dec 25, 2014 5:24:08 GMT -5
Eh. I'm doubting that as well. WWE is showing us right now that if Cena was gone, it wouldn't change much. They'd struggle but their response would just be to put a new guy in his place - Reigns or even Ambrose or even Ziggler. Who cares? They'd push one guy, maybe two guys, and the rest of RAW would be the same variety land with a watered down midcard and pointless 'comedy' bits. Cena being gone would not bring about fundamental change because Vince isn't capable of thinking in terms of fundamental change. That's another thing as well. I was speaking to a cousin whose a lapped WWE viewer and he was talking about how great the Attitude Era was. I told him right now watching Raw is just such a chore because it's three hours and really doesn't make you feel like anything except maybe a storyline or two is important. It's not appointment television. Again if your show and commentary doesn't give a f*** what's going on in the ring why should we? I agree completely. Cena is a problem, occasionally a big one, but he's not the source. It's Vince who has the mentality of 'sacrifice everything for the next project.' If that project isn't Cena, it'd be Roman. NXT isn't good because there's Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at the top while the rest of the show sucks. NXT is good because almost every segment matters. NXT is good because the women are a top draw. WWE fans are really no better than WWE if they think clearing one stop at the top will change things. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2014 5:24:49 GMT -5
I don't wish to appear entirely unsympathetic to their grievances but many do earn 6-figure sums and most could make a decent living outside WWE working independent dates. They're not Joe six-pack living off minimum wage who is terrified of saying boo to a goose because working and not is the difference between eating that week or not. A lot of them earn more in a year than most people do in 10. I'm not saying this doesn't give them the right to be unhappy at work but I do sort of dismiss the insinuation that they have no choice and that they're poor, enslaved, serfs. Even if TV competition doesn't exist, practically all of them have the opportunity to make far more than most average people on the indy scene and those that don't want to have the financial security to go back to college and train to be something else. I really don't have much sympathy for the 'they can't say anything for fear of losing their jobs' argument. They have far more security behind them to stand up to their boss than the vast majority, and others without their security manage it. You want to see low morale - speak to the kid at Burger King who's been told unless he works his 17th consecutive night shift he can wave the job goodbye. Not a wrestler with $750,000 in the bank and a $200,000 downside guarantee with a 'woe is me' attitude. If you earn that sort of money, or even half or even a quarter, and you're terrified of standing up to your boss - grow a pair. The only people making a "decent living" on the indies are guys who are either already fairly well known "elite" indy wrestlers working in the bigger indies that people actually care about/know exist (e.g. someone like an Adam Cole, Michael Elgin, Young Bucks, etc.) or long time veterans who made their names during the "boom period" (e.g. X-Pac, ECW guys, etc.). Anyone else is the exception that proves the rule. If you aren't an already well known "name" on the indies or a WWF/WCW/ECW "legend", you're probably only making $200 per appearance at most, and that's if you're getting paid at all. And yes, TV competition not existing is a big deal. You can get booked all over the country in a bunch of obscure backwater promotions. But since no one cares about these promotions or even knows they exist, you're for the most part, persona non grata if you aren't wrestling for WWE (or TNA, Lucha Underground, RoH, PWG, CZW, Dragon Gate/Evolve, NJPW/AJPW/NOAH, or AAA/CMLL). The wrestling public at large will just think these guys retired from wrestling Because someone like Jack Swagger, Zack Ryder, or Kofi Kingston got fired because he decided to "grow a set", maybe that kid working at Burger King can't watch his favorite wrestler work anymore. Swagger might be getting booked all over the place, but none of his fans are actually getting to watch him work because no one knows that the promotions booking him actually exist. For all they know he retired from wrestling. And even if he wanted to watch him work, he can't afford to drop $10-20 to see Swagger wrestle a skinny fat ass wearing a Bane mask and cargo shorts in a high school gym in front of 40 people, nor can he afford to drop $20 on a DVD of a show that actually happened two months before it was released, with shitty ass camera work that looks like it was shot on a cell phone by a five year old. No the wrestlers do not have that kind of security. Their field is a lot more limited than that of our normal civilian world. A wrestler has $750,000 in the bank, but they could end up with no actual income and that savings will run out eventually. And most of these wrestlers already have degrees. If they wanted to be "something else", they already would be. What I'm getting out of this is...if someone decides to be a wrestler, he is entitled to one of the limited good spots. It's an impossible way for the world to work. If you don't work out in WWE, and you don't have enough of a following to make it on the indies....well, you tried to be in the entertainment industry, like so many want to be. The success rate is not high with this stuff, only the truly exceptional have even a decent chance of succeeding. It's like trying to be an actor or a musician, you need luck and a ton of talent, and even then, good chance it's not happening. And as for that tearjerker story about about the Burger King worker that doesn't know social media exists, or how to look up Jack Swagger after he leaves WWE, and can't afford %10 to see him on on an indy show? Haha, come on dude. I love how you care about your favorites and all, but you really pity these guys a little too much sometimes. Like, Jack Swagger will be okay, if he's any sort of responsible, capable human being. I get not liking their booking, but you're acting like they're helpless younglings who are completely f***ed for life if WWE doesn't give them TV time. |
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Post by Green Arrow on Dec 25, 2014 5:50:12 GMT -5
Note to self; if i ever motherf*** my employees, make sure it's NOT recorded and avaible for everybody to hear. For only $9.99 |
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Post by The Dark Order Inferno on Dec 25, 2014 5:54:50 GMT -5
If this is true, it's not Triple H's blame to take for something they clearly knew wasn't. Vince is the one at fault here. I say that as someone who's generally not a fan of the guy. In this instance he's like Johnny Ace. People damned Ace, hated him for firing people, but really he was just acting on the orders of Vince. With Trips he's trying to keep the locker room together, and trying to keep Vince happy, so he gets some unearned hatred, because he's the dude in the middle. He can't come out and say to them "I agree with you guys, this is bullshit, and this will be something that goes when myself and Steph get power. So just hang in there." Hunter was in a no win situation. Hunter has had creative influence since 1997 and has been a major force backstage since the 2000s, he and his wife oversaw the creative shift toward 'Hollywood' writers with no wrestling backgrounds and everything becoming so heavily scripted that has ensured it's nigh impossible for guys with natural charisma to show it on Raw without heavyweight backstage support. There is no evidence that Triple H has used his influence to make things better for the roster, only to try and make himself a legendary figure who's more protected than the face of the company and he doesn't care whose careers he derailed along the way. While he may not be responsible for Vince openly taking a dump on the roster, he deserves a portion of the blame for the present day state of things. He's the one guy who is completely 100% bulletproof, the one guy who could say to Vince 'Look, this isn't working' but nothing, no wonder his attempt to motivate the roster went down like a lead balloon. |
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Post by Jedi-El of Tomorrow on Dec 25, 2014 6:10:14 GMT -5
In this instance he's like Johnny Ace. People damned Ace, hated him for firing people, but really he was just acting on the orders of Vince. With Trips he's trying to keep the locker room together, and trying to keep Vince happy, so he gets some unearned hatred, because he's the dude in the middle. He can't come out and say to them "I agree with you guys, this is bullshit, and this will be something that goes when myself and Steph get power. So just hang in there." Hunter was in a no win situation. Hunter has had creative influence since 1997 and has been a major force backstage since the 2000s, he and his wife oversaw the creative shift toward 'Hollywood' writers with no wrestling backgrounds and everything becoming heavily scripted that has ensured it's nigh impossible for guys with natural charisma to show it on Raw without heavyweight backstage support. There is no evidence that Triple H has used his influence to make things better for the roster, only to try and make himself a legendary figure who's more protected than the face of the company and he doesn't care whose careers he derailed along the way. While he may not be responsible for Vince openly taking a dump on the roster, he deserves a portion of the blame for the present day state of things. He's the one guy who is completely bulletproof, the one guy who could say 'This isn't working' but nothing, no wonder his attempt to motivate the roster went down like a lead balloon, But he's never been the final say, once again everything has to go through Vince. We've seen with how he's ran NXT, he's put out a fantastic product that people love, and it moves merchandise. It was reported that the majority of Mania and the weeks leading up to Mania were the work of Trips and Steph, and that work was praised. Paige was one of Triple H's top prospects, and it's been reported that Kevin Dunn got in Vince's ear to cut her legs out from under her, and despite that she's still over. This is not the same Triple H that was around during the Reign of Terror. This is a Trips that's thinking about the future of the company, and making the WWE better for fans. |
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Post by machomuta on Dec 25, 2014 6:28:08 GMT -5
The reaction is the problem though. If the response is to mope around backstage and bitch discretely to Meltzer rather than outright confronting Vince on it, maybe it shows maybe he had a point after all? There'd be a time when the guys in the back would have confronted Vince directly over what he said. Sure there's no union but there's still collective power and influence. You don't even need the top guys to get involved, if everyone is so upset and angry get 20 of you to demand changes/an explanation. Vince is there to be challenged - look at his history, he's used to and probably prefers people who can confront him. Maybe his comments were intended to provoke a reaction. It's a cancerous combination - stale mid-90s level creative and a locker room who when push comes to shove are happy just to collect the pay cheque. In the 90s you had members of the roster actively pushing McMahon to change direction and he eventually did, now we don't even have that. There's nobody wih the clout to confront Vince on his bullshit. It was easy to do that in the 90s. If a wrestler was unhappy in WWE, they could say "Peace out bitch" and go to WCW. There is no option like that for them now. . That is just a poor excuse. Doing nothing just proves that Vince is right. Doing nothing = not caring Why should Vince push a guy that doesn't care? |
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wcc2
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Post by wcc2 on Dec 25, 2014 6:29:08 GMT -5
I think this whole thing if true just makes Vince's point for him. He, as the top man in the company, doesn't want to see people moping around because their feelings are hurt. He wants to see people do whatever it takes to make something of themselves. He wants to see people grow into true big stars that can appeal to the WWE audience, which is a cross section of the whole viewing public.
Someone like Wyatt has created something that means he can go out there and do it. He isn't 'hamstrung by the writers' because he has stepped up and made something of himself. So has Ambrose. Rollins and Reigns are also doing well at being stars that appeal (or get reactions from) the wide cross section of the WWE audience.
Someone like Cesaro, as much as I like him, hasn't done that with that with all segments of the audience yet. He needs something that's going to put him over the top. To make him larger than life. Something that means not only smarks and Europeans pop for him, but everyone can identify in some way with that character.
It's not about being coddled, Vince desperately wants people to step up. But stepping up means being a star that will appeal to the WWE audience. That's what he needs. Not people moping around.
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BigWill
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Post by BigWill on Dec 25, 2014 6:35:48 GMT -5
There's nobody wih the clout to confront Vince on his bullshit. It was easy to do that in the 90s. If a wrestler was unhappy in WWE, they could say "Peace out bitch" and go to WCW. There is no option like that for them now. . That is just a poor excuse. Doing nothing just proves that Vince is right. Doing nothing = not caring Why should Vince push a guy that doesn't care? You actually think Vince will push someone simply because they stood up to him? I'd think that someone would more likely get laughed at in the face, and suddenly find themselves with a smaller paycheck and less screen time. |
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Post by The Dark Order Inferno on Dec 25, 2014 6:58:35 GMT -5
But he's never been the final say, once again everything has to go through Vince. We've seen with how he's ran NXT, he's put out a fantastic product that people love, and it moves merchandise. It was reported that the majority of Mania and the weeks leading up to Mania were the work of Trips and Steph, and that work was praised. Paige was one of Triple H's top prospects, and it's been reported that Kevin Dunn got in Vince's ear to cut her legs out from under her, and despite that she's still over. This is not the same Triple H that was around during the Reign of Terror. This is a Trips that's thinking about the future of the company, and making the WWE better for fans. It's going to take more than a few months of decent NXT booked by, and featuring talent recruited by other people to convince me he's seen the errors of his ways. This isn't about the reign of terror, this is about the past decade plus where he continued to derail pushes, where former creative members have said that his biggest concern is whether or not he's going over. He didn't lift a finger to improve things for talent then, but now he's all about the future? I don't buy it. Call me cynical, I just don't see a different combination of the same people who have been so tonedeaf when it comes to the roster and fan reactions for the past decade and a half producing a better WWE. As NXT grows as a brand, we're going to see the same disease that has afflicted the WWE over the past decade set in, the forced push with people who have a real connection with the audience being seen as tools to get those people over. |
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Boo!
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Boo! on Dec 25, 2014 7:25:09 GMT -5
I think if anything they listen to their audience too much.
Someone gets cheered - quick scrap the weeks of planned television as a heel and turn him face. Ratings for a segment underwhelm? Quick halt his push immediately. Someone cut a good promo? Quick chuck that other guy out of the main event and put him in. He has a chant the crowd enjoys? Quick re-write the next 2 months of television.
There's a difference between giving the audience what they want and pandering to every whim. A lot of fans think that unless the product changes as per crowd reaction of the week that they're somehow ignoring the audience. No episodic TV programme should be scripted on the fly but WWE programming is - primarily because of their own lack of vision but in no small part down to the desire to cater to what the last thing the fans expressed was.
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Boo!
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Post by Boo! on Dec 25, 2014 7:26:44 GMT -5
That is just a poor excuse. Doing nothing just proves that Vince is right. Doing nothing = not caring Why should Vince push a guy that doesn't care? You actually think Vince will push someone simply because they stood up to him? I'd think that someone would more likely get laughed at in the face, and suddenly find themselves with a smaller paycheck and less screen time. Where's the evidence of this? It's just internet 'big bad Vince' conspiracy - over the years Vince has worked with and pushed and made money from and for some of the most beligerant assholes ever in the history of the business. The problem today is tht too many of the guys don't stand up for themselves and they just do as their told and they don't care about their character. Look at Ziggler vs Honky Tonk Man. One loses 5 times each month on television, the other outright refused to drop the title. Ziggler probably has more money, more security and a higher-standard of living than Honky ever had yet Honky Tonk was an obnoxious jerk and stood his ground and in the end got his way and Ziggler...is an irrelevance. It's not ALL the office, I'm sorry but growing a spine wouldn't hurt either. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2014 7:36:06 GMT -5
I think if anything they listen to their audience too much. Someone gets cheered - quick scrap the weeks of planned television as a heel and turn him face. Ratings for a segment underwhelm? Quick halt his push immediately. Someone cut a good promo? Quick chuck that other guy out of the main event and put him in. He has a chant the crowd enjoys? Quick re-write the next 2 months of television. There's a difference between giving the audience what they want and pandering to every whim. A lot of fans think that unless the product changes as per crowd reaction of the week that they're somehow ignoring the audience. No episodic TV programme should be scripted on the fly but WWE programming is - primarily because of their own lack of vision but in no small part down to the desire to cater to what the last thing the fans expressed was. They don't at all bend things on a whim to fit what the fans want. Not remotely. If they did that Cena would've turned heel 200 times over by this point, Barrett would be a face, Cesaro would've turned face, the New Day would be heels right now, AJ would be coming out in Best in the World shirts and using the GTS, Alberto del Rio wouldn't have achieved a thing in his entire WWE career... Any time they do what the crowd wants it's only due to a complete and utter rebellion. Look how months worth of PPV main events and Raw segments had to be actively shit on by crowds all over the country before they got the message, "Hey, maybe they like this Daniel Bryan guy." |
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Boo!
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Boo! on Dec 25, 2014 7:41:09 GMT -5
Fans aren't just those in the arena. Cena sells the most merchandise and is the bigger ratings mover. Claiming listening to their audience means doing what the live crowd wants is another example of that very annoying "we're the most important people in the world" complex that seems to be a prerequisite for buying 40% of the tickets on sale.
If they turned Cena heel they'd take a massive, massive hit on his merchandise sales, all in the name of "what the fans want". It isn't, it's what many adults who attend live-events want but that'd be akin to writing Star Wars solely for people who turn up to conventions wearing silly costumes. Not pandering to one small segment of the fanbase doesn't mean it's ignored
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2014 7:48:52 GMT -5
Fans aren't just those in the arena. Cena sells the most merchandise and is the bigger ratings mover. Claiming listening to their audience means doing what the live crowd wants is another example of that very annoying "we're the most important people in the world" complex that seems to be a prerequisite for buying 40% of the tickets on sale. If they turned Cena heel they'd take a massive, massive hit on his merchandise sales, all in the name of "what the fans want". It isn't, it's what many adults who attend live-events want but that'd be akin to writing Star Wars solely for people who turn up to conventions wearing silly costumes. Not pandering to one small segment of the fanbase doesn't mean it's ignoed Okay. Doesn't do anything to challenge my other points, and besides that, when arenas all over the world are pretty much backing the same point then you should probably eventually take the hint. Plus their big thing right now is the Network. That's what they're trying to sell and it's a service that's pretty much only going to appeal to the hardcore elite fans, the kinds of people who do buy tickets to the shows, so they should be trying to market mainly to them. And their main sources of income are their TV contracts which are static pay regardless of what they do and if anything they'd be better off trying to experiment given how they've been slowly losing viewers year after year with no end in sight, PPVs which are really just going to be bought by the people who are obsessively following the product (thus why the biggest drawing show of each year is still just bought by a fraction of their weekly worldwide audience), and ticket sales which, y'know, are going to the people reacting live and on hand. And speaking of, merchandise will get moved one way or another. It's not like heels are completely incapable of selling it - nWo much? - and if any kids really can't take their top guy being booed then they'll find someone else. Kids are fickle and stupid, let's be honest. At the end of the day WWE isn't the huge untouchable staple of pop culture with infinite money like they paint themselves as. Their stock prices pretty much stay locked in at one low rate (ignoring the rise after the Network announcement and launch which was always going to be temporary when shareholders caught up with what everyone with a sense of reality knew was going to happen), they badly overestimated the worth of their TV shows and got a fraction of what they thought they deserved, as said ratings have been sliding, the Network's a bust, and there've been very visible price cuts all over the board. They're not doing well. |
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Post by The Dark Order Inferno on Dec 25, 2014 7:56:42 GMT -5
I think if anything they listen to their audience too much. Someone gets cheered - quick scrap the weeks of planned television as a heel and turn him face. Ratings for a segment underwhelm? Quick halt his push immediately. Someone cut a good promo? Quick chuck that other guy out of the main event and put him in. He has a chant the crowd enjoys? Quick re-write the next 2 months of television. There's a difference between giving the audience what they want and pandering to every whim. A lot of fans think that unless the product changes as per crowd reaction of the week that they're somehow ignoring the audience. No episodic TV programme should be scripted on the fly but WWE programming is - primarily because of their own lack of vision but in no small part down to the desire to cater to what the last thing the fans expressed was. Bullplop. They've ignored audience reactions time and time again, fed people with a genuine connection to the audience to people that don't in 18 seconds and flipped them from face to heel more times in 2-3 years than most guys do in decade long careers to try and kill their hear while pushing ahead with chosen one pushes for others. Their bloody mindedness has created a string of main eventers in name only, people who main event because that's their place on the card, not because they're a genuine attraction. Randy Orton, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Reigns is getting that push, Drew McIntyre had that push until the incident with his wife and so on. Hell, the WWE style is built around playing to the cameras rather than live crowds these days, not a sign that audience reactions are their priority, heck, they actively strip guy of moves that the audience react to. |
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Boo!
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Boo! on Dec 25, 2014 7:59:38 GMT -5
Fans aren't just those in the arena. Cena sells the most merchandise and is the bigger ratings mover. Claiming listening to their audience means doing what the live crowd wants is another example of that very annoying "we're the most important people in the world" complex that seems to be a prerequisite for buying 40% of the tickets on sale. If they turned Cena heel they'd take a massive, massive hit on his merchandise sales, all in the name of "what the fans want". It isn't, it's what many adults who attend live-events want but that'd be akin to writing Star Wars solely for people who turn up to conventions wearing silly costumes. Not pandering to one small segment of the fanbase doesn't mean it's ignoed Okay. Doesn't do anything to challenge my other points, and besides that, when arenas all over the world are pretty much backing the same point then you should probably eventually take the hint. Plus their big thing right now is the Network. That's what they're trying to sell and it's a service that's pretty much only going to appeal to the hardcore elite fans, the kinds of people who do buy tickets to the shows, so they should be trying to market mainly to them. And their main sources of income are their TV contracts which are static pay regardless of what they do and if anything they'd be better off trying to experiment given how they've been slowly losing viewers year after year with no end in sight, PPVs which are really just going to be bought by the people who are obsessively following the product (thus why the biggest drawing show of each year is still just bought by a fraction of their weekly worldwide audience), and ticket sales which, y'know, are going to the people reacting live and on hand. And speaking of, merchandise will get moved one way or another. It's not like heels are completely incapable of selling it - nWo much? - and if any kids really can't take their top guy being booed then they'll find someone else. Kids are fickle and stupid, let's be honest. At the end of the day WWE isn't the huge untouchable staple of pop culture with infinite money like they paint themselves as. Their stock prices pretty much stay locked in at one low rate (ignoring the rise after the Network announcement and launch which was always going to be temporary when shareholders caught up with what everyone with a sense of reality knew was going to happen), they badly overestimated the worth of their TV shows and got a fraction of what they thought they deserved, as said ratings have been sliding, the Network's a bust, and there've been very visible price cuts all over the board. They're not doing well. Way to insult a part of the audience to prove how smart and intelligence the audience are. Kids might be dumb but Mensa hardly has enough to warrant a special 'Wrestling fan' facebook page either. It's very difficult to grab the 'dumb kids' demographic. On the assumption Austin appealed to older fans, they've only really hit it big in the kiddie market with Hogan and later Cena so to paint them as 'dumb kids who'll support anything' is both disrespectful and entirely inaccurate. As for merchandise, see Punk's latest comments on the subject. When you turn heel your merchandise sales go waaaay down. Austin's did in 2001 and that was Stone Cold Steve Austin! You can't just cite what is a notable exception now nearly 20 years old and just think "that works" |
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