Freddie Prinze Jr. story on 2011 WWE Draft

[cjh]

On his podcast today, Freddie Prinze, Jr. claimed John Cena getting drafted twice during the 2011 Draft was just Vince McMahon ribbing USA Network by making them think Raw was losing the company's biggest star.

He also said USA and Fox have no real power over the product creatively.  They can make suggestions, but there's nothing much they can do if WWE decides to not listen.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

Don’t know how the networks apparently hand over hundreds of millions of dollars to WWE without having some kind of say about the direction of the programming they’re paying for. Maybe that wasn’t the case when Prinze was there, but the amounts have only skyrocketed since.

[cjh]

Aug 10, 2022 8:52:32 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

Don’t know how the networks apparently hand over hundreds of millions of dollars to WWE without having some kind of say about the direction of the programming they’re paying for. Maybe that wasn’t the case when Prince was there, but the amounts have only skyrocketed since.

Not sure, but he flat out said the networks' suggestions didn't get used way more often than they did.

[Spiderf 4]

I'm sure the suits at USA found it hilarious.

[Pooh Carlson]

In 2011 Smackdown was on Syfy, owned by the same company as USA, so was it really that hilarious of a rib?

[cjh]

Aug 10, 2022 9:02:43 GMT -5 Pooh Carlson said:

In 2011 Smackdown was on Syfy, owned by the same company as USA, so was it really that hilarious of a rib?

They valued Raw way more.  Smackdown is on Fox now because USA couldn't afford WWE's asking price for both shows when they were discussing a new contract in 2018, so they decided to pay what WWE wanted for Raw and gave up Smackdown.

[Hulk With A Mustache]

Didn’t Cena getting drafted back and forth in one night happen earlier?

[Gravedigger's Biscuits]

Aug 10, 2022 9:11:55 GMT -5 Hulk With A Mustache said:

Didn’t Cena getting drafted back and forth in one night happen earlier?

Nah it was 2011.

[Feyrhausen]

Well first of all I doubt Freddie has any idea on how much input Fox has on the product. Being that he was long gone before Fox came along.

He may be right about USA back then but the deals were not for a billion dollars either. Money goes up that high maybe USA gets more hands on. Maybe not but Freddie is not in a position to know. But it is public that Raw is only 3 hours because USA wants it.

[Mozenrath]

I can buy that they don't have supreme input or anything close to it, but he also isn't saying they have none, either.

Like, I've seen it said that the 24/7 title was at USA's suggestion, and we've seen them bend to sponsors like Mattel (no intergender violence) and Snickers (dropping Moolah from being the namesake for... uhh, was it the women's battle royal? I forget what they renamed it.)

[Jonathan Michaels]

Aug 10, 2022 12:30:34 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

Well first of all I doubt Freddie has any idea on how much input Fox has on the product. Being that he was long gone before Fox came along.

He may be right about USA back then but the deals were not for a billion dollars either. Money goes up that high maybe USA gets more hands on. Maybe not but Freddie is not in a position to know. But it is public that Raw is only 3 hours because USA wants it.

Yeah, before the big money deals, WWE was actually getting severely underpaid.

[Feyrhausen]

Aug 10, 2022 13:19:21 GMT -5 Jonathan Michaels said:

Aug 10, 2022 12:30:34 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

Well first of all I doubt Freddie has any idea on how much input Fox has on the product. Being that he was long gone before Fox came along.

He may be right about USA back then but the deals were not for a billion dollars either. Money goes up that high maybe USA gets more hands on. Maybe not but Freddie is not in a position to know. But it is public that Raw is only 3 hours because USA wants it.

Yeah, before the big money deals, WWE was actually getting severely underpaid.

Not really. Remember their ratings had been going in the crapper for years. To the point that Spike walked away from the table and just let them go. They had to take a less than favorable deal from USA because they had no real options.

It is only in the last few years that the paradigm shifted. Everyone elses ratings are also in the toliet. And WWE for years was seen as less than desirable to advertisers because of their audiences image. Now the idea that they are live and DVR proof trumps that.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Aug 10, 2022 8:52:32 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

Don’t know how the networks apparently hand over hundreds of millions of dollars to WWE without having some kind of say about the direction of the programming they’re paying for. Maybe that wasn’t the case when Prinze was there, but the amounts have only skyrocketed since.

Very few shows have zero network oversight. The Simpsons is the most famous example and Seinfeld was meant to, but never did.

[sarkerpolseng]

Kinda off topic. Does SMG like wrestling? Buffy is my favorite show.

[y4j1981]

Aug 10, 2022 15:28:18 GMT -5 sarkerpolseng said:

Kinda off topic. Does SMG like wrestling? Buffy is my favorite show.

I think she's tweeted bout it once or twice over the years but nothing major as far as I can remember

My guess even if she wasn't a fan, being married to Freddie means she's seen a good amount

[Deleted]

That was one of the lamest moments in WWE history.