OVW On The Outs

[macdaddysquid]

andrew8798 said:

saw this on another board

OVW is in some major trouble. HHH and Shawn Michaels visited OVW last month and sent a very negative report back to Vince about what they saw. Today, WWE sent out a press release announcing that their Florida territory was their number 1 training ground. Internally, this was seen as a major slap in the face to OVW and a clear sign that they better shape up or they will be removed as DSW was a few months ago.

Well, I guess h and shawn would know. I always liked OVW and thought it was a pretty good product. but, I havent seen any new stuff.

[pegasuswarrior]

I watch OVW semi-religiously, which is far more than I can say for WWE. I'm not saying the reports are true, but OVW IS different than WWE's entertainment with a much more old school feel to it. When a wrestler or worker in general runs a promo or angle that's more in the WWE-modern realm, it has much more impact and value to me as a fan. I can see why the idiots at WWE-central would think OVW is sub-par because of its differences from the main shows' product. OVW's product shouldn't be the target of any WWE criticism, I can tell you that.

The problem with OVW (and the thing that will eventually lead to its downfall) are the fans, no doubt. At times, there is a half-hearted interest at shows where (to borrow an expression from Timmy Baltimore--OVW ring announcer) the roof should be blown off of Davis Arena.

Before you say "Well, that right there tells me OVW isn't delivering," hear me out. Every single week the same exact fans show up, and what's so discouraging is their inconsistency in their support of the OVW roster. I'm not saying they care one week and then literally don't care the next. However, their reactions sometimes come across like that. It's as if coming to the shows is like a job to them, and just like work, we don't always bring our A-game. It's just that fans must "show it" every week in order for the product to come across as a success. On WWE TV, for instance, no matter what location they go to, the opening of the show following the music is welcomed with probably the biggest pop of the night. The OVW "hosts" practically beg the crowd to be loud as the broadcast goes on air from week to week, and even though it's the same people each week who know the routine, they sometimes will supply about 3 seconds of mediocre clapping and throughout the rest of the show they just don't deliver as fans on a consistent basis. And part of the bottom line is just that: they know the routine. They are in many ways SPOILED. Like I said, I know it's not that they don't care about the roster and the product, but the OVW experience is treated almost as if it's a job to them from week to week, much in the same way it's the OVW wrestlers' responsbility to show up and deliver from week to week. The problem seems to be that the workers--for the most part--value THEIR jobs more than the OVW "not always faithful" value theirs.

A couple of examples is how the supposed "leaders" of the OVW fans will "drop out" on certain matches to turn away from the camera and start chatting with their friends. Kids know all of the wrestlers and they'll show up and PLAY in the crowd rather than stand in awe of the show. When a new kid shows up, they're totally entranced by the action, but like I said, the OVW regulars soon become SPOILED. There are about 8-12 "smarks" who will be there every week and they play heel tactics with the total marks in the crowd from week-to-week and the "routine" just gets old for the marks (who HAVE to supply the energy at these shows) and they subsequently lie down from the fight on certain weeks, which in turn affects the show. Add to all of this that the OVW experience (TV tapings anyway) is FREE, so none of the fans really have any money tied into it, which explains their inconsistency and spoiled nature quite a bit. (A few of them are subscribers, but the ratio of non-payers to payers is still overwhelmingly on the free side.)

It's very odd to see this thread because my thought at last week's TV taping was that I can totally see Louisville losing OVW because they're just not the same fans anymore. My thought (then and now) is that Cincinnati will eventually steal OVW away, which sucks for me and makes me cringe, but in a lot of ways is what the aggravating OVW spoiled marks deserve. The fans in Cincy (and oddly enough LONDON, Kentucky) are hot for the OVW product since it's been visiting up there every week, and OVW fans are playing Russian Roulette from week to week if you ask me.

[lovingway]

Don't worry Cincy is one of those weird cities. Each month is a different story as to crowd. Sometimes you have a small dead crowd, while other months you have a large lively crowd.

I do agree with your opinion on crowd reaction. When Colt Cabana debuted they were chanting his name like he were the main event guy. When Rodimer debuted they chanted "You can't wrestle" even before they saw him. The crowd seems like a mini Impact Zone. The fans that are are directly across from the cameras annoy me. They literally just stand there looking like idiots.

The booking in OVW has been really crappy as well. Look at Jay Bradley. The guy comes up from DSW and is almost automatically given the OVW Title. Nobody outside of Georgia and some Chicago indies know him. Then, after he loses the belt is in limbo. It has only been in the last month or so that he has been entertaining. The shift is so month to month it's terrible.

I think Al Snow should just train and not book

[Baixo Astral]

pixiesfan said:

lovingway said:

Atlas is still at least a year away from making it on the roster. He has improved drastically, but still needs the experience. Burchill, is midcard (see Regal, William) if he is lucky. Spears and Kruel see my previous post. Divas are a dime a dozen. Steel will be released in the next 6 months. Cabana still has another 6 months before going to the roster where he will have a Val Venis push where he will look like a breakout star but eventually be a jobber.
Also, the glass is HALF EMPTY.

Just thought adding that last line to your post would make sense.

Also...



Your puny developmental fed is no match for the power of the Smark Side... it's influence will wither away, like your friends on the forest moon.

[Sajoa Moe]

sassoscrewedbret said:

WWE has contracted with WWE Legend and former Superstar Steve Keirn to operate the territory.

So basically, anyone who used to be with the company qualifies as a "legend"? Does that mean that WWE Legend Jose Lothario is coming back to feud with Randy Orton?

[KimberlyPagesBoyToy]

evilmasterbetty said:

You quoted yourself in a minute? Really?

And anyway, there have been reports of how poorly OVW's been run since Heyman left. Why does everyone instantly think HHH and HBK are protecting their spots? HBK wasn't even coming back probably if Cena didn't go down. HHH actually knows the business rather well and wouldn't have any problem if OVW was run right. Obviously he doesn't see it that way.

I would like to see someone defend OVW on this one, cause from all accounts it seems like HHH and HBK are probably right.

Tony Atlas told them the office doesn't like wrestlers wearing cowboy hats or carrying sledgehammers.

[bob]

mysticalhamster said:

?

Smart cookies HHH and Michaels are. Probably saw real talent that might threaten them, so they both decided to bury OVW.

I believe they already did that when they squashed The Spirit Squad