By: David Stephens of WrestleView.com
Ousta! Welcome back to the only WrestleView column covering topics both nowhere yet everywhere at once. If you are new to the column you are probably going to hate me for the first couple weeks, but then you are going to hit a point where you say ?oh wait a minute, I think he gets it?. Don?t worry, that’s exactly how it is designed to be. This column is all about gut reactions and traveling thoughts. As the great Andy Kaufman once said: ?I just want real reactions. I want people to laugh from the gut, be sad from the gut, or get angry from the gut?.
Time for the ?Series? to End
I?m going to do the unpopular thing and side with the WWE’s decision to discontinue the Survivor Series PPV. For those of you who are not aware, and are currently shocked by what you just read, Vince announced during the 4th quarter report that they would be renaming the Survivor Series PPV. The reason? According to McMahon, it is an ?outdated? concept.
I?m sure that we could all come up with 15,000 different nostalgic reasons for it should stay the same. Sure, it is one of the ?Big 4? PPVs. Survivor Series is the second longest running PPV in the WWE’s history, only behind Wrestlemania. It was started way back in 1987, ten years before the Screw Job.
But I ask this question: what is more important for the WWE? Pandering to nostalgia?. or making a profit? Many have criticized the decision to switch the names of PPVs in the past year. I?ve stood by the theory, because I thought from a realistic perspective it made sense.
Wrestling has long been a business of taking risks. Sometimes they pay off, and in this case, they have. I could spout my opinion all night long, but instead let’s look at some empirical data. These are the numbers and facts to back up my point:
In the 4th quarter of the 2009 financial year, the ONLY PPV to not increase in buys was? you guessed it, Survivor Series. Remember, these numbers really do matter. It’s called PAY-Per-View for a reason, the money goes to support the company’s bottom line. In today’s financially uncertain world, these figures matter more than ever.
* Hell in a Cell drew 283,000 buys, up from last year (when it was titled No Mercy) which did 261,000 buys.
* Bragging Rights drew 181,000 buys, up from last year (when it was titled Cyber Sunday) that did 153,000 buys.
* Survivor Series drew 235,000 buys, down from last year’s 319,000 buys.
* TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs drew 228,000 buys, up from last year (when it was titled Armageddon) that did 193,000 buys.
This means it is time for another math lesson with yours truly. Now if any of this math is wrong, it is because I am a journalism and history major, but I think I can do the simple addition and subtraction that this case requires.
Hell in a Cell drew 22,000 more buys than last year’s No Mercy
Bragging Rights drew 28,000 more buys than last year’s Cyber Sunday
TLC drew 35,000 more buys than last year’s Armageddon
That’s an total of 85,000 more buys than those three programs brought in last year.
Survivor Series? Single-handedly lost 84,000 buys.
Starting to see where Vince and his advisors are coming from? Put emotion to the side and think about this from the business perspective. As far as Vince McMahon and myself are concerned, this is the right decision.
Maybe by the end of this year, the wrestling world can finally put the Survivor Series? Screwjob to rest. With all loose ends mended, I see a future in which we won?t be subjected to constant Screwjob propaganda. It’s a brave new world my friends!
What’s in the News?
My opinions are in italics
All news is gathered from WrestleView.com unless otherwise noted
According to a report by The Wrestling Observer, there may be no official plans for the future of the ECW Championship once the brand ceases to exist in the next few weeks. There is said to be a chance that Christian will be pushed to a different brand, with Smackdown being the most likely of the two. The new WWE “NXT” show debuts on February 23.
There SHOULD NOT be a future for the ECW Championship. I know belts cost tens of thousands of dollars, but don?t keep using it with the ECW name. In the very least send it to a Smith to remake it for NXT
Bret Hart wrote the following on his Facebook page:
“It was nice seeing Jeremy Borash, a longtime friend of mine, from TNA while I was in Nashville. He hung out with me and we never once talked wrestling. Some feeble minded idiot who saw us in plain view tried to start the rumour that I might be heading to TNA next; although why anyone would ever think I’d let Hogan and Bischoff anywhere near my Hitman persona again is truly beyond me.”
Well put, Mr. Hitman
One creative idea discussed for Joey Mercury is for him to return on the Smackdown side as part of CM Punk’s Straight-Edge Society. The idea would be to play off his well documented pain killer addiction that contributed to his release in 2007. (credit: The Wrestling Globe Newsletter)
Works for me
Human Tornado of PWG fame announced he is retiring from pro wrestling at age 26 reports The Wrestling Observer.
Very talented wrestler that I have had the pleasure of seeing. I wish him the best in all of his future endeavors. No, but seriously good luck
Hulk Hogan has reportedly shown his frustrations to some friends as of late that he feels pressure to push people in TNA he doesn’t want to as TNA President Dixie Carter doesn’t want the “old crew” as they have been described as getting buried reports The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There are said to be lots of wrestlers Hogan and Eric Bischoff see nothing in and want to get rid of. For what it is worth, Hogan seems to be high on only a handful of talent like Abyss, “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero and Tomko (who he says at least looks like a wrestler).
This sounds like a really unbiased report from someone who likes Hogan. Oh wait?
In Time.com’s “Top 10 Worst Corporate Name Changes” list, WWE’s change from World Wrestling Federation to World Wrestling Entertainment landed them in seventh place on the list.
Yeah, it is certainly up there
Former TNA celebrity manager Jenna Morasca has revealed that she isn’t sure if she wants to return to wrestling.
“I would definitely do more movies but, not so sure about wrestling,” Morasca said. “I cannot go back in time and put that level of work into that profession. They dedicate their whole life to that craft and I haven’t and cannot do that. It is a different mind-set.”
Good.
WWE finished shooting three pilot episodes for the new Santino Marella sitcom last week reports The Wrestling Observer. The belief is that the pilot could be featured on WWE.com while the hopes are for it to get picked up somewhere.
I?ll be one of the first to watch it, trust me
Shawn Michaels now holds the record for the most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match with 41.
Yippee
Chris Jericho’s Fozzy album did about 2,200 sales in its first week out, which failed to crack Billboard’s top 200 list.
That is horrendous.
Mickie James? debut country album is titled Strangers & Angels? and is due for release/download on March 23. She is releasing a track from the album called Are You With Me on February 16 which will be played on country radio stations in Virginia and Tennessee.
Can?t do worse than Jericho’s. Er, I should probably take that back till I see the numbers
TNA’s upcoming Destination X PPV on March 21 has been confirmed as having an all “X Division” theme when it takes place live from Orlando, FL. A preview for the show reads, “The past, present, and future collide when the young guns of TNA take center stage in an all X-Division Pay-Per-View! TNA Wrestling presents Destination X LIVE! Sunday, March 21, 2010 on Pay-per-View.”
Sure, why not
Bobby Lashley wrote the following on his official website:
“Alot of fans are asking me about my future in wrestling. I will address everything at a later date. Thank you for the support. – Bobby”
Good thing that wasn?t vague at all, very specific
Ratings
RAW 2/8 ? 3.59
ECW 2/2 ? 1.05
iMpact 2/4 ? 1.18
Superstars 2/4 ? 0.97
Quick Results
RAW February 8th
-WWE Champion Sheamus def. ECW Champion Christian in a Non-Title Match
-U.S. Champion The Miz & Big Show def. Unified Tag Team Champions DX and Straight Edge Society
-Gail Kim def. Jillian
-Cody Rhodes def. Randy Orton
-Ted DiBiase vs. John Cena ended in a No Contest
ECW February 9th
-Yoshi Tatstu & Goldust def. Caylen Croft & Trent Barreta
-Ezekiel Jackson def. local competitor
-Shelton Benjamin def. Vance Archer in a No Disqualification, No Count-Out Match
Superstars February 4th
-Jack Swagger def. Santino Marella
-ECW Champion Christian def. Zack Ryder
-Dolph Ziggler def. JTG
TNA Impact February 4th
-8-Card Stud Tournament Qualifying Match: Mr. Anderson def. Brutus Magnus
-TNA World Tag Team Championships: ?Super Mex? Hernandez & ?The Blueprint? Matt Morgan (c)def. Team 3D
-?Samoan Submission Machine? Samoa Joe def. Jesse Neal
-Non Title Match: ?The Pope? D?Angelo Dinero def. ?The Phenomenal? AJ Styles w/Ric Flair
-8-Card Stud Tournament Qualifying Match: ?Olympic Hero? Kurt Angle def. Tomko
-TNA Knockouts Championship: Tara (c) def. Angelina Love
-No DQ Match: ?Big Sexy? Kevin Nash def. ?Hardcore Legend? Mick Foley
Smackdown February 5th
-John Morrison def. Kane and Drew McIntyre in a Triple Threat Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
-R-Truth def. Mike Knox in an Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
-CM Punk def. Batista by Count-out in an Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
-Chris Jericho def. Matt Hardy in an Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
-Women’s Champion Mickie James & Beth Phoenix def. Layla & Michelle McCool
-Rey Mysterio def. Dolph Ziggler in an Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
So ?that’s a wrap??. Love it? Hate it? Disagree with everything I said? Just want to chat wrestling? I?m always up for reading your thoughts so send them ?em on over.
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The last time I freaked out, I just kept looking down
I st-st-stuttered when you asked me what I’m thinking bout
Like I couldn’t breathe you asked what’s wrong with me
My best friend Leslie said, ?Oh she’s just being Miley?
The next time we hang out, I will redeem myself
My heart, it can’t rest till then oh, woah woah
I can’t wait to see you again
Why did I just close out my column with Miley Cyrus lyrics? Because I can
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