I was set to continue writing a column about some of the new WWE signings (that should be posted next week) and I planned to publish it tomorrow, but as I was scrolling through the recent wrestling news, I read a story that should be addressed. WWE ambassador, Hulk Hogan is once again trying to work his way into a big money match, this time with Stone Cold Steve Austin, as Hogan called out Austin during a recent interview. Hogan concluded his statement when he said that if the match with Austin couldn't happen, he wants to wrestle John Cena. Isn't it ironic that Hogan is trying to get a match with the biggest star of all time and the current top star?
Hogan is a smart business man, but his recent attempts to spark potential matches through outside media outlets are laughable. He went as far as hinting that he could wrestle another match previously, even though it was reported that he didn't pass the WWE physical for his return to the company, which is why he hasn't done anything other than promos. At this point, Hogan should only appear for promos and a PR role when it makes sense. Hogan trying to cash in on another match is ridiculous and the results would probably be embarrassing, for both Hogan and the WWE. Before Hogan's attempt to draw Austin into a match, he actually named Lesnar as a potential opponent during a TMZ interview because the WWE champion informed him, "Party's over grandpa." As ridiculous as Hogan's attempt to work another match is, it's not really that surprising, considering his career.
Hogan has always looked for a way to maximize his pay check, which is somewhat understandable, but he damaged companies in the process with no regard to what it did to the business. The argument could be made that Hogan drained TNA and that it was one of the contributing factors for the current TNA situation. You can't blame Hogan for taking the money, but the reality is, Hogan needed the money and he wasn't there to help TNA. There was also a similar pattern during Hogan's WCW run and while he used his creative control stipulation if he didn't want to do the job, he will probably take a different approach when trying to pitch a WWE match.
Hulk knows that he doesn't have the political power to insist that he gets a win during a match with the WWE champion or the top star in the company, which is why he would volunteer to do the job because the pay check is the only reason he is trying to promote a potential match. As embarrassing as a current Hogan match would be, the money is more important to Hulk than tarnishing his legacy. Let's be honest here, Hulk is 61 years old and Brock Lesnar just destroyed John Cena so how would it be logical for Lesnar to do anything other than squash Hogan? The same could be said for a Cena match, why would he sell anything for Hogan? That being said, Hogan's lame attempt to get a match probably won't generate a demand for it and it seems doubtful the WWE would book it.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena
A few weeks ago on Raw, "Plan C" was revealed as Paul Heyman announced Brock Lesnar as the next challenger for the WWE championship. It was known to some fans that there were plans for Lesnar to return to the company because a video package to hype Summer Slam surfaced online, which advertised a Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena main event. Regardless of the marketing material that announced the match early, there's still a ton of buzz around it, mostly because of the tremendous promo skills of Paul Heyman and he's currently delivering the best promo work in WWE.
John Cena and Lesnar clashed for Lesnar's first PPV after he returned to the company two years ago in a very physical, entertaining match, which is also what can be expected at Summer Slam. As I've said previously, Lesnar delivers in major matches and considering the WWE network is at a pivotal point of international distribution, the main event of Summer Slam must live up to the hype. It's a wise decision to book Lesnar in the main event spot for the title, as it capitalizes on the heat generated from breaking the streak. A side note about the Lesnar/Undertaker match, I don't think the streak should have ended and while it garnered a crowd reaction at the time, it could have soured many fans on the event. The outrage among fans seemed to be more that it was Lesnar, a part timer, who is there strictly for the the money ended it than it was that the streak actually ended. I would guess that if CM Punk, someone that fans know sacrificed for the wrestling business or even Kane ended the streak, there would be a different reaction.
That being said, Lesnar ended the streak and he has a lot of heat because of it so Summer Slam is the WWE's opportunity to cash in on the end of the streak. That cash in opportunity is the reason why Lesnar must win the title at the PPV because if he doesn't, the end of the streak was just to set up another challenger for John Cena. As I've said previously, Lesnar is a draw and despite the prospective of some fans, Cena is probably more of a draw than Lesnar. I mentioned in a column a few weeks that Cena is the most marketable star in the WWE and some of the feedback claimed that Cena was to blame for the lack luster network number, which isn't a fair assessment of the situation. Cena is a work horse and he sells more merchandise than anyone on the roster so there's no doubt that he's the most marketable star. The bottom line is, fans pay to see John Cena and it doesn't matter if they pay to cheer him or pay to see him lose, as long as they are watching the product.
As I said, the network is at a pivotal point, as it gets international distribution, which could be a major success for the WWE and the winner of the title match at Summer Slam could determine if fans will continue to invest in the network in the next few months. That's another reason Lesnar winning the title is a key for the WWE because while John Cena wrestles on a regular basis on Raw, Lesnar just works PPV matches, which is a wise decision. As a result of Lesnar's limited schedule, it's more of a "special event" when he actually wrestles a match and if he wins at Summer Slam, the Lesnar title matches would be a network exclusive during the next few months.
John Cena and Lesnar clashed for Lesnar's first PPV after he returned to the company two years ago in a very physical, entertaining match, which is also what can be expected at Summer Slam. As I've said previously, Lesnar delivers in major matches and considering the WWE network is at a pivotal point of international distribution, the main event of Summer Slam must live up to the hype. It's a wise decision to book Lesnar in the main event spot for the title, as it capitalizes on the heat generated from breaking the streak. A side note about the Lesnar/Undertaker match, I don't think the streak should have ended and while it garnered a crowd reaction at the time, it could have soured many fans on the event. The outrage among fans seemed to be more that it was Lesnar, a part timer, who is there strictly for the the money ended it than it was that the streak actually ended. I would guess that if CM Punk, someone that fans know sacrificed for the wrestling business or even Kane ended the streak, there would be a different reaction.
That being said, Lesnar ended the streak and he has a lot of heat because of it so Summer Slam is the WWE's opportunity to cash in on the end of the streak. That cash in opportunity is the reason why Lesnar must win the title at the PPV because if he doesn't, the end of the streak was just to set up another challenger for John Cena. As I've said previously, Lesnar is a draw and despite the prospective of some fans, Cena is probably more of a draw than Lesnar. I mentioned in a column a few weeks that Cena is the most marketable star in the WWE and some of the feedback claimed that Cena was to blame for the lack luster network number, which isn't a fair assessment of the situation. Cena is a work horse and he sells more merchandise than anyone on the roster so there's no doubt that he's the most marketable star. The bottom line is, fans pay to see John Cena and it doesn't matter if they pay to cheer him or pay to see him lose, as long as they are watching the product.
As I said, the network is at a pivotal point, as it gets international distribution, which could be a major success for the WWE and the winner of the title match at Summer Slam could determine if fans will continue to invest in the network in the next few months. That's another reason Lesnar winning the title is a key for the WWE because while John Cena wrestles on a regular basis on Raw, Lesnar just works PPV matches, which is a wise decision. As a result of Lesnar's limited schedule, it's more of a "special event" when he actually wrestles a match and if he wins at Summer Slam, the Lesnar title matches would be a network exclusive during the next few months.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Spike TV cancels TNA
This week it was reported on TMZ that Spike TV has decided not to renew TNA Impact when the TV contract expires in October and there are several rumors that it could lead to the company shutting down. However, the story has more to it, as there are reports that Vince Russo confirming that he works for the company as a consultant, led to Spike's decision not to renew the contract. Supposedly, Spike TV isn't a fan of Russo because of some of the angles he booked during his run as a writer for the program that aired on the network and TNA hid that he was still involved with the company. There was a rather bizarre incident that led to the information being revealed, as Vince Russo accidentally E mailed production notes to PWinsider's Mike Johnson that were supposed to be sent to the TNA announce team. Initially, Russo denied it and he claimed he "swerved" Johnson to prove the dirt sheets would report any rumor. Mike Johnson, who is a reporter that confirms the content he publishes as much as possible in wrestling, said he would post the e mail online if Russo didn't confirm the truth. After that Russo confirmed on his website that he's a consultant for TNA and then it was reported that Spike TV wasn't going to renew the TV deal. The report generated a lot of discussion online and Russo was dismissed from the company.
Did Russo get TNA cancelled? While, TNA hiding Russo's involvement with the company probably didn't help, it's doubtful that Russo is the reason that Spike announced they won't renew the deal. The Spike executives are the only ones that know the answer, but if I had to guess, I would say it's probably a variety of reasons. TNA has a steady 1.0 ratings, which is decent, depending on the network, but after nine years on Spike, the numbers are basically the same so as a TV program, Impact hasn't increased viewers. The stagnate numbers are only one aspect of the show and the goofy booking probably didn't do them any favors either. Spike TV owns Bellator MMA so it's possible they are going to try to put their own entity into the prime time spot, but at this point, who knows? It's always possible that Spike is using the announcement to negotiate a lower deal to resign TNA because at this point, Spike can say, "here's the deal, sign it or get cancelled." Dixie Carter claims on Twitter that negotiations with Spike are continuing, but what else is going to say? Spike not willing to renew the program doesn't exactly help the perception of the TNA brand and it could effect the prospects of another network signing a deal.
I doubt that another network will sign TNA, mostly because the perception of pro wrestling in the United States is at somewhat of a low point and more specifically, TNA itself is known more for it's blunders as a company than the talent on the roster. In some respects, TNA today is very similar to WCW in 2001, as there's not much that can be done to improve the product. The company has been too bush league for too long for it to be considered a competitive or profitable product. The laundry list of mistakes that TNA has made to get to this point are numerous and they were discussed previously so there's no reason to discuss them again. As much as some people might want to blame Vince Russo, he's not the only reason TNA might shut down and there's certainly many different things that led TNA to getting canceled. Dixie, Hogan, and others can get the blame for the decline of the company. So, will TNA shut down?
Without TV, there's no doubt that TNA will shut down because without the TV contract and ad revenue, there's really no way for the company to generate money. If the company shuts down, it sets wrestling back ten years because competition fuels business. It would be extremely disappointing if competitors such as, Samoa Joe, Rhino, etc. didn't have a stage and there aren't many options in the United States. The WWE has a main roster and an entire roster at NXT so how many spots would there be for TNA talents? Realistically, there's only a few wrestlers on the TNA roster that might be offered a WWE deal, not because they don't have the skills, but the WWE seems to want to make its own stars. If nothing else, TNA shutting down might be an opportunity for Global Force Wrestling to get a spot, but again it would set wrestling back because it would take years for a new promotion to become competitive for the wrestling business.
Did Russo get TNA cancelled? While, TNA hiding Russo's involvement with the company probably didn't help, it's doubtful that Russo is the reason that Spike announced they won't renew the deal. The Spike executives are the only ones that know the answer, but if I had to guess, I would say it's probably a variety of reasons. TNA has a steady 1.0 ratings, which is decent, depending on the network, but after nine years on Spike, the numbers are basically the same so as a TV program, Impact hasn't increased viewers. The stagnate numbers are only one aspect of the show and the goofy booking probably didn't do them any favors either. Spike TV owns Bellator MMA so it's possible they are going to try to put their own entity into the prime time spot, but at this point, who knows? It's always possible that Spike is using the announcement to negotiate a lower deal to resign TNA because at this point, Spike can say, "here's the deal, sign it or get cancelled." Dixie Carter claims on Twitter that negotiations with Spike are continuing, but what else is going to say? Spike not willing to renew the program doesn't exactly help the perception of the TNA brand and it could effect the prospects of another network signing a deal.
I doubt that another network will sign TNA, mostly because the perception of pro wrestling in the United States is at somewhat of a low point and more specifically, TNA itself is known more for it's blunders as a company than the talent on the roster. In some respects, TNA today is very similar to WCW in 2001, as there's not much that can be done to improve the product. The company has been too bush league for too long for it to be considered a competitive or profitable product. The laundry list of mistakes that TNA has made to get to this point are numerous and they were discussed previously so there's no reason to discuss them again. As much as some people might want to blame Vince Russo, he's not the only reason TNA might shut down and there's certainly many different things that led TNA to getting canceled. Dixie, Hogan, and others can get the blame for the decline of the company. So, will TNA shut down?
Without TV, there's no doubt that TNA will shut down because without the TV contract and ad revenue, there's really no way for the company to generate money. If the company shuts down, it sets wrestling back ten years because competition fuels business. It would be extremely disappointing if competitors such as, Samoa Joe, Rhino, etc. didn't have a stage and there aren't many options in the United States. The WWE has a main roster and an entire roster at NXT so how many spots would there be for TNA talents? Realistically, there's only a few wrestlers on the TNA roster that might be offered a WWE deal, not because they don't have the skills, but the WWE seems to want to make its own stars. If nothing else, TNA shutting down might be an opportunity for Global Force Wrestling to get a spot, but again it would set wrestling back because it would take years for a new promotion to become competitive for the wrestling business.
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