Tomorrow night, UFC 214 will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA with a stacked card, featuring three title fights. This night of mixed martial arts action will have championship ramifications, and effect the overall direction of some careers as well.
At the top of the card, a grudge match between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship, a rematch two and a half years in the making. Jones, the troubled former champion, won the title from the legendary Shogun Rua at the age of just 23 years old. Since that victory in 2011, "Bones" Jones made more headlines outside of the cage than he did in the ring. With a laundry list of arrests and drug violations, the details of every incident would be too lengthy to discuss entirely in this article. Most recently, Jones did zero in his UFC career as he was suspended for a year after it was announced just days before a scheduled Cormier rematch at UFC 200 that he tested positive for a banned substances, which was his second suspension after he tested positive for cocaine following a bout in January of 2015. With Jones' positive test, Anderson Silva stepped in to fight Cormier as a late replacement for UFC 200, a bout that DC won via unanimous decision. Still, many considered the Jones/Cormier feud unresolved, despite the fact that "Bones" wasn't eligible to fight again until his suspension expired.
The last time Jon Jones was inside the octagon, he defeated Ovince Saint Preux via decision and looked to have a lot of ring rust in April of last year. The general consensus after the score cards awarded him the interim title, a belt he was later stripped of because of the positive test, was that the Jones that fought OSP wouldn't be able to defeat Cormier. So, there's much speculation as to what version of "Bones" Jones will show up this Saturday
At the time that Jones' legal woes unfolded, I penned a column that utilized a quote from the underrated classic film, "A Bronx Tale." Robert De Niro plays the father of a youth that idolizes a local mafia boss brilliantly portrayed by Chazz Palminteri. The film takes place during the tension of the 1960s, and Calogero receives useful advice, both from his hard working father and the neighborhood kingpin. De Niro's character cautions his son with wise words that become the theme of the film, "the saddest thing in life is wasted talent."
That quote can be applied to Jon Jones. Sadly, Jones is known more for incidents outside of the octagon than the amazing athletic talent that he has in the sport. At 30, he already spent a few years of his prime suspended for drug violations or in court for legal problems. When he originally won the 205 LBS championship, it looked as though he would become the next Anderson Silva, a tremendous champion that set records in the UFC. However, he is now one more positive test away from possibly the end of his MMA career. A multiple year suspension for another violation would logistically take him out of the conversation as a top star for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The result of this 205 LBS contest, and more specifically, the performances that Jon Jones displays will be an indication of his mixed martial arts future. A lackluster effort could reveal that his best days are behind him, while a dynamic win would rejuvenate his career. Either way, let's make it extremely clear, Jon Jones has nobody to blame but himself for this situation.
As for the fight itself, the key will be, what "Bones" Jones arrives in the octagon? Assuming that the former champion shows up ready to fight, it will be difficult to beat him. The reach and most importantly, the ability to properly use that reach gives him a tremendous advantage against opponents.
At 38, Cormier is definitely at the latter stages of his career, but his extensive amateur wrestling background might extend his career because of the exceptional conditioning involved with the amateur background. The point being, DC undoubtedly has enough left in the tank to win this contest. With a record of 19-1, the only blemish a defeat in the original Jones bout, Cormier had a relatively late start in MMA, transitioning to the cage after the 2008 Olympics. All things considered, he probably doesn't get the credit he deserves for the record he quietly assembled since he began fighting in 2009. A win against "Bones" Jones avenges his only loss and puts him on course to be considered among the elite at the conclusion of his career. Assuming that DC racks up a few more wins, when he retires it might allow him to reach legendary status in the Light Heavyweight division. At the same time, the former Olympic grappler might surprise everyone and fight for another five years. Either way, the opportunity to avenge his only defeat and settle the score with Jones could determine the perception of his legacy, especially because he became the UFC Light Heavyweight champion without beating Jon Jones to win it.
I don't think Cormier will be able to stop Jones so the best strategy will probably be to use his wrestling skills to win a decision. That philosophy will test Jones' cardio and it will be interesting to see if he will be effective in the later rounds. If Jones is in top form, he could use his striking and take down defense to win on the score cards. I will pick Jones to win via decision, but again the key to this bout is if Jon Jones shows up ready to fight. If Jones wins the title, it will be interesting to see if he can avoid the pitfalls that derailed his career a few years ago and actually add to his accomplishments in the UFC.
Friday, July 28, 2017
Friday, July 21, 2017
The Battleground pay-per-view
There was a time when pay-per-views shaped the structure and destination of angles. However, similar to how the WWE Network changed the dynamic of the PPV business, the streaming service also changed how these premium shows are booked.
During the boom of the late 90s, Eric Bischoff pushed Vince McMahon to offer pay-per-view on a monthly basis, which worked because the popularity of the business fueled buy rates. Truth be told, I thought even once a month was a little too frequent for PPV shows, but WWE brass made it work. In 2004, management tried to occasional run two of these shows within a month for a few years, but eventually decided to return to the standard format. I don't want to sound too pessimistic, but the entire point of the concept is a "special event" that is worth paying to watch. Therefore, the more events there are, the less "special" each individual event is. Of course, there are exceptions, but that's mostly because of the history of certain events, not necessarily the card assembled.
But, the WWE network changed the entire distribution of pay-per-view so there's not directly a "selling point" for each show since the pitch to subscribe to the service is the entire network with the extensive video library content. Still, content is what fuels the network so running more PPV events theoretically gives the perception of added value for a subscription. That being said, the downside of that ideology is that rushing these shows or too many of them lead to either lackluster cards or they blend together so that nothing really stands out. It might sound counter productive, but it almost seems like there's too much content for fans to realistically follow and many competitors get lost in the shuffle. An elevated platform or a "special event" is an opportunity to get talent over as a bigger star so without shows that seem like big events, there's less of an opportunity to push talent to the next level in an attempt to create more money-drawing stars.
A pay-per-view every two weeks just isn't a logical way to get angles over with the audience. It also leads to less of a build up for storylines or sometimes a lack of depth on the card because of the brand extension. If there weren't so many PPVs, the writing team wouldn't be put into a corner to book a card simply because a show is on the schedule. If anything, rotating monthly events between Raw and Smackdown could give the writing team sufficient time to book meaningful cards for PPVs.
This predicament of the scramble to book another pay-per-view card makes Battleground an already mostly irrelevant show.
What will really get resolved at Battleground? What meaningful results will there be? What matches are scheduled that fans want to see? Both Aiden English and Tye Dillinger talented, but they are portrayed as jobbers or have lesser status on the brand so how exactly is this match supposed to be perceived as important?
There are also a few lukewarm matches that resemble more of a weekly Smackdown bout than a rivalry for pay-per-view. The tag team title match should be decent in terms of the in-ring action, but the tacky "rap battle" skits did nothing to add steam to the feud.
The Mike Kanellis vs. Sami Zayn match is the same category for a different reason. The former ROH star known as Mike Bennett was touted as an athlete with the potential to be a major star, which might be the case, but this particular match-up won't do much for either competitor. Battleground is Kanellis' first pay-per-view match so he will probably get the win, which makes sense to establish a fresh face on the brand, but Heath Slater or Curt Hawkins would be a better choice as an opponent. For whatever reason, WWE management has yet to see the value of Sami Zayn and despite his ability to identify with the audience, he continues to be stuck in the lower mid-card of the brand. The social media age and the state of the industry allows fans to be aware of the ability of the writing team to decide the status of their favorite stars, and there's a platform for them to voice their opinion. Granted, social media probably has more of a negative effect of the industry than anything, but the point is, the fans can see when the marketing machine allows an athlete to flounder. However, Sam Zayn undoubtedly has the talent to work the main event scene so this Kanellis match-up almost creates a disappointment when the fans see Zayn being used simply to put others over.
Despite Rusev's return, the flag match with John Cena has no momentum behind it. These two had an extensive feud a few years ago, including a match at Wrestlemania so it seems very repetitive to book it again. In fact, the entire angle just has a "been there, done that" atmosphere to it. If this angle is being used to push John Cena strong for his return after a few months off, why? He's John Cena and reached a level that he will always be completely over with the audience. Cena could take a year off or lose every match for the rest of his career and he would still be one of the most over performers on the roster. This goes back to the question, what will really get resolved here? John Cena stands up for America? That score was settled two years ago with the previously mentioned Wrestlemania match.
After the MITB debacle and the fact that Carmella has the briefcase, there doesn't seem to be much of a reason for a women's number one contender match. Plus, a five-way match is difficult to book and might be a sloppy presentation.
As for as in-ring performance, the AJ/Owens match might steal the show, but considering that they had a match at Backlash, a match on Smackdown, and the MSG title switch, this is somewhat of a stale contest. Reportedly, AJ took the title to avoid any confusion with Jinder's foreign angle and Owens' "face of America" gimmick. So, if AJ retains the title, there's not much more that can be done with this match-up.
The Corbin/Nakamura contest might be a situation where the writing team booked themselves into somewhat of a corner. Baron Corbin won the MITB match, which appears to suggest that he will get a main event push at some point so it makes sense to book him strong going forward until the eventual cash-in for the title. Nakamura is a unique athlete with the superstar quality. The charismatic Japanese competitor has the ability to be a main event level performer, but so far, the booking has somehow minimized the momentum that he generated during his NXT run. If Corbin does the job, it's counterproductive to the eventual title push. At the same time, if Nakamura loses on pay-per-view, it will halt any momentum he has on Smackdown. The WWE might miss the boat on this talented Japanese commodity if they fumble another pivotal opportunity to truly establish him on the brand. Considering his age and the physical style he worked for the majority of his career, Nakamura should probably be established as soon as possible if management wants to maximize the profitability of his WWE career. Corbin is five years younger and does have potential, but there's no reason to rush him to the main event scene.
The main event is a Punjabi prison match, a concept that seems to stereotype the demographic that WWE brass is attempting to target, which doesn't seem like the wisest strategy. Not only is the gimmick of the match lame, the numbers would suggest that the audience doesn't anticipate another Jinder Mahal pay-per-view main event. As I said previously, it's not necessarily anything against Jinder, but rather that it's difficult to expect the audience to take this main event push seriously when he went from a jobber to the WWE champion in the span of only a few weeks. The chances of a successful (and more logical) push might've improved if Jinder was given a steady push over the span of a few months. Considering that Cena is booked for a flag match, Battleground will probably lead to a Cena vs. Mahal match at Summer Slam. The ratings for SD have declined since Jinder became champion, and since WWE's ratings have slumped across the board recently, you can expect a change in direction in an attempt to boost ratings. Keep in mind, the WWE's TV rights fee is one of the company's most lucrative revenue sources, and they certainly aren't going to want to have to take less money when they renew so improving the numbers will be a top priority within the next few months.
Is it too harsh to critique an event that hasn't happened yet? Maybe, but keep in mind, this article is based on the lack of any major selling point, not necessarily the quality of the show itself. A combination of too many PPVs, a lack of hype around angles, and some nonsensical booking doesn't really give Battleground the "must see" environment. The results won't have a major impact on the brand, and at just $9.99 a month, the WWE Network indirectly lowers the expectations of individual shows. If the results won't really effect the characters on the brand as compared to now, what exactly is the point of the event in terms of storylines? So, there's not much of a reason to tune in for Battleground, but the WWE network is only $10 a month and sometimes you get what you pay for in this situation.
During the boom of the late 90s, Eric Bischoff pushed Vince McMahon to offer pay-per-view on a monthly basis, which worked because the popularity of the business fueled buy rates. Truth be told, I thought even once a month was a little too frequent for PPV shows, but WWE brass made it work. In 2004, management tried to occasional run two of these shows within a month for a few years, but eventually decided to return to the standard format. I don't want to sound too pessimistic, but the entire point of the concept is a "special event" that is worth paying to watch. Therefore, the more events there are, the less "special" each individual event is. Of course, there are exceptions, but that's mostly because of the history of certain events, not necessarily the card assembled.
But, the WWE network changed the entire distribution of pay-per-view so there's not directly a "selling point" for each show since the pitch to subscribe to the service is the entire network with the extensive video library content. Still, content is what fuels the network so running more PPV events theoretically gives the perception of added value for a subscription. That being said, the downside of that ideology is that rushing these shows or too many of them lead to either lackluster cards or they blend together so that nothing really stands out. It might sound counter productive, but it almost seems like there's too much content for fans to realistically follow and many competitors get lost in the shuffle. An elevated platform or a "special event" is an opportunity to get talent over as a bigger star so without shows that seem like big events, there's less of an opportunity to push talent to the next level in an attempt to create more money-drawing stars.
A pay-per-view every two weeks just isn't a logical way to get angles over with the audience. It also leads to less of a build up for storylines or sometimes a lack of depth on the card because of the brand extension. If there weren't so many PPVs, the writing team wouldn't be put into a corner to book a card simply because a show is on the schedule. If anything, rotating monthly events between Raw and Smackdown could give the writing team sufficient time to book meaningful cards for PPVs.
This predicament of the scramble to book another pay-per-view card makes Battleground an already mostly irrelevant show.
What will really get resolved at Battleground? What meaningful results will there be? What matches are scheduled that fans want to see? Both Aiden English and Tye Dillinger talented, but they are portrayed as jobbers or have lesser status on the brand so how exactly is this match supposed to be perceived as important?
There are also a few lukewarm matches that resemble more of a weekly Smackdown bout than a rivalry for pay-per-view. The tag team title match should be decent in terms of the in-ring action, but the tacky "rap battle" skits did nothing to add steam to the feud.
The Mike Kanellis vs. Sami Zayn match is the same category for a different reason. The former ROH star known as Mike Bennett was touted as an athlete with the potential to be a major star, which might be the case, but this particular match-up won't do much for either competitor. Battleground is Kanellis' first pay-per-view match so he will probably get the win, which makes sense to establish a fresh face on the brand, but Heath Slater or Curt Hawkins would be a better choice as an opponent. For whatever reason, WWE management has yet to see the value of Sami Zayn and despite his ability to identify with the audience, he continues to be stuck in the lower mid-card of the brand. The social media age and the state of the industry allows fans to be aware of the ability of the writing team to decide the status of their favorite stars, and there's a platform for them to voice their opinion. Granted, social media probably has more of a negative effect of the industry than anything, but the point is, the fans can see when the marketing machine allows an athlete to flounder. However, Sam Zayn undoubtedly has the talent to work the main event scene so this Kanellis match-up almost creates a disappointment when the fans see Zayn being used simply to put others over.
Despite Rusev's return, the flag match with John Cena has no momentum behind it. These two had an extensive feud a few years ago, including a match at Wrestlemania so it seems very repetitive to book it again. In fact, the entire angle just has a "been there, done that" atmosphere to it. If this angle is being used to push John Cena strong for his return after a few months off, why? He's John Cena and reached a level that he will always be completely over with the audience. Cena could take a year off or lose every match for the rest of his career and he would still be one of the most over performers on the roster. This goes back to the question, what will really get resolved here? John Cena stands up for America? That score was settled two years ago with the previously mentioned Wrestlemania match.
After the MITB debacle and the fact that Carmella has the briefcase, there doesn't seem to be much of a reason for a women's number one contender match. Plus, a five-way match is difficult to book and might be a sloppy presentation.
As for as in-ring performance, the AJ/Owens match might steal the show, but considering that they had a match at Backlash, a match on Smackdown, and the MSG title switch, this is somewhat of a stale contest. Reportedly, AJ took the title to avoid any confusion with Jinder's foreign angle and Owens' "face of America" gimmick. So, if AJ retains the title, there's not much more that can be done with this match-up.
The Corbin/Nakamura contest might be a situation where the writing team booked themselves into somewhat of a corner. Baron Corbin won the MITB match, which appears to suggest that he will get a main event push at some point so it makes sense to book him strong going forward until the eventual cash-in for the title. Nakamura is a unique athlete with the superstar quality. The charismatic Japanese competitor has the ability to be a main event level performer, but so far, the booking has somehow minimized the momentum that he generated during his NXT run. If Corbin does the job, it's counterproductive to the eventual title push. At the same time, if Nakamura loses on pay-per-view, it will halt any momentum he has on Smackdown. The WWE might miss the boat on this talented Japanese commodity if they fumble another pivotal opportunity to truly establish him on the brand. Considering his age and the physical style he worked for the majority of his career, Nakamura should probably be established as soon as possible if management wants to maximize the profitability of his WWE career. Corbin is five years younger and does have potential, but there's no reason to rush him to the main event scene.
The main event is a Punjabi prison match, a concept that seems to stereotype the demographic that WWE brass is attempting to target, which doesn't seem like the wisest strategy. Not only is the gimmick of the match lame, the numbers would suggest that the audience doesn't anticipate another Jinder Mahal pay-per-view main event. As I said previously, it's not necessarily anything against Jinder, but rather that it's difficult to expect the audience to take this main event push seriously when he went from a jobber to the WWE champion in the span of only a few weeks. The chances of a successful (and more logical) push might've improved if Jinder was given a steady push over the span of a few months. Considering that Cena is booked for a flag match, Battleground will probably lead to a Cena vs. Mahal match at Summer Slam. The ratings for SD have declined since Jinder became champion, and since WWE's ratings have slumped across the board recently, you can expect a change in direction in an attempt to boost ratings. Keep in mind, the WWE's TV rights fee is one of the company's most lucrative revenue sources, and they certainly aren't going to want to have to take less money when they renew so improving the numbers will be a top priority within the next few months.
Is it too harsh to critique an event that hasn't happened yet? Maybe, but keep in mind, this article is based on the lack of any major selling point, not necessarily the quality of the show itself. A combination of too many PPVs, a lack of hype around angles, and some nonsensical booking doesn't really give Battleground the "must see" environment. The results won't have a major impact on the brand, and at just $9.99 a month, the WWE Network indirectly lowers the expectations of individual shows. If the results won't really effect the characters on the brand as compared to now, what exactly is the point of the event in terms of storylines? So, there's not much of a reason to tune in for Battleground, but the WWE network is only $10 a month and sometimes you get what you pay for in this situation.
Saturday, July 15, 2017
McGregor vs. Mayweather
Well, I was wrong. I'm not perfect, and I've been wrong many times before. Once, I made a wrong turn at a yield spot, I didn't think a reality TV star would become president, and I thought Stone Cold Steve Austin would win the first blood match at the King of The Ring in 1998.
But, when I penned a column a few months to explain why the super fight of Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor probably wouldn't happen, I thought it was a relatively safe assumption with valid reasoning behind it. Still, those reasons continue to be valid. "Money" Mayweather, no pun intended, was "notoriously" difficult to negotiate with during the peak of his boxing career.
However, I'm happy to say that I was wrong, and it was announced via a conference call last month that boxing's biggest star of the past decade, Floyd Mayweather has officially signed to fight MMA's biggest star today, Conor McGregor in a boxing match on August 26th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
Floyd, a masterful defense man, garnered a professional record of 49-0 during his career, a mark that tied the undefeated steak of the legendary Rocky Marciano. Smart enough to know that a main stream persona translates to more revenue at the box office, "Money" Mayweather enjoyed the role of the villain during the second half of his career, often flaunting his wealth with an arrogant attitude. Ironically, along with the disdain that the general public had towards his brash ways, he also gained a following because of his lavish life style. Either way, it made no difference if the public paid to see him artfully dodge his opponent's punches, or wanted to see him get KO'ed, the point was, fans paid to see him fight. Unfortunately, Floyd's antics extended beyond his on-camera persona. He was charged with domestic violence several times within the past 15 years, including when he served two months in jail in 2011 after a plea bargain was made to drop the felony charges against him.
Despite those cowardly acts, he maintained a loyal fan base around his "Money Team" brand, which promotes other fighters and includes a variety of merchandise. As mentioned in the previous article, as Floyd was on pace to reach Marciano's record, pay-per-view buys for his bouts diminished, mostly because fans began to realize that Floyd carefully chose his opponents to protect his record, and weren't going to pay to watch glorified exhibition fights. In fact, Show Time actually lost money on a few of his fights prior to the Pacquiao contest because the buy rates didn't cover his hefty guarantee, which is what finally allowed the "super fight" with Manny to materialize. Despite being five years too late, the Manny/Floyd fight took place and set the all-time pay-per-view record with over 4 million buys for an estimated revenue $400 million in PPV alone. The disappointment of the "super fight" and the debacle of the aftermath was discussed previously so there's no reason to repeat that, but it undoubtedly signaled the conclusion of Floyd's mega paydays in boxing. After Manny was dropped from his HBO contract, Floyd fought Andre Berto in what was advertised as his retirement bout, drawing a dismal 350,000 buys that put it among Mayweather's lowest offering in the past decade. Clearly, the ripple effect of the Pacquiao/Mayweather contest soured many fans on the fighters that cashed in before the demand to see the fight declined.
Were there still challengers for Floyd Mayweather in boxing? Absolutely, he could've signed to fight Gennady Golovkin before he "retired" in 2015, but Triple G is regarded by many as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport, and that was a risk Floyd wasn't going to take.
So, why did the McGregor fight only take a few months for Floyd to sign the contract?
Mayweather stalled the Manny negotiations for years to maximize his portion of the earnings, an amount that eventually totaled more than $200 million. However, mixed martial arts is a different dynamic, and Conor McGregor is the current UFC Lightweight champion, a title he has yet to defend in the octagon. Conor is at the peak of his MMA career right now, but a devastating KO would drastically effect his drawing power to those outside of the MMA fan base. Would he continue to be a major star for the UFC? Sure, but his only losses in MMA are submissions. If a boxing fan sees a clip of McGregor KO'ed in the octagon, why would they think he has any chance in a boxing match? Conor currently has more people following his career than at any other point during his UFC run so there's no reason to jeopardize the marketability of the Floyd fight. If Conor gets KOed in the cage before he steps into the ring with Mayweather, who knows if the demand is still there from the general public?
As far as the actual bout, there's no realistic reason to expect that Conor Mcgregor will win this fight. Some naive fans might tune in thinking that his MMA background will somehow confuse the boxer, but it won't happen. In reality, I wouldn't be surprised if McGregor gets KO'ed in two rounds. Full-time professional boxers at a championship level haven't been able to defeat Floyd, and McGregor is literally an amateur in terms of boxing experience. Again, there's no realistic argument to be made that Conor can win. However, the Irishman is actually in a win-win situation. If he gets dropped to the canvas, he will do it for a record paycheck, and he doesn't even have to necessarily win the fight to leave the ring victorious. If the UFC Featherweight champion somehow makes it to the final bell against an undefeated boxing champion, the moral victory alone will elevate his status. Remember, Rocky didn't have to beat Apollo to become the hero of the film.
If Conor somehow lands a fluke punch and defeats Floyd, it will be perhaps the biggest upset in sports history. Nobody expects McGregor to win so there's really no pressure on him ahead of this bout. As the media tour kicked off this week, the spectacle began and it was incredibly entertaining to see Floyd subjected to an athlete that can verbally spare with him. Along with the hype for the fight, a somewhat bizarre story surfaced recently as well. Floyd Mayweather filed for an extension to pay taxes that he owes from 2015. The IRS filed a tax lien against him for a reported $22 million debt, which is only the latest lien against him, as he owed taxes several times in the past.
Considering the type of businessman that Floyd is and the millions he made in his career, it's almost unbelievable to think that he signed to fight the UFC champion because he needs the money. In fact, "Money" Mayweather probably has enough money to pay off the debt without any effect on his lavish life style. However, it certainly doesn't speak well in terms of smart business when a fighter that made $200 million in his last fight asks for an extension to pay a tax debt.
With a price tag of $99.99, this bout will probably rank among the top three highest selling pay-per-view events in sports history. While it's doubtful that it will exceed the record of Pacquiao/Mayweather, this clash of combat sports athletes will translate to money for everyone involved. Is this really a contest of boxing skill? No, but it's a spectacle that will be tremendously entertaining, and if there's major money on the table, it's a smart decision to make the fight happen.
But, when I penned a column a few months to explain why the super fight of Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor probably wouldn't happen, I thought it was a relatively safe assumption with valid reasoning behind it. Still, those reasons continue to be valid. "Money" Mayweather, no pun intended, was "notoriously" difficult to negotiate with during the peak of his boxing career.
However, I'm happy to say that I was wrong, and it was announced via a conference call last month that boxing's biggest star of the past decade, Floyd Mayweather has officially signed to fight MMA's biggest star today, Conor McGregor in a boxing match on August 26th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
Floyd, a masterful defense man, garnered a professional record of 49-0 during his career, a mark that tied the undefeated steak of the legendary Rocky Marciano. Smart enough to know that a main stream persona translates to more revenue at the box office, "Money" Mayweather enjoyed the role of the villain during the second half of his career, often flaunting his wealth with an arrogant attitude. Ironically, along with the disdain that the general public had towards his brash ways, he also gained a following because of his lavish life style. Either way, it made no difference if the public paid to see him artfully dodge his opponent's punches, or wanted to see him get KO'ed, the point was, fans paid to see him fight. Unfortunately, Floyd's antics extended beyond his on-camera persona. He was charged with domestic violence several times within the past 15 years, including when he served two months in jail in 2011 after a plea bargain was made to drop the felony charges against him.
Despite those cowardly acts, he maintained a loyal fan base around his "Money Team" brand, which promotes other fighters and includes a variety of merchandise. As mentioned in the previous article, as Floyd was on pace to reach Marciano's record, pay-per-view buys for his bouts diminished, mostly because fans began to realize that Floyd carefully chose his opponents to protect his record, and weren't going to pay to watch glorified exhibition fights. In fact, Show Time actually lost money on a few of his fights prior to the Pacquiao contest because the buy rates didn't cover his hefty guarantee, which is what finally allowed the "super fight" with Manny to materialize. Despite being five years too late, the Manny/Floyd fight took place and set the all-time pay-per-view record with over 4 million buys for an estimated revenue $400 million in PPV alone. The disappointment of the "super fight" and the debacle of the aftermath was discussed previously so there's no reason to repeat that, but it undoubtedly signaled the conclusion of Floyd's mega paydays in boxing. After Manny was dropped from his HBO contract, Floyd fought Andre Berto in what was advertised as his retirement bout, drawing a dismal 350,000 buys that put it among Mayweather's lowest offering in the past decade. Clearly, the ripple effect of the Pacquiao/Mayweather contest soured many fans on the fighters that cashed in before the demand to see the fight declined.
Were there still challengers for Floyd Mayweather in boxing? Absolutely, he could've signed to fight Gennady Golovkin before he "retired" in 2015, but Triple G is regarded by many as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport, and that was a risk Floyd wasn't going to take.
So, why did the McGregor fight only take a few months for Floyd to sign the contract?
Mayweather stalled the Manny negotiations for years to maximize his portion of the earnings, an amount that eventually totaled more than $200 million. However, mixed martial arts is a different dynamic, and Conor McGregor is the current UFC Lightweight champion, a title he has yet to defend in the octagon. Conor is at the peak of his MMA career right now, but a devastating KO would drastically effect his drawing power to those outside of the MMA fan base. Would he continue to be a major star for the UFC? Sure, but his only losses in MMA are submissions. If a boxing fan sees a clip of McGregor KO'ed in the octagon, why would they think he has any chance in a boxing match? Conor currently has more people following his career than at any other point during his UFC run so there's no reason to jeopardize the marketability of the Floyd fight. If Conor gets KOed in the cage before he steps into the ring with Mayweather, who knows if the demand is still there from the general public?
As far as the actual bout, there's no realistic reason to expect that Conor Mcgregor will win this fight. Some naive fans might tune in thinking that his MMA background will somehow confuse the boxer, but it won't happen. In reality, I wouldn't be surprised if McGregor gets KO'ed in two rounds. Full-time professional boxers at a championship level haven't been able to defeat Floyd, and McGregor is literally an amateur in terms of boxing experience. Again, there's no realistic argument to be made that Conor can win. However, the Irishman is actually in a win-win situation. If he gets dropped to the canvas, he will do it for a record paycheck, and he doesn't even have to necessarily win the fight to leave the ring victorious. If the UFC Featherweight champion somehow makes it to the final bell against an undefeated boxing champion, the moral victory alone will elevate his status. Remember, Rocky didn't have to beat Apollo to become the hero of the film.
If Conor somehow lands a fluke punch and defeats Floyd, it will be perhaps the biggest upset in sports history. Nobody expects McGregor to win so there's really no pressure on him ahead of this bout. As the media tour kicked off this week, the spectacle began and it was incredibly entertaining to see Floyd subjected to an athlete that can verbally spare with him. Along with the hype for the fight, a somewhat bizarre story surfaced recently as well. Floyd Mayweather filed for an extension to pay taxes that he owes from 2015. The IRS filed a tax lien against him for a reported $22 million debt, which is only the latest lien against him, as he owed taxes several times in the past.
Considering the type of businessman that Floyd is and the millions he made in his career, it's almost unbelievable to think that he signed to fight the UFC champion because he needs the money. In fact, "Money" Mayweather probably has enough money to pay off the debt without any effect on his lavish life style. However, it certainly doesn't speak well in terms of smart business when a fighter that made $200 million in his last fight asks for an extension to pay a tax debt.
With a price tag of $99.99, this bout will probably rank among the top three highest selling pay-per-view events in sports history. While it's doubtful that it will exceed the record of Pacquiao/Mayweather, this clash of combat sports athletes will translate to money for everyone involved. Is this really a contest of boxing skill? No, but it's a spectacle that will be tremendously entertaining, and if there's major money on the table, it's a smart decision to make the fight happen.
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
The career of Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey, former UFC Women's Bantamweight champion, resurfaced last week after an extended absence following her 48-second KO defeat when she challenged Amanda Nunes for the belt last November. The bronze medalist in judo appeared on the "Live with Kelly" show to discuss her engagement to UFC heavyweight, Travis Browne and the recent attempted robbery of her California home. Thankfully, the thief was caught minutes later and nobody was hurt during the incident.
While the engagement is nice news for Rousey, it essentially confirms the end of her mixed marital arts career since she made no mention of a return, and Dana White speculated earlier this year that she retired. So, what is the totality of Ronda's career?
Growing up on the west coast, Ronda endured a turbulent childhood, overcoming very serious speech problems as a result of a birth disorder. In her autobiography, "My Fight, Your Fight," a New York Times best seller, she detailed the tragic suicide of her father when she was young. Sports were an outlet for her, as she began to train in judo with her mom before she reached her teenage years. Always unconventional, Rousey dropped out of high school and later earned a GED when she wasn't winning judo championships. Her grappling career culminated with the previously mentioned bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic games in China.
Reaching the pinnacle of judo, she turned to mixed martial arts, a concept that was still relatively new for female athletes at the time. In the United States, women's MMA was a fringe concept that didn't receive any major marketing until Gina Carano made a splash in Strike Force in the mid-2000s. In 2010, Ronda fought in the amateur ranks on three occasions within the span of six months, winning each bout via arm bar in the first round. By that time, Carano was beaten out of the sport by Cyborg Santos, and it appeared Carano was content to attempt to use her fighting career to spring board to film.
Just months after Ronda turned pro in 2011, Cyborg Santos tested positive for steroids during a post-fight drug test and was stripped of the Strike Force Women's Featherweight belt, leaving female combat sports without a top contender. "Rowdy" Ronda began a meteoric rise, winning the Strike Force 135 LBS title after just five professional fights, and gained tremendous popularity for stoppages within the first round. She had such a fan following that Dana White, the UFC kingpin that once vowed he would never promote women's MMA, introduced the female division to the UFC after Zuffa bought Strike Force. Her UFC debut took less than a round, and she ranked up more victories with a combination of aggressive striking and submission skills.
When Rousey sent Beathe Correia face-first to the mat in just 34 seconds in August of 2015, she was still undefeated and one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. Her beautiful face transformed into a bitter scowl when the cage door shut. Her brash style and dominating performances made her one of the most marketable athletes in mixed martial arts. The progress she made for female sports allowed an entirely new demographic to tune into UFC events.
Her accomplishments inside the octagon brought many opportunities outside of the sport. Movies, television, a Wrestlemania appearance, and the previously mentioned book were all added to her resume during the run as the UFC Women's Bantamweight champion.
Just three months after she pummeled Correia, the undefeated champion was either overconfident or unprepared when she stepped into the cage in front of a record-setting crowd in Melbourne, Australia. Holly Holm, a multiple-time boxing champion in three different weight classes, provided the opposition and ultimately changed the course of women's MMA. Despite her lengthy grappling experience, Ronda attempted a series of wild punches, which Holm dodged and countered. After the opening round, Rousey looked as though she didn't know what to do next. Less than a minute into the second round, Holly stunned her opponent with a punch and then landed a highlight reel head kick, as Rousey collapsed to the canvas.
Ronda was distraught and made few public comments for nearly a year before her return to octagon, opting not to participant in the media week before her fight with Amanda Nunes in December of 2016. Nunes, a well-rounded competitor, submitted Miesha Tate at UFC 200 to win the championship. However, all the promotional advertisements were based around Ronda's return. Questions surrounding the former champion's mindset swirled ahead of the fight. It took just 48 seconds for all the questions to be answered when Rousey took nearly a dozen unanswered punches as she stumbled around the cage before the referee stopped the bout to avoid any further damage.
It's often said that the measure of a champion is how they response to adversity.
Clearly, Rousey didn't response well to either loss, in fact it could be argued that she couldn't handle a loss on such a major stage. The combination of women's MMA still evolving and that Ronda's popularity might skew perception, it might be a few years until her career can be put into the proper context. Make no mistake about it. Ronda took women's MMA to a completely different level that many didn't think was possible, but her peak as a combat fighter was relatively brief. Does that mean she was a flash in the pan? No, but it says much about her skills and the mindset that she brought to the cage after fame became a priority.
As female MMA evolved, more well rounded women entered the sport, and that exposed Ronda's lack of technical striking. For example, Holly Holm carefully dodged her wild flurries, and Rousey didn't know what to do next. "Rowdy" Ronda seemed to assume that her success would automatically continue, as she talked often in her book and interviews about retiring undefeated. It wasn't just the hype around Ronda that led to her fall from grace, but also how she set the standard to retire undefeated, and then how she handled the defeat. If someone proclaims they are going to retire undefeated, it almost sets up for a let down because the expectation was made public. It also created the impression that Rousey looked passed her opponents toward her post-fight Hollywood career. Refusing to discuss the title loss prior to her return also made it appear that she was a fragile fighter and thus gave the impression her peak had passed after the Holm fight. On the flip side, when the brash Conor McGregor was submitted, he said he would continue to train and return stronger. He won the Diaz rematch and the submission loss isn't a focal point of his career, especially when you consider that he will make a record paycheck to fight Floyd Mayweather next month.
The point being, after the two KO losses, Ronda Rousey appeared to be damaged goods. She couldn't handle the adversity and much of the mystic around her diminished. That is why a fighter must maintain a focus of their primary sport because the outside distracts of a potential movie career can lead to a harsh reality check about the evolution of the level of competition in the UFC. She had a dozen wins against mostly one dimensional fighters, it's not as though she had a lengthy championship run comparable to Anderson Silva or Georges St. Pierre. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to take anything away from her tremendous ability or career, but the total collapse of her career should be considered as well. On the flip side, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, the current 115 LBS champion is undefeated, already has more career wins than Rousey, and arguably fought tougher competition. Does that automatically mena that Joanna is a better fighter? No, but it certainly proves that Rousey can't definitively be called the greatest female fighter of all time either. It also underscores the fact that if a champion wants to maintain their status, they must stay focused on their opponents. I could be wrong, but I would guess that Joanna will generate an Anderson Silva type of title run before she concludes her career.
When Ronda lost, the movie offers, including a remake of "Road House" were quietly "delayed." Again, Ronda did herself no favors when she emphasized an undefeated retirement, which essentially directly linked her success in the cage to her film career outside of it. That said, Ronda should be proud of her accomplishments, and she undoubtedly brought women's MMA to a new platform. It's disappointing that her career abruptly halted after such an accelerated rise to fame. While it's not exactly fair to automatically assume she's the greatest female fighter of all time, Ronda Rousey certainly has an undeniable role in the history of mixed martial arts.
While the engagement is nice news for Rousey, it essentially confirms the end of her mixed marital arts career since she made no mention of a return, and Dana White speculated earlier this year that she retired. So, what is the totality of Ronda's career?
Growing up on the west coast, Ronda endured a turbulent childhood, overcoming very serious speech problems as a result of a birth disorder. In her autobiography, "My Fight, Your Fight," a New York Times best seller, she detailed the tragic suicide of her father when she was young. Sports were an outlet for her, as she began to train in judo with her mom before she reached her teenage years. Always unconventional, Rousey dropped out of high school and later earned a GED when she wasn't winning judo championships. Her grappling career culminated with the previously mentioned bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic games in China.
Reaching the pinnacle of judo, she turned to mixed martial arts, a concept that was still relatively new for female athletes at the time. In the United States, women's MMA was a fringe concept that didn't receive any major marketing until Gina Carano made a splash in Strike Force in the mid-2000s. In 2010, Ronda fought in the amateur ranks on three occasions within the span of six months, winning each bout via arm bar in the first round. By that time, Carano was beaten out of the sport by Cyborg Santos, and it appeared Carano was content to attempt to use her fighting career to spring board to film.
Just months after Ronda turned pro in 2011, Cyborg Santos tested positive for steroids during a post-fight drug test and was stripped of the Strike Force Women's Featherweight belt, leaving female combat sports without a top contender. "Rowdy" Ronda began a meteoric rise, winning the Strike Force 135 LBS title after just five professional fights, and gained tremendous popularity for stoppages within the first round. She had such a fan following that Dana White, the UFC kingpin that once vowed he would never promote women's MMA, introduced the female division to the UFC after Zuffa bought Strike Force. Her UFC debut took less than a round, and she ranked up more victories with a combination of aggressive striking and submission skills.
When Rousey sent Beathe Correia face-first to the mat in just 34 seconds in August of 2015, she was still undefeated and one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. Her beautiful face transformed into a bitter scowl when the cage door shut. Her brash style and dominating performances made her one of the most marketable athletes in mixed martial arts. The progress she made for female sports allowed an entirely new demographic to tune into UFC events.
Her accomplishments inside the octagon brought many opportunities outside of the sport. Movies, television, a Wrestlemania appearance, and the previously mentioned book were all added to her resume during the run as the UFC Women's Bantamweight champion.
Just three months after she pummeled Correia, the undefeated champion was either overconfident or unprepared when she stepped into the cage in front of a record-setting crowd in Melbourne, Australia. Holly Holm, a multiple-time boxing champion in three different weight classes, provided the opposition and ultimately changed the course of women's MMA. Despite her lengthy grappling experience, Ronda attempted a series of wild punches, which Holm dodged and countered. After the opening round, Rousey looked as though she didn't know what to do next. Less than a minute into the second round, Holly stunned her opponent with a punch and then landed a highlight reel head kick, as Rousey collapsed to the canvas.
Ronda was distraught and made few public comments for nearly a year before her return to octagon, opting not to participant in the media week before her fight with Amanda Nunes in December of 2016. Nunes, a well-rounded competitor, submitted Miesha Tate at UFC 200 to win the championship. However, all the promotional advertisements were based around Ronda's return. Questions surrounding the former champion's mindset swirled ahead of the fight. It took just 48 seconds for all the questions to be answered when Rousey took nearly a dozen unanswered punches as she stumbled around the cage before the referee stopped the bout to avoid any further damage.
It's often said that the measure of a champion is how they response to adversity.
Clearly, Rousey didn't response well to either loss, in fact it could be argued that she couldn't handle a loss on such a major stage. The combination of women's MMA still evolving and that Ronda's popularity might skew perception, it might be a few years until her career can be put into the proper context. Make no mistake about it. Ronda took women's MMA to a completely different level that many didn't think was possible, but her peak as a combat fighter was relatively brief. Does that mean she was a flash in the pan? No, but it says much about her skills and the mindset that she brought to the cage after fame became a priority.
As female MMA evolved, more well rounded women entered the sport, and that exposed Ronda's lack of technical striking. For example, Holly Holm carefully dodged her wild flurries, and Rousey didn't know what to do next. "Rowdy" Ronda seemed to assume that her success would automatically continue, as she talked often in her book and interviews about retiring undefeated. It wasn't just the hype around Ronda that led to her fall from grace, but also how she set the standard to retire undefeated, and then how she handled the defeat. If someone proclaims they are going to retire undefeated, it almost sets up for a let down because the expectation was made public. It also created the impression that Rousey looked passed her opponents toward her post-fight Hollywood career. Refusing to discuss the title loss prior to her return also made it appear that she was a fragile fighter and thus gave the impression her peak had passed after the Holm fight. On the flip side, when the brash Conor McGregor was submitted, he said he would continue to train and return stronger. He won the Diaz rematch and the submission loss isn't a focal point of his career, especially when you consider that he will make a record paycheck to fight Floyd Mayweather next month.
The point being, after the two KO losses, Ronda Rousey appeared to be damaged goods. She couldn't handle the adversity and much of the mystic around her diminished. That is why a fighter must maintain a focus of their primary sport because the outside distracts of a potential movie career can lead to a harsh reality check about the evolution of the level of competition in the UFC. She had a dozen wins against mostly one dimensional fighters, it's not as though she had a lengthy championship run comparable to Anderson Silva or Georges St. Pierre. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to take anything away from her tremendous ability or career, but the total collapse of her career should be considered as well. On the flip side, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, the current 115 LBS champion is undefeated, already has more career wins than Rousey, and arguably fought tougher competition. Does that automatically mena that Joanna is a better fighter? No, but it certainly proves that Rousey can't definitively be called the greatest female fighter of all time either. It also underscores the fact that if a champion wants to maintain their status, they must stay focused on their opponents. I could be wrong, but I would guess that Joanna will generate an Anderson Silva type of title run before she concludes her career.
When Ronda lost, the movie offers, including a remake of "Road House" were quietly "delayed." Again, Ronda did herself no favors when she emphasized an undefeated retirement, which essentially directly linked her success in the cage to her film career outside of it. That said, Ronda should be proud of her accomplishments, and she undoubtedly brought women's MMA to a new platform. It's disappointing that her career abruptly halted after such an accelerated rise to fame. While it's not exactly fair to automatically assume she's the greatest female fighter of all time, Ronda Rousey certainly has an undeniable role in the history of mixed martial arts.
Monday, July 10, 2017
Brock Lesnar retains the Universal title
When Brock Lesnar returned to the WWE after an nearly an eight year absence, he brought with him a renewed hype from his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. After he was pushed to the top of the card as fast as possible in 2002, the former NCAA champion opted to leave the WWE just two years after he debuted on television, citing the travel demands as the reason he stepped away from sports entertainment. After he burned bridges in Japan and a failed attempt to join the Minnesota Vikings, Lesnar pursued mixed martial arts, a genre that surged in popularity at the time.
He made his successful MMA debut in 2007, and his name value from professional wrestling made him an instant commodity, prompting an offer from the UFC. Lesnar fought a total of nine times in his combat sports career, garnering a record of 5-3-1 and the UFC Heavyweight title. A combination of diverticulitis and not wanting to get punched in the face led to his initial retirement from the sport.
His return to WWE in 2012 gave the business a major boost in star power, but how Brock is booked continues to be the subject of debate. Lesnar was promoted as the "real fighter" in sports entertainment, wearing MMA gloves and shorts into the ring. He ended the Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak because he was the "real" athlete that could do what sport entertainers couldn't in the past. He won the WWE World Heavyweight championship in 2014, a topic of much criticism. Brock's appearances are very limited, which are intended to keep a "special event" atmosphere around him, but during his run as champion, it was 3-4 months between title defenses. It's certainly difficult to book a weekly television show when the champion, the holder of the theoretical top prize in the company, doesn't appear for a few months at a time. Plus, if viewers aren't going to see the Universal champion in a main event role on TV, isn't there less of an incentive to watch each week?
After a well-booked program with Goldberg that maximized the nostalgia and minimized the limitations of the former WCW champion, Lesnar won the Universal title at Wrestlemania 33 in April. Brock didn't defend the belt for over three months, but a series of sporadic appearances along with Paul Heyman's tremendous promos built the Samoa Joe match very well. There was a natural intrigue for the match-up, because of Joe's style, but the match should be booked carefully because of his monster character.
In roughly nine minutes, Joe was pinned clean after an F5. The match just didn't have the intensity expected, and it was difficult to determine who was supposed to be the heel. Samoa Joe debuted on the main roster as a heel, but his tremendous in-ring ability won over the audience and he received a babyface reaction recently. He attacked Lesnar before the bell and hit a low blow mid-match. However, considering Brock's brutal style, is there really going to be any crowd sympathy for him?
Brock Lesnar is still the champion and will disappear back to his farm until management wants to peak interest for another pay-per-view event, which most speculate will be Summer Slam. The problem with that equation is, what happens to Samoa Joe? The former NXT champion is on Raw every week and usually has an important role on the show. What did a rather simplistic match and taking a clean pin do for Samoa Joe? It certainly didn't do anything to add to the monster persona that was established on television.
Is Brock Lesnar really that much of a draw that it's worth sacrificing the rest of the roster? At what point does the hefty investment in the Lesnar push reach the point of diminishing returns?
It was well publicized that WWE ratings have declined, mostly within the third hour. The perils of a three hour show is another discussion for another time, but the fact remains that less people watch on a weekly basis than just a few years ago. It seems logical to assume that more credible stars will add to the overall star power on the show and thus fans will have more of a reason to watch each week. Despite one of the most talented rosters in terms of in-ring ability arguably in history, talents like Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, Ambrose, and others seem to reach a glass ceiling of sorts because management has other plans for the top of the card. For example, Finn Balor worked a main event match with Cesaro last week on Raw, but didn't have a spot on the pay-per-view.
In my opinion, the reason this happens is because WWE management had two main priorities the past several months, the angle to get Lesnar the championship, and the continuous push of Roman Reigns. Because those two maintain such prominent spots far in advance, it limits how far others will get pushed as legitimate stars. Essentially, the opportunity cost of Lesnar's "rare appearances" is that talented athletes like Balor and Joe won't necessarily get the chance to live up to their potential if an eventual Lesnar vs. Reigns rematch is the top priority for management. In a way, it's basically Lesnar is the champion and Reigns is the successor regardless of how over others might be with the WWE audience. That lack of flexibility from WWE management might be one of the reasons for the ratings decline.
In years prior, Lesnar always delivered for the major matches, but the suplex city gimmick, as popular as it is, led to a rather stale presentation against Joe. Granted, the Goldberg formula was meant to be simplistic and to only feature the trademark moves, but against an opponent like Joe, there's not much to build around the repetitive German suplex. Plus, none of the submission attempts from Joe seemed like it could lead to the conclusion of the bout so the match was somewhat flat. The entire point of a match with the title on the line is to create moments when it appears that the belt might actually change hands, but the Lesnar/Joe contest didn't have that effect. In fact, this is one of the few times since Brock's return in 2012 that one could argue that his match didn't live up to the hype around it.
Don't get me wrong, Lesnar had an impressive run since he returned to sports entertainment, but I don't think his title reign should limit pushing those that appear on Raw every week. At 40, how long will Lesnar continue to wrestle? Besides Roman Reigns, at what point will management shift the focus to develop more legitimate stars that will draw money on a major stage? Haven't WWE brass relied on part-timers to boost major event too often? I'm not trying to be too negative here, but at with Lesnar rarely on television as champion and Roman Reigns the focus of a constant push, it seems like there's a waste of the potential of other talented competitors on the roster.
He made his successful MMA debut in 2007, and his name value from professional wrestling made him an instant commodity, prompting an offer from the UFC. Lesnar fought a total of nine times in his combat sports career, garnering a record of 5-3-1 and the UFC Heavyweight title. A combination of diverticulitis and not wanting to get punched in the face led to his initial retirement from the sport.
His return to WWE in 2012 gave the business a major boost in star power, but how Brock is booked continues to be the subject of debate. Lesnar was promoted as the "real fighter" in sports entertainment, wearing MMA gloves and shorts into the ring. He ended the Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak because he was the "real" athlete that could do what sport entertainers couldn't in the past. He won the WWE World Heavyweight championship in 2014, a topic of much criticism. Brock's appearances are very limited, which are intended to keep a "special event" atmosphere around him, but during his run as champion, it was 3-4 months between title defenses. It's certainly difficult to book a weekly television show when the champion, the holder of the theoretical top prize in the company, doesn't appear for a few months at a time. Plus, if viewers aren't going to see the Universal champion in a main event role on TV, isn't there less of an incentive to watch each week?
After a well-booked program with Goldberg that maximized the nostalgia and minimized the limitations of the former WCW champion, Lesnar won the Universal title at Wrestlemania 33 in April. Brock didn't defend the belt for over three months, but a series of sporadic appearances along with Paul Heyman's tremendous promos built the Samoa Joe match very well. There was a natural intrigue for the match-up, because of Joe's style, but the match should be booked carefully because of his monster character.
In roughly nine minutes, Joe was pinned clean after an F5. The match just didn't have the intensity expected, and it was difficult to determine who was supposed to be the heel. Samoa Joe debuted on the main roster as a heel, but his tremendous in-ring ability won over the audience and he received a babyface reaction recently. He attacked Lesnar before the bell and hit a low blow mid-match. However, considering Brock's brutal style, is there really going to be any crowd sympathy for him?
Brock Lesnar is still the champion and will disappear back to his farm until management wants to peak interest for another pay-per-view event, which most speculate will be Summer Slam. The problem with that equation is, what happens to Samoa Joe? The former NXT champion is on Raw every week and usually has an important role on the show. What did a rather simplistic match and taking a clean pin do for Samoa Joe? It certainly didn't do anything to add to the monster persona that was established on television.
Is Brock Lesnar really that much of a draw that it's worth sacrificing the rest of the roster? At what point does the hefty investment in the Lesnar push reach the point of diminishing returns?
It was well publicized that WWE ratings have declined, mostly within the third hour. The perils of a three hour show is another discussion for another time, but the fact remains that less people watch on a weekly basis than just a few years ago. It seems logical to assume that more credible stars will add to the overall star power on the show and thus fans will have more of a reason to watch each week. Despite one of the most talented rosters in terms of in-ring ability arguably in history, talents like Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, Ambrose, and others seem to reach a glass ceiling of sorts because management has other plans for the top of the card. For example, Finn Balor worked a main event match with Cesaro last week on Raw, but didn't have a spot on the pay-per-view.
In my opinion, the reason this happens is because WWE management had two main priorities the past several months, the angle to get Lesnar the championship, and the continuous push of Roman Reigns. Because those two maintain such prominent spots far in advance, it limits how far others will get pushed as legitimate stars. Essentially, the opportunity cost of Lesnar's "rare appearances" is that talented athletes like Balor and Joe won't necessarily get the chance to live up to their potential if an eventual Lesnar vs. Reigns rematch is the top priority for management. In a way, it's basically Lesnar is the champion and Reigns is the successor regardless of how over others might be with the WWE audience. That lack of flexibility from WWE management might be one of the reasons for the ratings decline.
In years prior, Lesnar always delivered for the major matches, but the suplex city gimmick, as popular as it is, led to a rather stale presentation against Joe. Granted, the Goldberg formula was meant to be simplistic and to only feature the trademark moves, but against an opponent like Joe, there's not much to build around the repetitive German suplex. Plus, none of the submission attempts from Joe seemed like it could lead to the conclusion of the bout so the match was somewhat flat. The entire point of a match with the title on the line is to create moments when it appears that the belt might actually change hands, but the Lesnar/Joe contest didn't have that effect. In fact, this is one of the few times since Brock's return in 2012 that one could argue that his match didn't live up to the hype around it.
Don't get me wrong, Lesnar had an impressive run since he returned to sports entertainment, but I don't think his title reign should limit pushing those that appear on Raw every week. At 40, how long will Lesnar continue to wrestle? Besides Roman Reigns, at what point will management shift the focus to develop more legitimate stars that will draw money on a major stage? Haven't WWE brass relied on part-timers to boost major event too often? I'm not trying to be too negative here, but at with Lesnar rarely on television as champion and Roman Reigns the focus of a constant push, it seems like there's a waste of the potential of other talented competitors on the roster.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Impact rebranded GFW
For years, Total Nonstop Action promoted "big changes" for the company when there was a skid or a consensus that the group floundered. Usually, this "big change" was a lackluster surprise or a weak attempt to create the sense of a fresh start. Finally, after the past few years surrounded in turmoil, Impact Wrestling might have a serious chance at a clean slate, both from the prospective of the fans and the industry itself. Since the Hogan experiment failed and Bob Carter stopped funded his daughter's vanity project, TNA was a tarnished brand. It seems as though everyone but Dixie herself knew that Hulk Hogan worked her for every dime he could until the opportunity to work for WWE again. Ironically, Hulk ruined his own reputation even further through a series of narrow-minded comments. Still, the damage was done to TNA, and many cornerstones of the company left to find greater success elsewhere. Dixie was desperate to save face and attempted to swindle a few million dollars from Smashing Pumpkins lead singer, Billy Corgan to pay for expenses. The musician spent decades in the entertainment industry and was smart enough to take the Nashville-based company to court. While not winning the case to get control of Impact, Corgan was paid for his investment by Anthem Entertainment, parent company of The Fight Network.
In a story that could only happen in the wrestling industry, Anthem bought TNA and essentially paid to clean up Dixie's mess, including a tax lien from the state of Tennessee, lawsuits from debts, and the previously mentioned ownership debacle. If this was a wise investment or not really depends on prospective. On one hand, Anthem paid at least a few million dollars to settle all the legal disputes and received an entity that had an extremely negative perception within the industry at the time. On the other hand, the Fight Network had a chance to own one of its content providers, and as distant as it might be, bought the second biggest pro wrestling company in the United States.
The rocky road of Impact Wrestling went full circle, as Anthem brought back the original founder of the organization, Jeff Jarrett. In October of 1999, Jarrett was the WWF IC champion and scheduled to defend his belt at a pay-per-view against Chyna. Jarrett's contract slipped through the cracks and expired the day before the show. No longer under an official deal, Double J reportedly demanded $300,000 to perform the match against Chyna, which he did, leaving for WCW directly after that. A year and a half later, World Championship Wrestling goes under and Jarrett had burned a bridge with the WWF prior. So, Jeff Jarrett, who spent the majority of his life in the wrestling business, didn't have any major options on the table. Was NWA-TNA created to give him a place to work? Sure, that was probably one of the reasons, but it certainly wasn't the only reason. Jerry Jarrett, the legendary promoter in Memphis, and his son invested a million dollar each to launch the company in 2002 on weekly pay-per-view. Without a major corporation to finance the project, you don't invest that type of money unless you want to get it off the ground so obviously, this wasn't necessarily intended to be Double J's main event push project. Did Jarrett push himself too much? Absolutely, but in a way, it's difficult to put such a drastic financial stake in another performers hands, especially when Double J was still an active wrestler.
Jerry's autobiography, "The Best of Times" goes into lengthy detail about some of the turbulence of the early days of NWA-TNA, including the initial investment from Panda Energy. In retrospect, it probably wasn't realistic to expect fans to purchase weekly pay-per-views from a company that most fans hadn't seen before. Along with that, the booking and formatting was difficult because there had to be a selling point every week as opposed to building toward an angle to sell a particular show. When you take into account the Fox Sports deal, Spike TV, the cancellation, Destination America, and Pop TV, it's quite remarkable that Impact survived all the transitions.
Fast forward to Slammiversary this past Sunday, Anthem owns the company and had the time to set up its own angles to sell this show. Overall, the event was solid, it was nothing spectacular, but there weren't any glaring weak spots on the card either. The opening tag match was somewhat sloppy, but that could be more of a result of unfamiliar opponents working the match and possibly the language barrier. However, the foreign talent, especially the AAA and NOAH competitors give Anthem matches to promote that capitalize on the popularity of Lucha Underground and New Japan. Considering that American fans have the opportunity to be more familiar with foreign talent with the expanded platforms of the previously mentioned groups, its arguably easier to get non-English speaking talent over with an American audience now than any time before. The working agreements with AAA and NOAH are definitely potential benefits for Impact.
The Borash/Matthews tag match was better than I thought it was would, considering that I expected a train wreck, but it was at least okay. They attempted to borrow a page from the "final deletion" segments, but that presentation is too over-the-top. Pro wrestling can get away with stretching the limits of logic, but the genre is based on reality so why would random background music play during a certain portion of the match? Some might say that it's done in other TV shows all the time, but again, in reality, there's not background music. Keep in mind, the illusion of professional wrestling is that the matches are supposed to be perceived as competition. For example, dramatic music doesn't start in the middle of the round of a UFC fight as fans are watching it live. That said, it was great to see the return of Jim Mitchell and the Abyss character so if this match set the path for that then some of the goofiness can be discarded. It must be said that Mitchell, best known for his time as The Sinister Minister in ECW, is probably the most underrated manager in the history of the industry. Mitchell finally got a chance on a national stage in WCW in 1997, but was saddled with the doomed "blood runs cold angle," and less than a year later he wasn't booked for TV. Turner management didn't realize that Mitchell was still under contract so he was basically paid to stay home for the next two years until his deal expired. He resurfaced in ECW and did some tremendous work there, but found his niche as the company was on the brink of collapse. Since that time, he had various stints with TNA, and was reportedly set to work for WWE during the extreme relaunch, but a deal wasn't reached.
Mitchell could undoubtedly be an asset for any wrestling promotion, and this return of the Abyss character could provide an opportunity for the duo to resume the successful gimmick they had previously. Abyss is another extremely underrated and underutilized talent. He's a unique athlete that should've had a lengthy main event run in TNA, but his character was booked into the ground on several different occasions. It's extremely disappointing that Abyss didn't get the status that he deserved because he sacrificed his body for the company dozens of times. I don't know if Mitchell is slated for a full-time return or not, but it would be a wise decision to pair him with Abyss to establish the monster persona again.
Alberto El Patron defeated Bobby Lashley to become the unified champion, which was a wise decision since Alberto has the ability to main event for the promotion. As I said before, I just wasn't sold on Lashley as someone to build the company around, especially the lack of charisma and mic skills. Don't get me wrong, he's an incredible athlete, but he was almost presented like a less accomplished version of Brock Lesnar with nowhere near the mystic that the former UFC heavyweight champion has today. Despite his time as TNA champion, Lashley is probably still most well known for his time as a mid carder at Wrestlemania. His MMA experience doesn't necessarily justify a main event spot or recreate the type of hype that Lesnar brought to pro wrestling after his MMA career.
Perhaps the most important point of Slammiversary was the company was rebranded as Global Force Wrestling. Not only does a new name create a clean slate, it also gets rid of the TNA name, which was limited in its usefulness because of the innuendo could be misinterpreted from the letters. At the same time, the attempt to simply call the group Impact Wrestling was ineffective because the general public usually identifies pro wrestling with initials.
If this rebranding is successful or not remains to be seen, but it seems like this scenario is the best chance the company has for a fresh start. It might take another year until the results of this relaunch can be determined, but at least for now, it's beneficial to the industry that the promotion is stable and will remain in business.
In a story that could only happen in the wrestling industry, Anthem bought TNA and essentially paid to clean up Dixie's mess, including a tax lien from the state of Tennessee, lawsuits from debts, and the previously mentioned ownership debacle. If this was a wise investment or not really depends on prospective. On one hand, Anthem paid at least a few million dollars to settle all the legal disputes and received an entity that had an extremely negative perception within the industry at the time. On the other hand, the Fight Network had a chance to own one of its content providers, and as distant as it might be, bought the second biggest pro wrestling company in the United States.
The rocky road of Impact Wrestling went full circle, as Anthem brought back the original founder of the organization, Jeff Jarrett. In October of 1999, Jarrett was the WWF IC champion and scheduled to defend his belt at a pay-per-view against Chyna. Jarrett's contract slipped through the cracks and expired the day before the show. No longer under an official deal, Double J reportedly demanded $300,000 to perform the match against Chyna, which he did, leaving for WCW directly after that. A year and a half later, World Championship Wrestling goes under and Jarrett had burned a bridge with the WWF prior. So, Jeff Jarrett, who spent the majority of his life in the wrestling business, didn't have any major options on the table. Was NWA-TNA created to give him a place to work? Sure, that was probably one of the reasons, but it certainly wasn't the only reason. Jerry Jarrett, the legendary promoter in Memphis, and his son invested a million dollar each to launch the company in 2002 on weekly pay-per-view. Without a major corporation to finance the project, you don't invest that type of money unless you want to get it off the ground so obviously, this wasn't necessarily intended to be Double J's main event push project. Did Jarrett push himself too much? Absolutely, but in a way, it's difficult to put such a drastic financial stake in another performers hands, especially when Double J was still an active wrestler.
Jerry's autobiography, "The Best of Times" goes into lengthy detail about some of the turbulence of the early days of NWA-TNA, including the initial investment from Panda Energy. In retrospect, it probably wasn't realistic to expect fans to purchase weekly pay-per-views from a company that most fans hadn't seen before. Along with that, the booking and formatting was difficult because there had to be a selling point every week as opposed to building toward an angle to sell a particular show. When you take into account the Fox Sports deal, Spike TV, the cancellation, Destination America, and Pop TV, it's quite remarkable that Impact survived all the transitions.
Fast forward to Slammiversary this past Sunday, Anthem owns the company and had the time to set up its own angles to sell this show. Overall, the event was solid, it was nothing spectacular, but there weren't any glaring weak spots on the card either. The opening tag match was somewhat sloppy, but that could be more of a result of unfamiliar opponents working the match and possibly the language barrier. However, the foreign talent, especially the AAA and NOAH competitors give Anthem matches to promote that capitalize on the popularity of Lucha Underground and New Japan. Considering that American fans have the opportunity to be more familiar with foreign talent with the expanded platforms of the previously mentioned groups, its arguably easier to get non-English speaking talent over with an American audience now than any time before. The working agreements with AAA and NOAH are definitely potential benefits for Impact.
The Borash/Matthews tag match was better than I thought it was would, considering that I expected a train wreck, but it was at least okay. They attempted to borrow a page from the "final deletion" segments, but that presentation is too over-the-top. Pro wrestling can get away with stretching the limits of logic, but the genre is based on reality so why would random background music play during a certain portion of the match? Some might say that it's done in other TV shows all the time, but again, in reality, there's not background music. Keep in mind, the illusion of professional wrestling is that the matches are supposed to be perceived as competition. For example, dramatic music doesn't start in the middle of the round of a UFC fight as fans are watching it live. That said, it was great to see the return of Jim Mitchell and the Abyss character so if this match set the path for that then some of the goofiness can be discarded. It must be said that Mitchell, best known for his time as The Sinister Minister in ECW, is probably the most underrated manager in the history of the industry. Mitchell finally got a chance on a national stage in WCW in 1997, but was saddled with the doomed "blood runs cold angle," and less than a year later he wasn't booked for TV. Turner management didn't realize that Mitchell was still under contract so he was basically paid to stay home for the next two years until his deal expired. He resurfaced in ECW and did some tremendous work there, but found his niche as the company was on the brink of collapse. Since that time, he had various stints with TNA, and was reportedly set to work for WWE during the extreme relaunch, but a deal wasn't reached.
Mitchell could undoubtedly be an asset for any wrestling promotion, and this return of the Abyss character could provide an opportunity for the duo to resume the successful gimmick they had previously. Abyss is another extremely underrated and underutilized talent. He's a unique athlete that should've had a lengthy main event run in TNA, but his character was booked into the ground on several different occasions. It's extremely disappointing that Abyss didn't get the status that he deserved because he sacrificed his body for the company dozens of times. I don't know if Mitchell is slated for a full-time return or not, but it would be a wise decision to pair him with Abyss to establish the monster persona again.
Alberto El Patron defeated Bobby Lashley to become the unified champion, which was a wise decision since Alberto has the ability to main event for the promotion. As I said before, I just wasn't sold on Lashley as someone to build the company around, especially the lack of charisma and mic skills. Don't get me wrong, he's an incredible athlete, but he was almost presented like a less accomplished version of Brock Lesnar with nowhere near the mystic that the former UFC heavyweight champion has today. Despite his time as TNA champion, Lashley is probably still most well known for his time as a mid carder at Wrestlemania. His MMA experience doesn't necessarily justify a main event spot or recreate the type of hype that Lesnar brought to pro wrestling after his MMA career.
Perhaps the most important point of Slammiversary was the company was rebranded as Global Force Wrestling. Not only does a new name create a clean slate, it also gets rid of the TNA name, which was limited in its usefulness because of the innuendo could be misinterpreted from the letters. At the same time, the attempt to simply call the group Impact Wrestling was ineffective because the general public usually identifies pro wrestling with initials.
If this rebranding is successful or not remains to be seen, but it seems like this scenario is the best chance the company has for a fresh start. It might take another year until the results of this relaunch can be determined, but at least for now, it's beneficial to the industry that the promotion is stable and will remain in business.
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