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Submitted by Wevv Mang on Sunday, October 19, 2003 at 2:32 AM EST
Ridin With The Bossman - Analyzing The Mark Up Greetings! Welcome to another edition of Ridin’ With The Bossman! We have a lot to get to today, with results to ponder in depth, a PPV looming on the horizon, and loads of wrestling thoughts,a nd some other things to ramble on about. It’s been a pretty wrestling thought free week for me. I’ve spent the week working AV at convention of security brokers, and strangely enough, instead of pondering wrestling like I usually do at work, I just kind of blanked most of it out. Never fear though, it’s time to get the brain back on track, and what better way than looking at what WWE threw at us this week. Before I get into that however, I have to talk about last weeks Confidential. It was a truly amazing show, and if they had spent the whole hour talking about the production of WWE TV, I would have had a field day. Great stuff, and so many questions sprang up in my mind, that I haven’t got the space to put them into words. I would like to thank the WWE Confidential team for the magnificent peek into the world of WWE production. For a TV production nerd like me, it was heaven. I would love nothing better than to work the production crew. The show did point out how much I still have to learn, and the difference between working with my Canon XL-1s, a decently (but not decked out) production studio, and Final Cut Pro, and what it would be like working with the Real Deal. Oh, the stuff I could learn, the experience gained, and if I mastered the tasks, there would be no video production I couldn’t handle. The world would be my oyster. Then Bossman, Big Show and I would rule with an iron first of casket riding terror. Better get a hold of myself. Wouldn’t want to out do Steph for over dramatic rubbish. WWE TV - The TV Series RAW Raw has become a show with a plan. WHile the material the writers have to work with may not be that great, they’re (or should I say he?) working towards at least getting a solid plot going. Heck, even Mark Henry is playing the right role, something I thought I’d never say. I don’t mind Mark being on my screen. He’s serving a purpose, and when it’s over, he can be ignored, but for the moment, it’s working and working well. There are still some problems, at least to me. Austin - The set up is to a match, but is a match even possible? Who really wants to be the one having a match with Austin that results in him getting paralyzed for a one week ratings bump, or a one PPV payday? Well, other than Vince or H. I have scenario laid out for a possible angle. H turns face, and Austin goes heel, and guess who gets to pin Austin after he’s run roughshod over the entire roster, beating up everybody with no problem. H, who then is firmly in control of everything. Not good. Austin needs to be limited, and if not physically, at least in power. H’s legacy of crushing everyone is what sent Raw into the crapper, and the same path appears to being tread again. Same plot, different character. What happened to the Highlight Reel? Jericho is possibly the strongest character on the show, and he’s gaining momentum. Trish is a fine addition, and if the Reel is gone, a hot chick is just as good, if not better, for his character. A while back I mentioned, Eddie’s Angel, and maybe Jericho’s Angles would do just as well, since Steph seems to have banished all the chicks from Smackdown, except for Sable who is Vince’s cover for heterosexuality. Creepy hetero, but the power of the hot chick valet can not be denied. Even Rico gets some type of reaction with a hot chick. Jericho can now give advice to Trish, be her Bosley as it were, while not actually getting involved in the ladies matches. All it needs is one evil mastermind for Molly, Gail, and Victoria to work for, and it’s a potential gold mine. Also, it fits ito the WWE mentality of having characters be “crazy” only this time, let it be a crazy plot for world domination. Or to get the $100 k. See the possibilities? The Trish’s Angels can work to keep Goldberg safe, while not actually having to be involved in Goldberg’s angles. Layers, folks, it’s all about layers, and fitting all the little pieces together. Kane and Shane Shane admits to attempting to kill Kane, and is still walking free? Kane now has scary supernatural powers? Man, I hope this gets better fast. All I can see if another match coming, and that’s about all it will be Just Another Match. Better to get it over with and move on. The show had some other minor points, even more minor than my complaints of not getting what I want. I’d rather see two hours of Ric talking than of Ric wrestling, and the proof is on the promos, that Ric on the mic can do more than Ric in the ring. No Lillian? The Rosey comedy was good, not great, but it beats covering him in crap. Harmless fun is better than cruel fun that no one else gets. HBK? Don’t really care, but if he goes against Goldberg, he should lose. Goldberg vs Mark Henry is OK, HBK vs Mark Henry? No, just no. You think it might be good, but it’s going to be quick guy vs really slow guy, and ten minutes of it. Smackdown Some was good, most was bad. Smackdown has become as crappy as Raw used to be. But what was good was pretty solid. Angle Cena Really good opening skit for Angle and Cena. Finally some one figured out how to use a midget correctly. Excellent work. Yappa Pi Biker Chain Match Back in the old days of WCW, Hulk Hogan has a gimmick match. This wasn’t any old gimmick match though. This was Yappa Pi Strap match. Hogan cut a promo for what seemed like ten minutes, inside a fence, whipping it with a leather strap as he told the story of the Yappa Pi Indians and how brutal the match was going to be. It was a crappy match, but the effort going into getting this lame ass gimmick match was high, and the real joke is that Hogan made up the Yappa Pi Indians, and the story that went behind it. Taker didn’t even bother to do that, and the tussle between Brock and Taker was about the best you’re going tot get out of this match, and now you just saw it for free. Punch-Kick a Palooza. No more actual wrestling, just punchin and a-kickin form here on out, because Taker took the F-5 once, and he damn sure doesn’t want to again, or look weak. Big Show and Eddie You know, I just don’t like anything involving glass. Bad things happen when glass is involved. It wasn’t all that long ago that people kept getting glass in their eye, and injuries have happened from punching out car windows, plate glass, etc. Fit Finley had to retire from going through a car window. Eddie escaped once, and now this happens. It was brutal looking, no doubt about it, but tempting fate is not a good idea. I’m glad that neither wrestler was seriously injured, and it was a ballsy move, but man, don’t do that again. McMahons on My TV Twenty minutes of McMahons. Vince was just creepy, but hey, that’s what Vince is. Steph on the other hand....Does she even realize what she did? Most folks seem to have skipped over it. I can’t say that I blame them. I spaced out and came up with a really cool way of getting the Godfather back on TV. My buddy suggested it, but here’s what we came up with. Vegas, some one take out Goldberg, gets the $100 and decides to spend it with an old friend. Cue the music, and out comes the Godfather with tons of hos. Down the entry ways, piling into the ring, and it’s party time. Think the pop would be huge? I do. Anyhoo, the gist of Steph’s speech was that everything that has gone on for the past three plus years was a lie and that they really deeply loved each other, and were just acting. But now, it’s real. Every angle leading up to this was just acting. Steph broke Kayfabe on a monumental scale. This wasn’t done on some show outside the business. Heck, it wasn’t even on a B level show like Confidential that “exposes” the business. This was done in a prime growth time slot, and on a prime time show, and the biggest show WWE has. WWE just told millions of it’s fans that wrestling is fake. That what you see each and every week is not real, and that every angle is fixed. So, while WWE issues proclamations telling wrestlers to make an effort to sell injuries, and maintain character and “protect the business”, the boss’s daughter goes out and shoots it all in the head. Fans who may not be familiar with the internet, who just watch the show, and try to maintain their belief that wrestling is real, have just been slapped in the face. To top it all off, the match now has the most implausible stipulation in wrestling. The retirement angle. So not only do the fans have to forget all the McMahon family problems that have been thrust into the spotlight , they also have to believe that Vince or Steph will really disappear from TV forever. It really goes to show what the McMahon’s think of their fans to try and pull this off. Is it any wonder that RVD is thinking about not upping his contract? If he doesn’t, and tries to go to TNA, how many will follow? I’m really hoping Hogan makes a difference. On a final note for the T thoughts, with the PPV on Sunday, WWE begins it’s cycle again. Only this time Vince will have two shows to ruin and pervert into his twisted wrestling carnival. The good news is that with Steph’s wedding coming up, he may not have time to fully destroy the progress that Raw has made,a nd Smackdown may be able to pull it’s act together and improve. An interesting week of TV looms ahead, and I have my fingers crossed. Wevv’s House (Next To The Cemetery)) Football Town, USA In a dark room, a group of prestigious football icons gather. As they seat themselves, the one at the head of the tables rises, and starts to speak. Shadow #1: Gentlemen. Thank you for coming. We have a very serious matter to discuss. We received this tape from an overnight carrier. Please watch it before asking questions. The tape starts,a nd the back wall turns into a giant TV screen. The footage is from a hand held camera, and bounces slightly. The angle is strange, seeming to come from a height above the figures it’s pointed at. Bossman is standing outside Wrigley FIeld, and is talking to a young group of kids. Bossman: Here ya go kids. It’s on me. I won these in a radio contest, and I can’t go. I saw you kids hanging out here, and thought you might like them. Kid#1: Really? Thanks! Bossman: No problem. Enjoy the game kids! As the kids turn to walk into the park, one of the faces is instantly recognizable. It’s the kid from game six who interfered with Moise Alou’s foul ball catch. The camera shuts off, Bossman then appears in a tight close up. Bossman: You know what happened next don’t you? I am a jinx, and if you don’t pay me what I ask for,then I’ll make a point of going to games and jinxing your teams. You can’t stop me. I don’t even have to be there. I can buy tickets and give them away. My power will go with them. Pay me now, before it’s too late! Shadow#1:I think we have a very serious problem. This man was sighted sneaking into Vikings Stadium, and shortly thereafter Daunte Culpepper was hurt. We also suspect his involvement in the problems in Philly, St. Louis, and working with teams visiting Carolina. This is not coincidence. Something must be done... I knew it was you Bossman. Screw the billy goat, it was Bossman all along... Over-Analyzing Wrestling Today’s Topic: Survey Says... Concluding the results from my survey last week, and incorporating results from the forums it’s time to really sit down and go over the answers, question by question and draw some conclusions and fire off random speculation. 1) What is your age bracket? Demographic information and can be tied into marketing for advertising revenue. Instead of getting the big numbers for the ratings, this question determines the demographic fro the most vocal groups of fans, and also the most critical. The internet wrestling community. As expected, the age is fairly young, with spikes both older and higher. The myth that the IWC consists of geeky teenagers is fairly debunked, as most can now be classified as young men (or women), and stories should start to reflect that. 2)How many hours a week do you watch wrestling? The majority watch wrestling for more than four hours a week. A safe conclusion is that that both major shows are watched (RAW and Smackdown). The brand separation may be a success, but the product can still be easily identified as WWE, and no real distinction is made between the two. The extra hours are probably in the form of the occasional Heat viewing or TNA. Old shows are also watched, and thus keeping current story lines in line with old is important to maintain consistency. The addition of wrestling outside of WWE gives viewers a perspective on which to base judgment of current WWE stories and vice versa. 3)Do you usually tape, watch or both Smackdown and/or Raw? The folks who write about wrestling usually tape it, but the folks who don’t just watch. Some variation occurs if something in their personal lives conflict with watching the show. The angles are thus kept track of. memory then plays a factor in determining whether a show as good or bad upon recollection. The writers who do tape the show have a tape of it, and there is always the chance that they may stumble upon an old tape ( I know I do, and get a kick out of seeing how things were then versus where they are now). The days of yore, where keeping a record of every show seems to have faded out, meaning that written records of the shows are mainly used to gain past data, and thus are colored by the recapper’s opinion of specific shows. It’s hard not to comment on things when you have to physically write down that Kane is electrocuting Shane’s balls. Or JR is getting set on fire. Or that Big Show is getting hosed with shit. 4) Do you own a video game console? Almost all responses indicated that they owned a video game console. Very few indicated that they played computer games as opposed to playing a console. What is interesting is that a conclusion could be drawn that most responses mean that console and PC gaming are seen as separate activities. One is either PC or console. This question can be of use to the marketing department in the development of new games, maintain a focus on console and avoiding PC. Though if an online gaming system was developed by WWE it could be very lucrative from the sheer amount of wrestling fans that are online and taking part and spending time in web discussions. Think about it folks, how cool would a WWE game that could be played online like Diablo 2 be? I sure as hell would play it. 5) What is you favorite video game? I was mainly looking for the type of responses that were listed. Long, quest based games, vs shoot em ups. I wasn’t disappointed. Sports games like Madden require thought going into the plays, and then rely on reaction times. I wasn’t surprised by the number of WWE games listed, since this is a wrestling site,a nd the games are pretty fun to play. So, as far as planning angles goes, if action is the desired pay off, a high paced match is the thing to aim for. Ideal for short term feuds. Long term feuds can safely rely on using a lot of plot developments to spark interest, and the degree of complexity can go very deep indeed. Like Final Fantasy, though going that deep may result in never actually having a match. Just a lot of running around to annoying music. Sorry. Prolonged feuds can be had, past the time limit of one month. Such feuds can and will get stale without a good story to back it up, but using the PPV’s as “chapters” may be a way to go. Reader Tina also brought up the fact that WWE video games also are a way to keep fans in touch with previous gimmick matches. Such matches are featured in the games,a nd thus fans can have a favorite gimmick match without actually having physically seen one. So, it’s possible for a new game releases to feature a gimmick match that hasn’t been used in awhile,a nd if the game sells well, part of the promotions for using that match for a future television show is already accomplished, and feedback from the game can be used to help determine if such a match would be popular. 6)How much (in currency) wrestling merchandise do you own? Couple of conclusion can be drawn from this response. Since this question is being asked on internet wrestling fans, it can be of use in helping determine how valuable these fans are to the company in terms of dollars generated exclusively by them ( ie spending money on stuff). Follow up surveys can help refine the worth, like whether the money is spent on DVD’s, T-shirts, attending events, and so forth. FOr angles, it can help determine how well wrestlers are being received by the audience, though looking on the message boards can pretty do the same thing. Threads like “Mark Henry sucks” pretty much says it all. 7)How many hours a week do you watch TV? I think a distinction was made between wrestling and regular TV. I’m too lazy and it’s too late to bother looking up the national average for watching. But the average hovers around 20 -30 hours a week, with big jumps higher and a few lower. This points out the fact that wrestling viewers do watch TV other than wrestling. An obvious point, but one that some one like Vince may not get. 8) What is your favorite TV show? A wide variety of answers. Again, types of response were what I was looking at, and the majority seem to favor comedy, followed closely by wrestling, then dramas (technically, shows like Smallville (best written show out here) and Angle are dramas). So for the writers, the emphasis on dram is the wrong direction to take. Not that it shouldn’t be done, but that a plan should be made for how it’s going to run. No writer worth his salt writes a drama on the fly. Period. 9) Who is favorite and least favorite wrestler? Huge variety of responses, but looking at the over view, it’s the guys who aren’t getting actively pushed as strong contenders who are getting listed. The guy who comes out on top week after week is the one most likely to be listed as least favorite. The mention of Independent guys also indicates that viewers have access to other than WWE TV. Also, the lack of women mentioned as favorite and least favorite can be seen as good and bad. Good that for the complaining about women on TV, they’re not being listed as least favorite, and bad in that no one sees them as favorites. At least as wrestlers. I think flying under the radar is better than being totally panned. 10) Which would you rather have? A- More wrestling or B More sports entertainment? It was A by a landslide. The most demanded form of wrestling was technical and high flying. The amount of qualifiers for that statement was a little surprising. Most responses said that more comedy would be acceptable, or at least better story lines. Thus long, extended promos that ramble on about nothing would be met with disdain. A short funny promo could take the place of a match. A show based on nothing but wrestling would probably bomb as well. The fans have been subjected to so much crap that any mention of sports entertainment is met with disgust. The phrase “Sports Entertainment” is now associated with crap. Putting it all together, what the fans seem to want is less talk, more action, and if there is talking, it better go somewhere or be funny. Comedy may help fans forgive a crappy match. The guys getting the big push are not the guys the fans want to see on top, and more importantly, will tune in each and every week to see. But for guys like Mark Henry, the fact that he is hated is a good thing. He’s a heel after all, and that’s the point of being a heel. But too much of him on TV is a bad thing. Additional surveys can help round out the results. The connection between video games could prove interesting. Additional questions about sports entertainment vs wrestling could be of value as well. Exploring viewer patterns of TV shows can also help determine trends for upcoming story lines. By determining trends, a broader consensus of what fans want can be reached. As for actually doing additional surveys, I think I’ll hold off for a while. If any one wants to do them, feel free. All I ask is that I be allowed to talk about them. Maybe mention my name as well. I do love free publicity. That’s it for today. I’m running late, and...(ring) hold on a second. Hello? Yes, please hold. Bossman! Phone call! Paul Taglibue or Tagibue, something like that. Looks like Nash is taking some time off. Getting that neck surgery thing. Guess the Mark Henry angle sent him over the edge. At least he won’t be on TV. I honestly was looking forward to it though. I have yet to see the funny comedy stylings of Nash on WWE TV. You really couldn’t ask for a better opportunity than teaming up with Teddy Long. Oh well. For those of you wondering, yes it was me that voted for Bossman in Davey’s poll of best gimmicks. My e-mail was this: “I like to call this gimmick the best of the worst. And I bet you can guess which one it is. Big Bossman from the Bossman/ Big Show feud It was a horrible set of gimmicks and angles. No doubt about that. But it was so bad it was good. See, Bossman was so unabashedly evil in his actions, he was a hoot to watch. I'd even go so far as to say that Vince stole Bossman's Evilness and used it to fuel Evil Vince of the nineties. Nothing was out of bounds for his plans. He pulled no punches and did whatever he could to psych out his opponents. When Bossman would announce he had a plan, you had no clue what was coming, but you knew it would be evil. And probably tasteless. I'd say what differs from the evil Bossman of yesterday and the "evil" plots of today are that Bossman played his character so over the top, it was surreal, as opposed to the "real life" situations we find ourselves in now. Bossman played his role with malicious glee, and as a viewer, I found myself loving his antics,a nd looking forward to the next crazy plot. Bossman, the Truly Evil Homer Simpson of Wrestling “ That’s the main reason that Bossman will always have a special place in my heart. It’s also the reason why I root for Big Show. Big Show put up with that nonsense, and did a fine job of playing the victim in Bossman’s crazy schemes. It’s not easy to play the straight man when your supposed Dad is being dragged through a cemetery. SHow also has a head for the business. See, when he signed his ten year deal, he read the fine print, unlike Mark henry. Show got the Limo and the big sandwich, while Henry only got the sandwich. Plug time! LOP FORUMS! LOP Column Forums! Optimus has his predictions up, Helix has his hilarious reviews, Dumass explores family relations (read it, you’ll understand), MEhnes explores possibilities, and Tina Ali says “Here it comes… My prediction for No Mercy is (drum roll please!) IT WILL SUCK”. Classic, truly classic. So many more, check em out. They rule. Ready Bossman? Big Show? Fire up the hearse, and hop on the casket, it’s time to roll. Until Next Time, Thanks For Reading and Thanks For Ridin’ Wevv Mang mrwevv@mac.com *NEW GALLERY* Hot RETRO Photos: WCW's Sexy NITRO GIRLS! Wow!
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