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Submitted by Wevv Mang on Monday, January 29, 2007 at 3:49 AM EST
Ridin’ With The Bossman – The Future Of The Business Greetings! Welcome to another edition of Ridin’ With The Bossman. The column Donald Trump and Vince swear by. Donald loves it, and Vince, well, he does swear by it, but it’s usually words that shouldn't be repeated around young children. This is also the column that isn't afraid to beat a dead horse into the ground. So saying, ARE YOU READY? For the Royal Rumble fallout that is, since this will be posted after the Royal Rumble, but is written mostly before the PPV takes place. ARE YOU READY? For Wrestlemania, since the fallout from the Rumble usually, not always, lays the groundwork for the biggest show of the year. ARE YOU READY? For Summerslam, since not only is that the time frame H is shooting towards for his return. It’s also the second or third biggest show of the year, depending on where you rank the Royal Rumble. It also is sometimes based on fallout from Mania. ARE YOU READY? For six months of planning on the part of the WWE? I doubt it, since WWE rarely thinks that far in advance. But this year, ah, things are different. H is a major factor, and you can bet your sweet bippy that H will be looking to come back huge, not just physically. And it all starts Sunday night. The winner of the Rumble goes on to Mania, and from there, will carry the promotion into the summer months. Who will win the Rumble is the big question, and once that factor is decided, well, anything goes. So, what clues has WWE given us? Who are the favorites projected to be, as told to us by WWE? Let’s take a look and see. WWE TV – The Series Raw Recap info provided by Chad Matthews HBK opens the show Good promo, and basically HBK feels “it” and will win the Royal Rumble against all odds. I hear he wants to be #1 in the Rumble and he’ll fight to get that number. Sorry, still one of the stupidest feuds I’ve ever seen. But this time around, it’s much, much better. Edge and HBK get into a brawl, and pulled apart, only to chase each other down, and keep fighting. Hardy vs Mercury At the Rumble, we’ll get the Hardy Boys vs MNM. So, mercury gets to face off against Jeff Hardy tonight, to build on Smackdown’s events. Nitro gets thrown out, after pulling up the mat, and so does Melina. Hardy then wins. Very short match, and it’s more a tease for the PPV than anything else. I Love Vince Vince advised Coach on how to handle HBK and Edge. A street fight. Vince then comes to the ring, and reads a letter he wrote to Donald Trump. Vince wants to be on the Apprentice. So he can fire people. He also loves the fans and knows they love him. Tangent WHAT? You know, Stone Cold Steve Austin came up with this chant way back in 2002, or 2001, I believe, as part of his infamous heel turn. He has barely been on TV since then, and the chant still survives. And Stone Cold will be coming back, to promote his movie, no doubt about that. He more than likely will not be wrestling. What I find interesting, is that the “What?” Chant is making a comeback. It’s been two weeks in a row now, that the chant has really broken out, and been strong. It’s become part of wrestling. What is surprising is that WWE has finally accepted it. Back in 2003, I think, there was an active effort on the part of WWE to eradicate the "What?" chant, to the point they used to bleep it off the show. Kurt Angle was one name that I know complained a lot about the chant, saying it kept throwing talent off their promos, and interrupted the flow of what they were trying to say. Some tried to embrace it, but were quickly reprimanded. Now, years later, we got Vince encouraging the fans to chant it. Monty Brown’s reaction to the chant, I think, will play a big role in how well he is received by the crowd. And the man who started it all, will be coming back soon… Vince and Cena Cena comes out, at the tail end of Vince’s rant. He insults Vince, and reminds him of getting his head shoved up Big Show’s ass, the XFL, and some other stuff. Cena then compares Vince and Trump. Coach tries to defend Vince, but makes Vince looks worse. End of angle, Coach vs Cena. Again. Edge and Randy, Best Buds Randy wants to know why Edge left him the ring with HBK last week. Edge says sorry, but wants help against HBK tonight. Randy says OK. Bum Bum BUUUM. Cena vs Coach Coach brings out guys to beat up Cena. Cena beats up Cade and Murdoch. Then more guys show up, and it’s an impromptu Rumble. Khali then comes out, and throws everyone out. He then beats up Cena. Coach sneaks in and tries to pin Cena, but Cena did the J-O-B for Kevin Federline, and kicks out. Umaga then attacks. Nice. Umaga beats up Cena some more, and puts him through a table with a top rope splash. Umaga then stands over him, like a predator with his kill. Very nice. Tangent You know, Umaga doesn't bother me as a stereotype. I can see a case against his gimmick, but frankly, it’s a stretch. See, Umaga isn't doing anything to insult his culture. His not speaking English probably helps him there, because God knows what WWE writers would have him say. Carlito vs Kenny Torrie is at ringside. Not a bad match, but rather quick. It just got going, when it was over. Series of pinning combos, and counters, and Kenny gets the win. Cryme Tyme They’re selling Rumble numbers. I think Nunzio did the same deal a few years back. Anyhoo, it was a good skit. Super Crazy bought a number. Then Eugene did. He got #30, and then Cryme Tyme said it wasn't a good number, that he should be #1, right? Eugene agreed. Ron Simmons then learned that the painting he bought was a fake. He shed a gentle tear, and muttered “damn”. HBK vs Edge It’s a street fight, and a damn good one. A lot of brutality and creativity when it came to spots. The suplex with the ladder was sweet. Solid match, with a great ending. Randy showed up, from out of nowhere (Good job cameraman. No sarcasm. HBK was setting up for the Sweet Chin Music, when Randy just rose up behind him, no warning or anything, and the look on Randy’s face was priceless. Pure evil.) Randy took out HBK, then watched as Edge pinned HBK, and then helped up Edge, and then threw him over the top rope. He was about to give HBK a conchairto, when Ric Flair made the save, followed by Kenny, and it was a schmozz, until HBK cleared the ring. Very good ending, with a battered HBK staring out at a battered Edge on the ramp. Pretty good show. Laid out some plans, working up a nice feud, returned some balance to the Rated RKO – DX feud, and then furthered the tease of a split up of RKO. ECW Recap Courtesy of Eddie Martin Taped it, and fast-forwarded through most of it. I don't know what it is. The show just doesn't hold my interest. I like RVD. I like Lashley and wish him well. I like CM Punk, and I like Kevin Thorne. Hell, I even like Sandman. So, there’s plenty of good characters. But the show, meh. Holly I can do without. Test as a main event heel? No. Striker? Nope, he bores me. Oh, he’s got good material, but it’s stretched too far. He’s not bad in the ring, but again, meh. But here’s the quick recap. Rumble Training Match RVD vs Thorne vs Sandman vs Sabu vs Tommy Dreamer RVD wins. Monty Brown beat up a Jobber Holly and Test have a promo together. No idea what they said. I was fast-forwarding. CM Punk got a fluky win over Elijah Burke Bobby Lashley beat Test Not bad, but the Test factor. So, I can't really say whether it was a good show or not. But it looked like Rumble hype. Smackdown Recap courtesy of Rudi Pavani Match almost right off the bat. Batista vs Gregory Helms Squash match. Batista, out of action for a while, has a quick match, with some power moves, and that’s it. Cole and JBL Talk about the Rumble Spot Working Match, or the Over The Top Rope Challenge tonight. It’s Benoit, Booker, Finlay, Miz, MVP and Kane. And they will all have individual matches tonight as well. Why? No idea. It seems like a bad idea to have these guys work two matches in a night. But hey, gotta fill that time somehow. Benoit vs Miz Pretty solid match. Benoit worked with Miz, and let him look strong a lot during the match. Benoit eventually won, but longer than I thought it was going to last. Deuce and Domino w/ Cherry vs Jobbers Whenever I hear the name Deuce, I think of something that has nothing to do with cards or dice. Nothing really spectacular from the Greasers, as they are punchy punchy kick oriented. And they win. Booker vs Finlay The Leprechaun is shown pre-match. Standard match between Booker and Finlay. The Leprechaun chases Sharmell, and Booker leaves the ring, to go after them. Finlay follows and shoves the ref, and we end in a DQ. MNM and Melina vs London, Kendrick and Smashley Pretty solid tag team action. There was even a catfight. Nice work all around, and MNM picks up the win with a sneak attack on Kendrick. Tangent Looking at the time Rudi provides for the matches, I see a trend. Just about everything is going six minutes. Kennedy Speaks More of the same, from the past couple of weeks. Still powerful, but getting repetitious. Time to put up or shut up with a match. Speaking of which Batista interrupts. It’s a face off, and then Undertaker shows up, and accidentally hits Batista with his big boot. Kennedy, in a great move, got out of the way. Kane vs MVP Not bad, and MVP is looking better each week. He’s come a long way. Kane just beats the hell out of him, and the match ends in DQ after MVP goes nuts and hits Kane with a chair. Over The Top Rope Challenge Ends in a DQ, when Undertaker shows up and interferes. It was OK. Just some basic Rumble hype. Eh, it was a place keeper show. One that just holds the angle until the PPV is over and done with. No real hints of anyone winning, other than just saying they are going to win. And the Rumble is over and one with and here are results. Royal Rumble Recap courtesy of Chad Mathews I have to say, this is one PPV I was looking forward to. I actually bought the thing. Probably the first of four I may buy this year. The other being WM, and SummerSlam, and perhaps some random show. MNM vs The Hardys A late edition to the PPV card. A solid match to start the show. Some great moves, and for a tag team that wasn’t supposed to be around long, the Hardys keep getting matches. Jeff in particular seems to be a PPV mainstay, no matter what brand he’s on. Same with Nitro. I don't know if there was an actual pool on how long Jeff was going to stay around, but the guy hasn't missed any dates, and has had a brutal schedule. And brutal matches too. Hardy’s pick up the win, after a double whammy on Nitro. Rumble Skits Ah, I had forgotten about these. Skits where the wrestlers draw numbers. Edge and Orton meet up, and offer to show each other their numbers. . Booker got to say “Tell me you didn't just say that?” I’ve missed that line. Long Live Booker! Bobby Lashley vs Test For the ECW championship. Dead silence for Test. The guy just has no charisma. He’s been working hard, but that little fact is hard to ignore. Lashley wins, in a basic match. Kennedy vs Batista A better than expected match. A very good match, and mainly due to Kennedy. Batista injured himself early, but carried on with the match, which went pretty long. Not sure what the injury was, but Batista does have a history of muscle tears. No idea if it’s that serious, or just a tweak of the knee. One of the main reasons I was hoping that Kane would win the Rumble. It’s only a matter of time until Batista injures himself again. Not a knock against the guy, just an observation of history. Batista retains, despite a loud Kennedy chant. Ken was pretty awesome in this match. Even broke out a unique submission move. More Rumble Skits Kevin Thorne and Arial picked their number. Lil’ Bastard made Finlay’s pick and attacked Coach. Khali made his pick, and then walked off with three balls. He dropped two, and Kelly made a comment about Balls. Enter Ron Simmons, a “DAMN!” later and it’s gone. I get the feeling that when this bit was brought up in the meeting, some one added Ron Simmons to it. Probably not some one from Raw either. Cena vs Umaga Great match. Creative use of props, and spots. Just a slugfest, filled with brutality. Cena haters can piss on the guy, but he’s had some damn good matches, and this was one of them. Ending was weird though. Armando undid the top rope, as in, detached it from the ringpost, and Cena choked out Umaga for the win. Just a strange move, which seemed to puzzle the crowd. Rumble Skit Sandman came in to pick his number. He drank a beer, caned his head, picked a number, said “Like it matters” and left. Not a smart move. Ric Flair then came in, Kelly flirted with him, hot chicks from out of nowhere, some dancing, and the end. Your announce team for the Rumble is Cole, JBL, and King. Where’s JR you may ask? In the back coaching Cole, I think. Hey, JBL is a great color guy, and Cole needs work on his play by play. Styles and Tazz are probably gone soon, and WWE hates Styles anyway. After that, they got no one. Well, from their point of view. Royal Rumble Undertaker won. There, that’s out of the way. One thing that annoyed me at the end, was Cole yapping about how Undertaker was going to Mania. Uh, he was already going to Mania. So is HBK. They just may not have been going for the titles, but they were going to be there. No doubt about that. Only now, Undertaker is going for a title. His streak is 14 and 0. So, it looks like the plan is indeed, a title vs streak match at Mania. Tangent See, the thing is, Mania has already made it’s money. It’s sold out. Millions have been made with no match being officially announced. So, the card is mainly to get people to buy the PPV. Which I’m sure, many were already planning to do. Rumble Thoughts So saying the Rumble was rather weak, until the end. No big spots until the end. Well Kane did throw Sabu through a table. Kane also took out Booker T, causing Booker to take out Kane, even though he was eliminated. There’s your Smackdown secondary feud. Khali got to throw a bunch of people out, until Taker took him out single-handed. Pay back for Judgment Day. Hey, this time Taker survived the Chop Of Doom. It came down to Orton, Edge, Shawn Michaels, and Undertaker. Edge and Orton went out, and it was HBK and Taker. Nice final match-up. Nice move by HBK to lie there, waiting for Undertaker to pop up before he kipped up. Then it was a solid eight minutes or so of Taker vs Michaels. A very nice nostalgia treat. Both men put in effort. It could have gone either way. But Undertaker countered a Superkick (Nice mention of Diesel in the Rumble), and threw HBK over the top to win. Nice. Well, pretty solid show. Lots of great matches, the Rumble didn't disappoint, and the build up for the next set of shows is underway. The next PPV is No Way Out, which is a Smackdown PPV. Raw then has several weeks to put together a solid card for WM. Over-Analyzing Wrestling Today’s Topic: The Next Step For The Business There’s something about the Rumble. It brings out the fan in all of us. Questions about who’s going to win. Questions about who should win, but probably won’t. And the never-ending speculation about what’s going to happen at Wrestlemania. The New Year seems to spark these questions as well, as prognosticators peer into their crystal balls, trying to figure out future trends. Not only for Wrestlemania, but for the business as a whole. What changes can the business make to reach greater levels of success? Will the dreaded cycle come to an end, and will we see wrestling take off like in ’98? What can TNA do to reach WWE levels? Is it possible for another promotion to challenge WWE? What effect will the success of MMA have on wrestling? Will the UFC levels keep going on and upwards in 2007? But to accurately offer predictions about what wrestling can do to grow itself, it’s important to understand what wrestling is. Professional wrestling is a business. It sells wrestling. But it’s more than wrestling. Wrestling is a live event business. It’s a weird hybrid combination of live entertainment and mass media, but unlike it’s individual components. A live event business is a business based on getting people to pay to go to an event. Like a concert. Like Disney on Ice. Like Tony Hawks Boom Boom Huckjam. Like Monster Truck rallies. A media business is a television show. Or a radio show. Basically, entertainment that is meant to be seen or heard. Now, it’s not just through a TV or a Radio, it’s also through the web, though the big two, TV and Radio, are the prime sources of content for the web. Scratch that. The more lucrative way to make money off of web content is to offer content from the big two, or a written publication. Pro Wrestling is in the business of making money. Just like every other kind of business. The prime source of revenue for Pro Wrestling is television and live events. Merchandising is also a prime source of revenue, but without TV or live events, the chance of generating said revenue drops dramatically. Let’s take a look at the Live event business beyond wrestling. The top ten most requested events for 2006 Live Events were: 1) The Wicked Broadway Musical 2) Jimmy Buffett 3) Tim McGraw and Faith Hill 4) Dave Mathews Band 5) The Cheetah Girls 6) New England Patriots 7) Chicago Bears (heck yeah! Sorry, my Bears Fandom leaked through) 8) Kenny Chesney 9) Shakira 10) American Idol Auditions Source: Intix From the list, it’s not just concerts that are doing well, or are in demand. Sporting events are up there too. Two listings are shows based on popular TV shows, showing the power of cross promotion. A list of the Hot Ticket Items on Ticketmaster.com, aside from concerts. are: Motocross, Monster Jam, and WWE events. Near the bottom of the list. Not that these entries are ranked, that I can see. Just for the moment, or week. The draw of a live event, is of course, to see the event live, as opposed to a DVD, or through a camera. There’s just something about seeing live events, with other, live, people. Feeling their reactions, and having the feeling of getting something special, just for the folks in the audience. Being right there in front of you, it’s hard to think about the fact that this show may be the same show that was played in a different town, just a few days ago. Not that playing the same show in one place is a bad thing. Celine Dion is making a mint, playing one venue in Vegas, multiple times a day. Billboard says she made over 2 million in just a few days. Ticket prices play a factor, but still, that’s impressive as hell. Billboard Concerts chart Live events are how Independent Wrestling organizations stay in business. WWE live event gates may be lower than in the heyday, but the amount of touring they do helps out greatly. TNA has experimented with going on the road, but the expenses limit what they can do, especially if they plan to tape the show. ROH tours, but a good chunk of their income comes from selling DVD’s. For a promotion without TV exposure, they have done remarkably well. The Internet, and a good reputation have done wonders for them. The drawback to attending a live event is a combination of things, which mainly boil down to personal choice. A person may not have the time to attend an event. The event may have been priced out of their league. Combine it with how far a person has to travel to the event, and that becomes a factor. Popularity of the product also plays a factor. If the event is going to be on TV also plays a factor, both positive and negative. Positive, because folks love to be on TV. It makes them feel like stars if they get on camera. Negative, because, why shell out over $50 to take time out of their busy schedule to go to something they can see on TV for free? For example: Go to a Cardinals Football game on the other side of town, taking at least four hours out of your weekend, and shell out $75 bucks to see them loose, or stay home, sit on the couch, and pick up a six pack for $10? And not have to sit through the whole thing? Relief is just a channel flip away, while if you go to the game, you are AT THE GAME, PERIOD. TNA is a free event at Orlando. They do charge some people, but they mainly give away tickets. It’s the television revenue they are trying to build. WWE is concerned almost exclusively with television generated revenue. WWE relies mainly on it’s name recognition to generate interest in it’s live events. WWE’s advertising campaigns for local markets is very simple. On national markets, it’s guest appearances on TV shows, and commercials on national TV. In that regard, they are similar to other successful live events, in that they have corporate sponsors footing most of the bills for producing the live event, which is basically a quiet commercial. Like Pepsi presents the Rolling Stones, LIVE IN CONCERT! It’s the name recognition that is the main pull, but there’s some promotion for the sponsor as well. In fact, most live events have some kind of sponsorship deal. From Motocross, to Monster trucks, to theatre productions. Media Production WWE is a television show, first and foremost. It’s a TV show they take on the road, and broadcast in front of a live audience. but it’s still a TV show. In other words, it’s a live event being broadcast. The TV factor is the use of continuing story lines, and specific spots in matches that are for the TV audience. The close up on the wrestlers faces, the video packages to promote upcoming events not being held in town. The show is always moving, but you can still follow the show without jumping in your car or boarding a plane. You, the viewer, know that you can see wrestling, on the same channel, at the same time, week after week. But broadcasting causes the problems for WWE The TV show and potentially TNA and ROH. The cost of producing a live broadcast on the level of WWE is huge. TNA and ROH may tape their product, but to make it look good, it’s not cheap. TNA tries to keep the quality level high. But it’s still not a full-fledged TV show, WWE, TNA or whatever promotion. See, the problem is that wrestling is limited to what it can do, in terms of being a TV show. The “sets” are the same, no matter where they go. They have a ring. They can have backstage segments, but it’s basically the same set with different decorations. On location shoots are limited, due to costs, time constraints, set up time, permits, and scheduling. So, we have the occasional parking lot segment, or the concession stand outing, or even more rarely, the trip to the nearby landmark, like a river, or a mall. Yet 99% of the action happens at the arena. So, it looks pretty much the same, no matter where the company is, and that can be a good thing and/or a bad thing. Yet even Letterman and Leno leave the studio now and then, and go outside to get a fresh scene. Unlike other TV shows, wrestling can't bring in a lot of special effects, a vastly different set brought in. Visually, there is little wrestling can do to change it’s image. Six sides of steel? Yeah, but it’s still a wrestling ring. Smaller changes can be made, to, for example, the ring apron, of the background set. The changes may get noticed, but the effects will vary, and possibly have no effect at all on the viewers. Smackdown and Raw got new set designs, but the growth in viewers was moot. And just like making a TV show, well a successful TV show, or a live event is more than putting together an act and getting a place to hold it, there’s more to wrestling than the concept. And growing it into something that people will pay to see, more than once, is something that will need more time to think about than what I have left. But, there is one thing I’d like to leave you with, before I wrap this sucker up. WWE is a holding a Wrestlemania Axxess Festival. It’s not a wrestling show. It’s more of a meet and great, with stuff to do. Like play video games, and such. In fact, I’m not sure what the hell it is. All I know is that it’s coming to Phoenix, this Saturday and Sunday. And Raw is coming in March. Now, the Superbowl is this weekend. The Bears play the Colts. So, who does WWE lined up as the names to attract people? Val Venis on Saturday and Eric Bischoff, who lives in town, on Superbowl Sunday. I wouldn't mind meeting either of them, but the Bears are playing in the freakin’ Superbowl. And each event is 8 hours long. Val is a possibility, if only to yell “Me Choppa Your Pee-Pee” at him. Bischoff would be a treat, and I’d love for him to sign my copy of “Controversy Creates Cash”. Still he is on Sunday. So, what does this have to do with what I was talking about? It’s a promotional tour. Wrestlemania is not coming to Phoenix. This year at least. But it’s an event that gets the name out there, and let’s people know that Wrestlemania is an event they don't want to miss. It’s publicity. It’s more than just an ad on the radio or television. It’s a chance to attend a live event, free of charge, I think, and see what WWE is offering. And it’s a national tour, every weekend, right up to Wrestlemania. And that’s a wrap. There’s some news I could cover, but it’s late, I gotta go to work, this morning, and I’m tired. Sorry, I’m bagging the news bits. Next week, the Bears play the Colts. Bears are the seven point underdogs in the odds. Still, I’ll be rooting for them. And also, a word of warning. I made a bet, and if I loose, well, you may get a very special guest appearance next week. So, Quick Plugs and that’s all I wrote. Quick Plugs! Special Match - Steve Austin vs Andre The Giant LOP Forums Sports news! E-feds! Insulting strangers! Raging Politcal Debates! Video Game Discussion! Movie Talk! Oh, and Wrestling! Plenty of Wrestling! Sign Up Today! LOP Column’s Forum Wrestling columns and discussion. The Movie Bar! Movie news and clips! The Project Home of excellent writing, a forum for intelligent discussion about todays events. Social discussions as well. The PWA Best E-Fed on the net. Period. That's all for today. Thanks For Readin' And Thanks For Ridin' Please label all feedback as "FEEDBACK". Thank you. Email mrwevv@mac.com *NEW GALLERY* Must See LEAKED Photos of Velvet Sky! AMAZING!
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