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Submitted by Wevv Mang on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 at 12:28 AM EST
Ridin’ With The Bossman – The Summer Preview Edition Greetings! Welcome to another edition of Ridin; With The Bossman! Happy Summer! The start of the summer months is here. Schools are out, or nearly are, and the weather is turning warmer. It’s also the end of the regular broadcasting season for television networks and the start of the big summer movie releases. It’s a time when music groups really start to kick off tours, as outdoor venues can now be played across the country. In other words, it’s a time when WWE faces a lot of competition. But, at the same time, summer is the most opportune time for WWE to expand and grow. For nearly the same reasons that these other venue see an increase in business. Summer means free time. Summer means that people are looking for something to do, an/or go see. Football is not in season yet, Baseball is in full swing, as is NASCAR, but there’s only so much of those that a casual fan can take. Basketball and Hockey are nearing the end of their season. And the Entertainment business? Well, this is a special year for them. The regular season shows are in repeats, and networks usually load up their summer programming with reality television and series that didn't make the cut for the regular season. Also, there’s a glut of reality programming to fill timeslots on prime-time. And then, there is a Writer’s strike about to happen. The contract expires in October, but the talks begin in July. More information can be found here. Writer's Strike What does this mean for wrestling? It means they are suddenly a hell of a lot more valuable to the networks they’re on. Wrestling is fresh, weekly programming that gets good ratings. Period. Oh, for the CW, the ratings aren't much, compared to the other networks, but the margin is not that great. Especially against repeats. Last Friday, the top rated network got a 4.4 while CW got a 2.4. Two million viewer difference, but in the grand scheme of things, not that big. Also, Smackdown is one of CW’s top rated show. And like I said, it keeps coming, or should I say delivering, week after week, with no off-season. In fact, Smackdown has been picked up for another season. Raw isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and so that leaves ECW. The show started shortly after One Night Stand on Sci-Fi. That PPV has come around again, and that means the contract should be coming up soon. I do believe that Sci Fi will renew. Let me rephrase that. I believe that SciFi has interest in renewing, but I’m not sure WWE is. WWE doesn't seem to like those three letters, and with Steph the head cheese, right under Vince, it may not be renewed. Which would be a shame. Only time will tell, but the time is telling me one thing. WWE has a lot of competition this summer. In the month of May, three movies made boku bucks, and two records were broken for box office take. There’s plenty more on the horizon. Pre-season football is only months away. But TV is growing to be weak. Not much is really planned it seems like, and from what little shows that have gotten hype, I can't think of anything that screams “The Next Survivor!”. The ratings look like they will be up for grabs, and WWE seems to be making plans to try and take advantage of the situation. WWE, suffering from a lack of name star power, has turned the hype machine on high. The question is, will it pay off? There will be three PPV’s in the span of five weeks. Judgment Day started it, on May 20, we just had One Night Stand, and in three weeks, we’ll get hit with Vengeance. Judgment Day was a disappointment. Expectations seemed very low for One Night Stand. I don't think many are even thinking about Vengeance, outside of WWE creative and management. But after ONS, I think they will be thinking very hard about it. They had Saturday Night Main Event to hype that PPV. A special show just to promote a show. Oh, sure that wasn’t all it was supposed to do, but really, that was the point. And I don't think the circus approach was the right way to go. It was hyping the Strongest, the Strangest, the Weirdest, the Ugliest, the Happiest, the Silliest, and the Fiercest. Pick a word and stick –est on the end of it, and you got the show. The matches, well, they were the standard good and bad. Some good, some bad, some forgettable. One Night Stand Recap Info can be found here, courtesy of Jason This is what the Saturday show was all about, heck, it’s what ALL the shows were building to. A night where every match had extreme rules. A night that cashes in on the memory of ECW. A show that took place in Jacksonville Florida. A show with a crowd that must have spent the day doing something else, but they sure as hell looked and sounded tired. Maybe it was the card, maybe it was the matches themselves. Or more probable, it was the people in the matches. The Hardy’s and the World’s Greatest Tag Team tore down the house, and the rest of the matches were just kind of there. Though I did get a kick out of Umaga rubbing Vince’s head. That was funny. Shane was amazing. But the two main events, well, they weren’t. Edge vs Batista was dull, and Edge is now a pussy, running away from Batista. Khali vs Cena was Cena beating Khali again, and not pretty to watch. RVD and Orton was not bad, but even with the rumor of it being RVD’s last match in WWE for a while, it was meh. Some good moves, but the emotional impact didn't seem there. How will the show do in buyrates? I can only guess, and my guess is not good. But, But, WWE has a draft coming up. The Draft With injuries taking a huge chunk out of the roster’s star power, it’s a chance to move people around, mix and match, and hopefully strengthen all the shows, and use talent to their best ability. That’s the theory at least. In reality, it hasn't worked that well. The last draft was nearly two years ago. Talent has moved between brands since then, without a full-fledged draft. And this year, well, it may look like it’s needed, but I don't think it is. This years draft smacks of ratings ploy. Talent has been injured, true, but I think there’s plenty of talent that can step up and fill the void. Smackdown has created quite a few new stars. ECW has talent, but little direction. The angle that had the most momentum was killed off quickly, and I’m not talking about Bobby Lashley vs Vince. That’s a Raw angle first and foremost. The thing is, now is the best time to bring back tag team wrestling, but that seems to not even be in the picture. It was, One Night Stand was going to be loaded with tag team wrestling, but the card got shuffled around, and instead one tag match. And one six man match. There’s strong talent, waiting for an opportunity and a direction, on all three shows. The veterans that got the company up to and past Wrestlemania did more than just carry the load. They allowed said talent time to get ready. And I think they are. Will the show draw ratings? That seems to be the ultimate goal. To that question, I don't have answer. It would seem obvious that it would. But instinct says otherwise. Nothing concrete, just a hunch that the ratings show won't get what WWE is after. But WWE has another plan just in case. Another Diva’s Search. That, despite the frustration of many net fans, does indeed, seem to draw ratings. It’s hard to deny the appeal of hot chicks to a male audience. Sure, there are plenty of alternatives, like net porn, and so forth, but this is wrestling. And in wrestling, it work more often than not. There is a distinction between Divas and Divas Search contest segments. The WWE Divas are known commodities. While the Diva Search contestants are fresh, and basically, it’s a car wreck mentality. People want to see what these broads are going to do, and how badly they will screw up. Camera shots of them in bikini’s doesn't hurt either. Surprising to me is that number of contestants still on the air. Candace, Maria, Ashley, Krystal, Michelle, Layla, Brooke (I think), Maryse, all still have jobs. And some have shown real promise. Not just to be eye candy, but to be actual wrestlers. The Divas Search Contest changed the qualifications last time, and went with bikini models, instead of “real” wrestlers. That may have played a factor, as WWE likes to make independents forget what they know, and learn the WWE style. The chicks that did apply also had something else. An affinity for the camera, and knew how to speak to an audience. At least most did. Ashley is a great host. Krystal can talk. Candace knows how to work a crowd. Layla has personality and can speak. Maria has great acting chops. Will lightening strike twice? It’s all a crapshoot. Conclusion WWE has gone full steam ahead since Wrestlemania. The once B-Show PPV’s now have all three brands on them, in the main events. It worked for Backlash, but since then, seems to be falling flat. The TV shows themselves have always had a level of cross promotion, but now, I think that level has been stepped up. There are at least two promotional stunts. The Draft and the Divas Search. Big name wrestlers will be returning from injury in the coming months. The biggest month for this, at this time, is rumored to be around August. In time for SummerSlam. And you better believe, it’s going to be a big deal when H comes back. But the real question to me is, is it going to work? Will viewership actually pick up? Is it working period? All the right tactics are being used. We got a draft to stimulate the fans with fantasy picks. We got hot chicks for when brain fry from the draft kicks in. We got super stacked PPV’s. Complete with gimmicks galore. Cages, Last Man Standing, Extreme Rules, Ladders, Chairs, whatever. Hell, we even have wrestlers being pushed to the moon and Khali and Lashley. We got weak competition when it comes to TV. But there’s one fact that’s hard to deny. Summer movies are going through the roof. Remakes and Sequels are paying off in spades. Three movies have made almost $800,000,000. Just three. One common theme between these films? Sequels. Or, in other words movies based on previous works. Why are these films so successful? Well, one theory I have is that it’s because people know the previous stories, liked them, and wanted more. They wanted to see what happens. And they found out. In droves. Even with most reviews saying that two of the films weren’t as good as the first. People paid money, and with higher ticket prices that’s saying something, and lots of it. WWE going into Wrestlemania had strong angles. They even had publicity. People seemed to be paying attention. The angles carried over into Backlash. But now, it seems played out. Sure, the injuries played a big part, but the replacement angles have been weak. It takes time to build, but the effort doesn't seem to be there. Instead, it’s back to shock and awe. And frankly, I’m not sure it’s going to work out. It just seems very familiar. Wrestling does seem to go in cycles and this was the result of the last draft. Ridin’ With The Bossman Perhaps, a star truly does need to be hired and freshen things up. There are names out there. Names that if they showed up in WWE, with all the promotion going on, might just tipped the scales. After all, it seems like WWE is trying very hard to keep the fans they gained, and grow on that base. Two Very big names, that would grab headlines. But I’ll let reader Dan set up the first name. Heya Wevv, How couldja, how COULDJA not include the single greatest Free Agent MVP in the whole wide world? Picture this: Lashley wins the ECW Championship back from Vince (duh), and Vince in a fit of bald-headed rage announces a tournament to combine all 3 WWE Champ belts into the first-ever Triple-Unified Title Belt -- of course with The Great Khali and Umaga as his hand- picked favorites (the seven lonely ECW faithful who are still watching would quite naturally burst into flame at this point). McMahons Monkeys (a clever Cena-ism if I ever heard one) beat all the current top title-holders for their straps. Vince holds a ceremony to have himself anointed First Ever Triple Title Champion (the belts being turned over by his stooges), unless (cue smug grin) anyone wants to come out and challenge his Executioners to a Handicap Match for the titles. "Chris Jericho? {cheap crowd pop} No, you're busy not selling CDs of your lame-ass band. What, no one thinks they can do it? Well alright then, let's get on with the cere-" Here Comes The Pain. Brock Frigging Lesnar's intro fires up and the crowd pop blows the roof off the dump. Brock wins, takes all the straps for himself, and offers a match to all the previous champions at each of the following PPVs to get their titles back. I mean, his manager Paul Heyman does, because Brock still blows on the mic. If they won't hire back Paulie, maybe they could find Oliver Humperdink. That would rock. It's so simple, a monkey could write it! Ya listening, Steph? I'll monkey YOU! Eep eep! Otherwise, you got the call pretty close to perfect on the Free Agents. Jericho is the obvious front-runner from a fan's perspective, but I gotta think that for someone who has gotten out of the WWE lifestyle and found something else -- even if that something hasn't been very successful -- going back to the grind would be a hard sell. Honestly, my preference in a period like this is for them to push the talent they have to new heights and in new directions rather than focus on recruiting from outside. For one thing, once the free-agent talent is up to speed and in the mix, a lot of the guys who are out now will be returning from injury and will be getting all the pushes anyway. I know, a Boogeyman/Lil Boogey Tag Championship is merely a pipe dream... sigh... Anywho, there's whatever we were talking about for ya! -Dan Thank you Dan. I’m not sure about the set up, but the payoff is pure gold. Thanks for the pictures too. Dan is exactly right. Brock Lesnar would be a huge attention getter for the WWE. Especially since he just won his first MMA match. But the other name, well, it would sure fire up the net crowd. Following Dan’s lead, I’ll set it up like this. Vince leaves the creative meeting. Vince: Sounds Great! I like it! Those midgets sure were a hit! Vince closes the door and then looks around to make sure no one is nearby. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cellphone. He pushes a number in his Five. Vince: Hello, Hulkster? It’s Vince. Listen, how would you like to come back to TV? Cue Voodoo Child and unplug the computer. Sorry it’s a short one today, and late to boot, but I got another edition of Ridin’ With The Bossman TV to hopefully keep you pacified. Quick Plugs and that’s a wrap. I gotta get my draft cards ready.  WWE vs TNA, North vs South, the True Hollywood Story QUICK PLUGS! LOP Forums Sports! Political Discussions! Video Games! Wrestling! Sign up now! LOP Column's Forum The next generation of wrestling writers. The Project Creative Writing, political discourse, social topcs examined, and a forum for intelligent discussion The Movie Bar Monkey has got his mojo going! Go and check it out! Leave some comments! The Rose Reports Excellent site for political information The LPW Best E-Fed on the net. Period. That's all for today. Thanks for Readin' and thanks for Ridin' Wevv Mang Please label all feedback as "FEEDBACK". Thank you. Email: MrWevv@mac.com *NEW GALLERY* Very HOT and Revealing Gail Kim Photos! WOW!!!
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