General Pro Wrestling News and Discussion Thread Part Deux!

[Admiral_Young]

Trying to think of a Lord of the Rings joke comparing Cole to the Mouth of Sauron but can't think of a good one. Yeah I remember reading in the peak of Cole's heel character (when he was really over with the fans and getting tons of heat last year) that he really absolutely hated playing the character and felt bad for all the rotten things he had to do and was actually exhausted and needed a break. Of course he never got one and like John Cena soldiered on. Apparently he's a really nice guy in real life.

Heyman as a colour guy on either show would be awesome IMO. I'd forgot about when Jerry "left" (didn't he quit?) back in I think it was March of 2001.

 

[tomalak301]

I remember when Heymen was the Color guy with JR during the Alliance storyline. I thought he was great and he would be great if he came back. Smackdown kind of needs that heel guy (I don't think Cole is it anymore since he's calmed down quite a bit) to make their announce team a little better than it has been. Either that or just that "It" star, which Heyman is.

 

[Mr Silver]

I've been thinking about WWE's latest craze - Tout,

It seems that although WWE's presence on Twitter and Facebook is as strong as any entertainment giant, they are looking for something that they can absolutely dominate with, so with that in mind they partnered with Tout.

What puzzles me is the huge potential for failure that comes with partnering with a social media Z-lister like Tout. Let's face it, Tout is no match for Twitter and Facebook in the social media market. Twitter takes the crown for micro posting and virals (trends for example), whereas Facebook dominates everything else and is the undisputed king of the social networking media market. WWE must be aware of the potential to lose money, which is why I'm surprised that they haven't taken a more active partnership with Twitter and Facebook.

It was announced today that TNA became the first entertainment company to stream live to Twitter, that's got to enrage WWE surely, that their closest alternative has beaten them to the punch. Surely this is a sign of WWE's focus on Tout above all other social networking media outlets?

 

[Admiral_Young]

It's very possible part of the deal with Tout was so that Tout could use WWE's own social media awareness to promote Tout. I certainly didn't know what the hell it was before WWE started using it in segments for filler. It's also possible that a deal with twitter or facebook would be too much for Vince (I know unlikely but possible). They have the deal in place with youtube and did the US Title match a couple months ago on Youtube...but I think they need to be more like UFC and use this medium more. Don't get me started on their official superstar facebook pages. Like I said a couple weeks ago...trying to watch Raw spoiler free and being on facebook at the same time is near impossible LOL with the amount of constant updates they do ON ALL their pages!!! LOL.

 

[Mr Silver]

WWE could essentially kill several birds with one stone - the stone being Triple H's talent department. Here's how:

WWE sends out scouts to several colleges throughout the USA (maybe even abroad if they are willing) to look at athletes who are finishing their collegiate sporting career. The scouts will have clear guidelines what to look at (however WWE is feeling really, one day it might be well toned, movie star types like Alberto Del Rio - the other day it might be back to the generic 6,4+/240lbs+ of muscle types).

Anyway, once the scouts have singled out several candidates, they will report back to WWE's upper echelon who will then choose the candidates who they feel have the most potential. Each of the candidates (who will have expressed prior interest in becoming a WWE wrestler) will be called up to meet upper management, who will then single out those who most fit their "idea" of a WWE superstar. Ideally, each of the picks should have some background in performing arts or at least display an aptitude for it.

With the new signings, WWE will open up a new developmental location that not only contains the best wrestling teachers they can find, but also the best drama tutors and voice coaches, etc that they can find. At the same time, WWE will announce plans for a reality show where the new signings will be shown receiving their wrestling training, etc (much more in depth than Tough Enough) over a several months long period. There won't be a winner in the traditional sense since WWE has signed each of the individuals with the intention that they will all go on to become WWE superstars. Rather, the "grand prize" will be a decent beginning push (non-kayfabe prize) and a shot at one of the titles (kayfabe prize).

The contestants will be encouraged to attract fans through Twitter, Tout and Facebook and the social networking media will play a big part in the show also. In order to realistically train to a high level, the show will have to run for 6 months at least with weekly episodes (so the contestants can train as normal during the week, just like the FCW talent).

So with all that put into play,

*WWE could exponentionally increase their social networking media presence.
*Create a run away hit for their network that brings together reality, insider content, wrestlig and drama.
*Create several new talents that each have a background in athletics and collegiate sports, have received extensive training in acting and public speaking along with their training in wrestling and who have developed a character via the show before even being called up to the main roster.

 

[Ghost Bones]

Tout, right, I mean who wants to see it? Someone utter markish idiots blathering on. If they can attract more viewers via social media connectivity then they'll lose as many who don't like seeing bloody twits. Having a high social media profile is one thing; mentioning Twitter trending or how Facebook liked they are is another thing entirely from putting the fuckwits in their John Cena shirts on the screen. Ultimately, there is zero chance of a broadcasted Tout having anything interesting to say, so it can fuck right off.

 

[Mr Silver]

Tout, right, I mean who wants to see it? Someone utter markish idiots blathering on. If they can attract more viewers via social media connectivity then they'll lose as many who don't like seeing bloody twits. Having a high social media profile is one thing; mentioning Twitter trending or how Facebook liked they are is another thing entirely from putting the fuckwits in their John Cena shirts on the screen. Ultimately, there is zero chance of a broadcasted Tout having anything interesting to say, so it can fuck right off.

Twitter is everywhere though, fair enough though, WWE and some other entertainment shows completely drive the point into you, without realising how irritating and interruptive of their programming it really is.

Here in the UK, even the ultra "proper" shows such as newscasts and documentaries by channels like the BBC have hash tags during the opening credits and many of the presenters even have their own Twitter profiles. I assume that it's more or less the same in the US and many other countries worldwide.

To be fair, it's not like WWE is going to broadcast Touts from those fans with inside knowledge about their product, nor the inevitable "IWC members" (I hate how people have taken that term as a badge of honour, when it actually doesn't mean what it claims to) trying to be smart by offering booking ideas and questioning why WWE is pushing or not pushing such and such.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I'd rather have tout clips from markish fans for filler rather than WWE scrolling tweets and facebook posts all damn night long. It's already bad enough they keep flashing that stupid trending graphic up...I can only imagine the next step is actually posting fans tweets next! No thanks.

Yes, here in Canada all the sports and newscasters have their station twitter accounts flashed on the screen in a little graphic usually when their name graphic appears. Hashtags are here to stay.

Anyways...as mentioned last week, I'm going back to not watching again. We've gone back to meh pretty quickly and as I expected the three hour format is going to be just intolerable to watch.

 

[Mr Silver]

Rose Mendes was apparently the victim of assault by her boyfriend - former WWE superstar Jackson Andrews.

 

[Ghost Bones]

I'm no huge fan of the "#DanielBryanIsaGoatfacedCunt and #BeaSTAR are trending worldwide!" and flashing "Last week Raw was the most watched show in the Milky Way and John Cena made 500 kids' wishes come true by curing their leprosy" on screen either, but at least they have some kind of point in making the WWE sound socially active and whatnot. The Tout segments only serve to remind that most wrestling fans should be under lock and key.

 

[Sheep]

I can only imagine the next step is actually posting fans tweets next!

Anyone remember when G4 (I think) got the rights to air the original Star Trek? As I recall they aired a version of the show that had people's messages about the show/episode popping up in "real-time" on the side of the screen. The video itself was presented in a smaller window. I don't have cable anymore so I don't know if they still do this or if they even have the airing rights to TOS.

I fully expect the WWE to implement something like this with Tweets and the like scrolling by at some point.

 

[tomalak301]

I'd rather have tout clips from markish fans for filler rather than WWE scrolling tweets and facebook posts all damn night long. It's already bad enough they keep flashing that stupid trending graphic up...I can only imagine the next step is actually posting fans tweets next! No thanks.

Yes, here in Canada all the sports and newscasters have their station twitter accounts flashed on the screen in a little graphic usually when their name graphic appears. Hashtags are here to stay.

Anyways...as mentioned last week, I'm going back to not watching again. We've gone back to meh pretty quickly and as I expected the three hour format is going to be just intolerable to watch.

One of the things I don't like about the whole trending thing or Tout is it's not West Coast Friendly, amongst the other reasons stated already. Because it's usually taped delayed here, the trends and touts turn out to be meaningless.

 

[Mr Silver]

That Wade Barrett promo was awful - it was like a Gillette advert!

I see they are still running with the "Barrett barrage" thing, does anyone even know what a Barrett barrage is?

 

[Admiral_Young]

I thought the Barrett Barrage was what they called his twitter followers? I'm pretty sure Cole explained this months ago...but I could be wrong. LOL.

 

[Sheep]

That was AWESOME compared to last week's Raw. They managed to make Bryan look strong even though he lost to Cena, Jericho appears to have gone fully face and channeled his old self ("Mitchell"), and somehow they pulled off a genuine surprise by having Show believably be the last man standing at the end of the show. They even kept the replays to a minimum unlike last week's show where it seemed a full hour was recaps.

I'm also a full-on Sandow mark now with him trashing Brodus. Now have him come out and start destroying low/mid-carders with crappy gimmicks starting with Santino, Khali, Ryback and Tensai and I'll be as happy as a pig in shit.

 

[Ghost Bones]

All a bit predictable and perfunctory. Not bad as such, but no surprises. Did Sheamus say he pooed in Del Rio's car? Fuck's sake.

On the upside, no fan Touts.

 

[Mr Silver]

Did Sheamus say he pooed in Del Rio's car? Fuck's sake.

Something like that, regardless it was cringe worthy and annoying, especially when Cole and King kept barking on about how Sheamus had stolen Del Rio's car.

I wish WWE booked Sheamus as more of a serious character than the kind of juvenile crap he's been booked to spout recently.

 

[Ghost Bones]

Sheamus is the worst thing in the WWE today when Orton's not around. "Oi'm a feckin' cheeky chappie and yur an urse!" is all his character amounts to, and a poor wrestler too.

 

[Sheep]

Sheamus is the worst thing in the WWE today when Orton's not around. "Oi'm a feckin' cheeky chappie and yur an urse!" is all his character amounts to, and a poor wrestler too.

100x this. I wasn't watching WWE when he was a heel so maybe he's an awesome heel and just a shitty face. But his current face gimmick is unwatchable for me, moreso than even Ryback. At least he and Del Rio have been in the same angle for the past 6 months which usually limits the number of times I have to FF through their boring, repetitive crap.

 

[Ghost Bones]

I can't believe they're doing ADR vs Sheamus again, after they had a match with a clean decisive finish at the previous PPV that was probably the worst WWE PPV world title match since Big Show/Henry if we don't count the Wrestlemania WHC match. I thought they did a good job of making ADR look like a real danger before the last one, something I thought impossible to the new superman Sheamus. Now it's cripplingly uninteresting. I did think Rey might get added because they wouldn't possibly just have the same match again. Silly me eh.

The kitty in your pic is lovely.