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The W - Pro Wrestling - Ken Anderson's Ten Ways To Save Wrestling (Page 2)
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spf
Scrapple








Since: 2.1.02
From: The Las Vegas of Canada

Since last post: 3069 days
Last activity: 404 days
#21 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.17
No, at this point is appears Vince is booking solely to appease Vince.

Your sentiment would have much more credence if this company hadn't suffered a 60% or so drop in all major business indicators over the last couple of years. I didn't take a whole lot of Econ classes, but from what I remember, that's never usually a good thing, and generally implies something is wrong.



Brenda Weiler - Cold Weather - Nov. 4. Playing Chicago Nov. 12

blogforamerica.com
King Of Crap
Goetta








Since: 17.9.03
From: Holley, New York

Since last post: 6921 days
Last activity: 6852 days
#22 Posted on | Instant Rating: 0.50
Did I say that nothing was wrong?

My whole point was that I was annoyed that every fuck with a computer thinks it's that easy to turn things around (and the now exactly how), when it clearly isn't.



You think WWE now is bad? Some of us had to live through 1993-1996!
Quezzy
Scrapple








Since: 6.1.02
From: Pittsburgh, PA

Since last post: 1908 days
Last activity: 1907 days
#23 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.57
    Originally posted by King Of Crap
    Did I say that nothing was wrong?

    My whole point was that I was annoyed that every fuck with a computer thinks it's that easy to turn things around (and the now exactly how), when it clearly isn't.


Is it easy to completely turn around the company? No. Is it easy to bring in ratings of 6, or 5 even? No. But clearly they are not even trying. Whether Jericho, Angle, and Benoit should be the top of the company or Triple H, Goldberg, Nash is debatable. But what is not debatable is that the McMahons do not draw money. And yet they haven't stopped being the main events and having 20 minute long promos. So no, they HAVEN'T figured it out. And yes it IS that easy to figure out. Like spf said, Vince is only booking for himself and his family and nobody else. Not the internet fans, not the casual fans, just for his family.

Do articles where people say what should me changed get old? Sure they do. But step 1, getting the McMahons off tv, SHOULD be easy enough for anyone with a high school diploma (if that) to figure out. And yet they are still on my tv. And until it changes the shows will not be any good and people will continue to right articles about what changes should be made.



Lance's Response:

THAT IS AWESOME!
Ken Anderson
Pinkelwurst








Since: 25.6.02

Since last post: 7350 days
Last activity: 7350 days
#24 Posted on
    Originally posted by King Of Crap
    Okay, it really annoys me when every fuck with a computer writes on a site about how his/her ideas can "save" WWE like it was that fucking easy. (see: Torch, The)

    If it really so simple that any fuck with a high school diploma (if that) could figure it out, don't you think the people that do it for a living would have done so by now?

    In short, I hope people stop writing articles like these, they generally feature the broad "smark" ideas (I'll say it again, VINCE DOESN'T BOOK FOR YOU), and are all filled with such egotism (look at me, i'm smarter than Vince!), that they really get on my nerves.

    On a related note, the Torch should stop accepting Guest Editorials, for every one good one, there's thrity shitty ones.


Sorry that it bothered you so much. I didn't intend to come off as an "annoying fuck." For the record, I do have a high school diploma (and then some), though I doubt you care.

Nowhere did I imply or mention that Vince should book for the "smark" crowd. In fact, I said just the opposite. We're all bitter, jaded hags who will hate just about anything put in front of us. Despite that, we'll never stop watching.

I actually said that Vince McMahon should push those that get the loudest pops, and sell the most merchandise. It seems to make common sense. Push who the casual fans like. It's not rocket science. Sure, there's exceptions like the recent nostalgia acts that have been running through the WWE, but if a guy is young, healthy, and hot with the crowds (i.e. Van Dam, Guerrero, whoever), it seems to be common sense to push him to the top.

Also, not once did I insinuate that I was smarter than Vince, or knew more about wrestling than Vince, or whatever, because that simply isn't true. Very few people do know more about the business than Vince.

But, I do think that Vince isn't exactly showing much brilliance as of late. As mentioned earlier in this thread, he's booking for himself. That's not me saying I know more about wrestling than Vince, that's me saying that history has shown what happens when the head of companies start booking for themselves (see: Gagne, AWA ... Bischoff, WCW). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what a deep hole he's digging his corporation into.

Anyway, don't take it so seriously. I was bored. I came up with a few ideas that I think would improve business. Take it at face value. I think you have this mental image of me smugly pounding my keyboard, sipping a cold beverage, and whispering, "This'll show Vince" under my breathe. Ha.

And finally, yes, I will definitely agree that four out of every five Guest Editorials the Torch prints are just plain horrible.

Thanks by the way for starting this thread up. I appreciate it. I'm glad it at least got people talking.

I tend to stay away from writing about the modern day WWE, just because it's entirely overdone, most of the net writing done on it is repetitive crap, and truth be told, most of the 411 readers are 12 year old bonehead marks who can't spell their own names, emailing me over and over asking if I "know Sting." Ha.

If you're bored though, I've got a massive multi-part column going up next week on the history of Halloween Havoc. NWA/WCW is more up my ally.

I have been busy as all hell lately and haven't been posting here much anymore, but hope all is well with everyone. Thanks again guys



(edited by Ken Anderson on 24.10.03 1417)

(edited by Ken Anderson on 24.10.03 1418)

Ken Anderson
411Wrestling.com, ScaryMidgets.com/Jay
kazhayashi81
Potato korv








Since: 17.6.02
From: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Since last post: 6145 days
Last activity: 6096 days
#25 Posted on | Instant Rating: 1.95
UNITED WE STAND

It's a lot more simple than that.

You just have to look back at 1994.

Baseball is popular now. Some people worried it would never come back after the season ending strike of 1994. But it did.

Sure, wrestling's not like baseball. The stories aren't naturally intriguing, they have to be wrote that way in wrestling and they can... but that's not really the focus of what I'm going to see.

The WWE needs to be DECENT. You're goddamn right they need to lower the price of brand-specific PPVs. NWA-TNA gives 2 hours a week of PPV-quality(you can argue that...) wrestling for $10. If the WWE's non major PPVs were $20 for 2 1/2-3 hours(for longer matches.. hell give them gimmicks.)

The house show circuit is attrocious. Do you know why people aren't going to the houseshows? It has nothing to do with WWE creative. It's not because of the cards, or the writing.... it's the fucking prices. I took my wife and my two little brothers to a RAW House Show a few months ago. For the four of us, for mediocre seats... it cost $80. Just to get in the door. Across the street, we could've gone to go see a good AAA baseball game for half that price. But we're wrestling fans. So I payed. It wasn't a great show, and I wouldn't pay it again. Slash the prices. Have the wrestlers reach out to the fans. Hold open meet and greets day of show. Free autograph signings. Offer tickets there, with no handling fees, just the face value. No matter how low the ratings have gone, no matter how bad the creative is, and how piss poor angle payoff matches are, there are still kids out there worshipping these larger than life superheroes. That's fucking celebrity. Use it, to get back the core fans. To get them to spend money on the product again.

The merchandise prices are completely over the top. 10 bucks for a figure? $25 for a screened on T-Shirt? It's not like a concert shirt... where after that tour you'll never find it again. Don't buy it at the house show? Just use shopzone on wwe.com, or order out of WWE or RAW magazine.

The way to bring in the casual fans, the wrestling fans who don't have a lot of money... to get me to spend my money, as a wrestling fan, on wrestling products again, is to be decent, to have the wrestlers outreach to fans, and to lower your fucking prices.





It is the soldier not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press

It is the soldier not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech

It is the soldier not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate

It is the soldier not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial

It is the soldier, who saluted the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag
-Anonymous
King Of Crap
Goetta








Since: 17.9.03
From: Holley, New York

Since last post: 6921 days
Last activity: 6852 days
#26 Posted on | Instant Rating: 0.80
Ken, my annoyance actually wasn't toally towards you, it was mostly towards the hordes of others, who have pretty much written the same thing over and over.

In fact, I never read the thing, since the title, and the fact that most similar columns annoy the shit out of me, actually led me to do something that most people that hate wrestling but still watch it can't do, and stayed away from it.

You do seem to be one of the few writers that have no delusions about how important their writings are, so you're cool to me.

BTW, there's one guy at Scotsmanality that just loves you, his name is Kendergardener, and he likes saying that you can do various disgusting things to him.

And the 4/5 number is a bit conservaitve IMO, I would go with about 29/30.

(edited by King Of Crap on 24.10.03 1930)


You think WWE now is bad? Some of us had to live through 1993-1996!
Jaguar
Knackwurst








Since: 23.1.02
From: In a Blue State finally

Since last post: 1903 days
Last activity: 1903 days
#27 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.51
I'm glad you decided to kiss and make up, KOC, but please please please make sure that next time you get the urge to post it's in a thread you've already read.

And if you don't feel like reading it? That's fine. Just don't post. If you think you've got a valid point to make however, just read the damn thread and make sure somebody hasn't already made it for you.

-Jag

Not trying to pick on King of Crap, just trying to set an example.



To Make Jeb Feel Better: ;)

Note to self:

The less I post, the fewer chances I have to look like an ass.
King Of Crap
Goetta








Since: 17.9.03
From: Holley, New York

Since last post: 6921 days
Last activity: 6852 days
#28 Posted on | Instant Rating: 0.70
I did read the thread, just not the column in question.



You think WWE now is bad? Some of us had to live through 1993-1996!
HMD
Andouille








Since: 8.6.02
From: Canada

Since last post: 2541 days
Last activity: 2541 days
#29 Posted on | Instant Rating: 6.18
    Originally posted by kazhayashi81
    It's a lot more simple than that.

    You just have to look back at 1994.

    Baseball is popular now. Some people worried it would never come back after the season ending strike of 1994. But it did.

    Sure, wrestling's not like baseball. The stories aren't naturally intriguing, they have to be wrote that way in wrestling and they can... but that's not really the focus of what I'm going to see.

    The WWE needs to be DECENT. You're goddamn right they need to lower the price of brand-specific PPVs. NWA-TNA gives 2 hours a week of PPV-quality(you can argue that...) wrestling for $10. If the WWE's non major PPVs were $20 for 2 1/2-3 hours(for longer matches.. hell give them gimmicks.)

    The house show circuit is attrocious. Do you know why people aren't going to the houseshows? It has nothing to do with WWE creative. It's not because of the cards, or the writing.... it's the fucking prices. I took my wife and my two little brothers to a RAW House Show a few months ago. For the four of us, for mediocre seats... it cost $80. Just to get in the door. Across the street, we could've gone to go see a good AAA baseball game for half that price. But we're wrestling fans. So I payed. It wasn't a great show, and I wouldn't pay it again. Slash the prices. Have the wrestlers reach out to the fans. Hold open meet and greets day of show. Free autograph signings. Offer tickets there, with no handling fees, just the face value. No matter how low the ratings have gone, no matter how bad the creative is, and how piss poor angle payoff matches are, there are still kids out there worshipping these larger than life superheroes. That's fucking celebrity. Use it, to get back the core fans. To get them to spend money on the product again.

    The merchandise prices are completely over the top. 10 bucks for a figure? $25 for a screened on T-Shirt? It's not like a concert shirt... where after that tour you'll never find it again. Don't buy it at the house show? Just use shopzone on wwe.com, or order out of WWE or RAW magazine.

    The way to bring in the casual fans, the wrestling fans who don't have a lot of money... to get me to spend my money, as a wrestling fan, on wrestling products again, is to be decent, to have the wrestlers outreach to fans, and to lower your fucking prices.


Ok, I don't agree with any of this, and not on principle. Ideally, I can see where you're going but WWE is not a small company anymore. They've got a lot of divisions under their banner and it costs more to run this company now than it did a few years ago.

You brought 4 people to a show for $80. That means you paid 20 dollars a seat. What the hell are you complaining about? 20 dollars is about what it costs to go to a movie and get a coke and a popcorn to enjoy during the film (at least where I live it is). I've never been to a wrestling show, or for that matter, a concert, a ball game, a fight, a play, or just about anything for 20 dollars a ticket. You said your seats weren't that good, well for 20 bucks a pop you're lucky you didn't get nosebleeds. What exactly do you expect? 5 dollar tickets? Sorry Kaz, but the overhead of running even just a house show can't be approached by that kind of ticket price. They have to pay the boys, move all the equipment in trucks, rent the arena, pay for radio spots or whatnot...and 5 bucks a pop just ain't going to cover that.

PPV prices lowered? Again, the cost of producing a live PPV is outrageous. The high costs are there. Now again, on principle I agree but in actuality I don't see the point in lowering prices during lean times. Comparisons to TNA are irrelevant, because TNA loses money every week. They can't charge more because 1500 smarks purchasing shows out of spite won't cover their overhead. And no matter how hard any of them try, WWE also boasts workers like Benoit, Guerrero, Angle, Mysterio, Jericho, Lesnar, and mic workers like Austin, Vince, Jericho, Heyman, Flair, and Triple H, all whose work few if any in TNA can come close to.

If WWE employed these "decent" price-chopping ideas, that by their very nature are proof the people suggesting them don't know anything about running a business, they'd be bankrupt in a couple months.

Fundamentally, there are no casuals left. The people who go to house shows, buy merch, and buy PPVs are the same people who were going to do so no matter what. If these people are going to support the product regardless, it doesn't make a lot of sense to go out of your way to get thousands of dollars less from them than you could have. PPVs are rarely paid for in my experience. I am the only person I know who ever pays for them. Most people watch them with illegal boxes or in bars; in either case free of charge. If people are going to watch them under those conditions, you may as well bleed the bar dry. Sure, 20 buck PPVs may not seem like much to us. But hell, 180 000 buys at $34.50 is $6 210 000 in the bank. Now, to to break 6 million dollars at a price of $19.99, they'd need to sell 310 000 PPVs. Do you really think making the PPVs twenty bucks is going to convince 130 000 more people to get the PPV? It doesn't make sense mathematically. 15 dollars off PPV prices requires thousands upon thousands of buys just to break even.

And think of the non-McMahons, the office people. Most of the people in that company are not making 6 figures. These PPVs lose cash who do you think will be the first to go?

It doesn't make sense to charge less for a PPV. Or for a t-shirt. Or for tickets to venues. The few ppl buying it now will continue to buy it at the current price, and at these current prices, most of the boys are making $50 000 dollars a year. So, yeah, it's a nice surface complaint but if you actually take time to think about it's moronic to expect them to lower prices of anything during a time when business is down. They need the money now more than ever.

As much as I'd like an olive branch extended to me, this is a business, not a half-way house. And if you think WWE is the only company overpricing their product you must not be wearing pants.





What do you call Albert Einstein beatin' off?
Give up?
A stroke of genius!
madiq
Boerewors








Since: 27.7.03
From: Brooklyn, NY

Since last post: 5739 days
Last activity: 5732 days
#30 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.42
HMD...

I assume you aren't an economics major, so I'll spare you the jargon-laded diatribe about supply curves and inelastic demand and dead weight loss, but I'll try to oppose your argument some other way.

Many good businessmen realize that a loyal fanbase is a commodity that is incredibly valuable, so much so that they try to cultivate this loyalty through various goodwill projects toward that base, in the hopes that they can multiply their number.

Now, I'm not sure who the "Most people" you speak of are, but in my experience with watching wrestling since Wrestlemania (almost 20 years; damn I'm old!), I have NEVER gone to a bar to watch a wrestling Pay Per View. What I have done is get together a group of friends that like wrestling and split the cost. In fact, I'd imagine that that's what MOST people actually do do, because this fundamental assumption is what drives the Pay Per View market.

And yet wrestling is different from boxing, where by-and-large, you pay for the event, and other networks pay for the replay rights, so both hardcore fans and casual fans can maintain a similar awareness of the product. In wrestling there is NO OPPORTUNITY to see a Pay Per View unless you have been convinced that it is worth your money beforehand, and people who see the Pay Per View (or plan to) approach their state of being a fan differently. Face it, each wrestling program is now a two- or one-hour infomercial for the PPV. They want us to buy, because that's how they make money. The storylines, the character development, the match-ettes, they are supposed to build anticipation for the Event. I get it, and so do casual fans. Thus, if a casual fan is not thoroughly sold on the Pay Per View, he can more freely zone out on the programming, since he won't be ordering the PPV, and thus the programming is useless. Now think about the so-called hardcore fan, who WANTS to order the program, but doesn't believe that it'll be worth the money. He or she has casual fan friends that could be persuaded to watch wrestling on occasion, and even ante up for the PPV, but this "hardcore fan" has to commit to ordering the PPV. In addition, this fan has to fill in the casual fans on what is going on.
(Funny that the weekend B shows are geared to the hardcore fans, but show recaps that would only really benefit the casual fans.)

So let's do some more mathematics. Assuming 12 Pay Per Views at $34.95, the Hardcore fan can spend $419.40 a year on WWE Entertainment, compared to 359.40 at the old rate, the equivalent of two more PPVs. So, maybe some fans compensate by ordering 10 PPVs instead of 12, which gives the WWE $349.50, a difference of $9.90 per year, and 0.167 PPVs per month. So, assuming a fanbase of 600,000 (a potential 1.5 buyrate), that is a loss of 100,000 buys per month (or a new buyrate of 1.25). This is rational behavior. And yet, 500,000 buys per month at the new rate gives us $209,700,000 a year, while 600,000 buys per month at the old rate gave us $215,640,000 a year. So a loss of 6 million is coupled witha diminishment in fan interest that comes from lower buyrates.

This is why different companies offer variable pricing: It's a way to distinguish between the high-demand customers and the low-demand ones. The proposal to raise the cost of dual brand PPVs to $39.95 while diminishing the cost of single-brand PPVs to $24.95 is one such measure, as it doesn't change the overall yearly cost, but it distinguishes between fans. Another proposal is a "Yearly Pass" which allows fans to precommit to every PPV for a price which, on a per-month basis, is cheaper than buying them piecemeal at the new rates. The point is, if you study the buyrate data, you'll see that there has been a noticeable buyrate decrease that has led to a revenue decrease not met by the revenue gains from the increase in price. And given that buyrates are still downwardly spiraling (especially on single-brand PPVs), something needs to be done to increase demand. And sometimes, Virginia, a price cut does make economic sense...
HMD
Andouille








Since: 8.6.02
From: Canada

Since last post: 2541 days
Last activity: 2541 days
#31 Posted on | Instant Rating: 6.18
Madiq-

You make a good argument. I personally don't believe that a fairly well-promoted card is going to be any more successful or less successful based on the price (within reason). I was directing my argument more at Kaz, who seems to think dropping the price of everything by 50% is the answer to all WWE's woes.

I do have some understanding of goodwill in economics, though nowhere near yours I'm certain. I just think, personally, that dropping 34 dollar PPVs to 20 bucks across the board would be a mistake at this point. These kinds of things need to be done over long periods with precise study to see what is working and what is not, and the fact the PPV figures take three months to come out doesn't help.

In any case, I still believe the difference in the number of buys based on prices would be neglible. And I believe that while it's true the price increase hasn't offset the decrease in buys, I do think it's "stopped the bleeding" to a certain extent. That can't be proven or disproved one or the next, that's just my feeling on it.

For what it's worth, I don't have more than maybe one, or two friends who would be willing to pitch in for PPV, so my options are more limited than yours. I usually end up buying them all, but this year I skipped Backlash and Judgement Day since I was certain they would suck.



What do you call Albert Einstein beatin' off?
Give up?
A stroke of genius!
3Is
Haggis








Since: 26.4.03
From: Chiba, Japan

Since last post: 6706 days
Last activity: 5533 days
#32 Posted on
1. More Angle

2. More Jericho

3. Have everyone backstage watch a tape of the Harvey Dee / Christian match from a few weeks ago. Shit was nice.

4. Less McMahons (save the occassional Shane booster)

5. Have Christian and HBK fight over the right to use the fish/christian gimmick.

6. Find someone else with one leg for Zach to feud with.

7. Find someone else with no command of English and little ring skills for Goldberg to fued with.

8. Elevate Lance!

9. Title run for Eddie.

10. More Jericho! (please have jericho take the title from Goldberg)

before you losers freak out, this is strictly my personal list.



"We all know what flies are attracted to." -KA
darkdragoon
Bockwurst








Since: 26.8.02

Since last post: 7140 days
Last activity: 7140 days
#33 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.25
1. Lower non-major PPV prices
very iffy...if you make it cheaper then you're admitting it's not as important. but then again it also looks silly to charge the same for unforgiven as say, summerslam or royal rumble.

2. Move towards a more interactive product
I really doubt that would help as much encourage the chant mutants etc. It reeks of having the same old thing done only with "we're listening to the fans!" as a defense.

3. Advertise outside your target demographic
also helpful but don't overdo it.

4. Emphasize the importance of house shows, and give the consumers a reason to attend.

Yes, they do need to be given more significance, but still allow the freedom of not being on TV. But you also need the TV and PPVs to be doing good to encourage people to want more.

5. Give wrestlers more creative freedom
Definitely. at worst they can say "well, it was my idea."

6. Evaluate the roster and cut excess baggage
Again, nice, but I question what they value.

7. Make thought-out, intelligent decisions on who to push and DO IT

But of course.

8. Listen to your fanbase

Nice but depends greatly on the questions asked and what parts of the fanbase are more vocal...

9. Recombine the RAW and Smackdown brands

Nope. Although I think I surprise showup could work, we don't need the usuals now taking up both shows. We don't need a recap of RAW on Smackdown nor vice-versa.

10. Give wrestling an off-season
a break after wrestlemania etc. would be nice, but i can't see them taking off too much time.
Dahak
Frankfurter








Since: 12.5.02
From: Junction City OR.

Since last post: 5470 days
Last activity: 5123 days
#34 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.61
6. Cut excess baggage.
In a lot of ways this is right. There are a lot of wrestlers not being used correctly so they should possibly be cut.
But the WWE never will and here is why.
1. They are there in case someone gets injured. With only 30 wrestlers (about all that are needed for t.v. and PPV) more than 1 or 2 injuries would really hurt the show.
2. The "extra" wrestlers make money for things like house shows. Also they work as fodder. If GB destroys Steve Richards it's a bigger deal than some local indy jobber.
3. The "minor" wrestler might suddenly become major. A change in gimmick. A great match. Something that suddenly this low carder should me moved up to mid card. Or mid to main event.
4. Personal relationships between wrestlers. Minor wrestlers sometimes have other jobs for the company. Or train up and coming talent. Or are just friends with "important" wrestlers.
5. All of the reasons I listed and more are why Vince keeps underutilized wrestlers. But here is the main reason.
As long as they work for WWE they can't work for someone else. Rikishi is a terrible wrestler who I wish would leave forever. But TNA or some other organization would sign him. SCSA was at best an upper midcarder in WCW. What if Rikishi (or far more likely) someone else becomes the center point for a different organization?
As long as the WWE turns a small profit off of people like Richards, Spike, Rico, and others why run the risk of freeing up sizable numbers of good wrestlers who might in 5 years threaten the WWE? Look at TNA's top talent. Half of them are people who were fired by the WWE.



Marge I am just trying to get into heaven not run for Jesus.
kazhayashi81
Potato korv








Since: 17.6.02
From: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Since last post: 6145 days
Last activity: 6096 days
#35 Posted on | Instant Rating: 1.95
UNITED WE STAND

    Originally posted by Hogan's My Dad
    Ok, I don't agree with any of this, and not on principle. Ideally, I can see where you're going but WWE is not a small company anymore. They've got a lot of divisions under their banner and it costs more to run this company now than it did a few years ago.

    You brought 4 people to a show for $80. That means you paid 20 dollars a seat. What the hell are you complaining about? 20 dollars is about what it costs to go to a movie and get a coke and a popcorn to enjoy during the film (at least where I live it is). I've never been to a wrestling show, or for that matter, a concert, a ball game, a fight, a play, or just about anything for 20 dollars a ticket. You said your seats weren't that good, well for 20 bucks a pop you're lucky you didn't get nosebleeds. What exactly do you expect? 5 dollar tickets? Sorry Kaz, but the overhead of running even just a house show can't be approached by that kind of ticket price. They have to pay the boys, move all the equipment in trucks, rent the arena, pay for radio spots or whatnot...and 5 bucks a pop just ain't going to cover that.


Probably the reason I don't go see a lot of big bands in concert. And sporting events, it matters, everything counts. Paying $80, plus another $25 in food to see 2 1/2 hours of half-assed wrestling is not a good value for me or my family and hence, is something I won't be doing again. And I wasn't alone. The Pit was about 1/5 full. And I know there's a wrestling fan audience in Albuquerque. Something tells me that other people made the smarter decision not to blow their money on that.


    PPV prices lowered? Again, the cost of producing a live PPV is outrageous. The high costs are there. Now again, on principle I agree but in actuality I don't see the point in lowering prices during lean times. Comparisons to TNA are irrelevant, because TNA loses money every week. They can't charge more because 1500 smarks purchasing shows out of spite won't cover their overhead. And no matter how hard any of them try, WWE also boasts workers like Benoit, Guerrero, Angle, Mysterio, Jericho, Lesnar, and mic workers like Austin, Vince, Jericho, Heyman, Flair, and Triple H, all whose work few if any in TNA can come close to.


People are not buying the brand-specific PPVs. It is not worth $35 of my money to see Velocity level main events like Jamie Knoble vs. Billy Gunn, A-Train vs. Benoit, or the Bashams vs. APA. If you're only seeing half the roster, it's not worth full price, a price that was recently INCREASED. No one has ever brought in new business raising prices. Has ANY Brand Specific PPV been worth $35? And, the WWE is shooting themselves in the foot. What I do now, and I can guarantee you I'm not alone here, is read a PPV's reports, and if it's generally considered a good PPV, I'll buy the DVD when it comes out in a month for less than half of what the PPV would've cost. Tell me that's good business sense for the WWE. Give me that fucking spin. They raise the price of PPVs, rush the production of the DVDs for them while retailers are making DVDs more affordable.


    If WWE employed these "decent" price-chopping ideas, that by their very nature are proof the people suggesting them don't know anything about running a business, they'd be bankrupt in a couple months.

    Fundamentally, there are no casuals left. The people who go to house shows, buy merch, and buy PPVs are the same people who were going to do so no matter what. If these people are going to support the product regardless, it doesn't make a lot of sense to go out of your way to get thousands of dollars less from them than you could have. PPVs are rarely paid for in my experience. I am the only person I know who ever pays for them. Most people watch them with illegal boxes or in bars; in either case free of charge. If people are going to watch them under those conditions, you may as well bleed the bar dry. Sure, 20 buck PPVs may not seem like much to us. But hell, 180 000 buys at $34.50 is $6 210 000 in the bank. Now, to to break 6 million dollars at a price of $19.99, they'd need to sell 310 000 PPVs. Do you really think making the PPVs twenty bucks is going to convince 130 000 more people to get the PPV? It doesn't make sense mathematically. 15 dollars off PPV prices requires thousands upon thousands of buys just to break even.


That is where you are 100% wrong. There still are casual wrestling fans. I've come across a lot of them. People that will buy a WWE Magazine, but won't order an event. People that visit the websites but don't spend money on the WWE, because, quite frankly, it is very fucking expensive to support the WWE like that. If the WWE dropped the prices, belive it or not, people would say "No Mercy's not worth $35, but I think for $20, I'd spend on it." They might not in your area, but don't assume that your opinions are the absolute truth. I know a lot of people that according to you don't exist. People that will watch occassionally, buy some merchandise, but not spend on the WWE's big cash cows. Coworkers that ask about WrestleMania the day after but didn't buy it themselves. So don't tell me these people don't exist. They do, they're just not willing to spend the type of money the WWE requires you to spend to support. If there was no casual fan, I'd be able to find any wrestling video game for rent whenever I went to the video store because the hardcores would have the game purchased. But that doesn't happen.

And the WWE is not the only overpriced company. A bunch of them are. But people are buying what they're selling. You think it's just because of creative or the "down cycle" or whatever fucking spin the WWE tries to put on it. And staying defiant about their prices isn't going to attract any new fans. It's not about being a halfway house, it's about trying to go out of their way to attract the casual fan back. It's about what baseball did when they dropped ticket prices and players started outreaching to fans, staying to sign autographs after the season ending strike. They built goodwill, they attracted people back out, got them interested again, and then gradually brought the prices back up. That's good economic sense. That's something the WWE has their heads up their asses about. You're not going to change my mind, I'm not going to change yours. So fuck it, whatever.





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If WWE really has some need to King on the show, we need Heel King, circa 1995. As a youngster, I thought he was annoying, then when I got older, I thought he was great, now he's annoying again.
- King Of Crap, Better Way to work Coach Vs. JR (2003)
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