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The W - Pro Wrestling - Another example of WWE's downsliding...
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RKMtwin
Boudin rouge








Since: 1.3.02
From: Denver, Colorado

Since last post: 5627 days
Last activity: 5070 days
#1 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.65
This newsbit I came across today discusses WWE's disappointment with the recent Asia tour and also their merchandise sales in conjunction to this. For those of you who may not have come across this info (on 411, incidentally), here's the link:

Click Here (411mania.com)

And for those of you who don't want to click on over, here's the bit of news here--

While domestic business for WWE has been weak for the past few years, they have been taking solace in the fact that international business remained strong. Now that appears to be going as well.

Many in the company are very disappointed with the crowds, crowd reactions, and merchandise sales for WWE's recent tours of Korea, Singapore, and Perth. In the past, WWE has gotten massive crowds and business in new markets but that was not the case this time around.

Add to all this the fact that WWE wrestlers had a horrible time dealing with long flights and horrible weather, and the tours were considered failures by most.

The main line of thinking regarding the drop in merchandise sales is that there is no longer any key superstar that drives merchandise sales. Right now, nobody is over enough to create must-buy merchandise.

Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter


For one thing, does WWE think fans overseas are fickle? If the product ain't all that great, that translates to the audience, no matter where that audience may be. Does WWE assume that just because Australia doesn't get live events often, that they'll shell out dough and sell out arenas for any CRAP that WWE throws together for a show? Of course not!

Additionally, in terms of merchandise, well HELLO! (Hey WWE, c'mere a sec. Lemme give you a tip. If you create ugly merchandise, no one's going to want to burn their cash to buy it. At least, during the late 1990s boom, the T-shirts that were coming out from the WWF and WCW were cool enough that one could wear them in public and not get scoffed or laughed at.)

I mean, (and no disrespect intended, but) why in the world would I buy a shirt that says 'HBK' in a Jesus fish? And why oh why would I want to wear a shirt in front of other people that says, "Paid, Made and Laid," and look like a complete and total egotistical, self-aggrandizing jackass?

What to you folks think? GO!




If there's any doubt, just go to this link for a confidence boost, brothas and sistas!
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Overmind
Linguica








Since: 17.10.02
From: Orlando, FL

Since last post: 6721 days
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#2 Posted on
I can relate to this. A friend from work and I went to Armageddon and were interested in buying some shirts. Neither of us found anything that was appealing. Not only were the shirts ugly, but they were all black (not really my color, and not the best color to be wearing outside most of the year here in Florida).

I noticed that a lot of people at the PPV were wearing the shirts they bought back in the late 1990's. I guess they consider outdated nWo shirts better than the current selection. At least I occasionally see THOSE shirts in public.



    Originally posted by spf2119
    All things lead to Mae Young's crotch.

I fear for us all.
Big Bad
Scrapple








Since: 4.1.02
From: Dorchester, Ontario

Since last post: 1927 days
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#3 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.54
The only decent shirts that wrestling has ever produced that were actually decent to wear out in public were the classic nWo shirt, Austin 3:16 and the Foley shirt with the happy face in the Mankind shackles.

Other than that, I totally agree...the vast, vast majority of WWE and WCW gear is just too nerdy to wear out in public. For example, you never see a Red Sox fan walking around wearing a shirt with Kevin Millar on the front with a 'It's Time To Cowboy Up' caption on it.



Rob asks Dave and Ric if they want to go backstage to play Hungry Hungry Hippos and Flair and Batista immediately bail. Flair wants to be Green. Man, EVERYBODY wants to be green. Except the girl in the commercials. She wanted to be pink. That either means that the ad agency was sexist or that she was communist. Of course Hungry Hungry Hippos is a rather capitalist game isn’t it? No self respecting communist would play Hungry Hungry Hippos. Except Stalin. He LOVED Hungry Hungry Hippos. God, I’ve got no clue what the hell I’m rambling about anymore.-- Matt "Excalibur05" Hocking, Raw Satire writer extraordinaire

You know, I just can't call it the "WWE." I just can't. My body's rejecting it like a bad liver transplant.-- Bill Simmons, espn.com/page2
RKMtwin
Boudin rouge








Since: 1.3.02
From: Denver, Colorado

Since last post: 5627 days
Last activity: 5070 days
#4 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.65
I just had to chime in straight away (although I know this is not supposed to be a chatroom format!).

I totally agree with the two of you, Overmind and Big Bad. I can share an anecdote real quickly with you all to help illustrate this idea--

In April 2002, my brother and I went to a RAW brand house show at the Denver Coliseum, shortly after the split. Guess what we both observed? People wearing 1998 era Austin 3:16, dX, and nWo tees. And a few Undertaker shirts, Hardyz shirts (mostly the girls) and a Triple H cross shirt here and there.

Forward to September 2002's RAW in Denver at the Pepsi Centet. My brother and I noticed all but a scant handful of people wearing wrestling shirts period. I think we saw only one person with a RAW jersey in the sea of people in our section (and of course, the two of US had current wretling shirts on. And what were they? Austin 'WHAT?' shirts, so sue us. Why? Because they were the only shirts remotely close enough to the 1997-98 era tees).

This just illustrates how out of touch WWE is with the fan base. And everything that's been going on with both brands reflects this. Lack of merchandise sales, low viewership, house show attendance taking a freefall. For the love of all that's decent, WWE only had 6,900 paid at MSG recently, and had to paper the crowd with 2,000 tix!!! 6,900 PAID. IN MSG. There is something VERY wrong with that.

So what does everybody else have to say about this?



If there's any doubt, just go to this link for a confidence boost, brothas and sistas!
Click Here (yourethemannowdog.com)
A-MOL
Frankfurter








Since: 26.6.02
From: York, England

Since last post: 7317 days
Last activity: 7259 days
#5 Posted on | Instant Rating: 6.31
I can relate somewhat being a foreign fan. The last tour over here, Passport To Pain, wasn't sold out, which is quite unusual for a UK tour. I could get tickets easily, instead of the usual up at 9am Saturday morning on constant redial. Apart from that, there seemed to be confusion about the tour. It was the Smackdown tour, but in many listings, it wasn't made clear. I saw many fans with "Kane" and "HBK" signs.

The WWE has known that UK fans tend to be pretty loyal to them. However, it does seem that the appetite for them is going down over here. The biggest cheer I heard at the show - The Undertaker. No-one got near to matching that heat, apart from Ultimo (?) and a Cena rap that backfired (insulting David Beckham and Manchester United usually gets a cheer in Manchester. Poor guy).

As to shirt sales, the best selling product seemed to be "Cheat 2 Win" t-shirts. Pretty much the only thing that was selling.



...full of energy. Multi-orgasmic, if you will, in a cosmic sort of way."

madiq
Boerewors








Since: 27.7.03
From: Brooklyn, NY

Since last post: 5739 days
Last activity: 5732 days
#6 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.25
I think it was Jeb T Lund who once posited that the gaudy large-print shirts that are typically sold by WWE, while ok to look at on TV or in the arena, would not be something that a middle-class person would feel comfortable wearing out in public.

I concur. I also think that as of late, the shirts aren't imaginative enough. Right now, I like the John Cena "Throwback" shirt, and Goldberg and Misterio logo shirts, but I'm more of an "understated" guy myself, and big font catchphrases that cover my back aren't my cup of tea.

I think it'd behoove the WWE, considering that WWEshopzone is web-based, to offer broader selections of color-schemes, because there are only so many black shirts that a person needs.

Also, the WWE doesn't consider that sometimes a shirt that a wrestler wears isn't cute, even though it stands out in crowds. Given how wrestling has been driven back underground, a necessary component of buying a wrestling shirt is the degree to which you can wear it without looking like a fool.

My favorite merchandise that never made it to merchandise status: The TEAM ANGLE Velour Sweatsuit. That was SWANK!
xzim
Chaurice








Since: 18.12.03
From: philly, pa

Since last post: 7404 days
Last activity: 7390 days
#7 Posted on
I agree with all of you!!!
I mean I'm as big as a wrestling fan as all of you, but I would feel like a real jackass wearing the recent WWE shirts. Their designers have no taste or style. The only one I'm digging is the Cena old school WWF/E logo shirt.

I just checked to see if any graphic design jobs are available at the WWE, but all is taking up. I guess they're happy with the retards that are already working there. What a shame. :(



"The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad."
- Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
Simba
Frankfurter








Since: 7.8.02
From: Boston, MA

Since last post: 5948 days
Last activity: 5556 days
#8 Posted on | Instant Rating: 6.20
If they're really concerned about International business, they should just send co-brand rosters on the tours.



Reserved for future use.
Irvine_frost
Cotto








Since: 11.12.03
From: Chile, Coyhaique city

Since last post: 6301 days
Last activity: 6285 days
#9 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.06
well, the only original merchansise of WWE thats is selled here in chile is the "RAW deal" trading card game, is very sad. c´mon they missing the real target here, WWE programs are viewed for a large amount of people, from a wide age segment (13-24) and the only merchandise we got is a card game...



Heres comes the men from the Chilean Patagonia!!
Battlezone
Potato korv








Since: 27.2.03
From: Seattle, Washington

Since last post: 5588 days
Last activity: 321 days
#10 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.80
You know, I might buy a couple of shirts if they didn't all seem to follow that "logo on the front/caption on the back" format that they ALL have to have. Rey Mysterio's latest shirt looks pretty cool on the front, but then they muck it up with all that crap on the back.

It would be interesting to see what might happen if the WWE followed this whole throwback phase, and dumped a whole bunch of NWO, D-X and Austin tees back on the market. I'd bet they'd sell a lot quicker than this new stuff.




8-0, 0-0 A-10
Net Hack Slasher
Banger








Since: 6.1.02
From: Outer reaches of your mind

Since last post: 7033 days
Last activity: 5453 days
#11 Posted on | Instant Rating: 6.59
Let me pile on and agree on how brutal these latest run of shirts are. I swear they got some 20 year old virgin from some crappy community college who spends all his time thinking up sexual innuendoes or play on words.

BigShow "Chicks Dig it Big?" (because big all over sold soooo well, *rolls eyes*). Mysterio "Wine, Dine, 619 me". Stratus "blow me.. to the Stratusphere" (do they even know the demographic that would buy a Trish shirt?). Even Evolution "Paid, Maid and Laid" (those shirts sold for like 2 weeks)... These are all so freakin lame. That's right geeky marketer nerd, we GET IT, idiotic sexual innuendo and not so innuendo in your shirts. Har Har so clever. Too bad no one (or very few) are GETTING their wallets out and buying this crap.

You know what sold well, classic Austin, I still see classic Y2J. Simple and effective... Last shows I went I see Hurricane shirts being sold very well, especially for an undercard guy like him, again simple shirt with a logo. And I see lots of Jeff Hardy shirts STILL being worn, once again a "JH" logo. Plus those two shirts are like the only two aren't in black.

These merchandise and marketing losers need to make shirts that people would give $30 so they can WEAR. Not shirts that make whoever designed it chuckle and giggle on how clever they are while sketching it out even though it has no appeal after the first time you read it... It is amazing a few years ago if you don't get your shirts early when you go to the show half of the stuff will be sold out once intermission or the end of the show comes. Nowadays I pass by a souvenir stand before the show and then look at it after the show and plenty of shirts of every kind available. Well atleast those wacky innuendo slogans look so clever and funny as you walk by and NOT BUY IT.



Christmas is the one time of year when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ. - Bart Simpson
HitTheSnoozeButton
Boudin rouge








Since: 2.1.02
From: Pittsburgh PA

Since last post: 5533 days
Last activity: 2739 days
#12 Posted on
One other shirt that I think has been lost in the shuffle as far as naming good shirts from back in the day would have to be any of the old "Brahma Bull" Rock shirts. My friend is a huge Rock fan, yet not a huge wrestling fan (go figure) and he had a simple shirt with the red-eyed bull on the front and I think the phrase "If ya smell..." on the back. Simple, not really gaudy, yet very effective. I wouldn't have felt stupid wearing that shirt out in public at all.

Now as for the new "How's Your Lips?" shirts...UGH.



"She's screaming like crazy...You have this myth you're sharing the birth experience. Unless you're passing a bowling ball, I don't think so. Unless you're circumcising yourself with a chainsaw, I don't think so. Unless you're opening an umbrella up your ass, I don't think so."
--Robin Williams on birth
ripblazer
Pickled pork








Since: 16.1.02
From: Calgary Alberta Canada

Since last post: 6910 days
Last activity: 6742 days
#13 Posted on
I agree, most shirts are way too gaudy to be wearable in public unless you are ten.

One shirt I would have gladly purchased if I could have gotten one was the "Evil" shirt.
BigVitoMark
Lap cheong








Since: 10.8.02
From: Queen's University, Canada

Since last post: 6821 days
Last activity: 6731 days
ICQ:  
#14 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.10
The problem I find with WWE shirts is that they have to be very obvious that they're WWE shirts. It's as if it's not enough that people buy the merchandise, but they need to be advertising for the product while they wear it. I've heard more than one person say, for example, that the RVD yin-yang/dragon logo t-shirts look cool and are something they might wear, except they always have to have a big RVD or WWE logo on them. That makes the difference between them being cool shirts and being wrestling shirts with a cool logo on them and, ultimately, the difference between buying them or not.



The Toronto Maple Leafs are built for the playoffs. Of course they are. What Leafs fans don't realize, though, is "built for the playoffs" is just GM-speak for "short on skill, kinda slow, and can't score over an 80 game season".
Overmind
Linguica








Since: 17.10.02
From: Orlando, FL

Since last post: 6721 days
Last activity: 5821 days
#15 Posted on
    Originally posted by xzim
    The only one I'm digging is the Cena old school WWF/E logo shirt.


That's interesting. The guy I went to the PPV with wanted only that shirt (or Cena's other shirt, I think). He brought along extra money just to buy one. Unfortunately for him (and WWE), WWE stayed true to the brand extension and was only selling RAW brand shirts. I might've considered getting one also because of its retro look and no stupid phrases (that I've noticed).

I agree with BigVitoMark: if they want to see more shirts, they need to cut back on their obvious advertising. I understand that they would want acknowledgement, but a small logo of the wrester and one with the WWE logo should suffice. Unless turning the few fans who buy the stuff into walking advertisements is more important to them than making more money...



    Originally posted by spf2119
    All things lead to Mae Young's crotch.

I fear for us all.
Ken Baumgartner
Loukanika








Since: 1.7.03

Since last post: 7366 days
Last activity: 7113 days
#16 Posted on
Pretty much all the shirts are terrible, overpriced, or both. Definitely nothing any self respecting person would wear.
BushLied
Medisterpoelse








Since: 8.11.03
From: Undisclosed Location

Since last post: 7401 days
Last activity: 7198 days
#17 Posted on
This is like the movie/music downloading heat we've been getting from the RIAA and the MPAA. They should stop making crap if they want their CDs to sell and for people to see any movie (besides Return of the King) at the theatre!

Growing up, the bag from the store you carried was just as important to how cool you were as was the merchandise inside. And the WWE is so not cool right now. So no WWE bag for me. Plus the product sucks.

The Smackdown main event is Brock Lesnar vs. Bob Holly and the WWE wants me to get excited about any superstar's t-shirt? Pulease. This will be the first year I'll happily bypass the Rumble even though I like the Rumble match itself. With the Flair '92 Rumble on DVD, I'll just pop that in instead.

Plus shirts that skimp on poor material to begin with (XL my ass!) aren't exactly the best things to market to the overweight North American public. Not when I can get good stuff that fits at my local Mark's Work Wearhouse for half the price and iron on my own designs if I want.
Jerichoholic
Pinkelwurst








Since: 23.12.03
From: Amsterdam, holland

Since last post: 7300 days
Last activity: 7299 days
#18 Posted on
Apart from the uglyness of the merchandise there's also the matter of pricing. NWATNA, MLW and RoH send their shirts overseas for a $8 shipping fee. WWE asks a $40 shipping fee!
That's just criminal!
spf
Scrapple








Since: 2.1.02
From: The Las Vegas of Canada

Since last post: 3069 days
Last activity: 404 days
#19 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.39
The only wrestling shirt I've ever owned that I could wear solely for its design was the Crow-era Sting shirt that had nothing on it save the scorpion on the front. That shirt looks cool, it has nothing to ID it as a wrestling shirt, and it's held up well despite many wearings. I would buy more wrestling shirts if they looked decent, but I just cannot justify spending money to buy any of the current WWE crap shirts that are out there, things that only look semi-appropriate on the person for whom they were designed.



Toil not to gain wealth, cease to be concerned about it. Proverbs 23:4

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JustinShapiro
Scrapple
Moderator








Since: 12.12.01

Since last post: 1764 days
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#20 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.99
I have the WHAT? shirt and it still rules. But that's the only recent one I would ever buy. WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT. "F0ck Fear Drink Beer" sucks. "How's Your Lips" sucks and isn't even grammatically correct.

"One shirt I would have gladly purchased if I could have gotten one was the "Evil" shirt."

Kai En Tai or Big Evil Red Devil?
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Will Hall, Hogan,and Nash be coming in with complete creative control over their characters, like they had in WCW? I read somewhere that Hall and Nash have a reduced road schedule written into their contracts, but nothing about booking power ...
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