Originally posted by dwatersThanks a lot Mike Myers. Now I can't hear anyone like Drew McIntyre speak with a Scottish brogue and not picture a big green cartoon ogre. I wonder if Shrek would have been as successful if the lead had been voiced by Chris Farley as originally planned.
Funny, I can't hear it and not think "Wee, nuh-so-wee, and FRICKIN HOOOOOOOOUUUUGE."
Originally posted by Mr ShhI just showed the closing segment to my gf. Her first reaction was that while Vince was outside the ring, he switched the contracts, and that Punk tore up the original. Vince still has the one with Punk's signature (assuming he did sign it and wasn't just screwing with Vince).
We looked at it again carefully, and no such switch took place, but it'd be a neat out for them.
That's not to say they can't SAY they switched it. With the WWE who cares about facts and the truth? They will all be forgotten tomorrow.
Originally posted by Torchslasher And to The Guinness, they did have a graphic for Melina and Justin Roberts did indeed say her name. But yes, Melina was in and out and done quickly. That's fine with me though, so I didn't care.
Originally posted by Mr ShhI just showed the closing segment to my gf. Her first reaction was that while Vince was outside the ring, he switched the contracts, and that Punk tore up the original. Vince still has the one with Punk's signature (assuming he did sign it and wasn't just screwing with Vince).
We looked at it again carefully, and no such switch took place, but it'd be a neat out for them.
That's not to say they can't SAY they switched it. With the WWE who cares about facts and the truth? They will all be forgotten tomorrow.
Except that contract isn't feasible and will cause more problems than it will solve, storyline-wise. They'd have to adhere to each and every nonsensical item Punk mentioned.
Originally posted by odessasteps 2.9 rating for RAW
That's it? I want to see the PPV numbers and the following week's Raw rating before I get real worried but....
If the poor ratings remain, it shows that catering to the internet crowd does absolutely nothing as far as money or viewership.
Another bad sign is that there were many empty seats at the Boston Garden.
(edited by shawnpatrick on 12.7.11 2208)
Meh. Catering to the internet doesn't draw big ratings or money, but this has been known for at least fifteen years now. Half of the original ECW guys are still waiting to get paid. That being said, I still think the Punk stuff is not too inside to be accesible to the average viewer, and certainly has gone nowhere near Russo territory talking about booking committees and "all previous wrestling matches are fake except this NEXT one" and such like. Punk's angle has stayed wrestling. It promoted the PPV event as the place where you get resolution. It promoted victory and defeat as really important. It promoted the WWE title as really, really important. It probably won't draw that much more money, but on the basis of execution I don't see how anyone in the company could deny it makes more sense that the glut of forgettable shit they've put out the past several years.
(edited by Hogan's My Dad on 12.7.11 2038) Quiet, Or Papa Spank!
I agree with all you said and I really hope PPV buyrates go up as a result. This angle is hot right now and I enjoy it very much.
But where WWF gets it's best ratings is when they bring in recycled crap like the Rock or Stone Cold. That sucks but it's also proven true.
I think this angle works with the heads of the average viewer, but to the NEW or CASUAL viewer, it's hard to follow. And it's the new and casual viewer the WWE so much covets. The WWE knows 90 percent of their viewers will watch no matter what crap they throw out there. Those they take for granted.
Anyhow, I REALLY hope the WWE is rewarded with this angle by increased PPV numbers.
The QHs tell a not quite so disastrous story, unless you're McGillicutty. Punk's segments (and Piper Perabo's) were the only ones people watched:
Originally posted by ObserverIn the segment-by-segment, the show opened at a 3.12 level for Punk and John Cena in the ring. Cena vs. David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty lost 475,000 viewers, which is not good. A Mark Henry video, plus Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Vickie Guerrero and Vince McMahon backstage lost 4,500 viewers. Kelly Kelly vs. Melina lost 128,000 viewers. The Miz and all the Money in the Bank guys doing promos one-by-one gained 382,000 viewers, which is less than the top of the hour usually gets. Miz & R-Truth & Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne & Kofi Kingston & Alex Riley lost 274,000 viewers. Big Show vs. Ziggler & McIntyre with the post-match Mark Henry attack lost 281,000 viewers and did a 2.61 quarter, which is just dreadful. The final segment with McMahon, Punk and Cena gained 1,346,000 viewers, one of the biggest growth segments of the year, closing at a 3.50. It should be noted that going 16 minutes past the hour instead of the usual 5-8 minutes means double or triple the amount of time to both gain new viewers, and pick up the viewers tuning in for the next show.
Not that it makes a huge dent, but the fact that the Home Run Derby was on, and that Boston and New York had the two guys in the finals, may have shaved a chunk off the rating. Nothing too significant I'm sure, but I think F4W mentioned that the HRD usually costs Raw a few tenths every year.
Originally posted by spfNot that it makes a huge dent, but the fact that the Home Run Derby was on, and that Boston and New York had the two guys in the finals, may have shaved a chunk off the rating. Nothing too significant I'm sure, but I think F4W mentioned that the HRD usually costs Raw a few tenths every year.
But you also had no local baseball broadcasts, which means the Boston/New York number wouldn't be that drastic a switch at all.
Speaking of ratings...while I get the "people tuning in for the next show boosts overrun rating" argument, I think (a) people who tune in to watch the show after Raw know there will be an overrun by now and will compensate for that by tuning in later, and (b) I bet a ton of people who are casual wrestling fans tune in at 11:00 just to see how the show ends, since that's usually the crescendo of the show. So I feel like crediting the overrun viewership solely to people tuning in for the next show is a little out of whack.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroThe QHs tell a not quite so disastrous story, unless you're McGillicutty. Punk's segments (and Piper Perabo's) were the only ones people watched:
Originally posted by ObserverIn the segment-by-segment, the show opened at a 3.12 level for Punk and John Cena in the ring. Cena vs. David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty lost 475,000 viewers, which is not good. A Mark Henry video, plus Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Vickie Guerrero and Vince McMahon backstage lost 4,500 viewers. Kelly Kelly vs. Melina lost 128,000 viewers. The Miz and all the Money in the Bank guys doing promos one-by-one gained 382,000 viewers, which is less than the top of the hour usually gets. Miz & R-Truth & Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne & Kofi Kingston & Alex Riley lost 274,000 viewers. Big Show vs. Ziggler & McIntyre with the post-match Mark Henry attack lost 281,000 viewers and did a 2.61 quarter, which is just dreadful. The final segment with McMahon, Punk and Cena gained 1,346,000 viewers, one of the biggest growth segments of the year, closing at a 3.50. It should be noted that going 16 minutes past the hour instead of the usual 5-8 minutes means double or triple the amount of time to both gain new viewers, and pick up the viewers tuning in for the next show.
Amusingly, that almost exactly reflects how I FF'd the show on my TiVo.
Basically, I watched every bit of Punk, & wasn't interested at all in any of the rest of the mess. This has got to be a bad sign for somebody who just went to all 3 of the preceding live tapings, & had a great time at them. But really:
-- Otunga's still awful, the only redeeming value he did have was talking, & he's not doing any of that. Having them against Cena at the top of the show was pointless.
-- Vickie, Dolph & Drew discussing Vince's halitosis in increasingly kindergartnerish terms was hideous. Insert wrestling here please.
-- KellyKelly vs BellaBella continues to be potty-break worthy. Throwing Melina (whom I like) in there wasn't nearly enough to overcome the dross.
-- Bla-bla talking promos about MiTB. Seems like my guess was correct, & that nobody said anything all that compelling. I did back up to see what Truth's conspiracy of the day was, then zipped right back up to speed. Do I think they're going to do anything particularly interesting in a match pre-PPV? No, I do not. FF.
-- Big Show trying to pimp some interest in Mark Henry? Pass. (I did go back after the fact to see if there was anything interesting in the spot off the stage. There wasn't. Hope Drew didn't get hurt.)
-- And back to Punk stuff, which I will watch.
The other amusing element is that I've never been a particular Punk fan. I like what he does, respect his workrate, can tell he's a good talker when given the chance. But it'snow awesomely obvous that he can work the hell out of a good program. I'm fascinated by how this is rolling out, with Mr Golden Boy Cena. This is good stuff!
Thread ahead: The WWE Title: "that thing has been far too ugly for far too long" Next thread: CM Punk interviewed by GQ Previous thread: twitter vs. Vince McMahon
The Royal Rumble rules. King of The Ring would be much more interesting if the tournament involved the top stars and wasn't just filled with midcarders. It tends to be really predictable... TM