The Wrestling Thread: WWE WrestleMania XL - 6/7 April 2024

[Prototype]

I would expect to see WWE hit the reset button in some capacity within the next year. There's no way the current model is sustainable. If they lose their TV deal they are finished.

[captain red dog]

I would expect to see WWE hit the reset button in some capacity within the next year. There's no way the current model is sustainable. If they lose their TV deal they are finished.

I think they will hit a reset button as soon as live crowds are allowed back. But the TV deal has 4 years left to run I believe, and they are by far the top rated show on USA network. They might not get quite such a lucrative deal next time, but I don't think there is any chance they will lose a deal.

[Prototype]

I would expect to see WWE hit the reset button in some capacity within the next year. There's no way the current model is sustainable. If they lose their TV deal they are finished.

I think they will hit a reset button as soon as live crowds are allowed back. But the TV deal has 4 years left to run I believe, and they are by far the top rated show on USA network. They might not get quite such a lucrative deal next time, but I don't think there is any chance they will lose a deal.

They are haemorrhaging viewers. The reset needs to happen sooner or later.

AEW, even in this climate, are gaining momentum again.

[coldspice]

Any company run by VKM isn't changing any time soon.

The day Raw dips under 1m viewers will be hilarious.

[gaminglegend]

I’ve completely lost interest without the crowds I’ve found. I’ve seen some catch ups on YouTube, but I’ve just no real draw to watching it at the moment.

It doesn’t feel exciting, there’s no star power that I feel is grabbing me to the product either. & I think the only people that have been entertaining has been Bayley/Sasha.

If they do Summerslam on a boat/beach I’ll watch it, but I’m quite happy to sit out till then to be honest.

[captain red dog]

I've got a bit of a gripe with AEW for once. They seem great at taking a lot of under used stars from WWE, but managing to put them in the same position that Vince had them in. Luke Harper comes over, has one title match and ends up back in the mid card. Jack Swagger seems to be in the same position. They are bringing in Indie stars every week to job out to Cody.

Brian Cage comes in and loses because Taz threw in the towel, and now he looks like he will be back on the mid card.

Ricky Starks seems a decent prospect but he's already lost when the focus was on him. He can probably work his way through it.

But Darby Allin gets another title shot next week, he has absolutely no chance of winning. I can see another dusty finish with interference from Cage. How is he going to break through as a top star when there is basically nothing to pin on him in terms of the top title or even a mid card one?

[KK]

Decided to watch SmackDown as there’s nothing else on of interest tonight, and I see their latest idea is to redo Saturday Night’s Main Event from the 80s/early 90s and start the show off with a load of backstage promos and mugging to camera, accompanied with generic music that’s not nearly as memorable as Animotion.

I hope this rumour of SummerSlam taking place on a beach or a cruise (I wonder where they got those ideas from...) come to fruition because I don’t know how people can sit through these Performance Center shows for much longer, they’re boring as hell. Just having the backdrop of the sea would look great.

[captain red dog]

Yeah they really need some variety now. It's incredible just how much better AEW are doing in a much larger arena where you think the lack of crowd would make things worse.

It feels like WWE are just happy to run things out for a profit as a pure business. They are still making a ton of money so they don't need to change. I think their TV deal is guaranteed for another 4 years, so unless viewership reduces to almost nothing, I don't think they have any impetus to change. Even in 4 years time, if they are still doing similar numbers then the USA network will probably renew Raw.

[Saint of Killers]

Rock bought XFL.

[Cumberdanes]

Rock bought XFL.

That reminds me of something from years ago. I'm sure Jericho said in an interview that if he'd known at the time how little Vince paid for WCW he'd have bought it himself.

[KK]

Such wackiness. The Rock buying the XFL from under Vince McMahon would (well, more like should) have been one of those all time great wrestling storylines. There's Shane buying WCW from under him, and now The Rock's gone and stolen his football league.

Saying that, this is definitely getting referenced on WWE TV at some point.

[Return_of_the_STAR]

Very interesting. I wonder if Vince decided not to buy the rights back off the bankrupt firm. I would be shocked if Dwayne did it without speaking to Vince first.

[Prototype]

Aug 19 AEW Dynamite will be moved to the Saturday after.
Aug 26 and Sep 16 will take place the night after

This is due to the NBA coming back to TNT.

Wonder if VInce will reschedule NXT

[KK]

Shane McMahon’s going to be on RAW tonight, along with a new faction:

The Superstars comprising this faction have yet to be revealed, but rumblings around the WWE Performance Center say that the group is out to cause chaos and shake up the organization's structure.

Both stories hidden away on WWE.com. Had they actually announced this on last week’s RAW or SmackDown they’d have pulled in more viewers. At this point either just go out and surprise people so they go ‘gooseberry fool, we missed something good on RAW’ or announce it on TV. Don’t announce something a few hours prior to showtime on Twitter so only a few thousand people know about it.

Lack of any planning. Apparently they’re taping 2 RAW episodes tonight and according to various sources it’s chaos backstage.

[Rawrgna]

I guess its time to Shock The System with Micheal coles nephew Adam Cole Bah Gawd!

[Return_of_the_STAR]

Shane McMahon’s going to be on RAW tonight, along with a new faction:

The Superstars comprising this faction have yet to be revealed, but rumblings around the WWE Performance Center say that the group is out to cause chaos and shake up the organization's structure.

Both stories hidden away on WWE.com. Had they actually announced this on last week’s RAW or SmackDown they’d have pulled in more viewers. At this point either just go out and surprise people so they go ‘gooseberry fool, we missed something good on RAW’ or announce it on TV. Don’t announce something a few hours prior to showtime on Twitter so only a few thousand people know about it.

Lack of any planning. Apparently they’re taping 2 RAW episodes tonight and according to various sources it’s chaos backstage.

WWE have been screwing up announcements and surprises like this for years now. It makes no sense as you say. If they aren't going to announce it in good time to build up some interest then they need to hold it off as a surprise. For me surprises are the better option as that's what wrestling used to be about. You tuned in as you never knew what was going to happen.

[KK]

The first rule of RAW Underground is you don’t talk about RAW Underground...

[captain red dog]

The new faction didn't appear right?

I can see Raw Underground only lasting a couple of weeks. Sounds like a gooseberry fool concept.

[KK]

They were on the show (they set a generator on fire) but were never revealed.

This RAW Underground will probably run for as long as that Mick Foley hour did where they turned all the lights off and changed the graphics to make it more edgy and ‘hardcore’ (2 weeks?).

The best idea is of course just to revert back to 2 hours and make the second hour the War Zone again. RAW is too long and that 3rd hour is normally a killer for them as loads of people turn the show off, but I can’t see them dumping it until it dips below a million viewers. Thus another concept. It’s different at least, but it doesn’t have legs. WWE appear to realise people want an edgier programme (which was also the whole point of the short lived Shotgun Saturday Night back in the day) but for various reasons (sponsors) don’t want to go all the way with it.

Yet at the same time they’re now gouging wrestler’s eyeballs out on TV...which is just pure gooseberry fool.

[Return_of_the_STAR]

Checked Raw out for the first time in a long long time.

I liked the Raw Underground idea. It’s very different. I don’t know though how something could carry on long term as it seems very limited in what can happen, despite the anything goes tag line.

One question can Dominik Mysterio actually wrestle? I guess we will find out at Summerslam.

The mysterious faction looked like a bunch of wild teenagers attacking that generator (whatever it was) outside the building. Maybe it was the angle of the camera but it didn’t do them any justice.

Is Samoa Joe done with wrestling or is he on commentary due to a long term injury?