Guest Posted June 7, 2002 Report Posted June 7, 2002 Vince McMahon: State of WWE, Cornette/Ferrera, HBK, more Friday, June 7, 2002 Hosts: Kevin Kelly and Tom Prichard Guest: Vince McMahon Report by: Kevin Gregg of Powerwrestling.com WWE Byte This! Opener: WWE Byte This! opened up with footage from this past Monday night on RAW when Kevin Nash introduced the newest member of the nWo, Shawn Michaels! In the studio: Kevin Kelly and Tom Prichard were the hosts for today and they started it off by talking about the big return of Shawn Michaels. Vince McMahon will be today's guest and today's show is being dubbed the 'State of the Business Address' with Vince. Tazz will be on the show later on with some exclusive news on Tough Enough 3. Droz joins the show: Droz joined the show and Kevin brought up the forest fires as of late but Droz has been fine. Kevin asked Droz how he feels about the return of Shawn Michaels and Droz said this is what the nWo needs to get back on top. Kevin talked about the WWE.com interview with Shawn Michaels and he brought up the fact that he lied about the Bret Hart thing and then he says that the Heartbreak Kid is dead, but then he's back two weeks later. Are we to believe that he's a born again Christian or what? Look at the past and look what's happening now. Droz said that he remembers when he was coming in, there was someone who was to be 'born again,' but it was far from the truth. Time will definitely tell if Shawn Michaels is born again or what. Tom said that there are people who think that Shawn didn't know about the Montreal screw job until he was out there and some feel that Shawn is covering for someone else, but Tom feels that Shawn knew all along. Kevin asked Droz if he could ask Vince one question, what would it be? Droz said that it would be where does he think things are heading with the Superstars? And why is there such a different energy level between RAW and Smackdown!? They then wrapped it up with Droz and he'll be back on the show next week... Tazz joins the show: Tazz put over WWE Confidential and there's a lot of controversy surrounding Jackie and Linda, the two Tough Enough 2 winners. "Big" will be on Confidential to explain his side of it and why two women were picked. In Tazz's opinion, Kenny and Jake were just a step behind. Not a lot behind, but Jackie and Linda were the better of the four competitors. Jake looks great, but body builders are a dime a dozen. Kevin asked Tazz if he thinks Jake buried himself when he said he was a slow learner and Tazz said that was career suicide. You don't tell someone like Kevin Dunn that you're a slow learner. Kevin said that we'll be hearing from Jake and Kenny on Confidential about their Tough Enough 2 loss. There's a lot of stuff going on with Tough Enough 3. They are doing something different for the casting students. They are taking the top 30 students from three different cities. Denver, Chicago and New Orleans. Then what they do is these people all end up going to the house and out of the 30, they weed them out and pick the top 13. The house will be in Malibu, California. Tazz talked about how they weren't sure about Tough Enough and a lot of guys were all about the 'paying your dues' thing, but this show has given the industry four incredible talents in Maven, Nidia, Jackie and Linda. Tazz said that Linda has her first match on national TV on Velocity. Is it a five star match? No, but it's her first match. Tazz was there when they were ready to walk through the curtain and they weren't all that nervous. They were nervous, but they didn't let you see them sweat. Tazz is putting them over, because he believes that these two ladies will be stars. He wasn't high on them at first, but watching them progress and seeing them this past Tuesday, he's glad they are on the Smackdown! side and not the RAW side. Caller - Tommy Dreamer gives up: The caller complained about Tommy Dreamer giving up to the Undertaker. He never gave up in ECW and Tazz interrupted and said that's a lie. Tazz was in ECW for 6-7 years. The comment that was made about Tommy Dreamer not giving up in ECW is not accurate. Tazz asked what the point is and the caller continued to complain and Kevin said that the Undertaker is the Undisputed Champion and the number one guy in the business. The caller complained about Tommy giving up to the sleeper but Kevin got hot and yelled at him because that's the Undertaker's finish. Tazz told the caller that Kevin Kelly is correct. The Undertaker is the WWE Champion, so he's the top guy in the industry, bar none. The Undertaker is a household name and the Undisputed Champion. Tommy Dreamer is climbing the ranks in the WWE and Tommy is totally cool with the gimmick he's doing. He loves getting exposure and having fun. Tommy Dreamer tapping out to the Undertaker does not hurt Tommy Dreamer. Tazz is speaking about the Undertaker and he got beat by the Undertaker months back on Smackdown! by a choke slam. It's not just a sleeper hold, it's a dragon sleeper, his finisher. The caller said that he's never been a real big fan of the Undertaker and Tazz said that the Undertaker has three different finishers, so he can beat you with three credible finishing moves. Kevin commented that Tazz only has one finish and that shut Tazz up. Tazz said that he only needs one hold... Kevin brought up the fact that Vince will be on the show, but if Tazz could ask him something, what would he ask him? Tazz said that as a fan, he would probably want to ask him "What are you going to do to try to get the RAW brand up to the standards of the Smackdown!? brand?" Vince McMahon joins the show: McMahon's music hit in the Byte This! studio and he joined the show in the studio, live! Kevin asked Vince where everything stands with World Wrestling Entertainment. Vince said that it stands in a state of flux. Any company that changes as often as they do and it has endured generations and has adapted to the times is always in a state of flux. They've survived as long as they have because they're in a state of flux. Kevin and Tom talked about the entertainment aspect of wrestling and Tom said that he started watching because of the entertainment aspect. Tom said that some of Vince's critics have said that Vince would like to take wrestling out of their name. Vince said that if he was going to do that, why would they be World Wrestling Entertainment? They would have changed it by now. Wrestling puts them in a unique position. Kevin brought up the era of Attitude and he asked Vince what the next trend will be to bring the masses back? Vince said that he's sensing a title wave coming their way from an attitudinal standpoint and a creative standpoint. It's going to wash away a lot of their ills and bring some more stars. He senses a giant change of some kind. Kevin asked Vince why he thinks that RAW has been an on and off hit while Smackdown! has always been on. Vince doesn't know that it's been like that, but it has to do with the creative direction. Vince admitted that sometimes RAW is off the charts and sometimes RAW is 'ugh' and Smackdown! is always on the mark and he doesn't know why. They talked about Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince said that Stone Cold is one of the most demanding stars he's ever worked with. Sometimes rightfully so, but at the same time he's reduced to producing gold albums as opposed to platinum at times. Vince feels that Austin needs some creative stuff to work with. Kevin asked about structural changes in the writing teams and Vince said those changes could be coming. He doesn't know if it's a corporate, writing, creative or talent standpoint, but he knows that something big is coming. He doesn't know when, but he knows it's on the way. Kevin brought up the Internet and Vince claimed that he doesn't pay any attention to the Internet at all. (not serious) Kevin said that the Internet fans are very vocal and Kevin brought up some storylines that haven't materialized such as the Invasion or the nWo. Fans have said that they've had so much hope for these storylines. Where did they go wrong and why did they not reach their expectations? Vince said that on the Internet, everyone is a writer. Just like having an anus, everyone has an opinion. That's fine and they accept all criticism, negative and positive. Sometimes you can't live up to the anticipation level and sometimes you try to but you run into a wall. A lot of times the Internet is on the money in terms of their criticism but not always. Kevin pointed out that they don't always have all the facts and Vince agreed, but you can't expect them to. Kevin brought up Shawn Michaels and Vince said that he thinks that the Heartbreak Kid is dead, but there's nothing wrong with Shawn Michaels. The Shawn Michaels he saw was focused and in great condition. He's got his head on straight and he knows what he wants and doesn't want out of his life and Vince was thrilled to see him in that manner. Kevin asked Vince why he thinks business is down? Vince said that he thinks that it's a combination of a lot of things. He doesn't think that it's one thing. They're not really sick, but they do have a cold. They've gone through this many times before and it's a combination of a lot of things. The economy is part of it, but he doesn't want to lay the blame to that. There are no excuses. If people want to see it, they'll save their money and come see it. As far as the entertainment goes at the house shows, they're entertaining more than ever at the house shows and the work rate is way up at the house shows. With TV ratings being not as high as they were before, less people are watching and less people are exposed to the fact that they are coming to town. The promotional department is doing a tremendous job in promoting the events. Kevin brought up The Rock and Vince said that it's good with The Rock in filming because it brings up a film division in WWE. They are going to use a lot of their talent to combine with other studios that's not WWE exclusive. They have a lot of talent and if you plug them into the right story, it'll be highly entertaining. Kevin asked Vince if he felt he was defeated by the World Wildlife Fund? Vince said that he likes the WWF name better, but he hasn't conceited defeat yet since it's still under appeal. It was a way that they can move on very quickly with who they are and be done with it. They've been battling these guys for such a long time and maybe they'll ultimately win it, but who knows. Building the company forward, is the focus on bringing back some veteran talent or going forward with youth? Vince said he thinks it's a combination. Certain individuals such as Hogan, there's a name that endures generations but he doesn't know if even Hogan himself would want to compete on a weekly basis so it's going to be a combination. Hogan is the Babe Ruth of wrestling and that makes all the sense in the world. Guys like Hogan and whoever are anxious to pass the torch. They know they still have something to give the public and the public wants that. Kevin asked Vince if he was going to find a new WWE Superstars, would he look to the backyard ranks or Indy ranks or another sport? Vince said he's down on the backyard stuff and perplexed as to why it's even glorified. For someone to be a WWE Superstar, how would they make that first step? Vince said that the talent that's being developed from Tough Enough has been really good. That's certainly one source. Again, anyone who really wants to be in this business will make the appropriate sacrifices in the Indies or they'll knock on your door until you give them a try out. At the same time, it's difficult to get into the business but if you really want to, they'll get in and get a shot so be persistent. Kevin brought up the jump from USA to TNN and Vince said that one is an apple and the other is an orange. The WWE made an overall deal with Viacom. It's not just TNN. It's MTV and beyond that. There's so many things that they haven't even done yet with the Viacom deal. Kevin asked Vince about the 'good vs. evil' thing and they showed a clip from 1997 when Vince talked about that and Vince said that a lot of that stuff is nostalgia. In life, everyone is a shade of gray and that's how it is in wrestling. Kevin asked about the International tours and Vince said he thinks that they'll continue to increase with their global touring. He does think that they want to stay away from the troubled parts of the world, but something like a WWE event is what could bring people together. In the ends, he sees them continuing to expand. Kevin asked Vince if we're moving back towards the ring and Vince said that he doesn't know if they're moving anywhere when it comes to the backstage and in ring content. They listen to the audience and try to make things better. Kevin asked Vince McMahon if he would bring back Vince Russo and Vince said that he hasn't even thought about it. In the WWE, they have an open door policy and everything depends in this world. Tom brought up another situation that has been on the Internet and that's between Jim Cornette and Ed Ferrera. Tom asked Vince if he feels like Cornette or would Ferrera be welcome back as well? Vince said everyone is entitled to their opinion. When that opinion goes beyond an opinion, it results of physicality or spitting in someone's face or something, that's unprofessional. Vince appreciates Jim Cornette's passion, but he thought it was an unprofessional situation. Kevin asked Vince if he ever had any regrets of having Russo and Ferrera with writing power? Vince said no and they realized that it was the team that makes the difference and they found that out when they went to WCW. Tom asked Vince for his views on the NWA-TNA thing and Vince hasn't seen it, so he doesn't have any comments on it really. He does think that it's weird that they don't really have any promotional platform. It's difficult to promote to the pay per view audience and it's a two hour show and people are expected to pay $9.95 for it when they can watch a 2 hour show for free on a Monday or a Thursday. They wrapped up the show with Vince McMahon and they ended the show with Vince announcing himself as the 'higher power' just 3 years ago today. Chris Benoit will be the guest next week.
Guest Posted June 7, 2002 Report Posted June 7, 2002 What is all this Crap about Smackdown being the better show? Are they just kissing up to Vince? IMO, Smackdown has only been better then RAW for maybe two different weeks. Other wise, I think RAW has been way better since the split.
Guest bps "The Truth" 21 Posted June 7, 2002 Report Posted June 7, 2002 "They listen to the audience and try to make things better. " This makes me laugh.
Guest Slapnuts00 Posted June 8, 2002 Report Posted June 8, 2002 What is all this Crap about Smackdown being the better show? Are they just kissing up to Vince? IMO, Smackdown has only been better then RAW for maybe two different weeks. Other wise, I think RAW has been way better since the split. Agree 100%. The thing is RAW has both sides of the scale. They have some REALLY BAD crap, but they also have the best stuff with Austin, Eddy, Benoit, Flair, Booker, GOldust, RVD, etc. Smackdown to me has been consistently boring. There's no direction, Edge just got hurt, Jericho and Angle are doing nothing, Hogan sucks, Vince sucks. The Cruiserweights are ok but the angles are terrible. At least RAW is interesting and trying some new things, rather than Smackdown which is still the same old same old. By the way, my favorite part of the show was when Kevin Kelly said to Vince that he knew that he listened to the internet very carefully and is always reading what it says, and Vince gives him this look and goes I don't pay any attention to the internet and I can care less what they say, and then Kevin is kinda suprised and goes O...well ok then.
Guest RavishingRickRudo Posted June 8, 2002 Report Posted June 8, 2002 I think they were referring to pre-split Smackdown, which was always the stronger show... Of should have been referring to.
Guest saturnmark4life Posted June 9, 2002 Report Posted June 9, 2002 hmm. I wouldn't say smackdown was ever that much stronger than raw. And DREAMER WAS ROBBED!!!
Guest bcu1979 Posted June 9, 2002 Report Posted June 9, 2002 Does anyone actually feel better about the future of the WWE after reading Vince's interview? He still doesn't seem to "get it." I can't believe he actually said that Hogan and guys like him wanted to pass the torch, they were just looking for someone to pass the torch to. Uhh, what about Angle? Jericho? Benoit? RVD? Vince's comments seemed to imply that the problem was not with the top guys, but that there's no one else to put up there with the top guys. He senses a giant change happening that will solve all the WWE's ills!! What the fuck? Did Miss Cleo tell him that? He probably thinks the NWO with Shawn Michaels and probably Triple H is that giant change. He's asked specifically what the problem is and he dances his way around the subject without actually admitting there are any problems or offering any hope that the WWE knows what the problems are. I actually enjoyed Smackdown more than RAW after the split because Angle and Jericho were carrying the shows in the early weeks. Now that it's revolving around Taker, Triple H, Vince and Hogan, neither show is particularly entertaining.
Guest Posted June 9, 2002 Report Posted June 9, 2002 Let's play the "read between the lines" game... Kevin asked Vince why he thinks that RAW has been an on and off hit while Smackdown! has always been on. Vince doesn't know that it's been like that, but it has to do with the creative direction. Vince admitted that sometimes RAW is off the charts and sometimes RAW is 'ugh' and Smackdown! is always on the mark and he doesn't know why. Smackdown may "always be on the mark" and Raw may miss now and then, but that's because Raw is aiming higher. It's hard to miss when you're aiming at the ground. And here we see part of the problem manifesting in Kevin Kelly. Smackdown is Vince's show, Kelly is a good boy who does what he's told and puts Vince's show over. Vince is surrounded by court sycophants who don't dare risk their position at court by telling Vince what's REALLY wrong. Sometimes you can't live up to the anticipation level and sometimes you try to but you run into a wall. A lot of times the Internet is on the money in terms of their criticism but not always. Kevin pointed out that they don't always have all the facts and Vince agreed, but you can't expect them to. No, we don't have all the info. So what's YOUR excuse, Vince? Kevin asked Vince if he felt he was defeated by the World Wildlife Fund? Vince said that he likes the WWF name better, but he hasn't conceited defeat yet since it's still under appeal. I don't know who's initially responsible for this typo -- it's "conceded" not "conceited" -- but in any case, its a very fitting typo to make when transcribing Vince's words. Hogan is the Babe Ruth of wrestling If that were true, he'd retire with dignity and graciously drop dead at age 50. Hogan's sitting on an 0 for 2 right now. The Bambino knew when he was past it, and stepped aside. Kevin asked about the International tours and Vince said he thinks that they'll continue to increase with their global touring. He does think that they want to stay away from the troubled parts of the world, but something like a WWE event is what could bring people together. In the ends, he sees them continuing to expand. Yeah, good call. The petty egos that get in the way of progress in the Middle East are bad enough with Sharon and Arafat. No need to stick Vince in there for a while...just make things worse. Vince appreciates Jim Cornette's passion, but he thought it was an unprofessional situation. Sort of like booking all the divas to fawn over you just because you own the company and can fire them if they don't want to play along with you in the "mid life crisis" game...
Guest RicFlairGlory Posted June 9, 2002 Report Posted June 9, 2002 What is all this Crap about Smackdown being the better show? Are they just kissing up to Vince? IMO, Smackdown has only been better then RAW for maybe two different weeks. Other wise, I think RAW has been way better since the split. Can anybody say "I want Smackdown to get higher ratings?"
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