(Observer) Rock's return/RAW ratings draws

[JasonX 0]

Who needs to be on the Triple H show when they can be the star in big budget action flicks?

Rock's on SD, which keeps him far away from HHH and the bulk of Trip's political bullshit.

 

BUT given the shitty state of Raw, I could see the WWE possibly making the decision to flipflop Rock to Raw to try and boost Raw's ratings. But it won't do anything worthwhile because aside from Booker, HHH has buried everyone and they've already firmly established last year that Booker can't carry the Rock's jockstrap.

 

They COULD do Booker/Rock where Rock turns heel and passes the torch to Booker firmly establishing him as a WWE main eventer, but you just know that HHH wants first crack at Rock if he gets moved to Raw and most likely pillow-talking to Steph that if Vince moves Rock from SD, HHH should get first crack at Rock. And that's not even factoring in the whole Golberg situation, which would do nothing in regards to the WWE using Rock to undo the damage HHH has done to the Raw roster.

 

The logical thing for the WWE to do when Rock returns is to keep him on SD and trade Team Angle/Brock Lesner to Raw for HHH so we can get HHH/Rock Round 12. This way Team Angle/Brock get better exposure (cause Raw is the flagship and SD second bannana in the eyes of the marks) and given a chance to prove that they are the chosen ones to lead the WWE into the future by way of saving Raw while HHH can try to salvage his heat by way of working with the Rock...

[Guest razazteca]

exactly what Kane matches were the big draws?  TLC4 and Elimation Chamber build up or the short live tag champion reign?

Probably TLC4 as that was a ratings winner. That, the casket match and the match where he won the IC title are the only recent times that I can actually recall Kane being in the main event.

well if you consider taking a chair shot then taking a nap outside of the ring for 5 minutes then go back into the ring for the belts a Main Event draw, well then Kane truely is a the big man on the show.

 

In all of the ME attempts by Kane, he was being carried by the opponet or by Hurricane as the voice box.

[Guest Human Fly]

What cracks me up is that Rey Jr. had to go down to OVW to learn "WWF style" buts Jones gets called up right after he wrestled on a WWA tour where he was green as grass, had no good matches, and sent Jarrett to the hospital. What a joke.

 

The Big Question: Will Jones get to jump up to the apron from the floor when he comes to the ring?!

[Guest Retro Rob]

The Rock had better work for the WWE until his next movie, seeing how he is a CONTRACTED WWE WRESTLER. Even though Vince does profit from his movies, Vince would profit even more if the Rock stayed in the WWE for an extended period of time. There is no denying that.

[Guest AndrewTS]

What cracks me up is that Rey Jr. had to go down to OVW to learn "WWF style" buts Jones gets called up right after he wrestled on a WWA tour where he was green as grass, had no good matches, and sent Jarrett to the hospital. What a joke.

 

The Big Question: Will Jones get to jump up to the apron from the floor when he comes to the ring?!

Ugh...

 

I'm almost convinced that "WWE Style" in an inside joke by the WWE, and is actually a euphemism for "fucking a McMahon."

[Guest Mole]

The Rock had better work for the WWE until his next movie, seeing how he is a CONTRACTED WWE WRESTLER. Even though Vince does profit from his movies, Vince would profit even more if the Rock stayed in the WWE for an extended period of time. There is no denying that.

 

I think Rock will wrestle until his next movie. Out of all the main eventers from the boom period, Rock has always has been a trooper about things. I've never read him complaining about something or not wanting to job to a certain wrestler.

 

The Rock knows that WWE is what made him a star. Hell, the only reason Scorpian King did decently in the box office was because wrestling fans going to see the movie. That is the only reason I went to see the movie, just because of the Rock.

[Guest teke184]

I think Rock's less likely to play ball now than he was six months ago when he put Brock Lesnar over.

 

It wasn't putting Lesnar over that was a problem, I'm sure... it was the fact that Taker and Triple H made Brock their bitch the next night and undid a lot of the good Rock had done for the better part of two months.

 

I think he's probably asking himself why he should be travelling across the country putting young guys over if they're only going to be jobbed out to the current crappy main eventers soon afterwards.

[Guest Brian]

For the same reason, I'm worried about Austin's return. Austin wasn't willing to play ball the first time when it came to giving an undeserving Triple H the spotlight. If Austin gets pissed or if Triple H finds a way to play him off someone else like he's done before with Jericho, than there'll be a problem.

 

Then again, Vince has a lot of leverage on the Rock's career right now.

[Guest Retro Rob]

The Rock has little choice in the situation unless he wants to breach contract. If I were Vince, I would want the Rock working every show up until he has to film his next movie. If he says "No", then sue his ass.

[Guest creativename]

Hell, the only reason Scorpian King did decently in the box office was because wrestling fans going to see the movie. That is the only reason I went to see the movie, just because of the Rock.

I have to call you on that. Wrestling fans were a small minority of the people that went to see that movie.

 

Most people that went to that movie saw it because it was a mini-event pic, because The Rock is supposed to be the next big action star, and because it was somewhat a part of the Mummy series (the two Mummy movies were huge box office hits).

[Guest Jake the Muss]

Does anyone have the picture of Jones' arm breaking during an arm-wrestling match against Magnus Samuelsson?

 

Is this the same Nathan Jones that participated in an early Pride MMA event?

 

Just curious.

[Guest subliminal_animal]

Magnus did that? What an asshole.

 

And how did he send Jarrett to the hospital? But c'mon ... of course he was signed. Jarrett is known to be a tough cookie in the ring, and not to mention a former IC and WCW champion. If Jones sent him to the hospital, he must be at least WAY more talented than Jarrett.

[Guest subliminal_animal]

I think they were planning on another "evil" character for a while, because until he got saddled with the huge moneymaking "Bling Bling" gimmick, Bull Buchanan was doing a "Cape Fear" gimmick in OVW.  Sounds like they're just taking that, thrown in with some Waylon Mercy (which was underrated IMO) and Mankind and come up with a new persona for Jones.

I don't know if Jones would be the right guy for this persona. One, it seems a lot like Raven. Plus, he's Australian, and the accent may be a hindrance to get him to be taken seriously, especially, if he doesn't play the part very strongly.

 

And why did they take that gimmick away from Buchanan? He showed shades of it in the RTC, and J.R. said he was doing wonders with it down in OVW in the Ross Report. I remember him saying Bull's delivery was undeniably creepy and things ... he may have even said Bull's going to be brought up with it. So what happened? They take that away for the "Bling-Bling" role that anyone could've filled the shoes of, especially considering Cena's been carrying the whole thing?

 

According to those numbers, RVD doesn't draw as much as HHH or Kane when in the main event.

Where does it mention the main events?

 

And these numbers shouldn't be taken as rock-solid evidence. I heard these are taken by quarter-hours, right? Then what if Booker has a four-minute match, and is sandwiched between a couple of heat-killing segments? Plus, you could also argue that they need to take in to account the quarter-hours before and after it. Tricky stuff, this is.

[Guest PhillyDogg]

I don't think the Rock's return will make a huge impact. Wasn't it true that when he returned to Smackdown a few months ago, it didn't affect the ratings at all?

[Guest The Hamburglar]

I think they were planning on another "evil" character for a while, because until he got saddled with the huge moneymaking "Bling Bling" gimmick, Bull Buchanan was doing a "Cape Fear" gimmick in OVW.  Sounds like they're just taking that, thrown in with some Waylon Mercy (which was underrated IMO) and Mankind and come up with a new persona for Jones.

I don't know if Jones would be the right guy for this persona. One, it seems a lot like Raven. Plus, he's Australian, and the accent may be a hindrance to get him to be taken seriously, especially, if he doesn't play the part very strongly.

Dude, not all Australian accents are chirpy friendly Steve Irwin accents. There are a large number of incredibly scary giant Australian beefcakes who roam the outback drinking insane amounts of beer and playing their strange Aussie rules football. Jones is an Aussie, hence he will dominate all - normal rules do not apply, as a British citizen I can tell you that if you let Aussies near anything resembling a physical sport they will immediately become rulers of said sport. Look for Jones to eat Regal on sight, its what Aussies do to English types. Personally, I think Jones should have a Crocodile Dundee gimmick. That would rule on so many levels.

[Guest BobBacklundRules]

Nathan Jones is supposed to start full time on the road with the RAW crew this Monday. He's Vince McMahon's new pet project so he is expected to get a huge push. Their idea is to give him a Hannibal Lecter evil-genius type character. He would be a very intelligent guy who would then have a very dark side when he snaps.

Could Jones be the first member in Raven's Flock? It would be a great way to debut him, and the Flock would need at least one hoss.

[Guest AndrewTS]

Personally, I think Jones should have a Crocodile Dundee gimmick. That would rule on so many levels.

 

That's been done. Outback Jack was a complete rip off, with one of the worst entrance themes ever.

 

Plus, at least when Vince did it it was timely. Paul Hogan's latest Dundee movie was a year or so ago and I don't think it burned up the box office like the last ones.

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

I hope they still turn Rock heel.

 

Or at least I hope he still gets booed out of buildings. Especially if it leaks that he's only staying for a few months *nudge nudge*

[Guest AndrewTS]

Nathan Jones is supposed to start full time on the road with the RAW crew this Monday. He's Vince McMahon's new pet project so he is expected to get a huge push. Their idea is to give him a Hannibal Lecter evil-genius type character. He would be a very intelligent guy who would then have a very dark side when he snaps.

Could Jones be the first member in Raven's Flock? It would be a great way to debut him, and the Flock would need at least one hoss.

No. The plans they have for him sounds like he wouldn't be subservient to anyone.

 

Probably Raven will be in his stable if anything.