Sable's Bikini Invitational Garners Best Ratings?

[Guest bob_barron]

And if I do recall, the Torrie/Dawn segments were constantly among the highest rated segments of the Smackdown in the winter.

 

Then why did no one buy Armageddon to see HLA between the two?

 

Why was the crowd completely dead at their Royal Rumble match- which had 4 months of buildup

[Guest AndrewTS]

And if I do recall, the Torrie/Dawn segments were constantly among the highest rated segments of the Smackdown in the winter.

 

Then why did no one buy Armageddon to see HLA between the two?

 

Why was the crowd completely dead at their Royal Rumble match- which had 4 months of buildup

I think he's just making up things now. I recall the ratings for those segments being low. If they were high, it was probably in the "holy shit look at this retarded crap on TV" way.

 

Oh, and when Sable left WWE to persue her movie career, her "fame" didn't do jack shit to help her. Now it's 4 years later. "Perhaps...?" Yeah, sure.

 

And maybe TnA segments get higher ratings than a Benoit match. They don't sell PPVs.

 

Oh, and remember that the final blowoff for the Torrie-Dawn fued was on Velocity. Yup...

 

And by your same logic, if Torrie gave Kidman a lap dance on TV and it drew, Kidman was responsible for it? Or he deserved as much credit as Torrie? Or what? You're really stretching the bounds of credibility here with your argument.

[Guest danndogg]

Sable has another avenue in which to garner money; magazines and videos. Say what you will about her looks, but I think Sable on the cover of Raw Magazine would easily outsell Brock Lesnar

on the cover.

 

Also, if Sable and Torrie were vanished from Smackdown, that segment would just be replaced by a low rated Bill DeMott match that would otherwise be on Velocity. And that 3.9 overnight, would be like a 3.5 overnight instead if you were to take them and their 4.5 away.

[Guest bob_barron]

Sable has another avenue in which to garner money; magazines and videos.

 

And she did so well in her 4 years away.

 

Again- if these divas have such a big effect on ratings and stuff-

Explain Armageddon and the RR

[Guest danndogg]

I recall Jason Powell of PW Torch saying Dawn/Torrie were the highest rated segments back in December, that's where I get that notion. And with the December PPV, perhaps some people didn't want to pay to see HBK and Triple H wrestle again.

 

When Torrie and Sable just flat out wrestle, the ratings won't be as high nor will it really incline people to buy a PPV. But if they do hotel scenes and bikini contests, then they'll deliver far more than anyone else on the roster. If they tease some nudity for a PPV, that'll bring in some buys. Not this month though since the storyline is still in the early stages, but perhaps at Judgement Day or the first Smackdown PPV.

[Guest AndrewTS]

I'm getting "I thinks" and "maybes." Nothing solid. Nothing but guesswork. But past failures are solid and concrete.

 

And Demott hasn't been on SD in months.

 

Please come up with some solid proof to back up your BS. Goodnight.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

TnA is the oddest thing. If people see it on TV they will stop to look for a second, but they don't *care* at all about it. It is a very passing and superficial interest

[Guest danndogg]

Well my proof is that the 9:00 part of Smackdown garnered a 4.5 overnight rating. Surely that wasn't for Shelton Benjamin/Chavo Guerrero, it was for the T & A and sexual gestures. That easily beat out anything else on Smackdown on Thursday because the next highest ratings was Brock/Albert with a 4.1.

 

What Smackdown needs to improve ratings is more T & A, and what better than Sable and Torrie or bikini contests? At this time of a ratings crisis, surely Smackdown wouldn't get rid of their highest rated angle just to appease the smarks.

[Guest ShooterJay]

Vince Russo? Is that you?

[Guest JericholicEdgeHead]

So I guess Vince should just change Smackdown to Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling and release all the male wrestlers??

 

Yeah I'm sure that will bring in the $$$.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

What do high ratings mean if the ad money goes to UPN?

 

The WWE makes money mainly from Merch, PPV, and House. Could TnA sell Merch? Yes. But I don't remember seeing anyone wearing a woman-related shirt in the crowd for a long itme. The only time that stuff sells is with the Diva's magazines, calenders and DVD's (I'd like to see the numbers on those - I don't expect them to be good considering I see a lot of them still on sale *for years*). And really, why would you want to give away all the TnA on TV for 'free'? In anycase, it's hardly a justification for having women wrestling on *both* shows and taking up ridiculous amounts of time (They dedicated more time to Torrie vs. Dawn Marie than to Angle vs. Lesnar... hell, they gave Torrie/DM more time that ANYONE this year and it did not pay off *at* *all*).

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Oh, and PPV and House. Yeah right. No one buys a PPV to watch TnA, nor do they go to shows for it (esp. house shows).

[Guest danndogg]

If WWE had a Torrie/Sable loser gets nude match at Backlash, I think that would entice more people to actually buy the PPV than Smackdown's drawing card of Brock Lesnar/John Cena. Oh boy, two Ohio Valley Wrestling grads!!!

 

As far as house shows are concerned, they reserve bra and panty matches at these

things, so once Torrie and Sable start wrestling each other, they'll probably have them across

the country instead of your basic 1 on 1 match. It probably won't make a difference though in attendence, I mean the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar can barely even fill arenas either. Whenever I read houseshow reports, not many reports go by without saying that the arena was half full.

[Guest Will Scarlet]

And if I do recall, the Torrie/Dawn segments were constantly among the highest rated segments of the Smackdown in the winter.

 

Isn't it obvious? People tuned in to see the charismatic, ratings juggernaut that was Al Wilson. Al Wilson = ratings!

[Guest geniusMoment]

Hey the sunny shirts sold. Remember those Property of Sunny shirts. Who here has one?

The argument over ratings is stupid. Without ratings WWE would have not gotten their television deals which gave them 100 million up front from TNN and pays them 500,000 an episode. The new UPN deal pays them what, about 300,000 an episode. They make more money off television than they make off of merchandise, PPVs and attendance combined, if you count the 100 million as a part of the profits.

As for Sable, no she wasn't featured but the damn thing had her name on it and the rules were not established until it actually started, many people thought she would be featured. Is she that much more of a ratings draw than any other set of tits. No, but she is no worse than anyone else they have.

[Guest MaxPower27]

If WWE had a Torrie/Sable loser gets nude match at Backlash, I think that would entice more people to actually buy the PPV than Smackdown's drawing card of Brock Lesnar/John Cena. Oh boy, two Ohio Valley Wrestling grads!!!

Yeah, I mean why don't we have a Torrie v. Old Lady Mero MAIN EVENT MATCH!! I mean, since in your own shallow thought process, you seem to think that the WWE is going to draw 12.0 ratings by sticking them in an even more major feud. And then, if we put them in the main event, we'll get like a 15.0 buyrate!!!

 

 

As far as house shows are concerned, they reserve bra and panty matches at these

things, so once Torrie and Sable start wrestling each other, they'll probably have them across

the country instead of your basic 1 on 1 match. It probably won't make a difference though in attendence, I mean the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar can barely even fill arenas either. Whenever I read houseshow reports, not many reports go by without saying that the arena was half full.

 

Maybe because business is down? That'd be my guess. Sable wasn't a draw in the Attitude-Era, when she was parading around with handprints on her tits, and having shit smeared all over her gym bag.

 

Why did it draw a higher rating? IT WAS THE TOP OF THE HOUR. More people are likely to tune in at the top of the hour, myself included, than tune in to check what's going on at 8:45.

 

Why did it get a higher rating?

 

teen·ag·er( P ) Pronunciation Key (tnjr)

n.

A person between the ages of 13 and 19; an adolescent.

 

en·joy( P ) Pronunciation Key (n-joi)

v. en·joyed, en·joy·ing, en·joys

v. tr.

To receive pleasure or satisfaction from.

 

scantily

 

\Scant"i*ly\, adv. In a scanty manner; not fully; not plentifully; sparingly; parsimoniously.

 

clad

 

adj 1: wearing or provided with clothing; sometimes used in combination;

 

wom·an( P ) Pronunciation Key (wmn)

n. pl. wom·en (wmn)

An adult female human.

[Guest Bannable Offense]

Did he just say he came to see the Big Show and A-Train?

Why, yes. Yes, I did. I thought they had a semi-decent affair in their handicap match against the Undertaker at Wrestlemania XIX. Note the lack of mentioning Nathan Jones, since he's downright and outright terrible.

 

Well my proof is that the 9:00 part of Smackdown garnered a 4.5 overnight rating. Surely that wasn't for Shelton Benjamin/Chavo Guerrero, it was for the T & A and sexual gestures. That easily beat out anything else on Smackdown on Thursday because the next highest ratings was Brock/Albert with a 4.1.

 

What Smackdown needs to improve ratings is more T & A, and what better than Sable and Torrie or bikini contests? At this time of a ratings crisis, surely Smackdown wouldn't get rid of their highest rated angle just to appease the smarks.

Sadly, I think this is true, but only to a point. The WWE use the T&A as a crutch because of general mismanagement of the pushes they give to their wrestlers and the effort to make compelling storylines for most of their PPV matches. The WWE is not even advertising Sable or Torrie as being on the PPV on their official Backlash website, which surely makes them a cheap TV ratings ploy.

 

The WWE is still advertising wrestling, so it'd be in their best interest to revitalize the interest of that portion of that product. Yes, the WWE can still use the divas to pull in that money with magazines and videos, but without the wrestling, why even call their business a wrestling company?

 

If WWE had a Torrie/Sable loser gets nude match at Backlash, I think that would entice more people to actually buy the PPV...

The problem with that is that there is certain to be backlash from the fans because we will never will get the nudity on purpose and as advertised from the WWE. Considering there are minors in the audience, the WWE would risk major public scrutiny from the incident.

 

So do you, as the WWE, promise and deliver the goods, resulting in backlash from the general public, or promise and don't deliver, resulting in backlash from the fanbase? Either way, the WWE surely would shoot themselves in the foot.

[Guest AndrewTS]

WWE only delivered on nudity once--late 99 at Armageddon, and for about 2 seconds.

 

Considering the baiting and switching they did and the fact that they didn't even "deliver" at Armageddon last year and next to nobody paid to see it, I don't think anyone would pay to see Grandma Mero and Blondie to do anything similar.

 

I also understand why the Cena/Brock program isn't drawing much attention. Cena was just thrown out there out of desperation (no Edge, Angle, or any other decent heel challenger), and hasn't been sufficiently built up and made into a star. The stars are what draw ratings, buys, and sell merchandise.

 

And yes, there is a "Sable" in "Sable's Bikini Invitational." I don't think that makes her a ratings draw.

 

And even if they did some straightforward Tn'A, at least they'd quit dancing around it. Nobody cares what they have to say and they sure as hell don't care about the soap opera bullshit. The Dawn/Torrie fued was mostly talking, talking, talking, and as for the funeral--if you thought that was in any way entertaining (other than the wrestlecrap value) you qualify as legally braindead.

[Guest geniusMoment]

Without question WWE sucks at doing T&A. No one gives a shit about that soap opera crap, they just want to see chicks. I have no problem with T&A as long as it doesn't take up more than 10 minutes of the show, it obvisiouly can't be the main event.

[Guest nikowwf]

The problem is wrestling fans PAY for matches, not T&A. so some T&E on tv is great if its gravy, but its not a draw in and of itself

[Guest humongous2002]

People rather see tits than 2 boobs main eventing.

[Guest MillenniumMan831]

I still don't see what's wrong with one T&A segment per show.

[Guest Dmann2000]

And a highly-rating piece of shit is still a piece of shit.

example: the "This is Your Life" segment that overstayed it's welcome. I remember everyone was afraid that 20 minute gabfests would replace wrestling and...

 

...oh yeah

[Guest Dmann2000]

Could TnA sell Merch? Yes.

And the best way it did was when Sable or Sunny would come out for 2 minutes to model the new T-shirt. Especially Sunny...

 

...God I miss 96/97 Sunny

[Guest El Psycho Diablo]

Weren't some of the highest ratings actually during the Steph/Angle/HHH storyline?

 

heh.

 

And to people that say "TnA drew people in 19xx..there WAS a little thing called "Steve Austin" who just happened to be at the height of his popularity. Nope, that dosen't matter. Must've been the naked women, transvestites, and fart jokes that got all those people hooked.

 

..and if you reeeeallly want to get into it, wasn't the combined WCW/WWF hardcpre fanbase somewhere around 6.0 total? If that's true, there are a hell of a lot of people that were driven off when WCW died. Not everybody wanted 20 minutes of talk, TnA fests, and stupidity in their wrestling shows.

 

Oops, dirty word.

 

"Sports Entertainment" shows.

 

'sides, the only reason Sable is there is because Torrie is the female HHH. She's killed everyone else on that show, so they have to bring in new ones.

 

So Sable = Steiner.

 

Does that mean Chyna = Goldberg? Uh oh.

Edited April 27, 2003 by El Psycho Diablo

[Guest danndogg]

I'm well aware that Steve Austin was the biggest ratings draw then, but WWF still had the rest of the show to fill, and I'd venture to say that the T & A was the next biggest ratings draw after Austin/McMahon and Sable was the star of that.

[Guest Sakura]

WCW had 20 minutes of talk, TnA fests, and stupidity in their wrestling shows too....

[Guest the pinjockey]

T&A will get people who are flipping the channels to stop flipping while it is on and a tenth or two may carry into the next segment. T&A will not sell merchandise, tickets, or PPVs (unless there was nudity, but noone would believe that at this point) and tickets and PPVs are the key to the business.

[Guest danndogg]

T & A sells DVDs and magazines, which is a pretty good source of income for WWE. Also, some people find the T & A to be their favorite part of the program, or at least to the usual casual viewers who are the ones that truly pump up the ratings because the hardcore people will watch no matter how crappy WWE is.

[Guest Sakura]

I am a hardcore person.

 

I am not watching.