Guest Report post Posted May 7, 2002 Guaran-damn-teed that Smackdown is cancelled within a year while Raw on TNN will last.. much like how Raw lasted on USA in 1995. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest treble charged Report post Posted May 7, 2002 I don't know about it being cancelled. Viacom probably has too much money in the company, so cancelling it would probably cost them more than keeping it on. Anyway, a 2.9 on UPN isn't that bad of a rating for most shows, especially on Thursday night against Friends, Survivor, etc. It just looks bad for the WWF. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Tony149 Report post Posted May 7, 2002 I think Viacom pays Vince money to air WWF shows. So I think they might get a little pissed if ratings start falling lower. UPN has Buffy and the new Star Trek show, but most of the time Smackdown is still their highest rated show. If Smackdown ever got the ax...I think Vince would sign something with another network, mostly likey NBC (Or CBS due to Viacom), to air a WWF special when SNL is in re-runs. Much like Saturday Night's Main Event used too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted May 7, 2002 Eh, the WWF can turn things around if they really want. They've "jumped the shark" a few times before, and always came back by freshening up the product. They have all the tools to produce two great shows each week, if only they'd get their act together and dump all the excess baggage. (By which I mean backstage politics and outdated notions of what's popular...I don't mean to say any particular wrestler is excess baggage...that's a whole other issue that I'm not going to go into. ; ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Satanico Report post Posted May 7, 2002 And at this point of time now that the trend is dead no other channel is going to pay Vince a dime. All the network heads will laugh to themselves as they think "you guys weren't even good enough for sorry ass UPN" then will tell Vince that they'll call him then hang up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest griffinmills Report post Posted May 7, 2002 How can something that isn't a TV show jump the shark? WWE is (was?) a wrestling company that televises their events. I'd say it is, arguably, significantly different from a TV show. To me it is like saying NFL jumped the shark. You may still be correct on them getting cancelled though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest notJames Report post Posted May 7, 2002 I don't think they're using "jump the shark" in the literal sense, as in this specific episode is the turning point. It just means that the name change signifies the point where the shit hits the fan and there doesn't seem to be good things ahead. Eh. I tuned out around '92 and didn't watch for four years and they came back pretty strong. Although, I'm not really confident this time around... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Risk Report post Posted May 7, 2002 They should of gone with WCW, no matter how damaged it is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest dreamer420 Report post Posted May 7, 2002 Personally I don't really care either way. It is still the same wrestlers, same announcers, and same attitude as always. A new logo is in the works and and the name is different. So what? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest tominator89 Report post Posted May 7, 2002 Dreamer, I definitely agree with you on your points about the same faces still appearing on RAW/Smackdown, etc. However, I think it's the reality that over the past 20 years, people have come and gone but the WWF continued to exist. It's strange knowing that Hogan is on RAW, but the letters WWF are not... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest notJames Report post Posted May 7, 2002 I'm having strange recollections of the 1994 steroid scandal. Vince is dealing with legal problems, which is affecting the overall product. Of course, it's no where near that grand scale (court hearings, testimony, etc.), but watching last night, I got the sense that things were in more disarray than I've ever seen them, almost like everyone had this strange apprehension about them, which hindered their collective performance. Everyone struggled to remember that dreaded "E" so much that things went kinda kaka. I know I'm reaching with this analogy, but things just aren't boding well for the WeeWee. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest dreamer420 Report post Posted May 7, 2002 I know there is a lot of history there but what other choices did they have really. I believe that they would have had to change their name regardless of if it was now or later. There is no way that the WWF would have changed their name to WCW, a company that they have hated for years and tought their fans to hate. There are a million different names they could have changed the WWF to but WWE is so similar and it puts the ENTERTAINMENT aspect of wrestling into the name of the company which is what they are trying to market. It's never about the wrestlign anymore. I'm still waiting for Raw and Smackdown to turn into 2 hour vignettes hyping the all important upcoming PAY PER VIEW!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
