Early number of ONS buys in

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

You have to take this number with a grain of salt

 

For example last year a week or two after Backlash, PWtorch reported the PPV got 600,000 buys when in fact it only got 350,000

[pgi86 0]

OMG!I knew that it would do good but I never suspected that.Holy shit! Can you say ONS 2?Anyone...

[Caliban 0]

I'll wait a month for the real prelim buy figures.

 

I don't think they will be much different from these numbers though. This "prelim buyrate" is someone looking at all the buzz on the Net and guessing a figure.

[Guest JerichosHi-Lite]

That's incredible. I hope Vince is taking notes. Especially considering early estimates are generally lower than they actually are when confirmed, right?

 

Also, that won't take into account people in the U.K. who didn't have to pay (like moi ) which I'm sure would increase numbers.

 

It's not the biggest wrestling event of the year, though. WrestleMania got 900,000 buys didn't it?

 

[EDIT]: WrestleMania X7 > every other wrestling event in history.

 

WrestleMania 17 is godly, even now

[Adam 0]

Yeah, well I think it would have been a large success down here, being a public holiday and all (remember, we get PPVs live at 10AM Monday Mornings in Aus).

[Promoter 0]

As for the old school ppv buy-rates, people should also remember that those ppv shows did not include the closed circuit arena broadcasts. I still think more people saw events like WM 3 than WM 17 simply from the mainstream buzz it got during those days from Entertainment Tonight to George Michael Sports Machine etc.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

The reason this was so successful was because it was billed as being the last ever chance to see ECW, something their fans didn't get when they went out of business. Even WCW fans got a chance to say goodbye. This was basically a nostaliga thing. They will not be able to retain this number if they do it next year (although they should still make a good profit if they just do it annually), let alone if they make ECW into a weekly brand. This was a one-time event and should be treated as such. There is not going to be any earth-shattering changes that come out of this.

[Promoter 0]

I would agree fully, but this is pro wrestling. They run everything into the ground any time some success happens. I mean we could go down a list of things.

[cabbageboy 0]

I also don't think they could maintain 800,000 buys a PPV, but my god who could? But if it did this kind of buyrate they almost have to do something to capitalize on it. You'd have to be a fool not to try.

 

I actually don't think that many people bought this ECW PPV with the thought in mind that "This is the last time I'll ever see these guys, I better buy it!" Maybe a few, but ECW's PPV audience during its existence was nowhere near this big. They had a huge amount of people buy this show apparently and I think it's because people want something different.

[Enigma 0]

Um, I never got the idea from the marketing that this would be the last ECW show ever.

[Promoter 0]

One Night Stand DVD release date

 

I haven't seen this reported anywhere yet, so I may actually be breaking a story. I work at Suncoast Video - we pass the price gouging on to you - and I was looking through our Special Order list which detail the hundreds of smaller niche titles being released in the next month or so. It seems that the WWE is intending on capitalizing on the ECW mania while it's fresh in everyone's mind because, according to this, One Night Stand will be released on DVD on June 28, 2005, a mere two weeks from today, and easily the fastest turnaround time for a WWE PPV ever.

 

Again, I'm not 100% sure if it's official, so take the news with a grain of salt, but I can never remember the WWE giving us a date that didn't hold up.

*****

 

I copied and pasted this from a poster elsewhere, so take it with a grain of salt. Vince definitely is going to make a coin off this ECW stuff. I also did not get any mental picture that this was ecw's last show ever. Of course, I'm damn cyncial because I know how this company operates watching for all these years. I was just surprised the event has been praised for delivering with its high anticipation.

[Precious Roy 0]

Bye-Bye Smackdown. ECW returns this Fall on UPN on Friday Nights. Bank on it.

 

ECW on UPN?!? Are you insane? If they want an ECW show it has to be on cable.

[redbaron29 0]

You know using the "ECW" moniker isn't going to be a solution to stop the slump. If I shit in a box and call it "PLANT FERTILIZER" when you get the package its still just a box full of shit.

 

What I'm getting at is you don't need to bring back ECW at all. In they should leave it dead. What they SHOULD do is take the qualities that made ECW a big player and apply it to the WWE product. Then people may actually actually tune into the product.

[cabbageboy 0]

Exactly, if anything I got the impression from the whole Vince/Heyman/Bischoff thing that this would be a PPV to launch ECW as a viable product again, or if it didn't do so hot then it'd be a nice reunion show. Since it did well apparently I can't see Vince (either storywise or real life) just dropping it.

[Promoter 0]

Bye-Bye Smackdown. ECW returns this Fall on UPN on Friday Nights. Bank on it.

 

ECW on UPN?!? Are you insane? If they want an ECW show it has to be on cable.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

You know I forgot it's friggin UPN. You're right.

[Guest M. Harry Smilac]

Bye-Bye Smackdown. ECW returns this Fall on UPN on Friday Nights. Bank on it.

 

ECW on UPN?!? Are you insane? If they want an ECW show it has to be on cable.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

You know I forgot it's friggin UPN. You're right.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Which is exactly why they'll do it.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I also don't think they could maintain 800,000 buys a PPV, but my god who could? But if it did this kind of buyrate they almost have to do something to capitalize on it. You'd have to be a fool not to try.

 

Like I said, I think there could be great value in an annual show, but if you overuse it, you tank the gimmick. You cannot do a weekly show and keep it fresh.

[Jericholic82 0]

if this is true you just know vince and co will attribute it to wwes involvement in the show and promotion of it.

 

just like how heyman said on byte this that they stopped giving numbers for the rise and fall dvd, conveinetly when it got really really close to passing wm xx on the all time list.

[Vampiro69 0]

Well I still have a hard time believing that they would have numbers in already to discuss the number of buys. I think that number is a little to high in my opinion. I would have guessed that the number of buys would have came in roughly at 600,000 at the most. If the 800,000+ becomes a reality then that is excellent

[Promoter 0]

Damn, I thought they stopped doing shoots on ByteThis? You know what would be really funny? If they came out with wcw related stuff and it did even bigger numbers. I mean wcw was more popular than ecw with the mainstream, but of course we know why. Vince would be pissing himself trying to explain away a monster buy for wcw and strong dvd sales. If they really do it wwe professional style with packages and whatnot, I'm sure fans would pick it up.

[Jericholic82 0]

Damn, I thought they stopped doing shoots on ByteThis? You know what would be really funny? If they came out with wcw related stuff and it did even bigger numbers. I mean wcw was more popular than ecw with the mainstream, but of course we know why. Vince would be pissing himself trying to explain away a monster buy for wcw and strong dvd sales. If they really do it wwe professional style with packages and whatnot, I'm sure fans would pick it up.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well they did do the monday night wars dvd, but that didnt even come close to the ecw one. Thats another thing Heyman gleefully shared on Byte This last week. you should check it out, he was shooting for the whole hour basically, not caring considering his contract is up soon and he figures not to be resigned.

[GreatWhiteNope 0]

http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=10946&p=1

 

ECW BUYRATE ESTIMATES, JOEY STYLES' WWE DEAL AND MORE

 

by Dave Scherer @ 2:55:00 PM on 6/14/2005

 

WWE initially forecasted the ECW PPV internally to do 300,000 buys.  The estimates from people in the cable industry that we have spoken to think that the show will do much higher than that, with one source even estimating that it would do 800,000 buys (which I will have to see to believe).  The first preliminany numbers should be released in a week or two.

 

WWE sent out the following release today, asking reporters in Canada to attend their 6/24 "interactive press conference" in Toronto.

 

I was told that Joey Styles has signed a multi-year deal with WWE to do work on ECW DVDs and footage for 24-7.  I believe he will do wraparounds and the like.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

WCW completely pissed away its name value in its final two years. With ECW it was there one day and gone the next. WCW wouldn't get near the attention ECW would.

[cabbageboy 0]

WCW also only has a few years that most fans would be interested in seeing. Roughly 1996-98 or so, before that it was a lot of old hasbeen crap and bad gimmicks and before even that it was archaic early 90s stuff that has dubious interest for most people today. That 96-98 period was the only time when I thought the company had a real clear cut style and direction to it. It was focused. Thing is, I don't know how one could do a WCW oriented DVD without really trashing the later years badly (and not in a sympathetic way a la the ECW disc).

 

I mean who would pay to see "WCW 1999: The Hummer Era" on DVD? Well besides me. But then I always had a curious fascination with that awful angle, haha.

 

Another problem with doing a WCW show is that it really wouldn't be much different than a standard PPV. Hell the NWO has already been on WWE TV so that has been done. Who is really a "WCW guy" anyway? Maybe Sting, but he's about the only notable draw that has never been in the WWF/E. The concept of the ECW PPV was to do something that looked and feeled very different, and with a WCW PPV you'd get the same format as a Raw.

[justcoz 0]

If anything, I hope that the PPV's success will wake Vince up to the fact that people want a different type of product than Steph, Gerwitz, etc. are delivering. There is an audience out there that WWE's current product does not appeal to and that audience by early estimates it seems, ordered ONS. In even just talking to people, I know for a fact that so many of my friends ordered this PPV when they don't even watch wrestling any more. Not because it was there last opportunity to see ECW but because they wanted to see a product like ECW.

 

I'm torn as to what the future holds. One part of me would like to see Vince reflect on the ECW PPV and utilize them in his current product. For instance, giving Heyman and Dreamer bigger creative roles, bringing in Joey Styles as an announcer, etc. I don't think this is enough however and I think it would ultimately get ruined by Steph and HHH.

 

Styles on commentary will just remind people of ECW and they need to do television from a smaller more intimate setting, like the Manhatten Center/Hammerstein Ballroom, for a more energized product.

 

This is why I think they should just bring the ECW brand back as a whole. Let it be Heyman and Dreamer's baby with Shane having some involvement as well. Shane had a lot to do with Vince letting Russo make needed changes to the product, perhaps he can have the same type of pull in this situation. Let Gerwitz and Steph do what they do on Monday nights and let Heyman/Dreamer do their thing on another night. Vince makes money regardless of who does better.

 

But when I say bring ECW back, I'm not saying just keep it at the past roster. Bring guys like CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Brian Danielson, Kid Kash, Jamie Noble, Teddy Hart and essentially create a new generation of ECW to go along with The Sandman, Dreamer, etc. Eliminate the cruiser division and just use that talent in ECW's roster.

It's not a one trick pony, centered on nostalgia, if you allow them to build a current product.

 

I say, fuck UPN, put ECW on Friday nights just to spite the network for making such a move. Then, when the UPN deal expires, good riddence to Viacom and all of their networks. Ask USA to give them a Friday night slot with no censors, like Comedy Central does late at night.

[Jericholic82 0]

Vince succeeded so well in burying wcw in every fans minds and rewriting history, that he would never be able to market wcw. You dont hear too many people clamoring for a wcw reunion ppv do you? (thanks to heyman for that line, aslo from byte this).

 

these same fans forget that while RAW was still featuring The Goon and TL Hopper, WCW was changing the wrestling scene with the nWo angle and becoming massively popular. If not for Austin's rise to fame, WCW may have stayed number one (well I can;t say that for sure considering how badly wcw was being run)

[Precious Roy 0]

But when I say bring ECW back, I'm not saying just keep it at the past roster. Bring guys like CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Brian Danielson, Kid Kash, Jamie Noble, Teddy Hart and essentially create a new generation of ECW to go along with The Sandman, Dreamer, etc. Eliminate the cruiser division and just use that talent in ECW's roster.

It's not a one trick pony, centered on nostalgia, if you allow them to build a current product.

 

Exactly. But it seems like such a huge leap of faith to think Vince would give Heyman/Dreamer their own show as well as feeding them the best young North American talent, even if it's talent that he isn't willing to utilize properly. It's a scenario that's almost too good to be true, and I would think at some point his ego has to kick in and sabotage it. I would give him all the credit in the world if he's willing to create a viable, forward thinking alternative to his formulaic, stale product, risking damaging his baby in the process, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

For those people who don't think ECW would work on UPN...

 

My UPN provider is starting to show "South Park" this fall

 

So, take it for what it's worth.

[Guest Brian]

Regarding buy rate estimates that are going around. The WWE doesn't even have a preliminary clue as to how the show did. I'd be shocked if it didn't do way over expectations. As far as the 800,000 figure going around, even though it may well turn out to be accurate, it could just as easily be 300,000, which would still be considered a major success. It could even be more than 800,000. As insane as that figure sounds, it wouldn't shock me if it's accurate. But you can't take any figure seriously until at least two weeks after the show.

 

From Meltzer

[cabbageboy 0]

Just wondering but does anyone know who in the cable industry tossed out the 800,000 number and why?

 

This could start a new trend: PPVs with no matches announced on TV! Ironically enough it was tough to be too angry about that since ECW never bothered to announce shit anyway. Or changed the entire card the day of the show. Rarely did I ever get an ECW PPV and have it be the exact show I thought it'd be.

 

I think as long as you beep stuff out you're good to go. I mean hell ECW was on TNN back when it was hicks and yokels, and I'd say UPN is edgier than that. It's a matter of perception. If a proposed ECW show is treated as the equal of Raw then people will buy into it.

 

You have to admit there is some delicious irony in this idea though. ECW once again being relegated to Friday nights on a network that doesn't give a shit about them.