My Gut Feeling On Vince And His Booking

[Dangerous A 0]

Add to that the potential disaster of the upcoming WWE Films and WWE could be looking at some substantial money losses in the next year, year and a half.

 

Guess that's why they are going to be keeping all that extra loose cash around, eh? (for those not in the know, at the quarterly investors meetings, investors constantly ask why WWE keeps an exorbitant amount of cash on hand as opposed to investing it)

[hyperchord24 0]

Vince doesn't know how to run his company in and for todays world.  He is still running it like it was 1998 and is clinging to his old ideals.  He is way behind the times, and this is not something new for him.  The guy couldn't be less open-minded.  The guy isn't a genius, he just operated better than the other dumbfucks owners in wrestling, had guys who could spot the right talent and knew more about wrestling than he did, and got lucky.  Plus, he has the advantage of having and attracting some of the dumbest fans in the world.

 

Now, here's the problem.  There are no other dumbfuck owners around so he's the benchmark for the shit and he can't steal any talent from anyone, he doesn't listen to the guys who can spot the right talent or give him the right advice, and he's seeing his luck as something to fight against cause he's so stubborn.  And those dumb fans are slowly starting to wise up and stop watching.

 

The International well is going to start to dry, there is only going to be so many corners to cut, and if they don't find any new revenue generating ventures to rely on, they're going to be fucked.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is some very interesting insight. But how has the business changed much since 1998? I know the storylines seemed to be locked in that era, but is the lack of freshness what you mean?

 

It should be an interesting next 5 years or so. Personally, I'd like to see Vince crumble if only for all the "yes" men and wrestlers to start shooting on him knowing that he'll never be on top again.

[Secret Agent 0]

I think I'd just like to see Shane take over running the day-to-day operations of WWE. Maybe he'd be willing to listen to the advice of others.

[hyperchord24 0]

I think I'd just like to see Shane take over running the day-to-day operations of WWE. Maybe he'd be willing to listen to the advice of others.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He's the smartest one of the bunch, which is why he doesn't want much to do with the business

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

This is some very interesting insight. But how has the business changed much since 1998? I know the storylines seemed to be locked in that era, but is the lack of freshness what you mean?

 

You're kidding, right?

 

Ignoring the changes in the Television landscape and what TV viewers prefer now as to back in 1998, the wrestling business has gone from 2 strong companies and 1 with a cult following, to just 1 company. How one acts in a monopoly is much different than how one acts with competition. Vince doesn't know how to act against no competition, and a lot of what made him successful in the last 20 years was based on having competition (stealing ideas, stealing talent, positioning the WWE against other companies). Vince is like a soldier coming back from a war. He's like RAMBO. He can't get passed the past.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Shane doesn't want anything to do with the business? Shane is more in the business than Steph is.

[hyperchord24 0]

okay okay, sorry. Brain fart. I get it. You know, come to think of it, the WWfE wasn't that big before WCW

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Add to that the potential disaster of the upcoming WWE Films and WWE could be looking at some substantial money losses in the next year, year and a half.

 

Guess that's why they are going to be keeping all that extra loose cash around, eh? (for those not in the know, at the quarterly investors meetings, investors constantly ask why WWE keeps an exorbitant amount of cash on hand as opposed to investing it)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You know it.

 

The WWE is scrambling for new opportunties for making money because they know their live events aren't doing so well. You think they're developing their website, DVDs, on-demand services, and 24/7 because they want to give the fans a nice lil present? Those are some of the smarter things they are doing, but they are probably doing them a little too late (they should have been doing this stuff back in 1999 and 2000, when they had the maximum amount of fans to suck money from - of course, back then it was taboo to recognize the past, let alone play to the internet). Then you have the whacky shit like WWE Films which goes way outside their core competencies (as if writing and acting were a strength of the WWE), and puts up a lot of money that might not (mostly likely not) get the returns they are looking for.

 

The cash on hand thing is a pretty big deal, because it's essentially saying "The future isn't so bright, so we're saving this for the rainy days ahead." That just GREAT news for shareholders.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

The reason Vince is where he is right now is *because* of WCW. If WCW hadn't run the very successful NWO angle in 1996, there wouldn't have been the fans there to see Austin in 1998. If WCW hadn't been there for Bret Hart to go to, then Vince wouldn't have had anyone to screw, which had a direct implication on ratings and interest in the WWE back when there really wasn't any.

 

Of course, people can say that WCW wouldn't have gotten to where they were at if it weren't for WWE creations in Hulk Hogan, Nash and Hall. Well, Hogans impact on WCW initially wasn't very big. It took him turning against everything WWE had built him to be to push the company ahead. The intrigue of Hall and Nash as the Outsiders certainly couldn't have been there if there wasn't an outside company to draw from, so certainly both companies benefitted from each others' presence. I think WWE benefitted more, though. There wouldn't have been Hulkamania if it weren't for the AWA, afterall.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Add to that the potential disaster of the upcoming WWE Films and WWE could be looking at some substantial money losses in the next year, year and a half.

 

Guess that's why they are going to be keeping all that extra loose cash around, eh? (for those not in the know, at the quarterly investors meetings, investors constantly ask why WWE keeps an exorbitant amount of cash on hand as opposed to investing it)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You know it.

 

The WWE is scrambling for new opportunties for making money because they know their live events aren't doing so well. You think they're developing their website, DVDs, on-demand services, and 24/7 because they want to give the fans a nice lil present? Those are some of the smarter things they are doing, but they are probably doing them a little too late (they should have been doing this stuff back in 1999 and 2000, when they had the maximum amount of fans to suck money from - of course, back then it was taboo to recognize the past, let alone play to the internet). Then you have the whacky shit like WWE Films which goes way outside their core competencies (as if writing and acting were a strength of the WWE), and puts up a lot of money that might not (mostly likely not) get the returns they are looking for.

 

The cash on hand thing is a pretty big deal, because it's essentially saying "The future isn't so bright, so we're saving this for the rainy days ahead." That just GREAT news for shareholders.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

They couldn't have pulled off 24/7 or half the DVD's they do back in '99/'00 because they didn't have the Tape Library they have now back then. Look at all the footage they own now.

[Promoter 0]

RavishingRickRudo hit the nail on the head. This crappy stuff we are getting now is pretty much Vince in '95 mode in terms of stubborn arrogance and not changing with the times. Too bad Bischoff's an old goat and Heyman's stuck in OVW. I will say Vince was a genius to get these men under his thumb and buying out their organizations. He's definitely paying for it now. It's also too bad Russo was a one trick pony that DID help Mcmahon turn his company around. Vince didn't listen to Russo about bringing back wcw when they brought back Bischoff. IMO, the fans were ready for a REAL brand extension then. It could have worked. Anyways, it looks like Steph has taken the "genius" of her father and HHH has taken the "booking skills" of Flair in that he can only book excellent angles for himself and the big gold belt.

 

Hey, at least they got 24/7!!

[Guest *KNK*]

Hey, at least they got 24/7!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Which they are still struggling to get off and running, so much that they appear to have given up on and just allowed it to be online thing only.

 

There's nothing to add to this, Rudo hit it.

[Promoter 0]

You got to be joking!!! I just re-ordered the channel in the middle of last month. It's the only thing that really makes me still watch. They can't even get THIS right? How can they get this wrong?

[Guest Fishyswa]

"Shane doesn't want anything to do with the business? Shane is more in the business than Steph is."

 

And you get this from...? Shane is as removed from the company as he can be right now, and it's not changing anytime soon.

[BruiserKC 0]

Vince McMahon has made his bed...the bed of going out of his way for 20 years to crush any and all competition. I was old enough to remember in 1984 when Vince bought Georgia Championship Wrestling and put his WWF programming on WTBS. Vince would buy up all the top talent throughout the feds...Rick Rude, Ultimate Warrior and Kerry Von Erich from World Class...Hacksaw Duggan, Ted DiBiase, and Junkyard Dog from Mid-South/UWF...and so on and so forth.

 

It was never about competition...Vince wanted no competition. And now he has it...sort of the decline of the Roman Empire now taking place.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

"Shane doesn't want anything to do with the business? Shane is more in the business than Steph is."

 

And you get this from...? Shane is as removed from the company as he can be right now, and it's not changing anytime soon.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Shane is involved with _the business_ of wrestling, like Linda is. I believe I read that Shane went to the SPIKETV meetings with Linda when they were negotiating for a new tv deal, and while Vince is grooming Steph to take over the creative side (what a great move that was Vince!), Linda is seemingly doing the same with Shane. It's a far more important factor in the WWE's success than anything they do in-ring. WWE has never been the place that had the best storylines or the best wrestling, but because their business model or "infrastructure" and their marketing, they were doing things the competition wasn't doing in the 80's and that's what put them over the top. As VP of Global Media, Shane is very much entrenched in WWE business. He has far more responsibilities than Steph does which have great implications on the business. Steph fucks up (and has been fucking up for almost 5 years now), the blow isn't that major. Shane fucks up, and the implications to the business of the WWE are probably more disasterous.

[Rendclaw 0]

That's exactly right. And just like the Roman Empire, we are and have been seeing for the past three years the steady decline.... and Vince going to more extremes to massage his own ego and to "give the fans what they want".

 

I won;t go so far as to say he never gave the fans what they wanted, but ever since he inherited the throne from his father who had a decent mind for the business in retrospect, it became more about him and less about wrestling as the years passed, until he came up with the moniker "sports entertainment" circa 1985. Thats when he crested and started going down the slippery slope. He crashed and burned once, then rose from the ashes during the Attitude era, and now he is again fast heading downwards.

 

I was a fan from way the hell back, circa 1980-81, when I saw a card on MSG (Fuck, those were they days). It was fun to watch, the booking was pretty good from what I can remember, and Vince Sr. was willing to take chances, like putting the tag belts on an all-black tag team. Its almost sad to see what it has become 25 years later.

[Promoter 0]

I think Shane is the boss for wwe.com. I see some potential with what is going on there mixing kayfabe with reality and the power 25 stuff. I bet he doesn't bother with creative because his ideas would completely clash with his other family members. It's too bad, maybe Vince should have really let him run wcw and we might be in a better situation today or worse(Vince would ruin that success somehow).

[snuffbox 0]

Wait...wait...wait...

 

So big egos cant be fragile?

 

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Here's another conspiracy theory:

 

Christie Hemme and Daniel Puder chosen by fans to be new stars for WWE. Apparantly WWE wasn't happy with the fans' choices (they were going for Carmella and didn't think Puder was what they were looking for) so what happens, one's now MIA and the other was fired.