WWE notes from Da Meltz on Figure Four Daily

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Thinks the new WB/UPN combined network is a big benefit for WWE for at least the next two years, as they signed for two more years, after which it could be anyone’s guess.

 

Thinks the deal will see more eyeballs watching Smackdown come the fall than are watching it now, unless they tank creatively.

 

Regarding Raw ratings, he was surprised at Monday’s rating.

 

He attributes it to Edge, Cena and Flair, with the biggest demographic growth in Males 35-49.

 

Says that Flair can raise the ratings but only short-term and is never the guy to turn a company around.

 

The plan was to bury Flair, and was mean to drop the IC belt to Trevor Murdoch but that got forgotten in the chaos of going to Afghanistan.

 

Flair was put in with Cena as a desperation move to get Cena over.

 

Believes Flair didn’t cut a promo on Monday because of fear he would overshadow Cena. They have no such care about Edge getting overshadowed.

 

The plan is for Cena to be ‘The Guy’, with Flair to be the set-up guy to get Cena over.

 

Still set to be Cena vs. Hunter at WM, but it could change by Sunday, at which point they should be set in stone.

 

Says Rey winning the Rumble is a distinct possibility.

 

Thinks they’ve crossed a line with the Rey story, because they can’t do it without Eddie which is a detriment.

 

Thinks WWE are unable pass up a chance to exploit a tragedy or story for gain.

 

Thinks it would be a mistake to take the belt off Edge.

 

Feels Hunter’s promo on Monday was Hunter’s way of letting people know Edge is just holding the belt and the position of Edge having to come to Hunter for help was more of making it clear that Hunter was the real star.

 

If Hunter beats Cena in Chicago, or even loses, Hunter will be the babyface, and Meltzer jokes that he’d like to see Hunter try to be a heel against Cena.

 

Thinks Shawn vs. Vince at WM will be horrible, and that Shawn would have to really pull out all the stops to get something out of the match.

 

Right now, Hogan has no role at WM, but thinks that come February, due to panic and Hogan’s show having a second season, they’ll try and put something together, possibly with Foley.

 

Dave calls the Rumble undercard horrible, with three possible winners of the Rumble match.

 

If the belt has to be taken off Angle, Meltzer thinks they’d go with Orton vs. Mysterio, and that there is a possibility of Henry getting the belt.

 

Called Vince’s speech to Shawn Vince being Vince, and that Vince is going nuts but nobody outside of the company really knows it.

 

Angle isn’t taking an MRI so they don’t have to face the results and can ignore it.

 

Calls Angle going to Dr. Jho a mistake and that it backfired.

 

Says The Spirit Squad laid an egg the first week. Thinks it’s a good gimmick for Mike Mondo, but terrible for Ken Doane or Johnny Jeter as they’re too good for it.

 

Says Heyman is less stressed over having to write OVW to WWE whims than Cornette as Heyman just sees it as what he’s got to do and simply tries to do his best with what he’s got.

 

Thinks some of the ratings increase could be down to TiVO and DVR viewing now being taken into account.

 

The quarter hour ratings, on Raw at least, have been more consistent. On Smackdown, the quarter hours are highest for Rey Mysterio, with them being “way above everyone else”.

 

The Bob Orton hepatitis deal is still an issue. Johnny Ace and Vince both knew, but nothing will be done because doing anything to Ace would kill his credibility and it would only be done if Vince wanted rid of Ace.

 

Said the Shawn vs. Benjamin match on Raw dragged a lot and generally found it boring, despite a couple of good spots. Said Shawn didn’t look good, and that he hasn’t in a while.

 

Dave sees WWE on a slight upswing which may not last, but they potentially have a lot going for them, including the NBC special.

 

Dave mocks the decision to have all the developmental guys cut their hair, and says it’s indicative of WWE only wanting one kind of look and says that so many legends would have been ruined in OVW were they there today, due to WWE only wanting that one kind of look.

 

Dean Visk was cut because of a problem between him and Ted DiBiase.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Angle isn’t taking an MRI so they don’t have to face the results and can ignore it.

 

 

[CBright7831 0]

Right now, Hogan has no role at WM, but thinks that come February, due to panic and Hogan’s show having a second season, they’ll try and put something together, possibly with Foley.

YES! YES! YES!

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Foley would probably be the heel, which works because goddamn if he wouldn't rip Hogan to shreds on the mic.

[Guest Fook]

Thinks WWE are unable pass up a chance to exploit a tragedy or story for gain.

 

Ain't that the truth. Hell, it's probably part of their mission statement.

[CBright7831 0]

Oh BTW, Kurt Angle is going to die before retiring from the ring.

[Black Lushus 0]

not sure I would go with him "dying", but I can certainly see him confined to a wheel chair and eating and breathing out of tubes.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

So where is the Undertaker? Is going to come back at the RR or is he going to take his ball and go home?

[CBright7831 0]

[refering to Angle]

 

Eh, he'll find someway to get out of that wheelchair - come hell or high water.

[Astro7x 0]

Thinks some of the ratings increase could be down to TiVO and DVR viewing now being taken into account.

 

That really shouldn't matter. If you have a Tivo, the TV tunes to the channel to record and the meter would pick it up if you are in a metered home. If you have a diary, the person would write it down as normal...

[MikeJordan23 0]

Thanks for this. Henry possibly winning the belt is really...wow...I don't see where that can lead to anything good.

[Angle-plex 0]

Hogan should beat Henry for the World Title at WrestleMania 22.

[BUTT 0]

Didn't it come out in the steroid trial that Vince had hepatitis? He sure has bled a lot.

[2GOLD 0]

Thanks for this. Henry possibly winning the belt is really...wow...I don't see where that can lead to anything good.

 

The threads alone would be classic. Just three pages of stunned silence and lots of "the fuck" over and over again. I still get the bad feeling that they are going to sign him to a new deal soon. Like a three year extension.

[BUTT 0]

Ever since Henry came back, there seems to be a growing sentiment on the net that he's a good/great worker.

[Downhome 0]

I don't think hardly anyone would call Henry a good/great worker. It is however pretty obvious that he has improved, and he's really proving that he's worth "something" right now. To me, it's obvious that he's decided to really bust his ass, since his contract runs out later this year.

 

I've enjoyed his work since he recently showed up. I'm really, really shocked that I'm saying that also, but it's true. He's not great, but he's a hell of a lot better than he's been throughout most of his career.

[Epic Reine 0]

Hogan should beat Henry for the World Title at WrestleMania 22.

 

Seconds after Henry pins Angle to win the title burying both wrestlers.

[snuffbox 0]

How would the audience react to Hogan-Foley? I really dont think Foley can play a heel anymore if only because the audience wouldnt allow it.

[Downhome 0]

I'd rather Foley never come back again if he keeps coming back like he did last time. I'm sick of the guy, and all of his unmotivated work, and I'm talking about both on the stick and in the ring. That feud with Carlito was horrible, and it was not just Carlito's fault.

 

I'd love to see him come back as a heel, and as the same guy that he was years ago (I'm not even talking about him taking huge bumps, it's not about that), God knows I would.

[randomguy 0]

I don't understand what they are doing with Cena. They've tried everything to get him over - having Angle turn anti-american, Angle attacking Maria, Cena teaming with Flair...now that Cena doesn't have the belt people are cheering for him mostly because it's fun to cheer against Edge because Edge is doing a good job as a heel. But if Cena gets the belt back people will immediately turn on him again.

 

If your main guy can only get over by stripping him of the belt and teaming him with Flair you have big big problems.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Thinks some of the ratings increase could be down to TiVO and DVR viewing now being taken into account.

 

That really shouldn't matter. If you have a Tivo, the TV tunes to the channel to record and the meter would pick it up if you are in a metered home. If you have a diary, the person would write it down as normal...

 

I think that the new way they are doing ratings splits it into 3 different categories.

 

1) Live viewing

2) Live viewing + DVR viewing within 24 hours

3) Live viewing + DVR viewing within a week

 

Up until now, if someone in a metered home watched any DVRed program other than live, it didnt count towards the program's rating (which is #1 and still considered the most important figure).

 

Some people have dual tuner DVRs which allow them to watch one thing while recording another, so some people might record RAW to watch later and watch something else live. The boost in ratings for programs using the 2nd and 3rd methods hasn't been that huge (highest has been .1 of a point or so) but as more people get DVRs, 2 and 3 will take on more relevance.

[Guest Timmer]

not sure I would go with him "dying", but I can certainly see him confined to a wheel chair and eating and breathing out of tubes.

 

 

 

Hopefully he won't end up as the next Dynamite Kid...

[k thx 0]

Dean Visk was cut because of a problem between him and Ted DiBiase.

Ted took his coffee.

[Downhome 0]

The problem between Dean Visk and Ted DiBiase was covered at PWInsider the other day. They said that Visk models himself after Kerry Von Erich, and The Ultimate Warrior, and DiBiase came to him and told him to get over Warrior, because the only reason he was ever popular was because of guys like himself, who made him look good. He went on saying that style wouldn't cut it, etc..., and that he needed to change how he looks at his work in the ring.

 

However, Visk then either refused to change in the ring, or actually said something to someone about how DiBiase was wrong, and that pissed Dibiase off, and it eventually led to his release.

[Si82 0]

He's not great, but he's a hell of a lot better than he's been throughout most of his career.

That's really saying something isn't it?

 

I don't understand why people are so entertained my Mark Henry. He's doing the same old shit for the past ten years. He's just like the "monster" types they used against Hogan back in the 80's and Undertaker in the 90's. The guy is totally fucking worthless and the sooner his contract runs out the better.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Calls Angle going to Dr. Jho a mistake and that it backfired.

 

Only because Angle fucked up and took an unprotected chairshot to the head from Lesnar. Angle was doing just fine until that happened.

[Fökai 0]

Well, he also went back to Jho after that chairshot.

[Scroby 0]

You know Foley vs Hogan may not be that bad of an idea. It'd draw a buyrate, we'd have a fun split crowd, and as long as there isn't a the normal Hogan finish, it might be an intrestling match and build up.

[jester 0]

Thanks for this. Henry possibly winning the belt is really...wow...I don't see where that can lead to anything good.

If they put the belt on Mark Henry, then they officially have no excuse not to put the belt on ANYBODY. No matter who you consider putting the belt on, you'll always think. "Why not? The belt's already been on Mark Henry for fuck's sake."

 

"Should we put the belt on Snitsky?"

"Why not? The belt's already been on Mark Henry for fuck's sake."

 

"Should we put the belt on Jackie Gayda? She's a woman, not a heavyweight, sucks beyond all measure, and now she works for another promotion."

"Why not? The belt's already been on Mark Henry for fuck's sake."

[nl5xsk1 0]

Not to pat myself on the back, but I've been calling for Hogan/Foley since the day that they announced the plans for Hogan/Austin.