Bonnie Hammer submitting ideas to Vince

[Atticus Chaos 0]

The USA network is becoming increasingly concerned with the recent ratings dip on Raw. So much so that Bonnie Hammer has been more involved in sending in ideas to the company. Storyline ideas, requests to bring back more stars like Austin and Mankind, and as one person put it "more Vince Russo style shows". Vince McMahon has been somewhat lukewarm but supportive of the ideas, while Stephanie McMahon as head of creative is not taking them seriously at all. Hammer wants more storylines like the Vince's Limo storyline, so the viewer seems to be watching an action show rather than a sports entertainment program. There had been a major push from within USA to extend Raw to 3 hours, no word on how the ratings slip has affected those wishes.

 

 

pwinsider audio

 

[Steviekick 0]

If true, that shows how little USA knows about the WWE product, being that Austin and Foley are in no shape to wrestle any more.

[The Metal Maniac 0]

Hammer wants more storylines like the Vince's Limo storyline, so the viewer seems to be watching an action show rather than a sports entertainment program.

 

I will never, never, EVER, fathom this mentality. WHY should WWE be more like an action show? There's HUNDREDS of action shows on TV. 90% of them probably have better actors. Probably better effects too. Why would they want to compete with something like that? Why don't they wake the fuck up and realize that there's hundreds of action shows on TV, but exactly TWO wrestling companies with any kind of TV time? If people want to watch action shows, they'll watch ACTION SHOWS. If they wanna watch wrestling, they won't watch anything, because WWE is trying to NOT be a wrestling show.

 

Asinine.

[Perfection 0]

Good grief. Its bad enough we have bad ideas from Vince and Steph but someone who knows nothing about wrestling? damn

[razazteca 0]

Wait a minute are you telling me that an extra hour of Raw would get more advertising revenue than repeats of Law & Order, Monk, Psyche, Burn Notice, 4400, etc.?

[Black Lushus 0]

Good grief. Its bad enough we have bad ideas from Vince and Steph but someone who knows nothing about wrestling? damn

 

yeah...who does she think she is? Dixie Carter?

[Perfection 0]

Good grief. Its bad enough we have bad ideas from Vince and Steph but someone who knows nothing about wrestling? damn

 

yeah...who does she think sshe is? Dixie Carter?

 

....and look how bad their product is.

[Atticus Chaos 0]

Hammer wants more storylines like the Vince's Limo storyline, so the viewer seems to be watching an action show rather than a sports entertainment program.

 

I will never, never, EVER, fathom this mentality. WHY should WWE be more like an action show? There's HUNDREDS of action shows on TV. 90% of them probably have better actors. Probably better effects too. Why would they want to compete with something like that? Why don't they wake the fuck up and realize that there's hundreds of action shows on TV, but exactly TWO wrestling companies with any kind of TV time? If people want to watch action shows, they'll watch ACTION SHOWS. If they wanna watch wrestling, they won't watch anything, because WWE is trying to NOT be a wrestling show.

 

Asinine.

 

 

Next week on Raw: John Cena infiltrates an Al-Qaeda cell with the aid of CTU.

[Black Lushus 0]

Good grief. Its bad enough we have bad ideas from Vince and Steph but someone who knows nothing about wrestling? damn

 

yeah...who does she think sshe is? Dixie Carter?

 

....and look how bad their product is.

 

amen, brother

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

You guys do know that in many circles Bonnie Hammer is considered the one who turned around the product during the Attitude era, right? It was her influence (completely understated in wrestling lore) that got them to incorporate more adult characters and storylines and embrace episodic storytelling. She was instrumental in helping them restructure the tv product from mid-1997 to 2000, which more or less coincided with the fed's strongest ratings and attendence boom ever. I know it's easy to criticize an outsider but at least know your history.

[Black Lushus 0]

fuck her history...she wants to turn Raw in to an ACTION SHOW!

[haVoc 0]

Yeah, tell her to make Vince focus on better in ring action.

[LaParkaMarka 0]

I hear Vince McMahon wants to turn wrestling into SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT...what a moron. People want to watch hammerlocks, not soap operas.

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

She wants Thunder in Paradise.

[RepoMan 0]

I know I might be the only one here that liked the Vince death angle, but that was the last angle on Raw that has been remotely interesting to me. The show has been overall boring as hell overall with the ocassional entertaining mid-card match. The Raw writing staff does need to get some angles that are going to hook viewers to come back everyweek.

[Gary Floyd 0]

Next week on Raw: John Cena infiltrates an Al-Qaeda cell with the aid of CTU.

I'd totally watch that.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

If she really wants to make Raw more like an ACTION SHOW, she should demand that they have a wrestler called Chris Benoit. He can 'return' on ECW and demand an ECW title shot. Have the announcers explain that 'Benoit' had been dealing with a family emergency for the last few weeks, and that he was back to take care of business. Everyone can treat the new Benoit like he was Benoit and talk about how they missed him while he was gone, but are glad he's back, and things can keep going like nothing in the real world happened.

[2GOLD 0]

She wants Thunder in Paradise.

 

Then let the woman speak.

[Celtic Guardian 0]

You guys do know that in many circles Bonnie Hammer is considered the one who turned around the product during the Attitude era, right? It was her influence (completely understated in wrestling lore) that got them to incorporate more adult characters and storylines and embrace episodic storytelling. She was instrumental in helping them restructure the tv product from mid-1997 to 2000, which more or less coincided with the fed's strongest ratings and attendence boom ever. I know it's easy to criticize an outsider but at least know your history.

 

Hammer has missed a lot of wrestling years between her original consulting stint and her present day management of USA Network.

 

The original Attitude era was a successful attempt to grow the product beyond the child-skewing storylines that had insulted adult intelligence. Pro wrestling has advanced to the point in Hammer's absence though that returning to the Attitude Era would itself be an insult to adult intelligence.

 

[evilhomer 0]

I know I might be the only one here that liked the Vince death angle, but that was the last angle on Raw that has been remotely interesting to me. The show has been overall boring as hell overall with the ocassional entertaining mid-card match. The Raw writing staff does need to get some angles that are going to hook viewers to come back everyweek.

I hate to agree with you but I do. I've given up watching the shows on a regular basis, I just flip to it now and then, but this was the first thing in about two years that I made a point of watching for. Don't get me wrong, I hated the angle and everything about it but morbid curiosity drew me to see what the fuck they were going to do. Of course, this kind of thing is only a temporary fix. I was ready to give up by the time the angle was ended.

 

Without good writing, and good action to back it up, shock tv will only give them an occasional spike.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

You guys do know that in many circles Bonnie Hammer is considered the one who turned around the product during the Attitude era, right? It was her influence (completely understated in wrestling lore) that got them to incorporate more adult characters and storylines and embrace episodic storytelling. She was instrumental in helping them restructure the tv product from mid-1997 to 2000, which more or less coincided with the fed's strongest ratings and attendence boom ever. I know it's easy to criticize an outsider but at least know your history.

 

Hammer has missed a lot of wrestling years between her original consulting stint and her present day management of USA Network.

 

The original Attitude era was a successful attempt to grow the product beyond the child-skewing storylines that had insulted adult intelligence. Pro wrestling has advanced to the point in Hammer's absence though that returning to the Attitude Era would itself be an insult to adult intelligence.

 

 

That may very well be true, but she didn't exactly come from a wrestling background the first time around. The first stint was less about "Attitude" and more about putting on a product that would interest people. The woman knows television and creating a compelling tv product. Her first consulting stint literally turned the company around to the successful entity it became.

 

I just don't think it's a bad idea to take advice from her. She's been successful in turning USA and SciFi into major viable entities and is highly regarded for her ability to rebrand and sell dying or underperforming products. I trust her a hell of a lot more than Stephanie McMahon because she actualy has experience in developing something that audiences want. Her knowledge of wrestling is irrelevant if the ideas are good.

[Gary Floyd 0]

I know I might be the only one here that liked the Vince death angle, but that was the last angle on Raw that has been remotely interesting to me. The show has been overall boring as hell overall with the ocassional entertaining mid-card match. The Raw writing staff does need to get some angles that are going to hook viewers to come back everyweek.

I loved the angle too, but it would have drawn on for too long. WWE has a thing for dragging things on well beyond their experation.

[k thx 0]

As much as "make it an action show" sounds shit, if it means having fast moving, storyline driven feuds and segments with performers the fans want to see, count me in.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

As much as "make it an action show" sounds shit, if it means having fast moving, storyline driven feuds and segments with performers the fans want to see, count me in.

I think most people would want a Raw that was as you described. The problem is that Hammer, and Vince and company for that matter, think of Raw like it was an actual action show. There are some things real actions show do that simply wouldn't work in the context of a wrestling program, which is what Raw is at it's heart, no matter how much Vince and company want to think otherwise.

[The Niggardly King 0]

You mean John Cena can't have a car chase with Randy Orton and then be lead into a beatdown in the desert by the whole roster?

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

The Attitude era is gone. We grew out of it.

 

If Raw becomes a three hour show, why bother buying the PPVs?

[2GOLD 0]

You mean John Cena can't have a car chase with Randy Orton and then be lead into a beatdown in the desert by the whole roster?

 

Only if you want to see Cena fight off the entire roster and somehow manage to FU six of them at the same time.

[Maztinho 0]

You mean John Cena can't have a car chase with Randy Orton and then be lead into a beatdown in the desert by the whole roster?

 

Only if you want to see Cena fight off the entire roster and somehow manage to FU six of them at the same time.

 

And then make three others tap out to a Cheek Squeeze... er... STFU.

[Guest droptoehold]

Bonnie Hammer vs Dixie Carter

 

make it happen!

 

honestly i'll take just about anyones input how to better the show is I was Vince

[The Niggardly King 0]

You mean John Cena can't have a car chase with Randy Orton and then be lead into a beatdown in the desert by the whole roster?

 

Only if you want to see Cena fight off the entire roster and somehow manage to FU six of them at the same time.

 

I'm all for this idea.