WWE General Discussion - January 2008

[Wally Balls 0]

I personally think Austin doesn't want to wrestle Hogan because he knows flat out that if he wrestles Hogan he's jobbing there. I don't think Vince considers Austin on the same level as Hogan, and if so I would agree with Vince.

 

Reverse that and it would be correct. Hogan was never as big of a draw as Austin...or even Rock for that matter. Like it or not, Austin and Rock are on top of the wrestling mountain. Look what Austin did to the industry...he changed the whole role of the face, was the WWE's top star during their most sucessful period, and sold way more merchandise...probably only rivaled by Cena in terms of sales.

[canadafour 0]

Any Chance of Sting in WWE in 2008????

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

- According to a few reader reports, Comcast Cable will not be carrying the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in High Definition. A representative said that the company is capable of showing pay-per-view events in HD on their InDemand 2 channel, but they have not received any details from World Wrestling Entertainment. We will keep you updated if this changes.

 

-- Some people in the UK have been asking the Sky Channel about WWE programming going in High Definition. According to their Customer Relations department, there are no plans to broadcast the Royal Rumble in HD. Sky has HD simulcast channels in Sky 1 and Sky 2, but not Sky 3, the channel Raw airs on, so well, Raw won't be broadcast in HD either for the time being.

[cabbageboy 0]

Hogan was a LOT bigger draw than Austin. See, Austin had way more top level drawing help around him. The only time that Austin was ever flat out the #1 draw in the WWF was from WM 14 through Summerslam 1999. That really isn't a very long time period. After that HHH and The Rock were the top guys in the promotion, and when Austin got another extended run on top in 2001 his heel act didn't really draw.

 

Some might say Austin drew more PPV money but look at how many more PPVs there are. Hell, Austin really wasn't much bigger of a draw than Hogan over the 1997-99 time period, much less all time. Hell, Hogan vs. Andre from The Main Event on NBC did a 16.0 or so broadcast rating. Hogan got them on NBC. Hogan got them on PPV.

[Craig Th 0]

WWE sent out a press release on Monday confirming that Raw and Smackdown will get new stage sets next week to celebrate the move to HD.

 

http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2008/2008_01_14.jsp

 

Raw has had its set since the first night of the brand extension in April 2002. Smackdown has had its set since August 2001.

Too bad I don't have USAHD.

 

I believe only DirecTV and Dish have that channel, but I could be way off there.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I ASSUME ScoreHD in Canada would be getting the HD feed of Raw and SmackDown, but who knows. If someone from Canada can confirm this for me someday, I might actually finally start paying the $12 a month it costs to go HD here (obviously it would be good for other shows too but I never really thought about it much before... I keep holding out for some sort of price drop). For clarification, because I've seen others mention confusion / outrage over HD charges, the breakdown is that it costs $5 more a month to rent a standard HD receiver for (as opposed to one that can record shows... that's $15 more a month) than it does a regular digital receiver. They give you two free channels (CTV and CBC I think) and for $7 a month, you get the "HD Package". For an additional $2.50 (I think), they add DiscoveryHD and HDNet to the line-up.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I checked the guide on my Time Warner cable box and Raw will not be on the Universal HD station next week.

[claydude14 0]

The new sets are probably for HD trons.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I get USA and Sci Fi in HD but no CW (alas non cable CW here is a SD subchannel of the ABC station so no chance of that for a long while)

 

My guess on the new sets is that the projector screens used for the trons had to be tweeked so they dont look bad in HD. I cant wait to see the new sets.

Id also assume there will be a new intro at least for each show, if not also new music as well.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

I get USA and Sci Fi in HD but no CW (alas non cable CW here is a SD subchannel of the ABC station so no chance of that for a long while)

 

My guess on the new sets is that the projector screens used for the trons had to be tweeked so they dont look bad in HD. I cant wait to see the new sets.

Id also assume there will be a new intro at least for each show, if not also new music as well.

 

I think you are hoping for a lot. I don't think they'll change the intro themes but I could be wrong.

[Enigma 0]

If they were jumping to Dolby 5.1, then maybe. But they said they are staying with stereo for the time being.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I wonder how many WWE fans will actually be able to see RAW in HD next week. I bet it's less than 50% of the total viewership.

[Enigma 0]

Yeah, USA HD and Sci-Fi HD just launched. It's on DirecTV, a very, VERY small amount of digital cable providers and that's about it. A lot more people have access to CW HD.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I think 50% is a very high guess.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

HBK/Flair Mania program where they will get the 30+ minutes they didn't get at Bad Blood 2003.

 

That's what I'm hoping for and that's where they should go. It would be a lot more better as well as not done to death as Flair / HHH.

 

HHH on the other hand can wrestle Mysterio, Kennedy, or JBL at Wrestlemania. All fresh and mostly excited potential high profile feuds.

[spman 0]

I have USA and CW in HD through Comcast, but not Sci-Fi. I'm not expecting too much from WWE in HD, there's some things you just don't wanna see in Hi Def.

[Guest heat]

HD is in need of its own thread.

[LivingLegendGaryColeman 0]

I personally think Austin doesn't want to wrestle Hogan because he knows flat out that if he wrestles Hogan he's jobbing there. I don't think Vince considers Austin on the same level as Hogan, and if so I would agree with Vince.

 

Reverse that and it would be correct. Hogan was never as big of a draw as Austin...or even Rock for that matter. Like it or not, Austin and Rock are on top of the wrestling mountain. Look what Austin did to the industry...he changed the whole role of the face, was the WWE's top star during their most sucessful period, and sold way more merchandise...probably only rivaled by Cena in terms of sales.

 

I agree that Rock and Austin most likely drew more money than Hogan, but I would by far call Hogan the biggest name, with the Rock in 2nd. If you ask someone to name a pro wrestler, Hulk Hogan will be the first name that comes out. Rock has a ton of mainstream popularity too. As popular as Austin was back in the day, I don't think he was as known by the general public as Hogan or Rock. Heck, some of the non-wrestling people that do know who he can only come up with the name Cold Stone.

[Enigma 0]

You're fucking kidding, right? Back in 1998, every goddamn person in the United States knew who Stone Cold Steve Austin was.

[TheFranchise 0]

You're fucking kidding, right? Back in 1998, every goddamn person in the United States knew who Stone Cold Steve Austin was.

And every single one of those people knew who Hulk Hogan is.

 

Not every single person who knows who Hogan is knows who Austin is though.

 

Please guys, this arguments a non-starter.

[Nate 0]

I have USA and CW in HD through Comcast, but not Sci-Fi. I'm not expecting too much from WWE in HD, there's some things you just don't wanna see in Hi Def.

 

strange I dont have USA or CW in HD on mine and I have Comcast

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Isn't WWE in HD like porn in HD? Sounds good on paper until you actually see it up close. As one poster noted above, there are some things you don't want to see in hi-def.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I get USA and Sci Fi in HD but no CW (alas non cable CW here is a SD subchannel of the ABC station so no chance of that for a long while)

 

My guess on the new sets is that the projector screens used for the trons had to be tweeked so they dont look bad in HD. I cant wait to see the new sets.

Id also assume there will be a new intro at least for each show, if not also new music as well.

 

I think you are hoping for a lot. I don't think they'll change the intro themes but I could be wrong.

 

If they have to do new intro videos to fit 16:9 AR then why not do new music as well while they're at it.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

I have USA and CW in HD through Comcast, but not Sci-Fi. I'm not expecting too much from WWE in HD, there's some things you just don't wanna see in Hi Def.

 

strange I dont have USA or CW in HD on mine and I have Comcast

I have Comcast - I definitely know I have CW HD, but I don't think I have USA (I haven't checked).

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

So where are the SD! spoilers?

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I don't think Birmingham is internet friendly. I'm probably remembering wrong, but it seems to me the last smart ass "so does know one in <city> have computers?" was about somewhere in Alabama.

[Enigma 0]

Wel, my girlfriend used to go to college at UAB in Birmingham, AL, so there are a lot of computers in the city.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

WWE.com has a video of HHH talking about Shawn's bald spot showing up in HD. Remember when they edited that photo to cover it up? Times are changin.

 

[King Cucaracha 0]

Isn't WWE in HD like porn in HD? Sounds good on paper until you actually see it up close. As one poster noted above, there are some things you don't want to see in hi-def.

 

I love that the only real sell for the switchover so far has been 'Snitsky will be even more disgusting'. WWE, always giving fans what they want.

 

What's the odds on the Kiss My Ass Club being resurrected next week, just because?

[Silence 0]

Isn't WWE in HD like porn in HD? Sounds good on paper until you actually see it up close. As one poster noted above, there are some things you don't want to see in hi-def.

 

I love that the only real sell for the switchover so far has been 'Snitsky will be even more disgusting'. WWE, always giving fans what they want.

 

What's the odds on the Kiss My Ass Club being resurrected next week, just because?

 

I would have to think that Vince is warped enough to think we're going to like seeing the pimples on his ass.