The Bottom Line Blog

Is The Divas Division a Money Loser?

divapandemonium:

bottomlinewrestling:

I want to share an animated GIF with you, taken from this past Monday’s episode of WWE Raw.

This picture is the best possible example of what is wrong with the Divas division in WWE today. And if for some reason you can see it, it was the end of the Divas match in which Tamina pinned one of the Bellas after the superfly splash, the camera cut to the crowd and the reaction?

Uh, well… there was none.

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This post made some sense until the whole “calling them Divas and making them wear S&M clothes” or whatever was said…I had to stop reading.

You can honestly tell me that those are reasons why people aren’t invested in the division when they’ve been called Divas since 2001? Really?

And their outfits are the problem when you tune into the Other Wrestling Program, their women look like a bunch of whore prostitutes?

If you really have to nitpick and decide what’s wrong with the Divas division, that isn’t one of the reasons whatsoever. Just being real here.

So, I figured I owed it to you to reply to this.

Okay, I’ll accept that. The “divas” thing was a little over the top. To be fair, it was a lesser point, but I’ll take it back. I can admit when I’ve made a mistake, and Divas is an okay enough brand.

The outfits, however, I stick by. Just because the Knockouts may dress just as trampy doesn’t validate it. More of a widespread issue. And not ALL Divas/Knockouts/female wrestlers are guilty of that, either. I mean, Kelly Kelly’s outfit versus something like that Beth Phoenix or Eve would wear, for example.

But, regardless, the BIGGEST point I wanted to make was that the Divas actually need time to be on TV and to develop their characters. The Divas were actually interesting when they had the time to develop feuds and interesting stories. That was the real point. My apologies if it got lost in the shuffle.

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Is The Divas Division a Money Loser?

I want to share an animated GIF with you, taken from this past Monday’s episode of WWE Raw.

This picture is the best possible example of what is wrong with the Divas division in WWE today. And if for some reason you can see it, it was the end of the Divas match in which Tamina pinned one of the Bellas after the superfly splash, the camera cut to the crowd and the reaction?

Uh, well… there was none.

Read More

TNA Rumored To Take Legal Action Against WWE Over Ric Flair: Possible?

Rumors are swirling ever since WWE announced that Ric Flair, along with the rest of the Four Horsemen, would be inducted into the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame. The first speculation was if Flair, currently under contract to TNA, would even appear at the event. When Flair confirmed he would be there after a fan’s inquiry, new rumors are starting to swirl that TNA may sue WWE over this.

So, where does it stand? Can TNA actually sue WWE over their inclusion of Ric Flair in the Four Horseman they chose to induct?

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Edge in HOF 2012: Why So Soon?

When it was announced this past Monday that Edge would be the flagship inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame, it came as a surprise to a lot of people and many others also began to question why someone whose career was over for less than a year was getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. One article I even read suggested that Edge’s induction was contributing to the downfall of the Hall of Fame.

First, let me clear up a couple non-business related points: Edge deserves this. He had a career that many in the WWE could only dream of, and while I guarantee you that he’d much rather have had this honor several years from now, he’s gracious. To imply that just because he hasn’t been out of action that long means he shouldn’t be inducted is just inane.

Secondly, and back to the real focus, this is not a traditional “Hall of Fame”. This is the WWE Hall of Fame. This is a pre-WrestleMania special which is not only done to honor the men and women of the business but it’s also done - and done perhaps moreso - for the sake of marketing and promotion.

Are we all so far removed from last year where Drew Carey was inducted, conveniently alongside the debut of his show which only ran for two months? What about the inclusion of names such as Pete Rose, William “The Refrigerator” Perry and Bob Uecker? Or even folks involved in the industry like Abdullah the Butcher, Gordon Solie and “High Chief” Peter Miavia who had never worked for WWF or even WWWF? That’s not to say they don’t deserve it, but the fact is this is more than just a real Hall of Fame.

The WWE Hall of Fame has two sides: one is the side that actually honors the legends of the industry from the past, whether they worked in WWE or not. That’s why you’ll see just about anyone being inducted. The second part is the business side, the names that are inducted because they draw.

And by the way, where was this outrage when Shawn Michaels was inducted less than a year after his retirement, too? Michaels may have had a longer career and is perhaps more “legendary” than Edge, but the length of time is no different. Both men were inducted after having their final match at WrestleMania the previous year.

The second side of the Hall of Fame is primarily why Edge is being inducted this year. In addition to most of the current WWE fanbase knowing who Edge is very well, there is a huge wave of positive sentiment regarding Edge that the WWE wants to keep riding all the way to the bank. There’s a reason they decided to hold this event at the American Airlines Arena. They want to sell out.

So this year, yes, Edge will be your main attraction, but you’ve already got legendary names like the Four Horsemen and Mil Mascaras on the agenda. Just because there hasn’t been several years gone since Edge has been in the ring doesn’t mean he isn’t any more or less deserving or that his induction is in any way harmful to the integrity of the Hall of Fame.

The Economics Behind John Cena’s Heel Turn

The past few months have been the wishlist for the Internet Wrestling Community. CM Punk is your top draw in WWE and the WWE Champion, Daniel Bryan is your World Heavyweight Champion, Zack Ryder is the United States Champion, and John Cena is in the back seat. So what’s left? Well, the world keeps asking - when is Cena going heel?

Unlike any other superstar in the company, turning Cena heel is not as easy as flipping his persona. John Cena makes the company a lot of money - a LOT of money - as the kid’s favorite wrestler. The teenage and adult male audiences generally prefer guys like Punk or Orton and that’s why the crowd is often split with the “Let’s Go Cena/Cena Sucks” chants. WWE has also realized there’s a market there, and has begun selling “Cena Sucks” t-shirts at their live events.

Beyond the money, though, Cena is also the PR face of the company. Cena gets more Make-a-Wish requests than any other WWE superstar and his personality and attitude are the reason behind that. Can you imagine what would happen if they turned Cena heel? Sure, he’d still get MAW requests and he’d still fill them with the same integrity that he has. He isn’t gonna start going heel on sick kids, but that isn’t the point.

By turning him heel, you’ll also make it hard for the kids who support him to want to keep supporting him. He’ll be the bad guy and many parents will find it hard to support the bad guy (and I’m not talking about Razor Ramon). So, Cena merch sales will suffer.

But, is it impossible to turn him heel? No, not quite, but it has to be done right.

I’m not here to say there’s only one way to turn Cena heel, but the easiest way is to make a mild change to his character. As it stands right now, women and kids root for Cena. He needs to embrace that and start abusing the people who boo him. Call them out, be over the top with his Five Moves of Doom deliberately to antagonize those who hate him. He keeps going the Make-a-Wish, he keeps posing and high-fiving kids and rudely disrespects the people who boo him.

You can make him heel in a different way than traditional and possibly change up his fanbase. But then the question lies, is it actually worth it to risk it to turn Cena heel?

His current storyline with Kane is at least interesting. It’s putting that anti-Cena sentiment into the forefront and Cena is certainly reacting appropriately to it, but even if he stays the way he is, what damage does it do? The IWC is mostly in an uproar, but Cena still generates a lot of merch sales - even the anti-Cena shirts put a share of the sales in Cena’s pocket - so will WWE risk damaging that just to appease a few fans?

It’s hard to say. Cena’s heel turn is a difficult thing, but perhaps now - during the rise of CM Punk - is the only real time it can be done.

The Bottom Line Blog is BACK

It’s been a very long time since I actively maintained this blog, especially since the podcast - Bottom Line Live - started to take off, but I felt that instead of just writing stuff about wrestling in general, I’d go back to the original concept of this blog.

See, the reason I chose the name “Bottom Line Blog” was a bit two-sided. For starters, “Bottom Line” has a very obvious connection to the world of pro wrestling thanks to Steve Austin’s catchphrase. The second and most important element is that the blog’s original focus, before the podcast and before the blog branched out to cover wrestling in general, was to specifically talk about the BUSINESS reasons by the decisions that happen in wrestling.

I wanted to do this because I find that, in most debates about “Why did [company] do this?!”, I’m often the guy who says “Well, it makes business sense…” and then explain why. So, now it’s time to share my point of view with everyone, at least from the business perspective.

I’ve moved the blog to Tumblr, but you can still get here by going to thebottomlineblog.com as well as bottomlinewrestling.tumblr.com, but use the domain cuz I pay for that so you might as well get the most out of it.

Also, please ask me any questions you may have by using the ASK link at the top of the page. And fire away, I’ll answer any wrestling-related question I can!