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PARKER'S PENNY THOUGHTS: FRIDAY: 7/18: Is Ric Flair the Savior of wwe.com? Jul 18, 2008 - 3:34:59 PM
For the past year, WWE has tried just about every tactic to increase online traffic to their website and most have proven unsuccessful. The laundry list includes promoting their online exclusive shows on their television that is viewed by nearly 10 million people each week, Vince giving away his millions, and in the ultimate act of desperation; started promoting their competition’s news on their website . All of these attempts have been unsuccessful or short-term band-aids.
Enter Ric Flair.
Throughout his career, Ric Flair was always a go-to guy when the ratings needed a boost. Regardless of how he was previously used, when presented in the correct way (or even in the incorrect way in some cases), Flair brought eyeballs to the set. The term “teflon” was never more appropriately used.
With the well pretty much run dry, WWE has once again turned to “the Naitch” in hopes of driving a spike in online traffic as “Stylin’ and Profilin’ with Ric Flair” premieres this Tuesday on wwe.com. WWE has put up a preview that you can check out under their “videos” section on the main page to get a glimpse of what you can expect.
After a career where Flair has wrestled anyone that was anybody, held most of the major titles, and done pretty much everything imaginable as a wrestler, who knew that 36 years after his professional debut, Ric Flair would be facing one of his biggest challenges to date. Ratings have been falling since Wrestlemania, and I believe a certain percentage of that can be attributed to some Flair fans finally closing the book on pro wrestling. Let’s see if those same fans, once they hear of this new show, will be unique visitors to the website and cause a spike in web traffic. If so, as if any more validation was needed, Ric Flair will truly be “the man.”
Flair fans, let me know at torchparker@gmail.com if this news will make you a more frequent visitor to wwe.com. Have you tuned out since Flair’s retirement? Do you visit wwe.com regularly? Let me know
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