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WWE P.R. PRESS CONFERENCE
JUNE 3, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. AT STAPLES CENTER (lobby)
Todd Grisham introduced the press conference inside what appeared to be a lobby or concourse area of Staples Center with a few hundred enthusiastic WWE fans present.
He introduced the "star" of the show, and then out came the clear plastic box of money to the "Money, Money, Money" theme song. Grisham joked that it was beautiful, then revealed he was talking about his new suit, not the cash. The crowd spattered boos at him. Then he introduced John Cena.
Cena walked out and looked at the box of money. That, roughly speaking, is what his WrestleMania payday looks like in cash. He shook hands with some fans, then returned to the podium. Cena talked for a while about various things that all led to saying he was there to thank the fans for their support. He praised Vince McMahon for showing his love of the fans by giving away a million dollars. It was a little sappy, actually.
Grisham said there aren't many things more attractive in the world than a million dollars, but they found one - Maria. She encouraged a chant of "Money, Money, yeah, yeah." She said she wouldn't want to be anywhere but on Raw. She said it's a great place to be. She then introduced the exec from ePrize who is managing the giveaway.
A guy named in a suit (named Gabe Karp) walked out with a big smile on his face to the Raw intro song. He laughed and said he's the guy making sure they're giving away the money. He talked up his company as the most respected of it's kind in the world. The crowd chanted "What?" at him. I hope someone prepared him for that. He talked about working with Gap, Subway, and other corporations. He said last night after Mr. McMahon announced the contest, they received an unprecedented spike in traffic. He said it was 14 times what they drew in the past for any other promotion. He said over 300,000 people have registered and they're anticipating it'll be the largest promotion in online contest history.
Maria then showed fans how to register. It took just a minute. Grisham reminded her that she's not eligible to win since she's a WWE employee. Maria said if she did win it, she'd have given it back to all of the fans.
Grisham introduced Triple H next. He joked that he was nervous about following Gabe Karp. Triple H said a lot of people are wondering whether McMahon is a genius or crazy in giving away a milllion dollars. He said everyone knows Vince is his father-in-law, and he's at his house a lot, and he said he is indeed crazy. He said when he first heard about the giveaway, he suggested McMahon just give him the money and he'd go out and talk about how great "the brand" is.
He intentionally mispronounced Cena's name, then talked about how great it is travel the world and be cheered by fans everywhere, or cheered by half and booed by half, depending on who you are. (Cena laughed at that dig.) He talked about Raw being the top ranked "regularly scheduled" cable show for 15 straight years. He asked if anyone else could name another show that's been on 15 years. (Let's think... 60 Minutes, Monday Night Football, 20/20, Larry King Live, every local station's newscast, The Colbert Report, etc.) He said McMahon is giving money away to even non-fans to win them over.
Another guy in a suit walked out (named Chris McCumber), this one from USA Network. He said WWE's Raw Fan Nation are present in L.A. The crowd didn't react much. He said they weren't surprised to hear McMahon giving away his own personal fortune. (That's a tad bit more than a million dollars, by the way.) He said McMahon has always given back to fans around the globe in different ways. He said he makes fans like them happy week in and week out. He called it the most thrilling sports entertainment brand on the planet. (Is there another other than, perhaps, TNA? When you create your own category and then claim you're number one, it's not the biggest accomplishment. I declare that PWTorch.com is now the no. 1 torch-logo'd sports-oriented, Keller-edited website in the world!)
McMahon strutted to the cash podium. "We are pop cuture," he said. "We are what everybody wants. I like to think of ourselves as the no. 1 exporter of pop culture to the rest of the world. We are a worldwide phenomenon." He said USA Network is a true partner, not just the carrier of their program. He said WWE.com has 15.8 million unique visitors tune in per month. He said it's bigger than the NFL and Major League Football combined. (He meant Major League Baseball.) He stumbled over his notes as he read various facts with his reading glasses on. He said they've published over 40 books and been the NYTime Bestseller list numerous times. He bragged about the Presidential candidates addressing their fans. He said he wants the rest of the world to know who their audience is - a cross-section of America. He said they are vocal. The crowd didn't really pop, as they seemed to be lulled to sleep by the ending patting of themselves on the back by one speaker after another. They entertained themselves with a "Vince for President" chant. "I've thought about that," he said. (Yeah, I'd love to see that. I can just imagine the vetting process on him.)
He said he's going to be giving away money every week on Raw, not just next week. (They just fail to make clear exactly how this is working. Is there going to be a million given away every week, or just portions of that money each week for several weeks? I suppose it might depend on how many registrations they get and how much ratings go up - or down - during the giveaway period.)
McMahon opened up the floor to questioning. One person asked what makes WWE so popular. Vince and Triple H gave typical answers. A reporter asked about what his goal is for the money giveaway. McMahon said it's to bring fans back to the show, along with some media members who have stopped watching. Another reporter asked why he is doing this promotion when it's not sweeps period. He said it was an idea on a whim and they put it together over the course of a few weeks. Triple H interjected that McMahon is a very impatient man.
A reporter from MultiChannel News asked how many weeks he plans to give money away. He said, "As long as I like." He said it's his money, not the company's money, and he'll do with it as he likes. She asked how people are going to find out about it. He said NBC Universal will send out word that a crazy billionaire is giving away a million dollars every week. Someone asked about how it might affect the draft. An "ECW" chant broke out. McMahon laughed that fans want to see Cena go to ECW.
Another person asked if McMahon was afraid that Donald Trump would begin giving away two million dollars a week to people to get them to watch "The Apprentice." Someone asked if this is his way to stimulate the economy. He said, "Those who win will be stimulated to a great degree."
McMahon said he'd now go to doing one-on-one interviews.
There was nothing particularly new said during this press conference despite promises of something blockbuster being revealed. Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
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