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The Perspective with James Caldwell
By James Caldwell, Torch columnist
Original Headline: Of PWG, WWE PPV build-up, and TNA's two-step
Torch Newsletter #989/990 (00-15-07)
WWE UNFORGIVEN: If you watched Raw is Hornswoggle and forgot there's a PPV this Sunday, you're not alone. It seems WWE is content simply writing for TV these days rather than putting credible effort into building up PPVs. So much for CEO Linda McMahon saying the company's number one priority is refocusing on the PPV division. The past two months, that statement is holding as much credibility as WWE's letter of response to Congress.
On Raw, John Cena delivered a poignant and smart promo on Vince McMahon to establish the issue between himself and Randy Orton. That wasn't revisited later in the show, though, and McMahon certainly had better things to worry about. He obviously wasn't fazed by Cena's bold statement about Vince's father, as he was more concerned about a TV leprechaun dancing circles around his leg. Well, if Cena's program wasn't important enough to affect McMahon, then why should a potential customer sitting on the fence spend $40 on a PPV where the main event match is of lesser value than a storyline played out on free TV?
Raw apparently has so little going for it that would interest viewers in spending money on a PPV that they had to bring in the reserves from Smackdown. They showcased Batista against Khali, albeit for 20 seconds, but with no appearance by Rey Mysterio. Batista vs. Khali has been done. It's entering the James Storm vs. Rhino warning zone of ad nausea. But, throw Rey in the mix with Batista and there's some potential to draw viewers in for the Sunday offering. Otherwise, it looks like just another Cena vs. Insert Monster Wrestler X storyline that Raw viewers are all too familiar with.
With the WWE roster in constant turmoil, the lack of PPV build-up seems to be a function of Creative writing by the seat of their pants. But, when a wrestler like Jeff Hardy is available for a PPV feature match, and he's hugely popular and more over than the majority of the roster ever will be, it makes absolutely zero sense for him to be used as jobber fodder for Great Khali.
That's a clear sign WWE simply isn't in the business of making money on PPV, otherwise they would capitalize on Hardy's crowd following instead of using him like Teflon with the belief that he can always bounce back. Yes, he can always bounce back, but he can't make money for the company in that role. He can make money with a credible, consistent push with a series of spotlight matches on PPV where he isn't thrown to the lions.
TNA'S ONE STEP FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK: Two years ago, I wrote about TNA taking one step forward with upgrades on the roster and with a new TV deal, but consistently taking two steps back with dreadful TV and pushing Jeff Jarrett to the moon when the audience was craving something different. Now, it seems TNA is at least breaking even on their missteps.
It started with the No Surrender PPV, which was a major upgrade over the Hard Justice event that left viewers wondering if they weren't involved in some really bad joke that cost $30.
With relatively clean finishes and far fewer sports entertainment-lite moments that makes the paying customer cringe, TNA's September offering was a breath of fresh air. There were even clean finishes to the X Division and World Hvt. Title matches. Of course, there was a step back when the new X Division champion Jay Lethal was treated like a jobber a few matches afterward, then Judas Mesias struggled to locate Abyss's foot after the main event Hvt. title match before dragging him below the ring with plenty of B-level movie special effects for dramatic effect.
There was also Rhino showing the will to overcome his "personal demons" and finally ending the feud with James Storm that simply would not end. Of course, they had to follow that with Rhino trying to shove a keg of beer down Storm's pants. The feud just couldn't end on a high note. But, it wasn't any worse than Chris Harris being embarrassed on national pay-per-view television when Dustin Rhodes placed the rear end of a rat named Misty on his face.
In the bigger picture of more than individual indiscretions on the PPVs, TNA finally has the elusive second hour locked up starting in October. A major step forward. The problem is that TNA doesn't have...
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