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THE CORNER CUBE FRIDAY: Looking at the positives from Impact
Dec 7, 2007 - 1:05:35 PM |
By James Caldwell, Torch columnist
Updated throughout the day, Torch columnist James Caldwell's weekday blog focuses on hot topic current events and issues from around wrestling.
Updated Friday, December 7 (last update: 1:05 p.m.)
OK, now that the frustration has given way to a bright, sunny day in The Cube and "the stuff" has been digested from Impact, I'm looking at the positives from last night's show. I've read a little reaction from Torch readers, and I can see some positives creeping out.
I'll start with Christian Cage. Give him a mic and he'll cut you a promo. And he did just that on Impact. An inspired, poignant, entertaining, passionate promo... that was paraded on by the announcers, who have to interject... OK, stick positive!
I'll give you Team 3D's promo. Boy, Brother Ray is a great heel. He really gets your blood boiling and your neck twisted with the tone and emphasis on certain words. And let's give credit to Devon for standing there and looking tough. Seriously. He enhances the act without saying anything. There has to be a heads and a tails to a tag team. (Wait, that analogy is for the other show.)
How about Amazing Kong vs. Gail Kim? Maybe not the best match at the PPV, but the best five minutes on the PPV with Kong running through the divas, refs, and security guards after the match. They did a fine job re-creating that energy on Impact following the Gail vs. ODB match. Almost by default, Gail vs. Kong is the top feud on Impact since everyone in this company is aligning with each other, then turning on each other, then aligning with each other, and turning on each other. I don't know who is on whose side from week-to-week.
OK, back to positives. No one got fired. Of course, we didn't get our advertised stipulation of a head rolling and title shots given out after spending $30 last Sunday.
How about Kurt Angle? He wasn't a Pilgrim. He wasn't doing silly comedy bits. (Although he's great in smartly-written comedy bits.) He wasn't being shoved around his locker room by Scott Hall. He looked the part of World champ and he beat the crap out of someone at the end of the show. It's a step in the right direction to regaining that credibility as the person marketed as the best wrestler in the world.
Let's think about this. TNA has Kurt Angle on its roster. Kurt freakin' Angle. It's time to start recognizing that, and hopefully last night was a sign of good things to come.
***
11:10 a.m. Last night's editions of ECW and TNA Impact were no different than any other editions. ECW was predictable. Impact was frustrating. ECW continues to be a glorified (and nationally televised) developmental territory for wrestlers like Shelton Benjamin to hone their skills. TNA continues to deliver great athleticism one second, then over-scripted silliness the next second.
There just isn't much to be said about ECW. It's there. It takes up about an hour and five minutes, then you move along with your life. Nothing on this show will impact Raw. There might be a slight mention on Smackdown. It's a show that gives you a quick wrestling fix without over-staying its welcome.
Impact, though, may stick with you for a while. There is just so much stuff on this show. Stuff. Not much substance. It's like eating junk food for two hours and then wondering why you can't shake that unsettling feeling in your stomach a few hours later.
One of the more frustrating elements of TNA's storytelling is the dated references to old WWE or WCW storylines or feuds. In their never-ending quest to be relevant via referencing "the competition" or putting main event stars in the ring that they didn't create, TNA will drop an old storyline reference to seemingly amuse themselves in a quest to play to the "insider crowd," but leave the mainstream audience trying to figure out which chapters of the story they missed.
A storyline in particular from last night's show was the sudden feud between Sharmell and Karen Angle that randomly appeared on the TV screen without any context. I had no idea what Sharmell and Karen were arguing about with Kurt putting his hands all over Sharmell. Did I miss a backstage story in WWE, or did an after-party get out-of-hand that never went reported?
Well, no. Torch reader Michael Gibbons explains: "I think TNA was referring to the angle between Booker and Kurt on Smackdown a few years ago. The storyline was based on Angle wanting to have sex with Sharmell. Why TNA would reference an angle from another fed from over two years ago that a wrestling columnist can't even remember is beyond me. I don't know how TNA can have James Storm and Chris Harris sit next to each other at turkey dinner like nothing happened, but then talk about a WWE angle from years ago."
Well said, Michael. I had completely pushed that storyline out of my mind in favor of more "stuff" thrown out by WWE and TNA the past few years. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. Bottom line is TNA needs to stick to the here and now. Why should we care about the characters now? If TNA can forget about an entire PPV main event that happened five days ago, then the audience shouldn't be asked to remember a storyline that occurred two years ago... in another promotion.
Updated Thursday, December 6
6:00 p.m. The media industry website Mediapost has a story on WWE being asked to fill programming slots on the Universal family of networks (NBC, USA, Sci-Fi, and CW) during the continued writer's strike. COO Michael Sileck said WWE "reached out" to programming partners and the company is "thinking creatively internally in terms of additional programming".
Well, The Cube has been thinking internally as well. Now would be the perfect opportunity for that one-hour Santino Marella variety show. A rebirth of (insert day of the week) Night Titans. How about Santino hosting the 2007-08 version of The Gong show with wrestlers performing tasks of great skill and dexterity? Instead of Jaye P. Morgan on the panel, there's Melina or Maria. No need for Rex Reed. Chris Harris can be signed to play the guy who criticizes everything.
There's a world of possibilities outside of a traditional wrestling show format that wouldn't over-tax the current creative team, establish some personalities for the wrestlers, and appeal to a wider demographic. Jim Cornette would caution that there's a certain mainstream audience that will never think of wrestling as anything but a sideshow freak show. That's fine.
But, establishing personalities in a more relaxed setting that translates to the actual TV wrestling shows should be the goal of any additional content. WWE doesn't have enough stars, writers, ideas, gimmicks, freaks, geeks, midgets, giants, or leprechauns to fill another weekly traditional wrestling show while still trying to sell PPVs and tickets. Mix it up with a different format. Just make sure Santino is involved.
***
3:15 p.m. Let's check the game plan from Torch readers for what you're watching tonight. (Yeah, I forgot about that NFL game tonight, but since I can't watch it on wonderful Comcast and I have no one on my fantasy football team playing tonight, it doesn't exist.) Let's start with the West Coast game plan.
Andre Polizzi of San Jose, Calif., Torch reader: The key word in your latest post today is "some". I will be watching some wrestling tonight. How much remains to be seen. Here's my plan: Get home from work about 6 p.m. PST time. Cook and eat dinner, take care of a few things around the house, and have the Bears-Redskins game and/or some basketball games as background noise on the television in the living room. 9 p.m.: Watch a new episode of CSI, tape Impact, read PWTorch.com report on Impact and ECW, and find out what parts to watch and what parts to skip on both shows. I will then watch these during the 11 p.m. news and should still be in bed by Midnight. Ah, the advantage of being in California. I won't have to waste time on bad wrestling segments - only ones I want to see - and I don't have to give up the NFL or NBA either.
Sam Robinson, Torch VIP member: I’m planning on watching TNA tonight knowing that I can watch ECW for free on wwe.com later this weekend. I think that little fact may be what puts the hurt on ECW ratings this week. As far as I can tell, ECW and TNA have nearly similar ratings (ECW has a little more than TNA, but not much), so I assume that the same folks who watch ECW also watch TNA. Barring the fact that my previous conclusion is wrong, I expect ECW ratings to take a big dip but expect to see the online viewing going up. That’s what I’ll be doing.
JC: A few years ago in a quarterly conference call, WWE CEO Linda McMahon said the crossover viewing for Raw and Smackdown was a very small percentage, as if there's two different audiences that watch the cable show and broadcast show, respectively. I'm not sure how much of a crossover there is between WWE and TNA viewership. Based on anecdotal evidence, it seems that most casual WWE fans have either never heard of TNA, or have only heard a few things about TNA, but haven't watched more than a few episodes of Impact. So, it wouldn't surprise me to see Impact's rating stay exactly the same at 1.1 while ECW takes a hit from being on a different night with little promotion of the timeslot change and without a stacked line-up to entice viewers.
***
12:40 p.m.. It's Ohio St. vs. LSU! Florida vs. Michigan! New England vs. Dallas! Well, actually, it's more like Tulsa vs. Bowling Green (no offense to either school!) tonight when the second hour of Impact locks horns against ECW tonight at 10:00 p.m. EST.
So, today's big question is what you're going to be watching, if you're going to be watching some wrestling tonight? TNA has a big ten-man tag match pitting the top stars of the company. ECW has C.M. Punk picking death by lethal injection or firing range in the form of Big Daddy V or Mark Henry.
Are you sticking to one show or the other, flipping back and forth, DVR'ing both and watching one, both, or neither later? Drop your thoughts in the Cube Inbox on what you're watching tonight.
Updated Wednesday, December 5
6:55 p.m. The rating for Raw on Monday night came in about as expected with a two-hour average of 3.2 that was a significant drop from the previous week's Raw is Flair. I say "as expected" because the show was virtually lifeless after the first half-hour and they were up against an NFL game that turned into one of the better games of the season (um...so I heard).
The show started with a 3.2, which is OK these days, but it stayed at a 3.2 for the second hour. That's not a good sign. By the time the second hour rolled around, Mr. Kennedy had done his blah shtick with the fake WWF characters and there was no indication Flair would be on the program.
By the way, what else is on Monday nights beside the NFL that could draw the target demo? We always look at the football audience taking away from Raw. Almost out of habit, I picture viewers flipping from ESPN to USA and vice versa while covering Raw with my report. Over the last 15 years, I've never watched anything on TV other than wrestling and sports on Monday nights. So, I have no idea what's on the tube of any substance except for Heroes on NBC.
That digression aside, next week's rating should at least show improvement in the regular two-hour timeslot. There's a weak football game, and WWE has tons of star power lined up. But, I wouldn't be surprised if the overall three-hour rating shows only a slight increase, as people have established routines on Monday nights that includes dinner, work, class, homework, etc. during that hour before Raw usually comes on. Next Monday will be crucial as they head into 2008.
***
2:15 p.m. House shows overseas are always a great place to experiment. If a match bombs and it's not televised, then it never happens. Or, it's always a nice place to experiment with a heel or babyface turn. On the Smackdown/ECW tour of Ireland this week, they're experimenting with a double turn of Chuck Palumbo and Jamie Noble. Palumbo - much needed. Noble - not sure about that one.
Noble has that Santino appeal right now. We're not supposed to laugh at his sayings or crack a smile when he tells a woman she's violated his body, his person. That's the appeal of his character. If he turns babyface and we're supposed to laugh at his sayings, then the appeal is gone.
Like Santino, he's just better in WWE as an undersized heel who provides entertainment value before getting beat up. I would like to think a credible babyface push for Noble is possible, but he's not 6'5" and 250 pounds. And there is only one exception on the Smackdown roster: Rey Mysterio.
Now, as for Chuck Palumbo - the man who does nothing to change Friday nights needs a heel turn. He's got the bike. He's got the babe. He's got the size. Playing the part of the good guy with the hot broad riding on his bike just made zero sense. He lost all credibility a few weeks ago when Michelle said "they're just friends." That's quite a ringing endorsement for the biker dude. Whether Michelle would still be loving life as a heel valet remains to be seen, but Chuck P. needs something different.
I'm reaching for the remote when I hear the bike revving up because that babyface character WWE has tried pushing just doesn't work. And enough from JBL force-feeding the line that Chuck has championship gold in his future. Turn him heel and we'll see if that's true.
***
11:25 a.m. Earlier this year, I thought ROH was in trouble. Not in any serious trouble. Just facing an issue of where the company was heading after TNA made several wrestlers exclusive to their roster, while ROH's attendance wasn't as strong compared to previous years.
Actually, facing a tough dilemma worked in ROH's favor. Instead of depending on Joe, Daniels, Styles, and Homicide, they were faced with the task of developing their own crop of stars with a little help from Japan.
Three excellent PPVs later, a feud of the year candidate established, Morishima signing on for 2008, and a national DVD distribution deal in place for April 2008, ROH is heading on the right track. They took adversity and turned it into an opportunity.
Kevin Steen and El Generico were considered opening card acts when they first came to ROH. Now, they are legitimate stars. The Briscoes finally had their breakthrough year, this coming after I watched Mark Briscoe freefall through the air and nearly kill himself in Detroit. The NRC vs. Resilience feud has allowed Roderick Strong to become a natural lead heel over time. And there's Morishima playing the NWA champion role and elevating wrestlers he's worked with before ultimately losing the ROH Title to Nigel.
It appears ROH has a plan in place to maintain the company's steady expansion. They're still a niche promotion that caters to a specific audience of wrestling fans. The product isn't for casual fans buying a ticket for a WWE house show because their kids heard the circus was in town. No matter how good the PPVs are, buyrates aren't going to skyrocket overnight without national TV exposure or advertising. But, that's OK.
The foundation of the solid one-story house has always been there with the DVD business. Now, they have a good number of wrestlers signed to talent agreements to ensure the core roster is in place. Maybe ROH will tack on a garage or add a second floor as the business expands, but there isn't a monumental rush to reach a certain goal.
ROH faced a major challenge in 2007 and they took that as an opportunity to enter a new phase of the company's growth. 2008 should be another interesting chapter in ROH's progressive expansion.
Updated Tuesday, December 4
4:30 p.m.Yahoo released its most-searched-for list for 2007, and WWE ranks second behind Britney Spears. Gives substance to the theory that everyone stops to look at the car wreck. Also, rather ironic considering the first show of 2007 featured John Cena vs. Kevin Federline.
WWE consistently stayed in the top-searched items throughout the year, while peaking for Chris Benoit news coverage this summer. I'd like to see an all-time list for the most-searched for term in the history of the Internet since Britney and WWE have been right at the top throughout the Internet explosion dating back about 10 years.
Which reminds me, whatever happened to Cindy Margolis - the formerly most downloaded woman on the Internet? Or, was that Sunny?
***
10:50 a.m. If it so pleases the court, The Cube finds WWE and TNA both guilty this morning - guilty of insulting the audience and customers, respectively, the last two nights. On Raw last night, Ric Flair was neither seen nor heard from. He simply disappeared one week after he was the centerpiece of Raw and created a sense of excitement for a journey to keep his career alive.
The crowd last night wasn't into the show after the Mr. Kennedy spoof segment. It seemed to me that at least a strong portion of the audience was waiting for Flair, especially after how much hype he received last week. Once it became quite obvious Flair was MIA, they tuned out. After all, this was Flair country.
A simple explanation would have sufficed. He's resting after a hard-fought match with Orton. He'll be on Smackdown next week. Mr. McMahon sent him to Hogan's house for marital counseling. Anything. Instead, they left the live audience hanging and they disappointed the folks sitting at home who tuned in for Week 2 of Flair's journey. Pretending like the Top Story from last week's show never happened is simply bad business.
On the other side of the coin is TNA. On a PPV where they knew Rhino wouldn't be available for an advertised match and Scott Hall probably would not make the advertised main event, they went one step further and delivered a finish less than a non-finish to the briefcase match. No winners. No losers. Just a monumental waste of 15 minutes. That's inexcusable.
There should never ever be a point on any pay event where a company tells the audience to tune into the free show to find out the result of a match, especially when there actually was something on the line in the form of one wrestler going home without a job.
It's one thing if there's a controversial finish at the end of a PPV with a winner, but no clear finish, which TNA has done before. It's another thing if they just finish a match, everyone heads to the back, and there is no announced decision. That's insulting to the customer.
TNA has produced decent-to-good PPVs during the second-half of 2007, but that goodwill was lost on Sunday. Little things add up. Telling the audience to tune into the free show to find out the result of any match on a $30 show is bad business.
Updated Monday, December 3
6:30 p.m.WWE.com previews tonight's Raw with a note that Chris Jericho will kick off the show. Well, at least he won't have to follow Ric Flair, as they're still in Flair Country tonight. I'm curious to see how the crowd reacts to Jericho. The honeymoon is over, but I would expect that "hey, look, it's a big name!" pop from the audience to start the show. WWE is obviously committed to Jericho for one main event - against Randy Orton at Armageddon PPV - but after that, it's up in the air.
Jeff Hardy has one of those matches scheduled tonight where you expect him to get tossed around the building, as Snitsky is the opponent tonight. A few months ago, I would have predicted a clean loss for Hardy in a non-title match since he's Teflon. I'm not anticipating a clean finish to this, but Hardy isn't losing.
I've been a fan of Mr. Kennedy's recent in-ring work, so I get put to the test when Kennedy runs the gauntlet against former Shawn Michaels opponents. Maybe this will include Scott Hall returning to WWE after getting food poisoning on the road to North Charleston. Who knows.
And, of course, there's the Ric Flair program in Week 2 on the road to Mania. (Cheap plug: check out this week's Question of the Week and drop your thoughts!) WWE.com doesn't show Flair scheduled for a match, but I'm sure there will be more of Flair and McMahon carrying out their disagreement.
Oh, and Santino Marella. 'Nuff said.
***
4:10 p.m. As we collect and report more details on Samoa Joe's promo at the PPV last night and the circumstances surrounding the main event, I have mixed feelings on Joe's promo. To paraphrase Dave Wills, Joe said what needed to be said. TNA is a company that brings in big names, and time and again they get burned. Rikishi was the latest before Hall. You'd think after touching that hot stove so many times, TNA would learn a lesson.
But, was a live PPV the time and the place for Joe to go off on the company signing the paychecks? This is where I'm mixed. For starters, it exposes TNA as a rudderless ship on PPV television - that a wrestler can take a mic and go into business for himself without anyone stopping him. That doesn't help the company at all, especially when said company was already setting up the audience for disappointment by bringing in Eric Young as Hall's replacement. Young is a fine wrestler in his mid-card role, but trying to play the audience for fools was a mistake.
On the other hand, something needed to be said about this company's hiring and promoting policy. Joe is a very emotional and passionate man when it comes to his job and the sport of pro wrestling. He saw the audience being wronged by yet another TNA hire, and he called the company out on it. Some fans might see that as a wrestler actually caring about the audience and having their thoughts in mind. Some fans might see that as a selfish wrestler distracting and taking away from the wrestling to follow in the main event.
We've reported that Joe issued an apology backstage before tonight's TV tapings. The only thing he could possibly apologize for is going into business for himself and potentially hurting the company. He should never have to apologize for what he said, though. Because that's what needed to be said.
***
12:00 p.m. TNA presented a very skippable PPV last night. And if you were expecting anything otherwise, then you weren't paying attention to the TV build up. At one point watching Impact, I stopped and tried to figure out exactly what TNA was trying to do with that show. The only thing they were doing was a basic police procedural-style program with Christian, Angle, and A.J. that built toward a six-man tag match on the TV show that had zero bearing on the PPV.
It would be one thing if the PPV could sell itself, but there was nothing on the line except the Women's Title. And let's settle the following issue about the Women's division. Amazing Kong is the baddest mofo on that roster. Period. End of discussion. Put her on the next PPV against Kurt Angle for the Heavyweight Title and you have a PPV worth ordering.
And why is Kong over like mad after destroying the cute, lovable babyface Gail Kim? Because it's a basic storyline that tugged at the emotions of the audience and got people fired up. Either they're fired up because they saw Kong as the biggest badass on the roster or they're fired up because they saw a vicious heel doing vicious things to Gail, the ref, and the cast of thousands from the Women's division.
Contrast that with the big story that TNA wants you to talk about. They want you to be debating whether Joe's promo was a shoot or a work. How much was a work? How much was a shoot? Was Kevin Nash genuinely upset or just playing a role?
Bottom line is that the crowd didn't react to the promo, Eric Young, or the main event. Why? Well, for starters, it was the end of a lackluster, uneventful, let's-get-this-over-with PPV that was thrown off by Scott Hall's no-show. They couldn't even deliver a finish to the briefcase match, that's how bad this was. But, I digress.
Today's fans simply want to be entertained. You want a good show with believable characters in believable conflicts having good matches. You don't want to revisit the work/shoot b.s. from the dying days of WCW.
Now, if they turn Joe's promo into a storyline that gets the younger stars over with a mass audience, it's one thing. But, it has to be done in an entertaining, believable fashion that doesn't include a bunch of insider jargon and worked shoot promos that no one wants to hear on a TV show or PPV when they just want straight pro wrestling theater.
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