Why Finn Balor main-eventing Summerslam is wrong for the WWE

[Slyfox696]

First of all, allow me to begin by saying this isn't about Finn Balor. He may be a great guy, may be a great wrestler and may even go down as one of the greatest ever. Before last Monday, I've only see one match of his, so I'm not exactly the guy to evaluate Balor just yet (though his promo on Raw this week was weak).

But I've seen one match of his. One match. One. Match. And now the guy is main-eventing the second biggest show of the year. And here's why this is such a terrible idea...it shows the WWE has decided to forcefully commit to booking their product around the Internet fan. And it's such a risky decision.

It's no secret to veterans of the WrestleZone Forums how I feel about the stereotypical Internet wrestling fan. They're obnoxious. They're annoying. They're fickle. And, generally speaking, they are very ignorant. So, as a wrestling fan of over 25 years, I cannot fathom why the WWE would cater their product to such a terrible fanbase. But that's what is happening. At Battleground, NXT star Bayley was the surprise partner of Sasha Banks, debuting in a high profile tag match. Finn Balor was named the title challenger at the second biggest show of the year. These are not workers someone like me, who does not watch NXT, has had their interest built in seeing. There's no backstory, there's no accomplishments...there's nothing to suggest that Finn Balor is on Seth Rollins level. And yet, there he is. And he and Rollins will have a competitive match.

Let's ignore for a moment the obvious logic hole with NXT call-ups main-eventing, which is if the NXT guys are as good or better than the WWE guys, why are they in the minor leagues? Let's ignore that for a moment and focus on something else. The only people who want to see the NXT stars main-eventing against the superstars in the WWE are the Internet wrestling fans. That's it. Anyone who does not have NXT or spend copious amounts of time on YouTube is not going to understand why this makes sense, why this "minor-leaguer" is playing for the world championship. The casual fan doesn't know him and, more importantly, isn't going to pay to watch him. Hell, I pay for the WWE Network and I still don't know him.

And this is the real problem with call-ups main-eventing. By increasingly booking their product towards the Internet fan, the WWE is all but waving the white flag on trying to attract NEW fans. While I don't plan to stop watching the WWE anytime soon, there are going to be many people who simply are not going to follow the product, if the product doesn't cater to them. And for someone who may have only been watching for a few months, watching this minor league wrestler come out of nowhere to compete for the biggest prize on the brand just wouldn't make much sense. It is the WWE literally booking for the benefit of the Internet fan.

There is no doubt the Internet wrestling fan is devoted. There is no doubt the Internet fan will buy the WWE Network, watch 5 hours of Raw/Smackdown and still turn on NXT for more wrestling. They will buy the shirts and the championship titles. They are dedicated fans. But it's not a demographic which is likely to expand in any meaningful way. And booking which caters to people who are going to watch anyways is booking which is less likely to appeal to the people who need to be brought into the fold.

I'll be the first to admit the WWE knows what they are doing in a general sense. They get detailed ratings and financial information. I have no doubt they look at the data and book their product based on information I'll never see. I'm not calling them inept.

But it's clear to me they are making a decision. It doesn't have to be a long-term or permanent decision, but it is definitely be a decision which impacts the company for a long time. By putting Finn Balor in the main-event of Summerslam, the WWE is acknowledging they cannot convince casual fans to watch Summerslam, so they are, in political speak, "rallying the base". They are trying to spur the already devoted fan to tune in to a show which they very likely would have watched anyways.

It just seems like waving the white flag.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

It's one main event level match out what? Four, five main event level matches? Balor is just a cog in a bigger machine. One that has Lesnar, Orton, Cena, and Rollins booked in important spots. Giving this big spot to another big name like Reigns, HHH, or the UT doesn't make any sense if it is not going to get you more eyes and buys.

Plus Balor's reach is assumed to go beyond the IWC since he supposedly has a strong international following.

Trolling?

 

[FromGlasgow]

Its too much too soon, They did it with Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble last year to one of the worst crowd reactions in history I thought the WWE would have learned by now, Only difference is the IWC all seem to have fallen in love with this Balor guy, The IWC though is such a small percentage of fans.
The IWC are as one if their loudest critics like Balor then they will all like Balor and if the loudest critics dislike TNA for example then they will also dislike TNA which is pretty much true.

I also feel its a bad move for Balors sake as win or lose he's already peeked within his first month challenging for the world title, Would prefer to see him featured in great matches and interesting storylines for a while getting him known to everyone first building him up almost like a road to the world title match, I don't understand WWE's rush sometimes.

 

[Xemmy]

This comes off really weird.

I don't see why this is such a risky decision. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. They'll relegate him down the card. And that'll be that.

Not all of their booking caters to internet fans, so that's hardly waving the white flag. On top of that, it seems like you're saying that what internet fans like, and what a casual audience likes are just out and out exclusive. When wrestling is good, it's good. And Balor's rise isn't going to be the fall of all their more "mainstream" talent.

This whole thing sort of comes off as a big middle finger to anyone perceived as an internet darling. But Internet darlings can draw and get new viewers watching if given the opportunity.

Now, your point about NXT being developmental and guys main eventing too soon. It's just to establish them. And they only do it for guys they have confidence in for the main roster. And it works. Kevin Owens, The Shield. Worked out pretty damn well for them. And it'll probably work for him too. The crowd popped. They're into his entrance. It's not just the IWC that's into this guy now. People watched and thought, "Hey, this guy's cool!"

Bo Dallas is a jobber now, and they didn't shoot him to the top of the card because they knew that character wasn't going to fly the way it did down in NXT.
It's not like catering to hardcore viewers has a big history of working out badly for the WWE.

And for the record, the base needed stirring. Plenty of us had unsubscribed from the Network and stopped watching because of how bad booking had become. And sure, I'm a minority. But new income is new income, and I sure as hell can't be the only one.

 

[Navi]

I have no doubt that if Reigns hadn't been suspended this would be a whole different story. They had to think quick and with the brand split most of the star power went to SD.

He might have been the only choice they had to fall back on. Balor is a great wrestler, years of experience and he's served his time in NXT. It was time to bring him up. Not that I necessarily agree with him getting a title shot right away, he and Rollins will put on one hell of a match.

Just because some haven't watched him, he does have a fanbase that followed him from his time in Japan. Sure the casuals don't know him that well, but it worked for the Shield, Owens, Zayn and others.

I'm not sure that the WWE caters to the IWC at all. If they did there wouldn't be as much bitching and complaining going on. Let's face it, for diehard fans like you say they are, most are watching RAW and SD on their TV sets, it's the casuals that bring in the money, that's who the WWE caters too. Maybe that why groups like the Wyatt's aren't pushed like they should be and New Day has been tag champs for quite some time. The Wyatt's aren't exactly kid friendly like Kofi and his friends.

Even if they did bend somewhat to the keyboard warriors of the IWC, these are the fans who have the staying power. I too have been a fan for as may years if not more than you have. I don't agree with a lot of the decisions made by McMahon, and would love to see some things changed, but I don't run the company and will continue to watch regardless.

Also don't mind the NXT call ups. The roster is aging and they need some new blood in there to invigorate it. Where better to get them from what I consider the farm system. At least they are now schooled in the ways of the WWE and the fans will get to know these guys eventually. Everything takes time.

 

[BuriedByCena]

All WWE has left IS the hardcore fanbase. Casuals left 15 years ago and they all said they are not coming back.

You claim WWE shouldn't be catering to the IWC? Well guess what? That is what WWE was doing for the past 15 years....basically doing the exact OPPOSITE of what we wanted. All this did was anger us and slowly and surely, the hardcore base is dying every year.

So I am happy WWE is trying something new like...giving the hardcore fans what they want. They have nothing to lose at this point. Shane is 100% right. WWE needed to change and they should be aspiring to give us more happy moments. Make the fans happy more often and they wont bash your product so much.

Fans are happy, they say good things, others might watch...

Or you could continue with Authority on RAW, Smackdown as a RAW Re-cap, Roman in the main event being booed and the entire internet hating it and telling people NOT to watch it.

What seems like the better choice? I think it's obvious. Pushing Balor is the right thing right now.

Are you right about it not making sense? Sure, you are. But who cares? Most wrestling fans have the attention span of a goldfish...especially the CASUALS that you think they should be targeting.

I already forgot 95% of what I just watched on RAW/Smackdown this week. WWE will re-educate me next week and we continue on.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It'd be a different story if Roman Reigns hadn't flunked the drug test. At the same time, when one wrestler falls on his ass for a Wellness Policy violation or injury or whatever, it opens up an opportunity to elevate someone else. Reigns and Rollins may very well not have gotten their big pushes had it not been for Daniel Bryan's injuries keeping him on the shelf for such long periods of time.

WWE had to come up with something, something to make this bout feel special and give it some pizazz that it may not have otherwise had. Sure, they could've gone the route and put Rollins in this match against Cesaro or Sami Zayn and I think it would've been accepted just fine. However, they saw an opportunity to potentially create a big moment by putting Balor in the spot and seeing what he's able to do. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. It's hardly the end of the world when much of the rest of the card looks like this or something in this neighborhood:

WWE World Championship: Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler
WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Miz vs. Apollo Crews
WWE United States Championship: Rusev vs. Roman Reigns
WWE Women's Championship: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte
WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Day vs. Anderson & Gallows
Singles Match: Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar
Singles Match: John Cena vs. AJ Styles

There's plenty to go around for SummerSlam and whether or not Balor vs. Rollins actually closes the show is up in the air at this point. Over the past few years, there's been a lot of criticism aimed towards WWE for not taking enough gambles by giving fresh stars a real show to show what they can do. Well, in this particular instance, maybe that's what they're going to do: give Balor some time to show what he can do and whether or not he can sink or swim as a top tier star in WWE. If he fizzles out, then it's hardly the end of the world and he can find his way to the US, Cruiserweight or Tag Team Championship picture.

 

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

WWE has tried again and again to appeal to the casual fan, and the record low ratings and plummeting house show attendance shows that's obviously not working.

May as well cater to the people that actually like good wrestling.

I mean it's not like Finn/Rollins is ACTUALLY main eventing. It can't even main event RAW. Orton and Brock is what Vince actually thinks the money draw is, so that will main event.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

I am more worried in "too much too soon" theory. Because, lets face it, Balor wont win here. Heck, even Rollins wouldnt win after his injury if it wasnt for Reigns and his suspension. And as much as he is "maineventing" he wont win that title anytime soon. Rollins allready had title and he is "safe bet", WWE wont bet on Balor until he proves himself. And losing couple of times in a row(even by interference) would hurt him in a long run. And that same IWC that WWE caters now would be bitching in a few months how he is "buried" because he lost couple of PPVs.

 

[@smarkmouth]

Consider the Royal Rumble for a moment. While it's not an unofficial rule, it's not uncommon for the WWE Championship match to feature an up and comer or a mid carder. We've seen Ziggler vs Punk, Ziggler vs Edge, Angle vs Henry. The Rumble is the draw of the card, so sometimes they give someone a shot to see if they sink (relatively speaking) or swim.

For better or for worse, Vince McMahon sees Brock Lesnar as a Royal Rumble to himself. Finn Balor and Seth Rollins will be squaring off with the residual bright lights bouncing off Lesnar's pecs shining on them. It gives an upstart like Balor a larger stage to perform and possibly make a name for himself without hurting Vinny's precious margins. If Balor Wows, terrific, but if not, no harm done. Pretty solid risk management now that I think of it.

 

[Phenomenal]

I believe the company is pandering to the marks, it looks like the IWC make up most of the current fan base due to the rise of social media. In the future I see most of the Wrestlemanias being main evented by wrestlers with no personality and mid-card/jobbers (most of current WWE roster). WWE current roster will not draw a dime, you can guarantee it. No one has so far. The biggest draw continues to be Cena and he has been here since forever.

There were 2 things I understood from Balors debut, the first thing is Roman screwed up with the boss. He got fed to a guy much smaller than him and who looks like a jobber. The second thing is WWE doesn't care if Balor is in the main event, they are making more money than ever due to no competition. The product as a whole is a draw and not the wrestlers for the first time in their history I believe.

 

[Trill Co$by]

Hmm let's see...

Sold out the Tokyo Dome? Check.
Sold out the Barclay Center? Check.
Has high sales despite being in NXT? Check.
Potential to push child friendly merchandise, like his mask? Check.
A veteran with well over 16 years of experience, majority of which is done with huge crowds? Check.
Offers a reason for non-WWE Network subscribers to subscribe to the Network so that they can get more buys? Check.
Adds back that element of "anything can happen"? Check.

I'm not seeing where you're coming from here at all. If this had been someone like Rich Swann or Lince Durado then I'd agree with you. But it's not. This is a guy who's sold out big time venues, hard venues, and has done so gracefully. So what he wasn't made in the WWE. Do you think everyone knew who Ric Flair was when he came to WWE? I'm pretty sure there were a lot of people who had never heard of Ric Flair. And he still managed to get over in the WWE and was successfully thrown into the main event. Chris Jericho came straight from WCW and was shoved into a program with The Rock. Do you think that there weren't some people who didn't know who he was? I was 8, and hadn't watched WCW that often then... so I know I didn't know who he was. But look at him now, he's a six time WWE World champion, with one of those titles seeing him as the first ever Undisputed Champion. He's a record holding 9 time Intercontinental Champion... Oh and hello, do we not realize that there's a beast running around in WWE that broke barriers despite only being on the roster for what, two or three months before capturing his first world title in WWE?

So really, I don't see what your argument is here. People have come from all walks of life to be in the WWE main event picture. There are ways to be a big name draw without having to pull in names from WWE fame. Do you really think AJ Styles got the reaction he did at Royal Rumble just because he didn't make a name anywhere else? Sure, it's nice for them to spend a lot of time in the under card for some people, but it's not necessary.

Not to mention, the WWE is looking to start a new era. You can't do that by taking guys who are already there and throwing them in the main event just to say it's a new era. That's not how it works. You need faces that people don't know so that they can see what this new era has to offer. It helps to keep older names, yes, but if you don't establish who the new stars of the new era are then you're just going to be squandering back to square one.

 

[justinept]

Its too much too soon, They did it with Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble last year to one of the worst crowd reactions in history I thought the WWE would have learned by now, Only difference is the IWC all seem to have fallen in love with this Balor guy, The IWC though is such a small percentage of fans.

The IWC might be a small amount of fans, but they're the most vocal fans at the events. As such, if the IWC approves of Balor, then he'll receive a positive reaction from the live audience. If the IWC disapproves of Balor, then he'll receive a negative reaction.

So why does the IWC approve of Balor but shit all over Reigns? After all, isn't Balor being hot-shot to the top exactly the same situation that turned fans on Reigns? No. No, it's not. And here's why:

The IWC fans have a larger wrestling palette than just WWE programming. To them, Finn Balor isn't some rookie kid that got hot-shot to the main event. He's been a professional wrestler for 16 years. He was first signed to a major promotion (New Japan) 10 years ago. He's wrestled all over the world, was the face of one of the biggest non-WWE angles since the NWO, and he's been wrestling in NXT for the past two years. Here's a guy that has paid his dues and has successfully earned the support of Vince McMahon despite not having the preferred Vince McMahon body type.

Compare that to Reigns. Reigns was a failed football player who started wrestling in 2010. Thanks to his size, and his family name, Reigns was signed to a WWE contract before receiving any formal wrestling training. He made his debut in November 2012 - apart of a major WWE story line - just over two years after wrestling his very first wrestling match. By the time the guy was 29 years old, he was tabbed as the future face of the company despite having just five total years of wrestling experience...

Mind you, Balor is 35-years old (four years older than Reigns) and has 10 more years of experience in the ring. That's why fans won't treat him the way they do Reigns... They respect his journey to the top. With Reigns, it was a journey very few people can relate to.

I also feel its a bad move for Balors sake as win or lose he's already peeked within his first month challenging for the world title, Would prefer to see him featured in great matches and interesting storylines for a while getting him known to everyone first building him up almost like a road to the world title match, I don't understand WWE's rush sometimes.

Yea... AJ Styles was really ruined by being named number one contender to the World Title just two months after debuting. What a waste, right? The program with John Cena that followed the World Title chase has just been awful...

 

[No Count Pup]

The OP makes several strong points. However, I come to a different conclusion. It doesn't matter if a new guy main events for a useless title. The WWE Universal Championship doesn't mean squat. It may in the future, but not right now. In the pecking order of fan interest on Raw, I would guess Rusev vs. Reigns and Orton vs. Lesnar outranks the Universal Title match. Therefore, Finn vs. Rollins is merely a good match that incidentally has some random belt at stake. Hard for Finn to do much harm this go-around.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Finn Balor is not main eventing SummerSlam. Lesnar vs. Orton is almost guaranteed to main event, especially after they main evented Raw last Monday night.

Also it's not like championships really mean anything in the first place. If Swagger, Ziggler, and Khali can win the championship, then why can't Balor compete for one? Two wrongs don't make a right, but talent should always win out over experience. I still don't think Balor should be competing for a title, but it's not a big deal.

 

[Slyfox696]

It's one main event level match out what? Four, five main event level matches?

No trolling, and certainly other big names on the card can kind of ease any issues. But this is still the #1 show for the WWE and they are putting a NXT wrestler in the championship match. The overall point still applies.

I don't see why this is such a risky decision. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. They'll relegate him down the card. And that'll be that.

I tried to make it clear it's not just about this one decision, but rather what it represents.

Not all of their booking caters to internet fans, so that's hardly waving the white flag.

Over the last year, it has drastically pivoted towards the Internet fan.

On top of that, it seems like you're saying that what internet fans like, and what a casual audience likes are just out and out exclusive.

Not always, but many times. Additionally, Internet fans are the type of people I mentioned in my earlier post. Not exactly the type of fans you can rely on.

And for the record, the base needed stirring. Plenty of us had unsubscribed from the Network

The continual growth in subscriber numbers suggests otherwise.

WWE has tried again and again to appeal to the casual fan, and the record low ratings and plummeting house show attendance shows that's obviously not working.

As someone who yearly puts together ratings and live event attendance information, I challenge you to support your claims here, while also adjusting for streaming, the Network, DVR and piracy.

I'll wait.

May as well cater to the people that actually like good wrestling.

Then why cater to Internet wrestling fans who tend to like terrible wrestling?

Hmm let's see...

Sold out the Tokyo Dome? Check.
Sold out the Barclay Center? Check.
Has high sales despite being in NXT? Check.
Potential to push child friendly merchandise, like his mask? Check.
A veteran with well over 16 years of experience, majority of which is done with huge crowds? Check.
Offers a reason for non-WWE Network subscribers to subscribe to the Network so that they can get more buys? Check.
Adds back that element of "anything can happen"? Check.

Nothing you said here challenges my point.

I'm not seeing where you're coming from here at all.

Perhaps you should re-read the opening post?

I'm not saying Internet fans don't support the product, I'm saying Internet fans tend to be terrible fans and catering to them is much less likely to expand the fan base.

Do you think everyone knew who Ric Flair was when he came to WWE?

Umm...yes. Yes I do.

That probably wasn't the best comparison to try and make.

I'm pretty sure there were a lot of people who had never heard of Ric Flair.

I was 6 years old and knew who Ric Flair was. I'm pretty sure you could have found SOMEONE who hadn't, but most wrestling fans had.

And he still managed to get over in the WWE and was successfully thrown into the main event.

Actually, Ric Flair never came close to getting over like the WWE hoped, which is why they willingly let him go a year and a half later.

Chris Jericho came straight from WCW and was shoved into a program with The Rock.

Chris Jericho came from a cable TV show which had been running neck and neck with Raw for years.

Another bad example.

Oh and hello, do we not realize that there's a beast running around in WWE that broke barriers despite only being on the roster for what, two or three months before capturing his first world title in WWE?

I'm not going to bother explaining to you the difference between Lesnar and Balor. If you cannot figure out yourself, then perhaps you ought to leave the discussion.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

You know why Owens/Zayn stole the show at Battleground? Because it was a FEUD, it was built, and the storytelling in the match was amazing as well.

THATS how you execute a successful angle.

The WWE Universal Championship is stupid, but we will all get used to.

Finn is not any where ready to be in the ME, his mic skils are just plain bland and there are more exciting performers on the roster.

I am looking forward to Cena/Styles, because they are making me watch. We are emotionally invested and that is always the recipe.

 

[Xemmy]

Over the last year, it has drastically pivoted towards the Internet fan.

Not always, but many times. Additionally, Internet fans are the type of people I mentioned in my earlier post. Not exactly the type of fans you can rely on.

The continual growth in subscriber numbers suggests otherwise.

So. Pivoting towards the internet fans over the last year has led to the continued growth of the WWE Network? Kind of defeats your over all point.

And the internet fans- the hardcore ones can't be relied on? Aren't we the MOST reliable? Always getting sucked back in. Casual fans are the ones that leave and never come back.

 

[Slyfox696]

So. Pivoting towards the internet fans over the last year has led to the continued growth of the WWE Network? Kind of defeats your over all point.

No it doesn't. All it proves is that they are appealing to their base and getting more Internet fans to subscribe. It doesn't expand the overall fanbase. Which is exactly what I said from the beginning.

And the internet fans- the hardcore ones can't be relied on? Aren't we the MOST reliable?

No, Internet fans are the most dedicated, but not the most reliable. Look at Roman Reigns as an example. First Internet fans loved him, then they hated him, then they cheered his big title win and then they hated him again. It makes it hard to book.

Always getting sucked back in. Casual fans are the ones that leave and never come back.

Casual fans are just that...casual. They will come back when there is a product which they find appealing. But if you book a product which all but ignores them, then the likelihood of getting them back goes way down.

 

[Blade]

Here's my counter argument: if there is any time to put a recent NXT call-up in a huge title match, it's at this Summerslam. Summerslam already has its big drawing matches set in stone. They've got Lesnar vs Orton, and the rematch between AJ Styles and John Cena. That's what will draw people in.

So when you have your guaranteed drawing matches on the card, and they're not even title matches, that's literally the best time to experiment with the title pictures. I don't think people are specifically going to skip the PPV because Finn Balor is challenging for a title that doesn't actually exist yet. If people are already watching the PPV for Lesnar, Cena, Orton, Styles, Ambrose or Reigns, a Finn Balor match isn't suddenly going to turn people off. People will be watching PPV regardless, and those that don't have much interest in Finn Balor, like yourself, will still be watching his match for Rollins or the new World title.

You say you don't know who Finn Balor is, and many casuals don't either. And you're totally right. But at Summerslam, Balor is going to come out as the Demon (hopefully), and people who have never heard of him before will immediately sit up and say "Holy shit, who is this guy?" Because if you watch the Demon entrance for the first time, and it doesn't stick with you, then you're not human. And especially now, that it'll be on the big stage of Summerslam in an important match. Secondly, if Finn Balor can tear the house down, and Rollins is probably the best partner for doing that, then that's another reason you won't forget him.

I don't necessarily think WWE are catering to the internet fan base with this specific booking decision. I think Vince McMahon sees huge money in Finn Balor. And it makes sense, he's ridiculously marketable between his good looks and his Irish-ness. Plus he's a pretty good wrestler. And if WWE were catering to the internet crowd, there are wrestlers that the internet likes much, much more than Finn. Owens and Zayn to name two. Hell, if WWE cared that much about the internet fanbase, AJ Styles would be challenging for a world title at Summerslam, or champion already. I understand it must be very strange to see someone you've only heard about suddenly rocketed to this position. But I think it creates a very unique opportunity to make Balor a star overnight. I only know one casual fan in real life, but he's intrigued by the mystery of Balor. So we'll see how you feel after Summerslam, I guess?

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I agree with the original posrt that to the casual fans, finn bàlor does look like a minor leaguer and doesn't really deserve this title shot right off the bat. But the thing is reigns got suspended so vince decided to punish him by demoting him to a us title program which left them with a hole in the raw main event and since summerslam is in brooklyn which is one of the strong iwc town for wwe, bàlor will look like a megastar in this town. Do I think this match will be the main event of the show, hell no, that going to be eiter lesnar vs orton or cena vs aj but it's a good mid card match that will deliver and that fans will be into. Then after summerslam, finn will be put back in the midcard like everybody else.

 

[enviousdominous]

Look at what Daniel Bryan went and did.

I'm noticing that the lighter athletes are often being categorized as IWC favorites. That "true" fans of the art form would never let their precious contests of barrel chested grunting and flexing be tainted by a bunch of flipping stick figures. I'm hearing a lot of experts speak on how the IWC is ruining pro-wrestling, but I'm not seeing the five hundred page book on how to identify an IWC mark.

We're all pro-wrestling fans, and we use the internet as a means of sharing our opinions with other pro-wrestling fans. *dramatic music* We are IWC marks. As much as we stomp that term into the pavement as the worst pejorative any of us could endure, that's us. Only ten of my friends care enough to have a conversation about pro-wrestling, and only two of them have any kind of awareness of what's been going on in the pro-wrestling world lately. I know, I know; IWC more pertains to those who would rather follow the unfiltered nightmare that is popular opinion on the internet, but let's remember that our fun little forum would have no problem with popular opinion if it reflected our own opinions.

Finn Balor has a main event at Summerslam. If you're a fan of his, yay! If you're not a fan of his, whoop-de-fucking-doo! They're not shoving Finn down our throats, and I'm not just throwing that term around to be funny; check the WWE's own Summerslam page here. I might be going blind, but I couldn't find Finn anywhere on that front page. Seth and Dean are the odd men in the line-up, and for some reason Roman Reigns is there.

I expect that this is an opportunity for Finn to prove that he can hang on a big stage, and that Seth will allow him to put on an amazing show for his fans abroad. I don't think that the WWE is selling out to semi-casual fans who are just slaves to trends.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

No it doesn't. All it proves is that they are appealing to their base and getting more Internet fans to subscribe. It doesn't expand the overall fanbase. Which is exactly what I said from the beginning.

So who or what expands the base in this spot?
To me, something new is more likely to bring in a casual or new fan than most established veterans. Plus, when you're talking about expanding a base I think you are looking to reach children and foreigners. I think Balor may have that appeal.

No, Internet fans are the most dedicated, but not the most reliable. Look at Roman Reigns as an example. First Internet fans loved him, then they hated him, then they cheered his big title win and then they hated him again. It makes it hard to book.

It's weird reading this from you of all people. Someone who has written many a diatribe about pro wrestling being about money. I don't think WWE cares that much if a section of their fans are unreliable with their reactions (not that I agree, IWC smarks are pretty predictable).

Casual fans are just that...casual. They will come back when there is a product which they find appealing. But if you book a product which all but ignores them, then the likelihood of getting them back goes way down.

How does Cena/Styles and Lesnar/Orton ignore the Casuals? Throw in the SummerSlam brand and this event is screaming for the Casual viewer.

From a personal perspective I haven't watched a WWE PPV since RR '15. I plan on watching SS this year. It is mainly due to Orton and Lesnar but I'm very curious as to what Rollins and Balor can and will do to win over the IWC heavy Brooklyn crowd. Lets not forget that. This event is in hipster hell Brooklyn NY. It's sold out. The IWC smarks are going to be there no matter who is on the card. You have to give them something they think they want or they may shit on the event and hurt the appearance of what you're trying to do all the Casuals and new fans that will be tuning in to this event.

 

[Xemmy]

No it doesn't. All it proves is that they are appealing to their base and getting more Internet fans to subscribe. It doesn't expand the overall fanbase. Which is exactly what I said from the beginning.

How do you know that though? It's the age of the internet. Not all casual fans are just people that watch TV. Cable cutting is more popular than ever. Plenty of those subscribers are casuals that are excited to see pay per views for the first time because it's so cheap.

No, Internet fans are the most dedicated, but not the most reliable. Look at Roman Reigns as an example. First Internet fans loved him, then they hated him, then they cheered his big title win and then they hated him again. It makes it hard to book.

It wasn't hard to book at all. After leaving the shield, Roman had a near-universally poor reception from the crowd once he started getting pushed. Everyone wanted Daniel Bryan during his rise to the top. They pushed him anyway. Getting cheered once or twice doesn't make the obvious, near constant boos, suddenly confusing. You're going to have to use a better example than that. Internet fans change when something about the booking changes. And that's kind of the point. We're not a WCW crowd at Disneyland that will cheer and boo when some guy holds a sign up for us to do so. Does it making booking a little hard? Maybe. But good. Good TV isn't easy to write

Casual fans are just that...casual. They will come back when there is a product which they find appealing. But if you book a product which all but ignores them, then the likelihood of getting them back goes way down.

Casual fans don't come back simply due to appealing to them. They come back during boom periods and when they hear something cool and exciting happened. TV's dying, so there probably won't be another boom period. And when something exciting happens, it's never something that appeals to casuals at first glance. Not since kayfabe died. It's when "wrestling gets real". Punk's pipe bomb. NWO invasion. Lita's nipple. All things that heavily appealed to the internet audience rather than casuals at first glance.

 

[Radical]

The thing is. Balor vs Rollins isn't really main eventing SummerSlam, or if anything, it is co-main eventing.

WWE is long past the days where just ONE match was the draw for PPV and the other matches were more filler.

Now, WWE has to build three or four matches that may appeal to their fans so they will tune in.

I see why WWE is pushing Balor.

They see he seems to have a big fan base in NXT, a big worldwide fan base and they are rolling the dice. Why? Because they can.

I actually think they are going to roll the dice BIG TIME on this guy and Balor will win the Universal Title. They WILL shoot this guy to the moon and hope that the fans just love it and can't wait to see more.

I agree with posters who said all WWE HAS is a hardcore fan base.

People either watch WWE with some regularity or they simply don't watch it and have no interest in it.

So maybe the fans don't know much about Balor but WWE is going to do all they can on Raw to show the fans what he's all about so they will hopefully get hyped for the match.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Balor. That's just how I feel. I think the fact that he DOES have very intriguing body paint and attire during his 'demon' phase but that he only does that for special matches and the rest of the time he is in boring, bland black trunk attire makes me actually annoyed at how boring he is those other times so I lose interest.

But, that's just my opinion. Lots of people seem to like him and WWE is rolling the dice on him and shooting him to the top. They can do this because they want to try something new and fresh.

Rollins is great but WWE want to see if tossing a new guy to the top will cause more hardcore fans to want to attend more shows, buy more merch and sign up for the Network.