WWE to start grading cities.

[Navi]

I've been reading reports that starting at the end of June the WWE will start grading cities based on their drawing power. So far the only cities listed are American, but hopefully some European as well as Canadian cities will make it onto the list.

Personally I think it might be a good idea as some cities like St. Louis are getting two PPV's this year, while other's get none. Friends of mine who live in the US complain all the time about never getting a PPV in their area, and of course we haven't had one here in forever. So this might get the WWE to start spreading out the wealth a little. If it give more fans access to the product then it's okay with me. This is the excerpt of what's in the report.

Beginning June 28, 2015, WWE will assign letter codes to each city (A, B , B, and C) based on drawing power. The top drawing cities (Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas) will be graded "A" while the next highest drawing cities (Cincinnati, Memphis, and Milwaukee) will be graded "B ." The third highest drawing cities (Indianapolis, Omaha, and Seattle) will be graded "B" while the lowest drawing cities (Green Bay and Jacksonville) will be graded "C."

Anyone else have thought's on why they're doing this?

 

[Max Headroom]

Is that a typo, or do they actually have "B." and "B" as two separate grades? If so, that's quite silly, it's not like there's anything wrong with "A,B,C,D". Anyway, as for the actual topic, I think it's a nifty idea. This way, if they go somewhere uncommon, but it gets a good "grade", it may give them more incentive to go back there again. However, it does also give the risk of having a city get a "C" due to a bad day, and then having them not come back all that often.

But I'm sure they won't just rate these cities just based upon one appearance, it should be an average overall. Hell, if possible, they should also look back to their attendance numbers over the last year or two, and use that information, along with information from future visits, in order to make a good average grade, to see where the city stands. Also, the grading shouldn't be based solely on how many people show up to the event. It should be based on how many people show up in relation to the cities overall population, along with the size of the venue (a sold-out, full arena should garner the same mark, regardless of if it's a 12,000 person venue, or a 20,000 person venue. Full is full). It should also be based on how much merchandise sells there as well (again, in relation to how large the city/venue is).

In the end, it's a neat idea, that could help them realize that some smaller/lesser known places are more drawn to the product than expected. But they shouldn't go from town to town based only on a "grade" it receives.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Anyone else have thought's on why they're doing this?

I'm figuring they won't be using the "A" cities for better main events or storylines than lesser rated places. If anything, the goal of this practice might concern how much money they're willing to put into building the cards, based on factors like the size of the venue available and the perceived "enthusiasm" of the crowd, which would be based on past PPVs held in that city......which presumes the latter can be accurately measured.

Just the size of the city itself might not be the determining factor in how a city is graded. After all, people from the suburbs will take the train in for entertainment events, right? They don't need only inner-city dwellers to fill an arena.

Of course, you would figure the last thing WWE wants is for it to become public knowledge how cities are graded, right? How would some of the hardcore fans react to find out their favorite sports entertainment company views their fair city as a "C" location?

 

[THTRobtaylor]

This is probably something they have "unofficially" done for a long time but now they are perhaps forming a "policy" about it so they can justify it during investor activity.

Internationally I don't think it will be as important as overseas shows generally sell out quickly cos of their rarity but it might be interesting to see how they'd grade the UK, Germany etc... In theory, the UK would be the A territory but with Dublin rising quickly it might not be the case, particularly once Balor is on the roster full time.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

This story has to be fake or at a minimum intentionally leaked to help get more people to their shows. Since the dawn of time any traveling money making entity is somehow "grading" locations to figure out where they can make the most money. This is nothing new. And why grade anything? You can look at the simple finite profit number and know which city made you the most number.

I think they just leaked this silly story so that people will be more anxious to go to a show so that their city gets a better grade. Then again, it is kind of alienating to think WWE is grading it's fans.

 

[SoulTrain4]

It's a good plan. Maybe they can limit the amount of TV programs shitty cities get and begin to move into some new cities and states because of it.

 

[Navi]

Is that a typo, or do they actually have "B." and "B" as two separate grades? If so, that's quite silly, it's not like there's anything wrong with "A,B,C,D". Anyway, as for the actual topic, I think it's a nifty idea. This way, if they go somewhere uncommon, but it gets a good "grade", it may give them more incentive to go back there again. However, it does also give the risk of having a city get a "C" due to a bad day, and then having them not come back all that often.

But I'm sure they won't just rate these cities just based upon one appearance, it should be an average overall. Hell, if possible, they should also look back to their attendance numbers over the last year or two, and use that information, along with information from future visits, in order to make a good average grade, to see where the city stands. Also, the grading shouldn't be based solely on how many people show up to the event. It should be based on how many people show up in relation to the cities overall population, along with the size of the venue (a sold-out, full arena should garner the same mark, regardless of if it's a 12,000 person venue, or a 20,000 person venue. Full is full). It should also be based on how much merchandise sells there as well (again, in relation to how large the city/venue is).

In the end, it's a neat idea, that could help them realize that some smaller/lesser known places are more drawn to the product than expected. But they shouldn't go from town to town based only on a "grade" it receives.

I think it's supposed to be a B and a B+. I copied and pasted the excerpt from the site I read it on, but it's on several sites right now. And I do agree that maybe they are doing it to get the maximum profit out of their tours. It must be expensive to haul around all that equipment and personnel. So if going to a city that doesn't really support the product or where the arena is only half full, might get that city taken off the list. Or at least get them a lower grade. With McMahon it's always about the money.

 

[rmp0012002]

It's done in all forms of business and I'm sure the WWE didn't just start doing it but I don't know why the WWE would make it public and include the grades as have been shown on some sites. "Your city isn't providing enough revenue for us to do any shows there anymore but hey you can get the network for $9.99". It's business but I think it will just lead to the WWE sending less stars to thoses areas or cutting those cities out completely.

 

[rbv13]

This is probably something they have "unofficially" done for a long time but now they are perhaps forming a "policy" about it so they can justify it during investor activity.

This was my exact thought. The E is very much in tune with the positives and negatives of running shows in given markets. There is obviously the matter of overall sales but many other factors are taken into consideration when laying out their schedule. Just a few off the top of my head would include rental expenses, travel and market drawing power (will it pull surrounding markets).

 

[Navi]

This story has to be fake or at a minimum intentionally leaked to help get more people to their shows. Since the dawn of time any traveling money making entity is somehow "grading" locations to figure out where they can make the most money. This is nothing new. And why grade anything? You can look at the simple finite profit number and know which city made you the most number.

I think they just leaked this silly story so that people will be more anxious to go to a show so that their city gets a better grade. Then again, it is kind of alienating to think WWE is grading it's fans.

Even if it is a leaked story, the only people who would see it are wrestling fans, considering it's on wrestling sites. People who don't watch wrestling don't give a shit and would never see it or care. Wrestling isn't like the circus or Disney on Ice or any of those shows, it caters to a niche group of people.

I'm not surprised to hear that it's happening as someone else said, it's probably been going on for awhile now just not talked about openly.

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

This story has to be fake or at a minimum intentionally leaked to help get more people to their shows. Since the dawn of time any traveling money making entity is somehow "grading" locations to figure out where they can make the most money. This is nothing new. And why grade anything? You can look at the simple finite profit number and know which city made you the most number.

I think they just leaked this silly story so that people will be more anxious to go to a show so that their city gets a better grade. Then again, it is kind of alienating to think WWE is grading it's fans.

ISSA C-O-N-SPIRACY

I don't think it's bad really, although it does sound daft. I expect the big UK cities like Manchester to actually be quite a draw.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

This was my exact thought. The E is very much in tune with the positives and negatives of running shows in given markets. There is obviously the matter of overall sales but many other factors are taken into consideration when laying out their schedule. Just a few off the top of my head would include rental expenses, travel and market drawing power (will it pull surrounding markets).

It's more than that, travel would be a major factor for an international tour but also where else they are running. They're currently going for at least 2 if not 3 shows a night in most markets. Take the UK, London and Manchester would be their A locations, Dublin and Birmingham their B and Liverpool and Belfast a C and Minehead which is basically a holiday camp would be the D show/3rd show they can run. The main stars would be split between A & B with lower card talent rounding out the C and D shows, the crew would fly into Belfast, then to Birmingham then on to London and travel would be easy. Likewise for Dublin, Manchester etc. A market like the UK will sell out every show so travel to the next show is more of a priority.

On the US circuit other factors will come into play, the A venues will be the ones with the most history of successful shows and highest capacities drawn. The B's will be houses that get a great live response but may be slightly smaller or traditional hotbeds for WWE the snarky, smaller arenas or areas that have high papering or tarped off areas, those are the C shows.

The scary part is that the B+ player stuff is also true if they're doing this, if they are ranking venues, then they are ranking talent to split between them.

 

[OYDK]

I can hear the promos from HHH now; "I'm not surprised you people cheer Daniel Bryan. I'd expect no less from a B+ CITY! HAHA!" Massive heel heat.

Seriously though, WWE should release all ratings to the public. Instill a sense of pride in the "A" cities, and shame the "C" cities. When the smarks complain, say, "it's not our fault you were born in Dayton..."

SERIOUSLY though, I'd be intrigued to see what WWE ranks these cities and what the criteria for grading is. Is it strictly drawing power that these rankings are based off of or does crowd reaction play a part? How far back would WWE go in history to determine the overall grade of a city? Are international cities graded? Curious report that we'll probably never hear a mention of ever again.

 

[Kris Benwa]

I've been reading reports that starting at the end of June the WWE will start grading cities based on their drawing power. So far the only cities listed are American, but hopefully some European as well as Canadian cities will make it onto the list.

Personally I think it might be a good idea as some cities like St. Louis are getting two PPV's this year, while other's get none. Friends of mine who live in the US complain all the time about never getting a PPV in their area, and of course we haven't had one here in forever. So this might get the WWE to start spreading out the wealth a little. If it give more fans access to the product then it's okay with me. This is the excerpt of what's in the report.

Beginning June 28, 2015, WWE will assign letter codes to each city (A, B , B, and C) based on drawing power. The top drawing cities (Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas) will be graded "A" while the next highest drawing cities (Cincinnati, Memphis, and Milwaukee) will be graded "B ." The third highest drawing cities (Indianapolis, Omaha, and Seattle) will be graded "B" while the lowest drawing cities (Green Bay and Jacksonville) will be graded "C."

Anyone else have thought's on why they're doing this?

Hey if this means that we can have a freaking ppv every once in a while again the I'm all for it. I mean for fucks sake we haven't had one since 2006 and that's something people would actually come out to see. We usually have a house show and a Smackdown. If you want your drawing cities to draw more then give us something to come to the show for. I'm not understanding the B. And B systems here though lol. Dayton I can maybe understand not getting squat but a tv taping. I went to the show where Batista returned and I felt like I was the only one there who actually cared lol. I actually feel like if we had given him a more positive reaction or reaction in general maybe it would have worked out a little better. Not surprised though most of the people there looked like they were too young to have even known who Batista was.

 

[Mudlup50]

I'm surprised that it'd be based on revenue, I really think it should be based on crowd participation. Maybe have the separate B rank be for when the crowd is extra rowdy. For instance like
A: London, Montreal, etc
B: Chicago, Pittsburgh, etc
B-: Lesser than A cities
C: Midwest cities, etc

Then that way they could move events like the Royal Rumble to B- or C venues so we don't have a bad crowd.


I could definitely see it being based on turn out but they'd be stupid to overlook outside factors. I can't remember what year or show it was but I remember one year they had a PPV at some city where the local football team was playing like opening game or something, so the turn out was really poor. But it's only because the wrestling fans chose football over wrestling. I do love the idea of Trips coming out and saying the city is a B city and they'd never enjoy an A player like Triple H.

I'd assume it's false though, and even if it isn't, unless it gets WWE to go to different cities more often it shouldn't really effect us

 

[Burritocover]

this report sounds weird to me. WWE know what cities draw what type of numbers, they've been touring for 30 years. Really I could probably predict fairly accurately how they'll draw most places. I don't think they'd think this up now. It would have made sense in 1986.

 

[rmp0012002]

The WWE is a traded corporation, their job is not to provide the best product to the fans but what increases the share price for their shareholders and makes them money. Everything is scrutinized within a corporation, from removing a product from a certain area or discontinuing a product but in the case of wrestling it's not booking a certain city and/or getting rid of some roster spots. After the shares took a hit after WM don't discount any scenario.

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

They shouldn't stop there. They should put together full blown reports of past "themes" and determine which cities are notorious for being HEEL cities (Philadelphia/Pittsburgh) and which are traditional ham-bone eating FACE towns (Miami/LA)

They should also keep track of the card in each individual city and try to skew as far from card A for card B as they can.

 

[MERPER]

I just don't see how it's fair, necessarily. Clearly the bigger cities in America, with more people, will have more WWE fans who are able to attend shows.

Smaller cities, and ones with economic issues won't have the same type of turn out.

Seems fairly simple to me.

 

[Navi]

The WWE is a traded corporation, their job is not to provide the best product to the fans but what increases the share price for their shareholders and makes them money. Everything is scrutinized within a corporation, from removing a product from a certain area or discontinuing a product but in the case of wrestling it's not booking a certain city and/or getting rid of some roster spots. After the shares took a hit after WM don't discount any scenario.

That's kind of what I was thinking. Cities who would normally get RAW's or SD's might not anymore if the support isn't there for the show. They might just get house shows from this point on. That will also affect who they get to see and who they don't. Shame for the fans who love wrestling but if the city doesn't draw then it's not worth it for the WWE to spend the money to go there.

I just don't see how it's fair, necessarily. Clearly the bigger cities in America, with more people, will have more WWE fans who are able to attend shows.

Smaller cities, and ones with economic issues won't have the same type of turn out.

Seems fairly simple to me.

While that might be true, it still costs money for them to bring the equipment, pay the roster and rent out the facilities. If I was Vince McMahon I wouldn't be spending that kind of money on arena's that are half full, when I could be down the road 100 miles in a full arena.

But that might also not be the case. If you take Toronto for example, we're a city of close to 3 million people in the downtown core, with another 3 million in the greater Toronto area. We're only 3 hours away from Buffalo and 4 hours away from the Windsor/Detroit border, plus you have Montreal to the east. We never get PPV's, last one was years ago, and the last two Canadian RAW's have been in Montreal. One is coming up in a couple of weeks.

Toronto has always had a hot crowd, and the events they do hold here always sell out. So it doesn't matter the size of the city, the fact that the fans are here ready to spend their money. The WWE just likes to go back to the same old places over and over again.

 

[Navi]

Here is a full list of cities and their

Full list of cities and their grades. I'm guessing the A cities have a better chance of getting PPV's and more shows than any other city.

"A" Cities: Anaheim, CA, Atlanta, GA, Baltimore, MD, Boston, MA, Bridgeport, CT, Brooklyn, NY, Buffalo, NY, Chicago, IL, Cincinnati, OH, Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Detroit, MI, Hartford, CT, Hildalgo, TX, Houston, TX, Jackson, MS, Kansas City, MO, Los Angeles, CA, Miami, FL, Minneapolis, MN, Nashville, TN, New York, NY, Newark, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Phoenix, AZ, Pittsburgh, PA, Portland, OR, Providence, RI, San Antonio, TX, San Jose, CA - SAP Center, St. Louis, MO, Tampa, FL, Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON - Ricoh Coliseum, Washington, DC, White Plains, NY, Wildwood, NJ

"B+" Cities: Albany, NY, Anaheim, CA, Anchorage, AK, Bangor, ME, Birmingham, AL, Bridgeport, CT, Calgary, AB, Cincinnati, OH, Corpus Christi, TX, Daytona Beach, FL - Ocean Center, Des Moines, IA, East Lansing, MI, Edmonton, AB, Fairbanks, AK, Fort Myers, FL, Fresno, CA, Greenville, SC, Hampton, VA, Hershey, PA, Jonesboro, AR, Lafayette, LA, Laredo, TX, Lincoln, NE, Little Rock, AR, Loveland, CO, Memphis, TN, Milwaukee, WI, Montreal, QC, Nashville, TN, Ontario, CA, Orlando, FL - Amway Center, Roanoke, VA, Rochester, NY, Sacramento, CA, Salt Lake City, UT - Maverik Center, San Juan, PR, Stockton, CA, Syracuse, NY, Tampa, FL, Tulsa, OK, Uncasville, CT, Wilkes Barre, PA, Winnipeg, MB

"B" Cities: Austin, TX, Bakersfield, CA, Calgary, AB, Cleveland, OH, Dayton, OH, Edmonton, AB, Everett, WA, Fresno, CA, Hartford, CT, Indianapolis, IN, Knoxville, TN, Louisville, KY - YUM Center, Milwaukee, WI, Montreal, QC, New Orleans, LA, Oklahoma City, OK, Omaha, NE, Phoenix, AZ, Portland, OR, Rochester, NY, Sacramento, CA, San Diego, CA, San Jose, CA - SAP Center, Seattle, WA, St. Louis, MO, Trenton, NJ, Tulsa, OK, Winnipeg, MB

"C" Cities: Amarillo, TX, Augusta, GA, Bakersfield, CA, Baton Rouge, LA, Beaumont, TX, Binghamton, NY, Bloomington, IL, Bossier City, LA, Bowling Green, KY, Canton, OH, Casper, WY, Cedar Rapids, IA, Charlotte, NC, Charlottesville, VA, Chattanooga, TN, Colorado Springs, CO, Columbia, SC, Columbus, GA, Daytona Beach, FL - Ocean Center, Erie, PA, Evansville, IN, Fairfax, VA, Fargo, ND, Fayetteville, NC, Fort Myers, FL, Green Bay, WI, Huntsville, AL, Jackson ,TN, Jacksonville, FL, Johnson City, TN, Jonesboro, AR, Kalamazoo, MI, Laredo, TX, Macon, GA, Mobile, AL, Montreal, QC, North Charleston, SC, Odessa, TX, Peoria, IL, Rockford, IL, Salisbury, MD, Savannah, GA, Sioux City, IA, Sioux Falls, SD, Springfield, IL, Syracuse, NY, Tallahassee, FL, Toledo, OH, Tupelo, MS, Vancouver, BC, Victoria, BC, Waco,TX, Wilkes Barre, PA, Worcester, MA

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

I've been reading reports that starting at the end of June the WWE will start grading cities based on their drawing power. So far the only cities listed are American, but hopefully some European as well as Canadian cities will make it onto the list.

Personally I think it might be a good idea as some cities like St. Louis are getting two PPV's this year, while other's get none. Friends of mine who live in the US complain all the time about never getting a PPV in their area, and of course we haven't had one here in forever. So this might get the WWE to start spreading out the wealth a little. If it give more fans access to the product then it's okay with me. This is the excerpt of what's in the report.

Beginning June 28, 2015, WWE will assign letter codes to each city (A, B , B, and C) based on drawing power. The top drawing cities (Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas) will be graded "A" while the next highest drawing cities (Cincinnati, Memphis, and Milwaukee) will be graded "B ." The third highest drawing cities (Indianapolis, Omaha, and Seattle) will be graded "B" while the lowest drawing cities (Green Bay and Jacksonville) will be graded "C."

Anyone else have thought's on why they're doing this?

SMH and St. Louis is the only city of the top drawing cities not to host a Wrestlemania (Dallas is getting WM32). Unbelievable. A storied 13 year career, a sure fire hall of famer and no Wrestlemania in his hometown.

Just isn't right. Such an underrated mecca of professional wrestling, it should, without question, be the front runner sentimental favorite to host a Wrestlemania.

 

[kadroan]

I've been reading reports that starting at the end of June the WWE will start grading cities based on their drawing power. So far the only cities listed are American, but hopefully some European as well as Canadian cities will make it onto the list.

Personally I think it might be a good idea as some cities like St. Louis are getting two PPV's this year, while other's get none. Friends of mine who live in the US complain all the time about never getting a PPV in their area, and of course we haven't had one here in forever. So this might get the WWE to start spreading out the wealth a little. If it give more fans access to the product then it's okay with me. This is the excerpt of what's in the report.

Beginning June 28, 2015, WWE will assign letter codes to each city (A, B , B, and C) based on drawing power. The top drawing cities (Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas) will be graded "A" while the next highest drawing cities (Cincinnati, Memphis, and Milwaukee) will be graded "B ." The third highest drawing cities (Indianapolis, Omaha, and Seattle) will be graded "B" while the lowest drawing cities (Green Bay and Jacksonville) will be graded "C."

Anyone else have thought's on why they're doing this?

I have nothing against it. WWE is a business. I always go to WWE live events when they come to Atlanta. They really come out for the events. I still remember the crowd for HIAC 2013 sucking but other than that ATL has always been solid.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

White Plains, NY, Wildwood, NJ

????


SHIT


Didn't realize this was in a non spamalam section.

Anyways, they haven't even taped TV on a regular basis at either of these places, so I don't really understand what/were/how this is all being compiled or what sense it makes to anything.

 

[Navi]

????

Hey don't ask me I just copied the list that the WWE made up. LOL They obviously think highly of these two.