Are all house shows like last night?

[Robbo89]

I attended the house show in Manchester England last night with my girlfriend and there were three things in particular that really got me thinking about how much the WWE is throwing Cena down our throats.....now this IS NOT a bitch about Cena, this is more of a moan about how WWE manipulates children, now onto the points i want to make.

1. When we entered the arena, there were a few people HANDING OUT SIGNS to kids with John Cena on them.
2. After 4 matches, The ring announcer went on about merchandise and said that if there were any Cena fans, He had personally signed a number of photos and they were limited numbers so "get them quick" and straight after this, they had an "intermission" and i went to the toilet and the merchandise queue was full of children begging for a signed photo.....at something stupid like £20 each!
3. John Cena and Zack Ryder vs Miz and Truth finished and the main event followed, which was Punk vs Del Rio and no sooner had this match started, people were leaving, and they were all kids wearing cena headbands and t shirts.

It seems to me that the company aren't bothered about anybody but Cena, i understand that he is the face of the company but how does it make people like Punk (who is the top Merch seller lately) feel because Cena's name is constantly being used? I have a theory on this....

They use the line "they are personally autographed and are limited numbers so get them fast" so that every kid in the arena will beg and beg until their parents finally give in and pay £20 for a picture with his "personal" autograph on (i.e one picture signed then the rest copied) and if they wont get their kids one they'll feel like an awful parent because Cena is their kids hero and they see all the other kids with them.

Now like i say this isn't a bitch about Cena, perhaps he isn't keen on the idea of his name being thrown about this much. I just think its unfair for the WWE use this as a way of more or less bullying parents into parting with their cash!

All I want to know is, are all house shows like this? and if so don't you find it annoying?

P.S. I LOVED Mick Foleys appearance last night, he managed to get 6 cheap pops in!

 

[akrassikauda]

Nothing new with what the WWE is doing. I remember Howard Finkel would do the same thing at MSG for Hogan then Bret, HBK (when that happened one time the concourse was blocked by a wave of teenage girls wanting their HBK gear) and it also happened heavily in the Attitude era. Announcements of Stone Cold,Rock,DX gear would get the kids amped up if they announced a discount even more amped. It's a business strategy to market the face of the company at a house show especially if it is at an important venue.Once again nothing new.

Remember in Shawn and Bret's era everything was about WWF Shop and HSN (Home Shopping Network) that actually happened in certain venues." Buy the HBK heart shaped Sunglasses at the concession stands"

 

[The Champ]

God forbid a business that's trying to make money sells merchandise that will make them money. "Bullying"? Are you kidding? WWE can't force anyone to buy Cena shit, they do it because they choose to.

And if the fans are leaving before Punk vs. Del Rio, all that says to me is that they're connecting with those fans the way Cena is. It's not WWE hasn't tried their absolute hardest to get Punk over as a top face.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

CM Punk may have beat Cena in sales for a whole month? Maybe two Months... but it doesn't change the fact that Cena makes and has made more money for the WWE in the past few years than anyone else in the entire company.

I went to a House Show before that Cena couldn't attended and the Main Event was Jericho vs HBK, amazing Main Event between two of the top talents ever to grace a wrestling ring, but because Cena wasn't there the WWE offered to refund anyone's tickets who was upset or angry because of it.

The next house show I went to the pushed merchandise and they pushed the limited number of hand signed pictures of John Cena to get the crowd to buy them. $20 for the signed photo, personally signed photo of John Cena made my 7 year old cousins dreams come true. Worth every penny.

Shoved down our throats or not, kids still love him, their parents still buy his merchandise, and he's one of the main reasons if not the main reason the WWE is still going strong today.

Lets not forget that the WWE doesn't tour in Europe that often, so they want to bank on these events as much as possible to make it worth their time and effort to drag their entire roster a crossed the world to do these shows.

 

[Y-2-Jay]

If your story was true about people walking out when the Punk/Del Rio match started i would feel like shit if i was Punk or Del Rio.

 

[The Champ]

They have no one to blame but themselves if the fans don't care enough about them to stick around after paying money to see the show.

 

[The Brain]

Now like i say this isn't a bitch about Cena, perhaps he isn't keen on the idea of his name being thrown about this much. I just think its unfair for the WWE use this as a way of more or less bullying parents into parting with their cash!

How is this different than any other form of advertising? Whenever there is a hot new toy or game there are advertising executives who are supposed to make kids want to buy them. When you see a commercial for the latest wii game is that bullying parents into parting with their cash?

All I want to know is, are all house shows like this? and if so don't you find it annoying?

I went to house shows all the time in the late 80s. There were always announcements about the Hulk Hogan merchandise that was available. There were always intermissions to give people a chance to hit the merchandise stands. I never saw any signs handed out but the rest has been going on for years. Sounds like the only problem was not putting Cena in the main event. His match should have been last.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

breaking news, this just in


Little kids like John Cena.

Well. Ill be fucked.

 

[The Champ]

NO WAI

 

[Robbo89]

I knew the response to this thread would be one of giving me shit for what i've said! I just think its funny how everybody on here bitches about john cena not changing his gimmick and that kids love him, but when something like this is mentioned everybody is straight in to defend! And the bullying comment is true!!! When a kid hears that they have "limited numbers" they beg and beg until their parents get it for them, add on top all the other Cena stuff that gets sold (£30 a shirt, £10 for the headband, £5 for the wristbands, £5 for the dog tags and god knows how much for the baseball cap) but theres not only one set of merch for him.....no theres the red stuff and his new black stuff! so kids will want both! Everybody in this world is struggling with money as it is and parents feel like they HAVE TO buy this stuff for their kid because the kid next to them has it!! I appreciate he is their big draw, but not everybody in the arena wants Cena merch! why not advertise Ryder, Punk or Mysterio Merchandise ASWELL AS Cenas?

Now onto the point about people walking out as the main event started, somebody said earlier that they "must not connect with the audience" but wait for the big scoop here.....They certainly connect with the audience when they are going against Cena! I am almost positive that if Cena had the 1st match of the night then by the main event the arena would almost be empty! At the end of the day, every single one of them superstars give their all in that ring and people don't have the courtesy to appreciate what these guys do just because they "dont connect" I dont connect with people like Otunga, Santino, Mason Ryan or Drew McIntyre but i still watch them because i appreciate how much they put in when they step into the ring! Yeah they arent the biggest names but it doesnt mean they dont give as much effort as Cena, Punk, Del Rio etc!

Long story short, i think that the WWE don't want to accept the fact that somebody else has taken over their golden boy as number 1! so they bring new merchandise out, sell that ASWELL AS his old one just to get his status back up.

And to whoever it was who mentioned 80's house shows.......HELLO?!?! I was born in 1989! How the hell am i meant to know what went on in 85 or 87? Ive been going to Events in England since the first Insurrexion over here, and if my memory serves me correctly..... i have never known them advertise ONE persons merchandise and then take an intermission! I'm positive that they advertised 2 or 3 superstars then had an intermission later on!

 

[The Brain]

And the bullying comment is true!!! When a kid hears that they have "limited numbers" they beg and beg until their parents get it for them, add on top all the other Cena stuff that gets sold (£30 a shirt, £10 for the headband, £5 for the wristbands, £5 for the dog tags and god knows how much for the baseball cap) but theres not only one set of merch for him.....no theres the red stuff and his new black stuff! so kids will want both! Everybody in this world is struggling with money as it is and parents feel like they HAVE TO buy this stuff for their kid because the kid next to them has it!!

You sound completely ridiculous here. What you're saying is WWE shouldn't try to sell so much merchandise and increase their profits because parents can't say no to their kids. I don't know about you but I didn't get every single thing I wanted as a kid and I still loved my parents. Parents have to be able to draw the line somewhere. If I was at a show and saw four t shirts I wanted may parents would tell me to pick one. You know what? I was grateful for the one they bought for me. When I was a kid I liked playing with He-Man action figures. Was it wrong for them to keep coming out with new characters? I guess despite the success of their sales they should have been happy with just a few characters and not bothered trying to profit off any more. Do you know how ridiculous you sound from a business point of view?

Now onto the point about people walking out as the main event started, somebody said earlier that they "must not connect with the audience" but wait for the big scoop here.....They certainly connect with the audience when they are going against Cena! I am almost positive that if Cena had the 1st match of the night then by the main event the arena would almost be empty! At the end of the day, every single one of them superstars give their all in that ring and people don't have the courtesy to appreciate what these guys do just because they "dont connect" I dont connect with people like Otunga, Santino, Mason Ryan or Drew McIntyre but i still watch them because i appreciate how much they put in when they step into the ring! Yeah they arent the biggest names but it doesnt mean they dont give as much effort as Cena, Punk, Del Rio etc!

Plain and simple Cena should have gone on last. In a perfect world I would love to see people care about watching Drew McIntyre as much as John Cena but that's not the way it is. It's nice that you watch guys you don't care about because you respect their effort. I think you should also go to the movie theatre and pay to see every movie that comes out. The movie not appeal to you but you at least respect their efforts, right?

Long story short, i think that the WWE don't want to accept the fact that somebody else has taken over their golden boy as number 1! so they bring new merchandise out, sell that ASWELL AS his old one just to get his status back up.

Yeah it was terrible news when someone else sold a lot of merchandise and made the company a lot of money. Why would WWE want two big merchandise sellers? They don't need any extra money right

And to whoever it was who mentioned 80's house shows.......HELLO?!?! I was born in 1989! How the hell am i meant to know what went on in 85 or 87? Ive been going to Events in England since the first Insurrexion over here, and if my memory serves me correctly..... i have never known them advertise ONE persons merchandise and then take an intermission! I'm positive that they advertised 2 or 3 superstars then had an intermission later on!

HELLO?!?! your thread asked a question and I gave you an answer based on my experience. The point is this kind of thing has gone on for years in WWE. You asked and I answered so what's the problem?

 

[JGlass]

HELLO?!?! your thread asked a question and I gave you an answer based on my experience. The point is this kind of thing has gone on for years in WWE. You asked and I answered so what's the problem?

You proved him wrong. What isn't the problem?

 

[TheGreatLegend]

he's one of the main reasons if not the main reason the WWE is still going strong today.

He is one of the main reasons why WWE's ratings have been below 4 since 2007. He is one of the main reasons why many people stopped watching WWE. He is one of the main reasons why WWE looks more fake even to kids.He is one of the main reasons people call the WWE product stale and boring nowadays. He is the main reason why talented wrestlers are buried and released. He is one of the main reasons why WWE is so predictable. He is one of the main reasons why watching Wrestling isn't cool anymore. He is one of the main reasons of why WWE bacame PG. I can go on and on and on.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Edit: Oh, it would appear The Brain's given you more than enough to read. Just skip over this if you have any pressing engagements.

I knew the response to this thread would be one of giving me shit for what i've said! I just think its funny how everybody on here bitches about john cena not changing his gimmick and that kids love him, but when something like this is mentioned everybody is straight in to defend!

Strawman argument.

At the end of the day, every single one of them superstars give their all in that ring and people don't have the courtesy to appreciate what these guys do just because they "dont connect" I dont connect with people like Otunga, Santino, Mason Ryan or Drew McIntyre but i still watch them because i appreciate how much they put in when they step into the ring! Yeah they arent the biggest names but it doesnt mean they dont give as much effort as Cena, Punk, Del Rio etc!

Perhaps if you and others like you were more discerning, I wouldn't have to put up with the likes of David Otunga. You're only doing yourself a disservice by watching people perform who you don't like.