Are sites like WrestleZone bad for the business?

[burnout4200]

First of all I must say that I'm an avid WrestleZone reader. I check the site daily to see whats going on in the world of wrestling and I very much appreciate the service that they offer. But are these internet news sites bad for the business?

Personally I'm a very huge TNA fan but I dont find myself watching the program as much as I should. I read the TNA spoilers which covers three weeks in advance and it doesn't leave me much reason to watch the show. With so many wrestling fans reading these spoilers it makes me wonder how high their ratings would be without them. If I had no clue what was going to happen I'd definatly be on the edge of my seat waiting for Impact to come on just like I did during my Nitro addiction phase.

Vince McMahon has recently shown disgust over the fact that everyone already knows that RVD is leaving the company. Personally I think that's why RVD won his match at One Night Stand. Since everyone knew he was leaving they expected him to lose adding to the legend killers list. Instead RVD won the match and obtained his "injury" after the bell rang.

I miss being surprised. I remember going nuts when a high profile wrestler unexpectedly returned from the injured list. Now that I'm a WrestleZone addict I get regular updates on how their rehab is coming along and when they're expected to return. Seeing Sabu debut in TNA would have blown my mind but now I expect it and think it's just a matter of time.

What are your opinions on this matter? Without spoilers would TNA and Smackdown receive a higher cable rating? Does reading these daily updates ruin any of the fun for you?

 

[Jonny B]

Honestly the best way to put it is, the sites only ruin the shows if you chose to read the spoilers and then not watch the shows. I rarely read Smackdown Spoilers and I usually enjoy the show slightly more when I actually watch it. Fact is its your own choice to read the spoilers or not, if you feel they are ruining your overall enjoyment of the product then don't read them it seems pretty simple to me.

 

[Slim Pickns]

Honestly the best way to put it is, the sites only ruin the shows if you chose to read the spoilers and then not watch the shows. I rarely read Smackdown Spoilers and I usually enjoy the show slightly more when I actually watch it. Fact is its your own choice to read the spoilers or not, if you feel they are ruining your overall enjoyment of the product then don't read them it seems pretty simple to me.

It can't be put any better than that. If you want to be suprised by the show and not the spoiler than watch Impact and Smackdown when they air and stay away from the spoilers. On sites like Wrestlezone there is always a disclaimer for spoilers so you can never accidently read one. As far as if its bad for the business, if someone would rather read about their favorite wrestler winning instead of watching it, then your product isn't as good as it should be.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I read every spoiler I find. Personally knowing the potential outcome doesn't stop me from watching. In fact I use them as a guide. If I hear there's going to be a heel turn or a particularly good match. I'll make a point of watching the show without consuming an alcoholic beverage so I can concentrate on them properly. I suppose it would be nice to be surprised occasionally. But there is still the occasional surprise as it is, even with all the backstage stuff you read now.

 

[Mexican Geek]

i agree with jake, i also read all the spoilers as a guide, leaving the good stuff to the PPV... if you are a true fan doesnt mattter if you know that flair is doing a figure 4 lock, but the fact is watching all the match development, how carlito spitted on his face, etc....... same thing when Edge won the WHC, i know the rating wasnt that good, but who the hell cares? even WWE.com and ECW spoiled the win. and what happened? i am sure you and everybody on the forum saw it anyway...(i even taped it damn it! that was GOOD stuff!)
imagine that you dont read the news about rey mysterio recovery and "possible" return dates.. i would hate to miss the return of rey, so i keep myself informed about his condition, and you dont have to read the spoilers of the show for that..

 

[EP Punk]

I totally agree with Jake and aerandir. The only time I really don't read spoilers is Wrestlemania, as far as plans for matches and whatnot. I too made it a point to watch Smackdown when Edge won the title, as the spoilers on WWE.com AND ECW on Sci-Fi made me want to see why the writers and commentators made such a huge deal out of how Edge snared the gold. The other thing about spoilers is it reminds me why I'm a fan. I love watching wrestling with people who either don't have access or choose not to access the net, and seeing the surprise on their face when something that I read about actually happens. The reactions of the non-readers makes me remember why I love the buisiness so much in the first place, and I gotta say, I am an Edge fan, and still popped huge when his music hit after the cage match.

 

[Shocky]

The problem is that storylines are hardly exciting enough anyway, regardless if your spoiled or not. If you watch Raw regularly, chances are the last time that brand gave you anything that truly shocked you was Edge winning the title at N.Y.R.

The problem with the taped programs is the god awful sound track they pump into shows, especially Smackdown! I guess I must have over sensitive ears, but listening to that thing every week is brutal.

I don't have a problem with sites like this, if you read the spoilers, its your choice. People are going to attempt to find out any way they can, with or without the internet. It's how it's been done for a long time.

 

[Downward Spiral]

Like Shock said, the storylines are just God awful, and not even worth watching, so I find no problem with reading the spoilers. Nothing of note ever happens on Raw and SmackDown particularly, so I don't hesitate from reading what's going to happen. WrestleZone, like all other wrestling news sites, is catering to fans that want to read spoilers and hear all the backstage news, and like everyone else has said, if you don't want to read the spoilers, you don't have to. If you are lured in by temptation like the rest of us to read them, go ahead, because you aren't missing out on a lot. Like Jake said, sometimes reading a good thing happening will make you want to watch it more. Hell, if the WWE didn't reveal that Edge won the World Heavyweight Title, people would have tuned out again expecting a shit show (although now that I think about it, the ratings weren't all that better anyway.) There's nothing to surprise me anymore, so naturally, I turn to spoilers before I watch anything on the TV. And it's also good to hear what's going on backstage. It's just a smark world.

 

[burnout4200]

I expected the "just dont read it" line of course but some of us don't have that kind of will power lol.

Do you think the spoilers impact ratings in a negative way? Especially Impact since you can read 3 weeks worth of shows in 10 minutes prior to the events.

 

[jbremner2]

If i was asked this question 3 years ago, i would say no it isnt bad for the business, it was also used like other people have said as a guide as to what you are going to see and excellent matches you cant miss. I think it is down to you as a person if it ruins it for you and if it does you allways have the choice to not look. Also as we all know, not everything you read is going to happen as things allways change in the wrestling industry. The things posted arent 100% true all the time but it does give the majority of time an idea of what direction a particular worker is going in, storyline ect. For me personally, i think that not just internet sites have ruined the business becouse for the past 5 years or so i have allways looked on the internet sites, but i think its the old argument of the overall product. I do feel now five years on that i kinda dont want to look at internet sites but i feel the urge to do so, well i have been doing it for five years so its kind of like habit now. The question that you have to ask if there was no internet would more people watch wrestling and would people be more happy/surprised/shocked ect on what they see. This is a question that only you guys can personally answer.

 

[thraxiusrex]

No offense, but I don't think sites like this are significant enough to be truly bad for the business. We're a minority amongst the wrestling fans still, and the business will still be geared toward markish folks for now.

But does it ruin it for us? Well, I think the IWC was one of the reasons Russo's booking in WCW was so ridiculous, with the swerves and whatnot. And it really screwed him up because it left all the marks wondering what kind of insanity they'd been watching.

As far as taping spoilers . . . well if I had television and actually got to watch shows normally, I would probably make the personal choice to avoid them. But damn, with the Edge thing it was just impossible to avoid. But that sure as hell ain't our fault.

 

[Big Ace]

Well, to add onto what everyone has said on here, WZ might be bad for the business. If people read the spoilers, then they know it might be a bad show, so they don't watch. But take into consideration how many people actually read spoilers. There's probably 200,000 people or so on Wrestling Forums worldwide. That's not even a scratch on the Neilsen ratings. So, spoilers, in my mind, don't really hurt the business.

 

[Kasey]

I think sites like WZ are now the lifesblood of an industry (particularly Titan) that doesn't know what the hell to do with itself. I don't read spoilers and never really have. Even with the potential for surprise, more often than not, I can already call what it going to happen in a given show 85% of the time. Whether it's an ending or a direction and outcome of a storyline, I can smell what is coming down the pike from a ways out. I haven't been truly shocked for so long that I can't even remember (probably when Misterio pinned Nash). Does it bum me out? Hell yes. The storylines are one big cycle that lathers, rinses, and repeats itself year in and year out most times and with stuff like John Cena's gargantuan push, it gets worse every week. I've been a huge watcher of wrestling since I was a little guy, but the problem is that the product runs itself into circles. The problem is defninitely not that people who are dedicated frequent websites like WZ, The Torch, 1Wrestling, or PW.com to name a few. If anything, those sites keep fans interests piqued. Hell, I wouldn't be half as inclined to watch WWE product if I didn't get on here to discuss it. If anything, the industry needs to adapt to the change of technology. For instance, HHH and Stephanie are now eliminating any sort of inside info from WWE.com. Why take traffic away from your website and basically turn the major portion of the smark community away? I'd cater to those people and stop treating the fans like idiots. I'm a diehard wrestling fan to the Nth degree, but I can count the number of times I've been to WWE.com on one hand and not even make it all the way to my thumb. If you create community and really try to make your product work on every level to please all your key demographics, then everybody wins. I don't know, that's just the way I see it. Case in point, sites like WZ keep this thing alive. If it wasn't for WZ, I'd probably not even watch wrestling anymore.

The fact is, companies are stupid if they think that traditional kayfabe is still something that can be put in place. It's just like the old days in the twenties and thirties when radio announcers started spoiling the results to matches the Northeastern territories kept repeating over and over up and down the eastern seaboard. What did they do? Adapt. Change the booking for pete's sake. Worked shoots come across as genuine and should be something used more often. Heyman realized this and geared a company around it at times. Even he knew in the mid-nineties that the undercurrent of the business was evolving because of technology and people catching wise to the inner workings of the business. What you are seeing now is HHH/Stephanie trying to act like the internet doesn't exist. Instead of keeping people in the dark and allowing rumors to fester amongst the community, get your ass in gear and set the record straight on some things. Everyone knows wrestling is fake...so it's stupid for them to act like we don't know that.

 

[NYSandman]

I read every spoiler I find. Personally knowing the potential outcome doesn't stop me from watching. In fact I use them as a guide. If I hear there's going to be a heel turn or a particularly good match. I'll make a point of watching the show without consuming an alcoholic beverage so I can concentrate on them properly. I suppose it would be nice to be surprised occasionally. But there is still the occasional surprise as it is, even with all the backstage stuff you read now.

Agreed. I like the spoilers. It doesn't ruin the show for me, and, I can decide ahead of time if I want to watch it. If a show is gonna stink, it is worth knowing so you don't waste 2 hours of your life. As far as these sites hurting the business and Vince not liking spoilers, people have to realize that this is now the information age. Kayfaab, if I spelled it right, is impossible now. There will always be someone at a taping who will post results, and there will always be people inside the business who will post spoilers. That's just the way of the world, now. Privacy is on a respirator. Just my .

 

[tap-out]

These sites aren't bad. I remeber back in early 2000 i believe, WWE.com had smackdown spoilers on it. That is where i heard of the whold corporate Ministry Stroyline and couldn't wait until tuesday night to see it. A bigger problem is that there are no more big surprises, and all the storylines are pretty vanilla, no more Buried Alive matches...that were actually hyped correctly. It would be nice to get back to that early 2000 time period again. But the only way that will happen is if you get talent like Rock, Stone Cold, etc.