Alright, let me start by saying I am no conspiracy theorist, I am not a teenage boy, and I am not a casual wrestling fan. I don't claim to have any knowledge of what is going on backstage at WWE, nor can I claim to know whether we will really get the "payoff" we all so desperately want for Daniel Bryan. So, the question is, how does this pertain to not ordering the WWE Network? Here's my answer. WWE expects that they will get a ton of traffic and subscriptions for the WWE Network at the launch tomorrow. In reality, I fully intended to be one of the first to subscribe tomorrow, but I just spent the equivalent of the 6-month commitment they will require to watch Elimination Chamber tonight.
My problem is this. Without knowing for sure, I think they are planning to somehow have Daniel Bryan win the Heavyweight Title at Wrestlemania. I think that's been the plan all along, BUT I could be wrong. IF I am, then getting the WWE Network subscription screws me. Lets face it. The cost of six months of WWE Network is less than the HD pay per view purchase of WMXXX. Sounds like a no-brainer to get the Network right? NO IT DOESN'T. If you purchase the Network thinking it's a bargain, you are wrong. The WWE has you committed to the Network for six months. They no longer care about WMXXX pay per view buy rates. WM is the first pay per view where buy rates simply don't matter. Don't get me wrong, they still want a good pay per view number, but the Network subs are much more important to them at this point in time.
Plain and simple, you need to look at one thing and one thing only. If you are paying for six months of the Network, you get WM. Good yes, BUT it also means that WWE has no obligation to give the crowd what they want at WM. They already have your money, and thus your WM viewership. I think overall, the vast majority of the long time fans like myself are waiting for the final payoff to the Daniel Bryan storyline. As a lifelong fan, I want to see 80,000 people chanting YES, YES, YES!!! to end WM THIS YEAR! He's worked his ass off this year, and anyone who has eyes and ears knows he's by far and away the most over WWE star at this point in time. He has been for nearly a year.
I know this has been a long drawn out explanation, perhaps a little too wordy, and I apologize to readers of this thread, but I think we need to stand united as future subscribers and not subscribe tomorrow. My theory is we need to wait until we get what we want. If we all subscribe in droves tomorrow, then WWE doesn't have to put DB in the main event of WM. If we wait, and make it known that we will not subscribe and pay our money until we are paying for what we want, then I think even a small number of us could set the tone for what the Network could represent. Right now, the content of past events and everything that is on there is easily worth $10 a month, but I think as fans, we need to take advantage of what is being offered to us. The WWE has touted the Network as this wonderful innovation that will allow fans to have what they want at their fingertips. That's great, but YouTube has the old stuff too, and if you're a long time fan like me, you probably have the old pay per views you really want to watch over and over again on DVD. My point is not to bash the Network or WWE's effort, but if I am going to pay a subscription, then I want my voice to be heard as well. I'm not looking to line Vince's pockets, which are already much much deeper than mine. If I am paying for it, I want to see current and future pay per view events show that fan input is being considered. When one competitor in your WM main event is getting booed out of the building and the fans are chanting "BOOTISTA", and the other competitor is the WWEWHC and the fans are chanting "PUSSY", something's wrong. BOOTISTA and PUSSY are not good heat. They are legitimate disgust, and if WWE does run with that WM main event, the crowd in New Orleans will likely crap all over it, and likely have a thunderous YES chant at some point during it.
I just feel that we as fans have a right to have our voices heard. I am not a wrestling booker, I am not a writer, and frankly, I am not all that damn creative. Perhaps WWE will surprise me. I just refuse to spend money on a Network that offers me no input on what I see in current and future programming. If Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV, etc. just put out whatever they wanted, and subscribers had no input as to what they were viewing, would people subscribe? No, probably not. I'm glad I will get to choose what old shows I want to watch, but is that alone worth the subscription price, NO? I want to see at least some of what the fans, marks, analysts, etc. are expressing as to what would make fans "pop" happen going forward. I think the Network should be a place where fans voices are heard. I would watch every pay per view since I had it, but that doesn't change the frustration I feel with being screwed out of money. Did I expect DB to win tonight and headline WM? NO. Do I have a right to feel that if I am lining their pockets that will happen at WM? YES. How do we guarantee that we have a shot of seeing that? We don't order the Network until DB has a guaranteed shot at WM. Win, lose, or draw, I want to see 80,000 people chanting YES YES YES!!!
My problem is this. Without knowing for sure, I think they are planning to somehow have Daniel Bryan win the Heavyweight Title at Wrestlemania. I think that's been the plan all along, BUT I could be wrong. IF I am, then getting the WWE Network subscription screws me. Lets face it. The cost of six months of WWE Network is less than the HD pay per view purchase of WMXXX. Sounds like a no-brainer to get the Network right? NO IT DOESN'T. If you purchase the Network thinking it's a bargain, you are wrong. The WWE has you committed to the Network for six months. They no longer care about WMXXX pay per view buy rates. WM is the first pay per view where buy rates simply don't matter. Don't get me wrong, they still want a good pay per view number, but the Network subs are much more important to them at this point in time.
Plain and simple, you need to look at one thing and one thing only. If you are paying for six months of the Network, you get WM. Good yes, BUT it also means that WWE has no obligation to give the crowd what they want at WM. They already have your money, and thus your WM viewership. I think overall, the vast majority of the long time fans like myself are waiting for the final payoff to the Daniel Bryan storyline. As a lifelong fan, I want to see 80,000 people chanting YES, YES, YES!!! to end WM THIS YEAR! He's worked his ass off this year, and anyone who has eyes and ears knows he's by far and away the most over WWE star at this point in time. He has been for nearly a year.
I know this has been a long drawn out explanation, perhaps a little too wordy, and I apologize to readers of this thread, but I think we need to stand united as future subscribers and not subscribe tomorrow. My theory is we need to wait until we get what we want. If we all subscribe in droves tomorrow, then WWE doesn't have to put DB in the main event of WM. If we wait, and make it known that we will not subscribe and pay our money until we are paying for what we want, then I think even a small number of us could set the tone for what the Network could represent. Right now, the content of past events and everything that is on there is easily worth $10 a month, but I think as fans, we need to take advantage of what is being offered to us. The WWE has touted the Network as this wonderful innovation that will allow fans to have what they want at their fingertips. That's great, but YouTube has the old stuff too, and if you're a long time fan like me, you probably have the old pay per views you really want to watch over and over again on DVD. My point is not to bash the Network or WWE's effort, but if I am going to pay a subscription, then I want my voice to be heard as well. I'm not looking to line Vince's pockets, which are already much much deeper than mine. If I am paying for it, I want to see current and future pay per view events show that fan input is being considered. When one competitor in your WM main event is getting booed out of the building and the fans are chanting "BOOTISTA", and the other competitor is the WWEWHC and the fans are chanting "PUSSY", something's wrong. BOOTISTA and PUSSY are not good heat. They are legitimate disgust, and if WWE does run with that WM main event, the crowd in New Orleans will likely crap all over it, and likely have a thunderous YES chant at some point during it.
I just feel that we as fans have a right to have our voices heard. I am not a wrestling booker, I am not a writer, and frankly, I am not all that damn creative. Perhaps WWE will surprise me. I just refuse to spend money on a Network that offers me no input on what I see in current and future programming. If Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV, etc. just put out whatever they wanted, and subscribers had no input as to what they were viewing, would people subscribe? No, probably not. I'm glad I will get to choose what old shows I want to watch, but is that alone worth the subscription price, NO? I want to see at least some of what the fans, marks, analysts, etc. are expressing as to what would make fans "pop" happen going forward. I think the Network should be a place where fans voices are heard. I would watch every pay per view since I had it, but that doesn't change the frustration I feel with being screwed out of money. Did I expect DB to win tonight and headline WM? NO. Do I have a right to feel that if I am lining their pockets that will happen at WM? YES. How do we guarantee that we have a shot of seeing that? We don't order the Network until DB has a guaranteed shot at WM. Win, lose, or draw, I want to see 80,000 people chanting YES YES YES!!!
