I seem to remember JBL pointing this out before. He refused to have T-Shirts since it would mean he could potentially have fans which he didn't want. He wanted to make people turn away from him and pray he gets his ass kicked by a great compelling face. And did he? Yep, from the current face of the company.
The Rock Beats Punk. Again.
- Thread starter klunderbunker
- Start date
I seem to remember JBL pointing this out before. He refused to have T-Shirts since it would mean he could potentially have fans which he didn't want. He wanted to make people turn away from him and pray he gets his ass kicked by a great compelling face. And did he? Yep, from the current face of the company.
It was advertised on WWE.com, through Twitter, Facebook, on the USA Network commercials prior to Raw...
I guess it's not as silly as you think.
Didn't they product the highest buy rates in history last year?
The ratings jump on Raw would be a good start.
I never said he sucked. I said he wasn't awesome at it.
If they climbed after Raw 1000 that's fine but ratings were dipping for a long time prior when he was champ. I'd give more credit of the ratings rise to the storylines built around him losing the title than from his reign gaining ratings alone.
shattered dreams
Hexagonal Hedonist
That is a sign. You said signS. I was talking about the ratings last year. The buy rates were very good although exaggerated for a long time. If I was a conspiracy theorist I would suggest they doctored the numbers to beat WM 23. It is stupid to attribute the boost all to the Rock because there is a well documented boost in non TMZ fans this time of year regardless. Also, Rock isn't the only one who did something interesting the night before.
I purchased my first WWE ppv ever last Sunday because I wanted to see The Rock win the title. My two roomates who hadn't watched wrestling in years have gotten back into it over the last month or so and watch RAW with me every Monday in part because the Rock came back. The Rock lured them in and now they each have a new favorite wrestler (Daniel Bryan and Ryback respectively) that will keep them viewers even when the Rock is gone. I guarantee there are tons of people with similar stories who have gotten back into wrestling or watch more often because the Rock is back.
The Rock is the clear cut, biggest draw in wrestling right now.
The Rock is the clear cut, biggest draw in wrestling right now.
FlexAmerican Dynamite
WZCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
So....this argument still exists. Seems pretty clear cut.
I highly doubt I need to name many more signs besides the ratings jump. But if it makes you feel better then all you have to do is see what's trending on twitter. Rockie's win generated a TON of interest and his road points to Wrestlemania.
If you're honestly going to say that the Rock wasn't the main contributor in this then you're just ignorant. And last year, the Rock's role was mainly to be an antagonist without actually being on Raw or competing in matches besides the survivor Series. And after that match, we didn't see him in a ring since Wrestlemania. This time around, we've seen him at the Rumble, we're going to see him on Raw almost every week until Wrestlemania, he'll be competing during the Elimination Chamber PPV and he's headlining Wrestlemania. It's completely different than it was last year.
One can make an argument that the ratings jump was a mixture of Cena's Rumble win and the Rock's title win but let's be real here... we all know it was because of The Rock.
shattered dreams
Hexagonal Hedonist
Oh my, the chairman of the board has trained you well. WWE shut trends on twitter all the time. That hasn't seemed to do much for the ratings.
I think that statement is ignorant considering this same show went up 12 percent last year. Last time I checked 12 is more than 9. As far as RAW goes I don't see how it is especially different other than an extra month of appearances. If they go the Cena Rock II route I think I could be tempted to throw the ignorant word around when it comes to your completely different assertion.
Or Jericho, or the Rumble itself or to see how Punk reacts or what Vince is going to do. I think the Rock's individual drawing ability is being substantially overstated. No doubt he contributes but he isn't the whole f'in show.
As much as it pains me to admit it Cena is still a bigger draw than the Rock in the sense that which one would it hurt WWE to lose more, clearly Cena.
Oh my, the chairman of the board has trained you well. WWE shut trends on twitter all the time. That hasn't seemed to do much for the ratings.
You asked for another "sign" and I gave it to you. Shit on twitter all you want but you can't deny what it's doing and has done for all facets of entertainment. When something is trending, that means it's popular. Rock's win was trending.
Now, this doesn't mean the numbers will definitely surpass last year's. It's just a "sign" of things to come.
I called you ignorant because you even admitted to being somewhat of a conspiracy theorist. All I'm doing is viewing the numbers and stating what we have to work with. Who knows what the future holds but it sure looks bright to me.
First of all, as great as Jericho is, he's never drawn any earth shattering numbers for the WWE. I highly doubt his appearance and return was a major contributor in the ratings boost. It's a minor contribution at best.
Secondly, I'm sure the other factors you listed helped the rating but I will take a popular figure in pop culture over smarky wrestling storylines as a ratings boost any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Cena is clearly the largest draw within the wrestling community. But when ratings jump 1/5 above where they're normally at, I would assume that non-wrestling fans are filling the gaps. Those non-wrestling fans are probably people who want to see the Rock; not John Cena or CM Punk.
By page three I wanted to kill myself because of all the stupid - I'm not reading any further. It has been pointed out loudly and obnoxiously by multiple people that trying to credit the annual post rumble pop to any individual is moronic in the extreme right?
It is not 1950. I wish it was, but it isn't. Stop pretending otherwise.
It is not 1950. I wish it was, but it isn't. Stop pretending otherwise.
shattered dreams
Hexagonal Hedonist
When he won the Undisputed title the ratings went up over 10 percent for that Raw and this was in the middle of December.
I don't want to hear any more about how you take it twice on Sunday.
According to your estimates the wrestling community still made up over 80 percent of the audience though. I don't understand what is so complicated about understanding it goes up 10 percent no matter what.