The upcomming UK tour and the Intercontinental Championship.

[JBM]

So this just popped into my head:

I've been seeing a lot of people commenting on how the WWE is finally trying to put some weight behind the IC title and make it relevant again. Maybe they are...but maybe they are just trying to make it interesting going into the upcomming European tour.

Think about it....You've got RVD, a legend of ECW. His career says enough and he adds a little prestige to it.

Then you've got all 3 of the big name European guys. Cessaro, Barrett, Sheamus. Of the original 8, those are the 4 remaining. The European fans interest will inherintly spike simply because those guys are in it. Even Paige being Diva's champion, and the constant promo's of Alex Rose or whatever his name is are an indication that this has a lot to do with gearing up whatever European countries are hosting an upcomming WWE event.

It makes me wonder if this is leading up to a Cessaro/Sheamus program, or a Cessaro/Bad News Barrett program to really get the crowd into it. Whoever Sheamus isn't in a program with may even have a string of matches against RVD...I'm not sure.

From a business standpoint, this is genious. Not only are you going to increase ticket sales and merchandise overseas, but this may also keep the red hot WWE momentum on a roll. We all know that European fans make great fans in terms of chants and crowd interaction. And that translates into a better on screen product no matter how good or bad the matches are. Why not juice them up a bit more by putting their home town guys in some great programs?

Then maybe, just maybe the next time WWE comes to Green Bay, or Dayton, or wherever the hell last nights Raw was...the crowds will have learned from the Eurpean crowds and not suck so bad.

(FYI...I'm American btw...just one who can admit that a lot of U.S. cities suck when it comes to chants/interaction).

What do ya'll think? Is this just WWE marketing itself for the European tour...or is this WWE creative making the most of solid talent?

 

[Steve-O-Matt]

Well Adam Rose isn't European first of all, they're billing him from the Bahamas.

Secondly, you might be onto something with the IC title hunt having these 3 guys. I think it's a case of both, they see the talent they got and they're taking advantage of it, like they SHOULD every year. Last time they were in the UK, we didn't get to see Wade on TV for some reason, but now he's in this. Even though I want to see him succeed, I pray he doesn't win the title. Because lately, it has been push kryptonite. Just look at the list of former champs, who was the last one to move onto the main events?

Big E., Curtis Axel, Wade Barrett, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Christian, Cody Rhodes, Big Show, Ezekiel Jackson, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre.

These all go back to 2009, look where they all are now. Personally, I feel like at this point the title does nothing, throw it in a bin with the US title and set it on fire, it's a curse at this point. Or at the very least, unify them or something.

 

[AJ1981]

I think its just a coincidence, although it certainly doesn't hurt that the European tour is about to begin and several stars from the UK, ROI and Switzerland are being booked in featured positions. On your point about crowds though European crowds tend to be louder as we only get WWE live events once or twice a year (depending on where you are) as its not a common thing people tend to be more excited and want to interact with the show. Adam Rose (Leo Kruger/Raymond Leppan) is from South Africa, which obviously isn't in Europe but many Afrikaners are of Dutch descent which explains why you may have been confused by the accent

 

[JBM]

I think its just a coincidence, although it certainly doesn't hurt that the European tour is about to begin and several stars from the UK, ROI and Switzerland are being booked in featured positions. On your point about crowds though European crowds tend to be louder as we only get WWE live events once or twice a year (depending on where you are) as its not a common thing people tend to be more excited and want to interact with the show. Adam Rose (Leo Kruger/Raymond Leppan) is from South Africa, which obviously isn't in Europe but many Afrikaners are of Dutch descent which explains why you may have been confused by the accent

Well that goes to show my ignorance with foreign accents. Thanks for the clarification on that. Honestly when I saw his promo with the party bus, it just felt like they were trying to push him as a WWE version of Russell Brand.

 

[JBM]

I think its just a coincidence, although it certainly doesn't hurt that the European tour is about to begin and several stars from the UK, ROI and Switzerland are being booked in featured positions. On your point about crowds though European crowds tend to be louder as we only get WWE live events once or twice a year (depending on where you are) as its not a common thing people tend to be more excited and want to interact with the show. Adam Rose (Leo Kruger/Raymond Leppan) is from South Africa, which obviously isn't in Europe but many Afrikaners are of Dutch descent which explains why you may have been confused by the accent

On to the European crowds, specifically the UK fans. I get why the UK WWE fans would make the most out of what few events you get to see live as your point makes sense. But in general, I think many Americans look at your interaction with your football(soccer) matches. You sing, cheer, clap, chant and fight like crazy. Maybe it's just me....but I've always felt a great deal of passion with UK/European sports fans. I was in Germany during the 2010 World Cup and the whole place shut down and the normally quite German townsfolk transformed into fun filled, crazed lunatics. It was a great experience watching entire communities stop everything and cheer on their country in competition. Anyway...I'm rambling now, time to go to work.