WWE Catering to the Internet?

[Mick Overlast]

WZ just posted a story about how the WWE is planning to "please the Internet fans."

I think this will definitely bring us further into this "Reality Era" that some have deemed the current landscape in WWE. It was a big hit for Punk, who is probably going to be pushed to the stratosphere leading up to Mania, and could do wonders for guys like Ryder, etc.

What do you think? Is this just WWE saying things just to quiet the IWC? Is this a big middle finger to Bischoff, who ripped on the "10 percenters"? Who else could get helped most from this?

 

[The Hardcore Kid]

It's probably just a knee-jerk reaction to CM Punk topping the merch charts. Vince never had any faith in what the "IWC" likes, but now that he's seeing the obvious truth CM Punk is a draw, he's gonna ride the IWC horse until its dead. Expect to see everyone in the IWC hate CM Punk, Ryder, Ziggler, etc in the next few months because they're being "Shoved down our throats".

 

[akrassikauda]

It's probably just a knee-jerk reaction to CM Punk topping the merch charts. Vince never had any faith in what the "IWC" likes, but now that he's seeing the obvious truth CM Punk is a draw, he's gonna ride the IWC horse until its dead. Expect to see everyone in the IWC hate CM Punk, Ryder, Ziggler, etc in the next few months because they're being "Shoved down our throats".

Exactly. Here's a list of names I can recall since 1997 of the IWC rooting for then turning against.

Steve Austin
The Rock
Triple H
Batista
Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio
The NWO
The Miz
The Hardy's
Undertaker
R Truth
And the IWC new favorite target Joooooooohn Ceeeeeeeeena!

CM Punk is next bet on it!

And with the same argument "it's being shoved down our throats"

 

[Foshinzo]

Everyone, quickly! Start posting insane threads about how Santino needs a push and that Jack Swagger needs another title run! We have to test the waters to see just how much they're willing to listen.

No, but seriously, I remember when Chris Masters was supposed to get a post Wrestlemania 27 push, and that clearly never happened. I'll believe this when Zack Ryder gets a title run. Otherwise, I just think that this is either made up, or just a quick one-note that won't actually happen.

 

[RicoLen]

Hopefully we can finally get some faces that aren't smiley happy people, but credible badasses that are just good guys. Kind of like The Rock during his face runs, or Bret Hart, or Mick Foley, or Roddy Piper, they were good faces.

 

[LOS ANGELES LAKERS]

I don't know about WWE wanting to please the "IWC" but if they wanted to please me they should stop burying Daniel Bryan does he still even have the Money in the Bank contract?

 

[VCUpkunk11]

Here's my response to this.

IF (and thats a BIG IF).... WWE actually does start to listen to the Internet Fans out here... then it would fix the semi downward spiral they've been on, and it boost the hell out of the company.

I mean just from this site alone... there has been SO MANY ideas from fans on here about things WWE could do to make it better, more exciting, more unpredictable and so on.

If WWE listens to the fans... I can almost Guarantee you that a couple of things will happen
1. Former WWE Talent who are now in TNA, UFC, or some other entertainment industry.... will wanna come back to WWE.

2. It will put the exclamation to the end of TNA. Ever since Bischoff & Hogan took over TNA... the company has been going down in a fiery pit. Not to mention TNA is pretty much nothing but former WWE athletes who either got fired or got fed up w/ WWE. I mean look at all the former WWE Talent on the TNA Roster: Kurt Angle, Brian Kendrick, Bully Ray, Christy Hemme, Devon, Bischoff, Hogan, Jeff Hardy, Jeff Jarrett, Matt Morgan, Mickie James (who left because WWE didnt support her w/ her music career), Mr. Anderson (aka Mr. Kennedy), Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, Scott Steiner, Shannon Moore, Tara, Taz among others who were recently with TNA.


A few things I would like to see altered are:

1. Dont make the outcomes so predictable. It's not really all that exciting when there's no element of surprise to whats gonna happen. For Example: Sunday at HIAC... we saw Ricardo knock out the ref, steal the key, distract Cena, and Del Rio kicked him out of the cage and threw away the Key. Right at that moment we all pretty much knew Del Rio was going to win that Match. It Woulda been nice if WWE had made it a lil bit more of unpredictable ending (even if Del Rio still won it). Have Cena find a way to break open the door like Mark Henry could, or have him climb up to the top of the cage, and open a hatch or something more unpredictable that most people never wouldve thought of just to make the last few minutes as exciting as the rest of the match.

2. Stop putting PPV's 2 weeks apart from each other. Either Cut back on the # of PPV's or at most put 1 at the end of every month... so that you have at least 4 weeks between PPVs. Like others have said before I think you should cut the # down to like 6-8 a year. Maybe one every other month. RR, WM, Extreme Rules, Summer Slam, Survivor Series and HIAC or EC or something. But you def need more time to build up big matches like Rock vs Cena at WM, HHH vs Punk at SummerSlam, or w/e.

3. Give some of the younger guys a shot at the WWE or WHC from time to time, and maybe even let them win it from time to time... just to mix up the story lines.

Whatever you do...Mix things up. Don't keep doing the same thing over & over.

 

[Cebeards]

There has been a trend lately toward IWC getting more of what they want, or at least it appears that way; but, let's face it, we don't really know what the fuck we want.

We are argumentative, sometimes just for the sake of being so. Our opinions change from day to day, or even based on how a question is asked. We have no problem proclaiming the graces of someone we condemned last week. IN OTHER WORDS, DON'T LISTEN TOO CLOSELY, JUST TAKE MAIN IDEAS, IGNORE OUR FICKLE OPINIONS.

Now, with that said. I think Del Rio should walk out holding a chihuahua wearing the outfit of his opponent...EVERY MATCH! Horrible, but you said they were listening.

Cena should have a black shirt....yep, black one. My eyes hurt.

Cody Rhodes should beat up Golddust...I'm bored, seems fun; you can even have Booker T make the save, which gives your your Cody/Booker feud.

Stop saying that Orton is going to a place we have never seen him...we have, we remember, he goes there....quite often...he's kinda known for it

Give Mason Ryan some mic time, I'm curious....

Push or Kill Morrison...I'm tired of this month on month squash shit

Have Awesome Truth return to the WWE going after the tag titles. Give that gold some polish, bitches

Have HHH go back to wrestling and get squashed by Mark Henry...not my best idea, but who else would give that big of a nod

Start building bryan if you have any intention of having him go for the title at mania, if not, then have him lose it to Rhodes already; hell, even Christian.

Were they listening? I couldn't tell....

 

[EastCoastFan]

If WWE was really listening to the IWC, they wouldn't be trying so hard to turn Kelly Kelly into the second coming of Trish Stratus at the expense of Beth Phoenix and Natalya.

 

[dansaun77]

Vince and WWE have always underestimated how many INTERNET wrestling fans there are out there. Adults or over 18s who watch the product all trawl the wrestling forums and get spoilers, and any inside scoops they can. It is how the business has evolved. The element of surprise has vanished from pro wrestling(WWE/TNA anyways). With it bordering impossible to surprise the audience these days, WWE need to embrace this wider group of "smart fans" and really go hard with this type of programming. Punk is brilliant, heads and shoulders above the pack at present, so they should be reinvigorating his push at the expense of th shit on the roster. He will win the Rumble in 2012, so getting him there hot is the trick, and with The Rock returning shortly to commence his run thru November-March, Cena is taken care of.

 

[JHStakeova]

If WWE is listening, then expect Daniel Bryan to cash in his MITB briefcase at Wrestlemania to take on the WWE Champion at that time, which will be CM Punk. That's the friggin dream match all of the IWC wants to see.

Sheamus will win the Royal Rumble, and go on to WM to take down Mark Henry and win the world heavyweight championship.

The Rock will win at WM against John Cena, FACT. Rey Mysterio vs. Sin Cara will happen at WM.

Randy Orton vs. The Miz

Here's to the WWE listening to the IWC more. *cheers*

 

[The_Reptile_]

Except Daniel Bryan's briefcase is for World Heavyweight Championship. As long as Punk is on RAW and the WHC is on Smackdown, it is literally impossible for Daniel Bryan to cash in on Punk.

 

[ctln4rko]

I don't think the WWE could do a better thing. The IWC can be the WWE's toughest critics, so I frimly believe that WWE should try to focus more on them.

 

[KoC417]

WZ just posted a story about how the WWE is planning to "please the Internet fans."

I think this will definitely bring us further into this "Reality Era" that some have deemed the current landscape in WWE. It was a big hit for Punk, who is probably going to be pushed to the stratosphere leading up to Mania, and could do wonders for guys like Ryder, etc.

What do you think? Is this just WWE saying things just to quiet the IWC? Is this a big middle finger to Bischoff, who ripped on the "10 percenters"? Who else could get helped most from this?

That's great but guess what. The IWC as a whole will NEVER be happy. Even if the WWE does everything they ask and more the IWC will still find things to complain about. If the WWE tries to make the IWC happy they will eventually lose touch with another section of fans. Then they will try to make THEM happy and lose touch with another section and so on and so on. It is a repetitive cycle. What WWE NEEDS to do is find a GOOD mixture. A good way to appease both the IWC and the regular fans. Not pleasing them both 100% but pleasing them enough to the point that they all watch WWE. Oh wait, people ARE watching from both sides! WWE can never and WILL never be able to FULLY appease either side whether it be IWC or standard or life long/die hard fans. People will always compare it to the glory days and say that the booking is horrible and blah blah blah.

As far as who this would HELP...well clearly it would help Ryder out. His show is a stroke of genius IMO. Here is a guy that wasn't getting anything and so he took it into his own hands and tried to make something. I don't really care for him but I respect the fact that the guy took some initiative and is trying to make something of himself.

To be honest anyone could be boosted from this non-sense if you think about it. All they would have to do is take to Twitter, or facebook or another mega social site and add all their fans. And all they would have to do is say what they think the fans want to hear. Instant success if WWE allows this "reality era" thing to kick in.

I think the MOST interaction a person OUTSIDE of the WWE should have in determining who is over and who isn't is exactly how it is done now. Boo's and cheers along with FAN made signs. Not the garbage ones WWE tries to force thru onto fans at events. If the WWE were REALLY trying to give the fans what they want they wouldn't be confiscating signs that were "freedom of expression" type signs. I could see not allowing TNA signs but taking away We Want Ryder signs, and other signs (as WWE has been reported to do) isn't exactly making me believe that they are serious about listening to the IWC or anyone else.

 

[Skinsley]

Exactly. Here's a list of names I can recall since 1997 of the IWC rooting for then turning against.

Steve Austin
The Rock
Triple H
Batista
Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio
The NWO
The Miz
The Hardy's
Undertaker
R Truth
And the IWC new favorite target Joooooooohn Ceeeeeeeeena!

CM Punk is next bet on it!

And with the same argument "it's being shoved down our throats"

You guys are no better than the people that you are trying to mock. If Cm Punk starts winning the title willy nilly and becomes a 10 time champion in 4 or 5 years.... HELL YES we will change our tune....because that is NOT what we want. If CM punk starts winning every match with ONLY the moves from his "Comeback moveset?" and does little inbetween before winning matches...then hell yes we will change our tune and start to hate him.
You halfwits dont get the big picture here.
We want CMpunk to be top draw YES because he has the movesets, the skills and the Mic work to do it.....but do we want CM punk to win title after title, win squash matches against wrestlers that desperatly need to catch a break, take patriotism to a cringeworthy level and become seemingly unbeatable? FUCK NO!

Open your fucking minds!

 

[Syborgg]

If anyone is expecting the WWE to do a full 180 and start allowing full on blading and some of the other stuff that the IWC seems to be clamouring for, then you are in for a big surprise. Just because there's a report saying that WWE is now going to start listening to the 10%ers, doesn't mean they will heed every word that we type in these forums. I personally believe that WWE always has people reading the dirt sheets and they have an idea about what we discuss here and what the popular opinions are amongst the IWC. The problem is, the IWC is just a small sample of the WWE Universe and within this small sample there are ALL walks of life and as pointed out above, WE are NEVER satisfied. For every thread out there praising the WWE for a current storyline there are atleast 5(if not more) complaining about the exact same thing.

We may see some of our very BEST ideas realized on screen in some form, but for the most part WWE won't do anything super crazy like all of a sudden turn John Cena heel just because there's a few people on these boards that think it's a good idea.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The IWC makes up a small percentage of the overall fanbase, the overwhelming majority are casual fans who are easier to please. They generally do not care about the IWC or what they think since they are a fraction of the fanbase. However, they needed a new direction and had not bothered to listen to the IWC before. They gave it a shot and look where it got guys like Punk or Christian. I think it could be good for guys like Ryder or Morrison too. We might finally see the Cena heel turn that many online fans have been begging for. The titles might all get unified. There are many things that the IWC complained about that could finally get addressed. It isn't a way to quiet the IWC because I think they legitimately want to please all fans and needed a new direction. The casual fans will watch regardless, so what did they have to lose by trying to please the IWC fans? Nothing really. This could be good in the long run. We will just have to wait and see what happens.

 

[Gunnar]

The WWE needs to cater towards it's casual fan base, because that is where they will make their money, when John Cena struts out in a new t-shirt, all the 8-13 year olds who are with their moms will whine and complain until they go to the merch stand and pay $25-$35 for their Cena shirt, then once Cena is done, we can have the IWC storylines and matches, and then it will be a best of both worlds, as long as they don't make the casual storyline Hogan vs (evil) Undertaker, and doesn't turn back to good guys vs bad guys.

 

[thegreatwhat]

Catering to the IWC is one thing, but if you look at ratings, it does not seem to be drawing well. You can saw that it will take a while for any gain to kick in, but if they don't kick in, Vince may just turn to another direction and once again do something to hype up Cena majorly and release new merchandise for him. Top seller means so much? Won't be Punk forever.