WWE "Did You Know????" facts-- utterly useless garbage

[Sean Valjean]

Does anyone else think that the information in those graphics is pointless? If you don't know what I'm referring to, it's those little graphics that pop up once or twice a show usually telling us what TV shows the WWE beat in ratings, or how many hits their website got that day. Outside of WWE employees and shareholders, WHO CARES? The WWE is supposed to be trying to appeal to kids; what kid would care about stuff like that? It's like the WWE is trying to brag or worse, make you feel better about watching their product. Like "Don't feel too bad about watching Raw, X amount of viewers are suffering along with you!"

Why can't they put information that's actually interesting? The WWE has SO much history, not to mention what they have from WCW, ECW, and the other promotions they've acquired. They could list title facts, career stats and personal tibits about superstars past and present. Why not say how HBK is the first Grand Slam winner ever? Hell, why not define what a Grand Slam winner even is and list the titles required? Mention how many IC champions have gone on to win world titles, some famous wrestling families, some big moments, I mean the list is damn near endless.

You could put information about the pay per view for that month, such as big moments that have happened at that particular ppv, how long it's been around,etc. You could even do trivia, with a question asked before going to commercial, and then the answer given when they come back.

It could be something as big as listing Stone Cold's title history, to something as little as listing Kofi Kingston's favorite video games. It could even help develop characters. It would be a great way to educate younger fans on WWE history as well as the history of other promotions. It would also help them get to know the superstars better and connect with them more.

I know this is only very small portion of the show, and it doesn't affect the overall quality. But I believe that they should try to make each aspect of a show as entertaining and interesting as possible, and the "Did You Know?" thing right now is anything but that. Your thoughts?

 

[Fallen Angel 21.3]

i just wish that WWE would get rid of the whole "Did You Know" crappy shiting fucking thing all together and focus on what's important the wrestling. Okay for Christ sake the best wrestlers they have on there product are being used as fucking jobbers. I really don't give a shit about whats kofi's favorite video game or how long Raw has been on the air, what got me into WWE was the wrestling they did back in the 90's and that's the only thing that won't make it a total sore feast.

 

[CaptainCrazy74]

I agree with Sean ValJean the type of angle they are shooting at is more beneficial for education. The ridiculous wastes of time the Fallen Angel points out are also a reason I don't waste my time watching Raw or Smackdown anymore. I think the education is worth it and the talent needs face time with the audience but, Vince is only concerned with Vince, to hell with anything else. He has "screw you money" ie...enough money to say screw you I will do what I want. So he is going to do what his investors want and to hell with what we want. The fans have not been a focus of the WWE for about five to ten years. Therein lies the real problem.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

In a few weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if the Did You Know? crap had a little note about "We're been three times more watched than TNA for the past X weeks." With a little fucking smiley face to solidify the teabag they'll be trying to pull on Hogan. Regardless, I agree that it's utter BS. They could do what TNA's doing and show a 3 second clip of what's going on in the show and go back to commercials. At least fill that 15 seconds with something useful. I think wrestling facts would be a good idea, as the OP said. Well done.

 

[Big Ol' Buckta AIDS]

Wow.

I cannot believe someone cared enough about a 3 second blip on the screen to make a thread about it. Given, the ideas that you gave would be more interesting to read than How many people watched RAW, or what channel or program Raw beat in the ratings, but like I mentioned earlier, these things are a literal blip on the screen. They last 3 seconds at most. If it really bothers you that much just blink and it will be over.....Jee wiz. Talk about micro-management.

 

[jazzua]

I actually really like this idea. I have never thought enough about it to care what they say in the "Did you know" portion of the shows. I will say, however, that I really like your idea. Especially the part about using it to progress their characters. I don't like the video game idea but use it in kayfabe. Give us a quote that the Miz said toward MVP or something to that effect that will help create heat and further storylines. I really like the idea about them pushing the current ppv with history and big moments that occured. Great idea.

As for them mentioning TNA as an above poster said. I highly doubt it. WWE mentioned WCW so rarely, even during the attitude days. There was the attack that DX led, the Nacho Man bit, and things to that effect. But, for the most part Vince has always focused more on his own promotion. Say what you want about him, he's a smart business man. If push comes to shove he knows his job is to make his company as strong as possible. If he does that he wins. He wins alot.

 

[mister_b1LL]

I also don't care about who RAW beat in ratings either. Chances are it's just complete spin anyway. How many of us here believe that one wrestling show that scores About 5 million viewers every week could take on ABC's, NBC's, CBS's, FOX's and MTV's primetime lineup altogether? Or does anyone believe that more people would watch scripted wrestling over a huge sporting event like Monday Night Football? I'm not one of those guys.

I'm all for elimination of the "Did You Know?" clips as well. But if they must keep them, let them be facts that are relevant to wrestling, like who came up with the name of "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. That's something I'd like to know.

What I'd also like are "On This Day In WWE History" facts. Like this Monday is January 25th. What happened on a RAW that also happened on January 25th?

 

[Cookie]

As much as I think they are annoying and as much as I don't give a fuck how many males/females/post-ops are watching Raw, I really don't think they are that big of a deal. They're up there for 10 seconds max and they're for the shareholders and advertisers. Yeah, it would be interesting once in awhile to see a fun fact but I don't think it's something that NEEDS to be done.

I'd be more enlightened by a screen frozen on a Did You Know? ratings fact for 15 minutes than a Little People's Court segment.

 

[HBK-aholic]

They entertain me, it's quite interesting to see things like who they beat in ratings. Not interesting enough for me to go look it all up, but I don't see a problem with them doing it. If someone doesn't care about it, they're gone in a few seconds and haven't ruined anyones enjoyment at all. If someone finds it interesting, then they've given them something to think about. Regarding TNA, I would love to see the WWE mention them, and how much they're beating them by each week. That being said, I don't think it'll happen. They're casually ignoring them at the moment, I can't see them bringing attention to the TNA name by broadcasting it to their audience. Not that I think this would bring TNA more viewers, or people who hadn't heard of it, but I don't think it'd be something McMahon would do.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I usually just ignore the "Did you know?" things. They used to do a thing along the lines of "in this week in WWE history" where they would talk briefly about an event from the past that happened during the current week in past years. Those have been gone since 2006, or so. I remember one from the fall semester of 2006 when they showed clips of a Ric Flair match from the late 80s that had taken place the same week many years ago.

I'd much rather see those come back, but the problem is that after several years it would risk becoming repetitive because fans who have been watching longer might already know what event would be mentioned before it's mentioned. Plus, WWE would probably also try to make recent events look much more significant than they already were.

I simply ignore the "Did you know?" things because they are onscreen for what, 15 seconds? Before you know it, it's gone and the next match is being shown. I don't care for them much myself, but I don't think they are big enough of a deal to rant about.

I do, however, like the idea of showing trivia about the wrestlers on the "Did you know?" things, because the fans could learn more about the wrestlers.

 

[Shazam!]

they're fine by me since they're so short, they dont piss me off but they are pretty useless. after all, who is actually impressed with the facts that they show? nobody really.

 

[Chicago1989]

I'm all for elimination of the "Did You Know?" clips as well. But if they must keep them, let them be facts that are relevant to wrestling, like who came up with the name of "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. That's something I'd like to know.

Well I think Curt Hennig was the one who came up with "The Heartbreak Kid" for Shawn Michaels if that answers your question.

But anyways, I also agree that this "Did you know?" thing is stupid and a waste of time. All it is it's nothing more than what the WWE is very good at and that's ego stroking. You know WWE..."biggest company in the world".

Big companies= Big egos and attitudes. That's what any companies "mantra" is..

 

[Notorious718]

The "Did You Know" clips don't really bother me even though I do agree that they're pretty useless. I mean it's sooooo fascinating to know that WWE has held more shows outside the US than NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB combined. Something I've also noticed, they usually do repeats of these "fascinating" facts for weeks at a time. I guess WWE's running out of interesting facts that we don't know about. But really though, they're no big deal. I mean they only air for like what...? 10 - 15 seconds? They don't really take anything away from the show so it's really not a problem for me.

 

[shafe_41]

If the "Did you knows..." bother you so badly that you have to make an entire thread about it and bash how "dumb and pointless" they are, then turn off the channel. Hell, hit the "prev ch" button on your remote and flip away from the station for that 10 seconds or less. A little factoid never killed anybody. Christ. What's next? Are we going to start complaining that Jerry Lawler's shirts are too shiny and they take away from the show? Or that the entrance ramp is too long/short? Or maybe you think the ring ropes should be lime green? Shut. the. eff. up.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The "Did You Know" stuff is hardly a big deal. Personally, I think this thread is little more than an excuse for some to just piss on something connected to the WWE. The "Did You Know" stuff is on the screen for a whole 10 or 12 seconds maybe? It's not that big of a deal. The little segments give examples of the WWE outdrawing shows on networks, mentions organizations the WWE is connected with, gives examples of how well known the WWE possibly is, etc. The WWE is hyping its product and it's not a big deal. They do it on Raw maybe twice a night, it's really not that big of a friggin' deal.

 

[Tastycles]

When you have an audience obsessed with ratings, then you get ratings based propaganda. Nobody in the world knows or cares how many people watched their favourite sitcom or they're favourite sports team's last match, but the wrestling community, and not exclusively the IWC, has taken it upon itself to get a boner about the ratings they get. Unsurprisingly, the WWE has decided to exploit that with this kind of thing. The facts are all bent out of proportion - of course WWE.com gets more views than MLB.com, because WWE.com is the only place where you can get kayfabe wrestling news, compared to every western news site for the MLB.

I don't think they really add or subtract from my viewing experience, but they are certainly less interesting than the suggestions made in the first post.

 

[mcflyboy]

Fortunately, I tape the wrestling programs so I can just fast forward through those.

But I don't see the point of the "did you know" clips either. If you're already a fan of the WWE product, it's not going to change your viewing habits. If you're not a fan, then you won't be watching anyway. And if you're on the fence, I cannot imagine anyone reading those and thinking "Oh wow, more males 18-35 watched RAW last week than american idol? Well, I better keep watching in that case."

And let's not forget to include in that vein, Michael Cole reminding us once per hour that we are watching "the longest running weekly episodic show in television history". Sure, that was a milestone when it first occurred but do we really need that drilled into our heads twice an episode since it happened?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I don't really mind the "Did You Know" parts of WWE shows. I think it's just an attempt to WOW people on WWE's part. I also think it's WWE's way of flexing their muscle when they show the ticket sales,TV ratings, and website page views. It's like they're saying,"Yeah were #1, and here's the proof!" Sometimes the "Did You Know" stuff interests me, but there are times when it is just a bunch of meaningless info.

 

[The New Generation]

i watch every episode of Raw every week with my brother, and everytime we see the Did You Know? fact pop up, we look at eachother thinking, "This Is Stupid." We then make fun of the fact that no one cares that more woman tuned into Monday night Raw last week then any show on HBO. it makes the WWE look egotistacle and almost as if they are trying to hard to impress thier viewers with ego boasting facts.

I think that having facts about WWE Superstars or Trivia Questions would work alot better as it gets people interested as they feel connected when trying to answer a question. I would love to know facts about my favorite WWE Superstar that i didn't know,(that made me sound like a 9 year old Cena fan).

I ultimatly don't care about the 15 seconds it takes up, but i do think they should either get rid of it or replace it with something else.

 

[ColdPlay3r]

the "did you know???" clips are too short for me to be bothered with. the segment does not affect on how i would rate that weekly show of raw.

if anyone has a problem with them they should just blink and it will all be over.

 

[I_Like_All_Wrestling]

It's funny how annoying people find this. I'm also not a fan of the "Did You Know" segment, but that's because every time I see one it's a ridiculous claim like "did you know last week RAW was watched more than any other show on tv, on any day, combined?" or "did you know wwe.com received more visits and google/facebook/youtube/wikipedia/yahoo/amazon/espn/cnn/ combined?"

Interesting, but I can't believe that based on accepted methods of gauging web traffic. Based on what everyone else is saying here it seems like there are others...but I guess I miss them. I do agree that legit trivia or "on this day in xxx" would be much more interesting. Even if RAW was the highest show ever and beat every single show combined I'm not sure most viewers care.