Wrestling Observer speculating about huge WWE story

Vince135792003

From the observer preview/advertisement:

One of the lead stories is a WWE story that, with no exaggeration, if what is being talked about, and one major exec has already publicly talked about it, would be the biggest news story in the modern pro wrestling business since the folding of WCW in 2001. We have what was talked about, others who have tried things similar, the pluses and minuses of something that if it takes place, will change the business in a gigantic way.

My guess is that WWE are talking of buying Pride and getting into to MMA.

fatal

WWE have know for a while now how well the UFC is doing in terms of ratings and I would guess that Vince has been looking into it.
It has been said before that Vince has looked into starting his own MMA promotion but since pride isnt doing great,im sure that vince has looked at pride for a possible buyout.......
Whatever it is,it sounds like its HUGE.....I cant wait for this story to drop......

Mr.Nice Guy

Apparently Shane O'Mac is a big MMA fan so it wouldn't surprise me greatly if he has had a word in Vince's ear. Apparently he was a big factor in ECW's return too.

I'm just wondering if the story might actually be the end of the brand split. Apparently Backlash is set to feature talent from all brands and I've heard people say that the Great American Bash is being listed as being brought to you by Raw/Smackdown/ECW.

Double C

That's probably something to do with this

The new CFO of WWE, Michael Selick, revealed in Financial Week that the company is exploring the possibility of establishing separate WWE promotions running full-time in separate international markets. If everything went ahead it would go so far as to include separate TV tapings and storylines for each region, turning WWE from an overseas novelty into a local promotion.

Things are still in the preliminary stages but Vince McMahon has discussed it in detail with Stephanie, John Laurinaitis and others in the inner circle. The territories mentioned include a 'Pacific' region covering Japan, South Korea, China and Australia, a 'Hispanic' territory for Puerto Rico, Mexico and South America, and a European territory, with perhaps a Russian one at a later date. Meanwhile, in the USA, there would be two touring brands, most likely Raw and ECW, with Smackdown becoming the Hispanic brand as it is already well established in the market. Big pay increases would be given to senior agents and creative team members to move themselves and their families overseas, with potential performance bonuses depending on how well business goes. It would start off with a TV executive producer with experience of the region working closely with one agent and one writer who would be running the territory. There would also be a crew of wrestlers, who would also be expected to move their families overseas. Paul Heyman's name has actually been mentioned in connection to the Pacific region.

Shane McMahon, along with Selick, is working on a business plan for the venture, which remains in its formative stages. Potential drawbacks include the cost of producing WWE calibre shows, around $500,000 per week, and how TV stations in areas like Mexico would respond to the price. There is also the danger of international markets already beginning to get overexposed. Recent Japanese tours have not performed particularly well, there were concerns over the number of Australian tours, while advances for the next batch of Mexican dates have been well below expectations. Also, though WWE can get away with charging high prices for their shows at the moment as it is a novelty, doing so repeatedly would not help when taking on promotions like CMLL or AAA.

If it did come to pass then a lot of new wrestlers would of course be hired, as there would be a minimum of five brands. They are looking at promoting each market using both established WWE stars and top babyfaces based on ethnic backgrounds. Carlito, Mistico and Mysterio would be assigned to the Hispanic brand as top stars, they would look for a top Asian and Australian babyface, and guys like Regal, Finlay, Harry Smith and Paul Burchill could be assigned major roles in Europe. They would also likely raid the local markets in Japan and Mexico, whilst bringing back more of the '80s and '90s stars to make up the numbers. The only sure thing about the creative team members is that neither Stephanie McMahon nor Brian Gerwitz would work internationally. Gerwitz would likely become the chief writer of the USA brands, while Stephanie would hire more TV writers with Hollywood experience. Word is that the interntaionaly territories would be handled by Shane, with Vince concentrating on domestic business, though many have suggested that Vince's personality means he would want to be involved everywhere anyway.

oneofakind32

sounds risky, XFL comes to mind for some reason

Vince135792003

oneofakind32 wrote:

sounds risky, XFL comes to mind for some reason

Well I was wrong. It is what Double C reported and if it came about, it would be huge. The big difference here is that this is wrestling. Vince knows how to promote wrestling. He's done so arguably as good anybody. He didn't know how to promote football.

Its a pretty original idea but to me I think its a big big ask for something like this to work. Vince is very hands on and everything seems to flow through him in terms of the company's structure. You couldn't do that with this and I'd have my doubts whether Vince could handle that or not.

You can look at it a zillion ways. From Vince's perspective if it worked (and its a big if), he would not only dominate North American wrestling but pretty much the entire world. And with that comes lots of money. But its risky.

If they do this, I don't think they will do it all at the 1 time. I could see them testing the water out, doing 1 region first. If it goes well, they do another and so on. If it crumbles, they scrap the whole thing which limits the risk

Its a very interesting idea though.

Charlie

Without sounding pig ignorant, does Vince not already dominate the Global wrestling market? I mean, I know there are a few strong Mexican brands, but could Vince not expand his operations a bit in that territory.

As a fan of WWE's current product, I would rather know that I am seeing what the yanks are getting (which presumably would be the big stars, e.g. HBK, Taker, Benoit) than a program that features regional European wrestling.

Mr.Nice Guy

Holy sh*t that is huge if that's their plan, though I agree with charlie that it's a bit ignorant to think we in Europe would take to guys like Finlay and Regal when the yanks would be getting Taker and Michaels.

Fozzy

That is huge news, and the biggest thing about it I think is that Vince couldn't possibly have total control over the whole thing. If it really did go that big, it would be impossible for him to be hands on with anything other than the American brand. Realistically I could see him being in charge for at least another 10 years, but some day that will change, and maybe it's going to happen sooner than later

I'm in two minds over this at the moment. There are a lot of good promotions and good wrestlers around the world, especially in Japan and Mexico. If WWE branch into those markets and snap up their stars, it may bring about a downturn in wrestling in those places. On the other hand, it may help drill up interest in wrestling in Europe, and in turn help local promotions, and maybe even spawn a major European wrestling promotion to rival them

Like it was mentioned, I don't believe that non-American fans would appreciate their local promotion getting non-main eventers as their stars, seeing as all these countries have WWE shows on their tv's and they know who's who. Couple that with WWE's failure to really create any huge stars in the last few years, and it is asking a lot for it to work in the long term


EDIT: Hmm, I just thought about how you could compare this to the WWF in the mid 80's. Vince took the top stars from the American territories and took their business. This is along the same lines, but on a global scale. So to kick things off, they could have a Wrestlemania 1-style event in whatever market they're doing. That appeals to me for whatever reason

Another EDIT: Just realised that the guy who talked about this is only newly appointed as the CFO of WWE, so maybe it's just big talk as he wants to make an impact

Not another EDIT: Yer man isn't the new CFO. He was the CFO, now he's the COO. At the risk of sounding intelligent, I was wondering for a moment why the top Financial guy would be talkin about expanding the company

Vince135792003

Fozzy wrote:

Like it was mentioned, I don't believe that non-American fans would appreciate their local promotion getting non-main eventers as their stars,

I don't think thats a big issue. Take Meixco for example, I could easily see them warning to a promotion led by Mistico, Mysterio, Shocker or whoever WWE wanted. They'd love it I think.

Plus I'm sure it wouldn't something that is set in stone. You could easily see guys alternating from 1 brand to another because it would freshen them up. It could be like in the 70's and 80's when guys went from 1 territory to another.

Plus, Vince would be aware that alot of people over here have been used to seeing the US product. He's a smart guy. I'm sure he'd find a way of creating money out of people paying to see each brand. And if he didn't there is always the net.


But could you imagine a Wrestlemania that brought all of the worldwide territories together? It could be insanely huge.

On Charlies point, WWE are obviously the big world wide wrestling promotion. But doing something like this is totally different. You'd have a situation in Meixco for example where WWE would be competing on a weekly basis with AAA and CMLL (promotion thats been around for 80+ years). Thats huge.

In saying all that, its all guess work at this stage. You could be here all night and still get nowhere close to what it actually might end up being or not being for that matter. Its fun thinking about it though.

Fozzy

To be honest, I'm not so sure many American wrestlers would appreciate having to tour some other continent. They're away from home most of the week anyway, but it's mainly in their own country. Probably over 90% of WWE wrestlers are American, and it'd be hard to convince them to get up and leave for an extended period of time. Even the likes of Finlay, he must be living in America for the past 10 years or more

A WWE brand featuring Mistico and Mysterio on top is hard to comprehend as a WWE brand at the moment. They'd probably figure out some way of not pushing any cruiserweight even if the whole roster consists of them!

I look forward to what comes of this though. Especially if it creates more interest in wrestling around the world

Vince135792003

Fozzy wrote:

To be honest, I'm not so sure many American wrestlers would appreciate having to tour some other continent.

Its a business. Wrestlers will do it if the money is right (not that I'm saying they would like it). They always have and always will. And very few say no to Vince McMahon.


I'm sure it'll be a topic of conversation in a few wrestling households this week one way or another.

In a Mexican WWE brand I can see him pushing them huge. An American audience is different to a Mexican one. I think Vince would get that.

Plus its not unknown for Mistico to main event 4 sell out shows for CMLL in the 1 Sunday (which is crazy). Thats the kind of thing that Vince won't ignore.

In 6 months time this could all be nothing. But it could just be something too. But if they do go ahead with it, its a very long term project. It won't happen overnight.

Fozzy

There's so much that would have to go into this. Mexican wrestling is completely different from WWE. They tend to have mostly two out of three falls 6 man tag matches. It'd be interesting to see if another concept of wrestling would do well there

And of course, what would it mean for TNA? Less competition for them in America probably

Whatever happens Mistico, I just hope that Monito gets to stay with him! Weirdest thing ever

Vince135792003

Fozzy wrote:

And of course, what would it mean for TNA? Less competition for them in America probably

r

Maybe or maybe not. I'm sure WWE would be aware that hardcores would pay (if the product was good) for more than just their local brand. They could do an online subscription on they're site or even create they're own international tv station broadcasting all of the brands.

I'm beginning to feel like Fr. Dougal Maguire when he was visiting the caves. Its just all a little too much for me to take in.

Apart of me thinks this won't even get off the ground. But my mind can't help wandering.

triple h

charlie mchugh wrote:

Without sounding pig ignorant, does Vince not already dominate the Global wrestling market? I mean, I know there are a few strong Mexican brands, but could Vince not expand his operations a bit in that territory.

As a fan of WWE's current product, I would rather know that I am seeing what the yanks are getting (which presumably would be the big stars, e.g. HBK, Taker, Benoit) than a program that features regional European wrestling.

I agree with charlie.

Also i would most likely lose interest in wwe if they did this.

Minto

****ing hell, WWE are potentially going to change the face of wrestling forever if this goes ahead. I hope it doesn't, because WWE are fairly watered down as it is at the moment. Three brands are hard ehough to keep up with, let alone 4 or 5 more being added. I think a Mexican brand i.e. SmackDown! is a good idea, maybe even a Japanese brand, but keep the US brands (RAW and ECW) for the European market and just promote more US brand shows in Europe.

I wouldn't have minded if WWE had bought PRIDE, because I would be more competition for UFC, but WWE (Vince) would probably have Lashley show up on the first show and destroy a big group of MMA guys!

triple h

I was thinking for the past two years ( to myself) that some day vince will cut out the tv stations and have his shows on wwe.com only. I just reckon it was going to happen cause they are telling people to go to wwe,com all the ttime.

maybe we will still be able to watch the shows on wwe.com OR maybe He will run RAW, ECW and SD as usual and regional shows can been seen on wwe.com for a hmm hmm small fee. Then in a few years time it will be flipped around where regional shows will be shown on tv and RAW, ECW and SD can be seen on wwe.com for a hmm hmm small fee.

Superstars could on RAW, ECW, SD and regional shows at any time.

Cactus Col

Actually ... this sounds amazing! I love the idea, and it gives local wrestlers a much better chance of making it big and making a proper living from it.

Jonny Arson

Ah I knew Vince would eventually kill the WWE someday!

TBH sounds like a pure and utter disaster in the making

ff101

logistically it doesnt make sense and there wouldn't be the demand. and as someone pointed out earlier u wud have the UK/Euro maket stuck with guys likw Regal because no big star would ever move to a regional programme. also there would be crossover issues. at the moment somebody like Edge could move to any of the brands and be one of the top guys. where as if you had several regional groups the same wouldnt happen. say wrestler X who was massive in oz and then vince decided to bring him to the US he's gonna lose on two counts 1- he has to built this guy from scratch in the states coz they aint gonna know who he is and then he deprives another group of one of their top stars. its never going to happen.

.

ff101

logistically it doesnt make sense and there wouldn't be the demand. and as someone pointed out earlier u wud have the UK/Euro maket stuck with guys likw Regal because no big star would ever move to a regional programme. also there would be crossover issues. at the moment somebody like Edge could move to any of the brands and be one of the top guys. where as if you had several regional groups the same wouldnt happen. say wrestler X who was massive in oz and then vince decided to bring him to the US he's gonna lose on two counts 1- he has to built this guy from scratch in the states coz they aint gonna know who he is and then he deprives another group of one of their top stars. its never going to happen.

however regional feeder groups like Heartland or OVW are a very good possibilty.


all these things prove is that Vince is struggling for Superstars and with only TNA as competition (and there guys dont fit his juiced up stereotype) he has to do something

Fozzy

It's making me think of something Raven talked about in an interview I was listening to yesterday. He said that 20 years ago, every guy on tv would have competed for at least 5 years in a regional territory, and there were about 20/30 of those. So whatever mistakes the guys made, they'd made them on these shows, in front of a few hundred at most. These days they make their mistakes in front of millions. This could be some sort of feeder promotion plan, like ff101 mentioned. Maybe Vince doesn't think there's any point in trying to start any smaller promotions in America, as the market's either too saturated or there's more money to be made abroad. It would mean that the guys they bring up to tv would be a lot more experienced than most of the guys they've brought up recently. You won't see Punk making any mistakes

Anyway, my point is that they mightn't be looking to start full-fledged brands as big as Raw, it might be a lot smaller than that, which I would find a lot more realistic

Might have been Foley who said that stuff actually..

Cactus Col

ff101 wrote:

stuck with guys likw Regal

But regal is a class act, and a great wrestler. We don't get Batista here? so what as long as we have people who can put on good matchs. I wouldn't complain if it meant we got to see Finlay and Regal go head to head on a few shows.

It is a big risk, but if they can pull it off it would be absolutely fantastic.

The Sparrow

ff101 wrote:

as someone pointed out earlier u wud have the UK/Euro maket stuck with guys likw Regal because no big star would ever move to a regional programme. also there would be crossover issues. at the moment somebody like Edge could move to any of the brands and be one of the top guys. where as if you had several regional groups the same wouldnt happen. say wrestler X who was massive in oz and then vince decided to bring him to the US he's gonna lose on two counts 1- he has to built this guy from scratch in the states coz they aint gonna know who he is and then he deprives another group of one of their top stars. its never going to happen.

You have pretty much described the old territory system in the USA that existed for years before Vince came along. And that worked perfectly fine. I think you are forgetting that stars will have to be made in the European/Asian/Mexican territories! Thats pretty much what happened before in the states. For instance a star would be made in Florida and his reputation would spread through out the USA by way of newsletters and magazines and then when the guy got burned out in Florida or wherever he would move to a new territory and be aa fresh new star because the people there would not have seen him but just heard how amazing he was.

And that was before the internet! Imagine what you could do now? Obviously they would have to do it right. But if you they built up a huge star in Europe, they could use all of their shows in the States and the internet to build up the guy as a mega star by showing brief clips or promos and packages of him for a while and then bang when he comes in hes the man! Its wrestling booking 101 and having territories is in many ways much more preferable for a company like WWE. ANd guys would have a chance to develop away from the glare of teh big time in the USA. I think its a genius idea.