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Some of Todays Wrestling News and Rumours (Possible spoilers) ***NO CHAT***

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  • Registered Users Posts: 8,470 ✭✭✭brianregan09


    Its unfortunate how WWE see's him , I'd love to see him show up in WWE the smarks as there called I could definitly see them getting behind him like they have with Bryan


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,478 ✭✭✭✭gnfnrhead


    Riddle101 wrote: »
    Tell that to Prince Devitt who seems content wrestling for New Japan.

    He is finally on the cusp on the main event picture in the second biggest promotion in the world. Considering he rarely wrestles for other promotions, he must be getting well paid too. Why on earth would anyone give that up to wrestle on the waste of time that is NXT for the next four years?


  • Registered Users Posts: 84,341 ✭✭✭✭JP Liz V1


    Source

    In the latest issue of WWE Magazine (cover dated January 2014, featuring John Cena on the cover), Kaitlyn pays tribute to fellow Texan “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in a photo shoot. In an accompanying interview, the Hybrid Diva reveals that she would like to bring back memories of the legendary wrestler’s feud with Vince McMahon by going one-on-one with Stephanie McMahon.
    “In response to who her ideal WrestleMania opponent would be, Kaitlyn remarked, “Stephanie McMahon! I’d love to see our names in lights together because she seems untouchable now, and it would be epic if we could bring back memories of the Austin vs. McMahon rivalry with Kaitlyn vs. McMahon.”
    Elsewhere in the interview, Kaitlyn says she is most proud of helping change the general view on the preferred mold for female wrestlers. She states, “I made it acceptable to be something other than a cookie-cutter prototype for the women in this business. I know there are a few who claim something similar, but do those ladies also look good with two different colors in their hair?”


  • Registered Users Posts: 23,085 ✭✭✭✭J. Marston


    Haven't watched TNA in years but when I did, I thought Styles was brilliant. Would be great to see him in WWE.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,478 ✭✭✭✭gnfnrhead


    JP Liz V1 wrote: »
    Source

    In the latest issue of WWE Magazine (cover dated January 2014, featuring John Cena on the cover), Kaitlyn pays tribute to fellow Texan “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in a photo shoot. In an accompanying interview, the Hybrid Diva reveals that she would like to bring back memories of the legendary wrestler’s feud with Vince McMahon by going one-on-one with Stephanie McMahon.
    “In response to who her ideal WrestleMania opponent would be, Kaitlyn remarked, “Stephanie McMahon! I’d love to see our names in lights together because she seems untouchable now, and it would be epic if we could bring back memories of the Austin vs. McMahon rivalry with Kaitlyn vs. McMahon.”
    Elsewhere in the interview, Kaitlyn says she is most proud of helping change the general view on the preferred mold for female wrestlers. She states, “I made it acceptable to be something other than a cookie-cutter prototype for the women in this business. I know there are a few who claim something similar, but do those ladies also look good with two different colors in their hair?”

    She must have been dropped on her head lately. AJ has done more for the division than Kaitlyn and would be the only Diva that would have a chance of a match against Stephanie.


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  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 42,347 Mod ✭✭✭✭Lord TSC


    Forbes has released it's "Top 10 Highest Grossing Actors of 2013". And the winner is our very own Dwayne Johnson :D

    1. Dwayne Johnson - $1.3 billion
    2. Robert Downey Jr - $1.2 billion
    3. Steve Carell - $964 million
    4. Vin Diesel - $887 million
    5. Sandra Bullock - $862 million
    6. Paul Walker - $789 million
    7. Billy Crystal - $743 million
    8. John Goodman - $743 million
    9. Chris Hemsworth - $701 million
    10. Jennifer Lawrence - $700 million


    Note: That's how much their movies earned, not how much they earned themselves. Fast and Furious 6 obviously was a main factor, when you see Diesel and Walker also made the top 10.


  • Registered Users Posts: 32,603 ✭✭✭✭CSF


    gnfnrhead wrote: »
    She must have been dropped on her head lately. AJ has done more for the division than Kaitlyn and would be the only Diva that would have a chance of a match against Stephanie.
    To be fair, it is just her ideal opponent she was asked for. Wouldn't have looked too well on her if she pointed out that she'd be ridiculously lucky to feature in a match at Wrestlemania at all!!!




  • PWInsider is reporting that the WWE Title belt will be used going forward as the new "WWE World Heavyweight Championship" belt.

    Would have preferred if they kept the big gold belt but I had a feeling they wouldn't get rid of the the new belt after only introducing it this year.


  • Registered Users Posts: 838 ✭✭✭A Rogue Hobo


    More than happy with that, the WWE title grows on me everytime I see it. Don't get me wrong I love the gold belt, but to me it's never been THE belt if that makes any sense.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,066 ✭✭✭Tramps Like Us


    More than happy with that, the WWE title grows on me everytime I see it. Don't get me wrong I love the gold belt, but to me it's never been THE belt if that makes any sense.

    The opposite for me.... 'Twas the wrestling belt...


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  • Registered Users Posts: 838 ✭✭✭A Rogue Hobo


    The opposite for me.... 'Twas the wrestling belt...

    Yeah true, but I dunno, it's always just sort of felt like the adopted stepchild after the Invasion storyline. I guess I just couldn't shake it off that it's the WCW belt.


  • Registered Users Posts: 23,085 ✭✭✭✭J. Marston


    I understand why they're using the WWE belt but I think it would have been better for the Champ to have both belts.

    Looks much more prestigious.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,368 ✭✭✭Riddle101


    gnfnrhead wrote: »
    He is finally on the cusp on the main event picture in the second biggest promotion in the world. Considering he rarely wrestles for other promotions, he must be getting well paid too. Why on earth would anyone give that up to wrestle on the waste of time that is NXT for the next four years?

    My point was, I don't think it would be that hard to believe if some wrestlers didn't mind not working for WWE. Some wrestlers might be just content doing what they're doing, hence why Devitt is probably happy doing what he's doing, and doesn't have ambitions to go to the WWE.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 23,089 ✭✭✭✭rovert


    Between Kaitlyn and The Shield signing her mugshot and a picture of the Big Bossman respectfully. AJ Lee is SO going to have to sign that drawing of her the next time she signs at Smyths in Dublin City Centre.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,846 ✭✭✭Moneymaker


    rovert wrote: »
    Between Kaitlyn and The Shield signing her mugshot and a picture of the Big Bossman respectfully. AJ Lee is SO going to have to sign that drawing of her the next time she signs at Smyths in Dublin City Centre.

    I'm sure she probably hears the Lita/Punk stuff everyday so doubt it will be anything new to her tbh.

    All the same you might want to take a step back :pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭JrdanB


    rovert wrote: »
    Between Kaitlyn and The Shield signing her mugshot and a picture of the Big Bossman respectfully. AJ Lee is SO going to have to sign that drawing of her the next time she signs at Smyths in Dublin City Centre.

    They were both me!

    I'm on it for May!


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,820 ✭✭✭grames_bond




  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 23,089 ✭✭✭✭rovert


    Zeb Coulter says "Happy Christmas" instead


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,110 ✭✭✭takamichinoku


    That WWE happy holidays video made me shiver


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 767 ✭✭✭SimonQuinlank


    WWE hope to make big money on TV rights in the new year,and are also considering broadcasting Smackdown live.
    If USA Network wants to retain its biggest hit, “Monday Night Raw,” it’s gonna have to pay.

    Next month, for the first time, WWE will shop the rights to “Raw” and all of its shows at the same time — a list of weekly series that includes Syfy’s “Friday Night SmackDown,” “Main Event” on ION Television, the CW’s “Saturday Morning Slam” and reality show “Total Divas” on E!

    The goal is to significantly increase the $139.5 million in TV licensing fees WWE earns each year for its shows, and attempt to get closer to the rich network deals that sports organizations like the NBA, NHL NASCAR, as well as soccer command.

    In the past, deals for WWE’s series were brokered individually on a staggered timeline, usually every three to four years or so. But WWE has spent nearly two years quietly lining up rights to expire simultaneously in an effort to secure higher fees and appease shareholders who have grown increasingly frustrated that the company’s TV deals are not worth more at a time when live “event” programming is more valuable than ever.

    By offering up all its shows at once, “We’re letting the marketplace determine if it’s interested in all or pieces,” says Michelle Wilson, WWE’s chief revenue and marketing officer. The company also is tackling a self-inflicted perception problem. For years, it’s touted its over-the-top characters and soap opera storylines ahead of the live aspect of the year-round action in the ring.

    “We’ve had to evolve our thinking,” Wilson says. “We are clearly entertainment-based, but if you think about the characteristics of our brand, it’s live action, and that’s sports. We want to be compensated for a live audience, since live content is getting a very significant premium in the marketplace.”

    The company cites Nascar’s impressive dealmaking this summer as an example. The racing league secured a new 10-year deal with NBC and Fox worth $820 million a year. And that increase came in the face of declining ratings for many of its races. WWE argues that “Raw” and “SmackDown” alone are just as attractive, with a rabid fanbase that’s helped build networks, and its series are diverse in ethnicity and age.

    Combined, the shows air 156 episodes a year that average a 2.2 household rating. Nascar airs 154 races and averages a 1.38 household rating among viewers, who are 92% white and over 50. WWE’s audience is far more diverse and broken out fairly evenly among age groups. A selling point is that 44% of them are under 34.

    That’s helped boost gross ratings points, something Madison Avenue keeps a close eye on. Another plus for WWE: 90% of “Raw’s” and “SmackDown’s” viewers watch the shows live plus same day, making the shows DVR proof. (Think NBC’s latest stunt with “The Sound of Music”.)

    “The value of live content has gone from becoming important to essential,” says George Barrios, WWE’s chief strategy and financial officer. “As a network, if you don’t have live must-see content your existence comes into question.”

    To make its show more attractive, WWE is considering a live version of its two-hour “SmackDown,” which currently is taped on Tuesday before its Friday airing. To do that, costs to produce the series would increase, due to scheduling, and the show would likely need to move to a new night. But WWE would be willing to make the switch in return for a better fee for the series.

    WWE added a third hour to “Raw” last year (starting with its 1,000th episode) in an effort to expand storylines, increase exposure for its stars, but also enable USA to generate more advertising revenue after three-hour specials performed well.

    The Stamford, Conn.-based company ideally would like to partner with a conglomerate that owns a variety of channels the way NBCU currently airs many of WWE’s shows. Along with “Raw,” “SmackDown” and “Total Divas,” specials like “Tribute to the Troops” and a shortened version of its annual “WrestleMania” pay-per-view also air on NBC. WWE already has reached out to or held meetings with the expected list of players who own a variety of channels hungry for programming, including A&E, Disney, Viacom, 21st Century Fox and Discovery.

    Negotiations and bids can’t take place until Feb. 15, when NBCU accepts or rejects WWE’s final offer; other bids are due Feb. 28, with WWE set to select its media partners by March 4. Should a new deal with another conglom happen, WWE’s shows wouldn’t move to a new network until October.

    Yet even as WWE makes the rounds of media congloms, industry insiders say they believe there is no way that NBCUniversal will loosen its grip on WWE. “Monday Night Raw” is a huge contributor to USA’s bottom line and weekly ratings stats; without “Raw” on its schedule, USA Network would drop from first place to as low as No. 4 among basic entertainment networks, costing the company premium advertising dollars. Syfy would also lose a sizable audience without “SmackDown,” which has raised viewership by 35% for the network. “Divas” is a hit for E! but has perhaps has benefitted WWE more, given that it’s helped the company attract more women, which currently make up around 35% of its audience.

    The third hour of “Raw” is up 44% vs. programming that aired in the timeslot last year. “Saturday Morning Slam” is up 34% for the CW, “Main Event” is up 25% for ION and “Divas” has boosted ratings 166% for E!

    WWE’s pay-per-views, including annual juggernauts “WrestleMania” and “SummerSlam” won’t be part of the negotiations, since those will air on the company’s new subscription-based WWE Network, which will also include original series and access to the company’s VOD library. Launch plans for the channel, which WWE sees as its own NFL Network, have yet to be revealed. However, WWE maintains that it could break even on the venture if it can sign up 800,000 to 1 million subscribers willing to pay around $10 to $14 per month.

    Digital next-day rights to shows would also become part of any new licensing deal with a TV network, costing Hulu Plus the programming it currently airs. In the past, TV Everywhere wasn’t a hot topic for networks when WWE inked its current network deals.

    “Partners who pay licensing fees are now expecting to get the TV Everywhere distribution rights,” Barrios says.

    As it tries to land a better deal, WWE is ready to flex some of its marketing muscle, eager to show off how it’s been able to attract more high-profile advertisers to sponsor its PPVs and tie-in with its wrestlers, known as Superstars. Those now include General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Disney, Doritos, DreamWorks, Paramount, Kmart, Subway, Taco Bell, Colgate, Frito-Lay, Schick and Mattel — attractive to any network, since the channels are the entities that sell and earn the ad dollars. WWE controls PPV sponsorships, digital ad sales and talent appearances.

    Other revenue streams also must be taken into consideration. WWE’s social media teams also connect with millions of fans daily, while its magazine, websites, toy lines, YouTube channel (for which it produces 10 to 12 hours of original programming a year) and videogames are popular — and ratings rise for shows that feature WWE’s talent roster, including John Cena (see above), as guest stars.

    “WWE is a proven ratings juggernaut, making USA Network No. 1 for the past eight years and delivering more average viewers than every sports property, with the exception of the NFL,” said WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon in a statement to Variety. “Given the increasing demand for live, DVR-proof content, we believe the market will value our programming significantly above where we’ve been in the past.”

    Adds Wilson of the upcoming negotiations: “This is new territory we’re in. All of the things we’ve done over the last five years have helped raise the profile of our brand and there’s recognition from the marketplace of what we deliver. Now it’s up to the marketplace to tell us if we’re worth it.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,448 ✭✭✭Garseys


    WWE hope to make big money on TV rights in the new year,and are also considering broadcasting Smackdown live.

    Isn't there talk aswell of WWE wanting BSkyB to pay more for distribution over here aswell? (Especially since the advent of BT Sport)

    tbh you can't blame WWE for wanting a better deal out of NBCU. Wonder what Time Warner are thinking? :pac:


  • Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 12,013 Mod ✭✭✭✭jaykhunter


    That's great but WWE's ratings have been sloping downwards for many months. They should've tried to line them up to expire around Mania time to shop a deal at WWE's peak interest.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,110 ✭✭✭takamichinoku


    I dunno, people would be aware they're buying something at its annual peak there, I'd suspect. The fact they've this reliable audience year round and its got some of the live appeal thing that sports have, it's probably one of very few remotely dependable investments on the market.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,246 CMod ✭✭✭✭Nody


    I dunno, people would be aware they're buying something at its annual peak there, I'd suspect. The fact they've this reliable audience year round and its got some of the live appeal thing that sports have, it's probably one of very few remotely dependable investments on the market.
    Part of my job is dealing with a very volatile product (European international transport on trucks) and depending on when we request the qoutation (lets say for a 1 year contract) we'll get very different prices from a company depending on the date (i.e. we would never sign a contract in Q4 for example).


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,110 ✭✭✭takamichinoku


    Wow, really? Is that something more to do with whatever kind of companies you're ordering from are more likely to be doing all of their buying within a specific patch of the year?

    Pretty sure WWE would get something of a free pass during football season too, so the usual bump they get next month might be the ideal time to start shopping it around if that's the case.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 23,089 ✭✭✭✭rovert


    Lots of sources are reporting varying things but it seems most likely he has re-signed and when he did was last Friday according Jason Powell.

    Listened to his interview with PWInsider yesterday and he wasn't the level of butt hurt you would expect him to be about losing a high playing gig and spoke about the situation in promo/storyline voice.

    Would be shocked if he didn't honour his indy bookings if he came back to TNA.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,478 ✭✭✭✭gnfnrhead


    rovert wrote: »
    Lots of sources are reporting varying things but it seems most likely he has re-signed and when he did was last Friday according Jason Powell.

    Listened to his interview with PWInsider yesterday and he wasn't the level of butt hurt you would expect him to be about losing a high playing gig and spoke about the situation in promo/storyline voice.

    Would be shocked if he didn't honour his indy bookings if he came back to TNA.

    I'm assuming Styles? :P

    His bookings have been odd. Every single one of them are for tiny promotions. Contrast that to Hero, who was instantly in with the big three, and something is up.


  • Registered Users Posts: 871 ✭✭✭gerTheGreat


    Any word on Sting? His contract was meant to be up at the end of the year too. Would be nice to see that Sting vs. 'Taker 'Mania match if he didn't resign with TNA


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,029 ✭✭✭salacious crumb


    Any word on Sting? His contract was meant to be up at the end of the year too. Would be nice to see that Sting vs. 'Taker 'Mania match if he didn't resign with TNA


    Oh please. Sting's name doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as 'Takers :pac:


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  • Registered Users Posts: 871 ✭✭✭gerTheGreat


    Oh please. Sting's name doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as 'Takers :pac:

    Says the WWE fan. :D


This discussion has been closed.
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