To truly have guys in the business who "draw money" again, we would have to pitch out the dreck like Bischoff and others who don't respect or understand wrestling, who think they are Emmy award winning "real" TV producers, ditch the comedy writers like Russo and Stephanie McMahon's comic reading college kids, and push wrestlers who win, lose and chase championships. People will watch what wrestling is now on TV for free, and a few hundred thousand might buy the pPV's, but ticket sales for wrestling will NEVER approach what they once were without taking those steps.
That is why all the guys today who are actually draws, who sell live event tickets and PPV's in big numbers, almost all work for Dana White, the most successful pro wrestling promoter in the world. He just calls it UFC. Bischoff sees no similarity bewtween MMA/UFC and pro wrestling, which is why he is doomed to be a guy that was successful for 2 years out of a 20 year career. BTW, what other executive in any company actively dislikes, disagrees with, ignores and insults the 10% of people who are most dedicated to/spend the most money on their product or service?
Jim Cornette responds to Eric Bischoff's statement about ROH being nothing more than a vanity project.
almost 2 years ago
John Lamb
8 comments
0 recs |
Email
PrintComments
To answer his last question
Dana White
Forget it Donny, you're out of your element.
Cagesideseats.com
Definitely true
But I think that while the internet fan base is certainly rabid about the UFC and MMA in general it’s that other 90% that makes his company outrageously profitable. Who cares what the dweebs on the internet think when Joey Bagadonuts is willing to open his wallet for anything that carries th e UFC logo? The internet fan stopped being relevant to Dana and Co. when the so-called ‘dark ages’ ended.
And frankly
what the internet fan wants is not always what is best.
And when you think about it...
Barring some HUGE clusterfuck (ie dozens upon dozens of fighters dying before the age of 65…), I will always be a fan of MMA.
I am very much a part of that 10%. We’ll always been fans. Yeah, White could throw us bones every once and a while but he really doesn’t need to worry about whether or not we’ll throw down $60 a month, sometimes twice, to watch his product.
Those new fans, the “casual” fans, are who he is reaching out to and trying to win over. Those people that AREN’T posting on MMA website comment sections at 11:19pm on a Saturday night.
We’re not likely to go away. He’s got us by the balls.
That being said, I don’t think Dana White hates the internet fanbase as much as some people would have you believe.
Contributor, NorthTexasFisticuffs.com
Follow me on Twitter
by Applejack McNeil on Aug 15, 2010 12:21 AM EDT reply actions
This is insane
Cornette, like any respectable carny, is defending a product he’s selling and slagging the competition. He can’t possibly believe this. He’s implying that things that are funny don’t draw and that WWE and TNA don’t feature wins & losses or people trying to win titles. Wins & losses are still at the core of WWE (not cumulatively, but nobody gives a hoot about that, MMA or wrestling fan.) You could also make a strong argument that much of the entertainment industry, especially the film industry, actively dislikes the 10% most invested in their products.
I like Cornette. I think he can be a funny guy. I really, really dislike the internet’s tendency to treat him like he’s a straight shooter, an apostle of the one true gospel of Fake Fighting. He’s a promoter, like any other. I’m not accusing CS of doing that, as this quote was provided without commentary, but what he’s saying here is nonsense and should be marked as such.
This is the man that slapped the shit out of Santino for breaking kayfabe and laughing at Boogyman
Cornette is without a doubt a great wrestling mind and a lot of what he is saying rings true. A more streamlined, serious wrestling product by WWE or TNA will get more people buying the product.
I totally disagree with you that the film industry dislikes the hardcore 10%. In making the DC and Marvel movies, the film industry started out ignoring that group and movies suffered for it but now you see the studios sending directors and major stars to comic con and other geek trade shows because if that audience is on fire about what they saw then that 10% of absolute fanatics will infect the other 90% who are apathetic or undecided.
That theory has been true in wrestling for many many years. So for Bischoff to scoff at the power of the 10% hardcore fans then you just know that TNA is doomed. Vince and Stephanie has booked away from the 10% until very recently with Nexus and Miz. Paul Heyman always got that hardcore fan first because they would spread the word about ECW like wildfire.
The hardcore fan is a solid foundation to build any entertainment company and anyone that ignores or doesn’t do enough to get their attention is dismissing them at their own detriment.
Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitudes...
well said
I also hate this idea Cornette is anything other than a carny, he is correct that Bischoff only had 2 sucessful years in the wrestling business ITS STILL TWO MORE THAN HE HAS HAD (lets not forget SMW his giant idea to con money out of Rick Rubin)
Lets ask one question did Steve Austin or The Rock really draw because they were chasing World Championships and winning wrestling matches HELL NO. they drew PPV, TV ratings and Live Tickets because they were interesting TV characters that people felt they could relate to putting on a fun TV show that encouraged people to buy into the product.
One of my favorite matches ever took place in SMW: Lance Storm and Chris Jericho vs. The Heavenly Bodies.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Cageside Seats
Related FanShots on Cageside Seats
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
