The MeeThinks Friday FreeThinks: 05.09.08
Posted by John Meehan on 05.09.2008
NOW WITH HANDY DANDY STORY-SIDE PHOTOS!
Welcome back, all. And I'll hope you'll join me in wishing a special sendoff of well wishes to 411 journeyman Ryan Byers, who has consistently delivered some of the most well-written and thought-provoking material that this site has ever seen. Love him or hate him, the guy puts some serious effort into his stuff -- and even if you find yourself disagreeing with some of what all he might say (we've battled on all sorts of issues in the past -- from 'rasslin to politics and beyond), you've simply gotta' hand it to someone who speaks their mind (even if what they're saying might be unpopular) *and* isn't afraid to tell you their reasons for doing so.
So here's to you, Ryan. And all the very best in whatever you do from here on out!
This one comes courtesy of WWE.com's press release:
WrestleMania XXIV generated approximately 1.1 million pay-per-view buys, amounting to $23.8 million in pay-per-view revenue in the first quarter of 2008.
WrestleMania XXIV also grossed more than $5.85 million in ticket sales, making it the highest grossing live event in WWE history and in the history of the Citrus Bowl. The premiere event in sports entertainment also set an attendance record for the Citrus Bowl with 74,635 fans from all 50 states, five Canadian provinces and 21 countries.
By comparison, WrestleMania 23 generated approximately 1.2 million buys and $24.6 million in pay-per-view revenue, which was recorded during the second quarter of 2007.
I'm leaving the comparison up here so that y'all can feel free to draw your own conclusions as to the relative success or failure of this year's PPV cornerstone. Obviously the critics will immediately find themselves compelled to point out the fact that this year's number is just under that of last year -- and in doing so, they'd be right.
But on the flip side, it's just as fair to point out:
This year's WrestleMania card also *cost* about five bucks more per purchase, and STILL managed to clear the 1 million buys mark all the same.
Last year's WrestleMania featured a celebrity bout starring international tycoon and media sensation Donald Trump, while this year's featured the much lesser-known light heavyweight boxing champ, Floyd Mayweather. Though Mayweather is a PPV darling in his own right, many questioned the man's ability to attract WWE anything near the level of publicity that The Donald was able to deliver.
WWE rolled into this year's WrestleMania with lower weekly television ratings than they had at last year at the same time. While this in and of itself isn't exactly the type of "good" thing you want to go around bragging about, it's still something of a testament to the company's resillience (and marketing savvy) that they are able to draw just shy of last year's PPV record in spite of the fact that their average weekly audience has diminished a noticable ways over the past 12 months.
And, of course...
WrestleMania 24 is the first of WWE's yearly supershows to have been staged following the horrendous and potentially crippling aftermath of the Benoit family tragedy of last year; an event that many investors, critics and casual fans alike were most wary would cause a dramatic decline in company profits for years to come.
Though TNA and ROH would probably kill for an extra 100 thousand buys for one of *their* PPV efforts, a dip of that size when compared to a paying audience of just over a million additional fans isn't exactly a "dramatic" decline, folks. Whether fans turned in to see Michaels, Flair, Money in the Bank, or maybe even Floyd Mayweather -- the long and short of it is that WWE has nothing to be ashamed of a worldwide audience of more than 1 million buyers (plus a record-setting live audience) to show for their efforts.
When the 'Mania DVD hits the shelves in two weeks' time (May 20) -- even if it's not going to set any records -- expect the good news to continue for the 'E.
Rolling Stone magazine (a once kickass publication which has pretty well devolved into a half-assed Entertainment Weekly music supplement) published a story this week which linked WWE Diva Ashley Massaro to a now defunct ring of high-priced female escorts (read: prostitutes). According to Rolling Stone, prior to winning the WWE Diva Search in 2005, this former Playboy covergirl landed herself a steady gig with the Bella modeling company -- basically a repository of fellow covergirls and models from all over the United States. No harm no foul so far, save but for the fact that the kind folks at Bella management then proceeded to provide high-priced female companionship (including travel expenses!) to anybody who was able to shell out the big bucks to enjoy these fine ladies' company.
Now then --
Before we all go jumping to conclusions here, it most definitely bears noting that a LOT of models and "c"-lebrities make a pretty regular and decent living by getting paid scads of coin to make guest appearances at Tinseltown parties the world over. Folks like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, for example, have actually managed to command well into the five figures range simply for agreeing to show up at any given "hotspot" or up-and-coming night club in order to help boost the company's image with its target audience.
SO --
In theory, at least, Ashley and the rest of the Bella modeling ladies could just as well have been on-call for precisely these sorts of soirees -- CD launch parties, swank new night club openings, after-show shindigs, etc. Heck, TNA regularly pads out their live audience with local bikini models/beer girls/etc. in order to keep the fans cheering.
Case in point:
And if this is the extent of what all Ashley was doing during her stint with Bella, they've done absolutely nothing wrong and should absolutely be left alone without any further question or explanation whatsoever.
That said, of course --
If the type of "on-call" service Ashley and the rest of her Bella cohorts were providing were more of a private, wink-wink-nudge-nudge "pay for our company" sort of thing... then we've effectively jumped the shark from "female companion" to "thinly veiled prostitution ring" -- which violates all sorts of federal and state laws. In which case, she's probably in for a serious mess of trouble to come.
Just ask Deborah Jean Palfrey.
Or this guy...
Elliot Spitzer: TWENTY FIVE GRAND?! Shit dude. That's pricey even for me.
Until the dust settles and the full extent of the facts are known, let's not be so quick to make a call on this one either way. As it stands now, though -- this could easily shape up to get a whole lot worse for Ashley before it gets better, and so those of y'all who are fans of the girl might just wanna' set your TiVos to record as much of her as you can... while there's still time. Between injuries, inadvertantly leakingn backstage gossip, an aborted run on Survivor, and now this -- it might just only be a matter of time before we see the "WWE has come to terms on the release of Ashley Massaro. We wish her the best in all future endeavours" message.
Not exactly an earthshattering development here, but one that probably warrants comment and congratulations nonetheless. Earlier this week it was reported that longtime WWE announcer and onscreen personality Jonathan Coachman would soon be leaving his job with WWE and taking a broadcast job instead with (depending on which report you've read) the MSG network (where he has provided extensive commentary in the past) or the Disney-owned super-sports juggernaut, ESPN.
Regardless of which outlet Coach ends up at (most credible signs are pointing to ESPN), this is pretty much great news no matter how you slice it for all parties involved. WWE had tried incorporating Coach to a number of incarnations of their announce teams over the past five years, and he never quite seemed to find his niche. As an onscreen talent (lackey for the boss, goon announcer for public mockery, etc.), Coach had some of his best work -- but the wrestling business is notoriously cyclical, and the incompetent henchman/evil authority figure role is an especially tough one to maintain for too long a stretch of time.
In the immortal words of Krusty the Clown:
"The pie in the face gag is only funny if the schmuck has dignity."
After years of losing to midgets, eating main eventer's finishing maneuvers, dancing the Charleston, getting sprayed with all sorts of garbage, and countless other "joke's on you" comeuppances from just about every angle -- Coach had pretty well served his purpose as a WWE regular, and so it's good to see him moving on to bigger and better things in a closely related line of work. Plus, the wrestling business gets to take credit for yet another quasi-"C"-lebrity with ties to their oft-maligned industry... which certainly can't hurt the 'rasslin folks credibility if the guy actually manages to make a success of himself in this new career.
After three years of action with WWE (read: lots of choke holds), The Great Khali is taking some time away from the game to return to his native country of India. And upon arrival in his homeland, the former WWE champion has managed to garner a great deal of free publicity for both his efforts and his employer. Turns out that outside of the usual circles of mainstream North American-style professional wrestling fandom (the US/Canada, Mexico and the UK), pro 'rasslers are actually something of a respected modern-day gladiator.
In Japan, Puro bouts are regularly covered by major news outlets.
In Afghanistan (so says Morgan Sperlock), wrestling fans swear by the fact that this pseudo-sport is, in fact, 100% legit.
... and now in India, The Great Khali is being treated as an international superstar the likes of a Bollywood legend.
Along the way, Khali appears to be playing his newfound celebrity status to the part of perfection -- even going as far as to swear to local Indian news outlets that professional wrestling is actually a legit (not fixed) form of competition on this side of the pond. In short, he's telling them what they want to hear, and it's paying off in spades for all parties involved.
The Indian news media feels as if they truly are receiving a star, WWE manages to score a boatload of goodwill (which invariably will translate to international ticket sales on down the road), and Khali gets to enjoy his time away from active competition with the knowledge and security that there'll be a job waiting for him right back with WWE whenever he should decide to make his return.
It's silly, perhaps -- but it's tremendously effective. And in a hairtrigger world of media scrutiny where the wrestling biz can rarely seem to make headlines unless somebody's found with a stash of supplements, it's a welcome change of pace that can only do the industry a world of good in the long run.
A scary bit of news and a close call for Gregory Helms this week, as the former WWE Cruiserweight champion (who's still healing from a broken neck) found himself the victim of a bar room assault early in the week. According to the police report, the man who threw down with Helms was "an accquaintance," but his actions did nothing to further aggrivate Helms' already serious injury.
In a word?
WHEW.
That could have been all sorts of ugly in a hurry. Neck injuries are nothing to mess around with (ask Steve Austin), and so it is VERY good to learn that Helms was able to walk away from the scuffle relatively unscathed. Sounds as if this was just a one-off incident (you know the drill: somebody gets mouthy at a bar, somebody else had a little too much to drink, and some punches are thrown -- who among us hasn't been there?)... so here's hoping the next bit of news we hear out of the Hurricamp is word of Greg Helms' pending return to action in a WWE ring, eh?
File this one under the "still developing" folder, but rumors are swirling that Randy Orton has approached WWE management and requested that they reduce his touring schedule over the coming weeks so that he might avoid suffering from "burnout" before it's too late.
MeeThinks?
THIS IS GREAT NEWS.
Randy Orton has long been a notoriously immature backstage behavior issue, with a questionable sense in judgment and a spotty track record boasting all sorts of infractions (from vandalized gym bags, to failed drug tests, to ransacked hotel rooms, etc.). But now, rather than simply fly off the handle and/or wait for his "burnout" to get the best of him in the form of another run-in with WWE's behavior policies (there was rumored to have been a close call a few weeks back during the international tour) -- Orton is actually manning up, facing his weaknesses, and asking WWE for help.
It takes a big man to admit when he's wrong, and an even bigger man to admit when he's weak -- and it is VERY promising to see a longtime "problem child" like The Legend Killer finally stepping up to the plate and heading off his behavior problems at the pass before they inevitably cause him and his employer an absolute shitstorm of problems down the road.
Onscreen, Orton has pretty much been single-handedly shouldering the lion's share of the red brand's top heel burden. With JBL still working a lightened schedule, Kennedy off filming a movie, and Regal just now coming into prominence, RAW has pretty much passed or failed for the better part of six months thanks in no small part to having an uberheel in Randy Orton at the center of their main event picture. Now that the title has moved elsewhere, it's a great time for The Legend Killer to ease off for a bit and recollect himself in whatever offscreen capacity he sees fit. With a new bride and a new baby on the way, he will be a better man and a better professional for having done so.
Bravo, Randy. Tough call to make, for sure -- and for as rough as things might be without you around as often for a while, this is definitely a true mark of maturity in your favor, and can only work out in your favor for years to come.
There's an old saying out there that whenever somebody gets busted for saying a slur, chances are pretty good that it probably wasn't the first time in their life that they'd said such a thing. As such, it's always a pretty tenuous defense when the best that a guilty party can muster is to step up and says "whoops, it was just a slip of the tongue."
Mark Fuhrman.
Mel Gibson.
Isaiah Washington.
And now Michael Hayes.
Midway through this past week, new details came to light that this former Freebird actually had something of a history of rattling off a questionable string of "jokes" in his less-than-sober moments. Particularly disturbing in all of this is the fact that Hayes' remarks haven't simply been relegated to the more benign of stereotypes (Irish guy that can get away with saying as much example - "Man, those Irishmen are a bunch of crazy drunks."), but that they've tilted a bit further down the "awkwardly offensive" scale -- so much so that he's even been heard to bust out a zinger from time to time about the Ku Klux Klan and make light of their history of violence against black Americans.
So it's official: Michael Hayes is YOUR Bonehead of the Week.
Obviously, this sort of behavior is nowhere near acceptable from a relatively high-ranking executive in a publically held corporation like WWE, and so it is VERY good to see WWE stepping up in swift and decisive fashion to nip this potential powderkeg in the bud as soon possible. Word has it that Hayes will be mandated to undergo sensitivity training (and perhaps alcohol awareness meetings as well) prior to his reinstatement on the active roster of WWE employees, and here's hoping that his 60-day-sabbatical will be just the wake-up call he needs in order to cut the shit and get his head back where it needs to be.
WWE is leading the way for professional wrestling to emerge from its "carny sideshow" roots and made some serious headway into the international entertainment organization markets. While this sort of behavior might have been all well and good in the past (even if it is ridiculously offensive and nowhere near appropriate), one of the best things about growth in international visibility of the professional wrestling industry is in its ability to attract some much-needed critical reform along the way.
Wellness testing and a safer work environment.
Reduced touring schedules and allowances for employee rehabilitan.
And now a decisive effort at establishing a fairer and truly equal opportunity workplace.
It's nowhere near a perfect system, but it is most definitely promising to see WWE taking some serious steps to implement this most necessary of changes (even if it's just to put out a fire before it gets any bigger) before it's too late.
Nasty news for fans of Maple Leaf Muscle this week, as we learned that the orbital bone injury which Petey Williams suffered during last week's iMPACT! taping will ultimately sideline the X Division Champion for a minimum of six weeks. Obviously, this most unfortunate turn of events now leaves the future of the X Division championship in some serious doubt. Less than three weeks into his title run, Petey is now forced to watch the action from outside of the ring for at least a month and a half -- which can't be good for the momentum he'd just begun to establish.
Bright side to all of this?
With the Sacrifice PPV this weekend, TNA has the opportunity to use their "newest concept match" (translation = gimmick) in order to propel a credible new challenger to the forefront of the X Division title hunt. The largely uncharted waters of TNA's "Terrordome" match (hey, it's certainly no worse a name than "Elimination Chamber," which I'm pretty sure is Limey slang for a toilet) lends itself quite nicely to the "no limits" style that once brought the X Division to such fame in the first place, and so it brings with it the chance for the light-heavyweight competitors of the TNA roster to pull out all of the stops and win some serious title-contention chops for their efforts along the way.
Granted --
The fact that Petey will be nowhere near the inside of a TNA ring until July at the earliest probably doesn't bode well for the Terrordome winner to maintain any momentum by giving chase to an all-but-absent X Division champ once the PPV comes to a close (especially since TNA is notorious for rushing angle developments on free television each week). But if TNA can use the Terrordome stipulation to crown a *new* X Division champ instead, then the guy pretty well has himself a ready-made program to square off against an up-and-coming Petey Williams as soon as the guy makes his return.
You know, the whole "I never actually lost that belt" routine...
Bottom line: for as bad as this is for Petey Williams, it is invaluable that TNA is just a few days out from a pay per view contest with a new gimmick match (well, new to TNA at least) that's practically tailor-made for the X Division competitors and their style. Here's hoping the guy has a speedy recovery, and can walk back into a well-crafted and logical slot that's right in the thick of the X Division title program when he returns in a few weeks.
And With That, I'm Outta' Here
That does it for Mee this week. Thanks again for reading, and enjoy the TNA pay per view this weekend. As for Mee? Its a beautiful weather forecast, and who knows what the tide might bring! See y'all back here in seven, best of luck to anybody who's wrapping up their school year, and always stay positive.
You know, this column is okay, but the title is just stupid. I can't decide
which is worse - this "Meethinks" or "B3yond the Report."
Guys, you put a lot of effort into these columns... why not have a name that I
can mention to my friends without having them think it was written by a tool?
Posted By: Satan (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 12:18 AM
Satan..... stfu
Posted By: natedoggcata (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 12:24 AM
Is it just me or does that picture of petey williams look like steve the pirate
at the end of the movie dodgeball after he cut his hair
Posted By: dingleberry (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 01:33 AM
by 2010 Orton in TNA!
Posted By: Guest#7026 (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 02:55 AM
Though TNA and ROH would probably kill for an extra 100 thousand buys for one of
*their* PPV efforts
LMAO ... the most recent PPV buys for TNA showed to be around the 55-60k level
at best - therefore an extra 100k could double or triple their audience...
Not a bad PPV number considering the soso build on TV
Posted By: Northants Grecian (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 05:03 AM
Sub par effort, Meehan. I think you still have the "Wrestlemania
Hangover" that most of us suffer from.
Posted By: ManWhore (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 07:23 AM
Petey Williams should wear that phantom of the opera mask that 'Taker was
wearing after Yoko' and Mabel crushed his face.
Posted By: sefdog (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 09:10 AM
"Satan..... stfu"
This is a grammatically incorrect ellipsis. Please check your grammar before
you write a comment next time, thank you.
*thumbs up*
-RockyIV
Posted By: RockyIV (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 09:20 AM
So it's official: Michael Hayes is YOUR Bonehead of the Week.
Not mine. U R.
Posted By: teh boneyard (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 09:23 AM
Do not believe the previous Satan. I've been posting here for a long time,
mocking Chris Benoit and fat chicks the world over. Gimmick Infringement!
Posted By: The Real Satan (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Stop hating on Meehan. This is the best part of my Friday is when I go to the
Meethinks column. From fellow Patriots fan to another, Thank You Meehan
Posted By: bostononemanarmy (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 01:31 PM
Meehan, I enjoy your articles, and most of this one was on par for the course.
However, regarding the WM buyrates, I beg to differ on the outcome:
"WrestleMania 24 is the first of WWE's yearly supershows to have been
staged following the horrendous and potentially crippling aftermath of the
Benoit family tragedy of last year." What happened to Summerslam 07?
Also, had they done a better job of building more of the matches than simply
relying on the WM name.
Everything else was right on the money!
Posted By: Orlando (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 02:37 PM
"Meethinks Freethinks" sucks as a name, period. The column is good,
but the name makes me embarrassed to tell my friends to read the column.
Posted By: Satan (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 05:30 PM
its ONLY racist if someone white says the "wrong"
word,phrase,comment,etc.
any other race,its okay.
Posted By: charger (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 09:14 PM
They should just call this article Piss Poor Fridays, since that is all this
article ever is.
As I stated several times ol Meehan, would try to spin the Wrestlemania buyrate
as successful. How can less buys than the year before be considered a success.
So what if it is 5 bucks more, you have people who decided that was five dollars
too many for a poorly built Wrestlemania. You kept harping for weeks that
Moneyweather was indeed "money" . Well I guess he wasn't worth it
because it didn;t translate like they thought.
So please. Give the friday slot to someone who knows wrestling and doesn't
want to be a WWE shill. You can call it positivity, but all you really are
doing is kissing the WWE's ass. If we wanted that we could all go to WWE.com
Stick to something you know, like Disney movies or something lame like that.
Posted By: Meehan's Biggest Fan (Guest) on May 10, 2008 at 04:24 AM
I'd say anytime you can generate near $25 million from a show, it should be
considered a success. Meehan is a realist and recognizes that WWE is the only
US company that matters. December to Dismember drew more fans than any TNA PPV
ever. And to that affect, TNA's lesser PPV's draw more buys than any ROH PPV
ever.
When Wrestlemania stops setting records at every venue it makes a stop, then
you can start calling it a "disappointment"
Posted By: Guest#1482 (Guest) on May 10, 2008 at 08:13 PM
You said it best, "Biggest Fan." This column just sucks, period.
Posted By: Satan (Guest) on May 11, 2008 at 11:20 AM
Terrordome sounds too much like Terrordrome for me. I keep expecting Krang and
Shredder to be in the thing.
Posted By: G-Walla (Guest) on May 11, 2008 at 03:43 PM
