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To your knowledge will there be another Mid Atlantic Wrestling Fan Fest in 2017?
Promoter Greg Price has been selling tickets for the event since last summer, so I would certainly hope so. It's been an annual trip for me for years, so I would hate to think otherwise.
I remember reading that Mae Young wanted to fight Stephanie McMahon for her 100th birthday. Knowing that the WWE will protect wrestlers and not clear them to wrestle due to health (Jerry Lawler), do you think he would actually allow that match to take place? Also knowing how much love Vince had for her, do you think he would make an exception in this case?
I think the match would have been more ceremonial than an actual in-ring contest, but yes, I do believe they would have done something to commemorate Mae Young's birthday.
As of today, based on where we are since it happened, do you think the brand split has been a success or failure? I saw the potential of it and the payoff of what could have been if they really made a hard split. Over a longer period of time, say 2-3 years, with an eventual crossover or one wrestler "invading", the impact would have been much grander if they actually established the brands as separate and unique. However, less than a month into it, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar invaded the opposing brand, people like Jack Swagger jumped ship, etc., making it feel, not like two separate shows, but like they are just two WWE shows again. With that said, it also now feels diluted because they added all the titles that each show "lost", further taking away from the uniqueness. Do you think this was a good strategy or should they have really put effort in treating both brands separate?
I think the idea was a smart idea because at the end of the day, the concept was done to help Smackdown and that brand has done far better in the ratings since they moved the show to Tuesday and split into two separate brands. I don't discount anything that you wrote from a creative standpoint except that I would argue that the shows do feel different in tone. It's a marathon not a footrace and I think we need at least a year before we can say whether this worked or not.
Do you think that a Survivor Series 5-on-5 match with Raw versus Smackdown was a good idea, or should it have been 5-on-5 within their respective brands?
Yes, I believe the company did it way too soon personally. I feel like they needed time for the two brands to congeal. When you are trying to create new content every month, sometimes you don't have to ability to wait.
Do you think that a draft episode would be way too soon to shake things up? If they want to establish the brands as separate, they shouldn't do a draft at all. But I feel that the WWE will eventually do it. Or worse, do it annually.
I would personally wait at least two years before the company does a draft.
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