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Did Drew McIntyre suck as a heel? That’s not to take anything away from his talent, but in 2018-19 he could never get the fans to boo the crap out of him, to outright hate him like an MJF. Yet when he turned face out of the blue and let his personality show, he connected with the fans and they instantly got on board. Because even though he’s a big tough Scottish badass, deep down he’s charming lovable almost goofy big tough Scottish badass. And now he’s the top babyface in 4 months. I remember readers asking you why Drew McIntyre hasn’t broken out as a major star yet, maybe it’s because he needs to be a babyface?
I think if they let him do what AEW lets MJF do, he would have been great as a heel. WWE doesn’t usually book heels well and I think that is what affected Drew more than anything during his heel run.
When Wrestlemania 37 goes Hollywood, do you want to see WWE do those movie trailer remakes that they did for 21 and would you like to see Drew McIntyre do William Wallace this time instead of Triple H? If that’s too typecasting and repetitive, what would be a fun movie trailer to shoot using which wrestlers?
Honestly? I don’t need to see those, especially at a time when were are getting Boneyard Matches and Firefly Funhouses. But, since it’s in LA we probably will get to see them.
Hopefully you remember this from the “Ruthless Aggression” series but, in 20 years, when WWE does the Wrestlemania 36 retrospective for the beginning of “cinematic matches,” will they omit The Elephant in the Room for and simply say Vince McMahon made a call to shake Wrestlemania 36 up in “typical McMahon fashion?”
If I had to guess, I would say that they will talk about how the two matches that I mentioned above were all time, super duper innovative classics.
Also, in 20 years do you see Vince McMahon being not just alive, but alive and kicking? If there’s one person who won’t be beaten by father time, or death, it’s Vince McMahon.
I’ve been pondering this one for a few months, but does WWE not care about TV ratings? I’m not discounting that TV revenue is their number one income source, but ratings across-the-board for all of conventional TV isn’t what it was 20 years ago. So Fox and NBC-Universal are lucky to have something that pops a rating and they’re willing to pay ridiculous money for it. WWE knows this, is taking the money, while meanwhile looking for ways to evolve presenting their product. People were cutting the cord for all sorts of streaming services 10 years ago so WWE created the network. Attention spans have shrank so WWE condenses all of their segments to three minute clips on YouTube (I personally don’t watch any of Raw or Smackdown but I watch The clips of what I want to see on YouTube). And now with streaming channels like ESPN+ rising to the top, WWE is looking to put their programming on those platforms. I guess what I’m saying is, is WWE look into the future why continuing to take the money of those they’re leaving behind in the past, while not caring about trying to satisfy them?
I don’t think WWE is actively saying, “Screw the ratings”. I think that Vince McMahon has his vision of the product and that is what he puts out there. That is what FOX and USA paid for, so he keeps doing it. And with ratings on the whole declining, WWE still delivers pretty well for the networks that they work with. Until the networks say “you have to get the ratings up” Vince will keep doing what he does. But Vince McMahon definitely cares about the ratings of his product, no doubt about it.
You've always said that TV fees are where WWE earns the bulk of its money. If they were to totally shut down and not film like some have been suggesting, wouldn't that be more devastating financially, which could lead to decreasing stock prices, more layoffs overtime, etc.? Isn't what they're doing now more beneficial (albeit more risky health wise) in the long run for all? As long as they're taking every precaution possible and the wrestlers aren't forced to work (I'm aware of reports to the contrary) then I can respect their decision to continue operating.
From a financial perspective, absolutely. They will be fine going forward during the pandemic if things stay as they are now. The money from the TV deals will be more than they need to stay comfortably afloat, no doubt. That might not be the only reason WWE keeps doing live TV (we all know that Vince McMahon feels the show must go on) but it’s definitely a positive to the company for doing them.
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