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Why do you think so many people try to defend Hulk Hogan? Why don’t they listen to people like Mark Henry, who tell them that Hogan showed no contrition for what he said about African Americans?
In some cases? They are fans of Hogan and they don’t care about what he has said. In other cases? They are ignorant and assume incorrectly that he did a mea culpa for what he said. And I guess in some cases, they are racists themselves.
Given the decline on AEW’s ratings, how would you explain the Raw audience being so responsive to Penta as logic would dictate that he had been wrestling in rival company that’s not as popular in WWE? Could it be that ratings are not showing the real audience of these shows?
Ratings are one tool to measure business. They are not an exact science but they are a barometer. When you question if WWE really does beat AEW 3 to 1, as the ratings largely assert, you can also look at the attendance and merchandise sales. WWE shows are packed with fans wearing merch. AEW shows are not. Why did the fans react to Penta? He was hyped as being important. He came in and actually wrestled, and by that I mean he actually sold the effects of moves rather than just do move after move like he did in AEW, and the fans got into it. His family was there, which made him a real person as opposed to a cartoon character. Then he did a great promo and connected with the fans. It’s all about good booking vs. what Tony Khan does.
Also, I noticed how fluent the CM Punk, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre promos were. Has HHH changed the ways in which they are delivered, that is talking points and improvisation?
Vince McMahon’s verbiage and way of presentation is long gone, thank God. People can now speak in a way where they come across as people, not cartoons.
I saw Corey Graves' tweet last night where he seemingly expressed genuine frustration for being left off of Netflix and SmackDown on USA, but then he followed it up promoting NXT saying "he has a lot to say". Did we get worked? Not to say there isn't some level of genuine frustration, I'm sure there is, but isn't that the base pro wrestling? Look at the pipe bomb. Could Corey become a fully heel character on NXT? Maybe a manager and commentator? Who knows, but I'm intrigued and I'll be watching!
It is natural for wrestling fans to believe something like this is a work given the nature of the business. The thing that we all need to keep in mind now that WWE is booked properly is when something like this happens we should also look if any story has been hinted at on TV. In this case, there hasn’t been. We also need to think about things that we know, like Netflix specifically wanted Pat McAfee for Raw and WWE signed Joe Tessitore because he has a big presence outside of WWE, which Corey Graves doesn’t. We also need to look at the most important thing, what is the payoff? Graves is already a heelish announcer. And if they wanted to really make him a character, they would do it on TV. Plus, they have a loaded roster right now. They don’t need to push a 40 year old heel announcer. Will they do something with it storyline wise down the road? Maybe, but in the moment it is 100 percent real.
Any idea what Penta said in Spanish to pop everyone?
No, no lo hago. No hablo español.
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