WWE Fans

[Absent Friend]

I watched the live streaming of WWE's "groundbreaking announcement." I'll try and run down a summary based on my sole memory, no pausing the live video from Youtube. First of all, there was a report of Hulk Hogan being in Las Vegas, and possibly talking here. He didn't appear. So...

Cole started the thing, wearing glasses, first guest was Vince McMahon. He was pretty brief and didn't give much detail on the Network. He essentially previewed a giant WWE video package that featured celebrities putting the product over, the charity, the video games, the merchandise, action figures, TV, social media, all that shit.

It was Michelle Wilson (CFO or whatever) that really started revealing what this Network's going to be. To sum that up, it's WWE trying to one-up Netflix and Hulu. The Video On Demand service is going to be massive, over 100,000 hours of content. The one-up part is 24/7 live streaming, so it functions like a full TV network, but on the digital platform gimmick. You can get it on your desktop, laptop, smartphone, tablet, Xbox 360, PS3, soon PS4 and Xbox One. Roku, Smart TV, every digital platform imaginable.

It will be $9.99 a month (with a 6 month commitment), you install it from WWE.com or from the app. The big deal there is that all the freaking PPVs will be broadcast live from it, essentially changing their PPV model.

Steph was brought out, previewing shows that will be on the Network. Legends House, finally! Roddie Piper, Jimmy Hart, Gene Okerlund, Tony Atlas, Pat Patterson, Hillbilly Jim I think. No Iron Sheik, I thought he was on it. During that, she'd have Shawn and HHH as DX circa 2009 (glow sticks) come out to add comic relief. WWE Countdown is another, counting moments, matches, entrances, whatever, based on fan participation. Wrestlemania Rewind, going back through the 29 past Wrestlemanias. Monday Night War, and there was a funny teleprompter gag as the title includes "War," but the teleprompter said "Wars." Shawn and Hunter ride on that for a while, adding an "s" to everything. On Countdown, they mentioned best catchphrase, Hunter using Rock's "It doesn't matter," and Shawn using "You're fired." By the way, no mention of a cruiserweight show. I like that concept personally, so I hope it comes down the road. They did the "are you ready" thing with Stephanie, that voluptuous piece of work...

Without getting my mind in the gutter, big time guest in Stone Cold Steve Austin came out after DX left. He sounded all happy, he tried not to curse all the time, he didn't plug his podcast surprisingly. He talked more from the perspective of a fan. Reliving the Attitude Era, that he led, going back in time, and it's on demand and such. It was pretty short, but nice to see him in common entertaining form.

Some executive in the tech department explained the technical side of the Network. How to download it, requiring a WWE.com account, credit card info, a few clicks and you're there. Something about an "EPG" where you can go back on shows missed in the 24/7 live streaming thing, acting as a built in DVR. You missed it, no problem. Meh on the preview videos, all Rock matches from 2013 for fuck's sake. Him beating CM Punk for the WWE title, the match with Cena at Wrestlemania 29. Then the guy froze, and I think it was staged, because DX came back out and poked fun at the guy. Hunter called him Michael Bay. The guy stood there like a goober, as DX read from the teleprompter. More laughs if you dig that. There's a social media gimmick to it, say you watch a VOD show, you can tweet and Facebook comment about it and crap.

The president of MLB Advanced Media came out. Had a little piece of paper on him. Apparently MLBAM is a partner of WWE and the Network, so he put the concept over, and compared it to the MLB TV/digital experience, as something larger than the "herculean" effort that he and his organization undertakes.

Move on to the end, of course, John Cena. In a suit and tie, sounding completely different than on TV. If you notice that, Cena doing press conferences and things like this, he's in a suit and tie, he speaks in a more subdued tone, and he talks like a corporate messenger. That being said, he does give the most important thing that I was wondering myself. The launch date.

February 24, 11:05PM EST, after RAW goes off the air, the Network will be live and available for download. Given that time, the first PPV to be broadcast live from the Network? Wrestlemania 30! He leaves on that note, Cole closes the show. This little show lasted almost an hour. One thing I have to go back and note, just remembering it, the worldwide deal. I assume the February 24 launch is in the US, it was made by Cena at the very end. In the middle of the show, there's mention of what countries will pick up the Network. UK, Nordic Countries, Australia, Singapore, Japan I think. They're given the broad "late 2014-early 2015" deal. Oh, RAW and Smackdown, they won't broadcast them live on the Network, but as a VOD deal, sure. Not surprising, keep their TV partner in NBC Universal (USA & Syfy) happy. The PPV thing is solely their deal, so they can and now have, changed it to their own liking. If you don't get the Network, the PPVs will still be up in the traditional way, so buyrates and stuff won't suddenly be extinct.

So that's about it, and without needing to copy/paste someone's pro recap. The slogan is "It's way over the top." It's true, and the calls of "innovative" and "groundbreaking" is also true, even though it's basically taking what Netflix and Hulu does into a different stratosphere. Hopefully they don't change that price, $10 a month is pretty affordable, given their large library. Hopefully their streaming software is easily rippable, I'd be on a downloading craze...

[Booster Gold]

I'm sure it is a good deal for those who buy PPVs.
I am only interested in watching some of the old stuff - matches from the late 90s and early to mid 2000s in high quality but I would imagine you'll have to pay extra for that in video-on-demand.

Originally Posted by Seven Churches

I don't know, I searched and found a video of them, part of a 3 way in Russia with Tamina. Maybe this?

Kaitlyn vs Tamina vs A J Lee in RUSSIA, Saint-Petersburg 25.04.2013 - YouTube

Bummer. I was hoping for something better. Thanks for trying.

[Vile]

Originally Posted by Alan Kellerman

being a gay icon is not enough for Darren Young. I thought you were going to say he isn't getting pushed because he is smaller and sucks dick.

HAHA, well that too! Actually I had forgotten that fact that he was gay! I really think they should have done something with that, making it some type of gimmick, because now he's right back to jobber territory.

Originally Posted by Seven Churches

Even the announce table and team are old school. Cole I think dressed like Vince McMahon, and JBL, I think Gorilla Monsoon.

Or as my girlfriend called them, ketchup and mustard. I was really hoping JBL would be dressed like Justin Hawk Bradshaw, complete with Uncle Zeb.

Originally Posted by Seven Churches

Anyways, The Ryback joined commentary, and apologized for his voice being hoarse. It came from hanging with Lilian Garcia. That wasn't funny, and if anyone remembers, there's a history of WWE poking fun at Lilian, regarding her as a "horse face." The Ryback's a bully and all, but sometimes it's just tasteless.

I thought it was just because Lilian Garcia is a singer, and she has to use her vocal chords a lot. Sometimes I'm just too naïve with these things. Anyway, I thought the Ryback was very entertaining on commentary. Too bad they're burying Axel.

Originally Posted by Seven Churches

What the hell? Too Cool and Rikishi vs. 3MB! Look Vile, it's Heath Slater! A bit of a haircut, they appeared on a PIP promo, saying they are back and better than ever. Good luck with that. Scotty 2 Hotty's a fireman, interestingly enough. Scotty 2 Hotty did the worm, oh my goodness! McIntyre didn't sell the move for long, doing a more effective move in the big boot to the face. The match lasted a bit longer than I expected, but it was nice. Rikishi's superkick barely connected, but everything else looked fine. They danced, and this dancing thing in WWE dates back as far as 2000 and below. As if Tons of Funk and a couple black guys in WWE currently wasn't enough. Rikishi showed support for his sons by wearing an Usos shirt. Heath Slater's shorter hair doesn't help so much, but it's okay on him.

Yeah! Reunited and it feels so good, baybay!!! His shorter hair looks fine, it's similar to how he had it when he was on NXT. I thought he was going to take a stinkface in that match, but strangely he barely got involved at all! I bet 3 M B would have won if he had. I think this was the best match of the night.

Originally Posted by Seven Churches

Gene Okerlund with a golden voice, was brought out. Okerlund plugged a hotline, pretty old school there. I think sex hotlines are still open. The Roger Rabbit NES game's hotline is now a sex hotline. I called it, I'm not lying! Anyways, he introduced the New Age Outlaws. They did their vintage schtick, no PG, saying "Badass."

7C, are you a fan of the Angry Video Game nerd? He did an episode where he played Roger Rabbit and that's where I first learned they turned it into a phone sex line.

Also, it's strange that they can say "bad ass" but they can't say "ass." ("You better call somebody!")

I'm sure that Ambrose corpsing will end up on Botchamania at some point.

Overall, Old School Raw was enjoyable to me. It was boring at times, and I would have loved to see more action from the old timers. How about a few more matches or interviews? DiBiase, IRS, Volkoff, Arn Anderson Backlund, and Godfather did little more than stand around.

And as for that announcement: I don't give two shits about it! How about that, McMahon!

[Mo]

Any of you going to get the WWE channel?

[Vile]

Not me. I barely have enough money to pay the bills as it is. Plus, I don't see much need for it. I already have a pretty big collection of old wrestling tapes/DVDs so if I really want to see something in it's entirety, I probably have it on tape. Either that, or there's always YouTube.

Plus, I assume these matches are going to be edited anyway. Like, no choking, no blood, no Benoit, and blurring of the old WWF logo, right?

[1994]

Originally Posted by Vile

Not me. I barely have enough money to pay the bills as it is. Plus, I don't see much need for it. I already have a pretty big collection of old wrestling tapes/DVDs so if I really want to see something in it's entirety, I probably have it on tape. Either that, or there's always YouTube.

Plus, I assume these matches are going to be edited anyway. Like, no choking, no blood, no Benoit, and blurring of the old WWF logo, right?

It's supposed to be uncensored, unedited. At least that's what Stone Cold said.

I think the WWE won some rights back over their WWF logo. Like, they can use old footage with the WWF logo, they just can't use it for new programming. I don't know the full details but there's been progress on their acronym dispute. They won't go back to WWF but they got their logos back.

I read that Benoit will be featured in their WWE Network programs but there will be an advisory warning before every footage he'll be on.

[Mo]

WWE Hall Of Famer Mae Young Taken Off Life Support Earlier Tonight

Yahoo News

[Love Buzz]

Raw was ok. No Austin pisses me off, he better show up at Mania. I miss the chill you get when the glass smashes and the crowd goes wild. I can slightly generate the feeling just by thinking about it lol. I would of liked to of seen the original NWO challenge the Shield if that was possible. Would of felt pretty special. Better than a singles match you could see on any episode although Punk and Reigns wasn't that bad but not great. I had a thought Roman could be a candidate for the Rumble victory but with only one belt now it's a bit farfetched. Batista is still the likely winner although I'm not entirely sure he will. Ending was good even though I spoiled it and seeing Too Cool again was fun. Wish New Age Outlaws could be on every week, they really bring a much needed energy spark. Can't believe I'm saying that but it's true imo.

I'm thinking the same as Vile towards the network. I might test it out when it is available, but I'm not buying just to see a wife swap show or some shit.

I'm not so keen on going back and watching old stuff again although the pay per views being available is the top selling point. Thinking about things I have that I don't need - boxnation is £10 a month and I have only watched two or three live fights on it since April. Looks like it will be adios boxnation.

I think I will check it out.

Mae Young. Bless her.

*

Hulk Hogan seen in Las Vegas. He was probably trying to get in and they wouldn't let him. Do you know who I am, Brother? No, fuck off old man

Originally Posted by Love Buzz

Raw was ok. No Austin pisses me off, he better show up at Mania. I miss the chill you get when the glass smashes and the crowd goes wild. I can slightly generate the feeling just by thinking about it lol. I would of liked to of seen the original NWO challenge the Shield if that was possible. Would of felt pretty special. Better than a singles match you could see on any episode although Punk and Reigns wasn't that bad but not great. I had a thought Roman could be a candidate for the Rumble victory but with only one belt now it's a bit farfetched. Batista is still the likely winner although I'm not entirely sure he will. Ending was good even though I spoiled it and seeing Too Cool again was fun. Wish New Age Outlaws could be on every week, they really bring a much needed energy spark. Can't believe I'm saying that but it's true imo.

I experienced that chill live once. It was awesome. It is amazing how things feel, the whole arena has this power about it, I swear, it was like the force brought us together. Nothing like that on present WWE house shows for me. I need to get to Raw or Smackdown when they come to the UK. I've made that a mission now.

New Age Outlaws still have that star quality about them that not many have today, or not allowed to show it. I hate comparing today stars to attitude era because it sounds like I'm complaining about today stars. I'm not. I'm just telling the truth. Some of the stars of today are actual stars.

I've thought about Roman as well. He should be in with a shout although smart money is definitely on Batista. He is so obvious that is the only thing that makes me think he wont win it. Kind of like when Jericho came back. I wasn't even thinking about Sheamus. The difference with this is Batista is a bigger star than Jericho, so I can't see him not winning.

I watched some of the Network Announcement.

spoof of the year looks to be wrapped up pretty early. I might have heard this wrong, but there are 62 million homes with one WWE fan. hahahah.

interviews after the show with Cena. He says fuck those that say he came back too early, he is feeling better than ever, stronger than ever, bench pressing over 400 lbs etc.

Stone Cold Steve Austin sounded enthusiastic. Vince has had many great ideas, but this is the number one idea. I can see that. This isn't funky shit like world bodybuilding federation or XFL. This is sticking to what he does best and taking it to another level.