Monday, April 23, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Why Doesn't TNA Promote Itself More?
by Brian Phelps
When Mick Foley appeared on Jon Stewart, and then was a speaker at Jon Stewart's 'Rally to Restore Sanity'... TNA did little coverage of it outside their website. They also poorly promoted Mick Foley's book 'Countdown to Lockdown'. They did a segment where Ric Flair tore up a copy of Mick Foley's book on Impact. Rumors had it that TNA's failure to promote Mick Foley's projects contributed to Mick Foley's decision to leave TNA Wrestling and go back to WWE.
Perhaps even bigger than TNA's failure to promote Mick Foley's projects is TNA's failure to promote ITSELF. TNA has made little effort on Impact Wrestling to mention the ratings mega success of Ring Ka King. I shouldn't have to find out about Ring Ka King's success from the 'Dirt Sheets'. Scott Steiner even spoke of how TNA did little to no coverage of Ring Ka King's huge ratings success. Scott Steiner stated that in India there are 40 different billboards covering Ring Ka King and TNA never mentions it. Ring Ka King had over 14 million viewers and TNA doesn't mention the success of it. Ring Ka King's success should've been covered on Impact Wrestling but it wasn't. 
I also don't understand how Dixie Carter has gone far out of her way to promote her husband's music, specifically "Longnecks and Rednecks", but TNA makes no effort to promote Jeff Hardy's band Peroxwhy?gen. I'm sorry, but simply putting a couple of his tracks on the TNA website and letting him use his band's music as his theme song doesn't count. I'm talking about TNA actually mentioning Jeff Hardy's band and his new music releases on Impact... maybe even filming a music video for Hardy's band. 
They don't promote Kurt Angle's movies or Eric Bischoff's beer. Why do I have to find out about Kurt Angle appearing in a movie from a dirt site? Why doesn't TNA tell us on Impact that Kurt is appearing in a new indy film? Why doesn't TNA change James Storm's beer bottle from a generic bottle to a bottle of Eric Bischoff's 'Buffalo Bill Cody' beer? 
Awhile back, Hogan made an appearance live on American Idol. Instead of wearing a shirt that said TNA Wrestling on the front of it where 15 or 20 million people watching him at home can see it he wears a Hogan shirt that doesn't mention TNA where anyone can see it. THEN, TNA didn't even bother to mention Hulk Hogan's appearance on American Idol.
So in closing, these aren't the ravings of a mad man. I'm telling the truth. Both Mick Foley and Scott Steiner have complained about TNA's lack of promotion. So I know I'm not making this up. I have more than enough evidence to surmise that TNA is extremely poor at promoting itself and its talent. TNA has talent that sets it apart from WWE, but they don't make a good enough effort to make people realize it.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Is WWE Using Attitude Era Stars to Prop Up Sagging Ratings and PPV Buys?
by Brian Phelps
One thing I find amusing in the world of wrestling is the number of fans online that accuse TNA of being nothing but a bunch of old guys. The ironic thing is that WWE is guilty of the same thing but no one ever seems to mention that. Over the last two years the WWE has been a virtual revolving door to the Attitude Era, but no one ever says the WWE is over using older stars. The fact is the WWE has been constantly bringing back old stars to prop up sagging ratings and ppv buy rates. Every time an older star leaves another shows up to keep the ratings from going down.
Over the last two years, we've seen Bret Hart, Mick Foley, Booker T, Stone Cold, The Rock, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Trish Stratus and now Brock Lesnar. This is an alarming trend because it shows that the WWE is struggling to create new stars. They have to keep falling back on Attitude Era stars to anchor the company. The 3 headlining matches at Wrestlemania 28 featured The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, The Undertaker and Chris Jericho. This was also the 8th consecutive Wrestlemania that John Cena has headlined. So the only newer star was CM Punk.
Wrestlemania 27's line-up was so weak that they needed the Rock guest hosting, Stone Cold reffing, Trish Stratus wrestling, and Undertaker/Triple H headlining just to prop up buys and put make-up on an otherwise ugly ppv line-up.
Wrestlemania 26 featured the wrestling return of Bret "Hitman" Hart taking on Vince McMahon. It also featured Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker II.
In between these Wrestlemania's we've seen Bret Hart win the US title, Kevin Nash in a Sledgehammer ladder match, Mick Foley hosting "This is your life" segments, Triple H taking the spotlight off of a white hot CM Punk last Summer, Mark Henry and Kane win the World Title (people forget that Mark Henry has been with the WWF since 1996 and is 40 years old and Kane is 44 years old), and Brock Lesnar returning to headline Extreme Rules.
This is definitely an alarming trend because in most of these cases the older stars are not putting over up-and-coming stars, or else we would be having a different conversation. Think about it. With the exception of Chris Jericho putting over CM Punk the rest of the older mega stars are just putting each other over. Shawn Michaels and Triple H put the Undertaker over twice. The Rock fought John Cena which doesn't elevate anyone, especially when The Rock wins. Since Kane has returned with the mask he's buried up-and-coming talent Zack Ryder while feuding with John Cena and Randy Orton. Kane feuding with Cena and Orton doesn't elevate anyone. If these stars would spend more time putting over younger stars instead of burying them, the WWE might be in a better spot. Until the WWE starts to get past Cena and Orton, and stops relying on Attitude Era stars as a crutch the WWE's ratings will continue to slowly decline because they refuse to introduce fresh new characters and make them important.
Look at Kofi Kingston, a guy that became really popular to the point that he took out Randy Orton in Madison Square Garden at the Old School edition of Monday Night Raw and has since gone nowhere but downhill. Kofi Kingston won his first Intercontinental Title FOUR YEARS ago and he is actually less important now than he was then. Instead of capitalizing on Kofi's booming popularity, WWE thought it would be a greater idea to put the World Title on Jack Swagger. Funny thing is, Jack Swagger wasn't even over while Kofi Kingston had been over. It's poor business decisions like this that make you smack your forehead with disbelief.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Unresolved WWE Storyline: What happened to John Cena vs The Rock for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 28?
by Brian Phelps
After Wrestlemania 27, John Cena told the WWE Universe that at Wrestlemania 28 it was going to be John Cena versus The Rock for the WWE Championship. However, when Wrestlemania 28 rolled around there was no title match on the line. In fact, John Cena wasn't even the WWE Champion. CM Punk was WWE Champion. So what happened to Cena vs Rock for the WWE Championship? This is another example of WWE promising something and then failing to deliver yet again.
Why the Road to Wrestlemania 28 was Full of Duds and Disappointments
by Brian Phelps
Well, the early numbers show that Wrestlemania 28 did about the same as Wrestlemania 27 (1.1 million for WM28 vs 1,042,000 for WM27). This has got to be considered disappointing for WWE and I'll tell you why. Wrestlemania 27 had a HORRIBLE line-up. The main event featured The Miz. Wrestlemania 28 had what was billed as the biggest match in Wrestlemania history as The Rock returned for his first singles match in nearly a decade against John Cena. It also featured the return of Shawn Michaels, and saw CM Punk facing off against Chris Jericho to determine who really is the "Best in the World". So what went wrong? Well, I'll tell you why the Road to Wrestlemania was littered with duds and disappointments.
Some people speculate that Wrestlemania 28 had some weak build up. I have to say that the Road to Wrestlemania this year was awful. There were so many unresolved stories that never went anywhere. In other words, a lot of duds. For instance, when Chris Jericho returned the first words out of his mouth after weeks of silence were "At the Royal Rumble, it's going to be the end of the world as you know it". This had everybody wondering what that ominous statement could mean. However, when the Royal Rumble took place Chris Jericho was pathetically eliminated from the Royal Rumble match by Sheamus and nothing at all happened. This is a perfect example of WWE falling through on a huge promise. I'm sure they duped a ton of people into buying the pay-per-view to find out what the big surprise was only for nothing to happen. It was a dud.
Who can forget the cryptic messages for Chris Jericho's return. Anyone else notice how they never explained who the little girl in the video was or what she was supposed to represent?
How about Kharma who made her return at the Royal Rumble PPV, and then disappeared right afterward. What was the point? I was looking forward to her possibly feuding with Beth Phoenix for the Divas title. WWE never explained why she was there one night and gone the next at the Rumble.
Think about Kane. WWE never explained why Kane returned with the mask. All Kane said was "This is my true form". Well... ok. That's not an explanation. How did he come to realize he needed the mask back? Why is it his true form? We know what Kane looks like, but he decided to wear a mask any way? Another example of WWE not explaining something.
Speaking of Kane, anyone else notice that John Cena never embraced the hate, and that Kane was thrown into a random feud with Randy Orton that had little rhyme or reason to it? Zack Ryder should've fought Kane at Wrestlemania, but WWE thought it would be a better idea to injure Zack Ryder every week for like 2 months.
Is it just me or did Mark Henry never get a one-on-one rematch for the title after dropping it to the Big Show? Mark Henry just sort of went back to upper mid-carder.
Now, let's not forget how John Cena told the world that at Wrestlemania 28 it was going to be John Cena vs The Rock for the WWE Championship. Funny how at Wrestlemania 28, John Cena wasn't even the WWE Champion.
Or, how about Daniel Bryan telling the world he was cashing in Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania 28? Well, not only did Daniel Bryan NOT cash in at Wrestlemania... he got squashed at Wrestlemania 28 in 18 seconds in what was a waste of talent.
(Note: This isn't the first time WWE has pulled something stupid with Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania. Last year at Wrestlemania 27, WWE advertised Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus for the United States Championship only to not show the match on the PPV. It was a dark match (non-televised) so anyone who ordered Wrestlemania 27 to see Daniel Bryan in a US title match were ripped off)
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
WWE Wrestlemania 28 Official Theme Song (Metallica "The Memory Remains" [Official Music Video])
This is the WWE Wrestlemania 28 Theme to The Undertaker vs Triple H (Hell in a Cell) Match
Lord Tensai Debuts on WWE Raw: April 2, 2012
Watch the debut of Lord Tensai (A-Train) on WWE RAW as he faces Alex Riley on April 2, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
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