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" The Gravel Pit "
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Wrestling
Taking a Leak
Posted by Nik Johnson on Jan 22, 2004, 16:06
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1wrestling.com reported this week that:
Vince McMahon told talent during a meeting at RAW on Monday that he does not want anyone speaking to the "wrestling press." He called wrestling reporters "parasites" and said he was upset about how much information from last week's meeting had already leaked out. He also hinted that if WWE found out who was leaking information, they would be fired.
and
Vince McMahon told Smackdown wrestlers yesterday what he told RAW wrestlers on Monday: don't talk to the wrestling press. Vince told wrestlers that he would "fire them on the spot" if he found out they were leaking information.
Brock Lesnar spoke up during the meeting and backed Vince McMahon's points. Brock has recently started becoming more of a "locker room leader."
In addition to the 'net issue, Vince critiqued many wrestlers and went as far as to embarass some.
But just how accurate are these online reports?
The text above is taken from 411mania.com, who probably rewrote it after taking it from 1wrestling.com. Buck Woodward, who wrote the 1wrestling.com article doesn't give his source, which presumably means that whoever leaked the information spoke directly to him. Now, Buck Woodward may have zero interest whatsoever in bringing you pro-wrestling news. What Buck Woodward is interested in is this:
Support 1Wrestling.com by subscribing to our new ad-free premium area. Monthly membership is $4.95, and annual membership is $39.95. To subscribe, click here.
It's entirely possible that part of, or all, of the article is embellished or made up, to sell subscriptions to 1wrestling. Is that the case? I don't know, and won't pretend to.
It's also possible that the source was wrong, lying, un-informed, or not reporting on the final facts.
What I'm saying is pretty obvious, but you shouldn't believe everything you read online. The greatest example of this is that Bret Hart has agreed to return to wrestling as a key figure in the upcoming "invasion" of the WWF by WCW. Of course, he didn't, and jokes have been made at 1wrestling.com's expense since.
But by the same token, stories of Goldberg's WWE signing in 2003, as well as Kevin Nash and the nWo joining the WWF in 2002 were broken online long before the WWF/E acknowledged it. Other storyline, match related and other pieces regarding the WWE have been successfully announced and later proven correct.
So why are WWE against these leaks?
The most obvious reason would be that WWE is sold on surprise and shock, moreso over the Russo era, but that is still in effect today. Having it announced online that Chris Benoit will be going to Raw spoils that surprise, and theoretically reduces interest in it.
But is that true?
You'd expect SmackDown!'s ratings to be way lower than Raw, and at the same time, live SmackDown! episodes should have a higher rating. Right? Wrong. A live SmackDown! in 2002 drew one of the lowest ratings at that point. Spoilers can work in two directions.
Here in the UK, the two top rated shows are soap-operas EastEnders and Coronation Street. They consistently get more viewers than any other show on TV, yet every week spoilers are deliberately leaked to the press. Almost every plot point, no matter how big or small, is given to the newspapers, magazines and television, usually accompanied with an interview, full colour screenshots and other fluff pieces.
The episodes that have the biggest moments, (y'know � deaths, births, rapes, plane crashes) always get the biggest ratings, because the shit is hyped out of them. People don't think, "oh, he dies in a car crash. No point watching that, then." A LOT of people tune in, even those that don't normally follow the program. Spoilers are not always a bad thing.
In fact, if anything, spoilers are a good thing. If you found out that Bret Hart (or if you don't like Bret, firstly, you're wrong, and secondly, insert the wrestler of your choice) would be on Raw next week, you'd tune in, right?
To give you a real world example: Mick Foley wins his first WWF title. Most of you will know the story behind this, but in short, Foley's title win was pre-taped, WCW got wind of it, and announced the result on Nitro, with a snarky comment about Foley's drawing power sucking. And, well, it backfired. People turned from Nitro to Raw in droves to see Mick's victory.
Living in England, I've pretty much always had Raw and SmackDown! "spoiled" for me. A few years ago, I made a pretty big effort to avoid them, but now I pretty much actively check them out. Why? To see if the show is worth watching. It used to be a given that I'd watch, but now it isn't. Therefore, it is in WWE's interests to put on something worth watching. If the spoilers sound like something I want to watch, then I take the time to watch it. If they sound crappy, then I avoid it.
And THAT is what Vince's problem is. Confidence.
He has no confidence that people will watch the shows if they are aware of what will happen, so the solution is to stop people finding out. WWE.com used to have SmackDown! spoilers, but (at least this week) none seem to be forthcoming. Instead, we get reports from morons at RajahWWF who write like this...
heyman came out and said there would be a bar of soap in the mouth match between rhyno and cena, if cena wonheyman would let cena wash his mouth out with soap, and if cena lost cena would get his mouth washed out with soap.
If WWE put on something worth watching, and told us that it is worth watching, then, shit, I'd watch.
Tonight's SmackDown! preview is pretty fuckin' bland, and doesn't really promote anything much:
Royal Rumble may be three days away, but that does not mean that the Superstars of SmackDown! can not have a Rumble of their own before the big event. On SmackDown!, the heat among Los Guerreros will come to a boil when both Chavo Guerrero, Sr. and his namesake son will form a father/son tag team to face Eddie Guerrero & Kurt Angle. This foursome has been at the center of some of the most intense moments in SmackDown! history during the last several weeks, and on SmackDown! they finally tange in the ring. Don't miss this tag team match where the winner of the battle is not nearly as important as the winner of this inter-family war!
Also, just three days before Royal Rumble, there is a lot of uncertainty among the Superstars of SmackDown! Last week, SmackDown! General Manager Paul Heyman put two teams in the unfamiliar position of fighting amongst themselves when the FBI faced off in a Battle Royal to determine who would go to the Rumble, and Rikishi faced Scotty 2 Hotty with a Rumble spot at stake. The opportunity to get a shot at the WWE Championship brought out the mean streak in all competitors and Rikishi squashed his partner, literally, and Nunzio outsmarted his FBI cohorts.
The matches seemed to bring trouble to the teams as both seemed to have some tension after their respective matches. Will the bond among the FBI remain strong as Nunzio attempts to win the Rumble despite being perhaps its smallest entry? Will the friendship between Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty ever be the same? SmackDown! may just shed some light on these situations.
Also on SmackDown!, last week the Big Show entered the arena with several law enforcement officers to maintain a 50-foot restraining order against Hardcore Holly. Brock Lesnar was at Show�s side the entire night. Was Lesnar showing support for his friend or was he so frightened of Holly that he wanted to have the 50-foot barrier as well? Will Hardcore Holly take a final shot at Lesnar before their Royal Rumble encounter? Find out on SmackDown!
Only one thing is for sure entering the final SmackDown! before Royal Rumble � General Manager Paul Heyman will not be in a good mood! Last week, he gambled with the first-ever Wash Your Mouth Out With Soap Match, and when John Cena defeated Rhyno, Heyman had his mouth washed out with soap, courtesy of Cena and Chris Benoit. Will Heyman take his anger out on somebody? Watch SmackDown! from Brock Lesnar�s hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota at 8/7 CT on UPN to find out!
The only thing worth anything there is the announcement of the Chavo / Chavo vs. Eddie / Kurt match, which does feature a retired wrestler. Other than that, shit, I could have written that preview having only seen last week's show. It's generic stuff that gives no real incentive to watch. But then � isn't the show exactly like that?
I don�t want this to turn to "why WWE sucks part #439086349086", but spoilers are the least of WWE's worries. In fact, with a bit of forethought, they could turn it in their favour. Y'know, by promoting the things that people actually want to see. But what do I know?
Nik
nikjohns at thesmartmarks dot com
You should definitely send me feedback. Right now.
Sorry for anyone who enjoyed part one of 2003 in review, but I didn't think it was very good so I didn't finish it.
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