http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/18763/wwe-power-rankings-john-cena-climbs
Not nearly as bad as I was expecting, as usually big market sites stick guys who are at best casual fans of the product into coverage like this. This actually seems to be coming from a Smarky Smark.... one of us! Hey, I'll take what I can get
Not nearly as bad as I was expecting, as usually big market sites stick guys who are at best casual fans of the product into coverage like this. This actually seems to be coming from a Smarky Smark.... one of us! Hey, I'll take what I can get
I somehow don't foresee the same level of nerd rage over these rankings as there has been from the MMA hardcores. Like really, Dana White basically admits he just makes this shit up as he goes along and ignores rankings anyway.
By the way, Ronda Rousey is officially a bigger draw than anyone in WWE with the exception of the Wrestlemania name. By about 200,000 buys, in fact. Perhaps women's wrestling might make a comeback next.
"Perhaps women's wrestling might make a comeback next."
ReplyDeleteOnly if they treat them as athletes, not just empty T&A. Which, with the current powers that be, is just not gonna happen.
Yeah, I was very surprised at the number of buys for that show (400k+). Could've been curiosity. I'll be curious how she does down the line, but it was a legit good fight.
ReplyDeleteLet's not get too crazy about Rousey's drawing power just yet. I mean, her debut could be an anomaly because it's the novelty of the first women's UFC main event. Let's see how she draws a year from now.
ReplyDeleteOf course, she's a dynamic personality, which helps draw as well. The female Chael Sonnen but more talented.
No kidding. When was the last time a female wrestler was given ANY character depth.
ReplyDeleteThen again, WWE barely gives their male wrestlers, outside CM Punk (who does it himself with his promo ability), any depth, either.
"Perhaps women's wrestling might make a comeback next."
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/V_-e_iSFE6g
You mean like when they had Beth, and Nattie, and Kong, and Sara Del Rey all working with the company in some capacity and couldn't be bothered to figure out a way to get them all on TV with a decent angle? Fucking ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but even if it's an anomaly, she drew way above expectations, which as noted almost no one in WWE is capable of pulling off. Any WWE show doing 400K domestic would have them dancing in Titan Towers and anointing the guy on top as the new Hulk Hogan. Even one women's fight doing that kind of number is a phenomenal achievement for Rousey (and Liz Carmouche, who was also a tireless media machine), never mind if she can sustain it or not.
ReplyDeleteDid they ever release the previous PPVs numbers? I had a bet with a friend that Ronda would out draw the PPV before her.
ReplyDeleteToo true, which is why I included the word "empty." They had Gail Kim back for, what? A year or two? She'd been putting on clinics with Awesome Kong and others in TNA for years. Yet, they did jack shit with her. Hell, I don't think she was even given any kind of grand return. It was some tag team bullshit.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find anything on it, but indication from "sources" are that it did less than UFC 157.
ReplyDeleteThe Aldo-Edgar show did about 300K.
ReplyDeleteWow... won that one handedly. Estimates for Rousey/Carmouche are 450-400 range.
ReplyDeleteI think part of it has to do with the fact that on average real sports outdraw scripted ones.
ReplyDeleteBut it's good to hear the PPV did a good number. Another person who can draw 400,000 is a good thing for UFC.
UFC really needs to find someone in the lighter weight classes that can draw. Frankie isn't a huge draw, Aldo hasn't drawn much either. They need someone in the lighter weight classes who can captivate the audience.
ReplyDeleteWriters are too busy writing fart "stories" for Smackdown to worry about the Gail Kim's of the world. Literally.
ReplyDeleteFartayla Neidhart disagrees. They gave her real depth, clearly.
ReplyDeleteSo far, I only see Benson Henderson, Urijah Faber, and Mike Brown.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same writing team that consists of ten or more people and yet somehow hasn't managed to sort out an undercard for the years biggest pay-per-view with only a handful of weeks left - asking them to create depth for women outside of 'farter', 'ugly', 'blonde' or 'crazy' is a bridge waaay too far.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is time for women's wrestling to make a comeback. And Kaitlyn can lead the way with her -- BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I'm sorry, I couldn't finish that with a straight face.
ReplyDeleteNot impressed with Rousey; Jericho has about 1,003 more holds than she does.
ReplyDeleteKaitlyn would have to do a gang bang on PPV to get a tenth of those numbers and it would probably have to include farm animals.
ReplyDeleteI would think until she loses, she will continue to be a big draw. She is decent looking and actually has some skill, that is a winning combination.
ReplyDeleteShe listened to that Jericho promo and wrote down all the holds and learned them. It's a shame the only one she heard was ARMBAR
ReplyDeleteNo one has any reason to believe me, but I have a friend who trained in Judo with Ronda Rousey. Don't know why that's relevant but that's my claim to fame. That or that my dad used to sell an underage Jason Kidd booze.
ReplyDeleteNot going to lie. The power rankings brought me back to the times when I was kid and took the WCW Top 10 very seriously.
ReplyDelete