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View Full Version : So, is Vince McMahon crazy?


Mr. Nerfect
05-11-2007, 11:13 PM
WWE held their 2007 shareholders meeting today in Connecticut. Vince McMahon addressed many questions from the audience. Highlights are below.

- Said that WWE had a good year but that he wasn't satisfied and never will be. He said that some things they tried didn't work but that happens and that their goal is always to look to the long term.

- Talked about WWE Films. He really blasted Lionsgate for how they marketed The Condemned, basically blaming them for the film's lack of success. He went as far as to say that they "sabatoged" the film. He said that they never promoted Steve Austin as the star, never properly explained what the story was about in the poster and trailers, and said that nobody outside of the WWE fanbase knew about the film. He put over 20th Century Fox for the job they did on The Marine. He said that WWE is close to reaching a new deal with Fox which will see two theatrical releases and several DVD releases. He said that he doesn't want to do anymore R rated films. He also said that with their current financial model for films, it is very hard for them to lose money on any of them.

- He talked about WWE expanding into MMA, saying that they considered it but have decided against it. He said that MMA is everywhere it can be right now and that it will burn out soon. He said that MMA has no major stars and that it is difficult to invest in a fighter because all that investment can be undone if he loses or gets knocked out. He said the upside isn't there for MMA or boxing in terms of WWE going in those directions.

- He talked about the XFL, saying that the failure has not humbled him. He once again said that if NBC had not of backed out, the league would have been a success. He said that NBC backing out made all their other TV partners nervous and caused the demise of the league.

- Said the brand extension will continue despite the tri-branded PPVs. Said that injuries forced them to adapt.

- Said that he doesn't think having so many titles dilutes them. He said that having as many title matches on a PPV as possible gives the consumer a good value and that is needed with the increased PPV prices.

- Said that the ECW brand has not met his expectations. He did add that it takes time to build a brand and that ECW has a bright future.

- He put over WWE's international plans, saying they want to get more involved in South America and China, and that Linda McMahon is going to China in July.

- Said that WWE has tested high definition and will be going to it within the next year.

- Said there will be an upcoming WWE event called "Night of Champions" where every match will be a title match.

- Said that PPV is headed in a direction where everyone will eventually watch them online or through other digital means and that the middle man of PPV providers will be eliminated.

- Said that the cable companies are happy with WWE 24/7 but that WWE hasn't put enough energy behind it yet.

- He said that there is an effort going on in the company right now to delegate more of his duties to other people because it isn't wise to have so much responsibility fall completely on him. He said that if your last name is McMahon or Levesque, you have a good chance at succeeding him.

- Said he doesn't have time to do a book on his life.

- Said that WWE is trying to get back to the fundamentals inside the ring and that the in-ring product will be a place of big improvement over the next year.

- Put over WWE's production and said they will continue to get better in that department.

- Said that TNA can succeed as a "niche product" but added that their biggest mistake would be to try and compete with WWE. He said he doesn't have time to watch their product. Said that TNA needs to produce a different product to succeed.

- Said that using celebrities has its place but only sometimes, since promoting celebrities takes away from promoting regular wrestlers. He mentioned how WCW never had success using celebrities.

- Said that he "doubts" WWE will ever follow the route of other major American companies and work with companies in terrorist states.

Mr. Nerfect
05-11-2007, 11:19 PM
I personally think Vince needs to saddle up and admit his mistakes. I made a thread about The Condemned and WWE Films recently, and the WWE name is just not strong enough to carry mainstream acceptance. People probably didn't want to go see The Condemned because Stone Cold Steve Austin was in it. Blaming Lionsgate is not the way to go. I guess Vince is just trying to make Fox happy. Maybe if Vince sucks Rupert's cock enough, they will get another show on their television station.

The "Night of Champions" idea intrigues me, but didn't Backlash have titles defended in every match? The only way to do this NoC thing right, is to have every title defended. That seems like a lot, but they could do it on PPV. That's only nine matches. Considering they finish about 20:00 early, and they have a lot of useless backstage segments (which wouldn't be necessary as the show would focus on the in-ring product), they could very easily get it done.

Crossrine
05-11-2007, 11:21 PM
What the hell does he mean by terrorist states? Like democratic or republican? But ya he shows alot of signs of insanity.

IC Champion
05-11-2007, 11:21 PM
Vince will do what Vince does, hes never admitted to being wrong, and very rarely takes responsibility for mistakes.

so.....
Yes he most likely is starting to loose it a little

lol at the shareholders meeting. Im gettin me some WWE stock

Shaggy
05-11-2007, 11:24 PM
lol at the shareholders meeting. Im gettin me some WWE stock

I actually have 50 shares....it was a birthday present from my grandparents four years ago....

I get their little shareholder book they send out annually with all the info on how much profit everything was...and a dividend check every month from the WWE for about $6

IC Champion
05-11-2007, 11:25 PM
I actually have 50 shares....it was a birthday present from my grandparents four years ago....

I get their little shareholder book they send out annually with all the info on how much profit everything was...and a dividend check every month from the WWE for about $6
How much is one share?

Hanso Amore
05-12-2007, 04:21 AM
What the hell does he mean by terrorist states? Like democratic or republican? But ya he shows alot of signs of insanity.

Wow, your parents must be proud.

he means Countries that support terrorists.

Kane Knight
05-12-2007, 09:52 AM
I personally think Vince needs to saddle up and admit his mistakes. I made a thread about The Condemned and WWE Films recently, and the WWE name is just not strong enough to carry mainstream acceptance. People probably didn't want to go see The Condemned because Stone Cold Steve Austin was in it. Blaming Lionsgate is not the way to go.

Well, except...

The marketing WAS ass. The TV spots, which were rare, showed almost none of the movie and didn't promote Austin.

You can bash WWE all you want from sheepfuckland, but you're really not arguing something that's actually based in reality. Outside of WWE programming, it was NOT hyped over here.

I mean, aside from them NOT promoting the movie or Austin, you're absolutely right. No reason to blame LGF.

Kane Knight
05-12-2007, 09:52 AM
Wow, your parents must be proud.

he means Countries that support terrorists.

You mean like the US?

Avenger
05-12-2007, 09:59 AM
How much is one share?I'd say WWE shares are around 15 bucks at the mo.

Kane Knight
05-12-2007, 10:49 AM
And Ireland?

Sorry, Avenger reminded me.

Volare
05-12-2007, 11:30 AM
I'd say WWE shares are around 15 bucks at the mo.


As of Friday WWE gained 0.19 to end with a price of 18.18 a share

Kane Knight
05-12-2007, 11:33 AM
15 bucks is actually around their 52 week low.

Granted, they've been going up and down.

Volare
05-12-2007, 11:34 AM
Im acutally watching the stock holders meeting on coroporate.wwe.com...I love he rants and raves about Austin's movie

Jeritron
05-12-2007, 11:53 AM
You know, to be completely honest I remember feeling like Condemned was shoved down my throat, but I don't recall seeing it marketed or explained outside of WWE programming.

Kane Knight
05-12-2007, 12:09 PM
You know, to be completely honest I remember feeling like Condemned was shoved down my throat, but I don't recall seeing it marketed or explained outside of WWE programming.

i saw ONE ad. ONCE.

Whoever marketed his movie should be hired by Vince.

Jeritron
05-12-2007, 12:12 PM
Yea, I mean Vince might be arrogant, too full of pride, and cocky. But he's not crazy.

Kane Knight
05-12-2007, 12:37 PM
Yea, I mean Vince might be arrogant, too full of pride, and crazy. But he's not crazy.

Sorry, I had to do it.

Volare
05-12-2007, 02:58 PM
I saw it on ESPN one day....and people were like wtf....Austin quit wrestling?

Crossrine
05-12-2007, 03:03 PM
Originally posted by MathewAllenHanso

Wow, your parents must be proud.

he means Countries that support terrorists.

Well it said states in the report so that threw me off. But apparently Kane Knight covered what "States" they visited.

Anybody Thrilla
05-12-2007, 03:13 PM
The "Night of Champions" idea intrigues me

Remember WCW's Clash of the Champions?

Shaggy
05-12-2007, 03:25 PM
As of Friday WWE gained 0.19 to end with a price of 18.18 a share

my shares were purchased at 16....so as of now Im making a profit...not enough profit to start selling them all....but a profit non the less..

Volare
05-12-2007, 05:02 PM
not too shabby :)

thedamndest
05-13-2007, 07:42 PM
If you're in charge of a company and you're talking to your shareholders, you are of course going to downplay your weak points, and play up your strong points. Vince did what any one in his position would do, discussing moving past failures and looking to the future and so on.

Kane Knight
05-13-2007, 08:26 PM
I haven't seen this shareholder's meeting, but in the previous clips I've seen, he does what everyone else does--Only in over-the-top, carnie stylle BS.

thedamndest
05-13-2007, 09:10 PM
Does he do his arm swinging power march into the meeting?

Kane Knight
05-13-2007, 09:56 PM
No, but he always welcomes yo to the latest WWE corporate shareholders meeting...RIGHT HERE...IN STANFORD, CONNECTICUT!

*pop*

Kane Knight
05-13-2007, 09:56 PM
Seriously, he's more over the top than a Barbara Streisand impersonater.

Mr. Nerfect
05-14-2007, 01:03 AM
Well, except...

The marketing WAS ass. The TV spots, which were rare, showed almost none of the movie and didn't promote Austin.

You can bash WWE all you want from sheepfuckland, but you're really not arguing something that's actually based in reality. Outside of WWE programming, it was NOT hyped over here.

I mean, aside from them NOT promoting the movie or Austin, you're absolutely right. No reason to blame LGF.

The marketing may have been ass, but that wasn't really my point. Marketing doesn't make a film anyway. Snakes on a Plane was marketed to death (some might say quite literally). The marketing could have been done better, maybe, but given all the negative reviews and whatnot, couldn't it just be said that the WWE made a bad movie?

Of course he isn't going to tell his investors that, I never suggested he did. I'm just throwing it out there the spin Vince needs to put on things to make his failures look good.

Kane Knight
05-14-2007, 08:30 AM
See, you just used an example of oversaturation to deflect a lack of any publicity.

owenbrown
05-14-2007, 08:39 AM
Was the title of this topic supposed to be a rethorical question? :shifty:

Theo Dious
05-14-2007, 09:01 AM
He said that they never promoted Steve Austin as the star, never properly explained what the story was about in the poster and trailers, and said that nobody outside of the WWE fanbase knew about the film.

I can agree with this. I saw ten thousand ads and commercials for it, and I have no idea what it's even about.

Kane Knight
05-14-2007, 09:05 AM
Hey, DT. Did you see any that weren't on WWE TV?

Theo Dious
05-14-2007, 09:09 AM
Hmm... either on WWE TV, or channels that carry WWE TV. I don't really watch a lot of TV that isn't related to wrestling though, but I can say in confidence that the Game Show Network hasn't played them.

Kane Knight
05-14-2007, 09:30 AM
LOL.

WWE TV started to actually bring up the plot of the movie after the movie aired, hoping some people might show up. The problem is, it's usually the role of the TV ads to push WWE movies, like the Marine, and WWE to go "behind the scenes" with the stars. When the Marine came out, we had Cena advertised, in our face, etc., and with "See No Evil," we saw Kane. And WWE supplemented that shit on their own TV.

With the Condemned, I didn't even realise that I saw next to nothing outside of WWE's "supplemental" material.

Actually, I've got to say that, given the lack of promotion outside WWE TV, I'm impressed it premiered in the top ten at all.

AdrianM
05-14-2007, 01:37 PM
- Talked about WWE Films. He really blasted Lionsgate for how they marketed The Condemned, basically blaming them for the film's lack of success. He went as far as to say that they "sabatoged" the film. He said that they never promoted Steve Austin as the star, never properly explained what the story was about in the poster and trailers, and said that nobody outside of the WWE fanbase knew about the film. He put over 20th Century Fox for the job they did on The Marine. He said that WWE is close to reaching a new deal with Fox which will see two theatrical releases and several DVD releases. He said that he doesn't want to do anymore R rated films. He also said that with their current financial model for films, it is very hard for them to lose money on any of them.
- i've no idea why the condemned hasn't worked out. i mean, yes its an R rating, but alot of ppl i would think would watch it for steve austin, and most ppl who are fans would be over 18 now anyway


- He talked about the XFL, saying that the failure has not humbled him. He once again said that if NBC had not of backed out, the league would have been a success. He said that NBC backing out made all their other TV partners nervous and caused the demise of the league.
-ok, i never watched xfl, but from what i've heard, it was terrible. and by the end of the 1st season, it had practically no support. This just reeks of Eric Bischoff's whole "WCW would have survived if they were still on TV.". They got dropped from tv because it was a bad product, not the other way round.


- Said that WWE is trying to get back to the fundamentals inside the ring and that the in-ring product will be a place of big improvement over the next year.

so, why john cena still champ, and will continue to be champ unless khali wins the title?

Theo Dious
05-14-2007, 01:39 PM
Bah, I enjoyed XFL.

Theo Dious
05-14-2007, 01:40 PM
so, why john cena still champ, and will continue to be champ unless khali wins the title?

English, motherfucker, do you speak it?!

Jeritron
05-14-2007, 03:49 PM
Of course XFL was a failure, but it was a business endeavor. So he failed, but that doesn't mean he's wrong in some of his thinking. Perhaps NBC's reaction did kill them. Perhaps the marketing of his films and the R ratings is what hurt them I don't think they would have done very well regardless, but I can't say he's wrong when he says Condemned was undermarketed. From my memory it was, it was overmarketed to us because of WWE programming, but other than that I never saw anything.

It's just because it's Vince, and everyone likes to think that the guy is crazy and out of his mind. He is full of himself, he is egotistical, and at time his pride probably gets in the way of fact. But that's a personality trait, not a mental health issue. The guy is no different than any other tycoon. He's obviously doing something right.

There's a big difference between being crazy and being full of shit. Just like there's a big difference between Vince 'losing it' and Vince not giving smarks what they want. Just because he puts Cena types over Benoit types doesn't mean he's crazy. He knows what he's doing and he's not doing it for the IWC.

Also, Paul Heyman blames outside forces for his failures to this day. Only difference is he went out of business and it really was his fault and he can't admit his failures. Why aren't people calling him crazy? Because you liked his booking and he's not the smark embodiment of satan in wrestling?

Theo Dious
05-14-2007, 04:32 PM
Over- or undermarketed, I think we can agree it was mis-marketed.

Jeritron
05-14-2007, 04:39 PM
It was overmarketed and exposed to wrestling fans, and undermarketed and underexposed to the rest of the world.

Sephiroth
05-14-2007, 04:41 PM
No, Vince isn't crazy, he is satan himself.

Kane Knight
05-14-2007, 05:09 PM
Vince 'losing it' and Vince not giving smarks what they want. Just because he puts Cena types over Benoit types doesn't mean he's crazy. He knows what he's doing and he's not doing it for the IWC.

:lol:

Or the casual fan, the ticket-buying fan.....