Smark Era..... Good or Bad?

[The CyNick]

It's good to see Noid coming around on the mindset of WWE booking, which is to focus on larger than life characters.

The difference now is The Network. In years passed when business declined, the WWE would try to appeal to its base and push guys with strong workrate. With the idea being to keep things afloat until the next big mega star comes along. That was in an era where there was an arms race for TV ratings. It's a different environment today. The TV ratings have declined (largely in line with other shows on cable), but revenues have never been higher. Part of that is The Network, but it's also that there is more money on the table with TV in large part due to the successful move to PG programming.

At the same time house show attendance is essentially flat and merch is still selling (not at the rates of the peak, but selling nonetheless). What it shows is that WWE is less focused on the elusive "casual" audience and instead focused on being smarter at generating revenue from the hardcore fan.

It's left WWE trying to serve two masters. On the one hand, they still want to find that traditional New York territory babyface - Hogan, Rock, Austin, Cena type (hence the Reigns project, guys like Stroman, Corbin, etc) but they want to ensure the hardcore fans are looked after - (hence NXT on the weekend of big 4 PPVs, specials like the 205 deal, and pushing Internet darlings like Balor, Owens, Styles, etc.).

I have heard from too many friends who have a very passing interest in sports entertainment that they could never take a guy like Rey Mysterio seriously in a match against a guy like Big Show or Kane. I tend to agree with that line of thinking. I think for a guy to come off larger than life, he needs to have the size or the believeability in his work. For example, Kurt Angle is not massive, but if you know his background and watch him work, you have no trouble believing he could beat up anyone. I don't think guys like Styles (who I think is phenominal), Balor, or even Rollins to a degree give off a tough guy vibe. Not to say they can't be effective heels, or mid card babys, but as top dogs, I don't see it.

But that's where The Network comes in. As WWE is able to further monetize their Network subscriber base, there could be even more movement to appealing to the smarks, and less concern about that mega star that can be a crossover star.

[Stickman]

Originally Posted by The CyNick It's good to see Noid coming around on the mindset of WWE booking, which is to focus on larger than life characters. The difference now is The Network. In years passed when business declined, the WWE would try to appeal to its base and push guys with strong workrate. With the idea being to keep things afloat until the next big mega star comes along. That was in an era where there was an arms race for TV ratings. It's a different environment today. The TV ratings have declined (largely in line with other shows on cable), but revenues have never been higher. Part of that is The Network, but it's also that there is more money on the table with TV in large part due to the successful move to PG programming. At the same time house show attendance is essentially flat and merch is still selling (not at the rates of the peak, but selling nonetheless). What it shows is that WWE is less focused on the elusive "casual" audience and instead focused on being smarter at generating revenue from the hardcore fan. It's left WWE trying to serve two masters. On the one hand, they still want to find that traditional New York territory babyface - Hogan, Rock, Austin, Cena type (hence the Reigns project, guys like Stroman, Corbin, etc) but they want to ensure the hardcore fans are looked after - (hence NXT on the weekend of big 4 PPVs, specials like the 205 deal, and pushing Internet darlings like Balor, Owens, Styles, etc.). I have heard from too many friends who have a very passing interest in sports entertainment that they could never take a guy like Rey Mysterio seriously in a match against a guy like Big Show or Kane. I tend to agree with that line of thinking. I think for a guy to come off larger than life, he needs to have the size or the believeability in his work. For example, Kurt Angle is not massive, but if you know his background and watch him work, you have no trouble believing he could beat up anyone. I don't think guys like Styles (who I think is phenominal), Balor, or even Rollins to a degree give off a tough guy vibe. Not to say they can't be effective heels, or mid card babys, but as top dogs, I don't see it. But that's where The Network comes in. As WWE is able to further monetize their Network subscriber base, there could be even more movement to appealing to the smarks, and less concern about that mega star that can be a crossover star.

Not once did I find Rey a credible champ. He had a match with HBGOATK and it even fell flat because of the size difference. Hbk makes everything look legit but fighting a midget didn't work for me.