When someone posted info about how WWE Shopzone was having discount Steve Austin merchandise, I went over there to see if Austin's bobblehead would be on sale. Out of everything marked down, the bobblehead remained the same price. Damn it. Austin would fit quite well in my collection, as he could stand beside Kurt Angle and Andre the Giant. I recently purchased a Joe Montana bobblehead, where he does his signature arms in the air touchdown signal. Simply beautiful. My collection is around 40 right now. I know, it's a sick habit!
Oh shoot, I missed yet another Divas special. Do you know why I purposely miss those specials? Because the WWE is pretty much forced to make their divas show the goods on a daily basis on their regular 2 hour television shows. So why bother? It's nothing you can't download, either. The WWE has to realize this, as none of their Diva specials have done well lately.
On to the FREE Phat Daily Column. I don't have a special "premium" PDC to pay for, so don't worry about that.
And while we're on the subject of the Rock, some of you readers were accusing me of "jumping on the bandwagon", as I was happy he returned Monday night. If you have some actual knowledge of this column, you'll know that I HATED his stuff before he began shooting the Scorpion King. His material was becoming stale and his wrestling ability was repetitive. When he came back from shooting his movie in August of 2001, he wasn't so stale and he wrestled much better this time around, which I clearly stated in my columns back then. His stuff with Jericho was just awesome, and it's my opinion that the WWE has needed him for a while to help boost certain things like attendance, merchandise, although I'm unsure how he'd help the ratings. Let's get all of this straight...
-RAW did a weak rating of 3.9 on Monday Night, which is pathetic. The weak ratings are now impossible to defeat, and here are the reasons why:
A) The television shows have sucked lately
B) Same people on top. It also hurts when your top face sucks as a face (Triple H), and when the Undertaker sucks at everything. Hogan's novelty has worn out already, too.
C) Vince McMahon. Too much television exposure hurt Smackdown in my opinion, and what does he do? Put himself on RAW.
D) Complete failure of the Split. It's now worse with Vince owning both "brand extensions".
E) The Clique runs the ship. Triple H, through banging Stephanie, holds down wrestlers while X-Pac and Kevin Nash beg the writers to never make them look bad.
F) Weak travelling Undisputed champions. Triple H was OK, but Undertaker and Hogan's appearances on both shows have, well, hurt both shows.
Ok, I could be here all day listing reasons, but you get the point. There's no turning back in the minds of casual fans and some loyal fans, who said "the hell with this crap". I'm getting to that point, too, as watching WWE programming has become more of a job than a fun experience. During a bad creative period, it hurts worse to write about it every day.
-WWE Confidential did a 1.2 rating, up from a 0.9 rating last week. In my opinion, the show has been somewhat successful, drawing decent numbers during an 11pm to 12am SATURDAY night spot, which does have its share of competition. Can the WWE at least stay in the 1.0 range? Yes, if they keep providing interesting material. It's not like the show is costly or anything. All you have to do is grab a WWE personality, already under salary to do what is required, and interview them. Shouldn't take forever to do. As for production? Big deal. The WWE video library is stacked with good material from past television events, so it shouldn't be a problem to dig up something.
Besides, a 1.2 rating does wonders for TNN, which reportedly only does roughly 0.50 in its primetime shows anyway. I'm thinking that if the WWE turns all of their product around, then the show would be even more successful. OR, just imagine if they had Confidential during WWE's peaks in the recent boom. Seriously, as Mtv Heat, Superstars, and even Livewire enjoyed decent success during the booming periods.
-Jesse "the body" Ventura is NOT seeking reelection for Governor of Minnesota. That's sort of a shame in one way, or a blessing in another for Minnesota. Ventura brought celebrity status to the governor's seat in Minnesota and broke through the usual Republican and Democrat monopoly that's usually dominating every election. However, Ventura used and abused his celebrity status, making several millions from the WWF for his Summerslam 1999 appearance and for commentating on XFL games, among other things. I wonder if a run for the President would be in his future? Not in 2004, as GW Bush will be hard to beat for a 2nd term, but in 2008?
Yeah, I know that Ventura has denied running for president many times, but things can change in an instant. He once said he'd never return to the WWF for anything, and look what he did.
-From everything I've read lately, it's said that the XWF is nearing a television deal. Haven't they been in that situation for all of 2002 now? It's pathetic, especially when you talk about those wrestlers who are loyal to the XWF. Every hint of a television announcement gets their hopes up, only to shatter their dreams when those hints turn out to be false rumors. Just unfair... The only thing close to a success will be the NWA-TNA, who will get exposure on Pay Per View. However, I doubt that will last long, as I give them a good 5 Pay Per Views before enough revenue is lost that the Jarretts will have to cave in.
Let's remember this kiddies... The WWE is basically a MONOPOLY. It's costly to enter a battle with them. WCW only overcame the WWF in 1996 because it spent MILLIONS, and I mean MILLIONS to even get the chance of becoming successful. This came when the WWF was very weak during 1993-1997 on overall revenue, much weaker than they are today. Unless you can find a big spender like Ted Turner or Time Warner to bankroll your federation, you're dead in the water against the WWE. Besides, competition only makes Vince McMahon stronger and smarter. The XWF was STUPID, and I mean STUPID for not selling 51% to Ted Turner. I believe that Turner, at the time, had some issues to address with Vince McMahon, such as Vince bashing him on the final Nitro ever on TNT. The XWF wouldn't give him 51% at the time, and Turner lost interest...
What an upstart company needs to do is to run a low cost company without the expenses of costly talent or fees owed to Pay Per View companies. Maybe build a product like ECW did from 1994 until 1997, where loyal fans came in by the masses. In a few years, the WWE will be very weak at its current pace, just like they were from 1993 to 1997. That's when you pressure cable companies to carry your shows and that's when you try hard to get your company exposed at any cost. Don't be an idiot and challenge a company that is a strong force on television and can buy up all of your talent if you show any signs of being a current threat.
AOL Instant Messenger: BookerTito - It's recommended that you send your questions or feedback as your first message so that it could be answered, instead of saying "hi", "hey", "what's up" or whatever else. Just get to the point, please, to make it easier since I get drilled with messages.
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KOLTERSHOCK!!! - A site that you shouldn't view with small children present!
X-Entertainment.com - One of the most entertaining pages on the net!
@Tomorrow, we'll have Smackdown hype and whatever else comes to mind. Until then, just chill...
Take Care, and Thanks for Reading.