The Wrestling Thread is not your decision you stupid Americans - - - Part 197

[Donnie Darko]

Samoa Joe is going to be at Supercard of Honor in Cali at WrestleMania 31 Weekend!

Are you going this year?

 

[sweetre15]

I'm glad it's not just me thinking this. Granted, it's often hard to get behind the women's product that WWE gives us, it can't help that fans crap on it so hard.

Oh, I was fighting against that in the threads regarding the #GiveDivasAChance issue because some of those fans keep posting obnoxious posts about how women can't draw and they were still being stubborn when I posted examples of how even a niche product like TNA once had females become top draws in their company when they were presented as an alternative to WWE Divas.

A match between Cheerleader Melissa and Daizee Haze outdrew a 3 way between Angle/Joe/Steiner before....Food for thought

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Even though they currently have 2 active female wrestlers, I love the way Sexy Star and Ivelisse are presented on Lucha Underground. They're beautiful, but they can put on great performances with each other AND the men.

 

[TheFuture]

Odds that Vince misses the point and books a hot fudge match?

Oh god, in his head a Charlotte mega push will solve everything.

Suprised that Paige seemingly broke ranks with her post. Brave, but it could hurt her.

 

[sweetre15]

Honestly I don't think Paige will get in trouble for saying anything because Natalya and The Bellas have spoken out about this Issue themselves recently so they'd be hypocritical if they didn't punished ALL the divas that spoke out which would be the most showcase women in the division right now.

 

[OctaviusINC]

But remember WWE is one of the most hypocritical and childish companies in existence.

 

[Pink Ranger]

But remember WWE is one of the most hypocritical and childish companies in existence.

You're right, but maybe they shouldn't have become publicly traded then. If they wanted to keep going with all this crazy old man **** the business should have never left the family.

 

[Urich Leeds]

Honestly I don't think Paige will get in trouble for saying anything because Natalya and The Bellas have spoken out about this Issue themselves recently so they'd be hypocritical if they didn't punished ALL the divas that spoke out which would be the most showcase women in the division right now.

You underestimate Vince McMahon and Paul Levesque.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

What does that have to do with what I said?

trust me mate its not worth it

 

[runawayboulder]

Honestly I don't think Paige will get in trouble for saying anything because Natalya and The Bellas have spoken out about this Issue themselves recently so they'd be hypocritical if they didn't punished ALL the divas that spoke out which would be the most showcase women in the division right now.

You underestimate Vince McMahon and Paul Levesque.

It's not just Paige, Bellas and Nattie. You also have Ziggler and Cesaro complaining in the past and now Cody, who we haven't heard a peep from about all about the subject until this week. These folks are banding together. You can't fire/punish everyone.

 

[Pink Ranger]

It's not just Paige, Bellas and Nattie. You also have Ziggler and Cesaro complaining in the past and now Cody, who we haven't heard a peep from about all about the subject until this week. These folks are banding together. You can't fire/punish everyone.

Yeah, but you can punish a few to set an example (not that I condone that, but this is how this company has worked in the past). That will likely happen unless one of the recognized "locker-room leaders" steps up too (like Cena, Dustin or Kane).

 

[sweetre15]

You underestimate Vince McMahon and Paul Levesque.

Thing is Vince and Trips are on opposing sides when it comes to the diva treatment issue

 

[Warhammer]

Paige is Haitch's girl, too. He won't let her get buried.

 

[runawayboulder]

Paige is Haitch's girl, too. He won't let her get buried.

He's also the reason Emma didn't get fired.

 

[runawayboulder]

 

[sweetre15]

Man, I can't believe I have to practically pull teeth when arguing with some guys on this site about the treatment of the divas: http://www.wrestlingforum.com/gener...-lees-recent-comments-equal-pay-new-post.html

I do like that it's caused some to expose their true colors though

 

[Bat Brain]

 

[Slushy]

Watching No Way Out 2001. I forgot how good this PPV was. Solid card, top to bottom!

Samoa Joe is going to be at Supercard of Honor in Cali at WrestleMania 31 Weekend!

I'm going to just to meet Jushin "Thunder" Liger! WOO!

 

[TheNextNolan22]

So Daniel Bryan is supposedly going to be in a 5-Man cluster**** for the I-C Title at Mania?

Great! That is best for business!

 

[The Apocalypse]

so daniel bryan is supposedly going to be in a 5-man cluster**** for the i-c title at mania?

Great! That is best for business!

wut

 

[Docker2.0]

That is a horrible idea! I swear monkeys are writing for WWE! They have no idea what they are doing and it's no wonder the locker room is going crazy.

 

[sweetre15]

Why do people keep saying Bryan will be in the IC title match?

I'm hearing literally nothing on that and the SD spoilers don't quite give me that indication either.

 

[sweetre15]

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

As noted, AJ Lee tweeted the following to Stephanie McMahon last night:

"Your female wrestlers have record selling merchandise & have starred in the highest rated segment of the show several times, And yet they receive a fraction of the wages & screen time of the majority of the male roster. #UseYourVoice"

Regarding AJ's merchandise claims, she was a strong merchandise seller when she was being pushed but the formula WWE uses for merchandise sales with most of the roster is the same with a few top stars getting higher percentages. None of the Divas sell anywhere close to the levels that top WWE Superstars are at.

As far as Divas being in the highest-rated segments on WWE TV, the Diva segments were rarely above average when weekly segment breakdowns were available. However, AJ was working main event segments with top stars such as Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, and those segments always did well.

Regarding pay, while there are exceptions, it is a general rule in WWE that the Divas on the main roster are paid significantly less than the men. Apparently that is not the case in NXT as there's a general rule that the Divas there make more than the men because so many of the men came from indie backgrounds and are willing to take low pay just to be a part of WWE. Most of the women hired come from modeling or athletic backgrounds and there's also the idea that the women need to earn at a certain level to maintain the kind of look WWE wants.

A source close to the situation with AJ said she did it completely on her own and the company was completely blind-sided by it. Stephanie was said to be absolutely furious at being made to look bad by one of their employees and at being shown up on Twitter. Vince McMahon, seeing the bigger picture, reportedly instructed Stephanie to reply with the tweet that she sent, thanking AJ for her opinion.

 

[runawayboulder]

There are a few claims that this whole thing is a work and that AJ is prepping for a return to TV the night after WM to start a Divas vs The Authority angle culminating in an AJ/Steph match before AJ's deal is up. Some people around to feel that the WWE is trying to use the traditional rabid post Mania RAW crowd to their advantage with a real hot topic storyline. Apparently it has been known for a while that AJ was ready to come back but the WWE didn't want to rush her into a WM storyline and figured they would hold off a little longer.

One thing is for sure, this Monday's RAW is in NJ so with the crowd it's a must watch.

 

[Donnie Darko]

Obviously, I'd much prefer they built to Bryan vs Lesnar for the world title at WM.

However, IF he is, in fact, being put in the IC title picture, I don't necessarily see it as a bad thing (thinking optimistically). We always complain about the midcard belts not meaning anything, but right now, the biggest star in WWE is feuding over the US title with an up and coming heel. It's bringing some much-needed prestige to he US title picture. If they do the same with the IC title, possibly putting it on Daniel Bryan and having him defend against the likes of Ambrose, Ziggler and Barrett, is that necessarily a bad thing (on paper, at least)?

IF this is the case, even if the world title picture is lackluster (with Reigns) or fairly inactive (with Lesnar staying with the company and retaining), we could potentially have both midcard belts reach "main event" level status.

Of course, this is all hypothetical, and WWE would likely drop the ball, but it's not really a terrible idea, if handled correctly.