SEScoops Mailbag for September 9th
(submit YOUR questions to [email protected])
Q: I was wondering if a new version of the Nation of Domination would work today with [Mark] Henry, Zeke and R-Truth? I see a lot of potential in this stable. It could push Truth to main event caliber as leader of that stable. Also, what is Christian’s future after his defeats in his feud against Orton? I can’t help but think he’ll be used to push other wrestlers and stop being in the spotlight after a while. – Shaneel from Mauritius
A: R-Truth already headlined one pay-per-view earlier this year and was promptly ushered back down to the mid-card. It’s not a bad place for him to be considering he’s getting TV time each week and has a gimmick the fans react to, but I don’t see how leading a faction of “angry black dudes” is going to make him into a career main eventer. Besides, we don’t need to see a revival of the Nation of Domination, just like we don’t need to see another version of DX or the nWo. As for Christian, his future is precisely what you mentioned, helping to put other wrestlers over after fighting for the championship for five straight months. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, he proved he can be quite an asset in that role back when he was a babyface in ECW.
Q: I was watching the OMG! The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History DVD and there was the huge ring collapsing incident with Big Show and Brock Lesnar. I was wondering if it was scripted or the ring just gave out because the reaction from the crowd and Taz & Michael Cole made it look so real? – Hesham from Egypt
A: That means they did their job very well. It was all planned in advance and is one of the most impressive stunts they’ve ever pulled off. There was someone at the controls behind the scenes ready to activate the ring collapse as soon as both men crashed to the mat. Taz screaming “Holy S**t!” in response only made it feel that much more realistic.
Q: The recent story I read concerning WWE having to buy the (expensive) rights to “Cult of Personality” by Living Colour reminded me of a question I’ve pondered for a long time now. How was Paul Heyman allowed to use all the licensed music he used for his ECW wrestlers’ ring entrances? I assume he did not pay the record companies. Why wasn’t he sued? – Sean
A: The simple answer is, he wasn’t allowed but he did it anyway. ECW was such a small entity, Heyman either figured nobody would know or care enough to do anything about it. He got away with a lot of stuff like that. I believe they did eventually have video distribution for their PPV events (I could be wrong about this), but even if they did, it was on such a small scale compared to a company like WWF at the time that they simply slipped under the radar, whereas Vince McMahon wouldn’t be able to use “Enter Sandman” on his shows and then turn around and sell DVD’s of those same events for $30 without having to pay astronomical royalty fees.
Q: Do you feel like CM Punk has the biggest hand in young stars like Evan Bourne, Tyler Reks and Zack Ryder being pushed, even if it is just a mini push? Or do you feel like HHH had the idea for new talents to be pushed better. – Anonymous
A: Let’s not get carried away here. Tyler Reks was on camera backstage for all of 20 seconds on Monday night, and I don’t even remember him being referred to by name. I’d hardly call that a push. But yes, Punk did go to Vince McMahon behind the scenes and voiced his support for Zack Ryder. Does he deserve the credit for Ryder’s increased TV time? Who’s to really say, but I’d argue that Ryder should get most of that credit because without starting his YouTube show (which garners more views than many videos on WWE.com) and putting in the extra effort to get himself noticed, he wouldn’t be getting any sort of push at all.
Q: With this whole brand splitting going on, does that mean Smackdown will be live for now on or back to Friday Nights and taped? I really like the whole idea of it being live and on Tuesdays, you seem to get a lot more people to tune in. – Coty
A: Smackdown is still a taped show on Friday nights for the time being. If they schedule another live special on a Tuesday and it performs well, that may convince SyFy to make a move, but as of right now, they only did it that one time to avoid running on the Labor Day holiday. It’s true that airing on Tuesdays would be significantly better for getting more eyeballs as Friday is one of the worst nights of the week for TV, but the show being live has VERY little to do with the overall rating. I’ve had this argument with people before and talked about this on the Sound Off, but people put way too much emphasis on live vs. taped. Yes, some people will read spoilers and avoid watching certain shows, but there’s no real evidence to suggest that taped shows perform consistently worse than live ones.
Q: What are the salaries of some of the main eventers such as John Cena and CM Punk? What are salaries of some mid-carders? – CJ S.
A: There are salary figures posted online if you search for them, but as far as I know, they are not accurate. WWE does not provide information about salaries for specific performers. However, it’s a safe bet that John Cena and Randy Orton, for example, each have a base salary in the high six-figure range and make significantly more than that based on their percentage of PPV revenue and merchandise. Depending on your definition of who is or isn’t a mid-card talent, they can make anywhere from the low to mid-six figures, but something like being in WWE’s annual video game will bring them a lot more money in royalties. In short, it’s not as easy or as glamorous a life as some may think it is, but it’s not bad work to get if you can find it.
Q: Why has the WWE gone away from “themed” PPV’s? I dare you to find one fan that wouldn’t want to see a Survivor Series booked exclusively with “teams vs teams”. In fact, I say bring back the In Your House’s too. I could use a free place to live. – Seth from Parts Unknown
A: Count me as that one fan you claim does not exist. In fact, I could probably find you 10 more people who would not want to see Survivor Series booked exclusively with team matches. It was a concept that worked many years ago, but it’s no longer unique. We see multiple man matches on TV every single week these days. In fact, we just had a 4-on-4 elimination match last Monday night! In my opinion, WWE has gone to the extreme with these “themed” PPV’s and needs to shave a few off because they’re killing those gimmicks. Take “Hell in a Cell” for example. The whole point of the match is to serve as the climax to a feud between two men, and it should be used sparingly so that when you do use it, it feels special. Instead, we now have an annual show that features at least TWO cell matches on the same night! What’s worse is that WWE doesn’t even have any feuds right now going long enough that would warrant having a cell match. You could have done it with Orton and Christian, but they seem to have moved away from that (and rightfully so). The first year they had HIAC as a PPV, it did 283,000 buys. Last year the show did 210,000 buys. This year, I expect that number to drop even lower. Now you’ve killed the concept.
Q: Have there been any Casket or Buried Alive matches that did not involve Undertaker or Kane in any way? Do you think we will ever see these types of matches after Undertaker and Kane retire? – John from Chicago
A: There have not been, and once both men are gone for good, I doubt there will ever be a reason to resurrect them. Besides, WWE does its fair share of “buried alive” matches each year anyway, usually involving John Cena.
Keep those questions coming to [email protected] and remember to include your name!