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[Toki767]

What are people's thoughts on a potential redo of the woman's MITB ladder match on Smackdown this week or next week?

Seems like WWE would be extremely foolish to let this story line persist without repercussions. Your first ladies MITB match and a dude gets involved? Just don't see this standing.

You don't get a redo of what's supposed to be one of the most historic nights for women in WWE.

 

[Arrowgigantic]

Also, Big Dave Meltzer follow up on Owens' injury in the match, and it turns out he's fine.

It must be so satisfying for a wrestler to work Meltzer.

 

[ReiGun]

Pretty much. But then they complain when the only people who want to advertise on the shows are products for idiots

It's just funny because we also have a multi page thread where people are debating endlessly why ratings are falling. Um, maybe people got tired of watching a show that is constantly poorly written and often shows open contempt for the people watching?

I understand the idea of getting heat. But after all these years of falling ratings, buy rates, and box office sales, maybe it's time to accept that WWE has been generating more "I'm gonna stop watching this bullshit" heat than "Oh I hate that girl/guy" heat.

The strangest part is the mocking of fans who get upset over poor decisions or low quality. In all my years of TV watching, I've never encountered a fanbase that actively works to have no genuine emotion or investment in what they're watching until I started following online wrestling culture. Any moment of excitement or joy or anger or disappointment, at least in relation to WWE, is met with "Haha get worked you fucking mark."

You can't even have a lot of the fun conversation you get when watching other shows because people are quick to show off their smarkiness by reminding you it's fake and scripted and Vince blah blah. It's like if you were watching Game of Thrones and someone told you the dragons were just CG. Or if you watched Arrow and someone told you Stephen Amell had a stunt double and wasn't really killing people with arrows. It's like, dude, I know. I'm trying to suspend my disbelief and actually enjoy the program.

It's just...funny. The WWE has managed to cultivate a fanbase that's too cyncial to have any sustained emotional investment in the product. The hardcore fanbase generally seems to watch only out of some twisted sense of obligation rather than any hope they'll actually enjoy what's being offered. And so WWE has made themselves kind of critic proof. Any criticism of a decision like last night's MITB result is just people "getting worked" and so Vince is right regardless.

But then people turn right back around and labor endlessly to figure out why nothing's improving and ratings are falling. Nothing is changing because no one cares. Folks'll watch anyway. This story could end with Carmella coming out and taking a shit in the ring and it wouldn't matter. If anyone got mad, they'd just be getting worked and duh she's suppose to empty her bowls in the ring because you're not supposed to like heels, you mark.

(I'm fully aware a lot of this was a tangent, but it's something that's been on my mind for a while. lol)

 

[Angry Grimace]

It must be so satisfying for a wrestler to work Meltzer.

He said he got reports that there was an injury and/or that Owens had to be helped out after the MITB match, but nobody had said anything to him.

It's just funny because we also have a multi page thread where people are debating endlessly why ratings are falling. Um, maybe people got tired of watching a show that is constantly poorly written and often shows open contempt for the people watching?

I understand the idea of getting heat. But after all these years of falling ratings, buy rates, and box office sales, maybe it's time to accept that WWE has been generating more "I'm gonna stop watching this bullshit" heat than "Oh I hate that girl/guy" heat.

The strangest part is the mocking of fans who get upset over poor decisions or low quality. In all my years of TV watching, I've never encountered a fanbase that actively works to have no genuine emotion or investment in what they're watching until I started following online wrestling culture. Any moment of excitement or joy or anger or disappointment, at least in relation to WWE, is met with "Haha get worked you fucking mark."

You can't even have a lot of the fun conversation you get when watching other shows because people are quick to show off their smarkiness by reminding you it's fake and scripted and Vince blah blah. It's like if you were watching Game of Thrones and someone told you the dragons were just CG. Or if you watched Arrow and someone told you Stephen Amell had a stunt double and wasn't really killing people with arrows. It's like, dude, I know. I'm trying to suspend my disbelief and actually enjoy the program.

It's just...funny. The WWE has managed to cultivate a fanbase that's too cyncial to have any sustained emotional investment in the product. The hardcore fanbase generally seems to watch only out of some twisted sense of obligation rather than any hope they'll actually enjoy what's being offered. And so WWE has made themselves kind of critic proof. Any criticism of a decision like last night's MITB result is just people "getting worked" and so Vince is right regardless.

But then people turn right back around and labor endlessly to figure out why nothing's improving and ratings are falling. Nothing is changing because no one cares. Folks'll watch anyway. This story could end with Carmella coming out and taking a shit in the ring and it wouldn't matter. If anyone got mad, they'd just be getting worked and duh she's suppose to empty her bowls in the ring because you're not supposed to like heels, you mark.

(I'm fully aware a lot of this was a tangent, but it's something that's been on my mind for a while. lol)

A lot of their problem is that there isn't any reason to watch the weekly show. The Network just removes most of your incentive to do it. You just find out what the card is and watch the PPV for $5.

 

[BackLogJoe]

I want to see a series of beat the clock matches where each lady gets a shot at kicking Elssworths ass. The winner faces Carmela for the briefcase. Ellsworth will be too bloody to help.

 

[Arrowgigantic]

He said he got reports that there was an injury and/or that Owens had to be helped out after the MITB match, but nobody had said anything to him.

Correct. He got worked.

 

[mindatlarge]

You don't get a redo of what's supposed to be one of the most historic nights for women in WWE.

Totally agree, "redo" was a poor choice in words.

I'm just curious if others think Carmela will continue status quo as Miss MITB or will WWE strip her of it and do the match again clean, or some other variation? They definitely missed an opportunity to continue to build up the women's division during a PPV with a clean win by one of the female participants. No matter the outcome, it makes you wonder what the hell they were thinking.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Correct. He got worked.

I mean, so what? Its a fake-sport where they pretend to fight and pretend to get hurt.

 

[ReiGun]

He said he got reports that there was an injury and/or that Owens had to be helped out after the MITB match, but nobody had said anything to him.


A lot of their problem is that there isn't any reason to watch the weekly show. The Network just removes most of your incentive to do it. You just find out what the card is and watch the PPV for $5.

I don't even think it's just the Network. Let's be real, a lot of people who watch WWE pirate it. We obviously don't have numbers to say how many, but it's a clear thing that happens. I remember being on gaf and watching WWE back in college and having people openly share illegal streams through PMs. Reddit and other places always have streams at the ready for PPVs even today. That's part of what I mean when I talk about people's sense of obligation. They dislike the product enough to not pay for it, but not enough to just disengage.

Yeah there's no reason to watch Raw or Smackdown week to week, but people still do it. A steadily decreasing number of people, but people watch none the less. I think much of the fanbase has resigned themselves to the fact that it's never getting better and there's no reason to get invested. That's why you got people going to shows and sitting on their hands waiting for the next chant; even when WWE has a hot crowd, the storytelling can and often does kill it dead. That's why online the conversation is more about backstage fuckery; no one wants to suspend their disbelief to enjoy the show because the show isn't interesting enough. And that's whether you're watching week to week or just tuning in to PPVs.

There's just so much....apathy when it comes to WWE. Both inside the company and among fans. And that's unfortunate because you look at the current roster and it really could be a lot more fun than it is.

 

[Kaiterra]

I understand the idea of getting heat. But after all these years of falling ratings, buy rates, and box office sales, maybe it's time to accept that WWE has been generating more "I'm gonna stop watching this bullshit" heat than "Oh I hate that girl/guy" heat.

The strangest part is the mocking of fans who get upset over poor decisions or low quality. In all my years of TV watching, I've never encountered a fanbase that actively works to have no genuine emotion or investment in what they're watching until I started following online wrestling culture. Any moment of excitement or joy or anger or disappointment, at least in relation to WWE, is met with "Haha get worked you fucking mark."

Yes sir. I haven't been able to come back except for maybe one episode here or there for a good while now it's so lame. There's never a payoff worth sticking around for. And the weird internet one-upsmanship game of "I'm a smarkier smark than you because I understand the secret reasons that every decision the management makes is actually genius" is even more tiring than the storylines.

 

[Cybit]

Totally agree, "redo" was a poor choice in words.

I'm just curious if others think Carmela will continue status quo as Miss MITB or will WWE strip her of it and do the match again clean, or some other variation? They definitely missed an opportunity to continue to build up the women's division during a PPV with a clean win by one of the female participants. No matter the outcome, it makes you wonder what the hell they were thinking.

They ended up stripping her of it and have another MitB match set for next week on Smackdown. Based on the immediacy of the tweets post MitB - this was the plan from the beginning. The entire storyline on Smackdown was about how Ellsworth devalued the first MitB match, and how Carmella didn't care while the other women did.

http://prowrestling.net/site/2017/0...is-baron-corbin-appears-mitb-contract-holder/