411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Will Batista Ever Return to WWE?

Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week: First up is the one and only Dino Zee! He battles Daniel Clark!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals and hydroponics.

1. The fact that the WWE opened up the Network to 170 countries and could only raise the number of subscribers from 700,000 to 731,00 is a huge disappointment.

Dino Zee: FACT – For me, it’s more of a personal disappointment that the Network isn’t doing so well. I mean, I know that for ten whole bucks, we’re supposed to expect every single second of footage that WWE owns to be available immediately, but I am of the opinion that what the Network has so far is pretty freaking amazing. You can’t satisfy everyone, especially those that prefer to be miserable and complain, but the 731,000 number is absolutely low, and definitely disappointing.

Daniel Clark: FACT – How could it not be? Unless the WWE think that in the 169 countries other the USA they were only expecting to get another 31,000 subscribers, then this is a massive disappointment and a real setback for them – and if they did only expect similar numbers then the cost and times of expanding to these countries would not have been worth. The WWE is a global brand and tours around the globe on a regular basis and every time they are on PPV they make a point of referencing just how many countries are tuning into the event, so for whatever reason the fact these fans are not interested in the WWE Network has to be seen as a disappointment. Whether it is a lack of marketing and advertising to let the foreign fans know the WWE Network is available, a cost issue that people do not feel they can afford it, or whether they just are not interested in the content that it is offering, another 31,000 subscribers is a terrible number. I think the number that they need to break even if 1 million, so if they are not even ¾ of the way there after all this time then they must be very concerned as to whether they will get there, and the fact they have dropped the 6 month commitment is a sign that they do not think that things are going particularly well, and it wouldn’t surprise me if casual fans end up just subscribing and then canceling the WWE Network just before and after WrestleMania and maybe the Royal Rumble just to watch those events on the cheap. Once it does launch in the UK that number will rise but whether it will rise up to the level that they want and need it to, I’m not sure. They already show so much programming that I don’t know whether people have the time commitment to make it worthwhile and personally, I’m not sure I would want to pay for a service that I can only watch on a laptop screen. I think the WWE has overestimated the number of people who would be willing to pay for the Network. People are prepared to spend money on ordering a PPV so that they can watch it on a big screen and split the cash between a group of them – it might be cheaper to order the WWE Network but people are less likely to crowd together and watch on a laptop screen. A lack of subscribers is looking like a major problem for the WWE and I suspect in forthcoming weeks it will get another huge push with more ‘exclusive’ content that entices you to buy the Network (but at the same time punishes those who cannot buy it…)

2. You have no desire to see Rey Mysterio wrestle in WWE again.

Dino Zee: FACT – I’d love a return to the glory days of Rey, but just talking about seeing him in his current condition? I’m good, I think. Rey is a guy I’ve always liked, always considered myself a big fan of, and always looked forward to seeing wrestle, but I don’t think it’s a huge step that he’s slowed down quite a bit in recent years. On top of that, he apparently grew tired of WWE like so many before him, and so when you add his physical condition to his mental state, I don’t think another appearance in WWE is for the best. If he wants to show up rejuvenated for, say, Lucha Underground, well I’d be willing to give his match a watch. As far as WWE goes, though… no. I’m good.

Daniel Clark: FICTION – Rey Mysterio is one of the greatest in-ring performers of the last 20 years and even this year in the limited number of matches that he had, he was entertaining and did put on some good matches. Mysterio, at his best, is always guaranteed to put together something worth watching and has proven himself to be adaptable in many different styles of matches. That Rey Mysterio is someone that is always worth watching. However, I’m not sure that this version of Mysterio is exists anymore. The injuries that he has suffered have taken their toll on him and he is a step slower in the ring and does not seem to have the same motivation that he once had and the reports suggest that he is mentally done with the WWE and even if he did ever return from whatever injury he is currently out with, he would not be fully committed to his in-ring work. The fact he does not seem to be able to stay free of injury for more than a few months at a time is a factor as well as it very difficult to get behind someone who you cannot trust won’t get injured and ruin any angle that you planned, and it is difficult to see exactly where he fits on the roster anymore. That said, I would like to see Mysterio get one last short retirement run, but only if he is actually up for it and cares.

3. Following the success of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie and reports that his contract has been extended for several other films, Dave Batista will never wrestle for WWE again.

Dino Zee: FICTION – I’m not arrogant enough to predict the future so assuredly. Who knows if Batista wants to come back in like two years, when his star has faded, and he’s looking to make some more money? Or maybe he’ll be set for life and never come again. I don’t know. So I have to give this a “Fiction,” just to keep the possibility of his return open. I wish him the best in his film pursuits, that much is for certain.

Daniel Clark: FACT – The one thing that you can be sure of in wrestling is that no one ever really retires. If the Rock can go to Hollywood and become a major actor and then come back and headline two Wrestlemania’s then Batista can do the same thing. However, Batista is 45, and thus, probably does not have much time left as an active competitor. His recent run showed that the fans do not really care either way whether he comes back and although he is a pretty great heel, it would be a stretch for a man who is trying to market himself as a big Hollywood star for come and be a heel. It is pretty bad logic to on one hand try and get the fans to hate him and at the same time tell those same fans to come and see him in a movie. If his contract has been extended then that is going to take up time – time that Batista does not have as a wrestler. And if he does well in those films he might get more films and thus be even less likely to return to the ring. I know you should never say never, but given Batista’s age, and the success of Guardian of the Galaxy, there is no real reason for him to risk all that to come back to the WWE, when the fans do not really want him back anyway.

SWITCH!

4. You have faith in WWE that they will be able to rebuild Ryback and succeed this time around with him.

Daniel Clark: FICTION – I suppose the real question here is what is success for Ryback? Do I think that he can successfully be rehabilitated so that he can fill a gap in the upper mid-card as a face who kicks ass? Absolutely. But do I see him as a main event star who the WWE could build a PPV around, or see him as a contender to the WWE Title? Not really. The problem with Ryback last time is that they pushed him too quickly into a position that he should not have been in. The first time when he was booked to face CM Punk at Hell in a Cell – the second when he turned on John Cena. And I don’t have any trust that they won’t do the same thing this time and he might go from being in his current role of squashing people to main eventing a PPV within a few weeks and before the crowd has really gotten behind him enough that they want to see that. But the biggest issue with Ryback is that what he is great at is kicking people’s ass and squashing people – he is one of the best I can remember in these short matches. But what he struggles in is making sure that he can put together a 20 minute + match that could main event a show. Even 10 minutes seems to be a struggle for him. And unless he has improved his ring craft enough that he can hold a match together then there is no reason to rebuild to a level where he will be fighting for titles.

Dino Zee: FICTION – I want to believe… I really, really want to believe. But they already mucked him up once, and that was during a time where a new, popular babyface was exactly what they were needing. Instead of building to Cena/Ryback like a Hogan/Warrior matchup, we instead got a nonsensical heel turn, followed by picking on catering, getting proposed to (and then dumped) by Paul Heyman, and then yukking it up with Curtis Axel for a bit. I know that WWE *knows* how to rebuild Ryback and succeed with him, but I don’t trust them to stick with the plan and let it happen. That doesn’t mean they won’t, it just means I don’t trust them to get it done.

5. WWE offering special and exclusive matches like Rusev vs. Sheamus is exactly the kind of extra content they should be delivering on the WWE Network.

Daniel Clark: FACT – If you want to make the WWE Network a success then you need to make sure that what you offer on the Network are things that the customer actually wants, offering exclusive matches would come under that definition as a result, I would expect this to continue. After all, if to the get the complete picture for a feud, or not to miss promos or matches that are important, you have to get the Network, then fans who want to get the complete picture as to what is happening will have to get the Network, and I suspect a decent amount of them actually will. And by having Rusev win the title it does emphasize that instead of just being an option extra what happens on the Network is a crucial and integral part of the WWE program. However, not everyone at the moment can get the WWE Network, and the UK, possibly the second or third biggest market for the WWE, is amongst those. And therefore, I find it quite insulting and outrageous that at the moment exclusive content that is a key and integral part of WWE storylines are taking place on a show that I simply cannot watch, even if I wanted to and was willing to pay for it. I’m sure I said in my last Smackdown Review for the R’s that the Sheamus/Rusev match was something that I was really looking forward to seeing. And yet, a loyal fan, purely because of where I live, has had that chance taken any from them. It makes you think – what is the point of getting invested and interested in any superstar, or any feud, or any potential match – if there is a chance that the chance to see a key part of that or the ultimate conclusion is just taken away from you. It is totally counter-productive at the moment as all this is doing is making me less interested in things because I don’t want to get my hopes of being able to care about something only to have it taken away. The idea of putting things that are special and important exclusively on the WWE Network is a good idea and might be what is needed to be delivered on it to get people to actually subscribe to it, even if it is more content that the WWE have to deliver each week and might neuter and dilute what is happening on their main TV shows (which is a different question really), but doing so before every fan that the WWE has a chance to take up the Network is a terrible move that only serves to wind up the fans who could not watch Rusev vs. Sheamus.

Dino Zee: FACT – Though, since it’s not every single house show from the 1980s, people will probably still be mad. It’s probably a good idea to get people interested in seeing content that isn’t readily available on regular television, but I don’t know that it’s really going to matter much. I don’t see people getting the Network in order to access once in a while matches that no one else can see, really. I could be wrong, and maybe I’m underestimating the superfans of a Sheamus or a Rusev, and how devoted they are to their guys. Either way, bonus content to the Network in a general idea is a good thing to try, whether I agree with the one sample so far or not.

6. With about eight weeks left in 2014, the fact that TNA has not announced a new TV deal is a horrible sign for the promotion.

Daniel Clark: FACT – At the very least, not having a TV deal lined is terrible for TNA in the short-term. Most TV networks probably already have their planned line-ups for TV for the start of 2015 sorted and know exactly what they want to have in prime-time, so if any network can agree a deal with TNA for start broadcasting from the start of 2015, it is probably going to be buried away in a poor timeslot that is not easy to pick up casual viewers or on a network that not very many people have. I would say that there is no chance at all that TNA can debut on a major network in a sensible timeslot at the start of next year. The problem that this means is that viewers will drift away and ‘forget’ about the show. If and when they do get a new TV deal, viewers will either not know about it and when it is, or if they do, stop watching the show. Once they get out of the habit of sitting down weekly and watching TNA at a set time, it is hard to get back into it, and this is the same for all TV shows and the majority will drop ratings between the end of one season and the start of another. And the longer that they are off TV, the harder it is going to be a) get a network to sign them as if no-one else is interested then why should they be, and b) get the fans to return (and wrestlers to stay). This is not to say that TNA will not eventually get a TV deal, or cannot exist as a promotion without one, but it is a horrible sign for them if they want to stay as the number 2 promotion in the US as without TV they will find it so much harder to find new fans. Fans channel hopping may come across and episode and choose to stick with it. If they exist solely on the Internet, that won’t happen.

Dino Zee: FACT – It’s not a good sign, that much is for sure. It’s not a death sentence, but this can’t possibly be spun into a positive, can it? Frankly, this is too much of “wrestling as a business” for my liking. If TNA is around, I’ll watch it. If it’s not, I won’t. Until then, I really don’t care too much about whether they have a TV deal or not. Save that for the super savvy business experts we have as our readers to figure out.