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Only Donald Trump Can Make WWE Great Again
This should be a fun column.
I have actually been sitting on this idea for a few months now and finally decided to post it. Without any more stalling, let’s get to it.
Reader Feedback
DerpJesus: Accidentally clicked on this thinking it was an ad for a dating service specializing in asian women. Please disregard and uncredit the click on this spam of a column. Thx
Okay, that was funny. Well done.
-Doz-: “AJ Lee and Paige were having a feud (with Nikki Bella and others making cameros).”
I know it’s a harmless typo, but the idea of them in an auto-shop popped in to my head, and that amused me.
Good catch. What happened was I first typed out ‘appearances’ and then changed it to ‘cameos.’ Bad editing because I got it wrong in the end anyways.
Connie: I think the real question is “Is Justin Watry the greatest 411mania writer ever?”
and the answer is yes.
Thanks! That means a lot Connie.
CS 22: This was a “heck” of a column.
Well, we are nearing October. It is THAT time of the year again! Get ready…
Street Robbery: This week:
– Different column title
– Posted on a different day
EDIT: Oh, and has been pointed out, suspiciously similar to an Ask411 preview. On the same day
I remember when this column was called “Truth & Lies” and we could choose to avoid it. Those were brighter days
The heading(s) on the website and day of being published are out of my hands. Sorry, I just write the column. Nothing else. Excellent to see I have a new super fan though, appreciate the love!
AG Awesome: I’m going to make a “prediction”. We will see the phrase “Heck on a Deck” at least 37 times between now and the HitC PPV
Can you keep count for me? My guess is we hit 50 or so mentions.
Voice of logic: I think you missed one point in responding to feedback last week:
Rab D Nesbitt: You need to change the title of this article to “The Current State of **American** Wrestiing”, since it really only is US wrestling that covers.
I do follow the US scene (mostly indy’s, since the mainstream scene, come on now!) but wrestling is World Wide.
You called your article the state of wrestling, Rab was saying it was misleading, because you only covered US wrestling. You didn’t even really acknowledge his criticism, just brushed it off by saying wrestling is world wide.
That line was not from me. It was Rab. I just accidentally forgot to BOLD that sentence (about wrestling being world wide). The entire ‘reader feedback’ section got messed up last week (my fault). Kind of pointless now but if you go back to the previous week’s comment section, you will see the comments in their original form. Again, my mistake there.
Not like you need me to tell you, but WWE is in a major funk with Fall season currently kicking its’ backside. The new television seasons are bringing in millions of viewers, Monday Night Football is on Mondays AND Thursdays for the next few months, and with WWE Summerslam over and done with – it is a slow crawl towards Royal Rumble. Admittedly, the pay-per-views are delivering, and if we are being honest, WWE’s problems started during the summer and have nothing to do with outside factors, but this topic is about the TV side of things.
A Start
Originally, my target was going to be the final RAW before Heck on a Deck. However, it was just revealed that WWE is loading up that specific show with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and any other legend they can drag to Texas for an appearance (and tease for WrestleMania 32). While it does kinda/sorta take away the premise of this column, stay with me here. Remember I had this column idea months ago and figured why not just post it? Either way, kudos to WWE for at least noticing the recent ratings trend and reacting. Now to MY personal solution…
THE DONALD!
Like it or not, Donald Trump is a (much deserved) WWE Hall of Famer and is very proud of his induction. Unlike other celebrities who have made wrestling cameos in the past, he is not shy about his history and openly talks about it. Gloats, brags, shows off, gushes, whatever term you want to use, Trump makes it well known he has had ties to WWE and isn’t afraid to say so. We are all professional wrestling fans, right? We all despise it when a celebrity comes in and gives some half hearted effort, collects a paycheck, and then mocks the business later on, right?
Well, not with The Donald.
Gotta respect that.
Vince McMahon In “Panic Mode”
First of all, take the rumor with a massive grain of salt…but apparently, Vince McMahon is in panic mode over the low Raw ratings. Numbers usually tumble outside of January-April, so yeah – I am sure Vinny Mac does want ratings to increase. Duh! Obviously, companies hate losing viewers. Not sure it needs to be stated.
Anyways, when things get ugly, you turn to those closest to you. Your friends and family are always there to help out. It is why Vince always goes back to John Cena, Kane, Big Show, Triple H, Undertaker, and others. He trusts them. Same with everybody reading this. If you have a problem, you are not going to reach out to a stranger. You will turn to your most trusted allies.
For Vince, that is Donald Trump. If he is indeed panicking over recent Raw ratings, all it takes is one phone call.
“But But But JUSTIN!!!”
When I presented this idea to my buddy a few weeks ago, he chimed back with something along the lines of “but Trump would never want the negative association right now. No way he’d go on RAW this close to November.”
My response: “Oh really?”
Come on. Since when did Donald Trump care about negative press or any kind of backlash? Seriously, I understand the argument for others who care about that type of thing. Not Trump. He is his own man, and hey, it’s not like past politicians haven’t appeared on WWE TV before. Not like it would unprecedented.
Just last week, Donald Trump was being interviewed on cable television and called Vince McMahon “the great Vince McMahon who is a terrific guy.” Completely out of the blue. Just openly praised WWE’s boss and used the words great and terrific all in one fell swoop. No hesitation. No shame. No back peddling over anything. You have to love it…
WrestleMania Draw
Approximately 80,000 fans in Detroit and 1.3 million pay-per-view buys worldwide.
It wasn’t Hulk Hogan who got that number in 2007. Or Stone Cold Steve Austin. Or The Rock. Or Shawn Michaels. Or Batista. Or The Undertaker. Or even John Cena.
Nope, it was Donald Trump appearing.
Yes, both the WWE and World Title feuds featured big face vs. face matchups, and yes, the Money in the Bank ladder match was filled with stars, but newsflash folks – WrestleMania 23 was a major success due to Donald Trump’s involvement. The Battle of the Billionaires was built on him (and his hair). Forget about Bobby Lashley or Umaga. WWE pushed ‘all in” on The Apprentice boss being a mainstream draw for their biggest event of the year, and it worked beautifully.
The numbers say it all.
RAW Draw
Go look up recent WWE Raw numbers. Like the past year or two. I will give you all a minute; then come back here.
…
…good?
Okay.
The commercial free edition of RAW in June 2009 featuring Donald Trump as the new “owner” scored a massive 4.5 rating with 6.8 million viewers.
Seriously.
It was RAW’s most viewed episode in YEARS!
http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/trumptvraw?cid=2009EP-00
The months before and after that episode were below a 4.0 rating and nowhere near the viewership mark set on June 22, 2009. Of course, the story line was cut short due to the media (and stock holders) believing that Trump had legitimately purchased RAW…like that is even possible. Regardless, like WrestleMania 23 in 2007, the numbers say it all. You can whine, cry, and debate all you want about wrestling opinions – I will take the facts, and the fact is Trump equals ratings. Go ask the cable news networks about that right now. They will tell you. Millions upon millions are viewers are watching just for him and nothing else.
It may only be a one week ratings ‘pop’ for RAW, but if that is what Vince McMahon is looking for to give WWE some momentum again heading into 2016, the answer is right there in front of us all.
Only Donald Trump can make WWE great again…
CBS’ Big Brother 17 Recap
Three months ago, before a single episode even aired, I made a few Big Brother 17 predictions. Now that the season is over, here is my quick review:
Former NXT star Austin would NOT win – I was right. He made it much further than expected but fell short. Thanks to his “showmance” with Liz and his ability to talk, Austin bought himself a few extra weeks in the Big Brother house. In the end, I didn’t think the wrestler would win the grand prize, and he didn’t. Now if he would accept my interview request…
Vanessa was my top vote to win. – I was right to think that way. Knowing her personality (and brains) from watching poker on television, Vanessa was the ideal player for a game like Big Brother. She dominated this season. Dominated! That being said, I was wrong in that she got third place, being shockingly evicted on finale night.
A female would win this season, as Audrey claimed. – I was wrong. A male ended up winning this year (Steve), and Audrey imploded, getting herself into trouble early and never recovering. Bad showing for her and a complete ‘miss’ by yours truly.
“I guarantee it. John is going to be a star folks.” – I was right. Nailed it. John was voted the most popular house guest in many online fan favorite polls and was in the top three for the official CBS rankings. Making it to the final four and being beloved by everybody, I saw it in him BEFORE the premiere. Very entertaining guy.
Overall Thoughts – Congrats to Steve. He was the super fan who watched Big Brother his whole life and finally got the chance to play. Sound familiar? He put himself in a great position late and made the gutsy (and correct) choice to get rid of Vanessa during the final episode, his only roadblock in the way of victory. Good season. Bring on Big Brother 18 in 2016! Hopefully, I will not be watching next summer but starring on the show instead!
Cheap Plugs
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