wrestling / Columns
Jarrod’s Friday FreeThinks 01.02.08
Well hello all, and welcome to this edition of the MeeThinks Friday FreeThinks. Meehan had a long, boring story about why he couldn’t make it for this week so you’re all stuck with the resident fill-in guy who has nothing better to do – me. Aren’t you all in for a treat as we kick off this New Year with a look at some of the news in the wrestling industry that’s sure to shape up the 2009 calendar.
So what are we all waiting for? Let’s get straight into it.
The Departure of a Horseman
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The word going around WWE is that Barry Windham has been let go as an agent/producer. There are no real details on why he has been let go, but many feel that it was a cost cutting measure. Windham had not been at TV for a few weeks, and it was this week at TV that word began to circulate that he was finished with the company.
Windham was hired around the same time that his father, Blackjack Mulligan, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He stayed on the sidelines for a while, recovering from back surgery, before he officially started as an agent/producer for the company. Credit: Pwinsider.com |
The economic issue was already pressing its nose upon the WWE before with rising costs cutting $20 million out of their bottom line (Read more on this at The Hamilton Ave Journal 01.01.09: Volume 2 – Issue 67). This news is concerning as now it instills some fear into a lot of people that they may be just as expendable as Windham. Of course the top echelon guys are going to be safe as they make the company too much money to become disposable, guys that typically survive the annual releases despite being seen by many of the fans as superfluous might catch the boot from the company after all.
What’s bad about this isn’t so much who was fired but rather the manner in which this came about. Windham not showing up for weeks of television taping leading to gossip and talk leaves no room for the professional courtesy that the WWE usually lends to all of its employees before releasing them from their contractual duties. What happened here that allowed for Windham to simply fade away from the company as quietly as he did? Why was it done like this as opposed to the usual grandstanding that the company has participated in for the past three (or so) years?
Whatever the case may have been, the WWE is down one road agent and trying everything they can to avoid any further pinches from this current economic crisis. So on behalf of the WWE to Barry Windham, [the WWE] has come to terms of the release of Mr. Windham and wishes him the best in his future endeavors. I know it doesn’t mean much coming from me, but at least someone said it, right?
Viacom and Turner Reach Agreement
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According to a report on Los Angeles station KTLA’s 11PM newscast, Viacom and Time Warner Cable have reached an agreement that will keep 19 Viacom stations, including Spike, Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, VH-1, and Comedy Central, broadcasting on Time Warner Cable.
It is not known if this is a new deal, or a temporary agreement, which was discussed earlier today. The 19 Viacom stations were scheduled to stop broadcasting at Midnight ET if no agreement was reached. Credit: Wrestlingobserver.com |
For the time being Time Warner Cable customers get to keep all 19 of their Viacom channels, including Spike TV which hosts TNA’s Impact. This is terrific news for TNA as they don’t have to worry about their weekly viewer’s numbers dropping as a result of fans being unable to access them. This is also good news to cap off TNA’s rather strong 2008 performance as their pay-per-view buyrate estimates were up over 2007’s (Read more on this at The Tuesday Small-For-All News Report: 12.30.08).
A lot could have gone wrong for TNA as a result of this, such as a potential 13% drop in their figures (Read more on this at The Hamilton Ave Journal 01.01.09: Volume 2 – Issue 67). TNA certainly can’t afford to be losing viewers especially when you take into account those viewers are potential pay-per-view purchasers. While conversion of these weekly viewers was down for the year it doesn’t do much good for TNA to boost up this ratio by eliminating viewers. This wasn’t TNA’s deal to make or break, leaving them a victim of circumstance between two companies trying to make up for losses or potential losses in revenue as a result of the economy’s current state. So for there to be a deal that even extends the life of Spike TV’s presence in Time Warner Cable systems for a limited time until a longer deal is reached upon is good news for TNA – this, of course, assuming this deal is more of a temporary agreement.
TNA Positive About Aronofsky’s Film
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TNA has offered their official statement on the movie, The Wrestler, which is much different from the one recently released by WWE:
“We’re happy to see professional wrestling in the mainstream spotlight through the movie ‘The Wrestler.’ Mickey Rourke’s performance is nothing short of sensational; Mickey Rourke is the movie. His portrayal of an over-the-hill wrestler struggling to find his own meaning in life has already been talked about as Oscar-worthy, and rightfully so.” Credit: Jeff Wilen of the Daytona Beach News-Journal |
I’d love to know who in the company actually made these comments and whether or not the statement about “over-the-hill wrestler struggling to find his own meaning in life” was more appropriate than it comes off as on print. I could just imagine Jarrett making these comments with that smallest of twinkles in his eyes as the reality of that comment reflects itself through his praise of this movie, but that’s just me thinking out loud.
At least some in the business appreciate the limelight on their industry as portrayed on the silver screen. It’s also worth noting that this film doesn’t go out and try to portray any actual workers in the industry in a poor light, kind of like what Beyond the Mat did during its theatrical run about a decade ago.
Obligatory ROH Newswire Plug
Just because I can, here’s the ROH Videowire with the link to the Newswire of the upcoming events in the ROH-verse. ROH News: December 31st Newswire as posted by Larry Csonka.
And the Paulie Goes To…
You can read all of Heyman’s thoughts on who did tremendous enough in the year to deserve some credit here at TheSun.co.uk. But for those of you who are very lazy and just want to see who gets an award from Paul Heyman, here’s the list:
Agree or disagree, you have to admit that some of those opinions from people who’ve worked in the industry for over a decade have to have some sort of clue as to what they’re talking about, right? I mean, would you rather take my opinion over someone like Dutch Mantell’s? Well, okay, that may not be the greatest example given what we’ve seen out of TNA recently, but you get the picture.
And that’ll wrap it up for me this week. Be sure to return next week when Meehan takes back control of his weekly news report. I’m sure you’re all dying to hear what kept him this week, as well as anticipating the return of the usual format of the Meehan Friday Freethinks report. Until next time stay healthy and remember to keep reading 411mania for all of your needs.
