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Heyman to manage Rousey?


iamthedoctor

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That's at least the idea for the Mania match, but I don't know that it's the idea beyond that. It makes sense if you accept these truths:

 

(1) They care more about television rights and stock prices than house show attendance and network subscriptions since the former are primary sources of revenue.

(2) Because of this, their customers are on Wall Street now, not in their live crowds. In fact, we aren't the target audience, we're the product, presented to shareholders in sheer numbers -- number of viewers, number of social media followers, number of countries where they have fans, etc. They don't want the bottom to fall out, but we aren't the end goal anymore. We're mostly something they can brag about to the people they really care about.

(3) They have decided that they want their public face to no longer be a man in his 70s, but a working mom.

(4) As the face and voice of the company (the Chief Brand Officer), they want to put Stephanie's name out there more and make her more visible, because they think that is good for the image of the company and will make WWE more visible.

(5) They think it is more important to the company's future to get Stephanie over with the general public and their shareholders than it is to generate interest in a hot new star or get their wrestling fanbase excited about something.

 

Are all of those things true? I don't know 100%, but I suspect they are.

Number 2 is like a Chomskian media analysis. Ever read Manufacturing Consent? Or see the movie?

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That's at least the idea for the Mania match, but I don't know that it's the idea beyond that. It makes sense if you accept these truths:

 

(1) They care more about television rights and stock prices than house show attendance and network subscriptions since the former are primary sources of revenue.

(2) Because of this, their customers are on Wall Street now, not in their live crowds. In fact, we aren't the target audience, we're the product, presented to shareholders in sheer numbers -- number of viewers, number of social media followers, number of countries where they have fans, etc. They don't want the bottom to fall out, but we aren't the end goal anymore. We're mostly something they can brag about to the people they really care about.

(3) They have decided that they want their public face to no longer be a man in his 70s, but a working mom.

(4) As the face and voice of the company (the Chief Brand Officer), they want to put Stephanie's name out there more and make her more visible, because they think that is good for the image of the company and will make WWE more visible.

(5) They think it is more important to the company's future to get Stephanie over with the general public and their shareholders than it is to generate interest in a hot new star or get their wrestling fanbase excited about something.

 

Are all of those things true? I don't know 100%, but I suspect they are.

 

 

I would say 1 through 4 are provably true and point 5 can be assumed to be true based on how things are presented.

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The idea, as per Meltzer, is to recreate Vince vs Austin, because that is what made Vince a mainstream star and thus in theory a similar feud would do so for Steph

 

Which worked because Vince knew when to get his comeuppance and was not presented as Austin's equal on a physical combat level. Nothing in Steph's presentation these past few years leads me to believe that she will be allowed to look bad or weak, so... I don't think this will work like they want it to.

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Vince was a fresh act too. He "turned heel" (from being just an announcer) with the Bret screwjob, a few months before. And he was a great character. Stephy has been on TV on and off for almost 20 years at this point. 20 fucking years of dreadful promos and acting (yeah, she showed ass on occasion, mostly in the beginning, but she mostly acted like she was the Mother Hen and above any wrestler for most of this long, looooong time).

 

As far as Rousey goes, nobody knows if she'll be any good at this point, either in the ring of as a character.

 

And another sign they can't get over the Attitude Era.

 

So yeah. A huge turn-off.

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The idea, as per Meltzer, is to recreate Vince vs Austin, because that is what made Vince a mainstream star and thus in theory a similar feud would do so for Steph

 

Steph hasn't exactly shown herself willing or able to bump for stunners, take a bedpan over the head or otherwise take her comeuppance along the way. That's without delving into whether she and Rousey can generate chemistry similar to two all time great personalities and promo men.

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I read that Rousey's involvement is being used as a tool to help Stephanie become more of a "mainstream star". Why doesn't she just manage Rousey then?

 

Jesus help us that won't end well. Vince knew how to play it and never took the piss when it came to his in ring appearances. Vince never tried stupid stuff that wasn't believeable. It's actually a credit to him.

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The idea, as per Meltzer, is to recreate Vince vs Austin, because that is what made Vince a mainstream star and thus in theory a similar feud would do so for Steph

 

Steph hasn't exactly shown herself willing or able to bump for stunners, take a bedpan over the head or otherwise take her comeuppance along the way. That's without delving into whether she and Rousey can generate chemistry similar to two all time great personalities and promo men.

 

 

We also don't know if Rousey is actually capable of being a good worker either.

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The idea, as per Meltzer, is to recreate Vince vs Austin, because that is what made Vince a mainstream star and thus in theory a similar feud would do so for Steph

But Austin vs McMahon was glorious stuff and any attempt to recreate it has never worked since. A generic authority figure vs wrestler X has never worked.

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I know Stephanie's not going to do anything she doesn't want to do, but it's worth noting that she's not the one who books herself that way. She hasn't been involved in Creative at all in years. Vince is the one who wants Stephanie presented that way. Dave was even asked about that not too long ago and basically said Stephanie is presented the way she is because that's how Vince wants her to be presented. So it's probably not completely fair to keep talking about her own unwillingness to get comeuppance. When she was heading Creative, Jericho and Rock and others were constantly embarrassing her.

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The issue with embarrassing her in todays culture, is you really can't have men doing it anymore.

It just comes across wrong, WWE doesn't need to put themselves in a position of trying to defend it.

 

You do need a strong woman who not afraid to put her in her place, unfortunately they not going to allow anyone on the roster to do it.

All the woman are at the same level, apart from Asuka, who's probably not the right woman to do it.

Plus in 6 months, she will be in the same positon as the rest of the women.

 

This is where Ronda is the best bet it do it, even if she's not my first choice.

Just because of who she is, Vince will allow her to be booked to look strong over Steph.

 

Wouldn't surprise me if they cant get the Rock for the wrestlemaina spot, is to move Braun over to face Brock.

Then they can have Reigns in the mixed tag, so he can get the media spotlight the match will bring.

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I know Stephanie's not going to do anything she doesn't want to do, but it's worth noting that she's not the one who books herself that way. She hasn't been involved in Creative at all in years. Vince is the one who wants Stephanie presented that way. Dave was even asked about that not too long ago and basically said Stephanie is presented the way she is because that's how Vince wants her to be presented. So it's probably not completely fair to keep talking about her own unwillingness to get comeuppance. When she was heading Creative, Jericho and Rock and others were constantly embarrassing her.

My favorite bit was after Jericho had the Planet of the Apes "apes" hit her in the face with a banana cream pie, and afterwards when she goes to Regal's office covered in pie and he quips, "Oh, banana tart." :D

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I know Stephanie's not going to do anything she doesn't want to do, but it's worth noting that she's not the one who books herself that way. She hasn't been involved in Creative at all in years. Vince is the one who wants Stephanie presented that way. Dave was even asked about that not too long ago and basically said Stephanie is presented the way she is because that's how Vince wants her to be presented. So it's probably not completely fair to keep talking about her own unwillingness to get comeuppance. When she was heading Creative, Jericho and Rock and others were constantly embarrassing her.

 

I think Dave is being worked by his sources here. They've told him that Stephanie's most overbearing moments are her being ordered to be 1998 Vince McMahon rather than what she sees her character as, which doesn't pass the laugh test. Obviously Vince has the final say, but I'd be shocked if Stephanie wasn't in his ear about how she should be portrayed.

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I'm sure she is in his ear about it, but I'm saying the evidence doesn't bear that out. Look at how Stephanie was portrayed when she was directly involved in Creative. She was used to get herself, Rock, Angle, HHH, Trish, Lita, and others over (while admittedly getting herself over just as much or sometimes more). There's no one now who says she's directly involved in Creative. Why is it so hard for people to just go straight to Vince instead of blaming everyone else? I don't get it. Everything good on TV is a credit to him, and everything bad is his fault.

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I don't think it will lead to anything - I think its just Mickie James being smart enough to know that there are only positives to tweeting about Rousey - and not necessarily laying out the carpet for her. (A) It subtly hypes Elimination Chamber, (b ) its fully in line with Mickie James' tweenerish "grizzled veteran unimpressed with the new generation" gimmick, and ©, even while I think it won't lead to anything, maybe just maybe the company will rethink their plans just a smidge.

 

I mean, the tweet definitely made me think that it wouldn't be a bad idea if Rousey, after whatever McMahon Family nonsense happens at Mania, were to have her first program with James, who may not be the most exciting character you have on your roster, but is reliable, established, and won't suffer longterm from putting Rousey over first (because I don't think "longterm" is very long for James in 2018). Come to think of it, wasn't that essentially what Mickie James was hired for? To help the top prospects polish their work on the main roster? To be a "player coach"? To protect the talents the WWE is investing in? I can't think of someone the WWE should be protecting, polishing, and investing in more than Rousey. And, if you're Mickie James, being Rousey's first real 1-on-1 opponent may mean playing the metaphorical "tomato can," but if the interest is as high as the WWE is hoping for, you're probably going to get a hefty sum of cash in what would likely be a 2nd from-the-top match on a Network special.

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