WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.639 --> 00:00:05.559 It's business time, baby. You are listening to Solo Monsters 2 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:11.880 sounds off. It's such good shit. Monster, conclude all fighting 3 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:14.919 a woman. You got grown ass wrestlers in the back 4 00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:18.760 going on Twitter. Come over here, we'll speak, bitch. Come 5 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:21.920 on now you have legs. They've made Solo a monster. 6 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.120 I was ninety nine percent positive it was just chessed up. 7 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:27.559 Now I want out of my contract if I don't 8 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:34.560 care what I want. Welcome to episode eight seventy nine 9 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:39.399 that the Solo Monster Sounds Off for Sunday, September fifteenth, 10 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:43.960 twenty and twenty four. I am the Solemn Monster. Very 11 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:46.840 sorry to hear about the death of James Earl Jones 12 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:50.119 earlier this week at the age of ninety three. He 13 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:53.640 lived a lot longer than most wrestlers do. The greatest 14 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:57.320 voice in the history of cinema. I had the chance 15 00:00:57.359 --> 00:00:59.960 to meet him many years ago backstage at an awards ceremony. 16 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:03.600 He was presenting an award that night to Harry Belafonte, 17 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:06.400 and you just know, when you're in the presence of 18 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:10.239 someone who's larger than life. That was him, you know, 19 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:13.120 to meet Darth Vader himself, I mean, come on, how 20 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:15.480 cool is that? But we have a lot of news 21 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:19.799 to get to here this week, wwe AW and the 22 00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:25.079 annual PWI five hundred, which everybody loves talking about. I'm 23 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:27.359 going to run down some of the key spots on 24 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:29.879 that list as well, and then get to your mailbag questions. 25 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:31.879 So let's get into it here. If you would like 26 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:34.640 to support the podcast and what I do here each 27 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:37.959 and every week, you may do so on thesolomonster dot com. 28 00:01:38.519 --> 00:01:41.120 You'll see the PayPal link at the top of the page. 29 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:42.959 Ten dollars for more, we'll get you a nickname and 30 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:45.079 a shout out. I want to say thank you to 31 00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:49.519 Big B Bryant Bessera, the Portland pop Star, Paul Hamilton, 32 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:55.599 the Diamond, Dallas Dance Machine, Harrison's Soep, Velvet Revolver, Robert Murray, 33 00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:02.400 the Chicago Slayer, Willie Iichord, night Stalker, nif Alstafar, NIF, 34 00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:06.599 I hope Turkey is doing well, kel Shot, Keith Hart, 35 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:10.360 Simon Costello shout out to Simon and No. Even with 36 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:13.759 the benefit of hindsight, I think Roman losing the title 37 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:16.439 to Cody and not Drew McIntyre at the first clash 38 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:20.439 at the Castle was the right move. To make action. 39 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:25.800 Nick Jackson, Holy crap, thank you man. He wanted to 40 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:30.680 wish a happy sixth wedding anniversary to his wife Leanna Panda. 41 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:34.960 Happy anniversary to you both. How old is THEO now? 42 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:40.159 Is he three? Shout out to THEO as well, show 43 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:44.360 your role. Chris lu Deck. Check out his YouTube series 44 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.039 What Could Have Been in Wrestling? Just search for Chris 45 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:52.479 lu Deck that's l U d. E c Ke on 46 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:55.159 YouTube and type in what Could Have Been in Wrestling? 47 00:02:56.039 --> 00:02:59.879 You could find his web series on there. And also 48 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:02.039 just a shout out to everybody who joined me and 49 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:05.560 supported on the SmackDown post show on Friday night on YouTube. 50 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:09.120 What a night. Holy shit. The bombs were dropping to 51 00:03:09.159 --> 00:03:10.960 the point where I had to keep the stream going 52 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:15.280 almost three hours. You guys crushed it. So thank you 53 00:03:15.319 --> 00:03:17.479 to everybody who was a part of that that blew 54 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:22.439 me away. WWE made a surprise announcement during the season 55 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:26.080 premiere of Raw on Monday night, effective October seventh, So 56 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:29.680 that's the Monday after Bad Blood. Raw will be moving 57 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:33.280 back to two hours every week from eight to ten 58 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:37.360 pm Eastern. And if you stopped it right there, I'd 59 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:40.120 be throwing a party right now. But the move is 60 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:43.639 only temporary their deal with Netflix, it doesn't take effect 61 00:03:43.719 --> 00:03:46.759 until January. That would have left Raw with no home 62 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:49.560 for the months of October, November, and December. So they 63 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:53.039 struck a deal a while back with NBC Universal to 64 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.120 keep Raw on USA for an extra three months for 65 00:03:56.240 --> 00:04:02.400 a reported sum of twenty five million. It's not bad 66 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.960 twenty five mil for ninety days. But as part of 67 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:09.560 that deal, the show will be two hours instead of 68 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:14.159 the usual three. My guess is USA wants new programming 69 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:16.439 at ten PM that they can use Raw as the 70 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:19.079 lead in for. You know, they need to look ahead. 71 00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:21.600 I mean, I have SmackDown now on Fridays, but as 72 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:25.360 far as Monday nights go, they're done with Raw, so 73 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:27.399 they have to look to their future. They're not gonna 74 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:30.120 have it Raw anymore in a few months, so why 75 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:31.680 not try to use it as a way to get 76 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:34.120 eyeballs on their own programming from ten to eleven. I 77 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:37.120 don't know what that programming would be. I don't know 78 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:39.959 if it'll be a success, you know, For all I know, 79 00:04:40.040 --> 00:04:43.040 they may just run reruns, fucking Law and Order reruns. 80 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:45.600 But whatever it is, I think they're gonna want to 81 00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:47.600 use Raw as the lead in for that and It's 82 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:52.959 Smart a per pw Insider. But those who have asked 83 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:56.759 whether Raw will revert back to three hours, Mike Johnson says, 84 00:04:57.560 --> 00:04:59.519 we have not been able to lock down a definitive 85 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:01.240 yes or no know on that. As far as when 86 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:04.279 Raw goes to Netflix in January, some in the company 87 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:07.199 have played koy when asked, while others have suggested that 88 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:10.959 they will have the flexibility to make the show whatever 89 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:13.360 they want it to be as far as the length 90 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:17.480 of the show, depending on what is needed that specific week. 91 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:21.959 Dave Meltzer said that he got it confirmed that Raw 92 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:24.600 will still be a three hour show when they moved 93 00:05:24.600 --> 00:05:28.040 back to Netflix, or not moved back, but when they 94 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:30.879 moved to Netflix, and that the move to two hours 95 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:33.360 was a USA call, it was not a WWE call, 96 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:36.399 which is ironic because the move to three hours was 97 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:39.680 a USA call in the first place. We have them 98 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:43.959 to blame for that that they reportedly had the option 99 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:46.600 of putting the show on Peacock for those three months 100 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:50.480 so it would still be under NBC Universal, but got 101 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:52.639 more money to keep it on US. Say, had they 102 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:55.000 moved it to Peacock, they probably could have kept it 103 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.839 at three hours, but they go where the money is, 104 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:01.120 and it's going to have a lot more visibility being 105 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:03.720 on USA anyway than it would on Peacock. I think 106 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:08.439 Peacock has somewhere around thirty million paid subscribers. USA network 107 00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:11.759 is in somewhere around seventy million homes, so I mean 108 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:15.000 that's that's quite a few more households. We still have 109 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:18.399 no clarity on what the situation will be on Netflix 110 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:21.839 as far as commercials go, other than there will be commercials, 111 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:24.560 but the ad breaks may not be as long, they 112 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:27.079 may not be as frequent or as disruptive as they 113 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:29.879 are now, or my guess is that the breaks will 114 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:32.480 be different depending on which tier of Netflix you pay for. 115 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:36.120 So Netflix has a standard plan with ads for six 116 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:39.160 ninety nine a month, They have a standard plan which 117 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:42.879 is ad free for fourteen ninety nine a month, and 118 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:45.600 they have a Premium plan with four K streaming and 119 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:48.000 no ads for twenty two to ninety nine a month. 120 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:51.959 If you pay for a plan with no ads at 121 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:55.279 the very least, I still think you'll get those WWE 122 00:06:55.319 --> 00:06:57.839 profile packages that you see on the plees when they 123 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:01.000 take a break between matches. You'll get these long profile videos. 124 00:07:01.639 --> 00:07:04.040 If nothing else, you're definitely going to get something like that. 125 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:07.959 But anybody thinking that, oh it's Netflix now, no more commercials, 126 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:13.040 not quite. Not quite now. I prefer RAW go back 127 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:16.360 to two hours on a permanent basis. You know, for years, 128 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:20.000 the two hour format was standard for WWE programming. It 129 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:22.959 still is. It's still standard. Raw is the only three 130 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:27.560 hour weekly show they have. SmackDown thankfully is staying at 131 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:32.319 two hours, even with the move back to USA. They 132 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:34.439 gave the show an overrun by the Way on Friday 133 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:37.600 for the season premiere, so SmackDown may have overruns again. 134 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:39.959 They couldn't do that on Fox because of the ten 135 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:45.319 pm newscast in most markets, but SmackDown's two hours. NXT 136 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:49.079 is two hours every week, also with an overrun, but 137 00:07:49.319 --> 00:07:52.480 only for a few more weeks. Once NXT debuts on 138 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:56.399 the CW network, you can kiss those overruns goodbye, because 139 00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:00.279 like Fox, CW has a ten pm local newscast lot 140 00:08:00.279 --> 00:08:01.920 of markets, so they're going to have a hard stop 141 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:04.839 at the top of the hour. But my point is, 142 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:07.480 you know, they've been producing two hour programs for years 143 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:09.680 and years and years and years. I don't care how 144 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:12.920 big the RAW roster may be they can make a 145 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:16.480 two hour show work simply by doing a good job 146 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:19.279 of rotating talent in and out week to week. If 147 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:21.519 there are people on the show every week right now, 148 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:23.519 then they can be on the show every other week 149 00:08:24.439 --> 00:08:28.319 and still get FaceTime. They can make it work. I 150 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:29.839 don't want to hear well, they can't go back to 151 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:32.480 two hours. Look how big the roster is. They can't 152 00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:36.080 do it. Yes they can't. They're not going to, But 153 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:39.559 don't give me that shit that they can't. What it 154 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:41.679 sounds like we may end up with on Netflix is 155 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:44.320 a show that is not any one set length of 156 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:47.679 time every week. I don't know how that would play 157 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:50.600 in certain international markets. I can see that being a problem, 158 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:53.320 But I like the idea of them having flexibility. If 159 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:55.120 the show's not going to be two hours on the dot, 160 00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:57.159 that's fine. If they have the flexibility to make the 161 00:08:57.159 --> 00:08:59.600 show whatever they want it to be week to week, 162 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:02.679 I think that's okay. Maybe one week the show goes 163 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:05.960 two and a half hours, Maybe the next week it's three. 164 00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:09.399 The week after that it's two hours and forty five minutes. 165 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:13.159 Maybe main event finishes will be a little less predictable. 166 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:15.279 If we can't look at the clock and know exactly 167 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:17.480 when the match is going to end. How many times 168 00:09:17.480 --> 00:09:20.000 has that happened? Where you see it's ten fifty eight 169 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:24.200 or ten fifty nine and they have to rush. The 170 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:26.000 match is not over yet. They have to rush the 171 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:27.879 finish of the match before they go off the air. 172 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:32.000 That may not happen anymore on Netflix. That's a good thing. 173 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:35.960 And then there's the issue of the content itself. Anybody 174 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:39.440 thinking the move to Netflix means unlimited swearing and a 175 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:42.440 return to the attitude era, That's not what it means 176 00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:45.600 at all. Unless your name is Dwayne Johnson, then it'll 177 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:48.600 be f BOM's galore. But they're not going to have 178 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:51.879 the same constraints that they have now on cable. They 179 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:55.120 shouldn't have to mute the audio anymore when people chance 180 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:59.759 holy shit. That would be a welcome change because it's annoying. 181 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:04.039 Is sh shit in something that we knew was coming 182 00:10:04.039 --> 00:10:07.879 for months because TKO talked about this very thing shortly 183 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:12.200 after the Endeavor sale. Mark Shapiro, the president of TKO, 184 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:15.360 talked about trimming down the number of live events or 185 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:20.799 how shows that WWE does, with the focus increasingly shifting 186 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:24.039 to their live television shows, which is where the real 187 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:26.799 money is. I mean, just look at the billions of 188 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:31.679 dollars they're raking in every year between NBC, Universal and Fox, Now, 189 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:36.399 Netflix and the CW network. Television is their main priority. 190 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:41.080 Streaming is their priority. House shows are not because they 191 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:45.039 make the company very little money relative to TV. During 192 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:49.279 an appearance at Goldman Sachs Technology Conference, Shapiro explained that 193 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:51.759 he feels there is less of a need for what 194 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:56.440 he calls the marginally profitable shows. He said, we're cutting 195 00:10:56.440 --> 00:11:01.519 events at WWE. We're taking our low margin, marginally profitable events, 196 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:05.039 untelevised events that Vince put in place to grow the brand. 197 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:07.919 You're taking the show on the road and we got 198 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:10.279 to go to every city that we can to grow 199 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:14.639 the WWE brand. Well, the WWE brand, while we still 200 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:17.120 have to grow it, it's on fire right now. We 201 00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:21.279 don't need to carry these marginally profitable events. What was 202 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:24.200 three hundred events last year will be roughly two hundred 203 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:27.240 and fifty this year, and next year we will be 204 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:30.919 close to two hundred. They've already cut back on the 205 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:32.559 number of house shows. I mean, if you look at 206 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:34.440 how many they have left between now and the end 207 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:37.480 of the year, it's only around ten or so. I 208 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:41.879 think he calls them marginally profitable. A few years ago, 209 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:45.840 WWE house shows were not profitable. They were actually losing 210 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:48.759 money on them. But because the product is so hot 211 00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:50.919 right now and they're running fewer of them, but at 212 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:54.679 higher ticket prices, they do make money. But it's not 213 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:57.440 a lot. Now. There are pros and cons to this. 214 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:01.120 It's not a surefi thing one way or the other. 215 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:04.039 This is great or this is terrible. It really is 216 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:06.679 a mixed bag, you know. For the fans, house shows 217 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:09.360 tend to be more fun. And I say that as 218 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:11.279 somebody who has been to house shows before, as I'm 219 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:13.720 sure most people listening to this have at least been 220 00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:16.039 to a few house shows in their day. They tend 221 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:18.279 to be more fun because you don't have all the 222 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:20.600 downtime that you get with the commercial breaks on TV, 223 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:23.799 so you're constantly sitting there in the dark, you're watching 224 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:27.000 video packages, you're watching ads, you got a wait to 225 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:29.919 come back from break. You also get more in ring action, 226 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:34.279 you get more matches, you get longer matches. The wrestlers 227 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:36.399 tend to have more fun out there. They have the 228 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:39.080 freedom to be a little looser. They can try new things, 229 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:42.519 see what works, see what doesn't work. They try something 230 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:45.240 that works, they can bring it to TV. If it 231 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:47.320 doesn't work, then the only people who need to know 232 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:51.000 are the people in the building that night. It's also 233 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:53.399 a negative for the newer talents that are still learning. 234 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:57.000 You can only learn so much at the PC. You 235 00:12:57.080 --> 00:12:58.519 need to be able to get out in front of 236 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:02.639 an arena full of fans and work matches night after 237 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:06.120 night to improve your craft and get better. That's one 238 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:09.879 of the biggest benefits to house shows. It's not just 239 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:12.159 working in the ring, but you know, it's getting that 240 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:15.679 fan feedback as far as what works and what doesn't. 241 00:13:15.960 --> 00:13:19.279 But I was curious. I took Vaccine Dupree as an example. 242 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:22.480 She was someone who was called up way too soon, 243 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:26.279 you know, and she has made some noticeable improvements of late, 244 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:29.600 but she's still very green. She's the kind of person 245 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:32.320 that NXT was created for. That's why they have a 246 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:36.240 developmental system, that's why they have a performance center. And 247 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:40.440 they never gave her a chance to fully develop because 248 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:42.159 they just took her and threw her right into the 249 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:45.240 frying pan way too quickly. And then people mocked her 250 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:47.720 for which I'm sure was just, you know, even harder 251 00:13:47.759 --> 00:13:50.080 for her. I looked up the matches though, that she's 252 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:52.840 had this year, because you would think, like this is 253 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:55.519 where she's getting her reps in, right at the house shows. 254 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:59.440 She's hardly worked any house shows. You would think that 255 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:01.240 they would have her in the ring on these shows 256 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:03.559 every week, But she's worked less than half a dozen 257 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:07.120 matches on the live events. So that just goes to 258 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:09.679 show you how much they've already scaled back on them. 259 00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:13.399 So those are all negatives to doing fewer of them. 260 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:16.840 They might be making them a little bit of money, 261 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:18.600 but I look at them as something of a loss 262 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:22.440 leader for the company. So you might take in little 263 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:24.480 to no money from them, but you're betting that they're 264 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:27.360 going to pay off for you in other ways, whether 265 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:32.320 that's increasing overall interest in the product, maintaining your current 266 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:34.519 level of interest in the product. You know, if they 267 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:36.840 don't run some of these markets anymore, or they run 268 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:39.240 them a lot less, interest in the product might wane, 269 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:41.759 it might start to go down. Eventually, this bubble is 270 00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:45.279 going to burst. They cannot maintain this hot streak they're 271 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:48.919 on for another two, three, four years. There will come 272 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:51.840 a time where things are going to cool, and you 273 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:55.000 hope that by scaling back so significantly on these shows, 274 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:58.080 it doesn't happen a lot sooner than not. Right, But 275 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:01.519 that's one potential risk they run. On the other hand, 276 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:04.799 one of the knocks on WWE for years, and rightfully so, 277 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:09.639 was its road schedule. Vince McMahon used to work these 278 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.799 people like dogs. Okay, it was worse in the eighties. 279 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:17.159 In the early nineties, he'd be running ABC crews in 280 00:15:17.240 --> 00:15:21.200 different cities, all in the same night, and then expect 281 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:23.279 them to drive hundreds of miles just to do it 282 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:26.200 all over again the very next He would have them 283 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:28.840 running hard for three weeks before they would even see 284 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:31.200 the inside of their home. They'd go home and have 285 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:33.360 just enough time to check their mail and pay their bills, 286 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:34.919 and then head back out to the airport to go 287 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.120 do it all over again. The international tours. You would 288 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:41.840 hear these horror stories if you listen to these shoot 289 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:44.440 interviews from guys that were running that schedule back then. 290 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:47.840 They'd run two weeks straight internationally. They'd be in a 291 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:49.919 different city every night. They wouldn't even know where they 292 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:54.440 were half the time. Combine that with the harder rings 293 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:56.840 that they were bumping on for all those years, which 294 00:15:56.879 --> 00:15:58.919 is something I'm going to talk about in the mailbag later. 295 00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:01.960 And it's no wonder so many of them ended up 296 00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:05.840 addicted to pills and booze, among other reasons, but I'm 297 00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:10.679 sure that definitely played a role. Natalia, she just returned 298 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:13.159 on raw Monday. Now. They were in Calgary. She was 299 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:15.919 doing a podcast interview this week. She said, TRIPLEH is 300 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:20.240 just a cool boss. She just got eye surgery, she 301 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:22.559 needed some time off. He told her, go get your 302 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:26.000 eyes fixed, take care of yourself, don't even worry about it. 303 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:29.440 And she said, it's cool to have a boss that's human. 304 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:33.320 I don't think i've heard anybody else on the active 305 00:16:33.399 --> 00:16:36.279 roster put it that way and say that out loud, 306 00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:39.679 like we have a boss now that's actually a human being. 307 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:44.120 Because that's how Vince treated his talent for so many years, 308 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:47.399 that he treated them like circus animals. I mean, he 309 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:48.879 may have made them a lot of money. I'm not 310 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:50.840 saying that didn't make a good living working for him. 311 00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:53.720 They say these things with a lot of money in 312 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:56.080 their bank account and a nice house to show for it, 313 00:16:56.120 --> 00:16:57.720 But that doesn't mean that they should be on the 314 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:00.240 road taking bumps three hundred days a year, or can 315 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:04.640 that kind of schedule. Fewer house shows means fewer bumps, 316 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:08.200 it might mean fewer injuries. Yeah, I'm actually I question that. 317 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:11.599 I questioned that last point. I was thinking about that 318 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:17.160 you would think that running fewer shows removes the potential 319 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:20.200 for injury. But I've heard it talked about in other 320 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:24.359 ways too. When AW was just racking up injuries left 321 00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:25.880 and right, and even now and they have so many 322 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:28.799 people on their injured list, but there were people and 323 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:31.799 even some wrestlers talking about the fact that one of 324 00:17:31.880 --> 00:17:33.720 the things you might be able to attribute that to 325 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:38.759 is the fact that AW does not run house shows. 326 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:41.359 And there's just something to be said for being in 327 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:43.880 the ring and taking bumps on a regular basis, where 328 00:17:43.880 --> 00:17:46.440 I guess maybe it just gets your body acclimated to it, 329 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:49.920 and if you're not doing that, it could actually result 330 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:53.200 in more injuries. So I don't know that any scientific 331 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:57.160 study has been done about this, but I'm not necessarily 332 00:17:57.200 --> 00:17:59.960 sure that that does. Carlate, But fewer house shows mean 333 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:03.160 fewer bumps, It means more time at home with their family, 334 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:06.839 and it might even help them when it comes to 335 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:10.799 recruiting new talent and free agents that might ordinarily be 336 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:15.400 drawn to AW. For the same reason, Tony Kahn doesn't 337 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:17.599 do house shows. You know. He lets a lot of 338 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:19.960 his talent book their own independent dates if they want 339 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:22.920 to work, but he himself does not maintain any sort 340 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:26.920 of regular live event schedule. Some wrestlers that are drawn 341 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:30.039 to that they don't want to be on the road constantly. 342 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:33.279 That was one of the reasons Brian Danielson left WWE 343 00:18:33.319 --> 00:18:37.519 for AW among other reasons, was he could not work 344 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:42.000 that schedule anymore. He needed to work fewer matches. So 345 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:45.279 it may be to their benefit not to completely eliminate, 346 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:47.440 but just cut down on the number of shows to 347 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:50.960 make the schedule more attractive to people who might be 348 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:55.039 interested in signing with one company or the other. So again, 349 00:18:55.079 --> 00:18:57.759 there are pluses and minuses to both. I think scaling 350 00:18:57.839 --> 00:18:59.920 back is a good thing. I think scaling back too 351 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:03.359 much would be a bad thing, And based on what 352 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:06.039 Shapiro is saying, they seem to be headed in that direction. 353 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:10.599 According to a story in the Milwaukee Business Journal, the 354 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:13.240 city is making a bid to host Money in the 355 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:16.680 Bank next year. The story revealed that their tourism group 356 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:20.359 Sports Milwaukee is putting together a bid right now, and 357 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:22.799 if they get it, the plee would be held at 358 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:26.839 the Forum, home of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. It was 359 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:29.480 reported earlier this year that Milwaukee is hoping to host 360 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:33.000 a future Royal Rumble at American Family Field, home of 361 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:37.400 the Milwaukee Brewers. The earliest the Rumble could take place 362 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:40.440 there would be twenty twenty six, which is when renovations 363 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:42.960 to allow American Family Field to be used in the 364 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:47.160 winter would be completed. The field has a retractable roof, 365 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:50.160 and their winterization project will allow the venue to maintain 366 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:55.920 a seventy degree temperature year round. Sports Milwaukee director Marissa 367 00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:58.839 Werner believes that bringing money in the bank to the 368 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:03.000 city could help Milwauke Hockey land a bigger WWE show 369 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:07.000 in the future, like the Royal Rumble or SummerSlam. Fast 370 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:11.039 Lane in twenty seventeen was the most recent wwepl to 371 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:14.640 make or to take place rather from Milwaukee. You all 372 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:17.880 remember fast Lane, don't you. That was the night that 373 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:21.880 Bill Goldberg beat Kevin Owens in twenty two seconds, ending 374 00:20:21.880 --> 00:20:29.039 his run as Universal Champion. I haven't forgotten. Speaking of Goldberg, 375 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:35.200 Goldberg's name was invoked by our world heavyweight champion Gunther 376 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:38.640 on Monday Night. One of the best lines uttered on 377 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:41.839 that show all year in a year with promos between 378 00:20:42.039 --> 00:20:46.960 Drew McIntyre and cmpunk. This one's up there. They had 379 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:49.759 Brett the Hitman Heart back on Raw for the first 380 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:51.960 time in forever. I can't even remember the last time 381 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:54.400 we saw him come out and get an entrance on 382 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:56.759 this show, but they were in Calgary, so of course 383 00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:00.559 he got a hero's welcome, always love Brett gets from 384 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:03.559 the other talent on TV. Sammy's name came out after 385 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:06.960 Goother was in the ring with Brett, and then Sammy 386 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:09.240 eventually came out and he was putting Bread over and 387 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:11.400 he was talking about all the guys in the back 388 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:16.039 who idolize him and they watch his old matches as 389 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:20.599 they should, so that was cool. But before Sammy even 390 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:22.359 came to the ring, we had Brett and then we 391 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:26.160 had Goother interrupt and Gunther at first was putting him over, 392 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:29.160 he was buttering him up, but it was all for 393 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:32.839 the big line where he said, you will always be 394 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:38.039 second to my actual all time favorite. And what I 395 00:21:38.039 --> 00:21:39.720 love about it is if you go around you look 396 00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:42.519 at the reactions that a lot of people have. They 397 00:21:42.519 --> 00:21:46.440 actually have reaction videos on YouTube from people who were 398 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:48.960 watching the show, and almost to a tea, I saw 399 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:54.160 maybe one person who said, oh, don't say Goldberg. Everybody 400 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:57.599 else thought he was gonna say Shawn Michaels. So it 401 00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:00.119