2010 Pro Wrestling Thread

Luck has nothing to do with it -- brilliant move by McMahon (I can't believe I just wrote that) and a clear signal to Spike and TNA that he'll pull out all the stops to protect Raw.

 

If I'm Bret, I'd have every detail of every segment put into the contract, to make sure there are no more legit screwjobs.

 

WWE was going to counteract TNA's show, no matter when it was. It's not a coincidence Bret is returning on the same night.

 

I wouldn't watch Hogan TNA anyway. He's had a long habit of taking off right when wrestling was about to go into its usual down cycle and returning right when ratings were set to climb, all so he could claim he popped the house.

Hogan did a lot for the business, but he did a hell of a lot detrimental to the business. And now he's a laughingstock.

 

I just can't believe some of these morons are still wrestling into their late 50s and 60s.

Who's next, Bruno Sammartino? Gene Kiniski?? :

 

Bruno's actually in tremendous shape for a guy in his mid-70s. He's been winning bodybuilding contests for the elderly.

Kiniski, I'm not sure about, although he is the oldest undisputed NWA champion that is still living (Eduoard Carpentier, who is still alive, beat Thesz for the belt in 1956 due to Thesz getting injured in a match. The results were disputed, and Thesz won a rematch a couple of months later).

 

When I say luck I mean in the sense that the WWE actually got Bret signed. Anyone else in that spot, TNA probably wins just on the curiosity factor alone.

 

After having his ass soundly kicked through the mid- to late-1990s by WCW Monday Nitro, have to figure he didn't want to repeat that experience.

 

I'd think that The Rock would also bring a lot of viewers.

 

Call me crazy, but I don't think bringing back Bret Hart (say that three times in a row) will help that much.

If the current WWE model is to market to the 10-18 year-olds (or whatever young age group it is), then why bring in a guy who none of them will know? Sure, guys like us, old schoolers, and maybe fans who drifted away over the past decade will check it out. But none of the WWE's prime audience will know anything about Hart. A good chunk of them weren't in school or even born when Hart was the tops in WWF. I think that's why when guys like Dusty Rhodes, Million Dollar Man, etc. come back to host, they hardly get a pop. Two thirds of the crowd don't even know who the hell they are.

 

Even though the WWE has cleaned their show up to appeal to the kid demographic, they still have to do something to draw the parents and 20-somethings to the show.

At least they're not repeating the mistakes they made in the 80s and treating the fans like idiots by not acknowledging any history from before 1984.

 

The thing is, though, that even if there are mostly younger viewers tuning in week in and week out, wrestling shows themselves (At least the ones I've been to recently) are full of people who remember and love Hart.

And, if he's anything like he used to, he'll attract that new generation as well.

Bret Hart was John Cena long before John Cena was John Cena. He attracted hoards of younger fans and those fans are now in their 20's and 30's and are likely to tune back in.

And yes, the Rock would attract a huge crowd too but that would be about 95% because of his movie career and 5% because of his in-ring capabilities.