2012 Pro Wrestling Thread

i think we're in a new era of "turns," where the wresters turn without their behavior changing much or even at all. people have been waiting for the cena heel turn—it's already happened. the real definition of a heel, from a business perspective, is a guy people dislike so much they will pay to watch him get beat. that is cena.

 

That's the beauty of me being so busy lately that I haven't been checking out the sites ... and had no idea of Lesnar's pending return. Shocked the hell out of me (even though the fans were chanting it).

 

I didn't watch wrestling when Lesnar was involved. But didn't he used to be a mountain of muscle? He looked awfully doughy last night. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't he have some sort of illness? Is that what caused his physique to fall off? Since I didn't watch him, that return didn't do much for me.

I also thought the crowd was great. They absolutely love Daniel Bryan in Miami. And make no mistake, they loved Daniel Bryan before the Sheamus incident. The YES signs were everywhere at Mania and after the Sheamus incident, the fans ratcheted it up even more. I hope they don't bury him. I was hoping for a full on Punk-Bryan program after some of the matches they had earlier this year.

 

Lesnar had a couple bouts with Diverticulitis (I'm sure I butchered the spelling of that). It's an intestinal problem, but he had surgery to remove, I believe, some of his colon. I think he's good to go.

But yeah. He's a little doughy now. Just wait till he gets back on the steroids, though. He'll be his old self in no time.

 

He's also going to wrestle a limited schedule -- 30-35 dates in 12 months, with additional dates possible upon negotiation. That means probably 8-10 PPVs and 20-25 episodes of Raw. Definitely no house shows.

 

How much are they paying him?

 

I've not heard anything, but the way wrestling contracts are generally structured, they get a downside guarantee that they'd receive even if they spend the year injured and out of the ring, plus a percentage of gate and PPV revenues. Since he's not full-time, they're probably paying him a sizable guaranteed fee for each of the appearances, and healthy chunks of PPV and gate revenue. I suspect he's also retaining his merchandising rights, or at least have co-control with WWE. Bottom line number, assuming he doesn't get sick/return to UFC, is definitely in the seven-digit range. But this is all speculation.

 

I wouldn't say Lord Tensai is a bust....yet. Main eventer? Doubtful, but he'd be best served as a Smackdown heel. There's room for a monster, which means he's better off with upper mid-card feuds with the likes of Show and (dare I say it) Khali. At the very least, he offers a different look, one that is hampered by the style of WWE.

Lesnar's salary? I'd venture he's in the $1.5-$2 mil range. Curious to see where he goes once the contract ends. Does he make a return to UFC or does he go year-to-year with WWE?

'Yes' is the new 'What?'

 

I like Lord Tensai's debut. It was time for Raw to get some new faces.

It should not have read his bio. He grew up in Mass. got his degree at Pitt in sign language, became a math and english teacher to deaf children.

A real disconnect with his Tensai persona.

 

They did acknowledge his past as a WWE wrestler on the telecast, which was probably smart. But wow, yeah, it's hard to imagine him going back to that life, haha. FWIW, Ron Jeremy was also a high school English teacher back in the day.

 

Maybe that tattoo across his head was some mathematical table for the kids to use

 

+1.