WorldWrestlingEntertainment-related stories
Posted Oct 30th 2009 2:30PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Sports, Music and Variety, Casting, Reality-Free
I try to cover professional wrestling here on TV Squad only when something happens that hints at a ratings spike, a celebrity tie-in or a television publicity war. Today, we have news that could score a pin on all three fronts, "Brother!"
Hulk Hogan (in yellow, right), the 80s legend that put
WWF WWE on the
mat map, announced this week that he's returning to the squared circle and joining the ranks of
Spike TV's TNA Wrestling. It's a big step up in exposure for the Florida-based promotion as it struggles to pull away a little market share away from Vince McMahon's Connecticut Death Grip.
While the WWE has either live or taped shows on various cable outlets Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights (with occasional weekend specials on NBC), TNA has used the last couple of years to build an ever-growing following in Spike's Thursday night schedule.
Continue reading Hulk Hogan shakes up TV wrestling with move to TNA
Posted Aug 15th 2009 1:01PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Sports, Celebrities
The problem with reporting real news originating in the professional wrestling world is that you never know if you're being played as part of a story angle designed to drive up ratings or pay-per-view buys.
However, since the following hasn't been mentioned on any of World Wrestling Entertainment's television shows, it might be legit.
According to the WWE: "Linda McMahon, CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, is considering a run for the United States Senate representing the state of Connecticut. Should she decide to run, Linda would step down as CEO, and Vince McMahon would assume the duties of CEO in addition to his current position as WWE Chairman."
Continue reading WWE says Linda McMahon considering Senate run
Posted Aug 10th 2009 12:04PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Sports, Music and Variety, Reality-Free
To drive ratings up -- and to drive devoted pro wrestling fans up a wall -- Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment recently began welcoming guest hosts to take over Monday Night Raw -- the WWE's flagship show -- every week.
So far, everyone from the
NBA's Shaq to Entourage's Jeremy Piven to ZZ Top has taken over the live two-hour wrestling show.
It seems that when the show producers can't find a celeb to fit the bill, they bring in a wrestling star from the past -- like The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase or Sergeant Slaughter.
Continue reading TV celebs bouncing off the ropes to host WWE Raw
Posted Jun 23rd 2009 10:03AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Sports, News, Celebrities, Reality-Free
That didn't take long.
The storyline featuring
Donald Trump "buying" Monday Night Raw from World Wrestling Entertainment's Vince McMahon lasted all of one week. On Monday's commercial-free Raw from Green Bay, Wisc., McMahon bought the show back from Trump for "double the original price." Trump took the deal and
smacked McMahaon across the chops for his trouble.
The show capped a day-long publicity festival for the WWE in which local network news affiliates flocked to the Green Bay airport to shoot Trump arriving and to hear speeches from him and McMahon. It was the first time any media set foot in that airport without Brett Favre being involved.
Continue reading WWE's McMahon trumps Trump with Raw buyback
Posted May 3rd 2009 6:06PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free
Having only recently caught the movie
The Wrestler on DVD, I was thinking about the relationship between television and pro wrestling. Since the inception of the boob tube, professional wrestling has appeared on television. At first it was an inexpensive way to fill the hours, usually for several hours per week. Then, it became much bigger than that and is now one of the biggest ratings draws on cable television. So, why doesn't the television media or blogs such as ours cover it more (except for when it intersects with other television shows
such as The View)?
First, wrestling has its own cult following with a myriad of websites and news sources that cover it exclusively. Anything done on a television website would seem redundant. Secondly, despite the ratings, mainstream television has never taken wrestling seriously. Wrestling is a carnival atmosphere that blurs the line between fantasy and reality and is difficult to treat with dignity and respect for those who don't understand it.
So, I ask of you: do you think more television websites should cover wrestling?
Posted Apr 26th 2009 11:00AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Television has had crossover events for years, but I never expected one involving such polar opposites.
The View's Sherri Shepherd
will be appearing on next week's
WWE Smackdown in the corner of wrestler MVP.
I envision the following scenario: when she appears at the event, she will try to get between the wrestlers and get them to discuss their differences. When they stop fighting and reconcile their misunderstanding with each other, she will grab a steel chair from the side of the ring and clock MVP (or his opponent) upside the head.
Actually, that's more of an Oprah scenario, and Oprah doesn't need either the money or the ratings of a WWE appearance. Maybe Shepherd is a wrestling fan.
I cannot imagine two shows that are as different as
WWE and
The View. Totally different concepts. Totally different audiences. Do you think this news will get more women to watch
WWE or more men to watch
The View?
Posted Dec 21st 2008 7:41PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, Ratings, Reality-Free
It looks as if The CW might have backed the wrong horse. My Network TV is going strong in the ratings and has been
beating The CW for the past three weeks.
The biggest mistake made by The CW was probably abandoning wrestling programming (which was picked up by My Network TV) in an effort to go for the
Gossip Girl demographic. This tactic seemed unusual to me at the time because 1) wrestling, like it or not, brings in strong ratings, and 2) usually after establishing oneself, a network tries to expand its programming to get to the widest base possible rather than limit itself to a particular group.
While I'm liking
Smallville again this season, I can only hope that The CW uses this as motivation to create some programming that a variety of people like. If it doesn't, then the channel reserved for The CW on my cable box could become My Network TV sometime in the near future.
Posted Nov 19th 2008 11:12AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, Reality-Free
Usually known for their violent soap opera on television and pay-per-view, World Wrestling Entertainment has quietly
launched their own social networking site called WWE Universe.
The article mentions that they already have 200,000 members without spending any money on advertising. Well, they have two shows weekly which have among the biggest audiences on cable television. One casual mention on those shows and they get advertising without spending any additional budget. Ditto for mentioning it on their website, which is one of the most popular destinations on the Internet.
Continue reading WWE offers social networking
Posted Feb 8th 2008 11:31AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Cancellations
Never fear all you wrestlemaniacs.
While WWE has abandoned renegotiations with The CW to bring
Smackdown back to the network, it has announced that it is already in negotiations with other networks to carry the long-running Friday night staple.
Smackdown has delivered solid ratings for The CW (and UPN before it) since 1999, but has at times been an awkward fit for the demographics and perception the network has wanted to put out there.
Continue reading The CW gets out of the ring with WWE
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