The state of the WWE

DoctorOfDesire · 500 Club Member

The state of the WWE

Symphony Of Destruction · Metal Mod

To be honest I think they've got complacant. They were making awesome stuff when they had wicked storylines when they had competition.

Now they've got the monopoly on the "Rasslin" business they can get away with producing complete shite and get away with it because no one is at the same level as they are.

I mean watching the Cyber Sunday ppv it looked as if they were winging it. Filling the ppv out with pointless promos and even a match that really made no sence in having (See Hardy V Kennedy non title match) I believe they're falling into the trend of pushing their older talant and keeping the younger guys under a glass sealing and it doesn't make for interesting television.

I seriously believe if TNA could pull their fingers out (Like Firing Jarrett as head booker and getting a visionary like Bischoff on board) they have the potential to do great things and maybe even be an actual contender by the time the decade is out.

DoctorOfDesire · 500 Club Member

You're right SoD, but TNA need to stop hiring all the WWE cast-offs as they make themselves look second-rate.

And yeah, during the monday night wars WWE was booking some quality storylines, and I reckon a return to the 'Faction Warfare' could be a great idea to elevate some of the younger talent by teaming them up in a faction with an older, more seasoned wrestler (look what happened to Orton and Batista after being affiliated with HHH and Flair in Evolution). Plus, the (attitude-era) Degeneration X Vs Nation of Domination feud was one of the most entertaining storylines I've seen in 20 years. WCW regularly beat WWE in the ratings wars with the nWo storyline, so there is no reason why it wouldn't be successful again in the WWE.

Man In Black · Anime Mod

I wish you guys would stop saying "Chris the Murderer". I know what he did but it's not like he was a cold blooded killer like Peter Sutcliffe who knew what he was doing.

Anyway, the valid points have already been made. I've been a WWF/WWE fan for donkey's years and it's been losing it's lustre for me for a few years now. At the they are no longer in the position to make the demands they did in previous times as their stock has fallen - even if they do have Bonnie Hammer from USA still in support of them.

Bonnie Hammer is something of a double edged sword for the WWE. Without her they wouldn't be back on USA so they need to keep her sweet. The problem is she was in charge when the Attitude era was at it's peak so she keeps insisting that WWE return to that and bring back the stars from that period like (get this) Sable! She clearly doesn't understand that it was as much the booking as the stars that helped that period which is the major issue at the moment.

It cannot be argued enough that WWE creative took a huge hit when Chris Kreski left in late 2000 and was replaced by Stephanie McMahon. She is a carbon copy of her father and instils the same "fear" in her writers as Vince does. She has Brian Gerwitz, Dave Laguna and their team of Hollywood hacks who know sweet FA about wrestling write stuff that Vince will like to suit his vision of "S****s E***********t". Vince has deluded himself into thinking that they don't write wrestling shows, they write mini-movies and this is where the long time fans are driven away. That and the fact that Vince and the family (inc Bionic H) have to be at the forefront of EVERY major storyline at the expense of the wrestlers that they then release because "creative has nothing for them" or they are "not over enough" (gee - I wonder why?).

Vince hates the internet fans (ironic coming after the Cyber Sunday PPV) because of the fact we avail ourselves of the hitherto secrets of "insider news" and he believes that we form our opinions on the WWE based on that. For some that may be true, but some of us we want to enjoy the product first and foremost and if we don't we care enough about it to find out WHY it is we're not getting we want out of it. This is where the insider information comes in and thus the picture becomes clearer to us (even if a lot of that information is always going to be open to question with regards to legitimacy). Doesn't it help to know how to fix a problem with your car if you know what to look for in the engine? Vince hates the fact that fans are more clued up and thus now have an opinion on something we shouldn't and that no doubt every suggestion from us so-called "smart" fans is based in enough reality and carry enough weight for his ego to not accept help from the people he is supposed to be entertaining.

After all, Vince McMahon know what we want better than we do - which is why the fans are tuning out....

joe the baker · On The Casting Couch

DoctorOfDesire wrote:

.

When will Vince's obsession with 'big men' end? Nobody (and The Doc means nobody!) wants to see the likes of Khali, Mark Henry and Big Daddy V lumbering around the ring every week! The majority of fans couldn't give a shit about them and would much prefer to watch a quality high-flying match-up between two talented cruiserweights!

I wholeheartedly agree with everyting written,except that above.
The vast majority of WWE fans would NOT prefer to see a high flying cruiserweight match every week or even every month. You want proof any episode of SD during a cw match(even featuring the incredible Jimmy Wang Yang) or whenever Londrick are on Raw the crowd disinterest is palpable. The only people who really enjoy this type of match are real wrestling fans who go to shows to see wrestling or indeed the Smarks.The casual WWE fan which makes up the vast majority of a live audience would much prefer to see a no talent like Batista or a egomaniac like Tripper.
Personally if WWE do not start to elevate some talent soon they are going to be in even more serious trouble because guys like Shawn and Taker can not keep producing the goods like they are currently doing. Tune into any recent episode of Raw and you will see the reaction for Jeff is main event caliber, similar to his brother on SD, add in MVP,Edge,Orton and even Cena and their is genuine hope if WWE can see past their own short sightedness.

-- Edited by joe the baker at 17:13, 2007-10-31

Man In Black · Anime Mod

I have to agree with Joe. The best wrestling promotion will offer the fans a varied product so you know if something you don't like is on, something you will like is coming soon. I think that is one reason why I could never get into ROH - it was pretty much the same kind of match every match!

As much as the IWC hates big men, the majority of WWE fans generally mark for guys like Kane or DAVE over Jimmy Wang Yang or Paul London. Although a lot of that is due to how the WWE presents them to the fans. They don't give a rats ass about cruisers or technical wrestling so the fans have been acclimatised to that because that is what they know.

joe the baker · On The Casting Couch

We are in agreement?

This truly is halloween when weird and wondeful things happen smile

Symphony Of Destruction · Metal Mod

the I.W.C agrees that halloween = drunken symph
:D

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

And here's the reason why nothing is likely to change in the near future....

Press Release
Source: World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

WWE(R) Reports 2007 Third Quarter Results
Thursday November 1, 8:30 am ET
16% Revenue Increase Over Prior Year

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE - News) today announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2007. Revenues totaled $108.1 million as compared to $93.2 million in the prior year quarter while operating income was $13.4 million as compared to $12.5 million in the prior year quarter. Net income was $8.5 million, or $0.12 per share, as compared to $9.2 million, or $0.13 per share, in the prior year quarter.

In addition to the $12.8 million in film related revenues, we posted higher revenues from both the Live and Televised and Digital Media segments in the third quarter, said Linda McMahon, Chief Executive Officer. We also announced the development and implementation of our strategic initiative for continued international expansion. We are establishing new regional offices in Brazil and Australia to complement our current offices in Canada, the UK and China. This will enable senior leadership to be on the ground in these locations, and position our company for continued growth and provide increased access to our expanding WWE fan base, concluded Mrs. McMahon.

Results By Business Segment

The following chart reflects net revenues and profit contribution by segment for the three months ended September 30, 2007 and September 30, 2006. (Dollars in millions)

Three Months Ended
Net Revenues September 30,
2007
September 30,
2006

Live and Televised Entertainment $ 68.6 $ 65.6
Consumer Products 19.0 21.7
Digital Media 7.7 5.9
WWE Films 12.8 -
Total $ 108.1 $ 93.2
Three Months Ended
Profit Contribution September 30,
2007
September 30,
2006

Live and Televised Entertainment $ 26.3 $ 23.8
Consumer Products 12.1 12.7
Digital Media 3.5 1.7
WWE Films 2.8 -
Total profit contribution $ 44.7 $ 38.2
Profit contribution margin 41% 41%

Live and Televised Entertainment

Revenues from our Live and Televised Entertainment businesses were $68.6 million for the current quarter as compared to $65.6 million in the prior year quarter, representing a 5% increase.

Live Event revenues were $20.1 million as compared to $17.3 million in the prior year quarter, primarily due to an increase in the number of international events.
There were 78 total events, including 15 international events, during the current quarter as compared to 102 events, including 8 international events, in the prior year quarter. The prior year quarter also included 27 stand alone ECW® events. In the current quarter, our ECW events were co-branded and included as part of our SmackDown® events.
International events generated $6.6 million of revenues as compared to $3.2 million in the prior year. 10 out of the 15 international events in the current quarter were structured as buy-out deals with guaranteed fixed revenues as compared to 5 buy-out deals in the prior year quarter. The remaining international events in which we sold tickets directly yielded an average ticket price of approximately $77.75 in the current quarter as compared to $66.30 in the prior year quarter.
North American events generated $13.5 million of revenues as compared to $14.0 million in the prior year. North American average attendance was approximately 5,500 in the current quarter as compared to 4,300 in the prior year quarter, an increase of 28%. The average ticket price for North American events was approximately $38.92 in the current quarter as compared to $35.17 in the prior year quarter. Offsetting these increases was the absence of the stand-alone ECW events in the prior year quarter.
Pay-Per-View revenues were $18.8 million as compared to $19.7 million in the prior year quarter. There were three pay-per-view events produced in each quarter.
The details for the number of buys (in 000s) are as follows:

Events (in chronological order) Three Months Ended
Three Months Ended

September 30, 2007
September 30, 2006

The Great American Bash® 229 227
SummerSlam® 537 529
Unforgiven® 210 289

Prior events 87 81
Total 1,063 1,126

Venue Merchandise revenues were $3.9 million as compared to $4.4 million in the prior year quarter, primarily reflecting a decrease in per capita spending by our fans to approximately $10.15 in the current quarter as compared to $11.12 in the prior year quarter. The per capita spend in the current quarter was negatively impacted by a decline in the number of T-shirts sold at arenas, due primarily to our expanded domestic licensing and the availability of our products at local retail outlets.
Television Rights Fees revenues were $22.8 million as compared to $22.5 million in the prior year quarter.
WWE 24/7 revenues were $1.4 million as compared to $0.6 million in the prior year quarter, reflecting growth in the number of subscribers for our video-on-demand program.
Consumer Products

Revenues from our Consumer Products businesses were $19.0 million versus $21.7 million in the prior year quarter, representing a 13% decrease.

Home Video net revenues were $5.7 million as compared to $11.4 million in the prior year quarter. The decline in Home Video revenues primarily reflects changes in the timing of new releases as there were no new titles released in the current quarter, excluding the monthly releases of our pay-per-view events. There are several new titles scheduled for release in the upcoming 4th quarter, including retrospective titles on Superstars Rey Mysterio®, Shawn Michaels®, and John Cena®, among others.
Licensing revenues were $9.4 million as compared to $7.2 million in the prior year quarter, primarily reflecting increases in apparel and toy related sales. Revenues increased by $1.2 million in both the apparel and toy categories as compared to the prior year quarter.
Magazine publishing net revenues were $3.9 million as compared to $3.1 million in the prior year quarter, reflecting increased newsstand and subscription copies sold. We published three issues of WWE Magazine in each quarter and published one additional magazine special in the current quarter.
Digital Media

Revenues from our Digital Media related businesses were $7.7 million as compared to $5.9 million in the prior year, representing a 31% increase.

WWE.com revenues were $4.6 million as compared to $2.6 million in the prior year quarter. Web-based advertising increased by $1.3 million, or 68%, while wireless content revenues increased by $0.7 million as compared to the prior year quarter.
WWEShop revenues were $3.1 million as compared to $3.3 million in the prior year quarter. The number of orders processed during the current quarter declined by 9%, but was offset by an increase in the average per order spend by our customers to $53.58, as compared to $50.05 per order in the prior year quarter.
WWE Films

Revenues from our WWE Films segment were $12.8 million in the current quarter. WWE only participates in film revenue when our distributors have recouped their print and advertising costs and the results have been reported to us. This is the first quarter in which we have recorded film revenue, primarily relating to our feature film The Marine. Our capitalized feature film production asset balance is amortized in proportion with the recognition of revenue. As a result, we have amortized approximately $10.0 million of feature film assets, yielding approximately $2.8 million in profit contribution for feature films.

Profit Contribution (Net revenues less cost of revenues)

Profit contribution was $44.7 million in the current quarter as compared to $38.2 million in the prior year quarter. Total profit contribution margin remained unchanged at approximately 41% as compared to the prior quarter.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

SG&A expenses were $28.9 million for the current quarter as compared to $23.7 million in the prior year quarter, reflecting an increase in staff-related costs as well as professional and legal fees related to the Chris The Murderer tragedy and the review of our Talent Wellness Program.

Effective tax rate

In the current quarter the effective tax rate was 40% as compared to 35% in the prior year quarter. This increase reflects the impact of approximately $0.8 million of realized investment losses which were not deductible for tax purposes.

EBITDA

EBITDA was approximately $15.8 million in the current quarter as compared to $14.5 million in the prior year quarter.

Summary Results for the Nine Months Ended

Total revenues through the nine months ended September 30, 2007 were $353.0 million as compared to $307.6 million in the prior year period, a 15% increase, while operating income for the current period was $43.7 million versus $48.2 million in the prior year period. Net income was $30.6 million, or $0.42 per share, as compared to $33.3 million, or $0.47 per share, in the prior year period. EBITDA was $50.7 million for the current nine month period as compared to $54.5 million in the prior year period. As previously disclosed, the current year results reflect the $15.7 million asset impairment for our feature film The Condemned. Excluding this impairment charge, EBITDA would have been $66.4 million as compared to $54.5 million in the prior year period, representing a 22% increase.

The following chart reflects net revenues and profit contribution by segment for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 and September 30, 2006. (Dollars in millions)

Net Revenues September 30,
2007
September 30,
2006

Live and Televised Entertainment $ 234.5 $ 219.5
Consumer Products 82.8 71.0
Digital Media 22.9 17.1
WWE Films 12.8 -
Total $ 353.0 $ 307.6
Profit Contribution September 30,
2007
September 30,
2006

Live and Televised Entertainment $ 83.4 $ 80.7
Consumer Products 51.5 42.0
Digital Media 9.2 5.5
WWE Films (13.1 ) -
Total profit contribution $ 131.0 $ 128.2
Profit contribution margin 37 % 42 %

Live and Televised Entertainment

Revenues from our Live and Televised Entertainment businesses were $234.5 million for the current period as compared to $219.5 million in the prior year, a 7% increase.

September 30,
2007
September 30,
2006

Live Events $ 68.4 $ 59.3
Pay-Per-View 74.4 74.9
Venue Merchandise 14.5 14.0
Television Rights Fees 68.6 63.9
Television Advertising 3.7 4.8
WWE 24/7 3.8 1.6
Other 1.1 1.0

Total Live and Televised $234.5 $ 219.5

Consumer Products

Revenues from our Consumer Products businesses were $82.8 million versus $71.0 million in the prior year, an increase of 17%.

September 30,
2007
September 30,
2006

Home Video $ 33.9 $ 35.9
Licensing 37.7 25.7
Magazine Publishing 10.5 9.1
Other 0.7 0.3

Total Consumer Products $ 82.8 $ 71.0

Digital Media

Revenues from our Digital Media related businesses were $22.9 million as compared to $17.1 million in the prior year, an increase of 34%.

September 30,
2007
September 30,
2006

WWE.com $ 12.0 $ 7.7
WWE Shop 10.9 9.4

Total Digital Media $ 22.9 $ 17.1

WWE Films

As discussed above, revenues from our WWE Films segment were $12.8 million primarily relating to our feature film The Marine. We have approximately $29.2 million of capitalized film production costs on our balance sheet as of September 30, 2007.

Profit Contribution (Net revenues less cost of revenues)

Profit contribution was $131.0 million in the current period as compared to $128.2 million in the prior year period. Total profit contribution margin was approximately 37% in the current year as compared to 42% in the prior year period, primarily reflecting the impact of the feature film impairment.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

SG&A expenses were $80.3 million for the current period as compared to $73.7 million in the prior year period, primarily due to increased staff related costs, including costs associated with the expansion of our digital media operations.

Effective tax rate

In the current period the effective tax rate was 37% as compared to 39% in the prior year period. This decline represents the benefit of increased tax exempt interest income, partially offset by the impact of additional realized investment losses which were not currently deductible for tax purposes.

Cash Flows

Net cash provided by operating activities was $73.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 as compared to $32.6 million in the prior year period.

Note: World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. will host a conference call on November 1, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. ET to discuss the Companys earnings results for third quarter of 2007. All interested parties can access the conference call by dialing 800-894-5910 (conference ID: WWE). Please reserve a line 15 minutes prior to the start time of the conference call. A presentation that will be referenced during the call can be found at the Company web site at corporate.wwe.com. A replay of the call will be available approximately three hours after the conference call concludes, and can be accessed at corporate.wwe.com.

To cut to the chase WWE saw a 16% revenue increase in the lastr quarter, which in their eyes means that they are a success. I'll be more intrested in the next quarter

Man In Black · Anime Mod

Yeah but without Cena to keep the kids happy this quarter will see a drop no doubt.

Symphony Of Destruction · Metal Mod

That a shit load of numbers I don't understand. But, I think the time is right that if someone would take the inititive to bring out a more mature ott product aimed at the Male 18 - 30 demographic the WWE could be in some serious shit.

Problem is fans don't want to see supermen or gimmicky stuff like midgets who dress like leprichans being the boss's bastard son. We wanna see Gang Warfare, Gritty realism, Course Language and naked birds.

Well, We as in the casual Wrestling fan, I'd bet the Puros and the majority of the I.W.C wanna see 45 minute matches with people who I've probably never heard of :P

Basically Content reminisant of the whole "Attitude" era but not copying it. They've dropped the ball so much as of late I'm seriously considering not watching Wrestling and turning to MMA for my sole sourse of weekly violence. Dark times indeed :(

Man In Black · Anime Mod

Symphony Of Destruction wrote:

1) We wanna see Gang Warfare, Gritty realism, Course Language and naked birds.

2) Well, We as in the casual Wrestling fan, I'd bet the Puros and the majority of the I.W.C wanna see 45 minute matches with people who I've probably never heard of :P

1) That's one of the reasons why WWE is going down the drain because of the focus on that stuff.

2) You probably never heard of the WWE wrestlers until you started watching it!

David McKinney · 500 Club Member

There are two reasons that the WWE is losing fans, and both of them are thanks to SpikeTV in the States.

1. Mixed Martial Arts-a lot of young guys are coming over to MMA from wrestling for one reason: it's real. The only reason that wrestling is still going strong is because of the consistent weekly presence that MMA has failed to produce. If, and when, the UFC gets a weekly presence on TV-as they plan to do in their new contract with Spike-then wrestling will die quickly.

2. TNA-fans are flocking to this new organization. Vince may think that he has a monoply, but TNA is doing it a lot better than he is. For one, they focus a lot on the X-Division (comparable to cruiserweights), and fans love these matches. Plus, they are signing guys away from WWE while WWE is not signing guys away from them. TNA is a legit contender in the wrestling business for years to come.

Man In Black · Anime Mod

Sorry David but TNA are still WAY behind WWE and will be for a long time.

Their ratings have not jumped one iota since Impact went two hours so fans aren't "flocking" to them. And with a paucity of house shows and all of their TV tapings held at Universal Studios (were admission is free) they are not getting noticed as much on a national basis. If they did TV numbers would be higher.

They have been burying the X-Division for the past year (since Russo came on board - coincidence?) so they are treated as badly as the now defunct Cruiserweight division in WWE.

Finally signing ex-WWE stars is a bad thing. It pushes the home grown talent down the ladder and it shows they are desperate to ride the WWE's coat tails by hiring their cast offs. And WWE won't hire many ex-TNA guys because they don't rate any of them. They ones they did hire (Kazarian, Monty Brown) they did bugger all with.

As for MMA - UFC I understand is doing better in PPV buys than WWE in some instances but on TV they are only just better than TNA right now.

WWE is suffering because their creative is poor and is run by a pair of deluded ignorami who do not live in the same reality as the rest of us. Fact!

DoctorOfDesire · 500 Club Member

I hate to disagree David, but...

1. MMA or no MMA, wrestling will never die. Most fans (apart from younger kids) realise it is not real, and just watch for entertainment value. Boxing is real, but people still watch wrestling! Plus, parents will not let their kids watch MMA because it is real, and see wrestling as a 'safe' option.

2. As for TNA, 'they are signing guys away from WWE while WWE is not signing guys away from them'. Like who? I don't watch much TNA, but as far as I can tell, they don't 'sign guys away from the WWE', they just sign the wrestlers that the WWE releases, like Kurt Angle, Rhino, Billy Gunn, Gail Kim etc. I believe the only notable wrestler to voluntarily move from WWE to TNA is Christian Cage. Also, they are focusing less and less on the X-Division, chosing to push has-beens like The Steiner Brothers and Team 3D, which is why I don't believe they will ever be a serious contender to the WWE.

David McKinney · 500 Club Member

OK, I don't watch WWE, so I don't really know what's going on there. All that I know is that I hate John Cena, and the fact that he has been the champion for about 7,000 years now is one reason that I don't watch anymore. Yes, I realize that Randy Orton is now champ, but you get my point.

I don't really think that the WWE is losing viewers because of the Cruiserweights. They have never really had any good cruiserweights. The guys they did have (Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero, etc), never really did anything big in the lighter division.

How is TNA moving away from the X-Division? I think that it is thriving, and they spend a lot of time playing it up. They just don't have enough guys to make it not get stale. They need to sign either some indie talent (Lash LeRoux) or sign some of the WWE guys (Jamie Noble, Hurricane). The 3D "feud" with the X-Division is something that is going to help it. In the end, they are going to show that the X-Divison is going to come out.

Also, I don't like that they sign has-beens. I don't like that they have guys like 3D (formerly Dudleyz), Kevin Nash, Junior Fatu (Rakishi), the Steiners, and now, Scott Hall. I don't like that. But I do like the signings of Christian, Kurt Angle (the WWE wanted to negotiate with him, but he wouldn't talk, and they made it look like they released him), and possibly Booker T.

As for MMA, I'll take it over wrestling anyday. Maybe some of you guys should check out some MMA videos. There are plenty all over the net, but a good collection is on MMAPlayground.com.

Man In Black · Anime Mod

TNA has a decent enough X-division they just need to book it properly which they haven't done for a while. It seems like an eternity and not 2 years since AJ, Daniels and Joe were headlining PPVs for the X-Division title and tearing the house down. Now the current champ doesn't even get TV time outside of the odd appearance in a comedy skit!

The other problem with TNA is Kurt Angle. He has dominated TV and the booking since he arrived and not given the rub to anyone. Not even Joe who SHOULD be TNA World Champ but instead is fighting Robert Roode? Aside from haloing ALL the belts simultaneously, he also has his wife on the payroll and on TV more than the wrestlers! And on Sunday he is main eventing with two 50 year olds and allegedly another WWE cast off!

As I said earlier, WWE has been screwed since Steph took over the booking. Their inability to create new stars due to the political machinations of the old guard - the same old guard they used to mock by the way - is lost on no-one except themselves.

The long Cena title run was a good idea but with the wrong guy. The fans love and hate him in equal measures and he outstayed his welcome. But typical WWE, they never had a back up plan and have screwed themselves royally. And with bonnie Hammer insisting that they recreate the "good old days" of the Attitude Era instead of trying new ideas, the only way is down.

And David, I think we guessed you prefer MMA over wrestling. Call it a hunch..

Totoro101 · Movie Executive Producer

Havent gave my views on this yet so here is what i think, but as usual i probably make no sense!
I dont tend to watch US wrestling anymore, most of it is a mess right now, WWE doesnt produce much quality anymore and its a shame because a couple of years back it was an awesome product but i guess the company have never got over losing its main superstars like the Rock, Stone Cold and such,John Cena as much as he tries will never have their appeal or talent in the ring or on the Mic, Triple H is getting older and slower and past it, Ditto Shawn Micheals and their isnt many young talent pushing them at the top of the cards.Plus the ring action has deteriated and Vinces love for big men does it no favous then the tag division which is good as dead, a poor womens division and the death of the cruiserweight title...I cant really enjoy anything it produces anymore and iv always been a loyal Fan of WWE but the last couple of years..well iv lost intrest.
Its always the same names at the top now, the repeated use of most gimmick matches, a lack of fresh and new ideas and gimmicks, terrible storylines..It needs a huge boost and i dont see anything improving the product right now.MMA must be miles better but iv never got into it myself sadly, though i watch a few Japanese MMA and womens battle promotions.

Symphony Of Destruction · Metal Mod

I agree with Dave, and I'd like to add that "The Ultimate Fighter" has become more of a Monday Night Essential Viewing than Raw is. I never miss it as apposed to Raw, I haven't watched a full episode in months.

Man In Black · Anime Mod

To add to the WWE's woes there was a documentary (read: hatchet job) on CNN last night about steroids in wrestling, complete with the dramatic and damning voice over.

I downloaded it (or you can watch it on YouTube) and Vince came off really badly in it. The whole show was built around the Ben0it situation as you would imagine and there were side stories on Dynamite Kid too.

CM Punk was featured because of his "straight edge" lifestyle but the interviewer didn't want to believe he was clean and treated him like a joke.

However, Cena haters will love this: when asked if he took steroids he replied "I can't say I haven't but you can never prove that I have!" I don't know if he was fed that line by management or not but the stupidity of that reply will surely haunt Cena and WWE for years to come.

And Chris Kanyon was on there too for some reason but surprisingly, he didn't go on about gay...

EDIT - can we show a bit of maturity please and remove that silly censorship code over Ben0it's name?

-- Edited by Man In Black at 16:29, 2007-11-08

Man In Black · Anime Mod

It now transpires that Cena's comments were taken way out of context by CNN. WWE.com has a video of the whole unedited interview and it shows what a hatchet job they did.

As much as I can't stand Cena this irritates me more that CNN would blatantly use the WWE's biggest name to strengthen their own case and justify their tabloid speculation and scaremongering (not that I should have expected anything less). And yes, I am annoyed at myself for being sucked in too.

In this instance I hope WWE sues the ass off CNN.