For those of you who may have not seen it before today, here’s a post from Eric Bischoff’s Twitter page:
“Seems like 90% of the audience loves what the loudest 10% hates. So who really matters? The 10%er’s can’t get over the fact that they are irrelevant. Ratings don’t lie. Research doesn’t lie. IWC smarks need to get over it.”
Where to even begin? Uncle Eric, I don’t ask for much. All I want is a wrestling show I can enjoy. Your post says that the IWC are irrelevant and we need to get over it. Lets look at some of the many reasons why this is a ridiculously stupid thing for you to say.
One, 10% of your audience buys 90% of your junk. Also, your PPVs top out at 20,000 buys. Your DVDs aren’t sold in many of the biggest nation wide stores. In fact, its best to wait until they end up in the used bin at FYE for 5 bucks. Also, while some of your action figures are nice there is a lack of quality control. Have you seen the Samoa Joe figure in Dollar General and Big Lots? Not even chemotherapy could make the Samoan Submission Machine look this tiny. Meanwhile, your direct competion frequently makes the best seller lists (of DVDs and books), their action figures are some of the best looking toys ever, and while buy rates aren’t what they used to be they still eclipse anything TNA has seen. All while not (usually) pissing off ten percent of their fans. I’ve been disappointed in TNA for months now. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t spent money on the DVDs, a Suicide figure, Beer Money hat, and tickets for a house show. There is no way your precious 90 percent has bought any of that.
I don’t matter Eric? Bitch, I spent half a day researching Gunner. Yeah, the guy that you are making the number one contender without giving the fans any reason to care. Oh, don’t worry, I’ll make the fans care. You find ways to start other wrestling companies within the Impact Zone. I’ll sit here and get over your wrestlers. This has been a Bischoff and Hervey and Hellions production.
Don’t laugh so hard, WWE, I’m getting to you. Credit where credit is due to WWE for putting the majority of their shows online. When I do watch Superstars, NXT and Smackdown its usually through WWE’s YouTube page. Fast, convenient, and high quality wrestling programs. That no one is watching. Seriously. No one. I’m scratching and crawling my way to create a name online and the things I write get more hits than the billion dollar behemoth that is WWE. There is only one thing from WWE that gets any sort of attention online, and that is Zack Ryder. The Long Island Iced Z gets more hits from one video of his YouTube show that anything else WWE posts. Combined. He may be the most over, the most popular wrestler on the internet. The world wide web. Yeah, Ryder has fans literally all over the world who are bleeding and sweating along with him for that one tiny little dream. Air time on Raw. He has a world wide audience of hundreds of thousands, and it will be millions real soon. Any arena WWE runs will have a very loyal contingent foaming at the mouth to see Zack Ryder. Or, you know, ten percent of us.
So when the perfect storm of a smart wrestling arena in Ryder’s home town, and a whole extra hour of TV time happens… why the hell was Zack Ryder not on my television screen?!
The only answer I can come up with is that we… We the loyal, the loud, the consumers, the supporters. We, the ten percenters, do not matter.
HELLIONS TEAM 
The 10%s just have a platform to voice their opinion. Bischoff has frequently mentioned “the guy working in the gas station who can’t afford Internet” … well that guy has no platform to voice his opinion other than by changing the channel. But with most people having DVRs… that non netter always records… but then fast forwards, so you don’t see what works and what doesn’t.
TNA can look at the Flair vs Sting rating and see if the old generation their main event for Bound for Glory will actually draw money. If the rating did a 0.9 that’s bad. If it did a 2.0 then wow you should keep them on top… but chances are that match didn’t move the needle.
By my calculations TNA will always get a 1.1 no matter what. New ECW got 1.1. NXT got 1.1… its the bottom of the barrel. Which is why I’ve always said… cut the high price talent… except for 2 high pricers, lets say Angle (who has problems) and RVD (who doesn’t want to be there) and build up young guys then in a year. Rotate the big price talent out and replace them with 2 other guys.
That would at least help the company keep costs down where they are self sufficient. Then when TNA does house shows and tours around lets say to North Carolina… they can sey Jeff Hardy… Ric Flair? How would you guys like $1,000 to appear? That way they’re not spending $50,000 a year on them.
Sorry to rant on your topic, but hey us netters are passionate and if we weren’t on the net, I’d probably write TNA letters. Maybe that’s what I should do write them physical letters. They’d be shocked.
Don’t apologize for ranting.
I like your ideas of only bringing in names in their home markets. Cuts down on DUI possibilities as well.
TNA has thrown everything against the wall and never gone too far above the 1.1 I don’t know what else they can try (well, any sort of character continuity would help but you know)
Call me cheap, but I just want to save them money. Sting isn’t getting a 2.0 rating… Hogan isn’t getting a 2.0. Foley… AJ… Roode… nobody and its sad they spend $$$ for the same ratings.
LOL about the DUI possibilities 🙂 I honestly wonder what’s wrong with those guys… why don’t they have anyone else to drive with them? Do the bars phone the cops and say… Kurt Angle just left and he’s sloshed, go pick him up. I’m surprised they don’t have breathalizers in their cars for how many DWI / DUIs.
I know what they can try… giving the fans what they want. People watch wrestling shows because of the wrestling right? I say have 15 minute main events… but since TNA films 2-3 episodes per TV taping, maybe they can’t have all the in ring action because then a 4 hour wrestling card is a bit much to sit through.
If people hear about good matches, word of mouth will spread. Then if you give the 15 minute main eventers 20 – 30 minutes on PPV… you’ll get people watching and talking about their PPVs.
Plus their 50/50 booking of everyone. Their champions lose to Gunner heading into a PPV. Don’t make me want to watch their PPVs and I love TNA. 50/50 is good for midcarders. But main eventers need to be 80/20 going over midcarders and upper tier talent. That way you’ll look at Angle and Roode as credible to be on top instead of seeing them equil to everyone else.
I could go for hours… but I’d rather write TNA my great big rant so they can have some reading material before bed.
btw Kevin… Thanks for having a thought provoking blog that gets me thinking, because it seems like 50% of wrestling blogs are for results 40% of wrestling blogs are about the Divas… 10% is about recycled WWE video game news (posting videos). Thanks for having good stuff Kevin.