Road to San Diego Announcement #1
WWE
Wizard World Philadelphia 2016 is an great place for friends and family to go to
Last week, me and my girlfriend Fidelina Roman had the opportunity to cover Wizard World Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from Thursday until Saturday and we had an blast. There was many cosplayers, comic writers, contests, video game tournaments, face painting and much more for families and friends and kids can go out and geek out over there. People can go there and dress up as their favorite super hero, super villian, video game character and anything else that they love and show it off in good fashion. here are some pictures of good cosplayers and costumes that we have taken.
here is the video game tournament area where games such as Mario Kart 8, Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. for WiiU and more were featured
We have also attended some Q and A panels from WWE Superstars and the first one is former WWE Champion Seth Rollins as he discussed his future goals for Wrestlemania, having matches with Finn Balor and AJ Styles, his sacrifices and much more.
Seth Rollins Q and A
The Second one we have attended was Sheamus as he also is featured in the Ninja Turtles movie that was just premiering that week. He talked about that along with Daniel Bryan, different styles of wrestling, how did he feel when he became WWE Champion back in 2009 and much more. Before the Q and A ended, he gave a fan an autographed (signed by him) Ninja Turtles magazine.
The final one was WWE Sasha Banks as she responds to internet rumors, her thoughts on women’s wrestling and much more
Sasha Banks Q and A
The Rest of the panels we have covered are the Captain America: Civil War panel which had Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie and also Stephen Amell’s Q and A panel
Overall, it was an great show and we hope to bring you more coverage when we go back next year. follow us on twitter @AltMindz and @Julianexcalibur
My thoughts: today’s product of WWE since after Wrestlemania 32
While Wrestlemania 32 gave us some fantastic moments, I think most would agree the ending left us feeling underwhelmed and disappointed, a sour note in an otherwise very solid show. I for one had went to sleep that night feeling very deflated, and quite frankly pissed off that they would so blatantly ignore the fans wishes, just to get the title on the good looking, muscular, Samoan dude. Everything was going to remain the same, Raw was going to kick off with a 20 minute Authority promo, and conclude with Reigns beating every member of the League Of Nations while Cole screams, “Roman Reigns has overcome all the odds tonight!” It felt like WWE had no plans on changing the product, being content with their current stagnant state, despite the outcry of smarks and casuals alike, for change.
Until… Well, the next night..
The Raw after Wrestlemania felt fresh, the focus on young stars was a welcome change of pace, and something just felt different, it didn’t feel like an average Raw, it started with Shane being put in charge and ended with AJ Styles becoming the Number 1 Contender in an incredible Fatal Four Way, with 4 of the best workers in the business. However, I still wasn’t convinced, Shane’s tenure in charge seemed like a one-week thing, and this focus on the younger and more ‘IWC friendly’ guys may just have been to please the crowd the night after Mania, who they knew, if they gave them the same old stuff, would crap all over it, their fear of which was apparent through the commentators’ “boo the people they normally cheer” shtick. My skepticism seemed warranted given what we’d seen in the past.
Boy was I wrong!
The weeks that followed have kept with this theme of intriguing storyline development, new stars being built in the likes of Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Enzo and Cass etc, and overall simply a better product. The card for Payback looks amazing, I’m looking forward to pretty much every match, the build has been fantastic, every match has been given meaning, purpose, and most importantly air time to build organically, little to none of it seems shoe-horned in, and there are two major plots which could give us a massive indication on the companies direction for the foreseeable future . The introduction of Anderson and Gallows has made for some compelling television, and an aura of mystic surrounds their inevitable eligance. Though it seems set up for Balor to join forces with Gallows and Anderson to turn on AJ, they could just as easily throw us a curve-ball, which hasn’t been felt in a very long time. Vince’s decision on Sunday, will shape the company for the next while at least, I can’t see it being as cut and dry as him picking one or the other, the possibilities are endless, which is very exciting.
Ratings…DO NOT PANIC!
Yes, the ratings have been fairly poor, but that should be expected, the new talent needs to be given time to settle in and get over with the casual audience. These guys are mostly unknown to casual fans, so when the guys they’ve known to be the stars aren’t on the show, they won’t tune in for a while, which is exactly why this opportunity needs to be taken, while a lot of your money and ratings draws are out, to enhance the new guys, and give them time to establish themselves with a new audience. Don’t go rushing back to the old guys in a panic because the ratings have dropped, it would completely derail all the good things that have been done since Wrestlemania.
Potential For Change:
I refer back to the title, the sense of change is looming, the opportunity to usher in a new era in WWE is very much in the companies hands, this Sunday, is a huge night for the WWE and professional wrestling in general, you can give back to us fans, and make us once again proud to call ourselves wrestling fans, the feeling of unpredictability once so synonymous with professional wrestling, feels like it’s slowly creeping it’s way back. The potential for two, company altering swerves, is here, my skepticism though not fully gone, is fading, don’t disappoint WWE.
WWE has a new Women’s Championship Title
The title looks great but who do you think will be the one with it at the end of Wrestlemania
Who will be the new Champ?
Toy Fair 2016: Wicked Cool Toys
Julian’s Thoughts: Where are the tag teams?
Remember when the Dudleys were tag team champions in the WWE and were putting their opponents through tables each week?
Remember when the Hardys were jumping off of turnbuckles, ladders, stages, cages and probably other things to keep their tag titles? Remember when Edge and Christian were mocking their opponents and somehow found a way to keep the tag belts around their waists? Remember the Hart Foundation? The Outlaws? DX? Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection? (Many other great tag teams?) Don’t you miss when tag team matches/feuds used to be meaningful and entertaining? The tag team division has been in shambles for a while. There have been some decent teams lately but it seems like they don’t last.
I bring this up because it seems like they are setting up for a fatal four way tag match for the titles at Summerslam. They always seem to do this at Summerslam and Wrestlemania now. They do this so everyone can be on the show. Some of those teams definitely shouldn’t be on the show though. Los Matadores haven’t been relevant in a while. The Lucha Dragons are promising but they haven’t been used that much in stories or on PPV’s. The Prime Time Players are champs and are decent. I like Titus. They haven’t been overly impressive since taking the belts, but they haven’t been bad either. The New Day is hot. They have made a major turnaround since their debut as a team. Really though, the match at Summerslam should be the Prime Time Players vs. New Day. Less is more sometimes. Let those two teams finish this feud. Adding more teams doesn’t make it more exciting at all, especially since two of the teams haven’t been pushed in a while. If the Usos were in the match instead of the Matadores, then that would be better…but who knows when they will be back…
Wrestlemania 29 was the last time the tag belts weren’t defended in a fatal four way tag match at either Summerslam or Wrestlemania. (Or not defended at all) Now really, that’s only four PPV’s, but still that’s four PPV’s where WWE is just adding teams to try and make it more meaningful or to let people be on the show. If the crowd doesn’t react to them on a Monday Night Raw then why would they react to them at Summerslam or Wrestlemania? I didn’t really care about any of those matches. The teams in them are not teams that anyone cares about.
There have been decent teams since WM 29, but it seems like they never quite get a chance. Plus, once a team loses the titles it seems like they just get tossed aside. Team Hell No successfully defended their titles at Wrestlemania 29. They held the belts for 245 days. The Usos first reign was 202 days. Since the Usos had the belts, Goldust & Stardust had the titles for 63 days, Miz and Mizdow for 36 days, the Usos again, Kidd and Cesaro for 63 days, New Day for 49 days, and now the PTP. There’s no stability or dominant team at the moment. The Usos when healthy are the top team they have in the company. New Day is #2. PTP are currently third. As much as I like those three teams, it’s kind of sad that these are the top teams. They don’t stack up to top teams of the past and the depth of tag teams definitely doesn’t stack up to teams from previous years.
When I watch old segments on the network, sometimes a tag team faces top guys in the company. The Hardys had segments with Triple H and Stone Cold (Who were also a team for a while). Sure, New Day beat Orton and Reigns a few months ago but that was a one night thing. The Hardys/ HHH & Stone Cold thing lasted more than a week. Sure, the tag titles used to change hands frequently in the past. (Specifically the Attitude Era) But look at the teams from that era who won them. The Outlaws, Hardys, APA, Under taker had the titles with different partners, so did Kane, The Rock and Mankind, Edge & Christian, The Dudleys…that’s only part of them. Some of these teams won multiple times too, the teams now seem to be one and done.
So I guess it’s not official that there will be a fatal four way tag match at Summerslam, and hopefully there won’t be one. There’s not enough depth in the division to have one….plus…it has been done a lot lately. Don’t put teams on the show just because. If someone doesn’t get a reaction, then they probably shouldn’t be on the 2nd biggest show of the year. Tag team wrestling used to be a big deal but now it’s an afterthought. I almost wish WWE would bring back the Dudleys. It would be cool to see them again. It’s an upgrade from many teams that we’ve seen lately. New Day is the best on the show at the moment. The PTP are the champs so they should be at Summerslam, but those are the only two teams that should be on the card at Summerslam.
follow me on twitter @julianexcalibur
Julian’s Thoughts: WWE’s Rusev
Rusev was at Wrestlemania this year wrestling the company’s top star. He had Lana by his side and was seemingly unstoppable. His character was built up all year. Rusev seemed like a super power. He was a Russian super power. Though he didn’t really have a victory/feud that overly impressed me, the WWE was persistent in trying to prove that he is something.
He was built up all year. Before Wrestlemania, you knew Rusev wasn’t going to lose. It just wasn’t going to happen. He beat Zack Ryder a lot. He beat Big E. He beat Swagger. He almost won the Rumble. He won the U.S. Title. The point is, he was on quite a roll. Now here we are. The poor guy was treated as a big deal, and now seems less than that. Three losses to Cena? That seems like bullying. You have a younger guy who is on a big run and you make him lose three times in a row to Cena? Couldn’t have made it two losses? Sure Rusev won at Fastlane but that PPV is weak. We knew that Cena was going to win the feud, but by Payback it seemed like overkill. It didn’t help that the first three matches were boring. The last match probably shouldn’t have happened. I guess it added to the tension with Lana, but the losses may have taken away something as well.
His girl even was taken from him. Now we all are sort of jealous of Rusev because he is actually in a relationship with Lana, but we all know of stories where this has happened to other wrestlers. There are reports that they(Vince) are actually trying to break the couple up outside of the ring. Now I don’t know how true that is. If that is true, then that’s messed up. On-screen, it could work out. Lana with Dolph makes no sense for Dolph’s character. It makes sense for Rusev to want to destroy Dolph for being with Lana. I really don’t have a problem with it. Rusev probably has a problem with the split…the poor guy.
When he started he was the Bulgarian Brute. Then he became the Russian super athlete. He became the “Hero of the Russian Federation.” That added heat for sure, but after losing to Cena three times he showed up on Raw with a Bulgarian flag? Why all of a sudden just turn back to the Bulgarian Brute gimmick or stop with the Russian angle? Then on Smackdown he hurt his foot and is out of action.
He came back this Monday on crutches which seemingly keeps his “feud” with Dolph alive, but when he returns what will Rusev be? His career seemingly nosedived. All these things happened in a short amount of time. It seems like bad luck, and maybe even poor booking. The Lana stuff seems sketchy because I don’t want to believe that Vince would want to intentionally break up an actual couple, but I guess you never know.
This guy is still young and can be one of the most hated people in the business. Hopefully he’ll bounce back after this injury. I like his theme song too, so I hope they don’t change that. Right now in the WWE there are so many heels that get cheered. (Which they probably should because they’re awesome). Seth Rollins usually gets booed, but there are also some cheers. He’s so good that sometimes it’s difficult to boo him. I cheer him. I went to a Live event a month ago and was one of the few people not booing Seth. Kevin Owens is another guy. His character has done some awful things but because of his history and how good he is, he often gets cheered. Rusev is supposed to be booed, and always does. I’m not saying he sucks. I’m just saying that it’s nice sometimes having the bad guy get booed. His character can’t really be cheered. It’s sort of refreshing.
Rusev is a big guy who can draw heat. After having a good run he’s had a rough couple of months. Injuries are unfortunate, but losing to Cena three times and losing your girl may be worse. (Okay losing Lana is definitely worse). When he comes back I would expect to see him become dominant again, even at the expense of Dolph Ziggler or whoever else he faces. It really is amazing how far he seems to have fallen since Wrestlemania though.
follow me on twitter @julianexcalibur
R.I.P Verne Gagne
The legendary Verne Gagne has passed away at the age of 89.
The Wrestling Court: Listener questions
listen live here
My thoughts: Daniel Bryan should NOT win the 2015 Royal Rumble
I’ve got a slightly different take on Daniel Bryan’s return and just how WWE might view him in the plans moving forward. I say “might” simply because I believe WWE will make the best business call based on the data they have, which they don’t share with us. I just don’t put any stock in the reactions of the TV arena crowds because if they were truly indicative of WWE’s larger business there’s no way Cena is the runaway money generator he’s been the last decade and surely others with better responses from these crowds would have long since surpassed him if the Raw/PPV crowd translated to money.
That being said I do think they were a factor in the road to Mania last year, just not for the same reasons as many express. I don’t think WWE was worried about their booing, I think WWE was counting on them to be the subscriber base of the WWE network and wanted to make sure to grab them up in hopes they’d be a big enough number all on their own to take the network into the black. Call it the “low hanging fruit” strategy. When you pick apples from a tree, you grab everything on the low branches (hardcore fans) before you start climbing higher to get the more difficult to reach apples (casual fans). Just look how reliant WWE was on their library during the roll out, rather than original programming, tailor-made for the older hardcore fan who longs for the “good old” days and still sticks around hoping for a return. WWE network going hard with the library, then the Monday Night Wars series in the fall was designed for them to sigh up so they could go back and watch again…not the casuals who live in the now and aren’t watching out of nostalgia.
Which brings us to Batista. I imagine WWE thought they had found a perfect scenario. The old star Batista triumphantly returns to WWE, bringing with him the memories and nostalgia a network subscriber could now revisit. But possibly even bigger than that, Batista had the big summer blockbuster on deck, which meant he would be taking the WWE title everywhere and likely garnering enough free advertising/product placement that he could justify his money on that alone, while reaching even more lapsed fans, all of which would build to the SummerSlam blockbuster versus the other WWE “mainstream” star Brock Lesnar.
I’m sure WWE was also cognizant that their hardcore fanbase might also be concerned with what Batista’s return would mean for their favorites, which is why I think they booked so much heat for that audience’s current darling, Daniel Bryan. I imagine they hoped that Bryan getting revenge would be a big enough story to satiate the audience demand. So you put Sheamus in the spot Rollins would get later and pair him with Bryan, Punk would come to Bryan’s aid and pair off with HHH. After Mania you could add Batista/Orton for 6-man, then transition The Authority to The Shield, which is where WWE sees future money. But then the hardcore fans revolted and depending on your viewpoint if you’re in WWE’s inner circle, Vince either smartly changed plans on the fly…or he panicked and blew a potentially big deal on a plan with a much lower probability for huge success…all with the goal of getting every hardcore fan signed up for the network by the day after Mania.
So let’s play devil’s advocate and say I was one of the anti-Bryan/pro-Batista voices who said hardcore fans had already decided whether they would subscribe and those who planned to were just like the audience at the average Raw. They might not like much of what they see or the wrestlers we push, but they’re going to show up as long as WWE is on the marquee. Let’s say I argued that I wasn’t even confident that the PAYING hardcore audience was big enough to get the network to a million subscribers, but either way WWE already had the low hanging fruit, and they needed to be focused on the success of the larger task, growing the casual audience. I was firm the network would be carried by WWE’s success in getting new/lapsed customers. Now here we are at the start of 2015, Bryan is back, and the pro-Bryan voices are arguing that Bryan should win the Rumble and headline Mania. Here’s what I would argue:
1) We capitulated completely to the demand of our devoted fans…and the result was the network limping out of the gate, which means that audience is not enough to make the network profitable…so we’ve given them NXT along with the still growing library, while we focus on casuals…and we can’t go back to that well again because it failed last year.
2) The free media and attention WWE and the network would have received from Batista as champ this summer would have more than paid his salary…and who knows how much bigger a Guardians Batista versus Brock for the title would have been for the network. Had we gone with Batista, WWE still would have gotten every single one of our current subscribers because they’re WWE fans first and foremost…and maybe even more subscribers from the lapsed fan made aware of WWE again and all the kids who find out Drax was a wrestler and they can see him and all his old stuff on the network, not too mention the shirts and toys we lost out on.
3) Bryan as underdog was popular…and when we had him beat 3 top stars at the same time, we killed that underdog and as proof I’d cite the tepid response Bryan received afterward because if he was still hot, he should have been able to carry anything we gave him or at least have the insight to demand a change that he wanted, but he’s too laid back and not a business partner we can trust.
4) We built Bryan up starting in the summer of 2013 (if not sooner) as a top guy, then fed him 3 top stars along with the title…a massive investment…and then he got hurt and was out for the rest of the year with an injury we have no reason to think won’t recur with more pounding in the ring. How on earth can we be thinking about giving him Brock- who we’ve invested HUGE in for the last year- the title, and the focal point of Mania, when it’s just as likely we get to May and the nerve compression is back, but this time he needs the fusion surgery that will end his WWE career.
If I’m Vince these are some very compelling arguments and unless the data overwhelmingly supports Bryan’s popularity is widespread and translates to big money, significantly bigger than any other candidate to beat Brock, there’s absolutely no way I can invest in him with a Rumble win/Mania headliner/WWE champ. I’d still want to use in in a high profile spot, but he’s not sniffing the top spot until he shows me at least a year of great health.
Now as a fan, WWE can book anybody they want in any role and if it’s good I’m entertained. I don’t fantasy book who should be champ or pretend to know which stars are box office or pretend to know best because I have ZERO hard facts, so whether WWE puts Bryan or Reigns or Cena or anybody versus Brock, I really don’t care…but as somebody in business who tries to appreciate and understand WWE’s business, I would be stunned if Bryan win the Rumble if for no other reason than that I can’t imagine WWE looks at 2014’s business and hopes for a repeat in 2015 and going all in on Bryan would increase the likelihood of that by at least 50%…in other words, a very bad bet.
What do you think?
Follow me @julianexcalibur