On Smackdown this week an era came quietly to an end. Cesaro, the man who shot to fame in an amazing Wrestlemania moment in April, lost clean, without ceremony, to Jack Swagger. The very man who Cesaro had clearly surpassed when he split from the Real Americans and became the new Paul Heyman Guy. It was a small footnote in a raft of changes recently seen in the WWE, but a notable one.
In June Vince McMahon fired chief writer Jay Gibson after news broke of disappointing Network sales figures. Gibson presided over an era which saw the WWE evolve into something new and exciting. Gibson’s stint as head writer included many highlights fans will look on fondly:
• Daniel Bryan overcoming the odds to finally win the championship at Wrestlemania
• The rise of the Shield and the promotion of 6 man tag matches to main event status
• The introduction and rise of the Wyatt Family
• The rise of WWE NXT and the promotion of many popular NXT stars to the main roster
• The rise of wrestlers with an independent background such as Bryan, Cesaro and Ambrose
But the changes were dragged, sometimes painfully, from the white knuckle grip of WWE executives. At times management seemed almost pathologically determined to resist the will of the fans – at times taking genuine organic support and trying desperately to transfer it from the fan favourite (Bryan) to their preferred man (Big Show).
But with Network subscription figures continuing to be disappointing Vince has seen fit, rightly or wrongly, to blame creative direction for the disastrous financial conference call which followed Wrestlemania. On Smackdown Cesaro’s loss completed what can be seen as a full reset.
• All three singles belts are now held by the “old guard” of Cena, Sheamus and the Miz.
• The Shield has been disbanded.
• Bryan has been removed from the title picture by injury.
• Reigns has been replaced by Brock Lesnar in the title picture
• The Wyatt Family, Cesaro and the likes of Ziggler have been shuffled down the card.
The question is, will changing all the things that the Internet Wrestling Community - by definition a core customer base the Network - enjoy and support, really be the answer to the WWEs financial woes? Will pandering to the casual fans bring in the subscriptions and merchandise sales the WWE so desperately need?
The next financial conference call following Summerslam will make very interesting listening!
In June Vince McMahon fired chief writer Jay Gibson after news broke of disappointing Network sales figures. Gibson presided over an era which saw the WWE evolve into something new and exciting. Gibson’s stint as head writer included many highlights fans will look on fondly:
• Daniel Bryan overcoming the odds to finally win the championship at Wrestlemania
• The rise of the Shield and the promotion of 6 man tag matches to main event status
• The introduction and rise of the Wyatt Family
• The rise of WWE NXT and the promotion of many popular NXT stars to the main roster
• The rise of wrestlers with an independent background such as Bryan, Cesaro and Ambrose
But the changes were dragged, sometimes painfully, from the white knuckle grip of WWE executives. At times management seemed almost pathologically determined to resist the will of the fans – at times taking genuine organic support and trying desperately to transfer it from the fan favourite (Bryan) to their preferred man (Big Show).
But with Network subscription figures continuing to be disappointing Vince has seen fit, rightly or wrongly, to blame creative direction for the disastrous financial conference call which followed Wrestlemania. On Smackdown Cesaro’s loss completed what can be seen as a full reset.
• All three singles belts are now held by the “old guard” of Cena, Sheamus and the Miz.
• The Shield has been disbanded.
• Bryan has been removed from the title picture by injury.
• Reigns has been replaced by Brock Lesnar in the title picture
• The Wyatt Family, Cesaro and the likes of Ziggler have been shuffled down the card.
The question is, will changing all the things that the Internet Wrestling Community - by definition a core customer base the Network - enjoy and support, really be the answer to the WWEs financial woes? Will pandering to the casual fans bring in the subscriptions and merchandise sales the WWE so desperately need?
The next financial conference call following Summerslam will make very interesting listening!
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