Peer-Review: The WWE Network is not going to fail; it has already succeeded

The hot talk on the internet dirt sites right now all seems to revolve around the abysmal number of subscribers that the WWE Network has attracted to date. You read some of these articles, including ones appearing on sites like Business Insider, and it begins to sound like 700,000 subscribers is a complete failure and that the WWE is doomed to go out of business due to the hemorrhaging of money resulting from their investment into the WWE Network.

Sorry, but the WWE is going to be just fine.

State of the WWE: A very early Summer Slam preview

The Teacher:  Doc Manson and I are back once again, friends, only this time, we’re actually going to discuss the art of wrestling, and not just the business of it.

Summer Slam is just a few weeks away, Doc.  Are you excited yet?

Doc Manson: Yes. Absolutely, sort of. What’s on the card again? Aside from Cena v. Lesnar?

T:  Frankly, I don’t think there’s all that much else that’s been decided, besides our main event.

In fact, WWE.com is only reporting 3 matches as of yet.  Cena and Lesnar, Jericho and Bray 2.0, and Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella.

So, I ask you again, Doc.  Are you excited yet?

DM: I had a sudden vision of Bray Wyatt as a cyborg, and I was entertained.

State of WWE: WWE Network Edition

The Teacher:  Doc, my friend, it’s been far too long.  We’re a little late to do a proper RAW recap, so what say we just go through a few topics in only mild particular order.  That work for you, sir?

Doc Manson: This isn’t going to be on the test, is it, Teach?

T:  There’s always a test.

First off, today’s big news in the world of wrestling is that, once again, WWE Network subscribers are not coming in the droves Vince McMahon would like them to.  I don’t want to spend too much time on the business end of wrestling, especially since I have next to no business acumen, but tell me, are you surprised or concerned about WWE’s seeming lack of financial support?

The Teacher's Lounge: Fantasy Booking Plan C-Na

In yesterday’s Teacher’s Lounge, I tried to answer the question “Why do we hate John Cena?”  Today, I have a little fun playing booker and come up with a way that instantly makes John Cena more popular with the older WWE crowd, or at the very least, more interesting.

Summer Slam

John Cena and Brock Lesnar are in the middle of an epic battle for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.  Triple H is, as usual, seated at ringside.  Paul Heyman stalks around outside, making faces that rival only William Regal and Vince McMahon for their storytelling ability.

As the match reaches its climax, we see Lesnar kick out of the Attitude Adjustment, while Cena barely manages to escape the F-5.  Michael Cole has let us know we have seen “the turning point” in the match 319 times, JBL continues to laud the skills of these athletes, while Lawler says this is the best match he’s ever seen over and over again.

The Teacher's Lounge: Why do we hate John Cena?

Why do we hate John Cena?

Why is it that the majority of adults who watch
professional wrestling groan every time they hear his music?  Why do we despise the jean shorts (Austin wore them), the multi-colored t-shirts with bumper sticker phrasing (The Rock was a slogan machine) and his incessant way of reminding us all exactly where he is?  (In case you had forgotten, the champ is here.)

Do we detest the man himself?  Hardly.  We admire his tenacity to accomplish what he has done in the world of wrestling and we applaud his dedication to charitable work.  Yet why are the WWE fans that frequent social media so rabidly against him?

There is another wrestler who shared a similar fate as John Cena; idol of children, irritant to everyone else.  Like it or not, John Cena is this century’s Hulk Hogan, and by identifying the two biggest similarities between the two, we can discover why Cena finds himself in his current predicament.

1.  John Cena and Hulk Hogan have / had stale characters.