Zack Pack has spoken – New @ZackRyder Video – #IWantZackRyder
It’s amazing that one sign and one tweet sparked such an uproar. My feeling is this has really struck a cord with the WWE fan base who wants to see “new” characters on the show. Zack Ryder has been on WWE for nearly years now and the audience has rediscovered him with his YouTube show – which is drawing nearly ten times the numbers of WWE Superstars. If you want to support Zack – tweet #IWantZackRyder. I am pretty sure WWE can’t take your tweets away, can they?
This episode features more creative work from Zack including suggestions of other signs you can bring to WWE live events. Share this story and video with everyone who wants to see something new break through.
Check out the latest podcasts from I Want Wrestling on iTunes here.
Sean Conaway (Formerly Creative) – talking Fox’s Raising Hope and WWE – here
Mick Foley – talking #10forRain and more – here
David Lagana (@Lagana)
Want to win a free copy of Wrestling Road Diaries? LIKE – http://www.faceboook.com/IWantWrestling
And the First Pick is… WWE Draft 2004
Colt Cabana asked me during the Art of Wrestling if I was “star struck” my first day in the WWE at No Way Out 2002. While not truly star struck, I was more “awe struck” by my surroundings. Anytime you go behind the scenes, how you see it changes – some might say for better, some might say for worse. For me, it just changed everything. And that seems to be the theme of the WWE Drafts.
On my first day, my very first two duties were to find Kevin Dunn and to make copies of the Sunday Night Heat rundown for Vince. Like any good man in unfamiliar surroundings, I asked for directions. I was pointed towards the production meeting room and meet Kevin Dunn. He greeted me with a look I’m sure he’s greeted every writer who has ever worked there since the dawn of time. I achieved my first mission of getting the rundown and now to make those copies. And then I met enemy #2 of the writers… the copier. Most enemies of the writers were beasts with jagged edges that if you got your hand caught in them, they’d devour you. This copier devoured every copy I tried to make. Finally success and I was off to my very first production meeting… late.
As I entered, I was greeted with stares and looks. Yup, it was high school again. “Who is the new guy?” I handed out the rundowns and started to over hear what was being talked about. The idea of the first WWE Draft was being pitched out to the agents (now called “producers”). This just added to me being “awe struck”. There was only one WWE (WWF at the time) to me. I had seen what had happened with the invasion – one side was made to look inferior to the other. But, again, I was the new guy who barely had survived battle with the copier and my opinion didn’t matter yet. Read my first article to see how the first year of the brand extension broke down to sudden news here.
Fast forward to March of 2004, news breaks that Brock Lesnar is leaving WWE after Wrestlemania 20 and a new draft (called the Draft Lottery) is scheduled. Losing Lesnar was a big hit, but we still had a pretty strong roster with the dynamic of Paul Heyman as GM. The hidden element going into that draft was the health of various members of the Smackdown roster.
The idea of “anyone can be drafted” was an intriguing story and the “lottery” aspect made it plausible that big names could be drafted chosen. The issue with the 2004 Draft Lottery was the moves weren’t that big. Look at the the rundown of the draft here. The biggest draft picks were Triple H and RVD to Smackdown. Edge was still injured but his return to RAW was probably the biggest hit to Smackdown long term.
And then there was this pick…
Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin had made a reputation as the self proclaimed “World’s Greatest Tag Team.” This pick was made to break out Shelton as a single star on RAW. He was thrust into a star making situation with Triple H compared to Sting vs. Flair from Clash of the Champions 1998. (See Shelton vs. Triple H here.) But years later, Shelton was never truly elevated. There are probably hundreds of reasons but by watching that match back with Triple H, the people were hungry for new.
The whole draft show, carried by Heyman and Bischoff, felt like a huge edition of RAW. And it closed big with Triple H vs. Eddie Guerrero (which I believe is one of the only times they ever wrestled).
Both brands battled in a huge brawl. Raw vs. Smackdown looking equal going off the air…
Triple H never showed up on Smackdown. Instead, Kurt Angle walked out and announced himself replacing Paul Heyman (who was “Drafted” to RAW – only to quit). Kurt was injured and needed a break from the ring. Triple H was “traded” back to RAW for Booker T and the Dudleys. That episode of Smackdown was unique because the first quarter hour of the show was the highest rated segment and then it dropped and stayed flat for the rest of the show. That was not the normal ratings pattern for the show; most Smackdown shows saw the ratings build over the two hours. This show, people tuned in to see Triple H on Smackdown, and they left when he didn’t show.
Over the next few months, Big Show joined Kurt Angle on the injured reserve. The loss of Brock Lesnar, Edge, Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Benoit (who went to RAW in Jan), and more left the roster in a rebuilding phase. Who was the one character who stepped up and succeeded when most people didn’t think he would?
The transition from APA Bradshaw to John Bradshaw Layfield was met with a lot of skepticism. Vince McMahon saw it, believed it and never wavered from it. He pitched it the Tuesday after Wrestlemania 20 at the Smackdown taping in Boston, MA. During my six years in WWE, it was one of the best character pushes of that period. JBL took the new challenge and ran with it. He took Smackdown and made it his show for the next calendar year. JBL was the perfect antagonist to help build the new hero for Smackdown – John Cena.
Their battle at Wrestlemania 21 crowned Cena as the WWE Champion but it was their I Quit Match at Judgement Day 2005 that made Cena a hero. They main evented that Smackdown only PPV and everyone knew from that moment that John Cena was going to be a top guy for WWE. Sadly, it was the last main event that John Cena would have on Smackdown PPV. Because the draft of 2005 “shook everything up again.”
The 2005 Draft changed the fortunes of not only talent but the balance in the brands. Come back on Friday for that article.
David Lagana (@Lagana)
Hear the latest Podcast with Mick Foley here.
Want to win a free copy of Wrestling Road Diaries? LIKE – http://www.faceboook.com/IWantWrestling
http://twitter.com/IWantWrestling
You can find every episode of our podcasts here and subscribe to us iTunes here.
Shane Helms on Edge’s Retirement (VIDEO)
Shane Helms (@shanehelmscom) has posted a very emotional video about the retirement of Edge. They’re freinds but they are linked by a very common bond. Shane had the same neck surgery (in 2007) that Edge had in 2002. In this video, Shane talks about his “Bump Card” and what the term “working on borrowed time” means to him. Check it out.
Shane hosts a weekly show called Highway 2 Helms. You can subscribe to get it on iTunes here. Or watch it live every Wednesday at 7pm eastern / 4pm Pacific here.
Follow Shane on Twitter – @shanehelmscom
David Lagana (@Lagana)
Hear the latest Podcast with Mick Foley here.
Want to win a free copy of Wrestling Road Diaries? LIKE – http://www.faceboook.com/IWantWrestling
http://twitter.com/IWantWrestling
You can find every episode of our podcasts here and subscribe to us iTunes here.
New Formerly Creative – Sean Conaway “Raising Hope”
The knock on members of the creative team is that they are all “Hollywood writers who don’t know wrestling. Sean Conaway did it the reverse way. A huge wrestling fan in college, Sean interned at the WWE Studios in the hopes that he could be on the WWE Creative team. At age 21, he did. But instead of becoming a “lifer”, Sean decided to move to Los Angeles and chase his Hollywood writing dream. After six years, Sean has gotten his first script on the Fox TV Show – “Raising Hope” and that episode airs on 4/26 at 9:30pm on FOX.
This podcast is a discussion between Lagana and Conaway about Sean’s time in WWE and how it prepared him for Hollywood. Hear the entire podcast here.
Click to listen to podcast
Episode #10 – Sean Conaway (WWE – 2004 – 2005)
Download MP3
The show’s official FOX page: http://www.fox.com/raisinghope/
or Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/RaisingHope
David Lagana (@Lagana)
Hear the latest Podcast with Mick Foley here.
Want to win a free copy of Wrestling Road Diaries? LIKE – http://www.faceboook.com/IWantWrestling
http://twitter.com/IWantWrestling
You can find every episode of our podcasts here and subscribe to us iTunes here.
If you’re using another service, you can find the Podcast RSS here.
“Zack Ryder = Ratings” Sign Confiscated #IWantZackRyder
Zack Ryder (@zackryder) has quickly become an “internet sensation”. His new YouTube show has been a must see every week. Here is last week’s episode.
This episode already has nearly 90,000 views on YouTube.
With limited TV time, Zack’s built a following through the “dreaded” internet. Fans have been hoping that Zack would be drafted to Smackdown in the hopes of more tv time; read my draft article here. The internet has always been a dirty word in WWE. Look at how Daniel Bryan (fka – Bryan Danielson) and Kaval (aka Low-Ki) were talked about as “internet darlings” by WWE during NXT. And now Zack Ryder is building his following by the weekly webshow and being interactive with his fans on his twitter account.
Last night, early in RAW – a sign was held up. Zack Ryder = Ratings. A fan was “standing up” and voicing his opinion. That sign disappeared. O2 Arena officials were told to take the sign along with another pro-Ryder sign. This isn’t a new practice by WWE. In fact, it’s been going on forever and at times some signs need to be taken. But this is 2011, we live in a world of social media. The idea is to “Listen to your audience.”
Matthew Johnson (@mattjohnson333) brought the sign to speak out for a wrestler he likes and supports. Here is his tweet about what happened after it was seen on TV.
One sign = one person’s voice. But again, it’s 2011 and we live in a time of social media. Look at the chatter this sign and now this controversy has created on twitter. Read here for the tweets talking about it. Sure this can be discredited by those in power as “the internet”.
Yes Twitter is a small sample of the audience. So is Nielsen ratings and those are studied like the Zapruder film. Is this a big story? Nope. But it’s a big story to fans of Zack Ryder. Your voice doesn’t matter to some. Should Zack Ryder fans pack up and give home? Or should they simply speak louder and say #IWantZackRyder?
David Lagana (@Lagana)
Hear the latest Podcast with Mick Foley here.
Want to win a free copy of Wrestling Road Diaries? LIKE – http://www.faceboook.com/IWantWrestling
http://twitter.com/IWantWrestling
You can find every episode of our podcasts here and subscribe to us iTunes here.
If you’re using another service, you can find the Podcast RSS here.
IWantWrestling.com 