From the ROH siteJim Cornette posted this open letter to the fans of ROH on their website. ROH is treating it like it's "breaking news" on its Twitter feed, and there is a fairly bold promise in there - Cornette promises to stay with ROH and continue to help them in their quest to pass TNA and become real competitors to the WWE in the wrestling/sports entertainment arena. He says it in there, I swear. If you get past the multi-paragraph vitriolic diatribe directed at the incompetence of Vince Russo, you'll find it.
My take? I like the idea that Cornette is dedicated to bringing pro wrestling to the forefront and lessening the influence that the sports entertainment quotient of the business has on the industry on the whole. 'Rasslin' needs that kind of market alternative, and TNA surely isn't providing it at the moment. If Hulk Hogan's words are to be believed, then they might have a chance of that, but when has Hogan's word been his bond?
However, ROH needs to do a few things before it can realistically think about competing. One is to get on a network that has greater market reach. It's all well and good that HDNet has given them TV time, but how many homes does the channel reach? Comcast doesn't carry it, and they reach millions of homes, especially in the oh-so-important metro areas of Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, three markets where ROH spends so much time running cards.
Two, they have to get a better booking model in place. Adam Pearce's booking decisions have been questionable at best since taking over the reins. Yeah, people bitch and moan about how overrated Gabe Sapolsky is, but ROH was at its critical peak when he was booking. The guy knows the book, and you know what? So does Cornette. Corny as executive producer (read, TV character) is effective, but if ROH really wants to use him to his full potential, they have to give him the book.
Three, they need to rebuild the Philly market. It's great that the TV tapings are exclusively at the ECW Arena, but those are the only shows there any more. While the crowds at those tapings are lively, they aren't as filled to the gills as you'd want them to be. You can buy a 2nd row ticket on the night of the taping. That's ludicrous. Any company looking to succeed on the East Coast needs Philly, that's a given, and you could say ROH already has achieved that. However, to succeed nationally, they need to have TV crowds be hot and look like they're sold out. The former is there, but the latter lacking makes it like the former isn't. A full-card show every once in awhile may be the key to jumpstarting the market on the whole and getting people to come out for tapings.
Anyway, Cornette being on board for as long as they'll have him is a big deal, but they need to use him in his best capacity. ROH is at a crossroads - they have this name caché and have a roster of guys that people have at least heard of, but they currently don't have the tools to break out nationally. Having a name like Cornette helps, but they still have a lot of work to do.
I have Direct TV and because I have the wrong dish, I can't even get HDNet.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing is, I never hear anyone talking about the ROH TV show and what is worse, I don't hear as much talk in the last year and a half or so about the shows. I didn't used to have to look for results, now I do.