Eric Bischoff Speaks On Mike Adamle As Raw GM & WWE Going PG
Eric Bischoff has posted his latest blog entry on his official website. Below are some of the highlights:
On WWE going PG: First, the PG rating strategy. WWE is a television company. No one reading this blog will find himself or herself enlightened by this statement. Without a meaningful television platform, WWE would dry up and blow away. Fast. Pay-Per-Views, (a substantial percentage of the companies revenues) would disappear. Live events, arena merchandise, and licensing would follow shortly thereafter. Without a substantial television platform, wrestling, as we know it would be dead in very short order. This isn't earth shattering inside knowledge.
But now replace the word "television" with "advertising". Because without a profitable advertising schedule within a given program, networks cancel said program. This means that WWE, and more accurately, USA Network are in the advertising business. Last I heard USA Network controls the inventory of the commercial schedule within WWE programming. That means their ad sales people are out in an extremely competitive market place, trying to sell the ratings and demos delivered by WWE.
On Mike Adamle as the new Raw GM: Now, to the casting of Mike Adamle as the new RAW G.M.: I have never met Adamle. Truth is I have not tuned into WWE programming in such a long time that I can't comment on his performance as a play by play announcer (which in my opinion is one of the toughest jobs in professional wrestling) and he certainly hasn't been in the role of G.M. long enough for anyone to get too emotional about this one way or the other. I do know that the role of G.M. is a tough one.
When I "joined the nWo" in 1996 and used my real life position as the head of WCW to create the evil boss character (which Vince McMahon did AFTER seeing the impact of my character on NITRO) I had already been in an on-camera role for almost 7 or 8 years. The majority of the audience knew that I really was the head of the company and the transition into the "Evil Eric" nWo character had a good foundation as a result. The same was true for Vince when he followed my lead and played into the same basic character on RAW.
Adamle doesn't have that advantage. He has only been in the business long enough for his coffee to get cold, and based on what I'm hearing, the "heat" that he may have isn't the kind of heat that one can build a character around. I wish Mike well. Even though I don't know him, it takes a set of stones to step into a situation like he is in. Have to respect him for that.