By Jon Cudo, PWTorch specialist

TRUE - BROCK LESNAR DESTROYING CENA COULD HAVE BEEN BIG MONEY

Fantasy booking ideas can be great. I heard many (and have my own) about how to use Brock Lesnar in WWE. Many center around Brock destroying John Cena last month. Those fantasies were all destroyed with an Attitude Adjustment.

Former WWE writer Seth Mates accurately tweeted last week about the WWE corporate model, saying, "(The model) might not always be satisfying to fans, but if they make money, isn't that the goal?" Yes, it is.

If your fantasy booking idea has the potential to make huge money, that's great...but is it guaranteed to make huge money? Is it guaranteed to make more in two years, not just two months? To be fair, you can't answer that. No one can. So, what you end up with is WWE going with what they know and what they are comfortable with, which in this case is John Cena.

I think about it this way. If the story built around Brock destroying Cena in their first match had a 10 percent chance of sparking a nice business run making WWE an additional $25 million and a 10 percent chance of blowing up, damaging Cena long-term, and losing WWE $25 million...as a business person, you'd never do it. Neither did they.

It could have been big money to have Brock roll through everyone on the way to a huge showdown with Undertaker at WrestleMania 29 (or whatever story you like)...but it also could have left them in shambles. It's not as fun to play it safe, but when WWE is making a ton of money while in a rut, sometimes it feels like a groove.

FALSE - PROMOTIONAL POSTERS MUST LIST THE CARD

A debate was started this week regarding promotional posters, including criticism over the promotional poster featuring Daniel Bryan dressed in western gear tied to a railroad track. Some people enjoyed the poster showing Daniel Bryan tied up to depict the themed matches "No Way Out," others thought it was a fatal flaw in the WWE's marketing and promotional effort.

Let's start with what these posters are and what they are not. This is not a fight card. It is not a list of matches, listed top to bottom in order to sell matches. These lists of fights were used to promote fights and still are in many places. These current posters are actually closer to a theatrical playbill, which announced a show. They don't list the actor or the acts in the show, rather they project a theme to the event and attempt to capture audience attention and lure them into the performance.

So, the intent of these posters is not to announce the card. This art is to created to announce the event.

WWE is an entertainment company, not a fighting company. To miss this point is to misunderstand what WWE is trying to be. It may not be what you want, but it might not be totally fair to judge them on a criteria they are not even trying to achieve. While this is still in the ring, WWE is aiming to be something much much more than that genre. They project that in virtually every way possible. Through live event product, the language they use, the lighting, scripting, story telling, and, yes...even the posters they use to promote the shows.

As was also pointed out in this debate the timing of the posters likely precludes a list of matches. This is also true. With two weeks to go, the Over the Limit card has yet to be completely set. It can be argued that more advance planning might help, but cards are finalized 2-4 weeks before the event and these posters are released for marketing eight weeks out. They could certainly have a giant poster that says Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus for the World Heavyweight TItle, and they would mostly likely be wrong with more than half of their posters. On the timing, keep in mind the poster for No Way Out (on June 17) was released last week, six weeks before that show. Needless to say that photo shoot and graphic design was done at least eight weeks before the show, giving an indication of how much lead time is needed.

If you ignore the timelines and suggest there is a magical way to print and distribute these instantly, WWE would end up with poster after poster after poster that headlines with "John Cena vs. Edge," or whatever the top feud is. This doesn't enhance WWE's next big monthly card; it points out the flaw in modern professional wrestling in that the same matches are at the top months at a time.

Unlike boxing or territory day promotional material, this isn't a rare chance to see a match, it's another monthly show. It's a a show with an ensemble cast and one where the scripts may change weekly (or daily). To attempt to pin it down with a poster is not only pointless, but it ignores the absolute realities of what business WWE has created.

It was argued that a non-wrestling fan would see that poster and not be persuaded to buy the show. True, but what would it take for a non-fan to spend $55 on a product they don't watch? WWE could try putting a big, serious photo of Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton on a poster, and I would love to hear the argument that someone who doesn't watch wrestling would be so compelled by the poster to order the show. I don't read Harry Potter, so nothing on a movie poster would convince me to buy a $100 box set. And, to be clear, a WWE promotional poster is much closer in intent to a movie poster than a fight card.

Adding Bryan to the poster in Western gear tied to the tracks playfully shows the theme of the show in a high-end theatrical style. Would that be my first choice? Probably not, but to suggest that it somehow is going to turn away more people that is attracts is a pure guess, and more to the point, irrelevant. These posters are also not a hard sell to buy as much as a branded tool to remind people of an upcoming show.

Finally, we can probably stop calling these "posters." When was the last time you actually saw one of these "posters" in-person? If WWE is spending ten minutes a month to promote PPVs based on a poster that might hang in 10 percent of all cable company customer service offices, which might be seen monthly by 1 percent of cable subscribers, of which less than 1 percent buy monthly Pay-Per-Views...it's way too much time. These "posters" are graphics that are used on collateral materials like a mailing stuffer that comes with the cable bill, which is sent out in cycles to promote the next shows (which also explains why that art is due 6-8 weeks before the show). What was a promotional poster is now actually more likely seen on a DVD box or in an Internet ad.

In the end, WWE can create a fight card to promote matches on PPV, but WWE is in the business of entertainment. They are creating marketing material for their audience and marketing channels which promote their events and show they are not just a wrestling company. They then use these thoughtfully-produced graphics to sell DVDs, merchandise, and to enhance their brand.

Finally, have you seen the poster for Summerslam? It's a pool party!

TBD - SUB-100,000 BUYS PPV?

The card for Over the Limit is weak and the top of the card is perhaps the weakest PPV line-up in over a decade (and the poster sucks!). How will WWE follow up on a hot WrestleMania and memorable Extreme Rules? Will Over the Limit be the first PPV with fewer than 100k buys from WWE? That remains to be determined.

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Jon Cudo is the newest PWTorch specialist, presenting the "True-False-TBD" format. Jon has worked in the sports entertainment industry for over 20 years, including major league sports teams and Nike. He has been a life-long pro wrestling fan and has attended WWE, WCW, and ROH events in person, including backstage access at multiple events. He grew up in Minnesota and now lives in Cleveland. He runs his own business, www.GameOps.com, a website designed to connect sports teams and event producers with ideas and tools that will enhance the entertainment value for fans attending their events.

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