Raw is Twitter.......

Can someone please explain why last night Raw was a two hour commercial for Twitter?

I'm all for having a Twitter presence but how many references? Who cares? Does Vince think viewers will stayed tuned in if Randy Orton is aledgedly trending worldwide? I watch wrestling to be entertianed by the drama & storytelling not because it has a social media presence....Even the last JR rib plugged Twitter to the hilt?

The job of the announcer is now to put over tweeting rather than sell the performers in the ring..... Honestly am I missing something? Is anyones viewing being enhanced be this Twitter lovefest?

#getstheminmainstreampubliceye

Hero wrote:#getstheminmainstreampubliceye

So to achieve this the Twitter references are more effective than putting a mainstream Hollywood actor with a wrestling history who fans haven't seen in 7 years on there show?

Twitter is a World Wide phenomonan, the morw WWE fans they can get on it the more chance they can get their show trending which in their minds will get more potential viewers intersted in their TV show, Vinces latest thing is to be high on the internet, it'll pass in a couple of months

the-gaffer wrote:Twitter is a World Wide phenomonan, the morw WWE fans they can get on it the more chance they can get their show trending which in their minds will get more potential viewers intersted in their TV show, Vinces latest thing is to be high on the internet, it'll pass in a couple of months

Surely this is doing nothing to enhance the viewing pleasure? If you watch MNF you don't hear the announcers salivating over Twitter literally ever 10 seconds. Surely as a worldwide brand WWE are bigger & above this?

Obviously not, WWE have never really shown loyalty to the fans who tune in, their main concerns always seem to be trying to attract new viewers, the ironic thing is though, if the WWE gave themselves 6+ months to properly develop long term planning with arcs and bridges to storylines fans would undoubtedly come back, if the put their focus on making guys real stars with appealing character the fans will come back

WWE WWE
Help nominate @WWE #Raw as the "Most Social TV Show" in the 2011 @mashable Awards! wwe.me/79AFh #MashableAwards


they just tweeted this ^^^

This category honors the reader’s choice for the brand that best uses Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr or other mainstream social networking sites.

Wonder who WWE's biggest star 'Twittter' will face at Wrestlemania?

The fact is though that to be "trending worldwide" you only actually need a tiny percentage of twitter users to be talking about something and it doesn't mean that they will be saying anything good either... just talking about it.

they put twitter names on the entrance caption things on superstars now with there names on

I quite like it.

I think it adds an interesting new aspect to the show. Definitely makes it feel more modern and in touch with reality.

It doesn't affect my enjoyment at all

I agree with you Brady. It's utterly irrelevant to me, and it's also utterly irrelevant to WWE in actuality.

It doesn't mean they are more popular (they're not) or more successful (they're not); the only people being told about WWE's supposed popularity are the people who already invested their time in watching WWE, so it doesn't even attract any new viewers.

It just comes across as desperate to me. I'd be much happier if they spent less time tweeting and more time working on the lost fundamentals of wrestling presentation.

The lost fundamentals of wrestling presentation... ??

Raw is on fire. It's the best it's been for years.

And it's not irrelevant. If guys in feuds have an easy-to-use media to take pot-shots at each other throughtout the week, or even during live shows - it's almost like additional bonus content for those fans who choose to "follow" them on twitter. Also as it's only a barbed comment here or there, it has no effect if you choose to live in the 1980's and don't want to use technology to enhance your enjoyment of a product. You're taking a two hour product, and stretching it to a 24/7 one - cheaply and easily.

Tweeting etc just brings it back to reality for me, I struggle to suspend my belief and am very aware it's all fake- what is the incentive to watch.

But they tweet in character, so I don't get what you mean Ent?

Not everyone tweets in character, but some are clearly less 'themselves' than others.

I remember a tweet from Cena saying to a fan somthing like "you have no idea how much my tweets are watched" which was interesting. Other wrestlers don't appear to have those concerns and tweet what they like.

Electric Demon wrote:The lost fundamentals of wrestling presentation... ??

Raw is on fire. It's the best it's been for years.

And it's not irrelevant. If guys in feuds have an easy-to-use media to take pot-shots at each other throughtout the week, or even during live shows - it's almost like additional bonus content for those fans who choose to "follow" them on twitter. Also as it's only a barbed comment here or there, it has no effect if you choose to live in the 1980's and don't want to use technology to enhance your enjoyment of a product. You're taking a two hour product, and stretching it to a 24/7 one - cheaply and easily.

I don't agree with you at all. It's easy to accuse me of living in the past, but I personally think the obsession with Twitter does WWE more harm than good, largely because the promotion has completely tied itself in knots over whether the wrestlers are real people or characters in a scripted drama. It may seem more realistic in some ways, but it also takes away the whole point of what has ever made wrestling (and any scripted drama) successful, which is the audience getting emotionally invested in the product.

I'm not anti-Twitter, I just don't think it works in this context. Some tweets are in-character, some aren't; some of the wrestlers are in-character all the time, some aren't; it's way too much to think about.

Similarly, I don't think wrestlers should ever be talking about trying to be the most entertaining, or put on the best match. Their goal should be to win matches and titles. Why should Dolph Ziggler care about putting on the best match every night? He should care about winning. The same way Alex Ferguson would rather take a scrappy 1-0 victory over a thrilling 4-4 draw.

I think WWE needs to decide whether it's wrestling or not. If they want to put on a variety show incorporating petty online feuds, go ahead. But don't then ask people to invest in the notion that two wrestlers hate each other and want to hurt each other, and one of them is a babyface and the other is a heel.

I also could not disagree less with your assessment of Raw. I have never felt this disillusioned with the future of wrestling. There are so many basic fundamental things WWE and TNA are doing wrong that I can't see the industry recovering for years.

I'm not saying you are wrong, it's all opinion. But personally I think WWE is rotten to the core and needs to totally rethink its presentation of wrestling.

Absolutely spot on Crips.... Wrestling is a morality play between good & evil it works best in it's most basic form.

Could you imagine the closing credits on Eastenders running down actors Twitter accounts rather than there names next to the character they've played?

The whole reality era is a muddled mess. Look at the CM Punk promo this week?what was he talking about, ok so he was mocking Laurinatus presumably in his previous guise when he was a active wrestler but I bet 85% of the audience didn't have a clue about the Jonny Ace character. I for one was completely lost in the Skateboard references???

To be honest - even though I'm being protective of WWE because I'm really enjoying it at the moment - the skateboard stuff went over my head too. I have no idea what he's talking about.

They need to avoid doing stuff like that, because it just alienates

That's an excellent example Brady. Laurinaitis wrestled in a tag team called The Dynamic Dudes in 1989. 22 years ago. They were hated by the fans of the then-NWA (it wasn't even WCW yet!!) for being very green and because they carried skateboards to the ring with them to appeal to the kids (they never rode the skateboards though, only ever carried them).

The team only lasted about six months because of the poor reception it received. Shane Douglas went on to become a very different act in ECW and Johnny Ace made a name for himself in Japan before winding up in WCW management, and later WWE management. His present role is, I believe, his first in front of the American TV audience since he was in the Dynamic Dudes.

Who knew this? I think your estimation of 15% is generous. I would say it is probably less than 5% of the audience.

To put it into context, imagine that one of Deuce & Domino somehow takes a similar career path, and winds up on WWE Raw in the year 2030 as an on-air authority figure, looking completely different, wearing a suit, using his real name. How many viewers would have any idea who he was?! The veiled references to being stuck in the 50s, Cherry and shiny red cars would go totally over the audiences' heads. It's so absurd, and the fans who should know better are the ones who encourage it the most, because they feel special for understanding the references.

Well if that's where the reference comes from 15% is very generous! I thought from the fact Cena mentioned it too earlier it was reasonable well know term.

I'm sure that was wrote into the script for Kevin Dunn & Vinces amussesment like the JR gags & the stupid mocking of Lillian Garcia

Call me juvenile - but the first picture of JR made me laugh

Electric Demon wrote:Call me juvenile - but the first picture of JR made me laugh

You're juvenile.

Electric Demon wrote:But they tweet in character, so I don't get what you mean Ent?

Others have put it better above but some wrestlers tweet In character, some out, some break kayfabe others can't. It's a reflection of the mess underneath IMO, I'm happily watching a match then zigglers going on about entertaining or tweets rather than the title he holds etc.

Another example from a few weeks ago which is my favourite of the lot is when Cena let it slip that Del Rio's cars are rented!!! I mean come on he may as well cut a promo saying 'Look guys this is all fake but I sell more t-shirts than you so I should carry that belt around with me'

Tweet from Big Daddy Diesel:

Nice to be back. Thanks HHH in these hard times making sure I can provide for my family, a true friend #blownquad

So the WWE is pushing for it's fans to join twitter on a show where Nash lumps 'true friend' HHH with a sledgehammer. #Bewildering.

liverbnz wrote:Tweet from Big Daddy Diesel:

Nice to be back. Thanks HHH in these hard times making sure I can provide for my family, a true friend #blownquad

So the WWE is pushing for it's fans to join twitter on a show where Nash lumps 'true friend' HHH with a sledgehammer. #Bewildering.

Surely that's in-character sarcasm from Nash?!

That's how I would read it too

Having said that, the hashtag #blownquad is kind of a shoot reference, given that blown quads have nothing to do with the characters of Nash or Triple H, or their current storyline.

So in a way this is an example of mixing work and shoot.

Davieswasacrippledtart wrote:Having said that, the hashtag #blownquad is kind of a shoot reference, given that blown quads have nothing to do with the characters of Nash or Triple H, or their current storyline.

So in a way this is an example of mixing work and shoot.

......in 140 characters or less - genius!

Apparantly Vince is trying to push the Twitter references even harder, to the point where wrestlers tweet just before they come through the curtain.

I like it, its fresh and current. Twitter is huge and if someone sent a tweet to their 250,000 followers just before coming to the ring like 'you cannot miss whats about to happen', surely its only a good thing for ratings.

I agree with H completely. It adds a whole new aspect to the show.

Does anyone know if Michael Cole is actually tweeting during Raw, like King accuses him of? And if so, what sort of stuff he says

Who on here is actually on twitter? PM me your twitter name and i'll follow ya

It's not even that I disagree with you H, I just think the wrestlers need to stop drifting in and out of character on Twitter.

I didn't read it as sarcasm, I read it as Nash blurring the lines and trying to be smart.

Look on Twitter at pretty much anytime and you'll see trends about Justin Biebler, Twilight, X Factor etc. Teen heavy demographic which is exactly what WWE are aiming its product at.
It's free advertising to an absolutely huge market of people that aren't yet customers.
It gives the younger fans that use Twitter and like wrestling an opportunity to reach out, tweet and possibly get a reply from their idol, something that was rarely an opportunity before.
Yes the hardcore fans aren't happy, but the hardcore fans are rarely happy anyway and will still watch it whatever WWE do.

Do you think that the younger fans would have picked up on Nash's supposed sarcasm Hero?

liverbnz wrote:Do you think that the younger fans would have picked up on Nash's supposed sarcasm Hero?

Yes....there's not much reason for them to think otherwise.

liverbnz wrote:Do you think that the younger fans would have picked up on Nash's supposed sarcasm Hero?

Not overly but in the same resepct Nash will probably be the last guy they'd be following anyway, they'll be bombarding Cena, Orton and Evan Bourne with good luck messages.

Mr H wrote:Apparantly Vince is trying to push the Twitter references even harder, to the point where wrestlers tweet just before they come through the curtain.

I like it, its fresh and current. Twitter is huge and if someone sent a tweet to their 250,000 followers just before coming to the ring like 'you cannot miss whats about to happen', surely its only a good thing for ratings.

If this were to happen & the wrestlers remained in character I wouldn't have an issue but so much of it is confussing to people is John Cena portraying himself or the character on Twitter? I bet Vince isn't even sure...

This weeks Raw was much better with just a few references throughout the show rather than literally every 2 minutes.

I thought it sucked to be honest

After watching this weeks spoilers I felt the need to come on this thread. It really is getting beyond a joke now.

"Michael Cole" is now trending worldwide

"My 38,000 twitter followers"

"Boots to asses" now trending worldwide

The Rock has this many followers...Cena has that many followers.

I don't care. It's seriously detracting from the show.

It was another great night for WWE's most talked about commodity Twitter....

I just don't get it. Does have your lead announcer gushing over a social network site for 3 hours really improve pay per view buy rates?

I know I said on this thread a few weeks ago that I liked the use of Twitter as part of the entertainment. But Raw this week (which I enjoyed immensely otherwise) was ridiculous on the twitter front. When Rock started his "trending worldwide" speel, it was horrible - and not what wrestling should be about at all.

On a related note, am I the only one who wants to see Cena trash the Rock? Rock is actually annoying me in his appearances.

It p1sses me off the amount of times they mention twitter or trending. Actually annoys me so much I end up turning it off half the time

See this is the thing...when this thread first went up I didn't think it was too bad. They are just exploring a new Social Media marketing option. It offers access to the superstars like never before. Messages can go out instantly and information can reach millions in a matter of minutes.

With that in mind, I can fully understand why they are making a big deal of it.

But this weeks RAW was just a joke. Everything seemed to revolve around Twitter. Like I said, I don't care who has more followers, I don't care how many followers Lauraunitis has, I don't care if something about the show is trending worldwide.

ED I'm not surprised Rock mentioned it to be honest. He's on there all of the time and has a loyal base of followers. So I can sort of understand him coming up with that. I must admit I found "Boots to asses" pretty funny for an impromptu chant and can understand why that was trending.

They just need to dial down the references. When a wrestler stops mid promo to give out their twitter address (I'm looking at you Foley) then you know it has gone too far.

Anyone notice the Dolph Ziggler #heel hoddie he was wearing? Wonder if Twitter get a cut on the sales?