YOU CAN’T SPELL TWITTER WITHOUT T-W-I-T
A recent tweet from Eric Bischoff was hilarious, and worth breaking down. First the tweet, in its entirety:
"Seems like 90% of the audience loves what the loudest 10% hates. So who really matters? The 10%ers can’t get over the fact that they are irrelevant. Ratings don’t lie. Research doesn’t lie. IWC smarks need to get over it."
Like I said, hilarious. Especially that part about “ratings don’t lie,” with “research doesn’t lie” close behind. Bischoff had guts and one great (stolen) idea back when, but he’s scarcely known as a hard worker. I don’t see Bischoff poring over research, or trusting anything besides his own instinct – instinct which once served him very well, but not any more.
If ratings don’t lie, they don’t lie about Impact, either. When ratings are as low as Impact’s, the "10%ers" count. Every % counts. Even if 90% of Impact’s audience LOVES the product, Impact’s audience still ISN’T BIG ENOUGH.
It’s just WEIRD when those who fail abjectly nonetheless disparage conflicting opinions. That’s EXACTLY what Bischoff is doing at Impact: Failing abjectly.
That said, I know just what Bischoff means about the IWC. Every time I need a good laugh, never mind Bischoff’s tweets; I go to the WrestleZone.com message boards and read booking ideas. The more marks watch, the less they seem to know. In most cases, the opinion I value most is from fans whose interest goes slightly beyond casual.
Now, more than ever, Impact needs to hire Jim Ross to run the company, giving him ABSOLUTE power (including hire-and-fire). J.R. needs to get out of Dodge before Kharma comes back and kicks his ass. (Why does McMahon feel the need to constantly humiliate and endanger Ross, one of his most valuable employees ever? It’s sadistic and stupid.)
Impact needs to clear just about everybody out. Impact has a lot of “faces of failure” that have been around FAR TOO LONG.
No one can take Impact seriously as long as Jeff Jarrett’s there. He’s a FACE OF FAILURE. Same thing with Hulk Hogan. Eric Bischoff, too. They’re FACES OF FAILURE. Those guys are identified with BAD FAKE WRESTLING…not just Impact, but WCW during its death rattle, too. There can’t be a re-launch with those guys there.
Same goes for Mike Tenay and Tazz. They’re decent (though Tazz’s performance has slipped cataclysmically over the past year). But they’ve been the voice of so much BAD FAKE WRESTLING that their announcing paints anything good with a coat of crap, whether real or perceived.
The worst offender in this regard is Hogan. NO ONE WANTS TO SEE HIM ANYMORE, NOT IN ANY ROLE OR CONTEXT. He’s even worn out his nostalgia value. Hogan has bigfooted so many, so often, so much, so long that even the densest mark groans when his face comes on the screen. And Hogan looks ridiculous. Ric Flair looks like Ric Flair at 62. Hogan looks like an insulting caricature of himself. It’s just absurd.
I’d love to sit in on an Impact production meeting. Actually, I already have. Dozens of times.
When WCW was in free-fall, those production meetings were the fake wrestling equivalent of death row. Zero enthusiasm, people mailing it in, creative coming up with crap concept after crap concept, the one constant being the shared desire to milk, milk, milk as many paychecks as possible.
Don’t do your job…keep your job. Don’t rock the boat…if you do, someone important might notice that it’s sinking. Go along to get along.
It’s very difficult to evaluate Impact as a serious entity. It’s obviously going nowhere, and Dixie Carter’s mom and dad won’t make the sweeping changes necessary to give Impact a fighting chance in the long run. Impact can’t succeed as long as Jarrett, Hogan and Bischoff are there. There’s ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE WHATSOEVER.
Now, more than ever…either Jim Ross or Paul Heyman must be hired and given ABSOLUTE POWER. And even that would offer no guarantees. The Impact brand name is so tarnished, it may be No. 3 behind ROH in relatively short order. Marginal talent taking solid creative direction will beat whatever the heck it is Impact is doing, and easily.
Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM, Pittsburgh, PA (105.9). Check out his web page at WXDX.com. Contact Mark by emailing WZMarkMadden@hotmail.com.
