VOW Flagship: TNA/Billy Corgan Saga, FloSlam, Hell in a Cell & more!

[rovert]

If Corgan was smart, he'd get his money back plus interest and walk away. Why in the fuck would anybody want a welfare wrestling company with millions of debt, nearly zero revenue streams, and a worthless TV deal that may or may not get renewed in April? He reeks of a total money mark who's desperate to get in there and rub elbows with the boys.

Hopefully the folks who worked the last set of tapings are able to get their money and know enough to never work for this company again.

I was told that Dixie out of the company it (re)opens lot of doors and about 6 weeks ago Corgan had some promising meetings in New York. I don't think he's a total money mark although there's prior history and current on screen red flags to that effect.

Any talk on the Stardom situation in this, or are you waiting for it to pan out and be official before discussing it on the pod?

I'd rather they do a little research before discussing, as I'm not sure either watches enough STARDOM to really have an opinion on the matter (and I say this as someone who hasn't watched a show since STARDOM World started up). Mainly, so they can be aware of just how fucked STARDOM is should this situation pan out.

There's been lot of over reaction to the STARDOM news from people who seemingly haven't been following the promotion for that long. It will sting but the promotion has lost talent before, Rossy Ogawa has seen this scenario repeat for decades and Hojo & Shirai leaving was situation that has been anticipated for long time.

[Rainmaker_F7]

Great show as always guys, especially loved the discussion about NOAH. Suzuki should beat Nakajima in his block, then beat Kitamiya in the final (their own version of Big R Shimizu), and then they should do Nakajima vs Suzuki at Destiny.

Also, the burial of Dixie Carter is the best thing ever.

[throwstuff165]

Very interesting show as per usual, especially appreciated the FloSlam talk.

What do y'all think is the minimum amount of content on that network that would make you monthly subscribers for an extended period of time given that PWG and New Japan have already declined? I'm somewhat like you guys in that I'll buy an EVOLVE or ROH show on occasion if it's getting buzz, and I agree with Rich that I'll definitely subscribe for at least a month or two to get through the DGUSA library. Really, though, if they get the full ROH commitment (i.e. the entire library) and add either RevPro or PROGRESS on top of it even with nothing else, I think that alone would probably be enough to make me a fairly loyal customer at $20. Sounds like it might take quite a bit more for y'all, though.

[Ferrante207]

Any talk on the Stardom situation in this, or are you waiting for it to pan out and be official before discussing it on the pod?

I have no idea what this is, but it sounds interesting. Where can I learn more?

Nevermind. Was hoping it would be some behind the scenes grimy joshi scandal. Just some stars leaving for new York.

[Joe Lanza]

Great show as always guys, especially loved the discussion about NOAH. Suzuki should beat Nakajima in his block, then beat Kitamiya in the final (their own version of Big R Shimizu), and then they should do Nakajima vs Suzuki at Destiny.

Also, the burial of Dixie Carter is the best thing ever.

Remember, no big December show this year. So maybe two losses for Nakajima would be OK, because you could do someone like Archer on one of the December Korakuens and then Suzuki on the next big building show, whatever/whenever that will be.

[Joe Lanza]

Very interesting show as per usual, especially appreciated the FloSlam talk.

What do y'all think is the minimum amount of content on that network that would make you monthly subscribers for an extended period of time given that PWG and New Japan have already declined? I'm somewhat like you guys in that I'll buy an EVOLVE or ROH show on occasion if it's getting buzz, and I agree with Rich that I'll definitely subscribe for at least a month or two to get through the DGUSA library. Really, though, if they get the full ROH commitment (i.e. the entire library) and add either RevPro or PROGRESS on top of it even with nothing else, I think that alone would probably be enough to make me a fairly loyal customer at $20. Sounds like it might take quite a bit more for y'all, though.

Me personally:

WWN
ROH
one of the Euro big boys, I'd settle for Progress or RevPro
a few second tier indies OR both Progress & RevPro

You give me all of that, and I drop the $150 (the $12.50 per month special for the lump sum that we neglected to bring up) for the entire year.

If they do something next to impossible like secure the NJPW major shows I'd cancel NJW. If they do something that's probably literally impossible and get Dragon Gate, i'm in no matter what.

[powerfulmgp]

I'd gladly pay FloSports $20 a month if they could give me New Japan shows on a Roku box. I'm sick to death of having to airplay content from my phone, which requires anchoring it to the charger for the duration of the event.

[Garuda]

Great show guys. The big topics were all really detailed and interesting - particularly the NOAH stuff for me. For some reason their fortunes are always one of the more interesting stories in wrestling to hear discussed.

As for the FloSports deal, I really jived with Joe's point about time being the major limiting factor rather than price. Right now I watch WWE/NXT and NJPW. I tend to have room for a third promosion, which used to be LU and I'm happily filling with PROGRESS at the moment.

But past that third slot I don't really have any more time or even appetite for wrestling. So the prospect of adding tons of indy wrestling promotions kind of bumps into my ceiling of time and interest.

[Ferrante207]

Is there any concern that floslam would cannibalize indy attendance? It'd be amazing to just watch a live stream of beyond or limitless on a Sunday and still be able to watch football, not have to commute 3 hours each way, etc. Would save a ton of gas, tolls, road snacks, etc. I hate using an entire weekend day for indy wrestling. I'm not one of those "making towns" types. I also hate wrestling crowds. Maybe I am in the minority, but I floslam seems ideal for a person like me.

I could see it also helping attendance: giving exposure to promotions etc.

$20 for an all you can eat buffet of non-wwe is a dream though. We shall see.

[Roryb122159]

Great show as usual

Fun fact, Nakajima's pro wrestling debut predates Chris Benoit winning the Rumble by exactly 3 weeks!

[suplexberry]

Good show. Loved the NWA talk and NOAH talk. As far as FloSlam goes, I'm with you guys as well - it's all lovely but I'm not buying in. My two maintained subscriptions are PROGRESS and NJPW, and when I'm really into wrestling I usually sub to a third promotion. Right now it's wXw, next month it'll be RevPro (Ishii vs Hero!).

I think people have a positive image of Corgan because good things have happened in terms of creative under his watch. Business has been in the gutter but people who tune into Impact seem to enjoy it. I don't know if that perception matches reality, with TNA it's typically very hard to tell what's really going on. I feel bad for people not getting paid, that's fucked up.

[Empiresk]

I agree with you both on FloSlam. Unless it gets something great like PROGRESS or New Japan, subscriptions I already pay for regardless, I will only be dropping in and out on a month by month basis. If I could save money by combining multiple subscriptions then it will be a major plus.

I'm going on holiday for two weeks soon so I ain't dropping for it now. I am waiting for at least a few live streams to go on without any hickups and for their quality to improve. As Joe mentioned on his recent solo show, if WWN/EVOLVE doesn't use this cash inflow to boost their production side and look as polished as some of the Euro indies then they are making a huge mistake. If they are going to be FloSlam's flagship for the meantime, they must make themselves look a million bucks as stuff like that will get people coming back when you combine it with their roster.

They have got at least got 2-3 months out of me for DGUSA and a few more if/when they announce ROH and I imagine they will get quite a few customers like me so it should be their ambition to try and keep people like me around.

[Joe Lanza]

Is there any concern that floslam would cannibalize indy attendance? It'd be amazing to just watch a live stream of beyond or limitless on a Sunday and still be able to watch football, not have to commute 3 hours each way, etc. Would save a ton of gas, tolls, road snacks, etc. I hate using an entire weekend day for indy wrestling. I'm not one of those "making towns" types. I also hate wrestling crowds. Maybe I am in the minority, but I floslam seems ideal for a person like me.

I could see it also helping attendance: giving exposure to promotions etc.

$20 for an all you can eat buffet of non-wwe is a dream though. We shall see.

When it comes to streaming in general, I wouldn't call it "cannibalizing" so much as adding to attendance.

For someone like you, if you order a stream instead of driving to the show so you don't have to miss football, they are still getting your money, so it doesn't matter either way. From that perspective, the stream kept you as a customer instead of losing you.

For people who can't attend the show, it's like watching via the old closed circuit gimmick.

I see no negative, unless you want to argue that ~100 local Ferrante's staying home instead of going hurt's the live atmosphere in the building.

Decades ago, sports franchises worried that TV would kill attendance at games. Time has proven that false.

[Garuda]

Plus I think it would go this way: Booming your iPPV sales will ultimately make it more likely for people to want to buy a ticket to attend if they're nearby. I don't think it's crazy to think it could go in reverse, but I do think one grows the other if anything.

[Lawsoncomedy]

As someone who has recently gotten into Stardom...I am sad.

I really enjoyed the NOAH talk this week. Going into the fall this dead period of wrestling, NOAH may become the promotion to follow, that Global league looks interesting and they have a fresh new champion.

I like the idea of keeping Nakajima strong, having him win the whole tournament with only 1-2 losses. And Kitamiya in the finals would be awesome. Since Archer and Nakajima have such great chemistry, it'd seem a waste not to have that main event at some point. Maybe Nakajima and Archer can have a tine limit draw in Global League?