Now that the speculating part is out of the way, how about critiquing the development of this feud? When Batista destroyed Alberto Del Rio by putting him through a table, I didn't think they would bother having this match. Alberto Del Rio even appeared in a neck brace this week to sell the injury. Batista even shoved him and made him look like an even bigger wimp. With all the momentum on Batista's side, you might typically believe Del Rio would win. Unless the match ends in some kind of DQ, there is no reason to let Del Rio win. Batista can get disqualified for destroying Del Rio.
Is Batista acting like a bully for a heel turn or just to make him look interesting? A heel turn was already a possibility. Have him replace Randy Orton as The Authority's face of the company. But do you really need to start foreshadowing it so hard from now? Yes, developing things is great, but there is such a time as spending to much time developing. Moreover, a little surprise here and there with no development can be great.
The other possibility as to why they are having Batista look so tough at Alberto Del Rio's expense is to keep him looking interesting. His return hasn't exactly gone over very well with the fans, including his win at the Royal Rumble. After those issues, how do you keep him looking interesting? I think an interesting, well-developed feud between Alberto Del Rio and Batista would be the best option. Instead, you get a one-sided feud where the outcome will likely not benefit the guy looking weakest right now. And I don't think Batista's dominance will really help him get certain fans on his side. A lot of fans point out that Batista has just been used more and more mediocrely as the weeks have gone by. Just a quick backstage appearance on Raw this week. Business with him will really pick up after Elimination Chamber. Until then, they have struggled to keep him in great focus.
Yesterday, I raised the question of whether or not Wrestlemania XXX will get over a million buys. A wildcard in all that will obviously be the WWE Network. How successful will that endeavor be? I am not talking in relation to Wrestlemania. Will it get a lot of fans signing up? Or will it last as long as the XFL? One thing to note is that cable and satellite providers are not too supportive of the move. Fans can get PPVs along with the other programming and at a cheaper price through the WWE Network. Besides that, how many subscribers does the WWE really think they will get? Raw is back to averaging over 4 million viewers. Will all those viewers sign up? I think it is obvious that the WWE cannot be imagining that. Only real wrestling fans will be interested in those match archives and a lot of the other programming. Offering PPVs might help to draw in a few more fans. But it seems like the WWE is really relying on support from the type of fans that have been screaming for Daniel Bryan. I have seen some say that these fans are just a minority. No matter how loud they are, they are not representative of the whole WWE fanbase. Regardless of that, this is the group that will likely be subscribing to the WWE Network. The WWE dances around giving these fans what they really want, but these fans still end up spending money on the WWE. As CM Punk once said, these fans are just going to keep pouring money into the company. Do I think the WWE Network will be successful? I don't think there are enough diehard fans willing to spend the money every month on this to make it a huge success. It is somewhat funny how the WWE has sometimes appeared to be distancing itself from wrestling over the years recently, but now they are expecting wrestling content and fans to deliver for them.
Will I subscribe to it? No. I have not ordered a WWE PPV since 2010, so the PPVs do not entice me. As far as all the old matches, I care more about being entertained by the current product than watching old matches. If I needed to, I would just watch stuff on Youtube. If I cannot find what I am looking for anywhere for free, I'll live. And there is nothing else on the WWE Network that makes me want to get it. I am not representative of a lot of fans out there, but the WWE is not getting my money on this one.
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