TJP Shoots On WWE Not Caring About 205 Live
The former Cruiserweight Champion speaks out...
During a recent Reddit AMA, former WWE Superstar TJP discussed a number of things, including how he earns more money outside of WWE, video games, and who he would like to face in the future.
One of the most prominent topics, however, was his time in 205 Live, and he gave his thoughts on why many in the wrestling world think the the show is failing. He explained how all of the issues with the show stem from WWE simply not caring about it. He added that because the company is unwilling to put the time and effort into making episodes a success, it has created a situation where there is lots of excellent wrestling, but it doesn't matter who wins or loses. He also points out that WWE didn't try to build any stars beyond Neville and Enzo Amore, meaning episodes of 205 Live never became must-see TV.
TJP said: "There’s no consequence to it. That’s why it’s not must see TV. You can’t do it on content alone. Great wrestling doesn’t keep anyone’s attention, there needs to be a fear of loss if you miss it. CWC (Cruiserweight Classic) worked because every week someone got sent home. You had to keep up with it, there were consequences, and potential for what it would look like integrated into Raw/SmackDown. Then 205 started and there was no integration nor consequences to our matches.
"That’s also why I think viewership continued to get worse during the Neville period. We all loved Neville because he’s incredible. But building a brand new group of guys around one person doesn’t work because it sets the bar that we are all losers except for him. And great matches won’t overcome that. In the beginning we had 4-5 of us that could all beat each other. Myself, Brian, Swann all seemed equal footing and then behind us there was a tier of Cedric, Nese, Jack etc. that people wanted to see move up and challenge. At best that made us interesting if you were into the concept. But being separate from the WWE main characters tells the audience that we aren’t as good as them, and once they started focusing the division around one guy at a time, Neville, Enzo, etc. it became harder to keep people's attention because there was little consequence to the results. I pitched a tag team title tournament once to play out weekly so we could spark investment. But nothing changes on that show because the company doesn’t care about it. That’s just the truth of it, it’s their investment and they don’t care. That’s their call."
One of the most prominent topics, however, was his time in 205 Live, and he gave his thoughts on why many in the wrestling world think the the show is failing. He explained how all of the issues with the show stem from WWE simply not caring about it. He added that because the company is unwilling to put the time and effort into making episodes a success, it has created a situation where there is lots of excellent wrestling, but it doesn't matter who wins or loses. He also points out that WWE didn't try to build any stars beyond Neville and Enzo Amore, meaning episodes of 205 Live never became must-see TV.
TJP said: "There’s no consequence to it. That’s why it’s not must see TV. You can’t do it on content alone. Great wrestling doesn’t keep anyone’s attention, there needs to be a fear of loss if you miss it. CWC (Cruiserweight Classic) worked because every week someone got sent home. You had to keep up with it, there were consequences, and potential for what it would look like integrated into Raw/SmackDown. Then 205 started and there was no integration nor consequences to our matches.
"That’s also why I think viewership continued to get worse during the Neville period. We all loved Neville because he’s incredible. But building a brand new group of guys around one person doesn’t work because it sets the bar that we are all losers except for him. And great matches won’t overcome that. In the beginning we had 4-5 of us that could all beat each other. Myself, Brian, Swann all seemed equal footing and then behind us there was a tier of Cedric, Nese, Jack etc. that people wanted to see move up and challenge. At best that made us interesting if you were into the concept. But being separate from the WWE main characters tells the audience that we aren’t as good as them, and once they started focusing the division around one guy at a time, Neville, Enzo, etc. it became harder to keep people's attention because there was little consequence to the results. I pitched a tag team title tournament once to play out weekly so we could spark investment. But nothing changes on that show because the company doesn’t care about it. That’s just the truth of it, it’s their investment and they don’t care. That’s their call."
Written by Aidan Gibbons
Editor-in-Chief of Cultaholic.com Twitter: @theaidangibbons