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Jimmy Jacobs On WWE’s Ratings, Seth Rollins & Matt Jackson Respond
Jimmy Jacobs defends against criticism of WWE’s recent RAW ratings!
To say that many fans and members of the wrestling media have been taking WWE to task in recent weeks over the ratings, most specifically for Monday Night RAW, would definitely be called an understatement.
After declining viewership for three consecutive weeks and record lows (check out this week’s numbers), the criticism of the company’s booking has not been hard to find. So much so that it has even been put into angles on television, as we saw this past Monday with the opening segment involving Seth Rollins and Baron Corbin. When the ratings for the red brand were revealed yesterday, The Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on the results:
This is embarrassing. https://t.co/0YXmFXukNH
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) December 12, 2018
One person who took notice and would actually come to WWE’s defense would be former member of the company’s creative team and current independent star, Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs was let go last year after he took a photo with members of The Bullet Club while they were outside of a Monday Night RAW taping. Now competing for the likes of MLW and IMPACT Wrestling, Jacobs was quick to point out the other side of the coin to Alvarez:
Not only did this earn a reply from WWE Superstar Seth Rollins, but interestingly enough, Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks would also agree with Jacobs:
That’s the one thing I don’t think people understand. 5 hours of live TV every week. EVERY WEEK. Add in all the extraneous variables that affect the final outcome….and it’s a modern miracle that the shows come together as well as they do.
— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) December 12, 2018
Dude. 15 minutes a week is hard!
— The Young Bucks (@MattJackson13) December 12, 2018
Jacobs would continue, replying to a number of fan responses:
Everybody is allowed to their opinion. I take zero offense to it. But one of the 1st things I learned writing is that it’s easy to point out the problems. The job is to come up with solutions. https://t.co/YYBQmBuAGG
— The Zombie Princess (@JimmyJacobsX) December 12, 2018
This is the most common response I’ve gotten. While as a fan, I agree, the bottom line says differently. WWE gets paid way more to have 3 hours of RAW than for 2. So that seems to be off the table. https://t.co/mKD2Vxdpey
— The Zombie Princess (@JimmyJacobsX) December 12, 2018
I know very little & what I do know is bounded on all sides by infinite ignorance. I can only speak to my experiences. In those experiences I’ve found writing a wrestling tv show isn’t an easy task. Thanks to all that engaged in meaningful dialogue with me! I love the passion!
— The Zombie Princess (@JimmyJacobsX) December 12, 2018
Which side of the fence do you land on when it comes to WWE’s recent creative? Let us know on social media @theCHAIRSHOTcom and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
Did your picks win points?
The AEW Continental Classic is underway, with almost everyone competing. Check in here if you haven’t seen the winners and losers of week 1!
Here are your Gold League standings!
- Jon Moxley: 1-0, 3 points
- Swerve Strickland: 1-0, 3 points
- Jay White: 1-0, 3 points
- Rush: 0-1, 0 points
- Mark Briscoe: 0-1, 0 points.
- Jay Lethal: 0-1, 0 points
Here are your Blue League standings!
- Brody King: 1-0, 3 points
- Claudio Castagnoli: 1-0, 3 points
- Daniel Garcia: 0-1, 0 points
- Eddie Kingston: 0-1, 0 points
- Bryan Danielson: Yet to Compete
- Andrade El Idolo: Yet to Compete
My Thoughts:
Nothing too crazy, nothing too wild, this tournament only just got started. The only disappointing point is that they could not get Bryan “cleared to compete” Saturday night. Not sure how much of that is shoot given the bad eye, but this was kinda the problem of wanting him in the tournament over tons of other choices. Bryan wants to face Okada for WrestleKingdom 18, how is Bryan supposed to do that at his best if he’s also gonna be in a round robin, doing five top level matches in about as many weeks? And it takes away from Andrade being able to do something. Also a little surprised we didn’t even hear from Andrade on Saturday.
Now as we heard on Saturday, round two’s matches are set. Gold League will see Mark Briscoe VS Rush, White VS Swerve, and of course, Moxley VS Lethal. Nice variety there, a couple 0-1 guys facing off, as well as two 1-0 guys, and then 1-0 VS 0-1. No offense to Lethal, but he feels like an 0-2 going up against Moxley. Hard to call the other ones but that’s the fun of it. Meanwhile, Blue League sees Brody VS Claudio in a showdown to be 2-0, then Bryan and Andrade finally jump in, Bryan against Eddie and Andrade against Garcia. Sadly, feels like Eddie and Garcia are going 0-2, no way Tony Khan is booking Bryan and Andrade to lose their first shots.
In fact, that could be half the reason they did wait on those two, that’s almost too good for just a first round opener. But I still would’ve done it, same as NJPW does stuff like that for round robins, which this is all modeled after anyway.
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Tony Khan Reveals the Blue and Gold “Leagues!”
Originally livestreamed, Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone officially announced the twelve total entrants and divided them into the two round robin blocks known as the “Blue League” and “Gold League.” If you don’t feel like sifting through the almost 30 minute video, the groups are:
Blue League
- Bryan Danielson
- Andrade El Idolo
- Brody King
- Claudio Castagnoli
- Daniel Garcia
- Eddie Kingston
Gold League
- Jon Moxley
- Swerve Strickland
- Rush
- Mark Briscoe
- Jay Lethal
- Jay White
Tony Khan also explains the rules for the Continental Classic:
- Every match has a 20 minute time limit
- The winner of each match earns 3 points, losers earn 0, 1 point for a draw
- EVERYONE ELSE is banned from ringside for true 1v1 action
Eddie Kingston also joined the selection special as his “life’s work” is on the line in this tournament, both the ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship on the line as part of the modern day North American Triple Crown Eddie, Tony Khan, AEW, ROH and NJPW are looking to create together. Gold League competes tonight on Dynamite while Blue League will have their start this Saturday on Collision. Look for more articles like this one to keep up with the Continental Classic standings over the next six weeks of tournament action!
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