ARE FIVE PPVS IN A ROW TOO MUCH FOR WRESTLING FANS?
By David Tees on 12/9/2006 10:30 AM
Are Five Pay-Per-Views In A Row Too Much For Wrestling Fans?
As Im writing this, we are a few days away from TNA No Surrender featuring the highly anticipated rematch between Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe. Just three weeks earlier at TNA Genesis, Kurt Angle handed Samoa Joe his first ever loss in TNA, now we get to see them lock up a second time in under a month. In the time between the first match and the rematch, there have been two separate WWE pay-per-views and a third one is coming up the week after TNA No Surrender.
That makes five straight pay-per-views in as many weeks, totaling to over $180 in costs if you decided to order every pay-per-view. If your are a fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championships, then you should probably add another $80 to the totals costs (UFC 65 occurred on 11/25, the day before TNA Genesis and UFC 66 occurs on 12/30, about two weeks after WWE Armageddon), which brings the potential total to $260.
Add to the fact that Christmas is just around the corner and wrestling fans have to think about more than pay-per-views when it comes to the stuff in their wallets.
Then what options do wrestling fans have if they want to watch all these events?
The first option is to obviously order the replay, but that really depends on how bad you wanted to see the show because the replay cost the same as ordering the event live. That option also allows the fans to read reviews of the particular event so they can be sure the replay is actually worth ordering.
Another option to the fans is to wait for the event to air a few months later on WWE 24/7 On Demand, which only cost $8 a month. For example, this month I got to watch WWE Unforgiven 06 for just $8 (along with other programming) and next month Ill get to watch WWE No Mercy 06 and so on in the order the pay-per-views aired.
The final option is to buy the event when it comes out on DVD, which is a method Ive been using for years now ever since the PPV prices continued to rise. Plus, on events like WWE Wrestlemania, you get tons of bonus features that you wouldnt get by ordering the event on PPV. There is always the added bonus of re-watching the event or skipping matches you dont want to see by purchasing the DVD.
Myself, I have order UFC 65 (Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre) and TNA Genesis, plus Ill also be ordering UFC 66 (Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz) on December 30th. Which means that out of the seven possible wrestling/MMA events that could be ordered, Ill be ordering three of them.
A lot of wrestling/MMA fans will be ordering more and others will be ordering less, but the valid point is that five straight wrestling events is way to much for even the biggest wrestling fan to be ordering.
David Tees also writes for www.kocosports.com
