Vince McMahons Million Dollar Mania Was a Ratings Failure!

Well it's officially been proven, even contests where you have a 1/1241151116 chance of winning some big money, are not enough to make people watch RAW. Last night's first edition of Vince McMahon's Million Dollar Mania actually brought the ratings DOWN to a horrible 3.0. I for one thought the idea that this money contest was the main focus of the show totally sucked. The money giveaway was also the main event of the show, following the headline match which was Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy. Another problem with all this was that they put on the same old boring shitty show, with a game show around it. RAW pulls out 1 or 2 good shows in a row, then back to the same crap. Same boring title picture, with guys trying to sell the upcoming pay per view HARD, to the point its just annoying and obvious. WWE was more fun when it was more targeted toward adults, and we could see some humor geared towards the 18+ crowd, and even some more sexually based stuff on the show. Now they really have no direction, just wrestling matches, trying to keep it clean since they have a kids magazine now, and the merchandise sales decide which guy is in the main event, and who can and can't be a heel.....can't lose those merchandise sales! All these problems are just regular problems now for WWE, but with this million dollar giveaway going on, the matches are just fillers around the next round of money to be given away. Good thing is, the lower the ratings get, the more WWE will see the fans don't like the crap they're giving us, and will keep on doing drastic things to make something work again. We know this Monday, Vince's Million Dollar Mania will go on once again, but they better definitely give us a way better show that isn't just a pay per view commercial, or WWE is going to be plummeting back to the ratings levels they were at in the mid 90's. In reality, I'm sure people realize that their chance of actually winning is NOT that high, therefore they probably flip to another channel in between giveaways, if that many people even care enough about it to watch at all. It is rather sad, that Vince is blatantly saying he wants to pay people to watch, while the method is already not working, I think their creative problems are the real root of the problem. I feel eventually, Vince will have no choice but to pull the trigger on a John Cena heel turn, it will be the only fresh thing that's happened in WWE in the past few years, and even then, there is no guarantee that they'll do it right.

HBK & Vince Have Major Altercation

Source: PWTorch.com

Vince McMahon has a history of singling people out backstage and embarrassing them in front of other wrestlers. Last Monday when Shawn Michaels was the target of Vince's juvenile behavior, it blew up in Vince's face and left even Stephanie McMahon speechless.

Despite the fact that Shawn Michaels returned to WWE a month ahead of schedule, he still has heat with Vince. Shawn made it clear before he returned that he wants more control over his schedule. He won't be doing any overseas tours and will work a somewhat reduced schedule so he can spend more time with his family.

When Shawn showed up to RAW last Monday for the first time since his injury, Vince started "chewing him out" in front of the lockerroom. He made fun of Shawn's attitude and his clothing, among other things. To the surprise of everybody, HBK fired back at Vince and put him in his place. Shawn made it very clear to Vince in front of everybody that he won't be disrespected by anybody or treated like a rookie.

The wrestlers were shocked that somebody finally stood up to one of Vince's tirades. According to our source, nobody was more shocked than Stephanie McMahon. Witnesses were reportedly amused that Shawn humbled Vince in front of everybody. The McMahon's are not necessarily disliked by the roster but this definitely brought Vince down off his high horse.

Shawn and Vince have had a volatile relationship for well over a decade. There is no indication that this incident will have any ramifications on Shawn's WWE status.

Dark Match, WWE Smackdown! *Spoilers* (9/25/07) - Indianapolis, Indiana

Dark Match:

Jesse/Festus defeated Deuce/Domino

Smackdown
Video package aired for the SD wedding last week.

-- Vince McMahon is with Vickie Guerrero in the back, he names her the new general manager of Smackdown

-- Victoria defeated Torrie Wilson
Post match: Unnamed woman beat down Torrie Wilson.

MVP is having a one year celebration in the ring, Matt Hardy comes out to interrupt. Matt Hardy has a video of MVP getting beat up over the past year by random people. Matt Hardy announces that MVP will face Kane tonight.

-- Chuck Palumbo defeated Kenny Dykstra

Video clip of JBL in the ring with Rey Mysterio. They are hyping a confrontation between the two tonight

-- Batista interview with Micheal Cole. Batista didn't know what to expect with the Punjabi Prison match. When he gets backed in corner he becomes an animal.

-- Kane defeated MVP via disqualification after MVP hit a low blow on Kane.

-- Interview with Rey Mysterio. Mysterio and JBL are in the ring, JBL pushes Mysterio, Mysterio comes back and somehow hits a 619. Afterwards, Finlay comes out and beats down Mysterio.

-- Vickie Guererro strips Hornswoggle of the Cruiserweight title.

-- Jamie Noble defeated Shannon Moore

-- Undertaker defeated Mark Henry. Post match druids come out and take Mark Henry away. Undertaker got the biggest pop of the night

Credit: wrestlingobserver.com

The actual letter WWE is sending to former Superstars, offering them rehabiliation and assistance.

Source: Pro Wrestling Torch

World Wrestling Entertainment is sending letters to formerly contracted performers offering to pay for drug and/or alcohol treatment. According to one person who has received it, the letter is printed on WWE stationery and is hand-signed by Vince McMahon himself. Here is a transcript of the letter WWE is sending out to their ex-performers:

Over the last ten years, an inordinate number of wrestlers have passed away. Some of those deaths may in part have been caused by drugs and alcohol.

In an effort to prevent such tragedies in the future, the WWE is willing to pay for drug and/or alcohol rehabilitation at a certified treatment chosen by WWE for any performer with a prior WWE booking contract who may need this service. The WWE will pay for this service in full.

There is no cost to you or your family. Help will be provided regardless of the circumstances of your departure from the WWF or the amount of time you performed for the WWE.

If you do not have a drug and/or alcohol problem, but know you know a former WWE performer who does, we are asking you to try to help them by encouraging them to take advantage of this opportunity.

Liz Difabio has been appointed as a representative in this matter. Liz has been with the company for over 24 years and has been directly involved with the majority of WWE performers who have received treatment for substance abuse. She understands emotions that individuals and family members go through in this process. Any conversation you have with Liz will remain confidential and will not be released to the public.

In many instances, an individual in need of help is in denial and will not want rehabilitation. There are professional intervention companies that will help persuade that person that they need treatment. Liz will be able to facilitate such interventions, should they be necessary. An intervention and treatment will be at the cost of WWE exclusively.

This service is being provided for performers with a prior WWE booking contract only. No family or friends. Please reach out to Liz if you think you might have a drug or alcohol problem or if you know someone who does. We all need to do anything we can to help prevent another tragedy.

Sincerely,

Vincent K. McMahon
Chairman, World Wrestling Entertainment