Alex Riley’s Push Derailed, Increasing Viewership, Future Of WWE Games, Former Stars Returning

I heard that Alex Riley’s push last year was ended because of a confrontation with John Cena, is this true?

There was an apparent situation several months ago where John Cena was playing a rib on Alex Riley and he got a little emotional over it but one can only speculate as to how much this had to do with his push. Riley was over but he had plenty of work to do to improve his in-ring work. He’s been hampered by injuries lately but returned earlier this month and worked a dark match at Tuesday’s WWE TV tapings.

Do you think ratings in WWE would go up if the company developed a new concept or match type that had a significant built to it?

There is no secret concept or superstar return that will instantaneously boost ratings. Sure, there are plenty of “quick fixes” but the most important thing in raising ratings is creating compelling television that people want to watch. WWE is expecting The Rock’s return to give them a major boost in the early part of next year but it’s up to them whether or not they’ll be able to carry the momentum. There’s a clear initiative in wrapping up the year in creating new stars hence four developmental workers being put in prominent roles on television.

What are WWE’s future plans for their video game products given THQ filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection?

WWE said they anticipate that they will actively participate in THQ’s bankruptcy filing. WWE is one of THQ’s largest unsecured creditors and are owed $45 million so of course they will monitor it closely. It’s too early to tell what will happen with WWE games although this isn’t surprising news and there were plans to begin production on WWE ’14 early next year.

You talked about The Boogeyman earlier in the week, what about the contract status of the other stars that popped up on this week’s WWE Raw?

Ric Flair, Gene Okerlund, Tommy Dreamer and Ron Simmons all appeared on WWE Raw under per shot deals. Ricky Steamboat, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn are WWE employees. WWE is expected to call in more names for their 20th Anniversary of Raw on 1/14 and let’s not forget the possibility of a surprise in the Royal Rumble match.

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