BuckWilds

I went to one years ago when I was a kid. I don't remember much, but it was just straight wrestling. No promos, nothing fancy. However, I'll be going to the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio this saturday, so I can tell you more about it on sunday lol

Awesome! I went to one 5-7 years ago at "The Bob" Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware, and you could tell they knew they weren't on TV (they were missing each other by a Rey Mysterio body length). I was wondering how the quality is nowadays, and Youngstown is a good sample location.

Has anyone been to any small-market matches? For example, have you attended matches at your college or in a small town? If so, what has been your experience with the quality of the wrestling?

Layla really needs to work on her mic skills next. Every time she's cutting a promo (or doing commentary like the second episode of this season of NXT), she doesn't sound natural and let it flow. Instead it sounds like she's just reading lines, with any inflection being her annoying high pitched tones. Maybe I'm just tired of the whole Team Laycool angle in general. It's a shame Beth went down when she did, she was dominating those two girls heh. Speaking of injuries, I'm beginning to wonder if Melina is ever coming back. Seems like she's been gone for ages.

You may have a point about Sheamus (even if I have a different viewpoint ), but even if he isn't over, he promo at the start of Raw was ingenious and a huge step in the right direction then. Even knowing that Sheamus is a heel, not a tweener, he had me believing that he was truly handing over the belt right until he pulled it back and smiled.

Here ya go, Nurple. Best I could find on the tube. Little choppy, but you get the idea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI4elpbkZQg

Is the silence from the crowd because drool is quiet or because men are afraid to cheer in front of their women?

The fact that they've got me hooked at 21 years of age is a testament to how great they are.

All kidding aside, though, they are a marketing juggernaut now more than ever, even compared to when the entire industry was at its peak in the late '90s. Because of their new age-appropriate initiative, they've got a broader demographic and broader appeal. Though the storylines are tamer now, I'll give them credit for pulling off some decent feuds in the past couple of years. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels, Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton vs. Triple H (until their crappy WrestleMania match), CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio, etc. There's been some really mature and well-done angles that make me forget that this is the PG era.

I really do mean it. I agree with you - they are brilliant at building a cross-section of fans and they use multiple methods to keep people interested.

I'm a huge fan... of the WWE's marketing department. Freaking brilliant.