— USA Today has published a full length feature, promoting tonight’s 1,000th WWE Monday Night RAW. Here are some quotes from WWE talent on the show…
Kane on Taking Part in a Production Meeting: “Now that I have seen a little more about the production side of it,” Kane said, “you realize how impressive doing a live television show every week is, and everything that goes into it and the changes that have to be made as you’re going along.”
Triple H on the Live Nature of Raw: “Raw is live, and it’s live right up until we’re done, which means we’re changing stuff,” Hunter said. “The reality of our business is fans…control who’s the most popular, who’s the most hated, because we really go where they’re going.”
Vince McMahon on the Importance of TV: “Many years ago, I had a chief financial officer say, ‘Vince, you make your money on pay-per-view, so why do all this other crap?’ Without all the other stuff we do, pay-per-view doesn’t work.”
John Cena on Paying Attention to the Fans: “It’s something that transcends everything, but at the same time, there is no ‘Hey, man, they just hit 1,000 episodes!’ from the entertainment folks,” Cena said. “I’ve never paid much attention to the ‘important’ critics. I pay attention to the people who come to see us.”
AJ on Her Character: “I love the in-ring work, but as a fan I love the dramatic stuff more than anything,” A.J. said. “This day and age, there needs to be a girl who’s not wearing as much make-up and isn’t that pampered-up and fancy. There’s a place for that, but there’s also a place for a girl I think fans want to hang out with and see themselves in.”
— Stephanie McMahon recently spoke with Variety.com about WWE’s social media initiatives and more. Here are the highlights…
On The Use of Social Media: “We’re going to use social media in a more enhanced fashion (beyond just promoting the product),” said Stephanie McMahon. “Our fans will affect some type of content in the show every week.”
On Softer Raw Ratings: “Every property is struggling with that. As long as you are everywhere, you keep and grow your audience as well.”
