New MTV Pro Wres Pilot

[Aquinas]

I watched the pilot and thought it was OK....certainly worth further viewings before making my decision about it.

The action was pretty solid. The explosives and stuff were a bit dorky.

It's hard to come down too hard on something in the world of DVR -- so I'll continue viewing it.

I'm not in the "Everything that isn't WWE sucks" or the "Everything that isn't WWE rules" camps.

[LWPD]

Courtesy of 1Wrestling.com

"Wrestling Society X dropped 13% from last week and pulled a .7 rating. Initial reports were the show had done a .9 rating. The show was seen in 656,000 households with 840,000 total viewers. Last week's debut show had been reported as being a 1.0, but the updated rating data showed that the rating was actually a .8. Ratings are based on data compiled by Nielsen Media Research."

LWPD (MTV has to be pleased with those types of ratings from such a low budget venture...I wonder how much the constant repeat airings...including the weird Friday 'first run preview'...ultimately hurts the Tuesday number)

[Pride]

if the show was an full hour i beat they could pull some big numbers like an 2.5 or something.the short time and the time it plays is whats killing the show. and whats with the skinny black guy?he looks alittle like me build and all?but i have tats all over .

[bigeasy]

Hard to believe they filmed the pilot a year before they aired the show. They definitely picked a good roster for the kind of show they're going for.

[Mr. Jimmyface]

It's a fun show, kind of reminds me of a good indy show where you don't go to the gym. Plus, Matt Classic? Hilarious!

[LWPD]

Courtesy of 1wrestling.com

"Wrestling Society X drew a .5 rating based on data compiled by Nielsen Media Research."

LWPD (from .8 to .7 to .5....a dangerous pattern has emerged)

[krisosk]

lwpd said:

(from .8 to .7 to .5....a dangerous pattern has emerged)

Might be something to be worried about, but I predict a plateau.

Probably just the Real World crowd falling off the top. Hopefully.

Anyone know what sorts of ratings the shows before and after are pulling?

~ :-Xsk

[LWPD]

Wrestling Society X Update & The 'Controversial Footage'

WSX Episode 4 Fire Throw Spot

Courtesy of wrestlingnews.com

The following message was issued on the official "MySpace" page for Wrestling Society X early on Friday morning:

"Quick update on the status of the program as I'm sure you all are very curious. First and foremost, the show has not been canceled. However Wrestling Society X will not be on next week in its normal time slot. The show WILL resume to its normal schedule the week after. Thank you for your support! Please be sure to let everyone know WSX will resume Feb 27 at 10:30pm on MTV! -WSX"

MTV made a decision to pull Episode #4 of WSX this coming Tuesday when a portion of the show raised concern with the network's "standards and practices department." What concerned MTV officials was an angle where IWA Puerto Rico star Ricky Banderas threw a fireball in the face of WSX Champion Vampiro. Upon further review, the network felt the stunt was too risky too show in fear that viewers may attempt to duplicate it at home. Given the backlash the network got for showing the popular "Jackass" show for many years and then in turn seeing footage of children duplicating what they saw, MTV is hoping to avoid any type of legal snafu in the near future by pulling this episode.

So, as of now, Wrestling Society X is not 100% gone from MTV at this time and anyone reporting otherwise is not getting the right information. The show will return in two weeks on February 27 at 10:30pm Eastern/9:30pm Central, once again going head-to-head with WWE's ECW on Sci Fi program. We have heard reports that given the amount of major shakeups within MTV, it is possible that WSX could be moved to a different night of the week since the show has seen a steady drop in viewership over the last two weeks going up against ECW. Either way, we will continue to follow this story as it develops.

[LWPD]

Here's an interview with the mastermind behind the WSX...producer and booker Kevin Kleinrock.

Courtesy of South Florida Sun-Sentinel
By Alex Marvez

As producer and co-creator of pro wrestling’s most innovative new promotion, Kevin Kleinrock is hoping that MTV’s Wrestling Society X doesn’t remain a secret one. The 28-year-old Kleinrock, who once worked with the now-defunct Xtreme Pro Wrestling group out of Southern California, has tried to create a product that features a new generation of high-flying wrestlers that also appeals to more traditional fans.

Q: How did this project come about?

Kleinrock: “All the way back when I was working for XPW, we were eventually distributed by a home video company called Xtreme Entertainment Group. One of the founders and owners of that company was a guy named Houston Curtis. Years later after XPW was done, Houston and I met up again and he was running Big Vision Entertainment. I went to go work for him for his home video and television production/distribution company. We went to MTV to pitch them on another show. He used to be an MTV executive as well before. He was going to MTV to pitch them on a different television show and I mentioned I had an idea for a new take on rock and wrestling. He said we should sit down and discuss developing the show for MTV and take a pitch to them. We did a pilot for it in February 2006 and they gave us the green light over the summer and we filmed the rest of it in November.”

Q: What was your inspiration for this?

Kleinrock: “My two passions growing up in life -- other than my family at this point – have always been wrestling and music. I grew up wanting to work in one industry or another. I went back and forth a lot with what I wanted to do with my life. After pursuing wrestling and working with Big Vision, it kind of kept my career in entertainment going. I was always looking forward to bringing those two worlds together again. Throughout my time working with XPW, I met so many bands and artists who liked wrestling and were fans of XPW. A lot of them were great punk rock bands people I listened to. It was surreal for Rancid to show up at an XPW event. To have these bands be fans of our product was just amazing. There were so many bands who were fans of wrestling who would potentially love to get involved in the project.

“I was trying to figure out how I could blend that into a new style of wrestling that hopefully not just appeal to the current fan that is into wrestling but reach a whole new generation of fans and people who don’t realty get what pro wrestling is now because in their minds it’s two 300 pound-plus guys doing leg drops or chin locks. They haven’t been exposed to a whole next generation of wrestlers like Matt Sydal or Ruckus and the guys we’re putting in there. They’re putting on matches unlike most of the world has seen before.”

Q: For whatever reason, it just seemed like this project took a long time to get off the ground after the pilot was shot.

Kleinrock: “I think a lot of that had to do with just the natural progression that comes with launching a TV show, which is exactly the opposite of how every wrestling company had been launching up until now. Generally, the standard rule in wrestling is to start small, try to get local TV and expand regionally and hope and pray for a national spot … To the best of my knowledge, syndication projects aside, there was never a wrestling company or program that launched straight onto network television like this. Because of that, we were not in position to move this thing along any faster. Despite the fact that it did by wrestling industry standards take a long time, from the time we pitched the show to when the first episode aired was by TV standards not that long a time at all. It was average, if not maybe slightly faster, than what it usually takes for a new show to be developed and make it to the air. It was an experience for all of us. I know it was definitely confusing or trying the patience of a lot of wrestlers because they were basically under an exclusive TV contract with us from the time we did the pilot. But all of them have told me since then that it was well worth the wait and are excited about what’s next for WSX.”

Q: How much has the product changed from what you originally had in mind?

Kleinrock: “The big difference really came between the pilot episode and the rest of them. There’s a difference between an air-able pilot for a normal show and a wrestling show … We knew from day one we had two things we had to do: 1) Convince MTV that this was a show for them and make sure the groundwork was laid for the storylines to progress from there. We had to give them the most over-the-top, spectacular product that they had never seen before in pro wrestling. That’s what the pilot was. I think we went out and put on a great high flying match-up with Matt Sydal and Jack Evans and did an over-the-top WSX rumble, which did what it was supposed to do, which was convince MTV to take the show to the air. We even heard when this pilot was screened along with some other pilots for that there MTV executives heard cheering and hooting and hollering from the audience. We heard the executives were really into the show. That was really good for us. They know it tested really well especially among males, which is one reason why they wanted to put it on because they want to capture some more of the male TV audience that they weren’t getting with some other programs. But people who saw from week one to week two and future weeks is definitely more focused on the in-ring action and a little more on angle and storylines. But we’ve only got 20 minutes -- actually 19 1/2 minutes – and that includes a 30-second musical performance. So we’ve got 20 minutes a week to convince people to tune back in and watch us again and follow along. Given the time restraints, we’re giving exactly what we want to be delivering, especially when you combine it with the view that our web site provides a larger sense of the storylines and angles and characters. Angles that you might not have time to set up on TV you can most likely find on the site. All of these little intricacies that were not part of the pilot should give you a broader sense of what we’re doing and make the show much more than, ‘Let’s get out there and look at some high flying and crazy stunts.’ There are actual storylines that arc and drama that wasn’t necessarily there in the pilot.”

Q: What was it like not only assembling the roster but keeping everyone happy?

Kleinrock: “The hardest part for us was keeping this roster together. I definitely worried considering we did the pilot in February. The guys who did the pilot were under contract, but I still had the sense to try getting it on the air as soon as possible because I wanted to keep everybody happy and working. A number of guys who made it to the show for the season I had all intention of bringing in from day one but there wasn’t enough space and time on the pilot to do so. There was uncertainty of what was going on and when things would happen. We worked really hard putting the roster together and keeping things on the down-low because we didn’t want another organization picking off the guys we were in negotiation with. A number of guys either I or others had seen or were familiar with following the indy circuits and watching tapes of ROH and PWG and other organizations. And then [Dr.] Keith Lipinski really came on board as the head of talent scouting. He would send input with his reports and footage of other guys we had heard of and read results of but had never seen like Tyler Black and Josh Abercrombie. Once I saw those guys, you could see they fit in perfectly with what we’re trying to do. Even with the roster we’d assembled, when we got to the taping and did the matches, MTV was blown away. We felt some of the matches went above and beyond what they were expecting and hoping for because this is a group of guys who had never been together before. They just gelled so well. Out of the 40 matches that we filmed, 35 of them exceeded expectations.”

Q: Obviously, this is not a traditional wrestling product. How concerned are you about alienating long-time fans with the presentation or does that even matter at this point because you could be tapping into a whole different audience?

Kleinrock: “One of the major focuses we’re trying to maintain on the show is not to alienate the current wrestling fans. That comes from the fact people behind the scenes are wrestling fans. We’re not about creating a spin-off of pro wrestling. This is about creating a new presentation of pro wrestling. Even with MTV, there are times where something would come up and we would say, ‘What if we do this?’ and MTV always ends with the sentence, ‘Would it turn off wrestling fans or go against what the traditional audience wants?’ They’re very cognizant of not offending the sensibilities of the current fans. That does not mean we don’t take some exceptions, like when we use explosions or the Jack Evans-Matt Sydal match only goes 3 ½ minutes. But again, with the timing of this thing, you have to look at having 19 minutes a week to try and provide the most action-packed 19 minutes you’ve ever seen. I’ve seen multiple newspaper articles and reviews that in our 30 minutes we get just as much wrestling in as on Impact every week and sometimes as much as Raw. As far as the stunts and explosions, we’re just looking to do what others have done in wrestling before and take it to the next level. For example, in Episode Three, there’s a spot that I can see some traditional fans would think a little above and beyond. However, my thinking on the spot was it was a spot that WWE had done before in some form and we went and delivered it in a much more spectacular way. I stand by it being a very cool moment on the show.

“Definitely, the ability to sell moves has to be limited when you’re dealing with a 3 ½-minute match. You’re forced to create a new psychology of a wrestling match where you don’t want guys to go out there and just do high spots with no storytelling of a match or sense of believability. But you’re just forced with the time restraint to do something different. But even with the stunts and explosions, it’s not like somebody is standing up 30 seconds later and no-selling a big thing. Yes, maybe on another program when a guy hits a moonsault you see a longer sell. But when you see our program, it’s the nature of the beast.”

Q: How surprised were you to see WWE appear to so aggressively try to counter-program against WSX with ECW?

Kleinrock: “It was definitely interesting. I had kind of heard rumblings and reports from other people – and they were published now elsewhere – about how Vince [McMahon] never got this worked up about anything that TNA ever did. That was kind of interesting to me. I think two things. If WSX can be successful, it’s good for the entire wrestling industry. One problem the industry has had in the last number of years is bringing new fans to the table. Ever since WCW closed, there are millions of less people watching on a weekly basis even with the little surges of popularity you see now and then. The industry, especially TNA, is struggling to bring new fans to the table. We at WSX look at this as a chance not only to put our show over but help revitalize the industry as a whole. If you can get a few million new fans who don’t watch wrestling and watch our product on a weekly basis, the next thing is they become fans of wrestling and can watch the other shows. It’s a great chance for them to discover WWE and TNA. I think it’s only going to be beneficial to the industry as a whole to see us excel and survive. But anyone knows and has studied Vince [McMahon] and sees what he sees in the business is the dollar that fans are willing to spend. He wants to make sure he and the WWE are receiving every cent of that dollar they can whether from a business or ego sense in trying to crush everything else that comes along. I guess that’s kind of what got to him was the fact we didn’t launch on pay-per-view or a small network. We launched on the biggest network in the world. Viacom has the ability to put this show in more countries than WWE is currently on. That’s just the scope of what WSX and MTV can do together. Obviously, that’s something in the back of his head.”

Q: Obviously, Spike TV is owned by Viacom. How does this affect what WSX does with another Viacom-owned network like MTV?

Kleinrock: “Despite the fact both are network-owned -- Spike actually falls under the MTV network division – by the same company, each network is responsible for creating programming to bring in viewers. One network on a day-to-day basis doesn’t deal with the other network. The program and decision-makers are completely separate. And it’s much a different situation with how both wrestling companies are set up. TNA is a privately owned company that Spike puts on the air. WSX, at this point, is a TV program that Big Vision Entertainment produces for MTV but the business of WSX at this point is a collaborative effort between Big Vision and MTV. It comes down to the fact MTV and Spike are out there to get the best rating possible for the network and see wrestling as one way to do so.”

Q: What are the short- and long-term goals for WSX?

Kleinrock: “The short-term goal is to have the first season be as successful as possible and have MTV bring the show back on the air after the 10 episodes are done as quickly as possible. MTV’s traditional model is not to re-run seasons back to back. They take normal TV breaks between seasons. The question now is where does WSX fit into that and what kind of break, if any, is there going to be between season one and season two. In terms of the long-term goals, we’re really looking to expand the WSX brand. All of our focus has been on the television shows and putting our efforts into what airs on TV. But obviously, the words pay-pew-view and tour and merchandise and video games all have been discussed, at least across the lunch table at this point. We’re really looking to work with MTV to build this brand and bring WSX into the pop culture conversation worldwide. Guys who six months ago were relatively unheard of within the general population in a few months to be in position, and I’m pretty confident of this, better known than guys like Umaga and the Great Khali and guys they’re pushing in WWE as well as be better know that all of the TNA roster except for a Sting or a Kurt Angle. This is a huge opportunity to have this roster kind of break through and be heralded as the new generation of pro wrestling.”

[LWPD]

Wrestling Society X Episode 4 Rating

Courtesy of Lords of Pain

"Going head-to-head with ECW was MTV’s Wrestling Society X. The episode aired was the long awaited fourth one which was originally pulled for a fireball being thrown at Vampiro. Even with the controversy their rating only did a small jump doing a 0.6 cable rating. This is up from their last episode (two weeks ago) which did a 0.5 cable rating."

LWPD (although this was the fourth show that has aired in five weeks...this is the first time there was no Friday 'preview'...and the plan is to drastically reduce the number of replay airings)

[Pete]

WSX go boom.

Yeah, I know it's PWInsider and that it's slightly more reliable than a used condom, but it's unlikely that they'd just make up something like this out of whole cloth. The last paragraph holds out some hope for the promotion continuing, but considering that a.) MTV was financing most of it, and b.) pro wrestling is a tough sell these days, I wouldn't be all that optimistic.

[LWPD]

The hopes and dreams of The Wrestling Society X hangs in the balance of uncertainty...

Courtesy of Wrestling Observer

"Wrestling Society X is being reported as done on MTV by Pro Wrestling Insider. Producer Kevin Kleinrock stated last night that it wasn't true, but today has said he will make an announcement regarding the future of the show. Tuesday's show did a 0.6 rating. The network has removed next week's show from the schedule and it is no longer listed on the web site as an official MTV series. I tried a few minutes ago to Tivo for next Tuesday and the show was still being listed.

Big Vision Entertainment CEO Houston Curtis will make a statement regarding the status and future of WSX by the end of the today tomorrow. Today's announcement has been postponed because of MTV being in chaos with 250 people let go last week and another 250 people in the London office let go today."

LWPD (the fate of 'The Society' is to be determined tomorrow...with all the drama of an 80's movie...will there be a happy ending?)

Meet me halfway
Across the sky
Make this a new beginning of another life

-Kenny Loggins 'Meet Me Halfway'

[LWPD]

Wrestling Society X...'frozen' in a state of purgatory

Courtesy of Big Vision Entertainment Press Release

First, I want to thank all of the wrestling fans and press for their support, not only over the past few, confusing, days, but since the debut of WSX on MTV.

Earlier today we spoke with executives at MTV and can now share with you the following.

MTV is making no statement in regards to canceling Wrestling Society X. However, WSX will be pulled off the Tuesday night lineup in order to strategize the best way to bring the show back to the network and to the fans.

Although the show has not been performing as well as the network had hoped in the Tuesday night lineup, we have been told that other MTV departments including MTV 2, MTV Online, MTV Mobile, and MTV Video-On-Demand are 100% behind Wrestling Society X. Additionally, the Creative and Development executives at MTV have commended us on the production of the show and are saddened by the lack of response due to scheduling mishaps and under-promotion.

Until details are released regarding when the next NEW episode of WSX will air, all four previous episodes will be available on www.WSX.MTV.COM along with their WSXtra counterparts. Furthermore, fans with MTV Video-On-Demand can watch both the regular episodes and WSXtras on their TVs.

From all of us here at Big Vision Entertainment, we thank you for your continuing support and look forward to bringing you more of the evolution of sports entertainment shortly!

Sincerely,
Houston Curtis
CEO
Big Vision Entertainment

LWPD (as mentioned all four previously aired episodes are archived online at

Well it's all right
Even if the sun don't shine
Well it's all right
We're going to the end of the line

Traveling Wilburys 'End Of The Line' [/b]

[LWPD]

Courtesy of Wrestling Observer

"The final episodes of WSX will be airing on MTV from 11 p.m. next Tuesday until 1:30 a.m. All but the final episode, featuring The Filth & Furious vs. Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito in an explosive cage match, will be airing. The final episode of the show airs on 3/20 at 10:30 p.m."

LWPD (years from now this footage could very well become 'collector's items')

[GrumpyBigBee]

so the MTV wrestling will be gone forever now?

[LWPD]

Courtesy of Lords of Pain

"Wrestling Society X has been running through their last six episodes during a marathon late which took place Tuesday night and into early Wednesday morning on MTV. The first episode pulled a 0.6 cable rating. The next three shows did 0.4 cable ratings and the fourth show of the marathon did a 0.3 cable rating. The last show in the series will air next week."

Courtesy of 1Wrestling.com

"The on again off again saga of Wrestling Society X on MTV is apparently off again. The season finale has been pulled from the schedule and it is not certain when or if the final episode will air. PWInsider.com reports that Wrestling Society X talent contracts expire 90 days after the initial airing of the finale. It's not known how a failure to air the finale would effect that clause."

LWPD (with this thread I've documented this project since it's inception...now it seems the 'final chapter' is being written...which almost gives me a melancholy feeling...RIP Wrestling Society X)