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Eric Bischoff on "Internet Dirtsheets."; Quote from book
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Topic Started: Oct 18 2006, 11:01 PM (128 Views)
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dawsey28
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Oct 18 2006, 11:01 PM
Post #1
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Ariel's chattel
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This is a passage from Eric's new book "Controversy Creates Cash." Eric lays into "insider" wrestling news sites, specifically Wrestling Observer and Dave Meltzer. Pretty interesting read that I thought some of you might enjoy:
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Dirtsheets Up until three, four, five years ago, the dirtsheets and the Internet sites would get some real, hard, deep inside information. There were times when I would come out of a meeting, and literally three hours later details of that meeting were online. And the same thing has happened to Vince at WWE. Shortly after I arrived in WWE, I remember we had a production meeting. Two hours later, details of that production meeting were on the Internet. And it drove Vince crazy. To the point where he threatened to fire anyone he thought was even communicating with these guys. I knew how he felt
The dirtsheets had a real negative influence at WCW. There were a couple of top wrestlers who at one point used to leak a lot of information to Dave Meltzer, who still distributes the Wrestling Observer. I get a kick out of Meltzer's Web site. He leads people to believe by logging on to his site, you are going to get information on the headlines that he posts. All he really does is tease the reader with interesting headlines, while failing to deliver any real information. For that you have to buy the "news letter" that he brags "contains more than 35,000 words." The problem is, those 35,000 words are grammatically incorrect, run-on sentences that read like a fifth-grader wrote them. And most of the "news" contained in his publication is second-third-and sometimes fourth-hand information that is so far off the mark it would be comical if it weren't for the fact that so many people take it as fact.
Some of the people at WCW were smart enough to know that executives in Turner Broadcasting subscribed to the Observer so they could read it in the privacy of their offices and then appear as if they knew something about what was going on in the wrestling world. It was like someone reading the National Enquirer and thinking that they were current on world news.
Wade Keller was another editor the guys would feed. By building up a special relationship with these dirtsheet distributors (I have a hard time referring to them as writers), the wrestlers would make sure they were treated in a certain way in those publications. The executives would read the Observer or Keller's dirtsheet, and they'd see Dave Meltzer or Keller extolling the virtues of the moles who fed them information.
There was alot of that kind of quid pro quo going on. The information was always one-sided and riddled with personal agendas.
What's interesting now is that because there's only one wrestling organization, and because Vince is more adamant than I was about leaking information and talking to these dirtsheets, the talent is much more paranoid about leaking information. So now what you get when you read these dirtsheets or anything online is a much more outside-the-camp point of view. Nobody's feeding these guys much anymore. The end result is, they're kind of pabulum. They're opinionated, but their opinions generally reflect the trends of the audience anyway, so it's safe opinion.
It's amazing how an industry that has grown as large as ours was influenced so adversely by what is nothing more than a group of nerds who probably couldn't get or hold a job doing anything else. It still amazes me that these goofs were able to influence people who would never even give them an interview for a legitimate job in the industry they wrote about.
Comments?
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Q-BZ
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Oct 19 2006, 08:07 AM
Post #2
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I want to read his book out of sheer curiosity, but the problem is: I don't think I'll be able to believe most of what's written in it.
Interesting points about the dirt sheets which ultimately evolved into Internet forums. Some being better than others. There's probably some truth to that concept.
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Q-BZ
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Feb 21 2007, 11:17 AM
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I can get this book now pretty cheap. Should I, or am I wasting my time reading a bunch of lies and BS? I know I'll be getting Foley's new book ASAP.
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Chad Matthews
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Feb 21 2007, 11:19 AM
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CMV1
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I read it...it's a good, easy read...
Who knows who is telling the truth, but Bisch makes compelling arguments for his cause...
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The MadDog
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Feb 21 2007, 12:52 PM
Post #5
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I bought it....
Read it twice....
Then returned the book!
:lol:
it wasn't worth the $30 that Barnes & Knoble charged for it.....
But, if I could get it for $10 then I would buy it and keep it!
PS: I will also get Foley's book as soon as it comes out - no matter WHAT the price is!
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Q-BZ
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Feb 28 2007, 10:55 AM
Post #6
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- The MadDog
- Feb 21 2007, 02:52 PM
I bought it....
Read it twice....
Then returned the book!
:lol:
it wasn't worth the $30 that Barnes & Knoble charged for it.....
But, if I could get it for $10 then I would buy it and keep it!
PS: I will also get Foley's book as soon as it comes out - no matter WHAT the price is!
You got ripped off. I got it from Amazon brand new for $14 and change just this week. (Hardcover)
I'm enjoying it right now. It's another perspective and like any of these books...you never take any of it for gospel truth.
I do agree with EB 100 percent about wrestling rag sheets, websites, and the rest of it.
Foley's next book is on preorder right now. I can't wait to get that!
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