Wrestling Society X series cancelled!!! (Updated 5th March)

[LionDen]

This post shall be updated as new becomes available. Newer news shall be further down:

An insider at MTV is claiming that the decision has been made to cancel the Wrestling Society X series. Apparently, MTV made the call earlier today, presumably due to the drop in ratings for the show. The phrase being used at MTV today was that the series was to be finished "effective immediately". It's not known if any of the remaining episodes will ever air on MTV or not at this point but the word at the MTV office is that the series will not be renewed. There are still six unaired episodes from the original filming.

After a solid start for the show, the ratings had dropped to the point where it wasn't even meeting the night's average on the network. Given that it was a wrestling show, the feeling is that it was expected to have to outperform the other programming in order to keep its slot. When it didn't, it became immediately vulnerable.

Last week's show was pulled from MTV's lineup either due to low ratings or because MTV, which had OK'd all of the shows scripts, had a problem with a fireball slot on the show, depending on who you believe.

Big Vision Entertainment, which produced the show, will retain rights to WSX and can market it to other networks or direct to DVD if they choose to do so.

Keep checking this forum for more news as it becomes available!


----------------------------------------------------

Update - 1st March 2007

MTV has removed next week's scheduled airing of Wrestling Society X and replaced it with "High School Stories: Scandals, Pranks, Controversies."

MTV's website has also removed from WSX from its listing of official MTV series. At this point, the www.WSX.MTV.com website is still up and features this week's version of WSXtra. The most recent episode of WSX was not posted.

Dave Scherer wrote last night about the series' ratings being a factor in MTV's decision yesterday. To give an overview of what WSX was fighting against, here is the ratings breakdown for this past Tuesday 2/28 on MTV:

8 PM - 8:30 PM Bam's Unholy Union - 0.7 rating with a 1.1 share

8:30 - 9 PM Bam's Unholy Union - 0.8 rating with a 1.1 share

9 - 9:30 PM Road Rules XIV - 0.7 rating with a 1.1 share

9:30 - 10 PM Bam's Unholy Union - 1.0 rating with a 1.4 share

10 - 10:30 PM Two-A-Days - 0.9 rating with a 1.5 share

10:30 - 11 PM Wrestling Society X - 0.6 rating with a 0.9 share.

As you can see, WSX lost a third of the audience from its lead, Two-A-Days, which didn't help their cause after returning from a one week hiatus.


----------------------------------------------------

Update - 2nd March 2007

Representatives from MTV and Wrestling Society X producers Big Vision Entertainment have been in discussion today about WSX's status

An official statement is expected from Big Vision CEO Houston Curtis about the future of the WSX project and it's status with MTV at some point later today.

As noted yesterday, WSX sources have indicated that Big Vision would retain the rights to WSX and be able to shop the project to a new TV home.


----------------------------------------------------

Update - 2nd March 2007

Word coming out of Big Vision Entertainment's offices is that an official statement on the state of Wrestling Society X won't be coming until tomorrow.

Legal representatives of MTV and Big Vision had continued discussions over the network's decision to cancel the series yesterday and at this point, nothing has settled.

Internal chaos has continued over at MTV, which let an additional 250 staffers out of their London offices go today. There have been upwards of 500 employees let go worldwide, entire divisions shut down and an overhauls of other sectors of the network, including their advertising end, in the last several weeks.


----------------------------------------------------

Update - 3rd March 2007

Big Vision Entertainment's Houston Curtis issued the following statement to PWInsider.com early Saturday morning in regard to Wrestling Society X. The series has been pulled from MTV, as previously reported by PWInsider.com, but Curtis' statement gives the impression that WSX may find a home elsewhere within the MTV Networks:

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


----------------------------------------------------

Update - 5th March 2007


An MTV source has said that Wrestling Society X is going to return next Tuesday with the network airing one, possibly two episodes.

At this point, there is no idea whether this is some sort of reprieve for the series or if MTV is simply making use of WSX's episodes since they are paid for and edited.

More details should be available tomorrow and a timeslot. At this point and time, your guess is as good as mine as to the future of the series. I'm starting to wonder if whoever is at the helm of MTV ran WCW the last few years of it's existence because there is certainly no rhyme or reason to any of this.

Source: PWInsider.com


----------------------------------------------------

Update - 5th March 2007

If you want to catch the remaining episodes of MTV Wrestling Society X, prepare your recorder now. MTV will run a marathon of five unaired Wrestling Society X episodes next Tuesday starting at 11 PM Eastern. The following Tuesday, WSX is scheduled for 10:30 PM, which I would assume is the series finale, featuring an exploding steel cage match.

It appears MTV are trying to run the episodes as quickly as possible, I'm guessing because they are contractually obligated. I would assume that the WSXtra online series will not return.

For those who have asked, Big Vision Entertainment will be able to shop the WSX series concept around to other potential networks, although off the top of my head I don't know what those could be. I am told that MTV would retain the rights to release the WSX episodes on DVD, since they bankrolled the tapings.

Source: PWInsider.com

[Dangerous Incorporated]

I think another reason was that MTV had some cutbacks which even affect some executives at MTV which would have also contributed to WSX being cancelled along with all the other reasons stated above.

Airing WSX opposite Vince's wrestling show ECW wasnt a smart idea in the first place. Even TNA are smart enough not to compete with Vince's timeslots just yet.

[Flair Country]

This show could have been a huge success with all of the talent that they had on their roster, but the special effects were just too over the top. I guess one big positive is that Teddy Hart might actually make his way over to WWE and form up the "New Hart Foundation" that the rumors have been talking about.

[Butoden]

I'm actually glad, if this became succesful than it would mean that this would be the future of wrestling, I'm glad it is not. Now it would be nice to see some of their talent go to the other companies.

[LionDen]

Updated news in first post.

[Butoden]

That's cool. Let me tell u this: WSX had bad editing, that means : the matches were too short and basically the camera zoomed in too much or moved too much so that was pretty bad too.
Then there was the music guests going to the announcer's guys and helping them talk about the match which makes no sense.
Then there was the special effects and electrocuting and explosions which were all just over the top.
There wasn't real wrestling just over the top high flying actions and athletisism or however u spell it. And the decision to pull it after 1 bad rating kinda shows how much MTV cares. =\

[Jesus_4lyfe]

I think that is a good decision

[wwe9112]

they had to many white people wantin to be "black" not to be racest and i mean by that is like john cena

[Butoden]

Care to back that up for I have not seen any of that at all, there was a latino tag team I remember, youre not refering to them are you?

[legolas4792]

mtv is a bunch of idiots airing wsx at the same time as a wwe show was the worst possible thing they could do, that show could have been big