The first column by Ask EN founder Chris Nelson takes on a subject that has got wrestling fans and hopefully families buzzing. Could it be possibly a good marketing measure that the WWE is now aiming for families?
Over the past few weeks, wrestling fans everywhere have heard various rumblings about Vince McMahon’s promotion, World Wrestling Entertainment, taking a new family-friendly direction on one or more of it’s shows as they may be assigned a TV-PG rating on US television.
At first glance, this may not seem to be much of an issue, as WWE has always had a large number of children in their fanbase (indeed, much of their merchandise is aimed at the preteen market), but it may have a much larger effect on the product than that first glance suggests, due to the potential adapting and dilution of the product they currently present.
It is likely that those within the corporate side of World Wrestling Entertainment are currently rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of this new classification. TV-PG is the holy grail for any entertainment product, as it opens the gates to the floods of merchandise sales that is only brought on by kids tugging on their parents arms until they relent. Undoubtably also in the short term, it would provide a massive financial kick to the company, which already has an ever growing profit margin, but are the short term benefits worth the change?
Looking at the situation from that corporate side, it is a move that makes total sense. The TV-PG rating would give the company an approved legitimacy to advertise itself as “entertainment for all the family”. Many parents are swayed by the classifications assigned to television shows and movies, meaning some previously doubting parents would add WWE programming to their list of shows acceptable to their children. The resultant increase in viewing figures from families, and the increased demographic appeal would draw approval from the TV networks that are often so hard to please. On a coldly financial side also, WWE would be fully endorsed to turn on the floodgates of their marketing to children and families, which would be the core of the previously mentioned financial kick. All positives for the company it would seem, but is this a viewpoint blinkered by dollar signs?
WWE, since the inception of the acclaimed “Attitude Era” in 1996, has presented, in one way or another, a gritty, aggressive, and at times nearly pornographic product. By presenting this harder front, it’s televised storylines grounded in a surrealised form of urban reality, WWE developed it’s most successful era financially by appealing, not to children, but to another, perhaps equally sought after demographic, the 18-30 males. On a weekly, and then twice weekly basis, Stone Cold Steve Austin, the most financially successful wrestler of all time, and perhaps one of the only men whose popularity rivaled that of Hulk Hogan in his 1980s heyday, flipped the middle finger at his boss, trusted nobody, attacked people after little or no provocation and drank beer over his fallen opponent. Shawn Michaels and Triple H made crude innuendos, deliberately pushed the boundaries of what they were sanctioned to say on television by censors, and told people to “Suck it!” whilst motioning at their crotch. The Rock, now one of the most famous people in the world, told his opponent to “stick it up your candy ass”. It may not sound like much now, but this was groundbreaking and opened the way to massive financial gain by the then WWF, as it turned the tide for them in the epic ratings war against rival company WCW.
WWE programming doesn’t now quite push those limits, as there is not the same need to make headlines with no rival breathing down their neck. However over the past few weeks, a quick look at the television recaps reveals that JBL, one of the leading heels, or bad guys on WWE’s flagship show, RAW, was shown to attempt vehicular homicide against his current rival, and #1 guy among many of the current children who are fans, John Cena. The leading storyline on WWE’s other two hour show, Smackdown! had the onscreen marriage of Edge and Vickie Guerrero break down, as a result of sexual infidelity by Edge with another Female onscreen talent. Their most recent addition to the schedules, a relaunch of the company that is widely considered to have been the catalyst for the “Attitude era” in the first place, ECW has the name “Extreme“, and used to host a dancing session from 3 of the female talents which was advertised as an “expose”. These are hardly selling points to parents who are being encouraged to let their children watch the shows, nor are they likely to please the extra censors in place to monitor the TV-PG rating. Vince Russo, now a pariah to many wrestling fans, who was a part of the creative process during the”Attitude era”, has often expressed his amazement at how the WWF was still marketing to children despite it’s edgy television shows, with products such as the “Stone Cold Steve Austin Slip’n'Slide” a particular cause for concern at the time. 10 years later, those concerns are no less legitmate.
To appease these groups, WWE would likely have to water down it’s current product, and take it even further away from the most successful chapter in it’s past. How would that be received?
Well, the fans “smarter” to the wrestling business (of which I am undeniably a part of) on the internet may rejoice when, for example, the number of scantily clad models with no wrestling experience is reduced to remove the softcore pornographic element, but that is a limited audience, and what replaces it may be even less popular.
A case in point is a man I mentioned previously, John Cena. When he first made it big, utilising an edgy rapper gimmick, he was well-liked by much of the fanbase. As he continued his meteoric rise through the ranks to WWE’s top talent, WWE’s creative team began to water down his acclaimed rapping promos, and his edgy personality, so he had a wider appeal. The reaction from a number of fans? Boo loudly every time John Cena entered the arena. Only recently after a near 2 years of top quality featured matches and a behind the scenes attitude and workrate that impresses even the most ardent of critics, has he begun to win people back.
Another interesting note in history is the last time WWE, then the WWF, attempted to market a totally family-friendly product. Cartoonish gimmicks, such as wrestling clowns, plumbers, slobs and racing drivers appeared. Much of this is now seen as a particuarly black spot in the history of wrestling, which holds little or no fondness in the memory of long term fans. WWE may have a plan to make their product more family friendly without the introduction of fantastical and downright silly personas, but it has to be considered that it could be the only way to appease censors and parents sufficiently.
That period in wrestling also held huge financial losses for both the WWF and WCW, and caused television ratings to plummet, which is where we perhaps reach the crux of the matter, ratings. Ever since the heyday of the “Attitude Era” ratings have been on a steady decline. The one time regular 6.0 ratings have now become a 3.0. People credit this to many things. A poorer overall presentation, fans “growing up”, the lack of a major rival for Vince McMahon to combat financially and creatively. The previous major rival, WCW itself, was bought out by Vince McMahon, after plummeting television ratings caused Aol/Time Warner employee Jamie Kellner to cancel it’s programming, rendering it useless as a promotional entity. A concern in the minds of many people in the WWE office would be the consequences of a repeat of those events if WWE’s ratings were to continue their slide.
Recent attempts have been made to increase those ratings with a shakeup of who is used a featured talent on the flagship shows, and the promotion of younger talent to the spotlight, which has had moderate success in boosting ratings, but a move for a TV-PG classification would surely be seen as a way to rejuvinate the ratings of their programmes through other means. Whereas this may work in the short term, history indicates that it could do more harm than good in the long run.
Another point that needs some analysis is that of the in-ring action on WWE television. Many of the classic moments throughout wrestling’s history involve blood-soaked, hard hitting battles. Mick Foley’s iconic bump off the top of the cell, Steve Austin bloodied and held in the sharpshooter, many of Ric Flair’s classic moments whilst bleeding profusely would not be shown reguarly, nor would be duplicated in a more family friendly product.
A move to TV-PG would be an interesting time for wrestling and for wrestling fans, new and old, whether it occurs throughout WWE programming, or on one or two of its television broadcasts. Whatever does happen for WWE will be new ground, as the company still recovers in the wake of the Benoit tragedy last year, but perhaps WWE should be wise to look at the bigger picture, before making a knee-jerk reaction.
Add A Comment