Travicity
11-17-2010, 10:30 PM
July 22, 2008. That date will be looked back upon by some as a mistake and some will look back and use this date as an excuse. An excuse for the recent numbers of the past two years of declining PPV buyrates and attendance. But let’s not forget that international numbers are up, merchandise is up, and even though buyrates are down the incoming revenue is still up. I probably sound like Vince McMah… oh wait he wasn’t on the last conference call but that aside I probably sound like some WWE paid P.R. officer trying to skew the facts. With that comes the eventual question of, “ What about PG.. how is that affecting the bottom dollar?”
Many fans online for one reason or another are blaming WWE going PG as the sole reason. Hell some of the swear that PG is making all of professional wrestling horrible even though I beg to differ and put forth TNA as my lead example. That aside, I’m not trying to say that PG hasn’t be a part but there are much simpler reasons for WWE being in a stale state. First off though I have to get this off my chest.. Ok here it is.. PG is NOT the PROBLEM….let me repeat that loud and clear..
PG IS NOT THE PROBLEM
Ok thanks for that. Now for those of you still reading this that actually have half a brain to understand the wrestling business, let’s step through a time machine. July 22, 2008 is the day that WWE announced their plans for their shows to go PG. Since then we’ve had tons of feuds and storylines that gripped our hearts and stole our emotions. To name a few it would be Edge versus the Undertaker, CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy, HBK vs. Chris Jericho, The Nexus, Bryan Danielson vs. The Miz, hell I’ll even throw in there HBK vs. The Undertaker even though there was not much of an established feud other than Wrestlemania twice in a row. But all of these great feuds came during the PG era and were the talk of the wrestling community despite the “lack of gripping language and blood”. The point is that it isn’t the PG limitations that have created the lack of interest in the WWE, it’s purely their ignorance as to what has made WWE and all of pro wrestling in the past.
There are many facets to that statement but the one I’m going to focus on is the talent’s inability to get over with the crowd by being themselves. I hear a lot that Legends such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, HBK, and Bret Hart were great only because they were around during a PG 14 era aka the Attitude Era. To a degree that is true but they were all legendary because they were allowed to be, and I’ll paraphrase one of the greatest minds in this industry, “ they were just themselves with the volume turned way up..” and I defy anyone to argue that statement. They came around during a time when promos weren’t so scripted, that wrestlers were able to put their own unique stamp on their gimmicks, and were told who they were supposed to run with the ball with just some bullet points. Stone Cold wasn’t told what to do to a certain degree, he just was. Same goes with The Rock, Chris Jericho, HBK, hell even Triple H during 2000 - 2001 was one of the most hated men that his actual personal life is brought up to this day when people speak of the their hatred for this man.
Fair or not these men were able to be themselves and create their own universe based on their actions and words. Mick Foley definitely is a character who could not be scripted and still be seen as the Legend that he is. Men that are known for their story telling abilities in the ring such as Bret Hart and Terry Funk weren’t scripted to the point that they were just a creation. They were able to connect to their fans by putting personal touches on the men they portrayed on TV. Bret Hart would still be just as great in a PG era as he was during the Attitude Era. Terry Funk sure might not have been able to bleed as much but the emotions he got from the crowds were based on what he conveyed to them be it humor or anger or villainy. Chris Jericho has probably had some of his best stuff done within the PG era and no doubt that HBK also has reached creative heights despite the “limitations”. I’m sure that you can find many examples of the past two years on your own that actually got your blood pumping. A few that were given to me were the following:
- Ric Flair's retirement
- HBK vs. Jericho
- CM Punk wins his first title
- CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy
- HBK vs. Undertaker
- CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
- Edge vs Jeff Hardy
- Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho
- Edge vs Undertaker from 2008
- Nexus invasion
- Kofi Kingston's meteoric push against Randy Orton
- Brian Kendrick becoming THE Brian Kendrick
- Orton vs. The McMahon family
For my money the best thing that WWE could do is to allows developmental talent to get themselves over. Yes some may need more guidance than others, but allow these guys to organically grow with their niche audience. Bryan Danielson is a perfect example. He’s been able to get over with the fans despite being an indy darling for years with these scripted 10 cent promos. Just think if they allowed him to just go on the mic. He’s shown in Ring of Honor and many other indy promotions that while he won’t be the next Rock, he can be a Harley Race, he can be a Ricky Steamboat and that ain’t horrible. The Miz is the most dynamic heel of the 21st century and that has been done under restrictions.
Think of the hatred this man could get by being given a live mic and carte blanche to say what is truly on his mind about any one of his opponents. People may hate the comparisons but MMA has been able to do what pro wrestling was based on and that is get over characters without actually making them a character. The two men that are currently being talked about are Josh Koschek and GSP. Neither one of these men are scripted on The Ultimate Fighter, they are just giving their feelings and it makes then fans want to see them fight, more importantly the fans are willing to pay to see them fight and isn’t that basically what pro wrestling is?
Of course it doesn’t help certain gimmicks such as Hell in a Cell, the Elimination Chamber, and certain hardcore/no DQ matches have restrictions on blood.
Sometimes it may seem that Cena really is only talking to five year old fans (and this man should not be hated as much as some internet fans would like to think but that is another column for another time) but the PG era has also given us some of the best matches and best feuds of any decade. So the next time you want to ignorantly say that it’s PG that has ruined WWE, keep in mind some of the best feuds and storylines of any decade have come about during this time period. Blood and vulgar language are not needed to get talent over and to get ratings and buyrates up. Once again I point at TNA to prove that.
Chris Gee Schoon Tong
Many fans online for one reason or another are blaming WWE going PG as the sole reason. Hell some of the swear that PG is making all of professional wrestling horrible even though I beg to differ and put forth TNA as my lead example. That aside, I’m not trying to say that PG hasn’t be a part but there are much simpler reasons for WWE being in a stale state. First off though I have to get this off my chest.. Ok here it is.. PG is NOT the PROBLEM….let me repeat that loud and clear..
PG IS NOT THE PROBLEM
Ok thanks for that. Now for those of you still reading this that actually have half a brain to understand the wrestling business, let’s step through a time machine. July 22, 2008 is the day that WWE announced their plans for their shows to go PG. Since then we’ve had tons of feuds and storylines that gripped our hearts and stole our emotions. To name a few it would be Edge versus the Undertaker, CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy, HBK vs. Chris Jericho, The Nexus, Bryan Danielson vs. The Miz, hell I’ll even throw in there HBK vs. The Undertaker even though there was not much of an established feud other than Wrestlemania twice in a row. But all of these great feuds came during the PG era and were the talk of the wrestling community despite the “lack of gripping language and blood”. The point is that it isn’t the PG limitations that have created the lack of interest in the WWE, it’s purely their ignorance as to what has made WWE and all of pro wrestling in the past.
There are many facets to that statement but the one I’m going to focus on is the talent’s inability to get over with the crowd by being themselves. I hear a lot that Legends such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, HBK, and Bret Hart were great only because they were around during a PG 14 era aka the Attitude Era. To a degree that is true but they were all legendary because they were allowed to be, and I’ll paraphrase one of the greatest minds in this industry, “ they were just themselves with the volume turned way up..” and I defy anyone to argue that statement. They came around during a time when promos weren’t so scripted, that wrestlers were able to put their own unique stamp on their gimmicks, and were told who they were supposed to run with the ball with just some bullet points. Stone Cold wasn’t told what to do to a certain degree, he just was. Same goes with The Rock, Chris Jericho, HBK, hell even Triple H during 2000 - 2001 was one of the most hated men that his actual personal life is brought up to this day when people speak of the their hatred for this man.
Fair or not these men were able to be themselves and create their own universe based on their actions and words. Mick Foley definitely is a character who could not be scripted and still be seen as the Legend that he is. Men that are known for their story telling abilities in the ring such as Bret Hart and Terry Funk weren’t scripted to the point that they were just a creation. They were able to connect to their fans by putting personal touches on the men they portrayed on TV. Bret Hart would still be just as great in a PG era as he was during the Attitude Era. Terry Funk sure might not have been able to bleed as much but the emotions he got from the crowds were based on what he conveyed to them be it humor or anger or villainy. Chris Jericho has probably had some of his best stuff done within the PG era and no doubt that HBK also has reached creative heights despite the “limitations”. I’m sure that you can find many examples of the past two years on your own that actually got your blood pumping. A few that were given to me were the following:
- Ric Flair's retirement
- HBK vs. Jericho
- CM Punk wins his first title
- CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy
- HBK vs. Undertaker
- CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
- Edge vs Jeff Hardy
- Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho
- Edge vs Undertaker from 2008
- Nexus invasion
- Kofi Kingston's meteoric push against Randy Orton
- Brian Kendrick becoming THE Brian Kendrick
- Orton vs. The McMahon family
For my money the best thing that WWE could do is to allows developmental talent to get themselves over. Yes some may need more guidance than others, but allow these guys to organically grow with their niche audience. Bryan Danielson is a perfect example. He’s been able to get over with the fans despite being an indy darling for years with these scripted 10 cent promos. Just think if they allowed him to just go on the mic. He’s shown in Ring of Honor and many other indy promotions that while he won’t be the next Rock, he can be a Harley Race, he can be a Ricky Steamboat and that ain’t horrible. The Miz is the most dynamic heel of the 21st century and that has been done under restrictions.
Think of the hatred this man could get by being given a live mic and carte blanche to say what is truly on his mind about any one of his opponents. People may hate the comparisons but MMA has been able to do what pro wrestling was based on and that is get over characters without actually making them a character. The two men that are currently being talked about are Josh Koschek and GSP. Neither one of these men are scripted on The Ultimate Fighter, they are just giving their feelings and it makes then fans want to see them fight, more importantly the fans are willing to pay to see them fight and isn’t that basically what pro wrestling is?
Of course it doesn’t help certain gimmicks such as Hell in a Cell, the Elimination Chamber, and certain hardcore/no DQ matches have restrictions on blood.
Sometimes it may seem that Cena really is only talking to five year old fans (and this man should not be hated as much as some internet fans would like to think but that is another column for another time) but the PG era has also given us some of the best matches and best feuds of any decade. So the next time you want to ignorantly say that it’s PG that has ruined WWE, keep in mind some of the best feuds and storylines of any decade have come about during this time period. Blood and vulgar language are not needed to get talent over and to get ratings and buyrates up. Once again I point at TNA to prove that.
Chris Gee Schoon Tong