Black Widow
11-06-2008, 08:04 PM
SO, what's the biggest problem with the WWE product?
Is it Vince McMahon?
Well, he's 63, but that doesn't mean he has to be so out of the loop in terms of cultural waves. I just think Vince is listening to the same group of people who are stuck in the bubble of the WWE Universe, while pop culture is totally different today than it was even six months ago.
To its enormous credit, WWE programming is light years ahead of anyone else in terms of production value, but the utilisation of those production assets is tied up in pyro and the slick presentation instead of character building mechanisms, which the company has gotten away from...and that was always Vince's strong suit.
It was, by the way, also something his Dad excelled in. Defining the characters, presenting the persona in a manner the audience would understand, and giving the public a reason to be interested in the storylines, emotionally involved in the characters, and enticed to pay money to see the outcome of a match that was hyped by the arc of the storyline itself.
HBO's Countdown to Hopkins vs Pavlik persuaded me to buy the pay-per-view, and I had zero interest in the fight beforehand. To me, Hopkins was on the slide down after his loss to Calzaghe, and Pavlik was a knockout artist who came across as "trying too hard to show some personality."
But when their similarities and disparities were pointed out - and the countdown show not only explained to me who these people were, but why I should pay to see them fight - I found myself making a commitment to see the fight, because I was intrigued by whether the "knockout king" Pavlik could drop the one man who no one in boxing could KO, Bernard Hopkins.
The hype worked. The personalities shined through. The questions asked had me hooked, and a person who originally didn't want to bother, all of a sudden found himself interested.
Vince McMahon's desire to produce the world's most spectacular action-oriented variety show is now in direct conflict with his product's ability to progress. Hey, I'm not knocking the success of Monday Night Raw. Just that the current format alone has lasted longer than anyone could have ever imagined.
And despite the fact that many people - myself included - lament the fact Raw's ratings are stagnant, the show is stale, and the rotation at the top of the card is demonstrating more "glass ceiling" than "opportunity," the fact remains that WWE is a very profitable company, and the ratings, when put into perspective, are not upsetting visionary television executive Bonnie Hammer or the other members of her team who are ultimately accountable to NBC-U for Raw's success or failure.
If Raw was to be pitched as a new commodity today, how would Vince frame the program? "It's a two-hour slice of Americana, as we broadcast live from wherever we are in the world on a Monday night." But this sports-oriented "live in the arena" concept clashes with the variety show atmosphere Vince puts on.
I am not suggesting turning the shows into post-produced countdown shows, but the manner in which the shows are presented must be addressed. Either take the show, and re-design the pacing, the formatting, even the way the main events are announced and promoted...or change the atmosphere of it to accommodate the pop culture-desirous fanbase that is flocking away from pro wrestling.
It's time for the writing and production staffs that advise Vince to re-acquaint themselves with what popular movements are taking place before WWE further victimises itself by appearing to be out of touch.
A tenured and still-paranoid WWE employee recently told me he's going to make a pitch regarding Sean Combs for Wrestlemania. SEAN COMBS??? Hello? For a show in Houston?!!
Here's a freebie for my readers at the Tower: Go after Chingo Bling. He's recognised as the Lord and Master of the Houston rap scene (psssst...Wrestlemania just happens to be in Houston), and he's far more controversial than Combs, who is reduced to courting headlines nowadays by sniffing around on-again, off-again Bad Boy project queen Aubrey O'Day.
Plus, putting Chingo with Rey Mysterio ties Rey into a loyal, rabid fan base that is developing into its very own culture. Sure sounds like something kids would hook onto faster than Laverne and Shirley jokes, doesn't it?
The key for WWE is to plug into these popular movements and styles, and then be the trendsetter. But when key people in WWE actually think HHH and Shawn Michaels are cooler or hipper than Miz and Morrison, then someone needs to put down the bifocals and check out lazik surgery!
DX can still be presented in a way that encourages the audience to cheer them and want to see the legends teach the young punks a lesson, but to convince yourselves that HHH and Shawn are going to be perceived as having the cooler act is absurd.
But it's happening right now, which means those in World Wrestling Entertainment are lying to themselves.
The audience isn't being lied to. Those kids have turned off Raw, and are too busy playing with their Wii Guitar Hero to bother wondering what went wrong in pro wrestling.
My advice to the creative decision makers is to wake up, realise your programming is not artistically cutting edge any more, and inject a youthful mindset to compliment your unparalleled and amazing ability to provide multiple hours of content to the networks on a weekly basis.
Re-position wrestling/sports entertainment as the coolest, video-game-come-to-life product with the wildest, most clearly defined and enviable characters on television anywhere in the world today.
Or I'll come back into the industry and show you how to do it, just like I did before.
Just kidding.
The Sun
Is it Vince McMahon?
Well, he's 63, but that doesn't mean he has to be so out of the loop in terms of cultural waves. I just think Vince is listening to the same group of people who are stuck in the bubble of the WWE Universe, while pop culture is totally different today than it was even six months ago.
To its enormous credit, WWE programming is light years ahead of anyone else in terms of production value, but the utilisation of those production assets is tied up in pyro and the slick presentation instead of character building mechanisms, which the company has gotten away from...and that was always Vince's strong suit.
It was, by the way, also something his Dad excelled in. Defining the characters, presenting the persona in a manner the audience would understand, and giving the public a reason to be interested in the storylines, emotionally involved in the characters, and enticed to pay money to see the outcome of a match that was hyped by the arc of the storyline itself.
HBO's Countdown to Hopkins vs Pavlik persuaded me to buy the pay-per-view, and I had zero interest in the fight beforehand. To me, Hopkins was on the slide down after his loss to Calzaghe, and Pavlik was a knockout artist who came across as "trying too hard to show some personality."
But when their similarities and disparities were pointed out - and the countdown show not only explained to me who these people were, but why I should pay to see them fight - I found myself making a commitment to see the fight, because I was intrigued by whether the "knockout king" Pavlik could drop the one man who no one in boxing could KO, Bernard Hopkins.
The hype worked. The personalities shined through. The questions asked had me hooked, and a person who originally didn't want to bother, all of a sudden found himself interested.
Vince McMahon's desire to produce the world's most spectacular action-oriented variety show is now in direct conflict with his product's ability to progress. Hey, I'm not knocking the success of Monday Night Raw. Just that the current format alone has lasted longer than anyone could have ever imagined.
And despite the fact that many people - myself included - lament the fact Raw's ratings are stagnant, the show is stale, and the rotation at the top of the card is demonstrating more "glass ceiling" than "opportunity," the fact remains that WWE is a very profitable company, and the ratings, when put into perspective, are not upsetting visionary television executive Bonnie Hammer or the other members of her team who are ultimately accountable to NBC-U for Raw's success or failure.
If Raw was to be pitched as a new commodity today, how would Vince frame the program? "It's a two-hour slice of Americana, as we broadcast live from wherever we are in the world on a Monday night." But this sports-oriented "live in the arena" concept clashes with the variety show atmosphere Vince puts on.
I am not suggesting turning the shows into post-produced countdown shows, but the manner in which the shows are presented must be addressed. Either take the show, and re-design the pacing, the formatting, even the way the main events are announced and promoted...or change the atmosphere of it to accommodate the pop culture-desirous fanbase that is flocking away from pro wrestling.
It's time for the writing and production staffs that advise Vince to re-acquaint themselves with what popular movements are taking place before WWE further victimises itself by appearing to be out of touch.
A tenured and still-paranoid WWE employee recently told me he's going to make a pitch regarding Sean Combs for Wrestlemania. SEAN COMBS??? Hello? For a show in Houston?!!
Here's a freebie for my readers at the Tower: Go after Chingo Bling. He's recognised as the Lord and Master of the Houston rap scene (psssst...Wrestlemania just happens to be in Houston), and he's far more controversial than Combs, who is reduced to courting headlines nowadays by sniffing around on-again, off-again Bad Boy project queen Aubrey O'Day.
Plus, putting Chingo with Rey Mysterio ties Rey into a loyal, rabid fan base that is developing into its very own culture. Sure sounds like something kids would hook onto faster than Laverne and Shirley jokes, doesn't it?
The key for WWE is to plug into these popular movements and styles, and then be the trendsetter. But when key people in WWE actually think HHH and Shawn Michaels are cooler or hipper than Miz and Morrison, then someone needs to put down the bifocals and check out lazik surgery!
DX can still be presented in a way that encourages the audience to cheer them and want to see the legends teach the young punks a lesson, but to convince yourselves that HHH and Shawn are going to be perceived as having the cooler act is absurd.
But it's happening right now, which means those in World Wrestling Entertainment are lying to themselves.
The audience isn't being lied to. Those kids have turned off Raw, and are too busy playing with their Wii Guitar Hero to bother wondering what went wrong in pro wrestling.
My advice to the creative decision makers is to wake up, realise your programming is not artistically cutting edge any more, and inject a youthful mindset to compliment your unparalleled and amazing ability to provide multiple hours of content to the networks on a weekly basis.
Re-position wrestling/sports entertainment as the coolest, video-game-come-to-life product with the wildest, most clearly defined and enviable characters on television anywhere in the world today.
Or I'll come back into the industry and show you how to do it, just like I did before.
Just kidding.
The Sun