By Cool McCain(The Average Sports Guy)
Remember the good old days?
The WWE is in a very stale place right now. The storylines are predictable to anyone over age 13. The same people are always on the shows and it feels like no new stars are being developed. There are whole divisions in the company that are not even being addressed by creative and the company. It has been years since a powerful group or faction has emerged and there have been no real OMG moments besides what CM Punk did on the 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw. Before people begin to decide to tune out or tune into Impact (TNA) Wrestling here are 15 things that can be done to improve the product. I will be revealing the list from 15 to 1 over the coming months.
13. Stop referring to Product as Sports Entertainment and talent as Superstars
Building on the Brand Separation and the Revised PPV structure the next thing that needs to be rectified is referring to the product as Sports Entertainment and the talent as Superstars. We all grew up in a time when the sport was referred to as Professional Wrestling. That needs to be the term that WWE goes back to using to describe their product. There have been several different eras in Wrestling but through them all it was always referred to as Professional Wrestling.
Change is sometimes good, but as the old phrase goes “If It Ain’t Broke Then Don’t Try To Fix It”. This phrase certainly applies to the other issue that needs fixing as well. I’m speaking about referring to Wrestlers as Superstars. WWE started this a few years back. They even went so far as to ban the word Wrestlers from being used by the announcers. I realize that the WWE wants to have some of their wrestlers’ crossover into Movies ala Dwayne”The Rock” Johnson, but to change their designation undermines the history of the sport and quite honestly makes the talent seem softer.
Wrestling is a soap opera for men, but the stories should be told in the ring by the Wrestlers. Backstage segments, interviews and promos should all be used to enhance storylines and introduce new/repacked talent. The term Wrestler makes adults feel like we are watching and engaging in a product more familiar to us from our youth. While it is wise for the WWE to target the youth via this whole PG era, they also need to understand that the 18-40 year old demographic is the one that spends the most on the product. We will purchase the PPVs, travel to the live events in our area and purchase the most merchandise and we need to have Wrestling give us more adult themed storylines.
The sport is still referred to as Wrestling in every other major organization such as Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling, Ring of Honor (ROH), National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Since the industry as a whole has not followed suit this should inform Vince McMahon of the folly of his ways. Even when you are the guy that took down WCW you must admit when you made a mistake and this was surely a big one. Making a show for men PG to appease kids was not a wise business move and must be corrected. Wrestling is what Wrestlers do not Sports Entertainment by Superstars. Stay with what works and build on it don’t try to reinvent the wheel.
