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Professional wrestling, sports entertainment, whatever you call it, always has to change in order to survive.
That’s why in 2008, WWE made a radical transformation.
Around the time of WrestleMania 24, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels were told explicitly NOT to have blood in their match. The reason being that the company was apparently going in a more family-friendly direction.
It wasn’t until June of that year when the PG rating became official, but to be honest, PG was the rule for a good little while before the change went into effect.
While there are positives about this, there are some glaring negatives.
To start this, we’ll start with some positives.
With the PG rating, the WWE had to drop those really dumb/raunchy angles. Although they had been dropping by the wayside for a time, angles like a proposed Paul Burchill/Katie Lea Burchill incest story would have been detrimental to business. Seriously, imagine that angle playing in your head.Would that story make ratings history? Surely I jest NOT!
In addition, there would be no outrageously raunchy gimmicks like ‘The Dicks’ appearing on your screen. That was some needlessly embarrassing time filler back in 2007, one that RD Reynolds would take great joy in inducting to Wrestlecrap. Dumb gimmicks will never die that is for certain, but at least we got the illogical juvenile characters out of the way.
However, the best thing about PG in this humble blogger’s opinion has been how, over time, the WWE finally got the message to get younger talent entering the main event scene.
2009 was a really rough year for WWE programming. All the big angles were carried on the backs of John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H), Big Show, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Undertaker, and Edge. It seemed as if the main event scene was the only portion of the card that mattered, while the future superstars in the lower portions of the card were swept aside.
As 2010 went on, it seemed like main eventers were dropping like flies. Shawn Michaels retired per stipulation at Wrestlemania 26. Batista left the company after his contract lapsed. Triple H greatly reduced his on-screen role to fulfill corporate obligations off-screen. Chris Jericho took another hiatus. Undertaker had been wisely fixing himself up for the Wrestlemania wars, while Edge abruptly retired in 2011 due to exacerbating neck issues.
All these guys were gone, and there were men eager to not only step up to the plate, but prove to the fans that the world is theirs.
One example is a man named Sheamus. Although he had debuted only a few months prior to TLC 2009, the big Irishman made a big impact, and thus was thrust into a main event with John Cena. Little buildup aside, Sheamus won the WWE Championship with throwing Cena off the turnbuckles through a table. Over the last few years, he’s been a great example of how to improve while being in the public eye.
Another example is Dolph Ziggler. Nick Nemeth has been saddled with CRAP to begin his WWE career. Imagine being a caddy for Kerwin White, a Mexican who turns out to be white? Nick lived it! Imagine being a male cheerleader being fed to D-X every week, and then getting the ultimate burial of being slapped in a OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) box? Yep, him too. Originally a porn star gimmick, Dolph’s introduction was that he, well, he introduced himself. Slowly but surely, Dolph became a player, and now might find himself amongst the top of the mountain. The RAW after WrestleMania 29 saw Ziggler FINALLY cash in Money in the Bank, thus becoming a LEGIT World Heavyweight Champion!
Then there is also MARK HENRY. A WWE employee since 1996, he has a mark in just about every era. However, it wasn’t until a rebirth in 2011 that showed the big man’s new-found potential. Long labeled a disappointment in his WWE tenure, Henry was seemingly a guy Vince should have cut loose the day the 10-year contract expired. Shockingly, Henry made a ‘Hall of Pain’, and had a lot to gain as a result.
He became a DOMINANT World Heavyweight Champion sidelined only by injury. His earth-shattering style provokes fear in all of his opponents. In an era where wrestlers from the indies regularly impress with their nicely distributed array of styles, having the monster in Henry is a nice testament to the roster pool.
There are many other examples, such as CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and ZACK RYDER, that could be used just as effectively to promote this point. Go to YouTube and just watch video after video. It’ll be worth it!
Let’s also not forget the fact that WWE, during the PG era, has also become stable in the ratings while trying to expand to new areas. WWE Films has made several new movies, some of which have made legitimate dents in the box office. The Rock’s movie career has only given WWE MORE exposure. Although the WWE Network seems to be a ways off (hell, it may not ever launch), the WWEFanNation YouTube channel seems to bring exciting and innovative new programs to WWE’s viral repertoire. Even if a lot of the original programming mentioned in the original post is gone, there is still a lot of current/classic footage posted to satisfy the most casual fan.
While the positives have been explored and not talked about much, the negatives have been drawn out since the day of the inception.
Lack of blood seems to be the hot topic issue. While this blogger doesn’t have any problems with the absence of someone blading every week unnecessarily, it seems like more dramatic moments are missing that something extra. There are Elimination Chamber and Hell in the Cell PPV’s, all of which have 2 or more contests apiece within the confinements. For those new fans out there, let me tell you something: these cage matches are the end-all be-all matches. They are feud escalators/enders in which combatants who truly hate each other tear each other to bits. In this era, it is unbelievable for someone to have their head smashed into either chain or mesh then come out unscathed. It’s a degree of legitimacy that’s been yanked for the sake of audience share. Most fans do not agree with this, and I am on that bandwagon. Blood is like sweets on the nutritional pyramid: USE IT SPARINGLY (but effectively).
Another issue is the severe limitation of ‘hardcore’ elements. In the last few years, medical research has shown the damning results of these wars. Between a more family-friendly demographic, multiple Senate races, and legitimate medical consultation, WWE made it a point to fine anyone who delivers unsafe head shots. While this sounds all fine and dandy 9 times out of 10, let’s also figure that time #10 is a match that NEEDS that one or perhaps two blows. Like a Last Man Standing affair or Hell in the Cell, that chair shot could be the end. Only the main eventers should be allowed to do this with the warning that something bad could happen. With appropriate testing and contract waivers, a protected shot to the cranium can truly make an average angle spectacular.
Shockingly, this blogger’s biggest complaint of the PG era isn’t the lack of blood or the lack of weapon usage.
Instead, it seems to be WWE’s commitment to create programming that will attract the lowest common denominator.
You know it’s really bad when D-Generation X, a faction originally born out of immature/jackass behavior, suddenly has a leprechaun in order to be kid-friendly.
You know it’s also really bad when there are times when people have to substitute originally “non-kid-friendly” terms for other ones.. When Steve Austin had his “Guest Host” spot on RAW in 2009, he could not say ANY of his catchphrases at all. It was as if WWE didn’t know what was PG or even G.
While there could be other examples of negative-PG, it seems as if every WWE era will have positives and/or negatives. How a fan views these issues are definitely equivalent to their enjoyment of the product. The way I see it: the sky is the limit. As long as WWE can catch fire with hot talents, use them effectively, and bring up the product around them, there is no reason why there cannot be another boom period.
IN CONCLUSION:
Professional wrestling, sports entertainment, whatever you call it, always has to change in order to survive.
That’s why in 2008, WWE made a radical transformation.
While it may not be perfect or ideal, it seems like WWE is hammering away at making the product better.
With less focus on stupid gimmicks and more attention on the up-and-comers, the WWE has slowly but surely been improving their on-screen product in the last few years.
However, no one notices it because they’re too busy bitching about the rating on the upper-left-hand corner on the screen.
Let me tell you something:
Every WWE era, whether it was Rock N’ Wrestling, New Generation, or Attitude, had somewhat-equal doses of positives and negatives. Sure wrestling may not be what it was then, but at the same time, the business is cyclical.
If/when the WWE gets another boom period, which should come rather unexpectedly, I’ll laugh at the people who said the company died because their rating changed. The philosophy is stupid, childish, and immature.
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