I've decided to make my first official post on "Inside The Circled Square" on my view of the current state of affairs throughout major professional wrestling/"sports entertainment". Seemed like a fitting topic.
When I'm talking about professional wrestling/"sports entertainment," I'm of course talking about the two major players in the industry, those being World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Total Nonstop Action (TNA).
Having been a fan of wrestling since probably the age of six, I remember the days when there was no Monday Night Raw, and there was no Impact Wrestling on Thursday nights. There was only the occasional wrestling show on Saturday morning, perhaps the once a month sighting of Saturday Night's Main Event, or the once-every-three-months idea of a pay-per-view event.
When I first began watching wrestling almost 30 years ago, the "product" was more about the physical nature of wrestling rather than the "entertainment" aspect of it all. With the advent of the weekly episodic program, whether it be Monday Night Raw, WCW Monday Nitro, or Smackdown, we were introduced to the idea of "sports entertainment." That idea brought story lines and drama to the action we'd already been accustomed to.
Whether you want to attribute it to Vince McMahon or to Ted Turner, prime-time professional wrestling hit an all-time high in the late '90's. It was fun. It was interesting. But what truly made professional wrestling great in the late '90's and early '00's was that it was controversial, each and every week. That's what made the fans tune in, both die-hards and occasional fans alike.
Sure, some of it was silly. To many fans, the words "Sexual Chocolate" and "rubber hand" bring a cringed laughter. But what made segments like that easier to swallow was that the other 90% of the show was chalked full of drama, excitement, controversy and superstars galore. You had a two-hour show with the likes of The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Triple H, The Undertaker, Kane, The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, The Dudley Boyz...and they were ALL on ONE SHOW. If you were a WCW fan, you had Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Goldberg, Sting, Ric Flair, Booker T, Scott Hall, Diamond Dallas Page, and more...and again, they were ALL on ONE SHOW.
But what once made professional wrestling a true joy to watch has become something of a rarity now. I finally had the opportunity to watch "The Rise and Fall of WCW" DVD from WWE Home Video, and was shocked; not at what I had seen or heard during the duration of the video, but rather something else. As I listened to the numerous examples of why WCW Monday Nitro was out dueling Monday Night Raw in the ratings for almost two years, I started to realize that WWE has seemingly fallen into the same mold they did in the early '90's. They've turned their "product" into something "for the kids."
One of the statements made about the differences between WWE(F) and WCW was that, while WWE was showcasing more "characters," WCW was showcasing "wrestlers." As an example...while in WWE(F), he was Razor Ramon, but upon making the jump to WCW, rather than pick a new persona...he simply became who he was...Scott Hall. Although scripted, or "fake" for that matter, that sole aspect gave WCW a more "real" edge, which seemed to draw more people in.
As WWE began to realize what it needed to do to regain a little market share, the shows became a little edgier, the story lines became a little more controversial, and the stars became that much better because of it. Now, with no direct Monday competition (or Friday, for that matter), WWE has decided to cater to the children again, toning down their "product" to become a PG-rated show. The language is less offensive, the "stars" are more fan-friendly, and the Divas...well, they've become a complete bore.
What's truly sad is that it appears that there is no change on the horizon. The McMahon's have become more interested in political careers to give the real fans of the WWE what they deserve. Instead, they've opted to pursue their PG audience, who truly doesn't know the difference between a good "product" and the garbage that's currently being shown to them every week. For a few moments in 2011, it seemed that maybe things were about to take a positive turn, with the CM Punk storyline. However, as has proven to be the case over the last few years, the McMahons and the rest of the WWE brass have found a way to shoot themselves in the foot.
Ahh...what could be...but simply isn't being allowed to be.
