THE PG WWE - Why You Think It Happened

[Nick]

I don't know if this thread has been started, I'm sorry. I just wanted some reactions. There could be a whole lot of reasons why the WWE went pg. This is what I think.

"The WWE went PG not to attract kids, but to stop live streaming. I mean, what little kid is going to understand how Justin.tv or Ustream.tv works? Children aren't as active on the computer as teenagers and adults, they don't understand how it works. I mean sure now a days kids have their parents make them Facebooks, but that's it. Occasionally Google(learning from school) and maybe YouTube if their parents allow it.

Little kids don't have the mentality or the patience needed to find the website that hosts the stream. As a matter of fact I don't think they know what a stream is. By making it PG, more and more adults would hopefully stop streaming them. "

That's just my opinion on it. Anyone else have anything different?

[Shadow Soul]

Personally I believe it was more to do with damage limitation after what happened with Chris Benoit and the fact that they wanted to land big sponsorship deals like the one with Mattel.

The amount of negative press not only the WWE but wrestling as a whole got in the aftermath of events was just mindblowing, and the number of cockroaches that crawled out of the woodwork to jump on the bandwagon just surprised me (ie Marc Mero springs to mind).

Now on to the deals with companies like Mattel, I can totally understand VKM and Co. wanting to secure long term decent sponsorship, after all that provides them with a solid base with which to attract other major sponsers, some of which may very well have been put off from dealing with WWE due to the more adult themes and certain other events like the Benoit incident.

Sorry if this sounds crap but I'm fighting an infection atm..and tbh cannot think straight due to meds.

[Ed Burns]

I think it was a necessary move after the Benoit tragedy due to the media fire storm that came after. I think it was necessary for them to make it a less violent program due to the scrutiny. The changes they made, The Wellness Policy, no Bleeding, and no chairshots to the head, all protect the company from further scrutiny. TNA's following the chairshot policy to some extent, by banning unprotected chairshots to the head, due to the result of Jeff Hardy's chairshot to Mr. Anderson, and the resulting gash, and concussion he suffered. I doubt streaming had anything to do with it. I can still watch Smackdown streamed on Justin.tv now. I also think the political climate had a lesser effect on it too. The FCC was threatening fines for content that crossed that imaginary line from cutting edge to over the edge. While I don't believe the intent was to aim the programming at the young kids, I do believe it was aimed to make the product more appealing to sponsors, and eliminate some of the controversy. Family oriented programming is always gonna draw less fire from the Media, FCC, Congress, and Conservatives. While WWE programming has it's limitations as far as content can go, it doesn't mean the content can't be intelligent, compelling, and very effective. I don't think they've scratched the surface with what they can write in this format. That's my take on it.

[Luke]

This has been discussed in various other threads, e.g. Wrestling is in serious trouble, but there isn't a designated thread for this discussion.

Moving this to the General Wrestling Talk board.

[Veritas]

It's definitely not to stop streaming.

The PG switch happened well before streaming became a big thing. Streaming has only really hit prominence over the past 2-3 years, and the WWE is mistaken in believing that's why their PPV buys have dropped. I think PPV buy dropping is a result of a) price and b) content. The adult market isn't likely to spend $50 on a ppv if they aren't going to be interested in watching it.

[Insanity_X]

Why do I think WWE went PG? Because it's good for buisness. Going PG has got absolutely nothing to do with the objective quality of the shows. Smackdown was PG during the Attitude Era, for example. However, going PG allows for merchandising deals with companies like Mattel, and avoids negative press for their content.

Outside of buisness reasons, there's no reason that WWE went PG, and the streaming reason is pure idiocy. Mostly because it overlooks that the vast majority (78%) of people watching WWE are 18+. Yeah, going PG is going to have a massive influence on the majority of its audience's decision to stream.

[Tom]

Personally I believe it happened because of Linda's senate run...but correct me if I'm wrong. It's a smart move by Vince to do it. Since its change, WWE has become more global. Although the storylines aren't exactly great: I've been seeing the nexus angle and that's caught a lot of eyes. I myself don't like the PG era, but I also understand why it's probably happened and the good things that come out of it. Hey...since PG, we've had a lot of new faces.

[wwecutie]

Why I think it happened? If you go around my skool asking why, the response that you wud get is:
"Because of Linda Mchman and John Cena supporting it."
I don't see another reason. Going PG because its good for buisness like Insanity_X said? IDK. I don't see how. I just see how WWE could lose alot of its audience. Me and my friends from skool have been told that it was also because of the fact that they wanna make WWE PG bcuz of the kids under the age of 13. That it wud make parents more comfortable with their children watching this sport. But can't be it bcuz I know a whole bunch of ppl who have watched WWE during the Attitude Era wen they were under the age of 13 without their parents complaining about it. So why all of a sudden change the rating? Bcuz of wat happened to Chris Beniot? Eddie Gurrero?

[Insanity_X]

Why I think it happened? If you go around my skool asking why, the response that you wud get is:
"Because of Linda Mchman and John Cena supporting it."

Clearly your school is populated by morons then.

I don't see another reason. Going PG because its good for buisness like Insanity_X said?

Yes.

I don't see how.

than you're an idiot.

I just see how WWE could lose alot of its audience.

The number of people watching WWE now is roughly the same as during the Monday night wars. Also, people forget that from day 1 Smackdown was PG. And word from WWE higherups is that going PG has attracted more sponcers such as Mattel.

Me and my friends from skool have been told that it was also because of the fact that they wanna make WWE PG bcuz of the kids under the age of 13. That it wud make parents more comfortable with their children watching this sport. But can't be it bcuz I know a whole bunch of ppl who have watched WWE during the Attitude Era wen they were under the age of 13 without their parents complaining about it.

People complain and sue more these days. And you know, more money for little cost. And Smackdown was PG in the attitude era.

So why all of a sudden change the rating?

$$$

Bcuz of wat happened to Chris Beniot? Eddie Gurrero?

No.

Also, learn to spell and type correctly.

[K. Hunter Lyon]

In Part, the dead of Eddie and Benoit, the candidature of the senate of Linda what lost
And the obsession of vince of the money and his gay relationship with john cena and the kidz...
Well, i exagerated a little, but, cena was the man in 2003, now is the shaming the real wrestling..

[Knife]

Seriously what happend to this forum? All you could do Lyon was copy N' paste what most morons has written here.

The average new forum troll on here.

[Ed Burns]

In Part, the dead of Eddie and Benoit, the candidature of the senate of Linda what lost
And the obsession of vince of the money and his gay relationship with john cena and the kidz...
Well, i exagerated a little, but, cena was the man in 2003, now is the shaming the real wrestling..

Cena's earned his keep with the company, along with his status. It's common knowledge that he outworks just about every star on the roster. When people say he didn't work for his spot, it was given to him, then maybe they should listen to what his peers say about him. People are quick to blame Cena for supporting the PG Rating, yet it was a Company decision. I highly doubt Vince consulted with any of the talent when the decision was made to go PG. Cena supports it, as does most of the roster because they're under contract. Would you sign a contract to work for a company, bash it's policies, and expect to hold on to your job? I doubt they'd keep you for very long with the money they pay out to talent.

Cena wasn't the man in 2003 either. Kurt Angle, HHH, Taker, and Brock Lesnar all held that honor that year. Cena was just an up and coming star at that point. Even though I'm certainly not a Cena fan, I get sick of how people continually bash him, and say he hasn't earned his keep. It was fashionable to do that 5 years ago. It's a certainty that Cena, worked his ass off, stayed out of trouble, came back from injuries much earlier than he should, did more than what was asked of him by Vince, and continually listened to his peers as to what he should do to get better. His peers have high opinions of him. That tells me he earned it. The WWE's PG, a Billion dollar company, and still going strong.

[3XtremeTaker]

Cena's earned his keep with the company, along with his status. It's common knowledge that he outworks just about every star on the roster. When people say he didn't work for his spot, it was given to him, then maybe they should listen to what his peers say about him. People are quick to blame Cena for supporting the PG Rating, yet it was a Company decision. I highly doubt Vince consulted with any of the talent when the decision was made to go PG. Cena supports it, as does most of the roster because they're under contract. Would you sign a contract to work for a company, bash it's policies, and expect to hold on to your job? I doubt they'd keep you for very long with the money they pay out to talent.

Cena wasn't the man in 2003 either. Kurt Angle, HHH, Taker, and Brock Lesnar all held that honor that year. Cena was just an up and coming star at that point. Even though I'm certainly not a Cena fan, I get sick of how people continually bash him, and say he hasn't earned his keep. It was fashionable to do that 5 years ago. It's a certainty that Cena, worked his ass off, stayed out of trouble, came back from injuries much earlier than he should, did more than what was asked of him by Vince, and continually listened to his peers as to what he should do to get better. His peers have high opinions of him. That tells me he earned it. The WWE's PG, a Billion dollar company, and still going strong.

So right in everything you said. My girlfriend's brother is just getting into wrestling, and we were watching the Smackdown 10th Anniversary DVD last night and when I told him there was a big backlash against Cena, he was shocked. He thought the fans loved him, and he was a big fan, despite being well outside what most people class as Cena's usual fanbase (being that he's 18 and male). So when it got to me explaining WHY some people didn't like Cena...I got stuck.

I don't want to repeat anything that Ed said, it was all perfectly valid. However, I am a Cena fan, and it is refreshing to see all of that said by someone who isn't. I'll admit to being a bit against him a few years ago, but having sat back and thought about it, aside from any of the backstage stuff he should be commended for, he's actually thoroughly entertaining, brilliant on the mic, and perfect for PG. The one pet peeve i have about him is the No-Pressure-STF. I just want take him to one side and say "John...if you just bend your arm and let their head sit in your elbow bend, the move will look a lot more realistic!"

Having said that, I do think it would be quite brave to see Cena take a heel turn. It was something they did with Austin in 2001, and he hadn't run out of steam as a face yet. And, indeed, further back with Hogan in 1996. I think the fans would be receptive to a turn - the kids would feel cheated by their hero, and the ones who chant "Cena Sucks" right now...well, they'll just carry on. Unless they decide to be cool by cheering the bad guy.


That was a bit off topic, it's not a Cena thread! So back to the task at hand.

WWE as PG - I think as has been said before by IX, it's to do with what is good for business right now. Sure, there are elements of the Benoit thing leading to the change, but what it comes down to, as it always does, is the bottom line. WWE are a publicly traded company and Vince McMahon makes, and wants to continue to make, a lot of money. And the best way to do that in the current climate is to target kids - kids buy merchandise, kids pester their parents and won't take no for an answer. Etc, Etc.

The other aspect is the fact that WWE have been going for nearly 60 years now, and have been national for about 30. Any business goes through changes, especially entertainment. Compare the TV landscape now to what it was 10 years ago, and it's hugely different. This PG thing is nothing new - long before the Attitude Era, WWE was a successful company with a very colourful, character-driven show. And then it phased into what the audience wanted in the 90s, Attitude. And now it's where the mone's at yet again, which is PG. I don't doubt that at sometime in the future, it'll head back to something similar to the Attitude era in the future, but the Attitude Era that is required in the 2020s, say, maybe sooner.

But for now, it's PG, and I still think it's entertaining. And like people have said, Smackdown was always PG, and there have been some great moments. I think what they need to get the best out of the shows is to have a set group of writers who work with the superstars - writers are coming and going in the company, and that just doesn't work for wrestling in the same way as it does in Hollywood or on TV.