Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted March 19, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 19, 2011 Here's a funny article. Apparently WWE phoned up TV Week when they printed an article saying Drew Carey was getting inducted into a Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame. Vince wasnt best pleased. In fact, he got someone to ring them up! Whoooa Nellie! When Brands Go Horribly Wrong: Psst--Vince McMahon and the WWE Are No Longer In the Wrestling Business. Publicist Alerts the Media. If you are a boy baby boomer of a certain age, and grew up in the Los Angeles area, like I did, one of your fondest memories of TV as a kid was watching Dick Lane and wrestling on KTLA live from the Olympic Auditorium in downtown L.A.  Lane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted March 19, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 19, 2011 Hasn't this been common knowledge for years? No one on their telly says "wrestling" any more, probably because to Vince it's a little too close to "wrasslin." Southerners, dingy smoky venues, small crowds, small time mom n pop wrasslin. Just like it has to be "championship" instead of belt, whatever the fuck difference that makes. Â Although the incongruity of WrestleMania as point out, and of course World Wrestling Entertainment for that matter, makes it all fucking ridiculous. It's shite like this that makes me laugh, and I really do think Vince has lost his marbles. While WWE is obviously the undisputed king of the industry they claim not to be in, he doesn't have a clue how his company is perceived outside the bubble, does he? Â Maybe it's because I've been watching old Nitro, maybe its just PMS, I don't know - but at times I really wish WcW had won the war. Because they'd still be proud to present the sport of professional wrasslin, by golly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RepoMan Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Vince moves with the times and does what he believes will present his company in a stronger light. He clearly doesn't believe 'wrestling' in itself is popular enough these days. Â Look at TNA - "we are wrestling" - well, if they are wrestling, then no wonder Vince wants to stay away from it. Â Yes, he does take it a little too seriously, but I understand his strategy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Cena Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Yeah, it's been common knowledge for a fair few years that Vince and the WWE have gone out of their way to distance themselves from being seen as a professional wrestling company as much as possible. Â Like Air Raid said, you won't hear the term "wrestler/wrestling" being used on television (obviously there are rare exceptions). Moves for the most part aren't acknowledged by the announcers either other than signatures and finishers. Cole referred to a perfect suplex recently as a "throw". Â It's presumably to make it easier to attract and secure licencing, advertising and the like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Your Fight Site Posted March 19, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 19, 2011 Pathetic. How a company called World Wrestling Entertainment can demand no one refers to them as a wrestling company is just mind-boggling. If they want to be thought of as an entertainment brand then they need to change the name to something more generic to reflect them. Fuckin' spanners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_mole Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 It seems like an a lot of effort for nothing really, whenever I read a mainstream story about the WWE, they always mention pro wrestling and never say Sports Entertainment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlmac62b Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 So the World Wrestling Entertainment saying they don't do wrestling anymore is like British Airways saying they don't fly planes! Maybe Wrestlemania will be called Sports Entertainmania next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loligan Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 While I don't agree with this at all, it's been that way for quite some time. The word belt is also banned in favor of championship. It seems WWE got all swanky when it went public but as far as I can remember WWE wrestlers were known as WWE SUPERSTARS! It's Vince's perception of things even if it is stupid to 99% of his viewers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Cena Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I'm sure that a major factor in them making an effort to correct people from calling them a wrestling brand is to appease their shareholders whom I'm sure don't want to be seen as having bought into a 'rasslin group. Â WWE claim that they're a "publicly traded company, an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment." Sounds a lot better than a pro wrestling fed. Â EDIT: This page may be of interest to some of you wondering about how WWE perceive and describe themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Surf Digby Posted March 19, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 19, 2011 Hasn't this been common knowledge for years? No one on their telly says "wrestling" any more, probably because to Vince it's a little too close to "wrasslin." Southerners, dingy smoky venues, small crowds, small time mom n pop wrasslin. I'd argue that nobody thinks like that anymore. The typecast image of a wrestler these days is surely the long haired, tanned, muscular guy in spangly tights that Vince brought into pop culture in the 80s and early 90s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotlightmagnet1 Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 This can be summed up with a Jim Cornette rant ©  'How many fans have you heard saying 'I'm going to the sports entertainment event. Did you see that sports entertainment event last night? Boy that was a great sports entertainment show last night' None that's because it's a wrestling event you dumb fucks.'  Basically, the other facets of there 'global entertainment company' don't make money. As far as I'm aware the only reason they're films possibly break even is because they've got a wrestling show to advertise it, but I doubt any of those films break even. They're record studio bollooked out and they're three magazines are WWE, WWE Kids and WWE Heroes (a comic book which is fucking awful) all based around the wrestling company.  But the most telling thing was this, rather than allow a man to publicise one of they're events and gain more viewers and thus ratings for them but tolerate the one single mention of wrestling, they would pull the article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Total Package Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 While WWE is obviously the undisputed king of the industry they claim not to be in, he doesn't have a clue how his company is perceived outside the bubble, does he? Â What Industry? thiers nothing left almost, its abit easy to be king when theirs nobody else in your castle, japanese wrestling is pretty much dead thanks to Pride years ago (funny that died too) WCW the only other worldwide name is also dead, ECW dead, TNA pretty much on life support and everything else is so small time it dont even matter. Â I'm surprised WWE havent started hiring actors, maybe that will be Vinces next stage of getting away from "wrestling" He is a nutter he really thinks WWE is a proper tv show or something. Â Maybe it's because I've been watching old Nitro, maybe its just PMS, I don't know - but at times I really wish WcW had won the war. Because they'd still be proud to present the sport of professional wrasslin, by golly. Â I actually wish the war was never won by anyone and WCW were still around, that way we probably wouldnt have the shite we've had down the years, imagine Brock Lesnar after leaving WWE and UFC goes to Nitro, shit like that....thats what I'm talking about, and just fun times with each company pushing each other. Â Theirs no way Vince will ever get away from the wrestling word, as pointed out his biggest draw has the dirty word in it, and Entertainment-mania just sounds silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted March 19, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 19, 2011 I'd argue that nobody thinks like that anymore. The typecast image of a wrestler these days is surely the long haired, tanned, muscular guy in spangly tights that Vince brought into pop culture in the 80s and early 90s? Â Sure, thats what you, me or 99.5% of Joe Public thinks of when we hear "wrestler" or "wrestling." But in the deluded mind of Vince, he either thinks of "wrasslin" or as suggested, trying to get away from all those "steroid related wrestler deaths" by saying "we do entertainment not wrestling" and "we have superstars not wrestlers." Â Oh, and let's not forget this guy was a "wrestler" too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted March 19, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 19, 2011 Maybe it's because I've been watching old Nitro, maybe its just PMS, I don't know - but at times I really wish WcW had won the war. Because they'd still be proud to present the sport of professional wrasslin, by golly. Imagine that. Tony Schaivone be turning up at UFC events and getting in the face of their main eventers to try and get them to appear at Starrcade. Snooki, Evan Karagias and Madusa would be wrestling Kid Romeo, Major Gunns and Ms. Hancock. Sting would be returning after a long absence and everyone would be going "UNDERTAKERS JOINING WCW" while others would be going "that was obviously DDP's chin on Sting's body" (even if the chin had Sting's makeup on it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted March 20, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 20, 2011 And Punk would have had his dick in every Nitro Girl by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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