Paid Members Vipes Posted April 1, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 1, 2011 Taken from today's Observer update: Â This is not an April Fool's joke. WWE has followed the lead by KFC. There was a meeting yesterday where the subject was to no longer be called World Wrestling Entertainment, because of Vince's decree to eliminate the word wrestling from the product, and just be WWE. A couple of sources have said the meeting ended with that directive, one of which came from ESPN which got the word. Â Â Â To be honest I'm not really that shocked any more, Vince has been trying to get everyone to ignore the fact WWE promotes wrestling for ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted April 1, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 1, 2011 Hang on a minute - is the suggestion here that KFC just started branding themselves solely as "KFC" rather than actually printing "Kentucky Fried Chicken" on the packaging/marketing not because it was sharper and punchier, but that they wanted to distance themselves from being in the "chicken" industry? Â In which case, what the hell am I putting in my mouth, BY GOLLY? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.PeterVenkman Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 World Wrestling Entertainment is a shit name, WWE is better plus thats what everyone calls it anyway so who cares? Â Christ I still call it WWF half the time anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gaffer Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Can't wait for the WrestleMania IX rewind special on Afterburn this weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted April 1, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 1, 2011 It'll be interesting to see the Hall of Fame speeches now they are scripting them, to see what the inductees will say. Especially after Michael Cole saying Edge and Christian were the best tag team in "entertainment history" last Monday. Imagine Abdullah talking about his "entertainment" history and "I was the first hardcore entertainer. It was quite entertaining when I invented the fork gimmick as a way to entertain the entertainment fans". Bob Armstrong will still fuck it up though, like the time he called Shane Douglas "Shaun". Â At least now when people say "well why are they called World Wrestling Entertainment then?", people can turn around and say "well its not. Its WWE, dammit!" I guess now it is no longer wrestling. Its a TV show based on wrestling. Not unlike BBC's old sitcom Rumble, although I cant see anyone I've had more wanks over on RAW or Smackdown than I have with Leslie Joseph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gaffer Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Wait are people actually believing this? Because I'm going to feel awful stupid if this turns out to be true. The whole keep the initials but forget about what they stand for thing sounds B.S. As does the bit about ESPN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PepperPlunge Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I wouldn't be surprised. It's timely if true though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUM Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 WWEMania this Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Ronnie Posted April 1, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 1, 2011 Wait are people actually believing this? Because I'm going to feel awful stupid if this turns out to be true. The whole keep the initials but forget about what they stand for thing sounds B.S. As does the bit about ESPN. Interesting bit at the end, that. I don't have a clue what ESPN stands for, and a visit to their site makes me none the wiser. So it is possible to brand by initials without people thinking about which longer name that they represent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Vipes Posted April 1, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 1, 2011 Wait are people actually believing this? Because I'm going to feel awful stupid if this turns out to be true. The whole keep the initials but forget about what they stand for thing sounds B.S. As does the bit about ESPN. Interesting bit at the end, that. I don't have a clue what ESPN stands for, and a visit to their site makes me none the wiser. So it is possible to brand by initials without people thinking about which longer name that they represent. Â Â Eastern Sports Programming Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Ronnie Posted April 1, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 1, 2011 Thanks. Â I've just noticed that their tagline is "The Worldwide Leader In Sports". That's another way that they're close to WWE, then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ShortOrderCook Posted April 1, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 1, 2011 I always liked it when the guys on tv said 'world wrestling federation'. It just sounds good. World Wrestling Entertainment doesn't. I can see why they'd want to try and cement WWE rather than the full name with how the product is today and it probably will go that way. Â If it wasn't for the name Wrestlemania being so well established and known in popular culture I'm sure the change to WWEMania would be made. Â I also miss that intro the 'The World Wrestling Federation. For over 50 years, the worldwide leader in sports entertainment!' one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gossy Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I heard from somebody whos job it is to go round and make sure standards are up in various bakeries, food establishment etc... that KFC was renamed thusly, because of the amount of water that's pumped into the chickens to make them larger they'd face problems if they advertised them as being chickens. Also that McDonalds put a bit of salad in their burgers, because of the amount of sweeteners they pump into the burgers and the buns they'd be classified as a dessert otherwise. Who knows though? Â What I do know is that WRESTLING has a rich and glorious past and Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunce can have whatever lowly, snobby opinion of it that they want, but like it or not, WRESTLING is what's made them billionaires/millionaires and until they stop featuring a WRESTLING ring (not 'entertainment ring' though I wish they would call it that, because of how worryingly illegal it sounds) with WRESTLERS (not 'entertainers') in it, it will always be a WRESTLING company. So fuck you both, elitist pricks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Vipes Posted April 1, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 1, 2011 I heard from somebody whos job it is to go round and make sure standards are up in various bakeries, food establishment etc... that KFC was renamed thusly, because of the amount of water that's pumped into the chickens to make them larger they'd face problems if they advertised them as being chickens. Also that McDonalds put a bit of salad in their burgers, because of the amount of sweeteners they pump into the burgers and the buns they'd be classified as a dessert otherwise. Who knows though? What I do know is that WRESTLING has a rich and glorious past and Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunce can have whatever lowly, snobby opinion of it that they want, but like it or not, WRESTLING is what's made them billionaires/millionaires and until they stop featuring a WRESTLING ring (not 'entertainment ring' though I wish they would call it that, because of how worryingly illegal it sounds) with WRESTLERS (not 'entertainers') in it, it will always be a WRESTLING company. So fuck you both, elitist pricks.   I'm surprised they haven't changed the name from ring to something else, as everyone knows that southern rasslin' took place in a ring and WWE takes place in, I dunno, a Sports Entertainment stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I think KFC de-emphasised their full name to sound more modern and international and less like an old fashioned southern US eatery. It was the "Kentucky" bit that was the problem, not Chicken. "Fried" might have been a problem once fast food started to get a bad rep as being unhealthy, too. Â Vince is nuts. Positioning himself as something different and better than southern "rasslin" might have made sense in the 80s, but today most people equate wrestling with WWE, so for him to be wanting to distance himself from it is nonsense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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