If there was some magic shit I could wave over the industry

[Richie Freebird]

WCW coming back, and at the level it was at in 96 would be my first "trick" if I was Paul Daniels.

[Tommy!]

From WWE's corporate site...

 

 

 

"WWE programming reaches approximately 12 million viewers in the U.S. each week.

Balanced age distribution with 74% of the audience aged 21 or older.

22 % of our audience is under 18 years old

23 % of our audience is 18-34 years old

25 % of our audience is 35-49 years old

30 % of our audience is 50+ years old"

 

 

So, technically, most of WWE's television audience is adults.

 

How many of those in the 35-49 and 50+ set are watching with kids?

[Dirty Eddie]

From WWE's corporate site...

 

 

 

"WWE programming reaches approximately 12 million viewers in the U.S. each week.

Balanced age distribution with 74% of the audience aged 21 or older.

22 % of our audience is under 18 years old

23 % of our audience is 18-34 years old

25 % of our audience is 35-49 years old

30 % of our audience is 50+ years old"

 

 

So, technically, most of WWE's television audience is adults.

 

How many of those in the 35-49 and 50+ set are watching with kids?

 

I don't have a clue mate?

 

I have no idea how they compile their data, it's just something that seemed relevant to post. Considering they use stats like this to sell Ad space, I doubt they'd get away with bullshitting it too much. If it's all Neilson based then each household has to state exactly who was watching in each household. Either way, there are more adults watching than kids overall, even if some of those adults are only watching because their kids do.

[Vamp]

wrestling is for kids to be honest. thats how we all got into wrestling in the first place, as children. some of us grow out of it whilst some of us stay hooked to it.

 

you just got to take it for what it is and if you dont like todays current wrestling then theres always youtube and dvds of previous decades worth of wrestling. i like to watch old wcw on youtube theres nearly every ppv and nitro from the 90s

There are plenty of promotions more than capable of presenting a card that appeals to adults as well as younger fans The big problem is that some promotions(usually the biggest and most well known)go too far down the inane,purile and insultingly trite road.The fans here in the UK are fortunate to have some good solid small promotions appealing to all ages as well as a few(ICW in Scotland,Fight Club Pro in Wolves for example)appealing successfully to adults.

 

Fiver says the WWE has more adult fans than any of the promotions you just named combined and multiplied by six.

 

 

 

WWE has Millions more fans than any promotion in the western world so not a good example.

 

That's precisely why it fucking is. He just claimed that these promotions were appealing successfully to adult fans, the WWE blows them out of the bloody water. The WWE already successfully appeals to adults, more than the promotions he named.

 

How many of those in the 35-49 and 50+ set are watching with kids?

 

It doesn't bloody matter. Even if those parents are watching it with their kids, it's successfully attracting them to be a viewing family. As much as adults are todl to monitor the shows their kids watch they mostly don't. If they're watching it with kids it shows they're sitting down for family viewing. That doesn't make it bad viewing. And actually, even if all 22% of their under 18s (which is a point I'll get to in a minute) do watch the show with their parents then that means that there's still 8% more adults that watch the show. But of course that's under 18, so that's stupid to assume anyway, there's no way 22% of that audience watches the show with their parents.

[Tommy!]

How many of those in the 35-49 and 50+ set are watching with kids?

 

It doesn't bloody matter. Even if those parents are watching it with their kids, it's successfully attracting them to be a viewing family. As much as adults are todl to monitor the shows their kids watch they mostly don't. If they're watching it with kids it shows they're sitting down for family viewing. That doesn't make it bad viewing. And actually, even if all 22% of their under 18s (which is a point I'll get to in a minute) do watch the show with their parents then that means that there's still 8% more adults that watch the show. But of course that's under 18, so that's stupid to assume anyway, there's no way 22% of that audience watches the show with their parents.

 

Fuck me, I was only asking out of interest.

 

But I do like how you say "it doesn't bloody mater" and then go on to actuality point out how the make up of that statistic could matter, so bravo on that one.

[Vamp]

Sorry fella, I was more peeved after seeing Miz's 'point'. The fact people are still yammering on about aiming a wrestling product at a younger or more family audience being stupid makes me want to bang my head against the wall.

 

And then after his comment I misread yours and thought you were making a similar suggestion that adults only watch because their kids are.

[LiamTheGreat]

Get people to do brainbusters properly again .Like what Dick Murdoc used to

[Loligan]

Id add an aspect of perceivable reality into the storylines. Im watchin the new Stone Cold dvd (which is really really really fuckin good) and it brings back memories of how much I was into Austin's return from the neck injury, the summer of stunners. You could tell Austin was bursting to get back in there but couldn't, which was really the case. It makes everything better.

 

Also like when CM Punk said he was leaving this year and you knew there was a chance he could actually leave, made it more compelling to watch.

 

The Austin V McMahon feud as well was so hot because you knew, that really was his boss he was beating up, and those stooges were actually his real life stooges.

 

I'm into this John Cena program at the moment, be interesting to see were they go with it. He has his goofy cheesey smile everytime he gets boo'ed but now it seems like we're going into "what's he really thinking behind that smile?" and "does it really hurt and affect him?" and that really has all kinds of potential to be great.

[Magnum]

I'm into this John Cena program at the moment, be interesting to see were they go with it. He has his goofy cheesey smile everytime he gets boo'ed but now it seems like we're going into "what's he really thinking behind that smile?" and "does it really hurt and affect him?" and that really has all kinds of potential to be great.

 

Yeah, I caught this on one of this highlight shows the other day, when he was on with Piper. I really had no idea whether it was a new thing, as I haven't really been keeping up to date with what's been going on in WWE recently, but it was a fuckton more interesting than the usual corny shite we get in Cena promos. That definitely fits in with your comments on adding an element of reality, and in a way I think it also hits a happy medium between the two demographics causing so much contention in this thread.

 

I think it's also the kind of development that seems a good compromise between those fans who are sick to the back teeth of Cena's act, like myself, and those who wouldn't entertain the idea of turning him because there's no other viable superfaces/the t-shirt sales will suffer/won't somebody think of the children (delete as appropriate). I think a more realistic, human, flawed babyface Cena would definitely be a lot more palatable than the cheesy, shit-eating, joke-cracking, shrug-off-every-beatdown-because-I'll-be-getting-another-title-shot-in-two-weeks-anyway twat he's played for the last hundred years. The commentators acknowledging his divisiveness without recourse to Lawler's patronising shit about 'brainwashed' fans would also help.

[Richie Freebird]

I

[Sheffbag]

I'd have the territories re-established but at a level where they were turning enough profit to keep going so wrestlers could move around and learn different styles instead of just the "E" style of wrestling, bring back WCCW, Georgia, Memphis, Portland, Stampede, AWA, hell even Global.

 

I'd also strike a deal between WWE and NJPW or AJPW to send some of the "E" people to Japan for a couple of tours to improve their skills.

[Cobra1000]

I

[Richie Freebird]

To add to Tenay

[CavemanLynn]

Get referees to enforce the rules, basically.

 

Heels would have to work harder to get heel sh*t in, meaning they would have to be smarter and work better, especially if referees were given lee-way to DQ wrestlers for foul play, regardless of the booked match finish.

 

Faces would look sympathetic, and would work distinctively differently from heels, rather than one smiling and one frowning. Nothing kills heat more for me than a heel gettting away with blatantly punching and choking the face in front of the ref - the ref looks weak and the face looks like a wimp for not getting angry and retaliating.

 

Referees just need to be stronger. More often than not, a ref today just makes a count at the end of the match and that's all, but they should be much more involved, reacting to and interacting with both wrestlers, adding to the story and drama.

[bigfoote]

Get referees to enforce the rules, basically.

 

Heels would have to work harder to get heel sh*t in, meaning they would have to be smarter and work better, especially if referees were given lee-way to DQ wrestlers for foul play, regardless of the booked match finish.

 

Faces would look sympathetic, and would work distinctively differently from heels, rather than one smiling and one frowning. Nothing kills heat more for me than a heel gettting away with blatantly punching and choking the face in front of the ref - the ref looks weak and the face looks like a wimp for not getting angry and retaliating.

 

Referees just need to be stronger. More often than not, a ref today just makes a count at the end of the match and that's all, but they should be much more involved, reacting to and interacting with both wrestlers, adding to the story and drama.

 

Agree with this...I remember when the refs (mainly Earl Hebner and Mike Chioda) were more "aggressive", whether it was kicking the hands off the top rope, or getting in the face of heels. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember a match where Chioda refused to count (pin under the ropes) and it took JR and King a beat or two to realise what happened, cue reality check.