The many sins of the Netflix era

[d-d-d-dAz]

I think the main issue with Netflix for me is how pigeonholed I feel as a fan now.

When WWE have been on other channels, it hasn't felt like those channels necessarily saw it as an opportunity to flog a set of very demographic-specific wares. When they did need to promote, they had to promote whatever priority they had regardless of the 'audience fit'. They're smaller channels, with less content so would just use the reach of WWE to promote their priorities. Fine. I get that. Tell me about your shitty sitcom or documentary about sharks. Whatever.

Netflix is so big, and has so much content, and so many different ways to promote that content. That means they can dig into the data, and they're able to use WWE to promote only those things that they think a WWE audience wants. So it's Tony Hinchcliffe and Bert Kreischer and that podcast fella with Logan Paul. They can afford to be 'targeted' with how they use WWE, which I find a bit suffocating as I don't like many of those things, so Raw feels more and more like a personal attack. A constant reminder that by liking this shit, the wider world probably assumes I'm a Trump loving incel.

I miss Pee Wee Herman. I don't know who Pee Wee Herman is, particularly, but I miss him.

[The Reverend]

As much as I love to complain about the current product, I guess I have to remember that I'm not their target audience anymore, plus there is a whole generation who know nothing else. I suppose it's how I used to read about fans kicking off at the mid-80's character/story line driven antics of the WWF when they were bought up on Bruno Sammartino and Buddy Rogers. Or how fans of World of Sport pissed and moaned at early 90's WWF. 

It's actually weird to think that there is a generation who may well be really hardcore fans but didn't know the world without the internet. What they see as normal I can't quite get my head around - and what they enjoy would make them utterly bored if I suggested a viewing of Wrestlemania 6. 

Although I get the bit about product placement and advertising (which really annoyed me at this past weekends Wrestlemania) I think this is just the new norm. Although it seems more noticeable now, in a few months viewers won't think anything of it. At the end of the day there will only be more of it, the WWE is a business and they are hellbent on making money by whatever way they can.