In light of the WWE’s developments in the past few months, it’s really got me thinking about the direction they’re going with their product. Since the turn of the new year, WWE’s been bringing back more and more older stars, such as the Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Booker T, and several others. I’ve been thinking this over really hard, and I’ve come up with a theory I’d like to pose to all of you out there…and this may be crazier than any conspiracy theory R-Truth can come up with, but here goes:
Vince McMahon may be taking the WWE into what I call “Attitude 2.0â€.
“Attitude 2.0†is basically a new Attitude Era for today’s generation of fans. I know this sounds crazy, but hear me out here. Upon hearing interviews with stars from that era, it has been said that the Attitude Era came from the fact that fans from earlier, such as from the “New Generation†era and before, had grown up. Naturally, this makes sense, as we tend to age as human beings. As we age, our tastes tend to change as well. Vince McMahon knew that the same fans who grew up watching the Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, and Bret “Hitman†Hart now were looking for something different…something fresh…something more grown-up. The then-World Wrestling Federation had been filled with gimmicks and cartoonish characters, like the Red Rooster, Doink the Clown, and (dare I even mention this God-awful gimmick) T.L. Hopper…I mean, seriously, a wrestling PLUMBER?? No adult is going to take any gimmick like that seriously. So, what does Vince think? “My biggest audience is growing up, now it’s time for our product to as well.â€
Thus begins the Attitude Era.
Stars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, stars that were counter-culture, and contrary to the stars we had seen in the early 90’s, were now filling our TV screens on a weekly basis. Ratings went up, and the older stars either phased out, or had to adjust. Granted, a lot of the Attitude Era was picked up from what ECW was doing at the time, but no one could have realized that at that time because Vince had a much larger platform and audience, except if you lived in the New England area. With that, Vince had found the way to keep his loyal fans…except then he ran into a new dilemma…a new generation of fans. Combine that with the fact that his wife was running to become a United States Senator, and what do you get?
The birth of the PG Era.
This is the current era we as wrestling fans are in today with WWE. TNA has been an alternative, yes, but WWE still remains as the leading market in professional wrestling (I don’t care if they want to do away with wrestling, if it’s in a ring, and the main objective is to pin the man or make him submit, it’s STILL professional wrestling). However, certain events have been leading away from this era, such as the return of some of the Attitude Era’s biggest stars. CM Punk’s recent tirade against the company, the more liberal use of profanities (albeit light ones, but still more than what we’d seen in recent years), and the gradual decay of the art of kayfabe all lead me to have put together this theory. Now the question is, why? Simple: Vince McMahon, like any good businessman, will go with what has worked before. For example, look at the money Hulk Hogan would generate for McMahon. Then look at what he’s done with John Cena today. Booking, merchandising…everything, it all parallels. The newest generation of fans that the WWE has acquired over the past 6 or 7 years…are growing up. So, if you’re Vince McMahon, wouldn’t you be considering going back to what made you money before? Fans ever since Wrestlemania 22 have been openly voicing their displeasure with Vince’s cash cow Cena, and maybe, just maybe, WWE creative has been listening.
I’m open to discussing this with anyone and everyone. I just felt this needed to be addressed because of a potential direction that WWE may be going in, and if there’s a slight chance I’ve hit this dead on, how would the fans feel?
Just some thoughts…
