WWE getting a PG rating

[simpsons_fanatic742]

Variety are reporting that WWE are moving to become more family friendly as they plan to produce their three weekly TV shows in a way that lands WWE a PG rating. Monday Night Raw on USA Network and ECW on Sci Fi are currently rated TV-14, while CW’s Friday Night SmackDown, who are preparing for the move to MyNetworkTV this fall is already a TV-PG.

Varierty reports, “WWE stressed that its shows wouldn't become tamer, as a result of the change. They'd just focus more on its over-the-top characters and storylines, rather than attention-grabbing stunts that may have been considered too outrageous in the past.”

A WWE representative said, "It's the continuing evolution of the company to create content for our growing audience of younger viewers." WWE recently released a kids magazine and website to help target the same demo with original content. Their film division WWE Studios will also help steer away from Rated R content.

I, for one, don't like this move at all. Ya they say that it won't become tamer, but with the PG rating they are more inclined to do so. Also I don't like the idea of swaying away from "outrageous" stunts. This could be taken in many different ways and WWE and the networks could have different ideas on "outrageous". I don't see a problem with the way WWE is now and I don't agree with this change, if it does happen.

What are your thoughts on this?

[Esteban Ochocinco]

Good. Essentially the WWE has lost a generation of young viewers already do to the Attitude Era and the refusal of some of it's fans to let it go.

People seem to believe that the Attitude Era was the greatest Era, when that simply was the farthest thing from the truth. It was shock TV. It was Jerry Springer. People didn't care about the wrestling matches, they cared about all the crap that went on outside of the ring. The WWE reduced itself to Dick and Fart Jokes, and Tits and Ass. Sure it appealed to the 15-35 year old crowd, but at 27 now, my kids don't watch one thing from 1998-2000 as far as the WWE is concerned. Go back and watch the opening segment of Wrestlemania 2000. The Godfather coming to the ring with 20 something hoes, led by Ice T telling the crowd to "Grab Yo Bitchez!". You want to talk about embarrassing, that's it right there.

The WWE sold its sold to the devil to stay in business, and since the monopoly the business has struggled to stay above ten year lows in ratings. It's been a consistent trend down hill? Why? They alienated a big group of fans that didn't get to grow up to watch the sport.

Growing up in the late 80's and early 90's, it was cool to watch wrestling. If you didn't watch, you were not in the in crowd. Everyone made sure to catch Superstars or All-American, or Wrestling Challenge. Hogan vs. Warrior was the most talked about thing ever. it's stuff like that that was lost. The WWE sold out the kids it built it's company around to get cheap heat with Austin hitting McMahon with a bedpan, Triple H having sex with a dead girl, or Mae Young giving birth to a hand. All of that crap, made people tune out and not take the company seriously.

I like the direction. People that grew up in the 80's like myself that lived on hulk Hogan, can now have their kids watch and not be ashamed. Personally, I don't see the point in keeping Raw on late night if they do go in this direction. Somethings gotta give one way or the other. That's where I feel the WWE is out of touch. They don't want to lose that prime time number, yet kids shouldn't be staying up till 11 to watch the end of Raw.

[simpsons_fanatic742]

I agree with you in that respect Shocky, I was referring mostly to the "outrageous" stunts that I assume to be crazy wrestling spots and i was also referring to it being tamer as in they would stop doing some of their storylines. To be tamer, I wouldn't think that the Ministry of Darkness would have been created because of how evil they were portrayed. That's what I don't want, to have those things be taken away.

I agree that there are just some very embarrassing things that have happened in wrestling and that those should be toned down.

[DerringerEagle]

Say your prayers and eat your vitamins kiddies, the WWF circa 1988 is back with a vengence. All of your favourite WWE superstars will resort to being cartoon characters again, complete with menacing phrases like, "I'm gonna kick your butt." and "Give me my darned title match you pencil neck"

I don't blame the WWE for recognizing more kids are watching now and wanting to capitalize on that, but they can start kissing anybody in the 16-40 age group goodbye in a few years. As soon as performers like Edge, the Rated R Superstar are resorting to juvenile pranks, that's when I am going to stop watching.

[John87]

this is a very very very bad move. wanna know what drew fans in to watch this stuff? VIOLENCE! SEX! EDGY-NESS! thats the stuff WWE doesnt want to do anymore and its like this, what will they do now? have Cena start wearing a damned Cinderella costume and go Bippity boppity boop everywhere on the stage before he hits the ring and delivers a cuter and Disney channel based F-U? WWE needs to THINK and start THINKING cause not going with Violence, Sex and Edgy-ness, they will start losing fans to TNA Impact and we cant have that! nooo noooo that brand of wrestling blows because its...what i read somewhere....the retirement home of former WWE guys and gals. come on WWE! seriously...sick of this noise happening! i mean, they got that thing where now everytime Mania rolls around a new diva graces the playboy cover and seriously...what kid isnt going to notice that? they promote it like a month or so before and after Mania every year and they expect to target kids? TV-PG means Parental Guidance and it still means KIDS ARE GOING TO TURN THEIR SETS ON AND WATCH WWE PROGRAMMING! besides, kids these days are having sex, reading playboy and getting fatter (i was one of them) and eating ice cream and crap and WWE goes and does this? Jeebus Freakin Tap Dancing Mice!!!!

[John87]

I apologize for my post above. i guess i can get used to the cartoon rubbish again like someone else above mentioned. wait a second...does that mean we get more wrestling coloring books of TED FREAKIN DIBIASE!?!?!?!? AND THE MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE OOOOOOOHHHHHH YEAH GIMME A BEER! ...again..im sorry. but eh, maybe i can get use to this. as it always is and always will be, WWE will do what they want and not what the fans want. maybe they can get the next gen superstars to cater to the kids more than cena. its possible, i dont see why not. if that happens, ill be cool with them returning to the 80's style.

[D.I.S 202]

I think this could be a good move since this is the demographic that buys alot of the merchandise and go to live events so there is alot of money to be made there. I won't have a problem with it as long as the storylines and matches continue to be good and there isn't too many over-the-top characters like Hornswaggle. As far as Raw is concerned they could do what they used to do and have the first hour feature more kid friendly stars like John Cena and Rey Mysterio while the last hour of Raw has more serious storylines like Shawn Micheals and Chris Jericho.

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

In a "yay or nay", I'm 100% nay.

WWE has a tendency to think "stupid = funny = children love it", not "comedic = funny = fans love it".

For instance, Hornswoggle. That act has gotten SO, SO old, and it was only marginally funny at best. Now, the whole "people holding onto Hornswoggle for 10 minutes until Finlay attacks them with the shillelagh, or they're overreacting to the water guns" situation has become so tired that its on par with "Nunzio comes out and uh oh, look, he loses the match in a 2 minute squash" in terms of how incredibly boring it is.

And that's what the WWE will increase...stupid, childish humor, that belittles the minds of anybody older than 5. Say goodbye to "murderous psychopath Kane", and replace him with a backstage segment where two or more wrestlers come off looking totally inept and emasculated. Say goodbye to the "First Blood Match", and replace it with more "Divas try to grab a giant cardboard star on a pole" matches. Hardy no longer does a Swanton off a tall structure, but instead, tag-teams with Spongebob.

[Esteban Ochocinco]

And here come the series of over reactions and going to the extreme. Wrestling is violent, no matter how kiddy it gets. The violence will be there. What's wrong with toning down the crap toilet humor and worthless T&A. Guys, here's a hint, you're on the internet, if you need something to you know, do your business too, I recommend a good search engine, they'll find you all you need.

Seriously, trying to insult DiBiase or Savage is just ridiculous, considering there is no one on the roster today that have 1/10th of the ability in the ring that those two did. Savage was arguably the 2nd biggest star of the late 80's early 90's in all of wrestling, and Ted DiBiase is arguably one of the top 2 heels since the Hogan era. So to insult them is insulting people above the age of 25 that actually know there history.

The Violence will be there, the good matches will still be there. Or are we all just going to pretend that gems like Hogan/Savage, Perfect/Hart, Savage/Steamboat, or the list of countless great matches never happened. Again, it's an over reaction. When they say tone it down, it doesn't mean get rid of the violence, it means getting rid of the stupid shit. Crotch chops, dick joke and whores have no place in wrestling. Stone Cold saying ass a dozen times a night was played out 10 years ago. Let it go.

[CenaHardyFan]

okay excuse my language , but im about to turn 13 , but im 12 now , but im tired of the bullshit they do for kids you might call me a kid , but i mean does this mean: no cussing , no blood , no sexy divas. f*ck that. They should give what the fans want not wut the kids want.

[FTS]

That post right there is exactly what's wrong with the world. A 12 year old cursing like a sailor and talking in text message. Look at the programming already catered to children. The OC was all about sex and OD'ing. Miley Cyrus sending naked pictures to some band made up of girl-pants wearing brothers, and MTV encouraging people to try a same gender relationship. The WWE should be the least of anyone's concerns.

Children today have no respect for adults because the threat of a spanking has been taken away by psychologists and the San Francisco district court. Traditional family values have been destroyed by Gavin Newsome and Nancy Pelosi. Cartoons that curse are not being kept away from kids. Kids are being steered away from team sports towards individuals pseudo-sports like skateboarding. Football taught me more than how to step and a 22 dive, it taught me dicipline, respect, work ethic, and teamwork. I used to manage a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds in a retail establishment. They were 6-7 years younger than me at the time. They were always on their cell phones and would quit if we asked them to work any harder than anyone else. It got to the point where four people did the work of ten because they all had their parents call the management team's bosses threatening lawsuits. Kids today are shit-talking, disrespectful, whorish disgraces to their grandparents who worked at 16 and were ready to support a family at 18.

The WWE is the least of concerns for today's parents. The sex and violence on WWE TV is far less than DeGrassi and other teen-centric shows. At least on WWE TV, the bad guy gets punished now and then.

The older audience is the one that spends the money. Most of the posters on this site are the one's that buy the DVD, and with the exception of Becca and HardyCenaMonkey up there, the ages listed are all 18-30. Cena's poop jokes and Austin saying ass may be played out, but something like Vince McMahon's yearly violent death always leads to something interesting. Furthermore, how family friendly are you going to be by suspending Randy Orton for drugs, and then putting the strap on him six months later? What lesson does that teach? Leave WWE programming alone. Raw has been going in the right direction toned down slightly from attitude, without being whitewashed of all entertainment value. I'm sorry, I do not want to see Kamala, Honky Tonk, and Mr. Real America. I want to see guys using their real names (or at least something that sounds like a real name). I want to see realistic storylines that deal with real human emotion and struggle. I do not want to see Warrior vomit from magical powers. Making WWE more family friendly is going to do nothing but send away the money spending audience. The rest of TV is so perverse that it matters not what WWE does.

[Shawns#1 Fan]

That post right there is exactly what's wrong with the world. A 12 year old cursing like a sailor and talking in text message. Look at the programming already catered to children. The OC was all about sex and OD'ing. Miley Cyrus sending naked pictures to some band made up of girl-pants wearing brothers, and MTV encouraging people to try a same gender relationship. The WWE should be the least of anyone's concerns.

Children today have no respect for adults because the threat of a spanking has been taken away by psychologists and the San Francisco district court. Traditional family values have been destroyed by Gavin Newsome and Nancy Pelosi. Cartoons that curse are not being kept away from kids. Kids are being steered away from team sports towards individuals pseudo-sports like skateboarding. Football taught me more than how to step and a 22 dive, it taught me dicipline, respect, work ethic, and teamwork. I used to manage a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds in a retail establishment. They were 6-7 years younger than me at the time. They were always on their cell phones and would quit if we asked them to work any harder than anyone else. It got to the point where four people did the work of ten because they all had their parents call the management team's bosses threatening lawsuits. Kids today are shit-talking, disrespectful, whorish disgraces to their grandparents who worked at 16 and were ready to support a family at 18.

The WWE is the least of concerns for today's parents. The sex and violence on WWE TV is far less than DeGrassi and other teen-centric shows. At least on WWE TV, the bad guy gets punished now and then.

The older audience is the one that spends the money. Most of the posters on this site are the one's that buy the DVD, and with the exception of Becca and HardyCenaMonkey up there, the ages listed are all 18-30. Cena's poop jokes and Austin saying ass may be played out, but something like Vince McMahon's yearly violent death always leads to something interesting. Furthermore, how family friendly are you going to be by suspending Randy Orton for drugs, and then putting the strap on him six months later? What lesson does that teach? Leave WWE programming alone. Raw has been going in the right direction toned down slightly from attitude, without being whitewashed of all entertainment value. I'm sorry, I do not want to see Kamala, Honky Tonk, and Mr. Real America. I want to see guys using their real names (or at least something that sounds like a real name). I want to see realistic storylines that deal with real human emotion and struggle. I do not want to see Warrior vomit from magical powers. Making WWE more family friendly is going to do nothing but send away the money spending audience. The rest of TV is so perverse that it matters not what WWE does.

IM 16 GOING ON 17 oN 9/14 AND I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU ANYMORE IF I TRIED. Footbal tought me alot and im still growing. My i get tickets regardless since my father is a Kiernel in the military. Family oriented isn't going to help ratings one bit. With MTV and BET like you said the WWE is the only Cutting Edge thing we got left in this world. Espescially with all the cursing and same sex marriage. Hell if anyting they should be teaching these people about this guy called "Jesus Christ." If they do decide to move to corny kid stuff im not going to waist my time and go to the events, free tickets are not. Kids watch wrestling but most go to sleep here around 8:00 or 9:00 in San Anotnio. So what good would that do ratings if RAW comes on at 8:00. Vince needs to pull it together and get his head examined.

[Ropow]

I'm a bit confused I don't understand how a tv rating will encourage kids to watch it... Parents are still going to know that it's wrestling and that's the main reason many parents keep kids from watching it. It's not like they're going to see that the PG rating and be like "Ohh it's no longer M 14 I'm going to let Timmy watch it now"

[DerringerEagle]

That post right there is exactly what's wrong with the world. A 12 year old cursing like a sailor and talking in text message. Look at the programming already catered to children. The OC was all about sex and OD'ing. Miley Cyrus sending naked pictures to some band made up of girl-pants wearing brothers, and MTV encouraging people to try a same gender relationship. The WWE should be the least of anyone's concerns.

Children today have no respect for adults because the threat of a spanking has been taken away by psychologists and the San Francisco district court. Traditional family values have been destroyed by Gavin Newsome and Nancy Pelosi. Cartoons that curse are not being kept away from kids. Kids are being steered away from team sports towards individuals pseudo-sports like skateboarding. Football taught me more than how to step and a 22 dive, it taught me dicipline, respect, work ethic, and teamwork. I used to manage a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds in a retail establishment. They were 6-7 years younger than me at the time. They were always on their cell phones and would quit if we asked them to work any harder than anyone else. It got to the point where four people did the work of ten because they all had their parents call the management team's bosses threatening lawsuits. Kids today are shit-talking, disrespectful, whorish disgraces to their grandparents who worked at 16 and were ready to support a family at 18.

The WWE is the least of concerns for today's parents. The sex and violence on WWE TV is far less than DeGrassi and other teen-centric shows. At least on WWE TV, the bad guy gets punished now and then.

The older audience is the one that spends the money. Most of the posters on this site are the one's that buy the DVD, and with the exception of Becca and HardyCenaMonkey up there, the ages listed are all 18-30. Cena's poop jokes and Austin saying ass may be played out, but something like Vince McMahon's yearly violent death always leads to something interesting. Furthermore, how family friendly are you going to be by suspending Randy Orton for drugs, and then putting the strap on him six months later? What lesson does that teach? Leave WWE programming alone. Raw has been going in the right direction toned down slightly from attitude, without being whitewashed of all entertainment value. I'm sorry, I do not want to see Kamala, Honky Tonk, and Mr. Real America. I want to see guys using their real names (or at least something that sounds like a real name). I want to see realistic storylines that deal with real human emotion and struggle. I do not want to see Warrior vomit from magical powers. Making WWE more family friendly is going to do nothing but send away the money spending audience. The rest of TV is so perverse that it matters not what WWE does.

No, this post right here is what is wrong with the world today. Morality police like you telling age groups how they should act, what they should say, etc. Who the hell are you to give orders to kids that are not yours as to their behaviour? They are human beings with free thinking minds of their own. People think that the minute they see a bare breast or here the F word, they will be morally corrupted for the rest of their life. Humans will do, say and act however they choose, no matter how young or old they are.

I blame right wing religious nonsense(mostly in America) for this attitude. Always telling the rest of society what God wants us to do and how we should live our lives. Screw that. If there is a God, I am sure he would want us to live our lives the way we see fit. That's why he gave us free will isn't it? The trouble with this WWE desicion is that Vince has no idea what the youth of today likes. I am pretty sure even 10 year olds find things like "JBL is poopy" lame and ridiculous.



The Eagle has spoken

[tarp]

I grew up watching wrestling in the late 70's and all of the 80's. When I stayed with my Dad he would stay up and watch it with me, when I was with my mother she went to bed and I stayed up and watched it on Sat nights at 11:30. Back then you could do that. I have gotten my son into wrestling. As a matter of fact we are going to see TNA wrestling in Fayetville Friday night. However whereas I use to stay up and watch it, I do not allow him to. He is allowed to watch until 9:30, his bedtime (He's 10 years old)then I record the rest and watch it and then have to watch it again with him. I will not allow him to watch himself with out me there to fast forward through the filth. I don't know if the rating will do a harm or a good, but I can tell you this I monitor my son's TV and computer use and I think CenaHardyFan parent(s) should do the same. Saying excuse my langaguage doesn't make it okay. I would have a fit if my son talked that way. Also to the post ahead of me, maybe there is to much policeing going on but anyone who thinks it's okay for a 12 year old to talk like that is a troubled soul.

[RabidChihuahua]

I don't see why people are shocked about this at all. It's been happening for quite a while now. In fact, that's part of the reason why I don't watch it nearly as much as I used to. If WWE wants to target the kids, that's fine. I can always find something targeted towards me. No big deal.

[Moon Knight]

Good. Essentially the WWE has lost a generation of young viewers already do to the Attitude Era and the refusal of some of it's fans to let it go.



Maybe, most of the viewers in the 1980’s stayed on during the Attitude Era because that 80’s Rock N’ Wrestling stage became stale and boring. Yes they didn’t want to let it go, maybe because the WWE never should have strayed to far from it, the problem became when the WWE became boring and stale which made people miss the attitude era that much more. Some did refuse to let the attitude era go, I have seen some refuse to watch it until SCSA or The Rock come back, which won’t happen, they need to move on. Others stopped watching because the WWE became beyond watered down and boring which started in 2000 when they ran out of ideas and needed a change. Everybody had different reasons for turning it off.



People seem to believe that the Attitude Era was the greatest Era, when that simply was the farthest thing from the truth. It was shock TV. It was Jerry Springer. People didn't care about the wrestling matches, they cared about all the crap that went on outside of the ring. The WWE reduced itself to Dick and Fart Jokes, and Tits and Ass. Sure it appealed to the 15-35 year old crowd, but at 27 now, my kids don't watch one thing from 1998-2000 as far as the WWE is concerned. Go back and watch the opening segment of Wrestlemania 2000. The Godfather coming to the ring with 20 something hoes, led by Ice T telling the crowd to "Grab Yo Bitchez!". You want to talk about embarrassing, that's it right there.


Maybe because it was, they had a lot of good matches during that time period which traces it’s start to 1996 when HBK won the title. They tried to change the industry to a more edgier program to attract a young teen demographic. Want to talk about matches, what about HBK vs. Austin or Hart? Owen vs. Bret, there were a lot of good matches during that time period, in fact that era lead to the limiting of squash matches on TV which is something that is all to common today. Yes there were some stupid things on TV but at the same time the antics helped build up huge stars in Austin and The Rock, would Austin be famous without it? The answer is no, he entertained the fans and built PPV matches to make you want to watch them, unlike today where it is a repeat of the same crap over and over, at least then they tried to entertain you. Your kids don't thats cool, but my nephew doesn’t like today’s wrestling, but he sure does find Austin fun to watch and he is 9.



The WWE sold its sold to the devil to stay in business, and since the monopoly the business has struggled to stay above ten year lows in ratings. It's been a consistent trend down hill? Why? They alienated a big group of fans that didn't get to grow up to watch the sport.



They had to, WCW almost drove the WWF out of the business, they had no choice to do what they did. If Vince didn’t go into the attitude era the WWF would be dead right now. The ratings dropped after the attitude era ended, mainly because they watered down their product, lessened the quality of the matches and didn’t try half as hard with the storylines. Look at the brand split, that weakened the rosters of both shows and has almost killed what should be a strong tag team and mid card division. Look at the tag team division on RAW, 2 teams at best while SD has at least 3, why not merge them and have 5 teams? Or you could limit the feuds and destroy the belts because you don’t have enough talent to support them, look at Kofi after his feud with Paul is over who is back there? Lance Cade? There isn’t much talent there, if you merge them you have the talent to support the belts. How many times did Cena say the champ is heeerrree? Every week, the shows became boring and predictable, I tend to believe that is how they got alienated.



Growing up in the late 80's and early 90's, it was cool to watch wrestling. If you didn't watch, you were not in the in crowd. Everyone made sure to catch Superstars or All-American, or Wrestling Challenge. Hogan vs. Warrior was the most talked about thing ever. it's stuff like that that was lost. The WWE sold out the kids it built it's company around to get cheap heat with Austin hitting McMahon with a bedpan, Triple H having sex with a dead girl, or Mae Young giving birth to a hand. All of that crap, made people tune out and not take the company seriously.



Ratings were higher in the late 90’s, it was cool back then to watch wrestling and if you didn’t have an Austin 3:16 shirt or a The Rock one you were just not in it. The decade you mentioned was cheesy and wouldn’t work today and grew stale. The kids grew up and became teens and adults, the industry had to grow up with them or lose them, they choose to keep them. To keep fans you need to grow up with them, which is what Vince did. Austin vs. McMahon was huge and everybody knew about it, people would line up outside MTV’s TRL just to see WWF stars and that feud made wrestling cool again and mainstream. The other two I could live without, but that Austin vs. McMahon feud saved the WWF by making it unpredictable and fun to watch and most of all it wasn’t cheesy.



I like the direction. People that grew up in the 80's like myself that lived on hulk Hogan, can now have their kids watch and not be ashamed. Personally, I don't see the point in keeping Raw on late night if they do go in this direction. Somethings gotta give one way or the other. That's where I feel the WWE is out of touch. They don't want to lose that prime time number, yet kids shouldn't be staying up till 11 to watch the end of Raw.



You by accident proved why this is a bad idea, RAW starts at 9pm unless you have a Dish then it’s 6pm. How many kids are going to be up that late on a school night? Not many if any at all, and the teens who are don’t want a watered down show to watch. WWE is making a mistake by directing it’s show towards a group of people that in all likelihood won’t even be up to watch it.

[FTS]

Derringereagle said:

No, this post right here is what is wrong with the world today. Morality police like you telling age groups how they should act, what they should say, etc. Who the hell are you to give orders to kids that are not yours as to their behaviour? They are human beings with free thinking minds of their own. People think that the minute they see a bare breast or here the F word, they will be morally corrupted for the rest of their life. Humans will do, say and act however they choose, no matter how young or old they are.

I blame right wing religious nonsense(mostly in America) for this attitude. Always telling the rest of society what God wants us to do and how we should live our lives. Screw that. If there is a God, I am sure he would want us to live our lives the way we see fit. That's why he gave us free will isn't it? The trouble with this WWE desicion is that Vince has no idea what the youth of today likes. I am pretty sure even 10 year olds find things like "JBL is poopy" lame and ridiculous.

Go back and read the post. What I said is that are far worse things on TV than the WWE in it's present state. I just pulled a few examples from TV and politics of things that are more harmful to kids than the WWE, like the city of San Francisco providing public roadways and funds for a gay pride parade that replaced items in the last supper with dildos and and pocket pussies on a promotional poster for the event. Just as the immorality police want to make sure that there is no public land with a Christmas tree, I want to make sure that there is no public land to celebrate debauchery and indulgence. That seems fair.I'm sure the Lord wanted free will to be exercised in that way. I am Jewish and found that offensive, yet to kids in San Francisco, it was readily accessible viewing material at bookstores and everywhere at Haught/Ashbury. Don't get it twisted. We can debate what the moral majority has done for America somewhere else.

My argument is simply that MTV's new hit show, "Make Your Parents Embarassed to Have Had You" is far more damaging to young minds than Kelly Kelly dancing or HHH saying bitch. My problem is not with the WWE. Now get off your high horse and toss your illusion of liberal superiority. I love how every time someone gets offended you "immorality police" tell us about free will. I don't give a rat's ass if you want to fuck your dog in the ass while you felch your mother. All I am saying is that so much of teen's TV shows people have sex and overdose on drugs with no long term consequences. It's not the WWE that needs to change, as their programming shows that there is good and evil in the world, which is more of a lesson than anything produced by Hollywood, which wants to find the inherent good in Hitler. You know what, some people aren't good, eighth place ribbons are stupid, and it's not ok to overdose on cocaine when you're 16, because you know what, you might not wake up tomorrow. How am I shoving morality in your face? All I claim is that WWE programming is perfectly suitable for people who are awake from 9-11 pm on the east coast. When I was 10, I had a bedtime, and I assume it still exists.

[Darkshot77]

Originaly posted by: DerringerEagle
No, this post right here is what is wrong with the world today. Morality police like you telling age groups how they should act, what they should say, etc. Who the hell are you to give orders to kids that are not yours as to their behaviour? They are human beings with free thinking minds of their own. People think that the minute they see a bare breast or here the F word, they will be morally corrupted for the rest of their life. Humans will do, say and act however they choose, no matter how young or old they are.

I blame right wing religious nonsense(mostly in America) for this attitude. Always telling the rest of society what God wants us to do and how we should live our lives. Screw that. If there is a God, I am sure he would want us to live our lives the way we see fit. That's why he gave us free will isn't it? The trouble with this WWE desicion is that Vince has no idea what the youth of today likes. I am pretty sure even 10 year olds find things like "JBL is poopy" lame and ridiculous.

Excuse me, but who are YOU to decide what this world dose and dose not need, sit down and shut up you hypocrite

I am 18 years old and I am a mostly clean cut young man. Why? Cause my parents raised me. I was punished, sometimes verbal, and sometimes physical, when I broke the rules, so I knew what was right and what was wrong. Kids these days are being raised by the television, which blurrs the line between right and wrong. This is why kids are trying alchohol, cigeretts and having sex, in FIFTH GRADE. And they dont know any better cause no one has told them otherwise. I'm just stating fact. You stating we should be able to make our own decisons, well some people are too stupid to decide for themselves. Besides if one dose not know right and wrong is it really a choice?

I apologize about the flame onward to the matter at hand:
This is a dumb move. While I will agree entertainment can be had with out blood, psycotic monsters, mostly naked women, and dick jokes. I'm not sure the WWE can do it. I saw the opening comntest to TNA's Victory road a 12 man elemination tag match. This is one of the most phenominal matches I have ever seen and there was no over-the-top gimmicks, just good clean wrestling. WWE dosn't have that talent (and being it was a World X Cup Match TNA dosent really either). I started watching wrestling 4 years ago, I never saw the attitude era, but in this time is has gotten less and less interesting. I find myself wondering "Do i want to watch RAW/Smackdown! tonight...nah it dosent intrest me" or I turn it off half way through. The WWE needs to go back to got people talking in the first place, not just drug suspensions and double muder suicides. But toning down what they have now, will lose veiwes and not gain as many back, in my opinion. As they say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

[ShaminThaShamed]

well WWE is really f-ing up here. What will come along with this new rating is less profanity, less divas, and last but not least, less stunts. Now I'm not saying that the wrestling business needs profanity and divas to put it over but thats what has worked for the last 10 years. I started watching wrestling in about 95-96'. I have seen a couple of matches from the 70's and 80's era and it just seems a bit to bland to what I'm used to. Not trying to take anything away from the veterans that has been watching longer than i have, but that is what I believe this is what wrestling will be drawn back to. Granted it will POSSIBLY lead to more money for the WWE, because more kids will be watching which will lead to more mommies and daddies to buy the tickets and merchandise for them. But think about how it will affect crowd audiences. The thousands and thousands of Kaneinites will turn into thousands of kids screaming for people like Cena that cant wrestle.

[Monkey Winchester]

I think its a good thing. WWE does not have to be all crazy and what not, all they need are some good storylines and good matches. Anything else is overkill. I mean really who wants to see JBL run over John Cena with a car? It's pointless, and unbelievable. With a PG rating they can focus on making the story seem more realistic, that way they can attract all sorts of viewers. Everyone nowadays knows that wrestling is fake, but if they get people to suspend their belief, they could have alot more viewers.

So essentialy it is a great idea. Attract the kids, but you also attract there parents to watch it with them. Plus bring back or make new fans. Just as long as they don't do stupid comedy skits all the time it should be fine.

[Danmen001]

Meh, I can't honestly say I have a strong opinion either way on this. It is a TV veiwing rating, and there are quite a few shows that have the wrong rating in my opinion. Which in turn makes me belive this won't affect the show alot.

Sure, they say they are going to dye down on the over the top things, which I assume includes things like incest, and over the top wedding disruptions. Also probably blood overusage, which is not saying much considering it isn't overly used except on PPVs.

Personally I don't see it affecting the show too much at all, I mean wrestling is wrestling, they can't lower its standards (Unless your Matt Hardy of course :p . I don't genuinely feel that way ftw.) Storylines are storylines and even though it may make options slightly more closed it shouldn't do so too much.

[TheOneBigWill]

I'm undecided on whether this could work or not. Like for example, some of the skits and storylines (like anyone being hit with a car) would no longer be able to be used under a "child-friendly" version of Wrestling.

And why the hell are they censoring themselves a bit more anyways? So Parents will allow their children to watch again? Everyone knows that the main reason Parents pull the plug on their children from watching, and that's because they pick up the moves and attempt using them.

Plus, dropping to a PG rating pretty much means characters like Steve Austin will NEVAH be allowed back in the W.W.E. again. He screams TV-14 all over the place.

I can see it now. Edge's gimmick will be lowered to "Rated PG Superstar", Triple H. will have to replace his Sledgehammer with one of those blow-up Hornswoggle toys, and the Divas.. ah hell, well they'll have to get some talent, because they'll be wrasslin' in turtlenecks from here on out.

This is stupid to me, and for the obvious reasons. Who cares what their rating is? People will watch if they want to see the program. Parents who try throwing out that whole "it's too violent" crap aren't going to let their children continue watching the same "violence" because it now says "PG" on the label.

[Rusty]

I am against the WWE getting a PG rating. I mean, there isn't a whole lot of difference between an M rating and a PG rating anyway. Most parents wouldn't stop their kids from watching wrestling anyway when it was rated M. I'm sure over 95% of parents know its fake anyway so really, what difference does it make. But notheless I do see this is a bad thing. That means we will most likely have to sit through more crap involving characters such as Hornswoggle.

I personally think the WWE already does enough for the little kids anyway. They recently launched a magazine just for children, they give plenty of air time to wrestlers that the kids like to watch and now they are rating their shows PG. Whether the WWE wants to admit it or not, the show will always be about the wrestling. Wrestling involves people pretending to fight against each other, so it has always mainly reached out to people from ages 16 to 40.

The WWE can't afford to lose even more viewers from the past. Reaching out to the younger generation is fine, but how about when those kids all grow older to about age 16 or 17. They won't want to watch WWE anymore because it's a "Kids Show". I really hope this doesn't mean less blood happening in the ring or less long and great wrestling matches. Kids don't watch the WWE for the wrestling, they watch it to see their favourite hero's. They also watch it for the interesting storylines. I mean sure they obviously watch the matches, but they just aren't passionate about watching great pure wrestling like many of us here at the forums are. They are too young to care about great wrestling.

I just really hope the WWE doesn't completely reach out to the little kids and decide the book the entire show differently because I have really enjoyed the WWE for the last few weeks and I hope it doesn't change.

[DerringerEagle]

Excuse me, but who are YOU to decide what this world dose and dose not need, sit down and shut up you hypocrite

I am 18 years old and I am a mostly clean cut young man. Why? Cause my parents raised me. I was punished, sometimes verbal, and sometimes physical, when I broke the rules, so I knew what was right and what was wrong. Kids these days are being raised by the television, which blurrs the line between right and wrong. This is why kids are trying alchohol, cigeretts and having sex, in FIFTH GRADE. And they dont know any better cause no one has told them otherwise. I'm just stating fact. You stating we should be able to make our own decisons, well some people are too stupid to decide for themselves. Besides if one dose not know right and wrong is it really a choice?

I apologize about the flame onward to the matter at hand:
This is a dumb move. While I will agree entertainment can be had with out blood, psycotic monsters, mostly naked women, and dick jokes. I'm not sure the WWE can do it. I saw the opening comntest to TNA's Victory road a 12 man elemination tag match. This is one of the most phenominal matches I have ever seen and there was no over-the-top gimmicks, just good clean wrestling. WWE dosn't have that talent (and being it was a World X Cup Match TNA dosent really either). I started watching wrestling 4 years ago, I never saw the attitude era, but in this time is has gotten less and less interesting. I find myself wondering "Do i want to watch RAW/Smackdown! tonight...nah it dosent intrest me" or I turn it off half way through. The WWE needs to go back to got people talking in the first place, not just drug suspensions and double muder suicides. But toning down what they have now, will lose veiwes and not gain as many back, in my opinion. As they say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Nice to see you took the time to read that post. Where in it do I tell anyone how they should live their lives? I mearly stated the obvious fact that people more often that not will do what their hearts and minds tell them to, no matter how many rules or guidlines are forced upon them.

You say some people are too stupid to decide for themselves, well that's a very productive opinion. I guess we should have the entire human race tested, then exile all the ones who don't measure up to your criteria to an island somewhere where their abject incompetance doesn't screw up society.


The Eagle has spoken

[Darkshot77]

Nice to see you took the time to read that post. Where in it do I tell anyone how they should live their lives? I mearly stated the obvious fact that people more often that not will do what their hearts and minds tell them to, no matter how many rules or guidlines are forced upon them.

You say some people are too stupid to decide for themselves, well that's a very productive opinion. I guess we should have the entire human race tested, then exile all the ones who don't measure up to your criteria to an island somewhere where their abject incompetance doesn't screw up society.

Mabey that just might work, but the bottom line is those too ignorant to know what a correct dicision is need to get their head fixed

At the very least I apologized for reducing this wrestling thread to an argument about society, so unless you want to get back to the matter at hand, I suggest you get off your soap box and get out of this forum

Now that thats out of my system:
I've been thinking, mabey a PG rating isn't as bad as previously thought, mabey it's worse. In movies I've been suprised at what they can fit in into "PG" while I've been confused why something was "PG-13". The term can be misconstrued at will. My defanition of PG may not be the same as the guy down the street. Now remember Smackdown! obtains a PG rating and, yea, it could be better but, SD! gets edited before it airs, with RAW and ECW live this could create an issue. I am still against the move, it may do more harm than good.

"Eagles may soar, but weasels dont get sucked into jet engines"

[btb1222]

This will help boost or help the kids coming on over to watch wwe. The parents will approve which means more ratings, more merchindise sold, etcThat means we will most likely have to sit through more crap involving characters such as Hornswoggle.

Yes I think they [kiddie wrestler] will come more common. Boogeyman is a future kiddie wrestler!
They recently launched a magazine just for children, they give plenty of air time to wrestlers that the kids like to watch and now they are rating their shows PG.hardys,cena, those are the kiddie favorites o and mysterio. They [WWE] knows that they are losing the core audience [16+] and the kids will have to replace it.

[mcflyboy]

I see good points on both sides of the debate; however, I see two things that people haven't touched on yet (and if they did, I apologize for missing it):

1. TV-PG and catering to kids are NOT the same thing. It might mean matches that are less bloody, but so what? Who watches the programs for blood anyway?

2. Smackdown has been TV-PG for a while now, and people still seem to watch it and don't have any major complaints. You don't have the divas wearing turtlenecks and trenchcoats. You still see good storylines and matches. Is there really a great number of folks who don't watch smackdown because it's pg?

I think people here are flipping out unnecessarily. And those who claim that people will quit watching without (or only started watching because of) "edginess, sex, or violence", speak for yourself. that may be true for you but hardly can be generalized to the entire wrestling fanbase. Again, I point out that smackdown is pg and i don't see anything wrong with that show. PG and catering to kids is not the same thing.

[Davi323]

If you only watch wresting because of edginess, sex and violence, you aren't a wrestling fan at all. Smackdown is PG, and by a lot of wrestling fans, considered better than RAW. Why? Because without the over the top edgy stuff, they focus on putting on great wrestling matches. Heaven forbid we get less insane stunts, and get back to actual wrestling in wrestling matches. Maybe you younger fans are jaded, because the sex and violence is all you know. For us older fans, we remember when you maybe saw blood in a match once or twice a year. We remember when a DDT was a finishing maneuver, we remember matches that routinely went 20 minutes, and not 5 minutes, so they can hurry up and get to the next segment where someone is getting brutally attacked backstage. Wrestlemania III occurred during a time when the WWF had no divas, nobody bladed, nobody jumped off of titantrons, nobody rammed into anyone else with their limo that didn't get blown up, instead, it had great wrestling matches by wrestlers, not brawlers. Not thugs. It also still holds the indoor attendance record, despite the lack of edginess, sex and violence.

When Vince McMahon was creating the WWF Empire out of a local territorial wrestling company, the shows were certainly PG level, if not at times, a G level. It was very kid friendly, and very popular at the same time. We didn't need first blood matches to be entertained. We didn't need Big John Studd attempting vehicular homicide in order to believe him and Andre the Giant didn't get along, as we saw with JBL and Cena. We were capable of believing Hercules Hernandez and Billy Jack Haynes could feud over who had the strongest Full Nelson. We were capable of accepting that Brutus the Barber Beefcake and the Honky Tonk Man were rivals, without either one of them needing to fall off of a Hell in the Cell, ala Mankind. Sometimes, they even feuded because they both wanted the same #1 contender position, and that was all you needed to make it work.

The WWE going PG is not a bad thing. If it means no more "live sex shows" from Edge, I can live with it. If it means longer matches, with less high spots that could injure a wrestler for months, I am okay with that too. Spots like that should be rare occurrences, not something that happens every match. Too many wrestlers are suffering long term injuries because of the current style, that is shortening their careers. Personally, I salute the WWE for going this route, if only to make it safer for the wrestlers.

[FTS]

The point isn't that people are watching only for edginess, it's that losing that audience would be selling out. Kelly Kelly's gyrations don't equal ratings, but without them, people feel, the WWE would be abandoning the audience that has stuck with them through the end of the Attitude.

I think the WWE is trying to pick up ten year olds, so that when they turn 15, a new Attitude era can be born. Think of how Brett Hart was elevated at the end of the cartoon era and kids were behind him, and as they aged, Bret got edgier, and then boom, the Attitude era started and Bret was gone. CM Punk is being built as Bret was, a clean cut, kid's favorite, and the new HBK is waiting in the wings, getting ready to dirty it up again in a few years.

The problem lies in that the kids who watched Bret Hart grew up on Saved by the Bell, these kids are growing up on the OC and Miley Cyrus' risque escapades at 15, and nothing will shock them anymore.

[Code Red]

I am disappointed by this move. This is Vince McMahon resting on his laurels and getting comfortable and thinking that he has no "real" competition out there. This complacency has helped TNA gain momentum and hopefully ROH, CZW, or others will procure television deals in the wake of moves like this.

Face it, folks. The days of seeing hellraisers like Stone Cold Steve Austin and the "Attitude" era are long over. We could very well see a return to the halcyon days of the mid '90s, where we were treated to the likes of TL Hopper, Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, Henry O. Godwinn & Phineas I. Godwinn (HOG & PIG, huh huh), and other luminaries.

If this move was in fact VKM's doing, it's all the more reason why he should step down and relinquish his spot to someone else. And for anyone still waiting for "The Real ECW" to emerge, this is all the proof you need that it will never happen. Now we're going to see Raw become more bland and tame with this move. Hopefully someone will step in and present a wrestling product with an edge, something sorely missing these days (and that includes TNA, which, even though the actual wrestling is terrific, you can't even say words like "ass" or "bitch").

[Esteban Ochocinco]

I am disappointed by this move. This is Vince McMahon resting on his laurels and getting comfortable and thinking that he has no "real" competition out there. This complacency has helped TNA gain momentum and hopefully ROH, CZW, or others will procure television deals in the wake of moves like this.

It's because Vince McMahon has no real competition. All of those companies you mentioned would have been staring up not only at WWE and WCW, but ECW would have still sat comfortably as the number 3 promotion in the company. I'm still waiting for this momentum TNA is on to actually come true. Remaining complacent at 1.1 ratings isn't exactly mind shattering momentum. Ring Of Honor is niche programming at its best, and did you really say CZW. CZW is the pond scum of professional wrestling.

Face it, folks. The days of seeing hellraisers like Stone Cold Steve Austin and the "Attitude" era are long over. We could very well see a return to the halcyon days of the mid '90s, where we were treated to the likes of TL Hopper, Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, Henry O. Godwinn & Phineas I. Godwinn (HOG & PIG, huh huh), and other luminaries.

Thank God. The Attitude Era has been dead for five years, finally someone else realizes it. The Attitude Era is perhaps the most over rated Era in the history of the business. Nothing but Shock TV crap with no substance whatsoever. Sure there were some bad characters in the 90's, but I mean, its not like Naked Mideon, Sexual Chocolate, or Mae Young were running around during the AEra either...


If this move was in fact VKM's doing, it's all the more reason why he should step down and relinquish his spot to someone else. And for anyone still waiting for "The Real ECW" to emerge, this is all the proof you need that it will never happen. Now we're going to see Raw become more bland and tame with this move. Hopefully someone will step in and present a wrestling product with an edge, something sorely missing these days (and that includes TNA, which, even though the actual wrestling is terrific, you can't even say words like "ass" or "bitch").

Then I would say you need to question yourself as to why you are a wrestling fan, and everyone else for that matter. The biggest argument against this is people won't be able to say bad words anymore. Do you honestly need the words Ass or Bitch to enjoy wrestling? If you do, then you're not a fan of the business, plain and simple.

VKM is doing this because its money. VKM finally is realizing that MMA is a legit competition, and that the 18-35 year olds that were once watching his company, have turned to MMA for their violence. He can't beat MMA and he realizes it. So why not go young once again. After all, kids by the shirts, kids by the toys, kids are where the money is, it's brilliant. Raw has been more exciting and entertaining to watch the last four weeks then it was the four years before it.

[Code Red]

One thing that has changed about WWE in recent years is that the amount of squash matches has gone up. On SmackDown! this week, I saw no fewer than 5 squash matches. Combine that with an overall tamer approach to programming - does this sound like the formula for a ratings bonanza?

I thought of a couple of things. We all know that WWE dedicates plenty of time to set up feuds through in-ring promos, backstage segments, etc. Now, I don't get personal gratification from hearing words like "ass" and "bitch", but how are these people going to speak to each other now ... "I'm gonna kick your butt, you dipstick!", or "You're in trouble now, doodyhead!"? If I'm going to continue watching WWE, I would like to have some semblance of reality in the product. The good thing about '80s WWE is that they focused on wrestling the majority of the time, whereas today it's 50/50 between wrestling and various promos, so corny dialogue didn't always enter the picture. My concern is that they will be heading down this road with the promos.

In addition, I also think about what new characters we're going to see. Are we going to see more characters in the vein of the aforementioned Hopper and Droese? Are we going to have more goofy Hornswoggle (whose irritating one-dimensional shtick is a slap in the face to any viewer over the age of 12) type characters running around? If WWE is thinking along these lines, soon they can kiss all of their high-school age (and older) viewers goodbye.

[Holy Crush The Hidden World Down Dragon]

We have to accept that sadly the wrestling industry is changing.It used to be an all american loudmouth beer-drinking football-loving and loud-chanting crowd,but the new generation only consists of children age 7-13 i think vince had no choice than to rate his show pg a shame indeed but without a choice.

[DeadmanInc.]

Ugh, as if it weren't already "uncool" to watch wrestling, they had to go and tune it down into a PG rating. What's next? The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus making cameo appearances and getting involved in storylines?

If WWE is really afraid of MMA competition they should go back to their shock TV attitude era days. MMA's only selling point over WWE is the real violence. The reason the violence draws in viewers is because you can't see that in many places. People like drama and people like fights as you can see by all the fight videos on Youtube. The attitude era was dramatic, shocking, and violent. It may have been fake but it damn sure was entertaining. Where else could you see an employee soak their boss in beer with a hose?

It caught the attention of aged 14+ viewers because it was badass. Even younger kids watched wrestling in those days. I was 8 when I started watching and I remember everyone at school watched too. It was "cool" to watch wrestling. I don't see why Vince needs to tone it down for a younger audience when the Attitude era drew in a large audience, children and adults.

[Dead Kennedy]

Man, isn't it enough with one leprechaun actually getting titles that could be left for, hmm, I don't know, SOMEBODY WITH TALENT. This is gonna suck. I had this horrible vision of WWE bringing in NBB, so I'm just gonna leave now before I get depressed. This is the death blow to the post-Attitude Era.

[Razz]

I think since everything goes in cycles, they are going to go back to the mid 80's early 90's type of PG show. Now as far as it working I will give them the benefit of the doubt. They are trying to appeal to a larger audience I think who they have lost they feel. The ratings will show if its a success or not. Personally I think the attitude era stuff worked maybe better when there were 3 competitors trying to outdo each other. A lot of this also obviously has to do with Guerrero/Benoit deaths and the negative coverage of wrestling deaths has gotten in the last few years. Maybe they are trying to reach out to more sponsors and bigger positive television coverage. Having this autism charity cause as the backdrop on SNME seems to be one part of the new ideas for sure.

[Mr-excitement]

I keep saying it and no one wants to believe, the WWE is just in a reactionary mode right now, the idea is probably that kids can't come to the show alone, so they sell more tickets and kids will want the toys and merchandise.

I don't see it working. The TV show is on too late for them to capture that audience during the school season.

[Davi323]

But, if they toned it down to PG level, they will be able to get the big name sponsors again, who are hesitant to advertise with the WWE right now, because they are aren't sure what to make of it...make those advertisers feel comfortable again by delivering a family friendly TV show, perhaps the network tells them they can air at 8pm, getting the prime position. Do you think USA network wouldn't want Monday Night RAW at the 8pm slot, rather than reruns of Law and Order? 8pm is the money slot, and RAW doesn't have it, because they don't get the right advertisers, because they are afraid to be associated with the extreme elements of wrestling. Tone that down, the advertisers come back, RAW gets more popular with families that actually control what their children watch, and they get a renewable fanbase, in addition to bigger advertising names, and possibly better timeslots to air.

I get why the WWE is doing this. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. It is a business first and foremost, and they are going to do what draws in the most revenue. They see this is a way to increase revenue.