LINDA MCMAHON LOSES SENATE RACE

[takerfan95]

This news is just coming in, Linda has lost the senate race to Democrat Dick Blumenthal has won the seat for Connecticut. How will this affect WWE? discuss.

 

[mikenance]

Probably not much since the WWE corporate web site states that all programming is PG rated. We will see a return of a McMahon to TV real soon. I imagine Linda will make an appearance on Raw or Smackdown to thank WWE fan nation. I watched a little of her on a debate a few weeks ago and thought to myself that both her and Vince have really aged fast.

Mike

I would like to see Vince make WWE programming even edgier than the Attitude era so that he can piss off more politicans and the U.S. government.

Mike

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Depending on the long-term outlook in what Linda decides to do, will determine whether the WWE will stick with a PG style of programming.

Personally, after watching Raw last night if Linda didn't already have odds stacked against her for her Husband's business, his little stunt may have well ended any hope she ever could've had.

I can only hope that all of this can be moved away from as soon as possible, and the WWE begins going back to what gained them the most ratings they've ever seen by going back to an adult style of show. I'm not saying senseless stupidity and mindless foul language, but for the love of everything - allow blood back into matches. Seeing bloody matches makes feuds more entertaining.

 

[WWE.IS.AWESOME]

Don't get your hopes up.

It's possible for WWE to go back to an adult-like show, but it's not going to happen all at once, if it happens at all. If Linda plans on running again, then I would guess WWE will stay PG.

However, if she is planning on ending her career in plitics, then it's more likely the WWE will go TV-14. But, maybe Vince still wants to target kids.

I would hope that Vince would loosen up a little bit. Maybe allow blood and mild language. Baby steps...

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

well, I think when John Cena who is the kids number one icon of the PG era, said something along the lines of "I don't give a damn" and "I'm gonna beat the hell out of you" last night, so it would appear they are already sneaking in a little bit of edginess to test the waters.

The one thing I will say though is that wrestling is a cyclical business. More than that tough, in order for an attitude era 2.0 to be successful you have to have contrast. If the WWE had been like it was from day one, I don't think any of us would have been so interested in the late '90s. I think that letting things cool off, and letting some kids grow up with the PG product for a few years before transitioning back to 14 or even M will then give fans that eye-opening moment of "woah! I can't believe they just did that" I honestly believe that day may come sooner than later now as a result of Linda's loss, but with how much advertising and sponsorship is wrapped up in WWE I wouldn't get your hopes up about first blood matches, HLA, and May Young giving birth this coming Monday.

 

[Nada]

You know how i know WWE isent going to change anytime soon?

Eric Bischoff

Thats right, that guy in TNA now, the WCW dude, greyhaired man who teamed up with Hogan against Jay Leno and DDP.

In his book he wrote that the reason WWE won over WCW was that they could do edgier things, because they had nobody to answer too, Vince McMahon made all the calls.

The situation is reversed now, because WWE has shareholders, they have contracts with various advertising agencies and they have no guarrantie that going "attitude" is going to help them.

Believe me, as i sit here, happy in the defeat of Linda McMahon i too would like it to happen, but sadly its just not.

We are stuck where we are now, at least WWE is doing "ok" financially and arent close to getting going under.

 

[Canadian Knight]

I agree that nothing will happen for now at least. While Linda may come and thank everyone, that may not be the case should she try to go again. You may see an Attitude era again, after all the shareholders want money and showing TNA (not the wrestling) would draw more people.

 

[Mr-excitement]

I am glad she lost.

Instead of worrying about what the show is rated, they should give the workers health care. As the analyst on CNN pointed out in today's workplace that's not a good image on a former CEO hoping to go to Washington.

 

[Nada]

If you read Eric Bischoffs book "Controversy Creates Cash" he states that in the beggining of 1998, he simply had meetings with "uppers" telling him what he could not do.

Its also why promos became more stale and WCW was simply not allowed to go half as far as WWE could.

He specifically said that WWE is in that position today (and he wrote the book when he was employed by WWE so its not like he tried to bash them)

WWE is basically more safe and stable now because it has people outside the company supporting them, but the bad side is that they cant simply do whatever they want.

 

[El Rev sXe]

Well if you mean by that if the E is going to stay PG or not, my answer would be: no. Even if it hurts me to admit it, VKM has found again his biggest pay check: kids. I mean probably the ratings aren't as good as it was a couple years ago but I think that is compensated with the sell of merchandise and other things.

Plus, since the arrival of Nexus, the product that the E offers is way superior than the last 2 years. However I still miss blood in HiaC matches....

 

[Heartachetonight926]

The PG era isn't going anywhere, deal with it people.

They're are way too many younger viewers now that tune in to watch every single week, order the PPVS and buy merchandise. It would be stupid just to jump back into Buckets of blood and Lesbians, talk about throwing millions of fan's away. Plus as long as WWE is affiliated with Mattel, then mattel want's WWE to deliver a family friendly product. Unless WWE breaks they're contract with mattel, PG is here to stay.....which frankly doesn't bother me that much, because even if WWE is PG, It's still Wrestling......and I'm a Wrestling fan, not a blood fan.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I can't say it surprises me. New England has long been a stronghold for the Democratic Party. That's not to say that Republican candidates don't sometimes get elected to political office of course, but the Northeast has a long history of supporting the Democrats in much the same way as the south and a big chunk of the midwest have supported the Republicans.

As for Raw's PG rating, people get the fuck over it. I mean yes, damn, they have an occassional show that does have some childish aspects of it. Most of Raw's audience is comprised of adult males. The only ones that tend to have an issue with the PG rating overall seems to be the IWC. And if it wasn't the PG rating, the IWC would find something else to piss and moan about. It always does and we all know it.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I think the first step in WWE changing is (and don't kill me for saying this please) is the eventual turn of John Cena. Most of these children don't remember Cena was somewhat of a heel when he started in the company as Rappin' Cena. Perhaps Vince knew all along that his wife was going to lose and decided to start turning the wheels a bit. Look at the evidence. The title unifcations. The fact that he introduced Nexus and somewhat placed Cena in the middle of that group to distract things. Placing the title belt on a tattooed crazed Randy Orton, etc. Probably undercovers Vince wished his wife would've lost because he doesn't want his wife messing up his company, not saying she was the reason why his company is messing up or that they're messing up at all, that's just an opinion. Let's see what the next few months do, not weeks. If Cena does change it'll be the first in a series of big shocks and scandals. However the one thing that Vince may need to do if he does indeed start the gradual switch is to get NEW talent that these fans aren't used to. When the Attitude Era was white hot it was due in part to the fact that McMahon was bringing out new stars constantly. Everyone has been spoon-fed the same faces pretty much for the past 3-4 years. At some point people may have gotten tired of seeing certain faces and now that she's lost it'd breathe a breath of life into the company or give it a shot in the arm if he started to bring up younger talent to be whatever the company needs. I for one don't wanna see a repeat of history persay, but something better than what we're seeing now.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

In no way, likely.

Sorry to break it to you all, but im fairly sure WWE programming has very little to do with her involvement in the politica, and everything to do with the cylical nature of the buisness, and the desensitizement factor. As the attitude era continued, what place could they have gone? What place could you possibly esculate after a dudes dick gets chopped off to close your show? People are pulling actual firearms on each other on your show? Girls are in the crowd whipping their tits out?

Noplace is were you can go. You have to start coming back down. WWE was already reaching a point were things were HARDLY about wrestling in the ring, or shit, pro wrestling AT ALL, but more about shock/trash tv. The further you go, the less of an actual pro wrestling show you will have.

So you bring things back to earth, to possibly someday escalate back up again. From here, they can involve cursing, and have it be different. From here, they can do blood, and have it be extreme. From here, they can have scantily clad ladies, and have it be especially risque.

Until that becomes necessary, it wont happen. Linda and the senate or whatever dont really matter.

 

[the420something]

I hope they keep on par with what they're doing. I was born in 88. one of my earliest memories was the undertaker putting someone in a body bag. I never really liked taker ( he scared me as a child), but I have been a fan since. I watched liked Owen, HBK, and I watched Rocky Miavia and Hunter Herst Helmsley go from obscure to midcard to superstars. I watched it change into the Attitude era, and that's why it was so awesome in many of our eyes. I liked watching Edge and Jeff Hardy as champions, because I remember when it would never happen. I like where the E is going. Keep slowly building up Kofi, Morrison, Miz, Rhodes, Gabriel, and Bryan. I want to see all of those people as future contenders, but I also want to see em earn it.let it organically go back to the "attitude era". Rock wasn't sticking things in people's candied asses over night, he earned the right. Austin 3:16 worked because he earned it. One of the reasons Daniel Bryan is so excellent, is that we see his decade of experience and dedication to his craft, pay off every time he's in a match. It seems like since about 02 the champions have kind of just been there. I like Cena, but he still feels like a cheap champion. Orton had it handed to him, kinda like Khali, Sheamus, Batista, Swagger, and to an extent Punk. Not some money in the bank bullshit, not some elimination chamber match to main event mania. I want to see someone enter the title picture that doesn't involve some bullshit gimmick match. Plus there's no way Linda running wasn't just a ballsy move to get more attention to the company. I was hoping to see nexus interrupt a debate.

 

[Stephen11]

It isn't that surprising that she lost tbh. There was virtually no way that she was going to win, I think Mr. McMahon will be able to be more visible on WWE Programming now but we probably won't see Linda unless she's done with politics.

As for the PG-era, don't expect it to end anytime soon. It was built so that WWE catered to families, a lot of time was spent building it up so it makes no to automatically go back to the attitude era now. It's extremely unlikely and would be horrible for business.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

I for one was wanting to see Linda win her Campaign but at the same time im not totally dissapointed about it. Like 420 said I like where WWE is going,it doesn't need to be TV-14 right now. Ive been watching since about 1990 and grown up watching all these guys come and go from the Company like the Stone Colds,The Rocks,and HHHs who started out in the lower card and earned what they got by becoming Main Event guys. Same with today's Current crop working their asses off to get where they are. Wrestling in General doesn't need to be over the top with a Jerry Springer/Maury Povich like material. I mean if you want that stuff then I suggest go watch that,the reason it worked in the Late 90's is because thats where our society was at the time and Vince changed with the times,yes it was great but like someone said he brought it back to earth for awhile. So the the Current PG Rating is not going anywhere right now and it may not for the next couple years. Either watch it or don't watch it simple as that.

 

[Dwayne_Jason]

If you read Eric Bischoffs book "Controversy Creates Cash" he states that in the beggining of 1998, he simply had meetings with "uppers" telling him what he could not do.

Its also why promos became more stale and WCW was simply not allowed to go half as far as WWE could.

He specifically said that WWE is in that position today (and he wrote the book when he was employed by WWE so its not like he tried to bash them)

WWE is basically more safe and stable now because it has people outside the company supporting them, but the bad side is that they cant simply do whatever they want.

With due respect, it depends on what type of shareholders it is. If they are general shareholders that help manage the company that's a different story but we all know if there's one thing Vince will not do is lick ass. Besides most shareholders won't bother with managing the company but simply about the profit. And Eric Bischoff's argument is pretty crappy if you think about. I mean LOST and other dramas get enough subscriptions even if they're adult oriented. It's not weather you have PG, it's weather you're product is good enough to be invested in.

 

[takerfan95]

IN ALL SERIOUSNESS- I just got so exited NorCal responded to one of my threads I stepped on a pencil and the lead broke off in my foot. took 20 minutes to get it out. On to the topic of the thread- Yes I really cant see that much of a change if any in the near future, with Vince making bank with merchendise sales and everything, I'm pretty sure he's happy at where he and the WWE are at at the moment.

 

[tnarage2]

Well yes WWE will most Likely still be PG. But they could be Edgier in a PG raiting. I mean look at The Simpsons a Tv show for the family. They have Curse words and violence on a PG cartoon show. So Why Can't WWE?

 

[bxbigshow]

Take today's race out of the picture.

PG makes money for the WWE. Yes they made more in the Attitude Era, but it was just that...and era. Back in the early/mid-90s WWE was kid oriented still. Then slowly they grew up with the fanbase they established a decade ago. When Turner bought WCW, they went kid oriented and righted what was a sinking ship.

PG works for stability and finances.

When WWE started moving away from the kid stuff (Mid 90s), they had the fans already with them. WCW then followed suit with the Outsider/NWO angle and grew their audience, along with swiping some of Vince's. Add to that ECW's success (so to say) and you have a great era.

A short, memorable, period of time where pro wrestling had its best boom. But it could've never lasted.

PG gives you more oppurtunity to grow your audience. Little Timmy is now 13-16 and doesn't think WWE is cool anymore, don't worry...Timmy's little brother does. And so on and so forth.

Instead of catering to a certain stage of fan whose tastes and opinions will change every 3 years or so. Its just better business sense to stay consistant and cater to an audience that doesn't change...ANY KID compared to just THAT ONE KID.

I think it would be in WWE's best interest to offer up another option outside of the big PG umbrella. Cut a deal with a premium channel (HBO/Showtime etc.) Where you can offer a 1 or 2 hour SEPARATE brand with PG-14 and up content. Have that brand have no connections with RAW/SD! It's own show/title/roster/announcer etc. If a current WWE guy wants to go there let them know they CAN'T COME BACK for an extended time to ensure that there is no confusion between the brands.

Just a thought...

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

Listen folks, how in the world can you NOT be edgy when you have grown men "hitting" and "kicking" each other? I know it's pretty much pretend but aren't some of us missing the boat? It's a form of entertainment geared towards violence. At the end of the day it's violence or the belief of such. So therefore does it matter which way the company goes? It's very hypocritcal for a company to say they're geared toward "families" and "children" when the product they're putting out is a sense of violence. You're getting two or more persons inside a confinded enviornment and ordering them to talk down to each other and to "fight". What's PG about that? Nothing. It's senseless for the WWE to continue to kid themselves as well as its viewers. You can't have one and not the other. There's fights every single day. Some of the same people that the WWE is targeting sit up and argue, fight & curse in their own households in front of their own children, the SAME children the WWE covets so much. So what Linda lost? It really has nothing to do with the company. I just wish those in control would get off their soap box and understand they're being hypocrits due to the fact that they say they want to target children and yet they still show a form of violence. Children shouldn't have to go somewhere, watch people pretend to beat up on each other and then have to be explained to after the show that everything they saw was a lie.

 

[Syborgg]

PG is not going away any time soon. You may even see a continuation of this "Stand-up for WWE" campaign. They have invested so much money into it and the most dominating selling point is that WWE is fun for the whole family. So why would they change that now just because Linda is not a Senator? It's not good business to just turn on a dime and start doing something totally different. Look at TNA, seems like every couple of months they are throwing some different format out there. All it does is confuse your audience.

On the subject of blood, don't expect to see that anymore either. Atleast not by plan. This isn't about the ratings, this is about the wrestler's health and well-being. I've said it many times in other threads, EVERY other sport has a rule stating that if you are cut you go to the bench/dressing room and get stitched up. With all the diseases like HIV and Hepititus and such, you shouldn't have guys purposely getting sliced up. I honestly don't miss it, and when I see it in TNA they over do it to the point where it is sickening.

 

[Irish574]

IMO the race will not have too much of an impact of the direction that the WWE is heading right now and there is really a pretty simple reason behind it right now:
The WWE will never be able to get guys like the Headbangers, the Oddities, Al Snow, Steve Blackman, Val Venis (i know he is returning), The Godwins, Savio Vega, ect (the list can go on and on) over. The WWE is heading in a direction now where guys, i.e. Evan Bourne, John Morrison, Miz, Dolph Ziggler Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, ect.) are who they are promoting. The attitude era was about just that, attitude. Today's era is about bringing in the multi-generational wrestlers and guys that look just like them.
There is no substance in today's WWE. IMO there is little differentiation among almost all the entertainers. What seperates the Miz from Cody Rhodes? Their characters are similar, they have a similar look. You can take almost anyone that the WWE has nowadays and find their doppelganger somewhere on the roster. (Few exceptions can be made i.e. Sheamus... really just Sheamus).
They are going to throw the established guys like Taker, Kane, Show, HHH, Cena in our face as much as possible, then they will retire, then maybe we can talk about a second attitude era (someone earlier said Attitude Era 2.0... that was the gayest shit ever). To conclude it, a second attitude era doesn't have anything to do with Linda McMahon or her campaign, but rather the fact that there is no "attitude" in the WWE as it exists right now. The next wave, after this multi-generational wave, can possibly bring back an attitude era-like Era

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I doubt they are going to stop the whole PG thing now that Linda lost the race though I think the WWE will loosen up more now. The WWE has been PG since early 2009 but its only recently the WWE went insane when it came to restrictions.

Things like MVP not getting a push, being fired because of choking someone on TV, being released due to "erotic" Maxim like photos, and things like actually acknowledging the passing of their superstars (Umaga) will probably more loosened up.