**MERGED** Linda McMahon loses the election: how will it affect WWE?

[James]

First of all I'm wondering will she become the CEO again. The woman spent 100 million bucks of her own money for her campaigning, so it would help her pockets(like it matters).

Do you think CM Punk will tie this in with his microphone time?

Do you think the creative writing will be giving some leeway with the ideas they come up with?

Do you think we will see unusual gimmicks return?

 

[PeaceAndLove]

I hope we get a good change but i believe it will stay the same. Its not bad though because if you really look into it the wwe has a gold mine right now. If they execute correctly with their roster we could see another all time roster. I dont think it will ever top 97-99 but we could get pretty damn close and have this roster last for a good 4 - 6 years.

 

[#MrScissorsKick]

Why does Punk have to do with anything about this?..

Anways, it's tough throwing away $100 million bucks away... but she tried. Big Props to her on that. Hopefully, she can return to the WWE and help it out storylines wise, because that department is severely lacking at the moment. Hopefully she gives the creative ideas or be on the creative team. I thought she did alot during her husbands steroid abuse scandal as she took over WWE as the CEO during the steroid trial. But it'll be interesting to see in the near future

 

[JBM]

You beat me to the punch, I was just about to create a thread on this.

When John Cena reportedly told Vince McMahon that he lost sight of the company and the fans, it did one of 2 things:

1. He got pissed off, and has a plan to make sure John Cena becomes completely irrelevant.

2. He got pissed off, and decided something had to change.

I'm gonna go with #2. We've already heard various reports of changes among the creative team, changes in the hierarchy of the company, etc.. Last nights Raw was a pretty good one. Vince probably knew that Linda was going to lose, and is going to start leading Raw back into a program that's closer to a TV-14 format. At the very least, I think he used last nights raw to test the waters until the offical results came back.

Look what he has: He's got Brock Lesnar, who doesn't fit PG. He's got The Rock, who is much better suited for PG 14 TV. HHH, same thing. Those are 3 massive chess pieces that can be played to much better success if you relax the reigns a little bit.

The current product, is terrible. The only reason I watch, or check the results online is because I keep hoping that WWE will return to the great form of entertainment I grew up watching. Now, we should all know that WWE goes in cycles. From PG to something like a TV-14, back to a PG. The PG has been around for far too long. The ratings are falling fast, and when the ratings start to fall, so does the money, and the sponsors, and the advertising, and the networking. Vince, has too realize this.

I think the first thing we'll see, is some controversy in the story lines. I mean the good stuff....not the ******ed GM gimmick's, or the cheesy characters for the kids. I think you'll see a major turn to Cena's character. Not so much a heel turn, but a turn away from the total good guy. We may have seen an indicator to that last night when he and Ryback faced off at the end of Raw. That seemed symbolic to me in some way. You'll see a much better platform for guys like Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, CM Punk, Brock, Rock, etc.. to succeed in. I think it will even make Cena better because creative will be able to show new threats to Cena's "Super Cena" abilities, that we haven't seen before.

We are already seeing the tag team division heat up, and I think with something other then a PG format, even the Diva's division has a chance for success in the WWE again. You can keep some of the barbie dolls, but also bring in some real bad ass biaaatches to throw some of those barbie dolls around and make the crowd go...."whhhhooooaaaa, that was pretty cool". Then take those barbie dolls, and cut their clothing allowance in half so we can see some puppies the way god intended!! The diva's division excels in TNA because of that very concept!! It could come back to the WWE again.

Look at what Vince did in the lead up to this years Wrestle Mania. We saw some pretty good t.v. And it worked too....The ratings were up, and everyone was happy!! We are getting near WM season again, only this time Vince doesn't have to please Linda with PG non-sense. The next 6-7 months will be great for WWE!! Mark my words on that.

The question I have is, what's it going to be AFTER WM? Is Vinny gonna tone it back down? Or is he going to keep the gas on the pedal and send TNA packing?

 

[Jerichoholic Ninja]

Most people usually attribute the softening of the product to Linda McMahon's political aspirations, so I would have to think that this will definitely have a large effect on WWE. Maybe not a huge substantial change but a shift from a lot of "G-rated" material to perhaps a more "PG-13" product. I don't want to sound like a broken record so I won't go too in-depth into what I think might happen. Previous posters like JBM hit it perfectly. As a lifelong WWF/E fan in his 20s, I only keep up with the current product in hopes that it someday returns to the greatness of the late 90s/early 00s. I guess we'll all see next week on RAW what goes down. Fingers crossed for something big, because WWE REALLY needs it.

 

[kcoe24]

no she'll probably stay involved in politics to a degree and she would still want a good image it's not going to change much at all until vince is no longer in charge.

vince would never let cm punk make a linda joke and he would be in huge trouble if he did it's not going to happen.

very little at all will change atleast until it has to cause ratings are so bad that they have to in order to survive.

 

[c13vyper]

WOOOOOO YEAH THAT B*TCH LOST

Vince cannot ignore the 100million lost on the election, nor the 500 million in share price drop. He was a billionaire in 2001, the end of the Attitude Era, it made him that fortune.

Heres hoping, the product gets more edgy, more attitude and more unpredictable

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

Wouldn't it be nice if Vince opened Raw Monday saying "My wife lost her election, so lets get some attitude in this bitch!'

Eh, if anything it will eventually get up to a PG-13 rating as earlier said in this thread.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Well, the answer to the OP's question is obvious, isn't it? Effective next Monday Night RAW, we will see an immediate return to the Attitude Era. Expect the divas to all come to the ring virtually naked. Language and violence will escalate astronomically. Blood and guts galore, with every second wrestler sporting the infamous "crimson mask". John Cena will turn heel, the Undertaker's streak will be terminated, Stone Cold Steve Austin will return to reclaim the WWE Championship, and there'll be an Invasion angle, possibly involving TNA wrestlers. All of this simply because of Linda McMahon's failed bid to become a senator in the state of Connecticut, which of course is the sole reason for the current state of affairs in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Either that, or there'll be absolutely no change in the WWE whatsoever due to the results of the election. Because as any sane person can easily recognize, the situation in the WWE, whether it be positive or negative, good or bad, popular or unpopular, successful or otherwise, has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the political aspirations of Linda McMahon.

 

[sTyLnK]

Maybe edgier eventually, maybe not. Fact is the WWE was PG since day one and only went edgy to compete against WCW. Now it's back to how it's always been. PG. With no competition and the people that watched the Attitude Era long gone, the dust has settled and what we have left is hardcore fans who will watch the WWE no matter what. So making it edgier won't make any difference.

 

[HamSwissman]

Well, the answer to the OP's question is obvious, isn't it? Effective next Monday Night RAW, we will see an immediate return to the Attitude Era. Expect the divas to all come to the ring virtually naked. Language and violence will escalate astronomically. Blood and guts galore, with every second wrestler sporting the infamous "crimson mask". John Cena will turn heel, the Undertaker's streak will be terminated, Stone Cold Steve Austin will return to reclaim the WWE Championship, and there'll be an Invasion angle, possibly involving TNA wrestlers. All of this simply because of Linda McMahon's failed bid to become a senator in the state of Connecticut, which of course is the sole reason for the current state of affairs in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Either that, or there'll be absolutely no change in the WWE whatsoever due to the results of the election. Because as any sane person can easily recognize, the situation in the WWE, whether it be positive or negative, good or bad, popular or unpopular, successful or otherwise, has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the political aspirations of Linda McMahon.

I almost fully agree with this post. I do believe things are a bit different because of her political aspirations, but those changes are not what is wrong with the product. A PG WWE product can still be awesome, it just isn't, and THAT has nothing to do with Linda.

 

[HBsam31]

I really doubt much will change. I wish they would loosen the reigns a little bit, and let the product be a bit edgier. I am not saying like the attitude era at all, but let the guys that work better edgier do it. I have my doubts Linda's campaign has a whole lot to do with the PG rating anyway. I am hoping there will be a bit of a change down the road, but I almost guarantee there will be no immediate change.

 

[suleman09]

I'm not sure if it'll change drastically, maybe some changes but I don't think any MAJOR changes will happen, of course I would LOVE for it to go back to TV-14, but Vince isn't going to throw away all of the money the kids have been making him the last couple of years. This PG era with Cena as the face of it has helped Vince make some serious money, sure ratings aren't as great as before but their pockets are doing great.

I would love for them to be at least a little more edgy.

 

[Nev]

I'd kill to see AJ lee strip half naked

But its a pipe dream. Theres no reason to believe the wwe will go edgy for no reason at all. What was seen as outrageous in 1999 isnt the same in 2012. They could have two lesbians kiss and not a fuss will be made of it.

 

[Pedigree1]

Ha hatehabsforever that was funny! But nothing will happen whatsoever! The WWE is too heavily involved with political causes ala susan J Coleman and Be A Star! There against bullying kids and when you go to a venue what do you see kids kids everywhere.

Its a safe product to watch with the little ones the WWE makes way too much money on merch selling to kids! The WWE product isnt like when we were younger its a different beast and product.

Linda losing will not affect the way the WWE goes! Its gonna be the same clean product there running now whether or not she won or lost!

 

[zwbruno]

As most people have said, not alot will change, but it's certainly possible that without the added pressure of a political agenda that the WWE will allow more unscripted promos. A politician is under a microscope and the WWE had to watch everything they did to cater to her campaign. Now that it's over, hopefully we will see guys (and girls) be able to shoot off the cuff and really let true characters develop.

 

[stonecoldstv86]

Well as much as it pains me to say this Linda's run wasnt the main reason for WWE going PG. It was part of it, but all the elements of the mattel deal, advertisers deals, HHH and Steph having kids, their main money maker (Cena) being loved by about only kids, and posably one of the biggest reasons it was on the heels of the Benoit Tragedy. It was kind of the perfect storm to push it back to PG.

Since going to PG, Linda has lost twice, Cena has competion as top person (even though Vince can't see it), the newness of HHH and Steph being parents is not there and the Benoit stuff is in the back of peoples minds for those that even knew of him that still watch WWE. But the biggest thing that has happend since going to PG is Linda burning 100 Million dollors, ratings and stocks going down. Which is what hits Vince the most. Plus attendence at shows is going down.

Hopefully the inpack on Vinces wallet will make him start rethinking of bring the PG era to an end. Vince has to remember that the parents are the ones that have to buy the merch and the tickets to go to the shows and let their kids have the tv to watch wrestling so they have to have some interest in it. So hopefully we can get back to atleast post attitude era where everything wasnt so watered down. Let people like The Rock, Cena, Punk among others have about free run on the mic. Which will bring some people back Batista and Stone Cold that have been outspoken that they dont like the constrants that the PG era puts on the wrestlers.

Last thing that it will help if Vince will relize that it's about time to get away from PG a little is the Divas. You will have more match types open back up. Now I know some of isnt the best wrestling but more people were behind the Divas devision when they had all the gimmick match. Plus it would let Jerry "The King" Lawler get back to seeing the Puppies and get to say about them. Which just feels like a missing part in divas matchs since the PG era that they stopped him from saying that. Also would have more merch from them like dvds, posters and an annual mag. Maybe work out another deal with Playboy if they do go back to TV-14.

Will it go this way? Who knows, hopefully yes for fans that are tired of the wore out PG stories. But from some back stage people Vince has lost touch and probably will not relize the product is going down hill fast till he is either in the poor house or is really forced out of the company.

 

[123NewChamp]

Well first of all, after wasting over a $100,000,000.00 to get blown out the water for the senate seat, the WWE is going to revamp back to the way it used to be before the election season got serious.

We're going to see Releases. With McMahon campaiging for Senate, I know she promised citizens of Connecticutt more jobs. And like what sense would it make to promise more jobs and you're releasing WWE superstars cause they not doing nothing or to free up some space to bring in talent.? Everyone knows she's a former CEO of WWE and it would reflect bad on her campaign if she was to have released a series of wrestlers througout the campaign. And some are saying well Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, and whoever else got released. Well all except for A.W. have gotten released b/c they asked for their release b/c of their unhappiness or to pursue other obligations. Usually Roster cuts happens after Wrestlemania. Somewhere around Survivor Series, some of these wrestlers who we wondered how they survived will get released. I'm gonna say for now JTG, Yoshi Tatsu, Ezekiel Jackson, Trent Barreta, and Curt Hawkins. But that's another thread for another time. But since she can't pass bills for more jobs now, it's time for WWE to start cleaning house on the roster. And oh yeah get rid of some of them creative writers too.

2. I beleive WWE is going to back to more intense storylines. Cause of the elections the WWE really struggled to make storylines interesting cause of some of the strings they could pull and not pull because they don't want to disturb or hinder Linda's Campaign. Like really the PG era sucks, but it's the safest rout to go for now for a period of time w/o hindering her chances of getting into office. Just think about how far the Punk, Bryan, Kane, and AJ storyline coulda gone. Think about the Current storyline involving AJ and Cena. We all know WWE coulda went more further than an elevator scene to make things interesting but did not. But don't be surprise if you see an intense change in WWE storylines bc of the end of the election. Things are gonna get real interesting. And if ratings keep coming down then something needs to be done in the front office. Forreal.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Of course we are not going to see the return of the Attitude Era anytime soon but they weren't in the Attitude Era after 2002 and they still had a lot of non-PG content. I think the aftermath of Linda McMahon losing will be similar to what happened after the 2010 elections, WWE becomes more relaxed with their PG content (showing blood, starting to use a bit more profanity, etc) as they did in 2011 and early 2012.

I would think Linda McMahon would have one more go at this so we are going expect more relaxed PG guidelines but get more strict to it in mid 2014 if she decides to run again.

 

[Xumer]

I don't think anything will change. I think they are either going to find some other office for her to run for OR get an early start on blowing another $100,000,000 to get her in "this time" which means 4 more years of bullshit. All this toning down of the product and "social issues" like Be a star is just P.R. crap. Vince doesn't truly care about that, if he did he would have KNOWN BETTER than to mock J.R. like he did.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

Maybe edgier eventually, maybe not. Fact is the WWE was PG since day one and only went edgy to compete against WCW. Now it's back to how it's always been. PG. With no competition and the people that watched the Attitude Era long gone, the dust has settled and what we have left is hardcore fans who will watch the WWE no matter what. So making it edgier won't make any difference.

Really? Then what about the Ruthless Aggression Era? It was TV-14 and there was no WCW around during 2002-2008. And making it edgier does makes a difference and ratings prove that.

 

[DJS92491]

The ending of her campaign signifies the end of a lot of WWE careers. With this I mean talent cuts.

As a job creator like Linda claimed she was, WWE was in a bind where they would look like hypocrites if they gave talent the shaft. Now that the campaign is over, it may be time to finally part ways with talent to give NXT Superstars an opportunity on the main roster.

 

[Rayne]

Yes folks. All of this time, the McMahons have been deliberately taking actions which they knew would harm their publicly traded company so that they could have a family member elected to Congress. Nothing says "Welcome to the Senate!" like defrauding the investors in your company. Which, on the scale we're talking about, would be a felony. Yeah, that makes sense.

GET IT THROUGH YOUR FUCKING HEADS. The Attitude Era is over. The WWE feels that their advertisers, who provide the bulk of their money, desire a PG-product. You can disagree all you want, but it matters not a fart in the wind. It has NOTHING to do with Linda McMahon, and never has.

The WWE is a publicly traded company, subject to more forms of disclosure than I'm sure even I'm aware of. They have a legal obligation to their shareholders to maximize their investment, which is the price of receiving their money when you choose to go public. It's a bit more complicated than "well the McMahons want it THIS way!"

 

[Sid Schmid]

It will remain PG for the foreseeable future. Like others have pointed out just because Linda lost does not mean a sudden shift in direction. The WWE aren't going to suddenly dump on the Be A Star campaign, that would be bad for business.

I do agree that the product isn't very good at the minute but that doesn't mean allowing Cena or Punk more free reign with the mic will make it better. I just don't think the talent is there at the minute. There are some good wrestlers but the heels are all generic and the faces are a bit boring. The only interesting characters are D Bryan and Punk and a lot of that is down to charisma more than anything else. Letting Cody Rhodes call someone a bastard on the mic won't alter the fact his persona is bland for instance.

 

[DirtyD79]

GET IT THROUGH YOUR FUCKING HEADS. The Attitude Era is over. The WWE feels that their advertisers, who provide the bulk of their money, desire a PG-product. You can disagree all you want, but it matters not a fart in the wind. It has NOTHING to do with Linda McMahon, and never has.

Exactly, WWE is more merchandise driven than ever. A lot of the demand for PG came from Hasbro. Go blame them for why WWE sucks ass these days. As for Linda's campaign I would hope to hell the people of Connecticut had bigger priorities this election than just "hurp durp If Linda loses the atttitude era comes back."