Banning Wrestling forums

[HBK-aholic]

We all know Vince McMahon is the most powerful man in Sports Entertainment, so what if he was powerful enough to shut down every internet wrestling forum? What impact would that have on the business?

There are insults that are thrown about regarding being an internet wrestling fan (Okay, so I laugh at this because it's been said by people who are also on wrestling forums, but you see my point). They all seem to have similar characteristics, the main one being a hatred of Cena (I believe).

I think the way people think about the business would change. Many people on forums express how the surprise has been slightly ruined for them, or how things don't seem as 'real'.

What do you think?

EDIT: For those that somehow thought I meant McMahon could do this, it's purely theoretical for my fun.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

He can't. It's as simple as that.

Powerful as he is, he has no control what-so-ever over a privately owned forum. It is not his. Unless he were to buy out all the forums and shut them down, it can't happen. For that to work, every single owner/operator of a forum such as this would have to agree to selling the forum to him. That is highly unlikely. I'd say that your proposed situation is impossible. Even if he bought out the forums, people would just open new ones.

I'll answer the question, even though it is ridiculous. Just because we wouldn't have forums doesn't mean peoples' views would change. I know mine wouldn't. I'll already been immersed in this for so long that even if it were to no longer be accessible, I'd still think the same way. We'd still have internet wrestling news sites to read and get a little insight from. I don't think anything would change short term. Long term, it's possible that things would be like they were twenty years ago. New fans would watch wrestling and not think a thing of backstage politics, of suspensions, and Cena could turn ino Hogan.

 

[Zeitgeist]

I agree with Shango, this must be taken as a highly theoretical question, as it would be impossible for him to do anything about it. If you think Vince doesn't like the existence of wrestling forums then consider forums that discuss more serious things like politics, don't you think someone out there in the world would want those shut down as well? But that's the beauty of the internet, it can't be controlled like the mass media.

Anyways, would things change? Sure, as you mentioned, things wouldn't be spoiled nearly as often. I remember watching WCW Nitro as a kid and having no idea what was going to happen, and marking out when someone made a surprise return or whatever. Nothing is a surprise anymore. I'm not exactly sure why I go ahead and spoil everything for myself by visiting these sites, I guess I just find the backstage stuff just as interesting or more interesting than what happens on TV.

 

[klunderbunker]

It would have next to no impact on the business. We are an incredible minority group when it comes to fans. Vince doesn't care about pleasing us. He cares about pleasing the marks that hang on WWE's every word. We're not the ones that pack there arenas or buy all the merchandise. We may do that, but the thing is even if we were gone we would still watch the show. We're addicted to the product, so he'll still get our viewership. He wouldn't miss us at all and likely couldn't care less about us at all.

 

[tyler.durden]

i have to agree with KB. we are still a minority. and although i've read about vince or the wwe being pissed off about leaked info, it really doesn't stop them from doing whatever they want. besides, if i were vince, i would be thinking that the IWC is already a locked up group of fans because IWC will watch the wwe regardless of how long cena is champ or whatever.

 

[rony31]

I think the decline of the WWE and professional wrestling in general over the past few years is directly related to the increased popularity of the IWC. Let's face it, wrestling used to be amazing back in the day because it had a sense of reality in it. We all knew it was fake, but there was always that real aspect associated with it, which is why we were all so intrigued by it. I still remember NBC airing 1-hour specials on the odd weekend proving that wrestling was fake by analyzing various issues surrounding it (fans, the ring being loaded with springs, etc.), which I think was the peak of wrestling's popularity.

With respects to Vince closing down wrestling forums, obviously not gonna happen. Even if it did though, I don't think it would improve the state of the industry by that much since we already know what's out there.

 

[Tolk]

If such a thing were possible, I'd like to see it happen for about 6 months or so, just to see if the atmosphere changes in the wrestling community. Though I think the problem is more the wrestling sites with news and inside scoops than it is the fans on forums. They only know what they read on sites like this one. I've actually been hoping someone in either WWE or TNA would get wise to how much these sites spoil, and try to place a gag order on the sites.

We know Smackdown isn't live, but I think the wrestling sites should hold off on posting the show spoilers a week before it airs (in TNA's case sometimes). I'm guessing WWE doesn't care since the net is only a small fraction of their fan base, but for a company who's wrestling is put on the shelf in place of storylines, they should do as much as possible to keep their angles under wraps.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

While ultimately not even Vince McMahon has this type of power due to the freedom of speech, the fact is I believe the W.W.E. would need internet wrestling forums and sites as much as they would need the industry.

Obviously they'd need the industry to even "survive" but on the flip side of that, if you didn't have Wrestling forums and rumor mill sites, some people might of tuned out a long time ago when the product got boring and stale. Instead, they have the option of logging in, or finding a rumor site, reading something that's worth tuning in for, and it increases the products ratings.

While "spoilers" hurt the Wrestling company, and mainly T.N.A., the fact is a spoiler is something you don't have to read. No one is forcing you to read it. It's in a section that you'd have to willingly click just to read. So that isn't the wrestling rumor site's fault, that's curiousity by the person's fault.

I read spoilers all the time. But I've continued to watch every show, regardless of if I believe it'll suck or not. That's me being a true wrestling fan.

In the end, I think these sites help more than hurt though, as it brings more fans together. You can come to places like this, and voice your opinions as a fan, and possibly learn something you didn't know by other fans, making you an even bigger fan and even more interested in the industry.

 

[Danmen001]

It's too late to fix the "damage" that has been done, by wrestling forums. If there were no "smart" wrestling fans (or fewer), people could be happy cheering for face and jeering heels. It would have done the business better, to not have wrestling forums to start with. But you couldn't have avoided having smart fans, and in the end, companies have to try and go with the flow.

The issue of this thread though, is would it change anything. And the answer is no. People are already smart, and it might prevent others from becoming smart I guess, but in the end, people will either be interested, or they won't be.

 

[OffTheRopRope]

if he could do that, it would bring wrestling back to what it was in the 80's..we would know only what they want us to know, and we truly could be surprised by someone new coming back, a la christian.

 

[pyrusane]

I think a LOT of people are missing the point here. How many spoilers have been posted here, in this forum? Sure, there are spoilers on the main Wrestlezone site all the time, but here in the forums, its just a place for fans to sit and share ideas, thoughts, theories, memories, etc. The question wasn't about shutting down the rumor/spoiler sites, at least not as I interpreted it, it was about shutting down the forums. As far as the impact that would have...meh, probably not much at all, as it has already been noted that we are a small minority. However, I doubt that Vince would ever want to shut us down, because if people are talking about his product, then that means they are interested in it, and that's not a bad thing, that's a good thing.

 

[Jane]

I would stop watching WWE completely. That's just me, but whenever I start to get bored of watching, I read stuff on this site and get more interested. I admit, my opinion is absolutely based on what all of you veteran posters seem to think. I used to watch wrestling a few years ago, but always lost interest. Sharing your thoughts and learning others is always helpful in renewing interest and getting you to watch. I don't think it would make a positive impact for him to do that, but I would definetely lose interest in not too long, and I am sure there are others who would too. This site is the base of my enjoyment of the shows.

 

[HBK-aholic]

if he could do that, it would bring wrestling back to what it was in the 80's..we would know only what they want us to know, and we truly could be surprised by someone new coming back, a la christian.

This is a lot of what I was going for. While some people stay away from any type of spoilers, speculation is different, and many times it leads to something real happening, which we'd discussed as a possibility. Also, being from England, I don't watch Raw until after the Americans, so often something is accidentally spoilt for me. If you think back to last year at the Royal Rumble, when Cena came back, how shocked were you? That would happen to a lot of things if we weren't on a forum. I think more people would tune in, as they wouldn't have things like WZ ruining the surprise.