Chris in SC
Occasional Pre-Show
This was touched on, but the tide started shifting when WWE became a publically traded corporation. It's no longer a 'rasslin show, it's a corporation just as Citibank, Ford, or Proctor and Gamble is.
WWE needs to keep shareholders happy and the majority of those shareholders are mutual fund companies, state pension funds, etc. People who don't want steroid scandals (hence the Wellness program), Christian groups protesting (hence no f-bombs, suck-its or humping) etc.
Yes, it's now a job to Vince, just like being Chairman of the Board at Disney or any other 'entertainment' company.
That's part one. Part two is the economy and national mood. When things are going well, people are more open and rowdy. For example, studies show that people dress more conservatively in bad times and the hemlines come up and necklines go down when times are good.
Think about when the height of the Attitude era was...the dot-com boom. The national mood was the best in history, everyone had jobs, stock options etc. Even the McDonald's down the street from me was paying $500 signing bonuses to illiterate high-school kids in order to find employees. People were wide-open and open to pushing-the-envelope then.
Then 9/11 and the dot-com bust and later economic collapse changed all that.
For the past few years the national mood has been very sour. People are uptight. Most don't want an attitude era. They want the comforting inside-the-lines 'good guys always win' Hulkamania type program.
Third - each mega-boom era had a crossover star. Hulk Hogan was more recognizable than Santa Claus in the 1980's and 90's. Same with Steve Austin and the Rock in thier prime. I saw 70-year old ladies in Austin 3:16 shirts back in the day. Triple H and Cena are NOT in this category, no matter what Vince does.
It's a triple whammy against attitude era/big numbers = Gotta play the corporate game, the general population doesn't want it (even though alot of the IWC does), and there's no one to draw in the people who aren't dedicated wrestling fans.
Kayfabe is dead. Attitude is dead. The industry is lurching to the next era, whatever that is.
WWE needs to keep shareholders happy and the majority of those shareholders are mutual fund companies, state pension funds, etc. People who don't want steroid scandals (hence the Wellness program), Christian groups protesting (hence no f-bombs, suck-its or humping) etc.
Yes, it's now a job to Vince, just like being Chairman of the Board at Disney or any other 'entertainment' company.
That's part one. Part two is the economy and national mood. When things are going well, people are more open and rowdy. For example, studies show that people dress more conservatively in bad times and the hemlines come up and necklines go down when times are good.
Think about when the height of the Attitude era was...the dot-com boom. The national mood was the best in history, everyone had jobs, stock options etc. Even the McDonald's down the street from me was paying $500 signing bonuses to illiterate high-school kids in order to find employees. People were wide-open and open to pushing-the-envelope then.
Then 9/11 and the dot-com bust and later economic collapse changed all that.
For the past few years the national mood has been very sour. People are uptight. Most don't want an attitude era. They want the comforting inside-the-lines 'good guys always win' Hulkamania type program.
Third - each mega-boom era had a crossover star. Hulk Hogan was more recognizable than Santa Claus in the 1980's and 90's. Same with Steve Austin and the Rock in thier prime. I saw 70-year old ladies in Austin 3:16 shirts back in the day. Triple H and Cena are NOT in this category, no matter what Vince does.
It's a triple whammy against attitude era/big numbers = Gotta play the corporate game, the general population doesn't want it (even though alot of the IWC does), and there's no one to draw in the people who aren't dedicated wrestling fans.
Kayfabe is dead. Attitude is dead. The industry is lurching to the next era, whatever that is.