Has WWE become a second rate entertainment company

[scomvp316]

We all know VKM's obsession with not being a wrestling company but a entertainment company
Most of the WWE Studio projects has fallen well short on company's expectation
It was announced in late November that WWE DVD's for Blu-Ray will be cut in half for 2014 & 2015
No serious entertainment company has every cut back on technology for viewing purposes
This decision not to do Blu-Ray along with standard DVD is at best what "B" Tier companies do

I totally understand that WWE had no choice but to launch their network or it would never happen
The most logical thing was to buy 90% of G4's air time seeing VKM has a long term deal with NBCU
WWE has over estimated their programming worth compared to all other entertainment on Netflix
This Network apparently will be run like Netflix which I think without a cable deal will be a disaster
Netflix is popular because most of the content you can't see high quality on YouTube but anyone with a tablet can see wrestling material for free on YouTube
From my understanding this Network will look alot like the NHL's online Video Vault
I think WWEN should be available much like NHL Video Vault for no more than 4.95 and WWE should unload the entire Archival Library on this network
You can also still do the streaming much like the NHL does for their two online networks

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Yes, absolutely.

They are a first rate wrestling business, and second rate entertainment company. If I compare the WWE to companies such as Lions Gate, Starz, Cedar Fair, Six Flags, and Live Nation, I find companies with higher margins, better returns, and higher market caps than the WWE. First rate companies in the field are obviously much, much larger: Disney, Universal, Netflix...I'm not expecting the WWE to match them. But even when I look at a much smaller level, I find that the WWE is pretty much behind all of them.

By McMahon's own lofty standards, he's behind most of these companies in an area that he pretends to be a part of.

 

[#tamale]

It is a second rate entertainment company, but that's not just limited to WWE. Wrestling in general is second rate entertainment. The social stigma that wrestling has in the entertainment business is huge and no matter how popular it gets or how much money it rakes in, it is still going to be looked at as lowbrow by the top rated entertainment corporations. Just like the social stigma that comes along with reality TV and tabloid talk shows.

I don't mind Vince trying to elevate wrestling beyond that, but it's wrestling fans who have this warped view that it's viewed as second rate because of WWE when wrestling has always been viewed in that light. If anything, WWE has taken off some of the stigma that comes with pro wrestling.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

To put it mildly.

In terms of "entertainment", if you want to be realistic, WWE is not even on the radar. Wrestling as a genre is the cause of that. Who the fuck cares about what happens in wrestling, outside of the dwindling audiences that still follow it. Really. When's the last time anyone from "the outside" has been even remotely interested in watching wrestling. It hasn't happened. Not since the late 90's.

We have amazing movies, we have what seems to be the golden age of Television, we have all the music in the world available at our fingertips (literally), we have amazing music festivals, flashy concerts, entertainment in our homes, entertainment outside of our homes. Wrestling is not even on this list, and it probably won't be. Ever. It's now come back to being a niche genre with a niche following. It's just there. It won't go away. But it's there. Sitting and waiting for a miracle to happen.

WWE sucks. It's not the genre's fault it sucks. Wrestling can be pretty damn entertaining when it wants to be. But WWE doesn't want it to be, so them being the trend setters, any fluctuations (positive or negative) in wrestling's popularity are DIRECTLY related to what the WWE does. If wrestling is dying, it's because the WWE isn't doing anything to prevent it. Fuck TNA, I'm not even mentioning them. They have ZERO power over what happens in the industry. None. They do their thing. They could be amazing for a year and it won't even register on entertainment's radar. They could go out of business tomorrow and the next day things will be normal. It's not Miz's fault, it's WWE's fault. 100%, no questions, end of class. That's what happens when you want to be a big bad monopoly. You reap the rewards but also all the fingers pointed at you. If it's not the WWE, whose fault is it? Exactly. The genre is innocent, it's what happens within it that makes it good or bad, relevant or irrelevant.

"Buh-buh-but if they had competition they'd be- ..." NO! Shut the fuck up. Bullshit argument. It's not TNA's fault WWE sucks. Coca-Cola has been on top of everything for God knows how long, and they still maintain their brand, as well as the quality of their products and even put out some snazzy advertising campaigns when THEY DON'T HAVE TO! That shit advertises itself. All they have to do is pump out bottles of the crap and there you go. But they don't just do that. They're smarter than that.

WWE has become complacent. It's become Microsoft, minus the cool hip innovative competitor to kick it off its cute little throne. WWE can be good without a competitor, if they really wanted to. Passion, brains and involvement will do that for you. But there's none left in the WWE. Passionate people are creative people. LOVE for what you do alone will produce some decent results. The WWE has none of that anymore. The only passionate people are the wrestlers and the fans who support them, and their passion is quickly extinguished with a big bright red fire extinguisher (with the WWE logo on it, so it's REAL fucking corporate). Ask Chris Jericho. Ask CM Punk. Ask Daniel Bryan. Ask their fans.

I don't know if it's McMahon, or his family, or whoever's in their ear or they've just lost track of why they're doing this. Something is rotten in Denmark and to act like it's not happening is just plain old stupid.

Man, if Superhero movies have become a cash cow, wrestling has no excuse. Those things were a joke 20 years ago! Cornier than wrestling was. But they were reinvented by talented, passionate people and some great advancements in production and marketing. What's wrestling done since then? Bob Barker, The Muppets, Jericho's jacket. That's pretty much it.

As sad as it is, the last time wrestling had any attention was when Benoit blew his fucking brains out. Really puts things into perspective, don't it?

 

[GeneralKarim]

Wrestling's always been a kinda "B" tier entertainment source.Its only fans are the fans that grow up with the product and pass it down from generation to generation.

For how much WWE is advertising their damn fucking apps and their twitter to get exposure , you dont see them getting new viewers.A big part of that imo its that freaking 3 hour bs.

I mean seriously, lets say im a 20+ year old guy and I get a bit into wrestling.How am I supposed to sit through 2.5 hours of burials and gargabe and falls promises and hopes only for a little part of it to be good?

As Zeven said, WWE has lost its passion and its creativeness.And people with passion and fire get fired or treated like shit.

In terms of actual entertainment, most segments we watch we just watch to get further into the show.Most of their segments bore me to death and what VKM and co consider funny is not at all funny and they seem to not care about that, w/e makes the kids happy I guess. Hence why I just torrent the shit and skipp through all the BS.

In the big picture, I dont really care for what letter of entertainment we assign WWE.It really doesnt matter to me that WWE is not getting attention or that's its just a niche thing again.

As long as they produce quality product I will be into the product.But sadly they are not doing that right now, they are doing a lot of "Getting your hopes up and then letting you down" , and I mean A LOT. I wanted to quit watching wrestling a lot of times but then something happens and I'm like " Alright lets see where this one goes" and it almost never goes anywhere.

I used to watch RAW/Smackdown/Superstars/NXT religiously.Now? I watch RAW ( and that's only cause of DB,Punk,Shield,Wyatts,Ziggler and mb Antonio and ONLY cause of them, I dont care for Cena and Orton one bit ), I barely watch smackdown , I never watch Superstars anymore.And NXT I actually like what they are doing with it so I'll give credit where credit's due.

To me the people that still watch now are the people who cant quit and are just very used to watching and like watching even tho the product is very poor atm.And they will never,ever bring in new viewers, with CONSTANT high ratings unless they start adjusting.

Most recent example of them not adjusting is them going back to what "works" and failing miserably.They think DB is at fault for ratings, they bring in Cena vs Orton on a moments notice with 0 buildup.What happens?They get the lowest rating on RAW of this year, if I recall correctly.

I am weird like this but a part of me wants WWE to succeed and a part of me wants them to go to like constant 1.90 2.00 ratings on RAW just so they can feel the fucking pain of the passionate viewers that constantly get dissapointed by their decisions.I want them to become ALERT of their situation , I want them to feel like they need to prove themselves to us again.They are not doing that now, they are just .....here....doing shit.

 

[Revelations1]

From my understanding this Network will look alot like the NHL's online Video Vault
I think WWEN should be available much like NHL Video Vault for no more than 4.95 and WWE should unload the entire Archival Library on this network
You can also still do the streaming much like the NHL does for their two online networksWWE has become complacent. It's become Microsoft, minus the cool hip innovative competitor to kick it off its cute little throne. WWE can be good without a competitor, if they really wanted to. Passion, brains and involvement will do that for you

 

[faltemer]

If they sold it for that much it'd lose money.
The IWC and their view on what wrestling should be is wrong, period. You couldn't run the WWE and pull any sort of profit. You aren't in touch with what the majority of fans want. And I'm not saying I don't do this as well, but the things we constantly say are incorrect in terms of business.

 

[thebowtiekiller]

wrestling will always be around in one way or another imo as it has a very loyal fanbase but i suspect vince might think that wrestling has somewhat peaked and theres a good chance it wont always be the global moneymaker it is right now hence vince doing his best to make wwe known primarily as a general entertainment company as opposed to a wrestling company that also does movies and such.

i dont think the wrestling will ever fully take a back seat but i think we can expect lots more crappy reality shows movies and social media references in the future.

 

[bioshock]

I think some people are crazy in here. Some might like to sound brass and intelligent, maybe in cool cause they said "WWE SUCKS" buh buh.... But Coke a Cola's been gret forever...

WWE isn't in the business of making drinks, and food. The only form of entertainment from Coke, Pepsi and so on is tv commercials. You cant freaking compare food & beverage to real life entertainment.

WWE should be fine when it comes to its internet app, if it cost $10 a month and they get 500k to sign up, and I'm sure more then that will, then that's 5 million in profit in just one month. I don't imagine you can call that a failure.

WWE on a weekly basis fills up 15,000+ seat basketball and hockey arenas, besides the neat 80,000 showing up for WrestleMania events each year. Guess what, even the great big four sports cant do that on a regular basis. The Jags cant sell out 8 home games, some teams cant come close to selling out preseason games, MLB and NBA teams struggle to sellout regular season games or come close to filling up the place. Again WWE has all of them beat just based on what Raw draws each week.

Is the form of entertainment cheesy? Sure. Is it second rate at times? Sure. But what isn't? NFL might be the only major sport that gets everything right. WWE isn't far behind. So what if WWE isn't popular on celeb run media, or popular on the nightly news, or shown all over Sportscenter, so what. WWE Raw on a weekly basis draws in as much or more then any cable tv show not named Monday Night Football. So someone is watching, its popular somewhere.

WWE not on the radar? For just about every sporting event I see on tv every day of the week, you see at least 1 person doing Cena's "you cant see me". It doesn't matter if its Nascar, MLB, NFL, NBA, MLB, college sports, they all do it.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

I guess it depends on what you mean by second rate. They have other sports people who show up all the the time and like bioshock said you see big time sports players doing the Cena hand gesture.

Now the WWE product sucks ass right now with the exception of a few things. But things will not change until Vince is gone and I have a VERY bad feeling that Steph is Vince Jr.

Coca-Cola has been on top of everything for God knows how long, and they still maintain their brand, as well as the quality of their products and even put out some snazzy advertising campaigns when THEY DON'T HAVE TO! That shit advertises itself. All they have to do is pump out bottles of the crap and there you go. But they don't just do that. They're smarter than that.

As sad as it is, the last time wrestling had any attention was when Benoit blew his fucking brains out. Really puts things into perspective, don't it?

As far as attention goes I guess you missed when both CM Punk and The Rock were all over the news?

You ever hear of Pepsi? They have no choice but to pump out the good stuff because Pepsi is right on their ass.

I know you are anti-WWE but damn you need better shit than this.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

WWE is on the verge of a billion dollar TV deal....

Money doesn't equal how something is seen though, duck dynasty, jersey shore, and jerry springer were all big money grabbers but all seen as trailer trash tv. Attitude era wrestling and really, wrestling in general has always been seen that way. Sonoma wwe hasn't become that, it's always been that. It's side show. But they're damn good at what they do and damn successful. No matter what cynical IWC ***** say, the revenue doesn't lie.

Also, when you guys bitch that the wwe "lost its passion and creativity", instead just say "it no longer appeals to ME". Because the wwe works to draw mainstream fans. Damn near everything they do I think "that makes business sense". I don't mark out, but I'm not their target audience. Wwe runs itself like a business pushing a product, most other wrestling companies and today and forever are run by marks pushing what appeals to them. Look who's left standing with all the market share and money.

 

[GeneralKarim]

I wouldnt say it "It no longer appeals to me".

It does appeal to me, I'm not an attitude era mark, I didnt even watch wrestling in that period.

All I'm saying is that they seem to be just riding on their former glory and not trying to do something to attract people or new viewers.They say they are with the whole social media bs, but numbers dont lie and RAW has been getting some of the worst ratings for some time now.Even with Cena and Orton on top. Yea sure they make more sponsorship money and all that but the product is suffering and u cant deny that.They keep blaming talented,passionate wrestler for their lack of ratings, when its completely their fault and not the wrestler's.



My problem with them is they keep doing what's super super super safe and not taking any risks.They keep pushing a wrestler for a month then forget about him.They bring our hopes up for someone we actually like, then they squash him/her.Hell look what they are doing to AJ.After the pipe bomb she's been bested by the total divas a lot with no storyline taking place.

Its not that I want 3 hours of raw to appeal to me only.I want to see fresh faces get their chance and once they take advantage of the chance , not get freaking buried.
Arent you tired of seeing the same people on top?How is that someone being an IWC Mark?

Somebody being tired of seeing the same people on top for way too many years doesn't make them a mark who wants everything to appeal to them, it makes them a human being that has the right to get bored by stupid shit.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

They are behind at the moment, but this TV deal could be crucial. Disney are the undisputed kings of entertainment on sheer number of franchises they own. I have long suspected that Vince may be are angling more for Disney to buy them out eventually than allow it to return to being a wrestling company.

George Lucas made a killing by selling Star Wars and WWE in the house of mouse would be another interesting possibility.

The network concept is gonna take on Netflix by the sound of it, the only thing WWE has a problem with is the perception of many that it's either too watered down or not real. People suspend disbelief easier for other shows and forms of entertainment than they do for wrestling.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I guess it depends on what you mean by second rate. They have other sports people who show up all the the time and like bioshock said you see big time sports players doing the Cena hand gesture.

Now the WWE product sucks ass right now with the exception of a few things. But things will not change until Vince is gone and I have a VERY bad feeling that Steph is Vince Jr.



As far as attention goes I guess you missed when both CM Punk and The Rock were all over the news?

You ever hear of Pepsi? They have no choice but to pump out the good stuff because Pepsi is right on their ass.

I know you are anti-WWE but damn you need better shit than this.

All over ... what news? Punk did one of these talk shows, and that's about it. Rock's promotion was just as limited. Little do you know, everyone's on Conan, Letterman, Kimmel. It doesn't really make you special, and it's not exactly mainstream media.

Do you even know what "all over the news" means? Paul Walker's death. That's all over the news. CM Punk and Rock appearing on a couple of talk shows, and a few radio podcasts no one listens to because it's radio and it's 2013, is not all over the news. It's nice little promotion, but you're making it sound like the media world was buzzing.

If it was, the ratings of the show would've been up more than a hair. In Punk's case, they were even the same or lower. Rock actually brought people in (for a few weeks), but it was WrestleMania season anyway. None of them are here now, the ratings are some of the lowest we've ever seen.

Nothing was buzzing. The wrestling world was, and as we know that one's pretty damn small. Don't let that confuse you with what happened in reality. Plus, Punk was back in two weeks. Rock's hype was dead the first time he flopped during his promo, reminding us that his schtick worked only in the 90's. Cena owned him on the mic.

Some people are just in denial. WWE SUCKS! Live with it and enjoy what's left. It's what I do with TNA.