PG Rating Discussion

[LMaruko]

Once again, it seems the WWE is taking some more backward steps in order to solidify the PG rating for the WWE.

With Linda McMahon a part of the Connecticut State Board of Education, she has started to make even more changes with PG Rating.

• There is to strictly be NO blood
• Very Little Sexuality (Except for some comedy Skits)
• No threatening or serious Violence
• To Deliver a More clean and Wholesome family product

The main reason for this is to not have it all backfire and thrown back at her by rival politicians

Source:wrestlinginc.com

What is WRONG with Vince?! I could understand with children watching wrestling nowadays and lawsuit hungry parents, but holy hell! I thought Vince was more for his business than anything, but to completely cut out blood, violence, and sexual themes kills a lot of the aspects of the WWE! I've always heard the phrase being thrown around on some wrestling sites; "more red equals more green," and "sex sells."

With these strict guidelines, I'd probably get more violence and sexual themes out of watching Bambi or Lion King than watching the WWE.

Nonetheless, to save Linda's ass from the political standpoint of having "violence" and "sex" thrown back at her for a educational two year term (February 2011) is absurd! For two years?! I really don't want to put up with goody-two shoe shows for an entire two years just to save Linda's face. But as we all are, we're going to have to put up with it, just because the CEO and Chairman says so.

What happened to the Chairman's massive grapefruits? Juiced by the political machine called the Connecticut Board of Education and his wife? lol

I have been an avid fan of the WWE for quite some time, and this is a major disappointment. This whole PG rating dulls the creative side of things and will eventually kill the product. And ratings. Give it a year's time with this crap, and iMPACT will eventually become a competitor in ratings.

Your thoughts?

 

[X]

Vince and Linda have just completely have lost touch with the wrestling business. While it's true that wrestling popularity tends to go in cycles, it's also true that the wrestling business is a constantly evolving thing. What worked 20 years ago will most likely not work today. Why can't they see that what they are striving for will ultimately only alienate more people? Most young wrestling fans become fans of the business in the first place by being exposed to wrestling from older fans/family members. By targeting their product towards children, they begin to alienate the older fans. With more and more older fans dropping off, it creates less exposure for young people in the future.

The truth of the matter though is that this decision has nothing to do with business and everything to do with politics and public perception of the McMahons. With negative publicity like the Benoit murders and steroids being linked to the company again, McMahon is trying to undo the damage.

This strategy is going to backfire on the WWE, and big-time. I'm already predicting a dip in the ratings, possibly a serious one. Perhaps they're trying to harken back to the golden age of the Hulkamania 1980s, but those days are dead and can never be brought back. Your average wrestling fan is way too smart now a days to ever want to sit through something "family friendly" like the Gobbledygooker again. With the invention of the internet, those kayfabe days are dead and will never be brought back, ever.

Screw this family friendly image, what they really should be doing is trying to push the envelope again similiar to the Attitude era. Wrestling fans constantly want to see new, fresh things, a new spin on something old. They don't want to see another flag-waving mega-babyface, and if one were introduced he'd probably fall flat on his face. After guys like The Rock and Stone Cold became the biggest stars in the industry, the days of the traditional babyface becoming huge were all but dead. An example of this could probably be cited as John Cena. While extremely popular with WWE fans, the man has absolutely no crossover potential whatsoever, and it doesn't matter how many action films he does, until he sheds the mega-babyface image, he's not going to transcend the business like The Rock & Austin did. Granted Austin didn't achieve as much mainstream success as The Rock, but a good portion of this had to do with timing. If Austin had starred in an action film in 1999 instead of 2007, I'm sure it would have been a hit. Everyone from Jay Leno to Regis Philbin was talking about the guy back then.

I went a bit off topic there, but hopefully the gist of what I'm saying is understandable.

This is all going to backfire on the McMahons, just wait and see.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Once again, it seems the WWE is taking some more backward steps in order to solidify the PG rating for the WWE.


What is WRONG with Vince?! I could understand with children watching wrestling nowadays and lawsuit hungry parents, but holy hell! I thought Vince was more for his business than anything, but to completely cut out blood, violence, and sexual themes kills a lot of the aspects of the WWE!

That stuff, for the most part, has been cut out for years. Where have you been? Couldn't you see it with your own two eyes, or did you need a news report to tell you this?

I've always heard the phrase being thrown around on some wrestling sites; "more red equals more green," and "sex sells."

Sex does sell. And violence does sell, as well. And that has been proven. And I like those things mixed in with my wrestling. Because that is a more adult-based product, intended for people our ages.

But let's try this squeaky clean product, and we'll see how long it sells. I only wish all prices of his products were back to what they were back in the early part of the decade, so we could get a true, financial comparison, as well.

Vince makes up for his lost profits from back then, by simply increasing his prices and running more overseas tours, which tickets overseas is much higher than it is here in the States and Canada.

With these strict guidelines, I'd probably get more violence and sexual themes out of watching Bambi or Lion King than watching the WWE.

If you want the sex, the cursing, the violence, and all the other stuff that used to come with the WWE when it was more popular, you aren't going to get it anymore. I had to force myself to accept that fact, as hard as it was.

Nonetheless, to save Linda's ass from the political standpoint of having "violence" and "sex" thrown back at her for a educational two year term (February 2011) is absurd! For two years?! I really don't want to put up with goody-two shoe shows for an entire two years just to save Linda's face. But as we all are, we're going to have to put up with it, just because the CEO and Chairman says so.

Well, I for one am not putting up with it. And from one fan of the traditional WWE to another, hopefully you and others will also put your foot down and turn WWE off, starting now. We'll just have to wait a few years, and hopefully we'll get a product similar to what we once enjoyed, back again.

What happened to the Chairman's massive grapefruits? Juiced by the political machine called the Connecticut Board of Education and his wife? lol

The grapefruits were nothing more than PR, and a figment of his own imagination.

I have been an avid fan of the WWE for quite some time, and this is a major disappointment. This whole PG rating dulls the creative side of things and will eventually kill the product. And ratings. Give it a year's time with this crap, and iMPACT will eventually become a competitor in ratings.

Well, it isn't my cup of tea, I certainly admit. I've proposed solutions to this problem, but Vince loyalists who are in love with today's product, who can't get enough of the same product on all 4 of WWE's television shows, do not want to hear about any deviation whatsoever, other than what is currently on TV today.

I don't know. I am of the mindset that WWE can still be financially successful with the PG rating. They haven't tested this philosophy out long enough in recent times to make that determination, but they probably can be. It just won't be as successful as what it would be if they offered a few different products that appealed to more people. But it can still be "successful" as it is, in a technical sense.

But again, one has to question whether or not that their pandering to advertisers and politicians is going to kill the long-term interest in the product, or if people are simply going to become bored by it all.

The best advice I can possibly give for those that do not like what you are seeing on your TV today, to tune out. I know that's very hard to do, believe me. But I gradually took steps in that direction, and have finally turned Raw off, as of this week, along with the other shows, which I haven't watched in some time.

It is clear, especially with this, that Vince has absolutely no intention of changing directions whatsoever. So the only way to force his hand is to hit him in the wallet, and stop supporting him.

Either tune out of wrestling altogether, and watch something like UFC instead, OR learn to force yourself to like TNA. I know that is also hard to do, if you are a WWE loyalist.

Or the third option, if you don't have it in you to stop watching wrestling, or to simply force yourself to like TNA, is to force yourself to like what WWE is offering you, and accept it. I tried for a couple years, and I simply can not force myself to like Vince's current product. So, I'm done with it. I'm just deciding whether to give TNA another try or to simply move on to something else.

Vince and Linda have just completely lost touch with the wrestling business. While it's true that wrestling popularity tends to go in cycles, it's also true that the wrestling business is a constantly evolving thing. What worked 20 years ago will most likely not work today.

I don't think so either, but we'll see. I think the popularity of John Cena (or lack thereof, compared to past WWE Marquess stars like Hogan, Austin, and The Rock) is an indicator that you are correct in that assumption.

Why can't they see that what they are striving for will ultimately only alienate more people?

I agree that it will, and is sending older fans away, who like the adult stuff. Put it this way, if that wasn't happening, then Vince wouldn't have done McMahon's Million Dollar Giveaway and stated that his purpose for doing so was to bring back the fans who have left over the years.

Most young wrestling fans become fans of the business in the first place by being exposed to wrestling from older fans/family members. By targeting their product towards children, they begin to alienate the older fans. With more and more older fans dropping off, it creates less exposure for young people in the future.

Vince's solution to that is to have Hornswoggle run around the ring each and every week on Raw. I would just love to see how well his merchandise sells. But apparently, I had a friend who attended Access for Wrestlemania, and he said that Hornswoggle worked EVERY SINGLE Access session, and that his lines were always, constantly long, the entire time.

So, it makes you wonder.

 

[Drue]

I know this has been said before, but it needs to be said again. TNA Execs, if you're there, I want you to read the following statement very carefully.

THIS IS TNA'S CHANCE!!

If TNA ever wants to compete with WWE or even beat them, NOW IS THE TIME TO STRIKE!! TNA, it's time for you to start pushing the envelope. Give us bloody feuds with Monster's Ball Matches and Full Metal Mayhem and any other violent match types you can think of! Give us sexually suggesting storylines, you wanna be different from WWE? Your slogan is Cross the Line. Well TNA, now is the time for you to Cross The Line into the edgiest product you can get away with, back it up with solid storylines and good matches, and your ratings, profit, buyrates, sales, EVERYTHING WILL SKYROCKET!!

You're on the right path:

Beautiful People's camera angles/and obvious sexual reference with mi pi sexy: GREAT! Go Edgier.

Bringing in Raven, Stevie/Abyss storyline: Keep going! Bring on the violence (and Monster Abyss)

A character named SUICIDE? Nice work.

I know I'm sounding a bit Mark-ish, but TNA has NEVER had a better oppurtunity to match or surpass WWE in ratings. If they can put out the product that the fans are asking for, they will go through the roof like a Triple H push.

 

[LMaruko]

Well, it isn't my cup of tea, I certainly admit. I've proposed solutions to this problem, but Vince loyalists who are in love with today's product, who can't get enough of the same product on all 4 of WWE's television shows, do not want to hear about any deviation whatsoever, other than what is currently on TV today.

I don't know. I am of the mindset that WWE can still be financially successful with the PG rating. They haven't tested this philosophy out long enough in recent times to make that determination, but they probably can be.

But again, one has to question whether or not that their pandering to advertisers and politicians is going to kill the long-term interest in the product, or if people are simply going to become bored by it all.

The best advice I can possibly give for those that do not like what you are seeing on your TV today, to tune out. I know that's very hard to do, believe me. But I gradually took steps in that direction, and have finally turned Raw off, as of this week, along with the other shows, which I haven't watched in some time.

It is clear, especially with this, that Vince has absolutely no intention of changing directions whatsoever. So the only way to force his hand is to hit him in the wallet, and stop supporting him.

Either tune out of wrestling altogether, and watch something like UFC instead, OR learn to force yourself to like TNA. I know that is also hard to do, if you are a WWE loyalist.

Or the third option, if you don't have it in you to stop watching wrestling, or to simply force yourself to like TNA, is to force yourself to like what WWE is offering you, and accept it. I tried for a couple years, and I simply can not force myself to like Vince's current product. So, I'm done with it. I'm just deciding whether to give TNA another try or to simply move on to something else.

Oh, I agree with you wholeheartedly, Sidious. I myself have been sporadically watching WWE when I am able to (or when I feel the urge to record it while I am out), but I just can't watch it anymore without being remotely entertained. RAW used to be my favorite out of all the three shows (I used to sit down and watch it while my kids were in bed), but I'm more inclined to change it to something else or fall asleep. I'm even finding TNA a bit more interesting (slightly) than the WWE (but I'm a Stinger fan).

I mean, I agree with your ideas just to tune out and turn away. But like you said, there are a lot of loyalists out there who just simply do not care and sit with a blank-stare at the TV hoping for something spectacular to happen. And there is a financially stable WWE for the PG rating, but for how long? How long will it captivate the older audience, for introduction to the younger audience? I remember when my dad sat me down in front of the TV and pulled me into the world of wrestling and Hulkamania with broadcasts and taped videos, but like you said; that was 20 years ago, and wrestling has changed. All of us fans of the 80's have evolved to enjoy the Attitude era and we're still fans, but as a human being, our tastes have evolved to a new palete (sp?).

Hopefully, like you and I, fans can get up and walk away until Vince realizes something is very wrong with his product.

 

[codebreaker212p]

I really am sadned by the wwe as of recently. This is not the same product that I grew up with. Its turned into a "do all things right" and "be good" crapfest. Every so now and then I come home from work, and I want to see some good entertainment, because nowadays there is not much to watch. Now wwe is becoming just like that. A fad into this stupid generation that will take anything wwe has without complaint. Those are not real fans of the product. I may catch heat for that but I just dont care anymore. Screw the kids, if they can't handle it, they shouldn't watch it. All I have left now is youtube where I can watch the glory days of wrestling (98-02'). I can understand Vince wanting a larger audience but this rating hasn't helped at all. Ratings aren't higher, less companies want to be assocaited with wwe anymore, and more us "real fans" are being drawn away 6 year olds that barely even know how to spell "WWE." I think once Vince steps down a lot will improve but with Vince saying that he wont die, it could be a while. I want tna to be competition to wwe to have this PG thing bite wwe right on their ass. But tna isn't doing anything at this point. So now was weird as this sound I want Raw to srop big time in the ratings, in the low 2.0's Because only then will Vince wake up and realize that kids don't make the product. Do you see kids buy ppv's? Do you see kids going alone to events? No, the adults do. That's what Vince doesn't get. Last weeks Raw was the worst I had ever seen, and now I think wwe has hit an all time low.

 

[JGlass]

I might be all alone here, but I think the whole PG thing is nothing to stress out about. Yes, some things may change, there may be no more live sex celebrations or massive amounts of blood loss, but can't we live without that? I think it's safe to say that not on person on these forums tune into RAW every Monday just to see somebody bleed or to see if by some chance, two superstars almost have sex.

Since the PG rating, we've had a home invasion with a sledge hammer, a cross dresser, brutal beatings with steel chairs and sledge hammers, John Cena being chokeslammed into a light which EXPLODED on him, adultery, mocking mentally challenged people, and a lot of other stuff that probably isn't setting a good example for this PG audience.

So guess what? The WWE is no different than it was before the PG rating. We can live without Katie Vick and Sexual Chocolate, can't we? Cryme Tyme is still racist and we can still all enjoy Melina's entrance, so quit complaining. We're watching the show for the wrestling and the storytelling, not for the blood or sex.

 

[scabooshmoo1]

how the hell does the wwe think there older fans (18+) got interested into wrestling in the first place.. it sure as hell wasnt because of this pg/no blood/no threats bullshit. i love wwe and will continue to watch it but i realy do hope that the wwe continues to have these rating drops and for tna to realy become a threat.. beacuse sadly i think thats what it is going to take before the wwe wakes up to themsleves. Looks like im going to watch TNA more.

 

[Drue]

Screw the kids, if they can't handle it, they shouldn't watch it.

Here's the thing. It's not the kids that are the problem. It's the parents. Would most kids mind watching sex filled, raunchy, violent, bloody action? HELL NO! Do the parents mind it? YES!! And therein lies the problem. If WWE does something the parents (Especially the ones that don't like to PARENT their kids) don't like, the parents will complain to FCC, file lawsuit, etc. Here's an example:

Little Johnny sees his favorite wrestler hit another guy with a metal object. Johnny thinks its cool. Johnny's mom is too busy shopping online, meeting with girlfriends, etc. to pay attention to Little Johnny and teach him the difference between Reality and Fantasy/Trained Pros and kids. Little Johnny goes to Little Jimmy's house. Johnny grabs metal object and tells Little Jimmy to let him hit it. Little Jimmy's mom is just as neglectful, so he says Okay. Little Jimmy ends up with a concussion/brain damage, his mom SUDDENLY cares about her son, sues Little Johnny's mom, WWE, etc. or gathers more soccer mom's into a group to get the FCC to ban wrestling from TV or get advertisers to pull their money from WWE.

America: Where you have Freedom of Speech and Expression, unless some decides its offensive.

 

[666_The_Game_666]

If WWE want to tone stuff down because of younger viewers its fine but i guess its gonna be a bit boring with no outrageous stuff say from like the Austin Era but from this year some pretty awsome stuff has happend i mean people still give their finishers to Vince and went after his whole family after that i mean Orton could be the one to give a hard edge to the wwe

 

[Razor Blade Dream]

No serious violence? Kiss Orton's character and Punt of Doom goodbye. The guy dropped a Steph on her head and gave her a slobbering kiss to piss off HHH. What is he going to do now? Say, "You know, I don't like you HHH but dammit, I apologize for kicking you and harming the entire McMahon family for no reason, in fact, lets get a sandwich, me and you, and we can talk this over." And need we forget HHH's home invasion of Orton's house. That isn't on the lines of the Pillman/Austin gun angle, but it is in the same vein.


I grew up during the golden age of Hulkamania and through the dark turn of events that were the mid 90's before the Attitude era. The thing was though, it was exciting to watch no matter what. Even ******* characters like Max Moon caught your attention even if he looked like a fuckin jackass hopping on the steps and using fire extinguishers as a "rocket." You still watched it because you were remotely interested in what was going on.

I fucking hate how it is now, I can't tolerate watching Raw. I barely watch Smackdown, I just read the spoilers and I just skim to see what Jericho is up to. The thing is though, what exactly does the public want? We, as fans, want the 98-02 type shit where it was solid match after solid match and we had guys like RVD and Kurt Angle putting on, to use a cliche' phrase, wrestling clinic. Nowadays, we have Randal Boreton with his lethargic promos, Cena trying his best to be Hogan without telling us to say our prayers and eat our vitamins, Batista being Warrior 2.0, Edge being, well, a guy that is 35 not 25, give it up brah. I could go on, but you see my point. The public at large does not give a shit about wrestling right now. It isn't the "in" thing so the ratings will be under the 3's. We had our bloodlust during the hardcore ECW era and such.

I mean, what brought wrestling to the masses? Awesome characters. Hogan put on shit storm matches but you fucking believed in the guy. The Monday Night Wars had slick writing that pushed the envelope. And when Austin pushed Tyson, no one knew if it was a work or not. The reason shows like Jon and Kate Plus 8 are doing stupid high ratings now is because they are having marital issues and people are tuning in to see how it plays out on the camera.

No matter what the conservative school board thinks and wants, the American public are hardcore into celebrities lives and what happens after scandals. Yet, wrestling has a new scandal every week and no one tunes in to see what is going on. Mostly because a guy dies so his scandalous saga is over and there is no reason to tune in. But they need a Austin/Tyson type of thing. Not so much a celebrity but have two wrestlers in public on a show like Conan and after a few ribs at each other they got pissed and they haul off and beat the shit out of each other and destroy the set. But make it look real and have the camera go black or whatever. They need something that would get the public's attention. It is not seeing the NeverEnder that is Orton and his two jobber friends. It is watching a scandal played out in front of the public's eyes and then they will come salivating like Pavlov's dog to the screen every week.

As boring as the characters are now, give it a few more weeks and they will be talking their problems out on a couch in the middle of the ring if they don't shake it up.

 

[LMaruko]

I might be all alone here, but I think the whole PG thing is nothing to stress out about. Yes, some things may change, there may be no more live sex celebrations or massive amounts of blood loss, but can't we live without that? I think it's safe to say that not on person on these forums tune into RAW every Monday just to see somebody bleed or to see if by some chance, two superstars almost have sex.

Mind you, I usually don't tune in to RAW to JUST see someone bleed, but it is a plus. However, I used to tune into Smackdown just to hear Tazz rip on ol' Michael Cole... classic stuff.

As for the blood factor, it takes away even more possibilities from the lackluster ECW brand. I was really looking forward to SOME sort of blood in the Extreme Rules PPV, but now with this crap that Linda is pulling, it's going to look faker than kayfabe already is.

Since the PG rating, we've had a home invasion with a sledge hammer, a cross dresser, brutal beatings with steel chairs and sledge hammers, John Cena being chokeslammed into a light which EXPLODED on him, adultery, mocking mentally challenged people, and a lot of other stuff that probably isn't setting a good example for this PG audience. So guess what? The WWE is no different than it was before the PG rating. We can live without Katie Vick and Sexual Chocolate, can't we? Cryme Tyme is still racist and we can still all enjoy Melina's entrance, so quit complaining. We're watching the show for the wrestling and the storytelling, not for the blood or sex.

And this is the stuff that is keeping the WWE afloat. With Linda now scrapping such violence just to save face in politics (just to keep a two year goody-two-shoes job) is really sad.

Granted, ever since the PG rating changed, the creative department has been trying to push a lot of buttons and make the WWE a product that both audiences can enjoy. But considering the fact that Linda is weighing her options from losing money to a education board job that'll last for two years isn't very smart... at least from a business sense. It'll take away a lot of what the WWE has made and built upon. Imagine a lot of PPVs and shows without the violence that we have even today. Imagine First Blood matches... with no blood? "Threatening, violent and sexy" gimmick matches like the Texas Bullrope match, bra and panties matches, No DQ/Last Man Standing, TLC matches... pretty much all of them will be scrapped because they violate these guidelines. Matches like these help feuds. And like any other fan, I am a sucker for a good feud. And these matches are WHY I tune in, because of a culminating feud. These four guidelines will restrict a lot of things creative-wise and cut a lot of ideas out.

All because Linda wants to make herself look good at her husband's expense... Wow, this sounds just like good ol' Vince in storylines.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

LMaruko, first of all, I appreciate your follow-up comments to mine.

One does have to decide what Vince's real goal was in all this ... as I touched on in the other thread with Heyman claiming that Vince wanted to gradually make the WWE more like the UFC". One has to wonder if that was his real goal, and in doing so to make for a more realistic product ... OR was the PG rating his real goal ... to try and stay attractive with advertisers, and get in good with having politicians in his pocket.

If the PG rating was his real goal, then that would explain why he is trying to make the product seem more like a real sport. Since he can not do the storylines and do the characters like he used to do in the past ... he simply is going to change course, and try to get more people like his product, strictly for the wrestling action, itself ... without an emphasis on anything else. So what I see him doing, is trying to change the mindsets of his fans, in telling them what they should be liking with his product. And today, I see him telling his fanbase, "You should like my product, plain and simply for the quality of wrestling. Nothing else. And for that reason, and that reason alone, that is enough reason you should be giving me $45 a month."

I think back in the day, people used to like wrestling for the total package of what it provided. I'm talking about the gimmicks/characters, the storylines, the wrestling, the comedy ... everything.

Today, that has changed, and he seemingly wants people to like wrestling, strictly for the wrestling itself. And again, to that I reply ... if it was just the wrestling and fighting I was interested in, then why should I bother watching a scripted wrestling product ... and not watch the real thing, like UFC?

 

[JGlass]

As for the blood factor, it takes away even more possibilities from the lackluster ECW brand. I was really looking forward to SOME sort of blood in the Extreme Rules PPV, but now with this crap that Linda is pulling, it's going to look faker than kayfabe already is.

I'll give it to you, seeing a guy bleed is always a plus, but I'm not going to be turned off from the product just because there will be fewer guys bleeding. Hell, Jeff Hardy bled a little bit out his eye tonight, so this should show you that guys are still going to be bust open the hard way every now and then. Therefore, there is still the possibility of you getting your bloodshed at Extreme Rules.

Granted, ever since the PG rating changed, the creative department has been trying to push a lot of buttons and make the WWE a product that both audiences can enjoy.

And in my opinion, it has! RAW isn't as bad as many make it out to be, guys like The Miz and MVP have made watching it real worth while. So far, I have no real problem with whatever changes may have been made.

It'll take away a lot of what the WWE has made and built upon.

This comment confuses me. I know recently (almost 10 years ago) the WWE/F focused on some pretty crude storylines, but lets keep in mind the family friendly program they had during the days of Hogan worked too. The wrestling business, much like any industry, goes through cycles. This could just be another cycle and we'll get another attitude era type thing later.

Imagine a lot of PPVs and shows without the violence that we have even today.

Imagine First Blood matches... with no blood? "Threatening, violent and sexy" gimmick matches like the Texas Bullrope match, bra and panties matches, No DQ/Last Man Standing, TLC matches... pretty much all of them will be scrapped because they violate these guidelines.

We may not get any more first blood matches, but there will be plenty of other gimmick matches. I believe there is going to be a bullrope match at Extreme Rules, as well as a No DQ match, the Cena/Big Show match at Backlash was a last man standing, and I know it's not a TLC match, but there will also be a ladder match at Extreme Rules. They're not getting scrapped.

Matches like these help feuds. And like any other fan, I am a sucker for a good feud. And these matches are WHY I tune in, because of a culminating feud. These four guidelines will restrict a lot of things creative-wise and cut a lot of ideas out.

Matches like these help feuds if they are good matches! A good match without a gimmick does the job too. If you tune in for the gratuitous amounts of violence, then you are out of luck, but most wrestling fans tune in for the wrestling and story lines, not the steel chairs. These guidelines will restrict some in-ring stuff, but creative will still come up with great storylines. As far as I'm concerned, some of the best storylines this past year had nothing that would violate these new PG restrictions, unless Jericho punching HBK's wife qualifies.

 

[LMaruko]

I understand that there are a lot of bloodshed, violence, and sexuality going on RIGHT NOW, and with the Extreme Rules PPV coming up, obviously there HAS to be extreme hardcore gratuity. But what I am trying to get at is the factors of what WILL happen in the future:

There is to strictly be NO blood
Very Little Sexuality (Except for some comedy Skits)
No threatening or serious Violence
To Deliver a More clean and Wholesome family product

Linda McMahon will hold that Board of Education position for two years. And mind you, all these factors will arise over time (maybe after Extreme Rules or "the Bash"). As Linda doesn't want all the PG/PG-13 showcases to backfire in her face for political reasons, she'll abolish what we are CURRENTLY watching (which sucks). As I have just referenced to, things can change. One Night Stand, Vengence, The GREAT AMERICAN Bash, all changed names. What we watch NOW is sufficient (even though the product is lacking), but like I said before, imagine all what we see now (Orton's Boot of Death, HHH's sledgehammer, D-X crotch chops, Jericho and his women-bashing) will cease to be, along with a lot of other concepts.

I'm seriously expecting a storyline in the next two years about Edge nearly getting away with a title win, if it weren't for those meddling Superstars... and Hornswoggle too.

 

[NDN Souljaa]

If Vince indeed is switching his product towards a PG rating (or worse as time goes on) and thinks that it is going to change public perception about "rasslin", hes got another thing coming. The fact that wrestling is a 'stupid thing to watch' is ingrained in the minds of most people. Toning down his show and in the process alienating his fanbase isnt the answer. Its like finding out OJ Simpson decided to plant a tree. Does that really change your view of him? Probably not. Vince's whole excuse is that they have to 'change with the times', and that he actually finds the antics of TNA as reprehensible. Are you kidding me? Im not sure what 'times' he has to change with and TNA is not that bad even if it does have a TV-14 rating. Is he trying to change cuz the media frenzy of the murder, suicides, and early deaths? If thats the case, showing no sexuality, blood, or violence isnt going to solve that. Wrestlers are still going to take bumps, and they will still be popping pills. And the early deaths will still be inevitable, as will the newspaper headlines. So if he wants the stigma of mortality cleansed from him, the first thing he should do is lessen the schedule with the house shows. Not have Steve Austin at the HOF ceremony pump a fist rather than the finger. But I digress..


90% of the 6 year olds that watch wrestling and catering to now are probably not gna be fans of it next year, once the new fad on tv comes out. I think he is forgetting that kids are KIDS..not miniature adults. Yes wrestling may go in cycles, but there is a reason that EVERY kid and parent growing up in the 80s knew the hulkster and everyone in the 90s knew austin..but most in this era have still never heard of Cena and Orton. If whatever vince has been doing was correct, then the casual skateboarding kid would know of guys like Cena. They dont. But ask the same kid who The Undertaker is, and he'll tell you. So what pisses me off the most is not that hes screwing all of us that have been watching for the past 10-20 years, but that he is screwing the business as a whole. If PG was giving Raw a 6 or 7 spot on the ratings, i wouldnt mind because i would know that something great was going to be around the corner...but unfortunately it looks bleak. But he doesnt care because he knows that guys like us will always come back. We are fixed. Hes trying to mess around and increase the variable viewers. So as Lord Sidious said, the only way we can make our point is to tune out. Not watch Raw for a couple episodes. Just read the spoilers maybe youtube or something the next day. and i mean ALL of us in the IWC. we can create an effort like Earth Hour and make a little dent in his wallet to wake up his 60something year old mind. At this point im willing to try anything. God I miss Inferno Matches, ECW, and even Sable.

 

[tnarage2]

I Think It Is The Parents Fault I Mean Kids Watch Power Rangers And Pokemon And Their Getting More Violent Than The Wwe . But When Jericho Came Back To Save Us He Wasnt Going To Save Us From Orton He Was Going Ton Save Us From The Crappy Pg Raiting That Is And Y Do U Think Edge Is Called The Rated R Superstar For A Reason So He Can Also Help Bring Back The Good Old Days Or Better And Now When Stone Cold Does A Comeback Thing He Wont Drink Beer He Would Drink Tea And Instead Of Flipin The Bird He Would Just Put His Fists Up And Why Do You Think The Ecw Orignals Left Because Of The Crappy Pg Rating Come On Parents Theres A Thing Called A V Chip And Here Is A Quote From A Wise Man " Have You Ever Turn Off The Tv Sat Your Kids Down And Hitting Them" Quote From Bender Of Futrama But Really Dont Hit Your Kids Sofuck The Fcc Fuck Tv Raitings Just Use A V Chip Its Not Like There Going To Watch More Violent Things See Girls. Who Have Parents That Are Over Dramatic Are The Ones That Are Ending Up Getting Pregnant Like Britanys Sister . So Dont Go And Seu People For No Good Reason We Are Losing The Right Of The Comandments Freedom Of Speech And Freedom Of Expresion.

 

[Drue]

It was mentioned before that wrestling interest does go in cycles, right now its just the down end of the cycle, like the time right before the Attitude Era. I think however that this PG ratings thing is gonna end up being a BLESSING not a curse. Think about it this way:

Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter catch wind of the new PG ratings thing. So they take advantage of it (maybe fire Russo) and begin turning their product into a slightly tweaked or toned down Attitude Era type thing. So gradually word gets out, TNA's ratings start going up, beating ECW again......then Superstars.......then SmackDown.......then RAW. Vince panics, he tells his wife to forget the politics, his wallet is getting thin. Vince completely overhauls the WWE product, suddenly we see Austin/DX/Rock type characters, raunchy storylines, and all the violence you could want. The boom period begins again, and suddenly wrestling is cool again.

 

[LMaruko]

So as Lord Sidious said, the only way we can make our point is to tune out. Not watch Raw for a couple episodes. Just read the spoilers maybe youtube or something the next day. and i mean ALL of us in the IWC. we can create an effort like Earth Hour and make a little dent in his wallet to wake up his 60something year old mind. At this point im willing to try anything. God I miss Inferno Matches, ECW, and even Sable.

All in all, I agree. I believe that maybe we as the IWC should start an uprising against the WWE. Maybe for two weeks. Hell, try for for a whole month to give Vince a heart attack and have his ass wake up and fire the intern from accounting who first thought of the whole "PG ratings" because s/he wanted his/her kids to watch it without being offended. I wouldn't know how to begin such a feat (I'm sure there are people on this forum who know connects), but it is a start. We have the internet. We get spoilers here and there (even from WWE.com itself to compete with the IWC).

Start the revolution and protest. All of the IWC, turn away from the WWE, and if you must get your fill, watch TNA. Give Vince McMahon a wake up call.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Well...I don't know what the status of those changes are, but the thing is...if the WWE goes this route, they will plummet in the ratings like crazy. I don't care how much merchandise they sell to kids, or how many sponsors want to latch their name on to the show's PPV's. If there's no one watching the show, the sponsors will leave anyway.

The WWE went from being too tawdry for advertisers to not being watched enough to have advertisers. Wrestling is a violent sport. How can you possibly have a wrestling show without instances of blood? How can you have a show with beautiful women if you don't see them in their bra and panties every once in a while? It doesn't make good business sense. They'll win over the parents and stuff, but eventually, the die hards will find Spike TV and watch TNA Wrestling where violence and sex are still on the menu. Now, I'm not saying the Diva's need to start being half naked all the time and every match needs blood. I'm just saying if it's not broke, don't fix it.

And as what was said before, the McMahon's are possibly losing touch with the fans in general. I mean, getting AT&T as a sponsor is a huge step for them. During the Attitude Era, ATT, Pepsi, and other sponsors would run away from the WWE's programming. Now, they attach their names to the only world recognized brand of wrestling in the United States.

It's basically the WWE selling their souls for advertising and politics. This won't bode well for them in the future.

 

[JETER123]

The thing that kills me the most about this PG crap is the live audience reactions. All you hear in the crowd is little kids screaming and young girls going gaga. Not only that, but these kids have no idea about what makes a good match. The kids are completely mute for a sick move. They have no idea when a guy besides John Cena or Evan Bourne are setting up for their signature moves.

Not only that...but the way for somebody to reach megastar status has normally been how their character shines though as a heel. You almost have to get over as a heel first to become a mega star. Austin, Rock, Cena, Orton, Edge, Christian, Jericho, Batista, Kane, Undertaker, Razor Ramon, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Shawn Michaels...the list goes on and on. These little kids aren't gonna suddenly start cheering The Hart Trilogy or Shelton Benjamin. Half these little brats don't even know who Goldust is.

If Bill Goldberg came back to the WWE tomorrow, a lot of these kids wouldn't even know who he is.

 

[shankdc231]

This is how i think the PG rating is bull. First thing that comes to my mind is the PPV's okay, with the new no blood, no sex, no threats of violence its pretty much your paying $39.99 for your kid to Dora the Explorer. NO SEX WTF the hot women wearing close to nothing is what got me watching wrestling in the first place. Now no blood around the main effect that puts the coating to a good match is gone. What is going to happen next, they going to try to make the SvR games rated E? I knew all this crap was going to happen when they made the WWE kids magazine, they were doing fine when they just the action figures for kids. Now look there trying to bring back the submission match you know why, because to do hell in a cell you have to have blood, what are they going to do next have a night dedicated to finisher matches.


R.I.P. First Blood matches you will be missed!!!

 

[JimmyLeviathan]

I don't understand. If WWE doesn't want superstars to threaten other superstars then how the hell are they supposed to start feuds?

Batista: Oh hello Edge old boy
Edge: Hello Batista. Say, want to have a wrestling match.
Batista. Why ever would we do that?
Edge: For the mere sport of it my chum. We could wrestle right now if you'd like?
Batista: Yes we could, but let's not.
Edge: Agreed.

Vince = Buzz Killington

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

I don't understand. If WWE doesn't want superstars to threaten other superstars then how the hell are they supposed to start feuds?

Batista: Oh hello Edge old boy
Edge: Hello Batista. Say, want to have a wrestling match.
Batista. Why ever would we do that?
Edge: For the mere sport of it my chum. We could wrestle right now if you'd like?
Batista: Yes we could, but let's not.
Edge: Agreed.

Vince = Buzz Killington

Well, feuds involving the titles will simply be made exclusively about the titles. That's the Norm right now in this day and age, anyway. Then, we have Number One contendership feuds which will also be about the titles.

As far as the Undercard, as we know the Undercard is horrendous, and Vince doesn't do much to push it at all. Instead, we can rely on the tried and true Wrestler A attacking Wrestler B after a match for no reason, and then have them fight on the upcoming PPV.

Storylines are seemingly going away and the Entertainment is seemingly going away. Vince seems to essentially be emphasizing simply the in-ring action and supposed "thrill of just competition" between any two stars.

 

[tj177mmi]

The thing that kills me the most about this PG crap is the live audience reactions. All you hear in the crowd is little kids screaming and young girls going gaga.

Exactly. You go watch videos on Youtube of The RAWs from 1997 through 2008 before PG, and you hear the live crowd. The crowd gets into it and is apart of the show. Now? The crowd is deaf and quiet. Isn't that what makes LIVE TV is the Heat of the crowd. The knowledgeable fans who help build the heat, instead of the parents and kids who are only there to see John Cena, Evan Bourne, Jeff Hardy, ect.

Not only is the PG killing the midcard, but its also hurting Legacy. How over would Legacy be able to get if they were able to do more, instead of pick a fight and then get their asses handed to them? I mean seriously, let Orton pawn them off to do vicious acts to other players involved and get them truly over as evil and bad.

Vince has long time viewers that continue to watch, but slowly they are turning their tv's off because Jon & Kate Plus 8 is becoming more interesting than Monday Night Raw.