Should The WWE Give Up Trying to Change the Media's Opinion?

[Tenta]

Let's face it... The WWE, for whatever reason, has a vested interest in changing the media's perception of wrestling. Linda McMahon is running for Senator. Vince took his company, hoping to be seen in a more positive light. All of the things lobbyist groups such as the PTC would rally against have been all but removed from television. Vince seems willing to cater to the media, and give them a different perception of his company.

But is their really a successful way to do such a thing?

I mean, if you really think about it, the WWE is continually ridiculed by the media, still. Sportscenter takes every chance it can to take a pot shot at Vince's company. CNN and MSNBC still have pundits on their television who lambast the WWE whenever there's another death in the wrestling business, even if the wrestler never worked for the WWE. Even the White House has heat with the McMahons:

It was recently reported that Linda McMahon used President Obama’s message to the soldiers on Saturday’s “Tribute To The Troops” show as a way of showing that he endorsed the company’s product.

Apparently, White House people weren't too thrilled about this as they issued a statement to The Hartford Courant. They stated that the message for the troops was not done in any way to show support to the WWE.

Jeez, the WWE just can never seem to win anyone over, do they? It seems that the only person that wants any part of the WWE is Dick Ebersol and Donald Trump. Barry Diller wants no part of the WWE. Congress wants no part of the WWE. Even Obama doesn't seem to want a part of the WWE.

So the question's simple... Should the WWE go out of it's way to please the media?

Simply enough, it's not like they hadn't done it before. The Attitude Era was more or less a fuck you to the establishment. That seemed to bring in a few fans, didn't it? And Vince has seemed to never mind bad publicity before. He took an entire steroid scandal, a sexual harassment case, rolled together, and made fun of it, even to this day. So the question is simple... Should the WWE stop trying to please the Media?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Yes, WWE should stop trying to please the media because it's a battle they Will NEVER win. I watch Sportscenter pretty much everyday, and when they have a guest host athlete on Raw, they take shots at WWE and pro wrestling in general every chance they get. The same goes for all the other media outlets you mentioned. Vince is probably trying to get in the media's good graces to help boost Linda's senate run, and make WWE not look like a breding ground for steroid users and drug addicts.

The media and other people's perception of pro wrestling is that it's "fake" or "garbage". That's how the mainstream views it, and I don't think that opinion will ever change.

 

[boozinjedi]

I think they should stop trying to change the media's opinion of them,INSTEAD...Embrace it! Roll with it!! Use it to their advantage to create new storylines OR more mass media crossover.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

I don't want to say "Yes", because I still think it's possible to gain ground with the Media. However, the BIG problem with the WWE is the way it is marketing itself. And I agree that what Linda McMahon and WWE did was disgusting with attempting to use Obama's message as an "endorsement" from Obama on WWE. WWE keeps doing this to themselves with cheap tactics like this.

The problem, I feel, lays completely in how Vince markets his product. He is still semi-marketing this as a sport, when he needs to go in completely the opposite direction, and market it as an Entertainment Soap. I firmly believe if Vince did this, and was more honest and forthcoming in the presentation of the product ... and instead opted to be embraced by the Entertainment community, as opposed to worrying about trying to get on ESPN, he would be more respected.

Instead of trying to get coverage on ESPN and presenting his product as a scripted sport (which non fans are never going to embrace or understand), he should be trying to gear his product as complete 100% entertainment, where he has a chance of being embraced by Hollywood types.

Vince doing what he is doing today is gaining him nothing, except maybe more approval from parents because of the PG rating. If Hollywood gets behind WWE, I think it's very likely the Media, who is obsessed with all things Hollywood, would follow suit.

 

[klunderbunker]

Yes.

Outside of wrestling fans, no one cares about wrestling. How many times have you heard WWE called WWF because people just don't care? You could have the greatest action, stories, promos and everything else in the world that offends no one at all and wrestling will still be looked at as insane barbaric violence that is poisoning the minds of America and the world's youth. My solution: fuck it. Wrestling fans are going to watch no matter what and the media and anyone that doesn't like it is going to bash it, so why try to change people? Prejudices like this one simply aren't going to change no matter what, so why waste your time and energy trying? Embrace the fans you have and try to expand in the right places instead of trying to drag in people that already hate the product and everything associated with it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

No matter what Vince McMahon does, he's not going to be able to alter the opinion of the "mainstream" media towards professional wrestling.

No matter how Vince tries to market his product, no matter what direction he attempts to take it in, pro wrestling will always be considered low brow entertainment. If you think about it, professional wrestling is one of the last avenues of entertainment that hasn't really been accepted by mainstream media. Actors, athletes and politicians will be more than willing to do business with the WWE and I'm sure that some are legitimate fans of the WWE within the confines of their own home. Publicly, however, it's a different story.

As far as the image of pro wrestling goes, I'd say that the mainstream media probably sees pro wrestling in the same light as monster truck rallies. Sure it can be exciting, downright fun in fact, but only "certain" people would openly admit to what wrestling is.

I can't blame Vince for trying to change the media's view of his product. A change in image could lead to an increase in viewers, which is just good business. However, the WWE is long past the point where it's going to be able to convince the mainstream media of anything different. Its collective mind is made up at this point.

 

[DirtyJosé]

I probably need a bit more thought to gather all my thoughts about the awesome thread topic, but I can say right now that I do feel that a lot of why WWE is still handsoff to most people is Vince McMahon's approach to "legitimizing" the WWE. Guest hosts don't bring anymore prestige than DX dick-and-fart jokes. Without going into whether they draw viewers or not, they for certain don't make the WWE relevant to the rest of the world. McMahon has always been guilty of letting outside celebrities and important public figures receive better treatment and respect (and paydays!) than current and even legendary former employees (See also: Bruno Sammartino and why he won't accept a HoF invite). He's a sucker for stardom and fails to see that many of his "media embrace" tactics can do more harm than good.

 

[xXSlater420Xx]

The problem, I feel, lays completely in how Vince markets his product. He is still semi-marketing this as a sport, when he needs to go in completely the opposite direction, and market it as an Entertainment Soap. I firmly believe if Vince did this, and was more honest and forthcoming in the presentation of the product ... and instead opted to be embraced by the Entertainment community, as opposed to worrying about trying to get on ESPN, he would be more respected.

Instead of trying to get coverage on ESPN and presenting his product as a scripted sport (which non fans are never going to embrace or understand), he should be trying to gear his product as complete 100% entertainment, where he has a chance of being embraced by Hollywood types.

Vince doing what he is doing today is gaining him nothing, except maybe more approval from parents because of the PG rating. If Hollywood gets behind WWE, I think it's very likely the Media, who is obsessed with all things Hollywood, would follow suit.

No offense but if Vince were to actually market WWE as an "Entertainment Soap" and it worked and he actually got the media to embrace wrestling, wouldnt a good portion of the IWC be online 5 min later and bash him for "selling out"?

But on to the thread topic.

Yes WWE should give up trying to win the media over. Wrestling has never been and will never be embraced by the media. Just look at its origins, pro wrestling dates back to the 19th century where it was a carnival sideshow. Thats how it began and thats how its always going to be viewed. And its a damn shame. The media could give two shits about what the wrestlers sacrifice, the bottom line is it a "fake" sport. Tell that to Droz, he will never walk again. These people risk their health every night to entertain the fans, and the media bashes them for it. Forgetting the fact that the most underused wrestler on any given roster prolly works a tougher scheduel than 99% of the media.

Point is no one has ever cared about wrestling, no one ever will. (Untill of course another wrestler dies, then its time for the media to exploit said wrestlers death just to berate wrestling in general.) Vince needs to just say fuck the media, HE made wrestling what it is today not them. Werstling has been around for centuries. Look how far its come all with little to no media help. Wrestling survives because people want to entertain and people want to be entertained. As long as people keep wanting those 2 things wrestling will always be around in 1 form or another.

 

[The Ultimate]

Hmmm...a lot to say about this one... Any way, as I said in previous threads, I personally think WWE should go more sporty, then entertainment because it will get him a lot more respect in the sports world, but then again, I have only been officially watching WWE for a little over 2 years now, and I feel they maybe a little more legitimate if they keep the theatrical elements to a bare minimum, and focus a little more on wrestling. Even though we look at Vince as a power hungry jerk, who manipulates wrestlers, you kind of gotta feel for the guy, he runs a tight shift, and an enormous business, personally, I don't really like him, but no one's perfect. So I do somewhat think they should cater to the media...sports media...

 

[Kenny Powers]

Wrestling is too far gone, the seeds have been sewn. Wrestling has been considered silly and second rate since it began. Even in the glory days of the NWA, media has always found wrestling to be fake and foolish. No matter how popular or how many celebrities are associated with wrestling, it will never be as main stream as the UFC or NFL.

Vince needs to stop trying to make a product he feels the invisible viewers want, and make a product that his fans want to see. Even when Monday Nitro was beating Monday Night Football in the ratings, do you think the media or ESPN gave them credit? absolutely not. Wrestling will always have prejudices no matter how you repackage it. It can be G, PG, TV-14, or MA, and the media will still consider it a low rate spectacle.

The only time wrestling gets in the headlines, is when a wrestler dies. Wrestling gets more bad publicity than good publicity.

 

[Tastycles]

Of course he should give up. The WWE is an entertainment brand, and it shouldn't be trying to make it in the news at all, let alone trying to influence the news. The WWE's contact with the media should be about advertising and nothing else. The show is on, this is what is on it, please watch. The more the WWE attempts to change the media perception, the more it looks petty and pathetic. Challenging Stan Kroenke to a wrestling match is not going to get you taken seriously, and the sooner Vince recognise that, the better.

 

[fredstephenson]

its probally already being said on here but vince really shouldnt care about the mainstream media to much.I mean hes obviously doing it for 2 reasons number 1 is the linda senate thing which im not going to go into and the other is to attract some more mainstream fans.I think this is a terrible idea as most people in the western world are already well aware of the wwes existence.The thing about that is not everyone likes wrestling and nothing will change that not celebritys/media coverage/or being family friendly. I think vince should concentrate on putting on the awsome show he used to for the actual wrestling fans and if he did this im sure he would regain the ones who stopped watching already.

 

[SavageTaker]

Yes, the WWE should stop trying to please the media. It’s quite obvious that most of the media will always look down on pro-wrestling as a whole, not just the WWE. They’ll bash the WWE at any chance they get. So, why continue to try and change their opinions if they’ll probably never change and if they’ll never like wrestling?

To me, it just seems like a waste of time. Time that could be invested into offering us fans, the people that actually like wrestling, a much better product than what we are currently receiving. We are the ones that get enjoyment out of watching wrestling, we are the ones that watch the shows, and we are the ones that have helped the WWE become what it is today. Not the media, but us. So there really isn’t any point in trying to cater to them, but that’s my perspective, as a fan.

If I were to look at it from a business standpoint, then sure, there is a point in trying to get the media to change their opinions. It would help the WWE improve their public image, that’s one possibility. There are a plethora of other possibilities, but quite frankly, I don’t care about them because like I’ve already stated, I’m a fan not a member of the media or a WWE worker.

So to answer the OP’s question, yes, the WWE should quit trying to change the media’s opinion of them.