Ambiguous Turd
Mid-Card Championship Winner
I was reading Mark Madden's latest column, which is usually a great read because I feel like he tells it like it is, and pulls no punches. A majority of his opinions directly reflect my very same opinions, as well.
Let's focus on the first part of the column ... which I pasted below, and then we'll address a few points in it.
I have heard the "Audience of One" philosophy emphasized over and over and over again over the years, and have certainly come to believe that this is exactly what is transpiring with today's product.
In essence, Vince puts himself in the mindset of being a wrestling fan and putting on TV what he feels like "he wants to see", and then instructs Stephanie and the writing team to give him exactly what he wants.
Now, he is the Chairman, however is this Point of View not considered to be selfish? Imagine going back to everyone's days in High School, and you are working in a group. Now, you are supposed to be a team and coming up with ideas together, but one member of the group insists that "we are going to do things his way, and that's the end of the story."
How can someone be so closed-minded and so arrogant to assume that "he is always right"? Because that is the philosophy Vince evidently has. That "he is always right, and that the fans are wrong" ... which Madden points out.
What happens when the judgment of this person begins to falter? And a large number of customers are unhappy with his particular vision? How can one simply tell himself that millions of fans are "wrong" and that "he is right" in this case?
Secondly, when low ratings or poor buyrates are produced, what are your thoughts on Vince McMahon giving static to the writing team and putting the blame on them, as opposed to himself?
Case and point with ECW's December to Dismember. Vince McMahon started his new WWECW as a toned down version of Paul Heyman's ECW. Gradually, he began to alter the image of ECW, by slowly transforming the show into a developmental show ... all the while telling Heyman exactly what he wanted.
Before the show, Heyman is not happy with the show that was written, whatsoever. He tells Vince several times that "the fans are going to throw this right back in our face". Vince, happy with the show's script, says "full steam ahead"
Show time occurs, and the show was extremely poorly received. And instead of Vince sucking up responsibility for the show, he places all of the blame on Paul Heyman, and sends him home, while relieving him of his responsibilities as a writer of ECW.
What are your thoughts on Vince McMahon and his concept of "accepting responsibility", with what he did to Heyman?
Raw has gone from a 4.1 rating, down to a 3.3 last week. This week, it is safe to assume it may be even lower.
I see a lot of Vince defenders on here say that "the problem is with us, the fans. We expect too much." However, is that really the case, or is Vince simply giving us a sub-par product, that fits his vision, and he simply does not care what anyone else thinks?
To those Vince defenders, I want to raise the suggestion that the reason so many people are upset is because perhaps Vince is only booking to please himself, and is not listening to his customers, whatsoever, in what they are telling him they want to see.
I still maintain the biggest problem with wrestling is Vince's elimination of the competition, and his refusal to replace the industry with product alternatives that his competitors offered. That killed the interest in wrestling, in my view. It isn't the fans, but rather poor judgment on the part of Vince. However, is he going to admit this? Absolutely not.
This is what the "Audience of One" Philosophy has done to the product
He has no interesting characters left on the roster (he killed Orton's character)
He has removed any and all interesting and complex storylines
He has removed all edginess from the product, and offers no product alternatives.
He has failed to replace The Rock and Steve Austin's departures, with a star of their magnitude
He has removed the managers from the show
He has removed almost all emphasis on the Mid Card
He has destroyed the Tag Team Division
He has removed Face/Heel Commentary Teams and replaced them with Bland, Boring commentary teams.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on all of that, and Vince's "Audience of One" philosophy?
Let's focus on the first part of the column ... which I pasted below, and then we'll address a few points in it.
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE
Monday’s RAW did an overall rating of 3.3, 2.6 in the 18-49 male demographic. According to PWTorch.com, RAW’s audience declined 18.5 percent compared to the show’s previous five weeks.
That’s a cataclysmic drop even when you take going head-to-head with the NBA playoffs into account. What will WWE do?
Nothing. There won’t be an overhaul or a significant change in direction, that’s for sure.
If that’s because WWE believes their best-laid plans are creatively sound and will ultimately come good, fine. But it’s not.
Changes won’t be forthcoming because WWE books for an audience of one, Vince McMahon, and he has always explained away any rejection of his creative vision by saying the fans are wrong, not me. This is old news, to be sure, but worth reviewing when a rough rating rolls around. It’s not as if another wrestling company provides legitimate competition, and a 3.3 is still a monster number on cable.
So things will mostly remain the same. Vince may identify a scapegoat by minimizing someone’s push or even firing someone. But it won’t be the right someone.
For example, no one wants to see Shane McMahon play Superman. No one sees him as a legitimate competitor, badass, athlete or legitimate anything else. To make things worse, accepting 3-on-1 matches doesn’t make him seem tough, it makes him look stupid.
I’m sure Vince sees Shane’s main-event status as a way of extending the McMahon legacy.
But the best way Vince could extend the McMahon legacy would be by running an entertaining, profitable wrestling company. But WWE has become a crappy, jaded, declining, overextended wrestling company given an occasional artificial boost (like further monopolizing sports entertainment on TV by extending its tentacles into WGN, and wait until the unholy alliance with ESPN).
Writing this column becomes harder and harder. Almost everything in wrestling sucks. What’s there to discuss?
I have heard the "Audience of One" philosophy emphasized over and over and over again over the years, and have certainly come to believe that this is exactly what is transpiring with today's product.
In essence, Vince puts himself in the mindset of being a wrestling fan and putting on TV what he feels like "he wants to see", and then instructs Stephanie and the writing team to give him exactly what he wants.
Now, he is the Chairman, however is this Point of View not considered to be selfish? Imagine going back to everyone's days in High School, and you are working in a group. Now, you are supposed to be a team and coming up with ideas together, but one member of the group insists that "we are going to do things his way, and that's the end of the story."
How can someone be so closed-minded and so arrogant to assume that "he is always right"? Because that is the philosophy Vince evidently has. That "he is always right, and that the fans are wrong" ... which Madden points out.
Changes won’t be forthcoming because WWE books for an audience of one, Vince McMahon, and he has always explained away any rejection of his creative vision by saying the fans are wrong, not me.
What happens when the judgment of this person begins to falter? And a large number of customers are unhappy with his particular vision? How can one simply tell himself that millions of fans are "wrong" and that "he is right" in this case?
Secondly, when low ratings or poor buyrates are produced, what are your thoughts on Vince McMahon giving static to the writing team and putting the blame on them, as opposed to himself?
Case and point with ECW's December to Dismember. Vince McMahon started his new WWECW as a toned down version of Paul Heyman's ECW. Gradually, he began to alter the image of ECW, by slowly transforming the show into a developmental show ... all the while telling Heyman exactly what he wanted.
Before the show, Heyman is not happy with the show that was written, whatsoever. He tells Vince several times that "the fans are going to throw this right back in our face". Vince, happy with the show's script, says "full steam ahead"
Show time occurs, and the show was extremely poorly received. And instead of Vince sucking up responsibility for the show, he places all of the blame on Paul Heyman, and sends him home, while relieving him of his responsibilities as a writer of ECW.
What are your thoughts on Vince McMahon and his concept of "accepting responsibility", with what he did to Heyman?
Raw has gone from a 4.1 rating, down to a 3.3 last week. This week, it is safe to assume it may be even lower.
I see a lot of Vince defenders on here say that "the problem is with us, the fans. We expect too much." However, is that really the case, or is Vince simply giving us a sub-par product, that fits his vision, and he simply does not care what anyone else thinks?
To those Vince defenders, I want to raise the suggestion that the reason so many people are upset is because perhaps Vince is only booking to please himself, and is not listening to his customers, whatsoever, in what they are telling him they want to see.
I still maintain the biggest problem with wrestling is Vince's elimination of the competition, and his refusal to replace the industry with product alternatives that his competitors offered. That killed the interest in wrestling, in my view. It isn't the fans, but rather poor judgment on the part of Vince. However, is he going to admit this? Absolutely not.
This is what the "Audience of One" Philosophy has done to the product
He has no interesting characters left on the roster (he killed Orton's character)
He has removed any and all interesting and complex storylines
He has removed all edginess from the product, and offers no product alternatives.
He has failed to replace The Rock and Steve Austin's departures, with a star of their magnitude
He has removed the managers from the show
He has removed almost all emphasis on the Mid Card
He has destroyed the Tag Team Division
He has removed Face/Heel Commentary Teams and replaced them with Bland, Boring commentary teams.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on all of that, and Vince's "Audience of One" philosophy?