Generally speaking, if you want someone to blame for why WWE has had to all but come right out and acknowledge that pro wrestling is fake, then blame society. As THTRobtaylor pointed out, there are several reasons as to why WWE has to operate in a much more open manner than in the past. The FCC cracked down pretty hard on WWE during the Attitude Era and the company regularly had to pay fines for content violations. WWE has to consider the response of advertisers to the USA Network and to NBC Universal when they do something on television.
Society has also gone overboard with political correctness to such a degree that WWE sometimes finds itself the victim of a genuinely unfair double standard. Remember the sense of outrage generated by Jack Swagger & Zeb Coulter early this year when they first began their anti-immigration bit? People were genuinely insulted by the characters so much that the characters made national news and drew ire from well known politicians and political commentators. If a character EXACTLY like Zeb Coulter appeared on a television show like Sons of Anarchy, nobody would say boo about it. Pro wrestling is and always has been, for the most part, as scripted as any traditional television program. It has men & women portraying fictional characters engaged in fictional rivalries in which the outcomes are planned and staged. Yet, WWE caught all kinds of hell for it. Remember the sense of outrage generated by some fans because CM Punk & Paul Heyman "mocked" Jerry Lawler's heart attack? Even though Lawler himself stated that he personally approved of the angle weeks before it went down, some people were reacting as if WWE had "mocked" THEM or someone close to them who'd had a heart attack. Then, of course, remember when CM Punk poured "Paul Bearer's" ashes out of the urn over a prone & beaten Undertaker? WWE talked to Bearer's two grown sons about this angle and asked their consent, which they gave. A lot of the same fans and dirtsheet writers who've complained that wrestling isn't "unpredictable" enough or no longer pushes the envelope blasted WWE over these angles as being exploitative. What these fans & writers forget is that controversy, genuine controversy, is something that's SUPPOSED to make you feel a little uncomfortable. It's SUPPOSED to generate discussion amongst people. In reality, all these people seem to want is some lame tripe that kinda sorta resembles controversy like having the women run around half naked or wrestlers using four letter curse words every time they open their mouths to cut a promo.
As was also mentioned, the Benoit tragedy has also led to WWE having to operate in a much more open manner. Remember all the negative press WWE got for basically turning a blind eye to the substance abuse problems going on? The criticism they got for not really knowing about the physical & mental health of their wrestlers to the degree that they needed to? Congress launched an investigation into WWE and, at one point, was seriously considering stepping in to regulate the company. As a result, politicians who don't know jack about pro wrestling would have ultimately had the final say as to what took place, what we saw on television, what we didn't and how it came about. Aside from realizing that it FINALLY needed to be more responsible for the welfare of the wrestlers, WWE initiated the Wellness Policy so that Congress wouldn't essentially bend Vince McMahon over in front of the world and make him its bitch.
When it comes to pro wrestling, WWE has transcended being just a wrestling company. That's what it always will be in the eyes of fans and at its core, but it's genuinely a global brand. One advantage, or disadvantage depending on how you look at it, that companies like TNA, ROH and the indies have is that they're not as well known as WWE. In the United States, most people instinctively think of "WWE" or "WWF" whenever they hear the term "pro wrestling" and it's something of a double edged sword. Yes, that's ultimately what Vince McMahon wanted to happen. After all, WWE's revenue in 2012 was right at $660 million. But there's been a trade off for that level of success and notoriety. As I said, other companies aren't as well known or as large and that can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. These companies are able to operate without necessarily being overseen in the way WWE is. As a result, in some ways, they're still able to operate in the same manner as wrestling companies always have. On the other hand, the wrestlers don't make nearly the sort of money that they would in WWE. As a result, it's not at all unheard of for wrestlers to suffer severe injuries that threaten their careers or even their lives and not being able to afford the medical care they need. Look at what's happened to Jesse Sorensen and Zema Ion as prime examples. These other companies also, to my knowledge, have no drug policy going on. A perfect example of that is Jeff Hardy back in 2010 and early 2011, who was coming out there wrestling, in the middle of a main event push no less, while stoned out of his head.
So yeah, WWE has to operate in a more open manner and has to accept having to endure ridiculous double standards of content as a result of being so large and successful. If TNA manages to survive and ever gets to the level of WWE, they'll have to operate the same way; as will ROH and any other company that wants to be raking in hundreds of millions of dollars a year. But if you're unwilling to suspend disbelief while watching WWE or any other pro wrestling company, then that's on you rather than them. It's been common knowledge that pro wrestling is "fake" for decades, loooooooooong before Vince McMahon took control of WWF, loooooooooooooong before Ted Turner got into "the wrasslin' business" and looooooooooooong before the arrival of the internet.
