What's with the Wrestlemania 31 "Play Button" Logo?

[HBKistheHOF]

I know this is a pretty small detail to even bring up when we are only about a month away from Mania now but this year I havn't been able to help but get distracted by the Wrestlemania 31 sign every time I see it & that silly little flashing/scrolling play button that's on the logo. What's the point of it?

When the logo was originally unveiled several months ago I remember a few people mentioning the logo & that maybe it was a place holder for the real WM 31 logo, but that's obviously not the case. There has been a couple odd WM signs/logos in the past, most notably dubbing the 16th edition of Mania "Wrestlemania 2000" & combining roman numerals & modern numbers for "Wrestlemania X-7". But never before has WWE just replaced the number on the Mania logo with another design. My best guess is that it's either just a play button symbolizing the on demand era we live in & the 1 year anniversary of the network or maybe WWE is trying to reinvent Mania & instead of calling them by their numbers anymore they just want to bill them simply as the following year's Mania, sort of like how the most recent Captain America movie wasn't Captain America 2 it was "Captain America: The Winter Solider".

So what do you think? Is it a weird attempt at WWE trying to be cool & symbolic? Is it WWE actually trying to reinvent the PPV itself & dub this Wrestlemania as something other than Wrestlemania 31? Or am I just easily distracted by shiny objects & this year's sign just happens to have some kind of digital screen on it for the first time ever?

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

The play symbol itself is not much more than a nod to the fact Wrestlemania is being held in Silicon Valley this year, though there was a report recently that Vince wanted to do away with the numbering as he felt it 'aged the product' (which is ridiculous as his personal big rival, the SuperBowl, still numbers every edition and it doesn't hold it back at all).

Similarly, next year's logo, in the Lone Star State of Texas, has a star where this year has a 'play' symbol, a nod to both Texas and the fact the Dallas Cowboys, whose stadium WM32 will be held in, have a star on their helmets (which is also a nod to Texas)

 

[Max Headroom]

I'd say it's in relation to this being just over a year since the Network started, and also just a way to symbolize the way modern culture is going, where most people are watching things online over actual television (I hate watching actual shows on my computer, so I'm extremely thankful for Bell getting an actual Network channel).

There have been rumours (as Mr. Holic said above me) that Vince wants to stop numbering WM, as it makes it feel too old. But I *really* hope that isn't the case, as it's just silly. Besides, shouldn't its longevity make Vince proud? A way to show just how long his product has been making big events over the years.

All in all, the play symbol is just a nod to the Network and modern Netflix/Network style culture. I don't like it, I think it looks quite silly/tacky. Having XXXI with a play symbol after the I would look much nicer, in my humble opinion. Or just drop the play sign and stick with the numbers. But, either way, it's not something that's going to bother me all too much.

 

[A11oftheLights]

The play symbol itself is not much more than a nod to the fact Wrestlemania is being held in Silicon Valley this year, though there was a report recently that Vince wanted to do away with the numbering as he felt it 'aged the product' (which is ridiculous as his personal big rival, the SuperBowl, still numbers every edition and it doesn't hold it back at all).

Similarly, next year's logo, in the Lone Star State of Texas, has a star where this year has a 'play' symbol, a nod to both Texas and the fact the Dallas Cowboys, whose stadium WM32 will be held in, have a star on their helmets (which is also a nod to Texas)

This is the reason. Which is so fucking stupid. Does Vince suddenly not realise that by promoting the number he is in fact showing how prestigous the event is.

FFS put a bullet in him if he keeps this shit up and refuses to step aside

 

[Dave]

For me, it's just a nod to the direction that the WWE is heading in. This is especially true when you consider the impact of the WWE Network. One of the biggest draws on the Network is that WrestleMania is going to come for "free". I would expect that, over the next few weeks in particular, the WWE are really going to hammer that point home at every opportunity. If I'm not mistaken, WrestleMania is normally like $75 or something in the States, right? That's remarkably cheaper on the Network. For me, it's a good enough reason.

And I'm sure there is some psychology to it too. The play icon signifying a product that is progressing and moving forward continually. I don't know, my sophomoric attempt doesn't do it justice but I'm sure that someone is being paid thousands of dollars for that insight...

 

[Elchicano15]

Max beat me to it I was just about to say the play icon was a nod to the year long anniversary to the launch of the WWE network. I believe at the first press conference in San Jose, when they first announced Levi Stadium over a year ago, they also debuted the new WWE logo as well. They didn't start fully using it until last summer but it gave you an idea.

However I didn't know Vince wanted to stop using the roman numerals all together. I figured it's because as time goes on the symbols will eventually be bigger then the word Wrestlemania itself. LOL I personally find the roman numerals to add prestige. Hell they could have just put the number "31" instead like they did for 21-23. Maybe add this year's theme logo play button to.

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

How are they visiting google headquarters and all throughout Silicon Valley and there still isn't chromecast compatibility?? When they launched the network in Vegas they even included chromecasts in their gift bags. I don't get it.

As for numbered Wrestlemania's eh, I could take it or leave it. I'll still refer to it as Wrestlemania 31, 32 and so forth.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The Wrestlemania logo this year is weird to me. If they want to pay tribute to the success of the WWE Network, the symbol of traditional "play buttons", technology itself, the location of the event, or whatever random reason it may be.... they should still have had the number in the logo. The event is the 31st Wrestlemania and fans are going to refer to it as such. Wrestlemania is the one brand where they do need to keep the brand images numbered. I don't have much of an issue with the use of the Play symbol itself, it's the lack of "31" in the logo that bothers me more than anything. WWE tried to be "cool" 15 years ago with "Wrestlemania 2000" but I called it Wrestlemania 16 back then and still do to this day. Keep it simple and just use the number of the event in the logo. The numbers help add to the prestige therefore they should be in the logo. Wrestlemania 31 and Wrestlemania 32 sound a whole lot better than Wrestlemania Play and Wrestlemania Star (or whatever symbol they may do next year if the numbers do not return to the logo)....

 

[S'All Goodman]

I'm sure when they announced Wrestlemania 31, McMahon said it was going to be the most interactive Wrestlemania of all time. I have no idea what he meant and the idea seems to have vanished with no indication of this Wrestlemania being "Interactive".

 

[#1druid]

I'm sure when they announced Wrestlemania 31, McMahon said it was going to be the most interactive Wrestlemania of all time. I have no idea what he meant and the idea seems to have vanished with no indication of this Wrestlemania being "Interactive".

Well the people tried to make it interactive by letting their discontent for roman reigns be known as well as their support for Daniel Bryan but vince told us to go screw. As for the play button I think vince doesn't want the the event to seem "old" you know like the Super Bowl. Smh

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

As for Wrestlemania being 'interactive', I'm guessing that he simply meant 'social media active'. I'm sure they will try to make the wifi signal in Levi's Stadium at it's optimum (which failed miserably at MetLife in 2013)

 

[Howie Backpack]

Personally, I'm a fan of the numerical system. But it seems to be on the way out. WM 30 had the XXX but even that may have only been because it was a milestone number. If you think back to WM29 there was no number on that one either, which I thought was weird at the time. It just said NY/NJ on it. Either way, it's not going to effect the buy rate, which is what they are most concerned about. It's just gonna make us older fans a little more lapsed and jaded. But we all know we're going to watch anyway.

 

[Burritocover]

The wifi at Levi stadium is really good. I was almost surprised at how strong it was. Although I've only been there for the on sale party so it wasn't a packed stadium which could make a difference. I hated the logo at first but over the last year it really grew on me. It didn't even occur to me that the play button was to do with the network til a couple months ago. I assumed it was to do with Silicon Valley because they often try to incorporate part of the host city in the logos. They are still calling it Wrestlemania 31 all over the web site and the tickets say 31 and everything. They just took it out of the logo I think for aesthetics.

 

[Just Do It]

This is the reason. Which is so fucking stupid. Does Vince suddenly not realise that by promoting the number he is in fact showing how prestigous the event is.

FFS put a bullet in him if he keeps this shit up and refuses to step aside

1. Person comes out with "information" which likely isn't true.

2. Other person wants a bullet put in Vince.

And this is how Internet trends grow people

 

[LODemolition]

They should've incorporated the Golden Gate Bridge in the logo this year. I was very disappointed the first time I saw it. It just looks generic.

 

[Burritocover]

The Golden Gate Bridge would have been really cool if it were part of it. It's about 50 miles from the stadium so maybe that's why they didn't use it. They have been using it all over twitter though and commercials.