I kinda wanted to start a thread on this subject for a long time especially since it's becoming apparent more and more that WWE is trying to be both at the same time and i wondering is there a way that both version could co-exist in the same company on a single brand or do you have to just choose one or the other and hope it works when a performer moves up.
Let take the WWE hierarchy as exemple.
Right now You got NXT which is a mix of wrestling and sports entertainment which lately the sports entertainment aspect is becoming more prominent with all the over the top characters
Then you have smackdown and raw which are more sports entertainment then wrestling.
But you got also those special tournament on the network which are more wrestling oriented.
So what you get is this weird mix of fans coming to you shows because you got you're wrestling fans that really cares about the move and everything going in the matches and then you got you're sport entertainment fans that couldn'T care less about what going on in the ring, they just want to be entertain.
And i think that'S why WWE as been having problem connecting with fans because they have 2 differents vision of what WWE should be. Vince Wants the company to be sports entertainment geared toward families and HHH wants it to be more wrestling oriented to please the adult demographic that might not like the over the top characters, i think that why somebody like roman reigns as been struggling to connect with fans, because the wrestling fans that watch the WWE network and see the more wrestling based programming they have on the network expect to see that out of somebody like reigns and since he'S didn'T do the indy's like a lot of the nxt stars and some of the wwe guys that HHH'S as been sigining lately, they think he doesn'T belong in the position he'S in.
I know you can't please everyone, i for one i'm more of a sports entertainment fan then a wrestling fan to be honest. I can't watch somebody wrestle a great match if all he does is wrestled even if the match is the greatest match in the world, i can't watch it. I need to be invested in the match which i think sports entertainment is great in doing, creating characters that you will get invested in and will love. Being able to tell a good story and not just have a good match in the ring because you got 2 great performers. But that's just me i guess
In the end i think that both version of the product can't really co-exist under the same brand, you can try to please a certain faction of you're audience by giving them wrestling on the network but don'T expect a backlash when these same fan that you gather too turn on you when you give them sports entertainment on your main brands.
Let take the WWE hierarchy as exemple.
Right now You got NXT which is a mix of wrestling and sports entertainment which lately the sports entertainment aspect is becoming more prominent with all the over the top characters
Then you have smackdown and raw which are more sports entertainment then wrestling.
But you got also those special tournament on the network which are more wrestling oriented.
So what you get is this weird mix of fans coming to you shows because you got you're wrestling fans that really cares about the move and everything going in the matches and then you got you're sport entertainment fans that couldn'T care less about what going on in the ring, they just want to be entertain.
And i think that'S why WWE as been having problem connecting with fans because they have 2 differents vision of what WWE should be. Vince Wants the company to be sports entertainment geared toward families and HHH wants it to be more wrestling oriented to please the adult demographic that might not like the over the top characters, i think that why somebody like roman reigns as been struggling to connect with fans, because the wrestling fans that watch the WWE network and see the more wrestling based programming they have on the network expect to see that out of somebody like reigns and since he'S didn'T do the indy's like a lot of the nxt stars and some of the wwe guys that HHH'S as been sigining lately, they think he doesn'T belong in the position he'S in.
I know you can't please everyone, i for one i'm more of a sports entertainment fan then a wrestling fan to be honest. I can't watch somebody wrestle a great match if all he does is wrestled even if the match is the greatest match in the world, i can't watch it. I need to be invested in the match which i think sports entertainment is great in doing, creating characters that you will get invested in and will love. Being able to tell a good story and not just have a good match in the ring because you got 2 great performers. But that's just me i guess
In the end i think that both version of the product can't really co-exist under the same brand, you can try to please a certain faction of you're audience by giving them wrestling on the network but don'T expect a backlash when these same fan that you gather too turn on you when you give them sports entertainment on your main brands.