WWE PG, Attitude & All Other "Eras" Thread

[Joshwa52]

I understand times have changed and with Linda's Political movement, the days of PG are likely here to stay. However I have been watching wrestling about 23 years and to me, obviously not only the most popular time but the most entertaining time was the Monday Night Wars and the Attitude Era. Not only because I was a teen and there was T and A all over the place, but because there were so many Holy Sh*t moments that made you jump out of your seat. This is something the E is lacking today, so here goes....

It may be too early to tell, but 3 hours of Raw has so far seemed to be a bad idea. The program is a drag and viewership drops during the 3rd hour each week. A big idea of PG was to have a kid friendly show, but also to not lose the advertisers who didn't want to associate with the edgy product. I don't know how the advertising structure works , but what if the 3rd hour of Raw the rating changed to TVMA14? The show could have Cole and King segwaying sp? into the next match and just drop a rating tag at the bottom of the screen. Now I don't mean the next guy has to come our and flip everyone off and be a lunatic, but give a little incentive for the 3rd hour and know that the showed just kicked it up a notch and you could miss something big.....just an idea, but really wanted to see what you guys thought and if you guys would stick around for those what ifs?

Now if this worked and advertisers could work out a deal this would not only save the companies ass on a decision to move to 3 hours, but make the older fans happier and give them a piece of attitude. Also this could entice guys like Batista who walked away and has been clearly open that WWE should drop PG all together. What do you think?

 

[JohnJohnson]

Some of the main things that made the attitude era great that I think would be extremely beneficial to today's wrestling are:

1)The character freedom- Wrestlers back then had a lot of freedom over their characters and what they said. Things were a lot less scripted. This is good for a number of reasons. For one, it feels more organic. It doesn't feel like I'm watching a highschool play. I dont ever want to hear "My name is ____ and I'm _____." again, yet it happens constantly throughout every show? It's like they are seriously making it for super casual viewers. The other big benefit is the fact that those with true talent can get over a lot faster. Watching back in the attitude era there were all kinds of mid carders tha would get huuuge pops as soon as their music hit. You can't hear "Oh you didn't know.." and not go nuts. With each person having their own personality there was something for everyone to relate to. This would be really great for IWC as their darlings could finally get more spotlight. Thirdly, we get more emotion out of promos and more opportuniy for "pipebombs.

2)The OMG moments- These were always happening throughtout the attitude era. Some might argue that if big moments are always used, then it makes them not as spectacular. I say that's not true as long as the moments are all varied. There was a bigger payoff for watching the show and anytime you missed an episode you were frantically calling your friends to find out what you missed. The storylines advanced a lot faster and they made people give a damn. Even in the mid and lower card. For instance, Bossman stealing Al Snows dog. This was not a huge or important feud but they kept it advancing and gave some sort of emotional attachment to it from the fans. Sometimes the OMG moment would simply be a plot twist or some storyline event. Looking back at some of the storylines from before I'm just like holy crap they really thought this out to the very end. Like when Rock turned heel again at Survivor Series to join the Corporation and win the belt, the next night they went back and showed a lot of clips of things that Rock did as a face that turned out to be part of some elaborate plot all along as a heel. So here you had the guy that was actually heel for some time but was acting as a baby face while still helping out his heelish cause all while the fans cheered him. Same with Vince being the higher power behind the Corporate Ministry to a slightly different extent. We all felt bad for him and what was happening to his family due to the evil Undertaker when all along this was just part of this huge long thought out plot that took a long time to unravel. Loved it!

3)Entrance Music- I think this is a big reason TNA is hard to watch at times and I think this is a department in which WWE is greatly lacking as well. When did wrestling become a bunch of pop music? I understand the times and musical tastes have changed but some of the theme songs are just horrible and often don't fit the characters at all. Then on top of the the Intro songs and videos for the show are so cheesey and lack luster. Back in the AE when that theme song hit, people were hyped. You couldn't not be. Nowadays you can barely tell it's a wrestling program.

4)Backstage Segmets- Nowadays it seems the only time you get to go backstage is for interviews or someone getting stopped by another superstar walking down the hall, occasionally a walk in to the generic GM office. In the AE there was usually some kind of backstage story that continued all night whether it be Vince getting kidnapped by Austin, DX hunting Austin, Undertaker abducting someone, a search for a superstar, the McMahon-Helmsley faction plotting something, something! There was a story that started towards the begining of the show and continued throughout and eventually reached a climax towards the end of the show. This here alone would significantly fix the 3rd hour ratings drop IMO. The DB and Kane skits were along these lines, just lacking that organic feel mentioned in my first point. To me whenever I watched or still watch AE Raw/Smackdown I feel like I'm seeing this whole new world and completely lose track of the fact that I'm watching a scripted show in the same arenas where other events take place.

5)Tweeners/ heel vs heel and face vs face- I still watch AE Raw often and often times I find myself watching a match were there really is no clear cut good guy or bad guy. It was based on who the fan liked more. For instance I was watching Raw yesterday and one of the first matches was Billy Gunn vs Val Venis. Bith of them were pretty much faces. They each had their own fans and the crowd was more divided. Both of them would be feuding with Shamrock who was a solid heel(part of the corporation). He interfered due to the fact that he was feuding with Billy Gunn and the next episode or two Venis would start messing with Shamrocks sister. This opens up far more angles. Venis would feud with Gunn the next night over a misunderstanding and so it would go on. Meanwhile instead of just having the same matches over and over each week or a tag with another ongoing feud, Shamrock would still go on to tag with Bossman and fight Jarett and Owen(who are also heels). There isn't just a red team and a blue team and all matches had to feature blue on one side and red on the other. There was a wider spectrum of colors so to speak. I ask people all the time whoe there favs are and almost alway just here a list of top faces and Ziggler. I remember during the AE I would always get varied answers because it wasn't so black and white. I'd love it to see a heel feuding with a heel and a face vs a face nowadays. For one it takes away the predictability of the face win and two it just makes sense. Why would someone be friends with all the other faces just because they are a face, and then when they turn(just to fit a storyline/feud with a face) they are suddenly enemies. An example would be Truth and Cena being friends, then Truth turns heel and fights Cena and now he is face and his friend?


The thing about all of those points is that they were all key parts of the AE but they are all completely compatible with the PG rating of today. I never mentioned blood, sex, beer or hardcore matches. Those things were all great things that catered to a niche and things that I personally like, but weren't what actually got me hooked on wrestling or what made the attitude era great. The greatness and success came from the fact that it was must-see, unpredictable, relatable television that followed many stories that kept progressing to some sort of climax.

 

[I am Mr. Excitement]

So today the news was broken by Justin Labar that the WWE is trying to push hard to make TV a little more edgier, its not Vince McMahons idea but for now he is going along with it. Obviously I saw it comming because of ratings being so low. But I would like to get your thoughts and opinions on the whole idea of making things edgier. In my opinion I think TV has gotten more edgier than usual obviously starting with Punk's promo got the whole WWE shaken up in a way. Oh yeah and I don't want to get posts on here for example "I bet the IWC if jizzing there pants right now". I'm personally not an internet nerd i'm just a normal guy who likes wrestling. So, please no rude comments.

Thank you,
Comments, discuss, opinions, etc..

 

[Dr. Mantis Toboggan, M.D.]

This has me excited. I'm all for an edgier product from WWE. I will say that I don't want an attitude era 2.0 or anything along those lines, most of the content from that era is tasteless and morbid. I wouldn't mind seeing programming like they had around 2002-2006. That was IMO the best product they had ever had. The occasional blood and some use of the words "ass" "son of a bitch", that stuff. And of course great matches and feuds every week. If guys like Triple H, John Cena, and CM Punk are a few lobbying for it I think we're in for a real treat. I don't mind today's product but it's so hard to really get into it anymore, I'm tired of seeing lame comedy acts like the Muppet's and and The Three Stooges.

 

[edgehead113]

WWE kind of had to do this simply because of who they're expecting to bring back for the road to WM. The Rock needs to be allowed to be edgy, as shown by last year's promos where Cena kicked his ass (think about it, PG promos are Cena's bread and butter at this point, Rock had no chance.) Mark Henry is also coming back and I don't want him saying he's going to kick someones butt, he needs to kick ass and be the badass heel he was in 2011. Same with Lesnar. The dude needs to swear (especially with that whiny pussy voice) otherwise he sounds weak.

I'm hoping this is here to stay and not just a product of the guys coming back. I think Ryback needs to be edgier. Wade Barrett hasn't gotten the push everyone expected, I'd like to see his character get edgier (he has skill on the mic and his accent only makes him more badass if given the freedom). Not to mention Ambrose.

WWE needs less Vickie calling AJ stupid and AJ calling Vickie grandma. If the Divas wanna talk, call each other bitches or ****s or something that actually elicits a little emotion out of a woman. If they can't handle that, get rid of the Divas. It's a wrestling promotion and not a soap opera. Make it a fight and not an argument.

Same goes for the men. Next time Sheamus smiles as he calls out the guy he's "feuding with" calling him "Fella" I'm going to put a foot through the TV You want to know why no one likes Sheamus as the #2 face in the company? Because he's a smiling, jolly idiot who morphs into Superman via WWE booking him to be dominant. If he's going to be an unstoppable face, make him act like it.

Sorry to just ramble and rant there towards the end, what I'm trying to say is this is long overdue and hopefully will be here to stay and used to benefit a lot of the characters.

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

I'd say a modern day Ruthless Aggression era would be perfect. The PG fans and the Attitude fans could meet in the middle.

At least Vince came to his senses and realized PG Pro Wrestling isn't Pro Wrestling at all. It's just a sitcom with some sport in it.

 

[CasualNinja]

Like the other guys said, swearing can add an intensity to a promo depending on who it is coming from. The use of blood can also add another element to a match, but it has to be a grueling culmination of a feud where the guys are giving it their all for it to mean something. There were some goofy promos back in the day, but there were also ones that made for compelling television. The attempt to crucify Stephanie will always be memorable in my opinion, because it showed a side of Austin you never really saw. The main thing with the company these days is the wrestlers lack personality. The WWE tries to develop personality through matches. Bring back the backstage promos/interviews before a match to hype it up. Look through history, some of the best promos developed from normal backstage interviews. The Rock developed his entire personality through the years on the mic. Austin did it through his actions and mic work as well.

 

[xavyer]

Hey guys, after reading some threads ( past and recent ones ) i read about the best era, the best superstars, PPV's, programs, moments, etc. It got me thinking, since i'm a big fan of promos, and i have been watching wrestling since the mid 80's, it got me curious about people's opinions about wich era do you think that the superstars cut the best promos ? Because, it may only be my opinion, but i think that 50% of what makes a superstars is how well he can use the mic, or how he does in an interview, there was a thread earlier this week about the best SNME moments, and i think that there were people that said that their favorite moment was about Jake the Snake cutting a promo, or The Macho Man, and i started watching on you tube promos from the 80's, 90's wich was the begining of the attitude era, and today's promos, and in my opinion, the best were during the 80's, because at the time anyone could cut a great promo, wether it was a manager, or a superstar, in my opinio 9 out of 10 superstars had natural charisma, could handle themselves pretty well on the mic, and everytime someone talked, you had to listen, and when they were hyping a match for SNME or a PPV, you couldn't wait to see it, during the 90's or the attitude era, there were still quite a few superstars who could cut a descent or a great promo, but they had to use some profanity, wich was not bad considering the era, but there were far less people that could do it, if it was a faction or a tag team, there had to be only one person talking, like for example, the New Age Outlaws, Billy Gunn was a far better wrestler than the Road Dogg, but he became bigger than Billy Gunn, why? Because when he grabbed a mic, he could definitly use it, unlike Billy, or it had to be Stone Cold, Triple H, The Undertaker or Mankind to name a few that could definitly get people's attention with the mic, and in today's era, well, where do i start? If it isn't Cena, CM Punk, Paul Heyman, Damien Sandow or the Miz, promos are not interesting, don't get me wrong, today's era has some phenomenal athletes, but they can't cut a decent promo, and i think that is the reason why there is a lack of main event superstars, not because they can't wrestle, because they definitly can, but they are not good on the mic, and during the 80's, the superstars weren't as good in the ring as today's superstars, but in my opinion, they were far more memorable or relevant because they had that natural charisma, and they definitly were great with a microphone, what do you guys think??

 

[Da Solo]

OP, I don't think you're giving today's superstars enough credit. There are other superstars besides Cena, Punk/Heyman, Sandow and Miz who can cut promos.

-Alberto Del Rio cuts good promos. Only problem is that it's repetitive, but when he first started, they were enjoyable
-Ziggler has seen some massive improvement on the mic. While he isn't up to par yet, I predict he will be within a few months, maybe years
-Cody Rhodes has cut some seriously compelling promos, especially under the UnDashing gimmick
-R Truth, as a heel, was arguably cutting the best and most consistent promos of 2011. You may argue he was an Attitude guy, but let's be honest: K-Kwik wasn't shit.
-Ambrose is extremely comfortable on that mic. Watch out for him now that he's on the main roster
-Titus O'Neill is brilliant. Did you forget the whole "washrag" conversation he had with Lawler?
-Santino is good in doses, and when used effectively, he is extremely funny and can make any of his promos watchable (i.e. the "Tea Time w/ Sheamus")
-THE ONE MAN BAND, BABAYYYYY! You can't tell me Heath Slater isn't an interesting mic worker
-Daniel Bryan, especially during his mini-feud with Cole and the Yes!/No! character, has proven himself as one of WWE's go-to mic men.
-Wade Barret is a little monotonous at times, but he is one of the most realistic and convincing superstars on the mic (check his "All Hail Caesar" promo on SD! last year)

Don't get me wrong, I don't think we currently have the best mic men (I give that accolade to the Attitude Era), but it's gonna be a while before we have mic men who will ever again be on the level of Attitude/Ruthless stars like Stone Cold, Y2J, Booker T, HHH and especially The Rock. I just think this era deserves a bit more mic credit.

 

[Jdulemba1001]

Ok, I was thinking about this this morning, and I hope it hasnt been done. You have control of a time machine and can go back to the Attitude Era. You can bring ONE WWE superstar with you and bring one Attitude Era star back to 2012. Who would it be? Keep in mind, this is 2012, so something like Cena in his rapper gimmick wouldnt count. So with that in mind, what star of 2012 would you have liked to see in the Attitude Era, and what star from back then do you want on the roster now. (Im assuming they would be in the shape they were back then.) Discuss.

 

[Steve-O-Matt]

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So, a few years ago now, the WWE decided to make the show exclusively TV-PG. Ever since then the 'Ruthless Aggression Era' was over and so came the 'PG Era'. I've never liked that name, I prefer the name 'Mainstream Era'... But anyway, the WWE changed the content to fit in with children a lot more to get more ratings. Sounds like a sound plan right? But, we've only seen a huge decline in WWE's ratings.

Why is that WrestleZone? Is it because the WWE is pandering too much to the younger audience? In my opinion... Yes.

A great example of this was this Monday, Christmas Eve, I can safely say that loads of us didn't watch and the ones that did, did a LOT of fast forwarding. The WWE CAN work for all audiences, but it's NOT for all audiences when the only audience they cater to is kids. And kids can enjoy the WWE without it treating them like toddlers.

I'm not one of those guys who demands blood, sex and stuff, we don't need that. But I'm sure a lot more of the show can be mature, in the sense that Cena doesn't have to call people childish names and play out the same underdog storyline over and over and over...

What do you guys think, was PG a good idea, or did it hinder wrestling by restricting it?

 

[scomvp316]

We have all heard the excuse from WWE that they went PG because the fan had changed. That is the biggest lie VKM doesn't even believe. During "Attitude" their content was more of a soft version of ECW. If fans go back and watch episodes of Nitro they weren't anywhere near the type of content WWE was putting out. I think the sole reason WWE went PG was for financial reasons only. VKM saw the economy was going down a year before it happened and decided he needed help with sponsors. WWE each year since 2008 gets anywhere between $200-300 mill in sponsor money. You take the sponsor money WWE gets and subtract that from the overall revenue and you have actual revenue of what WWE makes. With that number you have what they were making when Bret and HBK were the respective faces of the company. WWE can spin this idea that more kids are watching and Nielsen Research center did a survey six months ago compared to kids in the 80's and WWE is getting 72% less kids watching if you compare the two generations. Just recently on The Today Show Cena had mentioned that WWE is more of a entertainment company know and thats why they are PG. Cena needs to get his facts straight because WWE publicly was known as a entertainment company as early as 1996. Especially around that time VKM told the world the biggest wrestling secret: We are entertaining people in an organized athletic format which basically means we are fake. I have been a WWE fan since 1986 and will always be loyal to the product to a certain degree but that also means I will watch other wrestling promotions just as much as I watch WWE. I do think at some point within the next year WWE will go to PG-13 and may lose a few sponsors but no major ones. I also believe what we see today in WWE is what VKM has always wanted and never wanted to be TV-14!

 

[JaylisJayP]

In theory it was a good idea...more family friendly attracts a wider base of advertisers, which means more money.

WWE lost it's way, though, and it wasn't just PG. PG has contributed to the ratings drop, but the other problems are far worse imo.

1. The storylines/angles are horrible. Nobody cares about most of what's going on. There's obviously no thought put into much of what we see, and no care to maintain continuity or finish ANY storyline these days. Expectations of wrestling entertainment are different these days, and Vince doesn't get that. He's competing with every other form of entertainment out there, and people will and have just gone elsewhere to get satisfying and entertaining stories that come to fruition.

2. The mic skills have deteriorated horribly. Part of this is also due to the lack of character development AND the horrible writing. They aren't given much to say. But WWE should wake up and give some of these up and coming stars some acting lessons. People tune in these days more for the stories and characters than for the wrestling (oh, it's true), so why wouldn't you invest more in improving that side of the entertainment factor?

Those are the major problems. And they're easily fixable, I don't know why Vince doesn't see this or doesn't want to see it. But he needs to wake up soon or the 2013 year-end ratings average will likely be below a 2.5.

 

[xavyer]

The PG era doesn't exactly has that much to do with it, is just that in the attitude era and before, they had much better superstars than today, the diference between then and now is that back then any superstar could cut a great promo, had natural talent and charisma, and when they talked or did an interview, they had you really pay atention to what they say, and the matches, even if they weren's good athletes, they sold the moves really good, and in the 80's/ early 90's, it wasn't the attitude era just yet, so i don't think that attitude had that much to do with ratings per say, it was the talent, and the people behind the scenes were definitly more creative, wrote better storylines and actually cared about the fans, now, they have to use CM Punk or John Cena for the most part of the show, because not that many superstars can cut a decent promo, only a few, and the people behind the scenes, well, they kind of suck, in my opinion, if they put Paul Heyman back into the creative area, they can get back at being good again, because he actually knows what people want, and he actually cares, but Vince's ego is preventing that from happening, so like i said, it has nothing to do with Rated R, or PG, or the attitude era, it has to do with talent on and off the camera......

 

[theViper]

These are just my thoughts, and my thoughts alone. Others may agree with me, or not. It's whatever at this point. Fact of the matter is simple though. Since the gimmicks are over and done with, I would allow people to be real. Real in the aspect, of letting them be comfortable out in the arena. If they're a lower tier wrestler, and start to get over, allow him a little time to speak, or let him get a surprise win over someone bigger, and then have a few minutes to celebrate with the fans. You have to develop characters, as mentioned earlier. And people need to feel connected to them. If there is no chemistry, then what is there? Nothing. In an era where everyone is grasping for straws to make the next big name, and to make sure that there is legitimacy in the company/brand it makes it difficult to do so. WWE wears themselves too thin, by having two brands. Those two brands allow them be able to travel more, and easier. But, they need the ability to have some more consistent faces on Monday and Friday both that can get over. The champion is the champion of the company, don't focus all of the attention on him alone, but after the people that are chasing for the title. It will help with that getting over process. This may not even be apart of this thread, and I apologize if so. But I just needed to get that off my chest.

 

[Da Solo]

The problem with the PG change goes deeper than just the fact that the letters switched. There's nothing wrong with PG; it worked wonders in the 80's. The real issue is that WWE is abandoning one larger target market (Adult Men above 14 and Children who prefer Grand Theft Auto over Super Mario) for a smaller target market: the kids. Honestly, it made sense at the time. The kids are a merchandise gold mine; they'll beg anything off of their parents. Even now, as ratings sink to new lows, the merchandise is through the roof. And plus, making it PG makes it easier for anyone queasy or outside of the demo to not be so easily turned off (I got banned from WWE for a period of my childhood because the Attitude Era didn't sit well with my hyper-religious parents), and kids are always a good demo to have, seeing as how they'll drag their parents into watching it too. Plus, since ratings were stagnant around 07-08 (when the PG change came in), it seemed like a good idea at face value.

But WWE went overboard with it. They watered down the product so bad that it turns off the biggest demo they had (adult males) and made it "uncool", which also takes away the teenage crowd. Linda's campaigns *****fied the product even more, which drives away fans with even the smallest inkling for violence. Also, who's dumbfuck idea was it to go/stay PG in the height of UFC? One of their biggest detractions, besides being kiddy, is being "fake", and taking away even more edgy programming when a real-life pro fight is on the next channel just lost you even more viewers.

And then the product... PG severely limits what you can and can't do, so we have to take that into account. But the product sucks regardless, and that bites deeply into the demo of fans in the attitude era. Cena is way too dominant and it shows: Punk's breakthrough attracted media attention before HHH pissed it away, Hardy's rise was crazy at the time in terms of popularity, Ryback is gaining leeway now (I'm hearing people who otherwise don't care for wrestling ask me about Ryback, that's progress), etc. Basically eveything big that doesn't involve Cena invigorates interest (don't mention Rock/Brock vs. Cena, those were outliers and they largely depended on Cena's celebrity opponent). Why? Because the characters have become so dwindled down now because WWE only cares about the main event (i.e. mostly Cena). Cena once again proves my "Feed one demo, starve another" theory: kids/some women/IWC hipsters love him, everyone else hates/ignores him. The biggest demo is ignoring the star that gets the most attention: Congrats, you just alienated another big portion of the audience.

So to make a long story short: WWE needs to play the field equally instead of playing to only one demographic. Sure, you can have your Tea Time's with Santino, but that doesn't mean you can't have McMahon bust him open, call him a bitch and force him to kiss his ass right after. Kids love edgy TV too

 

[Syborgg]

There should be an option like "neither" on the poll. Because in my opinion PG maybe hasn't helped the ratings, but it sure hasn't damaged them as much as many here would want to believe. When WWE was at it's peak of ratings during the famed Attitude Era, take a look at the roster of stars they had. Austin, Rock, HHH, Jericho, Angle, Eddie, Benoit, Dudleys, Hardys(in their prime), Edge & Christian, Undertaker, etc. The cast of characters they have today, while some aren't terrible, still doesn't hold a candle to the roster they had then.

Then there's the writing/booking. I agree that the writing might be a bit restricted by the PG rating, there's really no reason to not have decent storylines. Good writers would find a way to come up with compelling ideas no matter what the TV rating is. The biggest issue here in my opinion is the inability to book fueds for the mid-card titles. It use to be that the I.C./US titles were almost as hotly contested as the main event championships. Not anymore. They are starting to remedy this slowly, but how long before they completely forget about those titles again? I almost think they are focussed too much on writing scripts and storylines, they should maybe combine that with some old fashioned "booking". Get some good wrestling minds(Heyman) to "book" some fueds and let the story write itself.

In closing, yes ratings are important, but in the day of the DVR or the ability to watch online with various devices, are ratings an accurate count of the audience anymore? It might be the only count available right now, but it's not the most accurate. As much as we read reports that Vince is unhappy with the ratings or buy-rates of PPVs, he's probably laughing to the bank at the amount they make on merchandise sales. This is why they cater to ALL audiences. If you're a 35-40 yr old man that grew up watching wrestling, by now you might have kids and they might be old enough to watch with you. Now you take that kid to an event, you've bought 2 tickets instead of 1, plus you'll most likely buy your kid a Mysterio mask or a Cena t-shirt, and maybe a Punk or Orton shirt for yourself. That's where they're making their money these days and they're making it hand over fist. Not to mention the online merch sales. The point is, if your whole family is following the product, then your whole family will spend money on it rather than just you by yourself. That's why WWE is PG.

 

[kor420]

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So, a few years ago now, the WWE decided to make the show exclusively TV-PG. Ever since then the 'Ruthless Aggression Era' was over and so came the 'PG Era'. I've never liked that name, I prefer the name 'Mainstream Era'... But anyway, the WWE changed the content to fit in with children a lot more to get more ratings. Sounds like a sound plan right? But, we've only seen a huge decline in WWE's ratings.

Why is that WrestleZone? Is it because the WWE is pandering too much to the younger audience? In my opinion... Yes.

A great example of this was this Monday, Christmas Eve, I can safely say that loads of us didn't watch and the ones that did, did a LOT of fast forwarding. The WWE CAN work for all audiences, but it's NOT for all audiences when the only audience they cater to is kids. And kids can enjoy the WWE without it treating them like toddlers.

I'm not one of those guys who demands blood, sex and stuff, we don't need that. But I'm sure a lot more of the show can be mature, in the sense that Cena doesn't have to call people childish names and play out the same underdog storyline over and over and over...

What do you guys think, was PG a good idea, or did it hinder wrestling by restricting it?

PG made no difference at all, wwe has been on a downward spiral since 2008... The PG era sounded like a go idea on paper for the wwe, but in the long run was it worth the loss of a huge chunk of their fanbase?

Wrestling and Blood goes together like chips and dip, with out the dip you just have a plain chip, and that sucks. I'm not saying wwe should let their wrestlers blade on a regular basis, because blading should only be reserved for huge matches... The last undertaker/hhh match, they should of been blood.

With the stopping of the matches to wipe blood off makes the wrestlers and the wwe look like *****es imho.

Would a demolition derby be as good if they stopped them from ramming into one another?

I Think they should go back to TV-14, they don't have to go back to what they were doing in the attitude era days, it will just give creative more room to work so everything wont come out as corny, stupid and something that only a 2 year old would find entertaining..

 

[JVel]

Being PG or not isn't the issue at all. You can still write creative and compelling storylines under a PG rating.

The problem imo is the creative team and the amount of control they have over the wrestlers. When people look back at the Attitude Era and how wonderful and what not it was, sure, it was great in shock value and such. But a key to the success then was the amount of colorful characters that the wrestlers themselves helped make. Promos didn't feel so phoned in or scripted. It didn't feel like the wrestlers were fed material on a teleprompter. They were able to go out there and get creative.

When the creative team steps up their game, the restrictions on the talent loosen, and the talent themselves step up, the ratings will go back up with it.

 

[JohnJohnson]

Well I think the PG rating caused the grip to tighten over the superstars. They worry so much about making sure they don't do something wrong, that they fail to ensure they do something right. A superstar should be able to get himself over. Hell look at Ziggler. Even being one of the main heels he still gets the crowd behind him and steal steals the show every night. Even against the top face, he wins the crowd. He has been this way just about all year but he constantly gets held back. Why? Because the creative didn't plan for that? Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and listen to the crowd. People argue that the Attitude era had so many big stars, and it's true but that's because they made themselves stars with mic freedom and WWF listened to the crowd back then. The Rock was given a chance to come into his own and the crowd reacted in a big way. They let him run with it. Austin was given a chance to get out there and cut loose on the mic more often and the crowd ate it up. Hell, he was injured during a big part of his uprising, but still had plenty of TV and mic time. Nowadays, a wrestler gets hurt and has to get written off TV completely by the genius "creative" team. Angle, Triple H, Taker, Jericho..Each of them was able to play to their strong suits. Taker was able to tweek his dark gimmick and play it up to the fullest, and when it got a little repetitive was able to change it even more. Triple H always entertained with DX because there was just so much natural charisma in that stable that they were allowed to use. And when he got his title push, he changed his whole look and attitude and really worked it. Jericho was always a good antagonizer in WCW and they let him play that up to the max with a lot of big names. WWE should let there guys loose for a while and the stars will float to the surface, while the ones that aren't will simply sink. I think this whole PG rating thing just causes too much nervous micromanagement. WCW failed for not having enough control, WWE right now is sinking for having too much. The attitude era was great because it had just the right amount of structure.

 

[CM Steel]

WWE 2013, a year where the WWE product could become more edgey again. Now currently in the WWE-PG era. Looking back, when did the WWE PG-Rated product really hit you in the sence that WWE TV would not be the same? For me it had to be right after the live "Sex Party" with Edge & Lita the night after Edge won a WWE world title for the first time. And then soon after that, the E's product got watered-down.

This was all leading to the return of D-Generation-X and the debut of the ECW brand in the WWE in 2006. WWE chairman Vince McMahon is a proud grandfather. And he doesn't want his grandchildren and the new generation of youth exposed to the more adult-side of wrestling with the TV-14 context. But in your own opinion as a wrestling fan, if you were around during the attitude era?

When did the WWE turn PG-Rated for you?

 

[GameOver]

WWF/E has (with exception of the 6yrs of the Attitude era) always had primarily PG/Family entertainment, how can people not see that? the only difference is during the "attitude era" there was TV14 content for the most part but that only lasted 6yrs then they toned it down again other then that WWF and WWE is and always was primarily PG Family Entertainment.

So for me PG started when i started watching at that was 1983

and the Attitude ended went from roughly 1996-2002, thats when all the WCW/ECW talent had finally merged and all bad blood was finished off. From then on it was back to light family entertainment again

I do get your point tho and it got really kiddie friendly when Cena had beaten JBL for his first world title and the Super Cena era began even more "kiddie friendly" then the Hogan era which was aimed mostly at kids and there parents.

 

[HBsam31]

WWF/E has (with exception of the 6yrs of the Attitude era) always had primarily PG/Family entertainment, how can people not see that? the only difference is during the "attitude era" there was TV14 content for the most part but that only lasted 6yrs then they toned it down again other then that WWF and WWE is and always was primarily PG Family Entertainment.

So for me PG started when i started watching at that was 1983

and the Attitude ended went from roughly 1996-2002, thats when all the WCW/ECW talent had finally merged and all bad blood was finished off. From then on it was back to light family entertainment again

I do get your point tho and it got really kiddie friendly when Cena had beaten JBL for his first world title and the Super Cena era began even more "kiddie friendly" then the Hogan era which was aimed mostly at kids and there parents.

I agree with this. When I started watching around Mania 3 as a kid it was something that me and my dad did together. It stayed that way all the way up to the Attitude era, and when it really started to get PG again for me was when the 'Super Cena" era began. I actually don't mind the PG rating at all, but I think they need to get a bit more creative within that rating.

 

[GutCheck21]

HBsam31 totally agree.. Hardcore wrestling fan since WM 3 and I don't mind the PG rating if there's creative writing and solid matches. But when Super Cena came it killed it for me. It was a little too much PG for me. Quality of programming went down and from 2007-2010 I had to stop watching. So far tho PG now is getting better and I think Chair shots to the head is coming back!

 

[Bad Booking]

As a non-member I accidentally created a thread here when someone discovered my blog and created a solidly productive PG discussion. If anyone wants to check the article in question, here it is: http://badbookingblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/wwe-pg-post.html (Some points maybe out of date, but I'm keeping it the way it is for now.)

What I wish we had was one of those venn diagrams (that's the circles within circles) where we can compare all the eras, but really focus on the stuff they had in common. THAT would discussion!