Watch out for anything that is free. A trial sample of this, a trial sample of that, and before you know it, BAM! you are paying for something that used to cost you nothing.
That is the idea behind pro wrestling and their pay-per-views. Build up storylines on free TV and you can not see the resolution unless you fork over a nice chunk of change.
In the old days, major draws like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair rarely wrestled on the free broadcasts. Cutting promos is what they did. In the meantime, fans’ appetites were whet as they were desperate to see exactly how their man was going to win his next match.
That next match of course was on pay-per-view and required a little more dough in next month’s cable bill.
In today’s wrestling world, titles change hands on free TV, all of the big names appear on free TV, heck, we even get some nudity from our favorite divas on free TV.
So why are we still paying to see wrestling?
Well, perhaps WWE and TNA are doing their jobs, contrary to popular belief. The fact that we are still willing to pay to see certain matches is a testament to their selling abilities. They are able to leave us on a cliffhanger, and then we feel we have no choice but to tune in and choke up thirty-five bucks to see how everything will transpire.
Yet still, we could always just read the results as they happen, right? Plenty of websites offer free live coverage of pay-per-views for the cheaper fans, so if we want to know how things are going, it’s as simple as logging on to the internet. So perhaps the cliffhanger theory is null and void.
So what’s the real reason we watch these events?
Well, as all good businesses do, TNA and WWE have evolved to keep the unpredictably factor going.
Feuds are no longer settled on pay-per-views as they were in the past. Eddie versus Rey just last year spanned more than four months and took more than two pay-per-views to settle.
What else have they done to keep us attached? Well gimmicks hook viewers as well.
For example, the Elimination Chamber can only be seen on pay-per-view broadcasts.
TNA has debuted several new match types, including King of the Mountain, Ultimate X, House of Fun and the Steel Chain Dog Collar match, to hook new viewers that may be reluctant to hand over the dough. With the majority of wrestling fans only being familiar with the WWE way of things, this approach has helped TNA draw fans that it would likely not get. How many WWE fans have ever seen an all steel cage pay-per-view?
The WWE has gone to great lengths as well to captivate the fans that may prefer not to hand over the big bucks. The Steel Cage/Barb Wire match featuring JBL and Big Show is just one example that encourages fans to buy into the pay-per-view concept. In the past the TLC match was the daily special but has since been replaced by rare Undertaker appearances, death by concrete (Paul Bearer) and a new monthly twist on the bra and panties match.
But are these sweeping changes and gimmicks really enough to keep us paying for wrestling? What else goes through our minds when we make the decision to fork out the dough to watch a pay-per-view?
Well another theory is that we simply want to “mark out” again. When we are watching wrestling live, as it happens, we move past the temptation of spoilers or previews. Sure Raw is live every week, but it’s often very predictable, and has sub-par matches as compared to pay-per-views. When we are seeing what transpires live, we tend to enjoy the wrestling that much more.
Think back to when you were younger. Watching wrestling was always a blast and unpredictable, because you didn’t know what was going to happen or what went on backstage. The only way to watch now without knowing what will happen is to watch a pay-per-view. The details of these events are kept at a minimum, and unfold live, so it’s as if you are watching as a younger fan again. Even if you know rumored outcomes or predictions, you can still enjoy the matches, since they are typically the best a promotion has to offer, and are uninterrupted by commercials.
Since we all yearn for that sense of nostalgia, nothing beats sitting down with family and friends and watching a good ole wrestling pay-per-view.
So, next time you order a pay-per-view from any wrestling company, think about what truly makes you give away all that money. Whether it’s the gimmicks, the matches, or just trying to be a kid again, we all have reasons to fork out that extra dough. No one ever said wrestling was an inexpensive hobby, but it’s these loyal fans that pay that keep the business going for all to enjoy.
***
Thank you everyone for reading!
If you didn’t realize it, this was indeed a JOINT column, with fellow columnist, Jonathan Brown, author of Mr. Brown's Class! It was a blast writing this with him, and I hope you all had as fun much reading it as we did writing it.
We’d love to know what you thought!
Please send all your comments to either Tim Wronka or Jonathan Brown or both via the contact information listed below!
Jonathan Brown: eviluther99@yahoo.com
Tim Wronka: timothywronka@yahoo.com or AIM: Last Ride 417
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