Money. It consumes everything. It essentially runs our lives. In this day and age, it’s more common to see someone care more about the amount of money in their bank account than the amount of oxygen available to breathe. It was a natural progression that has now become an absolute obsession with many people and organizations.
Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment have become two tremendous examples of this. Vince has made WWE into a money making machine. It seems that over the past few years he has sacrificed the quality of his product for the big green monster of money. The wrestling of the 80’s and late 90’s that we all fell in love with because of the great product, has now turned into an unexciting, complacent circus with its only purpose to make the rich richer.
Before going on, let’s look at this trend in a related industry, music. Those who study the media world realize that there has been a terrible change in the way the music business works. Today’s top artists are picked by the big record companies to make money. That’s it. Looks and appearance are more important than actual talent. As a result all mainstream music now sounds the same and all mainstream “artists” look the same. This in turn makes it hard for anyone innovative to break into the industry. There’s no room to be different or talented. Why? Because in the eyes of the big record companies, only those with the “mainstream” look and voice will make money. And money is all that matters now. Song quality, longevity, originality, and talent are thrown out the window because record producers only want to produce what’s “cool” and “hip,” so they can get a quick buck.
As a result, music today will not be remembered 50 years from now. Why is that? Because it’s not ground breaking or original like the Beatles and Elvis were. Instead, we’ll look back and see how Artist A sang the same way and dressed the same as Artist B. Their names or legacy won’t matter in the least.
Unfortunately, this same concept is being carried over to the wrestling business. A business we all grew up loving and still love is being taken over by money.
No longer are characters, storylines, and events individual. Today’s aspects of the wrestling business all blend together. We get constant recycling of feuds and gimmicks, big men who have the look but can’t wrestle simple holds, and failed character after failed character. These are all attempts to make quick money instead of actually taking time to realize what made wrestling popular several years ago. One of the biggest problems is how bad some of the events have become.
Actually, it should be said it’s bad how MANY events we have now. WWE now has 5 plus hours of original programming a week, and more pay-per-views a year than ever before. What’s the idea behind all this? Money. The more shows WWE puts on, the more attendance they can bring in. They can bring in more advertising revenue. They can bring in PPV buys. Sure this all looks great on the bottom line of that quarterly review, but the product is suffering immensely because of this.
When one company has to produce 5 plus hours of original programming every week, things are bound to get old. Soap operas have done this forever, but they also work in seasons for the most part, where they get a break a few months a year. WWE has to provide 5 hours of programming, 52 weeks a year that has to be entertaining. No one asked them to do it, but they do it because of the money. Yet they wonder why overall business is down compared to a few years ago. Think what would happen if Grey’s Anatomy changed from one night a week to three or four. People would grow absolutely sick of it. All the suspense would be gone. The weekly time that people cherish with the program would no longer be as valuable. That’s exactly what has happened with WWE’s three shows of Raw, SmackDown, and ECW. The special feeling they once had is dead. Now it’s the same thing show in and show out.
Now we come to the pay-per-view events. There is a rumor going around right now that Vince wants to increase the number of PPV’s in 2007! Why? Well, dwindling profits of course! So instead of sitting back and trimming the majority of the extra programming out, they add more. Now, more than ever, people will forget the individuality a wrestling PPV once had. There was a time when events like Wrestlemania and Survivor Series were the crowned jewel of WWE. Now, their importance is drowned out by all the other tri-weekly PPV’s that all seem to have the same name and the same lousy matches that leave buyers pissed off they spent 40 bucks.
When the PPV’s for every year exceed 15, the amount of repeat buys won’t go up, they’ll go down. This is especially sad since the average WWE PPV is now 40 bucks! With 15 events, several of them will be extremely unappealing to the normal viewer. Even if they buy them, they will feel ripped off, and then won’t buy another one. Look at how negative the criticism has been for this past week’s Cyber Sunday. It was an event with some intrigue, but for those that bought it, it left a terrible taste in their mouths and killed their likelihood to buy a future event.
Is it that hard for the powers that be to see that WWE’s best years in 1998 and 1999 had less pay-per-views and television shows than now? What’s even worse is the fact that all of 1998 and some of 1999, WWE only had one show, Raw. That means they had almost a third of the programming then that they have now, and were almost three times as successful! Let’s also not forget that there was only one PPV a month as well. And since they are so concerned with money, isn’t it sad they don’t realize they are putting on almost three times the programming they once were, and are getting LESS money now than ever before?
Events aren’t the only issue. Look at the current champion of WWE’s flagship Raw, John Cena. John Cena was given a gimmick to appeal to the hip-hop fans. He was given the championship for his great ability with public relations, good attitude, and the proper look. Note how I never said he was a great wrestler. He’s a decent wrestler, but Vince sees that money isn’t in wrestling, it’s in the entertainment and PR. So while it’s good for Vince in the short run, his staunch support of Cena will backfire in the long run. It’s obvious that fans are already turned off by the tired act, and in 20 years no one will know the name John Cena. However, true wrestling greats like Ric Flair and Bret Hart will never be forgotten. John Cena will be forgotten, because he is wrestling so Vince can get money, not because he puts on 5 star classics matches.
All in all, the issue is that WWE has sub-par programming as compared to its best years, and it’s because of the money. Sure, it made sense for WWE to add more programming and wrestlers when they were a hot commodity in 1999. But this is almost 2007, and they aren’t hot anymore, nor have they been for several years. It doesn’t make sense for there to be a SmackDown, ECW, or over 15 PPV events a year. WWE may get money by doing this, but they will never get near the revenue they did during their best years. At this point, expansion is the last thing they need. They need to trim what’s not needed. Some may kill me for saying it, but SmackDown and ECW are a waste of time. Why shouldn’t WWE just dedicate everything they have to make their 2 hour Raw the best show it can be instead of worrying about two other brands?
I know that what I’m saying will never happen. WWE is here for profits, not for wrestling. But until the powers that be start caring more about the product quality than the bottom line, wrestling will never be as hot as it once was. And more importantly for the ones that are so crazed over money, they will never make the money they once did if they don’t realize how poor the product has become due to greed.
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Post Column
If you just read this, thanks for your time! This was a bit longer than my usual offering, but it was a topic I HAD to get out. I welcome all feedback, so if you want to talk to me, yell at me, praise me or other, get in contact with me!
Email: timothywronka@yahoo.com
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