The Piledriver Report 2.14.07: Hey Vince, Give the Fans What They Want, Not What You Want Them to Want
Posted by Ronny Sarnecky on 02.14.2007
As Vince gets set to feud with Donald Trump, his character has been bragging that he knows what the fans want, and he will give them what he thinks they want. Over the years, Vince has both listened to the fans, and ignored their wishes. The Piledriver Report looks at why the WWE should listen to what their fans have to say.
They had me! They almost had me! And then, they lost me. The WWE was so close, oh so close. For the first time in nearly twenty months, I was all set to order a SmackDown! brand pay per view. Not only was this show going to offer an inter-promotional match between the main event players at this year's upcoming WrestleMania, but they also was presenting a match that I kicked myself for not seeing in the first place. The WWE was set to offer a tag team ladder rematch from Armageddon featuring MNM vs. the Hardys vs. London/Kendrick vs. Taylor/Regal. According to reports, most of the high spots in the match were cut out due to Joey Mercury's injury in the match. While I was hoping for a rematch to take place at WrestleMania, I was pleasantly surprised to see it being offered at No Way Out. The last match was said to be awesome, so I could just imagine what this match would be like if they included the spots that were taken out of the December match.
The anticipation for the rematch would not last long. A few days after the rematch was announced, the bout was changed to London/Kendrick vs. Deuce/Domino for the tag team championships. While I have enjoyed their matches on SmackDown! against each other, I must admit, this was a huge letdown. It wouldn't have been bad if the reason for the cancellation was because the WWE was holding the match off until WrestleMania. However, that wasn't the case. For about, what seems like, the eightieth time since the WWE signed Jeff Hardy, Vince changed his mind. Should Jeff and Matt remain as a team? Should MNM remain as a team? The answer depends on Vince's mood that day. Does Vince want them as teams, or as singles? Only he knows what he wants. It's his company. He can do what he wants. Or can he?
Vince McMahon is famous for saying that anything can happen in the WWE. He claims that the WWE listens to the fans, and gives them what they want. Is this true, or is this just a big marketing ploy used by Vince McMahon?
I believe, in the past, that Vince has listened to what the fans wanted. A good example of this was back in 1994. The WWF was in the middle of riding the Lex Express. However, former WWF World Champion Bret Hart was extremely popular. At the end of the Royal Rumble battle royal, Bret Hart and Lex Luger both flipped over the top rope and hit the arena floor simultaneously. The ring announcer called Lex Luger the winner. Then he announced Bret Hart as the winner. This was done a few times. They did this because the WWF want to gauge the fans' response. Do they want to see Bret Hart or Lex Luger in the main event at WrestleMania. To the WWF's surprise, the fans chose Bret Hart. Vince McMahon listened to the fans, and Bret Hart, not Lex Luger, left WrestleMania X as the WWF World Champion.
When the WWF was losing the Monday Night Wars to World Championship Wrestling, they listened to the fans again. Wrestling fans, at the time, were tired on seeing cartoon superhero characters fighting in a wrestling ring. They wanted realistic storylines. They wanted wrestlers that could work. They wanted violence. Vince gave the fans that. He saw the niche that Extreme Championship Wrestling was creating in the industry. Vince knew that a slightly different version of this could work for his federation. After all, the fans wanted it.
Look at the wrestlers that started to get pushed by Vince. Steve Austin was looked at as a mid-card player. However, once he became "stone cold," the fans demanded to see Austin 3:16. Not only did he become the WWF World Champion, but he became one of the two biggest stars in wrestling history, standing side by side with Hulk Hogan. Mick Foley is another wrestler who never had any right being pushed in Vince's version of wrestling. After all, the former Cactus Jack is no where near the sculpted 6 feet 5 inches, 275-pound musclemen that Vince craves. However, he busted his ass in the ring, gave great promos, and the fans went nuts for his multiple personalities. Mick Foley went from being a "garbage" style wrestler, and ended his career as a legend and Hall of Famer.
A more recent example of the WWE listening to the fans is in regards to Batista. During the summer of 2004, the WWE was pushing Randy Orton for a run at the WWE World title. After winning the belt, the WWE ignored the fans' jeers and decided to force a babyface turn on Orton. He immediately dropped the title to Triple H the next month, as the WWE wanted Orton to chase the title leading up to his big win at WrestleMania 21. However, the fans would have none of it. They quickly tired of Orton, and started to back another member of Triple H's "Evolution" group. The WWE listened, and they decided to create a slow burn between Batista and Triple H with the payoff being the main event at WrestleMania.
When Vince is faced with competition, or his back is against the wall, that's when the WWE is at it's best. It is also when Vince listens to his audience the most. Ever since the doors closed for World Championship Wrestling, the WWE became the only game in town. Since then, Vince seems to be listening to his fans less and less. Hell, they have been using it lately in storylines where Vince claims that HE tells the fans what they want! During the past year and a half, most of the WWE's hardcore fans have been booing John Cena out of the building due to his poor workrate for a World Champion. The fans were practically begging for the WWE to either take the belt off of him, or to turn him heel. What did the WWE do? They kept him as a face. Their attitude was you can boo him all you want, but we will continue to push him as the World Champion babyface.
I can understand the WWE's thinking. Look at some of the most popular wrestlers to ever hold the WWF/E World title. Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino, and the Ultimate Warrior were all long-term champions who didn't have the best, or any for that matter, amateur wrestling background. Wrestling purists may have thumbed their noses at these men, but they were hugely popular, and sold a ton of merchandise and tickets. The WWE is of the opinion that John Cena fits into this category. While Cena is hugely popular with the children and women. The WWE had the potential of turning John Cena into The Rock if they listened to the core fan base. These were the same fans that chanted "Die Rocky Die!" while Rocky Maivia was a young babyface. Since the WWF could no longer ignore the fans' hatred of Rocky, they turned him heel. The Rock was born. As The Rock, the newly turned heel started to become one of the most popular wrestlers in the company's history. Would Rock have been able to become The Rock if not for the fans forcing a heel turn? It's tough to say, because he was so damn talented. However, the turn sure did help. If the WWE would have turned John Cena 18 months ago, by now he would probably be receiving Austin-like cheers by men and women alike.
The rise of Edge in 2006 is another example the WWE's hesitance in listening to the fans recently. As a way to surprise the fans, Vince put the WWE World title on Edge at the end of New Year's Revolution. While the title switch was a surprise to fans, the aftermath was a surprise to Vince McMahon. The fans went nuts over the new champ Edge. Ratings increased, the fans were excited, and it was a fresh new face in the main event scene. It was Vince's plan to have Edge as only a short-term "transitional" champion. However, the fans demanded more. Not only did the fans want Edge to remain the champion, but they also wanted him to main event WrestleMania. Unfortunately, the WWE didn't listen, and they stuck to their guns by having Triple H and John Cena in the main event. However, the fans' reaction was heard by the WWE as Edge has remained a main event level wrestler and now multiple WWE World Champion.
This leads us back to the Hardy Boys and MNM. Listen to the reaction that Joey Mercury, Johnny Nitro, Jeff Hardy, and Matt Hardy receive during singles competition. Then, listen to the crowd's response when Mercury teams with Nitro as MNM, and Matt and Jeff reunite as the Hardy Boys. It's a totally different reaction. While Vince would hate to admit this, fans love good tag team wrestling. Right now, the WWE could feature MNM, the Hardys, London/Kendrick, Taylor/Regal, Team Rated RKO, and the World's Greatest Tag Team. The WWE could have a tag team resurgence that could easily compete with the Hardys/Dudleys/Edge-Christian trifecta from the early 2000 era. This could be the deepest tag team roster in the WWE since the NWA and WWF's tag team glory days in the middle to late eighties.
It's time for Vince to stop going back and forth of this issue. If you look at the history of the WWF/E, the best storylines were created when the fans dictate the direction, and NOT when the WWF/E told the fans what they should want. He needs to remember that the fans are his paying customers, without them you have no business. Like in any good business, you listen to the demands of the customers. If not, the only quality product with the WWE's name on it will be their 24-7 On Demand service, and their DVDs of past wrestlers. When
