Shining a Spotlight 10.30.08: Entertainment Effects

I had the idea of only one topic for the column this week but as so often happens in wrestling, some other news hit that actually fits into things. In this case, it’s a double look at how two major promotions are making changes that may affect the entire business. The first is WWE deciding to keep away from actual references to “wrestling,” a move that’s already given off many complaints. The second is Ring of Honor losing the man who helped them become a massive success and what that means for the future of the company. Both changes are major ones that can mean big shifts for the business and deserve attention.

The first, of course, is WWE’s decision to rebrand itself with “entertainers” instead of wrestlers. Naturally, a lot of purists are up in arms over this with Hubbard doing a big column on it. I admit I’m a bit surprised at it as well and as a long-time wrestling fan, I do fear for how it’ll effect the business overall. I get the fears obviously, pulling away from any athletic overtones and just the entertainment part of things, making wrestling sound like more of a show than ever. But to be frank, I think this was something long in coming.

Wrestling has always been entertainment. I know the purists will rip at me for that but it’s true. Any semblance to an actual athletic event was thrown out the very first time a promoter decided the outcome of a match before it started. Yes, it’s always been tied into the in-ring action but the entertainment aspects were in place long before Vince McMahon Jr. came into power. There have always been complex storylines, enhanced television events, wrestlers more actors than athletes, it was growing from the late 1970’s on. Vince has been building it up more and more over the years so this really was an inevitable move.

The reasons why Vince is doing this is the same reason he does so much else: Money. Vince has that tricky mindset that so many millionaire businessmen have: They’ve got mountains of cash around them but hate actually spending money on what they see as needless moves. If Vince has just ponied up some cash to the World Wildlife Fund a few years back, we’d still be calling it WWF. And in fact, that change accelerated this move as calling it World Wrestling Entertainment stretched the ability to move away from actual “wrestling” itself. Vince has always wanted to shift WWE to not just wrestling but a name brand. Remember how they once had a Times Square restaurant and store and the attempt of their own movie division. Vince has always been a man whose dreams often exceed realistic expectations and so his attempts have often backfired. But you have to give credit to him for at least trying rather than be stagnant like so many promoters when they got to his age.

You have to realize that whatever Vince does, he’s backed by his long litany of successes. Let’s not forget Vince has taken a lot of risks over the years and they’ve paid off. He’s made mistakes yes (XFL, WBF) but the fact is that Vince has succeeded more than failed and the fact he’s got a near monopoly on the entire industry that was once so fractured and spread out is a testament to his drive. The man is no fool in business, never believe he is. He will do what he thinks right for the company and yes, that may not be what fans think right but again, the man has survived off risks and changes. He knows how to run this company and make sure his word is law which is a key thing for the promotion to succeed. The running theme of most anyone who worked in WCW its last few years was that no one in that company had a handle on how to be in charge and it suffered. In WWE, Vince is clearly the boss and it’s his vision that made the company a success along with its stars so they’re willing to go along with whatever he dreams up.

What Vince has understood is that audience tastes are always changing. He himself has stated a key reason he was able to succeed in the expansion was because the majority of promoters kept right on going like old times, not realizing the power Vince’s presentation would have, not realizing that young fans of the ‘80’s wouldn’t want the same stuff as the ones of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. Vince has seen these changes, hell, he created most of them. He knows the majority of fans know the truth of the business, that it’s all a show and are ready to accept the idea of the workers as “entertainers.” In fact, most of them have already done so. Having the announcers identify them as such is just the final move.

I do see a bit of a backlash. We’ve already seen it from most guys here at 411mania. I myself am annoyed at the idea of “wrestling” being pushed aside but I accept it. There was uproar when WWE changed its name but people went along with that after a time. Personally, I just don’t see it lasting too long. I know Vince is doing it to save cash and I know he seems so out of touch with his audience but even he has to realize turning this far away from the traditions of the business is a bad thing. That’s not to mention the problem of DVDs of guys as I don’t see focuses on say, Ricky Steamboat, referring to him only as an “entertainer” (although a damn good one). I remember a while ago, Johnny Laurinaitis pushed the rule that no one under six feet could be in the main event circles but that didn’t last too long. We’ll have to see how this works out but since it does involve money, it’s likely the “entertainment” thing will last for a while. But fans (by which I mean the mainstream ones, not the IWC purists) have gone along with a lot of those from WWE over the years and it’s likely they’ll accept this as well.

The effects to look for aren’t just for WWE but the competition as well. This could be a time for TNA to rise up now, to bring back that old “we are wrestling” line and make it really matter. We can hope TNA sees this massive opportunity handed to them on a silver platter and uses it boost themselves. Perhaps they can also reach out to some in WWE who aren’t happy about being “entertainers” now and sway them. For all his faults, Jarrett is an old-school type and so he’d be more into promoting the wrestling aspects. Thus, it’s possible Vince’s latest move could be just the kick in the pants TNA needs to set themselves apart from WWE once and for all and boost their cred with fans.

Of course, since TNA does have an unfortunate tendency to drop silver platters (see Joe vs Angle) and since Dixie Carter isn’t as knowledgeable about the business as Jarrett, there’s the possibility TNA might see this as a smart move to save a few bucks and jump to the “entertainer” stuff too. After all, Russo is infamous for a WCW tenure where actual wrestling was completely shoved aside for goofy T&A skits and soap opera plots. While it’s not as huge in TNA, that feeling does pop up with his work currently and it’s really not hard to imagine him pushing in that direction. If he does, TNA will be in serious trouble as it was exactly that thinking that helped push WCW past the point of no return. Hopefully, those over Russo can keep TNA on that wrestling path.

A week ago, this would have been seen as a major advantage for ROH, which always promoted hard-hitting wrestling action over anything else. But as most everyone knows by now, ROH has suffered a giant change courtesy of the sudden removal of Gabe Sapolsky. Now, Ari already has an excellent analysis of the situation but it still bears some discussion as it’s the biggest shakeup the company has ever had. I’ve pointed out before that Sapolsky has been key to ROH’s success with his booking skills. What made him great was that unlike so many bookers (even great ones like Heyman), Sapolsky didn’t push his vision of wrestling down the throats of fans but let the action stand on its own. He was capable of handling myriad storylines and intense battles with equal ease that helped make ROH so huge.

What was also important about Sapolsky was that he understood ROH’s place in the wrestling world. Unlike TNA, which set itself up from day one to be the competition for WWE, ROH stuck to its niche audience, catering to the fanbase they had rather than the one they wanted and that helped them last so long. Of course, a promotion does need to grow in order to survive and ROH wanted to do so, which is what led to Sapolsky leaving. I’ve long felt that a national TV deal could be a boon to ROH but understood the risks as they would have to add “entertainment” angles to things in order to attract a wider fan base. The biggest mistake ECW made when they got their TV deal is that they kept right on presenting as they always did, not understanding that what appealed to a narrow part of the fan base wouldn’t appeal to a national audience. ROH owners apparently wanted to avoid that and it’s too bad Gabe couldn’t go along with that.

I’m not blaming him of course as the owners should have made every attempt to keep the guy who’s been their guiding force for the last five years. I do acknowledge one reason for Gabe’s reluctance is his realization that the economic situation isn’t best for wrestling promoters to really stretch out with not as much money coming in from fans. I agree a higher presence meant risks for ROH but I was confident with Sapolsky guiding them, we’d get some hard-hitting TV that would be a great alternative to WWE and TNA.

I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon of how this means instant death for ROH. They’ve got an excellent and loyal fanbase, much respect and great workers so it’s not a total disaster. It does, however, mean big changes creatively and I’d dare say locker room morale may be a bit hard hit as well. The big problem is how ROH is going to be presented now, if Adam Pearce will continue in Sapolsky’s footsteps and boost their in-ring strengths or if they decide they need to expand by adapting the same “entertainment” aspects of WWE and TNA. If it’s the latter, that’s going to be a huge shift for the ROH fanbase as most of them watch the promotion just to get away from all that. ROH has had some creative missteps that jarred fans (the “rape” incident comes to mind) but if fans at an arena show witness a T&A catfight and some guys doing a game show contest, the reaction is going to be massively violent to say the least. You think ECW fans reacted badly to WWE’s revival? That’s nothing compared to how the ROH fanatics are going to feel seeing Russo-like antics breaking out.

The fact is, wrestling is at its heart, about money and ROH sees more money expanding into TV and such and felt Sapolsky was holding them back. For his own future, if TNA were to hire him with his sense for booking and their talent base, they’d be kicking the ass of WWE quality-wise in little time. ROH will continue as those in charge do have the sense for how keeping to strict wrestling made them work before and can continue to do so. But a TV deal will likely change the presentation into more “entertainment” stuff. One can hope they keep it to a minimum as with WWE going “entertainment”, a promotion boasting actual wrestling can stand out even more than ever.

For TNA, as noted, getting Sapolsky would be brilliant but unlikely. For themselves, the company should definitely take advantage of WWE’s new policy to promote themselves as being more about wrestling. Of course, it’s one thing to promote that way, another to really present it as we know how Russo-rific things can get on TV. If someone in TNA decides to let Russo run wilder with an “entertainment” feel to things, TNA programming is going to become even harder to watch than usual. But if they can be smart and embrace the shift, TNA can rise further with real wrestling fans.

As for WWE, there will be a shift, no doubt about it but the company’s had lots of those and survived them. Personally, I just don’t see it really taking and lasting long but even if it does, the fact is that this was a move long in coming and it’s finally here. Vince isn’t turning his back on wrestling; he’s just being the first to openly acknowledge the thing’s a damn show, not a true sporting event and saving some bucks by doing it. Once again, the man is not a fool when it comes to business so this may work out. Indeed, the conspiracy buff in me wonders if it’s possible Vince might be intentional doing this to let TNA and ROH use it as a boost. The man has acknowledged how he misses competition to keep him sharp so maybe in some twisted way, this is supposed to bring it back.

Regardless of the reasons, “entertainers” are the new label for WWE but they’ve always been entertaining us anyway. We could be seeing a major turning point for the business as we know it, a shift that can reshuffle how fans feel about the promotions. WWE will remain on top, simply too huge to knock off but if TNA can boost their wrestling cred and ROH continue on their own path of being more about wrestling, we can see some real competition and interest in non-WWE aspects of the business and that’s good for everyone. I just want to remind the purists again that wrestlers may be athletic but at the end of the day, they’re just putting on a show. And maybe it’s best if we put aside the labels and just enjoy what we see because isn’t that what shows are all about? Regardless how you feel, the business is about to shift into something more interesting and if that’s not entertainment, I don’t know what is.

Also around 411mania:

Tim does his Take on Sapolsky leaving ROH

Truth B Told looks at the idea of cheating faces

The Fink tries to restore Joe as a bad-ass

Chin talks the Importance of…Tori?

Against the Grain looks back at Austin’s heel turn

For the Record discusses JBL’s RAW stint

The Shimmy continues the Hardy report card

Wrestling Doctor beats me to a look back at Halloween Havoc

Five-Star Conversation talks TNA

Don’t forget Ask 411, Fact or Fiction, 3 R’s, Triple Threat and all the rest.

For this week, the spotlight is off.